Chapter 342 Qing Dynasty, you passed the first round of imperialism qualification test! (Please order, please vote)
The sky was already dark, the morning breeze was blowing, and the morning fog shrouding the sea off Shinagawa gradually dispersed. The full view of Shinagawa Fort, guarding Shinagawa Port, the gateway to Edo on the water, was finally revealed to the sight of the officers and soldiers of the Four Nations Combined Fleet.
The Shinagawa Fort is not a solitary fort, nor is it a fort built on the coast of Edo Bay. Instead, it consists of seven square or pentagonal Western-style forts built on sandbanks off the coast of Shinagawa and made of stones and earth and sand. The forts are
It's not very tall, just a few meters above the coastline, so it's not very easy to hit. And there are thick stone walls protecting the gun positions, so even if it hits a few large-caliber solid bullets, it won't be a big problem.
However, the Japanese "invaded" people guarding the Shinagawa Fort at this moment probably don't know that times have changed...it only changed in November last year! It was the Sinop Bay where the Russian Black Sea Fleet showed its prowess.
Naval battle changed.
In that naval battle, the Russian Navy carried forward their fine tradition of risking lives and recklessness. For the first time, they loaded large-caliber naval guns with explosive bombs that were more likely to kill their own people and used them in actual combat, and achieved unexpected results.
At the cost of zero battles and sinkings, he sank thirteen Turkish ships and destroyed three land forts!
The fleet's record of destroying land forts with naval guns is rare in Europe!
Because as long as there is not much difference in the generation of artillery between the two sides, shore artillery will always have a great bonus to naval artillery!
The Turkish forts in Sinop Bay were built under the guidance of British and French engineers, and they also used cannons from the same era as Russian artillery, but in smaller numbers.
If the Russians only bombarded with solid bullets and used up the ammunition of those battleships, they might not be able to destroy one of them.
However, after using explosive bombs, although the base of the Turkish fort was not damaged, the artillery placed on it without the protection of the armored turret was blown up and down, and a lot of artillerymen were also killed!
Luo Xueyan had long known that the Sinop naval battle would change the rules of the naval battle, so after Matthew Perry arrived in Shanghai, he paid for himself and Matthew Perry's naval guns through Wenxian.
The large-caliber coastal defense artillery imported a batch of relatively advanced explosive shells from India.
The news about this batch of explosive bombs and the naval battle at Sinop reached Shanghai almost immediately.
Therefore, Luo Xueyan naturally gave most of these explosive bombs to the fleets of Britain, the United States, and France, as capital for the Qing Dynasty to invade Japan!
As Matthew Perry's order was conveyed by light language to the ships below, the nineteen British, American, French, and Qing warships on the sea quickly completed the reorganization, followed by more than ten transport ships
Then go to the distant sea.
The combined fleet that formed the artillery formation was not far from the Shinagawa Fort, only about two to three thousand meters.
At this distance, Japanese artillery shells could hit warships on the sea from time to time, but the caliber of those artillery pieces was not large, and they were not equipped with explosive shells that used trigger fuses, and they aimed at those two thousand tons
They bombarded the big ships going up. But their shells couldn't penetrate the shells of those big ships.
So after blasting for a long time, I just heard the sound....\n.\n
Now, it's their turn to taste the iron fist of imperialism.
As the muzzles of dozens of cannons weighing more than 12 pounds were pushed out of the gun windows, the short fuses at the rear of the guns were ignited, and tongues of flame spewed out from each muzzle! Among them, the large-caliber cannons with a weight of 30 pounds or more,
All are equipped with powerful explosive shells.
These explosive shells were filled into the barrel of the gun, and then spit out. On the Japanese fort opposite, plumes of smoke suddenly rose.
The smoke pillars shot up into the sky in different postures. At first, the smoke pillars rose in rows almost at the same time. Later, they no longer exploded at all, but just puffs of smoke rising in all directions.
The artillery pieces on the Shinagawa Fort were all placed in the open air. Not only did they not have turrets, they did not even have any cover made of wood or sandbags. There were no bunkers around the artillery pieces. Dozens or hundreds of explosive shells fell down, and each one was made of bronze.
The cannon was blown up and down, and you could vaguely see human bodies being lifted into the air! After about seventeen or eight rounds of firing, the seven forts on the sea off Shinagawa all went silent and were shrouded in blue-black smoke, as if they were about to
It's like being swallowed up.
At this time, two steam transport ships with a displacement of about 1,000 tons carefully approached and placed a dozen small boards less than a thousand meters away from one of the forts. They were wearing blue and gray military uniforms, with bald heads and no braids.
head
Soldiers of the Nanyang Army wearing warm hats without red tassels and tops descended onto these small boats along the nets made of thick hemp ropes hung on the side of the ship. Then these small boats were driven by paddles.
They all headed towards the fort not far away.
Luo Xueyan, Qian Zhenlun, Rosen, and Zhao Liewen were all standing on the deck of the Powhatan, holding telescopes and staring at the ongoing landing battle.
This is the first time that Japanese imperialism, no, the iron hooves of Qing imperialism have set foot on Japanese soil!
Well, it’s of great significance!
Because here in East Asia, in the next hundred years or so, there will only be one imperialist place, either China or Japan!
There is only one criterion for testing imperialism, which is whether it can be fought?
Although the civil war in China is not over yet...::.China, during the civil war, still has the power to land on Japan. Doesn't it just mean that China's military force far exceeds that of Japan?
If this is the case, then the only imperialist spot in East Asia belongs to China!
"Going aboard!"
Luo Xueyan saw a "The Great Wall Will Never Fall" flag suddenly pierced the blue-black smoke and appeared on the sandbank where a five-pointed fort was located, and he shouted excitedly.
However, the people around him were not very excited. Instead, they cast strange looks at Luo Xueyan - How did this little Japanese offend Luo Xueyan?
At the same time, on the British gunboat Rattlesnake, British Minister Wen Xianzheng, together with his secretaries James Legge and Li Taitai, observed the ongoing landing battle with telescopes, and the three people exchanged opinions in low voices from time to time.
"Well, we boarded it...it went very smoothly!"
"Oh, it seems that several horizontal formations have been formed in platoon units...::...It seems that their daily training is effective!"
"Those Chinese seem to have thrown smoke bombs...\n::.\n. What are they made of? What a big smoke! Do we have the same equipment in our army?"
"No! It seems we don't have one."
"Minister, look...\n.\n..\n.\nThe Japanese have launched a counterattack!"
"Use cold weapons? Those Japanese want to use samurai swords and spears to counterattack the rifles and bayonets of the Nanyang Army? How stupid!
When Wenxian saw this, he had already put down his telescope: "It seems that the Shinagawa Fort will soon fall into the hands of the Chinese!" He looked at the two people around him, "What do you think? This is a rising power.
?」
"The great powers...seem to be comparable to Türkiye."
Legge thought for a moment and then said: "Mr. Minister, the Chinese seem to be more capable of fighting than I originally expected!"
Li Taitai said: "Maybe only the Nanyang Army can fight."
Legge shook his head: "The Taiping Army can also fight!"
Wen Xian smiled and said: "Isn't that natural? Such a big country...\n.\n:.\n. Is it possible to not fight? Judging from their current performance, they should be on the same level as the Turkish Empire.
.It may not be possible against our European powers, but it is enough to bully the small neighboring countries. If we are well armed, we may be able to fight Russia!"
"With Russia?"
"Mr. Minister, is it...\n..\n.\n.\nWe are going to go to war with Russia soon?"
Wen Xian nodded and whispered: "I received an express message before I left Shanghai... It is possible to declare war in April and May! We will fight Russia together with France and Turkey! Viscount Palmerston thought
Do you know if the Qing Dynasty can send an army to attack the Russian strongholds in the Pacific with us? This is why I came to Japan. I need to see with my own eyes the combat effectiveness of the Chinese army!"
"Victory!"
"A fort has been laid!"
Before the conversation between Wen Xian, James Legge, and Li Tai Tai ended, the battle on a fort on the sea off Shinagawa had come to an end.
Although the Japanese samurai guarding the fort were very brave, they lacked actual combat experience and their equipment was too backward. When facing enemies equipped with flintlocks and bayonets, they actually rushed out of the fort and attempted to defeat them with samurai swords and spears.
As a result, more than half of the opponents were killed by the bullets fired by the rifled brown bass before they could rush to the enemy. Those who were left alive could not stop the bayonet jungle of the Nanyang Army who formed a horizontal line...
..
The first fort outside Shinagawa Port was soon trampled under the iron hooves of Qing imperialism!
Chapter completed!