Chapter 1115: 4 Kilometers

"General, are we still not letting the Ironclad Warships move out?"

The Western Fleet was approaching from three directions, and seeing that they were about to surround the Dasong fleet, Song Xiang could not help but ask.

Although the Western warships were significantly inferior to theirs, if they were all to swarm them at once, it would not be pleasant for them either.

This contradicted their goal of annihilating the Western Fleet with minimal cost.

"No rush, let the other warships play with them first." Zhou Yi smiled lightly, "What, do you lack confidence in my judgment?"

"No!" Song Xiang's face immediately flushed red, "This subordinate is merely worried that if we act too late, we will suffer unnecessary losses."

Zhou Yi's smile deepened; compared to Gong Ying, Song Xiang was a very serious person.

He had only been making a casual joke just now.

Then he patted Song Xiang on the shoulder, "If we expose the Ironclad Warships too early, the enemy will be scared off. We will strike with our Ironclad Warships only when they enter the enemy's range and turn their ships around."

For a Sailing Warship to change from an advancing state to a firing state, it needs to turn around and align its broadside toward the enemy.

This maneuver requires time.

To Zhou Yi, this was the best moment for them to strike.

Because by then, from the moment the Coalition navy realized something was wrong to the moment they transitioned from a firing state to an escape state, it would consume a massive amount of time.

By then, it would already be too late for the Coalition navy.

Acknowledging the order, Song Xiang continued to observe the situation of the Western Fleet.

According to Zhou Yi's plan, after the Western Fleet entered the range of the Dasong warships, the Sailing Warships on the perimeter began their bombardment.

Conical Cannonballs flew out like thunderbolts, rushing toward the incoming Western warships.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

The Rifled Cannons on the Dasong Sailing Warships were more precise than Smoothbore Cannons.

As the Cannonballs fell into the massive groups of Western warships, Western warships were immediately struck.

Amidst the explosions of the Cannonballs, over a dozen Western warships were blasted with huge holes, seawater poured into the warships, drowning the Western soldiers in the cabins, and then the warships slowly sank.

"Do not turn back, advance with full force, let the opponent enter our Naval Cannon range!" Hearing the screams of the naval soldiers in his ears, Maluofu's expression was gloomy.

He had anticipated such a result before the battle.

He had warned many naval officers.

Their tactic this time was a tactic of inflicting eight hundred casualties on the enemy while suffering one thousand themselves.

Even if all their nearly five hundred warships sank, as long as they won, then everything would be meaningful.

Like Maluofu, the other Western officers gradually calmed down after their initial heart palpitations.

They avoided the sinking warships and continued to head toward the Dasong fleet.

Now, they were still about eight kilometers away from the Dasong fleet and needed to travel another four kilometers.

Only then would their Naval Cannons be able to reach the Dasong fleet.

Yet this short four kilometers was so long for the Western officers.

On the way of the voyage, one Coalition warship after another sank.

Some warships even had their ammunition hit, the entire ship exploded, and others caught fire, turning into fireballs.

The Coalition soldiers who fell into the sea kept calling for help, begging other warships to pick them up, but not a single warship stopped; they just passed by them, letting them be swallowed by the sea.

Because as long as a warship stopped, it would not only affect the speed of the entire fleet but also become a living target.

In such a tragic advance, the Western Fleet moved step by step, finally reaching a position four kilometers from the Dasong fleet.

By this time, they had already lost over a hundred warships from the three directions.

But regardless, they had achieved their strategic goal.

Under Maluofu's command, the main force of the Western Fleet in the east stopped and began to turn their ships, aligning their broadsides toward the Dasong warships.

"You bunch of lowly Dongtu natives, now I am going to kill every last one of you."

On the deck of the Flagship, Maluofu gripped the railing tightly, his body leaning forward, as if he wanted to fly across the four-kilometer distance and devour the Dasong general on the opposite side.

Having endured so many casualties, he was now going to exact a blood debt.

While the naval officers on other warships were extremely furious, a sense of pleasure from revenge rose in their hearts simultaneously.

In their view, this Dasong fleet was doomed.

They still had over three hundred warships, while the opponent only had sixty.

More importantly, the Dasong fleet was entirely within their range.

With five times the firepower of the opponent, it was impossible for them to lose.

At the port of Calcutta, Bolt also stood up from his chair.

"Hahaha, Maluofu, you will be remembered by history. When you return to the British, everyone will shout your name." He stared fixedly at the sea, laughing very wildly.

The loss of the sixty warships in the port certainly pained him, but they had ultimately achieved their goal.

This time, they would finally be able to wipe out the Dasong fleet in one fell swoop.

And as long as they regained control of the ocean, they could use the mobility of the navy to strike everywhere along the Dasong coast.

By then, even if the Dasong army's muskets and Artillery were more powerful than theirs, they would only be able to run themselves ragged.

"General, the time has come!" When Maluofu and Bolt were at the peak of their excitement, Song Xiang said to Zhou Yi with a calm expression.

They had practiced this situation before the battle and knew how to deploy troops to respond.

"It's time to let the Ironclad Warships see some blood!" Hearing this, Zhou Yi narrowed his eyes.

When the Western Fleet approached, he had not done nothing; rather, he had arranged the subsequent method of attack.

Under his command, the formation of the Dasong fleet began to change.

The formation, which previously had the Sailing Warships and Steamships shielding the Ironclad Warships, changed to one with the Ironclad Warships on the outside and the Sailing Warships and Steamships on the inside.

The purpose of this formation was to use the Ironclad Warships as a shield to protect the fragile Sailing Warships and Steamships on the inside, and then use the broadside firepower of the Ironclad Warships to attack the enemy's warships.

At almost the same time, the Great Song fleet and the Western Fleet both completed their changes in formation.

At this moment, the Western Fleet could not wait to open fire on the Great Song fleet.

Spherical explosive shells flew out from the muzzles of the smoothbore cannons, rushing toward the ironclad warships located on the perimeter of the fleet.

"Boom, boom, boom..." Numerous cannonballs immediately exploded near the ironclad warships.

However, most fell into the sea, and some cannonballs struck the iron plating only to fall into the depths of the sea.

A few cannonballs exploded on the outer iron plating of the warships, but they were completely unable to shake the thick iron plating of the ironclad warships.

After all, the thickness of the iron plating on the sides of the ironclad warships was 350 millimeters, and even the iron plating on the decks was 100 millimeters.

"What is going on?" Seeing many cannonballs strike the Great Song warships.

But the Great Song warships remained unscathed, Maluofu frowned slightly.

After thinking for a moment, he continued, "Have the warships in the rear continue to advance and get closer."

He believed it was because the Great Song fleet was at the extreme limit of their firing range, which was why the cannonballs could not penetrate the sides of the Great Song warships.

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