The latest chapter of the Hidden Dragon of the Great Qing Dynasty The Naha Port of Ryukyu faces the west. The busy merchants in the past have long lost their sails, and the empty sea has become a place for the French fleet to show off its power.
When the French fleet passed through the Miyako Strait, it adopted a swallow-wing formation from south to north. The purpose was to drive away merchant ships and fishing boats that would affect the battle on the sea.
But when the fleet officially entered the stage of shooting at the port, the formation had turned into a flat circular formation. Eight warships formed a closed ring connected tail to tail on the sea. The warships fired twice every time they turned. Opportunities arose, and intensive volleys were fired alternately on the port and starboard sides. This attack method unique to the era of sailing battleships made Naha's defenders miserable.
"Starboard volley... left rudder full... Well done. I want to give you credit. Show your professionalism and open the eyes of these barbarians..."
When a fort on Qixing Mountain outside the city was finally destroyed, Moliere jumped wildly on the deck with excitement. He pointed at Naha Port and cursed.
"Barbarians of East Asia, don't think that just because you understand some of the latest Western technologies, you think you are invincible... Today I want to teach you a lesson. In the end, war depends on people and soldiers. The quality..."
"Is it great to be able to use reinforced concrete? No matter how thick the turtle shell is, it will be broken one day... Just buy a breech-loaded rifled gun? Don't forget that we also have it in France, and will you, an inferior nation, use such advanced weapons? "
"French warriors, elite warriors of the navy, don't be stingy with ammunition, fire, fire, fire..."
The Glorious had just completed an arc on the sea, and the loaded port cannon was ready to fire. When Molière's roar sounded, countless firing orders sounded in the shooting deck.
Boom boom boom... A fire suddenly appeared on the hull of the Glory, and black shadows in the thick white smoke went straight to the port fort. However, the accuracy of this salvo was not good. The original target was the fort on Qixing Mountain. , but unexpectedly, most of the shells hit a warehouse area in the port.
Amidst the rumbling cannons, Captain Bruce is not as crazy as Molière. As a special envoy from Paris, he can express his emotions arbitrarily. Even if he is really an insidious pervert, there is nothing anyone can do against him.
But he must remain calm during the war, because he is the overall person in charge of this fleet and a first-level military officer. This battle was won, and Molière would take the lion's share of the credit. But if it failed, Bruce wouldn't have to think about it. Even with his heels, he knew that he would be the scapegoat.
It was under this pressure that Moliere's command became more and more careful. The semaphore's arm on the Glorious was almost broken by fatigue during this period, and Bruce's orders continued one after another without stopping.
"Inform the Lyra that there is a problem with his position. Why is he so prominent in the circular array? Are you waiting for the enemy to bomb? Come back..."
"What is the Roma doing? Why is the firepower of this salvo so weak? Troubleshoot the artillery malfunction immediately..."
"Trash... all the sailors on the Poseidon should be shot. Does it take so long to change the side sail? Your speed has slowed down..."
Bruce's eyes were red now. The exchange of fire with the harbor fort had lasted for an hour and a half. During this period, each ship had suffered varying degrees of damage, especially the sails, which had been riddled with holes under the enemy's heavy blows.
Now the speed of the entire fleet has been reduced, and some warships have reached the point where they can no longer survive without replacing their sails. Only two of the ten forts guarding Naha Port have been destroyed so far, and the giant one closest to Uto Castle has been destroyed. The artillery has been baptized by five salvos, but it still stubbornly continues to resist.
"General Bruce, do you have any questions? Why do I hear a trace of panic and uneasiness in your tone? Do you have any doubts about our victory?" Molière suddenly asked coldly.
Bruce did not dare to neglect and said with a serious smile, "Envoy, of course France must win, but I hope that on the way to victory, we can reduce some casualties..."
"Sir Special Envoy, do you think we should retreat temporarily... Some sails need to be replaced, and many cannons need to be checked if they are overheated, in case they explode..."
"No, no, no, we must maintain dense firepower. We must put the greatest pressure on the enemy, because only in this way can we drag the most enemy troops into the port..." Molière rejected Bruce's request on the spot.
"General, please remember that our punishment trip is not just about firing a few rounds of artillery. Destroying some wealth will count as completing the mission. Our goal is to completely destroy Xiao Letian's foundation in Ryukyu... and all of this is We have to put our Marines down, we have to get on it..."
"We want to capture the inner city, we want to kill all the resisters, and we want to seize Ryukyu and go to Shantai. That poor young king, he must give me a letter of credence to surrender to France..."
Moliere suddenly became excited at this time, "I didn't know the significance of our coming to East Asia before, but when I arrived here and saw Ryukyu with my own eyes, I suddenly discovered that our France is going to have another colony... "
"The location of this chain of islands is really good. If it is transformed into a military base belonging to us, we can completely control Japan, North Korea and even the Qing Dynasty... and the treasure island Taiwan we saw before we came here, which is so big An island is completely undeveloped. Isn’t this a gift from God to His Majesty the Emperor?”
Molière grabbed General Bruce's shoulders and said excitedly, "For the sake of His Majesty the Emperor and the interests of France, even if we all die here, what's the terrible thing... Credit, this is a great credit, General Bruce As long as you have such merit, Paris Imperial Palace will be your future retirement paradise..."
Bruce responded with excitement, "Yes, Your Excellency, Special Envoy, I will die for the sake of the emperor and the empire..."
Although he said this, he was thinking about it in his mind, "Is it really that easy? Don't talk about it from a distance, just charge at the 280-caliber cannon in the inner city. I know this Xiao Letian He is not an easy person to deal with... Emperor, Emperor, the more I look at you now, the more and more something is wrong with you. You have shown your loyalty to Napoleon many times, maybe thousands of times?"
Bruce made extremely malicious guesses. He even suspected that Molière had an improper relationship with His Majesty the Emperor. Oh, God... There are a lot of things like this in Paris' social circles. Maybe Bruce's guess is true.
Molière was not a reckless warrior. He had already formulated a secret plan. There were two light cruisers in the expedition fleet, the Breaker and the Quick Walker. The two cruisers with the smallest tonnage were The two missing warships that Xiang Ying and others mentioned were also the protagonists of Molière's sneak attack plan.
In a war to dominate the oceans, battleships, as the ultimate weapon with the largest tonnage, the most powerful firepower, and the highest defense, are of course a reflection of a country's strength. But in actual applications, small and medium-sized warships sometimes play a great role.
Although the two light cruisers, the Wavebreaker and the Quick Walker, only have a single shooting deck and only have more than 40 guns combined, these two battleships also have their advantages, that is, they are flexible, fast, and have a relatively shallow draft. Can sail in some dangerous reef areas or shallow seas.
Now the two warships are rapidly heading north on the east side of Ryukyu Island. In the eyes of the sailors, Ryukyu Island is just a black line in the distance. From such a long distance, no one can hear the earth-shattering sound from the port. Cannon fire.
The deck was not only busy with sailors, but also full of marines. The soldiers from two reinforced companies were sitting quietly on the deck to accumulate strength. What awaited them was a beach landing.
This is a group of French army soldiers wearing red military uniforms. Each of them has served in the military for more than ten years. They are the lobster soldiers who were laughed at by military fans in later generations. They are also the powerful European army that Napoleon personally poured into the military spirit. .
From the Napoleonic era to World War II, although France experienced many chaos and military defeats, the reputation of the French Army has always been very high, and its strong combat effectiveness is recognized by the world.
In fact, it is very simple. The victory that Napoleon I won back then was really brilliant, including the expedition to Egypt, the destruction of the anti-French alliance, the conquest of Germany, and the expedition to Tsarist Russia. If it were not for the fact that the winter in Russia was really cold, I am afraid that even the Northern Bear would have been defeated. No one can follow in the footsteps of Napoleon.
From that time on, the French Army, wearing red military uniforms, became one of the most powerful armies in the world at that time. Even the British Empire did not dare to steal the limelight of the French Army. Of course, the essence of the British lies in their navy. They simply don't pay enough attention to the Army.
Today, even though Molière only brought more than a thousand Marines, the combat effectiveness of these elite veterans who were originally from the army is beyond the imagination of backward countries in East Asia.
Look at their mental outlook... The veterans of the two companies on the deck were not nervous at all. Some were wiping their weapons calmly, and some were lowering their heads and closing their eyes to rest, as if the upcoming battle was too big for them. Just like taking a leisurely stroll.
The two warships pierced the waves, their full sails caught the wind, and two long white waves were drawn on the flat blue sea. When the warships sailed to the Beishan area, the two captains shouted almost at the same time.
"Left full rudder... artillery crews ready to fire... Marines ready to land..."
The battleship drew a large arc of white waves on the sea and headed straight for the sea outside Kunigami Village. This is the northernmost tip of Ryukyu Island and the weakest defense area of the Ryukyu Kingdom.
In Moliere's plan, both cruisers were replaced with accurate and fast breech-mounted rifled guns. The forty state-of-the-art guns were enough to provide fire support to the Marines, and the two companies did not need to be alone at all. Going deeper, as long as they firmly occupy Kunigami Village and establish a solid landing position for the subsequent army, it will be enough.
Molière was very confident that after all, the Ryukyu Kingdom was just a small island country with no internal strategic depth and no external maritime reinforcements. As long as his warships blocked all the island’s sea outlets and destroyed all ships, the Ryukyu Island would become A dead fish.
By that time, the French army, with the support of battleships and artillery, can slowly and steadily control the island. Anyway, Molière did not rush for time, and Napoleon did not set a final time limit. Xiao Letian in Prussia wanted to It would take Gwanghae months to rush back for rescue.
By the time Xiao Letian returns to Ryukyu, King Shangtai may have already pledged his allegiance to France.
This book is sent from, see the genuine content first! r405 Great Qing Hidden Dragon
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