Muravyov has been paying attention to the frigate formation ahead.

At this time, sailors suddenly came to report that six steam gunboats were heading towards them at high speed.

The six armored gunboats were divided into two teams, and they circled and outflanked the Tsarist Russian battleship from the same side in both directions.

The Tsarist Russian troops on the battleship immediately entered a state of intense preparation.

The junior officers yelled at the gunners to pull the cable and adjust the direction of the artillery.

Trying to capture the right shooting angle.

The gunners of the battleship were shirtless and working hard. Their arms pulled the cables, and their muscles bulged.

Those bulging muscles are as thick as taut cables.

The artillery on the battleship was mounted on a gun carriage equipped with four small wheels, and the gun carriage was connected with thick cables.

The gunners can reset the gun carriage and even change its angle by pulling the cable.

"Fire." Following the artillery officer's order, four artillery pieces fired in one direction.

Unfortunately, it did not hit the mosquito gunboat which was making a high-speed roundabout.

Although this kind of small iron-clad warship is not very seaworthy in the open sea, it can burst into extremely high speeds in a short period of time in offshore areas.

Of course, such high-load operation cannot continue for too long, otherwise the ship's power system may malfunction.

With a "bang..." sound, the "Fu Geng" seemed to have been punched, and the ship's hull shook.

A solid round struck the forward main gun turret.

But this solid bullet grazed the sloping turret and then flew into the sea.

Jiang Xiaobo felt dizzy, and countless bright little stars seemed to appear in front of his eyes.

As a gunner, he has long been accustomed to such situations.

Whether it is artillery fire or shelling, the gunner's senses will be ravaged.

"Head, we are hit." A gunner shouted loudly in Jiang Xiaobo's ear.

Jiang Xiaobo could see the other person's mouth moving, but the sound seemed to be through the soundproof glass.

Most gunners will have hearing problems after they retire.

This is unavoidable and is an occupational disease of artillerymen.

"I understand, aren't we still fine? Wait for my order before firing again." Jiang Xiaobo has already developed the ability to read lip sounds.

Wujigengxinrengui, the six gunboats of the "Fu Zi Hao" are all here.

The "Fugen" was at the very rear of the right wing, and she was responsible for attacking the battleship behind.

The focus of the attack is the opponent's deck rigging and stern rudder.

The goal is to demotivate the other party.

Just like a lion hunting a buffalo, it is impossible to kill it with a fatal blow. Usually a lion will hug the buffalo's buttocks and throw it to the ground, making it unable to run.

As long as it cannot continue to move and the energy in its huge body cannot be released, other lions will swarm towards it, some locking its throat, some biting its ears, and some exploding its anus. In short, they greet it at the weakest part of its body.

Put him to death.

Captain Gu Yongchang was also observing the situation ahead in the small, steel plate-reinforced command tower, adjusting the course of the battleship at any time.

Fortunately, the shell just hit the front turret. If it had been higher, it would have hit the rocket launcher installed behind the front turret.

There are three loaded new "Zhurong" rockets there.

The power of each one is enough to send the "Fugeng" to the bottom of the sea.

Looking at the angle of the opponent's shelling, Gu Yongchang corrected the direction of the ship's bow and tried to point the protruding turret towards the opponent.

"Captain, our ship is still two thousand and five hundred meters away from the target battleship." Navigation Changhui reported.

Two thousand and five hundred meters away, the outline of the battleship can already be clearly seen.

Through the telescope, you can even see the figures on the opponent's deck clearly.

"Boom boom boom..."

Several shellings were heard from the front of the "Fugeng", and the "Fuwu" and "Fuji" walking in front had already started shelling.

The Chinese's new 220mm breech-loading rifled gun can only shoot targets within a range of 2500m due to the multiple diameter.

If it is further away, there will be no accuracy at all. For example, the battleships of later generations, which are tens of thousands of meters away, can bombard each other beyond visual range. Current naval guns are not able to do this, and there is no suitable aiming equipment.

"Let go..." Jiang Xiaobo shouted loudly in the No. 1 turret, and at the same time, his raised right hand suddenly fell down.

The "Fu Geng" finally joined the ranks of the bombardment.

Jiang Xiaobo seemed to become excited instantly.

After one shot, he quickly leaned on the telescope and started observing.

Obviously this shot didn't hit the opponent, but it didn't matter, the shortcoming of the shot was only forty or fifty meters away from the target.

The gunners opened the breech, and a stream of residual white smoke suddenly emerged from the black hole in the breech of the gun.

The gunners' bare upper bodies were smoked black.

A soldier immediately stepped forward and used a thick brush to clean the barrel of the gun.

Then two gunners pushed a special trolley to deliver a warhead to the tail of the artillery, and then worked together to push it in. Next came the propellant packed into a columnar shape.

After the gunner closed the breech again, Jiang Xiaobo began to direct his men to rearrange the gun for the next bombardment.

Muravyov had long known that the gunboat opposite was equipped with huge cannons.

In fact, the Tsarist Russians were the first to study mobile forts that could use small boats to resist giant cannons.

There just wasn't such an advanced steam-powered platform.

He admitted that the opponent's main guns did pose a certain threat to the battleship.

But how many main guns does the opponent have in total? The shooting is too sparse, and the hit rate is pitifully low.

Of course, in today's naval battles, the hit rate of naval guns is not high.

"Boom..." It seemed that he was trying to slap him in the face.

Just as Muravyov was quietly looking at the gunboats in the distance and thinking, a shell exploded on the "St. Petersburg", and the shock wave brought up a piece of wood chips on the deck.

Some items stacked on the deck were overturned.

Several unlucky sailors were also killed.

Several jib riggings on the bow of the ship were blown off.

None of this matters.

It's just that the six steam gunboats outside now have a tricky angle, and it's difficult for their side guns to hit each other.

Muravyov could only order the battleship to adjust its direction, and at the same time use the bow and stern guns on the battleship to attack the opponent.

Gu Yongchang asked the navigator to report the distance to the enemy ship every 100 meters.

By using roundabout ways to close the distance with the other party, you may have to travel several thousand meters for every 100 meters you close.

Because while shortening the distance, you also need to adjust the angle with the other party.

The "Fugeng" at the rear of the formation suffered the most because it had to follow the two warships in front.

It is the most vulnerable to attack.

"You idiots, haven't you eaten yet? Speed ​​up." In the gun cabin, the Tsarist Russian artillery officer shouted in his usual rough voice.

Even now, those small steamships are still approaching them. This is a shame for their artillery.

Even the opponent's golden flag waving in the wind could be seen clearly. The swaying flag seemed to be mocking them.

"Nine hundred meters."

"Eight hundred meters..."

The rocket launcher began to adjust the angle of the launcher and attached the fuse to the rocket.

"Seven hundred meters..."

Gu Yongchang's hands were sweating.

"All artillery cease firing."

Letting the artillery fire is to make the warship more stable.

For a small boat of more than 500 tons, every shot will cause bumps. Any bumps will affect the launch accuracy of the rockets.

"One shot to ignite..." Following Gu Yongchang's command, a rocket flew out with a trail of flames.

"Fuck, you're so lucky." Jiang Xiaobo was now free, hiding in the small turret and observing the shooting effect.

"Fu Geng" actually hit the opponent in the first try.

Flames several meters high suddenly burst out on the deck of the "St. Petersburg", and the flames ignited the sails above.
To be continued...