Finally, the California fleet was within range of the artillery, and they no longer had to be beaten passively.

That's a good thing for California.

Therefore, his eyes flashed and his spirit was shaken.

"Free fire!"

Rumble! Rumble! Boom!

As soon as California's order was given, the gunners, who had been waiting for their opportunity, immediately went into action.

For a time, the sea cannon rumbled.

Because of the use of artillery, the hull of the California fleet must also be sideways.

After all, the guns of battleships of this era were installed on both sides of the hull.

At the same time, in order to catch up with Chelsea's fleet and keep a distance.

Therefore, the California fleet had to fire artillery while also keeping the same direction as the Chelsea fleet.

Otherwise, its fleet could easily be out of range and once again on the beaten side.

California's idea was not wrong, but he underestimated one aspect.

That's the speed of the battleships of the Song Imperial fleet!

In terms of speed, the Song Empire's warships were not a little bit stronger than the Dutch warships, and this underestimation led to a complete tragedy in California.

"My lord, the Dutch's artillery has begun to fire, and they have come into range of their own artillery."

Around the perimeter of the flagship, the column of water created by the fall of some shells into the water already speaks for itself.

Artillery battles with each other, that's something Chelsea don't want to see.

"Order the entire fleet to speed up, get out of range of enemy artillery, and then form a group."

Chelsea didn't have to think about it, and immediately gave an order.

Yes, now you have a big advantage, even if the opponent has more than 20 ships than you.

In such a situation, fighting the opponent is something that only the brain-dead do.

Chelsea don't think they're a brain-wreck, so of course they wouldn't make that choice.

In the naval training course in Manhattan, the teachers taught it.

The means of naval warfare do not need to be gentlemanly. Or chivalrous demeanor.

The most important thing is to win, and it doesn't matter what method you use.

Any insidious, despicable or indecent, even rogue method can be used, and the empire only looks at the worst results.

That's something Chelsea recognise, and he's always kept it in mind.

Coupled with the fact that he was still young and receptive to new things, and at the same time had been in Manhattan for such a long time, he always dealt with Wang Shan.

Therefore, more or less in his body. It will be influenced by Wang Shan.

As a result, Chelsea is no longer a young European with a European mindset.

After receiving Chelsea's order, all the ships of the Imperial fleet quickly turned around, and then quickly headed northeast.

In addition, the sea breeze at this time was also very beautiful, so the Chelsea fleet quickly broke away from the range of the California fleet and came outside.

The Chelsea fleet was out of range of its own artillery, which made California angry and wanted to jump to his feet and curse his mother.

After the enemy left the range of the artillery, it was his turn to be beaten.

Sure enough. As soon as Chelsea's fleet was out of range of the California fleet's guns, it closed its ships sideways and began a round of shelling.

At this point, no more, no less. The distance between the two sides is again six nautical miles.

This was just the maximum range of the Chelsea fleet guns.

Seeing this, California couldn't help but ponder, and it seemed that it was a very unwise choice to engage the opponent in an artillery battle.

Therefore, he had the standard-bearer convey his order that all ships should not engage in artillery battles with each other. Rush forward as far as you can to the opposing ship and start the broadside battle.

Galifford's thinking changed quickly, and if he was put on the face of an average enemy, then he was not a good commander.

and may overcome his opponents.

It's just a pity. The enemy he was facing now was no ordinary, and his ships were much more powerful than those under his command.

"The enemy's warships are fast, and our warships cannot be compared!"

The lieutenant of California observed the speed of the battleship of the Chelsea fleet, and then came to him and reminded.

California's face was very ugly at this time, and the underestimation of this was his mistake.

This is very important to know.

And in naval warfare, the slightest mistake caused by underestimation is often devastating.

Peng!

Another battleship burst into flames, and the skyrocketing fire and explosion were mixed with some wood chips.

Some of the sailors, covered in flames, constantly wailed, jumped off the battleship and fell into the sea.

"How much do I lose now?"

Galifford asked.

"In our charge just now, four warships have been sunk, and at the same time, seven have suffered heavy damage and twelve have been lightly damaged."

After hearing this data, California's originally unsightly face became even more gloomy.

It's only been a long time since the war started, and it's completely unexpected that my side has suffered such a big loss.

It can also be seen from this that the fleet of the Song Empire is very powerful.

But now California has no other way, and now that the war is going on and still fighting, it is completely difficult to ride the tiger.

If he orders all the warships to retreat now, not only will the morale of the army be completely lost, but they will even be chased and beaten by the enemy.

You must know that the enemy's warships are very fast, and it is completely impossible for them to escape.

When the time comes, the fate of these people who await themselves will either be captured or sunk.

Therefore, there are only two paths in front of them now, one is to surrender immediately.

The other is to keep moving forward!

Surrender?

California didn't think about it.

So, all he can do now is continue to give orders to the Chelsea fleet.

Yes, this is the only way to win a glimmer of hope.

Hopefully, the sailors of the Song Empire will be defeated by themselves in the face of brutal broadside battles.

He now fantasized that the enemy's willpower was weak and that he couldn't face that kind of brutal and bloody hand-to-side battle.

But California was wrong about one thing, and that was that Chelsea's genetic sailors were not the kind of people who were timid and scared.

These genetically people are all wooden types that have been bred through templates, so they will only obey orders and will not be afraid to die.

If there really is a broadside battle. The bloodiness and cruelty are unlikely to overwhelm these genetic people, but the Dutch may not be able to withstand the pressure and collapse.

But this can't be blamed on California, after all, it is impossible for him to know and be clear about Zhao Hongyu's anti-heaven cheating.

A series of underestimates, California can only be a cup except for a cup.

"The enemy is chasing us flanks and rear, within range of our artillery, and they have stopped shelling and are sailing at full speed, and it seems that they are no longer thinking about it, but only trying to catch up with us and start a melee fight."

On Chelsea's flagship, another adjutant came to him with a breezy face. I spoke to him of my opinion.

As commander, Chelsea had six staff adjutants at his side to assist him.

In addition to the use of surveillance, it is also to give some views on the war for his reference at a critical time.

In order to avoid the occurrence of issuing erroneous orders, which in turn will cause the fleet to suffer unnecessary losses.

In fact, in the army, it is also such a configuration.

It's not just Chelsea.

"If you want to fight in close combat, how is it possible. I'm not stupid, and although we're pretty good at melee combat, we should avoid unnecessary losses as much as possible. ”

The adjutant nodded after listening to Chelsea's words.

"Maintain speed. Keep shooting. Tell all warships not to engage in unnecessary entanglements with the enemy, and not to give the enemy a chance to engage in broadside battles. ”

After this order is given, it will naturally be notified by the flag bearer, and then the other warships that have received this order will pass it on to the people on the other warships.

So. Chelsea don't have to worry that their orders won't be delivered.

Chelsea then led the lieutenants to the top of the attic at the stern of the boat and looked behind. The direction of the California fleet, which has been bombarded by its own artillery fire.

In the fleet following California, several warships were already in flames and exploded.

You can see it. Life was not easy for the Galifford fleet.

"How many battleships have they lost now? How long has it been since we started fighting? ”

Chelsea looked at the sky and saw that the sky was still blue and cloudless.

He didn't know what time it was.

"It's been four hours since the start of the battle, and we're fighting the enemy at nine o'clock in the morning, and it's already noon."

The adjutant took a pocket watch from his bosom, looked down and told Chelsea the exact time.

It's been four hours since the battle began, and time flies.

The adjutant continued: "According to statistics, four enemy ships have been sunk, and as for the heavy damage, it is impossible to count. ”

Chelsea nodded when he heard this, he also knew that the sunken battleships were easy to count, after all, they could be seen if they sank or exploded.

But a damaged or badly damaged battleship cannot be seen clearly.

So, it's normal that the adjutant can't give an answer.

"The results of sinking four warships are still a bit small, but judging from the current situation, it is already very good." This result is okay for Chelsea, although not the best, but acceptable.

If California had known what Chelsea were thinking, they would have jumped up and spat at him all in the face.

You must know that in the naval battles of this era, sinking four warships in four hours is already a very brilliant result.

Normally, a European naval battle lasts three days, and it is not necessary to sink a single one.

Of course, considering the level of the Song Empire's warships, Chelsea is not wrong to say so.

The battle continued, and California 'held his head' to chase after the rear of the Chelsea fleet, but he was never able to catch up with the Chelsea fleet.

This made him begin to feel hopeless. (To be continued.) )