Carrying AK into Ming Dynasty

Chapter 734 The Brave is King

On the sea west of Palawan Island, the naval battle between the Beiyang Navy and the Dutch Fleet is still going on, and it has reached a fever pitch.

Both sides are suffering losses, but neither is willing to retreat. Retreating means admitting defeat. This is not acceptable to the newborn Beiyang Navy. For Viscount Jon, he was even more unwilling to accept it.

If the governor has a first-class battleship under his command, he doesn't need many, only five ships are needed, so how can he fall into the point of confrontation with the Ming battleship?Jon, the governor of Batavia in the Netherlands, said bitterly.

The countries in Europe have almost completed military reforms one after another. Not only do most countries have standing armies, but they have also formulated a strict and unified military rank system, namely marshal, general, colonel, and lieutenant.

On naval warships, the Europa countries classify large sailing warships according to tonnage and number of artillery.

In the era of sailing warships, battleships were divided into six classes. The first-class battleship was equipped with three decks and equipped with one hundred or more guns.

The second-tier battleship also has three decks and is equipped with about 64 artillery pieces. The third-tier battleship has only two decks and is equipped with 74 to 58 artillery pieces. The fourth-tier battleship also has two decks, but it is equipped with fewer artillery pieces. Ten to [-] doors, five to six for the frigate.

However, the navigability of the first- and second-tier battleships at this time is very bad. The main problem is that the three-tiered deck will cause the center of gravity of the battleship to be higher. At this time, the Suez Canal has not yet opened, and the Europa battleship has to From the Atlantic Ocean all the way south around the Cape of Good Hope, the southernmost point of Africa, and then enter the Indian Ocean, and finally reach Southeast Asia.

However, storms are raging in the waters of the Cape of Good Hope, and if the first- and second-tier battleships want to travel thousands of miles to the Far East, the greatest possibility is that they will sink in the middle.

The cost of first-tier and second-tier battleships is so high that even the Netherlands, which claims to be the richest in Europe, cannot afford it.

In contrast, the Fuchuan of Ming Dynasty is different. The No. [-] Fuchuan and No. [-] Fuchuan both have three decks, but the number of artillery is much different from that of the Dutch warships.

The Fuchuan No. 38 built by Tianjin Treasure Shipyard can be equipped with [-] guns, which can reach the artillery level of Europa IV battleships.

However, although the number of artillery equipped by the Fuchuan battleship is small, the caliber is not small. The caliber of half of the artillery on the No. [-] Fuchuan reached the level of the Europa II battleship, while the No. [-] Fuchuan barely reached the level of the Europa III battleship.

The battleship Jon, the governor of Batavia, is only a third-tier battleship. Although it has been refitted in Batavia, the defense and the caliber of some artillery have been strengthened, but it still cannot change the plight of the Dutch without large battleships in Southeast Asia. .

Fortunately, I heard that the large shipyard of the company headquarters has been built, and it may not be long before his army can be equipped with more sophisticated large battleships.

"My lord, it's not good!" The second officer, Theon, ran over with a face full of horror, interrupting Jon's thoughts.

"Damn it! Why are you panicking?" Jon asked sullenly.

"Look, my lord." Theon didn't answer, but handed the telescope in his hand to Jon.

Jon didn't know why, so he took the telescope and looked at the battleship at the forefront of the Beiyang Navy, and his brows were twisted into twists.

On the battleship Jingyuan in the front row of the Beiyang Navy, the former Dutch Governor-General in Taiwan, Viscount Owat, was hoisted high on the mast, and there were two people hanging below him. Judging from the worn-out military uniforms, they should also be officers. appearance.

Not only the No. [-] Fuchuan Jingyuan, but also the No. [-] Fuchuan Liaodong, Tianjin, Fuzhou, Datong and other warships on both sides of it, there are five or six, or seven or eight Dutch ships. captive.

From a distance of more than 100 yards, it can be clearly seen through the telescope that Viscount Owat has long since lost his glamorous appearance as the governor of Taiwan.

After a month of prison life, being imprisoned in the dark and damp bottom of the cabin, and eating leftover meals from the soldiers of the Beiyang Navy, Liu Hongjian accepted Owat's idea of ​​a decent surrender, but it was the opposite.

Jon couldn't believe his eyes. Even though he and Owat were old acquaintances, it took him three seconds to see that the man was Owat.

Erwat was disheveled, and the clothes on his body were still the clothes that were almost torn into strips when he was captured more than a month ago. He struggled on the mast and seemed to be looking in the direction of the Dutch fleet.

Jon almost looked at Erwat through the telescope, although he knew that Erwat would not be able to see him clearly.

"Your Excellency, the battleship over Taiwan refuses to fire!" At this time, First Officer Varys also rushed over.

This Dutch fleet is composed of Taiwan and Batavia, and Taiwan's warships account for more than half of them. These warships are all under Owat's men. Now their governor is hung on the warships of the Beiyang Navy. How can we continue to shoot.

"Hmph, incompetence!" Jon shouted, pointing at Owat from a distance.

He and Owat have known each other since they were young, but they had a grudge because of the fight. Until now, Jon's left foot is still crippled, and Owat's left arm was also stabbed by Jon.

Even after the two successively inherited the title of Viscount, the two still looked at each other disliked.

Now that Owat lost Taiwan, he was captured by Ming Dynasty, and his fleet was implicated, Jon was naturally very angry.

But no matter how angry Jon was, Owat's men refused to obey the orders passed by the standard bearer. Major Laura, the captain of a third-tier battleship, even risked his life to board the flagship Hector in a small boat.

"Major General Jon, Governor Owat is in the hands of the Daming people. We must stop the attack immediately, otherwise we will accuse you of murdering the nobles of the kingdom!" Major Laura said with a sullen face when she saw Jon.

Major Laura obviously violated the regulations. Strictly speaking, he could be sentenced to a felony for simply disobeying military orders and contradicting his superiors.

But Laura was only temporarily transferred to Jon's command. He didn't care what Jon thought of him. Viscount Owat was kind to him. He couldn't just sit back and watch Owat die under the fire of his own people. It was originally a Dutch warship belonging to Taiwan. The captains also mean the same thing.

"Hmph! The Governor will report the matter truthfully, and you all just wait to be judged!" The fleet was still under fire from the Daming Navy, and Jon knew that he had to make a decision now.

Even though his heart was full of anger, even if he could kill Laura now without any responsibility, he couldn't.

He was worried that if he killed Laura, his fleet would lose control and be destroyed by Ming's navy one by one. At that time, even he himself would be punished by the company headquarters, even if the matter was eventually reported to the joint ruling Prince of Orange There, he can't please.

"Varys, order to retreat, let's retreat to Palawan Island!" Jon almost gritted his teeth and ordered to his first officer.

As the Governor of Batavia, the Viscount of the Netherlands, and the titular uncle of the co-ruling Prince of Orange, he lost to a Daming navy that was said to have been formed less than two years ago!
Damn Ironclad, damn Owat, hell!

A quarter of an hour later, the entire Dutch fleet completed the turn of the rudder and began to retreat in the direction it came from.

On the other side, even though the steel sheets covered on many warships had been blasted off by the artillery of the Dutch warships, the soldiers of the Beiyang Navy were still fighting in an orderly manner.

Especially on the Jingyuan, Captain Cui Geng even stood on the top deck of the battleship and directed the soldiers below to fire.

"The Dutch retreated?" Liu Hongjian asked in surprise.

PS: Pushing a friend's book "I will never be an emperor", His Majesty the Crown Prince, don't want to be an emperor even if he dies of poverty and starvation. Is this a distortion of human nature, or is it? ?

Friends who are short of books can read it.

　Thanks to book friend 20190823151301223 for the reward of 100 taels.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)