John Jervis had a wonderful thought, but he couldn't help but be shocked when he saw the tongues of fire spitting out continuously from the humble merchant ship.
The British navy's bombardment technology was considered the best in the 18th century, especially after the emergence of carronade guns. The average firing rate of gunners was two rounds every three minutes. In the era of muzzleloaders, this was already the pinnacle.
"They are using breech-loading cannons! Only breech-loading cannons can hit such speeds! My God! Their technology has reached such a level!"
John Jervis's surprise was justified.
It is said that from the 15th to the 16th century, almost all field guns and naval guns in Europe were breech-loading guns, including the mother-and-child gun known as the "Flange machine". Early breech-loading guns used a wedge breech assembly to close the breech. However, the leakage of gunpowder gas could not be solved, so front-loading guns gradually replaced breech-loading guns.
Historically, it was not until the late nineteenth century that, with the continuous development of metallurgy and materials technology, the improvement of rifling, gunpowder, cartridges, cylindrical shells, and threaded breech technologies, the breech-loaded gun returned to the war stage.
The Beihai Navy's 75mm gun is an imitation of the spiral breech technology of another time and space, while the D30 is a semi-automatic vertical wedge type; with the existing machining capabilities of Beihai Town, it cannot be manufactured at all.
For John Jervis, it was self-evident what it meant to acquire this technology. In this time and space, its effect is comparable to that of nuclear weapons in later generations. The British Empire will be invincible in the world whether on land or at sea.
Well, not counting the North Navy.
Therefore, John Jervis immediately proposed to Hardanga to modify the tactics, let the four sailing ships work together to attack the Beihai No. 2, which was spitting out fire, and let the damaged "Zhenbei" serve as a shield to resist the Thor's attack. Artillery fire.
"Reason? I need a reasonable explanation!" Hardanga expressed confusion about the sudden adjustment of tactics.
"Artillery! Lord Admiral, the enemy's rapid artillery is the most perfect explanation. As long as we get that kind of artillery, the military strength of both the Qing Empire and the British Empire will be greatly improved! Believe me, your great emperor I will definitely reward you!”
Hardanga understood it as soon as he heard it. The North Navy's artillery was so powerful that the court suffered countless hardships. If we can get a sample and take it back to imitate, the strategic situation outside the customs will definitely change!
So he immediately ordered his men to send signals to each ship and adjust the attack target.
However, the British thought beautifully, but the reality slapped John Jervis hard in the mouth.
The maximum effective range of the 32-pounder caron gun is 1087 yards, which is 994 meters. And due to the structure of the gun mount, its maximum elevation angle can only be raised by 5 degrees. Even for the 68-pound Caron gun, its maximum effective range is 1,500 yards (1,371 meters).
In actual naval battles, the British Navy always approaches the target and shoots within 500 meters. Only in this way can it cause maximum damage at one time and force the opponent to withdraw from the battle.
The problem is that Beihai 2 is not an ordinary sailboat, but a motor sailboat. As the captain, Guo Xuexian had already seen that the enemy was approaching him, so the diesel motor of Beihai No. 2 roared, the ship's bow turned to the west, and in the choppy waves, it followed the Qing fleet in a circle, always keeping itself Keep the distance from the opponent at about 1.5 to 2 nautical miles.
Now the British were dumbfounded. Damn, sailing against the wind is faster than sailing with the wind. Is there any justice in the world?
God, I have something to report to you...
On the Leishen on the other side, the cargo ship sent by the Fuzhou Qing Army had been set on fire. The sailors on the ship jumped into the sea holding a piece of wood and swam towards the fleet behind; however, almost one-third of the people disappeared On the sea.
"Fire!" The four heavy machine guns on the starboard deck spit out tongues of fire, shattering the fire ship that was undulating with the waves into pieces.
With a "swish" sound, a flame burst out from the deck of the Thor. A visible fusiform object hit a fire ship. Then it exploded with a "boom" and a ball of fire rose from the sea. It started, and the fire ship immediately broke into pieces.
What stunned the Fuzhou Qing army the most was that there were people holding two large pipes on the bow of the Thor, spraying arm-thick water at the approaching fire ship. In the blink of an eye, the fire ship was drenched inside and out, and the blazing flames were gone.
"Water cannons!!"
The Qing army in Fuzhou suddenly became furious. How could they fight against this?
After a while, the heavy machine gun that had finished cleaning up the fireship pointed its muzzle at the fleet behind it. As water columns rose up on the sea, the Qing troops on several bird boats saw the water columns coming towards them. The two cannons on the bow of the ship were fired with flames; the Qing troops on the deck suddenly felt like they were in hell. , broken limbs and flesh and blood were swaying in the air.
Immediately afterwards, the hard sail on the mast was ignited by an incendiary bomb, and soon the mast turned into a large torch. The surviving Qing soldiers and sailors threw away their weapons and jumped into the water to escape.
"Retreat! Evacuate quickly!" The deputy commander leading the fleet shouted at the top of his lungs, and the miserable sound of gongs sounded on each ship.
On the "Dinghai", when Navy Admiral Hardang saw the Fuzhou fleet beginning to retreat, he knew that the situation was over.
The white sails of the four sail warships were bulging, and they could not catch up with the Beihai No. 2 despite all their efforts. The artillery on the other side's ship kept firing, causing a mess on the four warships. One shell even penetrated the gun window on the second floor of the "Fubo" and exploded, destroying two carronade cannons on the spot and causing numerous casualties.
"Ming Jin, retreat!" Hadang'a decided not to listen to the British anymore. If the battle continued, all five ships would have to be destroyed; at least they could be used as a fort when they returned to Dagokou.
So the Qing fleet retreated to the southwest under the influence of the north wind. On the Beihai No. 2, because the shells had almost been fired, Guo Xuexian immediately adjusted the course and sailed towards the vicinity of the Thor.
On the deck of the Thor, the two D30s were still spitting out tongues of fire unhurriedly. From time to time, water columns caused by explosions would rise up in front, back, left and right of the Qing fleet.
In the cockpit, after receiving Guo Xuexian's report, Deng Fei said to an officer of the Marine Battalion: "Record, send a report to the staff. At 7 o'clock in the morning on November 7, the Qing army attacked us in two groups. Fleet. The Qing army dispatched five sailing battleships and nearly a hundred ships of various sizes. The battle lasted for forty minutes, and they have all been repulsed. The ammunition consumption is very large, please ask for further instructions."
When Hong Liangji and Jiang Fan heard this, their eyes suddenly showed excitement. Jiang Fan was even more excited. He was already imagining the scene of the Northern Navy landing and conquering Tianjin.
Half an hour later, Zhao Xin, who was in Beihai Town, saw Deng Fei's telegram. He shook his head in confusion, trying to figure out Qianlong's thinking. Do you really think that with the sail battleship, you can compete with the Northern Navy? What are you thinking about?
In this case, don't blame yourself for being rude.
Zhao Xin immediately called the Whale Port and informed the Thunder to "prepare a vehicle", and asked the staff to notify the Thor and Beihai 2 to return to Port Arthur and wait on the spot.
A 10,000-ton freighter is not a family car that you can just turn the key and step on the accelerator. It requires power supply preparation, clock calibration, car clock adjustment, rudder adjustment, main engine cylinder warming, preparation of each power system, cranking, running and test running. This series of preparation work is called "preparing the car" and takes several hours.
Then, he drafted another order, signed it after checking it was correct, and asked Yin Bingwei to send it to the training base on the other side of the river and hand it over to Wang Yuanfang. The above content is to order Wang Yuanfang to act as the agent for the military management of Beihai Town after he leaves.
In fact, this is just a formality, because the Northern Navy Staff and Logistics Department are still controlled by themselves. Without orders from the staff, no soldier in the army can be mobilized; and without orders from oneself, no one can take out ammunition and supplies from the logistics warehouse.
Then, he signed several more orders: 1. Transfer Jiuzang's second regiment (all the officers of the previous regiments and battalions were transferred). Immediately pack up and receive two bases of weapons and ammunition. After the combat preparations are completed, rush to the Whale Port to board the ship. ; Second, transfer Chen Jishan to temporarily act as the guard battalion commander and travel with him; third, order Li Ji to open the logistics warehouse, let the second regiment and the guard battalion receive ammunition and materials, and transport a batch of artillery shells onto the ship.
After the military preparations were completed, he made several calls to Chen Qingsong, Yu Deli and others to explain the situation and give instructions.
Then, he sent a telegram to Liu Sheng, Fan Tong, Cao Peng and the Huji Division stationed in Hunchun, informing him of the situation on Changxing Island and his next plan.
By the time all this was done, it was already afternoon. Zhao Xin recalled for a while and called Chen Jishan again. Then he felt that everything was arranged properly, so he walked out of the office and went straight home.
He went directly to Sanjin's backyard and saw A Miao holding Duofu basking in the sun on the steps. Several kittens were chasing a pom-pom in the yard. Seeing Zhao Xin come in, several kittens meowed and rushed over to surround him.
Zhao Xin gently pushed the kitten away from his feet with his feet, but the little guys simply hugged his feet. Seeing this, A Miao came over and hugged the cats one by one, saying "Let's play". Zhao Xin walked up to the steps and touched Duofu's head, and Duofu turned over, revealing his white fluffy belly.
(Come and serve me!)
After opening the door and entering the house, Ma Zhao's loud voice rang out from the west room: "Close the door quickly and wash your hands first after teasing the cat."
Zhao Xin smiled helplessly, washed his hands and entered the west room with a thick curtain. Looking up, she saw Shen Xuan sitting on the bed with a big belly, Zhao's mother was also sitting cross-legged on the side, and Shen Xuan's adoptive mother, Mrs. Wu, was sitting on the chair next to the bed.
"Hey, is it early enough today? It's not dark outside yet."
"Come back and see, don't I miss you?"
Zhao's mother rolled her eyes and saw that her son had something to say with his wife, so she immediately got out of bed and put on her shoes and went to the east room. Mrs. Wu also got up immediately, as if she was a little afraid of her son-in-law, and went out.
Shen Xuan is already more than eight months old and is about to give birth in about a month. Although I received a lot of nutrition during pregnancy, I only grew a belly but not a face. Although my cheeks looked a lot more rosy, I didn’t gain any weight.
The two chatted for a while, and Shen Xuan saw Zhao Xin hesitate to speak, so she asked, "Do you have something to leave?"
Zhao Xin nodded slightly and said, "Yes. Something happened and I had to go to sea."
"Is it the island country?"
"No, it's Tianjin." Zhao Xin consoled him, "I'll be back in twenty days at most."
Although Shen Xuan was not happy, she knew what her man was doing, so she thought for a moment and said, "Take A Miao with you. I'm worried if I go out alone without anyone around me who knows what's cool and what's hot."
Zhao Xin smiled and said: "What are you thinking about? A Miao is still a child."
"She's not young anymore. Someone asked me about her a few days ago."
"Oh? Who is it?" A sneer appeared at the corner of Zhao Xin's mouth, thinking that he really didn't want to die, and he actually moved A Miao's idea.
"Hey, don't ask, I have already blocked him." Shen Xuan rolled her eyes at Zhao Xin and pursed her lips.
The young couple were cozy for a while, until it was already dark and Zhao's mother called for dinner. Zhao Xin got up, walked to the outer room and said to A Miao: "A Miao, go pack your things, let's go to sea."
"Leave now?" Seeing Zhao Xin nod, A Miao suddenly smiled like a flower, and whispered to Zhao Xin: "Take Duofu with you, he always bullies the kitten these days, I'm afraid if he is not here... ..”
Zhao Xin said nonchalantly: "As long as you are happy."
After dinner at home, Zhao Xin's ears were filled with the talk of Zhao's mother and Zhao's father. He said goodbye to Shen Xuan who was reluctant to leave. When he walked to the front yard with A Miao, he saw the brothers and sisters Chen Jishan and Wu in the concierge's room. Rong.
"Miss Wu, Jishan should have told you everything. Although there are Jishan's sisters and other guards in this house, their skills are far inferior to yours. My wife is pregnant, and I leave my family's safety to you. If you don’t understand anything, you can ask Jishan’s sister.”
This was Wu Rong's first time meeting the legendary "King Zhao", but she didn't expect him to be so polite. He was completely different from the prince in her imagination.
She turned her body slightly to one side and said with a blessing: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for trusting me. Brother Chen has explained everything to me, and Erya and I hit it off right away. Don't worry."
Wu Zhong had been in the military camp during this period, and it took him three to five days to cross the river and go home for a visit, but Wu Rong was very depressed. If Chen Jishan hadn't asked his sister to spend more time with her when she rested, Wu Rong wouldn't even have anyone to talk to.
According to Chen Jishan's report, Zhao Xin learned about Wu Rong's character and conduct, so he planned to give Wu Rong a try and give some pointers to the guards at his home.
After explaining the matter, Zhao Xin took A Miao out to the car and rushed to Whale Harbor under the escort of a platoon led by Chen Jishan.
By the time the group arrived at the Whale Harbor pier, the people from the second group had already begun boarding the ship. Munitions transported from the logistics warehouse are being hoisted. Jiuzang and Liji, who had been waiting on the dock for a long time, ran over and saluted, and then Zhao Xin asked about the number of shells.
"Three thousand rounds of 75mm artillery shells, five hundred rounds of 122 artillery shells. Other ammunition is as you said, two base numbers."
After Li Ji reported, he looked at Zhao Xin with luminous eyes and asked: "Sir, are you planning to break into Beijing this time? Can you take me with you?"
"What are you thinking about?" Zhao Xin laughed and explained: "I'm just going to scare Qianlong, and solve other things by the way."
"What's up?"
"population."
Zhao Xin had no patience with transporting people secretly from Sheyang Lake. Xu Dayong's speed of transporting people from Sichuan and Hubei was very slow, mainly because it was too difficult to sail through the Three Gorges in this era, and it was even more difficult to cross the mountains. Instead of waiting for the White Lotus Sect to cause chaos in a few years and eventually mess up half of China, it is better to let Beihai Town solve this hidden danger in advance.
Furthermore, the secret stronghold in Sheyang Lake is no longer of much significance. The Manchus now know from top to bottom that they can go to Beihai Town by boat from outside Xuzhuang, as evidenced by Wu Zhong and the people who taught the Bagua before.
Xu Dayong and Wang Changsheng have been deployed abroad for a long time and need to be replaced with a new batch of fresh blood.
Although the Beihai Navy and the Manchu Qing Dynasty were fighting outside the Pass, Zhao Xin, Yu Deli, Chen Qingsong and others discussed it and everyone still hoped to gain power as smoothly as possible. In other words, the Manchus were allowed to waste their blood outside the customs, and when the Northern Navy entered the customs, they would avoid war everywhere.
Moreover, people from the Ministry of Trade learned from the Tianjin merchants selling soybeans that in August this year, widespread floods occurred in the entire fifty-four counties of Zhili, with countless victims. If you don't take action now, how long will it take?
By the way, if Qianlong knew that the action he ordered would lead to such a situation, I don't know how he would feel.
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