Chapter 3059
Morgan had been laying out plans in San Diego Bay for months, not just to grab this place. Spain's maritime armed forces on the west coast of North America are his real target.
Based on the intelligence he had previously obtained, Morgan can basically determine that the armed fleet currently anchored outside San Diego Bay is basically all the troops that Spain can mobilize in this area.
As long as this fleet is eliminated, it will be equivalent to eliminating Spain's mobile power on the west coast of North America. It will be difficult for the opponent to recover for a period of time and will be unable to launch a counterattack against Haihan.
Naturally, what Morgan wants is to complete his victory in one battle. It is not difficult to defeat his opponent, but to destroy him, he will have to use some special means.
Judging from the comparison of the strength of the two fleets, even if the Spanish fleet has set up a battle formation outside the bay in advance, the Haihan fleet can break through its encirclement by virtue of the performance advantages of the warships. But if the other party finds that the situation is not right and flees, it will be difficult to completely eliminate them.
By trying to introduce the Spanish fleet into the bay, Morgan could turn the main force away from the enemy, command the fleet to rush away from the enemy's formation, and then seize the entrance and exit of the bay to achieve a reverse blockade of the Spanish fleet. By then, the Spanish fleet, which was blocked in the bay, would be unable to fly. It would either have to fight to the bitter end with the Haihan fleet, or else it would have to abandon its ship and go ashore and seek to escape by land.
But how to make the cunning and suspicious Spanish fleet fall into a trap requires the cooperation of Aragones.
Two days later, heavy fighting broke out between Haihan and the Spanish settlements in the bay. The Spanish fleet anchored outside the bay, not surprisingly, once again received a request for help from Aragones.
However, this time Aragones did not ask his fleet to rescue the settlement. Instead, he told DeSantis that he successfully organized a night sneak attack on the Haihan fleet and burned several Haihan warships in one fell swoop. The Haihan fleet is currently in chaos, and the opposing commander ordered the garrison to attack Spanish settlements in order to retaliate.
If DeSantis' fleet can rush into the bay at this time, it can launch an attack on the Haihan fleet that is still putting out the fire. The opponent's army troops are attacking the settlements in two ways, one of which is even crossing the sea. Even if they find DeSantis's fleet rushing into the bay, they will not have time to return to the base camp.
DeSantis was still a little hesitant, feeling that he was still not sure of victory, but the messenger sent by Aragones claimed that the flagship with the largest tonnage and the most powerful firepower in the Haihan fleet had capsized in the fire. This means that the command system of the Haihan Fleet has been temporarily collapsed, but such fighters will definitely not last long, and they must seize the opportunity to attack immediately.
DeSantis immediately ordered that all warships in the fleet immediately enter the bay and directly attack Haihan Base.
He asked Aragones' messenger to rush back to recover his life, and told Aragones to try to hold off the Haihan army as much as possible, and he would rush to rescue him as soon as possible.
DeSantis has made it clear that no matter how strong Haihan's army is, its mobility will be limited and it must rely on maritime supplies. As long as the Haihan fleet in the bay is eliminated and its sea transportation channels are cut off, even if the Haihan army captures the two immigrant settlements, it will not happen.
Therefore, he did not intend to rescue Aragones. As long as he could destroy the Haihan fleet in the bay, it would be worth sacrificing two settlements.
If such a precious fighter opportunity was wasted in order to rescue those immigrants, allowing the Haihan people to slow down and reorganize the fleet and control the waters in the bay, then everything would be in vain and their work would be in vain.
As for Aragones' life or death, DeSantis can only leave him to his own devices.
If Aragones is alive, he should be able to survive until the fleet has finished attacking Haihan Base and then come back for rescue. If he doesn't survive until that time, DeSantis will declare his sacrifice for his country for the sake of creating a fighter opportunity for him. Meanwhile, Aragones is anxiously awaiting DeSantis’s movements.
The sound of artillery was rumbling outside the settlement, but he was not worried that a cannonball would hit his head, because this was just to cooperate with Haihan's acting. As for the night attack on the Haihan base and the burning of the Haihan warship, that was all false information provided to DeSantis according to Morgan's instructions.
If these methods fail and DeSantis still doesn't come, Haihan will fake it and take over the two settlements in the bay, and then liquidate DeSantis' fleet.
But if the situation reaches that point, Aragones' treatment after the war will be greatly reduced. He can only save the lives of his family, but the family's property will be confiscated by Haihan.
Although it is a bit inhumane to exchange DeSantis's fleet for the safety of his family, under the current situation, Aragones has no choice.
Besides, who made DeSantis stand still for more than ten days? He made it clear that he was waiting for an opportunity to take advantage of when the Haihan Army attacked the settlement, and traded the safety of Aragones and the two thousand local immigrants for a fighter opportunity.
DeSantis has always refused to save his life, so don’t blame yourself for using this as a condition for survival. At this time when he can only choose one of life or death, Aragones will no longer feel guilty.
Of course, what DeSantis faces is not entirely a dead end.
First, a miracle happened and he really defeated the Haihan fleet. Although the probability of this happening is extremely small, it is not completely impossible.
Second, DeSantis gave up the opportunity to directly attack the Haihan base and chose to save the Aragones settlement first. In this way, his fleet would not sail into the depths of the bay and would have a chance to turn around and escape.
If DeSantis does choose the second course of action, Aragones might try to save him out of compassion for his fellow countrymen. But if DeSantis chooses to face death in order to gain military glory, he will be asking for his own death, and no one else can blame him.
After the fleet sailed into the bay, DeSantis still carefully observed the surrounding situation. He was worried that the intelligence provided by Aragones was omitted, and it was difficult to say whether the local settlements could sustain his fleet until it reached its destination. If you find that the situation is not right, you must leave this place as soon as possible.
The rumble of cannons was heard from the distant coast, and fireworks were faintly visible, as if the battle was still in progress. DeSantis felt a little relieved and ordered the ship to speed up.
The adjutant came to ask for instructions on whether to send some men ashore to reinforce local settlements, but DeSantis scolded him angrily.
"The mission of the local garrison is to hold back the Haihan people and create opportunities for us. What we have to do is go to the Haihan base and kill their ships! Don't worry about their life and death and continue to perform the mission!"
(End of chapter)