The Spanish galleon in the distance came closer. Because the wind was in the wrong direction, Yang Fan's fleet moved slowly.
Yang Fan looked at the Spanish galleon and came closer. Went out and went to the cab.
"Send a signal to warn the ship not to get too close to avoid collision." Yang Fan said.
Warning at sea, not much can be done. He can't hear you even if you shout. He doesn't understand even if you signal. The best way is to shoot.
A cruiser came up from behind. Cut sideways between the two ships. Prevent the Spanish galleon from threatening the safety of the master's ship.
Then a bang was heard, and the cruiser Hengshan opened fire. Blank cannons were fired into the sky to warn Japanese ships trying to approach.
At this time, the highest officer on the Date Maru was Junmae Tadayoshi Nomura. This huge fleet attracted the attention of the Shogunate Navy from the moment it entered the strait. After all, the Korean War ended not many years ago. This war at the end of Wanli. Almost all the shogunate navy was lost.
After the war, the shogunate once again built a large number of house ships on Tsushima. After all, after North Korea was defeated, they were also worried that Ming Dynasty and North Korea would cross the sea and attack Honshu Island. Therefore, in the twenty years after the war, they built a huge fleet of house ships. Stationed on the Tsushima Strait, the choke point from the mainland to Honshu Island.
This time six such huge warships sailed into the Tsushima Strait, which immediately alerted the navy. During the heavy rain last night, the small morning boat responsible for patrol and reconnaissance took the risk of releasing a carrier pigeon to notify the troops stationed on Tsushima Island to intercept.
Nomura Tadayoshi had never seen such a big ship. The Spanish galleon weighed 500 to 600 tons, which was already very large in their opinion. But this white sailing ship was imported later. It was as big as three Datemaru.
Moreover, the side gun windows were densely packed, which made him panic. Although his ship was built orthodoxly in Japan according to the specifications of the Spanish galleon. The artillery also consisted of forty Fran cannons. However, when he saw the huge gun muzzle of the opposite cruiser, he was still paralyzed with fear.
With a bang, a gun window in the middle of the ship opened fire. The deafening loud noise, coupled with the puff of thick smoke, startled the Japanese officers and soldiers on the Date Maru.
Their entire country does not have such large artillery. They worshiped the small and medium-sized Fran cannons as Guobeng. I have seen such a large caliber and such powerful artillery there.
The Japanese warriors who drove this ship were a group of people with high status and outstanding martial arts skills. Sailors are also carefully selected. Their parents also sailed around the world. Passed on technology and knowledge to them. They are very arrogant and have a sense of superiority. They look down on the samurai on the Anzhai ship. Their response time is very fast.
I haven't waited to follow your orders. They decided to fight back immediately. From their point of view, this is their Japanese sea area. Not only did the other side not only stop to inspect the ship, but they also dared to open fire on them.
Under the arrogance accumulated in daily life, they immediately aimed the twenty Fran cannons on one side at the Hengshan and opened fire.
These Fran cannons are all small Eagle cannons, and some are medium-sized Fran cannons. The maximum range seems to be three or four miles, but there is no lethality at this distance. Generally, focused fire shots are within a hundred meters. This ensures the penetration of the projectile.
Although, this kind of ship was built according to the drawings of Spanish galleons. However, Japan is severely lacking in resources for weapons. They are deficient in copper and iron. Neither is the technology for casting cannons.
Obviously, the Dutch and Spanish would not spread the technology of casting cannons to them.
Therefore, the artillery used on this Western ship is diverse. Because it was all pieced together by the shogunate. There are artillery pieces from the British armed merchant ship sunk at Nagasaki. There are also cases of national collapse that the shogunate collected from the treasury of various places. They vary in size and performance.
But some of the Fran cannons were naval guns purchased from the Macao Pugalau Gun Factory.
The twenty guns fired from the side of the ship were the products of the Pugalau Cannon Factory. Bronze Franco cannon. These artillery shells have a maximum range and can hit targets 1,500 meters or more.
At this time, the Hengshan was only 200 meters away, and more than a dozen medium-sized Fran cannon shells hit the side of the Hengshan.
Surface ship plank.
These projectiles weigh approximately 8 pounds. The Fran cannon is leaky, so the projectile generally does not weigh much.
These cruisers are strictly built to military ship standards, with cast steel ribs every other foot. The outer decking is three layers of hardwood seamed together. It's a full foot and a half thick. The lead ball that can block the 18-pounder cannon hits directly at 100 meters.
These eight-pound shells could not penetrate at all at a distance of 200 meters.
Japan is lacking in resources, with basically no iron ore or copper mines in the country. They even used copper coins from the Ming Dynasty. Lead ore also needs to be imported. There wasn't much lead on the ship.
After a few rounds, you have to switch to stone bullets or fired ceramic bullets.
Dong Tianpeng, the captain of the Hengshan, was furious. How dare these damn dwarf monkeys open fire. I just fired the cannon into the sky to give them a warning. He didn't expect these dwarfs to dare to fire back at him with live ammunition.
The master said that this is the high seas and we have the right to pass and sail.
"Eighteen guns on the port side, using spherical solid bullets, fired three rapid rounds and opened fire immediately." Dong Tianpeng shouted.
The first mate quickly asked: "Do you need to ask the master for permission before firing?"
"We have been attacked. According to the regulations, the captain has the right to decide to open fire. Let's fight," Dong Tianpeng said.
The order was immediately issued. The port gun windows were pushed open in turn. The long barrels of dark cast steel heavy cannons stretched out.
Qian Fengxing was just about to scold those who fired the cannon without authorization, but he saw the three-masted sailboat opposite. All the portholes of the gun compartment on one side were opened, and the black muzzles of the guns were sticking out.
He knew that at this time, it was useless to say anything, as the other party was definitely going to fire back. Let's just start fighting.
Nomura Tadayuki: "All personnel are ready immediately. Rush over and engage in artillery fire with them at close range. Only when our Kokubang is close can we penetrate them." qδ.net
Tadayoshi Nomura could clearly see the scene where the shell bounced off the side of the Hengshan just now. He understood that the other side's ships were bigger, their guns were heavier, and they were also numerous. There is no chance of winning in a fight.
However, he understood better that fighting at sea was not as good as on land. There is no way to escape if defeated. The ship was sunk and all the people on the ship went into the sea to feed the fish.
Before Nomura finished speaking, he saw the 85-meter-long snow-white sailboat 200 meters away with a line of fire drawn on the side. Thick smoke and loud noises erupted from the muzzle.
Then, the shells roared with a sharp sound. It hit this imitation Spanish galleon in an instant. Obviously, the shipbuilding technology and materials used by the Japanese are not as good as Yang Fan.
At this distance, a fifty-pound shot put has huge kinetic energy. There was a sound that penetrated the hull of the ship. Nomura felt a violent tremor in the hull beneath his feet. Countless sawdust flew out like an explosion. A scream came from the gun cabin at the foot, and the shells penetrated the ship's plank and knocked down a large number of gunners in the cabin.
