The sky was gloomy and there was no light from the moon and stars. It was a dark night.
Ye Na flapped her wings and flew out, quickly turning into a small bright spot in the night sky. Zhou Qingfeng stood in the turret of a Longsong Cannon and looked out from the observation window. His Sky Eye had always been a sharp weapon to spy on secrets, but it was not very useful in Goa. "It's probably because it's too far from the Central Plains and lacks a cultural and population base. Or perhaps these white pigs are good at hiding their heads and showing their tails. "
Without the support of Power of Will, no matter how strong an individual was, its strength was limited. The only thing Zhou Qingfeng could rely on was the army and equipment that he had spent a lot of effort to develop. At the moment, he was personally commanding a heavy artillery, and the telescope in his hand had been following the figure of Ye Na, searching for his target.
Compared to the small probing boat that was shot to death last night, the armed merchant ship of hundreds of tons was much larger and more dangerous. Even the Sky Eye couldn't see it, and the illumination rockets probably couldn't either, so Zhou Qingfeng let Ye Na go out to take a closer look. If they got close and entered a state of artillery battle, it would be a huge threat to the stronghold standing by the river.
The high wall of the stronghold was one meter thick and strengthened by magic. But it was still worrying to face the bombardment. Zhou Qingfeng originally thought that the Portuguese would attack from the land first, so he let Wen Ruolan first pull up the second stone wall on the east side of the stronghold, and fill the middle with earth to increase the thickness of the high wall to three meters. This way, the ability to resist heavy artillery bombardment was much greater.
But no one expected He Zhuo's tentative surprise attack to win an overwhelming victory, which also made the Portuguese much more cautious. They did not continue to attack from the land, but from the water first.
"I just destroyed one of their ships last night, and they still dare to come." The high wall on the north side of the stronghold where Zhou Qingfeng was located had not had time to be strengthened. Limited by the ability of the workers to dig earth, the wall was still only one meter thick, and continuous heavy artillery bombardment could collapse it.
The field of view in the telescope was too small, and Zhou Qingfeng soon lost sight of Ye Na. Just as he put down his hand and stared, he suddenly saw a flash of light on the surface of the river about two kilometers away. A huge cross appeared.
"This bunch of white pigs. I knew they wanted to sneak up and ambush us." Zhou Qingfeng's mental link quickly connected to the commanders of the three heavy cannons in the stronghold. Since it was a hexagonal redoubt, any point within the firing range of the stronghold could be targeted by the three cannons. "Take aim at that broken cross. No, aim below the cross. Fill it with solid oval-shaped bullets. "
Two kilometers away, Father Merlot of the Goa Religious Court of Inquiry was holding his staff and chanting the name of Jehovah. He joined hands with a few Judgement Priests, clenched their teeth, and rose into the sky. They were about to kill Ye Na, who was flying towards them. This female warrior with a powerful Holy Power was an unforgivable heretic. She was even more hateful than a heretic!
"The Lord said to deprive you of the glory of the past." Father Merlot's staff emitted light. He wanted to eliminate his opponent's ability. However, Ye Na who was flying in the sky slashed down with her sword. Not only did she split the opponent's light of judgment, but she also took the opportunity to fly up and drop a ball of fire.
That was a fireball, and it could also emit a huge light.
Father Merlot naturally would not allow this thing to fall on the deck of his ship. He waved casually, and a force field exploded the fireball in the air. But with this strong light, the shadow that originally covered and protected the ship quickly dispersed, and the huge hull was exposed.
"About 2,200 meters away." The commander in the turret estimated the distance by using the strong light to see the terrain of the river. The principle of the optical rangefinder was simple, but the requirement of the lens and craftsmanship was too high. The Revolutionary Army had never been able to do it.
2,200 meters was beyond the effective range of the Longsong Cannon. The accuracy of firing rashly would be very poor. Zhou Qingfeng in the turret calmed down and only faintly shouted behind him, "Jia Gang, you go and keep an eye on those two ships. Be careful."
There seemed to be no one behind Zhou Qingfeng, but a clear "Yes" came out. Then a gust of cold wind left the turret. Zhou Qingfeng ordered again, "Let the hot air balloon on the watchtower land. The fire on the basket is acting as a lighthouse to the enemy."
Just after Ye Na was expelled, the shadow of the divine spell once again covered the two armed merchant ships. Father Merlot at the bow of the ship stared at the Devil's Eye that was slowly descending and gradually extinguishing not far away. He was also very distressed. The enemy was not ignorant Eastern natives, but more shrewd than Europeans. Now that both sides were in darkness, no one was in a good situation.
The two ships were still moving slowly with the current, but the captain ran over and complained, "The dark environment is very dangerous for us. This is the estuary of the river, and the river is only a few hundred meters long. Our ship has a deep draft, and it's easy to run aground. "
It would be a big problem if a cannon weighing a few tons fell halfway. If a ship of hundreds of tons ran aground, it would be even more serious. But Father Merlot was not willing to give up. He turned back and said, "I know you can measure the depth of the water and avoid running aground. It's nothing more than slowing down the ship. We are already very close to the artillery range of 1,500 meters. We can't give up so easily. "
"That's the maximum range of the ship's cannon. The effective range is much shorter."
"For a target like the Longsong Stronghold, the maximum range is enough."
If not for being forced by the governor, the captain of the merchant ship would not be willing to use his precious ship to participate in the battle. But now that the priest of the Inquisition had given the order, he had no choice but to bite the bullet.
The ship was moving forward silently. Father Merlot stared ahead from the bow of the ship. Although he could not see anything, he knew that he was getting closer and closer to the devil's nest. He was about to order the priest of judgment beside him to fly out to determine the location of the enemy's stronghold, such as going ashore to light a fire or something, but when he turned back …
There was a pool of green glowing water outside the bow of the ship. The glowing water was very dim and could not be seen without looking carefully. It was especially difficult to see on the hull of the ship that was a lot higher than the water. But the glowing water kept following, like gangrene attached to the bone.
"This must be the means of the devil." Father Merlot was just about to raise his staff to expel the abnormality when he saw three bright spots shining at the same time more than a thousand meters away. A few seconds later, the thunderous sound of cannons accompanied by the whistling impact of cannonballs came. Three cannonballs hit the side of the hull. Two entered the water and were lost, but one hit the bottom of the bow.
With a bang, Father Merlot felt a violent vibration under his feet. The wooden bow of the ship cracked, and he could no longer stand firm. He had to let his body float. He turned his head to look at the hull under his feet. There was a big crack under the bow. Even the sturdy hull made of Goa teak could not withstand this explosive blow.
"Return fire!" The captain was still responsible. After being injured, he immediately commanded the ship and returned fire. Although it was only an armed merchant ship and not a specialized warship, there were still more than a dozen heavy cannons on the side of the ship. In this day and age, a merchant ship without cannons was no different from streaking naked, waiting to be robbed.
Based on the light from the cannons in the direction of the Stronghold, the two armed merchant ships immediately returned fire. When the three Longsong Cannons hit them, a total of twelve large caliber heavy cannons on the side immediately took aim and fired. Both sides were within the range of their respective cannons. Now it was a contest of who could shoot more accurately and throw more bullets.
"Don't worry, boys." A captain raised his command knife and loudly boosted the morale of the sailors on the deck. "We have a total of twelve cannons, but the opponent only has three. We are much better than them.
You are all the best cannoneers. You can definitely fire the best salvo at the fastest speed. Come on, let me see your strength. After the battle, I'll treat you to a tavern to drink rum all night, sleep with the most beautiful women, and have a good time. "
Sailors these days were very crude, but the long life at sea had given them good discipline. The captain's words carried great authority, encouraging all the sailors to work hard.
On the side of the Stronghold, the cannons were quickly reloading after the bombardment. The 200-millimeter heavy cannons of the Stronghold naturally had a slower firing rate. They could only fire three times in two minutes, and the continuous firing rate would be reduced to two times in three minutes.
Using the instructions given by Jia Gang, Zhou Qingfeng fired first. But when the enemy's counterattack lit up, he knew that he had made a slight error in judgment. The enemy's ship was 20 meters to the right of the green water. Considering that the enemy's ship was still moving forward, he ordered the cannons to move two slots to the right.
Before the second salvo was ready, the enemy's counterattack came. More than a dozen cannons lit up one after another on the surface of the water, and the whistling shells came head-on in the darkness. Although they could not see, everyone's scalp went numb. They all knew the existence of these deadly things. Since the establishment of the Imperial Guard's artillery, it was the first time that they had fired against the enemy's artillery.
A few seconds later, the wall of the Stronghold was bombarded by twelve heavy cannons. The reinforced wall one meter behind the wall shook violently. Some of the cannons bounced off the bottom of the wall, while others with a higher trajectory directly hit the battlement. Some even jumped over the wall and shot into the interior of the Stronghold, destroying many buildings.
Zhou Qingfeng did not link the military formation to build a city defense to defend. Because for the power of the heavy cannons, the Will in the Stronghold was too weak. It was better to let the Stronghold itself bear the brunt.
"Continue." Zhou Qingfeng stood at the observation port of the turret and turned to the slightly hesitant cannoneers. "Don't worry about me. Just sink the enemy's ship."
After the bombardment began, Father Merlot on the armed merchant ship was very worried. The navy would not easily fight against the Stronghold Cannons because the disadvantage was too obvious. He landed on the deck of the ship again and felt a little relieved when he heard the captain's loud encouragement. He also quickly prayed for the sailors to calm their hearts and improve their strength and reaction, trying to make the cannons battle go more smoothly.
But less than a minute later, when the sailors on the merchant ship were still struggling to reset the cannons, there was another burst of fire on the opposite Stronghold. A few seconds later, shells and cannons followed. This time, the bombardment was more accurate. All three Stronghold Cannons were aimed at a merchant ship. Boom! Three shots were fired, and two of the cannons hit the hull and directly into the cabin.
"Damn it, how can these Oriental cannons fire so fast?" Father Merlot had just cast a divine spell when he felt a huge tremor under his feet again. He could even imagine how terrible the situation in the cabin was. There must be a lot of broken wood shavings and a lot of bloody casualties.
Compared to the speed of the firing, the captain was more surprised by how the opponent was so accurate.
This was the f * cking night. If this continued, a 600-ton merchant ship would not last long. The captain immediately changed his tactics and shouted, "Stop firing. Let's change positions. Father Merlot, clear the monsters in the water that are watching us. "
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
