Travel through the Qing Dynasty and become emperor

"boom……"

A loud noise came from the "Invincible", facing the oncoming Japanese fleet. The 420mm artillery fired one after another and hit the enemy ship "Songshima", but due to the relatively long distance, it did not cause fatal damage, but it also shook the 4278-ton ironclad ship for a while. Although the steel plate was not pierced, but There was still some damage after the explosion.

At this time, the two Japanese cruisers facing the "Rising" had already encircled it. Facing the huge cruiser with a speed of only 19 knots, "Akitsusu" and "Naniwa" also used roundabout methods to continuously attack "Rise".This is the first ironclad cruiser produced in China. It was named "Rising", and it caused a sensation in the world when it was built.At the time, it was indeed a very advanced cruiser, but now the British dual-steam engine shipbuilding concept makes the cruiser's speed easily exceed 25, which pales in comparison to the "rise".

"Give the semaphore, let Chengfeng go to the reinforcements to rise up. The torpedo ships should not launch torpedoes at the enemy ships, but instead launch torpedoes on the route of the enemy ships." Yan Fu seemed to have seen something.

In actual combat, problems can be found immediately, and tactics can be changed according to the problem.This is what Yan Fu was evaluated by the German instructors when he graduated from the Jiangnan Naval Academy.

Indeed, now Yan Fu has accurately discovered the crux of the problem.The torpedo ship fired a torpedo at a speed of 4000 kilometers per hour at the opponent's warship at a distance of 80 meters, which was no threat at all to Japanese cruisers that could reach a speed of 24 or more.

Even if you see a torpedo flying towards you, you can easily change the course in 1 minute to avoid it.

Now, Yan Fu asked the torpedo ships to launch torpedoes on their course of action.It was the turn of the Japanese cruisers to get used to it. They often saw the Qing cruisers approaching them, and when they were about to retreat, they found that there were torpedoes launching on the route behind.In such a short period of time, it is impossible to visually detect whether they will encounter them, so they can only wait for the torpedo to pass by before leaving. This will give the "Ride the Wind", "Break the Waves", and "Rise" a chance to attack the Japanese cruisers.

In the real confrontational battle within the range, the cruisers of the Qing Dynasty will not suffer much.On the one hand, the "Chengfeng" and other combat capabilities, which have a clear advantage in tonnage, are much better than Japanese cruisers.In addition, the caliber of the artillery is much larger than that of the Japanese cruiser, but the firing speed is slower.But basically one shot can deal a fatal blow to "Yoshino" and others.

In this way, while the torpedo ships of the Qing Dynasty were "drawing grids" around the Japanese cruisers such as "Yoshino", the cruisers of the Qing Dynasty such as "Chengfeng" began to counterattack.

"Boom..." "Boom..."

"Call me, rush in and kill that Naniwa with one shot." Chen He said loudly.

Just when the entire battlefield situation was reversed, "Yoshino" first adapted to this tactic of the Qing Dynasty.Just like playing video games in later generations, attacking the gunboats of the Qing Dynasty on the sea while avoiding the torpedo attack.

The 320mm main gun on the front deck of "Yoshino" trembled for a while, and white smoke came out slowly.A shell easily tore through the thin steel plate of the "Jingyuan".Exploded inside the warship.The hull was immediately enveloped in yellow smoke.The flame ignited by the explosion itself is extremely destructive, and the large internal components and the partition in the cabin of the "Jingyuan" are all made of wood.And the immaturity of the Qing Navy is also reflected here. In order to whitewash the appearance, a large area of ​​flammable paint was painted on the interior cabin, so the fire soon became out of control.The fire spread in all directions in the "Jingyuan", converging into pieces of raging flames, and its hull slowly sank.

The Qing Fleet, which was a little excited because the situation had been reversed, seemed to be poured with cold water, completely losing the excitement just now.It's just mechanically repeating what it should do.Completely lost the passion just now.

Competing in East Asia Chapter 135 The Battle of the East China Sea ([-])

At this moment, Yan Fu stood up.His excellent mental quality in combat was also fully demonstrated in this naval battle. After "Yoshino" sank "Jingyuan", the retreat route was blocked by the torpedoes of the Qing Dynasty. "Yoshino", so that he can leave as easily as before, wandering to other areas to attack the Qing fleet.

But in this one minute, Yan Fu seized this opportunity.

"Lean over to the Yoshino, full starboard. Move the main gun 35 degrees to the right and aim!" Yan Fu screamed loudly, "Hit me."

"boom……"

There was another loud bang, and the 420mm main gun of "Long Sheng" accurately hit "Yoshino" about 5000 meters behind it.

The "Yoshino" is produced by the Manchester Dockyard in the United Kingdom. It is equipped with two 320mm main guns, four 4mm rapid-fire guns on the left and right, eight machine guns, 140mm, and 100mm rapid-fire guns. The fastest can reach 120 knots speed.So much firepower.With such a high speed, its protection can be imagined.Cannons and boilers account for most of the weight of the ship, and the only thing protecting the hull is a thin layer of iron.The filling between the iron sheet and the hull is two layers of 8mm wood.It claims to have a displacement of 22.4 tons, and boilers and artillery account for more than half of the weight.

After being hit by a shell fired from a 420mm main gun, it exploded inside the ship.The entire "Yoshino" tilted up immediately, but it did not ignite a fire like "Jingyuan", but there were some small fires in the ship.Apparently the Japanese fleet did not use inferior or flammable paint.At this point, it has to be said that it is much more mature than the Qing Fleet.

If Dongxiang Heihachiro had to choose again, he would rather be that torpedo.I don't want to wait for the shell of "Long Victory" in place, but it's too late to say anything now.

In order to save the dying "Yoshino".At this moment, the engine room at the bottom of the warship has already become a purgatory on earth.In order to prevent the fire from entering the engine room, all the passages leading to the upper deck have been closed, scorching every officer and soldier here.The hair has long been curled up, and everyone's skin is flushed.

Inoue Xingqiao, the manager, shouted in a hoarse voice: "Add more coal, don't stop, don't touch the bulkhead..."

The engineers who had lost any hope of surviving, under the leadership of the chief manager Inoue Xingqiao, worked hard to fill the boiler with a shovel and fill coal, and completed their last work...

At this time, the "Yoshino" ship seemed to be reclining on the water, and the entire warship was seriously tilted to the right.

Finally, when forced to the surface of the Sea of ​​Japan, the "Haitian" could no longer withstand the call of the sea god, and returned to the embrace of the ocean.

Although "Long Victory" turned and fired in order to sink "Yoshino", it affected the entire offensive formation, and the stern of the ship was bombarded by the Japanese fleet, and was hit twice at the stern.But just like the power of British warships is always excellent, German warships never worry about protection.The firepower of the French warship must be strong, and the defense of "Long Victory" is indeed excellent. After being hit by two shells in a row, it did not cause major damage.

In fact, even if he was seriously injured, it would be worthwhile to kill "Yoshino" with one shot.

The atmosphere of the entire battlefield was immediately mobilized by the sinking of "Yoshino", and the Qing fleet became more courageous as it fought.The Japanese fleet has lost its flagship and has no desire to fight.

"Takachiho", "Akitsusu", and "Naniwa" had already abandoned their original battle plan and quickly returned to the main armored ship, as if they were afraid that they would retreat and leave themselves here.

"Ride the Wind" and "Break the Waves" quickly chased and detoured to the rear of the Japanese fleet, and the initiative on the battlefield changed hands instantly.

"Order Rise, Guangjia, Guangji, and Guangbing to turn around, and the other warships change formation, change to a T-shaped formation and rush in to separate the Japanese fleet. Separate them and annihilate them one by one." Yan Fu is very satisfied with the current situation.He knew that Deng Shichang's first formation would arrive soon, and all he had to do now was to secure his pockets and use the T formation to block the Japanese fleet's return to the Sea of ​​Japan with a long horizontal line as long as it rushed over. Road, when the first fleet comes to Japan, this fleet will be handed over here.

He may not be very clear about the strength of the improved "Zhenyuan", "Dingyuan", "Weiyuan" and "Jiyuan", but he is not very clear about the strength of the "Daqing No. [-]" and "Daqing No. [-]" under his Nanyang Fleet. "The two [-]-ton battleships" are quite well known.With these two warships around, Little Japan could only end up waiting to be killed.

Seeing the flagship "Yoshino" being sunk, the Japanese fleet was suddenly leaderless.No one listened to anyone, and flags were flying all over the sky.Some said that they should retreat first, some said that the cruisers continued to outflank the rear, and some said that the Qing fleet should be held back by ironclad ships, and the cruisers should go to reinforce Nagasaki first.

Anyway, each said his own way, each did his own way.Such chaos allowed the Qing fleet to easily achieve Yan Fu's strategic goal, rushing into the middle of the Japanese fleet in a T-line formation.

With "Long Victory", "Undefeated", "Triumph" and "Victory" as the one in T, it firmly locked the retreat route of the Japanese fleet. 1 guns with 8 improved rear-mounted guns bombarded the Japanese fleet continuously, and there were constant harassment from "Ride the Wind", "Break the Waves", "Rise" and three torpedo ships on the periphery.

The Japanese warships were completely disrupted, and the left and right could not be connected.Unable to contact the front and back, fighting on their own, chaotic.

Seeing that a great victory was about to come, suddenly a fleet of ironclad ships appeared behind the Victory and other ships and headed towards the East China Sea at high speed.Obviously it is the reinforcements of the Japanese fleet, but how could there be reinforcements at this time? ?

Yan Fu could see clearly through the binoculars that the "plaster flag" was hanging high, obviously it was a Japanese fleet.Did the Japanese see through their strategic intentions?Didn't send reinforcements to Tokyo? ?

At this time, there was no time for Yan Fu to think too much. The "Changsheng" and other ironclad ships that had surrounded the Japanese fleet now appeared behind the Japanese fleet, and he was in a state of being surrounded.

The situation changed too quickly, but Yan Fu made the fastest decision after a short consideration.

"Order Triumph and Victory to stop the Japanese reinforcements. The rest of the ships speed up their elimination, ride the wind, break through the waves, rise up and approach the enemy ships, and then use the main guns to deal the deadliest blow. It is best to kill one with one shot." Yan Fu said loudly. Said to the Bannerman.

As soon as the order was given, "Triumph" and "Victory" turned around and slowly sailed towards the fast-moving Japanese fleet.Maybe they know that they are playing the role of cannon fodder.But for the sake of the overall situation, they have no complaints!All the officers and soldiers on the ship are silently doing what they should do.

Competing in East Asia Chapter 135 The Battle of the East China Sea ([-])

Japan's reinforcement fleet is a fleet composed of "Kyushu", "Hiei", "Fuso" and five small gunboats. Originally, "Kyushu", "Hiei", "Fuso" and "Yamato" and "Musashi" , "Katsuragi" were sent to Tokyo for reinforcements, but when the third fleet of the Qing Dynasty passed through the Pacific Ocean, the Japanese fishing boats discovered that the Qing Dynasty had only five cruisers escorting the troop carrier.

Ito Hirobumi, commander of the National Defense Forces, immediately realized that things were abnormal. If the goal of the Qing Dynasty was Tokyo, it would be impossible to send only five cruisers to Tokyo, not even a single armored ship.So immediately ordered "Kyushu", "Hiei", and "Fuso" to lead the gunboats to come for reinforcements, and encountered a fierce naval battle as soon as they left the Sea of ​​Japan.

While "Triumph" and "Victory" went to stop the Japanese reinforcement fleet, the rest of the ships also accelerated the elimination of the Japanese fleet.

At that time, artillery aiming depended on the non-commissioned officer in the mast plate to measure the distance between the enemy and us, and every once in a while, he would use the hand flag to report to the fort below. With each report, the gunners adjusted the pitch angle of the artillery according to the scale on the scale. .The distance measurement method used by the Beiyang Fleet is the complex and primitive sextant distance measurement method. There are generally three ways to measure the distance between the enemy and the enemy with a sextant: If the identity of the enemy ship is clear, and the enemy ship’s location is known in advance in the intelligence manual. For the height of the mast, measure the height of the mast of the enemy ship in the distance, and then compare the altimeter to find the distance; there is another way that the range finder uses a sextant to "measure the sea level and all the distances on the sea surface where the enemy ship is located." Angle", and then calculated by using a special rangefinder; the last method is to measure the point where the enemy ship is located by a rangefinder at the head and tail of the warship, and then calculate the other two sides based on "one side of the obtained two angles, and take The median is the distance number".Compared with the ranging method of the Qing Navy, the Japanese fleet on the opposite side is much more advanced and convenient. They are equipped with a special British rangefinder. They use a rangefinder similar to a telescope to observe distant targets. When the left and right eyepieces focus and adjust After the test, the distance to the target will be automatically displayed on the scale. With such advanced equipment, the Japanese army has the upper hand over the Qing navy when it comes to shooting distance.

But this does not affect the pace of the Qing Fleet, which is in possession of the battle situation, to wipe out the opponent.

"boom……"

Another loud noise came from the main gun of "Chengfeng". The shell that whizzed away hit the Japanese ironclad ship "Saikyo Maru". "Victory" hit the "Yoshino" just now, and the previous shell hit the warship at a distance of 5000 meters. If it weren't for the fragile defense of "Yoshino", it would not have caused much damage at all, and this shell directly It hit the mantlet of the No. 140 140-meter secondary gun on the port side of the "Xijing Maru", and the fuze immediately started to work after being hit hard. The black powder filled in the warhead quickly ignited the gun, and the shell exploded on the No. 140 gun position.The huge impact airflow and fragments produced by the explosion made the gun mantlet look vulnerable, and instantly turned into scattered steel fragments.The [-]-meter secondary gun, which was originally shielded behind the gun mantlet, was also attacked. The entire gun body was blown up, and then fell heavily. The [-]-meter-caliber steel gun barrel was twisted into an incredible crescent shape.If it was just this, it probably wouldn't lead to the final tragic ending of the "Xijing Maru", but then something even more terrifying happened.

In order to ensure the supply of ammunition for the artillery during the war, a large number of 140-meter artillery shells were piled up on the gun deck under the main deck of the "Xijing Maru". , The artillery shells fired from this position also hit several Qing warships, so that the weakly armored gunboats in the Qing fleet did not dare to get too close.However, at this time, these ammunition has become a huge safety hazard, and the artillery deck of the "Xijing Maru" ship seems to be a huge powder keg that is about to be ignited.

A large number of gunpowder shells and vulcanized cotton propellants piled up near the 140-meter auxiliary battery position of the "Xijing Maru" ship were detonated! The "Xijing Maru" ship had a series of huge explosions, and a choking yellow poisonous mist immediately filled the ship.The impact force generated by the explosion of gunpowder tore a larger gap in the port side of the "Xijing Maru" while roaring and penetrating through various cabins inside the warship. Burning endlessly, the entire warship turned into a ball of fire.

"My lord, abandon the ship. If you don't leave, it will be too late." A sailor persuaded beside Isamu Shikano, who was struggling with the fire.

Isamu Shikano stopped his figure, turned around and said, "I am the captain of the Saikyo Maru. The ship is still alive, but the ship is destroyed. Let's put down the lifeboat and let's go. I should die to thank the Emperor!" After finishing speaking , Continue to fight with the fire.

It didn't take long for the "Xijing Pill" to sink slowly.Although two Japanese battleships were sunk in a row, after reinforcements suddenly appeared, Japan's warships fighting separately took a unified action in an instant-quickly approaching the reinforcement fleet.

In the face of the impact of dozens of Japanese fleets, the two ironclad ships responsible for intercepting the "Long Victory" and "Invincible" obviously had a lot of pressure, and they often missed here and there.