"This is a Chinese warship, and I still remember the pattern of this shelling." Kuroda Kiyoryu, an officer of the Satsuma Domain, said with a strange calmness. The people around him were all in a state of excitement at this time, and no one paid attention to Kuroda Kiyoryu's expression, so as long as Kuroda Kiyoryu didn't shout "This is Ezo's boat", everyone wouldn't be surprised. The Japanese flag fluttered in the sea breeze on the mast of the gray warship opposite, and the owner of this warship may be British, French, Chinese, American, Dutch, or even Spaniards who have been explicitly told that they have been taken from the western Pacific. Whoever the true owner was, the commander of the Meiji government's naval fleet, Masuda Toranosuke, was well aware that this terrifying warship did not belong to either side of Japan.

"Enemy ships are approaching us." The voice of the Japanese lookout post was full of despair. The Kotetsu has an Armstrong 300-pounder gun in the bow, which is a killer feature of the Japanese Navy. The ultimate range of the Armstrong cannon is as much as 4 kilometers, but everyone knows very well that four kilometers away is already the world of gods, and the artillery of human beings at this stage does not have the ability to control the landing point at that distance.

The more reliable distance is now around 400 meters, and the gray warship was originally approached from 2,000 meters to 1,000 meters from Kasuga. Now they are continuing to get closer, and once they reach a distance of about 500 meters, the accuracy of the gray warship's own incomparably accurate shelling can be improved again.

Theoretically, the enemy's proximity to the Armor was also an opportunity, and this distance also entered the effective range of the Armor Iron's guns. In addition to an Armstrong 300-pounder gun in the bow, there were two Armstrong 70-pounder guns, two six-pounder guns, and two 4-pounder mountain guns. Two Armstrong 70-pounder guns were mounted on either side of the ship, and at least one of them was able to exert its power. The Japanese Navy could only pray that the gray warship would rise up and get within the firing angle of the Japanese Navy's guns.

But the gray warship kept its position out of the angle of this gun. At this time, almost all the members of the A-Iron began to pray, some of them were chattering in their mouths, some were looking up at the sky and silently reciting in their hearts, and more were holding the amulet they were carrying tightly with their hands, hoping to stimulate the power contained in the amulet. Amaterasu, various bodhisattvas enshrined in the temple, mountain gods, river gods, foxes, tanuki cats, dogs, and ...... guardians of different types of mana were prayed for.

Perhaps the prayers worked, and the gray warship was hit with a shot. Everyone on the fleeing Armor Iron Subconsciously wanted to cheer, but the sound of cheering was stuck in their necks and their hair couldn't come out. It was a 12-pounder shell from the old warship Current, which hit the bow of the gray warship and was bounced off, leaving not even a trace of the 12-pounder gun on the gray hull.

The only result of this shelling was that the two guns behind the Grey Warship switched from aiming at the Armor to aiming at the Current.

"Please let the ships disperse and break through!" Kuroda Kiyoryu once again said calmly to the commander of the fleet, Masuda Toranosuke. Masuda Toranosuke was stunned at this time, but Kuroda Kiyoryu's calmness made him a little sober at this time. Masuda Toranosuke asked in a daze, "Where to disperse and break through?" ”

After saying this, Masuda Toranosuke sobered up a lot as if he had returned to the light, and he asked Kuroda Kiyoryu, "The other party only has one boat, how can we break through?!" ”

Kuroda Kiyolong was very disappointed in his heart, if it was the Oyama Rock of the Satsuma Domain who led the team, he would not be able to say such a stupid thing with the understanding and determination of Oyama Iwa. From the speed displayed by the Chinese warships not long ago, there is also the speed of the ships of the Meiji government navy of Japan. It was not difficult for a Chinese warship to "surround a Japanese fleet".

"Please let the ships disperse and withdraw!" Kuroda Kiyoryu changed a more reasonable word, and time at this time is more precious than gold and diamonds. The speed of the shelling displayed by the Chinese warships was terrifying, and it didn't take long for the next round of Chinese shelling to begin with just a few more words.

"This ......," Masuda Toranosuke hesitated.

Looking at the ugly state of the fleet commander, Kuroda Kiyoryu was even more disappointed in his heart. A few years ago, the navy of the Satsuma Domain fought fiercely with the Chinese Navy, and some of the ships were able to escape back to the Satsuma Domain, because during the war, the Satsuma Domain saw that the situation was not right, and immediately slapped their butts and retreated. It can be seen that Masuda Toranosuke meant, and he may also hope that other warships can come over to help the Kotetsu, so that other ships can withstand the fire of the Chinese warships, so as to give the Kotetsu a chance to escape. But at the speed of the Armor, this is obviously wishful thinking.

Kuroda Kiyoryu wanted to tell Sù Masuda Toranosuke that the ironclad ship Kaitetsu was the most threatening warship to the Ezo Republic, and since the Chinese had the opportunity to sink the Kaitetsu, they would not let go of this opportunity. Therefore, everyone on the Jiatie is dead and can escape, and strive to fight with China. If you don't have the courage to be loyal, then surrender honestly.

But Kuroda Kiyolong didn't say it, he calmly calculated in his heart. Since Toranosuke Masuda has completely lost his cool judgment, it is useless to say anything. Now Kuroda Kiyoryu needs to think about his own safety, and no longer try in vain to save this fleet that is about to fall.

As soon as I thought of this, I heard the roar of cannons. Everyone on the ship turned their eyes outside. The brave Current, which had just opened fire on the gray warship, also hit a shot. Now the gray warship began to shoot at the current at a distance of 600 meters. It is very likely that the cannon hit by the current was blind, but the shelling of the gray warship was not blind, the first two guns missed, the third shot hit, and then the current was hit three times in a row. Because the shells were hit from an oblique front, they did not completely penetrate the hull. Half a minute later, the inside of the current suddenly exploded. It was clear from the Iron Truck that the people on the deck of the Electric Current, who were unstable under this vibration, fell in the middle of the deck, and even fell directly into the sea near the edge of the deck.

The tragedy in which the electric current plays the leading role is not over, and the first three batteries of the gray warship have begun to fire at the Jiatie, and now the Jiatie has officially become the new tragic protagonist on the stage.

"The current high-explosive bomb is still unstable." In the command room of the Qingdao, the captain talked about this issue with his comrades. At this point in the battle, there was no need for the captain to take special command, and the enemy's artillery could not penetrate the armor of the Tsingtao, and the Tsingtao could make full use of the warship's maneuverability and firepower advantage to sink any enemy one by one. At this time, everyone is concerned about the power of the shelling.

"The armor-piercing bullet has a timed detonation device at its tail, as long as it can be punched in, it can explode. High-explosive shells are mainly used to wash decks. The chief of staff did not raise his voice, and although he and the captain no longer had to worry about winning the battle, they tried not to impress the work of the commander and the captain of the shell.

"Japan's wrecked ship, a high-explosive bomb goes up, and it will be finished immediately." The captain has his own opinion on the current battle.

"What to do after encountering the ship of the British? The number of British ironclad ships is still very large. "The chief of staff also has his own opinion.

While the two were discussing the naval battle, the first three batteries had already begun to fire heavily on the Armor. The desire of the side that fires is to be able to hit the enemy and sink the enemy. What the beaten side wants is not to be hit, not to be sunk. But the gap in equipment between the two sides is too great, no matter how many people on the Kotetsu prayed to various Japanese gods in their hearts, the ethereal gods had no way to interfere with the material world. At the same time that the current began to slowly sink from the stage of tragedy because the ammunition compartment was detonated by the explosives contained in the armor-piercing shell, a 150 armor-piercing shell hit the armor-piercing shell. The sharp cone easily broke through the 140 mm wrought iron armor and shot into the inside of the armor from the side and back.

The violent vibrations caused by the strong collision between the metals could be clearly felt in the command room of the Aoshima, and at the same time that the observers of the Qingdao excitedly shouted, "Hit, penetrate the enemy's iron armor", Masuda Toranosuke heard many people on the deck shouting in horror: "We have been hit!" ”

Masuda Toranosuke's face turned pale, and he shouted to his men, "Go and see how it is!" ”

Damage management is a very professional position, and the British Navy, the French Navy, and the Chinese Navy all have special damage management personnel. The Japanese Navy did not have such a position, and after the order of Masuda Toranosuke was issued, the dizzy Japanese naval officers did not know who should complete this task. It was already a mess below deck, and I was afraid that I would be hit by enemy shells when I ran to see the damage. The danger is too great.

At this moment, Kuroda Kiyoryu volunteered with an extremely cold tone, "I'll go and see!" ”

Where can Masuda Toranosuke manage so much at this time, he hurriedly nodded, "Hurry up!" ”

Kuroda Kiyoryu calmly walked out of the command room, and what he saw at this time was the appearance of the Chinese warship in the distance firing fiercely. The deck was empty, save for the five twin turrets spewing long flames. The iron horn kept vibrating, and the indescribable sound of metal shattering after the iron armor was pierced. The sailors on deck shouted in panic, clutching at ropes, railings, or simply holding on to the mast in order to stabilize themselves in the midst of such violent tremors. Kuroda Kiyoryu walked straight to the side of the ship with good balance, threw a wooden barrel for deck scrubbing that he had seen during his walk into the sea, and then grabbed the side of the ship himself, and jumped into the sea using the impact of the Kaitetsu being hit.

There were also sailors on the deck who saw Kuroda's movements, and some even tried to announce and shouted for the officer to be careful of the bumpy hull. At these levels, the officer, who seemed out of place with his surprisingly calm in the midst of the flustered crowd, was a little too outrageous. By this time, he was still concerned about whether the deck was tidy enough. Remove the barrels that look in the way.

Even the action of Kuroda Kiyoryu turning over the side of the ship left an impression in the confused minds of the sailors that it was more like accidentally falling into the water while inspecting the hull of the ship. Some of the sailors regretted that this very competent officer had fallen overboard, while others felt a gloomy rejoicing that the guy had fallen overboard. Of course, there were also sailors who felt that the officer's actions were like wanting to commit suicide by throwing himself into the sea. However, their attention was quickly diverted from the scene just now, as two more shells hit the Armor, causing the ship to shake violently again. Greater fear immediately permeated the hearts of the Japanese sailors, and compared to this great fear, an officer who fell into the sea was a fart.

As he floated from underwater, Kuroda had already kicked off his cumbersome shoes, and he spun around on the surface of the sea as he stepped on the water, and after a few moments he found the direction of the barrel. Swimming over and grabbing the barrel, using the buoyancy of the air trapped in the inverted barrel, Kuroda Kiyoryu swam away from the Kotetsu.

At this time, the sound of an explosion had already been heard inside the Jiatie, and the Black Sky Blue Dragon sped up and tried to stay away from the Jiatie that was about to finish. The explosions were intermittent, and just ten minutes after Kuroda Kiyoryu escaped from the Kotetsu, the ironclad ship began to sink. The speed of sinking is getting faster and faster, Kuroda Kiyoryu seems to hear something, and then he sees the iron horn break in two and quickly disappear on the surface of the sea. A large whirlpool then appeared on the sea, and those who had not had time to jump into the sea to escape but were temporarily alive were above this maelstrom, and they were involuntarily carried below the surface of the sea by the current. Whether or not you can break free from this and escape a life depends entirely on luck.

Calmly turning his back on his face, Kuroda Kiyoryu continued to swim south. At this moment, a piece of wood that had broken from a sunken battleship floated in front of it. Kuroda Kiyoryu grabbed the wood, feeling that it was much easier to use than a wooden barrel. The cannon fire did not stop, and Kuroda Kiyotaka knew that the Chinese warships were annihilating other ships of the Meiji Navy. With his back to the brutal battlefield, Kuroda Kiyoryu struggled to swim away. Maybe I'll be punished when I go back, right? Kuroda Kiyoryu thought. I'm afraid the punishment will not be light. But if a person can't even protect his own life, he loses everything. So he removed all thoughts from his mind and just started paddling as hard as he could for his life.

The battle officially ended at five o'clock in the afternoon, and all the fleet led by the Katetsu was sunk. The Meiji government army had little left of its naval combat power. On the other hand, the ironclad ship "Kaiyang" of the Republic of Ezo has been towed to China for repair after simple repairs with the help of the Chinese Navy, and it will be able to return to the naval combat sequence of the Republic of Ezo in two months at most. Until the Kaiyang returns to the battle sequence of the Ezo Republic Navy, the Chinese fleet will continue to patrol the Tsugaru Strait. But it is clear to everyone that such inspections are more symbolic than practical. The Meiji government army did not have a navy to fight at all, and even if they did, they would not have the courage to come here again after this battle of a warship encircling a fleet.

The looming crisis in the Republic of Ezo has finally been resolved.