Ten Dragons Take the Inheritance

Chapter 492 Sunset

There are many islands along the way from Danmasek to the Karimata Strait at the entrance of the Java Sea, such as the Riau Islands, Linga Islands, Bangka Islands, and Busta Islands, especially the Riau Islands near Danmasek. The reason is that the waterways are complex and large-scale fleet operations cannot be carried out. Take the waters of Bintan Island as an example. That sea area can only accommodate up to forty warships for decisive battles. The Qing army's size advantage cannot be used. The root cause of the whole army entering the waters of Bintan Island to carry out the blockade mission.The only exception on the entire route is the sea area of ​​the Busta Islands. The sea here is open, the islands are not many and the area is not large, and it is a must for the entire route. The English Far East Fleet wants to rush into Java Therefore, it is necessary to pass through the waters of the Bastard Islands. It is for this reason that Yunti chose this place as the final battlefield for the decisive battle with the British army.

Communication at sea is difficult. Although Shadow has worked hard in the local area for many years, and secretly trained a large number of carrier pigeons for communication purposes, their reliability is very poor. If you release dozens of carrier pigeons at a time, if one of them finds its destination, it will be difficult. It's already quite remarkable, but Yun Tien doesn't know whether the first squadron can receive the order from the main fleet. If Liu Ning Haibu has not received the order, he still retreats to Tamilan as planned, thus missing the battle with the main force. The chance of fleet rendezvous will have disastrous consequences-the strength of the First Squadron cannot prevent the English fleet from capturing Kalimantan Island. Once the English fleet rushes into Brunei Bay, what will the Qing fleet think? It would take a lot of trouble to force the English Far East Fleet to come out for a decisive battle. If not, the war would have to be dragged on for several years, and the price it would cost was unbearable for Yun Yu.

Time passed by every minute and every second, Yunyu's face was getting darker and darker, and his heart was as heavy as lead, and it was uncomfortable-at this time, it was too late to return to the Temeran Sea, but if England If the fleet really rushed into Brunei Bay, it has not landed on Kalimantan Island at this time. If the Qing army came later, it is not impossible to win before the British army has time to deploy defenses. Of course, the goal of completely annihilating the England Far East Fleet is impossible to achieve, but what if Liu Ninghai received the order from the main force of the fleet, but was entangled by the England Far East Fleet and was unable to escape for a while, once the main force of the fleet Turning to Brunei Bay, and the English fleet followed the First Squadron to the waters of Bardas, it would be a lot of fun.Divide up?That's a big joke. Once the troops are divided, the Qing army's size advantage will no longer exist. What can be used to wipe out the English Far East Fleet?
Yunyu wandered around in the war room for a long time, thinking about all the possibilities, then suddenly stopped, looked at Liu Yao who had been standing silently by the side, pondered for a while and said: "Little demon , What are your thoughts on the current situation?"

Liu Yao frowned and said, "My lord, the news that the main fleet of our army has been ambushing in the Tamilan waters is unlikely to be hidden from the British. If Liu Ninghai did not receive the order and retreated in the direction of Tamilan, the British should He will not be so stupid as to follow. If so, Liu Ninghai will definitely not give up easily. Presumably he will harass the British army along the way. If so, the speed of the British army will definitely not be able to increase. However, if it is calculated according to time, It’s time to come here now, which proves that the British guy must not have gone directly to the Java Sea, so, will the British guy go to sneak attack on the Kota Ting fleet and destroy our army one by one?”

"Well, this king has also thought of this level." Yunyu nodded and said: "Although the establishment of our army is a secret, but the first and second squadrons have met with the British in the East Ocean area, it is estimated that The specific size of our army should not be hidden from the British. Even if the British wipe out Liu Tianlong and Liu Ninghai, it is impossible for them to be harmless. Their overall strength is still far lower than that of our army. It's a big change, besides, Erliu's troops are not soft persimmons. It is impossible for the British to defeat the Erliu's troops without paying a heavy price. The British should not fight such meaningless battles. It seems that the British It’s planning to play a trick to divert the tiger away from the mountain.”

"What the lord said is very true. It seems that this is the real combat intention of the British - make an appearance of planning to attack Kota Ding, lure Liu Ninghai's troops and Liu Tianlong's troops to attack, and then mobilize the main force of our army to help. For one thing, even if the British army pretends to be defeated, Erliu's troops will definitely be worried that the British will return their carbine, and they will not dare to pursue them boldly, so the British army can safely enter the Java Sea." Liu Yao thought for a while.

"En." Yunyu nodded, strode up to the battle model placed in the center of the war room, made gestures for a while, and after some calculations, he ordered in a loud voice: "Decree: Xiao Sanlang's troops immediately report to the war room." Move in the direction of the sea area of ​​Linga Island, and form a corner with our main fleet. When the main force of our fleet is decisively fighting England, insert it from the flanks, be sure to cut off the battle line of the English fleet, and create a new era for our main fleet to wipe out the British. Fighter."

A combat staff officer in the combat room promised loudly, and was in a hurry to issue a combat order. Liu Yao raised his hand and shouted: "Wait a minute, my lord, if Xiao Sanlang's troops advance towards the Linga Islands, even though they are compatible with our army The horns, but if the distance is too close, it will inevitably arouse the vigilance of the British, and the suddenness of the attack cannot be guaranteed. If it is too far away from my main force, it cannot be guaranteed to attack in time. I think it is better to limit the time, um , if the British guy really plays the trick of slapping his hands, he should arrive here in about an hour according to the voyage, how about letting Xiao Sanlang's troops set off immediately, and turn back in half an hour?"

"Okay, that's it!" Yunyu pondered for a moment, then nodded his head in agreement. The signalmen on the mast of "Weisheng" quickly conveyed Yunyu's order to the "Weihai" where Xiao Sanlang was. Xiao Sanlang, who thought that there was a regular sea battle to be fought, heard that his mission was such a sneaky thing again. His face was extremely ugly, but he didn't have the guts to bargain with Yunyu, so he stamped his feet on the front deck resentfully, and ordered more than a dozen warships under the command to set sail again, with a dark face Go back to the cabin and go sulking.

At three o'clock, in the sea area of ​​Kota Ding, the English fleet seized a trace of confusion in the command of the Qing army, launched an attack suddenly, and took the lead in provoking the flames of war. The Qing army, not to be outdone, naturally fired back without hesitation. The sound is rumbling and the smoke is filled. At this time, the battle lines of the two sides are moving in the opposite direction. The opponents between the ships are not fixed. Since the number of warships in England is nearly double that of the Qing army, although the rate of fire and power of the artillery It was lower than the Qing army, but relying on its numerical advantage, it insisted on occupying an overwhelming advantage. The Qing army was beaten into a panic, and several warships were shot and caught fire. Fortunately, the injuries were not serious.After the two sides fired several rounds of salvos, the two battle lines were completely staggered. The English fleet sailed to the northwest, while the Qing army's battle line sailed to the southeast.

"All ships obey the order, turn around on the spot, maintain the battle line, and head northwest, pay attention to maintaining the distance, keep the distance between the ships, and ensure the density of firepower! Be sure to block the enemy and wait for the main force to come to help!" Liu Ninghai issued a combat order with a calm expression. All of a sudden, the ships of the Qing army that were sailing southeast immediately turned around and quickly formed a neat battle line again. The distance between them has been reduced from more than 20 meters to less than ten meters, and more than [-] warships have almost formed a straight line.

The Qing army was busy turning around, and the English fleet was doing the same job, but Admiral Nadal did not interfere with Rear Admiral Brown's formation, and carefully observed every move of the Qing army with a telescope, waiting to find out The Qing army narrowed the distance between the ships, and immediately understood that the Qing army planned to rely on the advantage of the artillery rate of fire to form fire coverage and form a local combat advantage. They suddenly laughed, put down the telescope in their hands, and ordered loudly: "Everyone The warships widened the distance, half-raised the sails, and paid attention to attacking the enemy's masts in order to paralyze the enemy's ability to move. After this round, our army does not need to entangle and go directly south."

The Qing army adopted a dense configuration, and the superiority of firepower was reflected. This round of artillery battle was not at a disadvantage. However, because the British army widened the distance between the ships and increased the speed of the ship, the Qing army's attack firepower was not at a disadvantage. Did not achieve much results - the Qing army was in the upper hand, due to the wind direction, the main attack position of the artillery fire was the hull of the British warship, but it was not easy to hit the British warship that had increased its speed The matter, although it also hit a lot of shells on the British warships, did not achieve an ideal result. However, due to the closer distance between the Qing army warships and the concentration of the targets, after this round of artillery battles, the Qing army array Among them, the masts of several warships were hit, and the main masts of the two battleships "Yanye" and "Shenghai" were even broken, and the two side masts of the "Worthy" were also damaged. The battle line in the center had little effect, but it brought a lot of trouble for the Qing army to turn around and re-arrange.

Just as Liu Ninghai was busy directing the ships to re-arrange, the lookout post on the "Great Dragon" suddenly shouted: "Commander, the British have escaped!"

"What?" Liu Ninghai was stunned when he heard that, and hurriedly lifted up the binoculars, and looked in the direction of the English fleet through the gunpowder smoke on the battlefield, but saw that all the warships of the English fleet had already completed their turn. , galloping towards the south with full sail.

To chase or not to chase?Liu Ninghai immediately found himself in a difficult situation—at the moment, his warships were seriously damaged. If he wanted to pursue them, he could only send thirteen or four warships to pursue them. I am afraid that the battle line is not an easy task. If there is a chaotic battle and the enemy is outnumbered, the strength of my own troops is not enough for the British to stuff their teeth. It doesn't matter if my fleet is damaged. Ding made a mistake in the direction, once the British guy really stole the marines' back route, Liu Ninghai wouldn't have enough heads to chop off such a major responsibility; if he didn't chase after him, God knows where the British guy is going to go. According to the British guy's direction is the waters of Badas Island where the main fleet is located, but in case the British guy changes direction on the way and goes to other places to make trouble, how should he explain to King Yong?
Liu Ninghai watched the British fleet drift away, and was so anxious that his forehead was covered with sweat. At this moment, Liu Tianlong at the front of the queue sent a request for instructions, asking Liu Ninghai to give instructions on the next battle plan. Distraught, Liu Ninghai scurried back and forth on the front deck of the "Vielong" for a while, gritted his teeth and ordered: "The order is that all ships of the entire army stand by on the spot, under the unified command of Major General Liu Tianlong. Turn south, sail full sail, and catch the Brit!"

The English fleet had the upper hand in the half-hour confrontation just now, and it was considered to have completely suppressed the Qing army, but it was not without damage. Several third-tier battleships and cruisers in the fleet were also damaged to varying degrees, so that As the speed of the entire fleet was affected, the ship sailed for less than an hour and a half, and the "Great Dragon", which was far behind, gradually caught up and hung around a nautical mile behind the English fleet.

"Your Excellency, Commander, a Qing warship is following behind. It looks like the flag is the flagship of the Qing First Fleet. There must be big fish on it. Do you think it's time to catch fish at sea?" Received a lookout post Rear Admiral Brown, the chief of staff of England's Far East Fleet who reported, suggested to Admiral Nadal with a smile.

"Oh, there's no need to waste time for a fly. If he wants to follow, let him follow. It won't be too late to deal with him after our army has crossed the Karimata Strait." Admiral Nadal shrugged disapprovingly. shoulder, said dismissively.

"Oh, that's all right. Your Excellency, Admiral, the waters of Bardas Island are in front of you. After passing this open sea, you will arrive at Banga Island. It is not far from the Karimata Strait. It seems that tonight I will The army can spend the night in the Java Sea, God God..." Rear Admiral Brown hadn't finished speaking when he was interrupted by the exclamation of the lookout post on the mast of the "New Wales"—"The Qing fleet, it is the Qing fleet. Army main fleet, my God!"

Admiral Nadal's face suddenly turned pale, he hurriedly raised the binoculars in his hand, and looked in the direction of the Badass sea area, but seeing white sails covering the sun, a large number of Qing warships were riding the wind and waves towards the English fleet at high speed. Come……

(End of this chapter)