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Chapter 1238 Lucky General
In addition to the original five communication ships, the Navy General Staff specially transferred three ships from the Statistics Department for the expedition. Hong Tao still felt that they were not enough, so he transferred four more ships from the Advisory Office.

When they arrived at the Hawaiian Islands, they also seized the two ships under Tao Daxiang's command, making a total of 2 ships, which was more than the main battleships and was considered the most luxurious lineup of small boats in naval history.

With Hong Tao's personality, he wants to maximize the efficiency of everything. Such a luxurious lineup must have a luxurious use. What is it used for? Here it comes.

In order to prevent the Spanish fleet from breaking out in batches regardless of everything, in addition to blocking the waterway with warships and mines, there were also 8 communication ships cruising on the periphery. They were like the angles on a compass, and whoever discovered the enemy fleet could lead the main fleet in the pursuit direction.

"Don't worry about the enemy ships heading north. Wang Yuanjing will take care of them. Notify the remaining communication ships and have them keep an eye on them all night long. Drop a buoy beacon every fifty kilometers.

Order the entire fleet to set sail, split into three squadrons, fifty kilometers apart, heading due east. If you encounter the Spanish fleet's full-scale attack, damage them instead of sinking them, and slow them down!"

When Hong Tao received the news that the Spanish fleet had collectively broken through from the north, he was not disappointed but full of joy. He was waiting for this moment. Compared with playing offensive and defensive battles in the complex waters near the archipelago, chasing in the vast ocean can better bring out the performance of the Ming Navy warships.

As long as the Spanish fleet came, the plan would be half successful. If the Spanish fleet ran away, the plan would be a quarter successful. But whether this quarter could be successfully completed in the end was up to fate.

The sea is the sea after all, and it cannot be controlled by human power. As long as it shakes a little, these seemingly majestic warships and a group of awesome sailors who claim to have decades of naval combat experience will be nothing but losers, without even a chance to resist. Of course, this also includes himself, a time traveler who can change his fate.

"Your Majesty, this is Captain Settle's battle report. His and Wu Bing's two ships have engaged the Spanish main fleet. Their location is roughly here, 0 degrees 34 minutes south latitude, 87 degrees 0 minutes west longitude, about 2 and a half hours away from us."

But as the ancients said, opportunities always favor those who are prepared. Hong Tao planned for such a long time, mobilized so many naval forces, and made relatively comprehensive arrangements. It can't be all in vain.

At 10 o'clock in the morning, a communication ship brought good news, which made Bai Fan so happy that he couldn't stop smiling, as if the Spanish governor had been captured.

The content was indeed a bit unexpected. In addition to the communication ship, Settle also got the credit. He and Wu Bing were sent to the east side of the archipelago to cooperate with the special transport ship to lay mines. Unless the Spanish fleet broke in from the east, there was basically no chance for them to join the battle in the first place.

But God will not let the sparrow starve to death. When the communication ship returned to the south of the archipelago to report the news, it happened to meet the two of them on the way. As a result, the two decided not to let the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip away, so they made a move first and asked the special transport ship to return to the anchorage by itself, and directly chased after it according to the location given by the communication ship.

It was also Colonel Mendoza's fault that he let Nicolas lead the New Spanish fleet to the north, while he led the remaining main fleet to the east.

This direction is the closest route to the American continent, so it cannot be said to be wrong. Who would have thought that the Ming Navy's schooner was so fast and encountered two warships only 30 kilometers away on the way.

The arrival of two warships at once made the retreat to the east full of bumps and bruises. These two warships quickly formed a small formation and ran to the front of the fleet to attack the pilot ship, which seriously affected the full speed of the fleet.

"Colonel, the lookout spotted a sail behind us, but the ship is not clear." As the saying goes, when it rains, it pours. Just when Mendoza was considering whether to split the fleet again to save the enemy, the first mate brought him another piece of bad news.

"Now I regret letting Nicholas go. His story about the Battle of the Cape of Good Hope is probably true." Faced with a series of blows, Colonel Mendoza was in a dilemma and couldn't help but think of a lot of things. "Colonel, what should we do now?" The first mate didn't know the cause of the Battle of the Cape of Good Hope, but knowing less at this time made him feel more relaxed and he only focused on the present.

"Let the flagship lead the way, and then pray to God for a hurricane!"

Colonel Mendoza gritted his teeth and decided to follow the example of Duke Gutierrez and show his noble temperament in desperate situations. But he was not sure whether it would work. He just hoped that the huge body of the flagship could withstand dozens more shells and maybe it could be saved by the sunset.

"Bang..." As soon as the words fell, God actually responded. A loud noise came from the front.

"Bang..." Before the lookout had time to report what happened ahead, another loud noise was heard.

"Colonel, there were explosions on the Altat and Silver Mountain. The hulls are broken and they are sinking!" After a while, the lookout finally saw the situation ahead clearly. Without having time to transmit through the officers, he shouted directly from the mast lookout.

"Devil, they are the devil's men, we have been abandoned by God. Lower the sails, I will do my best to protect everyone's lives, mortals cannot fight against the devil." Upon hearing the news, Colonel Mendoza turned pale, kept making the sign of the cross on his chest with his right hand, and then issued the order to surrender.

The captains of the Altat and Silver Mountain were his close friends for many years, and there were more than 400 Spanish soldiers on board. All of a sudden, they were gone, and he couldn't rescue them. The huge psychological burden caused this naval governor who had dominated America for many years to have a mental breakdown.

The most important thing is that the monster that hides under the sea and can tear a large sailing ship apart has appeared again. Mendoza can face the enemy's artillery without fear, but he dare not fight the devil desperately.

The pastor has told me since I was a child that people who are killed by the devil cannot enter heaven and will suffer endless torture in hell.

"Lao Liang, what do they mean by this? Are they pretending to surrender?"

The Spanish fleet suddenly lowered their sails, which confused Settle. The enemy did not reveal any major flaws, and the loss of two of the more than 20 large sailing ships was not a big deal.

"Maybe. Anyway, I won't go there. Let's wait here until His Majesty catches up with the main fleet!"

The old boatswain was also a little confused. The naval battle had just begun, and the Spanish Navy, which had been performing well in the past few days, suddenly surrendered. This didn't make sense. There must be a trick!
"Captain, Captain Wu asked if you want to go and accept the surrender?" As confused as the two of them was the captain of another Qin-class battleship, Wu Bing. He was using flag signals to ask Setel's meaning.

"Tell him that I'm not stupid yet. If he wants to die, let him do it by himself!" Settle was speechless and started cursing.

(End of this chapter)