Three days later

The powerful Imperial Atlantic Task Force was cruising in the sea area about 100 kilometers south of Florida of the Confederate Milicone, and His Royal Highness Tang Li Kun, King of Guangnan, sat on the command chair of the wide command tower of the flagship "Zhennan", listening to the reports from all sides with a serious expression.

The fleet had been cruising in the nearby sea for more than ten days, and there was still no trace of the large Spanish fleet, which made him feel a little anxious.

Since the departure of the Spanish task force, the news has been lost, as if it has disappeared in the vast Atlantic, which makes His Royal Highness the King of Quang Nam suspicious.

Where did the Spaniards hide?

Am I making the wrong decision?

The days of waiting are always the hardest, and His Royal Highness the King of Quang Nam forcibly pressed the anxiety in his heart, leading a huge fleet of steam ironclads to cruise on the sea, waiting for the prey to crash into the net on its own.

That's when it happened

A communications officer hurried to the command tower and saluted and reported to His Highness; "Your Highness, this is the latest military intelligence news I just received, from Florida by clippers."

Guangnan Wang Tang-Li Kun's eyes couldn't see it quickly, and the happy event passed in a flash, and he said quickly; "Bring it in."

He hurriedly took this important military intelligence letter like Ganlin, looked at it carefully, and soon suddenly realized "Huh".

These cunning Spaniards actually touched up from the coast of South America.

This possibility had been considered by the fleet before, but the vast Caribbean Sea was full of roads, and in the event that the enemy's whereabouts could not be determined, it was safest to hold the most important target, the port of Havana.

As it turned out, he had made a mistake in his judgment and narrowly escaped the cunning Spaniard.

This military news came from a Tang Empire freighter that passed through the island of Tobago at that time, and when the captain of the freighter saw the dense Spanish fleet spread all over the sea, he immediately realized that he had encountered a big fish.

The cargo ship, which was very experienced, took advantage of the cover of the archipelago to conceal itself, and after confirming the relevant information, immediately turned around and sailed to the Venezuelan port, where it reported military information by long-distance telegram.

And this important military news greatly changed the trend of the Tangxi War.

The Spaniard's fleet has been on its way for three days......

According to the course, speed and range of the Spanish task force, it takes 4~5 days to reach any port in Cuba.

Tang-Li Kun, the king of Guangnan, immediately stood up and ordered with a gloomy face; "Officers of colonel and above, immediately enter the war room to discuss countermeasures, we are running out of time."

After speaking, he took the lead in getting up and striding out of the command tower, and walked along the side of the ship towards the middle of the ironclad ship.

Behind him, followed by a group of high-ranking officers.

Just over half an hour later

The alarm bell of the entire fleet rang for a long time, the senior officers returned to their battle positions one after another, and the two huge chimneys of the flagship "Zhennan" emitted thick black smoke, and drove at full speed in the southeast direction, leading the fleet to pounce in the direction of the enemy's possibility......

A day and a half later

It was around 1:20 p.m., the fifth day after the departure of the Spanish fleet.

There are more than 20 warships of the Royal Pacific Task Force of the Tang Empire, which are separated by about 10 kilometers from each other, forming a loose search queue about 2340 kilometers wide, searching all the way north in the sea area of about 80 kilometers north of Cuba Island.

Suddenly, a white sail appeared on the sea antenna in the distance, and after being confirmed by the lookout post, it was a typical Spanish brig, and the battle alarm was immediately raised.

At this time, about 25~30 kilometers behind the sailboats, it was the main force of the assault fleet guarding the first wave of ships.

At this time, the Spaniards also found the steam ironclad battleships pressed up in a loose horizontal line, and if they wanted to retreat, where could they do it?

The Imperial fleet pursued it like sharks smelling blood.

Leading the way was a 2,200-ton "Han"-class modified ironclad patrol ship, galloping away like a wild horse, biting the Spanish brig.

At this critical moment

The disadvantages of the Spanish brig were exposed, and if they continued to follow their original course downwind, they would collide head-on with the mighty steam ironclad fleet.

If you turn around and escape in an emergency, the original downwind direction will suddenly change to a headwind direction, and the sail that was originally full of sea breeze will suddenly deflat, and the speed will be greatly reduced.

At this moment, even if the Spanish brig desperately tried to escape back to the police, it could not do it.

The steam ironclad battleships of the Tang Empire were chopping waves so quickly that the Spanish sailors could only reload their guns with desperate shouts, ready to resist to the end.

Just when the Spanish brig turned sideways and aimed its broadside guns at the high-speed steam-ironclad battleship, the distance between the two sides had been shortened from 12 chains to 5~6 chains, and the speed of the other side was still unabated.

When the distance was shortened to a chain or so, more than a dozen guns on the Spanish broadside opened fire in unison, and the first dozen or so hot shells were sent out, trying to come out on top.

Due to the distance, combined with the sharp pitch of the sea, most of the shells fell into the sea, only to make a high splash.

There were also two cannonballs like lead balls that smashed into the steam ironclad ship, making a loud roar of steel impact, but it didn't do much damage.

At this time, the steam ironclad battleship was still at full power like a bull, and it was rushing all the way......

"Oh God, he's going to sink us......"

"Left full rudder, hurry up left full rudder to avoid ......"

At this time, many of the crew members saw the intentions of the enemy ship and shouted in horror, but it was too late.

The two-masted sail battleship, which had suddenly lost speed, moved clumsily on the sea, and watched as the steam ironclad battleship that came at a gallop adjusted its course slightly, and then crushed it with the sturdy steel bow.

Moments before the violent impact, many Spanish sailors jumped ship to flee for their lives, and then a tooth-wrenching "snap" was heard, and the 860-ton brig schooner was hit and crushed by the 2,200-ton steel giant from the side.

The 22-meter-high mainmast of the sail snapped off in an instant under the tremendous force of the impact and fell towards the sea on one side.

As if being hit by a giant at sea, with a speed of up to 14 knots, the 860-ton Spanish brig, which was at least fifty or sixty years old, simply broke off from the amidships, was crushed under the sea by the ironclad battleship that sailed wildly, and capsized in a blink of an eye.

This amazing scene was seen by at least a few nearby ships of the Tang Empire's steam ironclad fleet lined up in a horizontal queue, and the high mood boiled in an instant.

The battle flag was raised from the high mast of the flagship "Zhennan", and the battle order was issued through the signal, "Gentlemen, please work together with me to destroy the enemy."

All the steam ironclad battleships raised their battle flags one after another, the alarm bell rang for a long time, and the sailors who were in charge of fighting ran to their battle positions, shed their gun jackets, and mobilized their guns to prepare for battle.

The task force fleet in the Atlantic Ocean under the Tang Empire was like a school of sharks stimulated by the smell of blood, rapidly gathering in the high-speed advance, constantly narrowing the distance between the ships.

At this time, when the water and sky met in front, a large figure of the dense Spanish fleet emerged, which further stimulated the high fighting mood of the steam ironclad fleet, and killed it with a roar.

And on the other side

At this time, Admiral Juan Espartero, the commander of the fleet of the Royal Spanish Navy, had a gray face, his hands holding the wooden handrails trembled, and he muttered; "Oh...... Almighty God, this is impossible, this is impossible? ”

At this moment, all the luck psychology was shattered, and he couldn't believe all this in front of him.

The main forces of the Atlantic Fleet are still anchored in New York Harbor and Campton Harbor, where does this unprecedentedly powerful steam ironclad fleet come from?

Under the strong stimulus, General Juan Espatero's mind was extremely clear at this moment, and suddenly his eyes condensed and shouted, saying;

"God Almighty, I see, it's the damned Nicaraguan canal through which the Orientals transported the main forces of the Pacific Fleet, and he deceived us all......"

Unfortunately, it was too late to understand.

On the sea in the distance

One after another, tall, icy triangular steel masts surfaced above the surface, and then the huge hull of a huge steam ironclad battleship with endless killing intent emerged, densely obscuring the view.

Thick black smoke from huge chimneys and icy bows cleaving the waves are incomparably oppressive.

They are synonymous with the aesthetics of violence, the brilliant achievements of the steam industry, and the invincible force that represents death and killing.

Face it all

General Juan Espartero trembled violently, and great fear had taken hold of his body and mind, making him dare not imagine what the outcome would be.

This expeditionary fleet of the Royal Spanish Navy, composed of only 26 sail warships, is the last glory and heritage of the Spanish Navy, once completely destroyed here, then it means the end of the Royal Spanish Navy's hundreds of years of glory.

The 14,200 elite troops of the Spanish Expeditionary Force and a large amount of supplies escorted by the 1st Wave of Boat Regiments were trembling little sheep in front of the enemy, armed to the teeth, with no ability to resist at all.

Everything was over, and the hope of a revival of the Spanish royal family was buried.

The great guilt and fear made General Juan Espatro tremble violently, his eyes red like a wounded beast, howling and commanding;

"For the glory of the eagle of the Pyrenees, for the glory of the Spanish royal family, let us fight against the fangs of hell and bravely face death......"

The general's order was quickly transmitted to the officers and men, and the officers and men of the Spanish Navy were now like wounded beasts, their eyes were red with their howling eyes, and they mustered up their courage to prepare for battle.

Everyone knows that this is a fateful battle that cannot be escaped.

Now the only way to entangle the enemy is to try their best to let the iron-hulled freighters and troop carriers that have disbanded the formation escape from the battlefield as much as possible, and save a point of strength.

The Spanish sail fleet could no longer escape, and once it turned, it would stall, and once it stalled, it would mean destruction.

Rather than that, it's better to go for it.

(End of chapter)