Daming Town Haiwang

Chapter 985, range is the truth

The waters outside the port of Lisbon are vast and misty, and the waves of the Atlantic Ocean are much more turbulent than those of the Pacific Ocean. Accompanied by bursts of piercing cold wind, huge warships headed straight for the port of Lisbon in the sea.

Thirty-six warships, including [-] Ming warships and [-] Spanish warships, the battleships formed a formation on the sea, majestic, like a pack of wolves, roaring in the forest.

On the masts of the thirty Ming battleships, the Daming dragon flags fluttered in the wind, hunting and sounding, as if they had the momentum of thousands of troops. The Spanish warships following the Daming warships were much smaller in size, with cross flags and flags hanging high above them. Spanish flag.

"Would we be a little overwhelmed, can these thirty-six warships defeat Portugal?"

"Lisbon is the opponent's home after all."

Jiang Liang stood on the deck and looked ahead. He could vaguely see the outline of the land. Spain and Portugal were too close to each other. There was no need to go to Lisbon from the port of Cadiz. How long.

It is a decision after discussion to beat Portugal first.

The Ming Fleet is responsible for attacking Lisbon, the capital of Portugal from the sea, while Spain is mainly responsible for attacking Portugal from the road, attacking Portugal by water, and preparing to take Portugal first in one fell swoop.

"What are you worried about?"

Tian Erniu asked with a smile.

"Although Portugal is a small country, the country is small and its national power is weak, but Portugal's power at sea is very strong, second only to Spain, and much stronger than English pirates."

"Lisbon is the opponent's capital, and it is also a large port with many ships. If we rely on these dozens of warships to win, the risk is too great."

Jiang Liang thought for a while and said, he has been to Lisbon, and he has seen ships moored in Lisbon port. Although it is not as good as Tianjin port in Ming Dynasty, it is still a prosperous port with many ships. It can be used as a warship with a little modification. Come to fight.

"Of course I know~"

"But Mr. Liu said something to me."

Tian Erniu nodded slightly. Although Portugal is a small country, its maritime power is not weak, which deserves attention. Moreover, it is a country that is striving to enter the ocean from top to bottom.

"What?"

When Jiang Liang heard this, he immediately asked.

The Mr. Liu in Tian Erniu's mouth is naturally worthy of Liu Jin. Today, the official secretary of the Ming Dynasty, Tian Erniu's lifelong nobleman, if he hadn't met Liu Jin, Tian Erniu would not know where he was farming in that corner.

"Range is truth, caliber is justice!"

Tian Erniu read it softly.

"Range is the truth?"

"Calibre is justice?"

When Jiang Liang heard it, he thought about it carefully and said: "This is a bit like something that Europeans can say, but I like it."

"Clang~clang~"

While the two were chatting, the watchman above the mast rang the siren.

"Enemy Ship~"

"There is an enemy ship directly ahead!"

When the two heard this, they quickly picked up the binoculars and looked forward.

I saw that where the water and the sky met, the figures of ships were looming, and there were a lot of them, hundreds of them, cutting through the waves, presenting a triangular attack formation and heading towards their side.

"Command, prepare to fight!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Tian Erniu immediately issued an order to fight, and soon the semaphore soldiers on the battleship quickly conveyed information to the surrounding battleships.

"Report, the Ming people have issued an order to prepare for battle!"

On the 'Saint Mary', Carlster and Almeida were having a relaxed chat. The two were the commanders of the Spanish fleet, responsible for commanding the remaining [-] warships in Spain to cooperate with the Ming fleet to attack the Portuguese.

"It seems that our allies have discovered the enemy."

Karlster laughed excitedly when he heard it, and then picked up the binoculars to look at the sea ahead, and soon saw the figure of the Portuguese warship.

"Ready to fight!"

Karlster roared, and the Spanish sailors on the battleship immediately screamed, and everyone on the deck waved the rope in their hands, with claws on the rope.

At this time, the Spanish and European navies, pirates, etc. were still very popular in naval battles by using claws to win over the opponent's ships, and then land on the opponent's ships to fight.

(This method is mainly because the artillery is not strong enough at this time, and the artillery power is not enough. Often a battleship is hit by dozens of shells without any problems.

It is more efficient to fight in this way, but it was not until more than half a century later, when the Spanish Armada was buried in the sea by British pirates with rapid-fire guns, that this method of fighting was eliminated)

"Fuck these sons of bitches Portuguese~"

"I heard there are some English pirates~"

"Then send them all into the sea to feed the sharks."

"Yeah~"

The Spanish sailors on the battleship seemed very excited, and they were all looking forward to the next battle.

"Report~"

"The Ming people want us to disperse and use the crescent moon formation to attack!"

At this time, the semaphore soldiers came to Carster and Almeida's side to report.

"A crescent moon formation attack?"

When the two heard this, they were slightly dumbfounded.

The crescent moon formation is a relatively scattered formation, and it is also a typical formation that plays more and plays less.

But judging from the current situation, the enemy has hundreds of warships, while the own side only has thirty-six warships, which obviously feels like a snake swallowing an elephant.

Moreover, what the Spaniards are best at now is the string battle, and they are not good at using artillery to sink the opponent's warship, so they don't understand Tian Erniu's intentions.

"What the hell are the Ming people doing?"

Almeida was very puzzled and said that if the crescent moon formation is adopted, the Portuguese can make full use of their numerical advantages. At that time, one ship will have to face several ships, and it is easy to lose in the battle. at a disadvantage.

"I don't know~"

Carster shook his head slightly.

Although he had chased down pirates with the Ming people, it was after all a contest between a small number of warships. This was the first time he had fought with the Ming people in such a large-scale naval battle.

"Then do you want to follow their orders?"

Almeida thought for a while and asked.

"No need, let's follow our fighting style. I really want to see how powerful the Ming people are."

Carster thought for a while and shook his head slightly, saying that he instinctively rejected the unfamiliar combat methods, and it was not conducive to the Spanish warships to show their strength.

On the other side of the sea, more than a hundred ships are also menacing and mighty.

"Clang~clang~"

As the watchmen sounded the alarm, the Portuguese also discovered the Ming warship.

"Whoo~"

"It's finally here!"

Vasco da Gama took a deep breath, looked at the sea ahead, and could vaguely see the shadows of some warships. The weather was still very good, the sky was blue and cloudless, and the waves in the Atlantic Ocean were not too big.

"I have long heard that the artillery of the Ming Empire is very powerful, and I finally have the opportunity to experience it once."

Beside Da Gama, Andrade looked very excited. He is a member of the Portuguese royal family and the commander of the fleet in front of him. He is also an extremely proud Portuguese.

"Da Gama, how did you fail in India?"

After finishing speaking, Andrade turned to look at Da Gama and asked.

"...I can only say that the artillery of the Ming people has a very long range, great power, and a very fast rate of fire."

Vasco da Gama didn't know what to say. As a loser, he felt that he had lost his dignity.

Originally, I was an extremely rich navigator and a robber who walked the sea all the year round. I was very good at sea combat. It stands to reason that I should be allowed to command the battle, but the King of Portugal asked an inexperienced Andrade to command. In such an important battle, he is only a deputy, which is enough to illustrate this point.

"artillery?"

"If it's just by artillery, I think we still have a chance to beat them."

After listening, Andrade looked at the Ming warships that were gradually changing their formation in the sea ahead, and immediately said confidently.

Like Spain, the Portuguese's maritime combat method at this time mainly relied on string battles, climbing to the opponent's warships through ropes, masts, claws, etc. to fight.

Andrade felt that his side had an absolute advantage in the number of battleships and numbers, and it would not be difficult to defeat the opponent.

"Order~"

"Advance at full speed, quickly approach the opponent's ship, and use the muskets and swords in your hands to severely teach those Ming people from the east, and let them know how powerful we Portuguese are."

Andrade drew out the sword in his hand and roared at the sailors on the battleship.

"Wow~"

"Kill it~"

"Come on~"

When the Portuguese sailors on the battleship heard this, they shouted excitedly.

Soon, the Portuguese warships began to raise all their sails, the sails were bulging by the sea wind, and rushed towards the Ming fleet at full speed.

As the distance between the two parties gets closer, each can clearly understand each other.

"Haha, [-] Ming warships and [-] Spanish warships even adopt the crescent moon attack formation. Do you think that only [-] warships can surround us?"

Andrade carefully counted the enemy ships on the sea, and immediately couldn't help laughing.

Looking at the more than one hundred warships behind him, he became even more confident.

Such a scattered formation is very beneficial to one's own side to fight. At that time, as long as a few ships are close to the opponent's warship, the battle is almost certain to be won. With more fights and fewer, the advantages can be fully utilized.

If the formation is too dense, it will not be conducive to the battle of one's own side, because the battle of warships at sea is not as powerful as the legion on the road, and warships are far less flexible than individuals.

"Boom~Boom~"

However, Andrade hadn't had time to be happy for a long time. Accompanied by rumbling roars, billows of white smoke rose from the Ming warships in the distant sea area, and shells roared towards the dense group of Portuguese warships.

(End of this chapter)