(98) Under Xie Xun's order, the Chinese artillerymen who had just entered the Mount Irtis Fort hurriedly entered the various gun emplacements, removed the corpses of the artillerymen, and began to try to make these German-made cannons.

Xie Xun was directing his subordinates to work while staring nervously at the sea, and soon, one after another, the figures of the warships appeared on the sea.

Since most of the Chinese artillery had only been used as field artillery, they were not familiar with the work of coastal artillery, and Xie Xun's palms were full of sweat as he watched the cannons clumsily move their bodies and turn to the sea.

The warship did not seem to feel the slightest fear of the German artillery, and did not stop far away, but drove straight to the front. Xie Xun held the binoculars and looked at the sea, and clearly saw that the warships lined up were slowly moving their turrets in the direction of the battery where they were.

"Quick! Take aim and fire! Xie Xun shouted anxiously.

Soon, thanks to the efforts of the Chinese gunners, the three wheeled 88-mm field cannons completed their preparations for firing and took the lead in firing at the ship.

The muzzle of the German-made cannon instantly spewed out a long flame, mixed with a large amount of smoke, like a giant beast roaring in anger. Seeing the cannon fire, Xie Xun's heart felt a little calm.

Several shells swept across the sea like meteors, flying straight into the ranks of the fleet, and one shell hit a battleship led by a shell, and the Chinese gunners on the Mount Irtis battery could not help but cheer in unison when they saw the fire of the enemy ship flashing, followed by a huge cloud of smoke.

The warship seemed to be enraged by the attack of the Chinese artillery, and just as two more 88mm guns joined the firing array at the Mount Iltis battery, the fleet began a fierce salvo.

A loud sound like a landslide and tsunami was instantly heard on the sea, and the muzzles of the guns of the warships erupted with tongues of fire, accompanied by black smoke that soared into the sky, and then the piercing whistling sound of shells was heard in the sky.

As if the sky was falling apart, Xie Xun felt that the earth could not help but tremble under his feet, the air was filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder smoke and the scorching heat wave in an instant, a huge air flow almost knocked him to the ground, he barely stood firm, and then the two subordinates stumbled over, carrying him into a shelter.

Xie Xun looked out from the shelter, and at this time, the fleet began the second round of salvo fire, Xie Xun stared at the steel beasts spitting terrible cannon fire, and a pair of fists couldn't help but clench tightly.

Xie Xun, who once studied in Germany, is no stranger to the navy's large-caliber naval guns, but for him, it is the first time that he has watched the fleet's salvo fire on the opposite shore at such a close distance and seen the power of large-caliber naval guns firing at a concentrated fire.

Several shells from the ship hit the parapet wall of the battery, because it was too close to the shelter, the huge concussion made Xie Xun almost unable to stand firm, at this time the artillery on the battery had stopped firing, and the sound of the guns returning fire at the ship was completely silent.

Thinking of the possible fate of those subordinates who insisted on fighting, Xie Xun's heart couldn't help but tighten.

"Why don't we have such a fleet in China?" An artillery officer said hatefully, and slammed his fist into the stone wall, oozing blood.

Xie Xun understood the resentment and helplessness in the heart of this subordinate, but at this moment, he had no way to think about it.

Although he is an army artillery officer, he now also deeply feels that he does not have the deep sense of powerlessness brought by the navy.

Xie Xun felt that more large-caliber shells fired by the ship fell on the battery he had just occupied, and he seemed to be able to distinguish the sound of some cannons being blown up by his own shells, and he was like a knife for a while, and he only hoped that his subordinates would no longer make useless insistences on the gun position, but find a place to avoid the artillery fire and save his life.

"Damn! As long as Lao Tzu escapes this catastrophe, Lao Tzu will have to go to the navy in the future! Someone in the subordinates said.

"That's right! When we have a large warship in China, we will have to return this cannon twice as much in the future! Someone said.

At this time, Xie Xun didn't think like them, he stared closely at the warship that was still pouring artillery fire on the shore, and an idea suddenly popped up in his mind.

"Quick! You two go down and inform the people of the Heavy Artillery Brigade to see if they can find a way to get the 18mm cannon! Xie Xun ordered anxiously.

"The Chinese army can't hold out anymore, can the Marines be dispatched now to retake the battery?"

Looking at the Iltis Mountain Battery, which was shrouded in smoke and fire, Vice Admiral Mitsutomi Kamio, who had been transferred to the battleship "Shufu", asked Rear Admiral Mitsuyoshi Tsuchiya, the acting commander of the Honmoto fleet.

"If you think it's feasible, you can order the Army to land again." Major General Mitsuyoshi Tsuchiya looked at Lieutenant General Mitsutomi Kamio coldly, and said in a stiff tone, "If you think that by doing so, you can retake Qingdao from the hands of the Shina people. ”

Listening to Tsuchiya Mitsuyoshi's words, Kamio Mitsutomi's face turned red and white, he looked at several transport ships full of army soldiers in the distance in embarrassment, and sighed, "The army has not done a single thing right since it occupied Qingdao. Although his military rank was one level lower than that of Kamio Mitsutomi, Tsuchiya Mitsuyoshi at this time seemed to be the boss of Kamio Mitsutomi, and he unceremoniously accused Kamio Mitsutomi and the Momoto Army of incompetence.

"The army occupied Qingdao, not wanting to consolidate the defense, but bent on entering Yanjing! Look at the results now! Not only did he not be able to enter Yanjing, but he lost Jinan! Lost Qingdao! Driven out of the sea by the tofu dregs-like Shina army! ”

"The Chinese army is not tofu scum!" Kamio Mitsutomi shouted in exasperation, "Their combat power is very strong! And with more and more powerful cannons! ”

"! Don't tell me anything about the strength of the Chinese Army! What their strength is, we have long been clear! Mitsukichi Tsuchiya glared and shouted, "It was the army's repeated dispersal of troops after entering Shandong that caused the terrible consequences now!" ”

"You're slandering the Army!" Kamio Mitsutomi was furious and sneered at each other, "Your navy is stronger than the Shina navy, but why did you lose so many warships at Dagukou?" ”

"That's because the China Navy used submarines despicably!" Mitsuyoshi Tsuchiya turned his head viciously and looked at the shore, "They cowards don't dare to face the challenge of the Imperial Navy at all!" ”

Mitsutomi Kamio didn't want to continue the argument and didn't speak again, and Mitsuyoshi Tsuchiya kept his mouth shut in amusement.

After all, up to now, both the Navy and the Army have suffered shameful defeats of varying degrees on the land of China, and the Navy can be regarded as "50 steps and 100 steps" for the Army, so it is better not to talk about anyone.

The bombardment of the fleet lasted about forty minutes, and the fort of Mount Iltis was completely shrouded in black smoke and deathly silence.

"We should organize the army to land immediately and reoccupy the fort," Mitsuyoshi Tsuchiya, who didn't want to quarrel anymore, said to Mitsutomi Kamio in a calm tone as much as possible, "It is the commanding height of Qingdao City, and the army occupies there, and it can condescendingly threaten the entire city, which is a good foothold." If reinforcements arrive in time, we may be able to retake Qingdao from the Chinese people. ”

"Okay!" Kamio Mitsutomi nodded gloomily, "I'll send someone to try it." ”

As for the suggestion put forward by Mitsuyoshi Tsuchiya, who replaced Vice Admiral Kato Dingyoshi who died in battle, as the supreme commander of the Qingdao Fleet in China, Mitsutomi Kamio still agreed with it from the bottom of his heart, but he was no longer able to send many troops capable of fighting.

Just as Tsuchiya Mitsuyoshi accused him of saying before, due to the contempt of the Chinese [***] team of the Chinese army, at the beginning of this war, the Qingdao army continued to go out to attack the Chinese [***] team, not only vainly trying to occupy the entire Shandong, but even threatening to fight all the way to Yanjing, resulting in the insufficient strength of the Chinese army guarding Qingdao, and when the Chinese [***] team began to attack Qingdao, the actual garrison of Qingdao only had a small amount of artillery and infantry. The vast majority of the rest were non-combat units transporting baggage (in Kamio Mitsutomi's own words, "those who could fight went out to rob them"). Due to the slow movement of domestic reinforcements, the arrival was delayed, which eventually led to the fall of Qingdao.

Now what Kamio Mitsutomi is most looking forward to is that the main force of the Yue army, which is surrounded by the highest density of Anqiu, can break through the siege and return to Qingdao, and the domestic reinforcements will arrive soon.

Just as Kamio Mitsutomi was about to step off the bridge and arrange for the landing force to leave, a strange sound suddenly came from the shore in the distance, and then Kamio Mitsutomi saw that countless white smoke shot out from the shore into the sky and fell in the direction where the fleet was located.

"What is this......" Before Mitsuyoshi Tsuchiya could finish speaking, with a strange scream, several slender rocket-like things fell from the sky and landed on the surface of the "Zhou Fang" and the surrounding sea.

With a series of explosions, the surface of the "Zhou Fang" was immediately shrouded in a sea of fire.

At this time, Mitsukichi Tsuchiya had not realized what was happening, and was still standing on the bridge in shock, seeing a white smoke in the sky shooting straight towards the bridge, Mitsutomi Kamio suddenly threw Mitsuyoshi Tsuchiya to the side.

White smoke swept past the bridge and exploded on the sea on the side of the "Zhoufang," and the flying shrapnel swept across the ship's side and hit the armor belt, making a piercing sound.

Mitsuyoshi Tsuchiya straightened up, leaned out of the bridge despite the danger, and when he looked down, he immediately saw the bodies of the Saimoto sailors lying on the deck.

(To be continued)