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Chapter 1016 Dilemma
“Since Count Supero is a legitimate Spanish naval commander with extensive combat experience, he would have discovered during his battle with Yan Bushi that the enemy’s ships were faster than his own.

If Yan Bushi chose to retreat, he would not have chosen to pursue him. Even if he did, he should have given up after a few hours. He would not be so stupid as to stick with him forever.

So he had only two choices: either he knew that victory was hopeless and chose to sail westward to the New World to save his fleet and cross the Atlantic to stop the pursuit, or he left the battle and returned to Table Bay to rescue the British fleet and landing troops.

Obviously he did not choose the latter and abandoned the landing troops. This shows how much trouble Yan Bu's death caused.

I just calculated with the captain, based on the ten-hour distance, according to the normal headwind speed of the Spanish galleon, they are only about 100 kilometers away from us. If they travel at full speed, they can catch up in another 15 hours.

Now it depends on your ability. Do you dare to run at full speed against the wind and in unknown waters?"

Unfortunately, no matter how Settle struggled, the final result would not change at all. In fact, when Hong Tao made the decision to split the fleets to the west and south, he had thought through all the details and even roughly calculated the distance and time.

"...Hang the signal flag, form a two-ship formation, and head north in succession at an interval of 60 kilometers, at full speed, target the Prime Meridian!" Settle looked at the emperor's fake smile, gritted his teeth for more than ten seconds, and finally made up his mind to take the risk.

However, he also has a good point in his character. He is not indecisive. Once he makes up his mind, he will strive for maximum benefits without reservation. In order to make the speed racing more convenient and faster, he simply disbanded the fleet, so that he does not have to consider the safety of the formation.

"Cohen, I'm going back to the cabin, do you want to come with me?" Hong Tao had no objection to this decision. When the sea conditions were not very good, in order to maintain the formation, they had to slow down. If they wanted to speed up, they would not be able to maintain the formation. This was an unsolvable multiple-choice question.

But he did not want to be baptized by the waves on the deck. Once sailing at full sail and full speed against the wind, this warship of less than 300 tons would immediately become a small broken boat, floating on the sea for half of the time and sailing in the waves for the other half of the time. Even the sailors standing on the beams dozens of meters high could not avoid the fate of being soaked.

Count Supero was very depressed and desperate. He was very reluctant to accept the king's order to join the English fleet to attack Enniao Port. It was not because he was afraid of failing to complete the mission, but because he felt that this kind of battle of bullying the weak was meaningless and would damage his reputation.

The hijacking of the Montanes and the capture of Manila was indeed a shame, but in the minds of most Spanish naval commanders, it was not due to the strength of the Ming Empire's navy, but rather the stupidity and negligence of the Governor of Manila, who lacked military talent, and was attacked.

It was a bit like using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken to send the mighty Spanish fleet all the way to the southern tip of Africa to attack a little-known port. It was reasonable that it would be enough for the British to command it and send a few more merchant ships to transport the army.

But when the combined fleet saw that the landing soldiers were beaten without any chance of fighting back outside Enniao Harbor, Count Superro immediately realized that it was impossible to successfully land with the 3000 army troops he brought with him, and then issued an order to retreat despite the opposition of the Duke of Buckingham.

Up to this point, he did not yet regard the Ming Empire Navy as a powerful enemy. He only believed that the Ming army had been operating here for many years and had complete defensive measures, and that it would take more time and preparation to capture it.

It was not until the Ming Empire Navy crossed the Cape of Storms and attacked directly that the two sides fought and were shocked to find that this fleet with small ships and few cannons was much more powerful than the English fleet.

The Spanish galleons were tall and heavy, with fierce artillery and invincible in close combat. Their only drawback was their relatively slow speed and limited flexibility in turning in rough seas. Decades ago, the English seized on this shortcoming and defeated the Invincible Armada in the rough seas of Gravelines, France, using the Queen's Ship, which had a lower center of gravity and more flexible turning, and small-caliber direct-fire guns.

The Ming Empire fleet before them had fully utilized the advantages of its small ships and powerful guns. Compared with them, the Queen's ship of England was like a lame duck.

As soon as the ships of both sides approached 500 meters, the other side began to shoot. Although there were only five ships, one of which looked more like a merchant ship, the hit rate of the shells and artillery was ridiculously high. Within an hour, three Spanish galleons in the front were penetrated near the waterline and had to slow down and leave the formation.

At this distance, the large-caliber cannons equipped on the Spanish galleons were almost useless. The result was the same whether they fired or not. They posed no threat at all and had to get at least 200 meters away to have a chance of hitting.

It was easier said than done to close the distance between the two sides. In addition to the difference in ship speed, the wind direction and sea conditions made it even more difficult. The strong westerly wind and the swell of at least 3 meters made the Spanish galleon turn very slowly, and it could not even touch the edge of the enemy warship.

Soon Count Supero realized that he would never win if he continued to fight like this, and wanted to withdraw from the battle and join the English fleet. However, the enemy warships circled to the front and damaged the leading ships one by one.

In order to avoid collisions with disabled ships that were slowing down, the entire fleet had to adjust its course again with difficulty against the headwind. This situation happened again and again, and time passed by little by little.

As the sky gradually darkened, the distance to the north did not shorten. Count Supero realized that going north might not be a good solution. With the number and quality of the English fleet, it was afraid that it would not be able to fight against the Ming Empire Navy. Even if it rushed through, it would most likely face siege by more enemy ships.

Now the only way out for the Spanish fleet is to escape. If they don't get rid of the entanglement of these enemy ships as soon as possible, when another enemy fleet arrives tomorrow, they will not be able to escape even if they want to.

But where should they run? Of the four directions, east, south, west and north, they definitely cannot go east, because that is where the Ming Empire's navy comes from, and going there would be like walking into a trap. North is even more of a no-go, because there is no trace of the enemy fleet in the east, it is just a possibility, but there is indeed a fleet in the north, and going there would be like a moth flying into a flame.

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There are no enemy fleets in the south and west, but the sea to the south is windy and rough. If the Spanish sailing ships encounter weather changes after entering, their situation will not be much better.

What's more, there is no port in the south. The purpose of taking shelter for a while is to turn back and fight again. But now the Combined Fleet no longer exists, and it is a luxury to capture Enniao Port. Building a port on the spot is even more impossible. There is no benefit in staying in this sea area except to increase unnecessary risks.

Finally, the only way left was to the west. To the west was the New World, where there were many Portuguese and Spanish ports. Although the distance was far, there was a route as long as you crossed the prime meridian and headed northwest.

On the other hand, the opponents have probably never been to the South Atlantic, lack supply ports, and are unfamiliar with the conditions in this sea area. In comparison, retreating westward is the easiest way to succeed.

(End of this chapter)