My father Zhu Gaoxu

Chapter 849 Ottoman Fleet

"fire!"

Graal, who was standing on the bow of the ship, gave an order, and the cannons on the side of the ship roared, and several hot shells flew out.

Although most of them were shot empty and could only fall into the sea water and cause a huge splash, one shell still hit the Venetian merchant ship on the opposite side, making a big hole in the side of the ship and causing the raging sea water to surge up. Entering the boat, I watched the boat slowly tilt.

The surrounding Venetian merchant ships wanted to rescue, but other Ottoman warships also started shelling. Shells were fired at the ranks of these Venetian merchant ships. Although the hit rate was not high, as long as they were hit by the shells, the entire merchant ship would be destroyed. It suffered huge damage and even sank on the spot.

In fact, this is also due to the fact that the merchant ships in Venice are too small and have little resistance to cannonballs. If the merchant ships were larger, they would not be so easy to sink.

After several rounds of crazy shelling, the Venetian merchant ships on the opposite side suffered heavy losses. Less than half of the merchant ships were lucky enough to escape the range of the artillery with the shells, and finally disappeared on the sea. The remaining merchant ships that were hit were damaged due to damage to their hulls. Damage, even if you want to escape, you can't escape.

So Gral gave an order, and eight of his warships swarmed up, threw ropes to these merchant ships, and then jumped on the Venetian merchant ships with helpers, killing all the Venetians who dared to resist, and the goods on the ship became their trophies.

After plundering all these merchant ships, Graal ordered all Venetian merchant ships to be sunk. After the Venetians on board fell into the water, they were shot dead by Ottoman musketeers. After all, the two countries had been at war for so many years, and the hatred between the two sides had long been unresolved. , except for some important nobles, basically no prisoners will be left during the war.

"General, we have sunk seven enemy ships in total and seized a large amount of cotton cloth, glass products, etc., as well as a large amount of food and drinking water, which is enough for us to continue lurking for a while, and maybe we can encounter a Venetian fleet. .”

At this time, a guard excitedly stepped forward to report to Graer.

Grall has eight warships under his command. Including his ship, there are nine warships in total. This is also the most commonly used tactic of the Ottoman navy. The nine warships form a small team to hunt Venetian merchant ships and attack Venetian merchant ships. Commerce, this tactic was so effective that it had a serious impact on the Venetian economy.

"Very good, pass on my order, return to the wolf den and stand by!"

Gral immediately ordered that the so-called wolf den was a name Gral gave himself. It was located in the bay behind an island. Their warships usually lurked there, and then sent small boats to patrol around.

This is a sea route for the Venetians, and fleets often pass by. Gral and the others will ambush here. If they encounter a small fleet, they will kill it and eat it. If they encounter a fleet that is too large, then they will I can only hide.

As Graal's order was issued, the warships returned one after another. The small island was not far from the route. Although there was no fresh water on the island, there were lush plants. Coupled with the barrier of mountains, it was difficult for outsiders to detect them. The warship is simply an excellent ambush point at sea.

The fleet returned to the bay, and Graal and the others also landed on the island, and then lit a fire to cook. The wine and meat they had snatched were also brought up, and everyone was celebrating today's victory.

However, celebrations were celebrations, and Graer did not relax his vigilance. He also sent small boats to patrol outside the bay to prevent anyone from taking the opportunity to attack. It was his caution that led him to lead the fleet out for so long without any accidents. Instead, he achieved success Plenty of results.

In the next period of time, Graal sent small boats to patrol around, hoping to find another fat sheep to attack. After all, they only had to hand over half of the spoils they robbed the Venetians, and the rest belonged to them privately. Therefore, it was difficult for them to go out. The Ottomans were also very active in looting. But the Venetians are not stupid either. Small fleets have had accidents one after another, and they have learned their lessons. They either banned small fleets from traveling, or formed multiple small fleets into a large fleet, making it impossible for Grall and the others to start.

In addition, Gral also discovered that the number of Venetian fleets passing through this route seemed to have decreased, which made him consider whether he should give up here and find a new route to guard?

However, the food and fresh water on the ship were already somewhat insufficient. Although many Venetian merchant ships had been robbed of food and drinking water before, after this period of consumption, there was not much left. They wanted to rob more but could not find the target.

So Gral could only prepare to return to the port, planning to return to the port to replenish food and drinking water. In addition, gunpowder and cannonballs also needed to be replenished. Then they would take a rest and choose a new route to better attack the Venetians.

Following Gral's order, nine warships set sail, preparing to withdraw to the supply points established by the Ottomans at sea.

After years of maritime expansion, the Ottomans failed to capture the island of Cyprus, but they also occupied many islands and established ports on these islands as supply points for warships.

Graer and the others were closest to a supply point called Yutou Island. The fleet walked for about ten days before arriving at Yutou Island, because the island was shaped like a fish head, and at the position of the fish's mouth, there was an excellent It is a natural port, so it is also called Yuzui Port.

Gral and his fleet entered Yumouth Port, but as soon as they parked the ship, they saw the port officials rushing over and said: "The Sultan has ordered that all fleets return to Port Ife immediately!"

"What? Why do you want to go to Port Iver?"

Graal couldn't help but asked in surprise when he heard this order.

Port Ifo is one of the largest Ottoman ports in the Mediterranean. It is very close to Bursa, which used to be the capital of the Ottomans. Although the Ottoman capital was moved to Edirne in Europe decades ago, Bursa remained the largest Ottoman city until Constantinople was captured, and the title of the largest Ottoman city changed hands.

"The Venetians have organized a powerful fleet and are heading towards Port Ive. It seems that they want to attack us. It is probably the attack on them during this period that makes these Venetians want to retaliate against us!"

The port officials replied that they had received the news for almost half a month. During this period, all fleets coming to Yutou Island had received orders and rushed to Port Iver.

"How dare the Venetians attack Port-If?"

Graal was also shocked when he heard the news, but he soon thought that the Venetian fleet was reduced on the route where he had ambushed before. He thought that the Venetians were worried about being attacked, so they did not let the fleet go to sea. , but now it seems that these disappeared fleets were probably mobilized together to attack Port Iver.

(End of this chapter)