The distance between them is only a hundred zhang, but in the eyes of the Hongtang team members at this time, it is like a moat.

The members of the death squad, who had already been fully mentally prepared, couldn't help but feel a thick chill in their hearts when the smoke cleared, the water column disappeared, and they saw the scene around them again.

The sailing companions who had been charging forward together and accompanying them on the left and right were nothing but the dilapidated wreckage of the wooden boat that remained on the surface of the sea in their original position, and the bright red blood flowers that were dyed in the sea.

Zero-angle, close-range horizontal firing brought the powerful 32-pounder and 48-pounder cannons to the extreme. However, all the foreign objects that blocked the distance of 100 zhang on the line were all reduced to nothing.

More than 100 fast sailing ships, almost two-fifths of their numbers were lost in just one round of fire, and many experienced sailors, while rejoicing in their good luck, immediately used their rudders to move to the right and to the left in a straight line that they had pursued as fast as possible, so as not to be targeted by the enemy's guns.

And more sturdy team members puffed up their sails, taking advantage of the gap between the opponent's artillery reloading, and rushed to the opposite ship in one go.

Today's wind direction is also helping Li Tianyang them, it is still in the late winter and early spring, the cold southwest monsoon, so that the Hongtang sailboat is completely upwind, and the modified sailing ship that has been pursuing maximum speed is like a bow and arrow that has just been shot, and it is rapidly approaching the Dutch battleship.

Soon, a few galleons with good luck, after the third round of artillery fire from the Dutch fleet, finally approached the body of an armed merchant ship in the rear. At this time, after the three-round artillery fire, the dhow that could still appear on the sea was less than 1/3 of the beginning, just for the implementation of this fire attack tactic, the Hongtang soldiers had already paid the lives of nearly 200 brave soldiers.

"Bastard, give my brother back!!" At the bow of the dhow, a scarlet-eyed, bloody Hongtang warrior glared shirtless at the armed merchant ship that was far larger than the sloop.

"Bang!!"

Without even slowing down, the sailboat slammed into the thick side of the armed merchant ship, and although the special ramming angles and barbs in front of the sailboat did not pierce the deck on the spot, they were also seriously deformed, and the barbs were firmly inserted into the armed merchant ship, and it was impossible to break free for a while.

And at the point of engagement, the Dutch sailors on the armed merchant ship emerged from the side of the ship, condescendingly unleashing a rain of buckshot at the dhow below.

Before they had time to react, the team members and captains who were standing shirtless on the deck were covered in bullets and fell in a pool of blood on the spot. Instead, the team members who were hiding in the cabin and were preparing to light gunpowder and oil were spared.

The special oil burned at an astonishing speed, and after two splashes, the only two remaining members of the team drilled into the water, and the whole sailboat burned like a bonfire, clinging to the Dutch warship.

At the same time, after a loud "boom", the entire burning sailboat turned into a beautiful firework and fell on the tightly knit warship and the surrounding sea. For a while, on the sea, a little spark was ignited on the Dutch warship, and on the side of the warship that was connected with the sailing ship, the heavy deck that had been hit by the heavy impact was also broken into two sections inward in this huge explosion, but it was still stubbornly broken and maintained a considerable degree of integrity.

The self-detonation tactics with high hopes did not work, and the faces of Li Tianyang and the others, who were looking forward to it, couldn't help but darken, but then, their faces returned to normal, and the war had begun, and no matter whether the tactics worked or not, it could not change the fact that the two sides were about to officially fight. It's just that the failure of this tactic will make Hongtang's battle more fierce and the losses will be greater.

Of course, Li Tianyang and them are also mentally prepared, if this tactic is really so easy to work, I am afraid that with the number of warships of the Daming Navy Division back then, and the comprehensive strength of the Daming Dynasty, the Westerners will not be so wanton on the Daming Sea.

"Be ready to send a signal, valiant warriors should not die in vain!" Wu Jie stood beside Li Tianyang and whispered.

Li Tianyang shook his head, it was too late to send the signal at this time, and even if the few remaining sloops were withdrawn, I am afraid that they might not be able to escape the ensuing artillery strike. It would be better to let the soldiers stay on the battlefield and continue their unfinished mission, so as to contain the powerful artillery fire of the Dutch fleet.

Didn't see the other party, but still cared a lot about the self-explosion tactics formulated by Li Tianyang and them? Otherwise, they would not have let the main warship of the whale department following behind the dhow not pay attention, and vented the entire artillery fire on the bodies of these sailing ships that were as nimble as swimming fish.

However, things soon took a turn for the better, which made Li Tianyang and them hope again!

Seeing that the results obtained by their companions at the cost of their own lives were beyond everyone's expectations, fewer and fewer dhow operators said that they were not discouraged and depressed. But there are always warriors who don't believe in evil, and at this time they have already fought a real fire, and many brothers who came with them have died, even if Li Tianyang wants to let them retreat, they are probably not willing to return in vain!

In the past few years, the Hongtang warriors have fought all over the world, which can be said to be invincible, and the warriors have already cultivated a unique pride and centripetal force belonging to the Hongtang warriors.

In particular, among the Hongtang soldiers, they are young and strong, they are full of momentum, and they are easy to be encouraged ideologically, and under the education and edification of Hongtang Li Tianyang and them, they have long regarded themselves as a member of Hongtang, and they have the cohesion of the liberation army in later generations.

The enemy's artillery is unmatched, but it is not without its weakness, that is, their artillery can be cast for a long time, at least once with a cup of tea. Moreover, the opponent's artillery is not well turned, and can only bring a devastating blow to targets within a hundred feet in a straight line. As for the sailing ships that have survived so far, their sailors rely more on flexible changes of direction in a small area, full of close distances between each other, and never give each other a chance to aim, so although there are fewer sailboats, it is more difficult to be eliminated by the other side.

After several rounds of dancing on the tip of a knife, a sailboat saw a flaw, once again sailed the warship close to the edge of the armed merchant ship wounded by the self-explosion tactic, and finally took advantage of the gap between the opponent's guns and the attack of dozens of arquebuses on the deck, aiming at the gap where the merchant ship had been blown in two.

"Bang!" There was a loud bang, and this time the front of the sailboat crashed straight into the gap that had just exploded, and the two made a heart-rending grinding sound.

Without waiting for any other reaction from the Dutch sailors, after a few "plops" in the water, the sailboat turned into a huge spark and bloomed on this very unquiet sea!

(End of chapter)