Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 452 The Battle of Changxing Island

At this time, the Qing army fleet slowly approached Changxing Island according to the needle map and compass.Everyone on the five battleships dared not speak loudly. All they could hear were the clang of the fleet splitting the waves and the creaking of the masts.

On the main deck of the "Zhenbei" at the forefront of the fleet, the sailors standing at the bow suddenly heard a strange buzzing sound.He listened to the outside of the ship for a while, and when he looked back, the sailor on the opposite side also shook his head.But he soon understood that the voice came from the sky.So he hastened to sign to the people on board, pointing to the air.

However, everyone on the deck looked up at the sky, and saw nothing except the yellow dragon flag flying on the top of the main mast.

"Look! There!" Suddenly, a sailor pointed to a figure that appeared and disappeared from the mist not far from the front of the ship.

The instructors of the East India Company were stunned for a moment, and then they crossed themselves on their chests.

"what is that?"

"I don't know," the interpreter said in a low voice, "But I have heard that those monsters in Beihai used sorcery without authorization, and the imperial court suffered a lot."

"Witchcraft?" Several British people heard their prayers silently: "O Lord of Armies!"

Soon, the "monster" quickly passed over the head of "Zhenbei" and flew towards the several battleships behind.The sudden unknown object cast an ominous shadow on the minds of the Qing army and the British who participated in this operation.

On the Thunder God four kilometers away, Deng Fei and the others finally saw the towering mast, the waving Yellow Dragon flag, the white sails and the dense ropes on the screen, they were shocked and blurted out: "Sailing Fleet?!"

"When did the Qing Dynasty have a sailing fleet?!"

Jiang Fan asked Ding Guofeng, "What is the Sailing Fleet?"

Deng Fei didn't have time to explain, so he hurriedly picked up the walkie-talkie, adjusted the frequency, and said loudly, "Guo Xuexian, do you hear me?"

"heard it!"

"Let a 75mm gun fire, the target is... 17 degrees north-northwest, distance 3.8 kilometers, fire a shot, immediately!"

The Beihai Navy's marine 75mm gun is only equipped with a direct-firing sight, and there is no curved sight.All gunners must memorize the shooting table and calculate the height of the muzzle according to the distance.As for the orientation, there is a small marine compass on each gun position, and a universal angle ruler can be solved by putting it on the gun body.

Twenty seconds later, a cannon on the port side of Beihai No. 20 roared, and the warhead made of cast iron disappeared in the dense fog in an instant, and then a slight explosion sound was heard from the distant sea.

On the radar screen, the five sailing ships were still moving forward; and on the blurred picture returned by the drone, the shell hit the sea surface outside the starboard side of the third ship in the fleet.

Deng Fei and the others didn't know that the Qing fleet had already been startled by this cannonball.

The Qing army knew that the cannons of the Beihai Navy could hit far, but so far, the Manchu and Qing forces had no idea of ​​the shape and structure of the Beihai Navy's cannons.In the consideration of the Qing Dynasty, the cannons of the Beihai Navy must be tens of thousands of kilograms of cannons that can hit more than ten or twenty miles; and how did the Beihai Navy carry such heavy artillery?In the past many reconnaissances by the sentry of the Qing army, no troops transporting this kind of artillery were found at all.

The British also knew that the artillery of the Beihai Navy was powerful. They not only learned about it from the generals of the Qing army, but also inferred from the situation that the Thunder God bombarded Hengqin Island a few years ago.

The British opium merchants at that time made written records of the tragic situation after the shelling of Hengqin Island and sued the East India Company.But the reply from the East India Company at that time was, you deserve it, who told you to sell opium to China!Wouldn't it be nice to ship it back to Europe?So the matter was over.

The report, however, caught the attention of retired Navy personnel on the Madras side.

In the age of sail, the commander of a warship must not only understand tactics, but also understand technology, otherwise the effectiveness of weapons will not be fully utilized.

As some people said, get a battleship or an aircraft carrier from another time and space.Let alone whether there are tens of thousands of technical talent reserves, do you know what kind of tactics should be used in combat?The techniques are different, and the tactics are also different.

You have to sing whatever song you want to go to any mountain, and you want to let your temper do what you want?Grandma!
Having said that, from the report of the "Hengqin Island Incident", the retired military officer keenly discovered that the artillery on the Raytheon used explosive bombs, and the shelling distance exceeded 1.5 miles, which is 2.4 kilometers; and according to the remaining shrapnel, The shells it uses are not spherical at all.

This shocked the retired officer, because such artillery technology is too advanced.At the end of the eighteenth century, the most effective firepower of long-barreled guns used by ships was one mile, and sometimes it could reach two thousand yards (1828 meters), and it was meaningless to go further, it was pure nonsense.

However, the naval gunnery of this era is characterized by salvos and rapid fire at close range, and single shots are meaningless.It is precisely because of this guiding ideology of naval warfare that the emergence and large-scale application of the "Caron Cannon" were facilitated.

Furthermore, due to the problem of technological development, the fuze of the explosive bomb has time.What is the fuze like for an explosive bomb fired at more than two thousand yards?After the cannon is fired, there is a "long braid" with smoke?
Therefore, the British are extremely curious about the Thor, and are eager to learn about its ship construction and advanced artillery technology.This is also the main reason why the officer corps of the Admiralty is willing to fight.

But what puzzled the generals of the Qing army and the British at the moment was that even though the opponent's cannons could shoot far, they had to see themselves first.

Let's just say that the sea is filled with fog, the visible distance is less than a mile, and our own actions are sufficiently concealed, it shouldn't be!
Suddenly, the British naval captain Horatio Nelson on the Zhenbei seemed to understand something. He murmured: "It's the thing that flew over from the sky just now! It's the enemy's reconnaissance equipment. They use a strange hot air balloon!"

The leader of the Qing Army Water Battalion on the side quickly asked the translator, "What is he talking about?"

After hearing the translation, the co-leader was dumbfounded and said, "The ball? Can it fly in the sky?!"

On June 1783, 6, the French papermakers Montgolfier Brothers made a public performance at the Place Annone in Lyon, and a simulated balloon with a circumference of 4 feet flew 110 miles.In November of the same year, the two brothers carried out the world's first hot air balloon manned aerial flight in the Mouette Castle in Paris, flying for 1.5 minutes.

In Horatio Nelson's view, six years had passed since the invention of the hot air balloon, and perhaps the Northern Navy had acquired the technology from the French.

"It turns out that hot air balloons can still be used like this!" 31-year-old Horatio Nelson suddenly realized.Only the Thor, with its wide deck and no dense masts, can have the conditions to release hot air balloons.

Thinking of this, he immediately explained to the leader of the Qing army.Soon, the gunners of the Qing army on the deck raised their loaded shotguns and flintlock guns one after another, waiting for the buzzing "ball" to appear again.

The problem is that Deng Fei will not give the Qing fleet a chance to approach.

After learning the position of the impact point, Deng Fei quickly changed the shooting direction, and ordered the fifteen guns on the port side of Beihai No. Five rapid fires were fired at the fleet position.

Although the artillery on the sailing ship was dense, no one would order all the guns on one side of the hull to fire at the same time, because in that case, the hull structure would not be able to withstand such a huge recoil.

"Pay attention! The direction is 16 degrees north-northwest, and the distance is 3.1 kilometers!"

As the preparations for the gun positions were completed, Guo Xuexian, who was standing on the main deck of Beihai No. [-], immediately issued an order to fire.

"Ready! Fire!"

The rumbling thunder pierced through the layers of fog, and before the people on the Qing army fleet turned pale with shock, successive explosions sounded before and after the fleet.

The third place in the fleet was the "Dinghai". The middle of the thick fir foremast was hit by a shell, and immediately turned into a ball of fire. Part of the shrapnel flew downward, causing casualties on the front deck.

At this time, no one on the "Zhenbei" cared about the "ball" in the sky anymore, and everyone shrank on the deck in fright, as if they could avoid the roaring shells in this way.

With a loud bang, the exquisitely crafted lion statue at the bow of the "Zhenbei" was hit by a shell, and after the sawdust flying all over the sky was scattered, there was only a short section of the bowsprit left. , and the bow has become a big hole, exposing the inner gun deck.

Hadanga, the admiral of the Qing army's water battalion who was in command of the "Dinghai", climbed up from the deck at this moment, his face was no longer full of vigor, and he shouted loudly: "Mingjin! Turn around and retreat!"

"General! Can't retreat!" Rear Admiral Sir John Jervis lifted his three-cornered hat and said loudly: "The fleet must advance quickly! Once it gets close, attack as planned!"

"Fart!" Hadang'a snapped: "Our army has been discovered by the thieves, if we don't withdraw now, we have to finish the game! You can't bear this responsibility!"

"No! General, please listen to my explanation," John Jervis pressed on Hardang's shoulder and said loudly: "On behalf of the Admiralty of the British Empire, I assure you that we will bear half of the loss of the fleet! Your Excellency, we What did you say to the emperor of your country without firing a single shot?!"

Ha Dang'a was also stunned after hearing it, yes, how can I have a business with the emperor when I go back?

Taking advantage of Hardanga's hesitation, John Jervis shouted to the British sailor instructor on the deck: "Guys! Now I order to advance at full speed! Make sure the enemy knows the power of the British Empire Navy!" John Jervis Sir Si also went all out, and he didn't even see the shadow of the enemy, so he was really unwilling to retreat like this.In any case, he wanted to see the true face of Thor.

Five hundred cannons of various types, you have to shoot them!

At this time, dense explosions were happening one after another on the sea, and the sailor instructors on the deck quickly took over the steering wheel, and they loudly ordered the sailors of the Qing army in the rough and crappy official language they used in normal training.

On the Beihai No. [-] in the distance, when the fifteen guns on the port side fired five rounds, Guo Xuexian, who was holding the steering wheel, immediately ordered the ship to turn.With the high-speed rotation of the stern propeller, the huge motor sailboat quickly drew a semicircle on the sea surface, and the fifteen guns on the starboard side were also ready to fire.

"Hey! Let's take a break, it's up to you!" Inside the gun deck, the gunner on the port side, who had just finished five rounds, wiped the sweat from his forehead and laughed.

"Look at it!"

In the cockpit of the Thunder God, Jiang Fan and Hong Liangji watched the two cannons on the deck continuously spraying, and the Beihai No. [-] not far away was even more thunderous when it fired. Where are you.

Is this the true power of the North Sea ship? !
Who in the world can stop such a devastating trend? !

Deng Fei, who was paying attention to the radar screen, noticed that the Qing army fleet was still coming towards him, and the speed did not decrease. He couldn't help but wonder whether the Qing army stopped running today because of bloodshed or something.

At this moment, Hadanga on the "Dinghai" also fell into a state of madness. He beat the drums himself, and sent a signal to the ships, ordering them to form a double line and advance at full speed to the Thunder God.

He also figured it out, and went back like this without firing a shot, not to mention that the emperor couldn't explain it, and Fu Chang'an couldn't spare him either.

Shortly after the Thunder God fired, two fleets sailed from the Fuzhou Empress Palace.The first fleet consisted of small single-masted fishing boats, about forty or fifty, and the cabins were full of firewood, sulfur, gunpowder, etc. that had been splashed with soybean oil.

In the fleet at the back, bird boats, large boats, and sand boats were mixed. In addition to sailors in the cabin, there were soldiers with bows and arrows and muskets.At the bow and stern, there are two and one sub-cannon each.On the left and right sides, there are also big guns, strange cannons, mountain splitting cannons and sky cannons.Although the number is not many, but also murderous.

According to Fu Chang'an's strategy, Xiong Yuedu, who received the imperial envoy's order, led his troops to Fuzhou in person yesterday evening, and was ordered to cooperate with the Qing army fleet to launch an attack on the North Navy fleet on Changxing Island.The Fuzhou side prepared fireboats overnight, sailed down the Fuzhou River, stopped near the mouth of the sea, and launched an attack only when the determined time came.

The strategy that Fu Chang'an formulated hastily was actually quite complete.His plan was to disperse the attention of the North Navy with fireboats, sail gunboats approached and attack, and under the cover of gunboats, the soldiers and horses of Fuzhou quickly launched a side-to-side battle.

Unexpectedly, it is not as good as the sky, the Thor discovered the sailing fleet in advance and launched an attack.So even though the hour hadn't arrived, after hearing the sound of cannons from Changxing Island, Dutong Xiong Yue knew that the situation had changed, and immediately ordered the fireboat to attack.

Because the ships of the Fire Fleet were too small and there was heavy fog in the sky, it was not displayed on the Thunder God's radar until it sailed out of the Niangniang Palace and was about to turn north into the protrusion at the northeast corner of Changxing Island.

"Not good! Ding Guofeng, immediately notify all the soldiers on the deck to prepare to meet the enemy. The enemy has sent another fleet over!"

"Damn! Man Qing is crazy. Let's just buy some soybeans, what are they doing!" Ding Guofeng picked up his automatic rifle and his walkie-talkie, grumbling as he walked towards the compass deck.

Deng Fei said without raising his head: "We are in Bohai Bay, and we beat Lushun again, which is considered to have stabbed Qianlong in the heart, and anyone is in a hurry."

After all, he ordered the sailors at the rudder to turn the Thunder God so that the bow of the ship, which was originally facing east, faced northwest, and then notified the gun crew on the deck to adjust the firing direction.In this way, the four heavy machine guns on the right side of the Thunder God and the soldiers in the sandbag fortifications can shoot at the Qing fleet from the east.

However, as the Raytheon and Beihai No. [-] adjusted their direction, the Qing army fleet finally broke through the fog and entered within one nautical mile of the Thor by taking advantage of the gap in the bombardment.

So the blue and white hull of Thor and Beihai No. [-] next to it also entered the field of vision of John Jervis and Horatio Nelson's telescope.

"God! What a big ship!"

"Send the signal! Zhenbei and Dinghai are on the left, Fubo and Weiyuan are on the right, forming a double line! Jingyuan is going to deal with that merchant ship!"

An assistant asked John Jervis at this time: "General, are we going to seize the lower air?"

"No! It's too late!" John Jervis put away the binoculars and said to his assistant and the interpreter next to him, "Go and tell your admiral to send a signal to the ships! We have to go straight through and settle the battle with one shelling!"

(End of this chapter)