'Knock knock~~~' The heavy machine guns on the defensive position began to suppress from a distance, preventing the attacking Sardinian army from advancing too fast.

After the heavy fire from the hilltop was fired, the Sardinian soldiers below the hillside quickly lay down and counterattacked with accurate fire. The heavy machine guns in the rear also began to increase the rate of fire with the intention of suppressing it. Suddenly there was a burst of gunfire on the positions of both sides, like bursting beans.

Among the four bullets, a tracer bullet pulled out a scorching dense rain of bullets and whizzed through the air. Remind all the soldiers that this is the battlefield where life is ending.

At most, a minute or two later, there was a terrifying sound in the sky. After a series of calibrated test firings, hordes of 155-millimeter shells rushed down from the sky, enveloping the attacking Sardinian soldiers in a sea of dead fire and dust. The violent roar from the explosion of the dense shells shook everyone's ears.

The earth blossomed. This is what Zhang Cheng sees at this moment.

There was only one type of fleet destroyer in service with the Ming Navy at this time, which was officially put into service twelve years ago, and the city-class destroyer was continuously improved.

The city-class destroyer, nicknamed the Perfect Cat in the Ming Navy. The performance is good in all aspects, and there are no obvious weaknesses in the areas that are not too prominent. It is very suitable for the Ming Navy.

City-class destroyers are four-chimney flat-deck type destroyers. It has a full load displacement of 1,310 tons, a total length of 96 meters, a width of 9.6 meters, and a draft of 2.9 meters. The top speed reaches an astonishing 35 knots. The main armament consisted of four single-mounted 155-mm guns and four triple-mounted 533-mm torpedo launchers. The crew is 159 people.

The biggest advantage of the city-class destroyer is the large oil tank and the high endurance. It can accompany the main fleet on long voyages and patrol colonies on its own. This was extremely important for the Ming Empire, which had a vast overseas territory. The Navy is constantly replenishing its destroyer fleet at a rate of 12 ships per year.

According to Rear Admiral Yunmo, it won't be long before all city-class destroyers return to the factory for refitting after the depth charges are successfully developed. Not only should anti-submarine weapons be installed, but also some anti-aircraft artillery should be replaced. Because Zhang Cheng's aviation point of view is very important. But it doesn't make much sense to say that now, and the most important thing right now is to hold the port of Savona. A slap in the face to the forgetful Sardinians and to the countries that are ready to move.

Twenty-one destroyers sailed into the harbor of Savona to provide close fire support to the defenders. According to the calculation that a destroyer has four 155 guns, twenty-one destroyers are eighty-four heavy guns!

This figure is beyond the reach of the Sardinians. They had only eighteen 155 howitzers, also supported by the French. This is the huge gap in strength between the two sides. And why

What Count Cavour has always been obsessed with is peace talks with the Ming Dynasty.

Unlike the Army, naval guns in the Navy generally emphasize a high rate of fire. Although the accuracy is not as good as that of the army's heavy artillery, the rate of fire of naval artillery is very high. During the three minutes of rapid fire, at least hundreds of heavy shells landed in the predetermined area. From a distance, it looks like the earth is blooming.

Countless huge gray mushrooms mixed with a ring shockwave shook the entire land into a mess! Coupled with the incomparable sound of the shelling, the shocking scene could not be described in any words. The so-called Hollywood blockbuster is nothing in front of this scene.

So many heavy shells fell in a small area that almost all the hundreds of attacking Sardinian soldiers were wiped out. Only a few lucky lucky ones escaped the raging feast, and fled back to their starting positions with bloody howls from their mouths, noses, ears, and ears.

"It's a spectacular TMD. What kind of movie doesn't have this effect either. Zhang Cheng smacked his lips and lowered his hands from his ears, which were still ringing loudly at the moment. His eyes were shocked as he watched the huge pillar of dust that was gradually beginning to dissipate. The lightning-fast circular shockwave just now is completely able to see the substance! It's a spectacle.

"How much does this round of shelling cost?" Liu Kuaizui on the side also had a shocked look on his face. There were hundreds of bursts in a row, and anyone's mind would be a little dizzy. This is not a firecracker set off during the Chinese New Year, this is a heavy high-explosive bomb with a caliber of 155 mm. In terms of value alone, a 155 shell costs more than 200 silver dollars, and hundreds of them have been fired in these three minutes, which is tens of thousands! Where have ordinary people ever seen so much money?

The mercenaries recruited by Zhang Cheng at a high price at his own expense were only two silver dollars a day! War is not a war, it is money.

"So." Zhang Cheng put down the binoculars and sat down next to the table, took out a cigarette and lit it, with a smile that could not be concealed, and said, "As long as the navy supports strongly, there will be no suspense in this battle at all." ”

"Give it up." Count Cavour stood silently in the headquarters looking at the map, his chief of staff raised his hand and pushed his gold-rimmed eyes, and said softly, "In the face of such a fierce artillery bombardment, it is impossible for us to rush in. Even if they entered, there was no way to deal with those warships at sea. They can blow up the port of Savona with a single bombardment, and we don't have a chance. ”

"How do you give up?" Count Cavour smiled miserably, shook his head powerlessly and sighed, "Even if it's a detour to get hot. The same happened to the port of Naya. And the defenses over there are much stronger. If you turn around and fight Milan, there are now reinforcements. Let's not talk about whether it can be beaten down, even if it does, what can it do? The Ming Empire has begun to mobilize expeditionary forces on its own territory. Naya Harbor landed and attacked north, can we hold it? In the end, don't you still have to be aggrieved and consumed alive? ”

"Is there no way?" The Chief of Staff lowered his gaze, his voice full of sadness. A few days ago, I was ecstatic to celebrate the crazy victory, but in a blink of an eye, I saw the true power of the Chinese people. It was as if a basin of cold water had come to the head of the bag, and it was only a day or two for the people of Sardinia to go from ecstasy to despair.

"Go on!" Count Cavour's voice was resolute.

"Your Excellency!" The chief of staff shouted with a shocked face: "This is sending you to death!" How many of us in Sardinia can die like this?! ”

The Sardinians only have such a little strength, but those Chinese people are endless!

"It's useless to say anything at this point. Once the Ming Empire's expeditionary force arrived, it was all over. Count Cavour's eyes were cold, and he replied, "Instead of surrendering in humiliation, it is better to give it a go and devote all your strength to win the chance of victory!" There is only one option for the future of the kingdom, and that is to occupy the fever. Naya Harbor, the place where the Ming Empire expeditionary force was cut off. After that, he used the captives in his hands to negotiate with the Ming Empire and strive for the dawn of peace. ”

"Okay." The chief of staff hung his head. He knew that what Count Cavour said was not wrong. Capture the port of Savona and then follow the road all the way to the heat. The port of Naya is also occupied. This is the only hope for the kingdom. Otherwise, once defeated, what is the use of these armies even if they are saved? It's better to fight for the goal! As for the battle damage, it's already been hit to this point, do you still care about this?

Under the heavy artillery of the navy, the offensive of the Sardinian soldiers did not weaken, but became more intense.

Throughout the day, the regular troops of a division launched a tidal wave of continuous attacks on several positions. The ferocity of the offensive made the barrels of the navy's guns hot. Fortunately, when the Mediterranean Fleet made this sortie, it knew that it would be facing a fire support operation on land, and not an artillery battle with the Sardinian Navy, which had already sunk all of them. Therefore, most of the armament on the warships of the Navy is high-explosive shells, and the reserve of armor-piercing shells is nine to one. There is no problem with the density of fire support for the time being.

Throughout the day, the Sardinians left thousands of corpses under the hills, and countless wounded. In a day's battle, their battle losses even exceeded all the battle losses in the fierce battle with Liu Yue's troops. Suffice it to see the intensity of the fighting, and in a single day they lost nearly a tenth of the entire military force of the country.

"The offensive of the Sardinians is very fierce, can the front line hold on?" At the headquarters of Port Savona, the handsome-faced Rear Admiral Yunmo was holding the book on naval aviation tactics that Zhang Cheng had given to Yan Haiyang. With a look of worry on his face, he asked.

"You can hold it, no problem." At this time, it was already dusk before sunset, and Zhang Cheng, who had been on the front line all day, was busy eating dinner.

A lunch box of rice, a can of luncheon meat, a box of mushy roasted vegetables that Zhang Cheng couldn't recognize even what it was, plus a can of canned peaches, this is Zhang Cheng's dinner.

In modern time and space, Zhang Cheng is an ordinary person, and he does not have high requirements for the enjoyment of material life. Of course, this is only temporary. As status and wealth change, these habits will naturally come back in the future.

"Is it delicious?" Major General Yunmo looked at Zhang Cheng, who was gobbling up his mouth, suspiciously, "I really haven't eaten much of the army's food, but I don't have an appetite when I look at it." When the battle is over, I will treat you to a taste of the Navy's food. These things for the Army, hehe. ”

The navy is known as the aristocratic army, and the treatment in all aspects is naturally higher than that of the army, which can go to the battlefield with a starting gun. In terms of food, it is far ahead. Almost every battleship will have a special galley for cooking, and all kinds of supplies are prioritized. It's definitely not something that the average army can compare with.

"Thank you, I'm looking forward to it." Zhang Cheng replied vaguely, and quickly tossed his chopsticks to finish dinner. Put down the chopsticks, lunch box, picked up the telegram on the side, wiped his mouth, and responded, "There is a chance." Now I'm going to take the reserves to the front. ”