Genius remembers in a second [Aishang Novel Network biquge.info] to provide you with wonderful novels to read.

The oceans occupy more than seventy percent of the Earth's surface area. But on the map, the ocean itself has little say, and is divided into several pieces based on the fragmented continental plates.

One of the interesting things you can see is that there are two areas of the sea that are a bit clean. One is the southern Indian Ocean, and the other is the vast South Atlantic Ocean south of the Caribbean Sea. If it weren't for the magnifying glass-level observation, it would be difficult to find islands in these two seas.

In this empty sea voyage where the sun, stars and moon in the sky can only be used as the object of prayer, the sense of time and space is lost, and the sense of loneliness and fear is also the strongest in all sea areas. In the highly developed modern era, with many advanced navigation technologies, we cannot understand the wandering, lonely and panicked inner world of the Portuguese captains who sailed in the South Atlantic and the South Indian Ocean hundreds of years ago.

Including "Fernando. The few small islands, including the island of Denoronia, have become the most precious land in these two seas, and have been the object of contention with all their might since the Age of Discovery.

Fernando. The Denoronia Islands, an island in the South Atlantic, are located about 500 kilometers northeast of Cape San Roque, Brazil, with a main island area of about 18 square kilometers, with a good small harbor, which was given to the Portuguese Fernando who discovered the island in 1504. Denoronha, which later belonged to the Pernambuco region of Brazil. Strategically important as it is the closest South American island to Africa, it is the strategically important choke point of the South Atlantic Ocean into the Caribbean Sea.

In August 1503, when the navigator America was in Fernando. When the main island of the De Noronha archipelago landed, he was completely fascinated by the surrounding scenery and, in a letter to the King of Portugal, said that he had arrived in heaven. Until now, the world still has no objection to America's evaluation of that year.

Of course. The topic that Amerigo left to history is definitely not just this pretty Fernando. Denoronha Islands. During his voyage from 1503 to 1504, Amerigo visited Argentina in the south of Brazil, and finally confirmed that it was a completely new continent, and that Amerigo became "the true discoverer of the New World". Until the death of Christopher Columbus, European navigators who had reached a dead end of their imagination still believed that India was on the other side of the Atlantic.

……

Sunday, December 2, 1635.

Due to several days of emergency combat readiness maintenance before sailing, the three battleships Lapis Lazuli, Tulip, and Cornflower, which had departed from Nanshan Port, arrived in the combat area on the 15th day after receiving the order. In order to race against time, the temporary formation sails were used together, and several high-speed voyages were carried out in a row. Along the way, a coal replenishment had to be made at the Green Island (St. Helena) nautical supply depot.

The formation had only just drilled out of a sea area covered with rain clouds, and the commander-in-chief of the temporary formation, Captain Aven, the acting captain of the Lapis Lazuli, noticed something wrong a few nautical miles away from the telescope.

In sight, several small Dutch warships were facing the "Fernando. Denoronia "is slowly shelling." It seems that the main force of the Dutch West India Company's fleet has moved south, leaving only a small part of its forces to continue the siege of Fernando. Denoronia, otherwise the temporary formation would face at least 70 Dutch ships.

Perhaps the Dutch were also wary of the Portuguese artillery in the purely military fortress port, and the shelling was far away, which basically did not pose much threat to the Portuguese garrison on the island. However, due to the month-long blockade and fighting, the Portuguese on the island also fell into a situation of exhaustion and ammunition, and their counter-resistance was much weaker than a month earlier.

For the Dutch. If this thorn in the back is not removed, Dutch Guiana's naval supply line to Recife, Brazil, is at risk of being cut off by enemy forces coming from the Caribbean or West African directions. For the Portuguese, it was also the frontier of their colonies on the east coast of Brazil. Once lost, reinforcements from the Caribbean, Brazil, or West Africa could be stopped by the Dutch at any time.

How the Dutch advanced in the south is unknown, and now besieges Fernando. There were only 5 Dutch warships on the island of Denoronia. Lieutenant Colonel Leo, the Portuguese commander who had been holding out for more than a month, felt a little better.

Leo was one of the first Portuguese officers to deal with the Chinese in the Azores, and he led the team to try to accept the first batch of flintlock pistols imported into Portugal by the Azores. With good relations with the Yankees in the Azores. Leo knew that Huamei's various plantations and mines in Brazil had a high return on investment, so he "volunteered" to come to Brazil last year with the dream of making a fortune, only to be sent to this lonely island shortly thereafter. I thought that after some time to make some connections, I would go to Recife to take up a military position, and then find a Chinese merchant to partner in the plantation, but I encountered this unlucky Dutch attack.

Whether there are reinforcements or not, Leo has no bottom in his heart, and it can even be said that despair accounts for the majority. For, based on the experience of defending against the Dutch, once Recife in the south was attacked, it was almost impossible to count on the small Portuguese fleet on the east coast of Brazil.

And even if the Spanish warships that departed from the nearest Spanish Venezuelan colony and were able to reinforce here, it took at least two months from the time they received the distress letter to the time they organized their troops to arrive. Fernando has lost any foreign supplies. Denoronia had already used up a considerable part of its ammunition in the early defensive battle, and even in a bloody battle to repel the Dutch landing force, the Portuguese defenders of the island lost nearly half of their hundred-man troops. If it weren't for the dozen or so gorgeous 12-pounder cannons in the island's harbor fortress, perhaps this place would have fallen long ago.

"They don't have the right head, don't be deceived by them, save gunpowder!" Leo looked at the Dutch warship that was deliberately shelling to attract his attention from the distant sea, and couldn't help but spat on the ground.

"Lieutenant Colonel! Mr. Lieutenant Colonel! There is a case! Suddenly, the soldiers of one of the fortress batteries shrank their heads and raised their hands, their dirty faces with a fuss of trepidation, "There are ships coming from the south, the Dutch have increased their forces again, maybe they are going to land from the south again!" ”

"Damn Dutch pigs, did they pull all the European tramps into the army?!" Leo swore and walked behind a section of the fort wall and held up his monoculars. Look in the direction the soldier is pointing.

"Oh...... Thank you to the Virgin Mary, who is American! It's the fleet of the Americans! Leo saw the flag on the mast of the battleship and was immediately ecstatic, "Haha, they must have come from Africa, God heard us, he summoned the Americans!" ”

"Shall we tell them about the situation here? Maybe they're passing by and not necessarily ......," a soldier muttered timidly, as if not convinced that anyone would know about Brazil's plight "in such a short time."

"Even if it's the size of a peppercorn, they should see what's going on here! Unless they're in the league with Dutch pigs this time! Leo kicked the crow-beaked soldier over and patted the fortress stones excitedly. I can't wait to grow a pair of wings and fly over.

"Oh, yes! Fire, shoot now! Let the Dutch see how good we are! As if he was a little worried that these gorgeous battleships would really pass by in a flash, Leo almost used his voice to greet all the gunners, "Shoot hard, don't care if you have enough ammo!" ”

……

At a distance of 3 nautical miles, the Dutch warships in sight also seemed to notice that something was wrong, and two ships began to stop firing at the Portuguese fortress and slowly began to turn.

"Send a signal to Captain Ruiter and Captain Ki Chaohai. Lowering the sails, the first level of combat readiness of the whole formation, adjusting the course due north, preparing to shell the Dutch. Evan lowered his binoculars. While giving the order to the first officer, he showed a relaxed smile, "There are only 5 Dutch warships, maybe we can capture a lot of prisoners of war." ”

After receiving the banner of the interim commander-in-chief, Captain Aven. Ruyter and Ji Chaohai were also happy. As the captain of the "second generation" of the Chinese Navy, the three of them had been in the South African fleet in the Indian Ocean for a long time, far from the opportunity to fight against England. Now that it can be the vanguard of the Southern Fleet to engage the Dutch first, how can such an opportunity be passed away?

The officers and men of the three gorgeous battleships began to run into combat positions, turning their guns to starboard, and as long as they formed an engagement line against the Dutch, a total of 12 90-mm naval guns could be fired first.

Half an hour later, three of the five Dutch battleships had completed their turn, and although they had the upper hand, they could only cautiously adopt a line formation and approach south in the face of the sudden appearance of the hostile Chinese navy. At this time, the Huamei battleship had already completed the preparations for the sail closing operation, spitting steam, and heading north against the wind at a speed of 7 knots per hour.

"1500 meters away!" On the frigate Tulip, the soldiers in charge of observation constantly reported the difference in distance between the two sides.

"Captain Evan can get closer to the enemy than we do, but I'm sure we'll be the first to hit the target!"

Captain Ruytel, who is 27 years old, became a captain two years earlier than in his history, and is also the acting captain of a frigate in the Chinese Navy. It has been 15 years since he and his father Monty were "captured" in Huamei, and Ruyter seems to have forgotten that his current enemy is his "fellow countryman".

"1200 meters away!" Soon, the results of the second range measurement on the frigate Cornflower also came out, and the signal flag "start the battle" was also hoisted on the "flagship" light cruiser Lapis Lazuli.

"Let's get started!" Ji Chaohai loosened a button on his neckline, and his hands, which were trembling slightly because of nervousness, involuntarily clenched the telescope.

After a few test firings, the three Chinese and American Navy battleships finally began their classic long-range salvo, and the shells fired from 1,100 meters startled the Dutch warships. Although the dispersion of the shells is still very large, every time 12 shells whizz down like this, they can still roughly cover their own navigation area, and it is obviously not because the brain is flooded and they are firing indiscriminately.

"Oh! God, are these Americans just trying to scare the Dutch away?! On the island, Lieutenant Commander Leo almost threw the monocular out of his hand, and he was cursing at the three gorgeous battleships in the distance, "I wonder which stupid admiral made such a bunch of idiots!" If they were just going to pass by to pay tribute to the Dutch, they didn't even need to stuff shells! ”

Before the words fell, the loser Yankees in Leo's eyes had already fired the fifth salvo, and this time, black and red smoke rose from the Dutch flotilla only 900 meters away from the Chinese and American fleet, and then a few seconds later, there was an explosion, and the mast of the Dutch battleship at the head was destroyed by a 90mm high-explosive shell.

"Haha, damn it, well done! God is with you! The Portuguese soldiers at the fort cheered and ran behind the fort wall with their weapons in hand, as if they were now watching a show, apparently forgetting that the Dutch had been practicing their artillery skills as if they had been targets an hour earlier.

"It should be Captain Ki's Cornflower......" Evan looked back at the tail of the formation, judging from the short firing interval of the salvo just now, the first shell that hit the Dutch ship should have been fired by the Cornflower. At this time, Ruytel on the Tulip angrily slapped the porthole.

The 6th and 7th salvos began one after another, and this time the Dutch ship at the head exploded again, and two shells exploded in succession on the broadside of the ship. A fiery blast blast blew out several bronze breech guns from the destroyed ship's amidships, significantly more powerful than the 90-mm shells that exploded, apparently igniting the powder kegs that had ignited the gun emplacements.

The guess was confirmed a few seconds later, and a succession of gunpowder explosions occurred on the left side of the Dutch battleship, and gun emplacements were torn apart on the hull, like a series of cracked clasps on a fat man's chest, and the entire port side of the battleship was blown open.

The lines of engagement were completely parallel to each other, and the distance was less than 800 meters, but the speed of the Huamei battleship had been reduced to 4 knots, and they were leisurely shelling their opponents in parallel. At this time, the Dutch could not launch any effective counterattack except to risk death and turn to approach the Chinese battleship.

When the 10th salvo was fired, the second Dutch battleship was like a lit bonfire, and there was not a trace of its original color on its body, and countless sailors jumped into the sea with flames all over their bodies, and the battleship under them burned and exploded with holes. The third Dutch ship was hit in the stern, blew up its rudder on the spot, and began to turn around like a wildcat with its tail lit. The morale of the remaining two Dutch ships collapsed instantly, and they had completely abandoned any idea of fighting except for desperately turning southwest and planning to escape from the battlefield while the wind was downwind.

"Sailing west. Acceleration to 8 knots after the steering is completed, pursuit! Let Captain Ruyter rush to the front at full speed. Although Aven's light cruiser Lapis Lazuli had only hit one shell of his opponent so far, his on-the-spot command was full of rhythm, and it was not at all obvious that it was the first time that he had commanded multiple ships.

The Tulip, which was second in the queue, had already completed the turn first, and as soon as he saw the order issued by the Lapis Lazuli, Ruyter immediately understood.

In the process of speeding up to miss the remnants of the Dutch ships, the Tulip fired only two salvos, but the less than 500-meter engagement distance still caused a large hole in the bow of a Dutch battleship. The last remaining Dutch battleship, which was following for its life, was caught up by the Cornflower and blew up most of the protrusions on the hull deck with two rapid fires from a distance of 300 meters.

The situation was already clear, and the determination to fight displayed by the three warships of the Chinese and American Navy made the last two scarred Dutch warships realize that surrender was their only option at the moment.

"Maybe we should welcome them ashore for a drink?"

After watching the naval battle for more than half an hour, Leo realized that his throat was unusually dry, as if the previous complaint had consumed half of his life's saliva.

"But we have no wine, Mr. Lieutenant Colonel." A soldier said pitifully.

"If they have it! The Americans have always been generous, no more than the Dutch. Leo shrugged his shoulders and looked "of course."

Unbeknownst to Leo, this was probably the last time he would invite someone to drink on the island as a host. (To be continued)