Chapter 1071

Yue Yun’s face held a strange smile as he looked at the burning sailing warships on the sea.

Beside Yue Yun, Liu Chen’s laughter never stopped. “General, I never expected your joke to come true. These Europeans really came to launch a night raid.”

“My words during the day were not just a joke. Faced with our ironclads, they have no choice but to use an unusual method of attack.” Yue Yun said.

After arriving in the waters off Calcutta, he had joked with his generals that the European fleet might launch a surprise attack at night, using boarding tactics to close the gap between the two sides.

It was precisely for this reason that they did not turn on their searchlights at night for a warning, as was customary. This time, however, they did not turn on the searchlights, concealing the fact that the ironclads had searchlights. He never expected these Europeans to actually try to sneak up on them under the cover of darkness.

“In any case, the European combined fleet has run straight into our guns. We will sink every last one of them in the sea tonight.” Liu Chen said.

After arriving at their destination, they learned that the combined fleet’s warships were all hidden upstream of the Ganges River. This kind of terrain was very disadvantageous to them, because if they were to enter the Ganges River, their ironclads would be attacked by the army’s artillery.

Yue Yun’s gaze remained focused on the sea. His expression gradually became solemn. He said, “Don’t be careless. Have all the marines take their positions. The battle has just begun.”

Liu Chen looked ahead when he heard this and saw a burning sailing warship charging towards them. It was clear that the combined fleet’s will to fight was also very strong this time.

“Aim at the enemy ship that is trying to get close to us and sink it!” Faced with this situation, Yue Yun gave the order.

Liu Chen also realized that the danger was not yet averted. He immediately had the marines set up machine guns on the deck. Once they were hit by the enemy ships, it would be their mission to protect the warships.

“Boom boom boom…”

The King-Class ironclad warship immediately opened fire with all its might. One shell after another flew towards the charging sailing warship. After being hit continuously, the warship finally sank slowly.

At the same time, the other ironclads were also firing with all their might. Bright flashes of fire continuously erupted on the sea, and after each flash, several of the combined fleet’s warships were hit and sank.

For a time, the entire sea surface was filled with the remnants of burning warships. In addition to the sound of gunfire, the cries for help from the enemy soldiers in the water also echoed throughout the night sky.

“Corbán, what should we do?” In the deafening sound of the cannons, Philine asked anxiously.

Their flagship was in the center of the fleet. Now, their vanguard fleet was suffering a devastating blow, which made them, the bystanders, feel worried and fearful.

Corbán came back to his senses after his initial shock. He said, “We can’t charge forward so recklessly anymore, or all our warships will be destroyed. Lower the small boats and have the soldiers get on them to approach the enemy’s warships. In this way, the enemy warships’ firepower will be scattered, and we will still have a chance of victory.”

After a pause, he pointed at the light shining from the Empire’s warships. He said, “These strange lights have exposed us. Tell the soldiers that once they are in range, they should fire at these lights. Although I don’t know what they are, they must be the Empire’s new technology.”

Philine nodded heavily when he heard this. He immediately called for a signalman, who held up a lantern and made a series of movements. This was how they communicated.

Upon receiving the order, the soldiers on the warships immediately lowered the small wooden boats. A group of twenty men rowed towards the Empire’s warships, and two of the small boats were loaded with explosives. This was also an order from Corbán.

Each sailing warship lowered ten small boats, and the remaining hundred-plus warships lowered thousands of small boats, which charged towards the Empire’s fleet.

For a time, the entire sea surface was filled with the small wooden boats of the combined fleet. While charging towards the Empire’s fleet, the small boats continuously rescued the soldiers who had fallen into the water, and they all charged forward together.

The combined fleet’s actions were quickly discovered by Yue Yun. In the distance, the combined fleet’s warships adjusted their positions and began to shell them. The thousands of small wooden boats charging towards them had the feel of a wolf pack tactic.

Yue Yun was not unfamiliar with this tactic used by the combined fleet, because there were such battle examples in the textbooks of the Empire’s Naval Academy.

The textbooks also recorded a great naval battle between Spain and Britain. At that time, Britain used small fire ships, ships filled with explosives and soldiers, and ultimately achieved victory.

This was because, in such a large-scale naval battle, the flexibility of large warships was far inferior to that of these small wooden boats. Once they were approached by the small wooden boats, the soldiers on the small boats could attack by scuttling, blowing up, or burning the ships.

In this campaign, their numbers were already at a disadvantage. Now that the combined fleet was using this method, they were instantly put in a passive position. After all, the enemy had a large number of men, and the targets were small, so firing at them was like using a cannon to shoot a mosquito.

But if they did not deal with them, it would be very troublesome once they got close.

“Relay the order to the other warships. The main guns will continue to fire at the enemy’s large warships, and the secondary guns and the launch guns will fire at the small boats on the sea to stop them from getting close. At the same time, have the marines fire at the enemy boats that try to get close. Also, get the grenades ready.”

The densely packed small boats were getting closer to them, and this scene was a bit unsettling. Yue Yun dared not be careless this time.

Upon receiving the order, the searchlight on the King-Class ironclad warship immediately flickered. After installing the searchlights, they had also mastered the use of lantern signals. In the dark of the night, there was nothing more convenient than communicating with lantern signals.

The change in the searchlight on the King-Class ironclad warship was instantly captured by the other warships. They all began to act according to the order, and the marines who were resting in the ship’s cabins quickly entered a state of battle.

“Swoosh swoosh swoosh…”

To find the location of the enemy’s small boats more clearly, flares were fired into the sky above the sea. Under the light, the small boats of the combined fleet were exposed without any concealment.

“Dah dah dah…”

It was at this moment that the machine guns on the King-Class ironclad warship spewed fire. They first fired at a small boat that had entered their range.

A series of bullets hit the wooden boat, and the soldiers on the boat, before they could react, fell one after another into a pool of blood.

At the same time, more and more machine guns began to fire, and the soldiers on the small boats fell under the sweeping fire of the machine guns.

And the soldiers on the small boats also began to counterattack. Flames spewing from the muzzles of their guns continuously lit up the ships. The soldiers on the ironclads began to suffer casualties.

The battle became more and more intense. Although the machine gun fire heavily damaged the small boats, there were too many of them. They scrambled to get close to the ironclads, like soldiers charging madly.

“Crack!”

Just as Yue Yun was observing the situation anxiously, a bullet hit a searchlight, and the beam of light that was shining on the enemy warships disappeared.

Seeing this, Yue Yun’s heart tightened. He shouted, “Quickly replace it with the spare searchlight!”