Chen Zhan knew very well that Xu Xingxia didn't know for what reason he regarded the Dutch as the main opponent of the white-clothed army and navy. The basic strategy of the entire white-coat navy is to attack the Dutch. On the basis of focusing on the Dutch, other Western powers were also attacked. Therefore, since the Fourth Fleet had encountered the Dutch pirate fleet, it must not be spared. Killing these pirate fleets would have cost the Dutch navy a lot.

With the issuance of the combat order, the flag-whispering soldiers on the flagship constantly waved all kinds of flags of different shapes and colors to accurately convey the commander's orders. And the other warships, there are also flag soldiers who constantly feedback all kinds of information. Soon, all kinds of warships began to quickly adjust their queues, and everything was ready.

The Fourth Fleet is equipped with a total of twelve Taishan-class warships and four Wutaishan-class warships. In large-scale naval battles, the sturdy and fierce gunfire of the Wutaishan-class battleships was the main force. Tarzan-class battleships are mainly auxiliary.

However, the Fourth Fleet is currently facing a pirate fleet. The tonnage and number of warships of this pirate fleet are not comparable to those of the Fourth Fleet. Therefore, the Tarzan-class battleships also have a chance to play. Each Tarzan-class battleship can also be used as the main force. This is indeed a rare opportunity for the vast number of officers and men on the Taishan-class battleship.

Of course, Chen Zhan did not dare to take it lightly. He is well aware of the advantages of the White Navy and the disadvantages of the White Navy. The Dutch were able to cross the sea and become a coachman on the sea, which must have been extraordinary. As a rising star, the White Navy still has a lot to learn from the Dutch. Master Yi's long skills to control it! Therefore, in particular, he emphasized in his order that the enemy must not be underestimated.

"Kill them!"

"Prepare for a broadside battle!"

Esko roared with a hideous face.

He was impatient to start a fight.

He wholeheartedly wanted to eat the white-clothed naval detachment in front of him.

With so many brand-new warships, if they could be captured, the results would be too great.

And the best way to capture the opponent's warship is, of course, to engage in a broadside battle. The broadside battle is hand-to-hand combat, the warships of both sides are tightly entangled, and the sailors on both sides use various methods to completely eliminate each other from the **. This is the most primitive and bloody way of fighting on the sea, and it is definitely a great challenge to the courage of sailors.

Esco had a hundred reasons to believe that as long as the two armies engaged in a broadside battle, they would be able to defeat their opponents. Esco has enough confidence in his men's ability to engage in broadside combat. What does the pirate fleet do best? Of course, it's a broadside battle. In normal times, Esco has very strict requirements for the hand-to-hand combat ability of his subordinates.

If you want to engage in broadside battles, the first thing is to shorten the distance with the other side and tightly entangle the ships of both sides. Therefore, Esco ordered to quickly shorten the distance with the white-coat navy. Before carrying out the shelling, he wanted to shorten the distance between the two sides to within 300 meters. In a general naval battle, three hundred meters is the most suitable distance for shelling.

Obviously, the White Navy did not have the slightest intention of backing down on the rapid approach of the pirate fleet. On the contrary, the warships of the White Army Navy are also constantly approaching the pirate warships. The distance between the two sides is constantly shortening. Soon, it was shortened to about 1,500 meters. At this distance, you can see a lot of detail with the naked eye.

"Ships fire freely!"

Chen Zhan quickly gave the order for the bombardment.

"Knock knock!"

The guns of the first battleship of the White Army Navy were the first to fire.

Cannonballs whizzed out of their chambers and swept towards the pirate fleet.

Due to the recoil, the battleships of the White Army Navy could not fire a salvo. All the cannons, it is necessary to stagger the firing. This gave the pirates the illusion that the artillery fire of the white-coated navy warships was not violent. Many pirates felt that the number of cannons in the White Navy was not large, and the power of the artillery bombardment was not great.

In fact, if calculated purely by the number of cannons, the total number of cannons of the Fourth Fleet of the White Army Navy is less than one-third of the pirate fleet. In this era when the combat effectiveness of warships is generally measured by the tonnage of warships and the number of cannons, the number of cannons equipped by the white-clothed navy is indeed a bit unusual.

If measured by general standards, all the warships of the White Navy can only be called armed merchant ships, not warships. Fortunately, the cannons of the white-clothed navy have a long range and great power, which can greatly make up for the lack of cannons.

"Puff puff!"

"Boom!"

"Whoa, whoa!"

The first wave of shells landed near the pirate fleet, causing a large splash of water, and the whole sea seemed to be boiling. The sea water is constantly surging, as if there is an invisible hand, pushing the waves hard. As more shells fell, the entire sea, as if it was a strong wind, slowly became choppy.

The artillery shells fired by the navy of the white army can explode smoothly even in the sea. The cannonball exploded in the seawater, and the energy could not be effectively released, but could only push the surrounding seawater up. The explosion of each shell stirs up the sea. The impact of the explosion caused the sea water to change color.

"Huh?"

Esko frowned quietly.

He was very experienced in combat and immediately realized that something was wrong.

The shells fired by the white-coated navy actually fell around his pirate fleet. The closest to the battleship was not even fifty meters. Such a hit rate is very surprising. He would not have been surprised if only some of the shells had landed so closely. However, with so many shells falling so close together, he sensed that something was wrong.

The so-called layman looks at the lively, and the insider looks at the doorway, since Esco is a genius of the Dutch Navy, he naturally has something extraordinary. The first round of shelling of the white-clothed navy had already read a lot of information in his eyes.

"Your Excellency General, something seems wrong......

Not only did Esco see it, but his adjutant saw it too.

His lieutenant is also a top student of the Dutch Navy, and he has a lot of combat experience and good eyesight. Judging from the landing point of the shells, the artillery skills of the white-clothed navy are quite clever. It is really surprising that so many shells are landed so neatly. Although these did not hit the pirate fleet, the power of this artillery bombardment was enough to raise their vigilance by twelve points.

Everyone knows that the naval artillery technique is the most difficult to train. For a gunner, without three or five years of dipping in silver, it is simply impossible to maintain a certain hit rate. If you want to become a good gunner, it will take at least ten years. Many of the navy's gunners are on the older side, just because they need a lot of time to accumulate experience.

For a strong navy, the most important wealth is not the battleship, but the excellent officers and men, including seamen and sailors. If a navy does not have a group of excellent gunners, it is impossible to have strong combat effectiveness. On the other hand, if a navy has a large number of excellent gunners, it must be a strong navy.

From this point of view, it seems that the strength of the white-coated navy no longer needs to be proven. Because, even with the arrival of the main fleet of the Dutch Navy, at such a distance, it will not be able to shoot such accurate shells. The British's artillery skills were originally the best, but in front of the white-coated navy, there seemed to be a big gap.

"Your Excellency, I suggest that we withdraw ...... for the time being," the adjutant said in a low voice.

The first wave of shells from the White Navy, so close that they almost hit the pirate warship. After correcting the error, the second wave of shells may hit directly. The adjutant's suggestion was to avoid crashing headlong into the artillery fire of the White Navy. In case it has not yet entered the range of the pirate fleet's own cannons, it will be subjected to heavy shelling, and I am afraid that the loss of the pirate fleet itself will not be small.

Judging by the power of the explosion of the shells falling from the white-clothed navy, everything in the rumors has become a reality. The shells of the white-clothed navy are indeed very powerful, so big that even the sea water cannot resist its power. Poor Sorum was indeed sunk directly by the shells of the White Army Navy. The Esco Pirate Fleet cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the past.

Esco's face was gloomy, and he didn't say a word, clutching his saber tightly.

Indeed, the first round of shelling by the navy of the white-clothed army gave him a small dismount. He had to admit that the artillery skills of the white-clothed navy were indeed above them. If he had given the order to move on, he would have suffered a lot of losses. It seems that this opponent is indeed not to be underestimated! No wonder Solum would give away his own life.

He felt very strange, how did the white-clothed navy, which had always been unknown, train such a group of excellent artillerymen? Esko judged by his own experience that the artillery shellers of the White Army Navy had at least ten years of combat experience. Perhaps, more than twenty years. Because, if it weren't for such a long period of precipitation, their artillery skills would not have been so powerful!

However, if the white-coated navy had started training gunners twenty years ago, they would not have been unknown. Because, the training of gunners cannot be completed on the shore, nor can it be done during exercises. It is necessary to go through actual combat, and it is a cruel actual combat, repeated actual combat, in order to train excellent gunners.

However, Esko had never heard of the existence of the White Coats Navy to the north of the South Seas. The Great Ming Sailor under the Ming Empire was nothing in the eyes of the Dutch. To say that the White Army Navy evolved from the Daming Naval Division, Esko would not believe it under any circumstances. Countless questions lingered in Esco's mind, and he felt like he was going crazy. No way, there are too many weird questions to figure out.

Esko did not know that the reason why the shelling of the white-clothed navy was so accurate was not because of the high quality of the officers and men, but because of the application of some new technologies. Among them, the biggest role is the rangefinder and angle meter.

The previous cannons, either too far or too close. Just judging the distance of the shot requires a lot of effort. Even with the help of the clairvoyant, it is impossible to effectively judge that after the invention of the rangefinder, these shortcomings do not exist.

The use of the rangefinder has a good corrective effect on the cannon firing of the white-clothed navy. Measuring distances with instruments is much more reliable than with the naked eye. Especially on the sea surface, where there are almost no references, judgments made by the naked eye are often wrong. Even an extremely experienced gunner cannot effectively control the error.

At the same time, the goniometer and other instruments are also constantly put into actual combat to help the gunners accurately measure the angle of the shelling. The goniometer also has a huge effect, which is to correct the advance of the shelling. This is crucial for the landing point of the shells. After all, in naval battles, battleships are all active, and the amount of advance must be calculated in order to hit accurately.

With the help of instruments such as rangefinders and angle rulers, the white-coated navy still has a considerable advantage in shelling. Even a novice, with the help of instruments, can control the landing point of the shell more accurately. Even if there is an error, it will not be too outrageous.

Of course, the biggest advantage of the white-coated navy is the explosive shell. A powerful blaster that can wreak havoc on enemy ships with just one shell. In this way, the destructive capabilities of the navy of the White Army were guaranteed. No matter how fierce your artillery fire is, if you are hit by me, you will be basically incapacitated.

"Boom!"

"Whoa, whoa!"

Constant shells fell into the sea and erupted with terrible loud noises.

The water column stirred up by the explosion was more than ten meters high. Sometimes several shells explode in the same sea area in succession, stirring up a column of water, which is even more terrifying. A large amount of seawater, like a downpour, poured on the deck of the pirate warship, and everything on the deck was ruthlessly washed into the seawater.

Such a powerful power made all the pirates shudder. They are not idiots, naturally they know very well how destructive these shells are. The power of an explosion in the sea is so powerful. If it exploded on a ship, then it got it? I'm afraid that if I take a shot, the whole battleship will be shattered.

After all, pirates are pirates, and the largest warship equipped with a displacement of only about five hundred tons. Ships with a displacement of more than 600 tons are reluctant to be used by pirates in their navies. Even if these pirates are actually variants of the navy.

A 500-ton warship can hold out for a while in the face of solid or shotgun. However, in the face of destructive blasting shells, it is more dangerous. If it is really hit by a blasting shell, it is estimated that the consequences will be very serious.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a pirate warship erupted in flames.

But it was a shell from the White Navy that accurately hit its deck.

There is no doubt that this wooden battleship, with a displacement of only about four hundred tons, could not withstand a heavy hit from 75-mm howitzers. The cannonball exploded on the deck, blasting a huge gap in the deck and nearly breaking the pirate warship in two. The cabin below was also a mess, a large number of sailors died, and the entire cabin collapsed.

Although the pirate warship has not yet sunk and continues to float on the sea, there is no doubt that it has completely lost its combat effectiveness. The only thing the pirates could do now was to desperately evacuate the battlefield and get out of the range of the White Navy's artillery fire. As for whether it will sink or not, it depends on the ship's damage management capacity.

"Damn it!" Esco couldn't help but curse.

Why is the power of the shells of the white-clothed army and navy so great? It's also a battleship with a displacement of 400 tons, how can it be hit by a shell and become like this? If it's a solid bullet or a shotgun, even if you get hit by a few hundred rounds, it's no problem!

"Boom!"

Before Esko could react, there was another loud bang. He hurriedly turned his head to look, but it was another pirate warship that had been hit and suffered great damage. The pirate warship's masts were blown off, and the sails fell and plunged deep into the water, dragging the ship badly tilted. The sailors on the pirate ship, realizing that the situation was not right, hurriedly jumped into the water to escape. For a time, the entire sea was a mess.

"Purr!"

Suddenly, another cannonball landed heavily in the fleeing sailors, and a dull loud bang erupted. The cannonballs exploded in the sea, stirring up a huge column of water, and the surface of the sea was violently stirred, as if some devil was about to appear underneath.

After a while, the sea gradually calmed down. However, the sailors in the sea water have been shaken to death. Their corpses floated on the surface of the sea, drifting with the current, accompanied by a large amount of debris, and slowly drifted farther to the surface of the sea.

Due to the pouring of blood, the sea surface in the area of the battle was dyed dark red. The sea water that had been stirred up by the shells to the deck was also dark red, and it smelled of blood. No one knows how much blood the pirates have poured into the sea. Again, no one knows how much blood the pirates will continue to pour into the sea.

The initiative on the battlefield is completely in the hands of the white-coat army and navy. If the pirate fleet continues to fight, they will have to continue to bleed until all their blood is gone.

"Retreat!"

Esko gave a decisive order.

If he continues like this, he will follow in Solum's footsteps.

The artillery power of the white-clothed navy is indeed too powerful, and he has no way to resist at all. Keep fighting, and his losses will be even greater. Even, it is entirely possible that the whole army will be wiped out. If the pirate fleet is gone, he, the leader of the "pirates", is estimated to be sad in the future. If you don't get it right, you have to go to a military court.

These damn white-clad navy still seem to be a bit evil, and until he can figure out their details, Esco decides not to take any more risks. Anyway, the sky fell, and there was a tall man on top of it. The white-clothed army and navy, let the high-level people have a headache!

(To be continued)