open sea

Chapter 711 Infighting
Since the governor of New Spain, Almansa, led the guards to board the demarcation peninsula controlled by the Ming army, the fleet of the Ming army patrolling the coast has become more and more unscrupulous.

In order to collect enough information, Shao Tingda, who was driving a huge Liujia-class warship, went as far as far south and even went thousands of miles south to the coast to explore the Spanish seaport and shipbuilding facilities off the coast of Mexico City.

The west coast of Asia is the back garden of the Spaniards. Even the three-masted Galen is not common here. Most of the seashores are two-masted armed merchant ships of about 150 tons. They are between the two viceroyalties of Peru and New Spain. Shipping goods back and forth.

"This is already the third big ship. Remember, the governors of the Spaniards are different from the governors of our Ming Dynasty. Their governors all went to the camp on the demarcation peninsula, and the generals of the Western tribes are still dispatching troops. "

In the distance on the sea, a Galen ship similar in size to the Liujia warship led two smaller armed merchant ships sailing northward, and Shao Tingda hurriedly commanded the fleet to evade.

Xiangshan Shipyard first built a shark ship capable of carrying several heavy guns. It was inspired by the combination of Portuguese armed merchant ships and local ships. Later, it also dismantled several Spanish ships, and finally even dismantled one belonging to Philip II. Royal treasure ship.

The Ming army knew the shape of the Spanish Galen very well.

Shao Tingda's fleet was alone, with only one six-armed ship, not even a supply ship. Although the ship had strong firepower and thick armor, it had few sailors. A large Galen looked larger than his thousand-feeder.

In fact, the two ships are about the same size. Shao Tingda's ship is even bigger, but it can't support the Spanish galleon. It looks like a fortress with its sails spread out on the sea, and there are countless sailors on the towers everywhere. Deterrent.

Unwillingly, Shao Tingda said, "This time the master is investigating, and we will see battles on the battlefield. I will teach him how to look good."

There are three ships. This is the third large Galenic ship that he has seen gathering in the waters near Mexico since he occupied the demarcation peninsula. If calculated according to the amount of water displaced by the ship, all of these three ships are larger than the thousand ship. There was a haze in his heart.

The advantage of his joint fleet with Fu Yuan in the waters near Mexico was tied by the Spaniards in less than a month.

This even made him want to lead the fleet to intercept these Spanish warships that came from Peru to reinforce the Spanish warships in the New Spain Governor's District.

But this is destined to be just an idea. Before the declaration of war document was passed on, no one could take the lead in making the prelude, especially him.

Chen Mu has never been a pure Ming Dynasty soldier, but he has the most pure Ming Dynasty soldiers under his command. They followed the generals across the sea not for business, but for war.

Every night when he was drifting south, Shao Tingda put up all his energy, and even stood on the mast for an hour to look at the calm and dark sea.

Like waiting for something.

Until an interesting ship was spotted in the telescope.

During the seven nights of No.20 in the sixth year of Wanli, there was a drizzle in the sea three hundred miles south of Mexico. Shao Tingda on the observation deck was wearing a tightly bundled coir raincoat, and repeatedly wiped the agarwood telescope carved with the King of Heaven.

The lanterns on the Liujia ship had not been ignited, and the fine subtropical spring rain permeated the bone-chilling coolness that even armor could not resist, making the artillery on the upper deck useless, and also trying to obstruct people's vision with the waves in the sea.

Shao Tingda thought, in this bad weather, if he encountered a single Spanish warship, he should stick it and sink it, and he hoped that the weather would still be like this when the outcome of the negotiation was settled.

Fighting in this kind of weather, the Ming army has a huge advantage in battleships over the Western army.

The Spanish warships still stayed in the vertical and horizontal infantry formations and advanced on the sea, carrying a large number of infantry, attacking the enemy ships with the bow guns during the pursuit, and then approached and spread out to join the board.

Perhaps they changed their tactics during the battle in Luzon, but these warships manufactured before the establishment of the Nanyang Military Government were not so easy to change their shape.

Shao Tingda knew very well that the Spaniards liked to concentrate the heavy artillery on the bow, and there were no heavy artillery or even artillery on the side of the ship, and there were eighteen artillery pieces in his cabin.

The sound of rain can conceal the fire and the sound of guns, and the surging waves can take away every enemy that cannot be rescued, and then use kerosene to light a fire. Although it is tantamount to wishing for a warship to disappear without a sound, it is tantamount to a dream, but These are the processes most likely to accomplish this purpose.

Even if a wreck belonging to a warship is found under a cliff somewhere on the west coast a year and a half later, who will know what really happened?

Under the fine rain, sporadic lights are cast in the shadow of the night by the high mountains near the coast. They are two lights. Although there is only the darkness that blends with the sea and cliffs around them, Shao Tingda can still pass through these two lights. Make a mental picture of what the ship will look like.

The first bright light is at the bow near the water surface. The dim color should be reflected through the opaque glass windows outside the bow cabin, which means that this ship is not a ship of the Spanish royal family or a noble family, but probably an ordinary ship. Armed merchant ships.

The Spanish royal family and aristocrats have extraordinary wealth. Their windows will never use the red and green variegated glass made in the country. They will choose the transparent glass produced in Murano, Venice.

The second light is at a slightly higher position. It is the chandelier on the mast, which should also be a candle lamp covered in glass. During the long voyage, these things are expected to guide others and prevent collisions at night.

Mang Chong has always been envious of the two transparent crystal windows in the nine-headed son-in-law's command room. Just as he watched the armed merchant ship leave, he secretly calculated how many enemy ships he would have to deal with after the war started. gunfire.

On the side of the armed merchant ship, there was also a warship hidden. The gunfire on the side of the ship made Shao Tingda suddenly think that it was his own warship haunting here.

The target of that ship was not Shao Tingda's warship, but the Spanish armed merchant ship with two lights on, which was harmless to humans and animals.

Shao Tingda, who was still a few miles away from the warships, didn't know what happened in the middle. He only saw a ship in the shadows in the distance surrounding the armed merchant ship and firing wildly with the artillery on the lower deck, while the other Spanish merchant ship could only use the guns in the cabin. The muskets that came out were beaten—their bow guns were out of service for the rain.

This was a carnival of a broadside naval battle. The Spanish armed merchant ship was completely beaten, and its fighting will was extremely low. It probably couldn't withstand the bombardment of the four-wheel broadside before surrendering to another ship.

Not long after, two Spanish ships came from behind and surrounded the surrendered armed merchant ship. The cargo on board was looted, leaving only a few small paddle boats to let the surrendered merchant return to land.

The four larger ships with reassigned sailors continued north.

The corner of Shao Tingda's mouth twitched when he witnessed all this, and he gave orders to his subordinates: "Follow them and see what these infighting Spaniards want to do!"

　Good morning!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)