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Chapter 1320 Goal, Defeat the Imperial Fleet!
"It seems that the Earl has extraordinary courage, and Sun admires it." Sun Xu Xiangjian Earl Stratford was decisive and greedy, so the cooperation between the two parties would be much smoother.

"Our British Navy and you have a concerted action treaty on the premise of not violating each other's interests. We will definitely help you in the fight against Barbary pirates. It's just that our Levant Company and the Ottoman Empire have at least 10 people every year. For pound trade, we absolutely cannot declare war on the Ottoman Empire. Our ships will lower their flags and disguise themselves as ordinary armed merchant ships to follow the United Fleet," said Earl Stratford.

The other British naval officers and nobles nodded.

They were supposed to go back to protect the British islands from the 30 Years' War, but King Charles wanted to show Europe the "golden devil", and the capture of Algiers didn't seem to show the power of the navy. After all, the timid pirates shrank In the port, dare not come out to engage in naval battles.

If the conquest of Algiers is the result of the navy, it is better to say that it is the credit of the infantry surprise attack and storming the fort. The battleship mainly provided artillery cover in this battle.

Another important reason is the benefits that Britain gained from plundering pirates-the gold and silver they looted and claimed from the pirates in Algiers allowed Charles I to build another "Golden Devil".

If a few more pirate ports are robbed, then Charles I's goal of revitalizing the Royal Navy will be one step closer.

The cost of the King of the Seas can add four ordinary warships to the Royal Navy, which is equivalent to adding a few more warships to the fleet every time a town is robbed!

When Britain was fighting the Spaniards, because the navy was not as good as the Spanish Armada, it used a large number of privateers, that is, pirate ships. For a while, it was regarded as a pirate country by Europe, so this kind of "plundering" action is very important They are not unfamiliar at all.

"God guides us to be together!" The Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller raised his glass and said to everyone.

Their Hospitaller Knights may be the biggest winner of this war.

The United Fleet rescued them on the way to attack Algiers. After they arrived, they joined the Allied Forces in shallow water galleys, and received 10 taels of silver in compensation and various looted properties with minimal casualties.

In order to stabilize this group of allies who are familiar with the terrain and hydrology of the Mediterranean Sea, Sun Chuanting and Zheng Zhibao officers of the Kyushu Army also toasted with them to celebrate the victory of the next operation in advance.

"We want to claim compensation from the pirates in Tunisia and Tripoli, and we may have to go through a war similar to Algiers. We need to capture their forts, ports, and fortresses. Every war takes time and consumes troops. If If you encounter a fortress with a strong will to resist, it may take years and months of war." Sir Pennington expressed his worries.

Using fleets to plunder along the Mediterranean coast is a very lucrative operation, but the various ports and towns densely covered with bastions have greatly increased the cost of plundering.

It took almost two months to take down Algiers, and it took hundreds of kilometers from Morocco to carry out a surprise attack.If the progress here is followed, maybe only five to six fortresses can be conquered a year, and the season that is suitable for combat must also be considered.

"The Mediterranean has rainy seasons and storms in late autumn and winter, and it is not suitable for fleets to fight. In winter, the main fleets of all forces will return to their respective ports in order to avoid being destroyed by storms. That means we have very little time left this year. It’s time to move on, and at most one more looting activity needs to find a safe port for supplies and avoid winter, so that we can continue fighting in the coming year.” Said the Knights of the Hospitaller.

They have been active on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and various islands for hundreds of years, and they know the climate of the Mediterranean Sea well.

"We have an idiom in China called killing chickens to scare monkeys, which is to punish one person to warn others. We want to make the Barbary pirates and the towns of the Ottoman Empire afraid of us, we have to show them our strength, that is, defeat their navy , to give them the illusion that we must win and conquer! The news of our capture of Algiers is estimated to spread throughout the entire Mediterranean, and all towns will know that our fleet has the ability to attack ports and fortresses! But They will still be lucky, thinking that the emperor behind them will send a fleet to destroy our fleet. So we have to defeat their navy, let their luck be shattered, and they will know that even if they stay trapped, they will not be able to wait for reinforcements , and we have the ability to break the city. If this continues, they will definitely weigh whether to continue to defend, or wait and see, pay us a sum of gold and silver, and let us leave their town." Sun Xu said.

"The navy that defeated the Ottoman Empire... Do we have such strength? The last time the Ottoman Empire Navy engaged in a large-scale naval battle was a contest with the Spanish and Venetian coalition forces decades ago. The coalition forces used more than 200 ships of all sizes to defeat the Ottoman Empire. Imperial Navy."

Despite an agreement to operate with the Fourth Fleet, many people still worry about whether their fleet of more than 40 ships can defeat the densely packed galley fleet of the Ottoman Empire.

"According to your description, in the last naval battle, the opponent's navy mainly engaged in small and medium-sized galleys. Such galleys are not only small in size and low in defense, but also the number of artillery is not a concern. Half of our coalition fleet is Large ships, our artillery can easily kill the oarsmen on the galleys and make them lose their mobility. Yes, their galleys are replenished quickly, but large warships are definitely not able to produce dozens of them in a short time , as long as we destroy their big ships in naval battles, we will be slaughtered one-sidedly when we encounter small and medium-sized galleys." The officers of the Fourth Fleet are full of confidence in themselves.

The British naval officers and the Knights of the Hospitallers saw that the Fourth Fleet was full of confidence, and they thought about it again. The Fourth Fleet and the Royal Navy together have an ironclad cruiser, five sailing battleships, and several frigates. This is indeed true. No amount of galleys in the Ottoman Navy could make up the gap.

Since the Ottoman Navy was defeated by Spain and Venice, their shipbuilding technology has not improved significantly for a long time, and they even had to rely on captive European shipbuilders to barely imitate the Spanish galleon.

"Algiers is a sea area familiar to pirates, and it is not suitable for a decisive battle with the Ottoman Navy. It is better to transfer the combined fleet to our island of Malta to rest, and we will wait for work in Malta." The Knights Hospitaller who has benefited mainly invited the first The Four Fleets and the Royal Navy stationed on the island of Malta to discuss the plan of being a pirate in the Mediterranean.

(End of this chapter)