At this time, Xiao Niangpi and Lin Yueru had returned to the Hengshan. The two of them put Mei Xiang and Chen Xi in the bottom warehouse. Because there is no risk of shelling. Then the two of them changed into rear admiral uniforms, which were trousers, and came to the bridge. After all, short skirts are only suitable for showing off to gentlemen.
At this time, Dong Tianpeng and First Officer Huang Hai saw the two ladies coming and said quickly: "Madam, it is dangerous here. Please move to the bottom warehouse and come out after the battle is over."
"How can that be done? The master and his people are suppressed behind the rocks over there. I want to personally command and sink these broken ships and rescue the master." Xiao Niangpi said with eyes wide open.
"Captain Dong, just take command. We won't interfere with you." Lin Yueru said quickly.
How do they know how to fight at sea, but they don't dare to let their little mother-in-law blindly command. It's better to let the officers on the ship take command.
Seeing that he really couldn't persuade him anymore, Dong Tianpeng had to say: "Then please two ladies not to leave the command podium. There are eight-inch thick steel plate armor on the wall here. It is safer here."
The bridge is the highest place on the ship's deck. Mainly to get a good view and facilitate driving. During construction, protection of this important command position was considered. Outside the 1.5-meter-high wooden wall, 203mm thick steel armor is riveted to protect this area.
"Okay, we will listen to you." Xiao Niangpi also agreed.
Immediately afterwards, Dong Tianpeng ordered to fire. The first round of shelling was very good, hitting the Prince at a distance of more than 200 miles. Seeing a flurry of sawdust flying on the port side of the Prince, a row of holes were punched out. In some places, there is even a cross-section, and you can see the light from the opposite side from here.
However, they soon discovered that the enemy was very well-trained. Facing a surprise attack. The panic soon ended and entered combat mode.
Xiao Niangpi and Lin Yueru came into contact with military affairs and administration. In fact, it was Yang Fan who deliberately trained them. They both also understood what the master meant. Seize every opportunity to learn.
Starting from working as a secretary for the master, I gradually became familiar with various affairs. Yang Fan's system is completely new and completely different from Ming Dynasty. Yang Fan hopes that they can stay consistent with him and not fall behind the overall development. ww
The two of them stared at the naval battle intently, just to see how the naval battle was fought. How the Navy works. At least understand what's going on with the Navy.
But in less than a minute, the four ships on the opposite side quickly entered combat mode. They saw that all the ships turned sideways, facing the Hengshan, and then opened the gun windows one by one.
Xiao Niangpi and Lin Yueru understood that this was about to start a firefight.
Then, there were four boats on the opposite side. More than eighty artillery pieces of various calibers opened fire.
Boom boom boom! A huge noise was heard, white smoke filled the harbor, and more than 80 lead bullets flew in. The moment he saw the enemy ship firing, Dong Tianpeng shouted: "Squat down!"
The people on the podium immediately squatted down. Then a crackling sound came. Countless metal objects hit the armored steel plate outside the fence and were ejected.
"Use grapeshot in the first round, you bastards." Dong Tianpeng cursed and stood up to look at the ship's losses. The three armed merchant ships all have twenty guns, and there are only ten guns on one side. He is not worried. With this tonnage, the heavy artillery is only a twenty-four-pounder.
At this distance, the Hengshan's deck is made of oak, which is a full foot and a half thick, so there is no problem in blocking it. What he focused on was the large ship with 74 guns and three gun decks. There must be more than thirty pounds of heavy artillery on it. And it is not ruled out that there are mortars on the bow and stern of the ship.
Just now, the enemy ship's artillery fire came fiercely, because it was more than 200 meters away. As for the long cannons they were equipped with, the best shooting distance was within a hundred meters, so they shot a lot of them away. The remaining shells that hit the Hengshan were the six-pounders that scratched the itch. Bounce directly.
The twelve-pounder also failed to penetrate. There were only 18 functional 36-pound guns left on the Prince. and twenty-eight 24-pounder guns. There were twelve twenty-four-pounders in the other three ships.
The design standard of the Hengshan is that it can block direct fire from an 18-pounder gun at a distance of one hundred meters. Two hundred meters to block the 24-pounder gun. Although more than twenty twenty-four-pounder guns at this distance hit the port side of the ship, only a few left scars and basically no penetration.
The port side of the Prince had just been swept by artillery fire, and only seven 36-pound guns were left in use. On the other side, on the starboard side, there are 11 doors. Five of these seven guns hit the Hengshan ship.
One shot hit the bulwark of the deck, directly making a large V-shaped hole in the bulwark. Then the lead shot plowed across the oak deck, shattering everything it hit. The stacked boxes on the deck were scattered everywhere.
From this point, it can be seen that Yang Fan's navy is still inferior to the English in terms of experience and training.
The wooden support of a pulley crane was broken and the crane fell directly into the sea. This crane is used to lift supplies from the dock when berthed.
Another hit the bow, punching a hole in the side of the hollow bow, and bounced off the windlass.
Three more rounds hit the gun turret. All three heavy artillery shells from the 36-pounder gun penetrated the bulwarks. Directly into the gun bunker. A 203mm heavy gun was hit. The barrel was deformed. Two more bombs smashed into the crowd, killing five people and injuring 13 others.
"Carry away the wounded and corpses and prepare to fight back immediately." Gunman Zhang Xujing shouted.
Yang Fan's navy was not as cruel as the English, throwing the dead and those who were not worth saving into the sea. Yang Fan's army was prohibited from abandoning his comrades. If the morale of the army collapsed due to abandoning his comrades, he would be beheaded. This is also the difference between Eastern and Western armies’ ideas of army building.
This was the first time since the Hengshan formed an army that it had fought such a brutal artillery battle. In previous fights with pirates, the pirates had no power to fight back. The battle with the Japanese Navy was one-sided. They had no artillery that could penetrate the Hengshan.
But this time is different, the opponent can also penetrate them.
"Retreat immediately and keep the distance." Dong Tianpeng saw that the opponent's heavy artillery could also penetrate the Hengshan. The strategy was immediately changed.
The Hengshan's artillery has a large caliber and a long range. As long as the distance is increased, the opponent will be unable to do anything to the Hengshan. Now such hard steel is disadvantageous.
The steam engine of the Hengshan had reached pressure. At this time, the engineering crew immediately started the propeller, and the Hengshan turned around and sailed towards the open sea.
The eight-inch heavy gun has a direct range of no less than 500 meters. There is also a very impressive hit rate on the 1,000 meters. This is because the barrel is long, the medicine chamber is large, and the charge is large. The 36-pound gun on the Prince only has a diameter of 22 times, and it will not go in a straight line beyond a range of 300 meters. The shell speed also dropped rapidly, and it could not penetrate the Hengshan's wooden armor.
Theodore gasped when he saw that only five of this round of shelling penetrated the enemy ship. He instantly understood that only the thirty-six-pounder gun was an effective weapon against the opponent.
"Rush out of the bay, disperse and evacuate, and meet up off the coast of Macau." Theodore understood that this battle could not go on. His side did not have the advantage. After dealing with the enemy for a while, he must escape from here as soon as possible.
