The ten cannons brought by Wang Mo are very special, and the most peculiar thing is that the barrels are very long, nearly 5 meters long.

"Young marshal, what kind of cannon is this?" Li Xudong asked everyone's doubts, they had never seen a cannon with such a long barrel.

"It's called a cannon!" Wang Mo replied, and then waved his hand to signal the transport team to push the ten cannons into the various gun positions of the battery.

"Cannon?" Li Xudong muttered, but he was still confused, and he didn't know what kind of cannon this cannon was.

"Hey-hey-hey-"

The men of the convoy shouted the trumpet, some of them pulled hard with the ropes that held the artillery, and some of them pushed desperately behind, and it took great difficulty to push these ten huge and heavy cannons into the various gun positions of the battery.

Wang Mo stepped forward and patted the long barrel of the cannon, nodded with satisfaction, and then said to Li Xudong and others: "This is a German-made Krupp 120mm long-barreled cannon, with a caliber of 120mm, the length of the barrel is 40 times that of the muzzle, that is, 4.8m, the projectile weighs 21kg, the launch speed is 5/min, and the maximum firing range is 12000m." ”

Oh, my God!

The barrel length of 4 meters 8, how long does this have to be?

To describe it vividly, Wang Mo and Li Xudong are not even the barrel length of this cannon with their arms outstretched.

After listening to the various data reported by Wang Mo, Li Xudong and others wrote it down, but they still didn't understand much about this cannon.

Li Xudong asked, "Young Marshal, why is the barrel of this cannon so long?" You seem to have said before that this cannon is designed for ironclad gunboats? ”

"That's right! This cannon is designed to hit armored targets, including ironclad gunboats, of course! Wang Mo smiled slightly, "As for why the barrel is so long, this is to increase the speed of the shell's ejection and use the powerful kinetic energy to break through the armor protection!" ”

Li Xudong was a little ignorant when he heard this, and it was difficult for him to understand what Wang Mo meant by "strong kinetic energy". But there was one thing he could hear, the cannon could penetrate the gunboat's iron armor.

Wang Mo walked into a gun emplacement, personally shook the gun carriage of a cannon, and lowered the muzzle. Locking on to a British gunboat, he continued: "This cannon is very different from the howitzers you used to use in the past, that is, its shelling angle is direct, while the howitzer is curved. You may not be used to it for a while. ”

At the same time as the explanation, Wang Mo used his hand to compare a parabolic curved shot and a direct shot of cannon direct fire.

Let's put it this way, like the current main artillery of the Sichuan Army Artillery Regiment, the 75mm Grusen Mountain Gun mainly uses the shock wave and shrapnel generated by the explosion of artillery shells to kill and lightly protect against light, or unprotected targets, such as infantry, masonry bunkers and other bunkers. And the cannon. It is to use powerful armor-piercing capabilities to strike protected targets, such as tanks, warships, etc.

Hearing Wang Mo say that the cannon had a completely different angle of fire from the artillery they used in the past, and it was as direct as a rifle, which made Li Xudong's face look embarrassed, and he said hesitantly: "Young marshal, we have never fought this kind of run, and the brothers of the artillery regiment are afraid that they will not be able to hit accurately for a while, and they may not be able to beat the ......."

Li Xudong was hesitant and didn't finish his words.

However, Wang Mo also heard what he meant. It was because he felt that the artillerymen of the artillery regiment could not skillfully use this strange cannon for a while. Even if the cannon could really break through the armor of the British gunboat, what was the use of not being able to hit? Once fought, it was no match for British gunboats at all.

Wang Mo smiled lightly and said, "Don't worry, I'll give you the town, the British gunboats can't turn the sky." You first familiarize yourself with these cannons, and then you will practice with the British gunboats, and if you don't hit, you will be a warning, and if you hit, the British will be unlucky! ”

Wang Mo didn't pay attention to the two British gunboats at all, if the British knew that there were ten 120mm cannons aimed at their gunboats on the side of the battery. You have to be scared to death, how dare you engage in an artillery battle. Take 10,000 steps back, even if you really start a war, there is Wang Mo's command and dispatch. Ten 120mm cannons fired a salvo of two British gunboats because of accuracy, but sinking one of them was not a problem at all.

Just when the artillery of the Sichuan army on the side of the Guishan Fort in Hanyang was stepping up their familiarity with the cannon, there were also countless people in Wuchang on the other side of the river who were paying attention to the blockade of the Yangtze River by British gunboats and naval gunboats.

On a high-rise building by the river, Li Yuanhong put down the telescope in his hand and breathed a sigh of relief. Relieved, he said: "Fortunately, it seems that the Sichuan army did not dare to provoke the English and let the troops force the river to cross." ”

Jin Yongyan, chief of staff of the Hubei Army next to him, said with contempt on his face: "Even if Wang Mo's little cub eats the courage of an ambitious leopard and dares to provoke foreigners, can they beat foreigners gunboats?" The governor can rest assured that the Sichuan army will definitely not be able to cross the river! ”

Li Yuanhong also looked relaxed when he heard this, and said: "That's right, the two English gunboats, even the Beiyang Army dare not provoke, let alone the Sichuan Army." If the Sichuan army can't cross the river, then it's good, then it's good......"

Li Yuanhong no longer expected to defeat the Sichuan army and regain control of the area north of the Yangtze River in Hubei, but he still hoped to continue to rely on Wuchang as the governor of Hubei, and perhaps in the future there would be a chance to drive the Sichuan army out of Hubei. It's good to be a nominal vice president in Beijing in the past, and he doesn't want to live that kind of life like a prisoner.

"If only Wang Mo's little cub was young and vigorous, and on the spur of the moment, he ordered the Sichuan army to go to war with the English gunboats. At that time, Governor, maybe we can use the power of the English to drive the Sichuan army out of Hubei! Jin Yongyan smiled gloomily, as if he had seen the scene of the Sichuan army being expelled from Hubei in embarrassment for provoking foreigners.

Li Yuanhong's eyes lit up and said: "That's right, this may be an opportunity, as long as the Sichuan army and the English go to war, we can use the English to drive the Sichuan army out of Hubei!" Okay, immediately telegraphed Wang Anlan in Xiangyang to immediately lead the Third Division south. When the time came, the 3rd Division immediately attacked and routed the Sichuan army out of Hubei! ”

The more Li Yuanhong spoke, the more excited he became, and he was now extremely looking forward to the war between the Sichuan army and the English, so he raised his binoculars again and craned his neck to watch the situation on the river.

Not only Li Yuanhong was concerned about the situation on the Yangtze River waterway in Wuhan, but President Yuan Da in the north was also thinking about this issue.

"Your Excellency, there is no need for this...... In your Chinese parlance, it's called 'absent-mindedness'. Zhu Erdian took a sip of tea from the teacup, and said with an intoxicated expression, "After coming to China for so many years, Longjing still fascinated me before the rain. ”

Yuan Shikai was still a little uncertain, and said: "If Mr. Ambassador likes it, he will bring a pound back to taste it." ”

Originally, Yuan Shikai only hoped that the British gunboats would come forward to assist the naval gunboats in breaking through the blockade of the Sichuan army's Jiangfang batteries, and then deliver ammunition supplies to the 2nd and 6th divisions in Jiangxi. Unexpectedly, after he mentioned this matter to Zhu Erdian, Zhu Erdian not only agreed very readily, but also offered to help curb the Sichuan army's forces, so there was an incident in which naval gunboats and British gunboats blocked the Yangtze River channel and prevented the Sichuan army from crossing the river.

The British forces represented by Zhu Erdian have always been strong supporters of Yuan Shikai and the Beiyang Group, hoping to replace the Manchu government with the Beiyang Group in order to safeguard British interests in China.

"Your Excellency, if you are worried about the affairs in Wuhan, there is no need at all!" Zhu Erdian looked at Yuan Shikai, who was uncertain, and said with a light smile, "The Sichuan Army doesn't have the courage to offend our British Empire." Even if the Sichuan army really goes crazy and wants to go to war, it will never pose any threat to the powerful gunboats of our British Empire! So, Your Excellency, rest assured. ”

Saying this, Yuan Shikai finally relaxed a little, and said with a slight smile: "I still have confidence in the strength of your gunboats, thank you Mr. Ambassador for your great help this time!" ”

Although he said this in front of Zhu Erdian, Yuan Shikai always had a faint sense of foreboding in his heart. According to common sense, there should be no problems on the Wuhan side, but now the Sichuan army is too difficult to figure out, and there may be any unexpected means.

……

Wuhan, Yangtze River.

Perhaps feeling a little bored, Colonel Kurt simply took out his beloved fishing rod and caught fish on the deck. This situation is not so much like facing war, but like leisure and entertainment.

At this time, Captain Green suddenly shouted, "Your Excellency, Commander, Chinese...... The Chinese have raised the flag! ”

Colonel Kurt didn't look back, still staring at the fishing rod with a focused expression, and said casually: "What can the Chinese say is nothing more than begging us to lift the blockade." Ignore them, though I am a gentleman of the British Empire, I cannot back down to the enemy. ”

"No, Your Excellency, Commander!" Captain Green looked at the flag displayed on Fortress Hill with a telescope, and shouted anxiously, "The Chinese are warning us about war!" Yes, that's right, the Chinese warn us to immediately lift the blockade of the Yangtze waterway, otherwise they will consider it an act of war! ”

"What!" Colonel Kurt put down his fishing rod and heard the Chinese warn of war, and the first thing he felt was not nervousness, but anger, an insulted anger.

"Damn yellow-skinned monkey, how dare you provoke the great British Imperial Navy! Open the artillery, the main guns of each ship immediately open fire, teach the arrogant Chinese a good lesson! Colonel Kurt immediately shouted angrily.

Boom -

As soon as Colonel Coat's words fell, a roaring cannon rang out, and a shell slammed into the river next to the British gunboat, splashing a column of water several meters high.

Whoa-

Colonel Kurt was poured on his head by the splashing water, and suddenly became a chicken in soup, and his neat military uniform was soaked, and the military hat that Kort regarded as the honor of the British Imperial Navy was covered with mud and sand, and a few weeds and debris hung on it.

"War, it's an act of war!" Colonel Kurt roared angrily, "Return fire, all gunboats will fire back immediately!" ”

Colonel Kurt had just given the order to fire back when he heard Captain Green's frightened cry, "Oh God, that's ...... That's a cannon! Oh my God, that's at least a 120mm caliber cannon! (To be continued.) )

PS: The 120mm cannon is sent, the monthly pass and the recommended ticket are loaded quickly, and the cannon is fired at me!