In 1558 AD, the book "Wu Bian" compiled by Tang Shunzhi, a Ming Dynasty man, recorded in detail a "underwater thunder" structure and layout method used to combat Japanese pirates who invaded China's coastal areas at that time.

This is the earliest manual control, mechanically fired anchor lightning. It uses a wooden box as a lightning shell, putty sticks to the joints, and black gunpowder is installed inside. Its firing device is made of a long rope without knotting, and is detonated by a person pulling fire.

A Sevastopol rope sinker is swung under the wooden box with 3 iron anchors, controlling the depth of the thunder body in the water.

In 1590 AD, China invented the earliest thunder-drifting - the "Dragon King Cannon under the Water" with incense burning as a regular fuse. Nine years later, China's Wang Minghe invented the "Thunder under the Water" with ropes as a bump.

In 1621 AD, the "Dragon King Cannon Underwater" and "Thunder Underwater" were improved to trigger lightning to touch the line fuse, and enemy ships were damaged many times in naval battles.

It was not until the 18th century that Europe and the United States began to use mines in actual combat. During the North American War of Independence, North Americans put gunpowder and mechanical fuses into small beer barrels to make mines and drift downstream on January 7, 1778.

Although he did not encounter a warship at that time, he suddenly exploded when he was fished out by British sailors, killing and injuring some people, known in history as the "Little Kite War".

In the mid-19th century, the Russian B.C. Yatubi invented the electrolyte triggered anchor mine. In the Crimean War of 1854-1856, Tsarist Russia applied this triggered anchor mine to the harbor defense war.

Since then, various types of mines have been continuously developed and improved and widely used. In the American Civil War and the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, mines have achieved great results.

Since then, countries have paid more attention to mine warfare and invested a lot of manpower and material resources to speed up research and manufacture various mines. During World War I, the two sides deployed a total of 310,000 mines of various types, sinking 148 surface ships, 54 submarines, and 586 merchant ships, totaling 1.22 million tons.

In modern naval warfare, mines are indispensable weapons. An old-fashioned mine that costs less than a few dollars is enough to kill a modern warship that costs tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars.

The Mediterranean Fleet was arranged in the Gibraltar Sea this time, which was the triggered "Dragon King Underwater Cannon" and "Thunder Underwater" brought by Ouyang Shuo, with thousands of pieces, and the inventory of the War Readiness Agency was emptied.

The mine manufacturing technology is in line with the Ming Dynasty firearm manufacturing technology. After improvements from the No. 7 Research Institute, the explosion is more powerful, the more sensitive the triggering, and the more secret it is placed on the sea surface.

Shanhaicheng has been secretly unproclaimed. One is that after its development, the Great Xia Dynasty did not have any large-scale naval battles; the other is that it is also for the need for confidentiality, as a strategic weapon.

When he provoked the National War of Morocco, in view of the complex situation in the Mediterranean, Ouyang Shuo decided to let the Underwater Dragon King Cannon be released, and he used it in this naval battle, and it really hit it with one blow.

Although the Western technology tree is ahead of the East, it is a little behind in mine technology. Therefore, neither Casillas nor Alexander Farnese would have expected that it would be attacked by mines.

This general idea, or arrogance, brings bitter fruit.

Although Alexander Farnese urgently ordered the warships to stop advancing, the sailing battleships that sailed rapidly could not stop just by saying that they could stop.

The explosions are still endless.

A large number of warships were hit by mines, and the severely damaged ones were already slowly sinking.

What's worse is that in just a moment, the two formations of the Mediterranean Fleet had quickly approached, arranged in a shape, and began to fire at the Spanish Invincible Fleet.

The two formations were one in the south and one in the north, with full firepower and aimed at key parts such as sails, masts and muzzles of the enemy ships. The first goal was to lose their navigation capabilities.

As mentioned above, it is difficult to achieve decisive results in a short period of time for simple sail battleships to shell each other. The only way is to break the mast.

The battleship without the mast and sail trend is like a tiger without teeth.

Alexander Farnese was no ordinary person. He quickly calmed down and directed the fleet to fight back. The brave ones won when they met on a narrow road. The invincible fleet actually had a numerical advantage, not without any power to fight back.

But if this fight continues, the Mediterranean Fleet will have the advantage of formation, attacking on both sides, and if it is two to one, the Spanish Invincible Fleet will be defeated even if it is not destroyed.

The incident happened to Casillas. Casillas, who had recovered a little, was still scared. Looking around, nearly thirty main battleships had sunk in the blink of an eye.

This loss made Casillas pale.

The Invincible Armada is the property of the entire Spain and must not be defeated in one go.

"No, I can't fight like this."

Casillas immediately reacted that if the Invincible Fleet really suffered heavy damage in this battle, the Gallic Fleet and the Roman Fleet would never give Spain a second chance to enter the Mediterranean.

It will be true despair until then. In the end, the face is small and the benefits are big.

"Retreat, retreat!"

Casillas found Alexander Farnese and issued an order to withdraw his troops.

"What did you say?" Alexander Farnese couldn't believe it.

Unexpectedly, Casillas had a firm attitude and said firmly: "General, at this moment, preserving the fleet is the top priority. You won't know the subtle situation in the Mediterranean, right?"

When Alexander Farnese heard this, he looked silent and could see through it. Although he was unwilling to give up, Alexander Farnese had to admit that what Casillas said made sense and gritted his teeth and said, "Then let's withdraw!"

"withdraw!"

Soon, the order for the whole team to retreat was conveyed.

Unfortunately, even if the Spanish Invincible Fleet wants to withdraw, not all warships can withdraw. No matter if they are hit by mines or the masts are broken by the Mediterranean Fleet, they cannot leave.

Such warships actually account for one-third of the entire fleet.

Furthermore, the Invincible Fleet has entered the depths of the minefield. At this moment, it is very difficult to stop in a hurry and turn the bow of the ship. During the process, it is inevitable that the mines laid in the sea will be hit again and again.

It's really a disaster that never comes alone.

Fortunately, the Spanish Invincible Fleet is a well-trained mature fleet, ranging from commanders to generals and even navy and crew members, all of which are experienced.

Therefore, although this incident has been caused by continuous changes, it is still panicked and unconfused. The warships have turned around in the fire of artillery and turned around collectively. During the process, they can still fire the gun and fight back.

The foundation of the old-fashioned maritime empire should not be underestimated.

Seeing that the enemy was about to retreat, Alvaro naturally would not let it go easily, so he ordered the fleet to bypass the minefield and continue to pursue. Relying on the territorial characteristics of the Great Xia Dynasty, the Mediterranean fleet was a little faster than the Invincible Fleet.

In addition, the warships of the Invincible Fleet are more or less attacked by mines, and they are more likely to be caught up by the Mediterranean Fleet and encounter continuous bombardment.

The shells slashed across the sky and exploded on the deck, making people overturned.

This time, both Casillas and Alexander Farnese had a headache.

"No, you can't just withdraw like this. If you continue to waste like this, the fleet will be slowly exhausted." At the critical moment, Alexander Farnese made a decision and immediately ordered twenty warships to turn the bows of the ships again, connecting the heads and tails, and blocking the Mediterranean fleet's pursuit route with iron ropes across the river.

The remaining warships took the opportunity to flee in a panic.

When Alvaro saw this, he sighed with a complicated expression and said, "You guys escaped!" After all, he was born in Spain. Although he is his master now, he can't bear to face his old boss again.

But no matter how hard I can't bear it, I still have to fight.

…………

An hour later, the Spanish Invincible Fleet, which had broken his arms, finally got rid of the pursuit of the Mediterranean Fleet, passed through the Strait of Gibraltar again, and retreated to the country in a mess.

It is really sad to die before he goes to the battle.

The entire warship was shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere. Casillas was ashamed. He remembered the bold words before departure and saw the strange eyes thrown by other Mediterranean lords. Casillas could hardly raise his head, and he had no face to face these allies anymore.

Seeing that the Spanish Invincible Fleet was defeated in front of two formations of the Mediterranean Fleet, the warships were lost more than half and their strength suddenly decreased. These Mediterranean allies were really shocked and had different expressions.

From this point of view, the already weird situation in the Mediterranean is probably going to cause trouble again.

As for the two Moroccan lords Caroline and Rainier, they were already ashamed at this time. They knew better than anyone else that Morocco's last chance to win was completely ruined in a big explosion just now.

Rainier had a strong temperament and committed suicide on the spot and went to the royal city's reincarnation hall.

Caroline didn't have the courage to commit suicide, so she locked herself in the cabin and no one saw her again. She was just waiting for the system to pronounce the demise of Morocco and went to the trial land together.

At this moment, warships came from the sea ahead, which was the fifth formation of the Mediterranean Fleet stationed at the Key Point City. According to the plan, the fifth formation was responsible for intercepting the Invincible Fleet.

Compared with Alexander Farnese, Alvaro still needs to be better at his skills and accurately plan.

With the current remnant body of the Spanish Invincible Armada, he was not afraid of the provocation of the fifth formation, and he was even sure to win the battle. However, Casillas, who was still in shock, was no longer willing to fight. He was worried that the fleet would be dragged by the enemy and would be chased by the other two formations chasing behind him.

By then, under the attack from front and back, the Invincible Armada would be doomed.

Therefore, when he saw the fifth formation, Casillas had no idea and directly allocated twenty warships to intercept them. The remaining main forces guarded the flagship, took a detour, and fled back to the country in a panic.
Chapter completed!