Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 52 Chase Battle ([-])

Afternoon, Tuesday, May 5.South Atlantic, westerly level 10, 5 degrees Celsius.

The Yunsheng 20 and the "Eagle of the East Coast" are still wandering like ghosts in the waters east of Tierra del Fuego.Yesterday the "Galicia Flying Fish" just sent a batch of supplies and ammunition from the Falkland Islands, and picked up a batch of prisoners.The group of more than [-] captives was on a British ship, and this British pirate ship was swimming near the Strait of Magellan, seemingly doing the same thing as passing through.But unfortunately, she was mistaken for a Spanish ship by Wang Tiehui, the captain of Yunsheng No. [-]. After a fierce artillery fire, this small three-masted sailing ship raised a white flag.After the receiving personnel boarded the ship, it was discovered that they had hit their counterparts by mistake, and the entire ship was too damaged and was slowly sinking. In desperation, they had to abandon the ship and transfer the prisoners to the "East Coast Eagle".

This was only a small episode in the hunt, although the tragic Englishman served as a footnote to the episode.At this time, Yunsheng No. 2 hoisted the mainsail and foremastsail, the main engine had been turned off, and the whole ship was drifting with the current at a speed of [-] knots. The "Eagle of the East Coast" was patrolling the southeast waters, and both ships were bored waiting for their prey to take the bait.

However, hunter and prey are sometimes not so absolute.The lookout of Yunsheng No. [-]—Navy Candidate Ji Wen soon found a tall mast in the northeast waters, followed by the second and third...

"A three-masted sailing ship was found in the northeast! The flag of the Kingdom of Spain was hoisted! The speed is 5 knots!" Ji Wen pulled the bell of the announcement vigorously.

After receiving the report, Wang Tiehammer immediately ordered the mainsail and foremastsail to be lowered, the main engine began to warm up, and the red battle flag was raised at the same time.At this time, the "Eagle of the East Coast" also spotted the ships in the northern waters, and immediately turned left to lean towards Yunsheng No. [-], forming a two-ship formation.

"That ship has raised a signal flag! Damn it! She must be more than one ship!" Wang Tiehammer observed from a distance through the telescope. At this time, the sea weather was clear and the visibility was extremely high. Wang Tiehammer saw the Spaniard's movements at a glance. "She must be summoning her accomplices! Is the host started?"

"What's the matter with the 'Eagle of the East Coast'? Why come up at this time to join in the fun?" Xiao Bailang also raised his binoculars and muttered.He felt a little insecure. Usually the Spaniards came from the west, but this was the first time he encountered a ship from the north.Moreover, the ship's first reaction after seeing Yunsheng No. [-] was not to turn around and run away, but to raise a signal flag. What does this abnormal behavior indicate?The answer is already there.

"There is a new three-masted sailing ship in the northeast! Repeat, there is a new three-masted sailing ship in the northeast!" The dedicated Ji Wen roared loudly from the top of the mast. in one's ear.

"Damn it! It's a hornet's nest! Hurry up, raise the yellow signal flag, and let the 'East Coast Eagle' dodge as far as possible. There might be a boat behind her, so don't join in the fun with her small body. " Wang Tiechui shouted, the sudden enemy ship made him a little excited and nervous.

"Old Wang, don't worry too much. The speed of Yunsheng No. [-] is difficult for these sailing ships to catch up with. If we are determined to leave, the Spaniards will not be able to keep us." Xiao Bailang said with a smile, "First Slowly increase the speed and see the situation before talking."

The main engine of Yunsheng No. 4 is slowly accelerating, and the whole ship is currently traveling eastward at a speed of [-] knots. Lu Ming on the "Eagle of the East Coast" immediately saw the yellow evacuation signal flag hoisted by Yunsheng No. [-]. Resolutely evacuate towards the southwest at full speed.

Two Spanish ships appeared again in the northeast direction, and one of them was a four-masted galleon. It became more and more obvious that this was definitely the main fleet of the Spaniards.

"Damn it, our incident really happened. The Spaniard is definitely here to arrest us and bring us to justice." Wang Tiechui muttered to himself, "I will take them for a walk to see if there is any loophole."

……

Diego Garcia held up a binoculars to observe the undulating tall ships on the sea in the southwest. After sailing the sea for so long, he finally found the traces of this group of Tatans.This big black ship must be the 2000-ton large warship of the Tartans, but the layout of this battleship is really as bad as the rumors. Those flashy and tall buildings amidships occupy a lot of precious deck area. It will definitely lead to not enough space to install artillery, maybe only 18-20 artillery can be installed, Captain Garcia guessed.

But these are not the main point. The important point is that the ship obviously has a mast, but it has not hoisted any sails, that is, it does not have the help of wind power. Why is it sailing without the help of wind power, and the speed is not slow.Perhaps there were a large number of oarsmen rowing under the cabin?Diego Garcia quickly refuted his conjecture, as it would not last long, and he did not observe any oars moving near the waterline of the hull from the telescope.

Perhaps the Tartans had invented a new ship power system, Diego García speculated.He didn't call this ship a devil's ship like those devout believers. After working hard in the New World for so many years, he didn't believe in anything, he only believed in the truth and knowledge he had mastered.The other party seemed to have a small warship that fled to the southwest waters, but it didn't matter, after the big ship was dealt with, it would be a breeze to destroy that small ship.

"Hang up the signal flag, prepare for battle, keep all ships in formation, and try to meet the enemy with broadside artillery." Captain Diego Garcia estimated the speed and direction of the opponent's ship, and felt that he was completely sure to intercept the opponent, and forced It fights with its own fleet.

The battleship "Cadiz Rock" made an arc and outflanked Yunsheng [-] from the northeast direction, followed by the "Bison" and "Conqueror of Araucan"; at the same time, The "Countesa Alfonso", which was the first to spot Yunsheng No. [-], hung up its auxiliary sails and rushed towards Yunsheng No. [-] at full speed, and the distance between the two sides was constantly decreasing.On the other side, the "Glory", "Prosecutor" and "Lima Bishop" were coming at full speed, intending to outflank the left side of Yunsheng-[-].

"Fuck, I still have a big appetite." Wang Tiehammer smacked his lips, his hand holding the binoculars trembling slightly.This is a real shot, and the strength of the enemy is very strong, far from being comparable to those small boats that I bullied before.You have to deal with it carefully, Wang Tiechui secretly reminded himself that the opponent's cannon can also kill people.

"Turn around! Speed ​​up! Heading due east at 8 economical speed, grandma, stretch out the Spaniard formation first. Try to delay as long as possible, so that the gangsters on the "Eastern Eagle" have Time to escape." Wang Tiehammer ordered.

The speed of the Spaniard's warships when the wind is down is also amazing, generally reaching more than 8 knots, and individual ships even have a speed of 10-11 knots.At an economical speed of 8 knots, Yunsheng 1500 narrowly crossed the encirclement on the right led by the "Rock of Cadiz", and the distance between the two sides was even less than [-] meters from the nearest point, almost entering the maximum range of the artillery of both sides.

"Fuck, almost! I really underestimated the speed of these sailboats. Turning to the northeast, I will see if you can maintain such a fast speed when the wind is headed! Lao Han, raise the speed to 10 knots, don't think about saving fuel at this time Yes. I'll see if I have a chance to bite these Spaniards and buy more time for the 'Eagle of the East Coast'." Wang Tiehammer wiped the sweat from his forehead and said bitterly.

The main engine of Yunsheng No. 8 rotated rapidly, and the whole ship turned to the north, drew a beautiful arc, and rushed towards the Spanish supply ship and armed sailboat that fell behind.Those Spanish armed sailboats did not have the high speed of 10-4 knots of the capital ships. Their common speed was [-] knots, and they were still chasing slowly.At this time, facing Yunsheng No. [-], which quickly got rid of the main fleet and swooped over, they all panicked and turned to head towards the coast.

Yunsheng No. 8 approached an armed sailing ship, and the eight side guns that had been prepared for a long time fired almost simultaneously, and the roaring projectiles smashed the left side of the armed sailing ship into pieces.The enemy's counterattack seemed a little weak, and the few small-caliber artillery remaining on the port deck fired some projectiles at Yunsheng No. [-], but none of them caused any damage.

The two sides were about to pass by each other soon, and the gunners on Yunsheng No. [-] seized the time to fire another round of cannons one after another. This time, they completely plowed the opponent's port deck, and the scattered grape bullets killed All the sailors who were still standing, and a chain bomb even broke the opponent's mizzenmast.

"Happy!" Xiao Bailang said excitedly, waving his arms heavily.

"Turn northeast! Keep the speed at 10 knots! The Spaniard's capital ship has turned around, let's try their strength, pay attention, control the distance, and don't crash into the encirclement." Wang Tiehammer said a little excitedly.The round of shelling just now sent all his nervousness and anxiety into the Atlantic Ocean, but now he is motivated, and wants to have fun with the Spaniards by taking advantage of his high speed and the advantage of not having to look at the direction of the wind.

At this time, the Spanish armed sailboats and supply ships were all sailing close to the coastline, and the seven capital ships had already completed their U-turn, gathered together in a loose formation, and sailed northward to tackle the wind.

Soon, Yunsheng No. 12 soared to nearly 600 knots under the condition of tailwind, and then quickly approached the three-masted sailing ship "Conquistador of Araucan", which was the outermost formation of the Spanish fleet.The "Conqueror of Araucan" with a displacement of 28 tons is equipped with a total of 6 bronze cannons, most of which are 8-pound, 12-pound, and 18-pound cannons. In addition, there are two [-]-pound cannons, and the firepower is not small. watch for.

The broadside battery on the Yunsheng No. [-] unleashed a large number of iron bullets on the enemy warship as soon as it came into range.Although the hit rate is pitifully low, there are always a few luck bullets that can hit the enemy ship and cause damage to the enemy.And at this distance, the enemy's artillery can't reach him, so he can only be beaten, not to mention how depressed he is.

The distance between the ships of the two sides soon approached within 1000 meters. Yunsheng No. 18 had already fired three rounds of shelling at this time, but the first round of shelling from the "Conqueror of Araucan" came late: most of the shells fell. Entering the sea, only one [-]-pound shell was lucky enough to hit the tall cabin of Yunsheng No. [-], breaking one of the windows.

"Damn it, the 18-pound gun is so powerful! No way! Turn the rudder to the left and keep your distance!" Wang Tiehammer was taken aback, and quickly ordered: "Keep out of the maximum range of the enemy ship's artillery, and spend with them for a while, it will soon be dark It's dark, we'll retreat!"

(End of this chapter)