The Great Bandit in Kangxi Year

Chapter 289 The Sharp Counterattack
After several months of preparation, the potential of the empire was truly revealed. Among them, the naval expedition fleet assembled in Southeast Asia officially set sail in February of the sixth year of Huaxing.

More than a month later, the extremely fast clipper-type advance fleet directly circled the Cape of Good Hope and entered the Atlantic Ocean with all its strength, and did not stop at all except for proper supplies along the way.

As for the European merchant ships encountered on the road, Shi Lang, the admiral of the advance fleet, ignored it at all, because their task this time was important, and it would be a waste of money to waste ammunition on a large number of merchant ships.

This time, in order to achieve continuous combat capability, the clipper warships only carry 150 people, and each warship is equipped with 300 shells, 20% of which are explosive shells, and there are [-] torpedoes, and the bottom compartment is full of food.

Merchant ships from Britain, France, the Netherlands and other countries saw hundreds of steel-armored warships, and the black dragons on the flying banners were showing off their might. When they returned with full force, the clipper fleet had already surpassed them.

But there are always some blind Western warships coming to provoke, and when the battle is inevitable, the clipper warships bared their fangs.

Half a month later, Jiang Wushang, who commanded a hundred Sea Lion-class cruise ships and a hundred supply ships, arrived at the Cape of Good Hope. Among them was a Royal Army Division, and another four Royal Marine Divisions would be brought in one after another. The strategy pursued by the Empire is Defend while attacking, and the Cape of Good Hope is the center of gravity of the defense.

I saw that the Cape of Good Hope has gathered more than [-] warships from various countries, of which there are no more than [-] battleships, and the rest are cruise ships and frigates, and the Cape of Good Hope Fortress is a large star-shaped fortress.

Jiang Wushang didn't use any clever tricks, and directly ordered the [-] Sea Lion-class cruisers under his command to come close to the bombardment, and the remaining [-] Sea Lion-class cruisers formed the second front and guarded the supply ships behind.

No matter how to attack the fortress, it must be after the opponent's navy is completely wiped out.

dong dong dong...

When the Sea Lion-class cruisers approached 200 meters from the Western warships, they turned their rudders one after another and fired salvos.

Immediately, the smog filled and the dense barrage covered the warships heading towards the west. In an instant, the sea water roared, the boards of the ships shattered, and the frail frigate fell apart without even holding on for a single round.

However, during this period, the Western fleet pierced the Sea Lion-class cruise fleet with shells.

Through the gunpowder smoke dancing with the wind, Jiang Wushang was dumbfounded. In this way, one side was firing at most one round, while the other side was close to the Sea Lion class cruiser, resulting in a scuffle.

Although the Sea Lion class cruiser is not afraid of melee, but this way of fighting, the losses of their own side must be not small, it seems that the opponent is not incompetent.

Yes, the main general in the Cape of Good Hope Fortress this time is Joseph who just took office. He used to be the commander of the Dutch Far East Fleet. He was implicated by the defeat and stayed in prison for a long time, waiting for the 200 battleships of the multinational joint fleet to be wiped out. Only then did William III, the ruler of the Netherlands, realize that Joseph was extraordinary. After all, Joseph faced the Black Dragon Fleet alone, but brought back most of the main battleships.

Because of this, Joseph became the commander-in-chief of the Cape of Good Hope Fortress, responsible for the navy and army of the Cape of Good Hope.

He has fought against the Black Dragon Fleet many times, and he knows that the only chance of victory is face-to-face bombardment. Conventional artillery battles over 100 meters can only lead to death. He is ready to sacrifice most of the warships, but this time he will not give up the Cape of Good Hope fortress.

dong dong dong...

The gunfire of the Sea Lion-class cruiser sounded again.

At such a short distance, the huge impact of the shells was unbearable even for cruiser-class battleships. Only most battleships rushed forward even though they were riddled with holes.

Some of the European sailors on the battleship were terrified, some were grinning, and some were dumbfounded, but they couldn't reverse the fate of approaching the imperial expedition fleet.

At last it was close.

Eighty Sea Lion-class cruisers lined up in a battle line more than ten miles long, and the fleet to which Joseph belonged was uneven, and it seemed a little weak at this moment.

However, as several western battleships slammed into the middle of the imperial expedition fleet one after another, bowing left and right, the casualties of the imperial sailors immediately began to intensify, and the scene immediately became chaotic.

The "Nelson's secret formula" praised by later generations was actually used by Joseph in advance, and the results were good. Joseph captured the moment when the gunfire burst through the telescope, and his confidence was greatly boosted.

It's a pity that after all, there is a huge disparity in strength. The eight Sea Lion-class cruisers only shook violently back and forth for a while, but did not sink, and only the casualties of the sailors increased greatly, and there were almost no casualties for the gunners.

Jiang Wushang in the flagship reacted very quickly, leading the flagship to turn the rudder first, and rush into the enemy ship. At this time, the cannons on the left and right sides were also released. As long as they fire, there will be results.

After 10 minutes, most of the Sea Lion-class cruisers turned their rudders successfully, and the real melee has just begun.

Cannon fire raged, iron bullets and gunpowder smoke flew together.

The sea area with a radius of dozens of miles outside the Cape of Good Hope seemed to be boiled, with water columns rolling up from time to time.

The close-range artillery battle is all about fearless courage and the comprehensive strength of the warship.

An hour later, Joseph was completely dumbfounded.

After fighting for a long time, the two hundred warships in the west have sunk hundreds of them, and there are floating planks and corpses everywhere. Except for the more than thirty warships that are still fighting, the remaining dozens of warships have already fled in a panic.

The victory of the sea battle has been divided, can the Cape of Good Hope Fortress be defended?
Joseph was devastated.

Half an hour later, the Imperial Sea Lion class cruiser completely ended the battle. Jiang Wushang let out a long sigh. Although this battle was won, it was the most serious loss of the Sea Lion class cruiser. Four Sea Lion class cruisers sank in this battle. Thirty Ships suffered varying degrees of trauma, and the number of casualties among naval officers and soldiers reached more than 2000.

Most of the four Sea Lion-class cruisers that sank were hit by more than ten shells in the same direction at the same time, and they were all very close to each other. The impact of the shells was huge. At that moment, the heavy Sea Lion-class cruiser swayed It was too violent, and it was hit by an enemy ship, and it capsized.

While reviewing, Jiang Wushang secretly blamed himself. If the strength of the opponent tripled, the victory would be uncertain. Thinking of the flying scissor advance fleet fighting alone, he was still worried, and thought to himself: "It seems that we can't stay too long at the Cape of Good Hope."

The Sea Lion fleet has been reorganized for three hours, and more than [-] Royal Army divisions have found a landing point dozens of miles away.

The next day, although the Cape of Good Hope Fortress was not breached under the attack of sea and land, it was very passive in the face of the heavily armed Royal Army Division, and the daily casualties were more than a thousand.

Seeing that the fortress could not be captured within a few days, Jiang Wushang received the information that [-] Seal-class cruisers and [-] Royal Army troops were coming three days later, so he immediately took [-] Sea-Lion-class cruisers and several supply ships Sailing into the Atlantic Ocean, as long as they fight better in the Atlantic Ocean, the Cape of Good Hope Fortress in the rear will be the safest.

Although the Cape of Good Hope Fortress has not yet been captured at this time, Jiang Wushang has already announced its fate, because they have no reinforcements, and reinforcements from the empire will continue to come.

The battle to harass the Qing Dynasty and the Persian Empire started long ago.

Among them, the vast Siberia was abandoned early in the morning, leaving a vast hollow area, and the battle was not tragic.

But Persia is in jeopardy.

The empire ordered 30 lancers and [-] Mongolian cavalry in the special administrative region of India to rush directly into Persia. First, they did not attack the city, but ran across the countryside, and then looted the local Persians and let them attack the cities of the Persian Empire. [-] Indian servants are coming with all their strength.

In the entanglement and tears, the Persians suffered countless deaths and injuries. The brave and combative Persians met the Mongols and gave up completely.

At the same time, Jiang Tao strictly ordered Turkmenistan, Braha, Khiva and other countries to attack the Persian Empire in three directions, all under the unified command of the empire, with a total force of more than one million.

Insinuated by the generals of the empire, the soldiers of the three kingdoms became wild, and all the places they passed became barren land. So far, the hatred between the three kingdoms and the Persian Empire has intensified, and there will never be a chance for peace.

The goods looted by the soldiers of the Three Kingdoms were all owned by individuals, which aroused their morale and fighting spirit. The news spread back to the territory of the Three Kingdoms, and more young and strong joined the expeditionary force against the Persian Empire.

When the various troops and horses of the empire broke into Persia for thousands of miles, the front line suddenly became a stalemate, and it became a war of attrition.

With the stubborn resistance of the Persian Empire, the empire's 12 cavalry also suffered a lot of casualties. Persia began to be all soldiers, and the progress of the empire slowed down a lot.

In view of this, Jiang Tao had a flash of inspiration, and he was determined.

In order to counter the four-way army dispatched by the empire, the Persian Empire assembled millions of elites to deploy on the Eastern Front, so the Western Front would definitely be empty.

Only by sending another main army to attack his western front, the opponent will definitely lose sight of the other.

Suddenly, Jiang Tao clapped his hands and said with a smile: "Mysore and other countries have entered the Persian Gulf by sea for up to a month. It is time for these countries to contribute. Well, in order to strengthen their fighting spirit, the empire will also send two Royal Army divisions there. "

In June of the sixth year of Huaxing, the empires of Mysore, Golkonda, Coromandel, and Malabar gathered 50 elite infantry, preparing to participate in the war to destroy the Persian Empire. to the Persian Gulf.

However, the first wave of [-] Imperial Royal Army soldiers has already shocked the Persian Empire, and that powerful firepower is by no means invincible by a single person.

Faced with the continuous siege, the Persians had an epiphany. It seems that the prestige of the Dahua Empire is by no means groundless.

However, the Persians are anxious, and the European countries and the Qing Dynasty are even more anxious. If the Persian Empire is defeated, it will greatly damage the morale of the Eighteen-Nation Alliance and weaken the strength of the Eighteen-Nation Alliance, especially those close to the Dahua Empire. The Persian Empire must not allow Persia to be defeated.

For this reason, the Eighteen Nations Alliance held an emergency meeting, but they had not received any news from the advance fleet of the Imperial Navy. The fleet led by Shi Lang was only half a month away from Portugal, and a sharp counterattack was about to begin.

(End of this chapter)