Spike Island is not big, with an area of only 18 square kilometers and a population of just over 600 people. The bloody battle this night has frightened the local people. When the French first landed, all the islanders were Fleeing south.
More than 600 Prussian fishermen and farmers took their families and their families, wrapped up their few valuables and loose wealth, and started to cross the strait in fishing boats.
The so-called strait is actually only more than 2,000 meters long. Standing on the shore, people can see the terrified compatriots crowding on the mainland. This war has already alarmed the residents of the mainland towns of Eisensi and Witmond. These terrified people While reporting to the garrison in Wilhelmshaven, they rushed to the seaside in an attempt to rescue their compatriots.
More than 40 fishing boats were going back and forth in the strait, people were crying loudly, and watching their homes on the distant islands turn into a sea of fire, everyone felt as if the end was coming.
Prussia in this era was really too poor. In order to get rid of its status as a weak country and break through the suppression of France, the entire Prussia had turned into a super tank, and all the people were betting on the fate of the country.
Even these poor fishermen far away from the political center and borders once spent their limited money to buy national war bonds!
In the small packages in their hands, there was nothing more than a few pieces of bacon, cheese, and a few oil-stained war bonds.
The dilapidated wooden houses on the island were all their property. They didn't know how to survive after this war.
It's already summer now. They simply can't save enough money and raw materials to build a wooden house in one autumn. What awaits them is a long and painful winter!
The women and children hugged each other and began to cry, while the men looked at the arrogant landing French troops with hatred. If they had guns in their hands, these men would definitely attack the enemy!
But just when they were at their most depressed and desperate, violent gunfire suddenly rang out from the sea, and the French army, which had been showing off its power just now, suddenly became commotion.
People stood up and looked desperately to the northwest, and soon those with good eyesight saw the legendary battleship that penetrated the formation and killed it!
"Is our navy fighting back? A battleship opened fire on the Frenchman! He is rushing towards Spike Island..."
"It's been shot! Those French warships have been hit! God, the French warships are on fire... they're exploding!"
The joy of revenge made these fishermen rejoice. They jumped on the fishing boat and raised their fists in excitement, almost overturning the fishing boat!
These simple fishermen thought it was the Prussian navy in Wilhelmshaven. Although they all knew that there were warships parked in Wilhelmshaven, before the war began, the fifteen-kilometer area around Wilhelmshaven had become a military restricted area.
They don't know exactly how many warships and how many troops are stationed in Wilhelmshaven!
But these are not important anymore. What is important is that the counterattack has begun. Prussia's weak navy is finally no longer silent and finally dares to challenge the powerful French navy!
Not only that, the navy also fought really well. One battleship hit the French fleet and couldn't find its way north. Several battleships were sunk!
People forgot to escape and looked into the distance excitedly. They didn't know they were cold even though the heavy rain made them wet all over!
"That's so helpful! Our battleships started shelling the French troops who landed!"
"Fire...blow them up! Blow up these French guys...I'll let you burn our houses, I'll let you rob our things and blow them up..."
Every bombardment of the Zhiyuan can be exchanged for cheers from these Prussians. In the cheers, they have regarded the Zhiyuan as a battleship of their own country.
But when more and more explosions and flames broke out on the beach, the fire illuminated the flag of the Zhiyuan. Although these fishermen had little knowledge, they were still more or less literate under the nourishment of Prussia's universal compulsory education.
When the weird Chinese square man appeared in front of them, these people were dumbfounded!
"No... this battleship is not ours. The pattern on the flag is very weird..."
"Oh God! I guessed it, that must be the Chinese square man! They are our allies!"
Now all the Prussians watching the battle were dumbfounded, and everyone had mixed feelings in their hearts!
The Allies were avenging them, and these people were full of gratitude, but not a single Prussian warship appeared during the entire war, which made them feel extremely ashamed!
"What are our battleships doing? What are our battleships doing? God, why do we let our allies fight alone..."
Boom... there was a loud noise in the distance, and fire and smoke rose from the Zhiyuan. The hearts of the Prussian people trembled with the loud noise.
It was as if that shell had exploded in their hearts!
"Where is our army! Where is our army! Damn it, where is the pride of our Prussians? How could we be deserters? How could we be deserters..."
How many people wiped away tears, their faces extremely red with shame!
At this moment, the French troops on the shore suddenly burst into excited shouts. The Frenchmen who had just been bombed looked like their grandsons, jumping on their feet and screaming at the sea.
The fishermen may not see that the Zhiyuan has used up all his good luck at this moment, and his propeller has sunk into the sand.
When the Zhiyuan broke through the cruiser battle formation, it was already too close to the beach. The sailors in the bottom cabin could even hear the sound of the bottom of the ship rubbing against the beach.
Although there are not many rocks on this beach, it does not mean that there are no rocks in the sea!
During the twenty-minute bombardment by the Zhiyuan, the warship had been slowly traveling northeast along the island's coastline. The heavy propellers stirred up countless sediments on the seabed, and also stirred up many rocks.
The small stone propeller was immediately shattered, but now he encountered a huge submarine reef, and the propeller blades hit the reef with a bang.
The entire reef was smashed to pieces, and a large piece of the propeller was knocked off. Then the propeller was completely sunk into the sand.
The crankshaft is constantly transmitting kinetic energy, but the propeller is buried too deep and cannot rotate at all when it is stirred by the sand.
The two horizontal steam engines struggled with their twin shafts, but both propellers were buried in the sand, and there were many large rocks in the sand.
At this moment, the two steam engines increased their horsepower to the maximum, but they could not drill the transmission shaft. The engineer in the wheelhouse shouted, "Reduce the pressure, reduce the steam pressure... If this continues, the transmission shaft will break!"
"Decompress, the propeller and drive shaft are stuck, you can't use brute force..."
The bottom cabin was full of running engineers, and everyone realized that the last moment had arrived!
Xiang Ying also heard the news from the bottom cabin through the brass communication tube. This time he did not give an order, but just straightened his military uniform in the heavy rain and touched his waist.
"Old friend! You have a total of six bullets. Try your best to kill a few more...but leave the last bullet to me. Let's sleep together in this sea!"
"All soldiers of the Zhiyuan! The last moment has arrived. Distribute weapons throughout the ship... prepare for the final decisive battle!"
