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Chapter 1113 Lawrence of Arabia 5
Faced with the questions raised by military technicians, Hong Tao could not give an accurate answer, but he knew that before World War II, artillery shells of various countries were mostly cast with pig iron.

Since they can use it, there is no reason why I can't. It's nothing more than a few more experiments to see how thick the shell can be made so that it won't be crushed by the chamber pressure, and at the same time cause relatively large damage to the wooden hull.

After nearly two years of countless test firings, the appropriate thickness and casting method were finally found. Compared with hand grenades, the naval gun body has fewer notches, only three vertically and two horizontally. In order to protect the barrel, a layer of lead alloy must be placed on the outer layer.

The manufacturing process was certainly more complicated and the cost was also increased, but after actual testing by the Navy, it received unanimous praise. It was named Type 30 armor-piercing fragmentation projectile and was divided into two types, A and B, and put into production, gradually replacing the traditional solid conical projectile.

This new type of shell increases the lethality several times without affecting the loading speed and shooting accuracy. When it penetrates the hull, it will break into nine pieces along the score due to uneven force, and scatter in cones in different directions, thus expanding the killing area.

The A-type is used to deal with warships with thicker hulls, while the B-type is used for civilian ships with thinner hulls.

How could a European sailing ship be equipped with the main weapons of the Ming Empire Navy? Needless to say, it should be clear that the ship is definitely a European sailing ship, but the people on it are no longer European sailors.

Don't jump to conclusions too soon. After the second round of shelling, a row of heads emerged from behind the wall on the starboard side, holding muskets in their hands, and fired a volley of shots at the decks of the two galleys.

Judging from their appearance, these twenty-odd sailors included dark-skinned Africans, Europeans with three-dimensional facial features, and mixed-race people with hair that was neither black nor white and pupils of different colors. They looked very similar to sailors from various countries employed on the Portuguese and Dutch merchant ships that frequently traveled in this area, except that there were no Chinese people.

"Don't stop firing. Fire two more rounds below the waterline and sink the ship as quickly as possible. Everyone, keep your eyes on the water and don't let anyone live!"

Don't say there isn't one. The man standing behind the helm took off his bamboo hat and shouted loudly. Although his head was a little big, he did look very Chinese. However, there were also sporadic Japanese crew members on Portuguese and Dutch merchant ships, so it cannot be said that this person was Chinese.

"Senior, instead of waiting for them to sink, it would be faster to go over and crush them. Although this is not a shipping channel, the strait is not very wide and it is close to the port, so accidents are inevitable."

"But don't open your mouth," a black young man walked quickly to the steering table and made a suggestion. His Chinese was very standard and it was Mandarin, without any foreign accent at all.

"Well, it's time to make a quick decision... Wait a minute, how many times have I told you who is the senior? My name is Kakabushige, I live on Tsushima Island, I'm a Japanese ronin, employed by the Dutch East India Company as a helmsman and navigator.

This ship comes from the port of Batavia. It is a merchant ship of the Dutch East India Company. You are all employees of the company! Whether there are outsiders or not, you must communicate in Latin. This is the last time. If anyone can't remember it again, don't blame me for being lenient! "

Big Head affirmed the black youth's suggestion and immediately issued an order. But he turned around and started to lecture him, speaking in Latin, with a very stern tone and a fierce look in his eyes.

"Yes... No, I'm the First Mate Mandela III. Navigator, lower the sail and turn right!"

The black youth was embarrassed by the scolding. He rubbed his hands and was about to admit his mistake, but suddenly he realized something was wrong. He looked around and finally remembered his identity. He immediately straightened his chest, put his hands on his hips, and acted arrogantly, and started to point fingers at the big head. "Hey... That's right, but don't act too much, be natural... Lower the sail and turn the rudder, watch out for collisions..."

Seeing the black youth's behavior, Big Head actually laughed, patted him on the shoulder, pointed out the shortcomings in his performance, then raised his head, opened his voice, and howled at the mast.

The hull was riddled with holes from armor-piercing shells, and the deck was hit several times by dense bullets. The two biremes had lost power, and even if there were still people inside, they dared not show their heads, and let the ships drift on the sea.

But after more than ten minutes, they found that they could not escape this sudden disaster even if they did not show up. The galley was hit directly by a European sailing ship of several times its tonnage.

Because of the resistance of the sea water, it could not slide away, and was finally ridden over from the waist. With the noise of the wood breaking, a bunch of bubbles and debris appeared on the sea surface and disappeared.

The second ship suffered the same fate. The Ottoman sailors saw the tragic situation of their companions and did not want to sit and wait for death, so they rushed to the deck and tried to raise the sails to escape. However, they were immediately hit by dense musket fire and had no choice but to retreat to the cabin again, and then they were crushed under the water with the ship.

After sinking two Ottoman Navy biremes, the European sailing ships did not leave immediately, but dropped all the sails and floated quietly on the sea. While monitoring the movement on the water, they sent sailors down the side of the ship with a hanging basket and fixed the striped cloth to the side of the hull with nails.

The Ottoman Navy discovered that the European sailing ship with striped decorations was fake. The method was quite clever and the effect was indeed good. Not only did they change the appearance of the ship, but they also covered the gun ports. If you don't look closely, it is 100% a cargo ship.

What if someone insists on getting closer to take a closer look? Didn't we show it before? Anyone who gets close will be sent to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish and shrimp. Although the coast of the Red Sea is under the control of the Ottomans, as long as you don't go to the shore or get close to the port, the situation just now can only be considered an accident.

"Okay, let's raise the sail. We still have three days to travel, and it's best not to be late for the first transaction."

About half an hour later, when he was sure that no one had come up, Big Head gave the order to start the boat. Although the close combat was handled perfectly, there was no trace of joy on his face.

What is "leaving no armor behind"? Anyone who is familiar with Chinese and Japanese common sense should know that this is not a Japanese name, but a Chinese idiom. Big Head is Wang Datou. Some of the crew members are navy soldiers, some are sailors from the Maritime Transport Command, and there are also a few craftsmen from the shipyard and students from the Royal Academy.

The reason why it was so complicated was all because of the Lawrence of Arabia Plan. After his proposal was approved by the emperor, the General Staff and the Naval Staff began to plan intensively, and it took only a little over two days to send a complete plan to the emperor's desk.

In this plan, the Imperial Navy, acting as the Dutch East India Company, would provide weapons, ammunition, and combat guidance to four Mamluk families including Piyali in the port of Suez, helping them launch an armed uprising at the appropriate time.

(End of this chapter)