The speed of the fleet was very fast, and Dubres was dumbfounded. Within a few days, it arrived in the Maldives, which is now a French colony!

However, the French actions in Madagascar were all under British surveillance, and such a large Truchen fleet suddenly got involved with the French, which had already alarmed the governor of Clive, who had returned to Bengal.

By the time the fleet arrived in the Maldives, Clive had already asked his subordinate Lawrence to take Bombay, and the two Bangladeshi fleets had been waiting here for a long time.

At this time, the French only had two armed merchant ships here, so they were naturally defeated by the British and fled before the war, but the Truchin fleet did not encounter them.

However, the closer he got to the Indian mainland, the more cautious Deng Quan became, not to mention the fact that he had to cross the densely networked Maldives Islands?

Since one Saiyin had been left at Wangbu Port, when approaching Sri Lanka, Deng Quan asked the Batulu-1 ship to replace the Saiyin-2 ship at the front to explore the way.

The so-called Maldives Islands are actually a narrow sea area roughly surrounded by two rows of islands and reefs, and Malei is in the middle of the row of reefs on the east!

Batulu-1 drilled into the narrow strait on the front, while Saiyin-2 was cruising in the outer sea to the east.

This was the usual practice when the French fleet entered here before, and the Batulu-1 got in without any hesitation!

Zhuang Jiyun, formerly known as Zhuang Jiyun, is the son of Zhuang Zhihe, deputy minister of finance of the Truqin Kingdom. When he was fifteen years old, he followed his father to Urumqi to escort grain and grass for the Qing army.

After arriving in Trucin, he immediately went to Elista School to study. After five years, he entered the Lagan Naval School because of his excellent performance. Of course, according to his father's idea, he entered the Elista Military and Political School to study government affairs.

That's the best.

But Kitard saw that he was born with a strong body and a flexible mind. Besides Su Wenyu and Shen Muhua, the second generation Han people who moved to Truqin only had a few generals, so he decided to let him enter the naval academy.

The semesters of the Naval School are longer than those of the Military and Political School in Elista, but they only last for two years. After entering the Naval School, Zhuang Jiyun quickly graduated with honors and was assigned to the Yeisk Squadron. From sailor to

Observer, the captain of the Clippers has been the captain of the Batuulu.

Of course, maybe from then on Kitard had the idea of ​​sending him to the far east.

As soon as he entered the Maldives atoll, Zhuang Jiyun felt something strange.

According to Dubres' introduction, most of the islands and reefs are inhabited by people, but now through the telescope, only some thatched houses can be seen, and no people are seen moving around.

You know, this is not a real archipelago, but an atoll composed of more than a dozen reef groups!

Since it was an atoll, the view would be unobstructed. He immediately ordered the backup steam engine that had been started to be switched to the main power unit.

Black smoke suddenly came out from the other chimney on the Batulu-1, and the ship's speed quickly increased to sixty miles!

The narrow sea area composed of atolls is not long, and Batulu-1 soon completed the entire journey!

During this period of time, the lookout on Zhuang Jiyun's ship had observed a large ship hidden behind almost all the reefs on both sides!

After seeing the Batulu-1 that broke into the atoll alone, all the big ships did not move - obviously, they were preparing to catch the entire Truchen fleet that broke into the atoll!

Zhuang Jiyun's heart suddenly jumped.

After taking a few deep breaths, I calmed down a little.

"I saw the portraits and flags on their bows. They are British battleships. There are four battleships in total, two of which are at least second-class battleships because they have three direct decks exposed, and the other two are third-class battleships.

There are two direct access decks”

"The other eight ships should all be armed merchant ships, and they also have a direct access deck!"

When he was about to sail past the atoll, he carefully felt the wind direction.

North wind, true north wind!

No wonder, at this time, the British warships could use the north wind to move southward to block the southern exit, and they could also use the crosswind to sail in both directions east and west!

If it was a west wind or an east wind, they would definitely not set up an ambush here.

But the problem comes again.

Since the surrounding view is only slightly blocked by some tall coconut trees, the rest of the space is unobstructed. With the British's navigation and naval combat capabilities leading the entire Europe at this time, why would they set up an ambush here?

After a while, Zhuang Jiyun understood something.

"Although they have some understanding of our country's steam-powered warships, they are still in the 'understanding' stage. They still believe that once they enter the atoll, it will be very difficult to move."

"Secondly, they probably thought that there were many French warships in the fleet, and their main targets were probably aimed at these warships."

"Third, of course, in their understanding, if you set out from Madagascar, although there are some French colonial points along the way that can be replenished, the last replenishment point, the Maldives, is the largest. After a long sea voyage, you must go here for replenishment.

!"

"So, in their imagination, our fleet would definitely sail into the atoll without hesitation. By the way, when I first entered the atoll, the coconut trees on the reefs on both sides were very dense at first, almost blocking my view.

, but after walking for a while, it became sparse.”

"At this time, even if the British warship is discovered, it will be of no avail!"

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but snorted coldly.

Since the strait between the rocks due east was guarded by warships, and the only exit was to the north, he asked people to increase the horsepower to the maximum, and the speed soon rose to eighty miles. After crossing the strait, he immediately turned to the east.

He discovered Saiyin-2 on the sea about five miles east of the eastern reef row.

Not long after, he reunited with Saiyinhao-2.

Saiyin-2 immediately headed south at the fastest speed. About thirty miles behind, the main fleet was heading north!

However, the British obviously realized that their strategy was going to ruin. Before he could make the next decision, three warships emerged from the rocks on the east side!

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A third-level battleship and two armed merchant ships!

On that battleship, it says "HMS Wales" in English!

It seems that they are preparing to intercept their Batulu-1!

Far to the south, an armed merchant ship is chasing Saiyin-2!

Obviously, they hope to continue to complete the ambush before the enemy's main fleet arrives, and if they want to do this, they cannot let go of the two enemy ships that are approaching!

Although Zhuang Jiyun joined the Truqin Navy, he was different from others. At only twenty-five years old, he still grew a beard like the Qing people, with a touch on his lips and a pinch on his chin. Seeing this, he subconsciously used

He stroked his goatee under his chin with his right hand.

The so-called third-class battleship actually has a bottom layer, and the upper two floors are equipped with direct decks equipped with artillery. According to the information from the Intelligence Bureau, the total number of artillery is at least fifty!

The two armed merchant ships are not much smaller than the "Wales" at least in terms of length, but they only have one direct deck, and the bottom warehouse is obviously reserved for cargo.

If you place your own hull in the middle of these three large ships, although your own firepower and maneuverability are superior, you will not be able to withstand the full bombardment of nearly a hundred artillery pieces.

Soon, he had an idea.

He saw the two armed merchant ships walking in front, while the battleship in the middle was lagging behind. The armed merchant ships were also one behind the other, obviously trying to attract his Batulu-1 to it, and then create opportunities for them to complete the outflank.

!

The north wind is blowing hard right now. No wonder the armed merchant ship in the south dares to pursue the Saiyin-2, which is leaving at high speed. The three warships have their sails tilted at an angle of forty-five degrees. Although they cannot

It has enough wind power, but it can also be affected by roughly half the wind.

But in this way, their speed will not be very fast, and once they start to maneuver, they can only complete the turn from the south. If they complete the turn from the north, there will be at least a period of headwind. For a sail warship, that time

This short period of time is their most dangerous moment!

Thinking of this, Zhuang Jiyun immediately ordered a U-turn to the north, and then quickly turned to the west!

Although the British steam engine technology is currently ahead of all Europeans except the Truchen people, how to use it on the ship and how to maneuver it only stay in my mind. As soon as I saw the action of the Batulu-1, I was stunned.

.

Just as Nan Jiyun thought, the two armed merchant ships began to sail south, and the Wales obviously did not want to be the target of the Batulu-1 and was continuing to sail east!

At this time, the distance between the Batulu-1 and the Welsh was about one mile, and the Welsh's port side artillery began to bombard!

As soon as the battle began, Nan Jiyun's initial nervousness suddenly disappeared.

He made Baturu-1 maneuver again!

At this time, the two armed merchant ships had just sailed south to a suitable steering position and were nervously adjusting their sails. The Welsh finally understood the steam after seeing the Batulu-1 complete the steering at an incredible speed again.

The capabilities of battleships.

At this time, they would definitely not think of stopping to confront the Truqin people, but would continue to sail quickly eastward!

It is a pity that the crosswind sailing speed of half-sail is obviously no match for the Batulu-1, which is already powered by two thousand-horsepower engines. With the support of two steam engines, the speed of this battleship has increased to eighty miles.

Every hour!

However, there are two rows of two twelve-pound guns in the stern of the Wales!

"Boom..."

These four heavy guns also started bombarding, and the solid shell closest to the Batulu-2 barely missed its bow!

"Turn the rudder ten degrees to the left and approach the enemy ship fifty meters away!"

By this time, Nan Jiyun's battle plan was fully formed.

At this time, all the artillery installed on the sail warships of various European countries were fixed on the deck and could only move forward and backward (to withstand the backlash when the artillery was fired), but could not move left and right in a short time!

When the Batulu-1 was traveling at a speed of eighty miles and turned left at an angle of ten degrees, it happened to be at an angle of thirty degrees with its stern when it approached a distance of fifty meters!

Therefore, at this time, neither the four 12-pound guns at the stern nor the 32-pound and 18-pound heavy guns in the two rows on the starboard side could hurt me!

"Boom..."
To be continued...