"Stop shooting! Close the ammunition depot! Pay attention to all ships! Be prepared for collisions and fire-fighting!" Schneider issued the order. On the Pearl River, the gunners put the ammunition of the guns into fireproof ammunition boxes to prevent sparks from falling and igniting.
Several sailors wearing life jackets and safety ropes stood on both sides of the bow holding hooked bamboo pennies, ready to push the fire ship away.
The gunfire stopped completely, and the leading gunboat began to pass through the first wave of fire attack ships. Under the double destruction of shelling and burning, the density of the fire attack ships had become much thinner, but the sailors on the gunboats still had to use bamboo frequently. Peng pushed away the approaching fire attack ship. Some fire attack ships have even encountered gunboats. However, the sailors' quick push prevented the fire from spreading - there were no flammable items such as sails on the steam engine-powered gunboat. Some sparks burst out and a few fires fell, but they were quickly extinguished by the sailors who were waiting for them.
More intensive fire attack ships floated down. With the push of the sailors' pennies, one by one floated past the ship, the thick smoke and the high temperature of the flames scorching the fleet. Sailors wore activated carbon masks.
Although the smoke was shrouded in smoke, he could still see through the telescope some plain-clothed natives running along the towpath. Obviously, they were spies sent by the Ming army to observe the effects of the fire attack.
That's about it. Schneider thought to himself.
One after another, the fire attack ships drifted past the side of the Pearl River. The sailors shouted and pushed the bamboo poles hard. From time to time, soldiers holding fire bats and buckets ran up and down, beating them and extinguishing them. of fire. Although it was a bit noisy, there was no harm done.
Several gunboats were firmly hit by the fire attack ships because they were unable to avoid them, and they were unable to separate for a while. The nearby gunboat quickly came over to help drag the fire attack ship away.
Xiong Wencan listened to the sound of cannons in the distance. The sound of cannons ten miles away was a little blurry, but he listened very carefully and tried his best to judge the battle situation from the sound of cannons.
Reports kept coming: Navy Commander Cao Bajiao's fire attack ships had been launched; the Kun thieves were shelling the fire attack fleet; the river was filled with thick smoke, and the Kon thieves Navy's ships could no longer be seen clearly...
Every time these vague newspapers were delivered, the masters of the shogunate would eagerly take them after Xiong Wencan read them. Several people gathered together to discuss them, as if they wanted to see unfavorable news about the Kun thief from the words.
A few people would even walk to the wooden diagram and meditate, as if they had some strategies in mind.
Only Xiong Wencan himself knew very well that these masters were as helpless as himself. Apart from hoping that the fire attack ship would achieve a complete victory, there was no clever plan to deal with the Kun thieves.
He remembered that Chang Qingyun once suggested that he make a mine like the "Hunyang Dragon", which could not only be used to block the river surface, but also float down the river. However, several mines that were trial-produced under the auspices of Chang Qingyun according to the drawings of "Army Bei Zhi" either failed to get stuck when the incense tip was used to ignite the fire - either early or late; or there was a problem with the sealing of the mines, and water was directly introduced if the sealing was not good. , the seal was so good that it simmered out the igniting fire inside. No matter whether it is a heavy sum of money or a cane, the craftsmen are always unable to make something satisfactory. By chance, they make a usable one. Two or three kilograms of gunpowder cannot even explode the thicker ship planks. If more gunpowder is added, keeping the mines floating on the water will become another problem.
It was always said that Australians were nothing more than "fantastic and clever", but at this moment he wished that there were a few "fantastic and clever" craftsmen among those craftsmen!
This bunch of rubbish! They only know how to get money for expenses, and if they do something wrong, they will kowtow and beg for mercy! Xiong Wencan once wanted to chop off the heads of several craftsmen to scare the monkeys, but in the end he gave up on Chang Qingyun's persuasion. However, everyone was beaten with eighty military sticks and asked the county magistrate to pay back their wages.
Waste is waste, and there are not many craftsmen who can make firearms. Therefore, he has ordered these craftsmen and their families to be put on the ship and shipped to Wuzhou in advance.
Chang Qingyun also listened silently to the sound of cannons. The ones that were as dull as thunder were the Australian naval cannons, and the ones that were broken and broken were their fast artillery and blunderbuss. Needless to say, this is the navy of Kun Thief who is setting fire to attack the ship.
He has more knowledge than the average master and knows that fire attack ships are useless in open waters, but the Antelope Gorge is narrow and has the advantage of smooth sailing. He feels that there is still hope.
As long as a few ships of the Kun thieves can be burned, it will help them know how powerful the Ming Dynasty is, and they will not be so arrogant when negotiating in the future! At this time, Chang Qingyun had never even thought of the words "defeat the Kun thief". In his opinion, this was impossible. Only by asking them to pay a considerable price every time they won a battle could the Kun thieves negotiate peace with the Ming Dynasty.
"Taiwan, the sound of cannons and cannons has stopped." said an aide.
Xiong Wencan nodded slightly, indicating that he understood. From Kuixing Pavilion, you can see the black smoke filling the direction of Antelope Gorge. It is obvious that the fire is very strong. Could it be that the enemy ship has been set on fire? The staff all had this in mind and watched nervously.
Another report came: Black smoke filled the river, flames shot into the sky, and all the pirate ships were caught in the fireworks...
"Okay!" Xie Shiming was the first to cheer, "Congratulations, Mr. Taiwan Maker! All the ships of this bandit must be on fire!"
At this moment, like a stone causing a thousand waves, all the staff and generals in the room stood up and echoed.
"Master Tai Tai is brilliant and far-sighted. In the midst of talking and laughing, the thieves were wiped out!"
"The resurrection of Zhou Yu and Kong Ming is nothing more than that!"
"That's wrong! Does Cao Bing have fast cannons and huge ships? Zhou Yu and Kong Ming are far inferior!"
"Kun thief claims to be undefeated in a hundred battles since he raised his army, but today he was finally defeated by the master of the army!"
…
The atmosphere in Kuixing Pavilion also changed from solemn to quite relaxed, except Chang Qingyun who remained silent. He knows very well: "Fireworks filling the river" may not necessarily mean Australian ships are burning. Because the Australian warships have guns and a lot of gunpowder on board, the Tong newspaper now only says that "the river is full of fireworks", but there is no sound of gunpowder exploding here, indicating that the Kun thieves' warship has not been damaged.
Xiong Wencan also looked happy. However, as a high-ranking official in the border area, he was very particular about keeping his joy and anger hidden. He just twisted his beard and said nothing, and ordered someone to go and find out the truth.
"nnd," Schneider cursed. The smoke from the burning fire attack ship made him almost unable to open his eyes. The visibility became very poor. The burning straw was blown up by the wind and turned into sparks all over the sky. If it weren't for The ammunition box had been ordered to be closed in advance, and the propellant might actually be ignited by sparks.
The sparks ignited many of the ship's cloth products. Although the canvas sails had been stowed away before entering the battle, many holes were burned into the signal flags on the Pearl River.
Schneider paced on the bridge, trying to observe his surroundings. He was worried that the thick smoke blocked his vision, which not only shortened the response time of the fire-evading ships, but also made it impossible for him to see the situation of each ship clearly.
"Pay attention to putting out the fire!" Ruan Xiaowu issued the order while paying attention to the river. Now the river is full of burning ships. Although the Pearl River has sailors pushing the fire attack ship in front, it will still be hit by the fire attack ship. Every time A collision will cause a large amount of burning straw on the fire attack ship to be thrown off the ship. Sometimes the scattered straw fire can even cover the whole deck.
Fortunately, although the straw fire is very strong, its staying power is not strong. As long as the sailors slap it in time, it will soon turn into black fly ash.
However, this was already a dangerous situation, and beads of sweat began to appear on Ruan Xiaowu's face as he kept giving orders loudly.
The emergency whistle of a ship in distress came from the smoke, and Schneider became anxious. Judging from the sound of the whistle, there were about 2 to 3 gunboats on fire. However, he could only know the approximate location of the ship in distress based on the sound. It was unclear which ships were in distress and what the situation was.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew away the black smoke that shrouded the canyon. Only then did Schneider see the situation around him clearly. There were burning and floating fire ships everywhere, and some of them had already run aground on the shore. Some of them collided and became entangled with each other during the drift, becoming burning fires. Slowly turning along the river, drifting downstream.
Schneider's heart suddenly sank. A No. 67 Daihatsu gunboat in the leading team was surrounded by several fire attack ships. The fire had engulfed the front deck. The sailors stood on the bridge and the bridge that had not been swallowed up by the flames. The turret was furiously beating with flames. However, the flames became more and more intense, almost approaching the middle cab.
"Send a signal and tell No. 67 to abandon ship!"
Although he was reluctant, the matter had come to this, and any further efforts to save him would only cost the life of the sailor in vain. He secretly resented that it would be great if these small boats also had the radios on large warships, so that he could keep track of the situation of each ship at any time, instead of just relying on semaphores and light signals.
"Asshole!" Schneider cursed. He saw that the No. 41 boat was also on fire but was still fighting the fire. He quickly gave the order, "Order the No. 41 boat to abandon the ship! Quick!"
No. 41 had been towed out of the messy pile of fire-attacking ships by a nearby gunboat. However, it was engulfed in fire from head to toe. Its captain and sailors tried to save the small boat. A small area of the rear deck was furiously beating with flames. Several nearby gunboats also approached, and some sailors lowered their water pumps and used water hoses to extinguish the fire.
Suddenly, a white light flashed in the middle of gunboat No. 41, and then a violent explosion sounded across the river - the ammunition exploded! The violent explosion tore the hull into pieces, and in an instant all the parts of the gunboat above the waterline disappeared. A piece of exploded hull hit the deck of the Pearl River with such force that white smoke billowed out.
The captain and sailors disappeared in the flames of the explosion in an instant, and an arm fell into the river from Schneider's eyes.
"Send a signal to the ships behind: pay attention to salvage the remains of the martyrs!" Schneider tightened his grip on the armrest on the bridge and ordered loudly.
