Above the vast ocean, thick smoke from burning steam engines floated in the air. A few seagulls that were originally circling in the air seemed to smell a different smell and they scattered.
The two fleets are now only a thousand meters apart. Through telescopes, they can even clearly see the people moving on each other's warships.
Zuo Mu lowered his telescope and said to the messenger, "Order all ships to prepare for the final time. If the enemy ships enter our firing range within 300 meters... attack freely!"
As this order is passed down, it means that the war is about to begin, and it also means that the Daxia Navy will be truly tested and baptized by war.
Zuo Mu stood tall, his long hair fluttering in the sea breeze, and his bright silver armor gleamed in the sunlight.
Fang Chaoyang, Chief of Staff of the First Navy Army, also put down his binoculars. He glanced at Zuo Mu, who looked serious, and suddenly brought up a topic that had nothing to do with the battle:
"Lao Zuo, after this battle, no, after I go to Frankie and come back, I want to take a good vacation."
"What? A little bored?"
Fang Chaoyang shook his head. "Riding the sea and fighting in battles has always been our childhood dream. I just thought... I've been in the First Marine Corps for two years now, training day and night without missing a single subject, yet I've neglected my wife and children at home."
Zuo Mu was still gazing at the sea and was silent for a moment. "I promise you, I'll give you two months' leave. And you can help me take care of our small fishing village and my family."
"Lao Zuo, I think that after Frankie comes back, there won't be any more wars on the sea. How about we go back together?"
Zuo Mu grinned, "You probably don't know this, but this is only Daxia's first sea route. His Majesty said the world is round, and there are different routes from all four corners of the ocean, and along these different routes, there are also different countries."
"Your Majesty is in the prime of his life. I'm afraid that in the years to come, the Great Xia Navy will not only explore these routes, but also conquer the world!"
Fang Chaoyang was shocked. "So this war still has to be fought?"
"Of course, it's not just our navy, even the army...if Your Majesty is willing, there will be a fight. After all, the world seems to be getting bigger and bigger."
Zuo Mu took a deep breath and said, "Don't overthink it. As a soldier, you should be loyal to your country. Let's fight this battle with honor first, and then follow His Majesty on the expedition to see the world."
"Yeah!" Fang Chaoyang nodded firmly, raised the telescope again, and looked at the enemy ships on the opposite side that were becoming clearer and clearer.
On the flagship of the Franky Expeditionary Fleet, Paul was also looking at the Daxia fleet.
He could already see the battle flag on the flagship of the Great Xia warship. The flag fluttered in the sea breeze, with a clear eagle and sword flag on it.
He also grinned. The expeditionary fleet had a hundred warships, while the opposing fleet had only eighteen!
Of course, he now discovered that the enemy's warships were larger than his own, which meant that the enemy could be equipped with more naval guns, but so what?
After destroying this enemy ship, the expeditionary fleet will be able to land in the Kingdom of Ryukyu, and then set out again to conquer the legendary Eastern Divine Kingdom.
The Queen's scepter will be planted on the territory of the Eastern Divine Kingdom, and Frankie's flag will fly everywhere in the Eastern Divine Kingdom!
"Order, all warships, keep one hundred and fifty meters away from the enemy ships and attack freely!"
"I'll give you one hour. After one hour, I'll destroy all the enemy ships at the bottom of the sea!"
…
…
On the Beixiao, Tang Kaiyuan, commander of the First Division of the Navy's First Fleet, frowned as he stared intently at the six enemy ships coming towards him.
"Five hundred meters from the enemy ship, command, steer hard left, aim at the first enemy ship in front with the second right rigging, and the second enemy ship with the first right rigging. Bastards, I want you to destroy both enemy warships in your first attack!"
"Prepare the front and rear bow turrets, just like in training. When the battleship turns, suppress it with fire!"
As Tang Kaiyuan's voice echoed through the microphone in every cabin of the Beixiao, all the soldiers entered a tense combat state at that moment.
Twenty cannons extended from each of the two combat cabins, and the dark barrels emitted a sinister light in the sunlight.
"Five hundred meters, full left... Four hundred meters... locked on target... Three hundred meters... fire!"
All the tactical actions of the eighteen warships were completed in unison. At the moment Zuo Mu waved the command flag, the rumbling sound of cannons rang out.
Boll's hand holding the telescope trembled violently at this moment, and his pupils suddenly shrank. Three hundred meters away! This was the maximum range of our warships, and the enemy actually opened fire!
Are they firing blindly or do their guns reach further?
Soon he knew the answer -
“Boom…Boom…Boom…”
The dense explosions tore the tranquility of the vast ocean.
The first round of salvos from the eighteen warships fired a total of seven hundred and twenty shells, of which at least five hundred hit the target. In the huge water column, the thirty-six warships of the Franky expeditionary fleet were engulfed in flames. Boll took a breath of cold air, and before he could even exhale, he saw that all his thirty-six warships had sunk!
What's going on?
He swallowed hard and hurriedly gave the order, "Shoot! Shoot at the longest range!"
The remaining sixty-four warships seemed to be panicked at this time. They never expected that the enemy warships could hit accurately at such a long distance.
This is the time when the enemy ship turns and adjusts its hull, and it is also a good time to attack.
At this moment, the sixty-four warships were also spewing out artillery fire, and the deafening roar sounded. Thousands of shells poured down on the First Fleet.
"boom……!"
The Mozhou was hit, and a shell landed on the deck of the Mozhou. The blast knocked over dozens of artillerymen standing on the turret, but failed to penetrate the thick armor of the Mozhou.
"Fill in the gaps, send twenty men to the front bridge turret!"
Captain Chen Zhongshan of the Mozhou shouted, "Aim the rear bridge turret and fire!"
"All gunners at Zuoxian, prepare... Just like before, the enemy is like tofu. Three salvos like this will wipe them out."
All the officers and soldiers of the First Fleet of Daxia were excited after the first round of salvos - this was no different from training. The enemy seemed to be numerous, but it was just a bluff.
The fighting spirit was high at this moment. Although six of the eighteen warships were hit by bullets, and two of them were hit by four shells, their sturdy hulls withstood the attacks of the enemy's artillery and they still had strong combat effectiveness.
Boll put down the telescope, feeling extremely shocked - what the hell, not a single ship was sunk!
Moreover, the enemy ships still maintained powerful firepower when they turned. In such a short period of time, six ships of the expeditionary fleet were sunk!
This battle...can't be fought!
We have to run away quickly!
He ran quickly towards Archduke Philip's cabin.
At this moment, the Archduke Philip’s cabin is full of spring—“I just like the feeling of continuous gunfire…”
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