"Port side ready to fire!"

"Port side ready to fire!"

"Port side ready to fire!"

Seeing that he was being caught up by the British battleship, the captain of a frigate of the East China Sea Fleet, the Chuansha, who acted as a decoy, decisively gave the battle order.

The Chuansha had only 28 guns, including 12 on the port side, which were quickly loaded with propellants, shells and fuses under the operation of a group of artillerymen.

"Gun No. 1 is ready!" The first gunner reported that he was the first to complete the preparations.

"Gun Eight ready!" Gunner No. 8 reported that he was the second to complete the preparations.

"Gun No. 5 ready!" The fifth gunner was ready.

……

"Gun No. 2 ready!" Gunner No. 2 was the last to finish, but he was also very fast, just not as fast as the other gunners.

"Report to the captain, the 12 guns on the port side are ready, whether to shoot or not, please instruct!" The gunner sent a request to the captain.

"It's five miles away!" The sentry on the mainmast lookout shouted.

"It's within the range of our artillery!" The captain raised his eyebrows, and immediately ordered: "Fire at me!" ”

"Fire!"

With the order of the gun commander, the six 18-pounder guns and six 6-pounder guns on the port side of the Chuansha opened fire one after another, and the huge recoil force caused the hull of the Chuansha to suddenly tilt to the right.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The cannon roared, puffing out puffs of black smoke, and shells whistled and fired at the British battleship Birmingham, which had appeared outside the port side.

Five miles apart, this is already the maximum range of the naval guns of the East China Sea Fleet of the Shanghai Army, but it is a full 1~2 miles farther than the British naval guns of the same caliber, because this artillery uses the latest type of firing fire # powder formula, and the power of the shells is also much greater, which is much greater than the power of the flowering shells used by the Russian army in the Crimean War.

However, the accuracy of the front-loading smoothbore gun was too poor. So much so that when the shells flew to a distance of five or six miles, the dispersion of the impact point exceeded 100 meters, and all the shells fell into the sea.

Bang bang!

The shells exploded violently, stirring up huge columns of water several meters high, the most recent of which was only three meters away from the battleship Birmingham.

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

The sea water spilled onto the deck of the battleship Birmingham, and George, the commander of the British, French, and American fleet, who was supervising the battle, was drenched and startled at once.

"What's going on? Who told me what was going on? ”

Captain Cook, who was beside him, had a dark face when he heard George yelling, and he knew what George was asking, and he was also taken aback. He never imagined that the artillery of the Shanghai fleet could hit a distance of seven miles, and he even judged the explosive power of the shells by observing the height and range of the water column stirred up by the shells after they exploded.

"It's really strange, the enemy ship on the opposite side is obviously a frigate, and it must be carrying 6-pound or 18-pound guns, but both the range and the explosive power have reached the power of our 12-pound or 24-pound guns of the same type."

"What are you waiting for? Shoot back now! I want to let them know how powerful the Royal Navy of the British Empire is! George did not hear Cook's ramblings, by this time he was already enraged, this was a provocation to the Royal Navy of the British Empire, and he had to return fire.

Cook didn't hesitate. An order to attack was immediately given to the bombardment officer, Parker.

"Fire! Mr. Parker! ”

When Parker received the order, he immediately turned and shouted to all the gunners on the starboard side, "Fire!" Warriors! We want the Qing people to know who is the overlord of the sea! ”

"Fire!"

"Fire!"

The British artillerymen shouted and at the same time pulled the rope and fired the cannon.

Knock knock! Knock knock!

The battleship Birmingham II opened fire. On the starboard side, 10 12-pounder, 6 18-pounder, 4 32-pounder and 2 64-pounder guns were concentrated, and the fire was very strong.

In particular, the two 64-pounder guns were incomparably powerful, and flames of up to ten meters were spewed out from the muzzles. The sound of the cannon was earth-shattering, and the firing range was as high as eight miles, and it smashed directly towards the Chuansha.

Boom! Boom!

I saw huge columns of water rising on the sea around the Chuansha frigate. It made the sea boil in an instant.

Although it was only the first round of shelling by the British Navy, it can be seen how well trained the British Navy was, and a 6-pound shell and a 32-pound shell hit the Chuan Sha frigate in an instant.

After two loud bangs, the Chuansha frigate was blown open with two large holes, the wooden hull was almost broken apart, and the gun deck was even more ablaze.

Many of the sailors of the Shanghai Army were bombed and fell in pools of blood, and the residual senses made them finally know how cruel the war really was.

The wind was blowing, the air was trembling, and the world was blood-red in their eyes.

It's useless to be afraid, the battle is going on and it's getting worse.

Knock knock......

Knock knock......

It was the endless sound of artillery, and more and more Shanghai warships engaged in battles with British, French, and American warships, and both sides instantly fell into a white-hot fierce battle.

The roar of the cannons was deafening, and the smoke of gunpowder was so thick that even the sea breeze could not blow it away.

The decoy fleet of 40 frigates of the East China Sea Fleet of the Shanghai Army was bound to suffer a loss in the face of the fierce attack of the powerful battleships of the British, French, and American forces.

If it weren't for Tang Jizu's timely listening to Yuan Tengfei's persuasion to retreat with all his might, I am afraid that more Shanghai warships would be bitten by enemy ships at this moment.

Despite this, more than 20 Shanghai warships were still chased by the warships of the British, French, and American navies, and the two sides were immediately plunged into a fierce naval battle.

"The Chuansha has sunk!"

"The Anting is also sinking!"

"The Whampoa is on fire and out of the battle sequence!"

Tang Jizu's eyes were blood-red, and he wanted to lead the fleet back to help.

"If you can't rescue, continue to retreat, if you retreat too late, our decoy fleet will really become a decoy!" Yuan Tengfei stopped Tang Jizu again.

What are you kidding, the frigate could not beat the battleship in the first place, and originally thought that by taking advantage of the speed and flexibility of the frigate, it could escape under the guns of the battleships of the enemy fleet and complete the decoy mission by the way. However, it never occurred that the main force of the enemy fleet was replaced with a steam engine, which made the speed advantage of the frigate disappear.

It's such a miscalculation, and if you don't get it right, you will wipe out this decoy fleet.

"Withdraw! Evacuate! ”

Yuan Tengfei's mouth was only retreat. It doesn't matter if you defeat it, just don't put your ships and people in it.

This was Li Weiguo's strict explanation at the beginning, and Yuan Tengfei implemented it without hesitation.

It's just that, in order to prevent the British, French, and American combined fleets from detecting the encirclement plan of the East China Sea Fleet, the main force of the East China Sea Fleet is still more than 200 miles away at this moment. According to the current situation, before returning to the main fleet, it will be caught up and destroyed by the British, French, and American combined fleets one by one.

Tang Jizu suddenly shouted: "Miscalculated, we were bitten by the enemy fleet, and it was difficult to retreat with our whole body!" It's better to turn around and fight the enemy fleet, and fight one to count one! ”

"No way!" Yuan Tengfei immediately objected. He said: "Forty frigates, even if they fight hard, they can only deliver food to others!" Don't forget that we are here to lure the enemy, not to deliver food to the enemy, it doesn't matter if we die, we can't affect the overall situation! Judging from the current speed of both the enemy and us, we will not be able to go a hundred miles before we will be completely overtaken by the enemy fleet. In order to complete the task of luring the enemy, I propose to change course and retreat in the direction of Snake Mountain. ”

Tang Jizu frowned and said: "Snake Mountain is only eighty miles away from here, you mean to rely on the power of the artillery of the Snake Mountain Fortress to deal with the enemy fleet?" ”

"That's right!" Yuan Tengfei nodded and said, "According to the normal plan." We simply can't bring the enemy fleet into the ambush circle we have laid in advance. Now the only way to do this is to reach Snake Hill Island and rely on the artillery of the Snake Hill Island fortress to counteract the heavy artillery on the enemy fleet battleships, so that we can maneuver around Snake Hill Island and attract the enemy fleet to the vicinity of Snake Hill Island. Meantime. We sent someone to quickly inform Commander Lin of the fleet, asking Commander Lin to change the ambush location and ambush the enemy fleet on Snake Mountain Island. ”

Tang Jizu walked back and forth, and it was a difficult decision. But he couldn't do anything better.

In the end, Tang Jizu gritted his teeth and said, "Just listen to you!" Let's go to Snake Mountain Island! ”

Just do it. After Tang Jizu and Yuan Tengfei discussed, they quickly ordered the whole fleet to advance at full speed in the direction of Snake Mountain Island, and the rear team still fought and retreated, no matter how much sacrifice, just to gain time.

At the same time, Tang Jizu ordered the fast sailing ship to leave the fleet and rushed to the scheduled ambush area to report the situation to Lin Jiyun, commander of the East China Sea Fleet, and convey the temporary decision of Tang Jizu and Yuan Tengfei.

The fast sailing ship is a communication ship specially designed by Li Weiguo for the East China Sea Fleet, which is made according to the structure of the fastest racing sailing ship in later generations, with a pontoon-type double hull, one person and one sail, and the fastest speed under full speed is as high as 25 knots, which is the fastest communication ship in this era.

Somewhere in the East China Sea, the main force of the East China Sea Fleet was assembled here, and when Lin Jiyun received the report of Tang Jizu and Yuan Tengfei, he was furious.

"Tang Jizu! Yuan Tengfei! You two rice buckets, it's a big mistake for me! ”

Li Weijun also had a calm face, and the sudden change also caught him off guard, and he didn't expect things to turn out like this, what was originally a simple plan to lure the enemy turned into a loss-making business where the bait was about to be eaten by the enemy.

Although the 40 frigates are not a wound for the East China Sea Fleet, they can be used as the first battle between the East China Sea Fleet and the foreigner fleet, but the defeat will affect the overall morale of the Shanghai army.

"Don't be angry first, as the saying goes, plans can't catch up with changes, and the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, are we not taking into account the factors of foreigners' steamships, or are we ourselves immature and can't complain about others."

Li Weijun paused and continued: "Now is not the time to hold Tang Jizu accountable, at this moment the decoy fleet led by Tang Jizu is retreating to Snake Mountain Island, we should also quickly change the ambush area, change the sea area around Snake Mountain Island into an ambush area, maybe with the support of the artillery of the Snake Mountain Fortress, it is much better than our current ambush area." ”

Lin Jiyun forcibly calmed himself down, took a deep breath, and then said, "That's right, for now, we can only change the ambush area to Snake Mountain Island!" ”

He paused and continued: "It's just, how do the steamships of the foreigner fleet respond? ”

From Tang Jizu's intelligence, Lin Jiyun had already felt the huge advantage of the foreigner's steamship, which could not be compensated for by the number of sail warships.

Li Weijun also had concerns about this, he thought about it for a while, and said: "I think let's not think about ambushing the British, French, and American combined fleet, the other side is all steamship warships, with more advanced equipment than us, and more combat experience than us, and it is no longer realistic to ambush them." It's better to sneak attack halfway instead, concentrate superior firepower to kill a few of their capital ships, and save face! ”

Lin Jiyun frowned and said, "Just to save some face?" ”

Li Weijun smiled bitterly: "What? Don't be happy, it's already the best result to save face, and if you're still going to eat them, then I advise you not to. Even if we lose all forty frigates, we still have more than eighty frigates, and the capital ships are still there, so they won't hurt their muscles and bones, the commander-in-chief also said. This time, he didn't expect us to win the battle, purely to let us pay tuition and learn experience. ”

Lin Jiyun remembered Li Weiguo's instructions, and at the beginning, Li Weiguo also told Lin Jiyun that he didn't expect the East China Sea Fleet to beat the British, French, and American combined fleets this time, but just let Lin Jiyun lead the officers and men of the East China Sea Fleet to fight the British, French, and American combined fleets once, temper them with war and blood, and see the huge gap between Chinese and foreign navies. At that time, although Lin Jiyun agreed verbally, he was not happy in his heart, and wanted to win the British, French, and American combined fleet to show Li Weiguo.

But now. Lin Jiyun suddenly realized what a gap is, this is a gap, facing a gap. You should face it calmly, not hard-hitting, and you can't be stupid.

"Well, give up the ambush. Let's calculate the location of both the enemy and the enemy, and see where to raid! ”

Li Weijun immediately took the chart and carved the painting on it with a scale.

Soon. He said: "If I am not mistaken, the foreigner fleet will definitely chase after Tang Jizu and them, judging by the combat laws of the foreigners' previous naval battles, they will soon give up the battle formation of attack and defense because they despise us, the foreigners are greedy, once they disperse to try to capture our warships, they will give us the opportunity to attack suddenly!" ”

Lin Jiyun nodded and said: "The enemy fleet is composed of the navies of Britain, France and the United States, and when the time comes, it will definitely act separately because of the uneven distribution of spoils, we will concentrate all the main battleships to raid one of them, and kill a few of their warships and withdraw, it is completely feasible!" ”

After deliberation, both agreed to the plan and took immediate action.

Just when more than 40 capital ships and more than 80 frigates of the East China Sea Fleet were evacuating from the pre-ambush area and rushing to Snake Mountain Island at full speed, Tang Jizu's decoy fleet had already arrived at the navy near Snake Mountain Island.

The British, French, and American combined fleets clung to their guns, sinking eight Shanghai warships and damaging 11 frigates.

Although the Shanghai fleet suffered heavy losses, the British, French, and American combined fleets did not have a good time, and according to the fighting spirit of the Shanghai army, which would rather die than burp off a few of the enemy's front teeth, six warships of the British, French, and American combined fleets were also damaged, and nearly 200 casualties were imposed.

This is the result of the Shanghai warship equipped with a powerful new flowering bomb, an ordinary 6-pound flowering bomb, although not enough to pose a fatal threat to the wooden hull, but the explosion is very lethal, because a large number of steel balls and broken porcelain pieces are placed inside, once the outbreak occurs, the people within a few meters around have almost no room to survive, if replaced by 24-pound shells, the power is greater, the lethality is stronger, which causes huge casualties to the British, French and American soldiers.

In the face of such huge casualties, the commander of the Anglo-French-American forces, George, was furious, and he ordered the whole fleet to pursue it fiercely, so as to annihilate all 40 frigates.

Knock knock!

The Shanghai army fortress artillery on Snake Mountain Island opened fire, and there were 4 64-pounder fortress guns, 8 32-pounder guns, 12 24-pounder guns, 10 12-pounder guns, and 16 6-pounder guns.

Tang Jizu ordered the wounded frigate to sail directly to the vicinity of Snake Mountain Island to talk about running aground and use it as a fixed artillery position, while he led the remaining dozen or so frigates that could fight to continue to engage the foreign warships.

It's just that he won't fight hard with the foreigners' battleships, and he won't exceed the fire support range of the Snake Mountain Island fortress guns, and he will keep circling around the Snake Mountain Island fortress to lure the foreign fleet to attack.

"Boom!"

After a loud bang, I saw a fourth-class battleship of the US Army, the USS Virginia, being shot and bursting into flames. It was hit by the fire of the 64-pounder fortress gun on Snake Hill Island, and the shell penetrated directly through the paddle wheel, exploding in the central boiler room, killing dozens of American sailors on the spot, and a large amount of coal was ignited, and as the blast wave of the explosion spread throughout the amidship area, igniting a raging fire.

"Damn it!"

On the battleship Birmingham, George saw all this and was shocked by the powerful artillery fire of Snake Hill Island, the opposing 64-pounder guns were significantly more powerful than the British 64-pounder.

This made George feel very uncomfortable, why should a backward Qing Empire, their shells be more powerful than the British Empire's shells, this is not scientific.

Cook reminded: "Your Excellency, this Snake Mountain Island was occupied by us in the last Anglo-Qing commercial war (known as the First Opium War in China), this is the gateway to Shanghai, and if you want to enter safely from the mouth of the Yangtze River, you must first occupy this island." Last time, there was no Qing army to defend this island at all, and more than ten years have passed, and I can't imagine that Li Weiguo actually built a fortress fortification here, and I have a feeling that this time we should not fight the idea of Shanghai. ”

", it's all beaten, what's the use of talking about this now?" George immediately scolded, thought for a while, and continued: "Since this is the gateway to the Yangtze River estuary in Shanghai, then we have to take it even more!" ”

So George ordered the whole fleet to concentrate its firepower on Snake Mountain Island. It was only out of the British ships that the French Navy and the US Navy were not so active, and at this moment the warships of the US and French navies were chasing the warships of the Shanghai Army everywhere, obviously going for the benefit of the booty.

Seeing this situation, George immediately scolded his mother, fortunately, there are not many warships in the US Navy and the French Navy, and the main force is still the British Navy, so it does not have much impact on the attack on Snake Mountain Island.

Boom!

The volley of fire from more than 20 British warships suddenly caused artillery fire on Snake Mountain Island to fly, and fiery red mushroom clouds rose into the sky, turning into black smoke and soaring into the sky.

The average altitude of Snake Mountain Island is fifty or sixty meters, and the fortifications of the fortress are all constructed of reinforced concrete, while the guns of the British battleships are all direct-fire artillery, and the shells cannot reach the height, all of which are blocked by the reinforced concrete fortifications, and cannot fall into the rear of the fortress to kill and injure the Shanghai defenders.

For a time, the Shanghai army, with the fortifications of the fortress of Snake Mountain Island, was able to confront the British, French and American fleets head-on, which was a big surprise.

George was very angry, he had already boasted that Haikou wanted to take Snake Mountain Island, but after fighting for more than two hours, he still failed to destroy the fortress of Snake Mountain Island, and many of his own warships were hit by the opponent's artillery fire, and the casualties were very large.

At this moment, there was a sudden sound of dense artillery fire in the north of the sky, which was a roar that could only be caused by the salvo of hundreds of artillery, which was earth-shattering.

George was taken aback, hurriedly turned around and looked, only to see that several American warships dozens of miles away were surrounded and beaten by dozens of Shanghai battleships, one of which had been shot and caught fire, and several other American warships were frantically fleeing for their lives, which was also in danger. (To be continued......)