In the early morning, in the mist at the Sasebo Naval Base, a large group of Saimoto soldiers, dressed in training uniforms, ran along the road that winded around the base, shouting uniform slogans.

Sasebo Port, one of the most important seaports in modern times, is located on the northwest coast of Kyushu Island, which is the main point of communication between the Yellow Sea and the Sea, chokes the throat of the Korean Strait, and is the base for the advance of Saihon's road to the Asian continent.

However, it was only a deserted village in the past, and it was not until the Qing Dynasty began to build the Port of Arthur that the Saikoto, who regarded the Beiyang as a major trouble, set up a naval town here, and then after several large-scale expansions, it has become one of the best naval bases in Yokosuka Port, and has become the most important base in his mind that can not only face the Pacific Ocean, but also quickly support the Far Eastern Theater.

Looking down the hillside path, the harbor is full of brand-new houses and warehouses, but unfortunately it is a little cold on the docks, mainly because the Combined Fleet has departed, and only a few patrol boats and freighters remain.

As the wing commander, Yamada ran at the front of the line, looking at the dock as he ran. Behind him, thousands of soldiers followed him, shouting uniform slogans, listening to the loud shouts, his heart was full of pride!

After returning from studying in Germany, he became the commander of this team, and now the long-awaited day is finally coming, as long as the dock is filled with warships again, as long as the fleet defeats the China fleet and opens up the sea route, he will lead this force into Korea, defeat the self-righteous China people, and take the long-coveted continent for the empire! And then you can go along the Yalu River!

A cold light flashed in his small bean-like eyes, and Yamada smiled slightly, retracting his gaze and preparing to run towards the depths of the harbor with the team. Suddenly, the originally neat team behind him suddenly became agitated, Yamada hurriedly looked up, only to see a large column of smoke faintly appearing in the sky, and the two small gunboats in the harbor also began to start, slowly heading towards the open sea.

"Fleet! It's our fleet back! The soldiers jumped to their feet and cheered, and some even began to run towards the heights, although the ranks were already a little chaotic, but Yamada decided to let the soldiers cheer for the fleet to their heart's content.

"Here are two bugs!" Long Guozhang looked down at the telescope and pursed his lips. This kind of small gunboat of more than 100 tons really couldn't arouse the appetite of him, the commander of the fleet, and said casually: "Let's see who is willing to go." ”

Long Guozhang obviously underestimated the guys under his command who had been excited all night, had just received supplies, and rushed here overnight, and as soon as the flagship order was issued, he saw the Determination Heavy Patrol led by Liu Haitao taking the lead, breaking away from the formation and meeting the two small boats.

Although the patrol boat also saw that this was not the [***] ship at this moment, it did not perceive the danger at all, and thought that it was a passing third-country fleet, and still kept waving flags to inquire about the meaning.

But no matter how hard they tried to wave the flag, the other party still did not say a word, and it was not until the Resolve burst out of the formation that they realized the danger and desperately turned the rudder and fled towards the harbor.

"The left rudder is full, the starboard guns are ready, who can't hit within three shots, Lao Tzu asked him to burn the boiler!" Looking at the patrol boat that was about to escape, Captain Liu jumped up and down, stomped his feet and waved his hands.

The officers scoffed at the fact that the captain was so active in bullying this small patrol boat, but they also came to the bridge to check on the situation.

Following the order, the Resolve quickly turned its rudder to the left, drawing a beautiful arc across the sea. At this time, the two patrol boat officers of the two patrol boats saw the barrels of the other party moving up and down, and they were so frightened that they dodged left and right on the sea, hoping to avoid the guns of the black hole, but how could the gunners of the Determination, who were already ready to attack, let them do so.

"Boom." As the main gun opened fire first, the other four 152mm guns and four 76mm guns on the starboard side also began to roar, and even the 37mm rapid-fire machine guns used at close range began to fire. From a distance, the Resolve resembles a dragon that spews tongues of fire in a rage.

The roaring firelight and smoke, and the deafening sound of cannons, made Young Master Li, who had just gotten up, sigh, what kind of war is this, it is simply a cannon and a big mosquito! Using the main gun to hit a patrol boat that is less than a hundred tons, even if the kitten encounters a dead mouse, it is not worth the shell money!

Fortunately, Liu Haitao probably heard the curse of the young master, and after a round of fighting, he gave up the main gun, and used the ship's secondary guns and rapid-fire firepower with all his might, and in less than a moment, the more accurate rapid-fire guns tore the two gunboats to pieces.

The Resolve took the lead in stealing business, and the captains who were scolding and shouting shamelessly behind them also began to turn their rudders, lined up along the harbor, and the muzzles of the black holes were all aimed at the direction of Sasebo Port.

"Cannons? How can there be a cannon sound?! The rumbling sound from the sea made Yamada tremble violently, and he hurriedly looked out to the sea, but unfortunately the distance was too far, and he could only vaguely see seven small black dots lined up on the sea.

Suddenly, a sharp whistle sounded from everywhere.

In the distance, the sailors frantically rushed out of the camp and ran in the direction of the battery, the warehouse door was opened, and the trolleys full of ammunition began to gather at the battery, pushed by the soldiers.

Seeing this, Yamada knew that the enemy had invaded even if he was stupid, but he couldn't figure it out, who would have the courage to attack the empire's naval base? Didn't he understand that the Imperial fleet was coming back soon?

It's a pity that he didn't have time to think about it anymore, and suddenly there was a sharp whistle in the sky, and he, who had been trained by a German instructor, immediately reacted, it was the sound of cannonballs flying.

"Boom......."

"Boom......."

Huge fireballs first rushed up from the position of the battery, and the sound of explosions instantly drowned out the whistle of the alarm, which was once known as an impregnable fortification, but began to collapse in a few strokes in the overwhelming artillery fire.

The army soldiers behind Yamada were already stunned by the scene in front of them, and they had never experienced war and did not understand what it was that could cause so much damage.

"Yaga! What are you still doing in a daze, go get your weapons! Seeing that the soldiers were still in a daze, Yamada shouted violently and took the lead in running towards the camp.

On the sea, Long Guozhang stood in the command tower, holding a telescope, looking at the trembling harbor fortifications in front of him and the water columns that rose in front of the fleet from time to time, and smiled at Chen Ping next to him: "Yuanshou, it seems that Xiao Yueben's fort is not bad, and it can actually be carried down." ”

"When I repaired the Lushun Mouth, I said that I began to build Sasebo, and it is naturally not weak after so many years of operation. However, most of their money has been used to purchase warships over the years, and they don't pay much attention to the fortifications of the battery, but if we come a few years later, I'm afraid we won't have such a good opportunity! Chen Ping said as he sketched on the chart.

"So, our young master has chosen a good name, hehe." Tan Xiaozeng laughed and pointed to the black smoke billowing fort: "It's useless for the turtle shell to be hard, unless it can move." ”

After speaking, he immediately turned his head to the barrel of the gun and ordered: "Order all ships to obey the unified command of the flagship, adopt the method of shooting by name, from left to right, and hit the most threatening target first!" ”

"Yes." The gunnery officer quickly answered, and immediately picked up the phone and shouted.

The order was soon conveyed to all ships and guns, and the gunners, who had originally freely chosen targets, soon gave up free firing under the unified command of the flagship, and began to quickly adjust their firing elements, concentrating their firepower on those shore guns that were hidden deep and dared to return fire, and named them one by one!

The most powerful is still the main guns of each ship, especially the 305 mm main gun of the Polaris, which not only weighs more than 300 kilograms, but also uses the TNT charge secretly produced in Honolulu.

On the other hand, the local shore artillery has followed the tradition of the Japanese fleet, and most of them use French-made 150-mm single-barreled rapid-fire guns, and only a few 240-mm large-caliber coastal defense guns, not to mention that the biggest disadvantage of large-caliber coastal defense guns is that the rate of fire is slow, and even if they are loaded by manpower, even if they are 150 mm guns, they can only reach two or three rounds per minute, which is not much faster than the main guns of the determination class.

The naval guns are different, most of the British 152 mm rapid-fire guns used by the Pacific Fleet, although they are mainly refilled by people, but they already have auxiliary machinery, and the efficiency has been greatly improved, and the firepower projected by the surname can cover the entire battery, so in less than a moment, the shore guns that were still firing back just now have been dumbfired, and the entire battery is full of holes, and the rubble is constantly rolling down from the cliff.

The shelling, which lasted for thirty minutes, finally tore a crack in the sturdy gate of Sasebo Port, and all that remained was to keep tearing the crack until the fleet could be unimpeded! So seeing that the shore artillery was gradually muted and the position was also destroyed, Chen Ping took the lead in waving his hand and said with a smile: "Okay, old dragon, the barrels of each gun on the port side are estimated to be red, let's change the side." ”

"The right rudder is full, and two cars are in one."

"Maintain boiler pressure, measure water flow, and correct errors."

After three years of training, the teaching of Chilean teachers, Chen Ping's help, and a large number of precious materials and books specially obtained by Li Mo from European countries, this former Beiyang training ship pipe belt gradually exuded a brilliance comparable to anyone else.

As soon as his coherent order was issued, the entire fleet was in rapid motion, and after the seven battleships turned a corner on the sea, the starboard gunners of each ship, who had been helping them just now, quickly rushed into their gun positions and began to adjust their gun emplacements after receiving the order.

With the support of various data, the staff officers quickly calculated that as the battleship moved, the current would drive the battleship to deviate its position, so before re-firing on the starboard side, it was necessary to recalculate and provide new coordinates to each gun to ensure the accuracy of firepower.

Five minutes later, after the ships readjusted their shooting of Zhu Yuan, the second round of shelling began, and the smoke that had not yet dissipated rose again in an instant, and the sound of artillery thundered through the heavens and the earth, until half an hour later, there was not a single fire on the fort, and Long Guozhang continued to order the assault of the Long Xiao.

Soon after the order was issued along the radio waves, the Long Xiao took the lead in sailing towards the waterway, for a fleet attacking the military port, in addition to the shore guns of the batteries visible to the naked eye, the most worrying thing was the mines all over the channel, and the mobile firepower hidden in the depth, so after seeing that the battery had no power to fight back, Long Guozhang decisively sent the Long Xiao as the vanguard, while carefully exploring the channel, while attracting the fire that was hidden deeper.

Sure enough, not long after the Long Xiao arrived at the mouth of the waterway, the flames began to emerge from the depths, and the subsequent ships aimed at those hidden and exposed fire points.

Fortunately, except for those batteries arranged in depth, he obviously did not realize the role of mines, or did not expect Sasebo to be attacked, so he did not arrange mines, so the Dragon Xiao quickly entered the harbor and began to clear some dangerous targets with its unique 240 mm caliber main gun.

When they saw the Dragon Xiao disappear at the mouth of the waterway, the whole fleet breathed a sigh of relief, and the Determination, Courage, Tenacious, and Tenacity, which had been preparing for a long time, immediately began to move along the channel just now.

At this moment, the shore artillery of the army had been completely destroyed, and only some mobile small guns were still resisting, but it was not so much that they were attacking, but that they were tickling, and in a few clicks, the ships cleared these small threats and rushed into the harbor.

After passing through the waterway, the Sasebo military port revealed its fattest body like a woman who had stripped naked, and the soldiers who were still resisting on the shore could only helplessly pick up their rifles, and the dense bullets made the hull of the ship clange.

Sasebo in 1894 was not as large as later times, and the main buildings were arranged within five kilometers of the harbor, which was a piece of cake for naval guns with a range of about 10,000 meters.

Just as the ships were swarming into their ears, flames suddenly erupted at the dock, and columns of water suddenly surged around the ships. This sudden shelling startled everyone, only to find that at some point, several 75-mm mountain guns were piled up at the dock, and they were constantly roaring.

Yamada was a cutting-edge officer who had returned from studying in Germany, and with his soldiers, he quickly built a defensive line of sand and gravel by the dock, and also used the mountain guns in the warehouse to establish a temporary artillery position near the pier. However, there was one thing he forgot, at this moment he was facing not the enemy's army, but the Pacific Fleet, which was a pilot of steel behemoths.

"Fire!"

Looking at the few lonely mountain artillery, Dong Fei smiled contemptuously, although he also admired the soldiers on the other side, they never understood how big the gap between the naval artillery and the army mountain artillery was!

With his command, the Tenacious Heavy Patrol erupted in a series of roars like an enraged beast, and mushroom clouds rose from all over the harbor as the fully loaded behemoth with a displacement of 6,000 tons and its companions opened fire.

The 37mm and 76mm rapid-fire guns, which had been spectators during the attack on the battery, also joined in the roar, and compared to their big brothers, it was a real rapid-fire cannon, and the fiery serpents swept past the fortifications that the soldiers had just built like a raging storm, and with its roar, the fortifications that Yamada had painstakingly built were instantly destroyed, and hundreds of soldiers were cut off by the shells.

In front of the position, there were stumps and severed arms everywhere, and blood gathered along the small ditch to the bay, forming a stream of scarlet blood, which was particularly dazzling on the blue sea.

Extended Shooting!

Dong Fei looked at the shattered corpses torn apart by the artillery nearby, looked at the red water flowing like a small river like the sea, frowned slightly, and then ordered: "Each cannon is free to choose a target, and shoot in a carpet extension!" ”

Attacking port facilities is not just a matter of firing at will, and the selection of each target is actually a strict procedure, starting with a threatened target, then a high-value target, and finally a general target.

Therefore, whether it was the largest 305 mm main gun or the smallest 37 mm rapid-fire gun, like a sophisticated machine, it was like a precision machine, and it was like a plow in the barracks and warehouses in the harbor, and in less than a moment, the entire Sasebo base became a mess.

The soldiers ran away in the rain of bullets, the barracks were reduced to ashes in the flames, the warehouses were piles of rubble, and the blazing fire covered most of the harbor, and there were broken tiles everywhere, and the mutilated corpses were even spread all over the harbor.

Yamada dragged his lost body, leaned on the sandbag, looked around at the soldiers who had been out with him a few hours ago, and looked at the devil shadows that were almost close to the dock, he couldn't understand, who were these people? Why shell Sasebo! Where is the combined fleet of the Great Empire?

He struggled, endured the pain in his lower body, moved his body and raised the telescope tremblingly, hoping to see the other side's face clearly, but Amaterasu didn't give him a chance, and a 76mm shell hit the sandbag in front of him accurately, and the explosion and raised sand completely wrapped his broken body.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! ”

When several huge explosions sounded one after another, and purple-black mushroom clouds rose into the sky, the naval arsenal where a large amount of ammunition was stored was finally ignited, and the continuous explosions were as dense and beautiful as fried beans.

The rumbling sound of explosions came faintly from the sky, except for the huge and beautiful mushroom clouds, the entire Sasebo military port was shrouded in flames, and the large and valuable targets had been destroyed, and the idle gunners had to take the cabins to practice point shooting.

There's no need to waste ammo!

Chen Ping raised the binoculars, nodded with satisfaction, and the three hours of bombardment turned the second largest military port in the past, which was said to be comparable to Port Arthur, into ashes, even if he had the opportunity to rebuild it, I am afraid it would cost unimaginable funds!

"Let's go, let's go to the second stop!" Putting down the binoculars, Chen Ping pointed to the several freighters on the dock that had long been empty and had not been completely destroyed, and said with a smile: "Take them all away, don't let the young master scold us again!" ”

"Haha."

(To be continued)