"Stop shooting! Close the ammunition depot! All ships pay attention! Be prepared for collisions and fire-fighting!" Schneider issued the order. On the Pearl River, the gunners put the ammunition of the guns into fireproof ammunition boxes to prevent sparks from falling.
ignite.
Several sailors wearing life jackets and safety ropes stood on both sides of the bow holding hooked bamboo pennies, ready to push the fire ship away.
The gunfire stopped completely, and the leading gunboat began to pass through the first wave of fire attack ships. Under the double destruction of shelling and burning, the density of the fire attack ships had become much thinner, but the sailors on the gunboats still had to use bamboo frequently.
Peng pushed away the approaching fire attack ships. Some fire attack ships had even touched the gunboats. However, the sailors' quick push prevented the fire from spreading - there were no flammable items such as sails on the steam engine-powered gunboats.
When some sparks and fires fell, they were quickly extinguished by the sailors who were waiting for them.
More intensive fire attack ships floated down. With the push of the sailors' pennies, one by one floated past the ship. The thick smoke and the high temperature of the flames scorched the fleet. The sailors wore masks one after another.
Put on an activated carbon mask.
Although the smoke was shrouded in smoke, through his telescope, he could still see some plain-clothed natives running along the towpath. It was obvious that they were spies sent by the Ming army to observe the effects of the fire attack.
That's about it, Schneider thought.
One after another, the fire attack boats drifted past the side of the Pearl River. The sailors shouted and pushed the bamboo poles hard. From time to time, soldiers holding fire bats and buckets ran up and down, beating them and extinguishing them.
The fire. Although it was a bit noisy, it did no harm.
Several gunboats were hit hard by the fire attack ship because they could not avoid it, and they were unable to separate for a while. The nearby gunboats quickly came over to help drag the fire attack ship away.
Xiong Wencan listened to the sound of cannons in the distance. The sound of cannons ten miles away was a little blurry, but he listened very carefully and tried his best to judge the battle situation from the sound of cannons.
Reports kept coming: Navy Commander Cao Bajiao's fire attack ships had been launched; the Kun thieves were shelling the fire attack fleet; the river was filled with thick smoke, and the Kun thieves Navy's ships could no longer be seen clearly...
Every time these vague newspapers were delivered, the masters of the shogunate would eagerly take them after Xiong Wencan read them. Several people gathered together to discuss them, as if they wanted to see unfavorable news about the Kun thief from the words.
A few people would walk to the wooden diagram and meditate, as if they had some strategies in mind.
Only Xiong Wencan himself knew very well that these masters were as helpless as himself. Apart from hoping that the fire attack ship would achieve a complete victory, there was no clever plan to deal with the Kun thieves.
He remembered that Chang Qingyun once suggested that he make mines such as the "Hunjianglong", which could not only be used for river blockades, but also float down the river. However, under the auspices of Chang Qingyun, several mines were trial-produced according to the drawings of "Armed Forces"
, it’s not that the incense head is not stuck properly when igniting the fire - either early or late; it’s that there is a problem with the sealing of the mine. If the sealing is not good, water will enter directly. If the sealing is too good, the igniting fire inside will be simmered out.
.No matter whether they pay a lot of money or use a cane, the craftsmen can't always make something satisfactory. By chance, they make a usable one. Two or three kilograms of gunpowder cannot even explode the thicker ship plank. If more gunpowder is used, it will be necessary.
Letting mines float on the water becomes another problem.
It was always said that Australians were nothing more than "wonderful and clever", but at this moment he wished that there were a few "wonderful and clever" craftsmen among those craftsmen!
What a bunch of rubbish! They only know how to spend and get money. If they do something bad, they will kowtow and beg for mercy! Xiong Wencan once wanted to chop off the heads of several craftsmen to scare the monkeys, but in the end he decided to do it after Chang Qingyun’s persuasion, but everyone was beaten severely.
With eighty military sticks, he held his head high and asked the county magistrate to pay him back his wages.
Waste is waste, and there are really not many craftsmen who can make firearms, so he has ordered these craftsmen and their families to be put on the ship and shipped to Wuzhou in advance.
Chang Qingyun also listened silently to the sound of cannons. The sound, as dull as thunder, was the Australian navy's cannon. The continuous, fine and continuous sound was their fast artillery and blunderbuss. Needless to say, it was the navy of the thieves who were setting fire to attack the ship.
.
He has more knowledge than the average master and knows that fire attack ships are useless in open waters, but the Antelope Gorge is narrow and has the advantage of smooth sailing, so he feels that there is still hope.
As long as a few ships of the Kun thieves can be burned, they will be able to know how powerful the Ming Dynasty is, and they will not be so arrogant when negotiating in the future! Chang Qingyun had not even thought of the words "defeat the Kun thieves" at this time. In his opinion,
This is impossible. Only by asking them to pay a considerable price every time they win a battle can the Kun thieves negotiate peace with the Ming Dynasty.
"The sound of cannons and cannons has stopped as we build the platform," said an aide.
Xiong Wencan nodded slightly, indicating that he understood. From Kuixing Pavilion, you could see the black smoke filling the direction of Antelope Gorge. It was obvious that the fire was very strong. Could it be that the enemy ship had been ignited? The staff all had this thought and were nervous.
Watching.
Another report came: black smoke filled the river, flames shot into the sky, and all the pirate ships were caught in the fireworks...
"Okay!" Xie Shiming was the first to cheer, "Congratulations, Mr. Taiwan Maker! This bandit's ships must have caught fire!"
At this moment, like a stone causing a thousand waves, all the staff and generals in the room stood up and echoed.
"Master Taiwan is so brilliant and far-sighted that in the midst of chatting and laughing, the thieves were wiped out in ashes!"
"Zhou Yu, Kong Ming's resurrection is nothing more than that!"
"That's wrong! Does Cao Bing have fast cannons and huge ships? Zhou Yu and Kong Ming are far inferior!"
"Kun thief claims to be undefeated in a hundred battles since he raised his army, but today he was finally defeated by the master of the army!"
…
The atmosphere in Kuixing Pavilion also changed from solemn to quite relaxed. Only Chang Qingyun remained silent. He knew very well that the "fireworks filling the river" may not necessarily be Australian ships burning. Because Australian warships have guns and cannons on board.
There is a lot of gunpowder, and the current newspaper in Tang said that "the river is full of fireworks", but there is no sound of gunpowder exploding here, indicating that the warships of the Kun thieves have not been damaged.
Xiong Wencan also looked happy. However, as a high-ranking official in the border area, he was very particular about keeping his emotions and emotions in plain sight, so he just twisted his beard without saying a word and ordered someone to go find out the truth.
"nnd," Schneider cursed. The smoke from the burning fire attack ship made him almost unable to open his eyes. The visibility became very poor. The burning straw was blown up by the wind and turned into sparks all over the sky. If it weren't for
The ammunition box had been ordered closed in advance, and the propellant might have been ignited by sparks.
The sparks ignited many of the ship's cloth products. Although the canvas sails had been stowed away before entering the battle, many holes were burned into the signal flags on the Pearl River.
Schneider paced on the bridge, trying to observe his surroundings. He was worried that the thick smoke would obstruct his vision, which would not only shorten the response time of the fire-evading ship, but also prevent him from seeing the situation of each ship clearly.
"Pay attention to putting out the fire!" Ruan Xiaowu issued the order while paying attention to the river. Now the river is full of burning ships. Although the Pearl River has sailors in front to push the fire attack ship, it will still be hit by the fire attack ship. Every time
A collision will cause a large amount of burning straw on the fire attack ship to be thrown off the ship, and sometimes the scattered straw fire can even cover the whole deck.
Fortunately, although the straw fire is very strong, its staying power is not very strong. As long as the sailors slap it in time, it will soon turn into black fly ash.
However, this was already a dangerous situation, and beads of sweat began to appear on Ruan Xiaowu's face as he kept giving orders loudly.
The emergency whistle of a ship in distress came from the smoke, and Schneider became anxious. Judging from the sound of the whistle, there were about 2 to 3 gunboats on fire. However, he could only know the approximate location of the ship in distress based on the sound.
It is unclear which ships are in distress and what the situation is.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew away the black smoke that shrouded the canyon. Only then did Schneider see the surrounding situation clearly. There were burning and floating fire attack ships everywhere, and some of them had already run aground on the shore.
Some of them collided with each other and became tangled together during the drift, turning into burning fires. They slowly circled along the river and drifted downstream.
Schneider's heart suddenly sank. A No. 67 Daihatsu gunboat in the leading team was surrounded by several fire attack ships. The fire had engulfed the front deck. The sailors stood on the bridge and the bridge that had not been swallowed up by the flames.
The turret was desperately beating the flames. However, the flames became more and more fierce, almost approaching the middle cab.
"Send a signal and tell No. 67 to abandon ship!"
Although he was reluctant, the matter had come to this, and any more desperate efforts would only cost the lives of sailors. He secretly resented that it would be great if these small boats also had the radios on large warships, so that he could keep track of the situation of each ship at any time.
, rather than just relying on semaphores and light signals.
"Asshole!" Schneider cursed. He saw that the No. 41 boat was also on fire but was still putting out the fire. He quickly gave the order, "Order No. 41 to abandon ship! Quick!"
No. 41 had been pulled out of the messy pile of fire-attacking ships by a nearby gunboat. However, it was engulfed in fire from head to toe. Its captain and sailors tried to save the small boat.
A small area of the rear deck was desperately fighting flames. Several gunboats nearby also approached, and some sailors lowered their water pumps and used water hoses to extinguish the fire.
Suddenly, a white light flashed in the middle of gunboat No. 41, and then a violent explosion sounded across the river - the ammunition exploded! The violent explosion tore the hull into pieces, and in an instant, the gunboat above the waterline was
All parts were gone. A piece of the exploded hull slammed onto the deck of the Pearl River, and white smoke was still rising.
The captain and sailors disappeared in the flames of the explosion in an instant, and an arm fell into the river from Schneider's eyes.
"Send a signal to the ships behind: pay attention to salvage the remains of the martyrs!" Schneider tightened his grip on the armrest on the bridge and ordered loudly.