Iron Powder and Spellcasters Chapter 74

   Chapter 74 Naval Battle

   On the Vengeance at this time, Drake roared and gave the order: "Send the ships to turn around and follow the Vengeance! Eat this group of galleys first! Don't pick up the ship, use artillery to sink them!"

The   Vengeance was one of the five warships that Drake grabbed from Haidong Harbor. The Veneta Navy believed that there were only four of them. In fact, the fifth warship that escaped to the sea was also captured by the Tanirians.

  Although it is clear that warships with high freeboard and high building have more advantages in the battle, Drake knows that the pirates under his command are not capable of hand-to-hand combat against casualties, and they can only fight against the wind.

   Once the enemy boarded the ship and turned the naval battle into brutal hand-to-hand combat, the morale of this group of pirates immediately collapsed.

   The Tanirian fleet turned its bow and slammed into the Veneta galley.

   And Veneta's galley captains were also attacking the Tanirian fleet, and the distance between the two sides was rapidly shortening.

  The characteristics of the galley warship are like a wolf, with an iron head and a copper tail and a weak waist.

   Because there are oars on the side, the galley can only attack from its own bow, and the hardest wood, the largest caliber of heavy artillery and the boarding ramp are all arranged on the bow.

The    broadside is the most vulnerable part of the galley warship, with only a few small-caliber rotary guns. This is not only the weakest firepower, but also the most vulnerable part of the structure. A single ramming of the galleon towards this place can break the galley in the middle.

  The two fleets went head-to-head, and the pirates hurriedly bombarded the galleys with their bow guns as soon as they came into range.

   A shell hit the sturdy bow upstairs of the Golden Lion at a large angle and bounced off.

   Another galley, the White Eagle, was not so lucky. The shell hit the deck just right from the bow. It ran through four sailors and stopped when it hit the fifth sailor. The nearby warships could hear the screams coming from the ship's forecastle.

   A sailor with terrifying flesh holes in his body did not die immediately, but cried piercingly. The person next to him was holding him, but he didn't know what to do. The first mate of the White Eagle immediately took out his knife and gave the sailor a treat. The screams disappeared, and there was no sound in the White Eagle's forecastle except for the sound of the drums.

Although    suffered a round of shelling, the Veneta galleys did not fire back. The drums rumbled, and the Veneta galleys approached the enemy calmly.

  Speyer did not stay in the more secure **** like the other captains, he was right next to the Golden Lion's bow gun, clutching the iron rod in the charcoal stove.

The   Golden Lion had only one chance to fire, and Speyer only believed in himself.

   The warships of the two sides were getting closer and closer, and the Veneta galley had entered the range of the musket. There was a crackling of gunshots from the Tanirians' ship, but the Veneta galleys still didn't fire.

"To the right! Did you see the ship with the black flag?" Speyer was almost lying on the breech of the cannon, his eyes fixed in the direction of the muzzle, and he said to his chief mate: " I hate black-flag ships the most."

  The flag on the right side of the ship building was pulled up. When the helmsman saw the flag, he immediately turned to the right.

   At this time, the distance between the Golden Lion and the black flag ship was less than twenty meters, and the Veneta sailors could already see the beards of the Tanirians.

  The breech of the gun, the muzzle, the black flag ship, the three points and one line.

   "It's now!" Speyer pulled out the red-hot iron and pressed it against the firehole.

  The two-ton cannon was pushed to the end of the rail by the recoil, and the hull was shaking. The bow was enveloped in smoke with a loud bang that made all the crew tinnitus.

   A huge stone bullet left the cannon and flew towards the black flag ship.

The    galleys have very few gun positions, and can only make up for the number with power, so the Veneta galleys generally have three to five heavy guns placed on the bow.

   But the Golden Lion had only one gun on board—but it was surprisingly large in caliber. Speyer insisted that instead of three guns, it was better to carry only one of the larger caliber.

  This cannon on the bow of the Golden Lion is not an ordinary cannon, but an old-fashioned stone-shooting cannon. This kind of artillery is generally used for siege. It is not only extremely cumbersome and laborious to reload, but also has poor accuracy, and can miss targets as large as a city wall.

   So Speyer had to get close enough, close enough to "put the muzzle against the opponent's forehead", and close enough to make sure he wouldn't miss before he could fire.

   There are a lot of disadvantages, and the advantage of this artillery is only one: power.

  The city wall can be broken, what is a warship?

   This nearly 200-pound stone bullet was like an angel of death, whistling and smashing all the wood and human bodies that blocked it. The black sail ship was smashed into a large hole at the waterline, and another one was smashed on the other side as the shells left.

  The sea quickly poured into the cabin, and with the screams of the pirates, the black sailed ship began to tilt.

  The sailors of the Golden Lion gave a deafening cheer.

  The firing of the guns of the Golden Lion, which was at the forefront, was a signal, and the bow guns of the other galleys also roared.

   Shells were fired from the bow of the Tanirians, reaping lives in the cabins. Another galleon was penetrated below the waterline, the bow began to sink, and the sailors on the deck jumped into the sea to escape.

   After a round of shelling, the Veneta galleys and the Taniglia fleet rushed into each other's formations and began to fight at close range.

   Although the bow gun just now had the upper hand against the Veneta people. However, in the pick-up battle, the disadvantage of the galley's low hull was exposed.

  The galleon's building is like a city wall to the galley, and the Tanirians shoot down at the galley.

   On the crowded galleys, the Veneta sailors had nothing to stop and nowhere to hide. They could only fight back with muskets and crossbows against the enemy's buckshot.

   Deck became land, sailors became musketeers, and a showdown of projectile weapons unfolded over the sea.

  Captain Veneta knew that the only hope of winning was the jump gang. Continuing this battle, the galley's morale must eventually collapse first.

  The officers on the galley urged the oarsmen to row desperately, trying to get as close as possible to the enemy's large ship from the front, where the galley's firepower was weakest.

   And the galleon Taniria tried to keep as far away as possible from the galley, bombarding the galley with its broadside cannons.

   An armed merchant vessel of the Tanirians could not dodge in time and was caught by a hook-rope thrown by the White Eagle. The Veneta sailors struggled to pull on the ropes, and the ships got closer and closer.

  The iron hook bit deeply into the side of the boat and could not be pulled out. The Tanirian sailor tried to cut the rope, but found a two-meter-long chain behind the hook.

   In order to prevent the hook rope from being cut off, the Veneta people deliberately replaced the two-meter rope behind the hook with a riveted chain.

  A brave sailor climbed on the chain and tried to cut the rope behind, but he was killed by the musketeers on the White Eagle as soon as he stuck his head out. Other Tanirian sailors frantically hacked at the sides of the ship with axes, trying to chop off the hooks and the rails together.

   But it was too late. The boarding ramp at the bow of the White Eagle was lowered, and the iron hook at the end of the ramp bit the side of the armed merchant ship, securing the two ships together.

   The shrill whistle sounded, and the Veneta sailors rushed onto the armed merchant ships shouting, and a **** hand-to-hand battle began.

   At the same time, on the sea on the west side of the battlefield, a galley was being besieged by three Tanirian ships.

  Vinetta's galleys are not only inferior in size, but also in number.

  The artillery on the broadside of the galleon roared and roared, and the cannonballs shot out of the barrels, hitting the galley with sawdust and blood.

   The captain and first mate of the galley were killed, and the remaining lieutenants and officers were incapable of reorganizing the sailors in the chaos.

  The corpses were piled up as parapets by the living, and only a few brave ones were still firing back.

  The oarsmen no longer obeyed the command, but searched for every tool to untie the chains on their bodies.

  Some people jumped into the sea and wanted to abandon the boat, but the people on the galleon did not intend to let them go, and shot them with muskets mercilessly.

   On the sea outside the lighthouse harbor, a **** and tragic melee was going on. In the smoke from the burning gunpowder, the sound of gunfire and shouts of killing was mixed, and stumps, corpses, and wood fragments were floating everywhere on the sea.

  Speyer has no interest in those armed merchant ships, only warships are worthy of the opponents of the Golden Lion. The sea was lit up red by flames, and the figure of a tall warship was particularly evident in the night.

   Several armed merchant ships fired at the Golden Lion, but Speyer ignored them at all.

   He immediately ordered the Golden Lion to adjust its direction immediately. With the powerful short-range maneuverability of the galley, he found a way in the chaotic battlefield and rushed towards the tall warship.

The   Vengeance's lookout noticed the galley approaching, and Drake immediately ordered to turn to the southeast, put down full sail, and meet the enemy on the starboard side.

  The artillery roared, and more than a dozen shells flew towards the Golden Lion.

   There was a scream from the ship, but the Golden Lion just beat the drums louder and faster.

   Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield.

   No one could have imagined that Nareshaw would be so crazy that he would take the lead in forcibly breaking through the fireboat, neither did Taneria, nor the Veneta Navy.

   The flaming boats came downwind, pulling up a wall of fire between the two fleets.

   A normal captain would avoid the fire boat when he saw this scene. Sail in the southeast direction first, and then look for an opportunity to return to the battlefield after getting away from the fire ship.

   This was also the original plan, using fireboats to force the Veneta fleet into dangerous waters to the east, followed by his own fleet to eliminate the slippery fish.

   Even if an unexpected twelve galleys are killed from the lighthouse port, the Veneta fleet will still sail to the reef under the pressure of the fire ships.

   And Drake can break them one by one again, concentrating the fleet to kill the galleys first, and then strangling the main Veneta fleet that escaped from the dead waters - if they can escape.

   But Nareshaw is not a normal person, and Nareshaw is also the number one gambler in the Veneta Navy. He directly chose the shortest route, taking Drake's flagship "Vengeance" directly.

  The raging fire is terrifying, and what is more terrifying than the fire is taking the initiative to walk into the sea of ​​fire. From a dozen meters away, everyone on the deck of the Glory felt a scorching heat wave.

   "God! Help me!"

   "This is hell! We're going to hell!"

  Some people on the deck were praying frantically, and others were kneeling on the ground and chanting words.

"Go back to work, you bastards!" The vicious sailor blew his whistle and used slaps and wooden sticks to drive the praying sailors back to their posts: "I don't usually see you chanting scriptures! This time, pretending to be piety is for shit! Just do your job! Old Thousand Nick has never lost!"

  Captain Wilson of the 100th Brigade of Contrell also gave the three warrant officers a look. Winters and Bud dragged the soldiers from the ground who were shaking and chanting scriptures. Andre is even more simple and rude. When he sees the soldier throwing down his weapon and praying, he punches him in the face.

  As the army and navy are re-morning, the Glory is getting closer and closer to the fire ship. The canvas was dried by the heat wave, and before it hit the fireboat, the sparks rising with the thermals ignited the foremastsail.

  The sailors screamed and ran to the bow, splashing the burning sails with seawater prepared in advance.

   "Water the sails! Don't stop!" shouted the rigging in a long, hoarse voice.

   "The 100th Corps! Listen to my order and assist the Navy in fetching water!" Wilson gave an order, and three warrant officers and all the army soldiers threw themselves into the water fetching operation. The boat has already prepared stacks of empty buckets in advance, just put it down with a rope to fetch water from the sea.

  The Glory rushed into the sea of ​​fire, and the bow hit a sampan. With the crunching sound of wood breaking, the burning sampan was rolled directly into the sea by the Glory, leaving only a few charred wooden boards.

   The sailors on the bow let out a cheer of joy.

   But then, everyone couldn't laugh.

  The fireboats that approached the Glory from the bow side were not only not swept into the bottom of the ship, on the contrary, after hitting the Glory, they were tightly attached to the hull of the Glory, and they did not move at all when the waves beat.

  The bows of these fireboats are half buried with sharp iron nails one foot long. Once they hit the warships, the iron nails will pierce the hull and firmly fix the fireboats to the warships.

  The Glory collided with three fire ships in a row. The resistance of the Glory, which was carrying the three fire ships, suddenly increased, and the speed was stagnant.

   There was a scorched smell in the air, and a terrifying beep-beep-beeping sound came from under the bow. Whether it was the sound of the sampans burning, or the hull of the Glory had been ignited.

   First Officer Klarman flew to the stern of the ship. At this time, he couldn't care about the honorific name: "Cage midshipman! You take people down!"

  Cage raised his hand in a salute, and without hesitation he picked up the rope and tied it around his waist.

The sailors next to    didn't care about the rank, they raised their buckets and fell down on him.

After    was poured into a water man, Cage led a dozen sailors to dangle down the bow of the boat, scooped up seawater with wooden buckets and poured it on the sampan, trying to extinguish the fire on the sampan. The Glory's bow guns were also removed, and the sailors leaned out of the gun ports to pour water on the fire.

   Under the leadership of the Glory, the other three warships in front also broke through the sea of ​​fire, and fought against the Taniria fleet against the arsonists.

   This sea wall made of fire and wood was abruptly cut out a large gap, and the warship behind it turned decisively and passed the "sea natural danger" from the gap.

   "General! The fire on the bow can't be extinguished! It can only be barely controlled," Chief Officer Karaman reported breathlessly.

"If you can't put it out, you can't put it out! Even if it's the fire of purgatory, it will take some time to burn my ship clean." Nareshao blushed, grabbed Antonio's arm and said: "General Serbiati , the Glory may be gone, but there is a new ship right in front of us."

   Vice Admiral pointed to Drake's flagship: "The Vengeance is right in front of us. If the Glory is gone, we will grab Drake's flagship!"

   "Vengeance has lowered full sail, General! Drake seems to be running away!"

"No, Drake won't run, and I won't run either!" Nareshaw grinned: "Do you think gamblers will stop their losses and leave? No, no, gamblers will use the remaining money to make a comeback. All on! We and Drake have all put on all the chips, and the winner takes all! Raise the flag of death! The whole ship is ready to jump in!"

   A huge red pennant hangs on the mast of the Glory.

[The first half of the battle—including the sneak attack on Haidong Port—was broadcast again from the British and Western naval battles, armed merchant ships + warships battled the Armada, sneak attack on Banya Port (supply port), arsonist tactics, and driving the Armada to dangerous waters. It is a tactic that has actually been used in history.

Although England's arson ship did not fire a single duck boat, it also broke the formation of the Armada and drove the fleet to the northeast of the Port of Calais, but the Armada did not have such a galley force ambushed in the Port of Calais. …]

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   (end of this chapter)

Chapter end