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Chapter 1328 Great Battle, Decisive Battle in the Tunis Strait ([-])

"The enemy's fleet was found, the number of ships is about 40, and it is sailing in the direction of Tunisia!"

The Ottoman fleet moored in the Port of Tripoli soon discovered the traces of the combined fleet on the island of Malta, and this fleet is advancing towards Tunisia!
It was a few days after Grand Vizier Baylan Pasha got the news.In the era when there was no radio communication, the two sides could only rely on ships sailing on the sea to transmit information, and the information obtained was quite lagging. At this time, the commanders of both sides could only rely on their own experience to make decisions.

The military chiefs, dignitaries, and pirate chieftains of Constantinople gathered around a round table. A rash decision by them could determine the fate of the imperial fleet.

"Don't they know that our imperial fleet has arrived in Tripoli? Why are they attacking Tunisia at this time?" Karamusha Pasha, as the governor of Tripoli, pointed to where Tunisia is.

Tunisia, Tripoli, and Malta form a triangle. If the combined fleet attacks Tunisia from Malta, then Tripoli's imperial fleet has two options - to attack Malta, or to support Tunisia.

As one of the several commanders of the North African pirates, Karamousha Pasha felt the crisis of the United Fleet attacking Algiers and Tunisia one after another.If Tunisia is also captured, isn't Tripoli the last stronghold of the Barbary pirates?

"Murat and his fleet haven't come to gather yet?" Bar-Ilan Pasha asked.

"Murat claimed that his fleet suffered heavy losses when Algiers fell, and many galleys were taken by the Chinese and British fleets. He was unable to organize the fleet to join. Therefore, he asked to stay in Algiers to prevent The enemy fleet strikes again."

"That guy is already afraid of the enemy, don't count on his ships, our imperial fleet is going to destroy them!"

"Lord Grand Vizier, do you mean that we are going to support Tunisia?"

"Destroy this fleet and regain face for our emperor!"

Grand Vizier Bar-Ilan Pasha stuck his dagger in the location of Tunisia on the map.

More than 200 imperial fleets that have not been fully assembled and neatly set sail with Tunisia as their destination.This fleet is dominated by large and small galleys, and the red and white star and moon flags, the flags of the Grand Vizier, and the flags of Barbary pirates are overwhelming!
Groups of soldiers and pirates resting in Tripoli boarded and weighed anchor under the command of Ottoman officers.

The populous empire never lacked cheap cannon fodder and oarsmen, so this improvised fleet consisted of as many as 3 people.

Boom!The ironclad ship stirred up waves in the big waves, and the combined fleet entered the Tunis Strait, and the waves suddenly became bigger.

The waves splashed on the deck of the ironclad ship and were discharged along the drain. Many crew members on the deck were wet by the waves.

At this time, there were no plastic jackets, and the crew felt a little uncomfortable when they were hit by big waves.

"This kind of weather is a bit gloomy, not very suitable for fighting."

As the captain of the ironclad ship, Zheng Zhibao insisted on observing the wind direction and waves on the deck, as well as the signals of other ships in the fleet.

The various captains did not gather on the ironclad ship, they dispersed to their respective ships to take command.

This time it is not a siege battle, but an upright sea battle. The performance of each ship in the battle may affect the outcome of the sea battle!

The main flagship of the United Fleet became the seventy-gun class Shuhan ironclad ship.

There are three formations under the fleet, two formations in the Fourth Fleet, one formation in the Royal Fleet, and a reserve force composed of the Maltese Fleet.

"You all have to hold on to the things around you, don't be swept into the sea by the waves, this kind of big wave weather is close to death!"

The relatively heavy ironclad ships are fine, but the relatively small Maltese warships are even more dangerous in high waves. They are easy to be blown away by strong winds and waves or deviate from the fleet.

On a Maltese warship with a displacement of about 200 tons, in order to cope with the undulating hull in the big waves, the captain anxiously commanded the sailors: "Dim, help lower the sail of the main mast, what are you doing here!"

The sailor named Dim seemed at a loss in the face of such a situation. Suddenly a wave came over and knocked off his hat, revealing his long golden hair.

"Miss Hannah, why are you here?" The captain and the knight sailors on the deck were all dumbfounded when they saw Tim change.

"I am a knight of the Knights Hospitaller. How can I hide behind when everyone is fighting hard?" The female knight Hannah picked up her hat generously and wrung out the sea water from the hat.

"But miss, this is the Tunisian Strait. We are going to fight to the death with the Ottoman Empire and the Barbary pirates here, but we don't have the energy to take care of you! If the grand master knows you are here, he will be very anxious!" the captain Big headache.

"So please don't tell my brother I'm here, or he will be distracted, please captain. I'm going to duel with pirates and hateful heretics, and kill them all!" Hannah said.

"Wars are not a joke..." The captain felt a headache seeing that Hannah didn't understand how cruel the battlefield was.

"Captain, should we send Miss Hannah to the Chinese iron ship? It is said that the iron ship is a battleship that will never be sunk. At least Miss Hannah will be safer staying on the iron ship than we are here." ?” A knight suggested.

"No, I'm going to duel the pirates on our Maltese warship! I'm not going on their ship!" Hannah insisted.

"You guys take good care of Miss Hannah, don't let her have any accidents, when the wind and waves subside, we will find a way to send her to the iron boat of the Chinese people." The captain had to whisper to the few knights around him.

What happened on this Maltese warship did not cause disturbance among the United Fleet. The fleet braved the storm and continued to march towards Tunisia, intending to turn Tunisia into another Algiers and sign an unequal treaty with them.

When the United Fleet ventured for two days, the wind and waves gradually became smaller. They realized that winter was coming, and the time suitable for large-scale sea operations was gradually decreasing.

On the third day of the voyage, the United Fleet suddenly appeared in Tunisia, and the pirates staying in Tunisia were shocked.They huddled in the forts and forts of the harbor.

Their Pasha has led the main fleet to Tripoli to join the Grand Vizier, and Tunisia's troops are empty!

"Bombard Tunisia! Send out a scout ship and keep an eye on whether the imperial fleet has arrived!" Sun Xu, as the commander-in-chief of the joint fleet, issued a combat order.

(End of this chapter)