Chapter 1128: Bombardment of the Port
As the White Bird was heading out of the port, the pursuers on the shore also arrived. Mountbatten, the fiancé of Elizabeth, the rising star of the Empire, and the captain of the Dreadnought, stared at the White Bird.
"Pull up the guns and sink that ship!"
Mountbatten shouted.
"Captain, Miss Elizabeth is still on board."
A guard warned.
Bang!
A loud slap hit the guard's face.
"There are only pirates on the pirate ship, no one else. Pull up the cannon, otherwise I will stuff you into the barrel and shoot you out!" Mountbatten roared.
"Yes!" The guard quickly went to convey the order.
Several small artillery pieces were pulled to the shore and the artillerymen quickly loaded the ammunition.
Mountbatten grabbed a torch and lit the fuse himself.
Boom!
With a cannon shot, a cannonball fell into the sea not far from the White Bird, stirring up layers of waves.
Some sea water even splashed onto the deck of the White Bird.
"Your fiancé is quite vicious. Isn't he afraid of beating you to death?" Zhang Tuohai said while .
"He is just the person my father likes. I don't like him. He is too power-hungry and only sees me as a stepping stone to climb up. We have only met three times from the first time we met to the time we got engaged. Let me say it again, I have never regarded him as my fiancé, otherwise I would not have run away." Yin Lisabai said.
"Then I can proceed with confidence." Zhang Tuohai nodded, "Prepare the starboard artillery."
Zhang Tuohai's order was conveyed to the gun compartment.
Several pirate sailors began loading their cannons.
"put!"
Boom, boom, boom.
One shell after another was fired towards the shore.
Three shells fell into the water, creating huge waves that soaked the people on the shore.
Several other shells fell on the shore and exploded around the artillery position, mowing down a large number of people with their fragments.
Seeing this, several lobster soldiers from the port garrison turned around and ran away.
However, a gunshot rang out from behind them, and a lobster soldier was shot through the body and fell down limply.
When everyone looked back, they saw Mountbatten holding a smoking musket in his hand.
"Who dares to leave? Anyone who dares to escape will be treated as a deserter. Everyone return to their posts immediately. Also notify the coastal defense artillery to fire!"
Mountbatten's ruthless order made the guards dare not run anymore. They returned to their posts, began to load shells, re-aim and prepare to shoot.
However, after this delay, the White Bird had reloaded its shells.
Because cross-shooting has already been formed, this time you only need to fine-tune the parameters.
After adjusting the parameters, the pirates lit the fuse.
Boom, boom, boom!
Another burst of artillery fire rang out.
This time, a shell landed accurately on the gunpowder barrel placed opposite the shore.
The powder keg was completely ignited.
Boom!
Accompanied by a loud explosion, the gunpowder pile, the shell pile and the cannons were all blown all over the place by the violent shock wave. The gun mount of one cannon was seriously damaged, and the other one simply fell into the sea. Both cannons became useless.
When the pirates on the White Bird saw this, they cheered.
However, at this moment, a cannonball landed next to the White Bird, causing a large splash of water.
The pirates panicked and looked for the source of the shells.
Zhang Tuohai looked up at the high mountain not far away.
There is a huge cannonball on the top of the mountain, and you can vaguely see people moving back and forth on it.
That is a coastal defense battery.
Because of the angle, the White Bird's artillery could not reach the coastal defense battery on the top of the mountain.
However, the coastal defense artillery on the top of the mountain can use its height advantage to attack the White Bird.
Faced with this one-sided attack, Zhang Tuohai immediately changed direction and evacuated out of the port.
Although the coastal defense artillery has a large caliber and can shoot far, it is slow to adjust and has a poor hit rate against moving ships. In addition, the coastal defense artillery in the port area is also cautious for fear of accidentally hitting friendly forces, so it fires with caution.
This left Zhang Tuohai with a way to escape.
While driving the ship out of the port, Zhang Tuohai ordered the pirates to fire at the Royal Navy ships they saw on both sides.
These Royal Navy ships were all anchored in the harbor, and the distance was so close that they were almost shooting face to face. If they missed, the pirates would just jump into the sea and commit suicide.
Boom, boom, boom.
The pirates fired freely and to their heart's content, punching holes in the Royal Navy ships.
Although these holes would not sink the ship, they were enough to prevent them from leaving the port for a short period of time. By the time they were repaired, the White Bird had disappeared without a trace.
The White Bird attacked all the Royal Navy ships anchored on both sides of the channel, and then sailed out along the harbor and the coastline, trying to avoid the firing range of the coastal defense artillery.
Slowly, the White Bird sailed into the night, causing the coastal defense artillery to lose its target.
"A bunch of rubbish," Mountbatten said coldly as he watched the gradually disappearing White Bird. "Go check and see if there are still a few ships that are intact. Prepare the supplies and troops immediately. I will never set foot on land unless these pirates are hanged!"
A group of sailors began to prepare.
Zhang Tuohai watched the Port of Orleans behind him disappear into the night, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.
Although it looked easy just now, it was actually extremely dangerous.
If his luck had been a little worse, if he had been hit by the coastal artillery, he might not have escaped so easily.
"Count the personnel, count the supplies, and focus on the artillery and ammunition."
Zhang Tuohai said to the parrot Polly.
Polly the parrot went to convey the order, and soon the first mate reported the number.
There are still 16 pirates, and the supplies are sufficient. The existing food is enough for these pirates to eat for several weeks, and there is also a lot of wine. When the first mate got off the ship, he bought enough wine for these pirates to drink for a week.
However, the number of weapons was not sufficient . There were only 20 intact artillery pieces, 32 barrels of propellant, 100 solid bullets, and 322 shrapnel shells.
The number of weapons has been reduced to a very dangerous level.
On average, each gun has less than 20 shells in stock, and these shells can barely support a naval battle dominated by artillery battles, and then they will be exhausted.
This is more than enough for ordinary pirates, because pirates rarely engage in artillery battles, but usually engage in boarding battles and plunder the enemy's property.
But Zhang Tuohai had too few pirates, and he was at a complete disadvantage in terms of numbers in a boarding battle. If possible, Zhang Tuohai did not want to fight a boarding battle.
How nice it would be to be able to destroy the enemy from a distance with artillery.
"It seems that we need to find a chance to get more shells and propellant."
Zhang Tuohai made up his mind and prepared to find a place to replenish his ammunition.
