"To General Sù Baccari, the French fleet must move. Give the Chinese a little color and see! ”

Asking to see Liu Xian five times in a row, the anger and shame in Luo Shuya's heart were about to annihilate his whole person. The reason why he was able to maintain a little clarity and only ask the French fleet to attack the ports of Hongji, instead of the ports of Qinzhou and Guangzhou, was because the brilliant brains of diplomats kept him awake in the sea of anger.

Of course, the thousands of French soldiers and so many French officers in the hands of the Sino-Vietnamese coalition forces are also the reason why Luo Shuya must maintain containment.

In the eighth month of the lunar calendar, the Qin army has been adjusted, and the Jiangxi Raiders and Hunan Raiders, which were almost suspended because of the great floods in Fujian and Guangdong, have re-ranked themselves in the first position of the new Qin government. At the same time, the French fleet was haunted by the mouth of the Red River.

Under the blue sky, the turquoise waves crashed against the side of the ship, and the splash turned into a white foam and fell back into the sea.

The tricolor flag fluttered in the sea breeze on the sails. Forty-five-year-old Knoll. Rear Admiral Bakali, France, was standing on the deck of the flagship Triumph, looking ahead. Bhopal, Bernie, Messer, Besta and other French captains stood behind him. The sailors on the Triumph were busy going back and forth on board.

"This is the harbor of our enemy. What their batteries are like, I think all gentlemen know very well. Show the spirit of dealing with the British battery, take it—"

Bakali patted the side of the boat. At his feet was the ironclad ship Triumph, the pride of the French Navy, formerly known as the La Galizonia. Construction began on June 22, 1868 in Brest, France, was launched on May 7, 1872, and commissioned in 1874. The displacement is 4645 tons, the length of the ship is 78 meters, the width is 15 meters, and the draft is 7.4 meters. It is equipped with 4 boilers, two-shaft propulsion, with an output of 2,200-2,400 hp and a speed of up to 12.7 knots. It has a coal load capacity of 500 tons and a range of 1,000 nautical miles. The ship is armed with 6 239mm heavy guns, 4 120mm breech guns, 6 99mm breech guns, and 8 1-pounder guns. Side armor 152mm, turret and deck 119mm. The establishment is 352 people, and 382 people are equipped in wartime.

When the expeditionary force was organized, the French Navy took the California as its flagship and renamed it the auspicious Triumph.

With such tonnage and firepower, one can easily handle three or four small ironclad ships of the Qin army. What's more, there were also iron-ribbed wood-hulled warships of higher tonnage in the French fleet. So don't look at the number of warships of the Qin army is about the same as that of the French, but the combat effectiveness of the two sides is far behind!

There were a total of 10 French warships off the coast of Hongji Port. Two ironclad ships, two iron-ribbed cruisers, six wooden-hulled battleships. The Bakali fleet did not carry even a single small gunboat, and behind them, only four steam carriers and two transport ships were parked.

In the distance, the firelight on the harbor flickered and flickered, and wisps of black smoke slowly rose, converging into a thick gray and black cloud in midair. On the boat, Bakali could even smell the characteristic scorching smell of burning trees. Just now, the Duluin ironclad ship led four wooden-hulled warships, and with the cover of the rising sun, launched a tentative attack on the harbor.

The task was completed very smoothly. Five battleships were not damaged in the slightest, but the enemy did not fight back. The two forts in Hongji Port, one south and one north, were like dumb people, and they didn't say a word.

The whole Hongji port is also like a dead port!

It's just that Bakali knows how powerful those two batteries are. The enclosed fort, built entirely of stone and reinforced concrete, is of the highest standard in Europe. They were armed with heavy artillery capable of inflicting damage on the French fleet, and the lack of a response to the shelling meant that all the warships under Bakali's command were simply unable to effectively observe his opponents.

Hongji Port was the most important and only energy source for the Qin army. The two batteries here attracted the attention of all of Europe as early as the beginning of their construction.

On the surface, the maximum caliber of the shore defense gun here is only 176mm, but fools know that this is a fake.

Bakali guessed that it was at least a heavy gun of more than 200mm. It's a pity that the other party never fought back, and he had no way to judge. It is also not known how many gun emplacements there are in the two batteries.

In the sea breeze, Bakari shook his head with a little regret. But forget it, the Triumph is invincible in Asia. Even if there is heavy artillery, it will not get in the way. Just now these Chinese did not fire a single shell when they attacked, perhaps the incompetent Chinese had already fled shamefully when they saw their powerful fleet coming!

"General, look, it's Chinese. They're coming! The adjutant suddenly pointed to the port. I saw a very small boat, swaying in the waves towards the fleet.

The boat approached the Triumph slowly. A few minutes later, two Chinese appeared in front of Bakali and the others.

The visitor glanced at everyone in Bakali with contempt and blew up the door, "Qin Fei, director of the security department of the new Qin Hongji Port. ”

"Mr. General, on behalf of the Xinqin Government, I would like to lodge the most severe protest against the illegal shelling of our ports by the French Third Republic by sea force. I hope that your government will stop being obsessed with it and continue to make mistakes again and again.

As for the commander of this shelling, the general himself, we will give you an hour to voluntarily go ashore and surrender yourself to our law. If, after an hour, you are not present in person, or if there is another act of force by the French army that violates our rights and interests. It will be regarded as a declaration of war by the French Third Republic against our new Qin.

The two countries are officially at war! ”

Baccari and all the other Frenchmen were dumbfounded. The translator behind Qin Fei gave this passage to the French with a good word.

When they heard the 'protest', all the French showed the pride of the Gallic rooster and their contempt and contempt for China. But after that, they couldn't believe their ears.

"Damn, shit! You are making a joke of us, of the great France. Go to war, go to war. France goes to war against Xinqin. I'm going to lead the fleet and send all of you yellow and fur monkeys to hell. ”

Bakali was completely furious!

It is no wonder that Bakali, who went through the War of the Two Crows, is one of the hundred people who look down on China. The army's failures after failures made him even more angry.

Now, he wants to sue the Chinese. On land, you may be able to fight. But on the ocean, Europeans are the masters of the world!

The French warships were still tentatively bombarded at the beginning of the second battle, and one after another whistling shells flew out of the bow of the warship, landed on the docks, and landed on the batteries. Dust was flying, rubble and fragments were flying in the air, and heavy smoke enveloped the port area.

In the fort, the soldiers of the coastal defense battalion felt as if they had boarded a small wrecked ship parked in the middle of the ocean, baptized by a storm. Shells swept left and right along the docks, and each shell that landed on the battery was a shock to the soldiers. The dust on the top fell straight down, making the soldiers wonder if these shells would break through the top layer and fall directly on their heads in the next moment.

"Squad leader, the foreign devil's cannonball is evil, will it penetrate the top? Why do I think there is no bottom for this bombardment? It's too long in the world, it seems like half an hour, right? One of the recruits was overwhelmed by the heavy artillery fire, leaning against the wall and vomiting while saying his own words of concern.

Next to him, a young soldier who was patting the back of a vomiting recruit and whose face was extremely pale said loudly: "Don't talk nonsense! Foreign devils can't beat us. If their cannons can really penetrate the top of the fort, will the people above ask us to let the foreign devils get close and then fight?

This is the devil himself to give himself courage!

Don't look at the excitement of the fight now, when we make a move, some foreign devils are easy to see! ”

"Stop yelling. What are you doing with so much care?! This cannon can't hit you, he can bomb as long as he likes! Anyway, if the enemy doesn't get close, we won't fight, as long as he dares to come up, don't blame Lao Tzu for letting him come and go! ”

The squadron leader shouted loudly, boosting morale.

It's just that the loud explosion makes the company commander's voice seem to be far away in the sky, out of reach. And it wasn't just a soldier in the area who was hit hard by the shells. The weather in Vietnam is already hot, and now the autumn tiger is still powerful, the fort is like a stove, and many soldiers feel that they are sitting in a steamer, being grilled by a raging fire, and the sweat on their bodies keeps dripping.

"Squadron Leader! Our squad leader was killed by a cannon! ”

The squadron leader was thinking, when the light dimmed, and a soldier rushed in at the back door, crying out.

"Fuck! Before I even fought, I actually broke a good brother of mine......" The squadron leader couldn't help but smack and scolded.

This squad leader stayed on the surface to observe the distance between enemy ships.

According to the operational regulations, the battery was never allowed to huddle in a single group. Even if there is carpet bombing outside, it is necessary to leave enough observation posts to keep track of the enemy's situation at all times.

No matter how good the battery building is, the enclosed environment also obstructs their view. At least in terms of observation, there is no such accuracy as Toru Outside. The squad leader was the officer leading the observation post, a veteran artilleryman who was skilled enough to make no mistake in measuring distances. As a result, he did not expect that under the blind shelling of the French, he could also blow him up in the observation post. It may be that this squad leader was the first person to die in the Qin army after the official start of the Battle of Hongji, but he was by no means the last.

"Big Bear! Come up with me and observe! The squadron leader cursed, picked up the helmet beside him, yelled behind him, and got out without saying a word. His communicator, Zhao Daxiong, hurriedly followed the squadron leader and rushed out.

Thick smoke rose everywhere, and gunsmoke filled the air. A sea breeze blew, and the choking smell of gunpowder smoke filled the air, making people cough and cry uncontrollably. The battery was trembling, and the squadron leader rubbed his eyes and threw himself forward to look down at the observation post. The entire beach front position was littered with craters, from which black smoke billowed towards the battery!

"Send a telegram to Guangzhou, on September 15, 1877, the third day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, at 9:20 a.m., the French fleet attacked the port of Hongji. Qin Fa, officially went to war. - Liao Wenhui. R1152