"How thick of steel armor do the Chinese use?" The captain of the British warship Scottish Highlands, who was forced to withdraw from the battle, roared, "We hit it dozens of shells, and the Chinese ship didn't even smoke!" ”

The sea breeze blew in through the broken windows of the Scottish Highland's broken command room, and the smoke that had once filled the storage room was blown away, but the pungent smell of gunpowder did not disappear completely. At this time, thick smoke was billowing on the sea, and more than ten British Navy warships had withdrawn from the battle sequence. No warship had sunk so far, but smoke billowed from the British warship that had withdrawn from the battle sequence, and sailors were desperately trying to extinguish the flames on the hull. Even the British warships in the middle of the battle still fought hard while there was black smoke on them, and they looked brave, heroic, and lively.

On the other hand, the Chinese warship, except for the chimney and gun muzzle constantly spewing flames, the rest of the ship is quiet. The smoke from the chimney mixed with the smoke from the artillery fire, forming a vague haze, in which no human figure could be seen on the warship, and a feeling of indifference and silence came over the face.

Four hours have passed since the beginning of the battle, and the fleets of China and Britain are now only 1,000 meters apart. The fleet first went north side by side, and the British fleet tried to get closer to the Chinese fleet in order to give full play to the power of their naval guns, and the Chinese fleet also adjusted its course according to the westward course of the British fleet, and finally kept the distance between the two sides at a distance of 1,000 meters. After such adjustments, the course of the fleets of both sides has changed from a northward to a southwesterly direction.

The navy of the world hegemon is not in vain, it has exerted extraordinary combat capability in the rough seas, the entire fleet is full of artillery fire, and the shells that rain down on the Chinese ships have smashed up waves on the sea, and some strange bulges have swelled on the sea from time to time, which is the effect of the British delay fuse detonating the burst bomb that sank under the water.

The rate of fire of the Chinese navy is not fast, but in the eyes of the British navy, this unpleasant rate of fire is much more dangerous than the ferocious fire of the British guns. There are too many factors that affect shooting in the bumpy sea, and the rate of fire of the Chinese Navy is clearly determining the best shooting elements. As soon as a shot hit the British warship, the guns of the Chinese Navy would suddenly accelerate, and in an instant, five or six shells would fly at the same rate.

The British fleet was large in number and had more artillery. The total number of bullets on both sides was about the same, but the British warships were badly damaged, while the ironclad of the Chinese warships was as if they had received the blessing of Satan, and no matter how many shells they received, the ironclad remained strong. The captain of the Scottish Highland saw with his own eyes that a 9-inch cannon shell fired by the ship hit the middle side of the Chinese warship, and the iron ball with huge kinetic energy made the entire Chinese warship tremble, but the iron armor was not damaged, it was not broken, and it was smashed out of a big hole, and it was only smashed out of a big hole.

The return fire of the Chinese warship hit the side of the Scottish Highland, and after almost three shots in the same part, the screams of the damage control officer came out of the microphone, "The iron armor on the port side has fallen off!" ”

Moments later, several more shells concentrated on the Scottish Highlands, and the wooden base without ironclad protection was easily blown through, and the explosion of a shell that hit the foredeck of the warship shattered the glass of the command room. Because the huge tremor almost knocked everyone in the command room down, the flying glass shards actually caused no casualties.

The British navy now has a tradition of fighting in the face of the enemy, and there is absolutely no reason to desert. But Britain is Britain after all, and during the battle they did not order the damaged warships not to be allowed to withdraw from the battle columns. The damage manager with the head breaking the blood column reported that the side side had been blown through, and the gun bay had lost its combat effectiveness. The Scottish Highland had no choice but to withdraw from the fight.

His own ship lost its combat effectiveness after receiving five or six guns, and each Chinese warship could still continue to fight vigorously after receiving at least fifty or sixty guns.

It was the cruiser Wuzhou that hit the Scottish Highlands, and the firing commander Deng Shichang was in the No. 1 turret to direct the shelling. There was a loud bang, as if someone had slammed the shell of the No. 1 turret with a sledgehammer. Deng Shichang was just as if he hadn't heard it, and the artillery commanders and fighters in the turret who were focused on shooting also turned a blind eye to the fact that the ship's hull was hit. The battlefield is such a place, and since human flesh and blood cannot defeat death, then everyone can only ignore death. Panicking in the face of death can only end up being a faster one. Now Deng Shichang is even more immersed in the passion of naval warfare, and death or something has long been absent from Deng Shichang's thinking circuit. Deng Shichang shouted loudly: "Do you see the enemy's iron armor falling?" ”

"Didn't pay much attention!" The commander replied bluntly.

Deng Shichang continued to shout: "When you shoot again, lower the muzzle firing angle a little, I see that if the British guys' side iron armor is hit a few times in a row, it may be able to shake their iron armor down!" ”

"All I can say is give it a try!" The commander shouted.

Deng Shichang didn't ask too much, and it was the first time he really saw the fall of the iron armor. This kind of work of artillery is a mistake of a thousand miles, and the slightest change in the shooting elements will cause a huge gap. It's easier said than done, but it's very difficult, or even impossible. However, this does not mean that Deng Shichang can refuse to do these things with such reasons.

Up to now, the Chinese People's Navy has shown strong combat capabilities. Both navies have artillery, both have ironclad, and both have steam power. What kind of thinking to combine these elements with is the key to distinguishing between high and low. The Chinese navy has done its best to build warships with both protection and firepower, and Deng Shichang believes that victory in the next battle will belong to China.

Coming out of the No. 1 turret, Deng Shichang rushed to the No. 2 turret, ready to tell the turret commander about his thoughts. At this moment, the correspondent walked quickly through the passage, and he shouted at Deng Shichang: "Commander Deng, Commander Ding orders to retreat!" ”

"Why retreat?" Not only Deng Shichang was puzzled, but the chief of staff on the Qingdao also asked in confusion.

Ding Ruchang said calmly: "We don't have much ammunition anymore, and now we see that we have answered the apex of the attack." If it continues to fight, it will not achieve much success, and the danger of the fleet will only increase. It's time to retreat. ”

The officers were full of excitement and puzzlement, the battle has been fought so far, 12 of the 25 British armored ships have been seriously damaged and withdrawn from the British battle columns, 6 against 25 ships, why retreat when 6 against 13 ships?

Without waiting for everyone to question again, Ding Ruchang ordered in an undeniable tone: "Don't be afraid of not fighting, when we retreat, the British are just afraid that they won't let us go so obediently." If the British fleet is out of shape, we will have to go back and take out the fastest British warship. Now everyone obey the order and retreat! ”

No matter how unwilling you are in your heart, you still have to obey the order. The Chinese fleet began to increase its horsepower and break away from the battle line. Britain sent a fleet to chase after it, and although it lost 12 warships, the remaining 13 warships were all ironclad ships with thick skin and huge tonnage. These warships also suffered some artillery, but they were able to continue fighting. If the Chinese Navy continues to fight, they believe that if they write it down, they will be able to inflict heavy damage on the Chinese Navy.

At this moment, the Chinese Navy slyly slipped away. The speed of the British Royal Navy is not as fast as that of the Chinese Navy, and it can be thrown down by the Chinese Navy for about two nautical miles per hour.

After receiving the telegram, Weser let out a long sigh of relief. He personally agreed with Ding Ruchang's judgment that since the British Navy did not have the ability to sink Chinese warships in one fell swoop, there was no need for the Chinese People's Navy, which was at an absolute disadvantage in numbers, to take any more risks. At this time, it was the British who felt embarrassed, and in the face of a Chinese navy with strong combat effectiveness, the British navy did not dare to divide its forces excessively. After the division of troops, it was attacked by the Chinese Navy, and the Chinese Navy would only gnaw the British Grand Fleet from fat to thin with one mouth.

Of course, Weese still has things to do. On the evening of October 14, the Chinese Foreign Ministry summoned the British ambassador to China and asked why the British Navy had suddenly attacked the Chinese fleet in the Tsugaru Strait, which had passed through completely innocently. Such an action is a blatant provocation by Britain against China, and China will surely strike back mercilessly.

In the early morning of October 15, the Lion Rock Fort in Kowloon, China, began a heavy bombardment towards Victoria Harbour. The infantry rode on the landing ship and slaughtered Hong Kong, which was bombarded by heavy artillery. The Governor of Hong Kong saw that the outer defense system had been completely breached, and the Liberation Army dragged artillery over to aim at the Governor's Palace, and obediently raised the white flag of surrender before the shelling began.

On October 21, the Chinese embassy received a notice by cable telegram and immediately lodged the strongest protest with the British side and demanded an explanation from the British side. There is no point in singing this kind of diplomatic drama, but it is not okay not to sing it. Of course, the British government knew that it had given the order for the fleet to attack the Chinese fleet, and on the day of the Chinese ambassador's protest, the British government announced that Britain had declared war on China because the Chinese fleet had attacked the British navy.

This news did not cause any special repercussions among the European governments, and the notice had already been notified, and Britain naturally would not talk about it if there was no need to notify it. This news shook the European people, and that's all. Even among the people, people of insight knew very well that the war had already begun, and that the declaration of war was just a formality for Britain to make up after the fact.

Britain's intelligence transmission was slower than China's, and it was not until October 29 that Britain got the news that it was actually the Chinese navy that had initiated the attack. Although the battle did not sink the ships, 12 British armoured ships were damaged. This news was a slap in the face to Downing Street, who had thought that the British fleet had escorted the Japanese Meiji government's land forces to land in the Ezo Republic, and that the British fleet was already shelling Chinese cities along the coastline.

In reality, the British non-armored ships did not dare to leave the port, the armored ships had to leave some to defend the port of Tokyo, and the remaining ships were just ready to escort the Meiji government army to the Republic of Ezo. The strategy of taking advantage of the north wind to move south was severely damaged before it began. What's more, the Japanese saw 12 wounded armored ships, but they were scared enough. The entire Meiji government was full of people's hearts. Although there is still confidence in the British Navy, this confidence has begun to decline as the situation has changed.