Rise of the Empire Total War

Can we win?

Looking at the Ansmara Republic Navy, which has more than 80 warships more than its own, a sailor on a Hawker gunboat in the First Fleet couldn't help asking questions.

He did not participate in the sea battle that broke out in the South Osa Sea seven years ago, and he did not witness how the First Fleet defeated the Acarnanian Alliance Navy majestically, so he would have such doubts.

None of the sailors on the same battleship as him participated in the war that could be recorded in history, because they were recruits who joined the First Fleet after the war, and this was also the first battle they encountered since joining the army.

We must win, because we are the undefeated first fleet. A voice sounded from behind the sailor.

The sailor subconsciously turned his head to look, and it turned out to be the captain of the battleship. He quickly stood at attention and saluted the officer.

Hello, sir.

Hmm. The captain nodded slightly. He looked at the Ansmara Navy approaching the fleet. There was no fear in his eyes. On the contrary, his pupils were full of fighting spirit.

And at this moment, the flagships of the First Fleet began to wave colored flags. To outsiders, these colored flags were just waving randomly, but in the eyes of professional flag bearers and captains of the ships, the meaning contained in them was instantaneous. I understand. All of a sudden, the roaring orders of the captains of each ship sounded one after another in the fleet, and the sailors on the deck also started to move, standing in their respective combat positions.

Load the cannon!

Check your weapons!

...

For a time, the artillery on each Hawker gunship was stuffed with gunpowder and solid ammunition by the sailors in the fastest time, compacted with a cleaning rod, and finally pushed into the gun position. The cannons on the two heavy towers at the bow and stern all They were directed towards the direction of the enemy's attack, and the gun windows outside the cabin were also opened, and the black holes of the gun ports were exposed to the sight of the Ansmara people.

They didn't know what it was, but the warrior's intuition still made them worry about these black muzzles.

In addition to reloading the artillery, the armed sailors and line infantry on each warship also loaded the fusiliers in their hands. They stood neatly on the side of the ship, ready to go.

At the same time, on the flagship of the First Fleet, Duke Trond Olsen, the army commander of the expeditionary force, was still thinking about chatting with Sigurd,

He looked relaxed, not worried about the fact that the enemy army had more than 80 warships more than his own.

Sir Sigurd, do you think the warships of the Ansmara can withstand our artillery shells?

Master Duke Olsen, I don't think that in this world, there is no country whose warships can defend against artillery bombardment. Sigurd took a puff of tobacco and said to Olson while exhaling white air.

This kind of dry tobacco is common in the navy. The boredom of sailing in the sea is irresistible to everyone. In order to improve the treatment of sailors, Richard can only make the tobacco traded from Zane mainland into cigarettes and the like. , issued to every sailor on the voyage, so that they can divert their attention during the boring voyage.

Olsen smelled the smoke coming towards him, frowned slightly, he took a step back calmly, avoiding the smoke flying towards him, and joked: Then can I just sit and watch a great game? The birth of victory?

If you wish, Your Excellency the Duke. Sigurd shrugged and said, and then he took another big puff of the cigarette before putting away the bong. Feeling the stimulation of the tobacco on his body organs, he slowly He spit out a few smoke rings, squinted his eyes, and looked into the distance, as if he was estimating something. After a while, he said: The enemy is about to enter the range and is ready to shoot.

The flag bearer standing behind him holding a colorful flag heard the words, turned around and ran to the side of the ship, waved the flag in his hand, and conveyed the commander's order to other warships, because the sea was windy and the gap between the ships It is also large, so it is obviously unrealistic to convey orders by roaring or shouting, so they can only rely on the standard bearer to convey the message.

After the flag bearer waved the flag, other warships responded quickly. For a while, the flag bearer on each warship waved the flag, and the captain who received the order also gradually conveyed the combat order in an orderly manner.

finally.

The enemy ship has entered the range of the artillery! Five hundred yards, prepare for the artillery attack!

Ignite, launch!

Boom boom boom——

Almost in an instant, a dazzling light burst out of the cabins of one hundred Hawker gunships with a long snake array, accompanied by a loud noise like thunder on the ground. At the moment when the fire burst out, the entire ship The battleship seemed to be pushed aside by a pair of invisible hands!

whoosh whoosh—

Countless black cannonballs flew out of the muzzle in the flames and smoke generated by the flames, and moved at high speed on the open sea. Before all the Ansmara people could react, the deadly cannonballs slammed into the dense warships, hitting Piercing the hull of the oar warship, smashing the sky full of sawdust.

Under the bombardment of the artillery, the decks of several Ansmara warships were hit like a raging storm. The giant ballistas and trebuchets set up on the decks were all returned to their original state by the shells. The crowd was forcibly plowed out a bloody path, and the entire deck was full of blood. The poles of some warships were broken in the middle, and they hit the deck heavily from a high place. Those sailors who were unable to dodge were directly crushed to death by the heavy wooden poles, and the hull was also damaged as a result, making an unpleasant sound of shattering. issued below deck.

After the first round of bombardment, several warships of the Ansmara Navy were sunk, and one after another horrifying holes appeared on the solid warships, and a large amount of seawater poured in along the holes, increasing the weight of the warships , thus gradually pulling it into the bottom of the sea, the sailors on the warship screamed and jumped off the warship and fell into the cold sea water. They were lucky because they would soon be rescued by the follow-up friendly troops, but Those slaves who were chained to paddle in the cabin were not so lucky. They could only watch in despair as more and more sea water poured into the cabin, and the water level was getting higher and higher. Finally, they were drowned alive in it. The ship sank together.

After they die, their bodies will be eaten by fish or other plankton living in the sea, and the remaining pile of bones may also be the new home of crabs and other small creatures.

No one would care about them, because they were just slaves as humble as ants since they were taken away from the tribe by the captured slave team.

...

After the bombardment, the sailors on the Hawker bombardment quickly cleaned up the gunpowder residue remaining in the gun barrel, and then reloaded the cannon in an orderly manner. During the time they were loading the cannon, the Ansmara Navy also escaped from the chaotic state after the bombardment. They separated some of the warships to salvage the sailors who fell into the water, and then speeded up and drove towards the warships of the First Fleet.