Chongzhen Wiretapping System

Chapter 972
"His Royal Highness told me that it would be too troublesome to destroy each one, and it would consume more money and food. Therefore, what the commander of the Ming Navy meant was to wait for the fleets of European countries to assemble and deliver them to the door. It would be the most trouble-free to do it in one pot!"

Hearing this, everyone was dumbfounded, and the bar fell silent.

They never expected that the commander of the Ming Fleet would be so ignorant of the fleets of European countries?Or did the commander of the Ming Fleet underestimate the European countries and think that they would not gather so many warships?
After a while, when he came back to his senses, Ludkinoff asked a little worriedly: "At that time, did you estimate that their warships would have more than 1000, while ours only had about [-] warships?"

After hearing this, Raff scratched his head and replied: "I also asked, Her Royal Highness Princess Catherine said that the Ming Fleet left on purpose, and opened up contact with the Ottoman Ming Army by the way. Only the number of warships left in Lisbon is small. The fleet will come to your door by itself!"

"..." Everyone in the bar was speechless after hearing this.From these words, it can be clearly felt that the Ming Fleet is full of self-confidence.Could it be that 1000 or so warships can really defeat more than [-] sailing warships?

After being silent for a while, Ludkinoff still asked Rafe with some doubts, "Do you think this is reliable?"

After hearing this, Raff thought for a while and then nodded, "I think...it's still reliable."

Speaking of this, he paused and then added an explanation: "Don't look at the commander of the Ming Dynasty Fleet who has all white beard and hair, and is just an old man. Speaking of which, his name is also very scary."

"Very powerful?" Luther King was very cooperative and asked quickly.

Raff nodded and said: "The commander of the Ming Fleet was born as a pirate. He stood out among the many pirates along the coast of Daming and became the most powerful one. Then he was recruited by the court and became an official army. Convinced. On the seas of the Far East, the kind that only respects me..."

This kind of thing is very clear to the Portuguese.Because they were originally the same as other European countries, and many were sent out to be pirates and colonize.Therefore, he immediately had an intuitive impression of the commander of the Ming Fleet.

"...Then he was ordered to go north again, and wiped out the opponent's fleet in the suppression of the Liaodong rebellion. He was also in the war against the Wa Kingdom, and wiped out the entire Japanese fleet." When Raf introduced himself, his face showed reverence It means, "During Ming's expedition to America, he also defeated the Spanish fleet and scared away the pirates from all over the world."

Hearing this, everyone in the bar was shocked.They didn't expect that the old man, who looked more like a businessman and harmless to humans and animals, would have such a majestic experience!
Since such a fleet commander says he can defeat the fleets of various European countries, he must have that strength!
In their hearts, they immediately had confidence in the Ming army.Unexpectedly, this is not over yet, and I heard Laf add another sentence: "The commander of the Ming Fleet in the Persian Gulf is the son of this fleet commander."

"Hiss..." These people in the bar couldn't help but gasped after hearing this.Because they know that the Ming Fleet on the Persian Gulf also has two to three thousand ships.That is enough to show that the fleet commander over there must also be very powerful.Unexpectedly, it turned out to be Lisbon, the son of the commander of the Ming Fleet!

Great, really great!
After hearing this, everyone has confidence in the Ming Fleet.Before they had time to come back to their senses and discuss it, a person rushed into the bar and shouted loudly: "Some ships in the Ming Fleet are changing, go and see them!"

After speaking, the man hurried out again.

When Raff heard this, he said excitedly, "It must be the steam ironclad battleship unloading its camouflage and ready to fight. Go and see it!"

After he finished speaking, he didn't look like a fat man at all, and ran out of the bar immediately.

Unlike other Europeans, at least people like Raff can accurately call Daming's new warship a steam iron-clad warship, instead of calling it an iron-clad smoking warship like European countries.

For this new type of warship, the Lisbon people have been admiring the name for a long time, but they have never seen it.There is also martial law at the port, let alone close observation.Now that the war is imminent, those warships have removed their camouflage, of course they are curious, and want to take a look at the first time.

As a result, the drinkers in the bar ran away once again.However, unlike the last time, this time no wine glass suffered.

At this time, there were already many people outside the cordon at the port.Luther King easily caught up with Raff, and stood at the cordon looking at the port.

At this time, many warships removed one of the masts, and then installed a large chimney.Obviously, these battleships were the steam ironclad battleships they wanted to see very much.What left them speechless was that these iron-clad warships were all painted. Looking at them from a distance, they couldn't find that the original hull was iron-clad.

"Hehe, the Ming army is really cunning!" Seeing this, Ludkinfu couldn't help but said with a smile, "But I like it!"

The purpose of camouflage is to deceive the enemy, and the enemy of the Ming Fleet is their enemy. Being able to deceive the enemy is of course the happiest Portuguese.

They watched from the sidelines for a while, and when the Ming army finally finished refitting the steam iron-clad warships, they counted and there were 23 ships. They couldn't help being very excited.

Raff, who knew a little more, couldn't help praising: "You don't know, when the Ming Fleet defeated the Spanish Fleet in the Americas and scared away the pirate coalition forces, there were only three steam ironclad warships! Three! Now There are actually 23 ships, hehe, there is a good show to watch.”

"Should this kind of steam-armored battleship be more difficult to build than a sail battleship? Only a few years have passed, and we have 23 fleets coming to Lisbon." When Luther King said this, he couldn't help but sigh, "Tsk tsk, Ming Dynasty The strength is really too strong!”

One thing they don't know yet is that the Daming Shipyard has optimized it after the first actual battle of the steam ironclad battleship.Not only the tonnage of the battleship was heavier, but also the caliber of the cannons on the battleship was larger, and the number was also increased.After experiments, if the hull of the sailing warship is concentrated by the shells of the iron-clad warship, it will seriously weaken the power of the sailing warship to fight again.

In addition, all the sailors on the Ming Fleet were equipped with flintlock three-eyed guns, even four-eyed and five-eyed guns, although they could not shoot continuously like the machine guns of later generations.But at least it can be fired several times in a row without any problem.If there is a gang-jumping battle, then the advantage of the Ming army is absolutely nothing to say.

At this time, the Ming army removed the camouflage of the steam ironclad battleship, which means that the battle will soon begin.The Portuguese in Lisbon also began to prepare.They all want to contribute their own strength in the battle to defend Lisbon.After all, no one wants Lisbon to fall again and be ruled by others.

........................

Three days later, the combined fleet of European countries finally appeared in the sea off the port of Lisbon.When they saw that the Ming fleet had been parked at the port, and there were no obstacles as far as their eyes could see, and there were only about [-] ships, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are these Ming people deaf or are the Portuguese blind? They didn't even ask about the size of our fleet? Don't call their fleet back quickly, and don't run away. Are you stupid and bold?"

"Whether they are stupid or not, this time we will wipe out the Ming fleet at the port of Lisbon, reoccupy Lisbon, and let the Portuguese girls taste our power again!"

"..."

The relaxed atmosphere immediately spread among the combined fleets of European countries.However, as Robert and others who had personally visited the American naval battle, they were a little worried.

They did not believe that the Ming army commander was a fool. The one who could lead the fleet to Europe was definitely a trustworthy general of the Ming emperor.

Thinking about it this way, they came to two conclusions: first, the [-] or so Ming fleets seen so far are sure to win the war; second, it is possible that this is a tactic to lure the enemy. He is probably hiding somewhere, and when the war breaks out here, reinforcements will come quickly!
Thinking this way, they met with the fleet commanders of various countries to explain their guesses.

In this regard, the fleet commanders of various countries agreed that it is basically impossible for the 1000 or so warships in front of them to win the combined fleet of more than [-] ships.The most likely thing is that the Ming Kingdom's main fleet is hiding somewhere, and will come to reinforce it as soon as the battle here starts.

For this reason, after they discussed it, they felt that the best strategy for this battle was to make a quick decision.Even if it is the enemy's trick to lure the enemy, the bait must be eaten first.

Therefore, based on this idea, the fleets of various countries quickly adjusted their offensive formations, blocked the open waters of Lisbon port, and launched an attack on the Ming fleet at the port, plus a small number of Portuguese warships.

The Portuguese on the shore were helpless against the naval battle, they could only hold their weapons and stare nervously at the upcoming naval battle.

Even Catherine was no exception. From the window of his father's palace that could see the harbor, he nervously watched the war at sea.Although she knew the strength of the Ming fleet, it was her first time to witness such a large-scale naval battle.

Zheng Zhilong was not by her side, but on the flagship. When he saw the densely packed enemy warships rushing towards him, he couldn't help but sneered, and then issued an order to fight.

Following his order, the Ming Fleet, which had already set up its battle formation, changed again, showing its fangs.

(End of this chapter)