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Chapter 1304 The Attitude of the Spaniards
The United Fleet blocked the waters of Algiers for more than half a month, and few pirate ships were able to escape the harbor under the blockade of more than 20 large ships.

While waiting for the Earl of Stratford to borrow a ship and march with Sun Chuanting's surprise troops, the United Fleet was not idle either. They sent a detachment to capture the pirate ships in the nearby waters.Not only for loot, these pirate ships themselves are also very suitable for shallow water warfare, and can be used to storm coastal defense forts.

The Ottoman navy had not yet arrived, the winds in the Mediterranean changed more frequently, and the pirates in Algiers became increasingly anxious.

If the United Fleet continues to attack the fort, perhaps the pirates can continue to fight without thinking about what kind of offensive the opponent is planning.However, the United Fleet has never made any large-scale actions, which makes the pirates feel very uneasy, because the next attack launched by the United Fleet may be a general attack.

During this period, the pirates were not silent, but tried to use ships full of gunpowder to attack the combined fleet at night.However, the gunpowder ship was discovered and hit by the patrolling frigate. The explosive gunpowder ship broke the determination of the pirates to fight back. The pirates simply stayed behind closed doors, gave up the idea of ​​​​counterattack, and waited patiently for the support of the Ottoman Empire navy or the arrival of winter. .

"According to the time, the Earl of Stratford should have borrowed a ship from the Spaniards, but he has not seen the return of the Crown Prince." Zheng Zhibao calculated the days and found that the day before launching the general offensive was not far away. The Earl of Stratford, who went to borrow the boat, still has no news.

Everyone waited for another half day, and the sailors in the fleet cheered, and the Dauphin finally returned from Spain!

"Hey, why is there only one ship, the Crown Prince? What about the ship borrowed from the Spaniards?" The sailors in the combined fleet booed.

"It seems that the plan to borrow a ship from the Spaniards has failed." Sun Xu saw the lonely Crown Prince, and he didn't need to see the Earl of Stratford to know that he failed to borrow a ship from the Spaniards.

Sure enough, after the Crown Prince returned to the fleet, the Earl of Stratford looked angry and complained to Sun Xu, Zheng Zhibao, Sir Pennington, Sir Greenville and others gathered on the ironclad ship: "The Spaniards are too small. Said that they are at war with the Mediterranean Fleet of the Kingdom of France, and they don’t want to cause trouble. I even asked them for help in the name of His Majesty the King. They still care about the previous conflict with our Royal Navy, and they also have trouble with you Chinese people. I don’t want to Come help us."

Many naval officers and nobles looked at each other in blank dismay. It seemed that the Spaniards were not so easy to talk to.

"If the Spaniards can't do it, you can find the Kingdom of Sicily or Venice. They have a lot of hatred with the Ottoman Empire and Barbary pirates." Sir Greenville reminded.

"It's running out of time. We are looking for the Kingdom of Sicily or the Republic of Venice again. When will that happen? We will miss the time agreed with the surprise attack force!" Earl Stratford still looked unhappy, obviously he was talking to Spain. During the conversation between the Mediterranean Navy and the governor of the local province, I encountered unhappiness, "The Spaniards are going downhill, don't they know it? It's not that we don't pay commissions for borrowing their ships, and we will compensate them for damage. Help them We are not willing to help us to remove the obstacle of the Barbary pirates!"

"Okay, Earl Stratford, since the Spaniards don't want to borrow ships, that's fine. Recently, we have captured several pirate ships, which can be used to replace the two shallow-water gunboats that we have been hit hard, and can also increase the force for landing on the beach. The only one The downside is that these pirate ships rarely have wooden armor. Once they are hit by artillery, the soldiers on them may suffer heavy casualties. But as long as the surprise attack team can launch an attack on the city of Algiers on time, the pirates defending the coastline and coastal defense forts must The army will be in a state of confusion, and when the time comes, we will advance both land and water, forcing them to be unable to look at each other head to tail, so the current number of shallow water ships will barely be enough," Sun Xu said.

In the current confrontations between the United Fleet and the pirates, it seems that the United Fleet is at a disadvantage, losing a frigate, two shallow water ships were severely damaged, and unable to win the fort.

However, the casualties of the pirates were even more severe. More than a dozen pirate ships were captured by the United Fleet in the nearby waters, and another dozen ships were sunk by the artillery of the United Fleet during the operation.The two forts in the north and the south also suffered losses in the mutual bombardment with the United Fleet. There were not many sea artillery guns lost. Instead, many pirates stationed on the fort were killed by the artillery, which made the pirates feel fear.

The Fourth Fleet, which has not experienced many actual battles, can also take advantage of this war to grow rapidly and become a fleet that can stand alone.

"Without the help of the Spaniards, this is the only plan for today. Let the officers and soldiers of our Royal Navy also participate in the beach rush operation. If only you Chinese people rush forward, wouldn't it seem that our Royal Navy is too big?" Weak," said Sir Pennington.

"Yes." Sun Xu nodded.

The time agreed with the surprise attack team is approaching, and the United Fleet can only make good use of the shallow water ships on hand to cooperate with the surprise attack team to capture Algiers.At present, they still have 4 shallow water gunboats intact.Shallow-water gunboats need to shoulder the roles of transporting troops and providing artillery cover at the same time, and they are relatively fragile under close-range strikes from forts, and the task is arduous.

Among the captured pirate ships, there are only two Arabian dhows that can provide fire support and protect soldiers at the same time.With such a fleet, they need to put enough troops on the beach as much as possible at one time.

"Report, a fleet has appeared in the Northeast Sea, and its affiliation has not yet been clarified!" Suddenly, a sailor in charge of observation reported to everyone.

"Is the Ottoman Empire navy here?!"

The naval officers nervously looked towards the northeast waters, where the shadows of the fleet and sails really appeared, but the distance was too close to be so real.

"Line up and prepare for battle!"

Whether it's the arrival of the Ottoman navy or not, it's okay to be careful.

The semaphore was quickly raised, and the fleet of more than 20 ships was divided into three parts according to the simple formation of three formations: the left wing, the middle army, and the right wing. A formation lined up left and right.

The King of the Sea is responsible for the frontal melee with the main force of the enemy fleet, while the formations on the left and right wings quickly defeat the left and right wings of the enemy in front of the battle line, and then outflank the main force of the enemy fleet.

(End of this chapter)