Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 555 Tyrrhenian Sea ([-])

On January 1647, 1, the sky was overcast.

The rough Atlantic has been left behind, and the east coast fleet led by Lieutenant Colonel Lu Ming slowly left the port of Algiers in the Ottoman Empire and headed for the next target - the port of Pisa in Tuscany.Among these more than 30 ships, the sideboard of the flagship "August [-]th" has just undergone some emergency repairs, and some ship boards damaged by shells have also been replaced.

This mighty battleship was wounded when it was intercepted by the Spanish Atlantic Fleet while breaking through the Strait of Gibraltar.At that time, the huge east coast fleet was preparing to sneak across the strait to Italy in the dark, but the three Spanish ships patrolling here soon noticed the movement.In desperation, Lu Ming took two battleships and two frigates to drive out the enemy in order to cover the heavy transport fleet to escape.After all, this is the Strait of Gibraltar—the home of the Spaniards. Lu Ming, who is not aware of the current strength of the Spanish navy, can only decide to annihilate or expel these three Spanish ships as soon as possible, and then follow the fleet and flee immediately. He dare not compete with Spain here. The main force of the navy fought a decisive battle, because he had no idea at all.

The result of the battle is obvious. Among the three Spanish ships, two are small tonnage galley warships, and the other is a frigate of more than 400 tons.Facing the powerful east coast blocking fleet, they were naturally beaten to shame.Two hours later, a galley warship "San Antonio" was sunk, and another was injured and fled into shallow water. The situation was not good and he fled in the direction of Cadiz, as if he was going back to ask for reinforcements.

Lu Ming, who was worried about the safety of the merchant fleet, did not dare to pursue the Spanish ship. After throwing a small boat to the more than ten captive Spanish sailors, Lu Ming led the four warships to leave the battle scene in a hurry and caught up with the escort. fleet.Then entered Algiers, the nearest friendly port, to repair the ship while replenishing supplies.

On January 1th, the east coast flotilla with supplies and repairs bid farewell to the battleship "Bayezid", and then followed the warm westerly wind blowing from the Atlantic Ocean towards the port of Pisa on the west coast of Italy, and succeeded on January 15nd. Arriving here, there was no interception or attack along the way, which made the escort fleet who had been cautious all the time feel a little relieved.

After spending a week moving goods and settling payments, the east coast fleet left the port of Pisa again on January 1, and then headed south into the Tyrrhenian Sea where ships were busy.The busy sea was now full of ships, ranging from the old-fashioned galleys common in the Mediterranean to the increasingly popular schooners.Among them, most of the ships belong to Genoa, and a small number belong to France, Naples, and Tuscany. As for Spanish ships, they are really rarely seen.If you see one by chance, as soon as the other party sees this huge fleet of ships flying the red-bottomed double-sword goshawk flag, and how large the fleet is, they will immediately hide away and never dare to approach again.At this time, the ships on the east coast were also rushing to Ottoman with all their heart, and they didn't bother to care about these small fish and shrimps, so the two sides lived in peace for a while.

But good luck will end after all. On February 2, the slightly trembling voice of the watchman on the lead ship "Free Trade" immediately broke the quiet noon time of the entire east coast fleet. It was not long after lunch Lu Ming immediately walked to the fence of the bridge and began to observe the enemy's situation.

"A four-masted frigate, four barques, five two-masted galleys, eleven galleys, fifteen small transports, most of them flying the flag of the Kingdom of Spain, but a few seem to be Neapolitan ships— Although this place also belongs to Spanish territory now. Sir, the situation looks very bad!" Jiang Yaohui, the 35th nautical graduate of Bingtuanbao and the newly transferred intern first mate, held a telescope and said with some concern: "They must have recently The fleet that has just been urgently assembled may have just arrived in Naples not long ago, and it is obvious that their target is us!"

"Is there time to hide in the nearby port?" Lu Ming also held up his binoculars while carefully observing the formation of the Spaniards.The Spaniards took the lead with a four-masted large warship with a displacement of more than 60 tons, and the number of artillery pieces was likely to be more than [-]. Even in the Armada that year, it was still a first-class main battleship.Now they are also sent to Naples, the Spaniards really think highly of us!As for the rest of the warships, although they were troublesome, they obviously didn't move Lu Ming so much.Because of fighting at sea, there is no need for any tricks. The comparison is who has more ships and guns, who has more tenacious fighting will, and whose ships have better performance!

"Sir, in view of the current wind direction and current, we can no longer turn around in place. As for the left and right sides of the Tyrrhenian Sea, both Naples and Sardinia are now the territory of the Kingdom of Spain." Jiang Yaohui said helplessly : "Our only chance now is to defeat the Spaniards in front of us. Or at least to kill a bloody road, and then cover the transport fleet with little combat effectiveness to quickly pass through the Strait of Messina, enter the Ionian Sea, and head all the way to the Ottoman Empire Run wildly in the control area. There is no other way, sir, I suggest to face it head-on, this is the most reasonable way to deal with it."

"I agree with your point of view, Chief Intern, go fly the red battle signal flag now. At the same time, send a traffic boat to contact Captain John Ston of the 'Cadiz Rock' and ask him to take the 'Grouper', The four ships 'Sage Cod', 'Pan-eating Pomfret', and 'Totoaba' formed a penetration fleet and fully escorted 17 transport ships to break through to the southwest. By the way, the ships of these four frigates The commander should send someone to notify him immediately. Immediately convey the order, my adjutant." Since there was no way out, the experienced fleet commander Lu Ming, who had participated in five or six naval battles, immediately entered his role and began to give orders.

Jiang Yaohui gave a military salute, immediately got off the bridge and began to send orders.After he left, another trainee officer stood beside Lu Ming with a pen and paper, ready to record orders at any time.

"Hang three large green triangular signal flags on the top of the second mast, and let the other three battleships follow the flagship to fight. Our four most powerful and mobile battleships form a guerrilla fleet to seek the enemy's main force. The warships engaged in a decisive battle to buy time for the transport fleet to break through." Lu Ming never put down the binoculars on his chest, he was still observing while giving orders: "Send traffic boats to the 'Swordfish' and 'Zheluo Salmon' , the 'Salmon' and the 'Saury' sent orders, under the unified command of Lieutenant Ding Yiyu, the captain of the 'Swordfish', to form a rear fleet to closely guard the flanks and rear of the transport fleet, preventing those loaded with Spanish Army soldiers galleys or small transport ships approaching for a surprise attack."

After the trainee officer recorded the order and repeated it aloud without any objection, he hurried downstairs to deliver the order. After he left, No. 3 trainee officer came to Lu Ming's side again.After setting up the strategy, Lu Ming finally put down the binoculars on his chest, smiled at the young trainee officer behind him, and said, "Don't be nervous, young man. The Spaniard's largest battleship is only just comparable to ours. It is only one of the four battleships, and its maneuverability is far inferior to ours. As for the other four three-masted battleships, they are of the same level as our eight frigates, and their artillery caliber and power may be slightly inferior. The last two Ships, galleys, and small single-masted transport ships, hehe, it is absurd to send such ships to fight! After all, the Spaniards still do not understand the theoretical essence of battle line naval warfare. These small ships are not qualified to go to battle lines and We were bombarded, and they couldn't even survive the first two or three rounds. Maybe the only use of these ships is to take some Spanish or Neapolitan army soldiers to capture our transport ships, but I can only say that their chances are not good. "

"Sir, I... I'm not nervous." Sweat dripped from the young man's forehead, but he still said calmly when he first entered the battlefield: "The Spanish Mediterranean Fleet was completely wiped out in the Battle of Downs, and the Atlantic Fleet The main force has also been wiped out, and even Portugal and Naples lost many ships and suffered heavy casualties in that naval battle. Therefore, I think it is difficult for the Spaniards to raise a usable fleet in the Mediterranean in a short period of time. The fleet is here. At present, they can organize ten professional warships in the Tyrrhenian Sea to intercept us, which has already surprised me. In fact, I doubt that they may have miscalculated the strength of our fleet. The old way of thinking, that doomed them from the start."

"I like it very much when you say that, young man." Lu Ming laughed, patted the shoulder of the young man who was following him vigorously, and said, "Our four battleships that have been steam-modified, even if they match all ten ships I am also sure that the Spanish warship will not fall behind, and even make the enemy pay a considerable price. Watch it carefully, young man, I don't care what the Spaniards think, but they obviously underestimated our strength and determination to fight now .Then, let them use the price of blood to wash away this doomed irreversible mistake."

At 1647:2 pm on February 2, 01, Tyrrhenian Sea, westerly force five.With a correction fired by the 30-pound long-barreled cannon on the bow of the leading battleship "Free Trade", the naval escort fleet of the Republic of China on the East Coast and part of the Mediterranean Fleet of the Kingdom of Spain finally opened up. prologue.

(End of this chapter)