Back to Ming Dynasty with Industrial Revolution System

Chapter 1296 Lessons
The sea breeze on the western Mediterranean swept by, and the flags of the Barbary pirates fluttered.The frigate that hit the rocks has become a stronghold of pirates, and dozens of pirates are stationed here.

"There are 24 cannons in total. These cannons seem to be made of cast iron. Is the performance reliable? Won't they explode suddenly while shooting?"

"The Orientals are really rich. The shells they use are probably 12-pound and 24-pound solid shells, and there are still a lot of ammunition reserves on board. And the standard of these iron cannons is almost exactly the same, as if they were cast from a mold. Yes. And these strange muskets..."

The pirates counted the captured artillery on the frigate, and found that the artillery on the frigate was relatively new, and it seemed that it hadn't been used for a few years.

This is a new ship, and the guns and decorations on the warship have no traces of old age.

The pirates even wanted to bring new, fancy-looking guns from their warships to land.However, the artillery was heavy and half-fixed on the tackle, and it was difficult for the pirates to transfer the artillery for a while. They still had to rely on this batch of artillery to build a sea turret to help defend Algiers.

In addition to artillery, the food on the frigate is also enough for the pirates to defend.

The pirates on the two pirate ships who escaped from the blockade of the United Fleet were regarded as heroes, and Murat Pasha even handed out bounties for them, although the pirates who escaped are still confused and do not know the blockade of Algiers Which faction's warship is the United Fleet of?

"It seems that they are not invincible! As long as we hold on to Algiers until winter, or the navy of the empire comes to support us, we Barbary pirates will be able to traverse the Mediterranean Sea in the future!"

Murat Pasha was in a good mood because of his victory in the first battle.

Amur was rewarded by Pasha with 20 slaves and some gold and silver for commanding the pirates to seize the stranded frigate, which made many pirates jealous.

Compared with the bustle of the pirates, the morale of the United Fleet was a bit low because of the loss of a frigate.

"We... our captain died while fighting pirates... some people were captured, and more people died..." The frigate sailors who fell into the water and escaped were taken to the ironclad ship and reported to the senior officers Details of the fall of the frigate.

"In the future, any officer of our Fourth Fleet must strictly obey the flagship's command when receiving a signal from the flagship, and must not be greedy for success! This defeat is a lesson for our Fourth Fleet! Our Fourth Fleet was established the latest, no matter what The warships and artillery are all up-to-date, and even the most advanced ironclad warships in the country have been rowed under the jurisdiction of our Fourth Fleet by the military master! Originally, sophisticated weapons and warships should be one of our advantages, but they will also let us Conceited, supercilious, thinking of making contributions quickly!"

"This lesson tells us that no matter how sophisticated a weapon is, we must have a calm mind to command it, otherwise we can't even beat a pirate's small sailboat! You all remember my words firmly in your heart! Do you understand?!"

Sun Xu summoned the captains of all the ships of the Fourth Fleet, and gave them a reprimand.

The warships of the Fourth Fleet are excellent, and such losses could have been avoided. This time it was entirely a man-made disaster, not because the warships and weapons were not advanced enough.

"Record this truthfully in the fleet's logbook. All officers and soldiers who join our Fourth Fleet in the future must bear this in mind to avoid making similar mistakes again." Sun Xu turned his head and said to the adjutant.

Sir Pennington and other nobles and officers of the Royal Navy witnessed Sun Xu's reprimand to his subordinates, and found that the captains of the Fourth Fleet did not dare to take a breath and stood upright.

"This is the standing navy. It is completely different from our temporarily recruited sailors. They are more like real soldiers. Maybe our Royal Navy needs to establish a standing fleet. Most of our current sailors and even officers are It was only recruited at the beginning of the war, lacked training, and even temporarily deployed a large number of armed merchant ships to strengthen our momentum." Sir Pennington was somewhat envious of the Fourth Fleet.

The Fourth Fleet is a standing naval fleet. Officers and soldiers receive monthly military pay, and there is only one thing to do, which is to practice naval warfare skills.

On the contrary, the British side is not considered a standing army. The nobles serve as naval officers. Many sailors originally worked on merchant ships, and even fishermen. They were temporarily hired to drive warships during the war, and their wages were settled on the shore.There are very few people who can barely be called professional soldiers.

"The scale of the war is increasing and the number of people mobilized is increasing. It is no longer the Middle Ages. His Majesty the King wants to form a real standing army and a standing navy, a standing army similar to the ancient Roman legions but completely different. If you want The analogy may be like these people in front of you. They have a complete command and logistics system. Except for technical workers and handymen, everyone is a professional soldier. But there are too many people who hinder His Majesty the King, and No one is willing to pay taxes to build a strong standing army, they stubbornly believe that this is His Majesty the King's order to strengthen his rule." As Charles I's most loyal minister, the Earl of Stratford tried to impress Sir Pennington's main Naval officers, to get the support of naval officers for the king.

"The cost of a standing navy is astonishing, unless it is a powerful empire that can maintain it." Sir Pennington said.

While the two were talking in low voices, Sun Xu came over and said to the two of them: "We plan to select a small team to take the sailboat captured from the pirates under the cover of night and approach the frigate occupied by the pirates, and use arson The ship burned it. If it is regarded as a fort by the opponent, it will increase the difficulty for us to seize the opponent's fort."

The frustrated Fourth Fleet lost a frigate, but the stranded frigate was not allowed to be used by the pirates as a battery against their own people.

Officers selected a team of 37 to maneuver the captured two small pirate galleys close to the stranded frigate.One of them was an incendiary boat loaded with gunpowder and fire, and the other was the boat used by the squad to get out.

The task of this small team is extremely difficult. They have to learn to operate the pirates' galleys in a short period of time, risking their lives and setting fire to the frigate captured by the enemy.

The small galleys were loaded with gunpowder and gunpowder, completely unable to withstand the bombardment of battleships and forts, so they could only approach the frigate from the blind spot of the artillery in the dark.Once hit by the enemy's artillery, it will be difficult for one's own ships to rescue in the dark, and the members of the squad will also face the danger of their lives.

(End of this chapter)