King Su Hu of Wei came to the largest building in Daliang City, the Dawei Iron and Steel Works.
Governor Song Kangbo accompanied Wei King Su Hu to visit the steel plant.
When he saw the craftsmen adjusting the machines, he took the opportunity to report: "Your Majesty, our army's most important coastal defense guns have all been installed in the port area.
Naval guns disassembled from armed merchant ships and installed in concrete turrets.
Promise not to let Spanish battleships approach the port.
Outside the port and important waterways, mines brought from Dahua have been equipped, and rocket launchers are also equipped inside the port.
We are currently unable to produce these three types of weapons and ammunition on our own.
One shell is used and one is missing.
At present, the arsenal can only produce 350 mm caliber coastal defense guns that fire iron balls.
These cannons are set up on the shore, but their range is shorter and their rate of fire is extremely low. 25 of them have been produced, of which 20 are for the navy and 5 are used as fortress guns for the forts outside Daliang City. "
Wei Wang Su Hu knew this situation better.
At present, Wei's machining technology and chemical technology are unable to support the manufacture of breech-loaded guns.
They could only use muzzleloaders and black powder, but by all accounts these weapons were not far behind.
But without weapons to crush, the army's casualties will be even greater.
A huge air whistle sounded, reminding workers to get out of the way and the blast furnace was about to produce molten iron.
The tapping valve of the blast furnace was opened, and orange-red water slowly flowed out along the groove.
The molten steel flows into the mold and quickly cools into white steel.
The craftsmen immediately stepped forward to inspect the furnace of steel.
The steam hammer continuously beats the steel, and the hot steel undergoes quenching and other processes before being processed into a cylinder and subjected to various pressure bending and other tests.
There are also some steel materials that are directly placed on the drilling machine for drilling experiments.
King Su Hu of Wei went around several workshops and looked at the busy workers.
They had already found coal and iron mines before.
The technology of coal coking is very simple, but the smelting of steel requires long-term experiments.
Because the iron ore here contains different impurities than the iron ore in Dahua.
The steel produced in the first few batches was too brittle to be processed into parts and muskets and artillery.
In order to produce coastal defense guns, Wei State initially used scrap iron to smelt steel, and later called on immigrants to donate iron.
Their relatively brittle steel farm tools were replaced by steel farm tools brought by Dahua in the hands of immigrants, and this steel was used to process artillery.
This is also the reason why the arsenal has only produced 25 artillery pieces for such a long time, because there is not enough qualified steel.
Prime Minister Qu Xiaolong came over with a happy face.
"Your Majesty, we succeeded.
After this period of experimentation, the craftsmen have found the right ingredients and smelting time.
After preliminary testing, I found that this steel is qualified whether it is used to process guns or machine parts. "
When King Su Hu of Wei heard this, he clapped his hands excitedly.
"Okay, great.
Finally, qualified steel was produced from local iron ore.
As long as there is an adequate supply of steel and black powder, we have nothing to fear from the Spanish.
We will be able to hold Daliang City before the last Native American dies. "
After Wei King Su Hu awarded the steel factory a reward, they returned to the palace in a carriage.
Qu Xiaolong looked at Song Kangbo and said worriedly: "Captain Song, the military has proposed recruiting Native Americans.
Is there some risk in giving them weapons? "
Song Kangbo said confidently: "There won't be any big problems, our army will not equip the indigenous servants with guns and artillery.
The only weapons they can use, besides the shags, are grenades.
Hand grenades were only distributed to them before the war started.
Our people form servant army officers and supervisory teams.
These servants have only one choice on the battlefield, and that is to charge forward.
Jiannu had a blood feud with the Ming Dynasty, and he was able to capture Han people and form an army.
We have no blood feud with the Native Americans, and coupled with strict management, there is little chance of problems with the servant army.
Even if a problem occurs, the military has corresponding plans. "
Wei Wang Su Hu also said: "I personally agreed to this matter.
In the north of Daliang City, about 20,000 Spanish infantry were found.
The navy has steam warships as its trump card, but the army has too few people, and most of them have to guard Daliang City.
It would be difficult to handle such a large army without recruiting native servants. "
When Qu Xiaolong heard Wei Wang Su Hu's explanation, he could only agree with it.
It was the lesser of two evils, and since they had no firm foothold here, they could only call upon the power of the Native Americans.
Fortunately, the appearance of these indigenous people is not much different from that of the Han people. The indigenous people do not have their own culture. With the inclusiveness of Chinese civilization, it is easy to assimilate the indigenous people.
It happened to take advantage of this war to establish a group of advanced models and accelerate the process of assimilating the indigenous people.
Wei Wang Su Hu looked at Qu Xiaolong and asked with some concern: "The coal and wood here are very rich. Is there any news about the sulfur mines and saltpeter mines?"
Qu Xiaolong knew what Wei Wang Su Hu was worried about when he asked this question.
War consumes large amounts of black powder.
The gunpowder they brought from Dahua was more advanced gunpowder.
But they don't have the ability to make more advanced guns.
Black powder combined with flintlock muskets are the weapons that Wei can now equip in large quantities.
The success of steel smelting indicates that gun manufacturing is no longer a problem.
Qu Xiaolong replied: “I found a volcano crater and found a large amount of sulfur mines there.
Slaves are being organized to mine sulfur mines.
There is no trace of saltpeter mines yet, so we can only produce nitrate by making nitrate from piles of manure.
Now that the weather is getting cooler, cave dwellings need to be built and coal is used to maintain the temperature.
The output is enough to sustain the consumption of the army, but the cost is a bit high and it also takes up a lot of manpower. "
When Wei King Su Hu heard this question, his expression relaxed.
“The cost is high and the production process is complicated, but that’s no problem.
As long as the output can keep up, no matter how high the cost is, I can accept it. "
King Su Hu of Wei got off the carriage, and he solemnly explained to the two men again: "The production of various weapons and ammunition must be accelerated, and the army must step up training.
There is not much time left for us. "
…………………………
Governor Brorel put down the telescope in his hand. He had already seen the port ahead.
This battle will establish his reputation and gain great benefits from the Chinese people.
Only then can he return to the country and take a better position through the forces behind him.
Bousol took the reconnaissance fleet and quickly returned to the vicinity of the main fleet.
He used semaphore to communicate with Governor Blorrell and reported on the situation of the Chinese people.
Governor Blorrell heard Bussall's report.
He smiled and said contemptuously: "The Chinese actually huddled all their warships in the port.
The Chinese have developed somewhat quickly, but their naval capabilities are too poor.
Their navy was established less than twenty years ago. Compared with our century-old Armada, the gap in naval combat experience is too big.
When we attack the Chinese, it is a strong man beating a child. "
Governor Blorrell immediately ordered the fleet to launch a general attack.
Just take the port and block the coastline.
Even if they don't send troops ashore, they just block the routes.
They can easily trap the Chinese people who came from afar to death.
…………………………
Song Kangbo used his telescope to keep an eye on the movements of the Spanish fleet.
He was most afraid of the Spanish fleet and resorted to a war of attrition.
Use small warships to consume their ammunition.
Once the top breech-loading coastal defense artillery runs out of shells, the battleship approaches the seaside again and destroys the forts on the shore.
They could only abandon the port and defend the enemy's attack through Daliang City.
The trump card of steam warships cannot be used.
Song Kangbo saw that most of the Spanish warships launched a general attack, leaving only a small number of warships to protect the cargo ships in the rear.
He observed the situation of the Spanish fleet.
The Spanish were also very cautious. They first sent small warships to charge and test whether there were any ambush around the port.
The small warship had approached the shore, and its front-loading guns and shore defense guns opened fire.
The Spanish thought they had tested the range of the coastal defense batteries.
The large warship in the rear accelerated and quickly moved towards the shore.
Song Kangbo was counting down the seconds in his mouth.
"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, collapse."
When a large warship of the Spanish fleet entered a certain sea area within three kilometers of the port.
They triggered the underwater mine, and the mine filled with yellow gunpowder exploded, directly destroying the bottom of the warship.
Navy Governor Lei Qianze could not hide his excitement and said happily: "Grand Governor, your strategy is too clever.
Directly set the mine depth to the draft of a large warship.
In this way, small and medium-sized warships will not trigger mines when walking across the water.
Only large warships trigger mines.
Let our army's already scarce mines achieve maximum results. "
Song Kangbo did not smile, but said calmly: "It's too early to be happy now.
Governor Lei Qianze, I will soon notify the rocket launchers and coastal defense artillery to fire.
The Spanish fleet's formation is in disarray, and the artillery will try its best to destroy the Spanish battleships.
You command the steam warship and the remaining armed merchant ships. After the bombardment is over, you fight out of the port and deliver a fatal blow to the Spanish fleet.
We are going to beat the Spaniards hard this time and make them incapable of attacking us again in a short period of time. "
While Song Kangbo was speaking, he picked up a flare gun modified from a revolver.
Three shots were fired into the sky, and three red flares were launched into the sky. This was the signal for the artillery to launch a general attack.
Lei Qianze saw a large number of rockets rising into the sky and made a unique scream.
Rockets began to fly randomly in the sky, and a large number of rockets changed directions midway and completely missed their targets.
About half of the rockets flew over the Spanish fleet.
The rocket exploded, spreading flames downward like a goddess scattering flowers.
The Spanish navy warships were all wooden warships and were immediately ignited by the fire, forming large torches.
This is the power of napalm, which is made from petroleum and cannot be doused with water.
While the rockets launched their attack, the naval guns had also been calibrated and fired at the battleship.
The battleships of the Spanish fleet were on guard against muzzleloaders and were shocked by the power of mines, so they did not get too close to the seaside.
But they unknowingly entered the naval gun, the best range of this breech-loaded gun.
Governor Lei Qianze put down his telescope. He had just seen a third-level battleship with a large hole blasted directly in the middle of the ship by a cannonball.
The only second-class battleship in the Spanish fleet, its main mast was blown off by a cannonball.
Lei Qianze nodded at Song Kangbo, and he immediately went to the steam warship to command the battle.
There were several plans before, one of which was to use the steam warship as a semi-fixed fort to hold back the Spanish, and finally blow up the entire warship.
The current battlefield situation is very optimistic. He will return to the steam warship and command the fleet in naval battles.
…………………………
Governor Blorrell first saw that the warships he sent were approaching the port, but the Chinese did not react much.
He showed a confident expression. These Chinese people were frightened by the huge Spanish fleet.
When he saw the mine explosion ahead, he destroyed and injured more than a dozen large warships in an instant.
He put down the binoculars and rubbed his eyes with his hands.
"My eyes are too old and I misjudged the situation."
Governor Blorrell exclaimed when he saw the generals beside him.
Only then did he realize that the scenes he just saw were all real scenes.
He murmured to himself: "How is this possible? The previous fleet clearly passed safely.
This must be Satan's weapon to be so vicious. "
He was thinking about how to crack it?
Governor Blorrell heard strange noises above the fleet.
"Look up quickly."
"Look up and see something in the sky."
"Oh God! What is this?"
He heard the others exclaim and looked up to the sky.
He noticed that there were streaks of fire in the sky, as if they were pushing something, flying toward the fleet at high speed.
Many of these things changed directions midway or fell into the sea.
But there are also many things flying towards the fleet.
Governor Blorrell thought of the strange explosion on the seabed just now, and he realized that this was the secret weapon of the Chinese.
His expression changed drastically and he ordered: "Convey my order and the fleet withdraws from the battlefield."
In order to use the broadside firepower of the fleet, large warships always aim their hulls towards the coast, so that they can turn around more flexibly.
"Mr. Governor, we don't have time to retreat."
As soon as the man finished speaking, rockets exploded over the fleet, and a large amount of flames directly ignited many warships.
The fleet then came under heavy bombardment, targeting large warships including battleships.
Governor Blorrell saw three battleships severely damaged in the first round of bombardment.
He shouted hysterically: "Our army was ambushed and ordered the fleet to withdraw from the battlefield.
Small and medium-sized warships are on the periphery, covering large warships.
The injured warship took the lead and broke out a bloody path. "
He was during the shelling just now and was also observing the situation of the large warships ahead.
Governor Blorrell discovered that areas of the sea where there had been underwater explosions would not explode again.
He chose to sacrifice the warships that could not escape and crash into a way for the remaining warships.
He is not afraid of the Chinese people's methods of releasing heavenly fire.
But the powerful, long-range, and extremely accurate coastal defense artillery directly broke his psychological defense.
The fleet continues to be bombarded and will inevitably be destroyed in this sea area.
The Spanish fleet was extremely disciplined, and even though it was being bombarded continuously, they were executing Governor Brorel's orders.
…………………………
Governor Lei Qianze stood on the steam warship. He saw the Spanish fleet, and after only one round of shelling, they were ready to withdraw from the battlefield.
They also used small and medium-sized warships to cover large warships, and used injured warships to trigger mines on the seabed.
He immediately issued an order: "The entire army will leave the port and pursue the Spanish fleet."
Zhuo Wen, Chief of Staff of the Wei State Navy, reminded: "Master Lei, when we leave the port now, the coastal defense artillery will definitely stop attacking, which will reduce the Spanish fleet's losses a lot.
Our army is attacking now. The enemy is still strong and we are weak. This war will be very difficult. "
Lei Qianze pointed forward and said: "Master Zhuo, if our army doesn't attack, the Spanish fleet will run away.
They are using small and medium-sized warships as cannon fodder to protect large warships.
You can ignore the other warships, but those battleships must stay.
I want the Spaniards to lose their ability to attack in a short period of time. "
Chief of Staff Zhuowen was convinced that he saw the Spanish fleet withdrawing from the battlefield and it was a moment of chaos.
Once the Spanish fleet was restored to order, attacking the Spanish fleet would be even more costly.
He also agreed to go out to pursue the pursuit.
After the Wei Navy sent a signal, the artillery on the shore began to fire extended shots.
Two steam warships of the Navy and eight armed merchant ships covered with steel plates left the port to pursue the Spanish fleet.
