Kangxi, your Qing Dynasty is dead

Chapter 489 Now you can slaughter Japan! (Please subscribe, please vote)

February 22, morning, off the coast of Da Nang Bay.

British Navy Vice Admiral Edward Russell, who was in charge of commanding the Second Squadron of the Spanish Armada, suddenly found himself encountering a group of crazy "silver players" - the Ming Navy's Nanyang Fleet commanded by Chen Shangchuan and Cotentin!
Edward Russell is a very famous figure. He is a very outstanding naval admiral and capitulator in British history - he is one of the seven British "Pingxi Kings" who introduced William to England. The British call them the Immortal Seven. The man was a great contributor to King William.

It was under his operation that the powerful British Royal Navy lay flat and pretended to be dead when the Dutch invaded.Because there was no "King of Pingxi" in the UK, William III wanted to directly promote him to become a naval marshal.

However, the British "King of the West" is relatively thin-skinned. He always feels that the most outstanding achievement of a naval marshal is to organize a surrender. This is a bit unreasonable!
Russell discussed with William and gave him a chance to make meritorious service. After he made meritorious service, he would be the marshal, which would be justifiable.And William felt that it was not safe for his "great hero" to stay in Europe to deal with the powerful French navy - what if he came to lure Louis into England again?So William III asked him to lead a British expedition fleet to the east and join the Spanish Armada to confront the "weak" Ming Navy.

If he can't defeat Louis, can't he defeat Ming?

However, Admiral Sabala was not very "cooperative". This time, he did not arrange for Lieutenant General Russell to lead the assault formation to attack the Ming Dynasty fleet in Da Nang Bay. Instead, he asked him to lead the second detachment to patrol outside Da Nang Bay to strike. .

In order to ensure nothing goes wrong, the second squadron of the Spanish Armada assigned to Russell's command is also quite powerful.It has a total of one British third-class battleship, two "water-injected" Spanish second-class battleships (actually only equivalent to British and Dutch third-class ships), four Dutch or Spanish third-class battleships, and fifteen Spanish fourth-class battleships. class ships, twenty somewhat outdated Spanish galleons, and more than 20 armed merchant ships from the British East India Company and the Dutch East India Company.Although most of these ships have failed in previous battles and are now fighting with injuries, the number and tonnage are there. Even in Europe, this is a maritime force that cannot be underestimated.

Of course, this maritime force with injuries and lanterns hanging on it is also quite expensive!If they are all killed, then William III and Juan Jose will definitely feel very distressed!Therefore, his main task is to show off with a majestic fleet outside Da Nang Bay, and frighten the ships of the Ming Nanyang Fleet that may come to rescue the Ming Navy's ocean-going fleet in Da Nang.

According to reliable information, although the Ming Dynasty's Nanyang Fleet has some recently launched gunboats that imitate Western battleships, it lacks excellent naval officers and sailors and is a rather immature maritime force.He does not have the strength to fight against the Spanish Armada, so Russell only needs to take the fleet and scare the Chinese.

But now, Edward Russell wants to strangle to death Nobel, the naval commander of the Dutch East India Company who told him this reliable information. The words of the profiteer are really not credible!

"Admiral. They are still accelerating. They must be crazy. They actually used two columns to attack our large column. This is giving us the T-shaped position!"

The somewhat excited voice of a British naval lieutenant suddenly sounded, interrupting Edward Russell's thoughts.

Russell stood on the stern of his flagship ship, looking at the two assault formations of the Ming Navy, each consisting of more than thirty battleships, frigates, gunboats, and gunboats, that were rapidly approaching his large column. His face was ashen. Almost dripping with water.

Where are "some" battleships that have just been launched?These are obviously many brand new warships with seemingly good performance!
How is this a "rather immature" maritime force?They were quite sophisticated in seizing advantageous positions while their opponents were spinning around and using the wind to launch attacks, and they maintained their formation very well!
What's even more frightening is that this maritime force is quite brave. It dares to send out T-shaped positions in exchange for breakthroughs and cutting off the enemy columns, dragging the naval battle into a melee!

And this method of launching an assault regardless of casualties and facing the enemy's intensive side fire actually refers to the ability to build and repair ships with the enemy!After all, the solid bullets or chain bullets fired from cannons have limited lethality against wooden hulls, and it is not that easy to sink them.And a battered wooden sailboat, even if it loses the value of repair and is directly scrapped, can often survive until all the crew members board the sampan to escape, and then slowly sink.

Therefore, as long as you are willing to lose money, the tactic of sending out a T-shaped position in exchange for a close-range melee is feasible. In the close-range melee, a considerable number of ships have already gone into battle with injuries, and some crew members are suffering from scurvy. I’m afraid the fleet’s second detachment won’t be able to take advantage!
Edward Russell, who immediately wanted to understand what the Ming Dynasty's Nanyang Fleet wanted to do, could only curse the Dutch for unreliable intelligence, and could only send rockets to Admiral Sabala in Da Nang for help.

But he never imagined at this time that the first detachment of the Spanish Armada was also in trouble because of a group of "silver dollar players" who traded ships for ships!
Admiral Zabala now has no way to withdraw the main force of his detachment from the front line!
Because the warships of both sides were mixed together in the narrow waters, and the masts and sails of many Spanish, English, and Dutch warships and gunboats had been damaged, it was difficult to maneuver.What's even more frightening is that they were also hit by arson bombs from shore batteries. The hot arson bombs were continuously spit out from the shell chambers of more than 200 cannons, stirring up the ships of Spain, England, and the Netherlands on the water. The battleships and gunboats turned into fire ships!

At the same time, the officers and soldiers on the Ming battleships and armed Galen ships on the water were still struggling to resist the attacks of the Spanish, English, and Dutch - many of them were infantry or soldiers under Qiu Hui and Zhu Qipao's command. The unemployed sailors were hired from Huining Shang Town, and the rest were brave and capable Ming navy officers and soldiers.In terms of quantity, individual quality, and weapons and equipment, they have an absolute advantage!
Moreover, these Ming army soldiers also had a big advantage that the Westerners did not have - they did not care at all whether the warship they were in would be burned down!

They were in their own port, very close to the coast, and at worst they could abandon ship and escape.If the Westerners lose their warships, they can only become prisoners.

Therefore, the officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty who engaged in gang-hopping warfare not only did not consider putting out fires at all, but also set fires everywhere. In order to facilitate setting fires, Qiu Hui and Zhu Qipao's men even brought a kind of "kerosene bombs" on board the ship - that is, they would Light petroleum from Borneo and Malacca was put into porcelain bottles, stuffed with cloth strips, lit on fire and thrown out.This is a tactic commonly used by Southeast Asian pirates and indigenous sailors!

If you don't consider seizing the enemy's ships, this tactic is quite effective in gang-hopping battles.

Looking at the sea of ​​​​fire on the naval battle battlefield ahead, the minds of Admiral Zabala and his deputy Rear Admiral Nobel went blank!
They already knew they had been fooled. A rather luxurious fool!
But they are really reluctant to give up the troubled ships and retreat. If they retreat now, I am afraid that only one-third of the ships can be withdrawn!
"Admiral. Lieutenant General Russell's distress rocket!"

The counselor's shout once again pulled the two out of shock.

He turned his head and looked at the sky to the east, only to see fire exploding in the sky, and clusters of black smoke rising. It looked as if many ships were set on fire!
"Admiral, that is Lieutenant General Russell's distress signal. He seems to be in trouble too. We are still" Major General Nobel reminded, "our battle in Da Nang Harbor has failed. If Lieutenant General Russell's detachment also If defeated, then the Kingdom of Spain and the United Provinces of the Netherlands will be defeated.”

Admiral Sabala glanced at the blazing battlefield again, and sighed helplessly: "Withdraw. Evacuate Da Nang first, and join forces with Lieutenant General Russell!"

"Yes"

When Admiral Sabala withdrew from Da Nang Bay with the remaining, mostly scarred ships, he was once again shocked by the madness and luxury of the "Silver Players"!At this time, on the sea about ten nautical miles away from the entrance of Da Nang Bay, more than 100 warships, gunboats, armed merchant ships, and gunboats from both sides were already in a mess!The battle line no longer existed at all, all the ships were fighting independently, about one-third of the ships were burning, and there were billowing black smoke everywhere.Many warships have collided together and become a mass!There are also some brand-new Ming Dynasty fourth-class ships with "Sun and Moon Sails" that are chasing Spanish, Dutch, and English warships, and they seem to want to ram them. It is not cost-effective to use new ships to ram old ships. ah!
The worst thing is that the twenty old Spanish galleons are all decades old, with "old planks and old masts". How can they withstand the Ming Dynasty's cutting-edge four ships who do not respect "ship ethics"? A fierce collision between the class ships?Each ship was emitting black smoke, swaying about, and seemed to be sinking!

There is no doubt that the second detachment commanded by Lieutenant General Russell has been overwhelmed by the opponent. No wonder he keeps releasing distress rockets
But isn’t Ming’s Nanyang Fleet filled with inexperienced officers and sailors?Why are you still playing so well?

Admiral Sabala's brain is almost frozen!
How come the Ming Navy has so many outstanding officers and sailors?Could it be that they are hiding their strength?Or did Louis XIV, the tyrant, send enough naval officers and soldiers to the Ming Dynasty to help?
"Admiral, let's join the battle quickly!"

Nobel, the naval commander of the Dutch East India Company, said with a livid face: "We must rescue Vice Admiral Russell's fleet, otherwise the Kingdom of Spain will be over!"

Spain is going to be finished. No, Spain is already finished!
Admiral Zabala has understood that this time the Spanish Armada has followed in the footsteps of its predecessors and has been "invincible". With this defeat, Spain will completely lose its Pacific sea power.

The Ming Dynasty, which has captured the Pacific Navy, will continuously send troops to New Spain. After the Aztec Republic receives sufficient support from the Ming Dynasty, it will definitely drive the Spaniards out of North America. There may even be an Inca in the future. Republic!

Without the silver and gold of the New World, the Kingdom of Spain would be completely bankrupt.
"Admiral. Enemy, enemy reinforcements!"

Nobel suddenly let out a frightened scream.

And reinforcements?

How many navy did the Ming Dynasty have?
Admiral Sabala followed the direction of Nobel's finger, raised his telescope, and then saw the hard sail hung high. It was the hard sail of the old lock ship!

There seems to be a lot of them!
It turned out that on the day after Chen Shangchuan led the main force of the Nanyang Fleet to leave Guangzhou Bay, more than twenty old lock ships belonging to Nanyang Trading Company and Guangdong Trading Company staying in Macau and Xiangshan Island also formed an expedition formation. Came down to support the Nanyang Fleet
"Heavenly Father, are you going to abandon Spain?" Admiral Zabala's old eyes were already sparkling with tears. "Hurry, hurry up, let's launch an attack to rescue Lieutenant General Russell's detachment, and then go ahead first Evacuate to Batavia."

"Yes, Admiral!"

"General, this is the military report from Navy Director Liu Gongye!"

Li Zhongshan suddenly stood up from behind the publican, rushed over in a hurry, and took the military report from Zhou Chang's hands.Zheng Zongming and Zhu Shunshui, who were sitting with their knees pressed under the public case, looked at each other.They all came to discuss the progress of peace talks with Li Zhongshan.Seeing Li Zhongshan's anxious look, I became a little nervous.

As the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Ming Dynasty, and responsible for presiding over the Beijing Peace Conference, of course these two people know what the ownership of sea power in the Western Pacific means for the ongoing peace talks?
The Spanish Armada is the last hope for the "powers" of the East and West such as Japan, Spain, England, the Netherlands, and Portugal!
If Ming Dynasty cannot win at sea, then these "great powers" will still have chips to continue playing.

If the Ming Dynasty also wins at sea and destroys the Spanish Armada, then the "great powers" will become the "weak powers", and Japan, with a population of 2000 million, will become a fish at the mercy of the Ming Dynasty.

Don’t think that Japan is a “small country.” If we look at population alone, there are only two superpowers in the world today, the Ming Dynasty and India, with India first and Ming Dynasty second!Under India and the Ming Dynasty, there are the three "second-class powers": France, Japan, and the Ottoman-Turkish Empire!

Although the Ming Dynasty is a first-class power and Japan is a second-class power, the population advantage of less than five times is not enough for the Ming Dynasty to easily destroy Japan. As long as Japan can get help from the Western maritime powers such as Spain, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Portugal. With the acquisition of advanced weapons and technology, Japan with a population of 2000 million will continue to fight against Ming Dynasty.

Moreover, it was difficult for the Ming Dynasty to cross the ocean and invest an army in Japan that could conquer it.

However, once the Spanish Armada is destroyed and Ming Dynasty becomes the master of the Pacific, the island country of Japan will be completely blockaded by Ming Dynasty. Japan, which lacks iron ore and saltpeter, will not be able to resist Ming Dynasty's blockade, embargo, and disintegration. .

The disintegration of Japan, a "small country" with a population of more than 2000 million, which is located on the side of the Ming Dynasty and has not obeyed the Celestial Kingdom since ancient times, is very important for the Ming Dynasty's absolute dominance in East Asia.

But can the Ming Navy defeat the Spanish Armada?It seems a bit confusing!

Li Zhongshan took the military newspaper, hurriedly opened it, read it ten lines at a time, and then read it carefully again.Then he breathed a long sigh of relief and said to Zheng Zongming and Zhu Shunshui: "We won. The Ming Navy won! On February 21st and 22nd, more than 100 warships of our Ocean Fleet and Nanyang Fleet were in Guangnan The Spanish Armada was defeated in Da Nang Bay and its nearby waters. The Spanish Armada lost more than 70 warships of various types. The remnants are fleeing to Batavia. Our Nanyang Fleet is pursuing the fleeing enemy!"

He paused and then said: "Go and inform the envoys of various countries that the Ming Dynasty will soon implement a blockade and embargo against Japan. Without the approval of the General's Office, no sailing ship with two masts or above is allowed to enter Japan's ports!"

(End of this chapter)