John Jervis had a wonderful thought, but when he saw the tongues of fire spitting out continuously from the inconspicuous merchant ship, he couldn't help but be shocked.
The British navy's artillery technology was considered the best in the 18th century, especially after the emergence of carronade guns. The average firing rate of gunners was two rounds per three minutes. In the era of muzzle-loading guns, this was already the peak.
"They use breech-loading cannons! Only breech-loading cannons can hit such speeds! My God! Their technology has reached such a level!"
John Jervis's surprise was justified.
From the 15th to the 16th century, almost all field guns and naval guns in Europe were breech-loading guns, including the mother-and-child gun called the "Flange machine". Early breech-loading guns used wedge tails
Assembly to seal the breech. However, the leakage of gunpowder gas could not be solved, so the front-loaded cannon gradually replaced the breech-loaded cannon.
With the gradual improvement of metallurgical technology and the emergence of boring machines driven by steam engines, the weight of various front-loaded artillery has been reduced. Those long-barreled artillery larger than six inches or more than 32 pounds were replaced due to their slow shooting speed and too heavy weight.
Converted to use as coastal defense artillery.
The large-scale use of explosive bombs in maritime operations will have to wait for more than 40 years. Currently, explosive bombs in European countries are used in mortars. Because explosive bombs pose safety hazards, even in naval battles, small gunboats are sent alone to fight.
.
Historically, it was not until the late nineteenth century that with the continuous development of metallurgy and material technology, the perfection of rifling, gunpowder, cartridges, cylindrical shells, and threaded breech block technologies, the breech-loaded gun returned to the war stage.
The 75mm gun of the Beihai Navy is an imitation of the spiral breech technology of another time and space, while the D30 is a semi-automatic vertical wedge type; with the existing machining capabilities of Beihai Town, it cannot be manufactured at all.
For John Jervis, it is self-evident what it means to obtain this technology. In this time and space, its effect is comparable to that of nuclear weapons in later generations. The British Empire will be invincible in the world, whether on land or at sea.
Well, not counting the North Korean Navy.
Therefore, John Jervis immediately proposed to Hardanga to modify the tactics, let the four sailing ships work together to attack the Beihai No. 2, which was spitting out fire, and let the damaged "Zhenbei" serve as a shield to resist the Thor's attack.
Artillery fire.
"Reason? I need a reasonable explanation!" Hardanga expressed confusion about the sudden adjustment of tactics.
"Artillery! Lord Admiral, the enemy's fast artillery is the most perfect explanation. As long as we get that kind of artillery, the military strength of both the Qing Empire and the British Empire will be greatly improved! Believe me, your great emperor
I will definitely reward you!”
Hadang'a understood it as soon as he heard it. The North Navy's artillery was so powerful that the court suffered countless hardships. If he could get a sample and take it back to imitate it, the strategic situation outside the customs would definitely change!
So he immediately ordered his men to send signals to each ship and adjust the attack target.
However, the British thought beautifully, but the reality slapped John Jervis hard in the mouth.
The maximum effective range of the 32-pound Carlon gun is 1,087 yards, which is 994 meters. And due to the structure of the gun mount, its maximum elevation angle can only be raised by 5 degrees. Even the 68-pound Caron gun has a maximum effective range of
1500 yards (1371 meters).
In actual naval battles, the British Navy always approaches the target and shoots within 500 meters, so as to cause maximum damage at one time and force the opponent to withdraw from the battle.
The problem is that the Beihai No. 2 is not an ordinary sailboat, but a motor-driven sailboat. As the captain, Guo Xuexian has already seen that the enemy is approaching him, so the diesel motor of the Beihai No. 2 roars, the bow of the ship turns to the west, and
In the choppy waves, he went in circles with the Qing fleet, always keeping the distance between himself and the opponent at about 1.5 to 2 nautical miles.
After several 68-pound heavy guns in the Qing fleet tried to fire several times, they found that they could not reach Beihai No. 2 in the distance, and in the end they could only look at the ocean and sigh.
Guo Xuexian, on the other hand, kept in mind what Deng Fei said in the naval cadet class: keep 1.5 to 2 nautical miles away from the enemy, use the advantage of speed, and fight them in circles!
At this time, the British were all dumbfounded. They had already seen that Beihai 2 was different. The four battleships were like stupid elephants, being teased back and forth by a cheetah.
Is there any natural reason for sailing against the wind to be faster than sailing against the wind? God, I want to report something to you...
In the seventeenth century, the Dutch engaged in close-range melee combat. Later, "line combat" became the basic tactical principle of the navy. The purpose of seizing the wind position and "T" was to cut off the enemy's retreat route and then concentrate firepower.
Attack one part of it, knock off the masts and sails of the enemy's ship, and force the enemy's array to collapse.
Just like Horatio Nelson did in the Battle of Saints Island seven years ago, he carried out a pincer attack on the middle of the French array, causing heavy losses to the French.
John Jervis's tactics are fine, but he still has to catch up with his opponent...
On the Leishen on the other side, the cargo ship sent by the Fuzhou Qing Army had been set on fire. The sailors on the ship jumped into the sea holding a wooden board and swam towards the fleet behind; however, almost one-third of the people disappeared
On the sea.
"Fire!" The four heavy machine guns on the starboard deck spit out tongues of fire, shattering the fireship that was undulating with the waves into pieces.
With a "whoosh" sound, a flame burst out from the deck of the Thor. A visible fusiform object hit a fire ship. Then it exploded with a "boom" and a ball of fire rose from the sea.
It started, and the fire ship immediately broke into pieces.
What stunned the Fuzhou Qing army the most was that there were people holding two large pipes on the bow of the Thor, spraying water as thick as an arm at the approaching fire ship. In the blink of an eye, the fire ship was drenched
It was transparent inside and out, and the blazing flame was just gone.
"Water cannons!!"
The Qing army in Fuzhou immediately became confused. How could they fight against this?
After a while, the heavy machine guns that had finished cleaning up the fireships pointed their guns at the fleet behind them. As water columns rose up on the sea, the Qing troops on several bird boats saw the water columns coming towards them.
The two main cannons on the bow were fired with flames; the Qing troops on the deck suddenly felt like they were in hell, with broken limbs and flesh flying in the air.
Immediately afterwards, the hard sail on the mast was ignited by incendiary bombs, and soon the mast turned into a big torch. The surviving Qing soldiers and sailors threw away their weapons and jumped into the water to escape.
"Evacuate! Evacuate quickly!" the mate leading the fleet shouted at the top of his lungs, and the pitiful sound of gongs sounded on each ship.
On the "Dinghai", when Navy Admiral Hardang saw the fleet from Fuzhou beginning to retreat, he knew that the situation was over.
The white sails of the four sailing warships were bulging, and they could not catch up with the Beihai No. 2 even if they pushed hard. The artillery on the other side's ship kept firing, leaving a mess on the four warships. One shell even penetrated the second floor of the "Fubo"
The explosion occurred behind the gun window, destroying two carronade guns on the spot and causing heavy casualties on the gun deck.
"Ming Jin, retreat!" Hardanga decided not to listen to the British anymore. If the battle continued, all five ships would have to be destroyed; at least they could be used as a fort when they returned to Dagokou.
As a result, the Qing fleet retreated to the southwest under the influence of the north wind. On the Beihai No. 2, because the artillery shells had been almost exhausted, Guo Xuexian immediately adjusted its course and sailed toward the vicinity of the Thor.
On the deck of the Thor, the two D30s were still spitting out tongues of fire unhurriedly. From time to time, water jets caused by explosions would rise in front, rear, left and right of the Qing fleet.
In the cockpit, after receiving Guo Xuexian's report, Deng Fei said to an officer of the Marine Battalion: "Record, send a report to the staff. At 7 o'clock in the morning on November 7, the Qing army attacked us in two groups.
Fleet. The Qing army dispatched five sailing battleships and nearly a hundred ships of various sizes. The battle lasted for forty minutes, and they have all been repulsed. The ammunition consumption is very large, please ask for further instructions."
When Hong Liangji and Jiang Fan heard this, their eyes suddenly showed excitement. Jiang Fan was even more excited. He was already imagining the scene of the Northern Navy landing in Tianjin.
Half an hour later, Zhao Xin, who was in Beihai Town, saw Deng Fei's telegram. He shook his head in confusion and tried to figure out Qianlong's thinking. Do you really think that with the sail battleship, he can compete with the Beihai Navy?
What are you thinking!
In this case, don't blame yourself for being rude.
Zhao Xin immediately called the Whale Port and informed the Thunder to "prepare a vehicle", and asked the staff to notify the Thor and Beihai 2 to return to Port Arthur and wait there.
A 10,000-ton freighter does not just turn the key and oil the foot and leave. It requires a series of preparations such as power supply preparation, clock calibration, engine clock adjustment, rudder adjustment, main engine warming cylinder, preparation of each power system, cranking, running and test running, etc.
, it will take at least several hours to complete.
Then, he drafted another order, signed it after checking that it was correct, and asked Yin Bingwei to send it to the training base on the other side of the river and hand it over to Wang Yuanfang. The above content was to order Wang Yuanfang to act as the agent for Beihai Town after he left.
Military administrative affairs.
In fact, this is just a formality, because the Northern Navy Staff and Logistics Department are still controlled by themselves. Without the orders of the staff, no soldiers in the troops can be mobilized; and without their own orders, no one can even think about the logistics.
Take out ammunition and supplies from the warehouse.
Then, he signed several more orders: First, transfer Jiuzang's second regiment (all the officers of the previous regiments and battalions were transferred) immediately packed up, received two bases of weapons and ammunition, and after the combat preparations were completed, rushed to the Whale Port to board the ship.
; second, transfer Chen Jishan to temporarily act as the commander of the guard battalion and travel with him; third, order Li Ji to open the logistics warehouse, let the second regiment and the guard battalion receive ammunition and materials, and transport a batch of artillery shells onto the ship.
After the military preparations were completed, he made several calls to Chen Qingsong, Yu Deli and others to explain the situation and give instructions. Next, he called Liu Sheng, Fan Tong, Wu Siyu, Cao Peng and
Hu Ji's troops stationed in Hunchun sent a telegram to inform them of the situation on Changxing Island and their next plan.
After all this was completed, it was already afternoon. Zhao Xin recalled it and called Chen Jishan again. Only then did he feel that everything was arranged properly, so he walked out of the office and went straight home.
He went directly to Sanjin's backyard and saw A Miao holding Duofu basking in the sun on the steps. Several kittens in the yard were chasing a pom-pom. When Zhao Xin came in, the kittens meowed.
Shouting, they rushed over and surrounded him.
Zhao Xin used his feet to gently push away the kittens under his feet, and the little ones simply hugged his feet. Upon seeing this, A Miao came over and hugged the cats away one by one, saying, "Let's play together."
Zhao Xin walked to the steps and touched Duofu's head, and Duofu turned over, revealing his white fluffy belly.
(Come and serve this king!)
After entering the house, Ma Zhao's loud voice rang out in the west room: "Close the door quickly and wash your hands first after teasing the cat."
Zhao Xin smiled helplessly, washed his hands and entered the west room with thick curtains. When he looked up, he saw Shen Xuan sitting on the bed with a big belly. Zhao's mother was also sitting cross-legged on the side, and Shen Xuan's adoptive mother, Mrs. Wu, was sitting on the bed.
On the chair next to me.
"Hey, it's early enough today? It's not dark outside yet."
"Come back and see, don't I miss you?"
Zhao's mother rolled her eyes and saw that her son had something to say to his wife, so she immediately got out of bed and put on her shoes and went to the east room. Mrs. Wu also got up immediately, as if she was a little afraid of her son-in-law, and went out.
Shen Xuan is already more than eight months old and is about to give birth in about a month. Although she has taken a lot of nutrition during pregnancy, she only has a belly but not a face. Although her cheeks look a lot more rosy, she is not fat at all.
.
The two chatted for a while. Shen Xuan saw that Zhao Xin was hesitant to speak, so she asked, "Do you have something to leave?"
Zhao Xin nodded slightly and said, "Yes. Something happened and I had to go to sea."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Is it the island country?"
"No, it's Tianjin." Zhao Xin consoled him, "I'll be back in twenty days at most."
Although Shen Xuan was not happy, she knew what her man was doing, so she thought for a while and said, "Take A Miao with you. I'm worried about going out alone without anyone who knows how to feel about the cold and the hot."
Zhao Xin smiled and said: "What are you thinking about? A Miao is still a child."
"She's not young anymore. Someone asked me about her a few days ago."
"Oh? Who is it?" A sneer appeared at the corner of Zhao Xin's mouth, thinking that he really didn't want to die, and he actually came up with A Miao's idea.
"Hey, don't ask, I've already asked you to stop him." Shen Xuan rolled her eyes at Zhao Xin and pursed her lips.
The young couple were affectionate for a while, until it got dark and Zhao's mother called for dinner. Zhao Xin got up, walked to the outer room and said to A Miao: "A Miao, go pack your things, let's go to sea."
"Leave now?" When A Miao saw Zhao Xin nodding, she suddenly smiled like a flower, and whispered to Zhao Xin: "Take Duofu with you, he always bullies the kitten these days, I'm afraid if he is not here... ..”
Zhao Xin said nonchalantly: "As long as you are happy."
After dinner at home, Zhao Xin's ears were filled with the talk of Zhao's mother and Zhao's father. He said goodbye to Shen Xuan who was reluctant to leave. When he walked to the front yard with A Miao, he saw brother and sister Chen Jishan and Wu Rong in the doorman's house. .
"Miss Wu, Jishan should have told you everything. Although there are Jishan's sisters and other guards in this house, their skills are far inferior to yours. My wife is pregnant, so I leave my family's safety to you. If you don’t understand anything, you can ask Jishan’s sister.”
This was Wu Rong's first time meeting the legendary "King Zhao", but she didn't expect him to be so polite. He was completely different from the prince in her imagination.
She turned her body slightly to one side and said with a blessing: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for trusting me in this little girl. Senior Brother Chen has explained everything to me, and Erya and I hit it off right away. Don't worry."
During this period, Wu Zhong had been in the military camp. He only crossed the river to go home after three or five days, which made Wu Rong very depressed. If Chen Jishan hadn't asked his sister to accompany her when she rested, Wu Rong wouldn't have had anyone to talk to.
According to Chen Jishan's report, Zhao Xin learned about Wu Rong's character and conduct, so he planned to give Wu Rong a try and give some pointers to the guards at his home.
After explaining the matter, Zhao Xin took A Miao out to the car and rushed to Whale Harbor under the escort of a platoon led by Chen Jishan.
When the group arrived at the Whale Harbor Pier, the people from the Second Regiment were boarding the ship, and the arms transported from the logistics warehouse were also being hoisted. Jiuzang and Liji, who had been waiting on the dock for a long time, ran over and saluted. Only then did Zhao Xin Asked about the number of shells.
"Three thousand rounds of 75mm artillery shells, five hundred rounds of 122 artillery shells. Other ammunition is as you said, two base numbers."
After Li Ji reported, he looked at Zhao Xin with luminous eyes and asked: "Sir, are you planning to break into Beijing this time? Can you take me with you?"
"What are you thinking about?" Zhao Xin laughed and explained: "I'm just going to scare Qianlong, and solve other things by the way."
"What's up?"
"population."
Zhao Xin had lost his patience with people secretly transported little by little from Sheyang Lake. Xu Dayong was very slow in transporting people from Sichuan and Hubei, mainly because it was too difficult to sail through the Three Gorges in this era, and it was even more difficult to cross the mountains. .Rather than letting the White Lotus Sect cause chaos in a few years and eventually mess up half of China, it is better to let Beihai Town solve this hidden danger in advance.
Furthermore, the secret stronghold of Sheyang Lake is no longer of much significance. The Manchus now know from top to bottom that they can go to Beihai Town by boat from outside Xuzhuang. Qing secret agents, Wu Zhong and the others and the people of the Bagua Cult before That's the proof.
Xu Dayong and Wang Changsheng have been deployed abroad for a long time and need to be replaced with a new batch of fresh blood.
Although the Beihai Navy and the Manchu Qing Dynasty were fighting outside the customs, Zhao Xin, Yu Deli, Chen Qingsong and others discussed it and everyone still hoped to gain power as smoothly as possible. In other words, the Manchu Qing Dynasty was required to exhaust their efforts outside the customs. Blood, wait for the Northern Navy to enter the customs, so as not to be surrounded by war.
Moreover, people from the Ministry of Trade learned from the Tianjin merchants who sold soybeans that in August this year, large-scale floods occurred in the entire fifty-four counties of Zhili, with countless victims. If we don't take action at this time, how long will it take?