Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 477: Ship Slashing Naruto
After all, the Zhiyuan was only a single ship attending the meeting. Even though it could take advantage of its speed and agility to gain the upper hand, the shogunate's anti-barbarian navy had more ships after all.

They were divided into several teams, predicting the route and blocking in advance. Under the command of Kuki Moritaka and others who were familiar with the essentials of naval warfare, the Zhiyuan ship's space for movement was still inevitably compressed.

"Damn it!" Kuki Moritaka looked into the distance in front of the castle tower of the Ataku ship with a ferocious look on his face, "Don't be afraid! We have to fight on. After all, there is only one battleship!"

Although several Ataka ships and Seki ships had been hit by floating mines and were unable to protect themselves, at this moment the sea was still swarming with warships.

"Turning around the corner again, General!"

Kuki Moritaka had already seen it. Under the blockade of the naval warships of other clans on Shikoku Island on the Awa side, the black ship of the Ming Dynasty seemed unwilling to be entangled and was changing its course again.

What a huge ship that is! Kuki Moritaka didn't understand why it could turn so flexibly despite being so big.

For a boat to sail on the sea, it must first have power. The sails provide the force, and the oars provide the force, so that the boat can move.

With the power, use the rudder to control the direction.

The greater the force used to drive the ship, the easier it is to turn the rudder and the ability of the ship to withstand the twisting force during turning, which is not easy.

You have to know that the helmsman often needs to be a person with great strength, and even a huge ship can hardly be easily steered by just one person.

But the Ming Dynasty's black ship was sailing very fast, and when turning, it had to adjust the sails to gain leverage, which required the cooperation of countless people. When sailing so fast, how great would the wind and water resistance be when turning?
But the Zhiyuan is big, fast and agile.

Fortunately, at the moment, the northern entrance of the Naruto Strait was "closed" by the number of ships at all costs, and the Zhiyuan ship finally turned south.

"It's good that we have entered a place with a whirlpool! Press forward quickly!"

Shen Yourong was on the Zhiyuan ship, looking at the fleet behind him through a telescope, and ordered: "Take advantage of this time to quickly check the steam engine, the water pressure, the air pressure, and the paddle wheel."

Taking the initiative was a strategy, and Shen Yourong was not arrogant enough to really annihilate the entire fleet with one ship.

This naval battle will definitely take longer.

The reason why the Zhiyuan ship was so fast and flexible in its prime at this moment was mainly due to the steam engine, oars, rudder and other machinery on the ship.

Not being in a state of overuse is the basis for lasting longer.

"My Lord, why don't you go north?"

"To the north, they can't catch up, so how can they destroy the enemy? To the south, they can block us more tightly. We have already lost so many ships, so of course we have to finish the job."

"Their boat is slow, they can just turn north and then turn south to provoke them..."

"We cannot rely solely on the Zhiyuan to annihilate them." Shen Yourong was not annoyed that his subordinates did not agree with his decision, because he was teaching his subordinates how to fight. "The Zhiyuan has already taken action. If they retreat here, they will gain nothing and suffer heavy casualties. They may be frightened and move east to defend Edo Bay."

"I see... My Lord, you mean to give them a chance to win? But now they have blocked the north tightly, I'm afraid the Zhiyuan ship..."

"How can a ship be really well protected when it's on the sea?" Shen Yourong said calmly, "As for the possibility that the Zhiyuan ship might be damaged when it heads north, do you all think that we can win a great victory if the Zhiyuan ship remains intact?"

The subordinate's heart trembled: "I understand!"

"After several bombardments, they should have some experience in sighting. Let them adjust it as soon as possible!"

"Take your orders!"

Someone hurriedly ran to the gun compartment, and Shen Yourong continued to observe the movements of the enemy ships with a telescope.

Naval battles are always like this. In the past, when there were no naval guns, the most intense battles were only before and after boarding, and the rest of the time were just surface pursuits.

It seems to be only a mile away or even a few hundred steps, but it often takes a quarter of an hour or even an hour or two.

Although they are now within visual range, the Zhiyuan is heading south and the Japanese Goi navy is chasing behind. The short sea distance from the north entrance of the Naruto Strait to the middle of the Naruto Strait will not allow them to get close again quickly.

With the range of the Zhiyuan's naval guns, they could actually fire at this time, but the hit rate would be very low.

Moreover, in that case, the Zhiyuan would have to sail east-west, with its side facing the approaching fleet from the north.

Then there are the turning radius and the time required, which all need to be taken into consideration.

Everything is dynamic. Shen Yourong observes the situation on the battlefield and also has to decide the next tactics in advance.

At the northern end of the Naruto Strait, the remaining warships of the Goi Navy almost filled the strait from east to west.

Of course, this was only from a distance. From the telescope, one could still see that there were gaps of several dozen feet between the large Ataka ships, which were filled with small boats.

Is the Zhiyuan afraid of boarding?

I'm not afraid.

Because of the powerful naval guns and the Nine Thunder Guns, they are of course not afraid of boarding battles.

But the fear is that once entangled, the Zhiyuan's advantages of faster speed and flexible turning will be lost.

Once the shield on the Anzhai ship was lowered and stuck on the side of the Zhiyuan ship, it would be a piece of cake to destroy the enemy soldiers who boarded the ship. However, no matter how powerful the steam engine was, it was not easy to suddenly rush out to the boarding of another large ship of several hundred tons.

There is also a high possibility that the direction will be deflected due to force problems, causing damage to the steam engine and other components.

In addition, if more enemy ships were to block the front and back by manpower during the delay, the officers and soldiers on the Zhiyuan would have to deal with a steady stream of enemies.

After all, the main structure of the Zhiyuan ship is made of wood and can catch fire.

After observing for a while, Shen Yourong discovered that the ships in the western half did not seem to be as strong as those that were initially severely damaged by the Zhiyuan.

Simply put, the ship moves slower.

Of course, this may be because the navy's Antaku ships in the direction of Awaji Island have mostly covered their shields with a layer of iron armor, making them more suitable as vanguards. But after the fierce battle, the sailors on the enemy ships that first engaged the Zhiyuan should be more exhausted.

At the moment, the ships in the western half that were better preserved were slightly slower.

Shen Yourong narrowed his eyes and gave a decisive order: "Wait for my order and prepare to turn east!"

Since Japan is actually divided into local regions, everyone has their own ideas.

Since the elite troops had so much fine iron to help them, they had to make contributions. But it seemed that not everyone in such a large fleet was determined to fight to the death.

"My Lord, they don't dare to really enter the gorge!"

A moment later, when they saw the black ship sailing south suddenly emit more smoke and turn east, Kuki Moritaka's retainers shouted in surprise.

"Great!" Kuki Moritaka was also delighted. "Quickly order all the ships to have the sailors increase their strength. They can only turn north and west to block the way. Let the Hosuka and Todo families block the west."

The black ship, which had slowed down a little just now, began to speed up again.

The narrowest part of the Naruto Strait is slightly north of the middle section, and is only five miles from east to west.

Now, on the sea six or seven miles north of the gorge, the Yuyi navy warships are densely packed. The black ships turned east almost along the most complicated part of the gorge, and then headed northeast.

With this turn, the Yuyi navy naturally approached the Zhiyuan ship even faster, and soon they were only about a mile away.

The Zhiyuan ship could not rush directly to the shore of Awaji Island. If it turned to the northwest, it would be heading towards the opposite direction and would engage in battle in an instant.

At the eastern end of the northern section of the gorge, loud shouts rang out from many Anzhai ships, and the armored ships pressed forward towards the route that the Zhiyuan ship was bound to pass.

"Success or failure depends on this one move! We must entangle it and kill it!"

At this time, the Zhiyuan ship blew the whistle again, and it finally turned to the northwest and headed straight for the Jiugui navy.

The boat at Antaku couldn't help but become quite quiet. Many people stopped shouting. All that could be heard were the heavy breathing of their companions, the sound of the wind blowing, the sound of oars hitting the water, and the shouts of the boatmen below their feet.

The damage caused by the black ship at the beginning came to everyone's mind, and now the beast-like ship was approaching again.

But everyone had experience this time. Even though the big iron cannon was very powerful, it could only fire one round at a time and had to be reloaded all the time.

And the navy has so many warships.

In front of the Zhiyuan, from east to west, Japanese warships locked the northern end of the entire gorge like an iron chain across the river.

Shen Yourong couldn't help but become nervous.

"The helmsman must choose the right time!"

He knew the window was not big. Whether the Zhiyuan could create chaos in the enemy and create a gap, and whether the Zhiyuan could seize the gap, depended on the helmsman's ability.

Fortunately, as the two sides got closer, they were unwilling to swallow their anger but were eager to make a contribution and did change their formation.

Looking at it again, the enemy was clearly divided into two groups. The iron-clad Antaku ships worked harder, and their western half had accelerated even more vigorously, preparing to block the west where the Zhiyuan ship was bound to go.

As for the naval forces further west, they should either set up a second line of defense or turn to the east to prevent the Zhiyuan ship from breaking through directly.

But they seemed to be a step behind again.

The battlefield is the sea area in the northern part of the gorge. If the Zhiyuan ship goes straight north, the Jiugui navy will definitely make their ships get closer to each other, even if they collide, they must stop the Zhiyuan ship.

The Zhiyuan's long-range weapons were on both sides, and it was not willing to take the risk of being entangled by them, let alone a collision.

Sure enough, the Zhiyuan ship adjusted its direction again, this time heading west and slightly south, as if it was forced to turn back to the middle of the strait and launch a long-range artillery attack on the Jiuki navy.

"boom!"

This time they were much closer. As soon as smoke began to rise from the starboard side of the Zhiyuan ship, the Kuki navy heard a loud noise.

"Watch the sea!"

Kuki Moritaka already knew how to dodge as much as possible. That kind of shell would not explode immediately. As long as they were prepared, with the flexibility of the sailors paddling, it was still possible to avoid the sudden explosion of the bottom of the boat.

But just as he finished speaking, the cannonball fired from that side had already exploded on the easternmost ship. His pupils shrank, and soon he heard another cannon shot.

This time, the Zhiyuan ship did not fire all its guns on one side at once, but divided the fire into several rounds.

Although only a few guns were fired each time, the two sides were approaching each other rapidly, less than half a mile apart, so one or two ships would be hit almost every time.

"Don't be afraid! The ironclad ship is sturdy and intact!"

Kuki Moritaka was trying to get up. The armored ships were indeed more defensive, but they were not completely unscathed. Some ships' castle towers were blown down, and some ships' side towers were on fire.

The Zhiyuan ship actually used fire bombs this time.

But after all, it is not like the previous floating mines. If it explodes solidly, it will immediately paralyze or even silence you.

The attack of the Zhiyuan ship seemed to be a little weaker.

After a while, the Zhiyuan had fired three rounds, and the ships in the northwest were getting closer.

At this time, Shen Yourong solemnly ordered: "The bow guns stand by!"

Amidst a dull sound, two wooden boards under the bow of the Zhiyuan ship opened inward, revealing the barrel of a huge cannon behind it.

It is not appropriate to place heavy guns in the front of a long-distance warship. However, the Zhiyuan was a neatly built warship, and the steam engine placed in the rear half of the bottom hold was very heavy, so a heavy gun was needed at the bow to balance it out.

This was limited by the strength of steel at that time. The Zhiyuan ship did not use a paddle wheel, but an underwater paddle wheel, so the speed could be faster. However, in this case, the steam engine could not be too far away from the impeller, otherwise the life and effectiveness of traditional steel would be difficult to guarantee, so it was placed in the rear half of the bottom cabin.

Fortunately, the muzzle in front of the bow gun room has also been specially designed. Behind the two movable doors, there is a watertight door embedded in the slide groove to prevent seawater from entering the warehouse due to the waves in front during sailing.

At this moment, the huge cannon on the bow of the ship was revealed. Looking from behind the cannon, one could see the enemy ship in front that was preparing to intercept.

There are thirteen soldiers here.

"Quickly calculate!" The captain in charge of the cannon was extremely solemn, "Prepare the ammunition!"

This huge cannon actually uses a submachine gun similar to the Tiger Crouching Cannon.

But it is far from being comparable to the Tiger Crouching Cannon. To be honest, it is a breech-loading cannon. The steel used to make the barrel is extremely rare nowadays.

The Zhiyuan's course stabilized, and with the control of the sails, the speed suddenly slowed down a lot.

"Calculate quickly!" The captain's breathing became heavy.

The fate of the entire Zhiyuan ship now depends on this. Although the admiral is sure, it is best not to get involved in the vortex.

The whistle sounded long and loud, and in the engine room on the lower floor, the two huge horizontal steam engines seemed to be struggling all of a sudden.

Looking at the pointer on the barometer, sweat kept dripping from the mechanic's forehead.

This was certainly because the engine room was very stuffy, but more because of the weight the steam engine was bearing at the moment - in order to make the calculations of the bow cannon more accurate and to disrupt the enemy's formation, the entire Zhiyuan ship now relied on the power of the steam engine.

Seeing that the black ship suddenly slowed down a lot, Kuki Moritaka was naturally overjoyed.

"There's something wrong with this weird ship! Look, it's spewing out more black smoke! Get closer!"

"boom!"

The starboard side of the Zhiyuan was still spewing smoke, but the frequency was much slower.

At this time, a ship to the east of its stern slowly turned to the west, preparing to surround it.

At this moment, the huge ship was driven only by the power of the steam engine, and the speeds of both sides were almost the same.

Shen Yourong no longer needed a telescope at this moment. Looking at the situation in front, behind, and to the right, he saw that the previously slack western navy had also begun to exert its strength and quickly surrounded them.

Finally, the Zhiyuan fired a shot straight ahead.

"Fan!" Shen Yourong shouted loudly.

In the process of changing the direction of the sail force to allow the Zhiyuan ship to maintain a stable speed as much as possible, the front of the Zhiyuan ship was already at a face-to-face angle.

Now, the Zhiyuan started to accelerate again, but this time it did not turn.

"boom!"

Dozens of breaths later, another cannon shot rang out from the front.

In the bow gun room, water mist was everywhere. Two specialists quickly poured water to cool the outer wall of the gun barrel, while the other four people nervously replaced the sub-guns and pushed the bullets into the chamber.

"boom!"

After dozens of breaths, the Jiugui navy on the right side of the Zhiyuan ship was less than two hundred steps away, and the enemy ships in front were only a hundred steps away.

This shot finally caused the iron plates of a ship in front of it to fly, its wing buildings to shatter, and even the hull to fall apart.

At this moment, the Zhiyuan ship turned slightly to the starboard side.

The several ships to the left of the chaotic Atakabune were instantly scared out of their wits. Was the huge black ship, with its overwhelming force, about to crush them head-on?

The deep muzzle frightened them. In the previous three rounds, the Anzhai ship was only hit by two shells, but one shell hit near the waterline and was already taking in water, and the other shell destroyed the wing.

Now the gun was pointed at them.

Shen Yourong tightly grasped the telescope: "Nine Thunder Gun!"

At such a close distance, arrows were certainly shot at them from the opposite side, but the gunners on the ship, who had been silent for a long time, finally began to shoot freely.

In an instant, the sound of gunfire continued.

On one side, the people on the wrecked Ataka ship and those who had jumped into the sea were being shot at continuously, while on the other side, the other ships that were instinctively avoiding the attack were suppressed by the firepower and could not even raise their heads.

The helmsman of the Zhiyuan ship didn't care about these things. He just held his breath and stared at the front.

The formation that seemed impenetrable had been destroyed by the deceleration and acceleration of the Zhiyuan ship just now, and the front was finally in a state of collapse due to the unexpected firing frequency of the bow cannon.

All that was left for him was a gap that was only a dozen feet wide.

Almost passing by.

As for the boat in the gap...

The Kobayashi and Kozeki ships of the Kuki navy were originally filling the gaps between the large ships, but now the black ships were seen running over them without taking them seriously at all.

The soldiers and sailors on the ship watched the huge bow getting closer and closer, and they shouted and paddled frantically to escape.

In their eyes, it seemed as if a mountain was about to crush them. The waves that were split by the front of the black ship had already surged over.

A small boat had no way to avoid it and was about to be crushed, but was suddenly pushed up by something and immediately capsized to the side.

The Zhiyuan warship also shook slightly. It turned out that the bow of the ship had first touched the bottom of the small boat from under the water.

Unlike the Zhenyang class, the nose and bow of the Zhiyuan ship were covered with iron, firstly for counterweight and secondly for improved shape, which was specially forged.

The bottom of the boat was broken after this hit. Although it was not crushed by the front under the current, it tilted sideways and the Japanese soldiers on the boat had already fallen into the water.

As they struggled in the water to avoid being swept to the bottom of the sea, they heard a deafening roar above their heads.

On the port side of the Zhiyuan ship, which had not fired before, all the guns roared almost at the same time.

The same was true on the starboard side of the Zhiyuan.

These people were almost stunned. They only saw the wrecked Antaku ship on this side completely disintegrated. There were also three or four large ships in the distance with debris, wooden boards and iron plates flying everywhere, just like a different kind of firework exploding before their eyes.

Before they had time to appreciate anything, they were suddenly and involuntarily pulled under the sea.

Some who dared not close their eyes could only see something like a wheel spinning non-stop. No matter how hard they tried, they were still sucked over involuntarily. After a moment, they felt excruciating pain, and then were strangled into pieces and died tragically under the sea.

On the water, the Zhiyuan ship instantly returned to the north of the Japanese navy and headed straight west.

The Awa and Todo navies, who were still turning and trying to surround them, couldn't help but feel frightened.

Shen Yourong listened to the reports of damage to the ship from all directions, his eyes determined: "To the west, fire on the port side. Rest the bow guns and wait until we turn south before firing again."

For a moment, the Japanese Imperial Navy didn't know whether it should continue to turn northward to encircle the enemy.

But the Zhiyuan is obviously still able to fight again.

The "large and powerful" Yuyi navy was like a group of clumsy and slow jackals, while the Zhiyuan ship was a swift and brave tiger.

It continued to bombard the Japanese navy without fear of them reorganizing to blockade it.

Kuki Moritaka was in a dilemma.

But after this chase, the sailors were almost exhausted.

Even if they wanted to retreat, there was only the Naruto Strait with whirlpools ahead.

"... Can't you even capture a single ship?"

In the distance, only the long sound of the black ship's whistle and the roar of its guns could be heard.

(End of this chapter)