Chapter 2726: What French writers have seen and heard

The reconnaissance ships kept reporting information, and the commanders of the Nanhua Navy were both surprised and delighted when they heard that the French fleet was making a big attack, and there were actually eight first-class battleships.

After discussion, twelve first-class battleships were dispatched immediately, and with other battleships, the number reached 102.

Just as the French wise men like Leonard, Colbert, and Lou Foy worried, the strength of the South China Empire is actually at its peak. Build battleships, and build more.

Compared with France, the Nanhua Empire has more people, more money, more technology, and has formed a large-scale construction industrial system, and its strength is greater than that of France.

Louis XIV borrowed at high interest rates from bankers from various countries, and the annual interest paid made his financial officials feel like a big headache.

The finance of the Nanhua Empire is quite developed. When the national debt was issued, it was instantly sold out, and those who could not buy it were disappointed and cursed. Even foreign countries had a lot of money to support them. Although they had to pay it back, the Nanhua Empire could still afford it. be fast.

No matter how hard it is, it can’t be as hard as the king. Louis XIV lived a luxurious life. He had dozens or even hundreds of dishes for a meal. Huge, the money he gave to women can build several battleships. During his reign, French luxury flourished, and the French spent a lot of money on enjoyment.

In contrast, Yan Changwu was busy fighting, and his clothes were military uniforms, while his women focused on investing, lived a simple life style, and packed meals when they couldn't finish them.

The reason why I didn't use more battleships before was because I had confidence in myself, and I was afraid to scare the snake. Now that the French are so kind, how can I not satisfy them after waiting!

The Nanhua Fleet is out, and the organization is divided into three squadrons, the forward, the central and the rear, as before. The generals are still the same as before, Sires Ma and Zhao Tianjing are the forward commander and lieutenant respectively, while Yan Donglai and Shi Daxuan are the central commanders respectively. Army commander and deputy general, Admiral Cheng Yu and Xiao Changrong were the rearguard commander and deputy general respectively.

On November 27, 1671, the two fleets met in the waters off the Newport area in the middle of the south coast of England, and a great battle immediately broke out.

The sea area where they fought was not far from the coast, so the locals gathered on the beach to watch the battle, thus enjoying a visual feast.

At about 8 o'clock that day, the French fleet was in the upwind direction, riding on the wind and rushing towards the Nanhua Fleet with swift force, and launched a battle line!

At 9 o'clock, the Nanhua Fleet failed to seize the windward direction (the battleship battle in the sail period is not something you can grab any wind direction you want!) and was forced to fight in the downwind direction.

Such a fighting situation made the Chinese very surprised: "The French bring the seeds!"

At about ten o'clock, with the gunfire of the French fleet "Justice", the prelude to the Newport naval battle kicked off.

Regarding the battle scenes at that time, the French writer De Nasser Billy on the first-class battleship "Henry" (this guy is a royal literati, in order to please King Louis XIV, took the initiative to apply for boarding the ship to facilitate the description of French loyal soldiers. Acts) wrote in a later work: "The enemy has been firing on our fleet with such ferocity, especially on the 'Black Warrior' (Sihesma) of that traitor to God, the Pagan Emperor of the East. Powerful, when his ship opened fire on our ship ("Henry"), I only felt that my ship was going to be knocked down!"

The writer also continued to write "...the enemy's three-deck battleships 'Taiyuan' and 'Hangzhou' loaded with 90 cannons have been attacking the 'France' in front of our ship (a first-class battleship, the flagship of the French rearguard, With 80 guns), the 'France' was almost suppressed by the opponent, and there were few guns returned, which is worrying... The strength of the two sides in this battle is too far apart, but it is another tug of war."

Yes, De Nasser Billy wrote about the battle scenes and feelings at that time, but military historians have different opinions. After careful statistics, they found that the average gun speed of the French fleet was 2.5 rounds per minute, and the average gun speed of the Nanhua fleet was 2.5 rounds per minute. The speed is 1 round per minute. On this basis, the gunners on Xihesima's ship "Thor" also reduced the firing speed by 10%.

The gunners on the "Thunder" can be described as elites in the army, and their shooting speed can even keep pace with the most elite gunners selected from the entire army on the imperial ship!

Don't underestimate the 10% speed. After a battle is won, it is an overwhelming advantage.

Even if De Nasser Billy wanted to please the king and highlight the abilities of the French soldiers, he had to admit that the pagans were superior.

The extremely strong firepower of the Nanhua Fleet quickly caused great damage to the French fleet. The French rearguard flagship "France" was almost "fragmented" during the battle. And fly, the state is extremely miserable.

This is exactly what the veteran gunners of the downwind fleet do - shave the enemy!

The crew on the ship suffered countless casualties. The captain Horadrim and the squadron commander Earl Ernie were both injured. Without leaving his beloved battleship, he was transferred to the first-class battleship "Henry" to continue commanding operations.

However, under the counterattack of the French battleship headed by the "Royal Duke", they also dealt a certain degree of blow to the Nanhua Fleet~www.wuxiaspot.com~The tail ship of the squadron led by Xihesma "Southeast Asia 187" The port side of the HMS "was pitted" by 42-pound shells, and in some places there were large holes that allowed people to jump into the sea. 56 crew members including the captain were killed and more than 90 people were injured; while Xihesma's The ship "Thor" has become the target of public criticism. Even if the French are injured, they have to grit their teeth and try their best to sink the "Thor"!

With their unremitting efforts, the front topmast and bow girder of the "Thunder" were broken, and many potholes were also made on the hull. The front near the waterline was cracked by heavy artillery shells, and the seawater continued to The ground poured in, Captain Huang Guangming's left arm was broken, and many people were injured.

Because the damage control unit on the "Thor" was quite good, the cracks were blocked, and although the broken spar was not repaired, the "Thor" continued to cut through the waves.

The resistance of the French was still very fierce, as described by the writer De Nasser Billy, "...the soldiers have a strong will to fight, even the scarred 'France' still fired, and the crew shouted from time to time. Die for God, fight for kings slogan..."

Seeing that the "France" was still struggling to resist, and did not lose the glory of France at all, the morale of the other French battleships was boosted. They took advantage of the advantage and beat the Nanhua battleship hard, which brought a turning point! 2084/10141757