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Chapter 1011 Vulnerable

"That's both right and wrong... Look at the colorful flags between the mainmast and foremast. Only the flagship can fly them. Other ships are not allowed to fly them. If I don't understand naval warfare and don't want to command the fleet, this ship can only fly the Grand Marshal Flag and the Yellow Dragon Flag, and cannot fly the Command Flag.

It is very difficult to convey orders on the sea. Beating drums and blowing trumpets are not effective, so we can only rely on flag language. But flag language cannot express too complex meanings, so flagships were set up.

Whether it is a formation sailing or a fleet battle, all ships must pay attention to the changes in the colored flags on the flagship at any time to obtain basic instructions from them, such as attack, retreat, and formation. Only when there are more specific orders and replies will the lookout send out flag signals to communicate.

Yo yo yo, look, look, the enemy's flagship's mainmast has been broken... Hahahaha... See? This ship is basically sunk. If it was a flagship, the enemy's fleet would not be able to act in unison without a second flagship to take over, and they would have to fight on their own, which would be very passive."

Although he couldn't see anything while squatting behind the bulwark, Hong Tao had very sensitive ears. When he heard the sound of breaking wood, he immediately interrupted his teaching, stuck half of his head out to take a look, picked up Wang Chengen again, pointed to the largest sailing ship a few hundred meters away, and continued to explain the basic concepts of naval warfare.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

“It’s over, it’s over… You see, this is how naval warfare works. Whoever’s ship is slow or has a broken sail will become the target of concentrated fire.

Now you know why I pay sailors so much? They are the horses of the cavalry. Without horses, the cavalry becomes useless and less useful than an infantryman. "

Without Hong Tao messing around, Setel seemed to be performing better and better. When he found that the enemy's flagship's speed had dropped, he immediately gave up other targets and took the lead in launching an artillery attack. The captains of the two nearby warships were also very aware and began to focus their fire on the enemy's flagship without waiting for the flagship's order.

With just one round of bombardment, the large sailing ship with a displacement of at least 700 tons was turned into a sieve. In particular, the shells that hit the stern seemed to have damaged the rudder or transmission system, causing it to lose speed and be unable to adjust its course. Relying on its huge inertia, it rushed straight towards its own ship that was turning to the right.

The naval battle had only been going on for an hour when the British fleet lost its two largest warships, one of which was the flagship. This showed their usual training level and combat experience.

If Hong Tao's flagship was seriously damaged and could no longer follow the fleet, he only needed to hoist a string of black flags, and a second warship would immediately raise the command flag and temporarily take over the command of the flagship, preventing the fleet from falling into chaos.

On the other hand, the British fleet may have had insufficient training or combat experience. In any case, for some unknown reason, when the flagship's mainmast broke and the command flag fell, no other ship took the initiative to take over its duties.

The commander on the flagship did not seem to have asked the lookout to send flag signals to designate a certain ship to take over, until it collided with its own sailboat and broke the foremast, and the fleet fell into complete chaos.

Two smaller sailing ships tried to rush over to rescue the personnel on the flagship, but were driven away by the two Qin-class warships at the rear of the fleet. Some of the remaining enemy ships still maintained their course, trying to close the distance, while others began to turn south or north, trying to leave the battlefield.

"Choose your own targets, one ship after another! The flagship should be the one with a red butt due west. Inform each other of the target's position and don't get confused! Your Majesty, am I commanding well enough?

It is true that the English are not as powerful as you said. Maybe they did not send out their main forces. Anyway, these crews lack coordination and resilience. They are simply a mob! "Seeing that the enemy fleet started to flee, Settle immediately adjusted his tactics and broke up the fleet to play a one-on-one chase.

When fleets are fighting each other, the opponent can still rely on formations to make up for the shortcomings of slow speed and weak firepower. But if it is a one-on-one game, then there is no cover and all the shortcomings are exposed.

At this moment, they were like infantry phalanxes dispersed by light cavalry, unable to run or fight, all of them were lambs to be slaughtered, and destruction was only a matter of time. If they could hold out until dark, there might be a glimmer of hope.

"They are indeed a motley crowd. No more than three of their ships belong to the navy, and the rest are converted looting ships, or authorized pirates." At this time, Cohen, who had never been close to the emperor, suddenly appeared and affirmed Setel's evaluation.

"...Your Majesty, is it true?" Setel's face immediately became serious, and he turned around to get the emperor's denial.

This is related to his military record. Defeating a fleet of a European country and defeating a group of European pirate ships are completely different levels of achievement, and the latter is nothing to boast about.

"Almost. They are not ordinary pirates. They are pirates recognized by the country."

Hong Tao really wanted to kick this skinny Dutch profiteer into the sea. He didn't say it earlier or later, but chose this moment to say it, deliberately destroying the atmosphere of victory.

"Any pirate is still a pirate... The Spaniards the squadron is fighting against are not pirates, are they?"

But no matter how he glorified pirates, Setel couldn't let it go. He risked being hated and demonstrated his command ability in front of the emperor. After all the trouble, he ended up fighting pirates. Isn't this a tiring thing?

But the rumbling of cannons in the distance gave him a last glimmer of hope. They couldn't all be pirates. There were more than 40 ships, including a large sailing ship with a displacement of nearly 1,000 tons, and several thousand soldiers. If the pirates in Europe were so powerful, what would the navies of European countries do?
"Eat your meal one bite at a time. Wipe your mouth clean before talking about anything else. Remember, you are only the temporary commander. Don't go too far."

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Hong Tao quickly restrained his expression and put on a serious face. He couldn't play nice with this guy anymore, otherwise he would really abandon the fleeing British fleet and run over to compete with Yan Bushi for the Spanish fleet.

"Humph, you are just biased. It will be afternoon by the time we finish cleaning up here. How can we fight in the evening?"

Setel did not disobey the order and continued to command the flagship to chase the three-masted sailing ship fleeing westward, but he was not idle. He was muttering quietly, but he had to let people nearby hear him. He was complaining publicly, but it was hard to hear him from a distance.

You can't really blame Settle for saying something strange. According to the current progress, it would take at least an afternoon for the main fleet to wipe out the British fleet, and that was assuming there were no accidents. For example, if there was bad weather, it might not be enough to finish the job.

(End of this chapter)