1850 American Gold Tycoon

Now it was the Dutch's turn to bombard them.

At this time, there are no big waves on the sea surface, and the ship's posture is relatively stable, which is very conducive to shooting and aiming.

The Dutch rigging crew began to furl the sails to stabilize the ship's posture, while the gunners aimed their guns at the sails and masts of Liang Yao's fleet, and then fired the cannons.

I have to admit that the crew of the Dutch East India Fleet cooperated very well and executed orders very efficiently.

The Dutch's first round of artillery fire was actually chain bombs!

This was something that many crew members of Liang Yao's fleet had never expected.

Hundreds of chain bullets were seen spraying out from the muzzle, sweeping towards the snow-white sails.

The hit sail was quickly torn by the Dutch's chain bullets and was riddled with holes, leaking wind everywhere.

The power of a sailboat comes from the sail, which is the engine of the sailboat.

The purpose of the Dutch's sailing is self-evident. They hope to damage the sails and even masts of Liang Yao's fleet, paralyze their power system, and then jam these sailing ships that have lost their maneuverability into the blind spot, using these sailing ships as Target ships and then eat these sailing ships.

The Dutch gunners were very skilled in gunnery. After two rounds of shooting, the mast of a clipper ship was even directly broken by the Dutch.

The broken mast tore down its cables like a tree felled by lumberjacks, and fell into the sea.

Liang Yao was secretly glad that his fleet had enough steamships. Four main warships and 11 Loach-class ships were all steamships. This tactic of the Dutch was not effective for all ships in Liang Yao's fleet.

If Liang Yao was leading a pure sailing team at this time, the outcome might have been decided.

Technical advantages also bring Liang Yao a higher fault tolerance rate.

The maritime strength of the Dutch cannot be underestimated. The crews of the colonial fleet have such high tactical literacy.

Of course, the Dutch's bombardment was not easy. The Sacramento cannon had an extremely fast rate of fire, especially since the naval gun mounted on Liang Yao's ship was a 6-pound cannon. Although the power was not good, the rate of fire was amazing.

For every round of bombardment the Dutch completed, clipper ships and loach ships could often fire at least three rounds of bombardment.

Relying on the technical advantages of naval guns, Liang Yao's fleet still had a slight upper hand in the artillery battle with the Dutch East Indies Fleet.

In the distance, the British Governor of Hong Kong, Bonham, observed this naval battle at the turn of the sail age and the steam age from a distance.

Major newspapers in Europe are rife with rumors that the Sinop naval battle between the Russian Empire's Black Sea Fleet and the Ottoman Empire's fleet that broke out in the Black Sea last November will be the last swan song of the sailing warship.

Is the naval battle that is breaking out in front of him now a rare showdown between cutting-edge steam battleships and old-fashioned sail battleships?

As a former strong enemy of the British Empire, the Netherlands' maritime strength is still remarkable.

This emerging force rising on the west coast of the United States was actually able to fight back and forth with the East Indies Fleet of the Dutch colonial authorities, which surprised Bonham.

Although Liang Yao's fleet performed well, in Wenxian's opinion, they were just a bunch of rookies in naval warfare.

Liang Yao's fleet's organizational ability and tactical literacy are relatively low. If it weren't for the fact that there were more steamships and a technological advantage, Liang Yao's fleet would probably have flown the white flag or run away by now.

If it were the crew of the British Royal Navy fighting this naval battle, the Dutch might not even be able to gain the upper hand in the first round, let alone being evenly matched with this fleet.

After all, Liang Yao's maritime force still lacks actual combat experience.

The most embarrassing thing at this time was the Guangdong navy and pirates who came to build up their momentum and support the scene.

They couldn't defeat the Dutch in terms of maneuverability, and they couldn't defeat the Dutch even more in terms of artillery.

In addition to the three Loach-class ships of the Guangdong Navy, it is another question whether the other small sampans older than Hong Mingxiang can withstand one or two rounds of shelling by the Dutch.

"Junmen, we are just here to support the scene, there is no need to go all out."

The brutality of the naval battle has exceeded the imagination of the officers and soldiers of the Guangdong Navy. Hong Mingxiang's deputy general Kang Enze suggested that Hong Mingxiang withdraw from the battlefield to preserve his strength.

"Withdraw! Liang Yao still owes us US$50,000 for the balance! If I withdraw now, how can I have the face to ask Liang Yao for the balance later!

Our officers and soldiers ran away before the pirates. You can't afford to throw this guy away, but I can't! Anyone who dares to retreat will be shot on the spot! "

Hong Mingxiang picked up the Colt revolver at her waist and shouted.

"The Guangdong Navy listens to the order! All ships, move closer to the red-haired ghost's ship, prepare hooks and ropes, and prepare to join forces to fight! I haven't robbed the red-haired ghost's ship yet, so I will grab a red-haired ghost's ship today. Come on! The first one to get there will be rewarded with two hundred taels of silver and thirty acres of paddy field!"

After finishing speaking, Hong Mingxiang commanded the ships of the Guangdong Navy to roar towards the nearby Dutch ships.

It's the only thing Hong Mingxiang can do for Liang Yao at the moment.

As for whether he can win, it depends on Liang Yao. After all, his Guangdong Navy is just a supporting role.

Liang Yao is the protagonist of this naval battle.

When the pirates saw that the Guangdong Navy was joining forces to fight, they also locked onto the nearby armed merchant ships of the Dutch and prepared their hooks and locks to rush forward and fight the Dutch hand to hand.

This is not because they are too loyal, but because Liang Yao also owes them the balance, and they are still waiting to find Liang Yao to settle the balance after the war.

The sound of cannons on the sea in Java was endless, and the smoke filled the air.

From the time when the Bold fired its first shot until now, the two sides had been engaged in a fifty-minute firefight.

The losses on both sides were considerable. A Dutch level five sailing warship was sunk. This is also the only Dutch sailing warship sunk by Liang Yao so far.

The sunk sailing battleship was the Agamemnon that was penetrated below the waterline by the Roland at the beginning of the war, lost its ability to maneuver, and was paralyzed in place.

In addition to the Agamemnon, the Dutch also sank two armed merchant ships.

A Loach-class vessel on Liang Yao's side was sunk by the opponent's flagship Rotterdam, and one was penetrated below the waterline and was about to sink.

The losses of the clipper ships were even greater. The Dutch directly sank three clipper ships, and the masts of two other clipper ships were beaten by the Dutch and only one was left, basically losing their power source.

Three Dutch armed merchant ships are continuing to besiege the bombers' two clipper ships that have lost power. It is only a matter of time before the two clipper ships sink.

Fortunately, Liang Yao's four main warships, because their hulls were wrapped in iron sheets, withstood multiple rounds of fire from the Dutch without suffering fatal injuries and were able to continue fighting.

As long as these four main warships can continue to fight, Liang Yao still has hope of victory.

Although Liang Yao could afford to lose this naval battle, he didn't want to lose.

Once he loses, he will no longer be able to organize a decent maritime force in the short term to seize sea control in Southeast Asia and project his land power on the island of Borneo.

Once the Chinese resistance forces on the island of Borneo were eliminated by the Dutch and Indian authorities, it would be difficult for Liang Yao to get involved in the East Indies.

Although the exchange ratio was ugly and completely exceeded Liang Yao's expectations before the war, Liang Yao believed that the Dutch East India Fleet would not be easy to fight, and the casualties would not necessarily be smaller than his own.

The artillery shells fired by Liang Yao's fleet are mainly explosive bombs, which are more inclined to kill the enemy's effective forces in order to reduce the combat effectiveness of the enemy ships, rather than directly sinking the enemy ships.

Three or four hundred meters away, a double-decker gun-deck fifth-class sailing battleship of the Dutch East India Fleet maneuvered into a firing position and exposed its belly to the Audacity. The ship's guns fired at the side of the Audacity in sequence, trying to penetrate the side of the Audacity. .

The gunnery skills of the Dutch gunners were very accurate. The fifth-level sailing battleship that fired at the Audacity fired a total of 19 shots, and 15 of the 19 shots hit the side of the Audacity.

Fortunately, the side of the Bold is wrapped with cast iron, and the exposed wooden hull area is very small.

Most of the shells fired by the fifth-level sailing battleship's naval guns hit the cast iron armor of the Bold, and did not cause much damage to the Bold.

The secondary gunner on the Bold quickly retaliated, and the three 76mm secondary guns quickly fired a hail of metal bullets at the double-decker gun-deck sail warship with its belly exposed.

The side of the fifth-level ship was quickly punched with a large hole of more than one meter in diameter by the three secondary guns of the Bold along the gun window.

"What are you doing with sex? Show your belly and hit below the waterline! Below the waterline with sex! You idiots!"

The gunner quickly ran over from the main gun's turret and hit a secondary battery gunner on the shoulder with the scabbard of his sword.

Seeing that they missed the opportunity to shoot at the enemy ship below the waterline, he cursed these secondary gunners as idiots.

The opponent's hull was exposed below the waterline. These raw melon eggs actually did not directly hit the opponent's hull below the waterline, but hit the gunner in the opponent's gun window.

As long as the opponent's ship hull is penetrated below the waterline, the opponent's ship will lose its maneuverability for at least a short time, and will have to dispatch personnel to pump out water and block the water. By then, the opponent's firepower will be much weaker and it will become a living target.

These idiots can't understand such a simple truth.

The gunner was very angry at the behavior of these assistant gunners, but now was not the time to be angry.

Although the enemy ship lowered its sails and accelerated, it wanted to run away and escape from the shooting range of the Bold.

However, the naval guns of the Bold were all installed on movable rotating platforms, and the gunner hurriedly directed the deputy gunner to aim directly below the opponent's waterline and fire directly.

The ballistic trajectory of the Sacramento gun is straight, and it basically hits wherever it goes from a distance of three to four hundred meters.

The three secondary guns quickly smashed three sea bowl-sized holes below the enemy ship's waterline.

These secondary gunners could vaguely hear the shouts coming from the enemy ships.

The loaders of the secondary battery quickly completed loading and prepared for the second round of firing.

However, the mental quality of the enemy ship's crew was so good that they were able to calmly control the sails and the rudder of the ship to quickly leave the Bold's range even when the ship was leaking.

When Lin Sen, the captain of the Bold, saw this, he did not rashly order a pursuit. He just asked the gunner of the tail gun to shoot at the fleeing enemy ship.

The rotation angle of the Bold's secondary gun turrets is only 135°, but the two main gun turrets at the bow and stern can rotate 360°, with basically no shooting blind spots.

Therefore, although the enemy ship that made a sneak attack escaped from the range of the Bold's secondary guns, it did not take out the range of the main guns. The main gun on the Bold can still hit it.

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