The Maranta battleship, with its pitiful and thin single-shaft propeller, kept struggling under the water, and the billowing white foam floated upwards.
The sails are still flying in the sky, and the wind and water are smooth. The sea breeze provides strong kinetic energy and is transmitted to the hull through the mast and cables.
The combined power of steam power and sail power has more than 4,000 horsepower, which is the power of four thousand horses at the same time. In Jean Arnold's mind, this kind of power is completely impossible to defeat.
Before the collision, none of the French people thought that they would fail. In their minds, the Zhiyuan's armor might be stronger than the Maranta, but in terms of power performance, how could Prussian engineers compete with it? What about France?
In Jean Anno's judgment, after the impact, the Maranta will suffer some damage, but this damage is absolutely controllable, because the interior of the battleship is completely designed with watertight compartments, and some parts of the ship were damaged by a small amount of water. It will not affect the overall buoyancy of the battleship.
In other words, the Maranta will be injured but will not sink. As long as this is guaranteed, Arnold has nothing to worry about. The battleship's strong kinetic energy will be used to crush it and block the progress of the Zhiyuan.
Another reason that makes Arnold and the others confident is that the wind today is very good. The northwest wind has reached Level 5. The battleship cuts from due north to south, and the mast can be tilted at an angle of 45 degrees to absorb the maximum wind force.
Calculated in this way, let alone 4000 horsepower, even 4500 horsepower can be exceeded.
With such strong power, the Maranta can hold on to the Zhiyuan, not only preventing it from advancing even an inch, but even forcing it to retreat.
Wishful thinking is really good, but unfortunately the French suffered a loss because of unclear intelligence. French engineers analyzed the Zhiyuan with a very small amount of data before, and the answer they came up with was naturally wrong.
On Maranta's desk, there is an assessment report from the French intelligence agency. It states in black and white that the maximum horsepower of the Zhiyuan will not exceed 4,000. That report is full of French arrogance and full of contempt for Prussia and the East. country’s disdain.
But today, the cruel reality slapped him hard in the face. Instead of stopping, the Zhiyuan spewed billowing black smoke like a giant, pushing the Maranta backwards and forwards with steady steps. Keep backing up!
The British were completely dumbfounded. They watched the two ships collide. Then the Zhiyuan pushed forward with all its strength. The two ships were still in a stalemate for about five minutes at first, but then the Maranta couldn't hold on. , the entire ship body was pushed by Zhiyuan and began to retreat slowly.
"Oh God! France can't stand it anymore... the Maranta was smashed into pieces and was pushed backwards!"
"What kind of warship is this? How powerful is the Zhiyuan?"
Jason calculated various data back and forth in his mind, and in the end he came to a horrified conclusion: "7ooo... It is definitely 7ooo+ horsepower, otherwise it would be impossible to propel such a large battleship!"
"Our intelligence is all wrong! Is Prussia's industrial level actually so high? God, I must send a telegram to London..."
"Come here, organize the sailors immediately... to get on the Zhiyuan to help in the battle! Damn it, they must not get into a fight!"
Jason guessed right. The frustrated French sailors were not easy to mess with. When they saw that the plan had failed, each of them picked up their rifles and started preparing for a boarding battle without any orders from the officer. Soon, seven people poured out of the bow of the ship. Eighty French sailors.
At this moment, the Zhiyuan ship has cut into the Maranta's ship, and the two sides have become a whole. The Zhiyuan ship is about one meter higher than the French warship, which forms a upward attack posture.
Just as the French army angrily bypassed the obstacle and began to climb, suddenly a group of sailors' heads flashed out from behind the railings of the Reach.
"Get out! What do you want to do? Robbery? Who dares to come forward..."
"Smash it! Smash it with whoever comes up. Just don't fire the first shot. If they dare to fire the first shot, we will shoot back!"
The butt of the Mauser rifle was rounded and smashed down. The big leather boots hit the climbing French soldier's head and kicked him down. The soldier fell down like a dumpling with a crackle.
Xiao Letian rubbed Chuangqing's forehead and said with a sneer, "Don't shoot, let these French people be blamed for firing the first shot! I even rushed into the canal with a malfunction flag, which made it clear that I was looking for trouble..." "
"But we have to do enough of what we need to do. We can't give them excuses...wait? Who is that! Zai Chun?"
Following Xiao Letian's fingers, everyone saw that the person who was shouting the most fiercely was not the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Zai Chun. Despite his age, he was very vicious in kicking people with leather boots. He kicked him to pieces in a short time. The nose bones of two French soldiers.
"Beat them! If anyone comes up, I'll beat them to death! I'll let you attack my Dagokou! Let you bombard Bali Bridge! I'll let you burn my Old Summer Palace! I'll kick you to death..."
The emperor was desperate, and the surrounding soldiers became even more fanatical. Except for not shooting or bayonets, they used all the remaining tricks, and each of them started viciously and viciously.
The French army was not forgiving. They did not rush forward after three consecutive strong attacks. They were finally ready to shoot, and they only heard the sound of gun bolts being pulled.
The Saspor needle gun was a new rifle widely used by the French army in the Franco-Prussian War, and its performance was second only to Mauser. Of course, naval battleships also had a large number of them, and soon more than a dozen rifles were raised.
"Everyone is...prepared..." the judge was giving the order, but at this moment the red-eyed Zai Chun jumped out.
"I am the emperor of the Qing Dynasty! Who of you dares to shoot at me! Let's see who dares..."
At that moment, Zai Chun was possessed by his ancestors, forgetting fear and danger. His whole body was surrounded by the flames of revenge.
But Zai Chun forgot a very critical issue, that is, there is no translator around him now, and he just called out his identity in Chinese.
The French soldiers below didn't understand Chinese, so they thought the one above was an ordinary little soldier.
"Fire..." the French officer yelled.
"Everyone lie down..." Just as he was raising his gun in preparation, Lin Zhen yelled and gave the order.
All the Chinese soldiers have basically developed a conditioned reflex to the military orders. As soon as their ears heard the orders, their bodies started to act. All the soldiers at the ship's railing crawled on the ground and used the deck to protect their bodies.
It's a pity that Zai Chun, who was obsessed with blood, was so late. At this moment, he was the only one standing there, and all the bullets fired by more than a dozen guns were rushing towards him.
