Dominate the Country

More than a dozen round iron bullets were fired, and only one of them cut a hole in the side sail, which can be said to have no damage value at all. But before Zhu Fu could breathe a sigh of relief, another batch of shells came.

The impact of this batch of shells was not high. I don’t know if the French finally understood it - the distance between the warships was two or three times farther, and the accuracy rate dropped significantly. It was not realistic to target the ropes, sails and masts - or they occasionally fired this cannon.

Anyway, at least three iron bullets hit the side of the ship, and the sound of wood breaking was so clear.

"Report, two cracks appeared below the starboard waterline, and they have been repaired." The voice of the engineer chief only stopped for a moment and sounded next to Zhu Fu's ears. Zhu Fu's nervous expression immediately relaxed because he heard calmness in the voice of the engineer chief. Obviously, the two shells did not cause much trouble.

This tactic of bombarding the side of the ship and attacking the part below the waterline of the warship is a common trick of the British. The French were only interested in the sails and decks before.

The chief engineer is the carpenter sergeant on the Li Guang, and also the head of the repairmen here.

In the Western naval system, carpenters and other people are exempted from duty. The "craftsmen" on the ship are assistants to various professional sergeants. For example, the sail mender who repairs the sails, carpenters, cooks or assistants to the supply officer. Although they are not much better than sailors in terms of treatment, the biggest advantage is that they don't have to be on duty and can sleep well every day. Moreover, some positions can get a little convenience for themselves, such as cooks, which is the most lucrative position for ordinary sailors on sailing battleships.

In the Chen Han Navy, all such personnel are classified as engineers, and their treatment is a little higher than that of ordinary sailors, because they are technical arms, and the leader is the chief engineer.

However, with a loud "boom", Zhu Fu felt a shock under his feet, and he almost fell on the deck. Light smoke came out of the stern of the Li Guang, and another French warship had already circled to the tail of the Li Guang with a higher speed and opened fire. That is the weakest part of the Western sailing ship.

If the Western sailing ship is regarded as a wild boar, its two sides are wild boar skin, the bow is a solid wild boar head, and the stern is the wild boar's buttocks. Not only is the attack power poor, but it is also an absolute weakness and is easy to be plucked.

After the shell hits the stern, it can not only mess up the stern, but also pass forward to the front of the ship, which can be said to directly penetrate the entire warship.

This is the most fatal part of the stern when it is attacked.

However, at the same time that the French warship's artillery hit the stern of the Li Guang, the French warship opposite the Li Guang had been hit by at least 20 iron bullets by the Li Guang.

The ship's sides, decks, and even rigging were torn apart, broken wood flew everywhere, and the screams of the injured French sailors were even more shrill.

The Li Guang quickly turned the stern. The French cruiser certainly would not easily let the stern of the Li Guang escape from its lock, but the currents and wind direction of the Mediterranean would make the speeds of the two different. The Li Guang, which turned along the wind direction, was obviously faster than the French warship.

This was also Zhu Fu's biggest confidence in fighting two ships at once.

As long as the enemy did not have a large fleet behind it, how could a third-level sailing battleship be afraid of a fifth-level sailing battleship that was only as big as the Li Guang when two ships were added together?

"Boom boom boom..."

The upper deck shook, and Zhu Fu saw a commotion on the French warship not far away. Several hot incendiary bombs hit the French cabin, not only smashing the large wooden boards, but also seeming to have ignited flames inside. It was a pity that it did not cause an explosion.

The first time the hot bomb was launched, it hit the target. This was really lucky. It was a pity that the gunpowder barrel did not explode, and the sail was not hit. Zhu Fu and the first mate beside him looked at each other, and they could see the smile and endless surprise in each other's eyes.

Time passed silently in the roar of each other's cannons.

The sun passed 10 o'clock, 11 o'clock, and came to 12 o'clock.

The upper deck of the Li Guang was busy, and several huge gaps on the side of the ship were like the marks of being bitten by a giant beast in the sea. More than two hours of fighting added a lot of painful scars to this third-level battleship.

Of course, the two French warships on the opposite side were even more embarrassed. Whether from the soldiers' artillery literacy, or from the density and hit probability of each other's artillery, the French warships would suffer more damage when they hit the Li Guang.

Because the firepower density of the third-level sailing battleship is greater.

Today's combat mode can fire a row of artillery one by one.

Of course, large ships have an advantage over small ships in battle.

Otherwise, the navies/navies of the East and the West would not purely pursue tall ships and large warships in battle.

"General, French ship No. 2 is adjusting its angle, and they are closing the distance with our ship."

The Li Guang achieved significant results at 12:05. A round of hot bombs it fired detonated the gunpowder barrels on the deck of French ship No. 1 [French warship in front], and one-third of the ship deck was swept by the explosion. But Zhu Fu, who was just extremely excited, immediately received a basin of cold water poured from the head.

"What?" Zhu Fu, who was suddenly shocked, immediately went to see another French warship, that is, French ship No. 2.

"Attention, navigator! Keep a distance from the French ship!"

Zhu Fu instantly understood what the French were going to do. This was to force the Li Guang to retreat with all their might, and to win critical time for their companions with all their might.

The two French warships attacked the Li Guang one after another, one on the left and one on the right, one on the east and one on the west, and always attacked the Li Guang. The poop was always the highest goal pursued by French Ship No. 2. However, when the two cruisers separated, while the French cruiser in the back kept capturing the poop of the Li Guang, the cruiser in front/French Ship No. 1 had been severely damaged by the attack of the Li Guang for more than two hours. What was even more unfortunate was that a round of hot bombs fired by the Li Guang immediately ignited a gunpowder barrel on the deck of the French cruiser.

The sudden explosion swept one-third of the ship's deck. The French cruiser almost lost its combat effectiveness because of this.

You must know that the fifth-level sailing cruiser is a single deck.

So, the brave French Navy-another fifth-level sailing cruiser, suddenly cut inward towards the "route". The previous path was a sphere with a diameter of between 600 and 700 meters, and no one dared to continue to close the distance.

But what about now?

When a French warship was severely damaged, another French warship suddenly shortened the distance between it and Li Guang, and Zhu Fu was nervous.

As a person who had commanded warships to approach the enemy and fight desperately for the enemy ships in the battle, Zhu Fu knew very well the plans of the French warships on the opposite side.

A distance of one or two hundred meters is a distance that can be easily shortened in this era.

After Zhu Fu gave the order, he quickly raised his head and looked at French warship No. 1. The enemy warship was very smart and immediately distanced itself from Li Guang. It is very likely that French warship No. 1 has already contacted French warship No. 2.

Zhu Fu faced a choice, should he give up and end this battle by severely damaging a French cruiser, or should he really fight the French?

Zhu Fu was at a decision point in his life.

His previous choice was to retreat. If he did not change the order, French warship No. 1 would be able to leave the battlefield in at most ten minutes, and this battle would be over.

Everyone near the command platform was looking at Zhu Fu. No one wanted to taste the power of the rocket, but the soldiers were unwilling to let go of the prey in front of them.

"Pah!" Zhu Fu slapped the wooden fence. At this moment, he thought of his old rival, Ye Tingyang. If Ye Tingyang was in his position, what would he choose to do?

The answer is beyond doubt. Ye Tingyang would command the warship to "collide" head-on without even hesitation.

Although he is Zhu Fu's most important competitor, Zhu Fu cannot deny Ye Tingyang's bravery.

Until now, Ye Tingyang still insists on advocating the destroyer fleet and insisting on the destroyer fleet. In the Nanyang Navy, the destroyer fleet under Ye Tingyang has been called the Death Battalion. Because in Ye Tingyang's "vision", the destroyer fleet is a desperate team. When the large fleets are fighting, they are like a sharp knife, cutting through the enemy's fleet formation and main force; in the boundless ocean, they rely on a higher speed to circle the enemy's main warships.

Their activity distance is not 600 meters, but 530 meters, 520 meters, 510 meters, or even 500 meters. Always maintain the state of "stepping on the line", ready to cut into the "500 meters" from the best attack angle, and pay with their lives to pursue the ideal state of "one hit and run". At the same time, the destroyer fleet must also have a high morale of "always ready to fight", and when necessary, they can fearlessly attack the enemy's large fleet sequence head-on...

It is also because of this more extreme "thought" that Ye Tingyang has been criticized by many old navy veterans, even those who surrendered. Many people who supported Ye Tingyang before are now starting to support Zhu Fu. Many people who had previously remained independent in the competition between the two of them now turned to support Zhu Fu's fleet idea.

Zhu Fu was not a person with deep roots. He was not from the Qing army or the foreign bandits. His foundation was very weak, but Ye Tingyang's extreme ideas made those who originally supported him turn extremely strongly against him.

As a result, Ye Tingyang went from being on par with Zhu Fu to being slightly behind Zhu Fu by half a step. But Ye Tingyang is still Zhu Fu's biggest competitor in the competition for the first person in the Mesozoic era and the first person in the future court navy.

As Ye Tingyang's biggest 'enemy', Zhu Fu never doubted the bravery of his opponent.

...

"Captain, the Chinese warship has stopped deflecting. It is approaching our ship and they are no longer avoiding it."

No one was needed to report it. Lieutenant Colonel Henry, the commander of the cruiser 'Loire', clearly saw the change in the course of the Chinese warship. Although it was still circling, the change in course could not deceive Henry's eyes, who had been on the sea for twenty years.

The Chinese are not running away, they are choosing a suitable angle, and then...

"Soldiers, I'm sorry that I issued this suicidal order." Lieutenant Colonel Henry shouted to everyone: "The enemy's artillery fire does not allow us to hesitate at all, the Sablé needs our help. In order to buy them time, and for the final victory, for the tricolor flag to fly forever, let us bravely rush to the enemy."

"Men marching forward to the French motherland,

The glorious moment has come!

...

...

The sacred motherland calls on us,

Avenge the enemy!

We yearn for precious freedom,

Determined to fight for it!

Determined to fight for it!

Let us hold high the flag of freedom,

and march forward victoriously!

Let the enemy be under our feet,

listen to our triumphal songs..."