The people of Jinling had an eye-opener today. The sky had just dawned, and many villagers along the river were the first to notice that something was wrong. Countless cargo ships on the Yangtze River were trying to get out of the way, and faint whistles were heard from the east, resounding throughout the sky.
Soon a fleet came up the river and the people were stunned. The people in the Central Plains had never seen such a big ship, and it was a steel ship.
All ships had more than two or three chimneys, and thick black smoke was sprayed directly into the air, and then spread into a huge black and gray smoke belt, almost covering the Yangtze River.
In the gray mist, like a blue dragon rolling in the river, the waves pierced by the bow of the ship were more than half a meter high, rushing toward both banks!
Many small wooden boats simply could not withstand the impact of such large waves, and some approaching wooden boats that had no time to escape were even overturned in the river.
Fortunately, there were many small steamships in the fleet to clear the way, and there were pilot boats familiar with the water conditions before. These people who fell into the water received emergency rescue, and some money was compensated for whatever was fished out.
Viewed from a distance from the heights on both sides of the strait, compared with this huge battleship, those steamships of more than 100 tons are as small as water rats!
And the smaller folk wooden boats are as pitiful as floating in the water!
"It's coming...it's really coming...a Chinese warship...my ancestor! How can it be so big!"
The 7,500-ton Qinling was the temporary flagship, followed by the battleships Minshan, Laoshan, and Yandang.
The four battleships are majestic like four cities on the water, and there are so many battle patrols behind them that you can't even see them at a glance!
Lin Zhen stood in the command cabin of the flagship, looking at the scenery on both sides of the Taiwan Strait with his binoculars. When he saw countless people from the Qing Dynasty, looking at the battleship and bowing in the wind, he couldn't help but sneer.
"Master Wang brings peace to the world with his mighty virtue! What is mighty virtue? When you show irresistible power, this is mighty virtue!"
"After people's hearts see things that are invincible, they will naturally obey. They will brainwash themselves and choose to be loyal to us!"
"In the Yangtze River Economic Zone, all areas covered by artillery fire are our territory!"
"Report! There is an emergency telegram..." the adjutant's voice sounded behind Lin Zhen. The fleet was always followed by fast horse vanguards on land, and more telegrams would be transmitted to the warships using encrypted light signals or flags.
Moreover, pilot boats and small gunboats can also serve as means of communication. Lin Zhen's connection with the mainland has never been broken.
After opening the confidential message, Lin Zhen frowned, "What is Xiang Ying doing? I've already taken off my pants and you show me this? You want me to put them on again?"
"Can't the battleship pass Jiangning? Go back... Sigh... Are the Four Heavenly Kings really old? Have they no longer got the courage to scare people?"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk... It's true that the King of the Far East, where did the momentum of Lord Long of the North Land go? How come he has become more and more cautious now that he has become the king!"
The adjutant heard Lin Zhen's complaint and whispered, "General! The pressure from the rear is too great, and General Xiang can't bear it anymore. It's better to be careful..."
"Humph! It's all the fault of those civil servants in the parliament, a bunch of old cabbage gangsters, they know nothing!"
At this moment, a shout came from the watchtower, "Enemy situation... there is enemy situation ahead!"
Everyone was shocked and crowded to the window to look forward. At this moment, the fleet could already see the outline of Guanyin Mountain. Suddenly, there was a huge beacon smoke on the top of the mountain. It was unknown how big the beacon tower the Hunan Army had built, and the thick smoke rose straight into the sky. , higher than the chimney of a battleship.
Beacon fires began to erupt in Guanyin Mountain, and then more beacon fires were lit along the Lime Mountain line along the Yangtze River!
One after another, they headed straight for Lion Rock, bringing the news of the arrival of the Chinese fleet to the Nine Commanders!
Lin Zhen and the others were dumbfounded. After the fleet approached Guanyin Mountain, the waterway began to narrow, and people could see the situation on the shore more clearly, as if someone was giving orders inside the mountain.
Suddenly thousands of flags appeared from the trees all over the mountain, and the mountain was almost full!
Countless Hunan soldiers pulled their necks and shouted, not knowing what they were shouting. They waved their flags and turned the entire mountain into a sea of flags, with rough waves.
Then on the flat land along the river, the camouflage of the artillery positions was removed one by one, and the black muzzles of the 88 field guns one after another were aimed at the battleship in Jiang Xin!
What shocked Lin even more was that the reinforced concrete fortresses built with Chinese help halfway up the mountain and on the top of the mountain also opened their gun doors, and the 120-meter gun muzzles were pointed at the fleet.
The fortifications along the Jiangning River were all designed and constructed with the help of Chinese engineers. All locations were marked on the map on Lin Zhen's desk. Today, I simply asked him to check them again.
"What do these nine commanders want to do? Is the welcome ceremony big enough?"
"Fart! In your welcome ceremony, the muzzle of the cannon rotates with the fleet? Haha, the Ninth Commander is trying to establish his prestige. He must be showing his presence! Haha..."
Lin Zhen was right. At this time, someone had heard clearly what the soldiers along the river were shouting. These Hunan Army soldiers shouted just one sentence in the dialects of their hometown.
"Jiangning stops the ship... no forward... Jiangning stops the ship... no forward..."
"You understand, is Commander Ninth forcing us to stop the ship and not move forward? Is he trying to stop the ship for inspection? Are you going against us?"
"Damn it...the Hunan Army is treacherous? Without the support of our Chinese people, they would have been killed by the Manchu Qing Dynasty. How much money have they made to us over the years?"
"Feed the unfamiliar white-eyed wolf, now he can show his teeth?"
"Don't stop! Just fucking do it with him! General, prepare to fire... bombard Jiang Ning and kill their majesty!"
"Except for the threats from a few 120-caliber coastal defense guns in the entire Jiangning City, there is no way anyone else can even think of dealing with us!"
Lin Zhen looked at the lively scene in front of him coldly, with impulses welling up in his heart. He was about to lose control of his emotions!
He really wanted to do it. He wanted to personally test the performance of warships such as the Qinling. The Eight Great King Kongs of the Chinese clan were all the latest iron-clad ships. The thickness of the armor facing the enemy was more than 300 mm. In theory, they could compete with these 120-meter naval guns!
"Let's have a fight...a real fight...anyway, it's the Ninth Commander who is the first to challenge..."
"No... we can't take action... the stormtroopers' plan is under too much pressure, and we can't let it go any further!"
"Fight! Are you stupid? A 210-meter main gun and a 300-meter defensive steel armor. What are you afraid of? There is no weapon in the Qing Dynasty that can deal with you!"
"No! You can't make a move... The Ninth Commander is a strategic ally of the Führer. This is a rule set by Zeng Guofan when he was alive. If you make a move, the Führer will tear you apart..."
It was as if there were two devils in Lin Zhen's mind, going back and forth to encourage him to go left and right again!
"Damn it! Stop talking and leave me alone!"
