The weapon "Eastern Dragon" is indeed terrifying and will cause huge damage to one's own warships.
But this strengthened Admiral Oquendo's determination to defeat the Ming fleet, because as long as he became the final winner, he could get this terrible weapon.
When the hegemonic fleet is also equipped with the "Eastern Dragon", it will no longer need to be afraid of the Dutch, and it will be possible to regain control of the sea. What a wonderful thing!
The timid Dutch only saw the terror of this weapon and were easily frightened by the Ming army, and did not take further military measures to seize it.
What a stupid idea it is to try to develop similar weapons yourself. Can't we just use its powerful fleet to steal it?
Although the method is a bit reckless, it is a good method that can work in the short term.
For the sake of huge profits, who cares about a less civilized process?
Admiral Oquendo's bottom line is to lose half of the armed merchant ships, but now the Ming army has only destroyed about five percent.
It's just that the scene looks scary, but in fact the hegemonic fleet still holds the offensive initiative on the battlefield.
Each armed merchant ship was equipped with at least twenty artillery pieces, which was at least five to ten more than the number of artillery pieces on the Ming army's warships, and the power of the artillery was far superior to that of the other side.
Coupled with its large size and stronger damage resistance than Ming warships, Admiral Oquendo believed that even if some ships were lost at the beginning of the war, they would be made up for over time.
If your ship is hit by the terrifying "Eastern Dragon", you can only consider yourself unlucky and die on the spot. That is really bad luck.
The shipowners in the middle and rear of the fleet did not know what was happening in the front, but still let the armed merchant ships rush forward at full speed.
Shipowners also believe that the Hegemonic Fleet is invincible and that no naval fleet of any country in the world can defeat this fleet.
It was pure luck that the Ming Dynasty's navy could defeat the Dutch East India Company, and the East India Company's fleet was not the main force of the Dutch navy. Even if it was defeated, it would not show that the Ming Dynasty's navy had the strength to challenge the hegemonic fleet.
Everything can only be determined after actual fighting. Based on paper strength, the navies of other countries will have to bow to the hegemonic fleet.
But those ship owners who suffered a fatal blow did not think so. If their armed merchant ships caught fire, they would be scrapped soon. If there was an explosion, it would be equivalent to being scrapped.
Some shipowners fighting on the front line of fire have realized that the speed at which the opponent fires the "Eastern Dragon" is much faster than the speed at which their own artillery can be re-fired.
This means that for one salvo fired by one's side, the opponent can fire as many as two or three times.
Whether to use cannonballs to destroy the opponent's warships, or vice versa, it depends on luck...
Originally, before the collision, entering a distance of three hundred feet was the most suitable for armed merchant ships to fire.
However, this naval battle was completely different from the past. This distance became the haunt of the "Eastern Dragon".
The distance is okay, but the closer you are to the enemy ship, the higher the chance of being hit by the "Eastern Dragon".
Once a ship collides, unless the soldiers firing such weapons can be destroyed within a short time, the hull of one's own ship will definitely be set on fire.
With this kind of weapon, every battleship of the Ming Army turned into an extremely terrifying arson ship.
Whether it is teak, oak or warships made of other types of trees, there is no warship that is not afraid of fire.
Judging from actual combat, the "Eastern Dragon" can explode when it hits the hull. It is undoubtedly the natural enemy of wooden warships.
A speedboat-level armed merchant ship needs to be hit once before it will burst into flames.
Even if there is no explosion accident, I am afraid it will lose its combat effectiveness or even be scrapped.
The sea surface in the war zone is already covered with sailors and gunners who abandoned the ship and jumped into the sea to escape. If they stay on the ship, they are waiting to die.
These people are undoubtedly wise, at least the Ming army warships have no time to take care of them, they are busy fighting with the hegemonic fleet.
Zheng Zhifeng's strategy is very simple, which is to use the three hundred warships in his hand to exchange one for another.
If the same number of Xiyi warships could be destroyed at once, it would give the eldest brother Zheng Zhilong's Chinese army an opportunity to win.
Zheng Zhifeng knew that these warships were the wealth that her eldest brother had accumulated over the years, and it was necessary to use them to fight against Xiyi.
But the Northern Emperor Zhu Cixiang had already said that no matter he won or lost, he would make up for Zheng's losses in the naval battle after the war.
How to make up for it?
That is an ironclad ship!
One can be worth ten or even twenty plywood boats!
Another point is that if the Zheng family can win and annihilate the Xiyi fleet, Zheng Zhilong can be made a duke and become the Duke of Zhenhai in the Ming Dynasty!
From the beginning of the dynasty to the present, the number of Duke-level figures of the Ming Dynasty can be counted with one hand.
Once it comes true, the eldest brother Zheng Zhilong will be equivalent to the founding hero Xu Da.
If a duke can be born in his family, he will be able to honor his ancestors, and the eldest son Zheng Sen will be able to inherit this title in the future.
In order to continue to earn tens of millions of taels of silver a year in the future, for the armored ship being built, and for her eldest brother to get the title of Duke of Zhenhai, Zheng Zhifeng will fight to the death.
To say the least, they were defeated by the invading enemies in the Zhoushan waters. Not to mention the Spaniards, even the Dutch would take the opportunity to turn against them. From now on, the Zheng family would no longer have to hang out in the local waters.
The waters from Zhoushan Islands to the south are regarded by the Zheng family as their own territory and no one else is allowed to interfere.
Today, we must give these Western barbarians a lesson!
In the process, Zheng Zhifeng's fleet also paid a heavy price.
In a short period of time, hundreds of warships were severely damaged, their masts were broken, and dozens of holes were made in the hulls by cannonballs.
Beihuang said it well, when fighting a war, first look at strategy, secondly look at strength, and thirdly look at morale.
Now is the time to go all out, as the so-called brave man wins when we meet on a narrow road!
You have heavy artillery, we have missiles, let’s see who kills whom first!
More than an hour after the start of the war, hundreds of ships from both sides had turned into burning bonfires, and the number was still increasing.
Zheng Zhilong's Chinese fleet has come to support, and the opponent's fleet has also broken through the temporary defense line of Zheng Zhifeng's forward fleet.
Both sides have thousands of warships, and it is impossible to issue effective orders at any time.
Basically, a pre-war order is carried out until after the war, unless a signal flare is used to retreat.
At this time, Zheng Jun no longer paid attention to the rules and regulations. He just fought in a melee and found the enemy ship closest to him to attack.
After seeing the actual power of the "Eastern Dragon" with his own eyes, Lieutenant General Black no longer planned to take his fleet to help the Spanish fight.
This kind of weapon is completely irresistible to our own warships. Even if the expedition fleet is an armed merchant ship and not a real warship, Black does not intend to let his men die.
If he really lost half of his ships, he, as a vice-admiral, would be done with his work. He would be forced to retire under heavy pressure when he returned.
Blake thought that perhaps Oquendo's fleet could win, but at the cost of up to 500 armed merchant ships.
If the other party is willing to pay such a heavy price, then let him do it.
Anyway, the loss was borne by Philip IV and had nothing to do with Britain.
Blake discovered that a Ming fleet was approaching his troops, and immediately asked his men to fire a retreat signal.
The British fleet began to turn quickly and retreated to the open sea.
No matter whether you go south or east, you just need to get rid of the pursuers.
The shipowners also saw the beatings of the Spaniards, and wished that Blake had ordered to evacuate the battlefield as soon as possible.
The Denglai Navy on the right wing of the fleet was preparing to fight the opponent. Mao Yuanyi discovered that the enemy fleet actually escaped before the battle.
Judging from the markings on the opponent's sails, these are British warships.
If these hateful bandits don't come back, it will be equivalent to betraying the Spaniards.
Mao Yuanyi did not order the Denglai Navy to pursue the British fleet, perhaps this was a strategy to divert the tiger away from the mountain.
As long as Zheng Zhilong and Su Guansheng cooperate to eat the Spanish fleet, it will be considered a complete victory.
Denglai Navy outflanked from the left wing, Tianjin Navy and Zhejiang Navy outflanked from the right wing.
Zheng Zhilong's fleet in the middle can still hold on, and the left and right wings can surround the Spanish fleet.
Zheng Zhifeng ran back to the formation with a dilapidated ship. Zheng Zhilong was relieved to see that his fourth brother was unharmed.
Since the Spaniards wanted to ask for advice, I would not hesitate to teach them...
This time, in addition to the troops left behind in Xiamen, Quanzhou, Dongfan and other places, the Zheng family was considered to have sent out all its elite troops.
The total number of sailors and gunners alone exceeded 60,000. Zheng Zhilong wanted to give these Westerners a lesson that did not understand etiquette.
Running is also a loss, fighting is also a loss, and you may still win if you fight. If you run away from the battle, you will gain nothing and suffer losses in vain.
Zheng Zhilong, like his brothers, had no intention of ordering a retreat after seeing the loss of more than two hundred warships.
There were no anti-ship missiles before, so we could still beat Liu Xiang and then deal with the Dutch.
Now that we are equipped with a large number of "whaling harpoons", is there any reason to take the initiative to retreat?
Zheng Zhilong spent millions of taels to purchase a bunch of anti-ship missiles.
If there is no battle to fight, won't these high-end firearms be scrapped if they get damp?
Only by winning the battle, capturing prisoners, and capturing enemy ships can the initial investment cost be recovered.
Zheng Zhilong was interested in the title of Duke, but he had to win the battle first.
In order to motivate his soldiers, Zheng Zhilong gave each of them twenty taels of silver before the war.
Whether you use this money to eat, drink, or play with women, in short, there can be no idiots, cowards, or cowards on the battlefield!
Encouraged by this, Zheng Zhilong's men did not embarrass the Marquis of Zhenhai.
Even after loading the ship, Zheng Jun's sailors threw a large number of grenades at the enemy ships, causing the enemy ships to suffer miserably.
Hand grenades are a weapon in close combat, whether on land or at sea.
Because it can deflect fire or splash damage, and the projectile speed is much faster than that of a musket, the damage caused is much greater than that of a musket.
The Spanish armed merchant ships failed to take advantage in the close combat, and after the collision, the sailors had no good fruits to eat.
Each Zhengjun warship carried at least fifty grenades. A dozen of them were thrown over, leaving the sailors on the top deck of the armed merchant ship with nowhere to hide.
Regardless of whether the Zheng army was on land or water, its soldiers were all equipped with thick plate armor, which had extremely high survivability. It was difficult for the Spanish bullets to achieve results without hitting their limbs.
Even if the battle of tiaobang was launched, the Spaniards and the Zheng army had them. The Spaniards' muskets were not equipped with bayonets, and the Zheng army also had them.
In fact, after the grenades washed the deck, there were only a few enemies who could kill Zheng Jun's warship.
Even if you can take advantage of the higher hull and shoot from a higher position, it will only be a desperate struggle.
As long as the hull is set on fire, no matter how large an armed merchant ship is, it will usher in its own end.
After Zheng Jun warships used up all their anti-ship missiles, they still had a backup plan, which was barrels of oil!
The explosive power of this thing after being ignited is not inferior to the "Whaling Harpoon" Type 1, but it takes a little more effort to throw it.
In addition to hand throwing, you can also use a rope to swing like a swing.
The explosion cannot damage the hull, but can also set the opponent's sails or masts on fire.
Once the sails are burned out, the Spanish warship is nothing more than a target ship.
Fighting in Europa waters, Spanish shipowners saw more smoke.
In the eastern waters, what everyone sees is a sea of fire. All wooden objects floating on the sea, including ships, may burn.
The subsequent armed merchant ships seemed to have rushed into a burning forest, and the battlefield situation seemed extremely severe and dangerous.
The first is the fear of being hit by the "Eastern Dragon", the second is the fear of the other party's arson ship, and the last is the fear of being affected by one's own ship on fire.
Admiral Oquendo's flagship was hit and caught fire, but luckily no ammunition explosion occurred.
Prior to this, the admiral had already boarded another armed merchant ship on a small boat with his flag to continue directing the battle.
When the fight reached this point, there was actually no need for Oquendo to give any orders.
This naval battle has evolved into the largest maritime melee in human history...
Under the large smoke, any warship may hit nearby unknown objects, and will also be hit by the other party.
However, the Ming army's missile speed advantage has become apparent, and the losses of the hegemonic fleet are still rising.
The shipowners who arrived in the battlefield waters one after another became intimidated when they saw the suffering of their colleagues, and some have chosen to retreat without authorization.
Just because Admiral Oquendo can withstand a loss of five hundred ships does not mean that the ship owners can also afford it.
These are all merchant ships that belong to them. Some ship owners also use rented ships. Once they are sunk or destroyed, they will never be able to pay off their debts in their lifetime.
After the number of losses was about to reach 300 ships, more and more ship owners decided to give up the battle and make saving their ships their first priority.
Although turning will also take a beating, it is much better than never coming back.
If that idiot Oquendo is willing to fight, let him fight on his own!
The "Evil Dragon of the East" is well-deserved. After experiencing the powerful power of this weapon, the Spanish shipowners no longer care about winning.
The British have already taken the lead to run away. If they don't run away, they will be sent into the sea to feed the fish by the "Eastern Dragon".
Admiral Oquendo was extremely annoyed when he saw that his own fleet was actually starting to retreat. He just needed to work harder to win.
These losers are so cowardly. At such a critical moment, ten armed merchant ships are not as useful as one naval battleship.
At this moment, a "harpoon" flew into the gun window on the rear side of the hull, directly hit the gunpowder barrel and exploded.
The resulting explosion caused the rear of the armed merchant ship, which temporarily became the flagship, to be completely engulfed in flames.
Admiral Oquendo himself, as well as the sailors and gunners fighting nearby, were all blown into the sea by the air waves generated by the explosion.
A huge hole was also blown out of the rear side of this temporary flagship, which had taken in a lot of water and was slowly sinking.
When the nearby armed merchant ships saw that the flagship was destroyed, they gave up the idea of continuing to fight and began to turn around and run away in groups.
