Chapter 1321
Official Encounter
Chapter 1321 Official Encounter
The atmosphere of war deliberately created by the military is actually the same as the mission Liu Shang is currently performing. The purpose is to calm the hearts of the people.Of course, with so much effort and effort to deploy so many coastal fortifications and troops, if any fish escaped through the navy's blockade and attacked the port, then these defensive measures would definitely have a certain impact.Not to mention the use of artillery, the thousands of muskets of the coastal defense force alone are enough to blast a small group of landing enemies into a hornet's nest.
When Liu Shang was in Ming Dynasty, he also saw scenes in war-torn areas. Once he heard that war was about to break out, the people in the vicinity of dozens of miles often reacted first to pack up their belongings and flee.Even if one's ability is limited and one cannot escape too far, one must at least escape into a nearby city first.But he did not see a similar scene in Sanya. Although the Haihan government issued a war warning, the local people did not seem to have any intention of fleeing, nor did they flock to the Victory Fort to seek asylum. How should they live their daily lives? Pass.
Regarding the upcoming war, the mood of the people is relatively stable, and it seems that this is just an extra piece of talk after dinner.And as far as Liu Shang knows, most people are not concerned about the outcome of the war, but such as how many days the Haihan Army needs to solve the opponent this time, how many prisoners will be escorted to the streets of Sanya in the end, etc. Wait.
During this period, there were also some prominent business people who sent food, medicine and other materials to the garrison troops in the name of the labor force with great fanfare.But Liu Shang suspects that the statements made by these upper-class people are more or less hinted and instigated by the government, and they consciously do some superficial efforts to stabilize the emotions of the local people.Those who are worried about the war situation are mostly foreigners or new immigrants who have just arrived in Sanya. These people don't know enough about Haihan's strength, and they will worry about being affected by the flames of war. Only when they see a large number of Haihan Soldiers can only relax a little by setting up defenses everywhere in the port area.Therefore, the tough posture made by the Haihan military in Sanya has played a certain role in stabilizing the hearts of the people.
On September [-], Tao Donglai and Johnson respectively led a fleet to leave Hong Kong to face the Spanish fleet that was about to arrive in this sea area, while the military and political affairs of Sanya were temporarily taken over by Yan Chujie, Ning Qi and others.
For the Haihan military, this is the first time in recent years to carry out a combat mission in the local waters, and the opponent is an old maritime empire like Spain. When the two powers meet, the victory or defeat of this battle will most likely determine the future hegemony of the South China Sea. belong.Although Tao Donglai and the others had great confidence in victory, they did not dare to be careless at all. After all, in terms of experience in naval warfare, the enemy they faced this time might be even better than Haihan Navy.If you leave an opportunity for your opponent to take advantage of, it will be impossible to achieve a complete victory.
At the same time that the Haihan Fleet left the port, the Spanish Fleet had come to the ocean about [-] nautical miles southeast of Sanya.After getting rid of the tracking of the Haihan scout ship, the fleet has been sailing at sea for more than a day, and the next voyage is basically entering the final sprint stage before launching an attack.
Pinto has put the previous unhappiness behind him. Those small sailboats can't stop his fleet from attacking Sanya. As long as he can break through the outer defense of the port and make a landing, Pinto believes that he will still be able to defeat it with greater confidence. The local defenders, and captured the legendary Fort Victory, which holds a lot of wealth and advanced manufacturing technology.
But it is a pity that his wishful thinking did not come true. After a quiet day at sea, Pinto once again received the news from the lookout on the mast, and found several sail shadows on the distant sea, which seemed to be related to The Haihan scout ship that had been encountered before was very similar.
Whatever happened, Pinto hoped that this was just a misjudgment by the lookouts, but soon he knew that his luck was really bad. The sails that appeared on the sea were exactly the same as the ships he saw the day before yesterday small sailboat.
However, the few ships encountered this time did not seem to have the intention of accompanying them. After confirming the identity of the Spanish fleet a few nautical miles away, they immediately turned around and headed north. signal flare.Bright orange fireworks rose slowly over the sea, flew into the air and exploded with a bang, leaving a large cloud of orange smoke in midair.In the current fine weather, the presence of this warning smoke can be noticed at least twenty nautical miles away.Obviously, the opponent is sending a warning signal to the rear through such means.
Fortunately, the sea wind was not weak at this time, and the cloud of smoke didn't stay in the air for a long time before it was blown away by the wind.After Pinto saw this scene, instead of being flustered by the opponent's detection of the movement, he was relieved - the opponent used this method to report to the rear, obviously did not have the magic communication technology that Louis said, then The few small sailboats that followed the fleet all the way the day before yesterday were probably just playing tricks.At this time, even if the news of the Spanish fleet's attack was transmitted back to Sanya through signal flares on the sea, it would probably be difficult for the local area to organize decent defense methods in a timely manner.
But Pinto soon realized his omission. Why did the Haihan scout ship appear in this sea area?You must know that in order to avoid exposing the route and target, the Spanish fleet has spent more than a day making a big circle at sea, and the current route is not the original plan.If Haihan had detected some signs in advance and sent a scout ship to search at sea, it should also be the sea area where the scout ship encountered last time as the main target. How could he have the spare power to deploy so many fast sailing ships in the southerly waters? ?
Is it a coincidence?Of course Pinto had such expectations, but he didn't dare to take chances too much. After all, the other party's action of releasing the flare was very firm, and they had obviously regarded the Spanish fleet as a threat, which meant that the mission of these ships was to guard the sea.And this place is at least a hundred nautical miles away from Sanya, how can Haihan's daily sea defense range be so large?Or is it that the opponent has been vigilant for a long time, and has made deployments like this in all directions in the waters near Sanya?
This last possibility is very risky for the Spanish fleet. Pinto is still in shock after thinking about it, but several small boats in the distance have turned back to the north, and the fleet cannot catch up with them. Obviously, there is no intention to exert any resistance to the Spanish fleet here.
At this position, I can no longer tolerate any thoughts of turning back. I have to go to Sanya to find out what happened first. After Pinto briefly exchanged opinions with Louis through the flag signal, the two decided to go directly to Sanya. Haihan people Whether it is a bluff to create suspicion, or has really been warned and prepared, you will know when you go to the local area.
Feeling uneasy, the Spanish fleet continued to march northwest, but both commanders issued instructions to their subordinates, requiring all ships to enter a combat state.Although there is no clear sign that Hai Han will set up an ambush ahead, but the closer he gets to the destination, the stronger the uneasiness in his heart.
Although the Haihan reconnaissance ship did not take any hostile actions against the Spanish fleet after that, this uneasy mood lasted for a whole day in the fleet. Everyone gradually realized that the battle might start at any time, even the favorite The jesting sailor has also shut up.At this juncture, apart from wiping their knives and guns, the only thing the crew and sailors can do is to pray to heaven that they will have the good luck of surviving.
Pinto put on the full-length equipment after lunch. Although the battle on the ship will not require full-body armor like knights fighting face-to-face, the half-armor and helmet that protect the vital parts of the body must still be worn, so as not to cause damage to everyone in the melee. Injured by stray bullets and blast fragments.In addition to a knight's sword, his sidearm also has a flintlock pistol made by skilled craftsmen in Spain. Although the range is not long, it is also a sharp weapon for killing enemies and saving lives in close combat.
"Let's see how many enemies this old buddy can kill!" Pinto has been fighting all over the world for many years, and he is also a decisive person. The repeated appearance of Han ships was too affected.He is very clear that his mission on this trip is to cause as much damage as possible to Haihan, one is to avenge the loss of the Taipei stronghold that year, and the other is to curb Haihan's rapid development.When it came time to be cruel, he would never spare anyone with kindness in his heart.
That afternoon, everyone in the fleet thought that today was safe and sound, and that the battle would start after arriving in Sanya tomorrow. A scout ship sailing at the forefront of the entire fleet hung a conspicuous red flag on the top of the mast, which represented The only thing is that there may be an enemy attack ahead.Pinto and Louis received the alert almost at the same time, and immediately ordered the fleet to enter a combat state.
After a flurry of fuss, Pinto saw the shadows of sails appearing on the sea in the distance on the bow deck, and they were heading towards the direction of their own fleet.Obviously this time it will no longer be the kind of small sailboat gliding around in the distance, it is very likely to be the legendary Haihan Navy.
When the distance between the two was getting closer, the red and blue sails hanging on the mast of the sailing ship in the distance were clearly visible, and it really came from Haihan's fleet.Pinto noticed that there were not many ships in the opposite fleet, it seemed that there were only a dozen or so ships, but judging by the size of the hull, it was not a disadvantage. The largest warship was almost his own flagship "Valentine". twice the size of .Being able to build such a large warship, this kind of engineering construction ability has already reflected Haihan's maritime armed strength from the side.Pinto had also heard rumors about the strong firepower of the Haihan Fleet before he set off. He didn't dare to believe it, so he sent a signal to separate the Manila Fleet led by Louis from the American Fleet he commanded, trying to separate the Haihan Fleet on the opposite side. Sandwiched in the middle for shelling.
Pinto believes that no matter how powerful the firepower of the Haihan battleship is, the ship is so big after all, and the number of naval guns that can be deployed on the ship cannot be much.There are more than 40 combat ships in the two fleets of our own camp, while the opponent has only a dozen ships. If we can attack from both sides, how can the Haihan fleet withstand such an intense bombardment?
Before the fleet set off from Manila, the two commanders had repeatedly deduced various naval warfare tactics that they might use. Therefore, the fleet commanded by Louis quickly cooperated. They opened a gap of hundreds of meters, just aiming at the Haihan Fleet approaching in a file.
"The Spaniards think simply. Do you expect us to step into such a big bag?" Tao Donglai has confirmed the opponent's movement through the telescope, and immediately ordered to adjust the course.
This Spanish warship is not as fragile as the pirate ships that the Haihan Navy fought before. Not only are there a large number of cannons on board, but also a large number of experienced military personnel. Tao Donglai will not rush into the opponent just because the fleet has enough firepower. Fight recklessly in the firepower net laid down.What's more, with the fleet I lead, the number of ships is more than half of that of the opponent, and the difference in gross tonnage is at least one-third. In terms of firepower, it really doesn't have much advantage. It is very likely that it is the Haihan Fleet.
Although Tao Donglai is not from the navy, he has also worked a lot on the tactics of sailing warships, and he already has a set of tactics in mind.After some adjustments, the Haihan Fleet turned to the left from the southeast route on the sea about two nautical miles away from the Spanish Fleet.Judging from the relative speeds of the two sides, the Haihan Fleet was just able to align its flanks with the Manila Fleet and pass across its bow.If the distance between the two sides was close enough, the Manila Fleet's leading ship would have received a full round of side bombardment from the Shanghai Han Fleet.
The response of the Haihan Fleet did not exceed the expectations of the Spaniards, and this was considered a relatively normal countermeasure.However, Louis noticed that the maneuverability of these Haihan warships was very good. The trajectories they drew on the sea showed that their turning radius was very small, which was obviously better than his own warships. This was not a good sign.
Louis also immediately issued an order, and the Manila fleet also turned in the same direction as the opponent, so that after completing the turn, it can advance parallel to it, and it will not suffer from side firepower.Seeing the situation, the American fleet led by Pinto turned accordingly, trying to catch the tail of the Haihan fleet.
Although the two sides have not fired a single shot, they have gone through two rounds of tricks before the official battle, and they have a preliminary understanding of the enemy's strength.
(End of this chapter)
The atmosphere of war deliberately created by the military is actually the same as the mission Liu Shang is currently performing. The purpose is to calm the hearts of the people.Of course, with so much effort and effort to deploy so many coastal fortifications and troops, if any fish escaped through the navy's blockade and attacked the port, then these defensive measures would definitely have a certain impact.Not to mention the use of artillery, the thousands of muskets of the coastal defense force alone are enough to blast a small group of landing enemies into a hornet's nest.
When Liu Shang was in Ming Dynasty, he also saw scenes in war-torn areas. Once he heard that war was about to break out, the people in the vicinity of dozens of miles often reacted first to pack up their belongings and flee.Even if one's ability is limited and one cannot escape too far, one must at least escape into a nearby city first.But he did not see a similar scene in Sanya. Although the Haihan government issued a war warning, the local people did not seem to have any intention of fleeing, nor did they flock to the Victory Fort to seek asylum. How should they live their daily lives? Pass.
Regarding the upcoming war, the mood of the people is relatively stable, and it seems that this is just an extra piece of talk after dinner.And as far as Liu Shang knows, most people are not concerned about the outcome of the war, but such as how many days the Haihan Army needs to solve the opponent this time, how many prisoners will be escorted to the streets of Sanya in the end, etc. Wait.
During this period, there were also some prominent business people who sent food, medicine and other materials to the garrison troops in the name of the labor force with great fanfare.But Liu Shang suspects that the statements made by these upper-class people are more or less hinted and instigated by the government, and they consciously do some superficial efforts to stabilize the emotions of the local people.Those who are worried about the war situation are mostly foreigners or new immigrants who have just arrived in Sanya. These people don't know enough about Haihan's strength, and they will worry about being affected by the flames of war. Only when they see a large number of Haihan Soldiers can only relax a little by setting up defenses everywhere in the port area.Therefore, the tough posture made by the Haihan military in Sanya has played a certain role in stabilizing the hearts of the people.
On September [-], Tao Donglai and Johnson respectively led a fleet to leave Hong Kong to face the Spanish fleet that was about to arrive in this sea area, while the military and political affairs of Sanya were temporarily taken over by Yan Chujie, Ning Qi and others.
For the Haihan military, this is the first time in recent years to carry out a combat mission in the local waters, and the opponent is an old maritime empire like Spain. When the two powers meet, the victory or defeat of this battle will most likely determine the future hegemony of the South China Sea. belong.Although Tao Donglai and the others had great confidence in victory, they did not dare to be careless at all. After all, in terms of experience in naval warfare, the enemy they faced this time might be even better than Haihan Navy.If you leave an opportunity for your opponent to take advantage of, it will be impossible to achieve a complete victory.
At the same time that the Haihan Fleet left the port, the Spanish Fleet had come to the ocean about [-] nautical miles southeast of Sanya.After getting rid of the tracking of the Haihan scout ship, the fleet has been sailing at sea for more than a day, and the next voyage is basically entering the final sprint stage before launching an attack.
Pinto has put the previous unhappiness behind him. Those small sailboats can't stop his fleet from attacking Sanya. As long as he can break through the outer defense of the port and make a landing, Pinto believes that he will still be able to defeat it with greater confidence. The local defenders, and captured the legendary Fort Victory, which holds a lot of wealth and advanced manufacturing technology.
But it is a pity that his wishful thinking did not come true. After a quiet day at sea, Pinto once again received the news from the lookout on the mast, and found several sail shadows on the distant sea, which seemed to be related to The Haihan scout ship that had been encountered before was very similar.
Whatever happened, Pinto hoped that this was just a misjudgment by the lookouts, but soon he knew that his luck was really bad. The sails that appeared on the sea were exactly the same as the ships he saw the day before yesterday small sailboat.
However, the few ships encountered this time did not seem to have the intention of accompanying them. After confirming the identity of the Spanish fleet a few nautical miles away, they immediately turned around and headed north. signal flare.Bright orange fireworks rose slowly over the sea, flew into the air and exploded with a bang, leaving a large cloud of orange smoke in midair.In the current fine weather, the presence of this warning smoke can be noticed at least twenty nautical miles away.Obviously, the opponent is sending a warning signal to the rear through such means.
Fortunately, the sea wind was not weak at this time, and the cloud of smoke didn't stay in the air for a long time before it was blown away by the wind.After Pinto saw this scene, instead of being flustered by the opponent's detection of the movement, he was relieved - the opponent used this method to report to the rear, obviously did not have the magic communication technology that Louis said, then The few small sailboats that followed the fleet all the way the day before yesterday were probably just playing tricks.At this time, even if the news of the Spanish fleet's attack was transmitted back to Sanya through signal flares on the sea, it would probably be difficult for the local area to organize decent defense methods in a timely manner.
But Pinto soon realized his omission. Why did the Haihan scout ship appear in this sea area?You must know that in order to avoid exposing the route and target, the Spanish fleet has spent more than a day making a big circle at sea, and the current route is not the original plan.If Haihan had detected some signs in advance and sent a scout ship to search at sea, it should also be the sea area where the scout ship encountered last time as the main target. How could he have the spare power to deploy so many fast sailing ships in the southerly waters? ?
Is it a coincidence?Of course Pinto had such expectations, but he didn't dare to take chances too much. After all, the other party's action of releasing the flare was very firm, and they had obviously regarded the Spanish fleet as a threat, which meant that the mission of these ships was to guard the sea.And this place is at least a hundred nautical miles away from Sanya, how can Haihan's daily sea defense range be so large?Or is it that the opponent has been vigilant for a long time, and has made deployments like this in all directions in the waters near Sanya?
This last possibility is very risky for the Spanish fleet. Pinto is still in shock after thinking about it, but several small boats in the distance have turned back to the north, and the fleet cannot catch up with them. Obviously, there is no intention to exert any resistance to the Spanish fleet here.
At this position, I can no longer tolerate any thoughts of turning back. I have to go to Sanya to find out what happened first. After Pinto briefly exchanged opinions with Louis through the flag signal, the two decided to go directly to Sanya. Haihan people Whether it is a bluff to create suspicion, or has really been warned and prepared, you will know when you go to the local area.
Feeling uneasy, the Spanish fleet continued to march northwest, but both commanders issued instructions to their subordinates, requiring all ships to enter a combat state.Although there is no clear sign that Hai Han will set up an ambush ahead, but the closer he gets to the destination, the stronger the uneasiness in his heart.
Although the Haihan reconnaissance ship did not take any hostile actions against the Spanish fleet after that, this uneasy mood lasted for a whole day in the fleet. Everyone gradually realized that the battle might start at any time, even the favorite The jesting sailor has also shut up.At this juncture, apart from wiping their knives and guns, the only thing the crew and sailors can do is to pray to heaven that they will have the good luck of surviving.
Pinto put on the full-length equipment after lunch. Although the battle on the ship will not require full-body armor like knights fighting face-to-face, the half-armor and helmet that protect the vital parts of the body must still be worn, so as not to cause damage to everyone in the melee. Injured by stray bullets and blast fragments.In addition to a knight's sword, his sidearm also has a flintlock pistol made by skilled craftsmen in Spain. Although the range is not long, it is also a sharp weapon for killing enemies and saving lives in close combat.
"Let's see how many enemies this old buddy can kill!" Pinto has been fighting all over the world for many years, and he is also a decisive person. The repeated appearance of Han ships was too affected.He is very clear that his mission on this trip is to cause as much damage as possible to Haihan, one is to avenge the loss of the Taipei stronghold that year, and the other is to curb Haihan's rapid development.When it came time to be cruel, he would never spare anyone with kindness in his heart.
That afternoon, everyone in the fleet thought that today was safe and sound, and that the battle would start after arriving in Sanya tomorrow. A scout ship sailing at the forefront of the entire fleet hung a conspicuous red flag on the top of the mast, which represented The only thing is that there may be an enemy attack ahead.Pinto and Louis received the alert almost at the same time, and immediately ordered the fleet to enter a combat state.
After a flurry of fuss, Pinto saw the shadows of sails appearing on the sea in the distance on the bow deck, and they were heading towards the direction of their own fleet.Obviously this time it will no longer be the kind of small sailboat gliding around in the distance, it is very likely to be the legendary Haihan Navy.
When the distance between the two was getting closer, the red and blue sails hanging on the mast of the sailing ship in the distance were clearly visible, and it really came from Haihan's fleet.Pinto noticed that there were not many ships in the opposite fleet, it seemed that there were only a dozen or so ships, but judging by the size of the hull, it was not a disadvantage. The largest warship was almost his own flagship "Valentine". twice the size of .Being able to build such a large warship, this kind of engineering construction ability has already reflected Haihan's maritime armed strength from the side.Pinto had also heard rumors about the strong firepower of the Haihan Fleet before he set off. He didn't dare to believe it, so he sent a signal to separate the Manila Fleet led by Louis from the American Fleet he commanded, trying to separate the Haihan Fleet on the opposite side. Sandwiched in the middle for shelling.
Pinto believes that no matter how powerful the firepower of the Haihan battleship is, the ship is so big after all, and the number of naval guns that can be deployed on the ship cannot be much.There are more than 40 combat ships in the two fleets of our own camp, while the opponent has only a dozen ships. If we can attack from both sides, how can the Haihan fleet withstand such an intense bombardment?
Before the fleet set off from Manila, the two commanders had repeatedly deduced various naval warfare tactics that they might use. Therefore, the fleet commanded by Louis quickly cooperated. They opened a gap of hundreds of meters, just aiming at the Haihan Fleet approaching in a file.
"The Spaniards think simply. Do you expect us to step into such a big bag?" Tao Donglai has confirmed the opponent's movement through the telescope, and immediately ordered to adjust the course.
This Spanish warship is not as fragile as the pirate ships that the Haihan Navy fought before. Not only are there a large number of cannons on board, but also a large number of experienced military personnel. Tao Donglai will not rush into the opponent just because the fleet has enough firepower. Fight recklessly in the firepower net laid down.What's more, with the fleet I lead, the number of ships is more than half of that of the opponent, and the difference in gross tonnage is at least one-third. In terms of firepower, it really doesn't have much advantage. It is very likely that it is the Haihan Fleet.
Although Tao Donglai is not from the navy, he has also worked a lot on the tactics of sailing warships, and he already has a set of tactics in mind.After some adjustments, the Haihan Fleet turned to the left from the southeast route on the sea about two nautical miles away from the Spanish Fleet.Judging from the relative speeds of the two sides, the Haihan Fleet was just able to align its flanks with the Manila Fleet and pass across its bow.If the distance between the two sides was close enough, the Manila Fleet's leading ship would have received a full round of side bombardment from the Shanghai Han Fleet.
The response of the Haihan Fleet did not exceed the expectations of the Spaniards, and this was considered a relatively normal countermeasure.However, Louis noticed that the maneuverability of these Haihan warships was very good. The trajectories they drew on the sea showed that their turning radius was very small, which was obviously better than his own warships. This was not a good sign.
Louis also immediately issued an order, and the Manila fleet also turned in the same direction as the opponent, so that after completing the turn, it can advance parallel to it, and it will not suffer from side firepower.Seeing the situation, the American fleet led by Pinto turned accordingly, trying to catch the tail of the Haihan fleet.
Although the two sides have not fired a single shot, they have gone through two rounds of tricks before the official battle, and they have a preliminary understanding of the enemy's strength.
(End of this chapter)