The first team now uses Lichun as the lead ship - it has the fastest speed, the highest mast, and the largest effective observation range. With the help of the "high-power" observation telescope provided by the optical factory, the Navy has unparalleled "search" capabilities Advantage.
At 7:50, the Lichun received the following telegram: "The enemy fleet has set off from Xiamen Island, with three three-masted gunboats and two European-style sailing ships as the main force, 14 other sailing ships, and 90 to 100 fire attack ships. Forward Heading towards Kinmen Island.”
The telegram was sent by the scouts of the special reconnaissance team ambushing Xiamen Island. Mingqiu saw the telegram and realized that the enemy's "Decisive Battle" fleet was approaching him. The fire attack ship was Zheng Zhilong's last trump card. This time he attacked the opponent. He must have come with the idea of fighting to the death.
He looked at the current current and wind direction. The enemy was coming with the wind and the current, and the speed might be as high as 5 to 6 knots. Based on this calculation, they would encounter them in less than two hours.
The enemy can easily detect them - the billowing black smoke emitted from the chimney is enough to become the most obvious mark. The enemy is well prepared and will definitely try their best to intercept the first team at sea and conduct a "decisive battle."
At 8 o'clock, the rapid drumbeat of preparations for war sounded. The sailors who had been somewhat relaxed became nervous again. Everyone began to carry out pre-war preparations again: clearing the fighting positions and checking the gun bores. Each gun began to slowly rotate and pitch. The gunners imagined Looking at the enemy appearing on the horizon, simulation exercises began. The sailors crowded below the deck were ordered to rest - they had no room to lie down and sleep, so they closed their eyes one by one and took a nap. They knew that they had experienced an exciting moment. After the dawn of the human heart, I'm afraid I won't be able to lie down and rest until the next morning.
At 9:17, the Qingdian emitted an unusually thick black plume of smoke due to engine overheating, which attracted the attention of the sailors on the mast of Zheng Lian's flagship in the northwest.
Zheng Lianyuan was looking for fighter planes - the longer the sea voyage, the more disadvantageous it was for him. It was quite difficult for a large number of sailing ships to sail in formation. Although it was in an inland sea like Xiamen Bay, the Zheng family had many formations sailing. However, more than 100 fire attack ships with outdated conditions are required to maintain a stable course and speed for a long time, and it is really difficult to cooperate with the cover fleet.
Now that the sailor spotted the smoke column, he realized that the Australian fleet was right in front of him. Zheng Lian visually checked that the wind direction and tide were in his favor. His confidence increased and he immediately ordered the helmsman to turn the rudder and sail in the direction of the smoke column.
At 9:19, the lookout on the Lichun reported: "100 enemy ships. Heading 25 nautical miles west-northwest, approaching."
The news of enemy contact was reported to the four following gunboats through semaphore and light signals.
The Lichun kept sailing and continued to move forward, with all its artillery pointing in the direction of the incoming enemy ships. Mingqiu was not worried at all about the 19 Zheng family's warships - they were all delivering food. The only ones that were somewhat threatening were the fireships. Once they were attacked by the fireships, The consequences of a collision would be disastrous - Zheng Zhilong used fire attack tactics many times. He also used this to severely damage Dutch warships. He has successful actual combat experience. It must be treated with caution.
In order to deal with the common fire attack tactics in the South China Sea, Lichun and the other four gunboats were each equipped with a 5-barrel Hotchkiss manual rotating gun. As a supplement to the typewriter, these two rapid-fire weapons were effective against small
Ships have a strong killing effect. They are a powerful weapon against "sea of ships" tactics such as fire attack ships.
Of course, even without these, the Senate Navy was not afraid of fire attack ships - the British had neither typewriters nor Hotchkiss rotating guns in 1840. They destroyed the Manchu Qing Dynasty with only rowboats and steam paddle steamers.
All fire attack operations. The Senate's attention to this is nothing more than a reaction under the dual thinking of "paying attention" and "crushing".
Since the first battleship only had five battleships, Mingqiu no longer made any complicated tactical arrangements. He ordered to send out a signal: "Follow me!" Then he boosted the boiler pressure and sailed towards the enemy fleet at a speed of 12 knots.
At 9:30, the lookout sailor who climbed on top of the mast of Zheng Lian's ship discovered a large smoke column on the southeastern sea level. After a moment of fire, he began to identify the towering mast, which was the front mainmast of the Lichun. The distance between the two sides was 5,500 meters.
rice.
The whine of conches rang out one after another on the deck of Zheng Lian's fleet. Zheng Lian paid attention to the fire attack fleet on the right side of his fleet on the poop. More than 100 fire attack ships formed a column several nautical miles long.
, looked very spectacular. However, the long voyage made their queue very long. He was a little anxious. In this case, it would be difficult for the fire attack ships to play a swarming role, and they would be easily avoided or even sunk by enemy ships.
"Lower the topsail and let the fire attack ships catch up!" Zheng Lian issued the order.
Mingqiu had been observing the enemy's movements with telescopes. He noticed that Zheng Lian's fleet began to lower its sails. He realized that the enemy was waiting for the fire attack ships to catch up. The fire attack ships came in different sizes, ship types, and speeds.
It is impossible to coordinate, and some will be faster and some will be slower. In order to ensure that the fire attack ship can form an overwhelming numerical advantage in a short period of time, the enemy must slow down to wait for the lagging ship to catch up.
This is the time to defeat each one. He ordered: "Left rudder 15 degrees. Full speed forward!"
"15 degrees - left -" the helmsman repeated his command in a prolonged tone. At this time, the engine room bell rang, and a large amount of black smoke spewed out of the chimney at the beginning of spring. The machines and boilers rumbling below the deck
The roar shook the deck.
The four gunboats following Lichun adjusted their course one after another to seize the T-shaped position.
Li Huamei was standing at her sentry post on the deck, eating dry food for breakfast. In addition to the hard navy rice cakes, each person also had a cup of black tea with sugar, which was both refreshing and quick to replenish calories. During the early morning shelling operation
Li Huamei felt that she had not contributed much - she just stood at the sentry post to see if there was any abnormality, waiting for orders. Although she did not get an order from beginning to end, she had already consumed a lot of calories in the strong excitement and nervousness.
, so that this dry and tasteless navy ration became delicious.
Suddenly a whistle sounded on the deck: "Prepare for battle!"
Li Huamei quickly stuffed the remaining biscuits into her mouth and drank the tea in one gulp. She stood up and stared into the distance. The Zheng family's fleet had already come out?
If they had just beaten the Zheng family by surprise and were unable to win, then this time the two sides could be considered to have set up a grand formation and fought face to face. Li Huamei knew that the Zheng family dared to defeat the Zheng family when the main force was wiped out.
If he comes out to fight, he will definitely use his usual trump card - the fire attack ship.
In terms of the power and range of cannons, the Zheng family's fleet is by no means an opponent, but the fire ships are their only bargaining chip to turn defeat into victory. Li Huamei is very curious and wants to see how the Australians will deal with this sea of fire attack ships - you know
The Dutch were also very upset about this.
As he spoke, he raised the telescope he bought from the Dutch and slowly pulled out the lens tube. The sea surface was as smooth as a mirror, and the Australian warship began to reveal a blurry silhouette: a big guy! The mast was towering and puffing out black smoke.
, behind it, four black warships lined up in a column and cut through the waves towards this side. Each ship was as majestic as a mountain, as motionless as the earth, with black smoke billowing and sweeping in like fire. Zheng Lian's hand shook involuntarily.
. He knew it was too late to wait for the fire attack ship to arrive, so he had to fight immediately and hold off the enemy first, so he shouted:
"Light the match!"
Lighting the match rope was an order for the battle to break out. As the command was passed on, the gunners took off their shirts, lit the match rope, and opened the gunpowder cans. Each one of them held their breath and waited for the leader's order to fire.
At this time, Zheng Lian's warships were arranged in three lines. Two European-style "plywood ships" and three three-masted gunboats sailed in column. On the other side were 14 large Guangzhou ships and Fu ships, sailing in double columns. In these two lines,
Further north, there is a fire attack fleet that is not in formation and is several nautical miles long from head to tail.
At this time, the first battle team was heading south-west of the main column of Zheng Lian's fleet, forming a tilted T with Zheng Lian's fleet. Although the formation was not perfect, it was enough for the first battle team to use its broadside.
of firepower.
The fleets of both sides began to get closer, with a distance of 4,500 meters, and the gunners of the first team were gearing up. The sailors pushed the loading rod, and grenades were loaded from the muzzle into the barrel. The artillery began to rotate, and the barrel was raised, ready to fire at any time.
The warships of both sides are getting closer and closer, sizing each other up at such a close distance. The two largest maritime forces in the entire East Asian sea are about to fight to the death. The Senate wants to rule the sea, and the Zheng family wants to monopolize trade. Both sides refuse to give in. The bodies of the warships are in the waves.
Ups and downs, gradually closing the distance, heavy and slow.
Li Ziping was in the shooting control tower at this time - he was not very confident about the gunnery skills of the naturalized civilian navy officers, so he came to supervise himself. He explained every aspect of the shooting: "Be brave and careful! Don't panic!" he said.
He lit the cigar in his mouth and stared at the approaching Zheng family battleship in the distance.
The distance between the two sides is 2800 meters, which is almost the maximum shooting distance of the 24-pound copper cannons on Zheng Lian's flagship. Zheng Lian knew that although this cannon could hit such a distance, it would only make a sound when fired at this distance. Zheng Lian knew
He was not an ignorant pirate. He often came into contact with European sailors and ships. He knew that during naval battles, the Dutch and Spanish had to approach a distance of 100 to 200 feet before firing. Therefore, he has been slow to give the order to fire.
But Mingqiu was ready to make full use of their advantages. Although the accuracy of firing at this distance was not high, their rifled guns and primitive fire control technology gave them a considerable advantage.