New Shun 1730

"Once the Dutch fleet is found, the fleet will be divided into two. A squadron composed of 12 cruisers will seize the leeward direction to prevent the Dutch from escaping."

"The remaining main fleet will go straight to the center of the Dutch fleet, give full play to the power of the salvo of the naval guns on both sides, and split the Dutch fleet."

"The reconnaissance ship has confirmed that the Dutch fleet is in Cirebon."

"This battle is related to whether the Nanyang issue can be resolved as soon as possible. It takes a thousand days to raise troops and a moment to use them. In total, it is more than a thousand days. Since I captured Bering and others and began to prepare for the navy, four thousand days have passed."

"In the war against Japan, the navy did not fight at all. What is there to fight with them?"

"Whether the navy can fight or not, the Dutch are the touchstone."

After that, he took out the precision pocket watch that had been re-timed on Bangka Island and said, "It is nine o'clock in the morning. It is about 40 miles away from the ocean surface of Cirebon. I think we should prepare to send a signal and start preparing for war."

After that, he asked Li Li beside him. In name, Li Li was the commander-in-chief of the navy, and Liu Yu was the deputy envoy of the Privy Council and the chief of staff for the Nanyang campaign.

However, everyone knew that he was the commander-in-chief, including Li Li. But the rules were set by him, and of course he had to abide by them.

Whether to prepare for war or to start a war required the order of the prince Li Li, who was in charge of the navy.

Even though everyone knew that this was just a formality, the formality was very important.

The emperor did not let Liu Yu take charge because "the navy belongs to the Liu family, and it cannot be fought without his command." It was because this battle was too important, and after the battle, the strategic layout for Nanyang was the top priority and could not be missed, so Liu Yu was asked to take charge.

Li Li was also very well-behaved. He knew that going to Nanyang was Liu Yu's dream, and this battle should be Liu Yu's last battle on the front line.

He was not worried that Liu Yu would take the first credit, nor was he worried that Liu Yu would overshadow him. He knew clearly in his heart that he was here to brush up his prestige this time.

Liu Yu also gave him face and did not give him direct orders in a high-handed manner. The specific orders were still waiting for him to issue them.

So he said: "Just do as the Whale Marquis said. Raise the flag for preparation for war, and prepare all units! Officers, take your positions."

After the order was issued, the flag bearer quickly raised the flag for preparation for war.

On the deck of the Tianyuan, bursts of sharp whistles were immediately heard.

The sailors who were still drowsy quickly got rid of the previous chaos. Even the person who was shitting at the bow, regardless of whether he had finished or not, hurriedly scraped it with a tile and ran to the deck.

In the kitchen, after hearing the whistle, the chef extinguished the fire, poured water from the wooden barrel into the stove, put his hand in for a full minute, and took his hand out after confirming that there was no possibility of re-ignition.

The sailors quickly packed up all the messy personal belongings, including the clothes they had changed, and threw them all into the cargo hold at the bottom to clear a passage that could be passed at any time.

The hammocks were already tied up when they got up, and tying hammocks was the first thing sailors had to do every day.

The moment the whistle for preparation sounded, the sailors in charge of packing hammocks had to tie the tied hammocks to the fence on the side of the ship under the leadership of the captain.

It seems that this is useless, but in fact it is the experience gained by Europeans with blood: to prevent the deck from being swept by rotating cannons and grapeshot after contacting the enemy. These soft, tied hammocks can effectively block the lead bullets and shotguns from the opposite side.

Why not just make it like a building ship, because the cannon will break the wooden boards. Solid bullets can kill one or two people at most, but if they break the wooden boards and pierce people, more than a dozen people can be reimbursed at once.

Several thick ropes were pulled from under the mast to the side of the ship, connected together, and covered on the deck, like a grape trellis with fallen leaves, like a spider web.

This is to prevent the mast from falling due to artillery fire, which would directly crush people to death. These thick ropes can stop the broken and falling masts and sails.

The mast shooter holding a rifle climbed up the mast barefoot. Once they met the enemy, they had to shoot the officers on the opposite deck from the mast. Whether they could snipe them depended on their skills.

The gunpowder man carried a huge sheep felt blanket and blocked the door of the gunpowder depot. He used the bucket next to him to pour water on the wool felt to prevent accidents from happening in the gunpowder depot.

Next to the door of the gunpowder depot, four huge wooden barrels were filled with water. There was a pile of small barrels hanging next to them to prevent accidents and put out fires at any time.

On the deck, the deck that had just been scrubbed became dirty again.

The sailors carried wooden barrels filled with sand and sprinkled the sand on the deck, especially in places where bleeding was easy, and the key corner passage between the gunpowder depot and the gun room. To prevent the ground from being covered with blood during the battle, which was slippery and untenable.

The boats on the ship were also put into the sea, connected to the hooks at the stern with cables instead of staying on the ship. Once the fleet was defeated and sunk, these boats would be needed to save lives.

The gunners were checking the hook pulleys to make sure the flintlock cables were ready for use. The 13- and 14-year-old midshipmen were holding bags of gunpowder. Once the battle began, they had to make sure they could keep up with the gunners' firing rate.

It was impossible to pile gunpowder directly next to the cannons.

The various iron bullets cannot be piled next to the artillery, and people need to deliver them from the back. This is a physical job. Although the shells are not too heavy, the key is that the flintlock cable technology of the Dashun Navy and the high investment in training gunpowder make the firing rate too fast, which leads to the need to run to carry the shells.

There are always two more people at each gun position. One is to prevent the casualties of gunners, which is normal in close-range firefights; the other is that it is really difficult to sink a battleship these days.

Dashun has explosive bombs with wooden supports, but it dares not and cannot be used on the ship. If this thing accidentally explodes, the gunners on the first deck will be written off.

Relying on solid bullets to sink the opponent, the Dutch and the Spanish fought in Luzon for an afternoon, which was extremely fierce, but the result was that both sides ran out of ammunition and went home.

So you have to consider boarding battles at any time. If you capture a ship, you will get 20% of the price of the captured ship as a reward, which is a considerable income.

Of course, we also have to consider that the enemy will board the ship. If these surplus gunners win the bombardment and are still alive, they will board the ship to fight.

Their weapons are very strange and suitable for fighting on the ship. There are no long spears and swords, but short guns, axes, daggers, and hammers.

After countless trainings, this kind of preparation still takes nearly an hour.

But the ships at this time are not running fast, and an hour is just within the range of vision.

After the preparations were completed, the observer on the mast sent a signal, and the Dutch warships were seen in the telescope, and the huge VOC logo on it was recognized.

The fleet on the Dashun side was divided into two.

Half of the faster cruisers did not rush to the upwind direction, but went around to the leeward direction to intercept the escaping Dutch at any time.

The main battleships, together with the remaining cruisers, lined up in a line according to Liu Yu's orders, but did not prepare to grab the T-head.

The reason why battleships are called battleships is because they have to test the side-string artillery, which is the same as the line-up shooting in land warfare.

Theoretically, to maximize the firepower output, you have to grab the horizontal head of the T, so that you can maximize the advantages of the side-string artillery.

But Liu Yu's order is to let the main fleet give up grabbing the T-shaped horizontal head, and instead, with the flagship in front, form a line and directly attack the Dutch fleet.

This means that the main fleet will be bombarded by the Dutch T-shaped horizontal head in a row, and the fleet will have no way to fight back during the impact: the cannons are all on the side string, and the frontal assault can only be hit, and it is impossible to exert the superior firepower.

However, Liu Yu also has his own considerations.

If it really plays cat and mouse in the array shooting, the Dutch will most likely choose to run away. When they are circling to grab the windward horizontal line, the Dutch will see that the situation is not good and run away... Although the 74-gun battleship of French origin is a perfect balance of firepower, protection and maneuverability, but the maneuverability is not as fast as those small boats.

If they didn't seize the T-shaped crosshead and directly attacked with the wind, the Dutch would only have one chance.

If they didn't make a quick decision and run away immediately, the Dutch would be caught.

Once the formation was deployed, it would be too slow to readjust.

If successful, the Dutch fleet could be directly divided, and after a close-range salvo, the ships would be interspersed to encircle and annihilate.

At that time, the T-shaped became a cross, and the cannons on both sides of the Dashun Navy could shoot.

In other words, they would be beaten by the Dutch in the early stage, and then double the Dutch in the later stage. This is basically the same as the idea of ​​fighting on land, enduring the opponent's random shooting and walking within 50 meters to a salvo.

Tactics are not immutable, and the magic of their use lies in one's heart.

The Dutch had few ships and poor cannons. Liu Yu estimated that even if the Dutch were to line up in a line and shoot at him for an hour, it would be useless.

Similarly, if they seized the T-shaped crosshead, the fleet's speed would not be able to stop the Dutch from escaping, and this style of play would not have a decisive effect.

They often fought each other for an afternoon and went home. If you approach, you have to go around in circles; if you go around in circles, they can't wait there.

Liu Yu is sure that the training of the Dashun Navy is qualified and strict. However, the maritime tradition is still a little lacking. Of course, they are not afraid of shooting, but they should be a little worse than the Dutch in controlling sails, running away, chasing, and turning.

At that time, most of the time they will be circling, and the bombardment effect will not be very great. If they want to get close to the horizontal formation, they have to worry about the Dutch running away.

Therefore, this very strange tactic, under the shackles of this force comparison and strategic purpose, became the first battle method of the navy against the European navy this time.

Tianyuan was in front, and the fleet was lined up in a row, ready to face the Dutch side volley, cut into the center of the Dutch warship, and directly cut into two parts.

At about half past ten, the Dutch fleet off the coast of Jingliwen also discovered the Dashun fleet.

After hearing the report from the observer, the fleet commander took a telescope and looked in the direction indicated by the observer.

The weather was good, the sky was clear, without fog or clouds. The blurry silhouette of the warship gradually became clear in the telescope, and the blue flag of the Dashun Navy flying high on the mast was particularly eye-catching.

Years of maritime career gave the Dutch fleet commander a keen sense of battle.

Why did the Dashun Navy appear in this place when the company's Southeast Asian fleet was gathering?

They definitely didn't come to see the scenery or go fishing.

The Dutch did too many things without declaring war, so he exclaimed and shouted: "Prepare for war! Prepare for war!"

“Shameless Chinese, fighting without declaration.”