The first team now uses Lichun as the lead ship - it has the fastest speed, the highest mast, and the largest effective observation range. [Read the latest chapter] With the help of the "high-power" observation telescope provided by the optical factory, the Navy has an unparalleled advantage in "search".
At 7:50, the Lichun received the following telegram: "The enemy fleet has set off from Xiamen Island, with three three-masted gunboats and two European-style sailing ships as the main force, 14 other sailing ships, and 90 to 100 fire attack ships. Forward Heading towards Kinmen Island.”
The telegram was sent by the scouts of the special reconnaissance team ambushing Xiamen Island. Mingqiu saw the telegram and realized that the enemy's "Decisive Battle" fleet was approaching him. The fire attack ship was Zheng Zhilong's last trump card. This time he attacked the opponent. It must have come with the idea of a fight to the death.
He looked at the current current and wind direction. The enemy was coming with the wind and the current, and the speed might be as high as 5 to 6 knots. Based on this calculation, they would encounter them in less than two hours.
The enemy can easily spot them - the billowing black smoke emitted from the chimney is enough to become the most obvious mark. The enemy is well prepared and will definitely try their best to intercept the first battle team at sea and conduct a "decisive battle."
At 8 o'clock, the rapid drumbeat of preparations for war sounded. The sailors who had been somewhat relaxed became nervous again. Everyone began to carry out pre-war preparations again: clearing the fighting positions and checking the gun barrels. Each gun began to slowly turn and pitch. The gunners imagined the enemy appearing on the horizon and began simulated drills. The sailors crowded below the deck were ordered to rest - they had no room to lie down and sleep, so they closed their eyes one by one and took a nap. They knew that after an exciting early morning, they might not be able to lie down and rest until the next morning.
At 9:17, the Qingdian emitted an unusually thick black plume of smoke due to overheating of the engine, which attracted the attention of the sailors on the mast of Zheng Lian's flagship in the northwest.
Zheng Lianyuan was looking for fighter planes - the longer the sea voyage, the more disadvantageous it was for him, and it was quite difficult to sail in a large sailing fleet. Although it is in an inland sea like Xiamen Bay, the Zheng family has a lot of experience in formation sailing, but it is really difficult to require more than 100 old fire attack ships to maintain a stable course and speed for a long time, and to cooperate with the cover fleet. Some.
Now the sailor spotted the plume of smoke and realized that the Australian fleet was right in front of him. Zheng Lian visually observed that the wind direction and tide were favorable to his side, and his confidence greatly increased. He immediately ordered the helmsman to turn the rudder stock and sail towards the direction of the smoke column.
At 9:19, the lookout on the Lichun reported: "100 enemy ships. Heading 25 nautical miles west-northwest, approaching."
The news of enemy contact was reported to the four trailing gunboats through semaphores and light signals.
The Lichun kept sailing and continued to move forward, with all its artillery pointed in the direction of the enemy ship's incoming attack. Mingqiu was not worried at all about the Zheng family's 19 warships - they were all delivering food. The only ones that were somewhat threatening were the fire ships. Once hit by a fire ship, the consequences would be disastrous - Zheng Zhilong used fire attack ship tactics many times. And it has severely damaged Dutch warships and has successful actual combat experience. It cannot be treated with caution.
In order to deal with the common fire attack tactics in the South China Sea, Lichun and the other four gunboats were each equipped with a 5-barrel Hotchkiss manual rotating gun. As a supplement to the typewriter, these two rapid-fire weapons were effective against small Ships have a strong killing effect. It is a powerful weapon against "sea of ships" tactics such as fire attack ships.
Of course, even without these, the Senate Navy was not afraid of fire attack ships-the British had neither typewriters nor Hotchkiss cannons in 1840. The Qing's entire fire attack was destroyed with just rowboats and steam paddle steamers. The Senate's emphasis on this is nothing more than a reaction under the dual thinking of "valuing" and "crushing".
Since the first battleship only had five battleships, Mingqiu no longer made any complicated tactical arrangements. He ordered a signal to be sent: "Follow me!" and then boosted the boiler pressure. Sail towards the enemy fleet at a speed of 12 knots.
At 9:30, the lookout sailor climbing on top of the mast of Zheng Lian's ship discovered a large plume of smoke on the southeastern sea level. After a moment of fire he began to make out the towering mast, which was the forward mainmast of the Beginning of Spring. The distance between the two sides is 5500 meters.
The whine of the conch rang out one after another on the deck of Zheng Lian's fleet. Zheng Lian was paying attention to the fire attack fleet on the right side of his fleet on the poop. More than 100 fire attack ships formed a column several nautical miles long, which looked very spectacular. But the long voyage has made their queues very long. He was a little anxious. In this case, it would be difficult for the fire attack ships to play a swarming role, and they would be easily avoided or even sunk by enemy ships.
"Lower the topsail and let the fire attack ships catch up!" Zheng Lian issued the order.
Mingqiu had been observing the enemy's movements with telescopes. He noticed that Zheng Lian's fleet began to lower its sails. He realized that the enemy was waiting for the fire attack ships to catch up. The fire attack ships were of different sizes, different ship types, and different speeds. It is impossible to coordinate, which will inevitably lead to some being fast and some being slow. In order to ensure that the fire attack ships can form an overwhelming numerical advantage in a short period of time, the enemy must slow down and wait for the lagging ships to catch up.
This is the time to defeat each one. He ordered: "Left rudder 15 degrees. Full speed ahead!"
"15 degrees - left -" the helmsman repeated his command in a prolonged tone. At this time, the engine room bell rang, and a large amount of black smoke spewed out of the chimney at the beginning of spring. There was a rumble of machinery and boilers below the deck, and the deck shook.
The four gunboats following Lichun adjusted their course one after another to seize the T-shaped position.
Li Huamei was standing at her sentry post on the deck, eating dry food for breakfast. In addition to the hard navy rice cakes, each person also had a cup of black tea with sugar, which was both refreshing and quick to replenish calories. During the shelling operation in the early morning, Li Huamei felt that she had not contributed much - she just stood at the sentry post to watch for any abnormalities, always waiting for orders. Although she didn't get a single order from beginning to end, she had consumed a lot of calories in the intense excitement and nervousness, so much so that the dry, tasteless navy rations became delicious.
Suddenly a whistle sounded on the deck: "Prepare for battle!"
Li Huamei quickly stuffed the remaining biscuits into her mouth and drank the tea in one gulp. Standing up and staring into the distance, the Zheng family's fleet has already come out?
If they were caught off guard when they attacked the Zheng family just now, which meant they were unable to win with force, then this time the two sides could be considered to have set up a grand formation and fought face to face. Li Huamei knew that if the Zheng family dared to come out to fight when the main force was wiped out, they would definitely use their usual trump card - the fire attack ship.
In terms of the power and range of cannons, the Zheng family's fleet was no match, but the fireships were their only bargaining chip to turn defeat into victory. Li Huamei was very curious and wanted to see how the Australians would deal with this sea of fire attack ships - you know, even the Dutch were worried about this.
As he spoke, he raised the telescope he bought from the Dutch and slowly pulled out the lens tube. The sea surface was as smooth as a mirror, and the Australian warship began to reveal a vague shadow: a big guy! The mast was tall and puffed out black smoke. Behind it, four black warships lined up in a column and cut through the waves towards this side. The ships were as majestic as mountains and motionless as the earth, with black smoke billowing and sweeping in like raging fire. Zheng Lian's hand shook involuntarily. He knew it was too late to wait for the fire attack ship to arrive, so he had to fight immediately and hold off the enemy first, so he shouted:
"Light the match!"
Lighting the match was the order for the impending battle. As the command was passed on, the gunners took off their coats, lit the match, and opened the gunpowder cans. Everyone held their breath and waited for the leader's order to fire.
At this time, Zheng Lian's warships were arranged in three lines. Two European-style "plywood ships" and three three-masted gunboats sailed in column. On the other side were 14 large Guangzhou ships and Fu ships, sailing in double columns. In these two lines, Further north, there is a fire attack fleet that is not in formation and is several nautical miles long from head to tail.
At this time, the first battle team was heading south-west of the main column of Zheng Lian's fleet, forming a tilted T with Zheng Lian's fleet. Although the formation is not perfect, it is enough for the first team to exert broadside firepower.
The fleets of both sides began to get closer, the distance was 4500 meters, and the gunners of the first team were gearing up. The sailors pushed the loading rod, and grenades were loaded into the barrel from the muzzle. The artillery began to rotate, the barrel was raised, and it was ready to fire at any time.
The warships of both sides are getting closer and closer, sizing each other up at such a close distance. The two largest maritime forces in the entire East Asian sea are about to fight to the death. The Senate wants to rule the sea, and the Zheng family wants to monopolize trade. The two sides refuse to give in to each other. The body of the battleship undulated and bumped in the waves, gradually closing the distance, heavy and slow.
Li Ziping was in the shooting control tower at this time - he was not very confident about the gunnery skills of the naturalized civilian navy officers, so he came to supervise it himself. Explaining every aspect of firing: "Be brave and careful! Don't panic!" He lit the cigar in his mouth and stared at the approaching Zheng family warship in the distance.
The distance between the two sides is 2,800 meters, which is almost the maximum shooting distance of the several 24-pound copper cannons on Zheng Lian's flagship. Zheng Lian knew that although this cannon could hit such a far distance, firing at this distance would just make a sound. Zheng Lian was not an ignorant pirate. He often came into contact with European sailors and ships. He knew that the Dutch and Spanish used them in naval battles. You have to get close to a distance of one to two hundred feet before firing. So he has been delayed in giving the order to fire.
But Mingqiu is ready to take full advantage. Although the accuracy of firing at this range is not high, their rifled guns and primitive fire control technology give them a considerable advantage.
