Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 163 Wolves ([-])

"Is that the East Coaster fleet that Mr. Chris mentioned, James?" On the sea, an English warship flying the St. George's flag was cruising, and her officer was carefully observing his prey through binoculars.

"Yes, Mr. Walter." James put down his binoculars and affirmed clearly: "It is the fleet I saw in Cape Verde. Their destination seems to be Bordeaux, which is only a few days away from here. If we don't Take action and they'll probably get there."

"It's hard for Mr. Chris to report the traces of the people on the east coast in time." Walter smiled confidently, "Leave it to us. Evan, lower the flag of St. George. Then you go and notify the entire fleet to get ready and seize the upper hand , shelling in turn, all the ships concentrated on attacking the target fired by the 'Sir Daly'. Also, close the distance to within 300 meters before firing."

Following his order, the liaison officers began to send orders to the remaining four warships in the traffic boat.Soon, a total of five British warships on the sea adjusted their course and moved slowly in a column formation along the westerly wind blowing from the sea.

The frigate "Maritime Writer", which was at the forefront, was the first to discover the enemy's situation.Soon, the lookout post on the "Common Market" battleship also discovered the situation, and the warning bell was suddenly rang.

Wang Tiehammer strode to the side of the bridge, and raised his binoculars to see: Good guy, five three-masted galleons lined up on the sea, and they came here aggressively in a column formation.

"Fuck, they must be British! These British guys are so fucking persistent!" Wang Tiehammer patted the fence railing resentfully, and cursed: "Isn't it just a business competition with you, as for chasing them to death like this?! You don’t need any cost to sail these ships, damn, you’re all crazy! Your king didn’t stand up for you, and you are so active, it’s simply inexplicable!"

An Chu and the others looked at the front with solemn faces.There are five British warships, and the tonnage is not large, generally 400-600 tons, but they have installed a lot of artillery. It can be seen that these ships are purely out to find fault.

"Don't be dazed, hang the battle flag!" Wang Tiehammer shouted at the first mate, second mate, bosun and others surrounding him: "Second mate, take the liaison officer to each ship to communicate. The transport ship of the South China Sea Company Slow down to the rear, and the other two warships will follow me, in the same line formation, Nima, if the British want to fight, then fight! Also, let Julian's 'Nightingale' figure it out, he wants to Run for your life, but I don't guarantee that the British will let him go!"

As the two sides on the sea formed their respective battle formations, a naval battle seemed inevitable.The British had the upper hand, and their five warships lined up in a single column, killing them slowly from the northwest.

Now that the matter has come to this point, Wang Tiehammer doesn't have too many thoughts. It seems that it is very difficult to draw a winner here today.At this time, he became excited instead, and a sick flush appeared on his face.

At this time, the Second Escort Squadron has also completed formation adjustment.The entire fleet is divided into two columns, two weak South Sea Company transport ships (each with 8 guns) are on the left; the battleship headed by the "Common Market" is on the right; the two columns are from southeast to northwest Follow the ocean current at a low speed of 1 to 1.5 knots.

Julian's "Nightingale" did not dare to escape after all, because he was not sure whether the British would kill him easily. Anyway, as long as his hands and feet were neat and his death was unproven, his family would have nothing to do with them.Therefore, his armed merchant ship equipped with 16 small and medium-caliber artillery also followed the sequence of combat ships on the right, ready to meet the challenge of the British.

"Boom! Boom!" The two 12-pound bow guns of the "Common Market" rushed to the forefront, fully utilizing the long-range advantages of the east coast artillery, and started shooting after entering a distance of 800 meters.It is a pity that the two shells seem to have missed the mark.

The gunners were not discouraged, and continued to fire.Finally, during the fourth round of shelling, a 12-pound iron bullet hit the opponent's forecastle, achieving the first hit of the day.

The distance between the two sides continued to narrow, and the hit rate of the bow guns began to increase. The 12-pound shells hit the opponent's hull one after another, but unfortunately it has not been able to cause much results.As for the side artillery, the gunners of each gun were estimating the relative speed and distance of the two sides, and at the same time commanded their gun crew members to use pulleys to adjust the direction of the muzzle so that they could join the battle as soon as possible.

"Boom! Boom!" The distance between the two ships was shortened to about 300 meters, and the broadside artillery on both sides launched a salvo almost at the same time.

A total of 32 cannons on the upper and lower decks on the starboard side of the "Common Market" fired at the same time, and the "Sir Daly" on the other side did not show any weakness, and also fired back with 18 cannons on the starboard side.Dense gunpowder smoke immediately filled the sea, and visibility dropped to the lowest in an instant.

"Huh!" An 8-pound iron bullet pierced through the bulkhead of the third-story bridge of the stern deck of the "Common Market" at close range, and then hit the table with its head, exhausting its kinetic energy and rolling down.Wang Tiehammer's face was as red as blood at this time, and he looked quite scary. He stood at the bridge gate, dispatched four or five liaison officers around him, and commanded the artillery on the deck to fire.

"A 1 to A 4 gun positions, hit the opponent's poop bridge!" "I'm stupid, who told you to fire in salvo, do you understand!" Grape bullets?!" "A 1 to A 5 gun positions, change chain bombs, and hit the opponent's sail and mast! Hurry up!" "Fuck, the British fired so fiercely, my captain's cabin was completely destroyed !"

The two ships passed by quickly, and the gunners on the decks of both sides adjusted their muzzles one after another, aiming at the second oncoming enemy ship.In the just a few minutes of exchange of fire, almost all the shells fired by the two sides fell on the hull of the other side, and the battle was short and intense.

Walter looked at his battered hull with a livid face. He expected the strength of the East Coaster's artillery, but he didn't expect the enemy's artillery to be so powerful in a close encounter!Damn it, there are so many 32-pound and 24-pound long-barreled cannons!At a distance of 300 meters, these heavy-duty naval guns shattered their own poop, forecastle, and deck beyond recognition. Almost every gun can make a breach in its oak hull except for the waterline.

However, the two 24-pound cast-iron cannons that he was proud of on his ship only fired a few shells in a hurry due to their weight, which slightly shattered several side decks of the opponent.The opponent's hull seems to be made of strong and dense Brazilian mahogany, and its resistance to blows seems to be stronger than that of the oak hull of one's own side.

After staggering, the two sides had no time to check the losses, and immediately aimed their guns at the second ship in the enemy column, and opened fire!

The gunpowder smoke on the sea became more and more intense, and even lingered under the sea breeze for a long time, covering the common sight of the watchmen on both sides.At this time, any art of command, intrigue, and so on have no effect. The two sides are like medieval knights, waving long swords at each other. I cut you with a knife, and you stab me with a sword.

Whoever has more cannons, has thicker barrels, hits faster, and has a stronger ability to resist blows will be more likely to survive.

Wang Tiehammer stood by the fence of the bridge, staring wide-eyed at the British ship on the opposite side of the gunpowder, and the captain wearing a triangular hat on the other side seemed to be standing by the bridge, pointing in this direction.

"Boom! Boom!" The 1-pound artillery guns from A4 to A32 fired successively, and 4 solid iron balls blasted towards the opponent's waterline deck again.However, the British warship seems to have spared no expense. The ship plank at the waterline is so thick that it has withstood the close-range bombardment of the 32-pound long-barreled heavy artillery.Compared with it, the pirate ship is completely scum!

The gunners stuffed the grape shells wrapped in net bags into the barrels of the 18-pound and 12-pound guns, and then these small lead balls, like grape grains, roared and flew towards the opponent's poop and midship deck. place.There was an exclamation on the British guy's ship, and Wang Tiehammer vaguely saw that the other side's bridge seemed to have been shot through the smoke. It seemed that an officer on the other side was killed or injured.

"Who did it? Well done! I will credit him!" Wang Tiehammer slapped his thigh excitedly, and laughed loudly: "Soldiers nominate sergeants! Sergeants nominate alternate officers! Alternate officers immediately become regular! Liaison officer, write it down for me. Liaison As for the liaison officer, all his mothers have run away! Ah, no good..."

"Huh! Huh!" The same few grape bullets hit the second floor of the stern building, and a piece of broken wood hit Wang Tiehammer's forehead, causing blood to flow from his face.

An Chu rushed down from the gun deck on the top floor almost scrambling, and then together with the ship doctor who also rushed over, put Wang Tiehammer on the first deck.The position of the bridge is too dangerous, almost a shell magnet!An Chu was sure that if Wang Tiechui stood there again, the chance of being injured or killed in battle would be more than [-]%.

"Nimma, let me go over." Wang Tiechui's eyes were covered with blood, and while wiping the bandages, he roared: "The officer must stand there and command, and let all the brothers see that you are still there! Let me In the past, I didn't want to be looked down upon!"

Perhaps it was due to excessive blood loss, Wang Tiechui yelled twice and then stopped, and then leaned weakly on the deck, allowing the ship doctor to clean the wound, disinfect, stop the bleeding, and bandage him.

"Xiao An, go over to the bridge to command!" Wang Tiehammer opened his eyes, grabbed An Chu's sleeve and said.

An Chu pursed his lips, wanted to say something but didn't say it.

"Are you scared?" Wang Tiechui looked directly at An Chu.

An Chu saw the white cotton bandage on Wang Tiechui's forehead was instantly stained red with blood. Half a day later, his brain suddenly became hot. He turned around and climbed to the fence of the bridge on the second floor. Officially took over the command responsibility.

(End of this chapter)