I Am Louis XIV

The occasional glare of the white phosphorus bomb, the thick smoke rising from the waves, the scorching temperature, and the toxic gas emitted by the burning white phosphorus did pose a great threat. The Brest fleet and the original bait The fire suppression caused by the fleet dropped suddenly, and the besieged Cunningham fleet couldn't help but cheer up. The sailors and crew shouted excitedly, climbed up the mast, waved their hats and flags to express their gratitude to the King of the Seas, until they were defeated by their officers. Shouting and driving to their proper places—they're not out of the French trap yet!

Captain Cunningham touched the short gun hanging on his belt again. He even thought of committing suicide before, so as not to endure the pain of being drowned alive. Fortunately...he strode onto the deck, and the morale-boosting British crew members were launching Counterattacked, driving the French back to their ships. The trouble was that even if the French retreated, the "Charles I" and the wooden ship were still biting tightly together, as close as a pair of lovers who had been reunited for a long time.

"Why," said his mate, "why not some 'White Queen' for this ship too!?"

Cunningham gave him a sip, but with a smile on his face, he obviously supported this approach. It is a pity that the "White Queen" is a special bomb, which is only available in an official fleet like Portsmouth. His fleet Although it is also a fleet of ironclad ships, he knows well that his ironclad ships can only be counted as second-tier in terms of armament and protection. And his class and qualifications are not allowed to have such a sharp weapon.

————

Unlike Cunningham's longing, although seeing that the French ships were indeed retreating, Admiral Sandwich did not show any joy, but a gloomy expression.

His first mate thought that the admiral was not happy because he saw the French dealing with the white phosphorus - the overwhelming water dragons sprayed from the opponent's ship, washing away the white phosphorus covering the deck and the hull - to fight against the burning There are only two methods for white phosphorus, one is to isolate the air, and the other is to lower the temperature. Of course, it is most convenient and appropriate to use water pumps to pump seawater for flushing at sea.

He couldn't understand that the current Admiral Sandwich, when most people were happy to turn defeat into victory, he was looking at those French soldiers who jumped into the sea screaming because they were infected with the flames of white phosphorus, He is a veteran, he is used to life and death on the battlefield, of course he will not show mercy to his enemies, but...he has seen those prisoners who were used to test the lethality of white phosphorus in prisons and secret rooms, and the flames can burn until marrow.

Even though he kept telling himself that it was not the British but the French who first used white phosphorus bombs, the first time Louis XIV used white phosphorus bombs was for the world that no mortal knew, and again for the pagans of Ottoman Turkey, The soldiers in the French fleet are all Catholics and Protestants-Although Britain has established a state religion, Catholics still have a place. These Anglos can regard people who do not believe in them as livestock and grass, but against them Thinking that they are qualified to be called human beings, they will show a lot of eccentric compassion-this kind of cruel behavior may be used by him or his son's political enemies in the future to wantonly attack.

Even if it's for the UK.

And those ignorant people, driven by caring people, will also turn into a torrent of riots and completely engulf their "enemies". This was the case with Charles I, and so was the Lord Protector Cromwell. What's more, their current king Charles II is moody. He is still qualified to serve his favorites who wake up in the morning, and he is a distinguished guest on the guillotine at the Tower of London in the evening. He valued and was on guard, Admiral Sandwich didn't feel at all that he could be treated differently by the king.

"The French have escaped!" shouted one.

Then another person shouted that more and more people saw that the originally high-spirited French fleet was indeed retreating slowly in the fog caused by white phosphorus, but what made the British furious after joy and encouragement was that in the When they retreated, they still attempted to leave together with the four ironclad ships engulfing Cunningham's fleet, especially the "Charles I", which was connected to the three-masted ship and could not be separated, and the "Charles I" The three-masted ship was actually connected to another iron-clad ship with iron chains, trying to drag it away together...

Although Cunningham immediately ordered the remaining anchor to be dropped, this behavior was completely futile in the middle of the strait-the depth of the anchor position cannot exceed one-third of the anchor chain, because the anchor needs to be inserted obliquely into the seabed to function. effectiveness, but previous battles have shown that at least Cunningham's British crew cannot fight against the French crew-not that they are not brave enough, but that the French not only have an advantage in numbers but also in firepower, and the French It was with artillery and small guns that the Chinese ships threatened them, and their shells were insufficient, and the range of the small guns was not as far as the French.

In addition, even if all their boilers were burning to the point of exploding, they were inevitably pulled away by the French who raised their sails and relied on the dual power of steam and sails.

The French acted like this, and the British, who thought they had the upper hand, were of course furious. Even Admiral Sandwich, who didn't want to cause trouble, couldn't just watch the French plunder the ship, otherwise he would have to go to the guillotine. He once again Estimated the strength of his own fleet - he carefully let them carry sufficient firepower, in addition to the eight ironclad ships in the fleet, other ships have also rushed to the battlefield, they are almost three times the size of the French, then do they It should be an eye for an eye, blood for blood, and if he can sink or capture the French ship in turn, it is also a great achievement for him to submit his resignation.

"No," Admiral Sandwich shook his head: "Just drive those French ships away."

He said that he surprised and disappointed his first mate, but he looked at Admiral Sandwich's white hair and "understood" his thoughts, but he couldn't help but feel a strong resentment rolling in his heart. The human fleet is constantly spreading, spreading...even the captain ignored the admiral's order—or it can be said that he blurred his order, turning an active defense into an active attack, and the communication at sea can only rely on eyes And flags, this kind of thing happens all the time.

These French ships make the British feel no sense of honor. With their excellent maneuverability, they are like a group of gadflies that cannot be hit or driven away. The battle line was stretched again and again.

The widest part of the English (La Manche) Channel is about 100 nautical miles. When the sun was no longer so hot and the shadow of the mast began to grow from short to long, Joseph, who had been clenching his teeth, finally let go of his tense shoulders. As we all know , in a conspiracy and battle, charging is not difficult, as long as you have enough courage, but you have to be a bait, to lure the enemy - let him be irritated by you, tempted by you, anytime, anywhere in a kind of "as long as" In the state of being able to touch it with a little stretching out, it is really as difficult as it needs to be. In order to complete this task, he even endured the heart and abandoned those wounded who fell into the sea...

Seeing them being pulled up by the British, he finally felt relieved and thanked his enemies, but this did not prevent him from carrying out the predetermined plan to the end.

At this time, the British fleet has been unknowingly pulled into a thin line. It stands to reason that a veteran like Sandwich shouldn't make such a mistake, but Cunningham's flagship "Charles I" After getting rid of the shackles of the wooden three-masted ship, he was almost mad with anger and vowed to sink the "temporary companion" who seemed to be dying. His impulse may have been caused by the sight of the French ship Fires were ablaze in many places, and the smoke was billowing—not only in the wooden ships, but in the ironclads, whose crews seemed to have been busy putting out the flames.

"The 'Sovereign of the Seas' has hoisted the blue flag!" The attendant beside Cunningham shouted, and Cunningham turned around to see, yes, the blue flag was flying on the mast of the "Sovereign of the Seas". Ordering the fleet to return, he hesitated for a moment, but still nodded. After all, at sea, if the commander had issued such a definite order, if the generals under him continued to be stubborn and refused to obey, they would really be hanged.

But at this time, they had crossed the center line and came to the French side of the strait. About one-third of the place had already been embraced by the Gulf of Seine.

The Bay of the Seine is an oblate bay with a small harbor below Le Havre on its right - small on the map but large enough to hide the French Dunkirk fleet in reality , this fleet also set out in the night, and when Cunningham's fleet was hiding on the Isle of Wight, they had also hid in the shadows under Le Havre, and with the help of the Cape of Le Havre, they Successfully hidden until this moment.

When the smoke was seen rising, the fleet set off from the port of Le Havre. There was about half the width of the strait between them and the British fleet. This distance is even if the British have the best hand-held telescope. With the sharpest eyes, it is impossible to detect, and the contact between them and Joseph is only within the agreed time-if the Dunkirk fleet does not arrive on time, this result is undoubtedly the worst. The Brest fleet and Joseph It is very likely that the fleet of the British will be swallowed by the fleet of the British.

But if Joseph failed to hold back the hatred of the British, they would go about their business, but only in vain, turning an ambitious plot into a joke.

Joseph had done his best, he even barreled white phosphorous to make his ship look like it was engulfed in smoke, and lowered the sails so that it looked burnt, but as soon as he saw the arc of the Seine Bay I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, because at the agreed place, the flag of the Sun King has been raised, indicating that the Dunkirk fleet has set off according to plan, and unless God's will, it is now preparing to kick off to England. A man's noble buttocks.

———————

The Portsmouth fleet met the Dunkirk fleet.

Admiral Sandwich murmured something, but the people around him couldn't hear clearly, but he was surprised to find that the officer he thought had lost his aggressiveness due to his old age, instead burst out with astonishing courage at this moment , he seemed to have expected it a long time ago, and seemed to be looking forward to this moment. It was completely different from the previous hesitation, hesitation, and hesitation. He commanded the fleet and rushed towards the French aggressively.

His prudence and final courage are beyond reproach, but sometimes, neither prudence nor courage is useless. This time, Jean Bart proposed that Louis XIV approved the plan, which was discussed and perfected by several admirals. There are almost no flaws. ——Although anything can happen at sea, there was no accident this time. The Dunkirk fleet boldly abandoned Calais and Dunkirk, sneaked into the Gulf of Seine, and let the Brest fleet compete with several ironclad ships. The bait is to destroy Cunningham's mixed fleet and the Portsmouth fleet. Together, these two fleets are half of the British navy's effective strength. Without them, Charles II's ambitions will only be shattered.

Don't say this is only half, maybe less, after all, the French never thought they could intercept all the ships. But for such a major loss, Charles II, as a loser, will definitely be held accountable by the Congress and will lose the respect of the people. He may go his own way and put all his remaining power to the Netherlands, taking the Netherlands in the name of William III. Make up for his mistakes; it is also possible that he can only turn this last energy to the country to suppress the nobles and the people to ensure that his throne remains stable.

But the British Army is completely incomparable to their navy. All the military power of William III is a drop in the bucket. The Netherlands has the Viscount Turenne. Charles II should also be able to perceive this—then... he should choose the latter. If he is still the king, and he still has half of the fleet and enough guards and standing troops to suppress domestic power, then he will still have a future. Now that he has an heir again, no one can guess what will happen in thirty years, right? After all, when Louis XIII, everyone thought that France was a tree that was rotten and would collapse at any time.

But they had Louis XIV.

—————

When Louis XIV received letters from the wizards of Calais, he could finally relax.

The battle in the Bay of St. Malo destroyed the two most rampant sea forces, the Dutchman Van Basten and the pirate Gott. The battle in the Gulf of Seine captured two ironclad ships and destroyed three ironclad ships (except for one boiler room explosion. In addition to the sinking of the ship, there were two other British ships that sank after losing power), and five British ironclad ships were seriously injured in need of major repairs, and only two ironclad ships escaped by chance.

Louis hurriedly skimmed the situation about the British and landed on the Dunkirk fleet's list of battle damage. The French fleet also sank an ironclad ship. It was directly hit by the "Sea King" on a hidden reef, so that the two Water leaked in the side cabin, which caused an explosion in the boiler room and had to be abandoned, and two ironclad ships suffered damage that had to be returned to the factory for repairs. In addition, it is consoling that this battle did not cause too much damage. Many people died, and the number of deaths was less than a thousand, but those who were injured by white phosphorus may be permanently disabled.

"I really released a beast that devours people." Louis said as he folded the letter paper.

*****

****

Because the author can't put it down, so I put it here. (Thousand words will not be included in the subscription fee, please feel free to read)

There is a question about solid shells and powdered shells, I explain here.

According to the information I have seen, solid shells can actually be used even in 2020. After all, under strong kinetic energy, heavy concrete can also explode astonishingly lethal. But at the end of the seventeenth century, no matter how advanced artillery was, It is impossible to compare with the current cannons. The solid shells they shoot may still be useful for walls and fortresses made of mud and stones, but they are almost useless for later cement (rebar) fortresses. So since then, people have been researching more lethal weapons while rebuilding the fortress.

But at sea, the life of solid shells is longer. Until the ship is built bigger and bigger, and the thickness of the hull and deck is getting thicker, the damage caused by solid shells is not satisfactory. .

In real history, the improvement of artillery shells is faster than that of ships. That is to say, it is with powerful shells that make wooden ships vulnerable to a single blow that there is a need for ironclad ships. In turn, the emergence of ironclad ships has created people's demand for high-powered shells.

As for the power of charged shells, under the premise of the same firing conditions, they must be more powerful than solid shells. To make a simple analogy, if you use a slingshot to hit a lit firecracker and a small stone, which one will cause more damage?

Definitely the former.

So why didn't people use powdered shells in the first place? This kind of shells existed in the 14th century. The problem is that people couldn't deal with its fuze. People who have watched pirate movies or combat movies of that period can sometimes see the crew (soldiers) holding a torch to light a small pigtail pulled out of the round cannonball-it is the fuse, and then the hissing The hissing shells are stuffed into the barrel, fire!

I also said in the article that the problem with this kind of shell is that sometimes it is slow and sometimes it is fast. The slow ones are trampled out, and the fast ones kill their own people...

So the French used the trigger charge shells here, and they used the fuse tube, which is the early trigger device. Simply put, the fuse tube is inserted into the gunpowder. Once the exposed part is hit, it will press the internal firing pin, and the firing pin hits the chassis. Generate sparks, detonate explosives...

In real history, it took the British to use this kind of fuze in 1835, but this kind of fuze was recorded in our country in the fifteenth century, so it is not impossible to invent it in advance if necessary.

ps: About the King of the Sea—hahaha, the author misremembered it, sorry, sorry, it has been corrected, and the question about the first-tier battleship was a mistake, and it has also been corrected, thank you for your corrections!