On the endless sea, the French Far East Fleet, lined up in two columns, was approaching the Great Clearwater Division at full speed. The ambushed "Dur" was taking the lead in the Qing gunboats that came to block it, followed by "Grace", "Victory", "La Pelus", "Paran", "Sign", "Sony", and "Rich". A total of eight battleships. Among them are two ironclads "Grace" and "Victory", three cruisers "Dole", "La Pelus", "Parry", and the rest of the gunboats!

The new commander of the Far Eastern Fleet, Rear Admiral Billy, stood on the deck of the flagship "Door" and looked ahead with a telescope. The "Dour" under its feet is the pride of the whole of France, and with a displacement of 5700 and a speed of 17 knots, it is undoubtedly an elephant with the speed of a cheetah! With more than 30 guns, it is undoubtedly a nightmare for any fleet, and he firmly believes that it is not a problem to deal with the nine mosquito ships in front of him that are heading towards him!

"General, it's some old-fashioned warships, there are only 9 of them, and now they are only 9,000 meters away from us." A pro-soldier next to him reported.

Billy put down his binoculars and took a few steps. I didn't see the main ironclad ships of the Qing State that Toure said, and quickly guessed the intentions of the Qing army. He smiled coldly: "I can't imagine that the Chinese sent those sailboats, haha, are they trying to delay time?" Take out Fair's fleet with their new warships? But are they too naïve? Fell also had two ironclads, four cruisers, eight gunboats, and four torpedo ships. In Billy's opinion, it would probably only take half an hour to defeat the sailboats in front of him.

"Order, the standard speed of the fleet is 8 knots, change formation. The right column then deflected 45 degrees and headed northwest. Also meet the enemy in a column formation. Billy decided to defeat the old warships first, and then go to surround the new warships of the Qing army.

It turned out that the French fleet, which was advancing in unison, quickly opened to both sides like a torn zipper, and turned into an upward greater than "ˇ". At this time, the guns on the side chord of the warship lifted their gun jackets one by one, and the barrels of the black holes pointed at the Qing fleet that was rushing towards the sea level.

At this time, Xu Changshun, the captain of the "Wan Nianqing", discharged a long staggered horizontal formation of enemy ships facing each other with the bow of the ship.

The tactics were successfully used by the Austrians in the Battle of Lissa between Austria and Italy in 1866, when they quickly approached the Italian fleet and engaged in broadside battles, even ramming and sinking a battleship in the confusion. This naval battle was a classic battle in the era of steam engine warships. Xu Changshun's first tactical lesson in the Fujian Shipbuilding Academy was about this naval battle, and now, in his opinion, the only way to help them narrow the gap between the two armies is this formation. His warships were too old and too small. The 1,134-ton "evergreen" is already considered large. Unless the most powerful main gun on the ship directly hits the enemy's hull at close range, it is impossible to do too much damage to the French ship, and the warships lined up in a horizontal line can quickly rush into the enemy fleet, disrupt the enemy's formation, and then divide and encircle.

Although the posture of facing the enemy in the bow of the ship makes the rear main gun and most of the side guns unable to play a role, it gives the front main gun a larger firing angle and room to play, and these old gunboats were originally designed according to the needs of shore defense, and generally lack side guns and rear guns, so the impact is not great.

Moreover, in naval battles, the elevation angle of the artillery is not engaged, and the striking part is mainly the side chord. And now the Qing fleet meets the enemy with the bow of the ship, which greatly reduces the chance of being shot in the side chord. And it is possible to move in an "S" shape at will, avoiding enemy shells.

At 12:07 p.m., the battle, known as the Battle of the South China Sea, began......

"Boom ......"

The 320mm gun of the "Graceful" in charge of the first launch made a loud noise, and many people who were not prepared immediately felt that their ears had lost their hearing.

The scorching blast wave burst out of the barrel with the fire and white smoke it had fired, carrying with it the suffocating smell of gunpowder. The gun carriage was pushed up the recoiling ramp by the huge recoil caused by the shot, and the water pressure retreat also played a role in counteracting the recoil. But at this time, not many people will sigh at the subtlety of the design, everyone looks at the shooting effect of the first shell!

After ten wonders, before this shell exploded, the main gun of "Victory", not far from "Grace" on the left side, also sounded.

After another two minutes, I saw that the "Graceful" shell exploded in the water and set off a white column of water nearly 100 meters high, and it did not hit the target! This was not unexpected, the shell, with a sharp whistling sound, crossed the deck of the "Evergreen", which rushed to the forefront, from the front right to the left rear, and exploded only 200 meters on its port side.

The gunner immediately reported: "Hit far." The explosion of this shell was not heard back to the Grace until eighteen seconds after it was fired.

Xu Changshun had participated in the battle of encirclement and suppression of "elegance" during the naval battle of the East China Sea, and knew that the power of his artillery was huge. But he was still deeply shocked by the huge explosion 200 meters away, and at this time the distance between the two armies was only 3,000 meters.

"Order the Grace and the Victory to the left full rudder and open the distance from the Qing ** ship. Giving them the heaviest blow beyond the range of their guns, the other warships followed me with a full rudder. Also distance yourself from them. Billy said to the lieutenant beside him.

The distance that had just been shortened was instantly pulled away again. So far, the nine gunboats of the Qing army have not fired a single shot. Although it is barely enough to shoot at range, it is a pity that at such a long distance, even if it can hit the French ship. It's just a firework on the other deck, and it can't penetrate their thick steel plate at all.

"Don't scatter the team, concentrate on rushing towards the Grace and the Victory." Xu Changshun continued to order.

"Xu Guandao, so that our stern is equivalent to their target on the Duer!" A pro-soldier said with an ugly face.

Xu Changshun calmly looked at the slowly separated French fleet, and shouted to the flag soldiers: "Tell them that the ships are 3,000 meters apart." Don't get together! Find an opportunity to surround the Grace, even if you hit it, and pretend to sink him for me. ”

"Boom ......"

A shell accurately hit the gunboat "Zhendong" rushing from the front, directly piercing the side chord and exploding inside the ship. A large hole about three meters in diameter was blown open.

The "Zhendong" immediately tilted badly to the right, and a large amount of sea water entered the belly of the "Zhendong". But "Zhendong", which had eaten more than 400 tons of seawater, still rushed towards "Elegance" without hesitation.

"Haha, these little gunboats are really beyond their means. Tell the gunner, give me a direct aim. Sink him! Toure looked excitedly on the Grace as he watched the small gunboat that had chased him in the East China Sea.

"Report to the general, two Qing gunboats appeared on the left. On the right, a medium-shot gunboat was also moving at full speed towards us. An observer reported.

"Oh? They're just staring at us? Toure looked to the right and continued: "Wave the flag, tell the Victory." Quickly move to my left and take out the two mosquito boats. ”

Xu Changshun's "Wan Nianqing" had already hit two shells at this time, but fortunately it was only the stern of the rear that was shot. And it was only caused by some small French gunboats and the sidechord secondary guns of the "Doul", and the damage was not great. The fire that appeared at the stern of the ship had also been extinguished, and I watched as the gunboats around me were sunk one by one. I was filled with grief and indignation!

"Tell the Nanzen to fire at the Grace. Bring him to me" Xu Changshun turned his head and said to his own soldiers: "Drive at full speed towards the Grace, don't care how many French warships are firing at us." ”

Toure stood in the observation cabin, watching the Qing gunboats that were either immersed in water and sunk or burned by bullets and still drove towards him without hesitation. In addition to a trace of surprise in my heart, I was also deeply shocked by this spirit!

"What kind of army is this?" Toure said silently.

"Report, the Dohr sent a flag, asking us to break through to the southeast at full speed." The two cruisers La Perlus and "Parry" had already arrived at the fastest speed. A herald said.

"Direction southeast, full speed ahead. The side guns and rear guns opened fire on the Qing gunboats. Toure ordered decisively.

On the other side, Xu Changshun saw that the "Elegance" was really heading towards him. I was secretly happy in my heart, although in front of "elegance", my own warship may be just a mouse in front of an elephant. But sometimes, rats can kill an elephant!

"30 degrees to the right, go northwest in a straight line, give way to the opponent's bow main gun, and advance to the side chord of the Grace." Xu Shunli commanded.

Since the firing angle of the main gun was only 25 degrees, after avoiding 30 degrees. Basically, you can avoid the 320mm caliber horror main gun! Although those side-chord secondary cannons also have great lethality, they are already the smallest blow that can be received so far.

The "Evergreen" shook violently, and the side chord was hit by the main guns of the cruiser "Parry" behind it. Due to the distance, although the hull was not pierced, there were many cracks and water ingress in the hull!

At the beginning of the East China Sea, small French gunboats were surrounded in a small area of the military port. Sunk by "Undefeated" and "Long Victory" consecutive hits. It is caused by the small space in the military port and the inability to turn. And now in the vast South China Sea, although it is also a large ironclad ship against a small gunboat. But the situation is completely different.

After more than 2 hours of fighting, there were less than 4 of the 9 gunboats of the Qing army. And the only four remaining gunboats are also full of holes, especially the "Zhenbian", after being hit by a torpedo, most of the hull is already in the sea. And the main gunner is still firing gracefully!

"Boom ......"

A cannonball made a graceful arc in the air and landed accurately on the deck of the Grace. Although it did little damage to the Grace itself, the gunners on deck who were responsible for firing the guns were killed on the spot, along with several sailors who were responsible for transporting the shells.

Xu Changshun saw the opportunity, maybe in the whole blocking battle. Only this one chance!

"Go full speed toward the Elegance and don't go around the S again. Straight ahead, their main guns were silent. Maybe it's only a few minutes, so get up to me. ”

Xu Changshun reacted quickly.

Toure saw it clearly, and hurriedly arranged: "Quick, let the deputy gunner go to the front of the ship to control the main gun." Shoot at the Qing gunboats that rushed up in front. The ship stopped advancing"

1000 meters, 800 meters, 500 meters......

Closer, closer......

The corners of Xu Changshun's mouth slowly rose up, revealing his first smile after the war!

On the other side, Toure's face turned pale and he scolded angrily at the adjutant beside him: "Why haven't you stopped yet?" We're about to collide with the gunboats on the other side. ”

"General, it's stopped. But the inertia that has just advanced at full speed at 15 knots is too strong. I can't stop all of a sudden! ”

"Isn't the deputy gunner in place yet? Shoot at them. Toure yelled frantically.

"It's in place, but the shells on the deck have been blown up. The ammunition man has already gone to the ammunition depot to get it, and it should be in place right away. ”

The distance between the two ships is already only 200 meters. At such a close distance, if the main gun of the "Grace" fired a shell. The "Evergreen" will be directly pierced through the entire hull, but it is the "Evergreen" that will fire first

"Boom ......"

Even at such a close distance, the shells sent by the "Evergreen" only barely caused a little damage to the "Grace". Or that there is no fatal injury at all.

Fortunately, they had time, under a series of blows. The "Grace" was hit by 4 shots at close range in a row, and only the bow of the ship cracked and there was water ingress.

At this time, the cruiser "Parry" had already caught up and hit the "Evergreen" several shells in a row. But this time it was not so lucky, due to the close distance, "Wan Nianqing" has been seriously flooded, and there are signs of sinking.

"Xu Guan, the aft compartment was pierced by the deck. Severe water ingress is out of control. A pro-soldier reported.

Xu Shunli looked at the elegant number that was gradually receding, and he was ten thousand unconvinced. If he had commanded an ironclad ship of the same level, the Grace in front of him would have long since returned to the South China Sea......

"Tell the brothers, today is the day for us to serve the emperor and the court. Rush up for me and knock over that *** Grace. Even if we die, we will pull a cushion. ”

The slowly sinking "Wan Nianqing" dragged nearly 500 tons of seawater in its belly, and still quickly rushed towards elegance.

Toure, who was originally relieved, instantly became nervous again!