“David, are the Chinese launching rockets to ask for help?”
"Yes, Major General... It seems that my student is very smart and knows that he has encountered a strong enemy. But it doesn't matter. Even if the two escort detachments merge, they are still no match for us!"
On the slightly raised stern of the Sealand Provincial Council, Major General Tropp was discussing the war situation with Colonel David Jones. Because of David Jones, a China expert, Rear Admiral Tropp now boarded the Sealand Provincial Council with his flagship flag, which means he regarded this battleship as his flagship.
The Zeeland Provincial Parliament is also a "Parliament" class ship. Its deadweight tonnage of more than 950 tons is 130 tons larger than the Yingtianfu class, but it is faster and more flexible. The Dutch chose a formidable 40-pound short-barreled bombardment gun for this class of giant ships, with an effective range of up to 2,000 yards, which can easily penetrate the protection of any known battleship at a distance of 1,500 yards.
Similar to the design adopted by the Yingtianfu class, the "Parliament" class also gave up the design of placing 40-pound cannons on the upper deck. All 14 40-pound cannons were placed in the "belly" of the battleship. In order to prevent fires from triggering a chain Explosion, Dutch ship designers also designed 7 artillery compartments for this kind of warship, each compartment can accommodate two cannons.
In addition, the Dutch also placed the bomb bay under the artillery compartment, and during the battle, the artillery shells were hoisted up from below through a lift hole. Although troublesome, it can ensure maximum safety.
In addition to their powerful firepower, the Dutch, like the Chinese, adopted the concept of focused protection, strengthened the side panels of the gun bay and bomb bay, and chose ultra-thick oak to maximize the gun bay and bomb bay. Maximum resistance to the impact of heavy artillery shells.
However, no matter how the protection is strengthened, the "Parliament" class is still a wooden ship after all. It is still very difficult to withstand 30-pound and 40-pound artillery shells.
Therefore, some people in the Dutch Navy are also worried that these expensive heavy warships will become "disposable" weapons, that is to say, they will lose their combat effectiveness in a confrontation with warships of the same level - being killed by an exploding 40-pound explosive bomb. Hit, regardless of whether there was explosive ammunition or not, this warship was almost half scrapped!
Therefore, some naval officers also proposed to take the route of fighting for quantity and build as many bombardment gun ships as possible, which can be appropriately reduced in terms of protection, speed, and load tonnage.
Some officers also put forward opposite opinions, believing that protection should be further strengthened and even the issue of designing ironclad ships should be studied!
Since the only countries currently capable of building large bombardment battleships are the Ming Dynasty, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, and until not long ago, no war broke out between these three countries, there is no actual combat to test the design of the bombardment battleship, and no one knows Knowing how to develop this new type of warship with excess firepower and insufficient defense capabilities.
However, Tropp and Davy Jones both know that after today, the bombardment battleship will find its own direction... For the navy, a new era will soon come.
"Rear Admiral, our reconnaissance ship is also firing rockets!" a Dutch naval officer shouted.
"Your students are here!" Tropp smiled at Davy Jones, then took out his pocket watch and looked at the time, two fifteen in the afternoon.
He put away his pocket watch, "It's time to teach them a lesson with a cannon!"
...
"The lookout post discovered the Dutch fleet, which consists of more than five ships. They are all light ships and are chasing our patrol ship!"
Around 2:30 in the afternoon, the lookout post of the Wuhanfu discovered the light ships of both sides engaged in a pursuit battle. The Dutch dispatched five East India Company clippers. These caravels are the main warships of the East India Company. The East India Company's daily opponents are pirates and the navies of small countries in the Java Island area. Large warships are not practical. So we still mainly use small boats. The tonnage of this kind of small boats also ranges from large to small. The large ones have a load capacity of less than 300 tons, and the small ones only have a load of dozens of tons. The five Ming military sentry ships currently being pursued are all large and medium-sized light sailing ships with a carrying capacity of about 200 tons. They are very fast and have strong firepower.
The sentry ship was a ketch used by the Ming Dynasty navy to do chores. There were five such small boats in Liu Guoxuan's formation, each with a load capacity of about 100 tons. They formed a small team to patrol ahead, but they collided with six small boats. Of course, the Dutch caravel, which was much larger than them, had no choice but to escape. The purpose of the Dutch was just to follow them to find the Ming Army's fleet, so they did not pursue them too closely, allowing them to merge with Liu Guoxuan's detachment unharmed.
Seeing the five ships returning to the formation, Liu Guoxuan felt a little more at ease. With these guys here, he didn't have to worry about the Dutch using arson ships to disrupt his formation.
The Strait of Malacca is located in the equatorial calm zone, so it is calm most of the time, but of course it is not completely windless. Every winter and spring, affected by the northeast monsoon, easterly winds prevail in the strait, and seawater flows from east to west. Every summer and autumn, affected by the southwest monsoon, westerly winds prevail in the strait, and the seawater flows from west to east.
It is now the seventh month of the lunar calendar, and the strait is under the influence of the southwest monsoon. At this time, there is a moderate southwest wind, which is very conducive to navigation. The strait runs southeast and northwest, so when the southwest wind blows, Ships sailing either southeast or southwest can take advantage of the wind.
And because the wind and waves are not big, it is conducive to the sighting and shooting of the gunners on both sides. It is really a good day for a naval battle!
"Command, the No. 1 fleet has turned and retreated!"
The report of the detachment staff sounded again. Liu Guoxuan, standing on the command platform at the bow of the Wuhanfu, raised his telescope again. At this time, he could clearly see a column of six Dutch caravels through the telescope. Turn left at sea.
"The main fleet of the Dutch should be nearby. I don't know how many ships there are..." Zheng Jing spoke again, his voice a little dry and he seemed a little nervous.
The enemy will be destroyed upon seeing it! Either the enemy will be destroyed or we will be destroyed. Can Mr. Zheng not be nervous? He is the heir to the "One Official Party" and the future richest man in the Ming Dynasty!
Liu Guoxuan put away the telescope, turned to look at Mr. Zheng, and suddenly asked: "Captain Zheng, has Wuhan Fu tried firing the new 15-pound cannon and nail-head bullets?"
"I tried it..." Zheng Jing replied.
Liu Guoxuan smiled and said: "That's our certainty! Our Dutch teacher doesn't know yet!"
Hearing what Liu Guoxuan said, half of the panic on Zheng Jing's face had disappeared, replaced by a look of anticipation.
Because he had already remembered the scene three months ago when Wuhan Fuhao tested the nail-head bullets of the newly equipped troops!
The so-called nail-head bullets have a pointed steel drill installed in front of the wooden support to make the shell look a bit like a nail.
The purpose of this steel drill is, of course, to pierce the side shields of enemy battleships. There are no steel bulletproof steel plates these days, they are all wooden boards. A wooden board may be able to withstand the impact of a round-headed bullet, but it certainly cannot withstand the steel drill of a nail-headed bullet. It would be unscientific if it could. Even if the nail-head bullet cannot break through the entire board, it can still be firmly nailed to the side of the battleship with the help of the steel drill... If it explodes, all kinds of boards will be broken!
The ship's planks are going to explode, and the cabin will immediately turn into a hell on earth with splinters of wood flying everywhere!
"An enemy fleet was discovered! More than twenty-five ships in number!"
The enemy report came again and Zheng Jing's nerves that had just relaxed suddenly became tense. If not counting the small boats doing chores, Liu Guoxuan's detachment had a total of 11 warships, and the number of opponents actually exceeded 25... This But that’s more than twice the advantage!
Zheng Jing turned to look at Liu Guoxuan and found that the detachment commander's face was also a little serious. 11 vs. 25 or more! It’s indeed a bit confusing!
"Commander, how should we fight?" Zheng Jing asked again.
Liu Guoxuan said: "Fight according to the book... meet the enemy in columns, fire from 800 steps away, keep as far away from the enemy as possible and avoid broadside battles.
Raise the battle flag! "
