"There are about 400 enemy ships, and you can't see clearly the ones behind them. One thing that is certain is that this is the main force of the Awaji Navy." Yasuki Itami quickly estimated the number of enemies with a telescope, and at the same time looked at the formation behind him, "Now
It was daytime, and we were following the current. The current of the Seto Inland Sea poured into the Naruto Strait from the Kii Channel. The Awaji naval forces were arrayed against the current, making it difficult to turn, which was our big advantage. Moreover, they obviously only needed to block the
The Naruto Strait can prevent us from bypassing and blocking the Akashi Strait... Why did they really go to the open sea to fight us in a decisive battle? In a decisive battle, how can they defeat our strong ships and cannons? "
"How could Anzhai Dongyasu make such a mistake?" Itami Yasukyo looked at Anzhai Dongyasu's horse mark in confusion, "It's really..."
"Perhaps he wanted to concentrate his forces and didn't want to fight us in the sight of Iwaya Castle, so he simply hid in the south of Awaji Island." Koyama Masama put forward a reasonable explanation, and Itami Yasukiyo nodded in embarrassment.
.
"No matter what, the battleships and cruisers formed a long snake formation, passed southeast of the enemy fleet, and bombarded them with broadsides. The remaining destroyers were on standby behind the formation, and after the firing ended, they charged into the formation with their bow guns!" Itami!
Kang Qing used the current to complete the formation, "Start the attack!"
Under the instructions of Itami Yasukiyo, the Momiji Fleet approached the huge Awaji Navy formation from the side in a long snake formation just like in the previous naval battle. As the distance got closer, one by one the side gun windows were opened, and one by one
A jet-black muzzle was pushed out of the gun window and pointed in the direction of the Awaji navy. After entering the firing range, Yasuki Itami's flag waved twice, and the broadsides of the three battleships fired one after another like a roll call.
The muzzle flash flashed, and a violent roar came along with the recoil. The sailor pulling the cable tried his best to prevent the cannon from flying out, and the ship's hull shook violently. One cannon fired one after another, and the gunner on the ship
He and the sailors worked hard in the turbulence, throwing cannonballs at the Awaji navy.
At such a long distance, the Awaji Navy had no way to fight back and could only silently endure the baptism of shells. The dark projectiles hit the Awaji Navy's ships. Most of the shells failed to hit, and only caused a huge explosion beside the ship.
In the waves, many small boats struggled to control their balance, and would be overturned if they were not careful. The few projectiles that happened to hit the boats would immediately cause a violent collision. The projectiles that hit the hull would give the boat a violent collision.
The impact caused the people on top to be bruised and bruised. Some of the projectiles hit the deck directly, and you could immediately see broken arms and bodies and blood spattering.
When the cruiser also entered the attack range, the artillery fire of the Hongye fleet became more fierce. A string of shells flew towards the Awaji Navy fleet, beating the surrounding ships to pieces. From time to time, the deck houses of the ships collapsed.
, the masts were broken, and many small boats were even directly sunk. The small morning boats of the Awaji Navy rushed frantically through the fleet, rescuing those who fell into the water and those who were transferred.
"It's strange." Itami Yasukichi has been standing on the bridge. The battle situation is good at this moment, but he is a little puzzled. "Why do the Awaji naval forces just stand there and get beaten and don't fight back? Why don't they rush over to shorten the distance?
It’s easy to fight back!”
"Maybe it's because the current is going against the current. I feel like I'm getting beaten if I rush over." Xiaoshan Masazhen explained tentatively.
"I don't know..." Yasuki Itami frowned. The battle situation was different from what he had imagined. He originally wanted to rely on artillery fire to force the Awaji Navy to rush out, then break up the Awaji Navy's formation, and finally let his own side
The destroyers charged into battle.
"If they don't fight back, we can kill them all if we fight slowly like this." Koyama Masama sneered disdainfully and looked at the formation of the Awaji navy with mockery.
"It's impossible. We don't have enough ammunition to kill all the more than 800 ships, and we don't have time... We need to quickly deal with the Awaji navy and get back to Iwaya Port. The front line on the road to Harima is still in a hurry." Itami Yasuki sighed.
He took a breath and shook his head as if he was admitting defeat, "If this cannon gets bigger and bigger, future naval battles...maybe really can be solved by using a direct bombardment test. But these artillery pieces we have now don't engage in gang jumping and gunfights at close range.
It will never be defeated. Since the formation of the Awaji Navy is not in chaos, we will not bombard here. Your Highness Anzai, you are powerful, but even if we charge at close range, the Momiji Fleet will not lose to you."
"Command the whole army to charge into the formation. The Awaji navy clearly wants to be beaten to delay time. We can't afford to waste time." Following the order from Yasuki Itami, the horse seal waved again. The battleships and cruisers of the Momiji Fleet saw it.
After the flag signal, they all stopped bombarding and slowly began to turn, rushing towards the formation of the Awaji Navy. In the distance, the destroyers of the Hongye Fleet also rushed towards the Awaji Navy at full power. Along the way, the Red Leaf Fleet's destroyers rushed towards the Awaji Navy.
More than 80 bow guns of the Awaji Navy were constantly bombarding the ships of the Awaji Navy, and once again beat up the ships on the periphery of the Awaji Navy. However, the formation remained undisturbed at all.
"Is this... anchoring down?" Yasuki Itami was really confused by the scene in front of him, "If the anchor is not dropped, how can it be motionless?"
It wasn't until the Momiji Fleet rushed into the formation of the Awaji Navy that Yasuki Itami realized that he had guessed correctly. The ships on the outer edge of the Awaji Navy had basically anchored and were fighting in place, while many ships in the inner circle also fell off the ship.
anchor.
"Is this really a naval battle?" Yasuki Itami looked at the anchored ships with some disbelief. "The most important thing in a naval battle is maneuverability. The boats of the Awaji Navy were also more agile than us in a chaotic battle... but they all actually disembarked."
Anchor, if you give up your mobility, isn't it equivalent to cutting off an arm?"
Yasuki Itami was right when he said that the large number of anchored Awaji Marines were no match for the Momiji Fleet, and they were unable to fight back under the attack of the Momiji Fleet. The iron cannons and artillery of the Momiji Fleet poured out firepower wantonly, and those of the Awaji Navy were unable to fight back.
The sailors on the anchor ship were unable to fight back at all. They lay down and hid on the side of the ship with their heads in their hands, unable to form any resistance. Those ships that could still move were retreating steadily, and the horse prints surrounding Anzhai Fuyayasu were heading towards Naruto in the west.
Escape across the strait.
"Did they lose their courage in the last battle? They didn't even dare to accept the challenge? Are they afraid that we will break up the formation and they will be anchored?" Koyama Masama, who had been very pessimistic before, now laughed easily, "This Awaji
The navy is nothing more than that, and Anzhai Dongkang is nothing more than a false name."
"Don't underestimate the enemy. Fuyoshi Anzai has been traversing the Seto Inland Sea for many years, how can he be a person who deceives the world and steals his reputation? The Mishima navy of the Mori family, which was all-powerful at that time, was in the hands of the Awaji navy. They will never be so weak." However,
Itami Yasukoshi was much more cautious than Koyama Masama. He stared at Anzhai Fuyang's horse seal, fearing that he would give any orders.
"Chase, chase Anzai Toyasu's horse print. If his flagship is sunk, it will be impossible for the Awaji Navy to come back." Itami Yasukichi once again ordered the flagship to pursue the escaped Anzai Fuyasu. However, Anzai
Dong Kang turned around and ran away at this moment, also following the current. In this chaotic battlefield, the big ships of Hongye Fleet could not catch up for a while.
"Tell them not to worry about the ships that have anchored and are waiting to die! Those ships have lost all morale, what do you care about them? Pursue the enemies who are still resisting! Pursue Fuyayasu Anzai!" Itami glanced behind him and found a large number of red leaves.
The ships of the fleet all bombarded the ships that were anchored in place, but the sailors of those ships had already all lied down or hid in the cabins, giving up resistance, so the Hongye Fleet's attack was meaningless.
Under the strict order of Itami Yasukiyo, the Momiji Fleet gathered its troops, shuttled and divided on the battlefield, and chased Anzai Fuyayasu. Every time the Momiji Fleet was about to catch up, the Awaji Navy would separate part of the fleet and come back.
After the break, the actions of the Momiji Fleet were blocked. It dragged on for a long time, and it was already noon. The Momiji Fleet still failed to catch up with the main force of Anzhai Fuyayasu, allowing them to successfully escape the Naruto Strait. In the narrow area of ​​the Naruto Strait,
The Awaji naval forces continued to resist, and suffered increasingly heavy losses under the gunfire of the Momiji Fleet.
"Follow us. We originally wanted to go through the Naruto Strait and then go north, around to the west of Awaji Island!" Itami Yasukichi glanced at the more than two hundred ships behind him that had anchored and showed no intention of fighting.
Looking at the retreating Awaji Navy in front of him, he shouted excitedly: "The Awaji Navy will be wiped out today! There may be hundreds of well-organized Awaji Marines in the north of the Naruto Strait! Kill them too.
If it does, we will win!”
"Hey! Hey! Roar!" The officers and soldiers of the Hongye Fleet also roared in response to their commander. Everyone thought that the decisive battle with the Awaji Navy would be a big battle, but they did not expect that the situation would progress so easily. The ship
The huge gap between ships can never be made up by numbers. In front of the Western-style warships of the Hongye Fleet, the Japanese "coffin ships" were defeated with almost no resistance. The Hongye Fleet did not even lose a single ship.
.It's not like fighting, it's more like conquering.
"Be careful later!" Even though victory was already in hand, Itami Yasukichi still did not relax his vigilance. He repeatedly used flags to tell the entire army to be careful, "We will pass through the narrowest part of the Naruto Strait later, and the formation will become very thin. The sea
The Awaji Navy on the opposite side is likely to be in a formation, so don't be careless! Keep an eye out on the coasts on both sides of the Naruto Strait to see if there are any fortress guns! If there are guns, retreat and reorganize immediately!"
"Yes, sir!" Xiaoshan Masazhen agreed, but his face was full of indifference, and he muttered in a low voice, "Their ship can't do anything to our ship, there is nothing to be afraid of!"
"Never underestimate your opponent!" Yasuki Itami glared at Masama Koyama with dissatisfaction, "Don't underestimate your opponent."
"Then my lord, what else can the Awaji Navy do?" Koyama Masazhen asked puzzledly.
"Fire attack." Yasuki Itami took a deep breath and gave the answer he was most worried about. He raised his head and looked at the sun that had gradually moved to the west, and then looked at the sea water under the boat, feeling ominous in his heart.
A premonition. "Every time they cause us big trouble, they rely on fire attacks."
"Now we are going with the wind and the current, and they are going against the wind and the current. How can we attack with fire? Doesn't this attack with fire burn us? Even if they attack with fire, the worst we can do is to retreat outside. They can't catch up." Xiaoshan Changzhen took the photo.
He patted his chest and expressed the thoughts of countless Hongye Fleet officers and soldiers at this moment, "Sir, there is no need to worry too much."
Chapter completed!