Boom –

A moment later, Liu Hongji's flagship made a loud noise, and a cannonball blasted out with the tremor of the ship's hull.

However, because the distance between the two armies was too far, the shells hit the sea area dozens of paces away from the local fleet, causing huge waves.

Although this kind of provocation is somewhat naïve, Liu Hongjian does not think so at all, and naval warfare is too boring compared to land warfare, at least at the current level of science and technology.

Land warfare at least pays attention to the terrain, terrain, and the coordination of troops, but everyone is on the ship with an unobstructed view of the sea, and what side you change through the telescope will be adjusted immediately.

The only weapon is artillery, and the only thing that can fight is artillery, that is, to bombard, whoever has a large number of fleets, stronger warships, and whose artillery is more powerful and fights farther, will win.

It's just that to Liu Hong's surprise, after half an hour of the first shot, the enemy fleet did not say anything.

"Ahh What's the situation? Liu Hong gradually wondered.

The heart said that it was you who wanted to fight, and the Ming Dynasty came to fight at the appointment, and you didn't come to attack, what kind of trouble did you want?

"Old Qi, let's have another shot, urge it."

……

Finally, after the three artillery pieces, under Liu Hongji's repeated urging, the Europa Combined Fleet seemed to have moved.

"Your Royal Highness, the enemy ship has moved!"

"Zheng Sen, order your department to prepare to meet the enemy!" At this time, Zheng Sen had already left the flagship and returned to the battlefleet under his command, and Qi Yuangong said loudly through the walkie-talkie.

"Order Zheng Sen's subordinates, put them in the fight, and wait for the enemy fleet to launch the first round of tentative attacks before firing the cannon." Liu Hong gradually admonished on the side.

He had full confidence in the warship he had developed, and the reason why he gave this order was to see the power of the Europa's artillery and the attack range, and secondly, to increase the hit rate of the shells by getting closer.

Whether it is fire from land muskets or from ship-borne guns in the ocean, the hit rate has always been surprisingly low.

Even in World War II, 300 years later, according to post-war statistics, it took more than 3,700 rounds of ammunition for the Chinese army to kill a Japanese soldier on the land battlefield, and more than 1,300 rounds for even well-armed Japanese soldiers, not including shooting civilians, of course.

The average hit rate of shipborne guns in World War I was only a pitiful 3.3 percent, not to mention the situation today, because there is no advanced measurement technology, both sides even need to fire their guns to determine the distance before going to war.

Hitting closer can significantly improve the hit rate, and the ammunition has to be saved, because Liu Hongchuan is still useful.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, the enemy fleet has entered the attack distance of the vanguard fleet." Qi Yuangong put down the binoculars and said, and at the same time, there was a trace of excitement in his eyes.

Qi Yuangong has been studying warships and naval battles for many years, and with experience, he can visually determine the accurate distance between the two sides.

The enemy fleet is still approaching, indicating that the current distance is not yet within the range of the opponent, which means that at least in terms of attack distance, the Europa will be a step behind.

At present, whether it is the Ming Dynasty or the Great Qin, the gunpowder used for ammunition excitation has all been replaced with more powerful yellow powder, and compared with the improved version of black powder, the effective range of the shell has increased by at least one mile.

"There are about nine hundred steps left, and the enemy warship hasn't fired yet?" After another while, even Qi Yuangong's tone was full of surprise.

"I'm afraid the Europa people are still using the black powder they stole from us!" Liu Hong teased.

Liu Hong's expectation was good, and when the enemy fleet advanced dozens of steps, he began to turn the side of the battleship.

He suddenly understood why the Europa people had delayed their attack, and they must have been frightened by the terrifying artillery of the Ming warship.

At that time, the two sides were three or four miles apart, and Liu Hong gradually bombarded people's eyes with a single shot, even if the cannonball had lost its power when it fell into the water, it was enough to deter the Europas.

Liu Hong gradually did not know what kind of struggle the Europa Coalition commander had gone through, anyway, the battle began like this.

Qi Yuangong saw that the enemy ship began to turn the rudder, and immediately ordered Zheng Sen to open fire, and the Zheng Sen fleet, which had been prepared for a long time, immediately fired all the cannons, and the roar of the cannonballs resounded throughout the sea area.

Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom

Yellow powder has an advantage over black powder that it produces less smoke, and Liu Hong gradually saw clearly through the mist that with only one round of shelling, at least ten warships of the opponent's advance fleet were beaten to a bare skin.

The reason why I say this is because the ironclad on the outside of the Europa battleship uses riveting technology, that is, the steel armor on the outer layer of the main ironclad ship thirty years ago in the Ming Dynasty.

It looks shiny and can withstand the bombardment of smoothbore guns, but it cannot withstand prolonged or overpowered shell bombardment, which can cause the steel armor to fall off from the joints.

However, the power of Daming's artillery was too strong, but whenever it hit and exploded, the steel armor covered by the hull fell off piece by piece.

After a round of artillery bombardment, Zheng Sen's vanguard fleet did not turn the rudder, but after three rounds of artillery bombardment, the attack was stopped, which is the superiority of the rear-loading howitzer, if it was not for the fear of overheating the barrel, the ship-based guns could launch an attack without interruption.

The Europa people were all beaten stupid, and after only three rounds of shelling, at least three battleships of the advance party were sunk, at least seven or eight were seriously wounded, and what was even more terrible was that they had not even fired their guns.

"Your Royal Highness, Your Highness, they are retreating! No, they're on the run! Qi Yuangong corrected his speech problem as soon as possible.

Zhu Cihong glanced at Liu Hongji, as if he was waiting for him to give an order, just like the personal expedition to Rakshasa more than thirty years ago, Zhu Cihong enjoyed the feeling of being on the battlefield even more.

As long as Liu Hongjian is present, Zhu Cihong is always too lazy to use his brain, and he still can't change this problem when he is old, which is another reason why Liu Hongjian chose to leave Daming back then.

"Your Highness, it seems that the enemy's main fleet has also begun to retreat?" Qi Yuangong's eyes widened, and he himself couldn't believe it.

What does the heart say? came from afar across the ocean, but was beaten away by three rounds of artillery? How does this work? His main fleet hasn't moved yet?

"So what are you waiting for? All the army is attacking! Liu Hong gradually observed the Okro Combined Fleet in the distance for a moment, and saw that its main force was also in a panic, not like a deception, so he immediately made a decision.

Made, what's going on? That's all the war you've been waiting for for thirty years? It's not enough to come all the way to the gas money! How could you let the Europa people run away?

As a result, what should have been a vigorous and spectacular record-setting naval battle turned into a chase and escape battle.

Among them, the British and French fleets were the fastest, and the Polish and Swedish fleets, which were relatively backward in battleships, were the first to be bombarded by the Ming fleet.

The panicked enemy troops retreated and used the stern guns to return fire, but Europa's shells hit the Ming battleship and did not break the defense at all, and the warships and artillery of both sides were not of the same magnitude at all.

"Your Highness, if you continue to advance like this, the vast majority of enemy warships will successfully escape." Seeing that Liu Hongjian had wasted too much time on the Polish and Swedish fleets, Qi Yuangong reminded.

"Humph! They don't run away so easily, give me a bang! Liu Hong said with a smile.

……