Boom...click, click...the sound of impact, the sound of wood rubbing against each other, made people's eardrums hurt. Two Prussian cargo ships with full sails collided with each other. The French cargo ship loaded with yellow sand was unable to dodge, and the one that was hit capsized. On the sea, a ship opened a hole more than one meter wide directly below the waterline.
The seawater poured in desperately, and the yellow sand visible to the naked eye flowed along the gap to the bottom of the sea. This was the fate of the Dionysus. The tattered wooden boards could not withstand the impact of the new ship.
The Dover was not much better. Although there was no damage to the side of the ship, the huge impact force caused the entire hull to capsize. The yellow sand in the ballast was basically in bulk. The yellow sand turned over on one side of the hull and suddenly began to sink downwards. One side slipped.
The center of gravity of the entire ship suddenly shifted, and more than ten tons of yellow sand pressed on the other side of the ship, which also accelerated the capsizing speed.
The sea was filled with the screams of French sailors. The Bacchus was sinking and the Dover was capsize. The sailors were instantly divided into two groups.
One group was composed of legal sailors. Their shouters launched a counterattack and attacked the two Prussian warships. The other group was ordinary civilian sailors. They were not mentally prepared for combat and jumped when they saw the danger. Travel to a safe area by sea.
The counselor who was watching with a telescope in the distance smashed the telescope angrily, "These bastards who deserve to go to hell! Have you forgotten that you are also Europeans? Why are you helping the Chinese? Why are you helping the infidels..."
"Fire the guns, where are our coastal defense batteries? Why don't you fire the guns... It's free food!"
It was already seven o'clock in the morning, and the sun had already jumped above the horizon, and Port Said was filled with golden light. When the British and Prussian intelligence officers saw that the mission had been completed, they whistled loudly at each other and began to retreat.
The spies on the cargo ship abandoned the ship and jumped into the sea. After a string of bubbles, they swam to nowhere. The spies on land began to get into the alleys. After paying a lot of sacrifices, the remaining spies disappeared completely.
This was a tragic attack. The British and French sides dispatched a total of more than 40 core intelligence officers and more than 70 peripheral spies. After the mission was completed, the French cleaned up a total of 45 corpses, which shows the huge number of casualties. Tragic, but for intelligence workers who narrowly escaped death, such a casualty rate is simply too common.
Two kilometers west of the collision dock, the French coastal defense battery was finally ready for battle. Two large-caliber cannons were aimed at the Prussian cargo ship, making a huge roar amidst the angry command of the officer.
The high-explosive shells streaked across the sky and accurately hit the Prussian cargo ship. To the coastal defense cannon, the cargo ship was like a thin-skinned dumpling with large fillings. With the violent explosion, a ball of fire rose into the sky, and the shock wave tore the deck of the wooden ship to pieces. There were everywhere in the sky. It's wood stubble flying everywhere.
The fishing boats and cargo ships parked around them were unlucky. They were hit by such a rain of debris, and many of their sails were punctured into sieves.
There was a flame burning on the keel of the sinking cargo ship on the sea. The rising seawater extinguished the flame and spread an unpleasant burnt smell in the air.
Now the top French commander in Port Said is the counselor under Consul Ferdinand. He was standing at the place where the conflict occurred, with a pale face looking at the faint shipwrecks on the sea.
"Why are you still standing there? Immediately recruit the nearest cargo ship and set off to block the river... Hurry up and let the army come forward!"
"But...but Mr. Counselor, it's too late to prepare sand and gravel for ballast. I'm afraid such a wooden ship can't stop the Zhiyuan? It will be smashed..."
"Shut up! Are you an idiot? If one ship doesn't work, sink ten of them for me... If there's no sand, buy all the cargo on the ship. Whatever cargo is the heaviest..."
"Yes! Sir..." The French commander took action immediately, and there was a roar of chickens and dogs on the dock.
To sink a ship and block the river, this is really a technical task that not all ships can do. Fishing boats are not good enough, and cargo ships have too big bellies, so they must have ballast.
In fact, the best ones are warships, but at the moment there are only a few offshore defense gunboats in Port Said, and all the warships that can block the river are not in the port.
Ships are the lifeblood of maritime trade, especially in ocean trade. Many captains are also very superstitious. They have deep feelings for the cargo ships they have accompanied for many years, and even have some hidden taboos about them.
This temporary arrest naturally angered countless European businessmen, and there were shouts and curses everywhere on the dock.
The French did not dare to bully the British merchant ships. France's own ships had to pay attention to some incense and kindness, so they had no choice but to attack the merchant ships of other countries.
It was so noisy, with people shouting and cursing everywhere, and various European accents coming together to make the counselor buzz and tremble.
"Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up..." Seeing that the hand of the pocket watch had reached seven-twenty, but none of the boats blocking the river had been found, the counselor hit his head in pain.
But what can be done? It is not that simple for a sailboat to go from stationary to sailing. This requires all sailors who are familiar with the ship to be in place, and then lift the anchor and raise the sail step by step... all kinds of preparations do not take half an hour. The above time is not acceptable.
The counselor is also an old sailor. Of course he knows the rules of sailing on the sea. He also knows that it is useless to be anxious.
His heart seemed to be boiling in a frying pan. Just when he was scratching his head and feeling at a loss, suddenly a melodious horn sound came from the towering lighthouse at the end of the breakwater in the distance.
"Coming... coming..." A faint exclamation came from the distance, crashing over like ocean waves.
The counselor grabbed his telescope and looked into the distance carefully, but found that his view was blocked by many ships. "Hurry up and give me the ladder, I will go to the roof! Idiot..."
Ignoring the scoldings of the locals, a group of French people climbed a ladder onto the roof of a private house and almost collapsed the roof.
Now it was clear. The outline of a battleship in the northwest clearly appeared in the field of view of the telescope. The counselor excitedly stamped his feet: "Great, great... This is our ship... our battleship!"
"Send a signal immediately and order the warships to enter the canal immediately... It's urgent! It's urgent..."
The messengers were running wildly, the flag bearers on the lighthouse were waving signal flags, and the merchant ships in the harbor that had been commandeered finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Sure enough, it was the French fleet. The one at the front was the flagship Maranta. Captain Jean-Arnault, who had just woken up, was wiping his face with a towel to refresh himself. At this moment, his cabin door was knocked open, and he had not been there all night. The sleeping adjutant rushed in.
"Captain! A signal has been sent from Port Said...it's urgent...it's urgent..."
"Calm down! What does it look like..."
"I...I, I, I...can't calm down anymore! The consul did not stop the Chinese, and now the combined fleet has approached Port Said...If we don't fight, the Chinese will rush out!"
"What! God how is this possible?"
With a bang, a basin of water spilled onto the deck.
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