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Volume 5: Young Master Fang¡¯s Age of Discovery 364 Battle of Xiakou

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    The entrance to the North Sea from the English Channel is not wide. The island of England is to the northwest and the European continent is to the southeast.  Island countries have always had a tradition of advocating the navy, except of course the Philippines and Indonesia.

    Clifford¡¯s Army chose to set up its maritime defense line at this narrow intersection instead of London or Amsterdam.

    This is likely to be the last battle in this world. Although Fang Xian is very confident in Gruhart's command, he has also put on the long-lost battle cloak at this time.

    "The enemy this time is much smarter." Gruhart ordered the fleet to keep the longest distance. "Admiral, the enemy has four fleets, defending in an arc on the other side of the strait."

    "There is a sense of luring you into a urn." Fang Xian asked, "In my memory, the British Navy only has three fleets. Where did the fourth one come from?"

    Gruhart shrugged: "According to the intelligence, I'm afraid the admiral of the Fourth Fleet is that general."

    "Well, Barudis would actually defect to Clifford But this is also expected. Even if he escapes back to the country, there will be no navy for him to command."

    "Yes, England is his only choice." Gruhart paused, and then asked for instructions, "Admiral, this war is inevitable, but I think now is not the best period for our army to fight."

    "oh?"

    "Since Baroudis is over there, he must have disclosed all the information about our army to Clifford, which means that they now know the range of our army's artillery. Even so, they still chose a static formation to prepare for the artillery attack. I think they  There must be something to rely on.¡±

    "Don't think about it, it's obvious." Fang Xian shook his head.  "They occupied Amsterdam and the shipyard I built with gold. Whether it's a battleship or a cannon, they have it."

    "Yes, Admiral, let's prepare for the worst Assume that they are all equipped with the most advanced continuous-fire cannons." Gruhart summarized the information, "The enemy has four fleets. If you look at it from this distance, there are two of them.  Pure battleship fleet, one led by Clifford and one led by Baroudis. The other two are the old British navy. And we also have four fleets, including two ironclad fleets, one battleship fleet. One large Spanish galleon  Fleet. I don¡¯t think there is any advantage in an artillery battle between the two sides, not to mention that the other side is the most elite British navy in history.¡±

    "If war is just an arithmetic problem, what else do you and I need to do?" Fang Xian said with a smile.

    "Admiral In this terrain, if we rush across the strait, we will fall into a trap. There are 4 artillery batteries and thousands of cannons waiting for us over there. This is simply"

    "suicide?"

    "Yes, commit suicide." Gruhart said earnestly, "We have allies all over the world. Your grand strategic plan has always been like this. I don't understand why you choose to fight alone. Our best plan is  Gather all your allies here and use your numerical superiority to build a path to victory."

    "Gruhart is an ally with them, but at the same time he is a weak ally. The Indian Ocean pirates will wave the white flag without thinking when they see the pirates. Woodin has no interest in leaving Iraq, that thing in Africa, I bet that he  Not a single cannon was fired, and Hayreddin vowed not to set foot outside the Mediterranean. As for those guys in the New World, God knows who they will fire at if there is a fight The only people I have hope for are the Dutch. Their capital has fallen."

    Fang Xian said, grabbing Gruhart's shoulders: "Now, regardless of strategy, only tactics, the current situation, use our existing troops to rush through the damn strait, kill our last enemy, you are done  I fulfill my promise.¡±

    Gruhart sighed. This time Fang Xian¡¯s tone was firm, and he gave up the possibility of trying to persuade.

    "Well, Admiral, I hope our ironclad is strong enough."

    On the other side of the strait, Clifford was also not sure of victory.

    He was almost forced to start the war. Even a fool could see that after the Fang Navy pacified the Mediterranean, they would definitely come to gnaw on the North Sea, which is the last piece of meat in the world's seas.

    At this time, he could no longer sit still and wait for death. He chose to use blitzkrieg to kill his neighbors and occupy both ends of the English Channel entrance to meet this invasion in the safest way.

    He himself did not expect that Amsterdam gave him two great gifts - a general whose commander's ability was comparable to his own and an incredible shipyard.

    Baroudis told him every detail of the battle he had experienced. The former Spanish naval commander emphasized the range of the opponent's artillery shells several times.

    Clifford is as arrogant as Baroudis, but seeing this opponent¡¯s tone can reach this point.?, he no longer hesitated, spent all his military expenditures to build two battle fleets, and armed all the ships with continuous cannons.

    The two agreed that the notches in London and Amsterdam were not conducive to fortification, so they positioned the defense line in the English Channel. This time the situation was reversed. Fang Xian would face an enemy who was waiting for work, and a fleet that was not inferior to his own firepower.

    Under the muzzle of thousands of cannons, the Fang Navy actually chose to charge.

    The two armored fleets advanced at full speed, recklessly rushing through the range cordon like torpedoes, without hesitation.

    Clifford gave an order, and thousands of artillery pieces that had been on standby for a long time fired at the same time. The formation was no less than any previous battle of the Fang Navy.

    Almost every armored ship was hit by several or even dozens of bullets in a moment.

    Although the ironclads were said to be "unsinkable," two of them were still sunk in the first round of shelling.

    While Clifford¡¯s army was reloading, the remaining eight ironclad ships separated instantly after crossing the strait and moved at full speed in eight different directions.

    Clifford¡¯s army was well prepared. The 20 ships had been divided into areas and soon launched a second round of covering bombardment.

    This time the shells were more dispersed, and the speed of the ironclads obviously exceeded Clifford's expectation. After crossing the strait, they became difficult to catch. No one was silent under the second round of shelling, and they were only slightly damaged.

    At the same time, the two sailing fleets also arrived at the estuary, spread out their formations, and began to counterattack.

    Clifford quickly changed his order, temporarily gave up the attack on the ironclads, and aimed all his guns at the enemy's sailing fleet.

    After all, compared with the powerful firepower, wooden sailing ships are too fragile. If you are obsessed with ironclads, you may be sunk before the ironclads get close.

    Therefore, both sides temporarily ignored the existence of the armored ships and began a devastating bombardment.

    After three rounds, only two remaining battleships of the Fang family navy were on fire and fled. The ships that had been painstakingly built all sank into the sea, or were burned for the final time.  Of course, Clifford's army also paid the price of eight battleships for this, eight battleships, not anything else. The only remaining battleships on the battlefield were the flagship where Barudis and Clifford were.

    The two of them realized at the same time that this suicidal bombardment seemed to be just to annihilate their own battleships, but the large sailing ship was not damaged at all.  It makes sense. The firepower of a battleship is more than twice that of an ordinary sailing ship, but its durability is only a little more than that of an ordinary battleship.

    When Clifford's army aimed at the ironclads again, they found that they were already close in front of them.

    Four of the eight ironclads bit the flagships of Clifford and Baroudis respectively, and the remaining four rushed towards the enemy closest to them.

    Faced with such a terrifying firepower network, the armored fleet still managed to get a chance to fight hand-to-hand.

    Of course, Clifford has made the most correct choice. If he keeps biting the armored ship and bombarding it, he will definitely be the first to lose.

    12 versus 8.

    The two ironclad ships attacked from the front and back, hitting Clifford's flagship in the center. All two iron plates hooked the battleship, and tons of sailors charged towards the ship.

    While loading the musket, Clifford's flagship was instantly destroyed in the counterattack, and a large number of sailors rushed onto the deck.

    A shirtless figure was among them, and the serrated sword that symbolized identity was slashing all the way.

    "It's him!!" Clifford said in surprise, "As the admiral of the fleet, he is not on the ship being bombarded from a distance, but on the assault ironclad, this madman!"

    Fang Xian personally led a group of sailors and drowned the British troops on the deck like a flood.

    Soon, Clifford was the only one left on the deck.

    Fang Xian wiped his hands and walked towards this enemy he had never met before but was an unprecedentedly powerful enemy.

    "I'll give you a chance to fight." He smiled.

    Clifford looked at the famous sword and instinctively told him not to use his fancy swordsmanship to fight him.

    "I will not lose." Clifford encouraged him to calm down.

    Fang Xian smiled and said, "Oh? The dignified naval commander of the British army said such childish words?"

    "It's not our duel, but this battle." Clifford said firmly, "You have already lost."

    He no longer hesitated and pulled out a "musket" from his arms.

    Just when everyone was about to rush forward, they saw him holding up his musket and firing it into the sky. Colorful fireworks soon resounded in the air.

    Fang Xian squinted his eyes, sighed, and then shouted to everyone: "Jump into the sea!!"

    SailorsWithout any hesitation, they all jumped onto the railing and jumped into the sea.

    "What? You?!" Clifford was shocked, "Aren't you going to capture me?"

    "The dead are not prisoners." Fang Xian stopped talking nonsense and jumped into the sea with the brothel sailors.

    Clifford was stunned on the spot, how could his desperate tactic be cracked so easily?

    That was a firm order. After the whole army saw the signal flare, they started bombarding freely without any consideration.  In other words, if an armored ship bites a certain battleship, the surrounding ships can sink everything in that range without considering their own life and death.

    Clifford cast the flare resolutely in order to sacrifice himself. By then, the two armored ships and the terrible man attached to him would be buried in the sea together with him.

    About 15 seconds later, countless shells hit Clifford's flagship.

    After the chaotic bombardment, the three ships sank together. Clifford did not choose to jump into the sea in the end, but coexisted with his warships in the flames forever.

    11 versus 6.  .  .  )

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