"Lord Yilu, based on my experience, air combat between airships seems to be unrealistic... Ah! No matter whether it is impact, shooting or throwing knives, it seems that it is not easy to succeed... ..Ah sneeze! Ah sneeze! Moreover, if an airship is determined to avoid and wants to attack its airship, it will be difficult to find an opportunity to attack... Ah sneeze!"
The one who was talking and sneezing was none other than Saigo Yoshibei Takamori. He caught a cold because he was jumping up and down on the airship. He was sometimes cold and sometimes hot.
But his cold is still valuable, at least he already knows that hitting an airship is useless, and it seems impossible to shoot down an airship with a flying knife...
Saigo's words were translated into English by Shimazu Qi Liang, and George Eryu recorded them verbatim in a black-covered notebook - this is extremely valuable first-hand information, and it contains not only Experience in airship combat was recorded, but also in fleet artillery warfare and ship air defense warfare!
Now George Elliot can only hope that this notebook can win him the support of Earl Nelson... Otherwise, with his poor record, I am afraid that he will be directly ordered to retire after returning to India and say goodbye to him forever. I love the Navy.
"But you still lost eight airships on Jueying Island." George Yilu asked a sad question.
The losses in the Battle of Jueying Island were quite heavy!
Eight airships turned into fireballs, and 24 flying warriors disappeared and were in danger. And the result of the battle was a big zero...nothing was hit, oh, except Xixiang gave Ming's airship a blow! But it seems to be of no use.
"That's because the airship flies too low and is too close to the enemy's cruiser. In addition... the Ming Navy is equipped with a gun on the cruiser. This weapon seems to be a weapon used to deal with airships. After all, airships use The hydrogen gas is too easily ignited!"
Shimazu Qi Liang did not transfer the question to Saigo, but answered directly, because he had carefully asked every flying samurai who participated in the battle of Jueying Island.
"Use the gun to defend against air defense..." George Yilu pressed his forehead, why didn't he think of this? Who doesn't have a gun? A good rifle with a scope can shoot humanoid targets at a range of about 2,000 meters, and it is even more reliable to shoot an airship.
If he had thought of raising his gun earlier, the Indomitable would not have sunk... The Indomitable was sinking so much that it was so heavy!
George Yilu sighed and said: "It seems that the airship must fly higher."
Shimazu nodded sharply and said: "If the airship maintains an altitude of more than three thousand or even four thousand meters, it should be very safe...but the accuracy of bombing at this height is very problematic."
George Yilu thought about it and said: "It is indeed difficult to hit the target when flying at such a high altitude, but it is not completely impossible... If one side's airship force can attack the enemy formation before the decisive battle between the two fleets officially begins, A round of bombing, even if it fails to hit the target, can at least disrupt the enemy's formation and damage the enemy's morale.
Airships can also attack enemy warships that have been injured and withdrawn from combat. They usually emit thick smoke due to fires and their speed will drop significantly. They are good targets and easier to hit. "
Yilu thought about it for a while, and then said: "In addition, the airship can also perform long-range reconnaissance, breaking diplomatic relations, laying mines and blockades, etc., and can even bomb enemy cities! Finally, it seems that the airship does not have the ability to attack a ship in a complete state alone. The capabilities of a cruiser in combat status...it must coordinate with other battleships to achieve miraculous effects. It seems that the British Empire must build bigger, faster, and higher airships...and enough many!"
Not to mention, after the battles of Peshawar, Jiyin Waterway, and the Battle of Jueying Island, the British Empire has really mastered the airship project. No, it should be a beginner!
In fact, before and after World War I, the Western powers paid great attention to airships. Many people regarded airships as artifacts. However, due to the rapid advancement of aircraft later, airships were gradually marginalized.
Now, before the airplane has been invented, airships have become more mature due to the excessive investment of the Zhuge family. There are already large airships similar to "Lz4" and "Lz5"! More importantly, Ming Dynasty's Feilong Type 3 airship also proved its worth with tangible results! Actual combat is the best way to test weapons! A weapon, even if it is really awesome, will be looked down upon by others as long as it has not been tested in actual combat, no matter how good the paper data is.
And a weapon that is actually not very good may become a magical weapon as long as it performs well in actual combat.
Today's airship is an artifact. Who dares to say that it is not magical? The British Empire was the first one not to agree!
If it weren't for the incredible airship artifact, how could the British Empire's war in Afghanistan have ended like this? How could the arrogant battleship Indomitable be directly sunk in the Jiyin Waterway?
Therefore, the British Empire must pursue the airship project with all its strength and must use airships to occupy the sky!
Thinking of this, George Elliot said to Shimazu: "Mr. Shimazu, I must go back to Calcutta now... because the experience I gained in Japan is very important to the British Empire. Important! The British Empire will become the master of the sky and sea because of these valuable experiences."
As soon as he heard that George Eryu was leaving, Shimazu became a little anxious, "General, are you going to abandon the warriors of Nagasaki?"
George Elliot quickly comforted Shimazu and said: "Of course not. The British Empire will never abandon an ally who fights bravely... Now the British Empire has given you enough weapons and ammunition, and also given you a large number of weapons." A military expenditure. Therefore, you must use your bravery and bravery to prove that the British Empire’s investment is valuable! As long as your value is proven, the British Empire will continue to provide you with assistance.”
This is very beautifully said and seems to make sense. But there is a problem, that is, Nagasaki is too far from Great Britain and too close to Daming. After winning the Battle of Jiyin Sea, the Ming Empire actually gained control of the sea near Japan. They can completely block Nagasaki's sea traffic...then the British Empire's aid will not be able to get in!
The reason why the Ming Dynasty has not blocked Nagasaki now is not that they can't do it, nor that they don't want to do it, but that the Ming Empire handles things more formally and pays attention to a procedure.
If we want to fight, we must be dignified and justified, and it must be proposed by the cabinet, approved by the political meeting, and approved by the emperor (now the Empress Dowager Zheng). Only then can we send troops to defeat the Japanese rebels in Nagasaki.
The previous battles at Ji Yin Waterway and Jueying Island were actually self-defense and were not initiated by the Ming Dynasty. As for the Battle of Peshawar, it was a proxy war instigated by the Ming Dynasty's military intelligence department. Although the Ming Dynasty's military was deeply involved in this war, this was after all a war for which the Jin Kingdom bore full responsibility.
If the navy is to be deployed to blockade Nagasaki and the army is to land on Kyushu, it must be approved by the cabinet, parliament, and emperor before the army can take action. Walking alone is impossible in the Ming army!
Therefore, Yilu, the chief culprit, can still leave Nagasaki on the East India Company's sailing ship docked in Nagasaki... The Ming Navy may ask to board the ship to check whether there is a piece of meat on the sailing ship, but as long as Yilu There was absolutely no such thing on the sailing ship, and the Ming Dynasty would never frame him like this. Even if they knew that Yilu was not a good person, they would let him go.
After all, what the Ming Empire wants to conquer now is only Japan, rather than an imminent war with Britain... Now is not the time for stud.
Of course, the greater probability is that the Ming Navy will never discover that the three 10,000-ton sailing ships anchored in Nagasaki Port have escaped. Because there are only a few Ming Dynasty destroyers floating around outside Nagasaki now, and they are quite far away from Nagasaki. Therefore, when it got dark and Yilu got on the sailboat and sailed away, most of the destroyers didn't know about it.
