The Sun and the Lion

As the sky grew dark, both sides tacitly rested on the north and south banks, taking inventory of the losses suffered during the day's battle and the remaining military supplies to prepare for tomorrow's war.

The quartermaster who was ordered to count the losses looked embarrassed in front of the admiral: "Your Excellency, our army's losses are not optimistic. There are nearly two hundred casualties. If measured based on today's consumption, the arrow reserves are only enough for less than three days, and gunpowder and shells... …There are not many left. At the same time, the hulls of the ships were severely damaged. One of them required thirty sailors to continuously pump water in the bottom cabin to maintain buoyancy. However, the fleet did not reserve the corresponding materials, and the ship's craftsmen were unable to carry out the necessary work on the hull. Repair work.”

Such a report made Hussein's face darken, and he immediately ordered to his staff: "I will send you ashore to inquire about the attitude of the local people, and see if you can find a way to supplement some scarce supplies. If you can win over local people who are willing to fight side by side, Volunteers, that would be great.”

"Yes, Your Excellency." The staff member quickly walked out of the cabin after receiving the order.

Originally, he wanted to send someone to contact Ayaz again, but the lookout told him that the entrance to the sea had been blocked and no ships could pass. Hussein shook his head and looked at the dark sea through the window. He did not know that Ayaz What are you doing now? Are you already preparing to join the war, or have you colluded with Kafir?

After briefly talking to the captains of each ship to understand the situation, the physically and mentally exhausted Mamluk Admiral rested until early morning. When it was slightly light, the staff responsible for going ashore to contact him had returned and brought him bad news - due to the battle situation during the day, The Indians of Jore are on the fence about jihad and are neutral for the time being.

Seeing that he could not get much help, Hussein asked the quartermaster to count the fleet's combat readiness inventory again, intending to bite the bullet and fight the Portuguese for another day.

…………

Lorenzo, who believed he had the initiative, held a plenary meeting when the sun rose. Except for the Karak, which was on guard at the mouth of the river, all the captains gathered together, as well as the German Michel, the main gunner of the flagship.

"Everyone, I don't think we should defend now. Yesterday's battle during the day has demonstrated the weakness of the Muslims. The one who attacks should be our army, which is blessed by God." At the beginning of the meeting, the Portuguese unanimously decided to launch an attack.

Regarding how to attack, Michel was the first to speak out. He suggested confidently: "Your Excellencies, there is no need to waste the energy and lives of our soldiers to take risks. Whatever you want can be obtained in a safe way. Only The gunners and I need to take risks. I made a visual inspection last night. As long as I maneuver the fleet to the position I designated, set the angle and maintain the appropriate distance, I can ensure that the boys under my command can make no damage before sunset. Sink all the Rum battleships, and if you fail, you can cut off both my arms and the arms of all the gunners."

The Germans explained in detail their own firearms advantages to the Portuguese nobles present. Now that their warships have basically assembled, the gap in the number of artillery is no longer huge. At the same time, the advantage in gunnery makes this tactic more feasible.

But such a sound tactic was rejected by Lorenzo: "No, you cannot rely on artillery to destroy the enemy. This is not what warriors do. God will not approve of this approach. We cannot win glory in the battle."

The Portuguese nobles present all agreed with this high-sounding rhetoric. Although warships were generally equipped with artillery, under this advantageous situation, most people still recognized gang-hopping warfare. After all, only hand-to-hand combat can reflect the value of the chain armor and plate armor worn by noble officers and the martial arts they have learned throughout their lives. And only by capturing a complete ship can you obtain complete trophies. Catching sunken ships is time-consuming and laborious, and the property and supplies are soaked. The value will also shrink or even lose value completely.

Lorenzo needed a convincing victory as capital for promotion, and the officers resolutely opposed any suspected cowardice and greed for money. "Glory comes from individual heroic actions and looting of spoils. Everyone is eager to obtain glory and wealth." , turning a deaf ear to the German advice, determined to jump onto the enemy ship and win everything with the sword.”

The gang-hopping battle passed smoothly in the vote. Everyone then spent a short time to lay out the tactics, but the fighter plane never arrived.

It was not until noon that the wind blew on the river to break the deadlock between the two armies. Two small Karaks took the lead and slowly moved to both ends of the Mamluk fleet, and arrows fell on the deck again.

The Portuguese sailors fearlessly threw the hook rope to the side of the Egyptian Karak ship. The nobles wearing fine armor overcame the height difference between the two ships, successfully climbed to the deck of the enemy ship, and arbitrarily slashed and killed the bows and arrows that could not react. hand.

Seeing that it was difficult to organize a defense, the Mamluk army planned to abandon the severely damaged ship. The sailors who were originally piled in the bottom cabin to operate the water pumps ran to the top deck. Officers and elite warriors in chainmail guarded the retreat channel. Ensure that all your own soldiers can successfully evacuate to another ship. Find Shuyuan www. zhaoshuyuan． com

"The Rummen scuttled the ship. They wanted to use this poisonous trick to drown the unstoppable knights!" Seeing that the ship was sinking irreversibly, the Portuguese offensive quickly stalled. Lourenco immediately ordered the fleet to put down all the small boats. Go and pick up the commandos.

Just as the weather was not favorable, the north wind blowing southward weakened, and the Portuguese warship lost the power to advance southward. Michel once again suggested to Lourenco: "Your Excellency, our ship is so close to the enemy ship, no matter what. Even a clumsy gunner will not miss! As long as you give the order, the enemy ship can be torn apart by the cannonballs immediately."

Lourenço still had doubts about the bombardment, and he wanted to tow at least one ship back to Cochin as loot, but just as he hesitated, the Mamluk archers locked their eyes on the conspicuous target on the deck.

A stray arrow hit the face of the deputy king's son, and the personal attendants on the side hurriedly lifted him into the cabin. The injured commander adopted the suggestion at this time, and asked the entire fleet, including the escorted Cochin merchant ship, to take advantage of the current wind direction. Retreat downstream with the current and bombard the enemy ships to prevent pursuit.

Fortunately, the news of Lourenco's injury was limited to the flagship and did not shake the morale of the entire army. The Portuguese fleet calmly carried out the order issued by the flagship and sailed downstream.

Hussein actually felt a sense of schadenfreude when he saw the enemy change their targets due to the change in wind direction. When all the boats reached the mouth of the river, Ayaz, who had been watching from the sidelines, had to fight even if he didn't want to. As for his own fleet, the hulls of each ship were severely damaged, the personnel were suffered heavy losses, and the enemy's bombardment was very sharp. He was temporarily unable to pursue the fleeing enemy alone.

He took one last look at the sunken Karak ship, with only the mast exposed on the water, and then ordered: "Count the casualties, ammunition, and remaining personnel, put away the anchors, and be ready to go down the river at any time."