"Quick, clear the barrel!"
"Old John, where did you die?"
"One, two, three, pull!"
Inside the King Power, gun position No. 4 in the gun room on the fourth deck.
The four gunners worked together to pull the cannon back after firing the shells, completely pulling the cannon to the end of the track.
One of the gunners carried the wiping rod, inserted the gun from the muzzle, and began to clean the gunpowder residue in the gun chamber.
The gunner waved his rough old hands in an attempt to fan the smoke away from the gun room.
He was going to lie down in front of the gun door to see where the enemy ships were outside, and also to see what the results of the previous shelling were.
Suddenly, the gunner tripped and fell to the ground. His hands seemed to touch a corpse.
Old John fell in a pool of blood, his head was penetrated by a cone-shaped cannonball, and bone fragments, minced meat and tofu brains were scattered on the ground.
The gunner stood up tremblingly, trying hard to control his emotions and move to the gun door.
A large hole was drilled next to the gun port by a cone-shaped shell.
The gunner could see the debris floating on the sea through the gaps in the hole, and the fortress-class cruiser shining with dark metal outside.
Smoke spreads out of the fortress-class cruiser from the gun port, gently brushing over the pits on the armor's surface, gathering with the black smoke from the chimney above, and rising into the blue sky.
The Fortress-class cruiser continued to fire, and the firelight flickered, like a giant covered in smoke, passing through the Royal Navy fleet of the British Empire.
The two sides passed each other.
Broken planks and floating corpses were everywhere on the sea. Several sailing battleships whose keels and masts were hit were struggling to hold on in the center.
As the British sailors jumped into the sea and the water poured in, these warships gradually submerged into the sea.
The spiraling seawater sucked away some of the British sailors, and the scene was extremely bloody.
"Report damage!"
Nelson gripped the telescope tightly, hoping to see a Fortress-class cruiser seriously damaged.
But his wish failed. He only saw the pitted armor and the warship that was puffing out black smoke and turning rapidly.
The next round of attacks by the French fleet is about to begin again.
Several British officers came to Nelson and brought bad news.
After a round of fighting, the Royal Navy of the British Empire lost 3 first-class sailing battleships, 5 second-class sailing battleships, and more than 30 other types of battleships.
Some of these battleships sank because their keels were broken, the huge tension tore open the watertight compartments, and seawater poured in.
What's more, there were serious casualties, including a large number of sailors who were controlling the sails on the deck.
The remaining sailors were unable to control the battleship, causing the battleship to lose mobility and become paralyzed on the sea.
And these warships paralyzed on the sea can only wait for the two sides to decide the winner.
Their fate is no longer in their hands.
"The King Power was severely damaged, with 65% of its gunners lost, and its combat effectiveness was severely reduced."
"General Collingwood sent a signal. Our army's hope of victory in this battle lies in the enemy's artillery shell reserves!"
The officer reported the message coming from the King Power in the distance to Nelson.
Now Nelson had a decision to make.
The Royal Navy's solid iron cannons were unable to break through the armor of the Fortress-class cruisers, but the conical shells of the Fortress-class cruisers could easily penetrate the sailing battleships.
After experiencing a battle, Nelson had a clear understanding of the fighting capabilities of both sides.
He had to consider Collingwood's advice.
Nelson quickly mentally estimated the number of rounds the French fleet would fire.
One battle in France forced nearly forty battleships of the Royal Navy of the British Empire to withdraw from combat, while there were only six Fortress-class cruisers.
So, the French fleet conducted at least 7 rounds of bombardment in total.
Taking the first-class sailing battleship as an example, countries generally prepare 120 tons of artillery shells and 35 tons of gunpowder.
The weight of the artillery is between 26 and 36 pounds, and the number of artillery is less than 144.
1 pound is approximately equal to 450 grams.
Then, a salvo fired by a first-class sail battleship will consume 2 tons of artillery shells.
In other words, if the fortress-class cruiser's ammunition preparation does not change significantly, it can carry out 60 rounds of bombardment.
You can fight!
With a decision in his mind, Nelson quickly issued orders and the entire army continued to fight.
At the same time, Nelson always felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Is it the Brest?"
The Brest did not open fire, but served as the flagship of the French fleet, conducting tactical maneuvers with the Fortress-class cruiser.
Nelson worried that the Brest's advanced high-explosive bombs would hinder the Royal Navy's victory.
"Since I seriously hurt you once, I can hurt you a second time!
The fleet duel is more than 100 ships versus 7 ships. The advantage is mine! "
Philips' fleet completed its turn and drew a huge circle on the sea.
Seven giant ships rushed up from behind the Royal Navy fleet of the British Empire and entered from behind.
The second round of fighting began.
Both sides exchanged shells in a friendly manner.
Once again, a large number of sailing battleships were left on the sea that had lost their mobility.
And so on.
Nelson gradually discovered something was wrong. The Fortress-class cruiser's ammunition supply did not seem to be as few as imagined.
The French fleet's bombardment has always been a high-efficiency firepower projection.
On the contrary, the Royal Navy's ammunition reserves were insufficient.
Many smaller warships are experiencing shell shortages.
Even more frightening.
At this time, Nelson could command less than 60 warships on the sea.
The other warships either sank or were paralyzed on the sea.
At this time, the Brest, which had been silent for a long time, opened fire.
Maybe it's the blessing of the Supreme Lord, maybe it's the prayer of Joan of Arc.
At a distance of 4 nautical miles, the first round of bombardment hit a first-class sailing battleship.
The gunpowder barrel exploded, a huge fireball rose, and the entire battleship was ignited.
Countless British sailors, all on fire, jumped into the sea like dumplings.
Nelson's eyes flashed with fire as he watched the battleship being detonated and countless high-explosive bombs falling on the fleet.
The impact of the explosion set off huge waves, like gorgeous flowers blooming in the fleet.
The fortress-class cruisers behind the Brest also dispersed from the single-column formation and began to hunt the remaining British warships.
Cannons rumbled.
The battle status of the Fortress-class cruisers does not look like they are running out of ammunition at all. Their ammunition seems to be endless.
At this moment Nelson knew that Daying was in big trouble.
He looked at the sunset in the distance and made the final arrangement.
"The sun is about to sink below the horizon. Let's break out. At least someone must go back and tell the people back home.
The sea no longer belongs to Great Britain! "
"General, we..."
"Retreat too!"
Nelson silently gave the order.
According to the tradition of the British Empire, with his and Collingwood's strong characters, it was impossible to escape from the battlefield.
But Nelson had to save himself.
Because he knew that once he and Collingwood died.
So can the British Empire still find admirals who can stand up to the table?
There were many admirals in the British Empire, but only a handful of them were capable, even close to Nelson.
As the saying goes, if people survive and lose their land, everyone will survive.
When it’s time to retreat, we must retreat!
