Thousands of miles of the Yangtze River, after entering a section of Jiangsu, the river surface suddenly opened up, and the width of Nantong has reached 10 kilometers, but between Nanjing and Shanghai, there is a river surface that is 1250 meters wide, that is, Jiangyin.

Since ancient times, Jiangyin has been regarded as the key to the mouth of the Yangtze River, a military town, and the Manchu Qing Dynasty also overhauled the fort here as a river defense, but in recent years it has been in some disrepair.

However, with the arrival of the Feng army, the Jiangyin fortress has been unprecedentedly strengthened, especially after the conflict between China and Britain, the Feng army has mobilized more than 20 cannons. Since the south bank of the Yangtze River was still in the hands of the rebels, the Feng army could only use the batteries in the north and could not form crossfire, which was a little regrettable.

But it is precisely because of this that the Feng army spared no effort to strengthen its firepower, equipped with the latest 240 mm shore guns 8 guns, 152 mm cannons, and 9 old howitzers of various types left over from the former Qing Dynasty.

Although these old guns have fallen behind, fortunately, the caliber is above 150 mm, and the lethality is still good. In addition, on the outskirts of Jiangyin, there is also an independent artillery brigade of the army that can provide support, and this artillery brigade also has 60 guns of various types.

After all these years of accumulation, Fengjun has completely integrated artillery doctrine into the depths of his bones, and the problems that can be solved with artillery are absolutely not used for anything else, and Jiangyin is such an important place, and the investment is not too much.

In fact, when the British warships arrived in the Zhoushan area, they were discovered by the submarine force, and although these submarines did not find a chance to attack, they had already reported the situation to the inland so that the Feng army could prepare.

From the moment the British warships entered the Yangtze River, the Feng army had already paid close attention, and it was only when they entered the attack range of the Jiangyin fortress that the artillery fired in unison. The cannonballs were like hailstones, boiling the river.

The soldiers of the two British ships were also well-trained, and they had already planned for this situation, so although they were panicked, they were able to deal with it calmly and constantly launch a counterattack on the shore.

Shells came and went, and clusters of fire rose into the air, illuminating the dark surface of the river, and at this moment. A huge cannonball fell into the river, setting off a huge column of water, and a British warship that was very close shook as if it had encountered a huge wave, and the hull shook violently, and two sailors fell into the river.

I heard this loud bang. The British were all terrified, and this was definitely a heavy gun of more than 200 mm. Not to mention frigates like them. Even if a heavy cruiser is hit, it will have to be skinned if it does not die.

"Damn bureaucrats, didn't they say there are only a few old guns here, these guys deserve to hell, they're joking with the lives of soldiers!"

The British commander had a look of horror on his face: "Quick, back off!" ”

"Sir. What to do with the Yarmouth? ”

"Now, young man, it's time to ask us what to do."

The captain did not finish his sentence, and a shell hit the starboard side of the warship, and the 152-mm shell instantly pierced a large hole. In the middle of the warship, a violent explosion was heard.

"No!" At the captain's desperate cry, a huge flame rose from the middle of the frigate, and the warship quickly split into two pieces and sank into the river.

When the other ship saw that its companion had been sunk, they were also frightened, and hurriedly turned and fled, but the shells also fell on the foredeck, and the violent explosion swept away the contents of the deck. The ship, which lost control, crashed headlong into the rocks by the river and lost power.

The other artillery did not spare them, and several shells were fired one after another, and the ship burned like a living coffin, and almost all the British troops inside were reduced to a pile of charcoal.

Seeing that two British warships were killed, but the soldiers of the Feng army did not feel anything, they just sank two frigates, which was really a bit unpleasant, why didn't the British big ships catch up!

In fact, they didn't know that the British heavy cruiser USS Hawkins and the ironclad cruiser Shannon had rapidly increased their numbers here.

Even as the battery was shelling the two British ships, they had already reported the news to James. When James got the telegram, he immediately knew that this mission was a bit troublesome, but as the proud Royal Navy, they were never allowed to retreat.

However, James also urgently repaired the combat Jihua, he no longer expected to tow the Yarmouth out, but at least the warships should be destroyed, so as to preserve the dignity of the British Empire.

And James also knew that there was not much time left for them, if they lost the cover of the night, they would be exposed to the Fengjun planes, and if they didn't do it, they would repeat the mistakes of the Yarmouth, so James decisively ordered that a total of six warships led by the Hawkins move immediately to break through the blockade of the Fengjun, destroy the Yarmouth, and then withdraw as quickly as possible.

The heavy cruiser USS Hawkins took the lead and rushed in along the mouth of the Yangtze River, and it was already past eleven o'clock in the evening. However, no one in the Feng army headquarters rested, and when Yang Yuting got the news that the British warship was really coming, he immediately took decisive measures.

His appetite is even greater than he imagined, keeping the Yarmouth is nothing, and repelling the British warship is not a big deal, Yang Yuting wants to kill all this British fleet.

As long as these warships can be solved, the British Liliang off the coast of China will almost be solved, and if you want to continue the war, you must transfer the fleet from the mainland, and it will not be a matter of one or two days, and the trouble in the southern province will have been solved long ago by using this time.

Of course, Yang Yuting's idea of fighting the British fleet also has a killer feature, just now he has received the news that a flying squadron has been stationed in Nantong.

It doesn't look special from the outside, but this flying squadron is unique among the Feng army, and they are equipped with the first batch of torpedo planes in the Feng army.

As the name suggests, torpedo aircraft are fighters that use torpedo attacks as attack weapons, and in World War II, torpedo planes, as the main carrier-based aircraft of aircraft carriers, are responsible for attacking the enemy's large combat ships, and have an important role in the navy.

The Feng army has already begun to modify the Mackensen, and the torpedo machine naturally cannot be missed. However, it is not an easy task to build a torpedo machine, a 533 mm torpedo will weigh 800 kilograms, or even 900 kilograms, and a larger torpedo is more than a ton.

This has exceeded the bomb load of some of the Fengjun's current bombers, and it is quite difficult for China, which has weak industrial strength, to produce qualified large torpedo machines. It turns out that there are still a bunch of jishu puzzles.

But at this time, a torpedo plane was transferred to Mukden, and suddenly there was a reference, and Fengjun's research was suddenly much easier, just half a year ago. Fengjun finally developed the first torpedo machine. In half a year, the Feng army formed the first squadron of torpedo machines. The first pilots were trained. Now that the combat effectiveness has just been formed, one of the most haode training opportunities is just in front of us.

However, it is somewhat ironic that the torpedo machine obtained by the Feng army is still British, and Britain is the first country to develop torpedo machines on Shijie, and in the later stage of World War I, it has begun to be equipped in large quantities. The torpedo machine that Feng Jun got was of the Shotscher type. The biggest advantage of this aircraft is the endurance, which can fly for more than six hours in a row, which is far more than the aircraft of its time.

Being able to do this is actually related to the excellent engine of this aircraft. Equipped with a Rolls-Royce "Eagle VIII" V12 water-cooled engine, it reaches 358 horsepower, and it is also economical and fuel-efficient, which is definitely a good thing to drool.

It stands to reason that outsiders have no chance to get their hands on this kind of equipment, but because of the excellent performance of this aircraft, it participated in the competition to fly over the Atlantic, and the result gave Feng Jun the opportunity to get his hands on it.

After buying off the British officials, the plane was very cooperative and disintegrated due to a fall, and as a result, the Feng army successfully transported a pile of "garbage" back to China, and after reassembly, a complete torpedo machine appeared in front of Ba Yuzao and them.

With this finished product as a reference, everything became much easier, and through cooperation with Germany, Fengjun also thoroughly understood the key to the British engine, and imitated a similar product, although it was not as fuel-efficient as the original, but it was enough to make Fengjun's engine jishu a big step forward.

In addition, they are not satisfied with simple imitation, but also a lot of improvements, some structural brackets are made of aluminum alloy materials, which greatly reduces the weight of the aircraft and increases the bomb load.

The torpedo machine after the makeover was named "Mountain Eagle", and this time in order to deal with the British Navy, Zhang Tinglan sent out the only torpedo squadron, which also shows how much attention Zhang Tinglan attaches to it.

These torpedo machines also gave Yang Yuting full confidence, with so much equipment in his hands, how could he bite off a bite of British meat.

Of course, the torpedo machine will not be able to play its role until daytime, and the most important thing at this time is to let the Jiangyin fortress drag the British.

Needless to say more about Yang Yuting, at this time, the battle in the fortress was also at its most intense, the Hawkins and Shannon wanted to break through quickly, but the soldiers on the fortress were desperately blocking it, and the shells on both sides flew sideways, and the heavy shells fell on both sides of the Yangtze River from time to time, splashing countless gravel and flying sand.

The defenders on the south bank of the river were also alarmed, and logically speaking, they should support the British, knowing that the British were helping them. However, in fact, these soldiers all hoped that the Feng army would sink the British warship, and even some soldiers were eager to use the forts in Jiangnan to launch artillery bombardment on the British.

The Hawkins was equipped with a total of 7 190.5 mm guns, which were quite amazing, and the British Navy was well-trained, and the shells were accurate and hateful.

Rumble! With a loud bang, a cannonball happened to land in a culvert, and the shells stored in it were suddenly detonated, the flames soared into the air, and the surrounding mountains trembled, and the huge gravel crackled and fell into the river, and more than a dozen soldiers were in the explosion, losing their lives forever.

It's just that these sacrifices can no longer be cared about on the battlefield, and every Feng army only knows how to transport the shells and fight them. The only thought was to sink the British ship, and as for the rest, nothing mattered.

"Hit!"

A soldier blurted out excitedly, and a cannonball landed on the stern of the Shannon ironclad, and suddenly a ball of fire swelled, and more than a dozen British sailors around were all blown to pieces, and one of the main guns was also dumbfounded.

Another 240-mm shell fell on a destroyer, and the warship was blown up beyond recognition.

James, who was still commanding the Hawkins, was very agitated at this time, and the time passed minute by minute, and it was already past twelve o'clock. The firepower of the Feng army is too strong, they can't break through for a long time, and if they delay like this, I'm afraid that by dawn, they will be unlucky.

At this moment, the Hawkins shook violently, and James was shocked and hurriedly inquired about the situation, it turned out that a cannonball hit the foredeck, but fortunately it did not explode, but it also made him break out in a cold sweat.

The Hawkins was so lucky, but not necessarily the Shannon, because the stern was shot, the fire was soaring, making the Shannon the most hode target, and all kinds of shells were aimed at the warship.

Suddenly a metal storm was set off on the deck, and the British sailors cried and cried for their mothers, suffering heavy casualties, and what was even worse was that the stern of the ship was also hit by a shell, and the warship had lost power.

From the beginning of the war to the present, six battleships, two small warships have been sunk, the Shannon has been heavily damaged, and the time has passed one o'clock, James no longer wants to fight, so he can only hastily order a retreat.

In the early morning light, the scarred British warships retreated from the mouth of the Yangtze River, each warship was scarred, and when retreating, the Hawkins received two more shells, fortunately only 152, but also blew two large holes in the deck.

Just when the British were withdrawing in disarray, another fleet sailed towards them in the distance, and it was the Japanese fleet that came, as the country that most actively encouraged Britain to declare war on China, the Japanese held back a bad water in their stomachs, and they sent a fleet with the cruiser Izumo as the core to the mouth of the Yangtze River, nominally to ensure the safety of the expatriates, but in fact to wave the flag for the British, and when necessary, they also wanted to take advantage of the fire.

However, when the Izumo arrived, all the torpedo planes of the Seventh Air Squadron were dispatched, and there was also a squadron of fighters to escort them.

Since the water depth of the mouth of the Yangtze River is relatively shallow, it is not suitable for torpedo attacks, so they first spared a large circle, and then attacked from the outside. As a result, they did not encounter the British fleet, but ran into the Izumo first.

They were also about 10,000 tons of ironclad ships, and these pilots mistook the Izumo for a British warship, so the fighters immediately flew over to attract firepower. At the same time, the torpedo machine was attached to the surface of the sea and also rushed towards the Izumo.

"Yaga, fire, shoot down these damn China planes!"

The Japanese commander hurriedly gave the order, but just as he was focusing on the fighters, a slow torpedo plane had already entered the attack position, and a 533-mm torpedo fell into the sea, splashing a beautiful wave. (To be continued......)