But soon they found out that they were wrong, although the speed of the "Fenyong" dropped but the firepower did not decrease at all, and soon a round of nine-gun salvo returned, and the "Canary" took 4 bullets in a row, and the first shot hit the X turret seat and exploded, causing the X turret to be unable to turn; The second shot pierced the rear anti-aircraft gun platform, and all four two-pounder anti-aircraft guns on the platform were blown up, but fortunately the gunners were transferred to supplement the gun positions (the Spanish believed that this was surface warfare, and the anti-aircraft guns could not be used), and there were no casualties; The third and fourth shots were not so "merciful", they worked together to hit the rear fire control station, and none of the nine officers working in the fire control station came out alive. At the same time, another shell from the "Jieyong" scuttled through the steel plate on the top cover of the A turret and drilled into the turret, and with a muffled explosion, the shooting of the A turret completely stopped, and there was no living person in the turret.

When the "Brave Warrior" and the "Brave Warrior" were fighting to the death with the "Canary Lyric", the "Brave Warrior" and the "Loyal Brave" worked together to deal with the "Lepanto", and the brave destroyer made the most resolute resistance and first fired all 10 torpedoes it carried at the "Brave Warrior", but the overexcited torpedo crew forgot to insure the torpedo during the operation, so although one of the torpedoes hit the "Brave Guy", it still did not explode. After firing the torpedo, the "Lepanto" under the command of Captain Icarus fired at the 18 130-mm naval guns of the "Gangyong" and "Zhongyong" with four 120-mm guns, and miraculously hit the "Zhongyong" two shells, located in the A and B turrets, respectively, but due to the long distance, the 120-mm shells with weak power were blocked by the 50-mm thick turret armor, and the armor plates of both turrets were torn, and the fragments injured several sailors, but did not cause any major damage, "Zhongyong" After the war, the captain of the ship, Deng Zhaoxiang, laughed at himself: "Those two shells have improved the ventilation conditions of turrets A and B, and the operating environment is much cooler. ”

However, the first ship was not so kind to the "Lepanto", 18 130 mm guns fired 126 shells in 30 seconds, the "Lepanto" was beaten beyond recognition, the bridge was directly blown into a pile of twisted metal, Lieutenant Commander Icarus died on the bridge before he had time to give the order to abandon the ship (of course, he did not need to give the order to abandon the ship), the barrels of the 4 main guns were blown off, the turret shield was also drilled out of several holes, and the bullet holes in the hull were as dense as the surface of the moon. Both chimneys were blown up, smoke and steam sizzled out of the breaches, corpses and stumps were strewn across the deck, and the entire destroyer was a Shura field. At 15:06, 6 minutes after the artillery fire on the "Lepanto" completely stopped, the warship suddenly flipped to starboard, capsized in just 14 seconds, revealing the red bottom of the ship with a lot of seashells adsorbed on it, and only 6 of the 192 people on the ship were rescued by the ** ship, and no officers survived.

The remaining destroyer "Admiral Fernandez" can be regarded as a "veteran" who experienced the first two naval battles of Gibraltar, but this is not synonymous with courage and perseverance, this destroyer has long lost the courage to continue fighting, even because of the escape from the second naval battle of Gibraltar, the original captain was shot and killed failed to prevent the spread of this panic atmosphere throughout the ship, although the new captain Lieutenant Commander Casillas is quite bloody, but since the first day of his tenure has been overturned by junior officers and sailors, From the very beginning of the battle, it was not possible to get out of the bridge. The "Admiral Fernandez" dragged at the end of the fleet, from time to time aimlessly firing a few shots to hit the soy sauce, but also suffered a salvo and ate three shells, causing 7 dead and 18 wounded, and then witnessed the sinking of the "Lepanto", the "Admiral Fernandez" decided to surrender, although the captain tried his best to oppose, but to no avail, the first mate Major Cassiano ordered several strong sailors to subdue Lieutenant Commander Casillas and throw it into his officer's cabin. At 15:18 , a white tablecloth on the officer's table was hung on the mainmast signal cable, and soon a larger white sheet appeared, and Lieutenant General Andres, who had studied in China and could speak some Chinese, held a loudspeaker and waved a white handkerchief and shouted in Chinese: "Please cease fire on your ship, we surrender." Beside him, the signalman was waving a small flag vigorously, conveying the same meaning.

Fortunately, the white flag and the language of the flag were understood by the two Chinese minecatchers at the first time, and the order was issued on the "Gangyong": "Immediately stop sailing, and assemble all crew decks." ”

The "Admiral Fernandez" did so very obediently, and the two Chinese minecatchers also lowered their motorboats full of surrendered officers and marines and headed for the "Admiral Fernandez". But at this moment, at 15:24, Li Yuxi on the "Gangyong" and Deng Zhaoxiang on the "Zhongyong" received a shocking message from the "Fenyong": "The flagship bridge was shot, and His Royal Highness the Prince's life and death are unknown. ”

"Leave the captives alone, go and save Your Highness immediately! If Your Highness fails, we will all be guilty of death! ”

Li Yuxi understands this truth, Deng Zhaoxiang is not a fool, of course, he also understands that if the prince has a good or bad thing, it will be a major event that will move the country, and the spearhead of public opinion in the whole country will focus on them in an instant, and the crimes such as "greed for merit and abandonment of the master" and "ineffective protection of the lord" can make them and their family's heads all move.

Ignoring the motorboat that had already been released, but after giving the "Admiral Fernandez," which had already surrendered, a signal to "wait for surrender," the "Brave Warrior" and "Loyal Brave" quickly turned around and moved closer to the flagship and the "Brave."

At 15:23, the moment the "Jieyong" was shot, Guo Chengsen, who was supervising the operation of the Y turret on the rear spare bridge, was shocked to the ground by the violent vibration, and the first feeling was that something was wrong, so he hurriedly grabbed the phone and called the bridge, but there was no response, Guo Chengsen was instantly frightened into a cold sweat, and shouted loudly "Your Highness" pushed the door and rushed out.

When he crawled to the position of the bridge, he was stunned by the scene in front of him. The roof of the bridge was completely knocked out without a trace, only 203-mm shells had such a destructive power, the supports were all broken, and the command station was completely covered with wreckage.

"Your Highness! His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, you answer Weichen! - Your Highness - " Guo Chengsen lost his mind, and rushed forward desperately to start pulling the wreckage lifelessly, his hands were quickly cut by the edge of the sharp wreckage, but Guo Chengsen didn't care at all, the prince is his everything, as the prince's adjutant, the prince is lost, he is the first person responsible, and he must not survive. At this time, there was only one thing in his heart: the prince must not have an accident, otherwise, the minister will go with the prince.

"Your Highness—where are you?"

"Chengsen, what are you howling!" When Guo Chengsen shouted out to Jin Yucheng heartbreakingly, a door panel that was only half a meter away from him was pushed open, and the gray-faced Jin Yucheng came out of the door panel with a embarrassed face, and it turned out that when a 203-mm shell fired by the B turret of the "Canary" swept across the bridge, Jin Yucheng was pushed to a corner by the shock wave and air wave, and a door panel just blocked in front of him, so that he was lucky to escape and only suffered a little abrasion. However, others were not so lucky, and 11 officers and men, including the first mate Lan Zeguang (the grandson of Lan Jianshu, the former chief of staff of the Navy Staff), and Ke Zhongwen, the first mate of the guns and artillery (the grandson of the late Vice Minister of the Navy Ke Jianzhang), were blown away by the shells, and their bones were gone. In addition to Jin Yucheng, the signal soldier Wu Shuanghan survived on the entire bridge. The fragments of the bridge also jammed the B turret, and at this point, the main gun group in the forward part of the "Jieyong" was completely disabled.

Seeing that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was still alive, Guo Chengsen was filled with joy and sorrow, "Your Highness, you are still alive, let Weichen see if you are injured." ”

"Less nonsense, His Highness is safe, quick! Go to the rear bridge, beat 'Canary' with the Y turret and order the lightning strike! It's dying! ”

"Yes! Your Royal Highness—" Guo Chengsen responded, and lifted Jin Yucheng up from a pile of wreckage and walked to the rear bridge, while at the same time, the radio room of the "Jieyong" sent a message to the wingman: "The prince is unharmed, the lightning strikes 'Canary' on all ships, don't read it for me." ”

……

At this time, the "Canary" had reached the point of exhaustion, when the B turret shot hit the bridge of the "Jie Yong" almost at the same moment, the last salvo of the "Jie Yong" B turret also hit it, the "Canary" B turret was hit by two shells, two high-explosive shells that had just been raised from the ammunition depot were detonated, the shock wave broke through the top cover of the B turret, and a fragment of the top cover that was broken away smashed into the bridge, like a sharp knife, cut straight into the bridge, and the inside of the bridge immediately flew sideways. Rear Admiral Hernandez and Colonel Moreno were both wounded by fragments, the barrels of the two main guns in the B turret drooped weakly, and the smell of burnt fire and the stench of the fire roasting the human body permeated the ship. In view of the fact that the two turrets A and B in the front were no longer able to fire, and the ammunition in the Y turret was about to run out, the Spanish sailors spontaneously formed a bomb transport group, and the warheads and cartridges were lifted from the ammunition depot in the front through the working shell lifting shaft, and transported by small cart to the Y turret and sent to the replenishment port. However, since the front and rear fire control stations were destroyed, and the X turret equipped with the rangefinder was stuck and ineffective, the Y turret without a rangefinder could only be aimed and fired with the naked eye through the sextant instrument brought by the gunnery officer, which naturally had no accuracy at all.

With the exception of the "Fenyong," which fired a torpedo in an emergency to avoid being detonated because it was hit in the middle of the pack, the "Jieyong," the "Gang Yong," and the "Zhongyong," each fired five torpedoes in a salvo at the Canary in accordance with the lightning strike's order. In the face of the high-speed "Swordfish" MK3 torpedo, although the "Canary" with a damaged power system struggled to evade it, the stern of the ship was still hit by a mine, and the violent explosion blew off all the propellers and rudder blades, and the heavy cruiser of more than 10,000 tons instantly collapsed on the sea.

When the three minecatchers were about to launch a second round of torpedo attacks, a signal came from the bridge of the "Canary": "Our ship is no longer capable of fighting, and the honor of the Spanish Navy does not allow our ship to surrender to your ship, please allow our ship to sink itself and contain the surviving officers and men of our ship, so that our ship will die with dignity." ”

Jin Yucheng thought for a while, "Reply to them: 'Grant your ship's request', the officers and men of your ship are all warriors and will be treated well by our ship, Jin Yucheng, the crown prince of the Chinese Empire, invited your ship generals to board the ship, you are not prisoners, but guests of Jin Yucheng and the Eighth Minecatcher Detachment." ”

After a while, the "Canary" signaled again: "Thank you for the good intentions of your ship, Commander Hernandez and Captain Moreno pay high tribute to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Your Excellency the Commander and Captain are determined to stay on this ship, and the Chief of Staff of the Special Fleet, Colonel Osvaldo, will go to your ship on behalf of you, hoping that your ship will keep its promise and say goodbye." ”

Seeing that Hernandez and Moreno were resolute, Kim Yucheng had no intention of forcing them, and ordered the ships to lower the rope ladders and gangways and prepare to save people. As soon as these people entered the water, they swam hard to swim in the direction of the Chinese minefisher, and a few people rowed the few remaining life rafts (obviously all officers) and rowed hard to the ** ship of the DPRK.

When most of these people were rescued by the Chinese minecatchers, the bow of the heavy cruiser "Canary", which had already opened the Jin's Sea Valve at the bottom, suddenly sank into the water, and the entire hull soon showed a 30-degree angle into the water, and the stern of the ship, which had been broken by the torpedo, was lifted out of the water. The "Canary" slowly sank in this position, and at this time, the six "subjects" of the First Battleship Group appeared in the distant water.

On the deck of the minecatcher "Jie Yong", the sailors were busy cleaning up the debris and wreckage scattered on the deck during the battle, and were busy delivering clean clothes and blankets to the Spanish sailors who had been rescued and soaking wet, and the military doctors in the infirmary were busy checking and treating the wounds of the wounded. Near the rear bridge, Admiral Osvaldo, the former chief of staff of the 1st Cruiser Detachment of the Spanish Navy, led the surviving officers in a line to hand over their swords to Kim Yucheng.

"Gentlemen, how can a naval officer not have a sword, and you should keep your own sword." When Jin Yucheng said this generously, the Spanish sailors present couldn't help but cheer with emotion.

"Thank you for the kindness of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Chinese Empire," Colonel Osvaldo saluted, and held a more finely crafted sword, "This is the saber of Colonel Moreno, the captain of the 'Canary', the colonel thinks that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is the dragon and phoenix of men, and it is a pity that he has not seen it in this life, he hopes that His Royal Highness can accept his saber like a friend accepts a gift from another friend, this is not a surrender, but a private gift from a friend, please His Royal Highness the Crown Prince must accept it." ”

"This friend, I admit it!" Jin Yucheng solemnly took the delicate saber with both hands, "I will cherish it as if it were my own." ”

"On behalf of Colonel Moreno, I would like to express my gratitude to His Highness." Colonel Oswald handed over a piece of manuscript paper in both hands, "This is a handwritten letter from General Hernandez to His Highness, please look at it." ”

The characters are written in Latin, but this is not a big problem for Jin Yucheng, who is fluent in many Chinese, and the old admiral's letter to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is not long, only a few words, but the content is not ordinary: "To be an enemy in this life is really not what my generation wants, if there is a future life, I wish to always be a close friend, never an enemy." ”

Jin Yucheng sighed softly, and carefully folded the last words of Major General Hernandez and put them into the pocket of his newly changed jacket, "Pass the order, all the officers of the detachment from me and below will give up the officer's cabin to our guests, they are warriors, they must not be sarcastic, and those who violate military law will be engaged!" ”

"Yes! Your Highness, but Li Xinchuan and Deng Xiaoxian called to ask for instructions, what to do with the 'Admiral Fernandez' ship? ”

"Cheng Sen, your lieutenant is becoming more and more competent, is this kind of trivial matter still bothering His Royal Highness to judge himself? Tell Li Yuxi that all the troops of the ship will be taken into custody and strictly guarded! The warship was towed back by the 'Loyal Brave', and His Highness had to surrender in battle! ”

"Yes! Your Highness—"

At this time, the six "people" of the First Battleship Corps had already sailed close, and Chen Minye on the flagship "Zimin" saw the tragic situation of the "Jieyong" from a distance through the telescope and was shocked. The entire bridge of the "Jieyong" is like a cardboard box that has been stepped on, and it has changed beyond recognition. But when he saw the signal hanging on the back mast of Jieyong, "The prince is unharmed", he breathed a sigh of relief. At this time, there was nothing left on the battlefield that needed the First Battleship Corps to do, and the original plan was to use the Eighth Minecatcher Detachment as a bait, but now I didn't expect this bait to be so violent, and I swallowed the fish that bit the bait. The "Canary" had completely sunk, the "Loyalty" dragged the "Admiral Fernandez" with a white tablecloth and white sheets to sail past the battlefleet columns with a whistle, and the sailors of the battleship gathered on the deck to cheer "Prince Chitose" to celebrate this victory of the weak against the strong; The "Fenyong", which suffered a great loss of power, was dragged by the lightly wounded "Gangyong" and also passed through the queue and received the cheers of the sailors; Behind him was the Jie Yong, the flagship of the 8th Minefish Detachment, which was moderately damaged but still able to sail under its own power. At this time, the mood of the sailors of the First Battleship Corps was extremely high, and the cry of "Prince Yongwu" resounded in the sky, and when they almost shouted hoarsely, Chen Minyue, who was first shocked and then delighted, ordered the entire fleet to return home.

(End of book)