Schneider held his hand on the bridge railing and inspected the large and small ships moored on the river to confirm that they were all ready to set off.
"Report to headquarters: Request permission to depart!"
Following his orders, the signalmen sounded the semaphore. After a while, the signal from the direction of Longhua Temple came back.
"Signal from headquarters: permission to set off!" the observation post's report reached the bridge.
"Raise the signal flag and set off for the entire fleet!"
The signal flag went up the mast. Captain Ruan Xiaowu calmly issued a series of orders: "Weigh anchor!", "Left rudder 15 degrees!", "Advance one"... The chimney of the river gunboat "Pearl River" suddenly erupted from the chimney of the Pearl River gunboat. , and then the clumsy bow slowly turned and headed towards the center of the river.
As the Pearl River anchored, dozens of large boats and tugboats on the river spewed out black smoke. For a moment, the river was filled with black smoke, and the Xijiang detachment of the Pearl River Task Force set off.
It is said to be a fleet, but in fact the only one that can be called a "ship" is the flagship Pearl River river gunboat. According to the Senate Navy's ship tonnage classification standards, the Pearl River can only be regarded as a "boat", but in inland rivers, it is not discounted. It’s not a “giant ship” anymore. Especially the 130mm forward-loading rifled gun on the exposed turret surrounded by steel armor on the bow of the ship is like a god on the river.
Surrounding this huge thing are river gunboats modified from large boats and small boats. Although the modified gunboat is far less powerful than the river gunboat on the drawing board, the power of the 37 Hotchkiss five-barreled cannon and 13 typewriter installed on the open rotating turret on the ship is also terrifying in this time and space.
Behind the scenes are two armed gunboats modified from 621 paddle-wheel tugs. One of them has an exposed turret in the middle of the hull and is equipped with a 130mm front-loading rifled gun; the other is equipped with two 37mm Hotchkiss. Five-barreled cannon and four exposed turrets with 13 typewriters.
1 river gunboat, 16 armed boats, and 2 armed tugs. This is almost two-thirds of the strength of the West Detachment.
Schneider picked up his binoculars from time to time to search the river. In front of the Pearl River, several large gunboats were used for reconnaissance. Drifting along in the fast-flowing river. The entrance to the Antelope Gorge is 1,000 meters wide. After entering the canyon, the river gradually narrows, with the narrowest point being only 300 meters. The river surged and roared in the narrow valley, and even a nearly 300-ton ship like the Pearl River was bumping violently.
Fortunately, the water depth of the waterway here ranges from 48 meters to 75 meters. Not to mention river gunboats with a draft of less than 5 meters, even battleships with tens of thousands of tons will not run aground.
Antelope Gorge is five kilometers long. If you use a non-motorized boat, you have to rely on your back to get on the water. It is not unusual to walk for a day, but now the river fleet can pass it in one hour.
For Schneider, the biggest danger is not so much the Ming Navy, but these armed boats with a displacement of only 30 tons: not only are the tonnage small, but the horsepower is also small, and their maneuverability in rapids will become very difficult. Poor, it is easy to be washed to the shore by the current and stranded on the rocks. Just yesterday, an armed boat of the fleet lost control and ran aground on the rocks while escorting the reconnaissance team for reconnaissance. Three people drowned and one is missing.
This was the first casualty record for the West Detachment of the Pearl River Fleet, which made Schneider feel ashamed. Captain of the West Detachment of the Pearl River Fleet was his first position after being promoted to Lieutenant Commander, and it was also his first time to independently command a detachment. For the first time, he was responsible for independent regional operations and had to cooperate with the combat operations of the first brigade. The first brigade was commanded by veterans.
In the past, he was just a naval officer under the command of the elders. Even if he became the squadron leader of the ship squadron and the captain of the 901-class battleship, he could only listen to the elders' words during combat meetings, and he could only take his turn to solicit opinions. Only then did he have the opportunity to "advise."
This time it was very different. When holding a joint meeting of the army and navy, Commander Zhu used a tone of negotiation rather than simple orders. Although there is a huge difference in military rank between them, they are equal at the command level.
Who else could do such a faceless thing but myself! While Schneider is proud, he also feels a heavy responsibility. Winning a battle is no longer uncommon for them, but winning beautifully is even more important.
"Maintain speed." He ordered, "Every ship should pay attention!"
Because intelligence showed that the Ming army had gathered hundreds of sealed civilian boats at the junction of Dading Gorge and Antelope Gorge, all loaded with firewood, tung oil and gunpowder. Once the Ming army put down these fire attack boats downstream, they would attack the detachment. It is indeed a big threat - the width of the river here is too narrow.
"At 2 o'clock, Ming troops were spotted on the towpath!" Following the report from the observation post, Schneider raised his telescope and looked over. Sure enough, on the narrow towpath that appeared and disappeared between the mountains, several Ming soldiers were walking. Look here. Suddenly, as if they had received some order, two of them turned around and headed towards the mountain, leaving only one to continue looking towards the river.
On the top of the mountain, a plume of black smoke rose into the sky. This was a beacon warning Zhaoqing that the Australian warships were approaching.
"Sound the battle alarm and prepare all ships for battle!"
As the rapid whistle sounded, all the officers and soldiers on the Pearl River rushed out of the cabin and took up their positions. The entire fleet continued to move forward at a cruising speed of 4 knots.
The total length of Antelope Gorge is only 5 kilometers. At the speed of the fleet, it can be completed in about an hour. After entering Dading Gorge, the river surface is wide and the water flow slows down, which is a suitable time for the fleet to exert its maximum combat power.
If the Ming army, which is entrenched in Zhaoqing and already at a disadvantage, wants to resist Fubo's army, it can only rely on Antelope Gorge, the most favorable place at the right time and place!
Less than 4 kilometers away from them, at the mouth of the Dading Gorge, Cao Bajiao, the commander of the water sentry in Zhaoqing Town of the Navy, felt cold all over. In the past few years in Zhaoqing, he could be regarded as a tyrant in Xijiang. He had killed water bandits, robbed merchants, and wiped out entire families. Not to mention the Navy Commander, even Xiong Wencan just pretended to be deaf and dumb.
Only a few months ago, dozens of brothers were beaten to death by Australians on the dock in Zhaoqing while fighting for a woman. Cao Bajiao only knew that the Australians' firearms were powerful, but he didn't expect them to be so powerful!
It turns out that what my cousin said was true! Cao Bajiao remembered that his cousin Cao Xiangjiao had followed He Zhen to conquer the Australians. After being defeated and escaping, he came back and said something right - he originally thought that he blew the Australians to the sky to cover up his defeat.
Fortunately, this cousin found another way out after escaping and was transferred to Nanjing as an errand. This bastard is quite clever! He cursed secretly in his mind.
It would be better for you to land on the fire attack ship and fight as the vanguard!
"Master, the smoke on the top of the mountain has started to rise." A soldier reported.
"I'm not blind!" Cao Bajiao was annoyed and scolded impatiently.
"The soldier lord has sent someone to urge him..." the soldier had to remind him carefully.
"If you complain again, go to the first boat and lead the way!"
This time the soldiers did not dare to speak. Cao Bajiao looked at the more than a hundred fire attack boats in front of him - they were all civilian boats that had been forcibly commandeered on the Xijiang River in the past month or so. Now they were filled with dry firewood and gunpowder. As long as they floated down the river, they would On the narrow canyon river, no matter how powerful the Australians' firearms were, they probably wouldn't be able to sink all the fireships going down the river. You can always burn a few ships more or less - this is a good idea. The master named Chang is not a fool.
But no matter how good the method is, someone has to implement it, and this matter fell on Cao Bajiao. Who said he was one of the commanders of the water whistle? As for the other commander, his background was stronger than Cao Bajiao, so he led the navy ships to "follow and support" behind.
"I'm here to support you!" Cao Bajiao couldn't help but cursed again when he thought of this. The water in Antelope Gorge is deep and fast. Even a person with excellent water skills will be washed away and drowned if he falls in the river. After lighting a fire and jumping into the river, swimming upstream for several miles and then climbing on to the rescue ship was simply a fantasy - not to mention whether the yellow boss would "receive" from behind was hard to say. He and Mr. Huang had never dealt with each other because they had deep conflicts over how to distinguish the "filial piety" of boat owners and water bandits.
He jumped out of the boat, so he would be showing loyalty if he didn't take the opportunity to knock him down with a pennies.
Most of the pilots on these more than 100 ships were temporarily recruited from the households - the quota for the entire water sentry was only 240 people. In other words, most of the big-headed soldiers on this sentry did not need to board the ship to die. But he, the commander of the water sentry, had to take his only few soldiers to die. This made Cao Bajiao particularly unhappy.
At this time, another chess player came from the camp and yelled: "Why haven't the fire attack ships set off yet? There is an order from the town: if there is any further delay, behead them on the spot!"
If you extend your head, it will be a knife, and if you shrink your head, it will be a knife. Needless to say, Xiong Wencan was also staring at Zhaoqing Kuixing Tower in the distance. Even though the arrogant generals usually did not take Governor Xiong seriously, in the face of a powerful enemy, he was after all an important official of the imperial court controlling the armies of the two provinces. Killing him is just a matter of words. Cao Bajiao was forced to give the order: "Every ship weighs anchor and sets off!"
More than a hundred civilian boats of various sizes followed the river and slowly headed towards the mouth of the gorge. At first, the water flow was not very fast, but when the river surface contracted at the mouth of the gorge, some ships were pushed by the river water and bumped into the middle.
Fortunately, most of the people driving the boats were people who had lived on the water for a long time and were very experienced in handling boats. They quickly took control of the boat and headed downstream together.
Upstairs in Kuixing, Xiong Wencan put away the Australian telescope in his hand and nodded slightly.
Although the fire attack fleet was delayed, it still set off. This is a good sign - the military spirit is especially useful, and he and the bandits can still fight. (To be continued...)
