Travel through the Qing Dynasty and become emperor

Chapter 52 The South China Sea War (1)
The rising sun hides the full moon in the west and reddens the sky in the east.Occasionally, there are seagulls passing high in the sky, and the breeze is blowing like waves on the sea.

At five o'clock in the morning, the sailors of each ship had already put away their hammocks, finished washing, and assembled at the designated place.Started a new day of training.

At this time, in addition to the "Triumph", "Juyin", and "Chaoyong" repaired by the Jiangnan Shipbuilding Bureau, the other five major battleships "Nanji", "Nanxiang", "Invincible", "Changsheng" and "Yangwei" Both dock at the port of Kaohsiung.

Since the last war in the East China Sea, two ironclad ships and a cruiser have suffered damage to varying degrees.But after more than two months, it has basically been repaired.On the same day, the anchor was pulled out of the port and sailed to Xiangyang, together with the ten small gunboats newly built by the Jiangnan Shipbuilding Bureau that had just been launched.Both have a displacement of only 800 to 1400 tons. They were originally formed to cooperate with the four German ironclad ships to form the Beiyang Navy after returning to China.But now, in order to completely defeat the French, they have been incorporated into the Nanyang Navy in advance.

Zuo Zongtang was recalled to Beijing from Fujian, he didn't stay for a day, and went back non-stop.Everyone didn't know what the two monarchs and ministers were up to. If it was just a simple transfer of troops, a telegram would suffice!Why let the general of the country's soldiers and horses travel thousands of miles back and forth.

Zuo Zongtang came and looked at the warships in his hands. "Triumph", "Invincible", and "Changsheng" are three large ironclad ships of 4600 tons, "Juyin" is a medium-sized ironclad ship of 3500 tons, and "Nanji", "Nanxiang", "Chaoyong" and "Yangwei" are four Cruisers of different sizes, among them, the two cruisers "Nanji" and "Nanxiang" only have a speed of 13 knots, but they have a displacement of 3200 tons.It can barely be used as a medium-sized ironclad ship, while the two cruisers "Yang Wei" and "Chao Yong" have a displacement of only 2200 tons, but their speed has reached 16 knots.It is most suitable for fast reinforcement, evacuation, escort and reconnaissance on both wings of the fleet.In addition to the above eight capital ships, the rest of the small gunboats and torpedo ships such as "Zhendong", "Zhenxi", "Zhenbian", "Nancen", "Wannianqing", and "Haidongyun" are not A Nanyang Navy composed of 28 ships was assembled.

This is because the emperor handed over all the sea power of the Qing Dynasty to him, looking at these warships in Kaohsiung Port.Zuo Zongtang deeply felt the burden on his body! !
"Master Zuo, there is an urgent message from the military aircraft department." A soldier ran over and delivered a telegram.

Zuo Zongtang turned around and took it back. It was a joint telegram from the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Ministry of Households: Zuo Zhongtang, please immediately draw up a naval battle plan and submit it to the Military Aircraft Department for review. go south.You know, Vietnam's 20 troops spend [-] silver from the imperial court a day.Remember!Draw up a plan as soon as possible, and immediately fight the French army!
Zuo Zongtang sighed deeply, and rushed to his body a little more courageously.Of course he knows the truth, but it is easier said than done!Leaving aside the matter of money, most of the 18000-mile coastline from Lushun and Tianjin in the north to Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces in the south is now in a vacuum.What if someone takes the opportunity to invade?You know, like the Qing Dynasty, it also has four ironclad ships!Now that swords and guns are fighting again in North Korea, it is guaranteed that people will not be allowed to take advantage of the southward transfer of the Great Qingshui Division to cause some chaos in the north!

But what should we do if we want to make a quick decision?

"Master Zuo, the emperor's secret message." Another soldier ran over.

"Oh? Bring it quickly." Zuo Zongtang urged.

"My dear Zongtang, I am well aware of the ferocity of the French fleet. And my Great Qingshui Division has just been formed, and its combat power is insufficient. It can only be outsmarted and not attacked by force. You don't have to worry, wait for the opportunity to appear. I will cooperate with the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty, The people of the world are waiting for your good news!"

"Your Majesty!! Zongtang will do his best to serve the emperor's favor!" Zuo Zongtang knelt down to the south and roared towards the sky.

"Master Zuo, General Deng put out a semaphore on the Changsheng. There was black smoke in the south, and it was suspected to be the French Far East Fleet. I asked the warship to leave the port and go to sea to meet the enemy." A soldier reported.

"What? They're coming? Get the binoculars."

"twitter."

Zuo Zongtang boarded the tower and saw soot in the southwest direction through the telescope, which was at least [-] meters away from here.Due to the influence of the curvature of the earth, even with a telescope on such a clear day, it is completely impossible to see the flagpole of the opponent's warship, and even the soot is very obscure.Of course, I don't know the identity of the other party's ship, is it a merchant ship?Is it the fleet of a third country?Or the Far East Fleet of the French Army?Only when the two sides get close to [-] meters can the ship type and nationality be distinguished.

But Zuo Zongtang is a person who has suffered once. The last time he ordered the fleet to defend the military port.This led to the result of being wiped out by the French army, and this time, he will not fall twice in the same place.He knew that he shouldered the result of the entire Sino-French war, and he could not fail!

"All warships, pull anchor and leave the port. The speed is 8 knots, the direction is southwest, and they are approaching each other. All warships are 2000 meters apart and lined up." Zuo Zongtang responded quickly.

"Marshal Zuo, you'd better stay in command of the Military Port Bureau. Don't board the ship!" a soldier persuaded.

"Fuck your mother, how does this commander command in the military port? You bastard, get the hell out of here, let the French warship run away, this commander will unscrew your head!"

28 warships lined up, slowly approaching each other.

Closer, closer.The black smoke became thicker and thicker, and there were more and more. After a while, there were three or four wisps.At this time, everyone could see it clearly, and it was almost certain that this large-scale fleet was the newly formed Far East Fleet of the French Army.It is very likely that the purpose of marching forward this time is to eliminate the Nanyang navy that hit him hard last time.

At this point, there is no need to hesitate.The two sides are separated by [-] meters in the South China Sea, and the war is imminent.The flagship "Changsheng" issued a piercing battle alarm, piercing the blue sky, and all the ships responded together immediately, and an encounter at sea was about to be staged.There was no ambush, no so-called siege, and both sides met straight away.

Zuo Zongtang changed his formation first and played a semaphore. In the "Long Victory", "Unbeaten", "Juyin", and "Triumph" rounds, "Chaoyong" and "Yang Wei" protect the two sides of the fleet and report the situation on both sides at any time.Whether there are enemy ships surrounded by the side depends on the report of these two super fast cruisers.

"Nanji" and "Nanxiang" came forward.Since the German-made cruiser has a strong ability to resist attacks, let the two of them rush forward and properly attract some firepower.

All torpedo ships are behind the four main ironclad ships, and the rest of the gunboats are around the ironclad ships.

The ships are separated by 3000 meters, and the speed is adjusted by 10 knots.Moving closer to the enemy ship, the flagship "Changsheng" was responsible for the first mission, and the target was the iron-clad ship "Langmu" with a displacement of 3800 tons.

The main gun on the bow of the "Changsheng" has taken off the covering tarpaulin, and the dark 240mm muzzle has already faced the French warship.

"Send a semaphore, all gunboats speed up to 11 knots, and the Triumph, Invincible, and Juin speed up to 13 knots. Advance at full speed, and Changsheng will start after entering the range. Remember, be sure to hit the first shot!" Zuo Zongtang decisively ordered road.

However, just as the naval battle was about to start, the sailors had even loaded the shells. The "Chaoyong" sent a semaphore from the east, and found enemy ships in the southeast direction, a total of 8 ships, and the speed was unknown.

Zuo Zongtang suddenly came to his senses, the French must have guessed that he would lead the navy to fight.An ambush has already been set up in the Yellow Sea, how can we fight this battle?The fight has not yet started and has been surrounded.

If you order a retreat at this time, your own 8 capital ships can ensure no worries.And those 20 small gunboats and torpedo boats?They only have poor speeds of 11 knots and 8 knots.No matter what, there is no escape! !

what to do?To fight or not to fight?The officers and soldiers of the navy, who were originally confident, fell to the bottom of their hearts at this time.

All the ship commanders aimed their binoculars at the semaphore soldiers of the "Changsheng" at this time, waiting for the command from the commander!
At this moment, the "Wannianqing" with a displacement of only 1134 tons issued a semaphore: "Zhendong, Zhenxi, Zhenbian, Nancen, Zhennan, Haidongyun, Chaowu, Yuankai, follow me to block the enemy ships in the southeast. Zuo Shuai leads the main force to destroy the enemy ships on the opposite side and then come to reinforce them."

Zuo Zongtang was taken aback, but did not stop.The ships saw that the commander did not have the latest order, and then "Zhendong" first began to turn silently, and then "Haidongyun", "Yuankai"

Some of them were bought from the UK, and some were produced by Jiangnan Shipyard. Most of them are small gunboats of about 1000 tons.For example, "Haidongyun" is a small wooden gunboat produced in the former Mawei Military Port, with a displacement of only 700 tons.But what they went to stop was ironclad ships such as "Elegance", "Dour", and "Victory".

On the left and right two fleets that had just separated, everyone stood up straight and watched their comrades go away.The dark blue military uniforms embroidered with large pieces of moiré lace slapped on them vigorously under the raging sea breeze, and the blue dragon flag with a yellow background on the flagpole fluttered proudly in the sea breeze.

At this time, the "Invincible" sign on the left put out a semaphore: I serve the country with my body, today is the day.

Everyone was excited, and under the leadership of the commanders of the ships, they removed all the cumbersome things, including canvas, tableware, and broaching beds.Some were properly preserved, and some were thrown directly into the sea; sandbags were piled up around important parts on the main deck, more than one meter high.

Dozens of 150mm grenades were placed among the sandbags.The positions of the machine guns are all protected by sandbags, and coal bags are even used in particularly important positions.The main deck was doused with seawater to simulate a fire.But in order to prevent the soldiers from slipping, another layer of fine sand was sprinkled.The firefighters held a fire hose made of rubber, connected to a water pump, and dutifully stood by on the deck.There are also many sailors holding more than 20 kilograms of main gun propellant packs, lying down on the deck at a distance, and replenishing ammunition for the main gun at any time.The wind bucket on the upper part of the ventilation pipe was removed, and in order to prevent the fire from spreading to other cabins, the doors of all irrelevant watertight cabins were also closed.

Since they chose to dismount from Tian Ji's horse race, failure may be the fate that awaits them!However, the officers and soldiers of the entire ship are still actively preparing, and some soldiers even wiped their sabers, imagining that their warship could lean against the enemy's warship, so that they could jump on the enemy ship and behead the enemy's general. The power to capture the opponent's iron armor.

Of course, this is pure fantasy.The speed difference between the ships of the two sides is too large, even if they can avoid the opponent's shells, it is impossible to catch up with the opponent's speed.

However, the Chinese navy, which has just started at this moment, showed unprecedented qualities. Everyone was in a hurry, with serious and serious expressions on their faces.They are ready.To win this battle for this country.

(End of this chapter)