"Oll...gull...gull..."
After the gunfire, as the smoke dissipated, the seagulls rising and falling on the ship were singing happily.
The waters off Sanjiangkou.
A huge three-masted warship is parked here, standing out among the many sailing boats.
At this moment, Luo Danchen, who was standing on the deck of the three-masted warship, was looking at the sea view outside the ship in high spirits.
Three-masted warships have never been seen in previous imperial courts. They were recently built by the Guangdong Shipyard of the bandit suppression army. It is said that it was proposed by Zhang Rui and then manufactured by some foreign vassals and craftsmen from the Guangdong Shipyard.
Originally, the Manchu Qing Dynasty was not keen on shipbuilding. In order to build this three-masted warship, almost all of Guangdong's shipbuilding wood inventory was used up for many years.
Today, there is only one such three-masted warship in the entire navy of the bandit suppression army. Even so, the momentum displayed by this battleship amazed the entire navy of the bandit suppression army.
The huge hull of this three-masted warship made even the largest Qing Dynasty shuttle boat look like a child in front of it. There are two artillery launch decks on both sides of the ship, each equipped with forty artillery pieces, of which twenty are the latest rifled artillery pieces.
This rifled artillery uses the latest fuse shells. As long as it is hit by this shell, it can sink a ship. Its disadvantage is that there are too few shells. After all, the shells currently use copper as the base and tail, which is too expensive.
At this time, Luo Danchen remembered what Zhang Rui once said to him when he was watching the sea:
"Don't limit your sights to this small bay in front of you, and don't lock your pattern in the current few boats."
"The Ming Dynasty was able to dominate the world with its huge fleet. There is no reason why our descendants should be inferior to our ancestors. The navy will not always be the navy. When the time comes, it will be the navy. By then, the entire Pacific Ocean will be just our home swimming pool, it’s up to you to protect it.”
Luo Danchen's blood boils every time he thinks of these words. Before seeing this three-masted warship, Luo Danchen thought that those rushing boats were the largest ships.
However, I heard that the Guangdong Shipyard is preparing to build a ship larger than this three-masted warship. Luo Danchen, whose predecessor was only Commander Qian of the Green Camp Navy, felt that it was a wise choice for him to surrender to the bandit-suppressing army.
"Brigadier Luo, you are here!"
On the deck, a familiar voice came.
Luo Danchen looked back and saw that it was Wang Shiyu, the commander of the brigade army, walking slowly. So he naturally replied: "Yes! Wang Junzheng, it is rare that I have some free time now. This sea view is nice, so I will come out and take a look."
Wang Shiyu slowly came to Luo Danchen. A gust of sea breeze blew from the wide sea, and the coolness brought people physical and mental pleasure. Wang Shiyu's short hair, which had just been trimmed, was dancing in the wind.
Wang Shiyu, who was holding on to the deck handrail and looking at the Manchurian Division's Sanjiangkou Yingkou in the distance, suddenly said: "I wonder what's going on over there, Commander Hong?"
"With the skills of Captain Hong and the others, it's not a big problem." Luo Danchen also looked into the distance and replied.
The company commander Hong mentioned in the two people's mouth was Hong Xiguan.
At this time, he was leading his own company to sneak into the Sanjiangkou division camp. They used a surprise attack to behead senior Qing generals who refused to surrender, and then collaborated with the navy to make an emergency landing of the Qing troops here to open up a sea food transport channel for the bandit-suppressing army to attack Fujian.
Although the current Hong Xiguan is nearly forty years old, Zhang Rui specifically allowed the overage Hong Xiguan to join the bandit suppression army out of recognition of his skills.
At the same time, Zhang Rui also proposed the idea of the Marine Corps to Hong Xiguan alone, and asked Hong Xiguan to serve as the company commander, and he could select or recruit a company of men for special training.
Hong Xiguan was naturally moved by Zhang Rui's great trust. Therefore, the Marine Corps is also doing its best in training.
A few months later, Officer Hong Xi, who received an order from the staff for the first time, found himself a little agitated. After so many years of anti-clearing the road, this was the first time that he felt nervous.
Sanjiangkou, Fuzhou, not far from the Eight Banners Naval Camp of the Qing Army.
At this time, Hong Xiguan, who was hiding in the bushes, once again ordered the ten most elite team members selected: "Everyone, please pay attention to my gestures and cooperate with each other. The movements must be crisp and neat. We must not let those who clear the troops in advance find."
"I know, Brother Hong. How can those who only eat, drink, whore, gamble and smoke all day long be our opponents." Fang Shiyu, who is on the same team, said.
"Shiyu, our mission this time is extremely important. We must not be careless." Hong Xiguan looked at Fang Shiyu and said seriously.
"Our Marine Corps was created by Sixth Brother. This is our first battle. We must not fail no matter what. We will lose Sixth Brother's face and lose our reputation as a bandit-suppressing army."
"Yes, Brother Hong." Fang Shiyu lowered his head and replied.
For Hong Xiguan, Fang Shiyu admired him from the bottom of his heart, whether it was his martial arts skills or his determination to fight against the Qing Dynasty. Fang Shiyu's rebellion against the Qing Dynasty was mostly due to the influence of Fang De and the people around him. After all, his family was quite wealthy and he could get by without rebelling against the Qing Dynasty.
Although it is wartime now, the defense of the Qing navy camp is much stricter than usual. However, the guards in the naval camp have always been loose for many years, and they cannot stop the agile Hong Xiguan and others.
"who?"
Hearing the strange movement outside the barracks, Lin Yiyou immediately pulled out the knife on the weapons rack in the barracks and shouted to the outside.
"Brother, what's wrong?" Deng Xuanyuan asked from a distance.
"Shh, Xuanyuan. Something is wrong outside." Lin Yiyou stared at the door of the barracks and said to Deng Xuanyuan.
"People outside, come in! Don't hide."
"Unexpectedly, I was discovered by you. You are really good. You can be the Tatar's dog." Outside the door of the camp, Hong Xiguan and others walked in and said.
Lin Yiyou looked at the five people who came in from the door in strange clothes, and asked: "Who are you? You dare to break into this important place of the military camp and make rude remarks."
"Stop talking nonsense, if you find out, I will let you die clearly. We are the Marine Corps under the bandit suppression army." Officer Hong Xi said as he approached.
"Everyone is ready to take action. The other party is also a master, so don't be careless."
"Yes, company commander..."
Both sides looked at each other, waiting for each other's flaws.
"Everyone wait a moment..."
came a voice.
Hong Xiguan and others looked for the voice, but it was Yang Yiquan who was shouting.
"Do you have any last words?" Hong Xiguan looked at Yang Yiquan and asked fiercely.
"Your Excellency just said that you are members of the bandit suppression army?" Yang Yiquan asked.
"We are the bandit suppressing army. Dog Tatar, what else do you want?" Fang Shiyu answered him with pride on his face.
