At this moment, all the warships under Li Zhen were ready to fire at any time, preparing for war. A few hundred meters away, there were British warships flying the British flag.
The two sides faced off, but neither of them took the lead in ordering an attack. They both stopped quietly on the sea.
When Li Zhen led his army to leave the port, he had already considered that the warship would be attacked, so he did not take away the soldiers who were manning the ship, nor did he take away all the soldiers who were responsible for firing the cannon, leaving enough strength for defense. Moreover, in order to prevent the other party from attacking, Li Zhen After the warships approached, they engaged in close combat. Most of the soldiers from Qi Zhenhai's brigade stayed behind and had a certain fighting capacity.
On the flagship, the deputy brigade commander in charge looked serious and was ready.
The deputy brigade commander's name is Su Lei. He is about 22 or 23 years old. He is a talented general under Qi Zhenhai. He has a pistol on his waist and a telescope. He is looking at the British fleet arrayed on the sea. Su Lei looks at it. After learning about the situation of the British army, a solemn look appeared on his face, because the opponent's warships were also a battle group, not just a few single warships.
There is not much difference in the strength comparison between the two armies.
Su Lei turned his eyes, looked at the captains around him, and said in a deep voice: "Cheer up, everyone. If the other side's fleet is not satisfied with the current confrontation and moves forward, fire a warning shot immediately. If the other side insists, Come here, we must fight back, we must not be lenient, but we must obey my orders, we will fire only after I give the order."
"yes."
After the commanders of each regiment took note of it, they quickly passed on the order.
On the sea, on the deck of the British flagship.
The person leading this fleet is named Creel, a naval vice-admiral. He is dressed in a military uniform, a military cap, and shiny military boots. A sword hangs from his waist. His expression is serious and full of enthusiasm. With a touch of majesty, Creel looked at the Qing warships lined up at the port, with a solemn look in his eyes.
When did the Qing Dynasty have such sophisticated warships?
In Creel's impression, even if Li Zhen defeated Burlon, Russell and others in succession, they would only be rampaging on land and would not pose a threat to the British fleet. But now he saw the Qing army's display of power. I was immediately surprised by the strength, and even felt dangerous.
The power of the Qing army developed too fast.
Once the Qing navy developed, who could contain the Qing Dynasty?
Creel looked serious and said in a deep voice: "Sabans."
"exist."
A middle-aged man with blond hair and blue eyes came out and saluted respectfully.
Creel said in a deep voice: "Order the No. 1 battleship to move forward and test the reaction of the Qing warship."
Serbans raised his brows and said: "Your Excellency, Lieutenant General, if the No. 1 battleship continues to advance, it will immediately enter the gunfire range of the Qing warships. Do you really want to continue to advance?"
"Didn't you hear me clearly? Move forward. This is a military order."
Creel ordered with a serious expression.
Creel wanted to test the opponent's situation, including whether the Qing army dared to fire cannons, and even the Qing army's firepower, so Creel used the No. 1 battleship as a test subject.
Sabans turned and ran away, immediately giving the order.
After a while, a beeping sound came out.
The No. 1 battleship led by Creel was sailing on the sea, and the rest of the British warships were pressing behind. All the British soldiers held their breath and watched the No. 1 battleship slowly approaching the port of Penghu Island.
The situation is extremely wonderful.
The war has reached the point where it is about to break out.
"boom,,."
A shocking loud noise suddenly resounded across the sea.
This loud noise was like a stone thrown into the calm water, causing ripples. The impact of this shell was continuously transmitted, and it had changed the situation on the sea again. Creel heard the cannon After hearing the sound, he was also startled, but saw that the other party did not target his army, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
It seems that the other party is just warning.
Creel rolled his eyes, still wanting to test the situation of Li Zhen's battleships, and ordered: "Sabans, order the No. 1 battleship to continue moving forward to further test the opponent's actions."
After hearing this, Sabans' lips kept twitching.
If this continues, even if there is no war, the Qing warships will still be forced to open fire. However, Creel is the commander-in-chief of the army, and Sarbanes is just a person who conveys orders. He cannot disobey orders, so he will pass them on obediently. , Battleship No. 1 slowly continued to move forward and entered the attack range of the Qing army's artillery fire.
However, the Qing army did not fire, as if they were mute.
"Hahaha... It's just an appearance, it's just an appearance." Seeing that the Qing army did not fight back, Creel suddenly showed a smile on his face. He had already concluded that the opponent did not dare to fire. He was thinking about how to approach and force the Qing army to surrender this time. , then seize all the battleships and take them as your own to expand your own strength.
For a moment, Creel felt a little dazed, thinking about the happy days ahead.
Sebanes stood nearby, feeling uneasy as he saw the warship approaching step by step.
A heart is always hanging in the air. On Li Zhen's flagship, the deputy brigade commander Su Lei controlled all the situations in his hands and dealt with it calmly. Seeing the opponent's warship getting closer and closer, his palms also clenched. He broke out in a sweat and felt very nervous. After all, it was his first time encountering such a scene, so it was impossible not to feel uneasy.
"Brigadier Su, the local warships are getting closer and closer, fight back." A regimental commander said nervously.
Su Lei said: "Wait a minute, wait a minute."
At this moment, although it was still a little cold, beads of sweat began to appear on Su Lei's forehead. Seeing the opponent's warship getting closer, he asked again: "Have the forts aimed at the opponent's frontmost warship?"
"Aimed."
The leaders of the three regiments all replied in unison.
Su Lei said in a deep voice: "Fire."
"Boom, boom, boom,,,,."
In an instant, intensive artillery fire was launched.
Cannonballs flew through the air one after another, roaring towards the British battleship No. 1. In the blink of an eye, a rumble of explosions came from the sea. Battleship No. 1 was submerged by gunfire, and instantly became a sea of fire, with people on the battleship moving. , Wails and screams sounded one after another. Under the intensive artillery fire, the No. 1 battleship was unable to continue moving forward. It was directly destroyed and began to sink gradually.
Su Lei used the most violent means to declare that the army would not tolerate provocation.
There is only one outcome for provoking, and that is to withstand the most violent counterattack. After Su Lei bombed a British warship, he immediately ordered: "All gunners load the cannons and aim at all the British warships. Once the opponent moves forward again, immediately Fire."
On the sea, gunpowder smoke was everywhere, suffocating people.
Creel's face turned pale, and his calm smile disappeared, replaced by an incredulous expression, with a trace of doubt in his eyes as to why the Qing army suddenly turned against him.