"Have you met Marquis Pingliao?"
Wu Aheng sent messengers to look for Marquis Pingliao everywhere and would report important military information.
The messenger was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, bumping around on the deck, asking the gunner one by one if he had seen it.
The gunners were busy loading and firing, and no one paid any attention to the messenger.
On the top deck, there was only a large flag, one foot and seven feet high, flying fiercely, and the huge grand master's chair under it swayed gently with the battleship.
However, Ping Liaohou and his Chinese army guards had disappeared.
The cannonballs fired by the red-haired barbarians poured into the surrounding sea like a shower, making a terrifying roar. Fortunately, only a small number of the cannonballs hit the warship.
Most of the iron balls landed softly one mile in front of the fleet, hitting the sea and causing huge splashes.
The warships on both sides were more than four miles apart, and both were moving at full speed, making it difficult to hit them directly.
"Have you met Marquis Pingliao?"
Suddenly, a huge wave crashed over and the ship's hull shook violently. The orderly soldier held on to the side of the ship and shouted loudly to the gunner nearest him.
The gunner took a fixed charge bag and stuffed it into the barrel of the gun without hearing anyone shouting behind him.
What he was loading was a ten-pounder field gun commonly used by soldiers.
The ten-pounder was the most powerful field artillery piece of Kaiyuan soldiers. It was nicknamed the Phalanx Barber among the artillerymen.
The artillery fires at the battle formation, and as long as it hits, it will shave off a large area like a razor.
However, when the barber arrived on the battleship, his barbering skills were not very good, so he could only be used as the smallest naval gun.
It is placed on the top deck of the battleship. It is only used to kill the opponent's moving targets during naval battles and cannot cause substantial damage to the enemy ship's hull.
The ordering soldier wanted to ask again, but the sound of cannonballs piercing the air was heard behind him. He subconsciously shrank his neck, and a black shadow quickly passed by his head and rushed to the front deck.
There was a popping sound, and blood and flesh splattered in front of his eyes. The artillery that was loading just now immediately turned into a pile of messy pieces of meat.
A ten-pound solid bullet hit the port side of the Hiryu, spraying dense wood chips. Wherever the wood chips hit, a shower of blood shot out.
The iron ball rushed across the deck, finally broke the starboard guardrail, and fell into the sea on the right side.
A heart-rending scream came from the deck. Six gunners were hit by shells and flying wood chips. Two of them were killed by iron balls on the spot. The remaining four survived for a while, rolling and wailing on the deck.
The surrounding auxiliary soldiers immediately stepped forward and carried the injured away on a stretcher.
The ordering soldier struggled to stand up from the mess, hurriedly chased after him, and asked the auxiliary soldiers if they had seen Ping Liaohou.
"On the mid-deck!"
~~~~~
Compared with the 1,000-ton main battleships in Europe at the same time, the Kaiyuan Navy's Type 20 flat-armor ships currently in service are only less than 800 tons, and their tonnage is significantly smaller.
Small but complete.
The flat-armored ship is divided into three decks from top to bottom, each deck is equipped with artillery, which meets the design standards of battleship artillery in this era.
The top deck is equipped with a ten-pound infantry gun, which mainly fires shotgun shells and chain rounds. It mainly kills living targets on enemy ships and does not cause structural damage to the hull.
The middle deck is equipped with a fifteen-pound naval gun. During a battle, it aims at the side of the enemy ship to attack. After the cannonball penetrates the side, the flying wood chips will kill the enemy and easily cause fire on the enemy ship. However, it is difficult to cause damage to the overall structure of the hull. Sexual destruction.
The firepower of the equipment on the bottom deck is the most powerful. It is currently equipped with a thirty-two-pound naval gun, which can attack the enemy ship's waterline at close range, causing huge craters, thereby quickly sinking the enemy ship.
Marquis Ping Liao was accompanied by only two guards and was inspecting the operations of his gunners on the middle deck.
At this time, on the sea outside the cabin, the fleets on both sides were less than two miles apart, and the Red-haired Yi fleet had already started firing.
There were only sporadic counterattacks from the flat-armored ships. According to the training regulations of the Kaiyuan Navy, in order to achieve the best killing effect, salvos could not be launched until within a hundred steps of the enemy ship.
Of course, this command was not decided by Marquis Ping Liao's forehead, but because the naval guns of this era were far away: the hit rate at distance is really impressive. It is the same as the soldiers lining up to fire a salvo. Shooting early has no other use except to waste ammunition.
Under the bombardment of Tsushima Island artillery group, the Red Maoyi fleet suffered heavy losses.
In just half an hour, they were damaged by shore artillery and sank twelve warships. Five Galen ships were incapacitated after being bombarded and were abandoned by the fleet behind them, becoming live targets for the heavy artillery on the island.
The more than forty surviving warships hurriedly lowered the landing boats and allowed the mercenaries to land on their own.
Then he quickly fled to the north, far away from the shore artillery fire.
The fleet, under the unified command of British Captain Oreo, rushed towards the flat armor group with all their might.
The ships of the Kaiyuan Navy suddenly sounded trumpets and drums, and the commanders of each battalion shuttled among the gunners, loudly conveying attack orders.
Fifty-six battleships, with their backs to the Korean Peninsula, formed an eight-mile-long column, like a solid city wall, across the Tsushima Strait, blocking the way of enemy ships.
When the warships on both sides approached a hundred steps away, they opened the porthole covers in unison, and then, densely packed black muzzles protruded from the sides and aimed at the opponent at the same time.
Nearly a hundred warships staggered past, and after a burst of cannon fire, the surrounding sea was completely shrouded in white smoke, and only the orange-red gun flames could be seen.
The warships of both sides were hit by each other's shells at the same time.
The Hiryu shook slightly, sawdust flying across the deck, and the screams and wails of the gunners could be heard from all around.
Liu Zhaosun had seen too many bloody scenes, and he was calm at the moment.
The thick fog dissipated, and there were seven or eight artillerymen lying on the ground, close to the naval gun. Their limbs were flying everywhere, and the surroundings were in a mess.
The auxiliary soldiers who helped carry the shells and gunpowder immediately came forward and cleaned up the remaining body parts. They also moved the dead body aside.
The wounded soldier who was still alive was pulled to a corner, and the ship's military doctor immediately performed simple hemostasis on the wounded soldier and disinfected him with honey and wine.
At this time, the Feilong moved forward and passed by the next enemy ship. There was a fierce bombardment from the opposite side, and the flat-armored ship also fired more than thirty rounds. It was foreseeable that they would be more powerful against the enemy ship.
Suddenly, the deck beneath his feet shook violently, and the guards quickly stepped forward to protect Marquis Ping Liao.
An iron ball weighing at least 20 kilograms smashed a hole in the side of the ship. The iron ball's power was not reduced, and it swept across the deck and hit the rear.
Fortunately, the shell caused no casualties.
The surviving gunners around were not affected by the changes in the outside world at all, and continued to load ammunition like puppets. Several people worked together to pull the cannon and return the cannon to its position, waiting for the enemy ship to pass by, and then fire before the enemy ship.
Liu Zhaosun looked at these artillerymen who were completely immersed in the battlefield and felt that the psychological quality of these artillerymen was no worse than that of the cavalry in the cavalry battalion.
He was about to go to the bottom floor to see the largest thirty-pound cannon. At this time, the messenger hurriedly walked down the stairs, saw him, and panted:
"Marquis Ping Liao, the red-haired barbarians are landing on the island. General Wu sent me to ask if the fleet will support us!"
"Going to the island? Are the people in the East India Company out of their minds? Do you want to fight with our soldiers?"
Ping Liaohou looked shocked and asked additionally:
"Approximately how many people are there?"
At this time, Marquis Pingliao had returned to the top deck with the guards. Regardless of the messy corpses on the ground, he hurriedly took the telescope from Pei Dahu. Without waiting for the orderer's answer, he couldn't wait to look towards the south of Ma Island.
"More than two thousand."
"Two thousand people want to break through the artillery position, they really treat us like buns!"
In the telescope, it was clearly visible that ten miles south of the Feilong, more than thirty small boats had been docked beside the rocky coast.
Before the ship could fully reach the shore, groups of mercenaries armed with muskets and spears jumped out from above.
There were densely packed corpses floating on the sea in the distance, as well as several hit troop carriers that were sinking little by little.
Trench parapet fortifications were built on the shore. The defenders hid behind the parapet and fired at the landing mercenaries. From time to time, squatting tiger cannons and divine fire flying crows were fired, while the mercenaries on the opposite side fired back with mortars.
At this time, Wu Aheng hurriedly came over and saw Marquis Pingliao holding a telescope to observe Tsushima Island, so he got straight to the point:
"Heng Liaohou, the red-haired barbarians are at a disadvantage now, should we go to Tsushima Island to support the artillery!"
Liu Zhaosun put down his telescope and said to Wu Aheng:
"Commander Wu, the top priority now is to completely defeat their fleet, otherwise we will be defeated, and staying on Tsushima Island will have no effect."
"The island's defenders are not strong enough. What if we sit back and watch the enemy destroy the cannons, or even use the cannons to bombard our ships? Please think again, Marquis Pingliao."
Several others wanted to persuade him, but Liu Zhaosun raised his hand to indicate that the matter had been decided.
"Who is the general of the Tsushima garrison?"
Pei Dahu quickly stepped forward and said, "It's Zhu He."
Marquis Ping Liao was deeply impressed by the newly appointed army commander. No matter what kind of enemy he faced, Zhu He could always move forward and fight with the enemy.
"I remember that he should be stationed in Fukuoka, Kyushu. How come he is here?"
Pei Dahu looked around, walked up to Liu Zhaosun, and whispered about Zhu He's stay on Tsushima Island.
The Seventh Army was responsible for escorting grain and grass supplies to Tsushima Island. Zhu He came with the soldiers, but soon after landing on the island, he was blocked by the fleets of the four countries.
He and his five hundred soldiers were left on Tsushima Island.
Along with the 500 soldiers of the Seventh Army, there were also 1,000 artillery pieces from the artillery regiment.
They are quite familiar with the terrain of the island and are currently working hard to strengthen the fortifications.
Liu Zhaosun frowned and thought for a long time.
This anti-landing war was a bit suspenseful.
"Of course we have to save them, but we have to kill these big ships first, otherwise we will die after landing on the island."
"Zhu He is a fierce general, he should be able to stop the red-haired barbarians!"
Pei Dahu stopped talking.
The two stood on the deck of the Flying Dragon, and the explosion of burning gunpowder could be heard in their ears. After five rounds of firing, the naval gun stopped to dissipate heat. Rockets were constantly being ignited, rising from the side of the ship and flying towards the enemy fleet.
Ping Liaohou was shrouded in white smoke from burning gunpowder, his vision was hazy, and the outline of the enemy ship became blurred.
But what is certain is that the counterattacks of the four fleets are getting weaker and weaker.
The water jets splashing around the battleship are getting less and less, and the cannonballs that were raining down from the previous storm have become significantly sparser.
Liu Zhaosun estimated that the opponent's ammunition must be running out soon.
~~~~~~
The fat director of the East India Company sent an envoy with a small boat and a white flag to negotiate with the Marquis of Liao.
Liu Zhaosun could tell at a glance that this was to delay time so that the mercenaries could successfully capture Tsushima Island.
So he ordered a salvo of naval guns to break the boat into pieces.
"Weakness and ignorance are not obstacles to survival, arrogance is."
Looking at the densely packed mercenaries landing in the distance, Liu Zhaosun thought of the famous sayings he had read in his previous life.
After the great geographical discovery of Europe, the Europeans continued to massacre cities and countries throughout America and Africa for hundreds of years, killing countless people.
Perhaps because the early expansion was too smooth, these bandits who claimed to be God's chosen people had forgotten the reverence they should have for life.
It was time for things to be what they were.
"Go on the offense and teach them this lesson."
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