Dominate the Country

On the deck of the Egret, Guan Tianpei held up a telescope and watched the Swift turn right after failing to join the Egret. Now the distance from the Egret is getting farther and farther.

Behind the Swift is a third-level sailing battleship, a fourth-level sailing battleship and a cruiser. These three warships are like wild cats that have smelled blood and are chasing after them. I believe that these four warships will soon go farther and farther.

This is the first "petal" of the plum blossom!

The so-called split-petal plum blossom strategy is to disperse the main strength of the group, use the dispersed group strength, and defeat them one by one. Finally, attack the center and achieve the ultimate strategic goal.

The King of Nanshan in Journey to the West, a leopard demon with mugwort skin, occupied the Hidden Mist Mountain as the king, and used the split-petal plum blossom strategy to capture Tang Monk. Later, he was knocked out by Sun Wukong with a sleepy bug and died under Zhu Bajie's rake. Because he was the only monster who died in Zhu Bajie's hands, the strength of the King of Nanshan was extraordinary garbage. In contrast to the strength of that garbage was his full brain.

The tactics that all monsters would use were the strategies that Guan Tianpei would use today. Among the three motor sailing ships, except for the Egret, which led the enemy's main force all the way to the south, the remaining two motor sailing ships attracted part of the enemy and joined forces with the four sailing warships led by Cai Qian, so as to form a situation of fighting with more against fewer and break the bones of the Europeans.

Without the most seriously damaged Swift, Guan Tianpei only had two ships left, but these two motor sailing ships were still like flexible mice, circling around the clumsy tiger of the Drake Passage Fleet.

In order to prevent the enemy from noticing something wrong, Guan Tianpei was really trying his best to deal with the enemy. Try to use the high speed of the motor sailing ship to seize the "T" head as much as possible, and try to avoid exposing the hull to the enemy's side firepower.

But the European fleet in the Drake Passage had only twelve warships left, and the gap between the warships of the two sides was huge. This time, the Europeans only took 20 minutes to force the third motor sailing ship Seagull to "part ways" with the Egret.

When the three cruisers rushed directly between the Seagull and the Egret, the Seagull, which had not been hit by a single shell so far, had to say goodbye to the big brother. Although before that, the Seagull and the Egret had repaired the three cruisers with the stern and bow guns, and successfully slowed down the speed of one cruiser.

The Seagull successfully took away four warships again, two fourth-level sailing ships and two cruisers. The remaining enemies behind the Egret were a first-level sailing battleship, five third-level sailing battleships and a fourth-level sailing battleship. Compared with the small body of the Egret, this was purely a sledgehammer to kill a chicken.

At this time, Guan Tianpei no longer needed to consider other issues except running to the south where there were more ice.

Whether Cai Qian could reap the fruits of the battle depended on Cai Qian's ability. Guan Tianpei's performance was already perfect.

...

When the Swift rushed towards the Scotia Sea [eastern waters of Estados Island] for less than an hour, it drew a large circle on the sea surface, changed direction, and turned directly towards Estados Island.

The three European warships, led by the British battleship Labrador, also made a big turn and continued to chase the Swift.

In European naval battles, there were many such pursuit battles, especially small-scale naval battles. Even if the enemy could escape by night or stormy or foggy weather, the pursuer would not give up easily.

On the vast sea, it was common for a "chasing game" to last for ten days or half a month.

So the three European warships chased after the Swift without hesitation and plunged into the Lemaire Strait between Estados Island and Tierra del Fuego. This is a 60-li wide strait. The north shore of Estados Island is like its south shore, with a tortuous coastline and bays of all sizes. Suddenly, four naval warships flying the Spanish flag rushed out from a bay on the north shore of Estados Island, like a sharp chop, cutting off the retreat of the three European warships. Andrew Holland, the commander of the Labrador, was dumbfounded immediately. He didn't remember that their warships also existed on the north shore of Estados Island.

After the warships led by Cai Qian blocked the retreat of the three European warships, they quickly removed the Spanish flag and hung up the blue sky, white sun and red earth!

Holland's teeth were about to break. Although he himself had done this dishonorable practice, he had to curse it now-it was really despicable.

The enemy has a second-class sailing battleship and three third-class sailing battleships, plus a very fast motor sailing ship. And what about him?

The Labrador is a third-class sailing battleship that has been launched for 20 years, the Spanish fourth-class sailing battleship Blanca, and the British cruiser Elgin.

This combat power is much worse than the three Chinese ships.

At least that damn motor sailing ship can fight the Labrador alone, and the remaining four sailing battleships can easily send the Blanca and Elgin to the bottom of the sea.

The guns on the left side of the Labrador have been fired, but it doesn’t matter. If you pull the direction obliquely, the main guns on the starboard side can also fire. Holland shouted, and now he was shouting everything he said. The Swift has completely entangled it, using its high speed to occupy the T-head again and again, forcing the Labrador to deflect.

Like the wind and current of the Drake Passage, the Lemaire Strait flows from west to east. The four Chinese warships led by Liu Yu have blocked the retreat of the Europeans. If Holland wants to break out of the Lemaire Strait and escape, he can only sail westward and break through the interception of the Swift.

But the problem now is that the Swift has completely wrapped it up.

The Labrador, which is made of wood, has no confidence to withstand the bombardment of the hexagonal gun. In addition to the two turrets in front and behind, the Swift also has 26 guns on both sides of the ship. The firepower seems to be much weaker than that of a normal third-level sailing battleship, but it should never be underestimated.

At this time, another shell fell around the Labrador. This shell almost fell into the sea close to the side of the Labrador, but the hexagonal shell was not a high-explosive shell. Except for giving the sailors on the deck of the Labrador a bath, it did not cause any damage.

The Swift suddenly accelerated and turned left, approaching the Labrador in a straight line. The distance between the two sides was closing rapidly...

At the moment of sunset, the Egret, which had a few more patches on its body, arrived at the northeastern waters of Estados Island as scheduled before the sun set. Guan Tianpei saw the four sailing warships led by Cai Qian, and the Swift, which was urgently repairing the main mast and repairing the turret, but even when the sun completely fell below the western horizon, they did not wait for the Seagull.

A shadow fell on Guan Tianpei's heart, but this is called war.

The figure of the entire fleet sank into the waters on the east coast of the American continent under the last ray of sunset. They did not wait for the Seagull in place, or the latter did not sink, they just "lost", but the war did not give them extra time to wait and find their comrades.

It was cruel, very cruel, and very cold-blooded.

Guan Tianpei did not sleep all night again. It was not because he did not know what war was, but because the Seagull was commanded by him before. If the Seagull was really sunk in the sea, it would be equivalent to Guan Tianpei personally sending them to a road of no return.

However, the war did not give them extra time to "wait" for their comrades, nor did the war give Guan Tianpei extra time to make him feel annoyed, nostalgic and reminiscing. The new order was delivered to him when the sun rose and a new day came - he had to lead the Egret and the Swift to the east entrance of the Strait of Magellan to harass the European fleet stationed there. If the shells could be fired into Greque, Guan Tianpei would be a hero.

At the same time in the Strait of Magellan, southeast of the Brunswick Peninsula and northeast of Cape Froward. A large fleet was sailing in the sea. The vanguard of the fleet had passed the second narrow channel. The elite army scouts on board carefully searched the mountains on both sides of the second narrow channel and found no enemy observation posts or traces of human activities.

The first narrow channel of the Strait of Magellan, which is the most challenging, is right in front of us. The Europeans gave up on the second narrow channel, but there will definitely be a fierce battle in the first narrow channel.

It was lucky that Chen Han could safely pass through the second narrow channel.

Ye Tingyang, who was in charge of the commander-in-chief of the Grand Fleet, did not consider the existence of Cai Qian's fleet at all. With such a long distance and no communication between the two sides, Ye Tingyang just regarded Cai Qian's fleet as non-existent. Who knows how much the latter can play a role.

If you want to break through the first narrow channel, you still have to rely on the Grand Fleet itself.

Ye Tingyang has gathered two regiments of marines from the navy. They will land at the first narrow channel and wipe out the eastern end of the first narrow channel - Greck by land.

The marines cannot carry heavy artillery, and even the rockets they carry are very limited. Although there are Ona people and others from the Indian ethnic group living on Tierra del Fuego, their population is very sparse. In addition, in recent years, the Military Intelligence Bureau has instructed naturalized Indians to go to Tierra del Fuego for contact, but they have failed several times, and some simply cannot find anyone. Without the Indians to support, this land attack is very inconvenient, and even very dangerous.

But in order to pass through the Strait of Magellan smoothly, Ye Tingyang must do it no matter how dangerous it is.

In addition, there are mines, whether they are triggered mines or burning incense fire mines. With the current in the Strait of Magellan from west to east, they can pose a certain threat to European warships.

The terrain in the north of Tierra del Fuego, the Military Intelligence Bureau has collected only the most basic information over the years. It is dominated by glacial terrain, lakes and moraines. The west and south of the island and the surrounding islands are extensions of the Andes Mountains, and the peaks are more than 2,000 meters above sea level. However, the terrain around Greque is low and flat, and the eastern coast of the first narrow waterway is relatively flat. Although many places still cannot be garrisoned, at least there are troops stationed around Greque.

If Greque is not taken down, the narrow waterway will be half blocked by cannons, which will be even more uncomfortable. Of course, more importantly, if Chen Han could capture Greck, it would greatly help them break through the blockade.

Guan Tianpei, who was ordered to go to the First Narrow Channel, didn't know that the Grand Fleet had simply ignored them.

Guan Tianpei led the Egret and Swift to the eastern entrance of the Strait of Magellan at the fastest speed, which took a full day and a half, while Cai Qian commanded four sailing warships and led the Drake Passage Fleet, which was chasing closely behind, into the vast Atlantic Ocean.

The Europeans, who had suffered a big loss, would not let Cai Qian go. They could not say whether China would divide its troops again, but they themselves did not dare to divide their troops again. One learns from one's mistakes, and those who fall into the same pit twice are fools.

From the eastern waters of Estados Island to the eastern entrance of the Strait of Magellan, the distance is close to 200 nautical miles, and the further north you go, the fewer icebergs there are on the sea. At normal speed, one day is enough. But during the voyage, they also have to pay attention to avoiding European cruise warships, which wastes some time. By the time they arrived at their destination, it took a full day and a half.

It was close to four o'clock, and in three hours, the sun would set. But this did not delay Guan Tianpei from commanding two motor sailboats to do another business. As soon as they arrived at their destination, they saw a merchant ship flying the Portuguese flag heading towards the entrance of the Strait of Magellan.

It is certain that this is a pure merchant ship. Although there are several cannons installed on the deck, compared with regular warships, it is as fragile as an eggshell.

The Egret and Swift, with the American flag flying high on the mast, easily approached the Portuguese merchant ship. After the latter saw the Egret from a distance, it first issued a salute flag, but soon turned around and ran north.

Guan Tianpei knew without thinking that his two ships were exposed. There was no way, the Egret and the Swift were both hard-sail motor sailing ships. If the soft-sail motor sailing ship flying the American flag could still appear in the southernmost waters of America, then the motor sailing ship with hard sails would never appear. Even if the Europeans knew that hard sails were more convenient than soft sails, they would not learn China's hard sails for pride and the speed of the ship.

"Chase, chase--" Guan Tianpei's order was very decisive.

The distance between the two sides was only six or seven li, or two nautical miles. It would take less than an hour for the Egret to catch up with the other side at full power.

Capturing a merchant ship would fill up the half-empty cabins of the Egret and the Swift, which had been sailing for more than a month.

Whether it was food, artillery, or various materials for repairing ships, they could all be obtained from this merchant ship.

It took them nearly a month to pass through the Drake Passage. The large and small, various icebergs in the sea made it impossible for the seven warships of the advance fleet to fully spread their sails.

Although this also made the coal reserves on the ships almost unused.

There was no shortage of water in the Drake Passage. Any iceberg was a source of fresh water. The biggest consumption in the strait was food and materials for repairing the hull, and even wood.

Compared with motor sailing ships, the distance of two nautical miles was really not an insurmountable distance. The speed of Portuguese merchant ships was less than five knots. The speed of Western sailing ships was quite impressive in the face of headwind, but what about the Egret? Hard sails can catch the wind from all directions. Hard sailed sailboats are faster than soft sailed sailboats in the face of headwind, not to mention that they have steam engines.

The distance between the two sides was quickly shortened to less than one thousand meters. The front turret of the Swift fired first, and the Egret followed closely. When the distance was shortened to six or seven hundred meters, the stern guns of the Portuguese merchant ship began to sound. Haha, it turned out to be a bunch of smoothbore cannons.

Guan Tianpei completely relaxed his mind. If they were equipped with hexagonal cannons and were defeated by a bunch of smoothbore cannons, it would be contrary to the truth.