Episode 21 Minion Command

The waterway between Laotieshan and Beichenghuang Island is the widest waterway between the Bohai Strait, accounting for 40% of the width of the entire Bohai Strait.

This is the maritime gateway to the Bohai Sea and the Beijing-Tianjin-Tang region, and the Manchus have always cared about it. Although the strait was more than forty kilometers wide enough to hold two Pekings, or three Nankings, the Manchus apparently tried to hold it. This can be seen from the laying of the batteries at both ends.

On the old iron mountain in the northern section, the Qing army set up artillery groups on two hills.

A gun group was located on two low hills near the strait, a few hundred meters from the coast, and consisted of three batteries each, each armed with one 210-mm gun and two 155-mm guns.

The other artillery group was set up on the two main peaks of Laotie Mountain, more than 300 meters above sea level, about three kilometers from the coast, and each consisted of two batteries, each equipped with one 280-mm gun and two 254-mm guns.

The old Tieshan shore artillery group has a total of 280 mm guns, 4 254 mm guns, 3 210 mm guns, and 6 155 mm guns.

……

However, the North Chenghuang Island artillery group at the southern end is much smaller. Beichenghuang Island is very small, only two or three square kilometers, and there are no high mountains, and the highest point is only more than 100 meters above sea level. Therefore, there were only three batteries on North Chenghuang Island, each with two 210 mm guns and two 155 mm guns.

The artillery group of Beichenghuangdao has a total of 6 210-mm guns and 6 155-mm guns.

Thus, the total number of shore guns used to block the waterway reached 2 280-mm guns, 4 254-mm guns, 9 210-mm guns, and 12 155-mm guns.

Among them, the 280-mm gun with the largest caliber and the longest firing range has a maximum firing range of 27,000 meters; The 210-mm gun, which served as the main force, had a maximum firing range of 24,000 meters, and the smallest 155-mm gun had a maximum firing range of 17,000 meters.

That is, theoretically, the artillery on both sides of the Qing army could completely cover a strait 40 km wide. …… However, it is only theoretical.

Although the firing range of artillery in this era has reached tens of thousands of meters, and some perverted ones have even reached more than 100,000 meters, before the emergence of fire control radar, the distance of 15,000 meters to 20,000 meters was already the limit of human eyesight, and the accuracy rate was almost equal to zero. With hundreds of shells, it's good to have one close miss.

Therefore, when formulating the plan, the Ming naval generals did not take the Qing army batteries as a consideration at all, and directly ignored them. As long as the Ming fleet lined up in a line and passed through the middle of the waterway, ensuring a distance of 20,000 meters on both sides, the Qing army's fort could be said to be symbolic.

But what the generals of the Ming army were more worried about was the mines in the middle of the waterway. Perhaps the Qing army itself knew that the strait was too wide, and the shore artillery on both sides of it could only have the effect of forcing the enemy fleet into the middle, so they laid a mine belt in the middle of the waterway, and their ships went in and out on both sides.

According to the intelligence of the Ming army, the mine belt laid by the Qing army in the middle of the strait was a rectangle 30 kilometers long from north to south and 10 kilometers wide from east to west, and it was stopped in the middle of the strait. Any vessel wishing to enter or leave the strait must pass through the safe waters of 5,000 metres on each side. And this 5,000-meter-wide "safe zone" is under the nose of the Qing army's battery.

This time, the Ming army brought 20 minesweepers, which were used for this purpose.

……

20 minesweepers of more than 300 tons lined up at the front and began to advance at a speed of 10 knots. Behind each boat was a wide minesweeper. Where the minesweeper passed, floating mines on the sea surface were detonated; The chains of the anchor mines under the sea surface were also cut off, and they were detonated when they floated up.

For a while, there was a loud bang in front of the fleet, and tall water columns rose and fell.

The Qing army batteries on both sides naturally couldn't watch dryly. Although they know that their artillery is basically "not fighting for nothing, and if they are hit, they will fight for nothing", but they still have to fight, otherwise they will "drive the enemy for a long time" and will lose their heads.

Bright spots flashed on the two peaks of the Old Iron Mountain, and at the same time, more than a dozen smoke clouds floated gently.

The three observers on the starboard side of the bridge of the Hongwu shouted at the same time:

"At two o'clock, Old Iron Mountain opened fire on us!"

Immediately afterwards, more than a dozen bright spots flashed on the low hills of Beichenghuang Island, and more than a dozen smoke clouds floated up.

The three observers on the port side also shouted at the same time:

"At ten o'clock, North City God's Island opened fire on us!"

The commander of the fleet stared at the minesweeper directly in front of him with a telescope, watched the explosions one after another, and just nodded:

"Hmm."

Then he turned back and commanded:

"Hey, pour me another cup of tea."

The voice of the observer hand came from the microphone again:

"Captain, each ship has sent a signal asking if it will return fire."

The captain asked the fleet commander:

"Commander?"

The fleet commander smiled slightly: "No need to fight back. ”

"Yes, no need to fight back!"

At this time, more than a dozen water columns rose on the sea a few hundred meters away. A few moments later, more than a dozen columns of water rose from another part of the sea.

The point of impact was so far away that the screams of the air were not even heard beforehand.

On the bridge of the Hongwu, the signal lights issued orders forward and backward: keep the formation, keep the distance, keep the original speed, we are safe, don't be nervous.

The minesweepers in front were still swaggering to clear mines, and the battleships behind were still swaggering in.

Every few minutes, a few huge cannons at both ends flash fire, and after a few minutes, a huge column of water rises in places where the fleet's eight poles can't hit.

In the gap between the flashes of the 280-mm and 254-mm guns, the 210-mm and 155-mm shore guns flashed from time to time, and the water columns rose from far and near on both sides of the fleet. But so far, not a single shot has been missed.

The fleet commander lowered his binoculars and paced outside on the open-air bridge with hot tea, drinking tea while watching the water columns rising from time to time in the distance.

He looked at the few observers holding large binoculars around him, and said with a smile:

"How's it going, boys? Scared? ”

None of the observers lowered their binoculars, just grinned and shook their heads. It was the first time they had seen this formation, and although they knew that it was unlikely to be shot, after all, there were more than a dozen cannons in the distance that kept firing at them, and they were always a little nervous.

A few young men observed and laughed gossipily:

"Sir, we know there's nothing to be afraid of! Even if we stop here and stop for a day to hit them, it's amazing that they can hit two or three shots. ”

"The more than 200 millimeter shells of Qingyu, even if you take a few hits, are almost like tickling."

"If you can really hit us, the gunner of the Qing captives can also buy lottery tickets!"

……

Black clouds began to appear in the sky, and then muffled noises continued to be heard. This is the anti-aircraft artillery near Lushun hitting the reconnaissance plane of the Ming army.

Between the black clouds in the sky, a four-plane formation of fighters shuttled quickly, not even intending to take evasive actions.

Since the Ming army's Dongjiang Fleet base was only 100 kilometers away, fighter planes were used for reconnaissance. Fighter jets are small, fast, and self-defensive. Although the artillery fire of the Qing army was quite intensive, it was obviously more difficult to hit such a small and fast target than to hit a Ming warship 20,000 meters away.

"No enemy aircraft were spotted around!"

"No enemy torpedo boats were found around!"

"The enemy ship is still in Port Arthur, and there is no movement out of the port!"

"No enemy ships were found in the Weihai direction!"

The results of reconnaissance were constantly transmitted from all directions to the bases, and then to the flagship of the fleet.

Obviously, the Qing army saw the Ming army coming to the battleships and did not want the few cruisers that were left to come out and die.

This is the first time that the Ming fleet has entered the Bohai Strait on a large scale. The generals of the Lushun Qing army did not dare to slack off, and immediately reported to the authorities one by one. The administrative system of the Qing army, which was inefficient in peacetime, is now in good spirits, and it only took half an hour for the news to be reported to Emperor Guangwu. A special telephone line from the Lushun Headquarters to the Imperial Study of the Imperial Palace was also opened.

……

In the Forbidden City in Beijing, Emperor Guangwu stared at the report, barely believing his eyes.

Since the end of the last century, the Ming fleet has never invaded the Bohai Sea on such a large scale, and at most submarines have sneaked in. The Bohai Sea has always been the "inland sea" of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and the Bohai Strait has always been regarded as an impassable gateway for the Ming army.

In fact, regardless of the Ming and Qing dynasties, every sober-minded person knows that it is not that the Nanming fleet cannot enter, but that the Manchu Qing Dynasty has been in a strategic offensive against the Nanming since the Wuxu Reform, and the Nanming is unwilling to find trouble.

But it doesn't seem to be the same anymore.

He immediately summoned all the major military generals below for an emergency military meeting.

Emperor Guangwu paced frantically in the imperial study, looking at the wall clock on the wall and then at the map.

On the map, at the entrance to the Bohai Strait, a black dot is drawn with a pencil. He had drawn it five minutes earlier when he received the report.

He stared at the phone on his desk, hesitating whether he should order the three cruisers in Port Arthur to go out of port to intercept them. It is reported that the Ming fleet is advancing at a speed of 10 knots, which means that in more than ten minutes, they will pass through the mine belt and enter the Bohai Sea. At that time, the sea was open, and the enemy ships could change their formation at will, seize positions, and even form a T-shaped prefix to meet the pursuers, so the three cruisers on their side were really killed.

At present, the only main force of the Qing Navy is four heavy cruisers and three light cruisers.

Among them, the heavy cruisers Mandate of Heaven, Yongzheng, and Xuantong are in Lushun, the Kangxi heavy cruisers, and the Guangwu light cruisers are in Weihai, and the Chongde heavy cruisers and Shunzhi are in Qingdao.

That's all there is to it, all that remains is some destroyers and torpedo boats.

There are battleships in the Nanming fleet that came today.

Moreover, Guangwu knew in his heart that the quality of weapons and the training quality of sailors of the Nanming warships were far above his own. In a real fight, there was no need for battleships to shoot at all, and two cruisers could overturn all three cruisers in Arthur.

If one more battleship is added, it will be able to overturn all the remaining cruisers of the Qing Navy.

……

Guangwu was holding a pencil in his hand, and it was about to break. …… If you preserve your strength and don't order interception, God knows what this Nanming fleet is doing when it enters the Bohai Sea?

He stared at the composition of the Nanming fleet written on the report, looked at it several times, and suddenly grabbed the phone and asked:

"Is there really no troop carrier in the Nanming fleet? Go check it out again! ”

Putting down the phone, he pinched his chin again and stared at the map of the Bohai region.

Although the area of the Qing Dynasty is vast, the coastline is not long, and most of it is an alluvial plain, which is extremely gentle, unlike the coastline of the Nanming Dynasty, which is full of concave and convex, and a good port grasps a handful. The whole Qing Dynasty had three decent military ports in Lushun, Weihai and Qingdao.

The two military ports of Lushun and Weihai are like two gates, guarding the gateway to the Bohai Sea. But once in the Bohai Sea, there are no more military ports on the coast around the sea. In other words, as long as the Ming fleet did not enter the range of shore artillery and beware of some torpedo boats, the Qing army would not be able to do anything to them.

The phone rang, and he replied that it had been verified again that there were indeed no troop carriers in the Ming fleet.

Guangwu pinched his chin and thought violently. Without troop carriers, it would not be an invasion landing. Without troop carriers, just two aircraft carriers, is it here to bomb Beijing?

If the Nanming bomber takes off from the Changshan Islands, Beijing will already be within the bombing radius, but the fighter range is not enough. Could it be that the two aircraft carriers were carrying fighter jets to escort the bombers taking off from the Changshan Islands?

But what is Nanming doing now inexplicably bombing Beijing? The Qing Dynasty did not attack it, did it dare to take the initiative to attack the Qing Dynasty? What's the use of just bombing? Nanming didn't have the corresponding army mobilization!

Do you want to vent your anger? It's not right to vent your anger. After the Qing Dynasty bombarded Nanjing last time, and even entered Nanjing, Nanming did not bomb Beijing. What does it mean to be bombarded with good ends?

……

At 9:15 a.m., Guangwu received the latest report that the Nanming fleet had passed through the minefield and opened a safety corridor about 5,000 meters wide across the minefield. Now the entire fleet has picked up speed and is heading west at a speed of 25 knots.

"Could it be...... Our artillery is not ......," Guangwu asked with difficulty and pain as he held the phone, "...... Even if it's a shot...... Didn't you hit the enemy ship either? ”

"The Emperor's ......" Commander Lushun also played the opposite word with difficulty and pain, "One shot...... There is no ...... either."

Guangwu didn't say anything, and hung up the phone in disappointment with the strait fort on which he had had high hopes before.

The generals of the navy and air force came one after another. Since Guangwu did not make up his mind to send a cruiser out of the port to intercept it in the end, the military conference now studied what the Nanming fleet wanted to do when it entered the Bohai Sea, and what to do.

The generals and marshals looked at each other, and they all looked at each other, nose and heart, and they all became big Buddhas. Facing the angry emperor, no one dared to say a word. The courtiers all knew that the new master was moody, and there had been many lessons before, and several ministers were dismissed from their posts because they said the wrong thing in front of the emperor, or because their suggestions did not suit the emperor's mind.

Now no one is willing to risk their own lives for the sake of the country's affairs. It's safest to say nothing. You must let the emperor decide to take it and decide it himself, even if he knows that it is wrong, he can't say it. In the end, it doesn't matter how big the loss is, anyway, the emperor can't rely on his head, as long as he has a black yarn hat.

"Why don't you speak? Well? ”

Guangwu looked at this room of submissive minions, and he was angry.

"Well, you don't say it, I say. …… Very good, this Great Qing Kingdom is my own, and it has nothing to do with you, right? Then I'll decide for myself. ”

He slammed the table and said from between his teeth:

"They must not be allowed to bomb Beijing! The decree ordered the ** torpedo squadron of the Qing Dynasty to take off immediately, destroy the invading enemy at sea, and never allow the enemy aircraft carrier to enter within 200 kilometers of Tianjin! ”

Air Force Minister Bai Jia-Fuxiang was in his heart, knowing that this torpedo squadron was going to be reimbursed. The enemy came with two aircraft carriers, that is, more than a hundred fighters. Moreover, for this kind of mission, the enemy will definitely send old pilots who have just experienced the air battles of the Ming and Qing dynasties. And the dozens of torpedo squadrons on our side are all novices, and they do not fly once a year, and they are targets in the sky. Also, God knows what airports below usually don't maintain their planes. He knew very well in his heart that it would be good if one-third of the funds used for daily maintenance of the aircraft could be used on the plane after the allocation was allocated.

If he had to make a decision, he should have torpedo planes standing still, letting enemy planes fly over, and then his own fighter planes would catch up and intercept them. This is the safest way to do it. If the torpedo planes were to participate, they would have to wait until most of the local fighters had been released, and then let the torpedo planes attack the enemy's empty aircraft carriers. In that way, we can get a few more planes back, and maybe we can really sink one and a half enemy ships.

But he would never dare to propose it. He knew that with the emperor's temper, he would never allow the enemy planes to bomb Beijing while the torpedo planes stood still. That would be tantamount to admitting that the torpedo squadron of the Qing Dynasty did not dare to go to the sky, and it was an ornament. Moreover, Beijing is the capital of the Qing Dynasty, and once the capital is bombed, even if only one bomb falls, it will cause a huge shock to the already unstable people's hearts. The Qing government's previous efforts to convince the people of the myth of the invincibility of the Qing army were seriously challenged. In that case, there will be more things like that in Baoding.

The consequences of all this are probably left to him alone. That's because he made this suggestion. Everyone knows that in today's court, as long as you express your opinion or make a suggestion, then all the consequences will be pushed on you, and you will become a substitute for everyone.

Therefore, Bai Jia-Fuxiang rolled in his throat and only said four words:

"Minion Command."

……