At this time, in Sakhalin City, the southern tip of Sakhalin Island, four gunboats were replenishing coal and fresh water.
These gunboats are just a transitional product before the Jianghe-class frigates enter service. Although they only have a tonnage of 500 tons, they have incorporated many black technologies that are only found on the Jianghe-class frigates.
For example, the two 2,000-horsepower multi-expansion steam engines on the boat can allow the gunboat to run at a speed of more than 20 knots.
The hull reinforced with new marine steel will tremble slightly at such a high speed.
But the ship crossed thousands of nautical miles from the mouth of the Yangtze River to the northern part of the Beihai (also known as the Sea of Japan in later generations. Dong Shuheng named it Beihai. As for the Beihai in history, it was only an inland lake in China in the future, rich in high-quality pure water).
There is still no problem with the hull. Not even a single rivet has fallen off.
It can be seen that the workers at the shipyard put a lot of effort into these gunboats.
The gray-white hull makes these little guys look looming on the sea. They are not as obtrusive as a sailboat with white sails.
After using high-quality anthracite, even the black smoke column turned into light gray.
The team composed of these four gunboats was named Heilongjiang Navy by Dong Shuheng, and their cruising area from now on would be the Heilongjiang River Basin.
They will serve as a river navy guard there.
The commander of this navy was Du Hang, the captain of an armed merchant ship who had repeatedly defeated pirates in Southeast Asia.
Du Hang is similar to Bao Youzhi in character. They are not sticklers. Moreover, they are both bold, careful and adventurous.
Dong Shuheng personally promoted Du Hang and sent him to Haizhou Naval Academy for further studies. He and a group of trainees were recently assigned to this inland water division.
I am used to driving merchant ships of several thousand tons, and now I see that these little guys in my hands are indeed a bit more refined.
But Du Hang was not disappointed at all. The extremely complex heart in this little guy's belly was enough to make Du Hang proud.
Not to mention the 50 mm thick semi-enclosed turret on the deck. It makes people feel safe after sitting in it.
In this era when ships still commonly used muzzleloader cannons to shoot large iron balls, this kind of armor was basically an impenetrable shield.
Of course, although this ship is not big, it is not easy to control.
There are shipyard engineers in the engine room to follow the maintenance throughout the entire process. No one knows whether these new steam engines will have any malfunctions after running for a long time.
In addition to these, standing in the control tower, opening the window, watching the waves being split on the bow of the ship, and feeling the sea breeze pouring into the entire command cabin.
These undoubtedly made Du Hang feel relaxed and happy.
The longer he stayed with them, the more Duhem liked them, their speed, their agility, and their sharp teeth.
Du Hang likes to compare them to dolphins, a group of dolphins that are good at hunting.
Sakhalin Port was built as a transit port, so it naturally reserves a large amount of coal and other shipping supplies.
Prospectors from Huaihai Company have discovered coal mines on the island that are easy to mine.
The Far East is a region rich in mineral resources. There are treasures everywhere.
The fleet replenished supplies and, after a simple inspection, started heading towards Temple Street.
Du Hang has already obtained the latest battle situation in Temple Street in Sakhalin Port.
They will face the first battle of the Heilongjiang Navy here.
The number of enemies was dozens of times greater than his own, but Du Hang didn't seem to be worried because the enemies were all temporarily built wooden gunboats.
Although their number is not large, it can be said that they are pitifully small, but these new gunboats are like cheating in front of those wooden boats.
The speed is several times that of the enemy, and the defense is even more powerful than the small cannon on the enemy's gunboat. This is the benefit of the difference in weapon generation, completely ignoring the quantity.
To put it bluntly, Bao Youzhi's fleet is still powered by sails, and there is no absolute difference with the Russian gunboats.
Therefore, Bao Youzhi did not directly fight against these Russian fleets, but hid in the Ussuri River and waited to block the enemy's retreat.
Of course, the war was started in advance in order to lure the enemy deeper. It was not certain whether Muravyov would go to Temple Street.
Now, the task of defeating Muravyov's fleet falls on the Heilongjiang Navy. This fast gunboat is best suited for hunting wooden boats on the river.
They are the most efficient hunters on the river!
Muravyov, who was attacking Temple Street, did not realize that a group of hunters was approaching Temple Street.
He knew that the other side had a fleet. But so what, they were on the river now.
It is a difficult problem for a large sail warship to turn in such a place.
When the time comes, with so many gunboats in hand, I will be able to tear the flesh off their bodies like a pack of wolves surrounding a huge bison.
When the Nanyang Navy attacked Temple Street, fortunately, all the ships docked in the port were large ships.
It was also a large ship. The Nanyang Navy launched a surprise attack and won by luck.
It would also be troublesome to encounter dozens or hundreds of such small gunboats.
It feels a bit like "an elephant is killed by too many ants".
…
The Russians had captured the first line of defense, but one regiment of the Siberian Division was almost crippled.
The projectile cannon fired very fast, and the falling shells exploded one after another, almost completely covering the Russian army in front of the position.
Not to mention the explosive power of black powder, the sound and light effects created by the explosion are by no means overwhelming.
The thick black smoke completely covered the front, and no one could be seen.
The same was true for the Russian soldiers who were in the smoke. They couldn't see anything. When they walked out of the smoke-covered area tremblingly.
What appeared in front of them was a long trench, as deep as a person's chest.
But there was no one in the trench, as if it was empty to begin with.
When these living soldiers turned around, they found that there were only a few people standing around them.
The shelling just now almost wiped out their entire army.
Although he captured the Qing defense line, Muravyov was not happy at all.
In the landing just now, the Russian casualties were close to 10,000, and one-fifth of them were lost before the two sides even made contact. This number is too terrifying.
Although it was a landing operation, the casualties would inevitably be higher, but Muravyov was still full of worries about the next battle.
Most of the people were injured in the shelling. These injured people could only be left to die in the camps.
Muravyov did not have that many doctors and medicines at his disposal. In the Russian army, generally only officers could receive effective treatment.
However, the occupation of this first line of defense did bring great convenience to the Russians. At least they could land safely.
Muravyov ordered his peasants and soldiers to set up camps along the river and built a line of defense based on the trenches left by the Qing people.
He did not continue to attack Temple Street. The tall fort fortress of Temple Street in the distance stood in his field of vision.
It's like an ancient giant beast lying there sleeping, and it may wake up at any time and choose people to eat.
Shaking his head, Muravyov called in all the middle-level and above officers.
In a temporary headquarters by the river.
"Everyone, it seems that these Qing people are not as easy to deal with as we expected."
"The British and the French gave them a lot of good stuff, so I think we have to change our tactics too."
"Yes, Your Majesty the Governor, our main problem now is that we cannot engage in battle with them. I believe that as long as we can get close to the battle, we will definitely defeat them."
General Suvorov, commander of the Siberian Division, said that his name was the same as that of a general of Tsarist Russia. Of course, he was indeed an outstanding general himself.
"General Suvorov, how do you think we should capture Temple Street? This place is completely different from before. The Qing people almost built it into a fortress." Muravyov asked.
"Your Majesty the Governor, the fortress we captured in Turkey is much stronger than the one here."
"Governor, have you seen those Qing trenches? I think the Qing people reminded us that we can avoid the fortress artillery attack by digging trench tunnels close to Temple Street."
…
The Russians spent the day consolidating their beachhead. They moved artillery positions to where the trenches had been.
Then set up a tent on the shore and place supplies.
The terrain here on Temple Street is a bit narrow, otherwise the Russians would definitely advance in depth.
Muravyov sent some reconnaissance troops into the hilly areas, but most of them failed.
If it were him, he would have set up troops on the hill to block it.
The terrain there is difficult, and only a small number of troops deployed on high ground can hold the position.
There is only one way left for the Russians, which is to attack Temple Street along the river beach. There is no room for detours and no clever tricks.
However, General Suvorov's suggestion really gave the Russian army hope of victory.
Muravyov also had a batch of mortars in his hands. As long as they could reach Temple Street through the trenches, they could use the mortars to give these Qing people a severe lesson.
Before dawn the next morning, the Russians began to dig tunnels in their positions.
Of course, these tasks were done by the peasants and soldiers who accompanied the army. They dug forward in three lines along the trenches left by the Huaihai Navy.
In Lin Wei's telescope field of view, he could see dust flying in the direction of the Russian position.
These Russian peasants and soldiers were very efficient in soil work. They would switch the people digging at the front to the back every few minutes.
This ensures that the person digging in front always maintains sufficient physical strength.
Lin Wei frowned and said to Mo Bin, the chief of staff behind him: "It seems that these Russians did not come according to our expectations! They are very flexible in fighting. You see, they have even learned how to fight in tunnels now."
"Yes, this Russian general is very good at adapting to circumstances. He has basically figured out our approach and knows that we will use our positions to consume their troops." Mo Bin said.
"But when our Heilongjiang Navy arrives, we will destroy all their fleets and see what they will do then." Mo Bin sneered.
"But we have to wait until the navy catches up first. I don't have the confidence to fight hand-to-hand with these tens of thousands of Russians."
"Order the artillery to use mortars to disrupt them." Lin Wei said to a messenger.
The Russians are very fast. It may not take more than a day, but as long as the afternoon, the Russians can dig the tunnel to the Huaihai Navy.
"Boom, boom, boom..." The low mortar sound sounded. The Huaihai Navy used mortars to shoot at the Russian tunnels in their own tunnels, but the effect was not obvious. The tunnels were too narrow, and the curvature of the mortar shells
That's enough, but it all depends on luck for the cannonball to fall in.
Not to be outdone, the Russians also used mortars to counterattack. The principle of this mortar is similar to that of a mortar.
Lin Wei knew that if this continued, he would definitely have to fight the Russians in close combat. He was not afraid of fighting the Russians in close combat, but in that case the casualties of the troops would be inevitable.
"Brigadier, how about we organize a group of Japanese. Many of these Japanese prisoners of war have good melee combat abilities. I think we can organize a Tai Sword team. At the worst, we can give them some benefits." Mo Bin suggested.
After hearing Mo Bin's words, Lin Wei's eyes lit up.
"This is a good idea. Let's do it this way. Let people tell these Japanese that the prisoners of war who join the Tachi Team will become servants in the army.
As a servant, if you kill a Russian, you will be rewarded with 10 acres of land. You can become a warrior under the Huaihai Navy and let them recruit farmers from Japan to help you cultivate the land..."
Lin Wei's plan was not something he thought of temporarily, but a transformation plan that Dong Shuheng sent along with the prisoners. These prisoners were the seeds of the Huai Navy's servant army.
In the future, they will still be warriors as before, but they will be warriors under Huai Haijun. Huai Haijun will allocate land to them, and then they will recruit Japanese farmers to help them plant it, while they will specialize as professional soldiers to help Huai Haijun fight.
Such dangerous battles, or battles destined to cause huge casualties, can involve these servant armies.
This idea is not out of some bad taste, but a practical necessity.
Dong Shuheng's goal was not only to overthrow the Manchu Qing Dynasty, he had already planned a great Chinese circle in his mind, or it could be called the "Chinese Co-Prosperity Body".
(Every reader may have a few books by great masters. Here I want to say that the great masters are not short of your votes, so vote for the newcomers. Even if it is just one vote, I will keep you in my heart.)