"Report, distance is 6000 meters!"
"5500 meters!"
"5000 meters!"
"4500 meters..."
On the Zhao Zilong, the captain's range reports one after another made the atmosphere on the bridge more and more tense. After all, there were 15 beggar battleships four or five kilometers away that were firing like crazy with their 12-inch guns. ! That's a 12-inch gun, and even one shot from the Hero-class armored cruiser may be severely damaged... That is to say, the Ming Dynasty's industrial strength ranks first in the world. When a "mass-produced ship" like the Hero-class operates in three shifts, from It only takes 10-12 months from laying the first keel to the completion of outfitting. Moreover, many ships can be started at the same time! Otherwise, no one would be willing to spend money like this and use armored cruisers to cover the charge of torpedo boats!
At a distance of less than 4,500 meters, everyone was still a little panicked, and their eyes turned to Chen Huacheng, who did not go to the thickly armored command tower, but took the adventure with everyone in the bridge.
With the help of the light from the falling flares, what everyone saw was a face full of "sorrow, anger" and hatred... Does Mr. Chen have such a deep hatred for the British?
Just when the officers below felt strange, Chen Huacheng finally gave the order: "Okay, slow down to 15 knots...full left rudder!"
As he spoke, he stretched out his hands to grab the railing beside him... The huge inertia generated by the rapid steering of the Haohan-class armored cruiser with a standard displacement of more than 10,000 tons is not so easy to bear. If you don't hold on, It fell.
"Yes! Headquarters!"
The captain who was personally steering the Zhao Zilong responded and turned the steering wheel to the end. The Zhao Zilong suddenly made a large cross on the sea, facing the enemy from the bow, and suddenly switched to facing the enemy from the broadside. Because the steering was too fast, the ship's hull swayed and drifted for more than ten meters on the sea. Those who are unprepared will have no way to stabilize themselves on the boat.
Almost at the same moment, all the armored cruisers, cruisers, and destroyers of the Ming Navy on the sea made a large deceleration turn. Although they slowed down before the turn, these warships that were suddenly "drifting" on the sea were still far away from each other. It was shaking, and some of them looked like they were about to capsize.
Under such circumstances, these ships were naturally unable to fire, and all of them became living targets for their opponents. The people on the British and Indian warships opposite looked dumbfounded - they thought they were going to collide just now, why did they turn around now? Do you know that you are scared to death?
"Speed 10 knots, move forward! Send an order to all ships... move forward, open fire, and hit hard!"
The bridge of the British-Indian Malacca Strait Fleet flagship HMS Indian Warrior was filled with the extremely excited shouts of Major General Rodney.
In his opinion, victory is probably in sight! The Ming warships swaying sideways on the sea more than 4,000 yards away were already his prey. In order to sink more targets, he simply ordered the fleet to move forward while firing!
But he didn't notice that while those eye-catching armored cruisers, cruisers, and destroyers were turning around, there were also some inconspicuous boats rushing towards him at extremely fast speeds...
"boom!"
Suddenly, a ball of fire suddenly rose from the hull of a 10,000-ton Haohan-class armored cruiser ahead!
"Hit!"
"well played"
There were cheers on the bridge of the Indian Warrior.
Suddenly someone shouted: "Torpedo boats! There are torpedo boats on the sea..."
Torpedo boat?
Before Major General Rodney could react, the floor under his feet suddenly "jumped" and then fell heavily. He fell to the ground before he could stand firmly. Before he could recover, something came to his ears. There came roar after roar.
"Rumble...Rumble..."
This was not the sound of a cannon firing, but the loud noise of something exploding underwater!
This is a torpedo exploding!
...
In the hazy night, a black shadow slid across the sea surface against the warm water, with a burst of white waves rising from its tail. Under the cover of darkness, the shadows and waves are almost invisible to the naked eye. But if someone can really see through the darkness, they will find that what is gliding on the sea surface is a ship that looks a bit like a stick, with a column protruding from the middle, and two "bamboo poles" on the column.
Yes, this is a submarine!
It's a Ming Navy submarine!
In the combat sequence of the Ming Navy, there is probably no more mysterious existence than submarines. Because of the "Zhuge Suicide Note" written by King Zhuge Wuzhong, the descendants of the Zhuge family paid special attention to it.
Long before the invention of the internal combustion engine, Jiangnan Heavy Industries, controlled by the Zhuge family, was trial-producing submarines at its Lushun factory.
The submarine project has always been the number one secret of the Ming Navy. Its level of confidentiality far exceeds that of aircraft carriers and aircraft. Before Zhuge Weidao took the position of military advisor, he didn't even know that the Ming Navy had a submarine admiral's office.
Even after he became a military advisor, he had never met Lieutenant General Zhuge Youmo, the submarine admiral.
This talented man from the Zhuge family, who is the same generation as Zhuge Youde but is only 38 years old this year, is now standing on the bridge of the No. 002 submarine located at the western intersection of the Malacca Strait. He was using the telescope in his hand to look at the large surface ships passing by one after another several kilometers away!
"Uncle, there are at least 20 large ships worth tens of thousands of dollars..."
The person speaking was a naval captain and a child of the Zhuge family, but he was lower than Zhuge Weidao and also younger, only twenty-four or five years old.
"Yanke, don't call me uncle in the army!" Zhuge Youmo put down his telescope and said thoughtfully, "Are those battleships? So many battleships suddenly appeared in the Strait of Malacca... How did they get there?"
"Uncle... Junmen, do you still need to ask? Those ships must be from England. They are clearly here to deal with our Nanyang Fleet! Fortunately, Uncle Fifty-one is wise and allowed us to ambush here. Otherwise, Guan Tianpei is going to trick them!"
The captain named Zhuge Yangke seemed to be a good calculator, and he immediately figured out that these battleships belonged to the British.
"Junmen," Zhuge Yangke asked, "We have steam gas torpedoes on board... Do you think we are going to attack?"
"I don't want to attack, let them pass." Zhuge Youmo shook his head repeatedly, "Now is not the time to expose the submarine... So our mission is only to conduct reconnaissance and report to the superiors. Those steam gas torpedoes are for our self-defense. of."
In fact, these submarines owned by the Submarine Command are the Ming Empire's biggest and strongest trump card at sea!
Because the Zhuge family has kept it secret for so many years, ordinary people in the Ming Dynasty now have no idea that there is such an advanced submarine. No one in Europe knows either... so the existence of submarines cannot be easily exposed.
Zhuge Youmo said to Zhuge Yangke: "Yangke, go and raise the telegraph antenna... When those British warships are gone, we will send electricity to the headquarters. The headquarters will naturally tell Guan Tianpei the news, and he will be fine. .”
"Yes, sir."
After receiving the order, Zhuge Yangke issued a close order. Only Zhuge Youmo was left, looking at the main force of the British and Indian fleet passing by on the sea from a distance, and murmured: "There are really many! They shouldn't all be there." Of those that have been polished, there are always a few that can be picked up by our submariners!"
