I Am Louis XIV

The Duke of York's sanity has not yet fully awakened from his luscious sleep. He was standing there, still wearing a loose dressing gown, with long curly hair hanging loose. Suddenly, a shout came from above: "Enemy attack!" The enemy! The Duke of York immediately understood that it was the enemy's fireboat.

He grabbed the hem of his clothes suddenly, called to his servants, and passed through the scurrying crew. Maybe someone saw him, maybe not, anyway, the Duke of York couldn't notice, and he quickly returned to his In the cabin, he changed his dressing gown as quickly as possible, and while inserting the short-handled musket into his belt, he kept issuing orders.

Although it is not known who leaked the secret of the fleet and let the enemy know that they are replenishing at Sol Bay, the Duke of York knows very well that they are now in a critical and urgent moment. Almost all of the combined fleet is still in the bay, and they However, the enemy is on the surface of the sea. In this era when T-beam tactics are commonly used, they are like a flock of sheep locked in a sheepfold.

And because they are a joint fleet, the Duke of York is not the only one who can speak out. Although he is not very willing, the Duke of York immediately found the wizard who boarded the ship under the name of an astrologer, "You can contact the French... wizard Is it?" he asked.

"Immediately." The wizard said bluntly. Right in front of the Duke, he turned over a mirror and muttered to the shadow inside. The other side seemed to be waiting for them. The image in the mirror floated, and then Presenting a completely different face from the person in front of the mirror: "We have met the enemy," said the wizard on the other side: "There is no time for discussion, we have to compete with the morning tide for time..."

"I am the Duke of York," said the Duke of York. "Let your General Estelles speak to me."

Victor Marie de Estres is the commander of the French navy in the joint fleet. As soon as he saw him appear in the mirror, the Duke of York said without hesitation: "General, we don't have too many Time to discuss, so I hope you will help us as your king promised."

The French general frowned slightly, but still nodded lightly: "I'm not sure if I can do what you want..."

"The Dutch fireships are approaching us, perhaps in a few minutes," said the Duke of York. "We need nimble little boats to destroy them before they ignite our ships."

It is true that in the Combined Fleet, France has only twenty-six large ships, and Britain has forty-six, but while large size means that they can carry more artillery, it also means that they are slow to change direction. Before moving to the blocking position, those fireships had already completed their mission. However, although there are not many large warships in France, there are many small warships that accompany them—the merchant ships that were built by the Dutch. After all, they were customized according to the specifications of armed merchant ships before.

"I will," said General Estrese, "but our ships will leave port first."

"You are one and I am two." The Duke of York said, the fleet in Sol Bay has a total of 150 ships, what is the concept? They are densely parked on the screen like open and closed shells. They must evacuate as soon as possible, so that they will not have to endure the shelling and compete with their allies for a way out when the enemy attacks.

There is nothing to blame for the reaction and decision of the two commanders. With the presence of the wizard, the transmission of orders from top to bottom is no longer a problem. Whether it is the Duke of York or General Estelles, they can look down on Sol like a bird. Looking into the mirror, they determined the order in which the ships would exit Sol Bay.

The small French warships, that is, three-masted ships loaded with 40-60 guns, lightly passed through the masts of the forest, and headed towards the sea with the rising sun. Ships, when they are far away, can be hidden in the bright waves, but as the distance gets closer, they are as conspicuous as rubies inlaid on jasper.

Both the wizard and the admiral had thought of it before, and they wanted to get ahead of the tide, because the Dutch took advantage of the rising tide to push the fireboat towards them, and the French three-masted ships met them and fired—— Louis XIV was not stingy. The cannons loaded on these ships were all newly built cannons. Even for such small warships, the largest pound weighed twenty-four pounds, and the smallest weighed eight pounds. The problem is, although Louis never thought about it To give up the ocean, but the development of the French navy lags far behind other countries. Although the soldiers are brave and the shells are sufficient, the hit rate is really unflattering.

The number of fireships was only twelve or thirteen, but there were still two fireships that directly broke through the defense line of the French warships and crashed into the British fleet that was sailing to the north column, and the British fleet suddenly shouted , but no one can hear him at this time, whether he is an ally or an enemy.

The Earl of Sandwich, the British admiral in charge of the rear guard, was one of the people who cursed, but he was helpless. To be honest, the French were willing to lend a helping hand, rather than watching them fight each other with the Dutch, that was enough tolerance. It's okay, as for tactics and skills-these are things that need to be accumulated in battle, and they may also thank God for not allowing the French to accumulate more experience, otherwise an invincible man on land and sea The country is really terrible.

The fireship collided with the Earl of Sandwich and another ship. Fortunately, these two ships were large ships loaded with hundreds of guns, and they were not affected too much. Their test was the Dutch fleet that followed the fireship.

————

Luyter stood on his "Seven Provinces". This warship has been with him for nearly twenty years. From the four-day naval battle to the battle of the Medway River, it is invincible and invincible just like its owner. "I hope you can still bring us good luck." Luit said, he stood " The bow of the "Seven Provinces", raised the binoculars, observed the actions of the combined fleet, and then issued an order-the flags on the ships showed their respective identities, and Luiter's decision was to focus on attacking the British fleet, not the two. Or, or the French, but the problem is that the fleet he leads, their commanders seem to have their own ideas.

Some people may feel confused, but the Dutch fleet at that time was like a hydra hovering in the sea. In terms of management system, the problems that Luyter had to face were roughly similar to those faced by the Dutch Prime Minister—because the Dutch The fleet is also the crystallization of commercial activities. The money needed for each ship since its birth comes from the taxes paid by the merchants, so the merchants can dictate the behavior of the fleet, and even send their own agents to control the fleet. The agents and managers of this fleet, whether they are recruiting crew, maintaining and building their own ships, building warehouses and docks, or smuggling, plundering, or organizing escort fleets, do not need to ask Luyter for permission. ——Even a large warship like the Seven Provinces is just a commodity in the eyes of merchants.

So in Luiter's fleet, there have always been different voices. This time, Luiter decided to raid Sol Bay. Yes, his speculation is correct, but his wishes still cannot be obtained by everyone. Perhaps the commanders of the fleet believed that the British were the old enemy of the Dutch, but the French were even more hateful, and they had already gained an advantage in surprise, and the number and quality of ships were far superior to this combined fleet. , so they still separated a part and went to the French fleet.

This behavior of dispersing forces is really not wise, but Luyter can only lead the fleet that is willing to obey his orders, and tighten the net as much as possible. At this time, Luyter's fleet has formed a beautiful arrow, Shoot at the British fleet, which is sailing desperately to the North Sea.

Today's wind direction is also extremely unfavorable to the British. If the British fleet wants to break out from the Sol Bay waters to the North Sea, it is precisely to sail east. At this time, they need strong winds from the west, but today's winds are all from the east. Oncoming, they struggled, moving slowly like a snail, but the Dutch fleet rode the wind and waves like birds flying on the sea.

As soon as the ships were in their designated positions, the "Seven Provinces" lowered the original flag and replaced it with a new one, which meant that Leuth ordered the ships to launch a full-scale bombardment.

It is hard for those who have never seen a battle at sea to imagine the scene. It was around nine o'clock in the morning, the sun was shining and the air was clean, but there were more than 30 large warships and hundreds of guns roaring at the same time. Among them, the smoke from the gun mouth immediately spread a layer of soft cotton on the sea surface. This layer of cotton was thick and thin at times, and accumulated continuously, covering the hull, mast and sails. The captains Only by climbing to the forecastle can we know the situation of the enemy and ourselves from the telescope in time and decide what to do next.

The crew was running around on the deck. They had to continuously deliver gunpowder and shells to each gun. The deck was full of overturned wooden barrels and coiled ropes, and it was difficult to see clearly in the smoke. , someone will always trip over or be knocked out of the way, or vice versa.

The crew responsible for the shelling was the most nervous and exhausted. They stuffed the shells into the barrel from the rear, poured gunpowder from the top, and lit the fuse. Then there was a deafening roar, and the gun body suddenly retracted due to the recoil. People need to tightly pull the rope that fixes the gun body so that it does not hit the rear deck directly, and another group of people frantically lifts the mop wrapped in cloth strips and reaches into the gun muzzle to wipe off the excess gunpowder residue. The point is very similar to the original musket - after firing many times, someone needs to keep pouring cold sea water on the cannon to cool down, so as to avoid explosion.

As soon as the person cleaning the barrel backed away, the person holding the gun body rushed forward and pushed the cannon back to its original position. Unlike the first time the cannon was fired, the observers would adjust the cannon based on what they saw at the firing port. The angle and direction of the body can be used to ensure the hit rate, or try to directly bombard the enemy's ship mast, forecastle and other important positions.

Van Gent noticed the "St. James", the Earl of Sandwich's ship. He didn't know that it was the ship that the Duke of York's most trusted lieutenant was on, but the ship was hit by a fireboat. Finally, it deviated slightly from the original route, so that there was an imperceptible but real distance between it and other ships. As Luyter's most trusted friend and subordinate, Van Gent certainly would not miss this opportunity , he immediately ordered his ships to start a sustained bombardment of the "St. James".

Van Gent's ship is the "Amsterdam". Although the name of this ship only comes from one city, its configuration and displacement are similar to the Seven Provinces. It is almost like a pair of twin brothers. It is also on the lower deck With the proud twelve 36-pound guns, together with the two 24-pound guns, they formed a powerful striking front, not to mention nearly seventy guns on the upper deck and forecastle and stern decks, In bursts of rising smoke, the fire from the muzzle is like the blade refracted from a sword, flashing, flashing, and flashing again, each flash indicates that they are pushing the enemy on the road of destruction step.

During such intensive bombardment, the Earl of Sandwich also realized that he was encountering the full force of the enemy's attack. He raised the binoculars on the forecastle, and when he wanted to find a breakthrough in the smoke, a shell roared towards him. , rubbed the top of his head and hit the mast behind him, the mast broke with a snap, and when it fell, it hit the earl's shoulder. When dragging down the forecastle, he was still issuing instructions-under his orders, the "St. James" slowly turned, facing the side of the "Amsterdam", and launched a counterattack.

The Earl of Sandwich temporarily handed over the command to the first officer, and then, with the support of two other crew members, staggered to the upper deck, "My collarbone may be broken." He said shyly, "The ship's doctor will Heal you." Said the crew, they passed a few people who were busy putting out the flames, and then others who were sending the shells below the deck, and some people were throwing themselves on the side of the ship, constantly lifting wooden barrels from the sea, The water is used to cool the barrel of the gun.

The ship doctor is also busy here, but what he can do is very limited. As soon as he saw Earl Sandwich, he subconsciously clicked his tongue. After a simple inspection, he confirmed Earl Sandwich's estimate: "Here It's troublesome," he said, and splinted and bandaged the count, "will you go back and rest?"

"If I can, of course," said the Earl of Sandwich.