(New books for collections, recommended votes, please, please!) Your attention is the motivation for my writing, thank you! ）

"It's just in time, it's been a night for them, and it's hard enough for them to attack now!" Wang Zhenbang was calm on the surface, but he still felt a slight wave in his heart, he had actually been looking forward to the Qing army coming to attack Shuizhai at night since late last night! "Where have they been?" Wang Zhenbang raised his head and asked.

"It's about five kilometers away from us!" The messenger replied immediately.

"Five kilometers!" Wang Zhenbang repeated softly. The distance of five kilometers is very short, and the wind is not blowing east but southwest today, so the Qing army is not affected by the wind speed, so it will not take more than three quarters of an hour to reach Shuangshan Island. "Okay, you go down!"

After speaking, Wang Zhenbang continued to shout into the cabin: "Someone! ”

"Kick kick" A series of footsteps, and several guards outside trotted in. "I've seen the Commander!"

"Immediately give the order, all arms for battle, every battleship in each fleet to do the final inspection, reload the artillery, and be ready to fight at any time!"

"Yes!"

"Dangdang Dang"

A loud and hurried bell rang from the battleship Zhenyuan, and at the same time, the flag commander also conveyed the order to fight, and the fleets in front and behind immediately quickly prepared. In fact, everything was prepared last night, and the combat positions were fixed, and now it only needs all the warships to sail to the corresponding positions!

On the side of the Qing army, the Qing army led by Wang Zhiding a few months ago defeated the Taiwanese naval division led by Liu Guoxuan who entered the Yangtze River, and captured more than 1,300 sailors of the Zheng army's naval division. In addition, the Qing army also obtained eighteen warships of the Zheng army. In particular, the thirteen gunboats of the Zheng army armed to the teeth were obtained. Got 500 cannons. It was a big win. Therefore, he is also full of confidence in this battle against the Mawei Navy, even though he already knows that the Mawei Navy is all powerful sail warships with a large number of artillery, but he is still very confident.

The source of his confidence came from the hundreds of naval warships he had all over him. In the last war, he was the sweetener of wolf pack tactics, so many merchant ships along the coast and along the river were recruited by him as war ships, especially sand boats, and there were few free sand ships at the mouth of the Yangtze River. Those who were not recruited were all families with very hard backgrounds. Therefore, Wang Zhiding gathered more than one hundred and ninety-one sand boats on his side, plus other large ships such as fortune ships and big rush ships, and the number of large ships with a length of more than 30 meters in the entire army reached 260!

In addition to the captured artillery of the Zheng army and the artillery of the original Jiangning naval division, the firepower was also strong enough, so he was confident that he would win this battle. His ambition was to bombard the Mawei Army in one fell swoop, and then the wolves would embrace it and capture a large number of warships of the Mawei Army, which would not only be a great victory in the water war. The point is to enhance the strength of his Jiangning Water Master again, then his status and power will become more and more prominent at that time!

On the Mawei Navy, the Fifth Squadron battlefleet column extended the longest, close to the right side of the river. It was very close to Shuangshan Island, and the Sixth Squadron was on the left, while Wang Zhenbang's Yuanzi formation and the First Squadron were backed by Kaisha Island, and several detachments were waiting for the arrival of the Qing army in an authentic V-shaped formation. Eight hundred meters west of Shuangshan Island, nearly 500 underwater dragon king cannons were laid on the river, and it was extremely difficult to be noticed under the hazy fog of this morning!

Just a quarter of an hour after the fleet was fully prepared, Wang Zhenbang and others on the Zhenyuan received a report from the soldiers on the mast: "Report to the commander, I received a report from the flag of the Fifth Squadron that the main force of the enemy naval division has been found in front and is already approaching the mine area!" ”

Hearing that the main force of the Qing Army's naval division took the initiative to meet it in front, instead of using fireships to take the lead in attacking, Wang Zhenbang couldn't help laughing, this is their own death to blame others. Now that you know that the enemy is taking the initiative to face the battle, the next step is much easier! He said in a deep voice: "Tell me to probe again, carefully find out the specific number of enemy ships, their size and configuration, and the current distance from us. ”

"Yes!" The flag commander on the mast saluted in unison with the upper fight, and then began to issue a flag order to ask.

Geng Jingzhong also left the cabin at this time, came to the deck again, pulled out the telescope he carried with him and began to watch. Directly west, about 2,000 meters away, there was a dense black spot, but due to the fog on the surface of the river, it was not very clear. Geng Jingzhong also glanced at the streamers on the beanie hats worn by the marine soldiers standing on the deck, whether it was blowing the same as yesterday today, and it was still a southwest wind. However, the Qing army's naval division was in the upper hand, and with the speed of the Qing army's naval division's warships, it should take about five or six minutes for the Qing army's warships to enter the mine area.

"Boom"

The first to touch a dragon cannon, the speed of the warship was fast enough, and the impact immediately triggered the underwater dragon cannon, and the Qing soldiers standing on the warship only felt that the hull shook violently, and everyone was unstable and fell heavily on the deck, and the violent explosion suddenly made the right hull of the boat be broken a hole with a diameter of two feet, and the river water poured into the cabin violently.

"What's going on?" Wang Zhiding was also paying close attention to the warship he was attacking, and suddenly found that in addition to the problem of this rushing ship, at this time, the speed of the Qing warship was extremely fast, and they all rushed to the Mawei warship in front with all their might, ready to use their own cannons to sink it! The mighty mighty of two hundred and sixty ships is not amazing, and who will go back at this time to care if a warship next to it is damaged? Damage to ships in water battles is a common occurrence, and there is nothing to pay attention to.

"I don't know, it exploded over there as soon as it was like this, it should be Geng Yi who fired first!" The deputy general of the sailor next to him responded that they really didn't think about the mine, although they would also make the old-fashioned underwater dragon king cannon, but that thing had to be selected in advance to the upstream position and light the incense, but now that they are the upstream position, the mine is useless to them. It's just that none of them thought that the Mawei Army's new underwater Dragon King Cannon did not move by the current, but was almost fixed in one position. There's a rope attached to it underneath. The Qing warship crashed into it at once. Isn't it just a shipwreck!

"Boom"

"Boom"

"Boom"

There were explosions one after another, and there were constantly Qing warships hit, but fortunately, these warships of the Qing army were still big ships, and they did not sink immediately after being bombed by the underwater dragon king cannon, but only a hole was broken in the hull, but a large amount of river water poured into the cabin, and it was only a matter of time before the warship sank, and the officers and soldiers of the naval division on the warship saw that the warship could not be repaired. had to jump into the water in a panic to escape.

"Boom"

"Boom"

"Boom"

The speed of the Qing army was too fast, in just two or three minutes, more than 50 warships on the Qing army's side were lucky to hit the underwater dragon king cannon, and they were completely reimbursed, and at this time the Qing army also reacted. But why are the mines of the Mawei Army so strange, how can they be laid in this place?

"Hahaha! The Qing army has been recruited! The officers and men of the ships on the side of the Mawei Army all clapped their hands and laughed, how much is a mine, others don't know. The officers and men of the navy all know that the main thing in it is gunpowder. If you die a piece, it will cost you fifty silver dollars, but how much is a warship, like these warships in front of the Qing army, sand boats, rushing boats, and lucky ships, the cost of an ordinary medium one is between 15,000 taels and 20,000 taels. But now, in a series of roaring explosions, the Qing army's warships were very light and were torn apart by the Dragon King Cannon, fifty or sixty ships, which were exchanged for small for large, completely disproportionate!

The main reason is that the Mawei Army laid mines too intensively, and 500 mines were concentrated on this 100-meter-long section of the river. The river here is already as wide as five kilometers, and the section in the middle that the Qing army is most likely to sail is also within a width of two kilometers. In this section of 100 meters by 2,000 meters, more than 200 warships poured in at once, and the probability of encountering them is not very large! But the Qing army warship is also powerful, a warship did not encounter a dragon cannon at all, after the move, the warship did not stop immediately but continued to sail forward with leisurely inertia and wind for a while, which inevitably hit the mine again, the result is self-evident, it is very tragic, the whole ship was blown apart, and the other warships are similar!

However, after the Qing army paid the price of 80 warships, there were basically no mines on this section of the river, and the remaining warships still rushed towards the Mawei army quickly. On the Mawei Army Zhenyuan, just like the expedition back then, Wang Zhenbang still won't take the initiative to let the Zhenyuan rush ahead, after all, Geng Jingzhong is on the ship, and he still has to ensure Geng Jingzhong's safety first. However, their own formations are complete, their ships are well prepared, and the battle situation is in their favor.

Wang Zhenbang, who had been holding a telescope to observe the enemy's situation, couldn't help but bend the corners of his mouth slightly, and after a slight groan, he ordered: "Order the Sixth and Fifth Fleets to open fire as soon as the Qing army enters the pocket, and wait until the main force of the Qing army enters the encirclement, and the Sixth Fleet is responsible for cutting off the connection between the main warships of the Qing army and the small boats in the rear." The headquarters and the 1st Squadron followed the commander to meet the enemy head-on, and all fleets formed battle formations and prepared for battle. ”

The flag commander quickly repeated the order, and the flag commander above the mast quickly began to move the flag to start the order. The tactics of the navy in this era are still mainly those two, one is the close-range melee of the side, the fleets of the two sides charge each other first, and then entangle together, there is no tactical content at all, that is, artillery bombardment, broadside warfare and the like, just like the cavalry melee on land, although this tactical method of combat has been completely outdated in later generations, but it is still the main naval battle tactics in the East. This is the idea that the Qing army is fighting at this moment, and if they want to get closer, they will first bombard it violently with cannons, and then let many warships pounce on it to meet the gunwales and seize the battleships.

This tactic, in the Western countries, especially the United Kingdom and the Netherlands and other maritime powers, after the power of artillery has been greatly improved, the broadside melee has been slowly eliminated. And on the side of the Mawei Army, it is also the last choice, and the first choice is, of course, to use its own powerful artillery river enemy ships to be thousands of kilometers away!

If it was on the sea, Wang Zhenbang would make the Mawei army not hesitate to adopt battle line tactics. In naval battles, ships of both sides usually line up in two columns, running parallel to each other or in the same direction. Shoot at each other's gunboards. I don't know how many times this tactic has been practiced by the Mawei Army. The advantages are obvious, which makes it possible to give full play to the firepower advantage of the Mawei battleship. The drawbacks of this tactic are also very simple, because they are simplistic and stylized, and naval warfare is like wrestling; if the two fleets are on equal footing, they often lose and lose even if they are defeated, and now all European maritime powers use this method of warfare. However, the Mawei Navy still has an advantage. Because their naval guns are stronger than either side!

The West is still fighting at sea, and the third war between Britain and the Netherlands is in full swing, but it basically relies on this tactic. The most trained by the Mawei Army is this battle line tactics, as for the T-shaped formation, etc., they are also in the training subjects of the Navy, but under normal circumstances, no one is a fool in naval warfare, and if you have to run to the T-shaped battle formation, you are looking for death! And the use of battle line tactics has a great deal to do with the choice of wind direction. A battleship in the upper wind. The hull of the ship will tilt downwind, and the horizontal angle of fire of the naval guns on this side will be low. It is beneficial to attack the hull of the enemy ship on the opposite side; On the other hand, a battleship in the downwind direction, with its hull tilted backwards and a higher horizontal angle of fire from its gunwales, was conducive to attacking the masts and sails of the opposing enemy ships. The choice of the upwind direction belongs to the aggressive table xiàn, the purpose of which is to sink the enemy ship; Choosing the downwind direction is a defensive stance aimed at destroying the power system of the enemy ship and making it incapacitating so that it can get out of the boat.

Generally speaking, a fleet that is at a disadvantage will usually choose to have the upper hand in order to escape, while a fleet that is in an advantageous position will often choose to have the upper hand and try to achieve more results after the start of the battle. Of course, if it is to completely annihilate the enemy, the side that is in absolute advantage will also choose to have the upper hand and cut off the enemy's escape route. And when the strength of the two armies is equal, whichever side can seize the upper hand will be able to occupy the battlefield advantage.

However, the second line tactic does not correspond to the current situation. The Qing warship formation is about to penetrate into the henchmen of the Ma Navy like arrows, but this river is also wide enough, even if the Qing army is inserted, it is still nearly two kilometers away from the Mawei Navy warships on the left and right!

"Boom"

"Boom"

"Boom"

There was still an explosion in the rear, and the Qing army continued to have warships crashing into mines, and this series of explosions had lowered the morale of the Qing army, which was originally full of morale, and after rushing to the front and seeing the Mawei warship, the ordinary Qing soldiers were a little stunned.

"This, this is the rebellious Mawei Navy?" The generals of the Qing army who rushed to the center of the river also saw the appearance of the opposite fleet clearly from the clairvoyant mirror, and they were suddenly startled. I have long heard that the battleships of the Mawei Army are huge and full of firepower, and I thought it was an exaggeration at first, but now it seems that it is not an exaggeration at all, since all the battleships are sail warships, except for those clippers, of course.

"The Qing army has entered a range of 1,500 meters!" On the left side of the Sixth Fleet, a third-class battleship, the mast of the battleship reported to the observer.

"Okay, all guns are ready, ignition!"

"Tom Tom"

"Tom Tom"

"Tom Tom"

At a distance of 1,500 meters, the Qing army could not open artillery, and their effective range could not reach such a distance. Even if it is hit, it is considered blind, but the naval guns of the Mawei battleship are no problem, and the naval guns of thirty pounds and above on the battleship have the largest and strongest damage within a range of 1,500 meters.

On the other side, Chao Shun of the Fifth Fleet was not to be left behind, and when the Qing army entered the firing range, he and the captains of the ships immediately issued an order: "Ignite and fire!" ”

"Tom Tom"

"Tom Tom"

"Tom Tom"

Eighty warships of the Sixth and Fifth Fleets on the left and right sides of the river were the first to open fire, and in terms of the quantity and quality of artillery, these two detachments alone surpassed the Jiangning Naval Division of the Qing Army in front of them. The 80 warships of the two detachments had more than 1,500 guns on board, and the total number of ships of the Qing naval division, including the captured guns of the Zheng army, did not reach 1,500. Of course, if the most ordinary bowl mouth gun in Jiang and their army is also counted, then it is more than that!

Although the guns can be equal in quantity, the difference in quality is huge. The same artillery, but the guns of the Mawei Navy were two or three grades stronger than it. The number of artillery pieces of 18 pounder and above on the Qing army's side was very small, and there were no artillery guns of more than 30 pounder. In fact, the eighteen-pound artillery was already a heavy artillery in the naval division of the Qing army.

On the battleships of the Mawei Navy, especially on the third-class battleships, there were the most 18-pounder guns, and 10 30-pounder guns and 10 60-pounder guns. In the eyes of the Mawei Navy, only thirty-pounder and sixty-pounder guns can be counted as heavy artillery, and eighteen pounder can only be regarded as average.

Wang Zhenbang didn't care what the Qing army wanted at the moment, but when the Qing warships approached, they were already bombarded by the sixth and fifth fleets. On the two sides of the long V-shape, 80 large and small warships of the two sub-flotillas were neatly distributed, and the total number of guns on the right side of the Sixth Fleet and the left side of the Fifth Fleet added up to more than 800 guns, and most of them were more than 12-pound cannons. The artillery opened fire so strongly that the Qing warships stopped a lot along the way, and a few smaller ones were directly sunk. Before he could get close at all, he had already suffered such a loss, and Wang Zhiding, who was looking at the rear, was bleeding in his heart.

Their naval warships did not cause much damage to the navy at all, and it was not only the gap between the battleships and the artillery. More importantly, the training of the Qing army's sailors was far inferior to that of the Mawei naval soldiers. Although the surface of the river is not as windy and wave as the sea, it is difficult to aim and shoot, and without a lot of training, it is not the slightest bit accurate. Even the Mawei Navy, which has undergone a lot of training, now has a hit rate of only two or three percent. And the Qing army's sailors were even more miserable, and even the hit rate was barely enough. (To be continued......)

PS: Vote brothers!