After Zhao Xin gave the order, the first thing to move was the Beihai Navy's base in Ganlong'ao.
Since Hoi An was temporarily borrowed from Nguyen Phuc Anh, it was only used as a distribution center for material procurement and immigration to the south. The south side of Kuala Lumpur was the one that required a lot of investment. Today's Kuala Lumpur Peninsula is the same as it was two years ago, and it is shockingly desolate.
Compared to that, it has completely changed.
On the top of Yunfeng, 400 meters above sea level in the southernmost part of the peninsula, stand a 20-meter-high lighthouse and a 30-meter-high communication triangle tower. There is also a communication transfer station halfway up the mountain. Currently, Bacheng and Beihai
Telegraph exchanges between towns all passed through here, and then passed through Ryukyu, Minami Kyushu, and Jeju Island in sequence.
As for the naval base of the Northern Navy, it is located in the inner bay, which is the southwest corner of the Citrus Peninsula. There is a large shipyard here, a port for ten thousand-ton gunboats, and related ordnance and material warehouses.
In addition, a large training ground has been specially opened ten kilometers north of the seaport that can accommodate 5,000 people for formation and shooting training. Currently, in addition to those trained here by Beihai Town, they are recruited from Sendai Island miners.
In addition to the servant army, there are also some members of the Nguyen Phuc Anh regime in Quang Nam.
In order to build the citrus base, Deng Fei first recruited more than 3,000 workers from Hoi An, and later recruited more than 2,000 workers from Jiangping, Haiyang and other places where the Taishan pirates were wiped out. In addition, he also dispatched more than 3,000 workers from the outer northeast.
Hundreds of construction machinery personnel to operate the construction machinery purchased by Zhao Xin.
At the beginning, the peninsula would be opened and fired almost every day. Cao Peng's two apprentices were very happy with the explosions. They used dozens of tons of ammonium nitrate explosives alone. The rumbling explosions shocked the fishermen and fishermen along the coast of the mainland.
The villagers were frightened and hurriedly went back to burn incense and kowtow. Soon the news spread throughout the second and fourth counties of Khanh Hoa Province.
It is said that Ruan Fu Anh had sent someone to deliver some food. The general responsible for escorting the transportation was so frightened that he turned pale after seeing a hill being blown up in the blink of an eye. After he returned, this guy actually told Ruan Fu An that Beihai Town had the ability to control ghosts and gods.
, he could invite the Thunder Lord from the sky to help move mountains and fill the sea, and make the King of Guangnan so thunderous.
After Zheng Wenxian, who had been waiting for several months at the Gancheng'ao base, received the telegram, he read it over and over again. The first time he couldn't read it in his mind at all, and he couldn't believe the content. Then his heart pounded.
He jumped, his cheeks began to heat up, and then he read it again word for word with an extremely serious expression. When he was convinced that he had become the commander of the First Squadron, endless excitement and joy suddenly surged in his heart, and he couldn't help but
Open your mouth and laugh endlessly.
The weather in June is already very hot. Even if you stand in the shadow of a tree, the scorching air blowing against your face is still like fire, making people sweat profusely. However, Zheng Wenxian does not feel suffocated. He even feels the air.
There is a kind of light in it that washes away all the heat and discomfort.
Six years! Six years after joining the Northern Navy, he was finally able to lead a fleet to fight a naval battle! When he had laughed enough, he said to the orderlies around him: "Order the captains of each ship to assemble in the conference room!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Don't call me sir!" Zheng Wenxian's chin almost went up to the sky, and the loudness of his voice shocked the orderlies. "Call me commander, it's commander! Hahahaha!"
The fleet is going to Nanyang to fight the Dutch!
Starting from the early morning of June 17, the munitions dock located at the Mengcheng'ao base was busy. Horse-drawn carriages transporting ordnance, oil, fresh water and fresh food shuttled back and forth between the warehouse and the dock.
In addition to several cranes on the pier that are constantly rising and falling, there are dozens of small boats coming and going in front of the anchored warships and the steps docked, driving in and out, carrying boxes of shells and barrels
barrels of diesel. Some small boats were so heavily loaded that the sides of the boats were almost flush with the water, so they moved very slowly.
One day later, Zheng Wenxian led Lin Daosheng and others to inspect the warships in the fleet. Whenever he stepped onto the gangplank and entered the Narcissus Gate, the call to assemble was heard on the deck, the sound of leather boots on the ground, and soldiers raising their guns.
There was a roar. Following an order, all officers and soldiers saluted the new fleet commander, and Zheng Wenxian immediately raised his hand to return the salute.
All soldiers are wearing fine uniforms and are in neat formation. When you look up, you will see a dazzling white. The upper deck is spotless, and the eighteen 75mm guns located in the bow and lower deck are polished to a bright shine.
.
On June 19, the seven gunboats converted from the thousand-ton "Siamese Ship" were all replenished. Zheng Wenxian first sent a telegram to Bacheng, and then ordered the fleet to set sail. The workers and soldiers on the Citrus Island dock would see it every day.
All kinds of ships docked and departed, and the "eyesight" was already enough; so when the fleet left the port, everyone just waved briefly and then took the time to rest.
The sea distance from the Gancheng'ao base to Bacheng is more than 2,000 kilometers, which is more than a thousand nautical miles. During the period, it has to pass through the Li Nei Islands, Tammelan Islands and Belitung Islands. Although the ships in Zheng Wenxian's fleet have passed through
Modification, but it is impossible to use diesel engines all the way. After all, it is more necessary to move "flexibly and coquettishly" during battle.
Nowadays, the ground troops of the Bacheng North Navy are waiting for the sea to break out before taking action, in order to prevent the Dutch from turning around and escaping by boat when they see that the situation is not good.
Eight days later, on June 27, early in the morning.
On the waters of Thousand Islands, eighty kilometers northwest of Bacheng, a large fleet composed of sixteen Dutch East India Company warships was cutting through the waves.
The sky was still dark at this time, and I didn't know whether it would be sunny or cloudy. However, there was already a silvery white light on the sea, and the sunlight reflected on the convex parts of the battleship's sail, like pearls inlaid on the sail.
When the chime clock on the deck rang three times, Rear Admiral Peter Melville Van Carnby, the captain of the battleship "King William IV", walked out of the captain's cabin and said to the sailors standing guard at the door: "Good morning."
The guard immediately responded: "Good morning, sir."
Carnby looked at the weather, then looked up at the neatly arranged sails, knowing that the weather would be good in the morning. After breathing in the indoor air all night, he took a deep breath of fresh air, then turned around and walked to the boat.
At the railing, I saw a group of seagulls flying lazily in a line not far to the north, arguing listlessly over the tiny ripples on the sea, probably seeing some fish. The rattle of the hull, the tightening of ropes and canvas
The sound of loosening, the various angles formed by the deck planks, and the curves of the cannon bodies in front of him filled him with pride.
At this time, an officer in charge of speed measurement struggled to pull up the speedometer, walked to the rear of the battleship, threw the end with the red mark into the sea, and shouted: "Turn!"
Thirty seconds later, the helmsman held the hourglass close to his eyes and shouted: "Stop!"
The officer held the speed line that almost stopped at four knots, lifted the sign out of the sea, walked to the log board, and wrote down the ship's speed with chalk on it. The helmsman hurriedly walked to the big hourglass.
, turned it over, and shouted loudly to another sailor, who then rang the bell for the fourth time.
After a while, there was a noise below deck.
"Put the hammocks away quickly!"
"Hey, everyone, everyone! Get up or get down! Damn it, I say get up or get down! Get up and tie the rope to the bitt! Get up and work! Over there, get up!
!”
Immediately afterwards, several dull sounds were heard. Seeing someone moving slowly, the boatswain cut the hammock with a knife, and several sailors fell heavily to the deck. Seeing this, the others hugged their hammocks and swarmed toward the hatch.
run.
After a while, several sailors on the deck began to use elm pumps to pump water upwards so that clear seawater could be used to wash the various decks. Other sailors stuck their butts out and used the deck grinding stone to grind all the way up to the surface of the deck.
The fine wood chips ground off and the dirt in the gaps between the boards were mixed with water, flowing around like milk, and then washed into the sea. As for the gunners, they routinely took care of the 70 guns on the lower deck.
The life of a battleship is like this every morning. After completing the routine work, you can go to have breakfast, and then there is the drill, which is repeated every day.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, the sailor responsible for looking out at the top of the mainmast suddenly discovered that there seemed to be something abnormal on the sea far to the north. He raised the telescope in disbelief and saw a few grains of rice appearing in his field of vision.
Big shadows. As those shadows get closer, the unique hard sails on Chinese sailboats gradually become clearer.
"Several military ships came from the north! One, two, three, four, five... no, seven!"
After hearing the report from his subordinates, Major General Carnby hurried to the port side of the bow of the ship and raised his telescope to take a look. However, because the other party's ship was at least 15 nautical miles away from his own, he could not see the flag on the ship at all.
Thirty minutes later, as the incoming ship approached and was still 10 nautical miles away from the Dutch fleet, a frigate located one nautical mile north of the "William IV" sent a semaphore, saying that the incoming ship was the "Serris Man"
fleet.
"Notify the fleet to prepare for battle!" Major General Kabien did not know how many guns were on the opposite ship, but he knew that the cannons in Beihai Town had a long range, so he ordered the fleet to quickly enter the windward position and use the wind direction advantage and speed to quickly approach
, and then concentrated fire at a distance of a quarter of a mile.
Deafening drums sounded on the Dutch battleships and frigates. The people in the cabin put down their dinner plates, chewed the hard bread in their mouths, and rushed towards their posts in a hurry. The messy footsteps were in a hurry.
The gun windows on the left side of the battleship were all opened, and the gunners made preparations in a hurry.
"Let go of the cannon!"
The gunners of each gun squad untied the pulley chain tied to the gun body and quickly cut the rope that fixed the breech. The wheels of the gun wheel creaked, indicating that the gun truck had been loosened. At this time, someone had to go and catch it.
Pulleys on both sides of the cannon body, otherwise the cannon will move toward the center of the ship when the ship tilts.
"Leave the cannon flat!"
The gunner pushed the capstan bar located under the thick gun tail, lifted it up with force, and pried it up. At this time, the gun crew leader inserted a wooden wedge slightly back from the lower center of the gun body, and pulled it up.
The barrel was stabilized in a horizontal and direct firing position.
"Pull out the cannon!"
The crew quickly moved the gun into the gun position. When the muzzle moved almost a foot toward the center of the ship, they used the retreat rope to stop the gun carriage from sliding toward the center of the ship. At the same time, the sail repairman put the gun on the gun.
The cannon plug with carved patterns and paint on the mouth was pulled out.
"Load gunpowder!"
The gunner responsible for loading the gunpowder prepared a solid gunpowder bag, and the gunner stuffed it into the barrel and pushed it to the end; then an iron ball from the 24-pound gun was sent into the barrel.
The gun squad leader sent the fire door needle into the fire door, tried to get it in place, and then said loudly: "Ready!"
"Extend the muzzle!"
The gunners immediately grabbed the pulley chain and pulled the pulley chain hand-in-hand to lift the entire gun mount, and pressed the gun mount tightly against the side. The pulley chain fell from their hands and was coiled up neatly.
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By this time, hundreds of cannons on one side of the sixteen battleships had already revealed their fangs.
When the fleet of the Northern Navy entered a position five nautical miles away and the hull of the ship became clearly visible, the commanders of each ship in the Dutch fleet breathed a long sigh of relief, and their originally tense hearts relaxed slightly.
"You still want to fight us with just this ship? Guys, let's kill those Chinese with one round of artillery fire!"
"No problem, sir!"
At this time, a faint plume of smoke appeared on the bow of a Junk ship three nautical miles away. Several frigate captains, who were visiting Asia for the first time, even laughed. Were they planning to fire cannons from such a distance to hear the sound? However, they
I soon stopped laughing.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Just listen to the whistling shells passing above the "Scorpion" frigate on the northernmost side, probably at the height of the upper mast and yard, waiting for everyone on the ship to hear
When the cannon was fired, the shell also fell into the sea three hundred yards to the right of the "Scorpion" and exploded a column of water.
"Flower bomb?"
The captain of the "Scorpion" was pale and his eyes almost popped out of his head. He hurriedly ran to the port bow and fired a second shot from the opposite side. This time, the opponent's shell fell on the left side of the bow of the "Scorpion".
Twenty yards to the side, water splashed down on the bow of the ship, splashing the captain in the face.
Just as Major General Kabien and his officers looked stunned, streams of blue smoke appeared from seven Siamese ships three nautical miles away, and then rolling thunder rumbled on the sea.
"not good!"
As soon as an officer finished speaking, two fireballs exploded at the first and third guns on the port side of the "Scorpion". Two gaps were blown out in an instant, and countless splinters and shrapnel flew everywhere like a heavy rain.
After the first round of shrapnel harvesting was completed, the second round of wood splinters fell from the sky and pounced on the sailors crowded on the deck. Heart-rending screams could be heard endlessly. After the gunpowder smoke passed, rivers of blood flowed on the deck.
Almost at the same time, the four armed merchant ships "African", "Nail Tree" and "Mermaid" located on the right side of the "Scorpion" were all hit. Especially the shell that hit the "African"
, directly hit the middle part of the hull one foot above the waterline, and blasted through the ship in one blow. Seeing this scene, Rear Admiral Kabien on the "King William IV" couldn't help but trembled with fright, and almost dropped his telescope into the sea.
It is undeniable that VOC's maritime prowess was truly astonishing. For most of its operation, two to three fleets departed from the Dutch Republic each year. The Dutch shipbuilding industry was well organized and efficient, able to
Timber was obtained from the Baltic countries at low prices. For most of the eighteenth century, the Amsterdam shipyard launched three large ships of more than 700 tons each year.
However, with the outbreak of the War of Spanish Succession in the early 18th century, the Dutch were forced to fight a costly war on multiple fronts on the coast and at sea, resulting in financial difficulties making ends meet. And when the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War
After the war ended, VOC suffered huge financial losses, and nine large ships were captured by the British in three years.
Although the former naval power was in rapid decline and could never regain its status as a great power in Europe with a population of only two million, the Admiralty still believed that its maritime power in the East Indies was still very strong.
In order to retake Batavia from North Sea Town, the Navy Department of the United Provinces Republic sent a lieutenant general and two rear admirals, including the "William IV", "Westmere", "Delph"
"Special" and other large battleships, including twenty returning ships and a dozen frigates, plus the original twelve armed Galen ships in Ceylon and the Banda Islands, VOC dispatched nearly half of its maritime forces.
Came to the east.
In addition, the Dutch also recruited nearly a hundred sloops called "chaloups" and brigs called "padewakang" from the Sultanates of Banten and Cirebon. These two types of ships are generally
Equipped with four 2-pound guns or swivel guns, the crew can reach up to 75 people. The Javanese generally use them to carry out sea plunder or fight gang wars.
However, despite the fact that the Dutch have so many ships, they dare not approach the Port of Bacheng at all. The searchlights and twenty 75mm long-barreled guns of the Northern Navy stationed at the port are not just for free. Dutch spies have seen the fort with their own eyes.
There were scenes of firing during the day, and the rumble of cannons on the harbor was also heard at night.
In fact, in order to deceive the Dutch, the fort defenders deliberately controlled the maximum firing range to 3,500 yards, which was the same distance every time. But even so, Major General Kabien was stunned when he heard about it.
However, he didn't know until today that his spies must have been deceived...
"Order each ship to move half a point to the port side! Set up the topsail! We must rush forward, and the formation cannot be disordered!"