"Believe me, there is no promise made by the Prime Minister that cannot be fulfilled! When he knew that you were fighting alone in South America, it took just over two months to gather more than 10,000 veterans of the Nanyang Heavenly Kingdom to cross the Pacific..."
"Back then he said he wanted to teach the foreigners who bullied us a lesson, but we ended up slapping the French and Austrians in Europe!"
"The French Expeditionary Force is nothing. They were beaten to death in Ryukyu and in the Special Administrative Region... Needless to say, brother, I have performed martial arts in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City! Both the Tatar emperor and the prince turned pale with fear. …”
"The Prime Minister is a real dragon that rides on wind and thunder. He was born to bring us miracles! Believe in him, he will definitely not let you down!"
Tietoutuo patted Chen Yonglu's shoulder and turned to the army and said, "Take the bodies of our brothers and withdraw first! Don't cry in mourning. The Chileans lost, but we Chinese did not lose!"
"Let's go back and eat and drink enough to recuperate our strength and replenish our supplies... Once our army crosses the sand sea and fights to Bolivia, I don't believe we can't carve out a big territory!"
Morale was finally stabilized by Tietutuo's encouragement, and people sighed. Since Iquique could not be captured, it would be a good idea to turn their attention to the enemy's weak army.
Bolivia's elite have just been dispersed, and now is the time to fear the Chinese. It is not impossible to capture a few cities while the iron is hot.
If the elite Bolivian army is the same as last night, then even trying to attack the Bolivian capital is not something that cannot be considered.
In contrast to the crazy retreat of the Chilean army, the Chinese retreated in an orderly manner. They covered each other and took away the equipment that could still be used on the battlefield, carried away the wounded and the bodies of their dead brothers, and began to leave in a very orderly manner. Artillery bombardment area.
The Peruvian soldiers in the dilapidated fortress breathed a sigh of relief. At this moment, even the Peruvian Navy warships burst into cheers.
In contrast, the Chilean army is filled with sorrow and the Chinese people are filled with grief and anger. They have spilled all their blood and are now shedding all their tears. How could this supposedly victorious battle end up in such a useless state?
"It's past twelve o'clock? The war is finally over..." The Lima's lookout hand looked at his pocket watch, and stood on the lookout platform and stretched out, but at this moment, the corner of his eye was resting. There was a sudden flash of light, and a faint ribbon of smoke suddenly floated to the southwest of the sea.
"What is it?" The lookout quickly took out his telescope and looked around. "Is there a ship? There is a steamship approaching quickly... Captain! There is an unknown ship in the southwest, and it is very fast!"
"The smoke ribbon appears light white... It must be high-quality anthracite! It's so fast..."
The roar shook the officers on the battleship, and people looked to the southwest in disbelief, wondering what kind of ship it was.
The Port of Iquique faces the Pacific Ocean. Geologically speaking, this is the intersection of the Pacific Plate and the South American Plate. The high Andes Mountains are squeezed out by the Pacific Plate. There is a deep Chilean Trench close to the coastline. .
Precisely because of the existence of the trench, there are very few islands in this area, especially the endless sea directly to the west of Iquique, and the main channel does not lead directly to the west.
Therefore, the incoming ship cannot be a merchant ship or a civilian ship. Look at the clean smoke ribbon. Only the most expensive white coal, that is, anthracite, can produce such a smoke ribbon. Even an experienced sailor can distinguish it.
"Battleship! It must be a battleship! But why is there only one? Does the Chilean Navy still have a trump card? Or is there a lunatic among those naval commanders who are unwilling to fail?"
"No matter who he is, send two battleships to stop him. If he dares to open fire, he will be sunk immediately... Stupid guy, what does a battleship want to do? Are you going to die..."
The ironclads Sun and Huascaran quickly broke away from the large force and headed southwest to greet them. They were two heavy frigates with a displacement of 1,200 tons. They had made outstanding achievements in the naval battle just now, and their morale was at a high level at this moment.
The young captain felt that he should add another item to his credit book, so he did not mean to warn at all. He just waved his hand and ordered: "After approaching two thousand meters, conduct T-shaped fire. The bow of the ship will be facing south and the starboard artillery will meet the enemy... There is no need." Warning, sink directly!"
The sailors on the battleship began busy preparations. The 148mm main gun and other rapid-fire cannons were loaded with ammunition, waiting for the battleship to turn and give the invading enemy a hard blow.
But when the battleships got closer and closer, the commanders of the Sun and Huascaran suddenly felt something was wrong. The battleships in the distance were surprisingly fast. They had reached a speed of 17 knots by visual inspection, while their own battleships were sailing at full speed. The speed is only about 14 knots.
"What kind of ship is this? Why is it so fast... And the shape of the hull is also very strange? Is the main gun directly in front? Why are the gun barrels so long? How come they are arranged like this..."
At this moment, the mysterious warship suddenly flashed with flames on its bow, followed by a muffled thunderous sound.
"The enemy opened fire? They opened fire four kilometers away. Are they crazy..." No one could imagine that enemy ships would fire at such a long distance. Four thousand meters is actually not far for rifled guns, but this The distance was no longer accurate for the artillery of that era.
More importantly, is this battleship planning to use its bow cannon to destroy the enemy? He actually did not change his posture and used broadside fire to meet the enemy. Is this ignoring our Peruvian navy?
The Peruvian captain felt that his dignity had been ridiculed by the enemy. In the ship design at that time, only one or two small-caliber naval guns could be placed on the bow and stern guns. The real main guns were divided on the left and right sides. department.
The enemy does not use main guns but auxiliary guns to attack. To put it bluntly, it is a great disdain for the Peruvian army. This is looking down on people.
"Damn it! Speed up... rush forward and sink him..." Before he could finish his words, only a loud bang was heard, and a huge fire suddenly erupted on the bow deck of the Huascaran, and the shock wave swept across all objects on the deck. .
The thin armor was torn to pieces, and the sailors flew into the sky like rag dolls. All the glass in the command room was shattered. The sharp glass fragments pierced the captain's chest, and blood gurgled out.
The first shot hit the target and crippled the 1,200-ton armored battleship. The Sun, which was parallel to the ship 200 meters away, was so frightened that they collectively lost their voices. The telescope in the captain's hand shattered with a bang.
"210...my God! It must be a 210-caliber artillery, otherwise how could it be so powerful?"
"Am I dreaming? How can there be a battleship equipped with a 210-caliber artillery? God! What kind of madman actually installed a coastal defense gun on the ship? Avoid...immediately make an S-shaped evasion..."
