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Chapter 1009 Marine Light Cavalry 2
But there are also disadvantages to doing this. It is easy to get hurt if you are too close. It is impossible to make a big circle, unless the other party lowers their sails collectively, otherwise the speed difference is not that big.

In addition, this method has high requirements for the captain, sail chief and sailman of each ship. Every turn must be accurate, otherwise it is easy to cause confusion. If you have to lower the sail to avoid, the enemy ship will soon approach, after all, the distance is not far.

Once a boarding battle begins, the ship and its officers and men are gone. The Qin-class battleship has a wartime manpower of only 80 people, while European battleships of the same displacement usually have nearly 150 or more people in wartime, half of whom are prepared for boarding battles.

It's not that Europeans like hand-to-hand combat, but they have no other choice. The production level of artillery and propellant in the 17th century was relatively low, and it was difficult to penetrate the thick hull from hundreds of meters away.

The two warships, each weighing several hundred tons, were equipped with dozens of guns and fired hundreds of shells at each other. Even after fighting from morning to evening, they were unlikely to be able to sink the other.

As soon as it got dark, everyone dragged their exhausted bodies and damaged boats back home. They got nothing, but lost a lot of shells, gunpowder and lives. It was not worth it.

Therefore, their mutual bombardment was only an auxiliary means to create favorable conditions for boarding. The two sailing ships could not get close to each other while sailing, and a collision would only cause both sides to suffer losses.

What to do? Fire first. As long as you can make a hole in the enemy's hull or damage its sails, you can force it to slow down until it stops, and then you can get close to it for hand-to-hand combat. No matter which side wins, they can get a group of prisoners and a relatively intact large ship with weapons and cargo loaded on it, which is a big profit!
"Soldiers, take up your weapons and prepare to receive the Lord's gift! Turn west and load chain bullets!"

Lieutenant Colonel Blake was also a very experienced sailor. When he saw the Ming Empire fleet split into two columns and turned due south, he judged the opponent's intention, and then grinned, as if he saw himself capturing those sailboats.

As long as he was willing to get closer and give up the advantages of high speed and flexible turning, he would have a better chance of winning the naval battle. He firmly believed that there would not be too many soldiers on the other side's ship, and no matter how good they were at fighting, they would not be able to withstand the difference in numbers.

"Hey, it's easy to get it... Turn five degrees right and raise the top sail! Clear the deck and prepare for the bombardment!"

Two kilometers away, Setel saw the opposing fleet turn around and rush towards his route, and he also smiled. He lay on the side of the ship with a telescope and carefully measured the distance between the two sides, and issued another order.

The busiest people on the ship at this time were the sailors. Not only could they not find a place to hide, they also had to run around on the crossbeam, which was only half a foot thick, and adjust the number and direction of sails according to the orders conveyed by the sail master.

The second busiest people are the helmsman and the second mate. They always stand in front and behind the steering wheel, ready to turn the rudder with all their strength at any time, complete the turn as quickly as possible, and then turn the steering wheel back.

To evaluate the level of a helmsman, you don't need to look at anything else, just count the number of times he turns the rudder back. If he turns ten times and returns eight times, his level is very average, and he is more suitable to be a helmsman on a merchant ship.

Serving on a warship requires that the rudder should not be turned more than five times in moderate sea conditions. When you hear the order to turn the rudder, you must have the exact number of turns in your mind, and you can only turn it two or three times at most. You can't turn it back and forth endlessly.

The third busiest person is the lookout. Not only do they have to observe the target's course at any time, but they also have to calculate the relative speed of the other side and their own side, and take time to look at the signals sent by the flagship and friendly forces, and then wave the flag in time to respond. From eyes to mouths to brains and arms, none of them are idle. In fact, there is another group of very busy people, but unfortunately they are all nestled in the gun deck. Except for the gunner, the officers are all invisible. They are the unlucky ones who can't attract cheers no matter how busy they are. That's why the cannons are so loud, and in it are the gunners' roars against injustice.

The captain and several officers around the steering platform on the rear deck were the ones who had the least time. At this point, they could do nothing but convey and receive information, and they could not see anything. They could only record every order on the nautical chart and the logbook, and then wait for the first gunshot.

"Hold on to the safety rope and don't put your head so close to the side of the ship. Who wants to make a bet? I bet that the first wave of artillery fire will all miss, half a tael of silver per bet. Wang Chengen, write it down, two for the navigator and one for the helmsman..."

However, the person with the most leisure at this time was the Grand Marshal of the Army and Navy of the Ming Empire, the commander of the rescue fleet, and the emperor of the empire. He handed over the command power, but did not want to leave the rear deck and wait in the cabin. However, he could not find anything to do except warning the warriors of the Imperial Stables to prevent collisions, so he started gambling again.

"Open the gun port... and shoot! Mark it down for me, ten!" Montel was so angry when he heard the muttering voice from the side and rear that his teeth were itching. After giving the attack order, he stretched out five fingers to Wang Chengen and turned it over.

"Oh, you are quite confident... But you may have forgotten that this is not your ship!" The order was issued, but the cannon did not fire. Only the emperor's eerie voice echoed near the helm, causing the officers to cover their pockets of money involuntarily.

It was not that the order was not conveyed to the gunner, nor that there was a problem with the gun, but that the gunner needed to find the most stable moment for the ship. It might take a few seconds to order the firing, or it might take more than ten seconds, depending on the sea conditions.

"Boom boom boom... Boom boom boom..." The first ship to fire was not the flagship, but the third ship that followed behind. A few seconds later, the flagship shuddered, and more than ten long tongues of fire and gray-white smoke columns spewed out from the port side.

"Hey, hey, hey, you missed it, you missed it! Place your bets, I bet you'll hit five of them in the second round of bombardment! Quick, quick, quick, what are you thinking about? Do you really think you can predict the future?"

As soon as the gunfire stopped, an unbridled laugh was heard on the rear deck. If this person was not the emperor, he would have been beaten to the ground. If the gunners heard it, he would probably be thrown directly into the sea.

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The Battle of the Cape of Good Hope also kicked off with the emperor's wicked smile. More than 60 ships were divided into two battle groups on the sea west of Table Bay, each of which delivered a fatal blow to the opponent in the way they were best at.

Yan Bushi's personality was similar to Hong Tao's. Even though he was not as cunning, he was more stable. He commanded the squadron to stay 500 meters away from the Spanish fleet. He kept turning left and right, sometimes firing from the port side, sometimes firing from the starboard side.

Whenever the distance between the two sides was about 400 meters, they would immediately stop the shelling and disengage, and continue to twist after the distance was increased. They fully understood the emperor's intention, not seeking merit but only seeking to delay time.

(End of this chapter)