Chapter 121 Battle to the Death 2
“Are all the artillery adjusted?” Captain Quirk of the Hope asked loudly.
"It's all set, Captain, ready to fire at any time!" the gunnery officer responded to him immediately.
The weather was already cold at this time, and the temperature difference between high sea and low land caused the monsoon wind to blow from the land to the sea. This put the Arda fleet setting off from the port in the windward position, while the pirate fleet was in the leeward position.
Quick shouted: "Guys, now we are in the upper hand, we must seize this opportunity!"
A sail warship equipped with artillery has many advantages when it is in the windward position, because the sea wind will tilt the hull, and the cannon on the side facing the enemy ship will have its muzzle pointed slightly downward, making it easier to hit the waterline of the enemy warship. nearby.
Furthermore, ships located upwind will be less affected by smoke after a shelling, making it easier to aim and load. Unlike downwind ships, they will be affected by both the smoke generated by one's own shelling and the smoke produced by the opponent. The effects of smoke.
However, the upwind port also has its own disadvantages. For those warships with multi-layered artillery, because the hull is tilted, the lower muzzle cannot be opened when the waves are too large, resulting in a sudden reduction in firepower.
The downwind also has its own advantages. If the warship in the downwind cannot win, it can take advantage of the wind and leave, and the opponent will not be able to catch up. However, if the warship in the upwind cannot hold on and wants to escape, But it's not that easy.
In general, the probability of a ship with the upper hand sinking the opponent is much greater than that of its opponent. The role of the navy determines the tactics it adopts. There is an interesting comparison in the Age of Discovery on Earth.
Historically, as a land power, France's navy mostly played second-rate roles such as covering land landings and escorting merchant ships. It rarely engaged in exciting decisive battles. The mission determined that they could not be reluctant to fight, so the French navy would seize the upper hand most of the time. , shoot a few shots and then run away.
France’s archenemy at the time, Britain, had a glorious tradition of always having the upper hand. Britain, which pursued a dual-power policy, had dominated the world in naval strength for two centuries. For them, naval warfare meant destroying the enemy, so they The huge fleet will try to sink enemy ships in most cases.
The distance between the two sides gradually approached, and Quick took over the helmsman's job. The Hope needed to adjust the angle of the hull so that the side guns could be aimed at the pirate ship. Turning downwind is a very dangerous job, and at such an important moment, Quick chose to steer the ship himself.
The port gunners held their breath and stared at the pirate ship in the distance, waiting for the gunnery officer's order.
……
On the pirate fleet side, Garden and others gradually saw the lineup of the Alda Navy, and the Hope at the front was particularly eye-catching.
“Is that the legendary strange ship? It really doesn’t look like it has oars.”
As a qualified pirate, Garden is certainly familiar with all kinds of things on the water. The gadget was very interested, and he became excited when he saw the Hope. The medicine he had just swallowed began to take effect, giving him extremely strong self-confidence. The initial panic when he found himself running into the Arda navy had disappeared.
Now Garden is thinking about how to capture that strange ship as one of his collections.
"Let the slaves row harder! Everyone is ready to fight on the side." The pirate leader ordered loudly, and he could not wait to tear the enemy into pieces.
The sound of the whip in the cabin became louder.
......
The Hope is waiting for the moment she has been waiting for for a long time. The leading pirate ship is trying to get the ship's side close to it. Some pirates on the deck are still swishing. He shot cold arrows towards himself.
The gunnery officer saw the opportunity and shouted: "Fire!"
Before he finished speaking, the gunners of the four artillery guns who heard the order lit the fire holes almost at the same time. , accompanied by smoke and fire, 4 solid artillery shells were fired simultaneously.
Everyone on the first pirate ship only saw a flash of fire from the four dark pipes on the opposite side of the ship, and then the ship was enveloped in a burst of smoke.
"What happened? Their ship actually caught fire on its own?" The pirates, who were gearing up to jump onto the opponent's warship, were confused.
Then they felt the warship under their feet suddenly shaking wildly. Under this shaking, many people became unsteady and fell on the deck. A huge breaking sound also sounded, as if someone was wheeling the big The hammer smashed the planks.
This is the effect of a cannonball hitting a pirate ship. Compared to the thick hull of the Hope, the pirates' galley hull is thinner, and the cannonball is like breaking through a layer of butter. This pirate ship has two decks. The oarsmen are located in the inter-deck cabin between the upper and lower decks. The shells that broke into the shell directly took away the lives of several oarsmen, but the greater damage to the maneuverability of the entire ship was , the flying wood chips generated by the broken hull turned into deadly sharp weapons and embedded themselves in the skin and flesh of the surrounding oarsmen.
"Ah~~" the injured oarsmen wailed, writhing in pain on the deck.
The uninjured oarsmen were also stunned by the sudden blow and the tragic situation of their companions. Many people fell to the ground due to the violent vibration, including the pirate who was in charge of commanding the slaves. People stared blankly at the side of the ship facing the enemy, with the four large broken holes clearly visible.
They were in a daze for only a few seconds, and then someone kept shouting in horror: "The devil's weapon!" "The other party used magic!" The cabin was in chaos, and no one bothered to paddle. .
Soon the tragic situation on the lower deck was known to everyone on the ship. It was the first time that everyone on the ship encountered this situation. The normal routine should be to stick the side of the ship to the side of the other side's ship, and then jump over and interact with the sailors on both sides. Cut it.
Some well-informed people knew that the navies of the southern countries were equipped with ballistae that could fire from a long distance, but the four black tubes protruding from the side of the opponent's ship were obviously not ballistae, so they didn't listen. It has been said that the ballistae emits fire and smoke when fired, and the ballistae cannot fire so accurately, and its power is not as powerful.
The captain of the pirate ship was the first to react. He ordered the first mate: "Go down and supervise those slaves personally, and continue to row hard for me. We must get over quickly, otherwise we will only be beaten here."
The first mate. He woke up instantly, responded and went to the lower deck.
"You bastards, you are all in a panic. Let the ship move quickly."
The first mate's roar quickly echoed through the lower deck.
"Crack!" The sound of whips hitting the human body kept ringing in the cabin.
"You lazy fools, get back to your seats! Paddle hard for me!"
The pirate leaders who were responsible for guarding the slaves also began to yell at them fiercely.
In order not to affect morale, the first mate personally ended the lives of the slaves who were wailing because of their injuries, one by one.
The oarsmen quickly restored order under the whips and threats of death, returned to their original positions cautiously, and continued to row the oars.
While the pirate ship was in chaos, the four cannons on the port side of the Hope completed a new round of ammunition loading.
The first round of bombardment achieved very good results, and the morale of the officers and soldiers on the ship was greatly boosted.
The gunnery officer was so proud that he drew his saber and pointed at the pirate ship, shouting an order: "Fire!"
The smoke from the previous round of shelling had not yet cleared, and the second round of shelling began.
"Damn! There's still a second round!" The pirate captain now hated the strange ship opposite.
The hull beneath my feet shook violently again, and I knew without even thinking that I had been hit again.
He secretly prayed that not many slaves on the lower deck had died. However, at the end of the prayer, a message that almost made him faint came from below:
"It's over, the cabin is flooded!"
< br> Can anyone tell me what methods are available for large-scale salt production based on the protagonist’s current technical conditions?
(End of this chapter)