C396 Molière's Elite Armament

The Ryukyu was facing the west. The busy trading routes in the ocean had long since become empty sails. The empty sea had become a place for the French Fleet to show off its might.

When the French Fleet crossed the Gonggu Strait, it used the Swallow's Wing formation from the south to the north. The purpose of this formation was to drive out the merchant ships and fishing boats that would affect the fighting on the sea.

But when the fleet officially entered the stage of shooting at the port, the formation turned into a flat circular formation. The eight battleships formed a closed circle on the sea surface, and with every turn, the battleship would have two opportunities to shoot.

"Starboard fire... Zuo Manduo... "Good job, I will give all of you credit. Bring out your professional qualities to open the eyes of these barbarians!"

When one of the cannons on the Seven Stars Mountain outside the Shouli City finally collapsed, Molière jumped around the deck excitedly as he pointed at the Naha Harbor and cursed.

"Barbarians of East Asia, don't think that you are invincible just because you know some of the latest Western technology... "Today, I will teach you all a good lesson. The war has come to its end because of the people, and also because of the quality of the soldiers …"

"Do you know how to use reinforced concrete? No matter how thick and heavy the tortoise shell was, there would always be a day when it would be broken … After walking around the street and buying them, he would install a rifled cannon? Don't forget that we have them in France, too, and do you poor people use these kinds of advanced weapons? "

"Warriors of the France, elite soldiers of the navy, do not be stingy with your ammunition, fire, fire, fire!"

The Glory had just drawn a circle on the surface of the sea, and was ready to shoot. When Molière shouted, countless of orders to shoot came out from the shooting deck.

Boom! Boom! Boom! From the thick white smoke, one shadow after another rushed towards the port's cannon emplacement. However, this time, their aim was not accurate, and their original target was the cannon emplacement on the Seven Stars Mountain. Unexpectedly, most of the cannons landed on a warehouse area in the port.

Amidst the gunfire, Captain Bruce was not as crazy as Molière. As the special envoy from Paris, he could brag about his feelings as he wished.

However, he had to remain calm during the war, because he was the person in charge of this fleet, a first class military officer. If he won this battle, Molière would have to split the credit, but if he lost, Bruce didn't even need to think about it. He knew that he would be the scapegoat even if he thought he was right behind her.

It was under this kind of pressure that Molière led even more carefully. The hands of Qipao on the Glory had been worn out lately, and Bruce's orders did not stop one after another.

"Notify the Zodiac, there's a problem with his position. Why would he stand out so much in the ring-shaped array? Waiting for the enemy to focus their bombardment? "Retreat …"

"What is the Roman doing? Why is the firepower so weak this time? "Immediately remove the artillery malfunction..."

"Trash …" The Sailor on the Sea God should have been shot to death. "You guys have already slowed down …"

Bruce's eyes were now completely red. He had been shooting against the port cannon for an hour and a half already, and during this period, all the ships were injured to varying degrees. Especially since the sail was already full of holes due to the enemy's attacks.

Now, the entire fleet's speed had been reduced by 30%, some of the battleships had already reached the point where it was impossible to not change the sails, and the 10 cannons guarding Naha Harbor had only been destroyed 2. As for the cannons closest to the Shouli City, they had already been baptized in five consecutive shots, but they still continued to stubbornly resist.

"General Bruce, do you have any questions? Why did I hear a trace of fear and uneasiness in your voice? Do you doubt our victory? " Molière suddenly asked coldly.

Bruce did not dare delay and immediately smiled, "His Excellency the Special Envoy, of course France will win, but I hope that on the road to victory, we can reduce the number of casualties …"

"His Excellency the Special Envoy, do you think we should retreat for now …?" "Some sails need to be changed, and many artillery shells need to be inspected for excessive heat. If the sails are blown up …"

"No, no, no, we have to maintain the fire density. We have to give the enemy the greatest pressure, because only then will we be able to drag the enemy inside the port …" Molière rejected Bruce's request on the spot.

"General, please remember, this punishment mission of ours is not a simple one. Destroying a bit of wealth can be considered as completing our mission, our goal is to completely destroy Xiao Letian's foundation in the Ryukyu … and all of this has to go to our Marines, and we have to go up there... "

"We want to take over the Shouli City, we want to kill all the resistance, and we need to capture the Ryukyu even more so! That pitiful young king, he must give me a letter of submission to France!"

Molière suddenly became excited: "Previously, I did not know what exactly was the point of our trip to East Asia, but when I arrived here, and saw the Ryukyu with my own eyes, I suddenly realised that there is one more colony in our France!"

"The position of this chain of islands is simply too great. If it is converted into a military base that belongs to us, we can use it to control Japan, Korea, and even the Kingdom of Qing … And then there is the island of Taiwan, which we saw before we came here. Isn't this a gift from God to His Majesty the Emperor that such a large island is still in its undeveloped stage? "

Molière grabbed General Bruce's shoulders and said excitedly, "For the sake of His Majesty the Emperor, for the sake of the France, even if we all die here, what's there to be afraid of! General Bruce, as long as you have such contributions, the military department of the Empire of Paris will be your paradise in the future! "

Bruce replied excitedly, "Yes, Sir Envoy. For the Emperor, for the sake of the Empire, I am willing to die!"

Although he said that, his mind was in chaos as he thought, "It's really that easy?" Don't even mention it, just by shooting at Shouli City's 280 caliber huge cannon, I knew that Xiao Letian wasn't an easy opponent to deal with … Emperor, emperor's fault, the more I look at you, the more I feel that something is amiss. You have shown your loyalty to Napoleon III way too many times, don't you think that it's already been a few thousand times? "

Bruce guessed with incomparable malice. He even suspected that Molière had an improper relationship with the Emperor. Oh, God! There were a lot of these things in Paris, maybe Bruce's guess was true.

The expedition fleet had two light cruisers, the Wave Breaker and the Treadmill Boat. These two cruisers with the smallest tonnage were the two missing battleships that Xiang Ying and the others had mentioned earlier on. They were also the main characters of Molière's sneak attack plan.

In the war of dominating the seas, battleships, as the ultimate weapon with the largest tonnage, the most powerful firepower, and the most defensive power, were of course the embodiment of a nation's strength. But in practice, small and medium-sized warships can sometimes be just as useful.

Shattered Waves and Treadmill, two light cruisers with only a single deck, and more than forty cannons in total, had their advantages, namely, agility, speed, and shallow water that allowed them to navigate through dangerous reefs or shallow seas.

Right now, the two battleships were rapidly heading north on the Pacific Ocean to the east of Bulbus Glazed Island. In the eyes of the sailors, the Ryukyu Island was just a black line in the distance.

The deck was not only filled with busily moving sailors, but also full of marines. Two enhanced companies of nearly three hundred soldiers were quietly sitting on the deck, accumulating energy. They were about to land in a battle of attrition.

This was a group of French Army wearing red military uniforms, and each of them had more than ten years of military service.

From the beginning of Napoleon's era until the Second World War, although the middle France had experienced many chaos and military failures, the French Army's reputation had always been very high.

It was just that Napoleon's victory back then was too glorious. He had to travel to Egypt, destroy the anti-French alliance, conquer the Germany and even travel to the Tsar Russia. If not for the fact that the winter in Russia was too cold, even the polar bear would not be able to keep up with Napoleon.

It was also from that time onwards that the French Army wearing red military uniform became one of the most powerful armies in the world. Even the British Empire did not dare to steal the limelight from the French Army.

Today, even though Molière had only brought over a thousand Marine Corps members, these elite soldiers who originally came from the army lines, their fighting capabilities were not something these backward countries in East Asia could imagine.

Look at their spirits! On the deck, there were two companies of veterans, yet they were not nervous at all. Some calmly wiped their weapons, while others lowered their heads and closed their eyes to rest, as if the upcoming battle was just a casual stroll to them.

The two battleships pierced through the waves, the full sail cutting through the wind, and two long white waves drawn on the blue Pacific Ocean. When the battleships reached the northern mountains, the two captains shouted at almost the same time.

"Zuo Manduo... gunner is ready to shoot … Marine Corps ready for landing... "

The battleship drew a huge white wave on the surface of the sea and went directly to the surface of the sea outside the Guotou Village. This was the northernmost point of the Bulbus Glazed Island and also the area with the weakest defense.

In Molière's plan, the two cruisers would be swapped for accurate and quick reloading cannons, the 40 most advanced cannons would be enough to provide firepower support to the Marines, and the two companies wouldn't need to go in alone at all. As long as they firmly occupied the Guotou Village and established a stable landing position for the following troops, that would be enough.

Molière was confident that the Ryukyu Kingdom was, after all, just a small island nation with no strategy within, and no reinforcements at sea. As long as his own warship sealed off all the exits from the islands, and destroyed all the ships, the Bulbus Glazed Island would become a dead fish in the sea.

When that time came, the French Army would be able to control the entire island with the help of the battleship cannons. Since Molière wasn't in a rush, Napoleon didn't set a time limit.

By the time Xiao Letian returned to the Ryukyu, he would already be loyal to France.