Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 168 Hard Sail Battle Line

Fish belly white appeared in the eastern sky. The old lock fleet with Bowang as its flagship sailed away from the harbor near Meirentou and headed towards Keelung Port in the faint morning light.

Less than half an hour later, when the sky was bright, Lin Hai's fleet finally discovered a baranggai galley near Keelung Port. It seemed that the Spanish's peripheral warning force was quite weak.

They did not have the ability to patrol far away. They only arranged a few sentinel boats at positions where the alarm signal could be seen by the sentry on Sheliao Island.

The barangay had a South Sea-style tripod mast and a crab-claw sail, a type of sail common across the Pacific from the East Indies in the west to the Hawaiian Islands in the east.

When the sailors on the Balangai ship saw the old lock fleet, they fired their cannons. It was obvious that the fleet in front of them was not an ordinary maritime merchant. No one would send such a huge fleet to do business.

"Run! Go back to the Port of San Salvador!" The captain of the Barangay ship immediately ordered to escape after the cannon was fired. There were no cannons on his ship, and the fragile hull could not even withstand a collision with the old lock ship.

San Salvador is what the Spaniards call Keelung. They are quite uncreative in place names and ship names. They just go back and forth between San Salvador and San Salvador.

For example, they built a bastion called Fort Santiago next to the Royal City of Manila, and named the easternmost promontory of Taiwan Island Santiago, but it was later transliterated by the Han people as San Diaojiao.

"Do you want to kill that ship?" Shi Bi asked Lin Haidao in the Bowang's official hall.

"Don't worry about him, just let him divert the water for us." Lin Hai replied with a smile. This was just a joke. The company leaders were far more familiar with Keelung Port than the Spanish.

Lin Hai was too lazy to pay attention to that ship. His opponents were only the big Galen and the two Calais ships, if Miguel failed to succeed.

The captain of the Balangai ship never expected that the old lock fleet behind him would ignore him. When he rushed into Keelung Port, what greeted him was the artillery on the Immaculate Virgin, the flagship of the Second Fleet.

Boom boom boom... Several 24-pound cannons rang out in succession. As a unique strapping ship in Southeast Asia, the Balanggai ship, let alone the 24-pound cannons, was a question of whether it could hold the 3-pound cannons. It fell apart almost in an instant. .

The Spanish officers and sailors on board were either killed in the bombardment or turned into drowned rats. The mocking laughter came from far away from the Immaculate Virgin.

Miguel has set fire to all the ships in the harbor. After all, there are more than a thousand Spaniards on Sheliao Island, but there are only about [-] people guarding the Immaculate Virgin on his side.

The people of the company were unable to drive the big Galen and could only stick to the ship. At this time, the Immaculate Virgin was a fixed fort. There were thirty-eight cannons on the ship, seventeen on each side, bow and stern. Two doors each.

Unfortunately, Miguel only brought more than [-] gunners, and it was impossible to operate so many artillery pieces at the same time. If the Spaniards on Sheliao Island came to seize the ship, it would be an arduous battle.

So Miguel not long ago set fire to all the small galleys and sampans in the harbor. If the Spaniards wanted to come over and seize the boats, they had two options left - build a raft or swim.

It wasn't until several fires ignited in Keelung Port that someone on Sheliao Island finally realized that something was wrong, and the sentry they placed on the mountain was still unaware of everything behind them.

It was not until they received the early warning signal from the Balanggai sentry ship that they hurriedly called the police down the mountain. Little did they know that by this time, the top management on Sheliao Island had already become a mess.

When his superiors came to report that the ship in Keelung Port had been burned, the new Keelung Chief Valdez was completely confused.

"Damn Karen, is this guy defecting to the Dutch?" This thought flashed through Valdez's mind for a moment, but he soon realized that this was his hatred for Karen. There is not even the slightest possibility that such a ridiculous thing exists.

"How is the Immaculate Virgin?" Valdez then asked.

"Still in place, not on fire." This answer made Valdez feel lucky, but the officer's next words completely extinguished this luck, "The two Calais boats were not on fire, but they were It’s no longer where it was.”

Damn the Dutch, either the sentry ships in the open sea didn't work, or there was a traitor.

Waddells determined that his opponent must be a high-ranking Dutchman, and immediately ordered: "Go and summon all the captains, as well as army officers above the captain of the infantry company. In addition, call the five Dominican priests. "

He knew that the situation was extremely dangerous, and at this critical juncture, he needed Martinez, who had the highest status, to participate in decision-making.

Just after the Spanish leaders gathered, they received a message from the sentry on the mountain, saying that there was an early warning from the sea, and everyone's mood suddenly dropped to freezing point.

With the central flowering and the peripheral support, it is obvious that this is a premeditated action, and the chance that they can survive this level is very slim. Everyone knew in their hearts that they had been abandoned by God on the night of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

In Keelung Port, the old lock fleet had rushed in, and Lin Hai finally saw the legendary Great Galen. At this time, he didn't know the name of the ship was the Immaculate Virgin.

Galen, which weighs thousands of tons, is truly extraordinary. The towering stern alone looks like a majestic castle on the sea. Among all the ships Lin Hai had seen, the Immaculate Virgin was the second largest in terms of size, second only to the useless mission ship he saw in Liaohai.

Of course, the ship in front of me also has many flashy features, such as the complicated and gorgeous reliefs, patterns and stained glass on the stern, as well as the useless bow image on the bow.

Complex decoration is an old tradition in the Western European shipbuilding industry. It is mainly to satisfy the pretentious needs of kings of various countries, so that the navies of various countries have spent a lot of money on it.

However, the actual combat performance of most of their ships is good, and only a few are purely for show. For example, several countries later spent huge sums of money to build three-layer gun deck battleships.

The gunports on the lower gun deck of that thing are only about three feet from the waterline, which is enough to be opened under normal sea conditions. After all, there are no winds and three feet of waves on the sea. In addition to looking mighty and majestic, its actual combat performance is quite worrying.

Of course, the Immaculate Virgin cannot be compared with those Big Macs, but the hull is also sixteen feet long. The height of the mainmast seems to be about the same as the length of the hull. There are two rows of gunports on one side of the hull, and the upper row has Six, and eleven in the row below.

In addition to the various flags, the most eye-catching thing on the ship is the dense maze of various cables and rigging. People with trypophobia will probably be very uncomfortable when they see it.

A large part of these riggings are static support ropes used to support the mast, but there are also many moving ropes.

For example, the control of each horizontal sail requires nine kinds of rigging, including the halyards, slings, and slewing ropes that control the sail yard, the leg ropes, the leg ropes, and the rigging ropes that control the sail surface, as well as the halyards located at the foot and leg of the sail. Three sets of reefing lines on bottom and sides. As for a large Galen like the Immaculate Virgin, just one turn may require the operation of more than ten sails at the same time, and the cooperation with the helmsman. This is impossible without hundreds of skilled sailors. This is why Lin Hai Desperately wanting a fully sailed training ship.

In this era, the only thing that can fight a huge Galen fleet in the open sea is the equally huge Galen fleet. If Lin Hai wants to dominate the sea, there is absolutely no way around it. He must have enough pilots Sailor on a fully sailed battleship.

Lin Hai boarded the Immaculate Virgin with excitement and said to Miguel who came up to him: "Old man, congratulations on your new contribution to the company."

Miguel smiled and said: "The action was easier than imagined. We did not encounter any resistance."

"It's the same here." Lin Hai smiled when he heard this. This result was basically expected. The Spaniards didn't take any precautions behind them. This was information they had already received, not to mention that yesterday was the August Festival.

In fact, this operation was somewhat similar to the attack on Lihai Institute. They avoided the enemy's early warning system facing the sea and launched an unexpected attack from behind.

Although it was a bit overwhelming, the only thing that mattered was the result. Lin Hai was not Song Xianggong, so stupid pig-like benevolence was undesirable.

"What's the condition of the artillery on the ship?" Lin Hai then asked. He witnessed the Balanggai ship being tortured by the Immaculate Virgin, and he couldn't wait to know the firepower configuration on the ship.

"There are 12 9-pound cannons on the open deck, two 2-pound cannons at the bow and stern, and eight 9-pound cannons on the gun deck, plus 8 24-pound Cofilin cannons. There are 14 cannons in the whole ship. They are all high-quality bronze cannons, which are top-notch firepower configurations on the Asian seas."

What Miguel is talking about is only the heavy artillery used to damage ships. In fact, there are many 1-pound revolving guns on the ship. These would be counted in the number of artillery in the Ming Dynasty, but they were not counted in Europe in the 17th century.

He continued: "Besides, I asked the sailors on the ship. This ship was just launched from the Cavite shipyard two years ago and is made of fine wood. Moreover, the church specially sent an overseer to the shipyard. So the quality of this ship is quite good and it should be able to serve for a long time.”

"Church?" Lin Hai was a little confused, "What is the relationship between shipbuilding and the church?"

"I don't know about that. We need to thank the church for supervising the construction of a good ship for us." Miguel shrugged, "You have to know that corruption is everywhere in the Philippine colonies, so the Cavite Shipyard is We often cut corners when building ships, although in terms of shipbuilding technology, there is no better shipyard in Asia."

Miguel's best friend, Peter Quincy, who is now a senior officer in the Navy of the Friends Company, had stayed in Manila for several years, so he was fully aware of the corruption of the West Philippine authorities.

Lin Hai nodded when he heard the words. He also knew a little about what Miguel said. Whether it was Spanish colonists or VOC employees, corruption and abuse of power for personal gain were commonplace, and they were no less generous than those in the Ming Dynasty.

Relatively better in this regard is the British EIC, but their approach is to allow employees to bring personal goods, which can be regarded as opening up a legal loophole for personal gain.

"Okay, let's stop talking. The Spaniards on Sheliao Island are still waiting for their fate to be judged. We don't want to keep them waiting too long." Lin Hai said to Miguel with a smile.

"What are you going to do? Send people to the island to persuade them to surrender?" Miguel asked.

"Don't worry, I told you to let the Governor of Manila know our strength." Lin Hai said and ordered, "All the old lock ships lined up in a column, pointed their broadsides at Sheliao Island, and each ship fired a shot at the island. Say it again."

The old lock fleet began to act according to the order and lined up in a column beside Sheliao Island. Because the artillery was not fully equipped, in order to exaggerate his own strength, Lin Hai arranged the artillery on the same side of the ship in advance. In order to balance the hull, he also added counterweights on the other side.

"What a refreshing sight!" Lin Hai saw the neatly arranged twenty-one old lock ships and thought that this might be the only hard sail battle line in history, whether in this time and space or in the original time and space. .

As a fan of ancient martial arts, nothing makes people feel more excited than a neat queue, whether at sea or on land.

For a moment, Lin Hai had the urge to order the fleet to launch a salvo, but he finally suppressed the idea.

After the twenty-one old lock ships were lined up, the gun doors on the sides were turned up one after another, and hundreds of artillery were pushed out of the gun windows. These artillery were copper and iron, new and old, stone walls and MiGs. In order to equip as many artillery pieces as possible, I have used all means.

Boom, boom, boom... Twenty-one cannons gradually fired, and sure enough, each ship fired one shot, and they were all aimed at uninhabited areas.

The Spanish are potential allies, and this is not the time to kill people, not to mention that the demand for slave labor in the Construction Department is increasing day by day.

"What a spectacle! Those Spaniards must have been scared to death." Miguel clapped his hands and laughed on the Immaculate Virgin. He had not seen so many artillery fire at the same time in more than ten years since he left the Portuguese Navy.

"What do you think about lining up in such a straight line in a naval battle and firing at the enemy from the broadside?" Lin Hai asked at the side.

"Are you kidding? How can such a straight line be drawn up in actual combat? It's impossible to just command." Miguel laughed when he heard this. There was no battle line tactic in this era. The latter appeared at the time It's almost half a century away.

"So we can't just rely on command on the battlefield, but we must clarify the formation in the combat regulations, just like the army emphasizes discipline." Lin Hai continued.

The navy's battle line tactics originally drew on the army's line tactics. Western Europe in the 17th century was the era of line tactics. Whether it was the navy or the army, combat tactics had undergone major changes compared to the 16th century.

"You said it's impossible for the Navy to emphasize discipline like the Army." Miguel continued, "And I don't see the benefits of this formation. The fleet will be easily divided and surrounded by opponents. And then get under crossfire.”

Lin Hai nodded. With the rate of fire of artillery in this era, even if a battle line was formed, it would actually be difficult to use powerful broadside firepower to prevent enemy ships from approaching.

Tactics are limited by technology. Although artillery battles have become more and more important in naval battles in Western Europe, gang jumping is still an important tactical option, and can even be said to be the final resort.

"Then if the artillery on the ship can fire ten rounds in one hour, or even more, do you think this formation is useful?" Lin Hai then asked.

"How is that possible?" Miguel shook his head first, and then looked at Lin Hai in surprise. Could he really have a way?

After all, too many incredible things have happened to Lin Hai, including the last ship hijacking in the Liaohai Sea. The silk medicine bag they used was also proposed by Lin Hai before, and it really greatly improved the speed of barrel cleaning.

(End of this chapter)