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Chapter 1642 Tracking the Turkish Merchant Ship
A squadron of 14 warships was patrolling the Mediterranean Sea. The Qinglong flag of the Admiralty was hoisted on the Zheng He, as well as the iron anchor flag of the Navy Lecture Hall.

"It is said that the Turkish merchant ships have a lot of wealth. If you can capture a merchant ship, it will be considered a military achievement, right?"

Some naval students observed the calm sea on the deck, trying to find the Turkish merchant fleet in intelligence.

There is also a group of leisure crew and gunners who gather to play cards. They have spent two days in the nearby waters tracking the Turkish merchant fleet.

"Now that the Mediterranean Sea has become a battlefield, the merchants of the Ottoman Empire will be out of luck. We can attack all merchant ships. If I am the captain of a merchant ship and I am in the Mediterranean Sea at this time, I must hide in my own port and wait until the war In the end, if we walk carefully through the ports, out of the eyes and ears of enemy ships."

Zheng Chenggong looked at the sea on the right with a telescope, and suddenly saw a small black shadow appearing on the edge of the sea level.

"Send a signal to the flagship, the enemy ship is found in the front right!"

"Everyone in place!"

Zheng Chenggong gave the order, and all the crew members on the ship got up urgently and went to their posts.

Zheng Zhihu, Black and others also captured this black shadow in their telescopes.

"Come forward and pursue!" Zheng Zhihu and Black's flagship raised the pursuit flag almost at the same time.

Although it may be just a ship of the Ottoman Empire, as long as you keep track, you may be able to find their port or fleet!
The team began to speed up the pursuit of this merchant ship, which was suspected to be a Turk.

The merchant ship on the opposite side seemed to have found itself being followed by a fleet, and the anxious Turkish captain yelled at his paddlers to try to get rid of the fleet behind him.

"This is a galley!" Zheng Chenggong's Zheng He was the closest to the Turkish merchant ship. After getting close to the other side, he gradually saw the shape of the ship.

Very typical Mediterranean galley, and did not fly the flag of the coalition forces.

Such ships often have heavy artillery on the bow and stern, but Zheng Chenggong believes that even in a single fight, his improved armed sailboat with more artillery installed on the side can defeat several galley merchant ships in the Mediterranean.

The squadron of 14 warships was like hunters driving prey. They did not eat the prey directly, but tried to find the flock through the panicked sheep.

The Turkish merchant ship fled along the southeast coastline until it saw Chios Island, circled into a safe haven, and disappeared from the squadron's sight.

Although the Turkish merchant ship disappeared, Zheng Zhihu and Black, who were the commanders, were ecstatic.

They judged that they had found the enemy's lair on Chios Island, and it was very likely that the Turkish merchant fleet mentioned in the intelligence would be found here.

Capture the goods of a fleet, and they will plunder a lot of loot and make military exploits.

"The Turkish merchant ship was in a panic, and it never thought that doing so would harm its companions who were also in the port."

Zheng Chenggong saw that the flagship had ordered to enter the sheltered bay.

The squadron seemed cautious. They didn't know if the Ottoman Empire had set up a fort in the sheltered bay of Chios Island.

On the outskirts of the sheltered bay, several large Calais warships cruising suddenly appeared—a large galley sailboat improved by the Venetians, with a displacement of more than 600 tons, hundreds of oarsmen, and large-caliber sailboats installed on the bow. Bronze Cannon.

The galleys led by Zheng Zhihu and Black were stunned. They expected to enter the safe haven to hunt Turkish merchant ships, and they also thought that there might be a few enemy warships on Chios Island.

But suddenly several large Calais warships appeared, and they realized that this might be the enemy's lair!

The Turkish captain, sailors, and oar slaves on the Calaisian warship opposite were also taken aback by the squadron that appeared on Chios Island. They never thought that the enemy would find this place!
"All ships attack!"

Zheng Zhihu and Black suddenly encountered the enemy on Chios Island, and at the same time ordered the ships under their respective command to attack forward.

When we meet on a narrow road, the brave wins!When both sides are unclear about the situation, Zheng Zhihu and Black have no time to adjust the fleet, so it depends on their own courage!
"This is a good opportunity for us to gain military merit!"

The Zheng He also joined the battle sequence, and the 14 ships, like a pack of wolves, pounced on the Calais battleship that had not yet reacted.

Zheng Chenggong, an English warship, and two Maltese galleys followed one of the Calais warships.

"Reload all battery packs and destroy their hulls!"

An artilleryman nervously carried the ammunition, and stuffed the gunpowder pack and solid bullets into the artillery.

The Zheng He is just an improved armed sailing ship, equipped with four 4-pound guns and ten 24-pound guns, and the firepower of the opposite Calais battleship may be even more fierce than them.

However, Zheng Chenggong and others were not afraid at all, and beside them were an English warship and two Maltese galleys hunting together.

The bow and stern of the Calaisian warship are higher than the hull, as if a fortress stands at each end, and inside each fortress are several extremely heavy cannons, the heaviest of which can even fire 50-pound solid bullets.

Of course, compared with the heavy artillery loaded on the ironclad ship, the 50-pound long gun is nothing special, but it is enough to bring danger to the Zheng He.

boom!The artillery on the bow deck has already started bombarding the Calais warship opposite, and the Calais warship operated by Turkish sailors has also begun to fight back!
The highly motivated naval crew of the Zheng He braved the heavy artillery bombardment on the opposite bow and came to a position parallel to the Calaisé battleship. During this period, a naval crew on the lower deck was injured by the shells passing by.

"Military doctor, stop the bleeding!" Hannah was directing the artillery crew on the lower deck, she frowned slightly, and left the matter of treating the wounded to professional doctors.

The sound of artillery was ringing in her ears one after another. The four warships including the Zheng He had already exchanged fire with the besieged Calaisé battleship. The sound of artillery was one after another. Drop solid shells.

She can see the Calaisian warship opposite through the gun door, and her duty is to command the gun crew on the lower deck to attack the enemy's warship according to the captain's order on the deck, and deal with the unexpected situation of bombing or loss of gun crew .

Bombardment in sea battles is extremely dangerous, and it is not even known when a shell will shoot through the hull and kill her.

This is the danger that all naval soldiers and sailors face. In the battle at sea, whether it is an officer or an ordinary handyman, all people are equal before the shells.

"The artillery on the upper deck is loaded with gunpowder and grape shells, ready to kill the enemy! The artillery on the lower deck continues to load solid bullets!"

Under the command of Zheng Chenggong, the gunners used net bags to bundle the shotguns into a bundle, and loaded gunpowder and grape shells into the gun bore. This kind of dense shotgun was specially used to clean the enemy on the opposite deck.

(End of this chapter)