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If it is said that before the battle began, the officers and men of the Spanish Luzon fleet thought that this time the battle would be very easy. However, in the face of the fierce artillery fire of the coastal defense artillery of the Xinhua Army, they no longer had such thoughts! The closer the fleet is to the coast, the more accurate the coastal defense artillery of the Xinhua Army will be, and the Luzon fleet will pay a greater price for it!

"Boom! Rumble! Suddenly, two loud bangs rang out on the surface of the sea. In between, a Spanish battleship with a displacement of about 1,000 tons was enveloped in black gunsmoke, and then a raging fire broke out. The Spanish soldiers on the battleship, struggling to put out the fire, could no longer participate in the battle.

"General! It's the Rage. The Furious was hit by two 24-pounder shells. The captain of the 'Fury' asks to withdraw from the battle! A junior officer reported to Major General Balvino.

"Agree with them to withdraw from the battle! Extinguish the fire before you go into battle! "Major General Balvino said with a grim face. ' The Fury was one of only three fourth-tier ships left in the current Luzon fleet. The withdrawal of the 'Fury' from the battlefield will greatly affect the combat strength of the Spanish Luzon fleet. However, if the "Fury" is not agreed to withdraw from the battle, once the "Fury" is sunk, the Luzon fleet will have to pay an even greater price!

"Damn it! Why did those yellow-skinned monkeys prepare so many shore defense guns? And it's all such a cannon with an extremely long range! Major General Valvino said through gritted teeth. Originally, he thought that the navy of Xinhua was fighting in the Sulu Sultanate, and even if he wanted to rush back to Xinhua City, it would take a certain amount of time. During this time, the Luzon fleet could easily destroy the coastal fortifications of Xinhua City and send the army ashore. By the time the Xinhua Navy returned, everything was already in place. When the time comes, Spain will get a perfect victory. However, the battle had just begun, and the tide of the battle became very unfavorable for the Luzon fleet. The coastal artillery of the new country launched a fierce attack from outside the range of the Luzon fleet, which made the Luzon fleet unable to resist. If they insist on destroying the shipyards of Xinhuaguo, they will definitely pay an even heavier price.

"General Valvino, it seems that Xinhua is a hard bone to gnaw!" This was stated by the commander of the 3rd Division of the Spanish Army, Major General Axel. Although he had a strong self-confidence in the Spanish army. But now the combat power shown by Xinhuaguo surprised him very much.

"What? General Axel, are you scared? Major General Valvino said with some contempt.

"Scared? How is this possible! The great Spanish Army is absolutely not afraid! Even in the face of the French Army, which is known as the strongest army, we dare to fight them to the end! Not to mention the yellow-skinned monkeys you're facing now! As long as your fleet can get my soldiers ashore safely! Then my soldiers will be able to conquer the capital of those yellow-skinned monkeys! Major General Axel said confidently.

"As you wish! Admiral Axel, soon my fleet will destroy the shore defenses of those yellow-skinned monkeys, and the rest is up to you! Major General Balvino said. Although the present battle was very unfavorable to the Luzon fleet, Rear Admiral Valvino was convinced that the last victory would belong to the Luzon fleet. As long as it could sail to a distance of two to three kilometers from the coast, the Luzon fleet was able to use huge artillery fire to blow up the shipyards of the new China and their coastal fortifications into ruins.

Major General Valvino's wish is a good one, but it is not so easy to realize it. Xinhua's coastal defense artillery is not so easy to deal with. In order to keep the shipyards of Xinhuaguo, nearly 200 shore defense guns were firing at the maximum rate of fire. The cannonballs exploded on the surface of the sea, splashing columns of water as if a raging storm was raging across the sea!

"Speed up! Let those yellow-skinned monkeys know how good we are! "Major General Balvino gave the order. Now, more than 4,000 meters from the coast, the range of the Luzon fleet's naval guns had to be at least 3,000 meters closer to be able to fire. And if you want to ensure the accuracy of shooting, it is best to reduce this distance to about 2,500 meters to 2,000 meters. It is important to know that in Europe at this time, when the navy was at war, the distance between the two sides was often within a thousand meters. More often than not, the two sides even lined up in a battle line at a distance of two or three hundred meters. Spain, despite its decline, is still one of the maritime powers. Their navy is also accustomed to that way of fighting. Therefore, whether it is in the face of the Xinhua Navy or the coastal defense artillery, they are a little uncomfortable.

Under the orders of Rear Admiral Valvino, the remaining 14 battleships of the Luzon fleet accelerated and rushed to the shore.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "A sixth-rank battleship of the Luzon fleet was hit in a row, three 105-mm shells and two 75-mm shells hit the poor battleship. A sixth-tier battleship with a displacement of just over three hundred tons simply cannot withstand such damage. Even if the shipbuilding skills of the Spanish Navy are relatively advanced, these few shells are enough to ask for the order of this sixth-class battleship.

"Oh God! It's the 'Paranac'! Her keel was blown off! "On the battleship 'Viceroy', many Spanish naval officers and sailors saw this scene. The keel of the cruiser Paranac was blown off, and the entire battleship fell apart in the explosion. Planks floated on the surface of the sea, along with Spanish naval officers and sailors who had fallen into the water, as well as the bodies of those who had been killed.

The cruiser 'Parañac' became the first ship to be sunk in the naval battle. And that's just the beginning! As the Luzon fleet got closer and closer to the shore, more battleships were hit and sunk!

The Luzon was another fourth-class warship of the Luzon Fleet, and was the flagship of the Luzon Fleet for a time before the Manila joined the Luzon Fleet. However, after the sinking of the battleship "Manila", Rear Admiral Balvino chose the "Governor" as the flagship.

The fourth-class warships in the Luzon fleet are undoubtedly the key targets of the Xinhua coastal defense artillery. After the Fury withdrew from the battlefield, the main fire was on the Luzon and the Doge. It's just that, compared to the 'Governor', the 'Luzon' seems to have had even worse luck!

After the sinking of the cruiser "Paranac", a 105-mm shell hit the bow of the "Luzon" first, and the front bow was blown off in a piece. It's not fatal, though. Subsequently, a 75-mm shell hit the left side of the 'Luzon', destroying a gun emplacement, killing and wounding several Spanish naval officers and men. However, this is nothing at all for the 'Luzon'. Two minutes later, real doom struck when two 105-mm shells hit the middle mast of the 'Luzon' almost simultaneously, and the tall mast collapsed in the explosion, smashing the second deck of the battleship, and at the same time, the canvas on the mast was blazing.

After losing one of its masts, the speed of the 'Luzon' began to drop sharply. And this directly led to her becoming a cannonball magnet. The Xinhua coastal defense artillery began to focus on attacking the hapless battleship. Almost more than fifty shore defense guns were aimed at her. In just two minutes, at least twenty shells hit the hapless battleship. Even if the displacement of the 'Luzon' was up to a thousand tons, after eating so many shells, the battleship was fatally damaged. The hull was broken through in many places, and there were water leaks everywhere. The fire raging on the upper deck could not be extinguished, and the captain had to give the order to abandon the ship as a last resort.

The sinking of the 'Luzon' gave the Luzon fleet a great shock. In less than half an hour before the battle began, they lost a fourth-tier battleship and a sixth-tier battleship, and another fourth-tier battleship withdrew from the battlefield. Although there are still 12 warships left, in the face of the fierce artillery fire of the Xinhua coastal defense artillery, no one is as confident as before!

"Damn! How so? "Major General Balvik is simply going mad. He never imagined that the Luzon fleet would suffer such a heavy blow before encountering the navy of Xinhua. If this continues, once the navy of the new Chinese country returns, it will be impossible for them to defeat each other at all!

"Boom! Rumble! "Another battleship of the Luzon fleet was hit in a row, and it was a fifth-rank battleship. About three thousand meters from the coast, an artillery position with 12 75-mm shore defense guns dealt her a fatal blow. After being hit by several shells in a row, the fifth-class battleship with a displacement of more than six hundred tons was sunk.

With great difficulty, the Luzon fleet sailed to a distance of 2,500 meters from the shore. It's just that the Luzon fleet also paid a heavy price for this! The Governor, the fleet's only fourth-class battleship, was already scarred, and as a key target of the Xinhua coastal defense artillery, the battleship had eaten at least a dozen shells so far. Although it has not yet been sunk, its combat effectiveness has also been greatly damaged. In addition, there are only 4 and 3 fifth-class and sixth-level warships left, respectively. The rest, all have already been sunk!

"Command the ships! Hit the ship's hull! Let those yellow-skinned monkeys know how good we are! Major General Balvino ordered. The guns of Western warships were mostly installed on both sides of the battleship, and when they wanted to fire, they had to first face the enemy with the hull of the ship. This also directly led to a further increase in the hit rate of the Xinhua coastal defense artillery. After all, it's much easier to hit a battleship's wide hull than it is to hit a ship's head!