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Text Chapter 59 The Devil (Part 1)

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    After Li Siming issued the battle order, a large rocket was immediately shot into the sky. It exploded in the night sky, emitting bright emerald green fireworks and dyeing the thick clouds green.  Only the flagships of the Ming Army carry a few rockets of this color, and they will be launched when the Ming Army begins a general attack. Now that the flagships have joined the battle, it is time to launch them.

    At the same time as the rocket took off, several soldiers at the bow and stern of the ship simultaneously turned on the searchlight switch. Following several loud bangs, several beams of light suddenly cut through the dark night sky and shot straight from the Ming army's hull.  Came out.  Although the mirrors of these lights all faced the outside of the ship, Deng Ming, standing behind the lights, still felt as if his eyes were blurred.  The sudden appearance of light made Deng Ming's eyes suddenly narrow, and he subconsciously raised his arms to cover his face.  It seemed that after a long time, Deng Ming felt a little accustomed to the brightness in front of him.

    Behind each searchlight is a rubber-insulated cable.  Deng Ming tried his best to import things like rubber. Stimulated by China's continuous purchases, the Spanish governor in South America also mobilized more people to search for them, but he was never able to meet Deng Ming's needs.  Deng Ming plans to use rubber to make boots, tires, seals, gloves, and waterproof equipment. However, the import volume is now pitifully small and can only be used in electricity-related aspects. Even the insulators needed for wires are not enough.

    Deng Ming knew that the Spaniards were trying to plant rubber in the Philippines, but it would probably take more than ten years before it could grow on a large scale. During this period, Deng Ming still needed the Spanish governor of South America to provide rubber raw materials for the Ming army.

    "After we occupy the Philippines, we must immediately cease war with Spain. I hope they can quickly realize the fact that they cannot compete with us in Southeast Asia." Now the battle has begun, and the officers and soldiers of the entire battleship and even the entire fleet are  Forgetting other things, he concentrated on the war. Only Deng Ming was still thinking about the post-war issues - the Spanish fleet was right in front of him, Manila was not occupied, and the capture of the entire Philippines would be a long time later, but  Deng Ming could not care less about how this war would end.  If you don't have a plan for how to end a war, you shouldn't start it.  Deng Ming had been planning the war against Spain for several years. Every general of the expeditionary force was told that the war against Spain must end as soon as possible after capturing the Philippines, so any unnecessary violence must be avoided¡ª¡ª  Spanish prisoners of war should be treated as kindly as possible to avoid arousing unnecessary hatred. Even if they win, they should not show arrogance that would humiliate the defeated side, let alone try to demand any compensation.  On the contrary, as long as the Spaniards are willing to recognize the facts and cede the Philippines to China, then China should even consider giving some compensation - it can be compensation that will be paid gradually over hundreds of years, or it can be some preferential terms in maritime trade, or Spain  National treatment of merchant ships in some Chinese ports.

    ¡­¡­

    Opposite the Ming army¡¯s flagship, General Mario had also rushed out of his bedroom at this time.  Although his hair has turned gray, his many years of military career still give him a body as flexible as a young man.  After hearing the battle alarm ringing, Mario jumped up from the bed, put on his military uniform, and ran quickly to the door.

    Although it was extremely dark in the cabin, Mario would never foolishly light a candle. Instead, relying on his extreme familiarity with his battleship, he ran towards the bridge on the deck in the dark.

    In a night battle, both sides will fire rockets constantly, but the light is probably only enough for observers to catch a glimpse of nearby enemy and friendly ships, making it easier for the helmsman to control the direction.  For most of the combatants located next to the artillery, the fleeting light of fireworks was of little help to them. Most of them could not see anything. The few crew members who were able to catch a glimpse of the enemy ship had difficulty identifying ourselves and the enemy.  Even if it is determined, it cannot be positioned in such a short time, and it is even more difficult to judge the opponent's speed and direction.  During the night battle, the enemy ships seemed to teleport. When the previous fireworks lit up, they seemed to be stationary in a certain place, but when the next fireworks lit up, there was nothing in that place, and the enemy ships seemed to have suddenly moved to another place.  position.

    At this time, the captain needs to make judgments and predictions based on this flash, and guess whether the enemy ship will move in a zigzag with experience or move in a straight line stupidly.  If it is a zigzag, the captain has to guess how big the enemy ship's corner is; coupled with some intuition about the enemy's intentions, this constitutes a guess about the enemy ship's route.  According to the captain's speculation, the gunners on the gun deck will conduct blind fire in an attempt to hit the enemy ship.  However, the chance of hitting is not high. Even the most experienced captain is likely to misguess the enemy captain's intentions; and being hit is most likely due to bad luck, even the most experienced night combat captain  The captain may also be confused by a rookie opponent and be fooled into his next position.

    But whether it's a good call or a lucky hit, the blow usually doesn't lead to serious consequences.Life is even more difficult to be as continuous as during the day.  Because during the bombardment, the warship that fired also exposed its position, so the next second after the bombardment, the warship would often maneuver at a large angle to avoid the firepower of enemy ships hidden in the surrounding darkness¡ª¡ª  Throughout the night battle, the captain and observers would be highly nervous. They would quickly identify (guess) the enemy and ourselves based on the fireworks and the fire from surrounding gun muzzles, assess the threat posed by numerous targets to the ship, and direct counterattacks and avoidance - especially today.  This kind of night encounter will cause chaos on the battlefield due to the lack of unified command.

    Mario's responsibility is to allow the surrounding friendly ships to recognize him while ensuring the safety of the flagship, and under the same premise, to bring other ships in the fleet into control and command as much as possible, and to judge the size of the enemy force.  and combat intentions, and conduct appropriate countermeasures.

    Just as Mario was holding on to the railing and rushing towards his bridge station in the dark, there was suddenly a bright light around him. In the blink of an eye, General Mario felt that his eyes were filled with white, and his head seemed to be spinning suddenly.

    When General Mario covered his eyes with his hands and stumbled into the guardrail beside him, the whistling sound of artillery shells rang in his ears.  After the Ming army turned on the searchlights, one of them quickly searched for the Spanish battleship's bridge and the position of the helmsman. When it finally settled on the key position of the helmsman, the intense bright light made the Spanish helmsman lose his mind.  His usual calmness - when he let go of the hand that should be firmly on the steering wheel to block the bright light, several shells were fired in the direction indicated by the searchlight.

    Another searchlight dangled between the observation basket on the mast and the bridge. Captain Leonardo, as well as the second officer and several officers on duty, rushed to the post before General Julio.  They were shaken so hard that they couldn't open their eyes and couldn't issue any orders.  A burst of artillery shells came over, and an officer on duty was hit by flying sawdust and fell out with a scream.  A moment later, there was another explosion. The second officer and several other officers fell on the deck holding their wounds and groaned loudly. Although Captain Leonardo was lucky not to be seriously injured, he was also shocked by the continuous explosions.  He rolled down the bridge, and even now his eyes are still dim and he can't see anything.

    There was also a searchlight beam patrolling the side gun deck of the Spanish battleship. The gunners inside also acted panicked when they first encountered the strong light. Almost everyone gathered on the gun deck forgot about the battle.  Staring blankly at those bright lights.  Every time a beam of light shot into the cabin from the gun window, it would cause loud exclamations from the surrounding Spaniards.

    The Ming army's shelling was non-stop. Whether it was General Mario who was hiding next to the stairs and felt that his eyes had adjusted a little, Captain Leonardo on the deck, or the senior gunners in the cabin, they should have  It was easy to tell that the ones shooting at them were eighteen-pound and twelve-pound eagle cannons. The number sounded like there should be about ten, and the location was quite close.  But now no one among them has the mind to distinguish the sound of gunfire in their ears, and their minds are full of guessing what the sudden bright light is about.

    "We are enveloped by lightning?" General Mario was completely confused.

    "Sea monster, this must be a sea monster, right?" Captain Leonardo screamed in horror.  Although he had never seen one with his own eyes, stories of various sea monsters had been spread among sailors over the years.  So far, no one dares to admit that he is a witness to sea monsters. That is because very few people can escape from various evil sea monsters.

    "Maria, is this the gate of hell opened?" A gunner in the cabin completely forgot to urge the soldiers to fight, but sweating profusely took out the statue of the Virgin hanging around his neck, muttering to himself  With.

    There were several Spanish warships behind the Spanish flagship. There were no Chinese warships that were too close, nor were they immediately fixed by Chinese searchlights.  However, the captains and officers on these battleships who hurried to their posts did not issue any orders, and their artillerymen failed to prepare for battle in an orderly manner. Instead, they looked toward the east blankly with the officers.

    To the east, from the direction of the Ming fleet, a huge kite was being lifted high into the sky by the Ming army.  This kite was specially made by the Ming army, with a grinning devil painted on it.  A warship was specially responsible for this kite. This ship was unarmed, but it was equipped with a lot of searchlights. After seeing the green rocket, the ship released the balloon, dragged the kite higher and fully expanded it, and then used the searchlights to automatically  Illuminate this grimace from bottom to top.

    There are two searchlights installed on the devil's eyes. As the balloon is blown by the wind, the light beams emitted from the devil's eyes sweep across the sea.

    The quality of the Ming army's searchlights was not very good. Although it had only been turned on for a short period of time, several lights had malfunctioned. Although the two lights hanging on the big kite had been carefully inspected, they were swinging violently.  One of them looks likeThere is a problem of poor contact.  The lights flickered, on and off.

    However, in the eyes of the Spaniards, this one-eyed devil looks even more weird and terrifying. One of its eyes shines brightly, while the other eye flickers. Whenever the blind eye suddenly shines, it may be that another poor soul has fallen.  into the devil's grasp.

    "Jesus Christ, save us." Many officers and soldiers kissed the cross wildly, knelt on the deck and prayed desperately.
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