Chapter 1469: Unexpected Naval Battle
"We have discovered a strange fleet. They are not our Great Zhou warships!"
"They're coming closer!"
"Wait a minute, the other side is trying to surround us directly!"
The other party's intention was quickly realized, and there was a commotion on the Da Zhou Clippers' side.
"Turn around! Turn around and retreat!"
The size of the opposing fleet was clear. With one large ship and four small ones, it was not something that their speedboat could handle.
After confirming the situation, the captain signaled to turn around quickly and sent out a signal for help! Hearing the noise, the pterosaur riders who were patrolling the nearby sea area flew over quickly. After noticing the strange fleet that suddenly appeared, how could they not know what happened here? Without saying a word, they immediately flew to request support from the rear! With the pterosaur riders delivering the message, the response speed on the Da Zhou side was still very fast. Even Bai Tu, who was meditating in the beach camp at the time, confirmed the situation at the first time.
After clearing out the piranhas in the surrounding waters, their movements did become more convenient, but at the same time, they obviously also encountered some troubles.
If the piranhas were still there, they would not need to take any action as the piranhas would go and greet them first.
However, in this kind of thing, there are always gains and losses. It is useless to think about it now.
When Bai Tu received the news, he immediately thought of the ship that the tribesmen had mentioned before.
"You really can't have any luck."
The fact that the power behind the ship came to confirm was completely within their expectations. There was nothing much to say about it. However, in order to improve the efficiency of the exploration, Bai Tu ordered every speedboat in the fleet to act separately.
This directly led to a shortage of pterosaur riders accompanying the army, resulting in the current situation.
"Pass on my order. Do not engage in conflict with the enemy yet. Wait until the fleet is assembled and then adopt a counterattack strategy!"
Fortunately, they discovered it in time. According to the speed of their speedboat, it would not be easy for the other party to catch up with them in a short time if they were determined to run away.
After confirming Bai Tu's order, the pterosaur rider hurriedly flew over to pass on the message.
During this time, Bai Tu also quickly walked out of the camp and boarded the warship that was still docked at the pier.
The ships within their Great Zhou fleet are divided into three types: large warships, small speedboats, and transport ships used to transport supplies.
No one knows how long it will take them to return on this expedition, so these three types of ships are naturally equipped.
Boarding their large warship, Bai Tu set off at the fastest speed.
At the same time, the Clippers, who were discovered, had no intention of confronting the other side at all. Almost at the moment they confirmed that the other side wanted to outflank them, they immediately turned around and started running without stopping.
With a distance already between the two sides, it was not an easy task for the Clippers to catch up with them.
During the brief chase, the other party apparently realized this.
The next second, small boats were quickly dropped onto the sea on both sides of the opponent's speedboat.
This small boat can be called a landing ship or a lifeboat. In the naval battles of this era, it can also be used by the fighters of one's own side to quickly approach the enemy's large ships and launch an offensive.
In short, it has a wide variety of functions and an unexpectedly high cost-performance ratio, and they have also equipped quite a few of them on their ships of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Depending on the exact size, a boat can usually seat five to ten people.
The one opposite can obviously seat ten people.
The naval soldiers on the opposite side moved skillfully, five on each side. After everyone was in position, they worked in perfect harmony and paddled hard.
Then we saw the small boats quickly breaking through the waves and catching up from behind at an astonishing speed.
For a moment, it felt like a dragon boat race! Compared to the large warships in the fleet, the clipper itself was positioned as a small, flexible and swift warship.
But the ship that was chasing them from behind was smaller and lighter.
These ships had almost eliminated everything that could be eliminated, reducing their weight to the minimum! All this was just to allow them to approach the target at the fastest speed! Even the speedboats would pale in comparison to these small boats! Facing this scene, the deck was in chaos.
"What the hell!"
At this moment, the Great Zhou Navy's lack of naval combat experience was fully exposed.
In fact, it was not because of the lack of naval combat experience, but because they had no naval combat experience at all! Almost 80% of the navy soldiers in the Great Zhou Navy had basically zero naval combat experience.
For the remaining 20% or so, their naval combat experience is limited to the capture of volcanic islands in the early years.
Although they had conducted many training exercises on a daily basis, the soldiers on the ship suddenly became flustered when faced with this unexpected naval battle and an opponent who obviously had more relevant experience than them.
"Musketeers! Quick! Get ready to shoot!!"
Amid the roar, the musketeers on board the ship quickly took action on the deck.
The best way right now is to kill those guys with muskets before the small boats on the opposite side catch up with them!
However, the tense situation, coupled with the bumpy environment, caused them to be in a state of panic.
The more panicked and confused you are, the easier it is to make mistakes. It's simply a vicious cycle.
During this process, the enemy soldiers who were rowing rapidly approaching should have noticed their actions and probably guessed what they were going to do.
The next second, large shields wrapped in iron sheets were directly on top of their heads! The musketeers standing on the deck of the clipper were much higher than the soldiers on the small boats.
These enemy soldiers now put their iron shields on their heads, blocking the possibility of long-range troops attacking them directly. In addition, the helmets on their heads provide double protection, greatly improving safety! This shows that they are experienced and shrewd, but the Great Zhou Clippers obviously cannot just let the other side approach them.
"Aim at the small boat in front and fire!"
Fortunately, the officers on the ship still kept a cool head and knew to let the musketeers focus their fire on one ship first to increase the hit rate.
At the command, the musketeers pulled the trigger one after another.
In an instant, accompanied by a series of gunshots, screams soon rang out, and the small boat that was under concentrated fire lost control.
The opponent's defensive measures are basically arranged against individual crossbows and bows and arrows. Within the effective range of the musket, it is just a large shield covered with iron sheets, which cannot stop the musket's projectiles!
After penetrating the large iron shield, even if it failed to successfully penetrate the opponent's helmet, the impact force generated by the bullet alone was probably enough to cause the opponent to suffer a heavy loss.
If it didn't hit the helmet but hit somewhere else, the result would be even more obvious...
The value of the musket was demonstrated at this moment. Even among a group of people who had no experience in naval warfare and were somewhat flustered, it still demonstrated remarkable suppressive power!
(End of this chapter)
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