Late at night on March 11, a group of scouts galloped into the city of Shenyang.

"Garrison Ma Gen Shan Ranger asks to see the Chief Soldier" Scout Captain He Ping hurriedly ran to the General Soldier's Mansion and dismounted. The guard in front of the door saw that it was the scout captain sent by He Shixian's general army in the early stage, and hurriedly took him to the festival hall.

The inside and outside of the festival hall are brightly lit, the surrounding guards are fierce, the knife is unsheathed, and the bow is wound.

"My lord, the scouts have news that on the 10th day of the first month of March, Nurha Chiqin led the army of the Eight Banners to set off from Salhu New Town, and marched towards Shenyang with "planks, ladders, and chariots down the Hunhe River and waterways". Deputy Chief Soldier You Shigong hurriedly walked in and said.

He Shixian and the generals were looking at the map, "Where are you now" He Shixian did not move, did not raise his head, still continued to look at the map near Shenyang spread on the big table, and continued to ask.

"I have already passed Lord Wangtun, and it is estimated that I will be able to get to the city tomorrow morning." You Shigong said.

"That is, the alarm has been heard, and the report has been raised. Inform the various castle guards. He Shixian said. The armies distributed gunpowder and cannons, all entered the positions, set fires for cooking, and had a full meal before the early morning. ”

When Shenyang entered the war preparations, fifteen ironclad propeller ships were silently swimming against the current in the dark. On the shore of the fleet 30 miles away, the army of 60,000 Eight Banners was heading south along the Hunhe River, and 100,000 slaves were driving carts of oxen, horses, camels, and donkeys, carrying heavy loads, and marching forward with difficulty in the newly civilized frozen soil.

"Dashuai, I see, a thousand meters ahead of the convoy of Jiannu was found, there are about thirty to fifty boats visible at present, and the draft is very deep" In the brass pipe communication system, the report of the lookout on the mast on the top of the ship was heard.

Li Jing immediately ordered, the whole army marched at full speed in columns, an order, the lightly loaded fifteen ironclad ships suddenly accelerated, this night attack, Li Jing did not load too many soldiers, this time the purpose is a water battle, annihilating the enemy's fleet, in addition to manpower driving personnel, is gunners and a small number of riflemen, sword and shield soldiers and spearmen.

At present, this unit has been reorganized into an inland river boat column by Li Jing, and Chen Liang, a graduate of the first crash course of the Nanao Island Maritime Academy, has been appointed as the commander. The main direction of operations is inland river operations. In addition to the six early warships of an experimental nature. At present, for the first time, the steel keel and steel ribs were used in the river warship, and the outer side was made of Liaodong ash hardwood, and the outermost layer was covered with carburized steel plate armor three millimeters thick, and the length was increased to 45 meters, the width was 5 meters, and the length-to-width ratio reached the optimal 9. The large aspect ratio is due to the limited manpower after all, and the maximum speed is obtained by appearance. These components were all made in Ma'anshan and shipped to Yingkou Shipyard for assembly.

After repeated discussions at Ma'anshan Inland River Shipyard, Nanao Navy Shipyard and Meihuawu Foundry. At present, the standards for ship artillery have been uniformly determined, and the parameters are determined according to the effective range rather than the maximum range. There is a difference between range, effective range, and maximum lethal range. Range is the distance at which it can hit until it is no longer lethal, effective range is the range at which it can cause heavy damage, and maximum range is the distance at which it can cause lethality (death or damage to people, damage to objects) at what distance.

The effective range is the distance at which the weapon can achieve the expected accuracy and power requirements when firing at a predetermined target. Note that there are three conditions here. Accuracy, lethality and distance.

The effective range of each weapon depends on its performance and the type of target, "expected accuracy and power requirements", in other words, "hit what you want to hit", "kill what you want to kill". The first thing to ensure in the effective range is accuracy, and the so-called "beyond the effective range" means that there is no certainty of hitting, but the lethality is still more than enough.

There are so many factors involved in accuracy that it's just a vague general idea, and the built-in parameters of the effective range specified by the opposing sides of the same weapon may also be different. For example, one side believes that the maximum distance at which a six-pounder gun can penetrate a 20 cm oak plank with a 50% hit rate is the effective range, and this range may be 600 meters. The other side believes that the maximum distance that can penetrate a 30-centimeter oak board with a hit rate of 45% is the effective range, and this range could be 640 meters.

In addition, the quality of the shooter is also a variable, no matter how good the weapon is, it depends on who will fight, the professional gunner of the arsenal can hit 50% in the effective range, and in actual combat, recruits, nervousness, wind direction, rain and snow visibility, gunpowder moisture, terrain elevation, etc. may affect the accuracy.

Effective range is a reference only, because the "expected accuracy and power requirements" are artificially given criteria and are always different from the actual environment of the battlefield. With an effective range of 400 meters, it is not surprising that a rifle hits a target at 600 meters. Similarly, a sniper rifle with an effective range of 800 meters does not guarantee a 100% hit at range.

Li Jing's requirement for the effective range of naval guns is to effectively penetrate the maximum distance of a 50-centimeter-thick teak or oak ship's side under the premise of zero sea conditions, no wind and no waves, and an accuracy of 50% of the hit rate. According to Li Jing's request, the newly established Naval Artillery Committee made standardized standards for casting guns.

6-pounder gun: caliber 84 mm, gun length (caliber multiple) 24, muzzle velocity 416 m/s, effective range: 600 m live ammunition / 400 m shotgun, ammunition volume: 4 kg live ammunition / 8 kg shotgun, rate of fire 1 round / min, gun carriage weight 290 kg.

8-pounder gun: caliber 108 mm, gun length (caliber multiple) 24, muzzle velocity 410 m/s, effective range: 800 m live ammunition / 600 m shotgun, ammunition volume: 8 kg live ammunition / 8 kg shotgun, rate of fire 1 round / min, gun carriage weight 580 kg.

12-pounder gun: caliber 122 mm, gun length (caliber multiple) 24, muzzle velocity 410 m/s, effective range: live ammunition 900 m/shotgun 900 meters, ammunition volume: live ammunition 12 kg/shotgun 12 kg, rate of fire 1.5 rounds / min, gun carriage weight 880 kg.

24-pounder gun: caliber 155 mm, gun length (caliber multiple) 36, muzzle velocity 435 m/s, effective range: live ammunition 1300 m/shotgun 1100 meters, ammunition volume: live ammunition 24 kg/shotgun 40 kg, rate of fire 1 round/min, gun carriage weight 1880 kg.

36-pounder gun: caliber 180 mm, gun length (caliber multiple) 39, muzzle velocity 467 m/s, effective range: live ammunition 1500 m/shotgun 1200 meters, ammunition volume: live ammunition 36 kg/shotgun 60 kg, rate of fire 0.5 rounds / min, gun carriage weight 2880 kg.

600 mm mortar gun: caliber 600 mm, gun length (caliber multiple) 6.2, muzzle velocity 210 m / s, effective range: live ammunition 750 m / shotgun 520 m, rate of fire 1 round / min, gun carriage weight 1330 kg.

The new Apocalypse Type 1 river warship has a draft of 1.5 meters, a standard displacement of 270 tons, a maximum speed of 10 knots, and is divided into nine watertight silos and two decks. There are three floors: deck, gun bay deck, and bottom compartment.

On the first level, the deck is equipped with a 3 mm steel roof that slides forward and backward in a curved shape, and the 3-meter section can be opened by sliding back and forth. Gun windows and fixed gun emplacements are reserved on the bulwark. If you are carrying an army, you can mount the three-pounder gun on the bulwark gun window. The second level of gun compartment deck is equipped with naval guns. The bottom compartment is a separate power compartment.

The bottom compartment is arranged with a longitudinal axis and 36 bicycles arranged horizontally. Due to the ease of maneuvering and the ability to navigate at sea in low sea conditions, it is designed to have a flat V-shaped culet. Only the middle line is taller, the longitudinal axis is at the bottom, and the rickshaw is at the top.

The bow of the ship is equipped with a wheelhouse, a steering wheel and a command center, armored 5 mm, flat three-sided large glass windows, half a meter apart, and 5 mm adjustable steel shutter blades. You can see the outside and resist the shells and bullets on the outside.

Armament: One 24-pounder gun with rotating gun emplacements at the bow and stern. In the middle of the deck, a 600-mm rotating mortar was installed. Open the deck roof to launch. Three 12-pounder guns and six 6-pounder guns in the gun compartments on each side of the ship. The bulwarks on the deck can be equipped with 3-pounder guns when carrying the army, and in normal times there are only sailors, sword and shield men, spearmen, and musketeers who are responsible for sailing. At the stern of the ship, a captain's quarters were designed, several officers' quarters and a galley. Sailors and gunners could only live in gun compartments and sleep in hammocks. Meals are also settled on decks and gun bays. The conditions are much worse than those of sea vessels.

In the bottom compartment, with the captain's order, 36 people stepped quickly, the propellers quickly rotated, and the whole boat quickly sailed upstream against the current.