The fleet led by Zhu Lian stayed in the port of Nice for four days, and the French emptied the cargo of two merchant ships, unloaded a large pile of military supplies, as well as 50 five-pound guns and 20 eight-pound guns, and unloaded 3,000 rockets of various types. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

It took four days to get all this done, because the cranes in Port Nice were either burned or dismantled, and all transportation was carried out by manpower. And the pier was also damaged, and the trestle that jutted into the sea was broken. At the time of the Battle of Toulon, the Allied navy also bombarded Nice. Now that there are so many large merchant ships all of a sudden, the speed of cargo delivery is naturally slow.

During this period, Zhu Mian only met with Napoleon, and the rest of the time, he was patrolling the surrounding waters with naval warships, and indeed met the Spaniards twice.

It's just that Napoleon immediately arranged artillery positions on the seashore after getting the artillery, and at the same time sorted out the original coastal defense fortifications. The Spaniards did not dare to push too hard.

The range of shipborne guns is inferior to that of shore defense guns, not because of problems with the artillery, but because of the angle of fire. The firing angle of the ship's guns is very small, and it is not as large as the shore defense guns, and the natural range will not be as far as the shore defense guns.

There were artillery positions in the port of Nice, merchant ships and warships could be well protected, and the Spaniards did not dare to attack directly. But the main force of the Spaniards' Mediterranean fleet was out on patrol.

Zhu Dian is well aware of what he is about to face.

He decided to break through at night, taking advantage of the darkness.

For four days, the sailors and accompanying marines of the Wehrmacht did not make a single step ashore, but some of the merchants who followed the ship took a tour of Nice, but their impression of France was generally not very good.

The army of the French was too much like a beggar.

The city was also noisy and dirty.

Almost all of the merchants who accompanied the ships came from the port cities of Chen Han, which were among the cleanest in China, and it was a bit unacceptable for these people to look at their own turf and then look at the coop of the Gallic rooster.

Besides, the wealth in the hands of the merchants and the quality of their own life are not comparable to the ordinary civilian class, even if these people are not rich businessmen, the standard of living is far higher than the ordinary class. The quality of life is outstanding, and the cleanliness is naturally higher.

If you look at the city streets of France, where sewage is overflowing, feces and urine are everywhere, and the smell is stinking, it really feels unbearable.

Napoleon also did not show much affection for the Chinese fleet, although he knew that after such a time, there were Chinese behind him, and he could not hide it from those who cared about it.

Napoleon was destitute at the beginning of the Jacobins' misfortune, but within two months he was living a rich life and had spare money to spend. This is no secret in Paris, and it is easy for anyone who wants to find out.

But Napoleon was still reluctant to show too much with the Chinese.

In fact, he can't get too close to China now.

After such a 'transaction', the next time Chinese merchant ships can dock on French soil again, I don't know if it will be the Year of the Monkey. Even the European Office bluntly named this point, and it was a complete coincidence that Napoleon was able to obtain this batch of material replenishment in time.

Although Chen Zhan had to sigh at Napoleon's good luck, it does illustrate the uniqueness of things from another side.

Zhu led the fleet to leave from the port of Nice. Napoleon never said to Zhu Li, leave more things for his brother. Dwarfs were also dignified, and Napoleon's self-esteem was even higher than that of the Alps.

The morale of the troops has risen sharply in the past few days. Then, strike while the iron is hot, and now is the right opportunity for him to lead his army over the Alps.

……

At five o'clock in the afternoon, the sun was still hanging in the middle of the sky.

In the port of Nice, the first Chinese merchant ship raised its anchor and set sail.

By the time the last merchant ship sailed out of the port of Nice, it was already approaching dusk, and the blood-red sunset cast its last rays on the blue sea.

The first moments of the flotilla out of the port of Ness were a quiet time, with all enjoying a stretch of twilight beauty over the sea. But as the sky was about to darken, the alarm bell ringing from the lookout on the mast of the pilot ship shattered all the silence.

"One sail battleship of the first rank, one sail battleship of the second class, eight sail battleships of the third class, four sail ships of the fourth rank, and more than ten brigs...... most of these warships flew the flag of the Spanish Navy, but a small number appeared to be ships of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

"General, the situation doesn't look good!"

The chief of staff of Zhu Li's detachment said, holding a telescope, with some concern: "The Spaniards are very well prepared, not only with big ships, but also with so many small ships. If you get close, it's bad. ”

"That's going to be fought too. We don't have time to go back to Nice. Zhu Mian held up the binoculars and carefully observed the formation of the Spaniards.

The Spaniards played in two columns and seemed to want to pinch them from the left and right. The first and second are the capital ships, and the smaller ships of the Kingdom of Sardinia, mainly the fifth and sixth ranks, hovered behind the flanks.

Zhu Li's face was ugly, he knew that the Spaniards did not intend to let go of one of their warships, and the small and medium-sized warships of the Kingdom of Sardinia were the best 'light cavalry' to intercept merchant ships. Because there is no trickery to be desired in the battle at sea, the comparison is who has more ships and more guns, whose will to fight is more tenacious, and whose ship performance is better!

Merchant ships are stronger than small and medium-sized warships, but their combat effectiveness is far worse.

"General, we can't avoid it now. The only chance was to defeat the Spaniards in front of them, or at least to make a bloody way out of the ineffective convoy. "Merchant ships have few guns on board and have a small caliber, which is like tickling a warship, but the merchant ships are equipped with rockets, which ensures that the enemy ships cannot get close to a distance of 500 meters, nor can they directly jump to board and grab ships, which ensures their 'safety' to a large extent.

"As soon as they pass through the Strait of Tunis and enter the Ionian seas, the Ottoman navy will naturally meet them on the island of Crete. There is no other way! ”

Zhu Lian pondered the words of the chief of staff, and then said silently: "The quality of the Spaniards is very poor, even if they have warships and numerical superiority, we will not necessarily be defeated." Besides, it's getting late, and we have a chance to break through. ”

Zhu Lian knew very well that he had no way out, and he chose to leave the port at five o'clock in the afternoon, which was also an abacus to cover the night at night. With the darkness of the night as a cover, the quality of the Spaniards' gunners was a little worrisome, and although they were outnumbered, they were not out of life.

If there was really no life or death, Zhu Li would not have led the fleet out of the port at this time.

The experienced fleet commander, who had already participated in many naval battles, immediately entered the combat state and began to give orders.

With Zhu Li's orders conveyed, the Chinese fleet immediately changed its formation, and the entire warship was divided into two parts, one part was six capital ships and two fourth-class sail warships.

- Four of the six capital ships were Ottoman warships, the Ottoman I and one second-class sail battleship, two third-class sail battleships, and only the last two third-class sail battleships were Chen Han naval division warships, one of which was Zhu Li's flagship, Li Guang.

The other two Ottoman third-class sail battleships were the same as their remaining two fourth-class sail warships, as well as two fourth-class sail warships accompanying Chen Han, as well as two thousand-ton flying shear bow warships, and four fifth-class sail warships [one on Chen Han's side], 12 warships of all sizes, as the escort fleet of the transport fleet.

Zhu Bin's flagship Li Guang raised the battle flag.

There is no tradition and practice of surrender in any army in the Eastern world, let alone Chen Han, who is now prosperous.

As early as when the transport fleet docked in Nice, Zhu Lian had already unified his thinking with the various ship pipes and commanders under him.

I would rather have my ship destroyed and die than surrender.

Pasha Enville, the Ottoman navy who was present, said that the Ottomans would fight until the last moment of their lives.

Now on Zhu Li's flagship, at the same time as the battle flag was raised, on the Ottoman I, Enver Pasha also raised his own battle flag.

There are also two ponytails hanging from it.

This is an indication of the level of Enver Pasha, and the Pasha is also graded.

In the Ottoman Empire, both the sultan and his vassal Khedif had the right to confer the title of Pasha. This title was originally reserved for military governors, but it was later used for any high-ranking officials and for unofficial people requested by the court.

The Pasha was above Bey and Agha, and below the Khedif and Vizier. The pasha were further divided into three ranks, distinguished by the ox or horsetail they held (three, two, or one, as is Turkic-Mongol tradition), and sometimes with a peacock's tail.

In wartime, bearers display their military flags to demonstrate their military power. Only the Sultan may hold four ponytails, symbolizing a military commander with the status of king.

Enver Pasha could wear two pinches of ponytails on the flag that symbolized him, which is the symbol of 'Falek' – in the Ottoman language, Ferik, which means 'lieutenant general'.

March 28, 1796, 8:20 p.m.

With the correction of the 12-pound long-barreled cannon in the bow of the battleship Li Guang, which took the lead, the naval battle finally broke out between the Ottoman escort fleet of the Chen Han Empire and part of the Mediterranean Fleet of the Spanish Navy.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! ”

The mighty 20-pound long-barreled naval guns let out a trembling roar, and Zhu Lian led six capital ships and two fourth-class battleships with great courage to drill directly into the rift that separated the Spaniards.

Compared with the heavy losses that the fleet may suffer, Zhu Li hopes that his warships can fully exert their firepower.

This is not a 'hand-to-hand combat' of one or two hundred meters. No matter how bad the gunners are, there is a great chance that they will send shells to the enemy's warships, and now the distance between them is six or seven hundred meters - the left and right sides of the Spanish Navy are about three miles apart, and it is not only the firepower density of the warships that tests each other, but also the marksmanship gunners' marksmanship.

The lack of training of the Spanish Navy's sailors was one of Zhu Li's confidence in facing the battle head-on, and the other point was that the Spanish Navy's gunners had a big problem - learning from the French.

They like to point their guns at the enemy's sails.

This is a traditional difference in tactics.

Who made the invention of rockets, and the naval warfare of this era was even longer and less lethal.

In these days and ages, naval warfare can be a nuisance for both warring sides. Since the guns were mainly distributed on both sides of the ship, commanders would often line up the ships in a long line to facilitate the development of broadside firepower. The requirements for the seaworthiness and firepower of the ships in such operations are overwhelming. However, the shells of this era are still mainly solid spherical shells, and a few flowering shells have limited explosive power, and the battle is often difficult to distinguish the winner from the winner for a long time, and in most cases the side with stronger combat effectiveness will repel the opponent. Because the shells formed small gaps, warships have carpenters on them, and if they leak water they leak immediately, it is quite difficult to sink a battleship unless you are lucky.

In the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War, gang jumping was still a powerful tool for warring parties to capture each other's warships. It would be like a bayonet battle on land, with great lethality and brilliant results.

The French had a different understanding of naval warfare than other countries, and since Louis XVI, French warships had an advantage in speed, so they pursued mobile tactics and invented iron bullets designed to attack the opponent's rigging and sails, and the French gunners usually chose a higher trajectory when aiming to increase the destructive power. This tactic is actually the choice of the weak, because the ship that loses its rigging also loses its mobility, and the French ship can calmly escape even if the battle is unfavorable.

The British, who were only separated by a strait from France, and the Chinese naval division established by Chen Ming, were all focused on sinking enemy ships, so the ballistics of the naval guns were low and flat, and they mainly attacked the waterline in order to cause serious damage.

The Spaniards studied under the French navy, and they had the habits of the French, but they did not have the fortitude and fighting spirit of the French.

Regardless of the fact that the French Navy does not seem to have won a naval battle with the British in modern history, even after the revolution, France lost a large number of naval elites, and the fighting spirit of the French Navy officers and men was extraordinarily tenacious. The Battle of Aboukir in the history of time and space is a testament to the bravery and tenacity of the French.

- Shortly after the head wound of the naval commander Bruyers, another shrapnel hit him, and then a cannonball broke his left leg, and the attendant tried to help him back into the cabin, but Bruyers refused, saying: "A French admiral should be killed on the aft deck." As he lay dying, Bruès continued to command the ships to resist, and although his foolish arrangement had wiped out the French navy, the admiral was a true soldier personally.

The flagship, the Vostok, was surrounded by fire, five British warships launched a siege, and the mainmast of the Vostokes fell into the water, and the backmast was also broken, and the body was riddled with holes, but it still resisted desperately. The deck of the warship was covered with burning corpses, the front and rear of the warship were burning, and the guns were almost burning to the side of the cannon that fired the 24-pounder shell, but at the side of the 36-pounder cannon, the gunners seemed to be completely ignorant of the danger, and they continued to fight with all their might.

The bravery of the French is true bravery, and even in the midst of despair, they will fight to the end. But this is not the case with the Spanish Navy.

The Spaniards were also often brave at the beginning of the battle.

But when the tide of events turned against them, the Spaniards' courage quickly evaporated.

32-pound, 24-pound, and 18-pound shells rained down, mixed with some red-hot bullets and iron filings.

The Li Guang, which was the leader on the Chinese side, also suffered heavy casualties under the ravages of many Spanish battleships, and the superstructure was hit in many places, and the bow and stern towers were directly hit by more than 10 shells.