Nanming: I can build wonders

Chapter 166 The Despair of the Dutch Navy

"Banner, tell those arrogant Ming people that we are the Dutch naval fleet, and we are performing missions in Dutch waters, so let them not hinder us!" Lanard said with a black face.

From the arrogant posture of the Fujian-Guangdong fleet, it can be seen that the Ming army on the other side is obviously here to find fault, but he still has a glimmer of hope that the prestige of the Netherlands can scare them away.

The flag bearer immediately passed on Lanard's words.

A moment later, Zhu Tiangui carefully observed the Dutch fleet not far away on board the flagship Haiqing of the Fujian-Guangdong joint fleet.

"Governor, the Dutch say this is Dutch waters, let us not hinder them." Bannerman Hui reported.

Zhu Tiangui laughed boldly when he heard the words: "The sea area of ​​the Netherlands? Your Majesty asked us to take over Wansheng Island (Natuna Islands), then this is the sea area of ​​Daming!"

Liu Guoxuan on the side also deeply agreed with this sentence, "Where the king's flag goes, it is the territorial waters of Ming Dynasty! Get ready to fight and drive these Dutch people away!"

Since the Dutch are toasting and refusing to eat fine wine, and looking for a dead end, it is no wonder that they made a bold move.

"Captain! The Ming fleet is approaching!"

Sailors on the Batavia exclaimed.

Captain Lanard's face changed drastically. The effective combat distance in the seventeenth century naval battle was about 400 meters. Now that the distance is getting closer, the Ming people's intentions are already obvious.

They mean to fight!
Lanard's face was ashen, he didn't expect these Ming people to be so hot-tempered, they beat them whenever they wanted, and there was no room for negotiation.

But now he has no extra time to think about other things.

"All the crew immediately enter the battle position! The standard-bearer informed the ships not to shoot at the Ming fleet! Our firepower is not as good as the opponent's. All warships pay attention to adjust their hulls. We will rush forward, attack with fire, and fight with the opponent!"

Captain Lanard ordered loudly.

As the former maritime overlord of the Netherlands, Captain Lanard did not allow himself to retreat without a fight.

Moreover, it is not that he has no chance of winning this battle.

In sea battles during the period of sailing warships, fire attack was the best comeback tactic for the weaker side.

Back then, the Spaniards' Armada lost to the British navy, which was far weaker than their own, under this tactic.

Today, he, Ranard, is going to fight and use the tactics of the British to create miracles!
Looking at the Dutch battleship that had completed its turn and was approaching, Zhu Tiangui smiled: "Guys, if you get closer, you will be within the shooting distance of the short-heavy artillery!"

Zhu Tiangui and Liu Guoxuan were very happy to see the Dutch fleet approaching intently, because the short-heavy artillery is the killer move of the Fujian fleet, the 68-pound explosive ammunition, and the killer of battleships.

Moreover, the Dongning Manufacturing Bureau has helped them upgrade the long-range artillery!

Previously, there was only a 12-pound steel Polu cannon, but now a 24-pound Polu cannon has been added, which is even more powerful.

The distance between the two sides was 450 meters, and the Fujian-Guangdong fleet lined up took the lead in firing.

boom boom boom boom...

The sound of the sudden explosion was like thunder in midsummer. In an instant, the flames shone, and thick black smoke gushed out from the muzzle.

For this attack, the absolute main force of the Fujian-Guangdong fleet was gathered. There are about 400 warships and almost no small boats. Just counting the five second-tier warships, there are already more than [-] artillery pieces. If you really want to count, there are probably thousands of pieces Cannon, I don't know where Lanard has the confidence to rush up.

With such firepower, the Dutch have few ships, so they can only gamble.

The dense shells tore through the air, roaring and hitting the oncoming Dutch navy fleet.

The distance of 450 meters is a bit far for the battle distance of the sailing warship period, but the Fujian and Guangdong fleets are so confident because they have so many guns!
As a result, most of the shells missed their targets and fell into the sea, blowing up a dense column of water.

However, some shells still hit the Dutch battleship accurately.The Fujian-Guangdong joint fleet had too many shells, and several armed merchant ships lost their combat effectiveness on the spot.

Ranard gritted his teeth, he has no way out now!
The Dutch fleet withstood the strong firepower of the Fujian-Guangdong fleet and finally rushed into a distance of 150 meters.

"Fight back!" Lanard roared with red eyes.

Boom boom boom...

The Dutch guns on the bows of the ships began to return fire.

However, compared with the earth-shattering momentum when the Fujian-Guangdong fleet opened fire, the Dutch counterattack seemed quite weak.

It's not so much a counterattack, it's better to embolden yourself.

Not surprisingly, this round of counterattack did not cause any losses to the Fujian-Guangdong fleet.

A few shells smashed into the sea, and a few shells hit the battleship, but the effect was not great.

The counterattack had no effect, Lanard's face was ugly, and he could only hope for the fire attack later.

Zhu Tiangui can also see it now, the other side wants to attack with fire!
He is familiar with this tactic, because Zheng Zhilong used fire attack tactics to defeat the Dutch navy in Liuluowan in 1633!

Of course Zhu Tiangui would not give them a chance to defeat the strong by the weak.

At this time, the short-heavy artillery of the Fujian-Guangdong fleet finally fired, and the breathtaking sound of shells piercing the air came again!

Numerous groups of orange-red flames rose from the Dutch warships, and countless cracked wood chips and explosions turned the Dutch sailors on the deck into blood hedgehogs.

The screams and howls filled the entire Dutch East India Company naval fleet in an instant.

"Flower bomb!" Lanard's eyes widened angrily!

He didn't expect that Mingzheng Navy's artillery on the opposite side fired flower bombs!

Didn't it mean that this kind of shells are not easy to preserve and are not very powerful?
But the tragic scene of death and injury in front of him doesn't seem to be very powerful!
This power is of course great, sugar gunpowder + quality concept!

However, this was not over yet. Just tens of seconds after this round of shelling, an armed merchant ship at the very edge suddenly exploded like a volcanic eruption.

The ship's ammunition storehouse was hit by Ming Zheng's flowering bomb, and it exploded on the spot!
The ejected fireworks were like magma, swallowing the hull in an instant.

A large number of hull sawdust, mixed with the wreckage of the Dutch sailors, was washed into the sky.

This time the sacrificial explosion directly ended the fate of this armed ship.

Above its hull was a raging fire, while below, the raging sea water poured into the cabin along the damaged hull.

The Dutch sailors who were covered in fire on the deck jumped into the sea crying for their father and mother.

But relatively speaking, they were lucky. Although many people were burned by the fire, they at least temporarily saved their lives, and the unlucky ones in the cabin didn't even have a chance to escape.

"The Barry is over!"

Looking at the tragic situation of the armed merchant ship Barry, Lanard looked sad and indignant.

Just when Captain Lanard was still feeling grief and indignation for the silence of the Barry, there were exclamations from the sailors behind him.

"Sir! Our Batavia's mainsail is about to fall!"

Lanard almost fainted, the mainsail fell, and the Batavia will die!
"Hold on!" Lanard wanted to struggle again.

It's a pity that the Fujian-Guangdong fleet doesn't want to give them a chance.

(End of this chapter)