Chapter 138: Naval Warfare In The Harbour

Both fleets were now positioning themselves to land a devastating blow to each other. The Luxenberg fleet had already begun departing from the harbour. Two ships of the line were leading the way while the other two held the rear. In the centre was the devastating flagship of the Luxenberg Navy: The Holy Trinity.

Prince Gu San-Tong was beginning to panic; his ships had not only lost the element of surprise, but they were also slowly losing the support of the cannons from the docks. The further away the Luxenberg fleet went, the less effective the cannons were.

The Gu Prince had to make a decision. He could order his fleet to try and outmanoeuvre the Luxenberg fleet by cutting off their escape. Or he could begin their attack now and risk the chance of receiving heavy damage to his fifteen ships. His ships may have lacked the quality of their adversaries, but their numerical advantage made up for it.

"Captain, are we in range and ready to fire?" Prince Gu San-Tong asked. The captain nodded firmly and assured the prince that all their ships were in range. For a moment, the prince weighed his options, his confidence wavering due to the derailing of his plans.

"Fire when we ready captain," Prince Gu San-Tong said softly, not fully sure if this was the right decision. Nevertheless, the captain obeyed his Prince's command and ordered the ships to fire.

At his orders, all Gu ships fired towards their Luxenberg counterparts. Thunderous booms rang out and hundreds of cannonballs were sent hurling towards the 5 Luxenberg ships. "Brace for impact!" Shouted Grand Admiral Nelson as his fleet took on the full force of the enemy fleet.

Wood was splintered and bodies were thrown about. The ships rocked as they were thrown about due to the force of the cannonballs. Despite the damage, the Luxenberg fleet held firm and offered its own retaliation.

The violent roars of Luxenberg cannons screamed out as they hurled vicious cannonballs towards the Gu ships. As much as the Gu sailors tried to brace for impact, it did not matter. A few of their smaller ships were eviscerated and sunk. In contrast, some of the ships that were equal to the Luxenberg ships of the line sustained hefty damage.

With the morale-shattering volley, the Luxenberg fleet began to put some distance between themselves and the Gu fleet. Two of the Luxenberg ships of the line had sustained heavy damage and as a consequence trailed behind the rest of their ships.

Sadly for them, staggering behind left them as prime targets for a fast-pursuing Gu naval fleet. They were aware of their perilous situation and decided to turn their ships and battle the oncoming enemies. 

Their captains decided it was in the kingdom's best interest to see that some of them return rather than none at all. Grand Admiral Nelson was also a top-ranking figure in the kingdom, and his ship was the crown jewel of the navy, it was imperative that they escape.

The two remaining Luxenberg ships began to prepare for another devastating broadside attack. The remaining dozen of Gu ships saw what was ahead, full well knowing to expect a broadside attack. Regardless of that, Prince Gu San-Tong persisted in his pursuit. He did not want to fail and face the wrath of his father.

His rashness would cost his fleet many lives as they went head onto a barrage of cannon balls. Once more bodies flailed about and supplies were scattered everywhere. One ship even lost its main mast.

Even in the face of heavy damage, Prince Gu San-Tong was swift to deal with the two Luxenberg ships covering the retreat. They were easily overwhelmed and simply dealt with. At least the Luxenberg ships went down with a fight.

As Prince Gu San-Tong was about to order his ships to pursue Grand Admiral Nelson and the remainder of his ships, his ship's captain urged the prince to pull back. Many of their ships were heavily damaged, a third of them had been sunk. 

"What do you mean we should head back?! You know my father's orders! We can not let them escape," Prince Gu San-Tong said frustratedly. The ship's captain turned pale as he was scared to stand up to the Prince, but it had to be done.

"My Prince, we can not follow, our ships will only falter and wear down. Worst case scenario, our ships will be left stranded in the middle of the ocean. I implore that you return to the harbour. We have too many wounded."

Prince Gu San-Tong lashed out and struck the captain calling him a coward. He was about to continue hitting the poor ship captain until he saw the damage that they had sustained. As much as he wanted to pursue the Luxenberg ships, he knew he could not do it. "Return to the harbour!" Prince Gu ordered, visibly annoyed that he had failed.

The Gu fleet returned shortly after their engagement. Wounded soldiers were rushed to hospitals, while any abled-bodied man was seeing to the ship's repairs. News of this failure quickly spread to the capital, and as a result, Prince Gu San-Tong was summoned to the palace.

In just under two weeks, Prince Gu San-Tong and his guards rode back to Xiangyang. Upon his arrival, the Prince faced a harsh and public bollocking by his father: King Gu Tian. "What were my orders, son? Sink all their ships, or at least do not allow them to escape! Your failure has put our plans into jeopardy."

"Father, I am sorry. I have no excuses for my failure," Gu San-Tong said while prostrating himself in front of his father's throne. Stetson, Gu Lintian and Gu Yichen were all present to witness the King berate Gu San-Tong.

The King bore a foul expression as he dismissed everyone including his sons from the throne room. With everyone's departure an old hunchback man dressed in fine silk approached the throne.

"Your Majesty, the ship containing King Luxenberg's gift has just departed from the capital, it should arrive in just under two months." The old man said while bowing. The king smirked and gave a small hand gesture for the old man to straighten himself.

"That is good. Although our plans have had a slight hiccup, we are still on track. Prepare our army for invasion. We shall set sail for Bulgar in a few months. Their lands will be ours and their people shall be our slaves," The king said in a maniacal tone.

One month later Grand Admiral Nelson and his ships returned to Hannover.