The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 647: Warships can also fight with bayonets! (Please subscribe, please vote)
Palembang, Sumatra, December 1858, 12.

Vice Admiral Van der Velde's fingers slid across the Sunda Strait on the nautical chart, his nails leaving deep indentations on the parchment. The cabin of the Seven Provinces Union was filled with cigar smoke, and six steam cruiser captains sat around a long conference table, their eyes following their batons as they swept across the islands dotted across the Karimata Strait.

According to the intelligence just received, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom’s large fleet has entered the Java Sea through the Makassar Strait and stationed in the Port of Surabaya on the east side of Java Island!
"The Chinese battleships can travel at no more than twelve knots," said Lieutenant Colonel de Jonge, the chief gunner, as he tapped on the ship model under the glass cover. "Their teak hulls can't withstand a direct hit from a 68-pound cannon." The three Chinese characters "Shanghai Class" were engraved on the base of the model. This was information that the Dutch spies had obtained from the craftsmen of the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau in exchange for five hundred Spanish silver dollars.

"But they have picric acid shells!" Vice Admiral van der Hoeven, the former commander of the Dutch East India Fleet, interrupted. "Our hulls can't withstand the bombardment of 32-pound or even lighter 24-pound picric acid shells."

"How big is the heaviest gun on the 'Shanghai-class'?" asked Lieutenant General Van der Wilde.

"It's a 24-pounder," said Lieutenant Colonel Basten, the fleet intelligence officer. "It's a 24-pounder muzzle-loading rifled cannon produced by the Jiangnan Arsenal in the seventh year of the Tianli period. It's a copy of a similar British cannon, and its effective range is only 2400 yards."

德.容格中校说：“我们的68磅炮有3300码的有效射程，足足多了900码！只要我们和敌人的‘上海级’保持2500码-3000码的距离，就能立于不败！”

"Woo."

The roar of a steam whistle outside the harbor interrupted the ongoing meeting. Vice Admiral Deville walked to the porthole and looked out. It turned out that another "Seven Provinces Alliance" class ship was entering the harbor.

"It's the Netherlands," Vice Admiral Deville laughed, "We now have three Seven Provinces Alliance class ships!"

This 1980-ton giant ship was coated with anti-moth asphalt above the waterline, and the firing holes on the double-layer gun deck were as densely packed as the limbs of a centipede.

At this moment, Vice Admiral Wilder recalled the farewell banquet given by Navy Minister Trope when he left the country - all the dishes used spices and sugar from the Dutch East Indies!
It was these spices, sugar and other specialties from the Dutch East Indies that supported the Netherlands' most glorious years.

At that time, the Minister of the Navy, Sir Trope, pointed to the dishes emitting tempting aromas and said to him: "If the Netherlands wants to be great again, it must not lose the spices, sugar and other resources and markets of the Dutch East Indies. Otherwise, the Netherlands will become a dish in the future struggle for hegemony among European powers!"

"Make a battle plan!" Lieutenant General Deville instructed, "The key is to crush China's dream of becoming the hegemon of the sea at a distance of 2500 to 3000 yards from us!"

At this moment, in the stuffy bottom cabin of the Seven Provinces Union, Dutch sailor Jan de Vries was stroking the silver cross on his chest with trembling fingers. The second son of a Rotterdam fisherman had just turned 17 and had never even seen a steam engine when he enlisted. At this moment, he was curled up in a hammock, listening to the hurried footsteps on the deck above his head. The old sailor Hendrick in the next bed suddenly said, "Another person fell ill and was carried away. It's too hot here. It's not for white people to come here!"

Surabaya Port.

More than 20 warships and armed merchant ships flying the Taiping Army flag have appeared in this seaport that is firmly controlled by the Javanese Heavenly Kingdom.

The operations room of the Taiping Army’s flagship “Suzhou”.

Wang Yan's finger stabbed heavily on the sea chart, and a copper nail pierced through the mark of Palembang. "The main force of the Dutch huddled at the mouth of the Musi River, like a turtle hiding in its shell. From this turtle shell, both the Strait of Malacca and the Sunda Strait are under their control! And their troops in Banten don't have to worry about logistics at all. The pro-Dutch indigenous troops on Java Island can also get continuous assistance from Europe through Banten!"

This admiral of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's South China Sea Fleet was not actually from a naval background. He was Luo Yaoguo's "eldest disciple". After becoming Luo Yaoguo's disciple, he first managed the "lecturer class" to help Luo Yaoguo train cadres. Later, he was in charge of land distribution, local government construction, and the affairs of the Datong Society. Later, Luo Yaoguo's navy began to grow, and he needed capable cadres to take charge of naval construction, so he transferred this eldest brother to be in charge of the navy.

Although this senior brother did not know much about naval business, he had an advantage that young professional officers from the Naval Academy, such as Zhang Bao, Ding Xianda, Tan Shaoguang, Gao Yongkuan, Zhou Wenjia, Fan Ruzeng, Huang Chengzhong, and Ji Qingyuan, did not have, which was a very strong sense of the overall situation.

He was very clear about what the South China Sea, Java, the Strait of Malacca, the Sunda Strait, and repelling the Dutch Navy in the Java Sea meant to the newly born Taiping Heavenly Kingdom?
Only by winning this battle can the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom become a true maritime power and to a certain extent possess the sea power of the Pacific Ocean!

Only by taking control of the Pacific Ocean can the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom export its surplus population at a faster rate and export the goods that will be exported after the advent of the industrial age. If the Pacific Ocean power is not taken now, it will only be more difficult to take it in the future!
He glanced at everyone in the cabin: Chief of Staff Zhang Bao was measuring the route with a square, Deputy Admiral Ding Xianda was wiping the Taiping sword given to him by Luo Yaoguo - this was awarded to him as a reward for sinking the Dutch sailing battleship, and the three merchant fleet leaders were puffing on their pipes.

"We can force our way through the Sunda Strait and pretend we are going to transport troops to land on the west coast of Java Island and seize the port of Banten," said Chen Yongsheng, the leader of a merchant ship who was born in the Tiandihui. "The red-haired devils will definitely not want us to take over Banten, and they will definitely come out in full force!"

The scar on his face glowed red under the whale oil lamp - he was a pirate from Borneo and was pulled into the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom by Luo Dagang. When Luo Dagang was fighting with the Dutch for Borneo, he drove a pirate ship to rob Dutch transport ships.

"Even if the Dutch come out in full force, it won't be easy to deal with them," Li Guofu, a graduate of the first class of the merchant ship department of the Naval Academy, shook his head. "Their 68-pound cannon can fire 3000 meters, 24 meters farther than our 800-pound cannon." The captain of the Jianghai-class analyzed, "We must find a way to get close to the red-haired devils in order to win..."

"How do we get closer?" Wang Yan saw that Li Guofu seemed to be hesitant to speak, "Hurry up and tell me. The King of Wu has already told us that we must win this battle, no matter the cost!"

Li Guofu gritted his teeth and said, "We can have the merchant fleet disguised as the main fleet and troop transports, heading towards the Sunda Strait to attract the Dutch to intercept. After encountering the Dutch fleet, the merchant fleet will immediately turn around and flee to Batavia or Semarang to lure the Dutch to chase. The eight 'Shanghai-class' ships will sneak to the coastal areas of Java Island under the cover of darkness the night before, waiting for the merchant fleet to lure the Dutch over, then go around behind the Dutch and attack those slower sailing ships to force the main force of the Dutch to return for support. By then, the Dutch will be eager to rescue and will not care about keeping a distance from us!"

"The Dutch have at least two Seven Provinces class ships, and eight steam cruisers and steam gunboats. Can your 8 merchant ships withstand them?" Wang Yan frowned and asked, "Don't give up before the eight Shanghai class ships arrive!"

"Big Brother," Zhang Bao suddenly interrupted, "I have an idea!"

"What method?" Wang Yan asked.

Zhang Bao said: "We have eight 8mm Armstrong breech-loading guns. Their effective range exceeds 70 meters and their rate of fire is much faster than that of muzzle-loading guns. We can remove four of them and install them on the four Jianghai-class ships on the stern deck."

"Give all eight 8mm guns to the Jianghai class!" Wang Yan said, "The key to this battle is that the merchant fleet can be held back while our eight Shanghai class ships dare to fight the Dutch to the death!"

Ding Xianda reminded again: "The mast of the Shanghai class is too tall. It will be spotted by the Dutch reconnaissance ship from a long distance. It is better to temporarily remove the mast, so that it will be easier to hide."

Wang Yan pondered for a moment, nodded and said, "Okay, let's execute this plan! Remove all 8 70mm guns and install them on the Jianghai class, and remove all 8 Shanghai class masts.

On the night of the 22nd, we will set out from Sishui. The merchant fleet will be responsible for luring the enemy, and the main fleet will be responsible for the surprise attack. Remember, we must win this battle at all costs. Only if we win, our Taiping Heavenly Kingdom will be considered a real power that can eat at the table! "

December 1858, 12, Surabaya Port.

The night was as dark as ink, and eight "Shanghai-class" cruisers were preparing to quietly sail out of the port at night. The sailors used brown ropes to dismantle the sail masts and tied them to the deck, and then covered the gun ports with soaked straw. Zhang Bao stood on the bridge of the "Suzhou" and looked at the blurred shadows of the ships under the moonlight - these usually majestic warships seemed to be shrunk twice by water and were inconspicuous at this moment.

Zhang Bao, who was also the fleet's chief of staff, turned to Wang Yan and said, "Admiral, the disguise has been completed... but with the mast removed, the maximum speed is only nine knots."

"It doesn't matter. The wind in the Java Sea area is very weak, and the wind direction may not be right. We won't lose much speed."

Wang Yan's finger slid across the shallow waters of the northern coast of Java Island on the nautical chart: "Xiaobao, we'll hide in the coral reefs here. When the Dutch chase the merchant fleet over, we'll stab them in the waist! Stab them hard!"

"Yes!" Zhang Bao stood at attention.

(End of this chapter)