Chapter 955

“Attack!”

The tranquility of the sea was broken by Li Wei’s loud command. Under his order, all the warships charged out from behind the mountain range that lay across the sea, at full speed.

At this moment, twenty warships, fully loaded with British soldiers, were sailing towards them. They were the British warships seeking an opportunity to land.

Seeing the sudden appearance of the Great Yu Empire warships, these British warships were clearly terrified. They immediately ordered their warships to adjust their course with the wind for battle.

“The Great Yu Empire’s warships are downwind. This is very advantageous for us! Destroy them!” On the leading British warship, the captain issued the battle order.

As a captain, he was very familiar with ocean currents and wind direction at sea. Their choice of this moment to head north was precisely because both the ocean currents and wind direction were extremely favorable to them.

In battle, they would be absolutely upwind, which would also be beneficial for their “crossing the T” maneuver.

Like him, the other warships also reacted quickly. They adjusted their ships according to the wind direction. The wind gradually turned their originally straight-advancing ships sideways. This way, their cannons could all be aimed at the enemy.

However, the previously methodical steps went awry during their turn. They had thought their twenty warships could smoothly form a “straight line” and engage in a crossfire with the Great Yu Empire warships.

But the Great Yu Empire warships, which had originally appeared in a “straight line” formation, maneuvered eastward at an astonishing speed. This completely shattered their intended “two-line” crossfire formation.

Soon, they would be downwind, forming a horizontal “T” shape, which was fatal for them, as they would be unable to return fire and could only suffer passively.

As the British warships fell into chaos, a confident smile appeared on Li Wei’s face.

Undoubtedly, the British warships were very clumsy. And he wouldn’t be foolish enough to use twelve warships to exchange fire with an enemy far outnumbering them.

After all, the British, who dared to attack them now, were very likely also equipped with explosive shells. So, in an unskillful exchange of fire, it would just be a contest of whose warship was sunk first.

Therefore, if they fought this way, they would surely lose and would be unable to utilize the advantage of steam power.

So Li Wei ordered to avoid direct crossfire with British warships. Instead, he used his maneuverability and flexibility to circle at sea, aiming to “cross the T.”

His strategy was very effective. Soon, the sailing warships, relying solely on wind power and ocean currents, were defeated in this maneuvering. The twelve warships quickly seized the upwind position from north to south.

Not far away, Wilson was frantically rushing to reinforce. He witnessed the entire process of the Great Yu Empire warships’ agile maneuvering. This scene utterly unnerved him.

For centuries, they had, with their rich experience, always been able to occupy advantageous positions in naval battles and eliminate opponents. But now, this young navy of the Great Yu Empire, with just these smoke-belching warships, easily seized advantageous firing positions.

It was just that his warships were simply too slow. Before they could even arrive, a deafening roar of cannons suddenly erupted. The Great Yu Empire warships shook, and the water surface rippled with concentric circles.

White smoke drifted from the Great Yu Empire warships, and the British warships, which had been chasing the Great Yu Empire warships, at this moment became the vertical line of a “T” formation.

“Boom, boom, boom…” Twelve warships fired simultaneously.

Instantly, the British flagship, which bore the brunt of the attack, was hit by shells fired by the Great Yu Empire. Amidst a massive explosion, the British warship’s planks flew everywhere, and flames soared into the sky.

“Boom, boom, boom…”

After the first round of firing, the Great Yu Empire warships quickly fired a second volley. Twelve warships unleashed over seven hundred shells onto the British warships.

Explosions erupted like dense drumbeats. Flames formed a long dragon on the sea. Great Yu Empire warships, rapidly sailing across the sea, continuously fired at the British warships.

Meanwhile, the British warships continuously pursued the Great Yu Empire warships, seeking an opportunity for bombardment, but they were always unable to catch up to the Great Yu Empire warships.

“Hit them hard!” Li Wei shouted. In two volleys, twenty British warships were hit and burned into fireballs.

Under his command, the warship’s artillerymen continued to load shells. The third, fourth, and fifth rounds of bombardment began.

“Boom, boom, boom…”

Under the dense barrage of shells, the British warships suffered heavy damage again.

However, the British, trapped in an extremely passive situation, seemed to have been roused to ferocity. They no longer operated as a unified force but suddenly engaged in independent combat.

The remaining British warships no longer formed ranks but suddenly changed their course individually. Six warships headed in different directions, and this way, there was always one ship whose broadside faced the Great Yu Empire’s warships.

“Boom, boom, boom…”

Soon, a British warship found a firing position. This warship had already been hit by Great Yu Empire shells and was burning, but it continued to fight to the death.

“Dong dong dong…”

Sixty shells swept across the sea. A moving Great Yu Empire warship, unable to dodge, was hit by seven shells consecutively.

As these shells exploded on the ship’s outer side, Li Wei finally obtained firsthand intelligence: the British were now also using explosive shells.

The side of the hit Great Yu Empire warship was blown open with seven holes. Flames burned in the holes. Most critically, the explosion of one shell was precisely where the steam engine was located, which caused damage to the steam engine.

“Damn it!”

Li Wei discovered this situation. He immediately had the flag signalman on the mast relay the order, demanding damaged warships to switch to sails, and then, using wind power, retreat from the battle.

Because a damaged warship would only become a live target for the enemy and would also burden other warships.

“Keep fighting!” Having given the order, Li Wei continued to command the fleet to bombard the remaining British warships.

After losing a second warship, they completely annihilated all twenty British warships. The British soldiers in red coats on the warships suffered heavy casualties. The surviving soldiers could only struggle in the sea.

“Captain, the British reinforcement fleet has arrived!”

After dealing with twenty warships, the fleet led by Wilson was about to enter their firing range.

“There are truly many who aren’t afraid of death,” Li Wei spat.

The twenty warships just now were not purely British. They were mixed with French warships, as some warships bore French flags.

Besides France and Britain, he also saw Spanish flags.

“Even if only one warship remains, we must protect the military port and the shipyard, and make these Westerners, who think they are superior, understand our might!” Li Wei shouted loudly to the soldiers on the ship.

“Damn it all!” The soldiers roared loudly.

Now, their fighting spirit was ignited. They had lost their fear of death and focused only on eliminating the enemy.