In the command room of the bridge of the Zhiyuan-class dome-armored cruiser HMS Brest, temporary captain Jean Bart held up a telescope to observe the British Royal Navy fleet.
At this time, there was only a breeze blowing on the sea surface of Australia Bay.
After the British guerrilla fleet was discovered, the light blackout was lifted. The sailors relighted the oil lamps and raised the sails to prepare for speed.
Fleet Commander Ragnar was on the flagship San Juan, and he had a bad feeling at this time.
Because the battleship in the distance was too strange, through the bright light like a lighthouse, Ragnar discovered that the battleship actually had no sails, and its whole body shone with a metallic luster.
Huge barrel, dark appearance, bright lights, and flying speed.
After estimation, the Brest reached a terrifying speed of 18 knots at this time!
In the era of sailing battleships, the speed of battleships relied on sails and ocean currents, which had great limitations.
The wind speed on the sea at this time was not very fast, and the British guerrilla fleet could only sail at a pitiful speed of 1 knot. Even if the sails were raised to full sail, it would not exceed 2 knots.
The huge speed difference made Ragnar feel scared, and he quickly issued instructions to adjust the fleet deployment.
Since he couldn't run away, he had no choice but to engage in battle, because Ragnar had already seen a field of lights in the distance, which was a huge fleet.
The British guerrilla fleet began to turn to the downwind direction. This was learned from the competition between the British Empire and the French navy. When the fleet was at a disadvantage, it entered the downwind direction to conduct a round of artillery exchange, and then used the course advantage to get rid of the enemy after the fleet passed by.
But facing this strange high-speed battleship, can we really get rid of it?
At this point, the Brest opened fire.
An orange flash illuminated the nearby sea, and the rising smoke looked like a devil's face under the searchlights.
Ragnar was shocked. This distance was more than 4 nautical miles, equivalent to a distance of nearly 7.2 kilometers!
The people of the Ming Dynasty actually fired cannons. Could it be that the Ming Dynasty built artillery that could shoot such a distance?
At this time, the British guerrilla fleet had not completely turned. It only deviated from the original course by more than ten degrees, and did not completely leave the route.
The low-speed sea breeze made it extremely difficult for sailors to control the boat.
Eight or nine seconds later, Brest's shells hit the nearby sea, and the farthest shell even deviated by more than 600 meters.
The delayed fuse of the water bomb detonated the warhead, and several groups of fire flashed under the sea.
Subsequently, the huge explosion pressure pushed up the sea surface, forming a water column reaching into the sky.
From the muzzle flash of the Brest, Ronnar understood that it was a super-large-caliber artillery, and the huge water column made him understand one more thing, that is, there was something wrong with the Ming's gunpowder.
Traditional black powder is not so powerful.
Ragnar realized that he was in dire straits.
The Ming Dynasty had artillery that could shoot such a long distance, so they would definitely not be able to fight in close combat. The British guerrilla fleet's pitiful artillery with a range of several hundred meters could not cause damage to the enemy.
Less than ten minutes after the battle began, Ragnar gave the order to retreat simply and neatly.
"The fleet disperses and breaks out!
The San Juan moves forward, fights with enemy ships, and buys time for the friendly forces to retreat!
Throw all artillery and gunpowder into the sea. "
The British sailors on the San Juan, after only a short period of loss, once again threw themselves into the control of the battleship.
The sailors on the mast waved oil lamps to convey the message, and other warships extinguished their lamps and began to retreat to the deep sea.
The barrels of black powder rolled along the small door into the sea. The gunners were in tears, shouting and pushing the gun carriage and sliding the gun out of the gun cabin.
A few signalmen carried supplies, put down several small paddle boats on the deck, and then paddled away quickly.
As a large amount of items were thrown into the sea, the San Juan's speed gradually increased to 3 knots.
The sailors manipulated the sails to change course and began to move towards the Brest.
The idle gunners were lying on the sides of the ship with their flintlock guns.
The entire process was completed within fifteen minutes, and the San Juan's fate was sealed.
The British Empire was able to dominate the oceans, and its huge number of warships was only one of the reasons.
The most important factor is a group of skilled and brave sailors.
Five years later, in 1805, Nelson and Collingwood relied on decisive tactics and brave sailors to sail the Victory and King Power and took the lead into the combined fleets of France and Spain, establishing a victory in the naval battle.
This naval battle, called "Trafalgar", also completely shattered Napoleon's naval dream and prevented the French army from planning to land on the British mainland.
When the British Empire's navy completely blocked the European continent, France's overseas resources could not be sent back to the mainland, and the anti-French alliance began to use attrition tactics with the support of countless resources, Napoleon's defeat was already doomed.
This is also the reason why Zhu Zaiming is determined to strengthen Napoleon's military strength.
The Brest's second round of bombardment began, and there was another flash of fire on the sea.
The officers and soldiers of the Ming Navy, together with the sailors of the York Mission, jointly controlled the Brest and constantly revised and calculated the shooting data.
But the second round of shelling still missed.
Aboard the San Juan.
Ragnar stared closely at Brest's turret, and after seeing the two rotating main guns slightly adjusting their angles, he immediately ordered the sailors to change course.
Although it was impossible to escape from the shelling range, this small change in course greatly reduced the hit rate of the subsequent shelling.
Jean Bart frowned.
He didn't know who the commander on the opposite side was, but judging from the performance of the British fleet, it was a formidable opponent.
What a pity, my lord, times have changed!
"Prepare for the third round of bombardment!"
"The main gun is loaded!"
"Bombardment!"
With a loud bang and a ball of fire, three shells were fired at the San Juan again.
Still missed this time, but managed to fire a near-miss.
A 150mm shell entered the water 60 meters to the left of the San Juan and exploded.
As the distance between the two sides increased, the two ships entered a distance visible to the naked eye.
Ragnar was also able to observe the Brest up close.
He looked at the giant steel ship in front of him with obsession in his eyes.
The body of more than 70 meters is larger than the first-class sailing battleship of more than 60 meters.
The Brest is made entirely of fine steel, with a huge rotating turret fixed on the deck, and a tall cylindrical flue in the middle of the hull puffing out black smoke.
Ragnar thought of the huge chimneys of the big factories in London and the huge power of the steam engines. Everything was so clear.
"I see!"
Ragnar murmured.
Several officers came to him and asked.
"Commander, the fleet has been dispersed. Light control has been re-implemented and disappeared into the night. Do you want our ship to surrender?"
surrender?
Ragnar straightened his cap and scolded in a low voice.
"We, the Great Britain, travel across the sea and have never said anything about surrender. Give up your idea of humiliating the Royal Navy!"
On the Brest, Jean Bart waited for a long time and found that the San Juan did not raise the white flag.
Through the telescope, Ragnar's resolute face was very clear.
"Fire!"
Jean Bart finally gave the order for the bombardment.
The San Juan was shattered in the huge explosion, and the broken planks were scattered on the sea. The sailors who were lucky enough to survive were holding the planks and rising and falling on the sea.
Zhu Xianxue stood on the bridge, sighing and scratching his head.
He said to Jean Bart: "Catch it up and exchange it with the East India Company for some silver coins in the future..."
