Great Qing Dynasty talker

More than 20 ships in Nelson's fleet were destroyed or seriously damaged.

Of course~
The Combined Fleet fared no better, having lost 36 ships, with 22 steam battleships partially or completely losing power.

……

Commander Liu Wu held up a telescope and shouted:

"The Siege of Victory."

"Restrict the Victory's range of activities. Capture the leader first."

"Yes."

As soon as the messenger left, a 24-pound solid bullet penetrated the side gun deck of the flagship under his feet. Liu Wu felt a shock under his feet, and immediately turned the telescope to look at a Frank III-class ship half a mile away.

It is the culprit!
Liu Wu rushed out of the command cabin in a cold sweat, shouting:

"How about a paddle wheel?"

"Report to the commander, the paddle wheel is intact and the engine is intact."

Liu Wu wiped his sweat instantly and shouted:
"Turn around, face the enemy with your bow, and sink this Frankish warship first."

……

The result of being hit by the previous shell is:
A hole the size of a door panel appeared on the upper gun deck, a cannon was overturned, and the four gunners around it were either killed or injured.

Two of them did not die on the spot and were dragged to the bottom cabin by the servants.

"Cook, help me."

"okay."

The sturdy military doctor and the sturdy cook worked together to carry the less seriously injured person to the dining table first.

Due to severe pain, the injured kept twitching.
"Cook, help me hold him down."

"okay."

……

Another wounded soldier lying on the ground with no one paying attention to him stretched out his bloody hands, grabbed the corner of the military doctor's apron, and spoke weakly:
"Medical officer, save me."

The military doctor remained unmoved and focused on dealing with the wounded on the table.

After cutting open the clothes, they saw that the wounds on his shoulders and neck were bleeding profusely. There were many splinters in the wounds, and there were signs of burns.

Puff, a sip of liquor.

The knife spun and the minced meat fell to the ground.

The wounded who were skinned looked like shrimps dropped into a pot of boiling water. They arched their backs, screamed, and fainted on the spot.

At this moment, the flagship was hit by another shell.

The impact point is very close to the base.

The ship was shaking violently, and the military doctor almost fell down due to the huge inertia. Fortunately, he grabbed the rope on the wall in time to stabilize his body.

"Cook! Give me the branding iron."

"cook!"

The military doctor turned his head and was stunned.

The cook lay on the ground without saying a word, and his blood formed a small pool.

……

A fresh sea breeze blew through the holes made by the shells into the filthy operating room in the lower cabin.

The military doctor regained his consciousness, quickly grabbed the branding iron and pressed it.

Screams echoed through the sky.

Almost at the same time, a series of explosions sounded overhead.

Under such high-decibel suppression, the screams of the wounded are not worth mentioning.

The flagship's deck breech-loading gun fired eight shrapnel shells in one breath, five of which exploded on the enemy ship's deck.

When the smoke cleared, there was no one alive on the deck of the enemy ship, and half of the main mast broke off and fell into the sea.

There's a fire!
The flagship circled around to the ship's stern and fired several solid bullets at its tail rudder with the carronade. After confirming that the enemy ship's tail rudder was completely broken, it sailed away.

……

The naval battle outside has nothing to do with the bottom cabin.

The military doctor untied the bandages on the wounded man's limbs, bandaged them skillfully to stop the bleeding, and then dragged the man aside.

Lower your head again~
He found that the seriously injured soldier who had pulled his apron had died, with a pair of lifeless eyes staring at him.

The military doctor, who was used to seeing life and death, did not feel sad. He dragged the body aside and also dragged the body of the cook, who had the best relationship with him on the ship, aside.

dong dong dong~
There were footsteps coming up the wooden stairs.

More wounded were carried down.

After the military doctor quickly soaked his hands in clean water, he shouted, "Bring it to the table."

……

Deck~
A boatswain suddenly shouted: "Commander, there seems to be something wrong with the Victory's rudder."

Liu Wu quickly raised the telescope to observe.

Two and a half miles away, the Victory and another Netherlands III-class ship were being besieged by more than 2 of their own warships, with the sound of artillery fire rumbling.

After observing for a while, Liu Wu found that the Victory seemed unable to turn left.

Instant joy:

"Take advantage of his illness, get close, and sink the Victory."

at this time,

Nelson was also devastated.

The tail rudder was stuck by something and couldn't turn left, but turned right normally.

He ordered:
"Who can repair the rudder now? Reward: 10 coins, 2 levels, and 1 barrel of rum."

Under the reward, there must be a brave man.

A trainee officer who had served for more than fifteen years but had never passed the exam volunteered to lower down the rope.

……

Time passes minute by minute.

On one side are huge ships and big guns, on the other side are small ships and fast guns.

If Nelson's fleet had been able to add one more first-class ship or two second-class ships before leaving Calcutta, today's naval battle would not be like this.

But unfortunately, the assumption does not hold true.

The Victory remained tenacious. Relying on its huge size, it continuously fired chain shells, lever shells, grapeshot and other special shells from its high ground to block the Wu army warships that were getting too close.

Several brave Wu ships met with misfortune.

The deck guns were destroyed and a large number of deck personnel were killed or wounded.

What's more, behind the Victory's tall freeboard there were two rows of lobster soldiers squatting, looking down from above, shooting calmly with rifles in hand.

……

The ships of the Combined Fleet were short, and the broadside guns could not reach the deck of the Victory even at the highest firing angles.

The deck guns were OK, but most of them were destroyed.

Fortunately, at this time,

Two steam battleships of the 10th Squadron finally arrived. They laid down the rocket launchers and began to fire rockets at the Victory's tall mainmast.

The main mast of the Victory is more than 60 meters high, and the three huge sails are like huge targets.

咻咻 咻 ~
Rockets kept hitting and the sails caught fire.

……

The lobster soldiers on the deck fled in panic.

Boom~
A gunpowder barrel at the bow of the ship ignited, and the huge blast wave from the explosion pushed a dozen lobster soldiers into the sea.

The flames began to climb up the mast.

The lookout in the crow's nest, who was smoked by the fire, was extremely desperate. He jumped, but failed to jump into the sea and unfortunately fell on the deck.

Nelson's face was splattered with blood.

He wiped away the blood and shouted:
"England expects that every man will do his duty~"

Unfortunately.

Although the slogan is touching, it is really not timely.

……

Several intact steam warships of the Wu army approached fiercely from the blind spots in front and behind the Victory. Boom, boom, boom, many shrapnel shells drew parabolas and landed on the deck of the Victory.

Watching the shells roll on the oak deck.

A Marine captain's heart almost stopped beating, and the next second, it really stopped beating.

A ball of brilliant sparks suddenly blossomed before his eyes, and through the flames he seemed to see his grandmother who had passed away long ago.

Explosions one after another resounded throughout the Victory.

Fire and smoke covered the entire deck.

...However, if you think that you can sink the Victory in this way, you are greatly underestimating the power of the first-class battleship.

The severely damaged Victory continued to fight while carrying out damage control.

Tenaciously bombard any Wu army warship that dares to approach.

but,

Wu Jun also found a way to deal with it.

Stay away from its sides and keep firing at its bow and stern.

……

Four miles away, the captain of a Saxon Level 4 ship discovered the situation here.

A strange cry:
"Oh, God."

"Our Victory has lost power."

Then he hung out the flag to take over as the flagship and ordered the surrounding friendly forces to go to the rescue.

How could the trembling Combined Fleet miss such an opportunity? They chased the enemy all the way and achieved satisfactory results.

……

When the naval battle entered its sixth hour, the Combined Fleet fought more and more courageously, using rockets aimed directly at the sails and shrapnel bombs to wash the decks at close range, making Nelson's fleet unable to resist.

A Dutch III-class ship simply closed its gun portholes and hoisted a white flag.

A small group of Wu army marines paddled in sampans and took control of this wise warship, ordering it to block the fire doors and move the warship away from the battlefield.

A Marine officer solemnly promised that everyone would be treated preferentially, and the captain and senior officers would even receive normal salaries while they were captured.

……

The 7th hour.

The naval battle is over.

The combined fleet sank 38 enemy ships, captured 7, and the rest escaped under cover of night.

The Saxon treasure, the first-class sailing battleship Victory, became the brightest torch in the Indian Ocean that day.

Nelson himself refused to leave the ship and sat in the captain's cabin until he was engulfed in flames.

The combined fleet was divided into two groups, with the seriously damaged warships sent to the nearest colony and the lightly damaged warships returned to Yangon for repairs.

Leave 2 light sailing warships in place.

It was not until noon the next day that he left with satisfaction after witnessing the Victory sinking to the bottom of the sea.

……

The news reached Calcutta on the 7th day. Adelaide, the Governor-General of East India, was so shocked that he could not recover for a long time and instantly looked 10 years older.

Day 25.

An uprising broke out again in the territory of the Maratha League, which had been destroyed by the East India Company several years ago.

The Mughal emperor, who had no sense of existence, also stood up and called for the expulsion of all colonists.

On the 30th day, the Combined Fleet was repaired, completed its replenishment, and began to take actual control of this vast ocean.

Day 35
3000 vassal troops landed at the Chennai colony on merchant ships.

……

In accordance with His Majesty's instructions, Commander-in-Chief Liu Wu of the Combined Fleet focused the war in Europe on the northern front.

On the southern battlefield, we must make the most of our resources with minimal effort, and controlling sea power is the top priority.

The navy's strategic goal is: Malacca - Colombo - Goa - Persian Gulf.

Through the ocean, the layout is leapfrog. Push the outpost to the Persian Gulf, and it will be a success if we can provide blood transfusion to Constantinople.

There is a hidden logic in this:

As long as the colonies in Southeast Asia and South Asia are eliminated, the European fleet will have nowhere to rest even if it comes.

A fleet without supply points is very vulnerable.

All we need to do is avoid fighting and delay time, and we can drag the enemy fleet that has come from afar to collapse.

……

Liu Wu deployed troops and watched the smoke of war rising in the South Asian subcontinent, but did not take any action. He ordered the colonial troops on the east coast to strengthen their training while building fortifications.

After besieging Colombo for several days, the combined fleet accepted the enemy's surrender.

Then~
The fleet bypassed the southernmost tip and stationed on the west coast, and captured the Goa colony with rockets and heavy artillery. Then, using Goa as a springboard, it set about establishing contact with the southern coast of the Persian Gulf and transporting elite marines.

……

Day 90
The arms dealers of Wu State set foot on the South Asian subcontinent. They were adept at maneuvering and boldly sold large quantities of muzzle-loading rifles and muzzle-loading cannons that had been eliminated by the empire to various forces, and accepted gold, silver, copper, gems and other payment methods.

The trouble was secretly diverted to the north.

Guide the various departments to point their spearheads at the Saxon East India Company.

The war was raging in the South Asian subcontinent, with all parties attacking each other.
There is no peace on earth.

No tribe could remain neutral.

The steel was burning, the rivers were surging, blood was flowing on all sides, and the Emperor Wu was laughing.

……

Suzhou Prefecture.

Along the Jiangnan Canal.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians gathered to see His Majesty off from Beijing and officially embark on the great journey of expedition to Europe.

The scene was filled with flying flags, gongs and drums beating, huge crowds of people, and thunderous cheers, and everyone was caught up in a collective frenzy.

Li Yu walked to the bow of the ship and waved to the crowd, and instantly received cheers like waves.

The shouts of "Long live the emperor" rose into the sky and did not land for a long time.

……

For this expedition,
Li Yu took away the entire Royal Guards Corps, three princes including the eldest son Li Yuanzhen, Concubine Yi, Concubine Wei and several female officials, and a technical team of up to 3 people in various fields.

Half of the civil and military officials in the court accompanied him.

Two thirds of the elite field troops of the entire imperial army were drawn.

However, the Queen was left behind to guard the palace, and her father, the Minister of Finance Hu Xueyu, was left behind to serve as the governor of the capital.

……

The fleet sailed northward, trailing black smoke.
The crowds on both sides cheered loudly. They raised their hands above their heads and jumped on the spot to express their excitement.

Ah ~
Love it~
On the way, Li Yu summoned the Saxon chemist, Wolfe.

This man invented picric acid more than a decade ago, which is used in cheap clothing dyes.

In order to achieve greater success, Wolfe traveled east to the State of Wu to promote his personal invention.

As a result, a workshop at Jiangnan Textile Factory was blown up by several barrels of picric acid dye that he was selling. The details of what happened are unknown, but 50 people died on the spot and more than 30 were seriously injured.

The power of the explosion terrified everyone.

Wolfe was then sent to prison.

After Li Yu learned about this, he immediately guessed what happened, because similar accidents have occurred in history.

He ordered Wolfe's release and paid compensation for his losses from the treasury.

……

Wolfe looked nervous and stood up quickly:

"Your Majesty, picric acid explosives are too unstable. If used for military purposes, I'm afraid..."

Li Yu waved his hand, signaling him not to be nervous.

"I know this thing is explosive, and I have no intention of completely solving the hidden dangers. The navy certainly wouldn't dare to use it, but the army is worth the risk."

"I tell you clearly that the Western Expedition to Europe is to punish them for arbitrarily tearing up the three major treaties. It is a justifiable reason."

"If you are willing to serve the Empire, you will be rewarded accordingly after the war. If you are not willing, write down your research plan and return home by ship tomorrow."

Wolfe chose to comply.

Firstly, he was eager to achieve success, and secondly, he was afraid of being sunk into the sea on the way.

Li Yu smiled and said:

"After the war, I will reward you with the title of Baronet, and will also help you set up a chemical company and an explosives company. You will become the empire's military supplier."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

……

Along the way~
Wolfe and his new apprentices continued to study picric acid explosives to reduce the probability of accidental explosions as much as possible.

Every point lower is a point better. Lao Lu’s life is also a life.

There is an old saying among the people: Behind every old electrician, there is a group of young apprentices.

Chemists are no exception.

The fleet just arrived in Jiangbei~
Outside the camp, boom~
With a loud explosion, the laboratory exploded, killing three of Wolfe's apprentices and injuring five.

Wolf himself was safe and sound because he only went to the laboratory once in the morning and evening to check the experiment manual, arrange the new direction of the experiment, and then leave immediately.

No one in this world understands the horror of picric acid explosives better than him~ (End of this chapter)