Chapter 1638 The miserable reconnaissance ship

Juan Luis has always felt that something is wrong in the past two days. Although the reconnaissance ships cruising out to sea have not found any trace of the Haihan fleet, Juan has already faintly smelled the smell of danger. He can feel that the Haihan people may have reached a distance from Manila.

Not far away, but he still has no clue. After all, he only sent five or six reconnaissance ships to patrol Manila Bay. In order to report the news in time, the scope of activities was relatively limited. The area that can be monitored on the vast sea is indeed

Extremely limited. Even Juan himself believes that it may have to wait until the Haihan fleet arrives in Manila Bay before the maritime surveillance he deploys can serve as a warning.

Although the Manila fleet under Juan's command currently has more than 20 ships that can perform combat missions, if you take a closer look at the status of these ships, you will find that the actual combat effectiveness of this fleet is not optimistic. There are more than 20 ships.

Only five of them are serious warships, and the rest are all armed merchant ships or ordinary merchant ships temporarily equipped with a few cannons to serve as warships. Most of the sailors on board have not received formal military training. Even Juan

The commander assigned to the ship could not understand the formal combat instructions given to them.

As a last resort, Juan could only let the boatswain and captain of the ship jointly control the command. Otherwise, it would be difficult to say how much combat power these ships could exert during wartime. Juan could only pray that these civilian ships would not be destroyed.

When the war started, he escaped. Even if he couldn't defeat the Haihan Fleet, he had to try to delay the enemy's attack. But thinking about the scene when he fought with the Haihan Fleet off the coast of Sanya last year, he really didn't dare to attack this fleet.

The fleet composed of miscellaneous troops had high expectations, but he had promised Governor Aragones that he would do his best to hold back the Haihan army from landing smoothly. Although the South China Sea was large, he had no way to retreat and could only

Fighting to the death to protect Manila Bay.

On January 11, a Spanish sailing ship "Martin" patrolling the waters off Manila Bay docked at the Bataan Peninsula between Manila Bay and Subic Bay to replenish fresh water. Shortly after lowering its sails and anchoring, it was arranged above the mast.

The lookout post discovered an unidentified sailing ship at sea. After confirmation by the officers on the ship using binoculars, it was basically determined that the sailing ship operating several nautical miles offshore belonged to Haihan.

This is not because the officers on board are familiar with the appearance of the Haihan warship. In fact, the red and blue flags hanging on the mast of the ship are very conspicuous, and the Haihan people do not seem to intend to keep a low profile, so they just hang their flags.

The national flag is waving on the sea, and it is difficult to recognize it. However, this ship is alone and looks like a reconnaissance ship similar to the "Martin".

However, the "Martin" is just a civilian ship temporarily added to the Manila fleet. In addition to its fast speed, the firepower configuration on the ship is really lackluster. The two small-caliber cannons were only installed on the ship after receiving the mission this time, as well as the gunners.

The number is determined by the sailors on the ship. Such a ship naturally does not have much combat effectiveness. Of course, when Juan assigned the task, he also specifically warned the captain of the "Martin" in case he really encountered the Haihan fleet.

, the first priority is to convey the enemy's information back to Manila, rather than fighting the enemy at sea.

The "Martin" is parked at the mouth of a small river. Most of the hull is covered by the woods on the seaside. It is indeed difficult to detect its existence from the sea. And the Haihan sailboat passing here does not seem to have any

Noticing its existence, the fearful Spaniards waited for a long time before finally watching the ship disappear on the northwest sea. People on board the "Martin" knew very well that there was a natural deep-water bay in that direction.

, and even a small number of Spanish immigrants settled there, but if there are now Haihan sailing ships operating in that area, it is self-evident what this means.

There are two options before the "Martin". One is to quickly turn around and return to Manila Port, report this discovery to General Juan, and let him make subsequent decisions; the other option is to follow up and see Subi.

Is there really a Haihan fleet lurking in Kewan? Of course, the risk of the latter option will be quite high. Once discovered by the Haihan people, they may not even have a chance to withdraw to Manila.

The captain and the officers on board were also a little undecided about this. In the end, the officer made the decision and decided to follow up to see if the ship had really sailed into Subic Bay. As soon as they were sure of this, they would turn around immediately.

Return to Manila instead of venturing into Subic Bay to investigate the specific situation.

But unfortunately, they still thought of things too simply. By the time they weighed anchor and raised sail again and chased toward the northwest, there was no trace of the Haihan sailboat on the sea. The "Martin" chased for half a day, and the front was already faintly visible.

It can be seen that there is a narrow entrance to Subic Bay, but there is still no trace of the Haihan sailboat, which is a bit troublesome now.

We had agreed beforehand to withdraw when we saw the ship entering Subic Bay, but we could not see the target all the way here. So should we go in now or not? If we just go home like this, how can we tell Juan

When the general reported this, did he tell him that he had lost track of the target, and then slipped back without daring to go in because he was worried that the Haihan fleet was hidden in Subic Bay?

The dignity of the Spanish Empire did not allow them to give up. After a brief hesitation, the people on the "Martin" quickly united their opinions and decided to enter Subic Bay to find out. At the same time, they decided that if a sea was found in the bay,

Even if they saw only one of the Han sailing ships, they would immediately turn around and leave without delaying inside. They still knew something about the terrifying speed of the Hai-Han warships. If they were discovered by the opponent and pursued one after another, they would not be able to escape.

The chances will be greatly reduced.

The entrance channel of Subic Bay is about five kilometers wide, and there is a small island called Grande in the middle of the channel, which divides the entrance channel into two. This small island with an area of ​​less than one square kilometer is surrounded by dense forest.

The area covered looks no different from the common uninhabited islands in the Philippine Islands. But in fact, Yan Chujie's troops, who have already arrived here, deployed a reconnaissance squad on the island and brought a portable radio to the island to monitor the channels in and out of the harbor.

The port is monitored 24 hours a day. Although the island's commanding height is less than 100 meters above sea level, with the aid of military telescopes, it is enough to monitor a range of about ten to fifteen nautical miles outside the bay even on cloudy days.

The arrival of the "Martin" will naturally not escape the eyes of the monitors on the island. It was discovered more than ten nautical miles away from the island, and a temporary command post was quickly set up in the bay.

I got the alert.

"Now we can catch him alive." Yan Chujie was very relaxed after hearing the news. Since Haihan has set up the frontline base so close to Manila Bay and sent a reconnaissance ship out, of course he can do it.

We were ready to be discovered. But since the other party took the initiative to come to the door, there was no reason for the Haihan Army to let them go.

Yan Chujie ordered the two "Expedition"-class warships equipped with steam power systems to be ready for battle. If the opponent turns around and leaves without entering Subic Bay, then chase them and sink them.

However, the Portuguese officer who came here with the Haihan Army said that the Spaniards would definitely not turn around and leave, and the ship would definitely sail into Subic Port next.

"They claim to be the overlord of the sea, how could they leave quietly? General Yan, please rest assured that this ship will definitely come in, and it will be easier to deal with them then. If possible, I would like to personally participate in the next action

, my people are also ready to fight!"

The middle-aged officer sent by Portugal this time is named Simang. It is said that he was a real soldier who fought on the European battlefield before. However, it seems that he offended the Spanish nobles due to some private matters and could no longer stay in the army.

He came to the Far East to seek a living. Now that he had the opportunity to fight the Spaniards, Simang was very excited along the way, hoping to fight the Spaniards as soon as possible to avenge the old grudge of being humiliated by the Spaniards in Europe.

Yan Chujie was not surprised that Ximang took the initiative to ask for a fight. Since setting off from Sanya, he could certainly feel the man's eagerness to fight. However, this was what Yan Chujie was worried about. Ximang was so eager to fight the Spaniards.

It may affect his judgment in the command process. This is not a situation that Yan Chujie is happy to see. But now the target is just an armed merchant ship, and with the Haihan Navy cooperating, it can indeed be handed over to the Portuguese

Go and practice your hands to warm up your lower body, so as not to be in a state of difficulty when you start fighting directly after entering Manila Bay.

"Okay, gather your people and prepare to go into battle, but you must accept the command of our army during the operation. Do you have any questions?" Yan Chujie quickly made up his mind and asked Xi Mang for his opinion.

Of course, Simang will not have any objections. The division of labor between the two parties in this cooperative operation has been decided a long time ago. Haihan is the leader, and the Portuguese combatants must obey the command. If he refuses Yan Chujie’s request, then the other party will

Of course there are reasons not to arrange for him to play.

After waiting for half an hour, the news returned from Grand Island confirmed that Simang's judgment was correct. The Spanish sailing ship slowed down and quietly approached Manila Bay along the coastline. It seemed that

I really plan to come in and explore the truth.

The ships of the Haihan Fleet are all docked in a bay on the east side of Subic Bay. These ships cannot be found from the incoming channel. They can only be seen after sailing into a certain depth of Subic Bay.

the truth.

The "Martin" cautiously entered Subic Bay, and after sailing a certain distance north, it finally saw four sailing ships rushing out from the east harbor. Two were Haihan-style warships, and the other two were

Portuguese sailing ship. On the coast behind these four ships, you can vaguely see dozens of ships docked densely on the shore.

"Raise sail! Turn around!"

The captain of the "Martin" did not wait for orders from the ship's officers this time, and immediately took the initiative to exercise his command authority. If he did not escape quickly at this time, he might not be able to get out of Subic Bay. Regarding his move, the ship's officers

He did not express any objection. Seeing the Haihan fleet hiding in the harbor, he had no intention of fighting. The most important thing now was to send this information back to Manila City so that the defenders on the shore could have something to do.

Prepare, as for the dignity of the Spanish Empire, you can put it aside temporarily before the overall situation.

But it is not easy to escape from this place. The two Portuguese sailing ships are nothing more. What is really scary is the two Haihan warships that are emitting thick smoke and are getting closer to each other at a speed that is almost visible to the naked eye.

Martin's distance.

"Oh God! What kind of monster is that!" Facing the Haihan battleship chasing from behind, the Spanish captain could only moan helplessly. He really didn't understand why the other party could have such speed. His so-called

Comparing the Clippers with their opponent, it feels like an old cow is pulling the strings.

If the "Martin" chases and escapes at this speed, the "Martin" can escape for only half a day at most, and then it will definitely be caught up by the opponent. In order to pursue high speed, the "Martin" deliberately weakened the hull during construction.

The protective power is to reduce the weight of the ship. If the opponent catches up with it, the thin-skinned and small body of the "Martin" may not be able to withstand an approaching bombardment.

However, what really made the Spaniards on the "Martin" despair was not the two Haihan warships chasing behind them, but someone else. The officer on board the ship, who was looking at the sea in front of the ship, saw through the telescope

On the channel entering Subic Bay that we passed just now, a black sailboat flying the Haihan flag suddenly appeared. The speed was even faster than the two ships chasing behind it, and it was heading towards the "Martin"

The number rushed forward.

"What is this?"

Although the situation on the ship cannot be clearly seen through the telescope, the dangerous aura emanating from the ship is very obvious. But in this situation, if you adjust the direction to avoid the other party, you will definitely let the two chasing behind

The ship took advantage and simply rushed over. The other party would definitely not hit it anyway.

Of course, there would be no collision, but when the two ships were still hundreds of meters away, the artillery on the other side's ship opened fire first. Long-distance firing was considered a demonstration in naval battles of this era, because after all,

The range and accuracy of naval guns are very limited, and there is no actual threat at a longer combat distance, so the people on the "Martin" did not feel panic because of this.

However, the first shell accurately hit the starboard side of the "Martin" and opened a hole the size of a washbasin in the hull. After the shell penetrated the entire hull laterally, it smashed another hole with a diameter of 100 meters on the port side.

Large holes exceeding one meter. The only good thing is that these two holes are above the waterline, so there is no danger of water entering the "Martin" yet.
Chapter completed!