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Chapter 1010 Marine Light Cavalry 3
In this case, the main fleet must be the first to achieve victory. Risks should be compensated accordingly. Luck came during the fifth round of shelling. Several three-and-a-half-kilogram wedge-shaped solid shells simultaneously hit the British fleet's leading sailing ship, creating several basin-sized holes on its starboard side near the bow waterline.

This three-masted sailing ship with a displacement of at least 600 tons did not seem to have suffered much damage and still plunged into the sea along with the waves, but a miracle happened when it was lifted up again.

A large piece of the hull behind the bow was torn open by the sea water. Some of the wooden strips were still connected to the ribs, while some had fallen off, revealing a very irregular large hole.

"Damn it, you made me lose money, you deserve to be beaten, if I give it another round it will sink!" As a result, the emperor was unhappy because the outcome went against the gambling game, and he had to pay back all the money he had won from the previous four rounds in one go, and it still wasn't enough.

"Your Majesty, I am the fleet commander, does that count?" If it were any other general, most would have followed the emperor's instructions. Unfortunately, Setel was special. Not only did he not follow the emperor's instructions, he also demanded clear command.

"...I just said it casually, you can listen to it or not!" The slap on the face made a loud noise, and Hong Tao wanted to say that it didn't count, but looking at the eager looks in the eyes of the officers around him, he thought, okay, he would just bear with it for now.

"Turn left... Pull in 200 meters and hit the one with the largest attack tonnage. It's the flagship!"

With the emperor's re-authorization, Setel was more confident and no longer worried about the emperor being on board. He gave full play to his personal tactical characteristics. To sum it up, it can be summed up in two words: fierce.

Just like when the Mongolian light cavalry charged the enemy formation, they spurred their horses to their fastest speed, braved the enemy's rain of arrows to get as close to the attack range as possible, shot deadly arrows, and then drove their horses away.

After a short while, it will come back and shoot again, making it impossible for the enemy to catch up or hit accurately. Unless there is a way to restrain it with long-range weapons, the enemy can only stare and suffer.

But as the distance shortens, while effectively killing the enemy, the ship itself will also face greater danger. Soon this defect was verified, a heavy muffled sound came from the port side, and the hull vibrated significantly.

It should have been hit by a shell, but there was no casualty or damage control report from the gun deck and the bottom cabin sailors, which means the damage was not serious and did not affect normal sailing. This was thanks to the British 18-pound long-barreled flat-firing cannon. If it was replaced with the 50-pound or 32-pound cannon equipped on the Spanish warships, it would probably not be so easy.

Of course, compared with the 18-pound long-barreled flat-fire cannon developed by the British, the Spanish large-caliber naval guns have a shorter range, slower rate of fire, and lower hit rate.

Which is more suitable, a naval gun with a long range, high hit rate, fast reload but low damage, or a naval gun with a short range, low hit rate, slow reload but high damage?
The defeat of the Invincible Armada decades ago seems to have given the answer. The weight of hit rate, range and rate of fire is higher than the damage value, and the principle should not be difficult to understand.

Even if a shell can sink a ship, it is useless if it fails to hit the target. A shell may not do much damage, but if it hits the target frequently, the damage it causes will be considerable, and there is a greater chance that the enemy ship will be forced to slow down or lose control, which means victory.

Of course, it would be even more perfect if we could have the breech-loading rifled naval guns equipped on the Qin-class warships, which have both range and rate of fire, and considerable destructive power. It is only a dozen millimeters larger in caliber than the British 18-pounder gun, but once it is hit, the hull is bound to be damaged.

Wedge-shaped shells have much higher armor-piercing and destructive power than spherical shells. You can see the tragic scene of the enemy ship being hit from hundreds of meters away. Sometimes the shells will penetrate the hull and fly hundreds of meters from the opposite side before diving into the sea, stirring up a small wave.

"Your Majesty, please quickly issue an order to remove this fellow from his command. I will send Gecko to investigate thoroughly when I return. He might be dissatisfied and want to kill the king!" But Wang Chengen couldn't help it. He thought that the emperor would command the fleet to fight, just like in the army, watching from far behind the battlefield. But who would have thought that they would actually charge together and be the first to do so.

The culprit for this situation should be the emperor himself, but as the eunuch most loyal to the emperor, he certainly could not say that the emperor was wrong, so Setel became the scapegoat.

"Hush... keep your voice down. If they hear you, they might bear a grudge against you and find an excuse to throw you into the sea. Don't forget that this is the sea. You can't get any help from heaven or earth.

They live in the open air on the sea all year round, and they are constantly in close contact with the devil, so their minds are not normal. Even if they are to be punished, we should deal with it on the shore."

Hong Tao couldn't say Wang Chengen was wrong, because his job was to protect the emperor, and anyone who put the emperor in danger must be suspected of being a traitor. But he couldn't blame Setel, because this was the style of naval warfare, which was more spectacular, more dangerous, and required more teamwork than land warfare.

"Your Majesty is right. I will have someone keep an eye on him at all times! I just hope we can get this ship away. It is already a great morale booster to have Your Majesty watching over us at all times."

Wang Chengen nodded in agreement and no longer mentioned the issue of punishing Setel. However, he still did not want the emperor to put himself in danger, so he made a very constructive suggestion.

As they were talking, the flagship was hit again. This time, it was not the hull, but several riggings connecting the foremast were broken by chain bullets, causing the foremast bottom sail and the topsail to lose their steering function on the spot.

Fortunately, no one was hit. Under the command of the sailmaster, the sailors were moving spare rigging out of the cabin. More than a dozen people were climbing up and down the foremast, which looked like a monkey mountain from a distance, adding some fun to the originally cruel naval battle.

"Come on, come on, squat down, lower your head, shrink your neck... Do you know why only this one is called the flagship among the Qin-class battleships?" But Hong Tao didn't find it interesting, instead he felt a chill on his back.

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The shell passed through the foremast. If it had hit the mizzenmast, one of the officers standing near the helm would have been killed on the spot. Those hit by the chain bullet would have died tragically, without a complete body.

So don't worry about your face, just save your life first. He quickly pulled Wang Chengen to hide behind the bulwark, lit a cigar, took two big puffs, and calmed his pounding heart.

"Of course, His Majesty is on board. Who dares to overstep his authority?"

Wang Chengen's answer was very straightforward and stupid. The helmsman might have heard it, and couldn't help but look back at the eunuch. He didn't say anything, but he probably didn't know how to curse him in his heart.

(End of this chapter)