The Ming Imperial Navy, theoretically a student of the British Imperial Navy.

Their flag system was derived from the British Navy's flag system.

But

They don't even use flag language now.

"They have some kind of new technology!"

Will. Smith said with a solemn face.

"This new technology makes their command more flexible, otherwise with the tactical literacy of the Chinese navy, it is absolutely impossible for them to easily complete this tactical change in a very short time!"

Will. Smith's words made the fleet commander John Brown. Jervis's heart also sank downward.

The navy of the Ming Empire possessed a certain new technology, and the emergence of this technology made the command flexibility of the Chinese navy, which the British did not look up to.

I have climbed more than one step!!

The British Imperial Navy has been training for years to achieve such tactical literacy, and the Imperial Navy has a centuries-old cultural heritage.

are possible in the face of this technique. Vanish.

The dimensionality reduction blow brought by the new technology has made John. Jervis, a veteran imperial admiral, felt a certain sense of powerlessness in "the dimensionality reduction of advanced civilizations against backward civilizations".

He gritted his teeth.

Staring at the fleet of the Chinese who were turning ahead.

"No matter what new technology they use, this battle has reached a critical moment, as long as we hold them in the middle, they will die!"

John. Jervis slammed the table.

"Command! The 4th and 7th Fleets are moving at full speed, getting ahead of them and blocking their way! ”

With John. Jervis's order was given.

Now on the battlefield.

The fleets of both sides have been divided into four units.

Thereinto.

The main fleet of the British Navy continued to maintain its original formation, slowly turning over the sea.

The main fleet of the Ming Navy turned to the left, trying to circle the side of the main formation of the British Navy to form a T-shaped battle position.

Meanwhile.

Both sides sent fast fleets of cruisers to try to get the first shot!

"The Ming Navy! Fight to the death! ”

With the new battle flag hanging.

The 4 Hon-class cruisers and 10 Wei-class frigates that received the order began to accelerate.

At this point.

The British only saw how fast the Chinese warships were.

The sharp bows of the 14 ironclad ships broke through the waves, marking white water trails on the sea.

The mission of these 14 ironclads is to go up and entangle the enemy's 12 cruisers.

With 4 cruisers and 10 frigates, go against 12 enemy cruisers.

This seems to be a bit of a disparity.

But.

They had to use their own casualties.

Give the main fleet a favorable position to rush to battle!!

"Report!! 10000 meters from enemy ships! ”

"9000 meters!"

"8000 meters!!"

With the report of the navigator one by one.

The atmosphere in the command tower of the Hong Lie suddenly became tense.

Deng Huanzhuang, the captain of the Honglie, who was in charge of commanding this rapid detachment, handed his deputy Ito Yunori a Guangfu brand cigarette.

Then he stuffed one into his mouth as well.

Nor does it ignite.

Instead, he looked ahead with a cigarette in his mouth.

At this point.

The tension in my heart has dropped a lot.

Countless performances allowed the officers and men on the ship to make the final preparations before the battle in an orderly manner.

"Left rudder, 15 degrees!"

Deng Huanzhuang's voice suddenly rose.

"Left rudder, 15 degrees!"

With constant repetition.

The Hong Lie was the first to turn.

The warships that followed the Honglie also turned along with the Honglie.

See 14 Chinese warships turning.

The 12 British Roaring-class cruisers also adjusted their course as if they had a tacit understanding.

The two fleets formed parallel lines in the sea at a distance of about 6,000 meters.

And it's still getting closer.

Seven o'clock in the morning.

As the dim sunlight became dazzling.

The main guns of the cruiser "Falcon" of the British Indian Ocean Fleet gave the first roar.

And almost at the same time.

The main guns of the cruiser "Honglie" of the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Ming Navy also trembled.

The two shells pierced the sky and flew towards their respective targets.

This battle of national fortunes between China and Britain.

Here we go!

Two shelling fires were like two starting guns.

One hundred and sixty-three guns on 26 warships of the Chinese and British sides, which had been waiting for a long time, opened fire at the same time.

The surface of the blue sea was marked orange by the flames of gunpowder.

The smoke enveloped the warships of both sides, but was quickly dispersed by the sea breeze.

On these artillery guns that opened their guns.

66 guns belonged to the British.

Thereinto.

They had 12 280-mm guns with a slow rate of fire.

The remaining 44 were all 100-mm rapid-fire guns.

The other 97 guns belonged to 14 warships of the Ming Navy.

Although in gross tonnage.

The total tonnage of 4 cruisers and 10 frigates cannot be compared with 12 cruisers.

However, in terms of the number of artillery, it showed a general advantage of crushing, with thirty-one more guns!

But.

At this moment, the officers and men of the Ming Navy did not feel how much of a firepower advantage their side had.

Yunori Ito clung to the binoculars, inside the lens.

A few black dots whizzed towards the Hung Lie.

Ten seconds or so of flight time.

It looks short.

But for those who are waiting for the shells to fall on their heads.

But it seems incomparably long.

Rumbling cannons rang out.

However, this round of shelling also showed the biggest feature of artillery in this era - a serious lack of accuracy.

The most recent shell fell into the sea more than 60 meters from the port side of the Hong Lie.

The huge force of the impact blew the sea water tens of meters high.

There were even waves crashing on the side of the Honglie, making a crackling sound.

"I don't know who hit first"

On the conning tower of the Zhenwu, the captain of the ship, Zhu Yimi, was praying to let the British warship fall first.

"Ancestor bless."

Zhu Yimian held the jade plate of the Zhu royal family in his hand.

I heard that it was in the Taimiao Temple that the old ancestor Emperor Taizu had opened the light - Zhu Daohua even encountered this kind of thing, so he is not a staunch atheist now, so he does not resist sacrificing to the Taimiao as the emperor or something.

Maybe Zhu Yuanzhang really has a spirit in the sky.

So.

It was indeed the British warship that was hit first, and it was their flagship Falcon.

A shell fell from the air on the aft deck of the Falcon.

Blow a lifeboat to pieces.

The Ming Navy was not equipped with any solid shells, and their tactic was to "wash the deck stream".

Do not pursue sinking.

The pursuit is to develop the explosive power of the cannonball.

Maximum lethality to personnel and equipment on board.

So.

All of them were shells filled with high explosives.

The shock wave from the explosion of the high-explosive charge swept many British sailors on deck into the air, and many of them fell straight to the sea, which was considered lucky - the sailors who were directly affected by the explosion were even shattered.

The high temperatures from the explosion also caused a fire.

Time.

On the tail of the Falcon came fire and smoke.

It looks like a mess.

"Daming Wansheng!!"

Cheers rang out over all the warships of the entire Ming fleet.

Zhu Yimian sighed softly, and was about to thank his ancestors for his blessing.

Within his line of sight, it was found that several British warships had again broken away from the main fleet and headed in the direction of the Hung Lie.

"Governor! The British sent six more cruisers!! ”

Inside the command room of the flagship of the fleet.

Zhang Bao soon got the news.

"Fuck! The British are really persistent! ”

Zhang Bao couldn't help but scold.

"Send out all the remaining 10 frigates!!"

"Governor, then there are only eight battleships and four cruisers left in our main fleet!"

A staff officer reminded.

Zhang Bao did feel a little tricky.

But he gritted his teeth.

"I can't care so much! Your Majesty's judgment must be correct! ”

"It must be!" (End of chapter)