Zhong Baosan, the commander-in-chief of Kinmen Town, led all the divisions and ships under his command to anchor in the outer harbor of Xiamen, waiting for the Ming army.

The Qing army's division ships took the Tong'an Suo ship as the main warship, 19 warships in the middle camp, 14 ships in the left battalion, 16 ships in the right battalion, and the largest set number Datong Ansuo ship was the flagship of the standard battalion of Zhong Bao No. 3 Middle Army.

The hull of the Tongan Shuttle is fusiform, the bow is very pointed, so the speed is fast, and the middle and rear sections of the hull are wide, so the hull is stable.

The Datong Ansuo ship is 26 meters long, the mainmast is 29 meters high, has 8 main guns, 17 small guns, and the gun mounts are placed on the upper deck, which is the first warship of the Manchu Qing Dynasty on the southeast coast.

Around the Qing divisional ships, there were also dozens of fast sentry ships guarding the main battleships.

The fast sentry boat has a small hull, a pointed head, carries more than 20 people, has a mast, a hard sail, and eight oars, and is very fast on the water. There are also guards and small gun positions in the rear section of the sentry ship, which have a certain offensive and defensive ability, and the Qing army is generally used to communicate bandits on the water.

Peng Duochao, the general of the naval division, stood on the bow of the Jizi ship, holding a clairvoyant mirror, overlooking the direction of the Kinmen Islands.

Peng Duochao was just a small boss. In the suppression of the Xiaodaohui uprising, he fought hard, killed people like hemp, made meritorious contributions to the Qing court at sea many times, and was promoted to the rank of general of the navy.

The distance between Little Kinmen Island and the Kinmen division ships is only seven nautical miles, and the movement of the first echelon of the Ming army is faintly visible here.

Halfway through, Peng Duochao put down the clairvoyant mirror and snorted contemptuously with his nose.

I have always heard that the big white boats of the Ming bandits crisscross the ocean, and even foreigners can't bargain for it, and they can't imagine that it will be like this.

"Your Excellency!" He pointed in the direction of the Kinmen Islands, with a sneering expression, "What kind of big white boat is the size of our division ship in the Ming bandits, and when they see our Kinmen division ships connecting each other and sailing like a forest, they are afraid and dare not come!" ”

Peng Duochao is a rough man, what he thinks in his heart, he can say whatever he wants.

"Impetuous and impetuous, it is a taboo in the army!" Zhong Baosan smiled faintly and said calmly, "The Ming bandit ships are strong and the guns are sharp, and there has never been a defeat since the army was raised. We must not take it lightly, we must know that carelessness will lose Jingzhou. ”

"Yes! Be! Be! Peng Duochao's face was convinced, "What the adults said is very true!" ”

"Your Excellency!" The lookout post on the mast reported that the sentinel ship in front of it was in charge of investigating the interrogation letter, and the Ming army had begun to move.

The two Kinmen Sailor Express Sentinel Ships had already advanced to the sea southeast of the Baishi Fort at the southernmost tip of Xiamen Island. There is only four nautical miles away from the head of the small Golden Gate Wooden Buddha, and the activities of the Ming warships on the sea surface are clear to them.

The White Rock Fort is a new fort position rebuilt with sandbags on the ruins of the original Stone Wall Fort.

The original stone wall fort is located in the southernmost coastal protrusion of Xiamen Island, about 2 kilometers away from the Hulishan fort in the west, all made of granite, leaving a cannon hole every 16 meters, known as impregnable.

Shibi Fort was originally one of the three major forts of the Manchu Qing Dynasty and was the most important Xiagang fortress in Xiamen. But in the Opium ~ War, it was completely destroyed by the British army with explosives.

Wang Yide reorganized Xiamen's defense and established a new defense system centered on Hulishan Mountain. The Shibi fort is an extension of the defense system of the Huli Mountain Fort.

The lookout on a Qing army express ship screamed, "My lord, the Ming army is in!" ”

"Panic, panic! Hurry up and report the news to Lord Chief. The bearded commissar reprimanded him angrily.

Six coast guard ships and four steam sailing boats of the Ming army sailed through the geese, passed through the wind nozzle of the wooden Buddha head on Xiaojinmen Island, and entered the waterway on the east side of Xiamen. Then the troops split into two routes, six coast guard ships turned north, and four Western steam sailing ships came directly in the direction of Baishi Fort.

Captain Dai Liang piloted the Keelung ship and took the lead in the steam sailing ship formation. Wang Tiezhu and Yunlan sat on the flagship command platform, paying attention to the movements of the entire sea.

Captain Shen Cancan reported, "Our ship is heading 280 and is 3.3 nautical miles away from Baishi Fort, and the Qing army sentry ship is located at 10 degrees on the starboard side of our ship, at a distance of about 3 nautical miles. ”

Dai Liang, the captain of the Keelung ship, looked at the two small dots on the sea, and felt very unhappy, "Kill the enemy sentry ship, right?" ”

"Let's boost our morale first!" Yun Lan was overjoyed when he saw the hunt, and looked at Wang Tie Hammer with a soliciting gaze.

"Settle!" Wang Tiehammer was calm and calm, and his command was determined, "Let the gun department get ready, and order the Kaohsiung ship to follow the flagship to act!" ”

Yun Lan laughed and said, "Our cannon is extremely sharp, enough for the Tartars to eat a good pot!" ”

"Keelung", "Kaohsiung", "Dinghai", and "Dunan" were originally civilian steam paddle steamers, but they were overhauled in the shipyard, the power system was changed to a new type of three-expansion engine, and the paddle wheel was changed to a propeller, and the speed was significantly improved.

In order to meet the needs of naval warfare, the hull structure of the "Keelung" and other ships has also been modified, and the front and rear decks have been modified and reinforced, which can withstand the huge recoil generated by the artillery shells.

One turret was installed along the center line on the bow deck and one turret on the stern deck, each with a 130mm Armstrong breech-loading rifled steel cannon, and the shells were filled with smokeless gunpowder with a range of 3 nautical miles.

The artillery carriage was equipped with a cradle and a retractor, which were mounted on a track with sliding wheels, and the gun body could slide along the rails provided by the cradle, and at the same time, the cradle had trunnions on both sides, which could pitch around the gun carriage, and the rapid fire could reach 6 rounds per minute.

"Dealing with the Manchu ......"

Wang Tiehammer pouted, then shook his head, "The navy's only opponent is the ghost animal. ”

The four steam sailing ships were spewing smoke at speeds of more than 12 knots per hour, and in just a few minutes, the distance between the Ming warships and the Qing sentinel ships had become 2.5 nautical miles.

"Big ~people~!"

Looking at the Ming warships that were getting closer and closer, the voices of several Shui Yong trembled a little, "It's dangerous here, let's go back!" ”

"Bastard, the Ming bandit is still more than 9 miles away from us, you guys are scared!"

The bearded man shouted sharply, in fact, his legs and stomach were also a little trembling, but his eyes couldn't stop glancing at another sentinel ship not far from him, "This is going to run back, then what face do I have in the future, mixing in this sailor camp!" ”

"Bearded!" At this time, a roar came from the clipper ship next to him, "Let's retreat together, the Lord of the Town has already sent an order!" ”

Seeing that the Qing army's sentry ship was about to run, "Boom, boom!" Two thunderous noises sent two shells from the Keelung and Kaohsiung ships, and two columns of water rose on the sea not far from the two Qing army sentry ships.

Those bastards, how can you say that you can fight!

The bearded commissar was anxious, pushed away the little man Shui Yong next to him, and personally took the helm, "Hurry up, pull the sail!" Hurry up, everyone! ”

On the command platform of the Keelung ship of the Ming Army, Yunlan put down the binoculars and shook his head, "It's a pity! It's just a dozen meters away, otherwise you will hit the first shot! ”

"That's already good!" Lu Zhen, the political commissar of the Keelung ship, said with a smile on the side, "If you want to load the black fire ~ explosive package, the shells can't hit so far." ”

Lu Zhen was originally the deputy commander of the Keelung ship, and after Chen Tianxiong was transferred, he took over as political commissar. He is a German master in mechanical energy and has a special preference for sail warships.

The fighters of the Keelung ship's range-finding squad operated various instruments, and in a matter of seconds, they collected the measurement data to Xue Bingding, the artillery command room.

Xue Bingding, deputy commander and gunners of the Keelung, corrected the shooting of Zhu Yuan, and the former main gunner immediately corrected the elevation angle of the gun.

"Launch!"

Once again, the shells flew out of the chamber.

"Boom!" With a loud bang, the foredeck of a Qing army sentry ship was hit.

The picric acid filled with the warhead of the artillery shell burst at once, and the flying shrapnel and the shock wave caused by the explosion tore the front half of the sentinel ship to pieces, and the wooden planks, sail cables, and fragments of flesh and blood all flew up.

In just a dozen seconds, the back half of the sentinel boat was planted into the water, and a large whirlpool appeared on the sea.

Almost at the same time, a shell fired from the Kaohsiung ship tore another Qing military sentry ship to pieces.

The ships of the Kinmen Division were ordered by the Hulishan Fort, and they had already lifted anchor and formed a whole team, and were marching towards the bottom of the Shibi Fort, when they saw that their two sentry ships were sunk by the Ming army.

"Mazu bless! Mazu bless! ”

With such a "boom", the eight-pulp express sentinel ship was immediately wiped out, and the soldiers of the Kinmen Navy Division couldn't help but feel apprehensive in their hearts.

"Bandits are hateful!" Peng Duochao's fierce expression was gone, he rubbed his eyes twice, and his hands trembled a little, "I really didn't expect that the Ming bandit's cannon is really so powerful!" ”

Although Peng Duochao is rude and brave, he is not stupid. The Ming bandits' artillery fire was so sharp that he suddenly felt angry.

"Where is the tiger power of General Peng!"

Chief soldier Zhong Baosan smiled, "There are only four bandit ships in front, no matter how powerful he is, he can't defeat our more than 100 warships." ”

"Your Excellency is wise!" Peng Duochao came to his senses at this time, and his face became ruddy.

"Pass the order!" Zhong Baosan raised his voice and said loudly, "When the war starts, those who retreat will be killed!" Forge ahead, and all the soldiers will be rewarded for their bravery! Whoever hits the Ming bandit with a shot, the gunner and the cannon will be rewarded with 5 taels of silver! The first gang jumped into the enemy ship, rewarded 200 taels of silver, and the officer was promoted to one level! Cut the head of the Ming bandit and reward 50 taels of silver. ”

He paused slightly, "Whoever hits the Ming bandit with a shot, the gunner and the cannon will be rewarded with 5 taels of silver!" The first gang jumped into the enemy ship, rewarded 200 taels of silver, and the officer was promoted to one level! Cut the head of the Ming bandit and reward 50 taels of silver. ”

"I am willing to serve my lordship." The group on the set number is excited.

The flag was played, and the fleet of the Qing army's naval division was also jubilant.

"General Peng, do you still have the courage now!" Zhong Baosan looked at Peng Duochao fiercely.

"Your Excellency!"

Peng Duochao knelt down on one knee, his face flushed, "Go to the soup and go to the fire, don't hesitate!" ”

At this time, in the waterway on the east side of Xiamen, the Ming warships had approached the Baishi Fort of the Qing army.

Two nautical miles from the White Rock Battery, four steamers slowed down, turned to stop and anchor, and formed a horizontal line.

The two main guns in the front and rear of each ship were slowly aimed at the Baishi Battery.

At 7:25 a.m., Wang Tiehammer gave an order, "Hit the flag, the whole team shoots a salvo!" ”