My father Zhu Gaoxu

Chapter 852: Drive out of the Mediterranean

"Fire!"

Zhang Zhong gave an order, and more than a dozen steam warships roared at the same time. The Ottoman warships in front had suffered heavy losses, and they no longer even had the courage to charge forward, and just retreated blindly.

However, the Venetian warships had already cut off the Ottomans' retreat. At the beginning of the battle, the Venetians deliberately pretended to be defeated in order to attract the Ottomans to pursue them, thus keeping them away from the port and conveniently cutting off their retreat.

The Ottomans were now bombarded by the Han steam warships in front and blocked by the Venetians behind them. They were like mice caught in a bellows, blocked at both ends.

However, compared to the invincible steam battleships, the Venetians have more hope of escape. Although the Venetians have many ships, they are all small boats after all. As long as they break through their obstruction, they can return to the port. Big man Even if the steam battleship is so powerful, it is impossible for it to reach land.

So the Ottomans concentrated their efforts and tried to tear apart the Venetian interception. A big melee broke out between the two sides at sea. Every Ottoman warship had to face the siege of several Venetian warships.

Seeing this situation, Zhang Zhong from the rear also ordered the steam warships to disperse and cruise around the battlefield, clearing out some lone Ottoman warships from time to time, but they did not go too deep into the battlefield, because in this kind of melee, there were no If the advantages of the steam battleship cannot be used, it may be entangled by the opponent, or even sunk.

Therefore, Zhang Zhong and his steam warships have been wandering around the periphery of the battlefield, hunting down the escaped Ottoman warships. With the speed of the steam warships, almost no ship can escape their pursuit.

This naval battle lasted until night. It was not until dark that some Ottoman warships finally escaped from the battlefield under the cover of night. The remaining ones were all jointly strangled by the navies of the Han Dynasty and Venice.

And this was just the beginning. On the next morning, Zhang Zhong led the navy to attack Port Ife, bombarding the facilities on the port with explosive shells, blowing the entire dock into ruins, and the remaining Ottoman naval warships were also destroyed. Burnt to the ground.

In the next period of time, Zhang Zhong joined forces with the Venetian navy to raid various Ottoman ports in the Mediterranean. Not only did they burn the ships in the ports, but they also blew up the facilities in the ports, completely to drive the Ottoman forces out of the Mediterranean. The frame.

Faced with such a heavy blow, the Ottomans were naturally furious and threatened to take revenge. But everyone can say harsh words. How easy is it to really take revenge?

The Han Dynasty is very far away from the Ottomans. It is separated by the Timurid Empire on land. Unless they have the ability to annex Timur, they can border the Han Dynasty. They cannot defeat them at sea and have even destroyed their ports. Now they have even entered the Mediterranean Sea. If you don't go, let alone take revenge on the big man.

As for Venice, it is not far from the Ottomans, but it is still not easy to kill them on land, not to mention that there are big men behind Venice now. If the Ottomans dare to send troops, maybe the big men will come directly from the Mediterranean. It’s not certain who will destroy whom by then.

Therefore, although the clamor in the Ottomans was loud, everyone knew that this time the Han Dynasty and Venice attacked them, they could only endure it, and they were even prepared to give up expansion to the Mediterranean.

"General Zhang, on behalf of the Governor, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to you. Without the help of the big man, we would not have been able to destroy the Ottoman Navy in one fell swoop!"

Barcelona was dressed in formal attire and thanked Zhang Zhong with a smile. This is Fama Port on the island of Cyprus, but now the entire island of Cyprus has been ceded to the Han Dynasty by Venice as a naval garrison led by Zhang Zhong.

However, Venice did not suffer. After wiping out the Ottoman navy, some of the islands occupied by the Ottomans were also taken by Venice, because those islands were too far from Egypt, and they had to guard against the Ottomans' counterattack. The Han Dynasty did not have it now. Too many troops were stationed, so they were all given to Venice. In exchange, the island of Cyprus was assigned to the Han Dynasty.

"You are so polite, Lord Governor. You are our allies. It is in the interests of both our countries to destroy the Ottoman navy this time!"

Zhang Zhong said with a smile. He has dealt with Venetians like Barcelona many times. Compared to the Ottomans, Venice is a bit more cunning, but at least it is trustworthy. The cooperation between the two countries is still very pleasant so far.

"General, although we have eliminated the Ottoman navy, with the ambition of the Ottomans, they will definitely not give up expansion in the Mediterranean. Moreover, they still have a part of the navy stationed on the Black Sea. I am worried that they will come back again in the future. !”

Barcelona suddenly expressed his worries at this time and said that he was sent to see Zhang Zhong this time, mainly to discuss future cooperation between the two countries. After all, the defeat in the Mediterranean did not mean that the Ottoman navy was completely eliminated.

The Ottoman territory spans the Eurasian continent. The dividing line in the middle is the Black Sea Strait. This strait connects the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. There is also a small inland sea in the middle of the strait. The famous Constantinople is located on the Black Sea. The eastern outlet of the strait.

Although the Ottomans have not captured Constantinople yet, they have all the land on both sides of the strait in their hands and control this important transportation route between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. Therefore, just destroying the Ottoman navy in the Mediterranean direction can only be said to It dealt a heavy blow to the Ottomans, but they still maintained a strong navy in the direction of the Black Sea.

"I have also considered this matter. The mission given to me by His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince is to drive the Ottomans out of the Mediterranean. Although their navy has been eliminated, many Ottoman navies have still withdrawn to the Black Sea Strait. Want to The best way to prevent them from entering the Mediterranean in the future is to seize control of the strait!"

Zhang Zhong expressed his ambition.

"Seize the Black Sea Strait?"

Barcelona was shocked when they heard this. As a small country, their biggest wish was to defeat the Ottomans at sea. They never dared to think about invading Ottoman territory. After all, the gap in national power between the two sides was too big.

"Yes, as far as I know, the Ottomans only control half of the Black Sea Strait, which is the western part of the strait, and the eastern part of the strait is still in the hands of Constantinople for the time being, so it is not very difficult to conquer the strait. The most important thing is What's more, after seizing the strait, the Ottoman territory can be divided into two, and then they will be in trouble and easier to deal with!"

Zhang Zhong said again that in fact, the matter of seizing the Black Sea Strait had been discussed with Zhu Zhanhe before he came, and only after the strait was captured could the follow-up plan be implemented.

(End of this chapter)