Time goes back to New Year's Day in 1637. Just as the Second Escort Squadron was sailing in the warm Cape Verde waters, in the rain and snowy Madara Balew Whale Port (formerly Sullivan Shelter Bay), more than 200 residents were panickingly watching a fleet of sails of unknown origin on the sea.

Li Yi, the captain of the "East Coast Eagle", who was anchored in the port to prepare for shipping construction supplies, also looked solemn. Since the East Coast Republic of China officially declared the Horse Island as territory and built the Baleen Whale Port on the basis of the secret supply point of the original naval shelter in Sullivan, although there are often whaling ships, fishing boats, or merchant ships from various countries passing through the Strait of Magellan to hide from bad weather or supply supplies, this is the first time four warships have arrived at a time.

"It's not good to come." Li Yi held a 20-fold military telescope produced by Henan Glass Factory and said to the acting captain of the "Galicia Flying Fish" beside him.

Box Yang also held a telescope and looked at it: "It is all small warships or armed merchant ships of three or four hundred tons. They are generally equipped with 16-22 artillery pieces. Most of the artillery looks small and medium-caliber, and I estimate that the maximum is not more than 18 pounds, and the number is very small."

Li Yi calculated that if he had to break through with the "East Coast Eagle" at this time, he would probably not have been able to break out. The Balewhale Port was built in an estuary in Sullivan Wind Bay. Such a port was perfect for sheltering the wind, but it was time-consuming to enter and exit the port. Now a fleet on the sea that was obviously not a good man was blocked there. If you leave the port slowly there, you would probably be bombarded by other people's cannons.

Therefore, Li Yi and Box Yang quickly reached an agreement and decided to act as a turtle that shrank and didn't go out. Let's waste it first and see what these people want to do before talking about it. Maybe they are just here to avoid the wind and waves.

The purpose of the group of people was soon clear. Many small boats were placed on the four warships. The sailors on these small boats were wearing tarpaulin raincoats and holding tools to measure the depth of the water on the sea.

"Sir, these people want to log in. Sergeant Matthias asked me to ask if I want to fire?" A panting Chalua asked.

Huang Yang also looked at Li Yi. Li Yi was a lieutenant of the navy and the highest rank here. He was also a temporary garrison officer appointed by the Navy (responsible for transferring materials to South Africa). The only order to fire the cannon was to let him come.

"Warning the shooting first. If the opponent still does not retreat or fight back, let all the shore defense cannons fire together." Li Yi ordered without hesitation.

The fort at Barewhale Port is built on the right side of the river bank. There are two 18-pound cannons, four 12-pound cannons and four 8-pound cannons. There are more than 30 gunners, all of whom are local residents and are often trained. Although their level is not as good as the Shanghai Army's naval gunners, they are not much worse. There is no problem in operating a fixed shore defense turret.

The city area of ​​Balewhale Port is a small castle with a circumference of less than 400 meters. Two cannons were placed in each direction of the city. At this time, all the male residents in the city were mobilized, and even some strong women were assigned tasks. They would also fight if necessary. There is no way, the population of Balewhale Port is too small, so they can only try their best to exert the strength of each person.

Spanish and British pirates who were exiled here after being captured and exiled here were already wearing Shanghai army uniforms and returned to Dongfang Port to enjoy their fortunes. However, the Chalua gunners who replaced them were not ordinary people. They were fed by a large number of live ammunition and showed their superb strength. An 8-pound iron ball flew out of the gun mouth and landed more than a hundred meters in front of the enemy ship.

This was a very obvious warning shot. But these unknown enemies were obviously unmoved. The sailors who were measuring the depth of the water on a traffic boat ignored it and continued to measure, but it could be seen that the movements were significantly accelerated.

The four enemy warships on the sea also took action. They lined up in a row, leveling the ship's side with the port turret, and then sailed from east to west.

"Boom! Boom!" The first enemy warship's side side twelve artillery fired a round of volleys. The dense shells crossed the sky full of rain and snow, and most of them fell on the sea and on the river, only a few fell in the mud near the cannon. The muddy land absorbed the remaining kinetic energy of the cannon, and the cannon was stopped after jumping on the ground a few times.

With the enemy's actions, the fortress will naturally not be polite. Matthias, a German man from Pomerania, immediately issued a shooting order.

The gunners quickly stuffed the launching medicine bag into the cannon barrel, then stuffed rusty iron bullets in, and then used a strip to tamp it hard. After the gunners carefully observed the positions of some enemy ships, they adjusted the angle of the cannon and then fired.

The enemy ships adopted the method of flying fire, that is, four warships lined up and went forward to fire one by one. After the shooting of a warship in the front, they drove away, and the warship in the back then came up to fire to maintain continuous firepower to suppress the turret.

But their efforts are destined to have no effect. The ten artillery on the fort outside the Barewhale Harbor City are all semi-closed artillery half-buried underground. There is only a small shooting window exposed, and the outside is surrounded by thick brick walls. Moreover, the location of each cannon has been carefully involved, forming cross-fire power to each other to ensure that there is no shooting dead end.

Therefore, after the two sides fired each other for more than half an hour, the ten shore defense artillery bunkers were not injured, but several enemy warships on the sea actually suffered more than twenty shells. Although there were no casualties, their morale was completely depressed.

Two 12-pound howitzers at the top of Balewhale Harbor also began to shoot at the sea. Their targets were enemy traffic boats that were measuring the depth of the water. However, it was really a hell that it could hit those traffic boats at such a long distance and such a large range. What they did was just to add a little psychological pressure to the enemy.

The "East Coast Eagle" and the "Galicia Flying Fish" were anchored at the Hanoi dock and did not participate in the battle. Due to the terrain, the enemy warships and artillery on the sea could not be fired here. At this time of the battle, both sides understood that the navy alone could not solve the battle. The decision to win or lose depends on the army.

The battle ended temporarily in the afternoon. The sleet was getting heavier and heavier. In this place of Madao, it rained or snowed 265 out of 365 days a year, and there were westerly winds above level 5 or six years. Fighting in this environment is a test for both sides.

The next day, perhaps last night, the water depth was measured last night, and early in the morning, four enemy ships on the sea began to approach the fire of the turrets. At the same time, a large number of small boats were placed on the ship, and the small boats were loaded with sailors equipped with various weapons. Even in this bad weather, the sailors were still wearing only a tattered linen shirt. They had nothing to do while drinking strong wine, while cursing the enemies on the shore in vulgar English slang.

The artillery on the top of the city finally showed its power. The gunners estimated the time and distance, cut off the bomb's fuse, and then stuffed it into the gun barrel. With a "boom", the light bomb exploded over the landing ships. The iron nails and broken iron pieces installed in the center of the shell flew everywhere, and some unlucky British guys were immediately injured.

A total of more than a dozen small boats were laid off from the four British ships and carried about a hundred sailors ashore. These sailors lined up in relatively dense formations under the command of the officers, attacking the flanks of the shore defense turrets that were fiercely fired by the warships.

At this time, the "East Coast Eagle" and "Galicia Flying Fish" anchored in the river port pier finally opened fire. More than a dozen artillery guns on their two ships at the firing angle launched violent shellings on the shore. The dense grape bombs and bombs shot straight at them without any cover at a distance of two or three hundred meters, plowing blood in their formation. At the same time, the two 12-pound steel cannons on the city were still firing for a moment, and some musketeers also opened fire at the English sailors a hundred meters away with their flintlock rifles.

The Englishmen had only landed for more than ten minutes, and the more than a hundred sailors quickly collapsed. Thirty or forty bodies were left in the empty triangle between the city walls, docks and forts, as well as a large number of wounded men lying on the ground wailing.

"The battle is over." Li Yi threw the telescope to Box Yang, and then said: "It is already a luxury to have two hundred combatants on the four small British warships. The more than 100 people who just arrived ashore can stand back. In addition, the losses caused by the bombardment were caused by the turrets, they explained at least seventy or eighty people here yesterday and today. They are not stupid. Although the place in Baleen Whale Port is not a hard bone, it is obviously not something they can take with their little arms and legs. Look, the weather outside is so bad, maybe it will be withdrawn tomorrow. There are many places where they make a fortune, so why bother to waste time with us here."

"Haha, yes." Box Yang echoed, "but the defense of Balewhale Port still needs to be strengthened, and there is too little manpower. If the British ships come in more next time, they will be captured if they may not be able to do so."

"Don't think so much." Li Yi said, "At present, it seems that Baleen Whale Port is not the focus of the British attacks at all. Their target is probably still on the local level. The Second Escort Squadron has not come back yet. Now the warships can be launched at home are actually the "August 10" and the "Beagle". There are so many sea areas to protect, so I really can't get busy."
Chapter completed!