The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 650: The Red Dawn of Java
50 nautical miles north of the Sunda Strait, steam cruiser Netherlands.

A hellish scene appeared in Major General Van Helmer's telescope: eight "Shanghai" class cruisers flying red battle flags were divided into two columns, cutting into the Dutch Navy's sailing fleet, and pouncing on the largest ships "Batavia" and "Java" like a pack of wolves.

He saw with his own eyes that four "Shanghai" class ships with their masts removed circled around the rear of the "Java" at a speed of about 9 knots. 40 24-pound rifled guns spewed flames at the same time, and the picric acid shells hit the "Java"'s stern building one after another like a fire meteor shower thrown by the god of death, instantly blowing it into a burning skeleton.

"Port side salvo!" Zhang Bao's roar penetrated the roar of the steam engine. The Suzhou's side gun ports lit up one after another, and ten picric acid shells once again wove a web of death at a distance of 800 yards. The teak hull of the Dutch III battleship was torn apart like rice paper, and the chaotic sailors were wrapped in the splashing flames. The yellow-green poisonous fire spread rapidly from the stern to the front.

"Admiral!" The observation officer suddenly exclaimed, "A steam fleet appeared in the southeast!"

Wang Yan's military boots stepped on the scorching deck, holding the Taiping sword taught by Luo Yaoguo in his hand: "Send flag signals, tell Ding Xianda to take his squadron to entangle the Dutch steamship first!" He glanced at the "Java Man" that had been burned into a fire ship, and then said to Zhang Bao, the fleet chief of staff and captain of the "Suzhou" beside him, "The other four ships continue to fight the Dutch sailing warships! We have to kill more Dutch!"

"Yes! Admiral!"

Vice Admiral Hoven stood on the deck of the Batavia, with the roar of picric acid shells exploding in his ears. This veteran who had served in the Dutch Navy for most of his life suddenly realized that the Chinese did not care about the exchange of ships at all, they wanted the blood of the Dutch!

"Sir, the enemy is coming towards us. Four steam cruisers!" One of his adjutants cried out.

Vice Admiral Hoven knew that there was no way his ship, the Batavia, could escape the clutches of the four steam cruisers. The only thing he could do now was to inflict as much damage as possible on the enemy before being sunk.

At this moment, he suddenly saw from the corner of his eye that four steam cruisers had rushed to less than 3000 yards behind his right side and would soon be able to attack the stern of the "Batavia".

"Lower the anchor chain!" Lieutenant General Huo Wen gritted his teeth and made up his mind to fight to the death.

"What?" His adjutant didn't understand. They couldn't drop anchor now. How could they escape if they dropped anchor?
"Drop anchor! We need to turn the battleship sideways!" Hoven shouted again.

"Yes." The adjutant's face turned pale. He already understood what the veteran wanted to do.

He wanted to use the anchor chain to pull the bow of the ship, let the "Batavia" lie sideways on the sea, and then launch a salvo unexpectedly!
"Boom boom."

"The Wuxi was hit!" The lookout screamed with a crying tone.

The captain of the Changzhou, Tan Shaoguang, watched helplessly as the "Batavia" suddenly made a 90-degree turn at sea, and then fired a salvo at the "Wuxi" which was in the front. A 68-pound shell penetrated the hull of the "Wuxi" on the spot. After the huge explosion, in the white mist of the burst steam pipe of the "Wuxi", the captain Gao Yongkuan was blown off the bridge by the air wave, with half of his body hanging on the twisted railing.

"Boarding team, get ready!" Tan Shaoguang drew out his Taiping sword and pointed forward. This Taiping Boy Scout and captain from the Shanghai Naval Academy was not afraid of the Batavia, which was sailing across the sea. He actually used the ancient tactic of boarding and commanded the Changzhou to ram into the Dutch third-class ship.

With a loud "click" sound, thirty Taiping sailors, waving Taiping swords and revolvers, jumped over the side of the ship, and then sent a storm of bullets to the stunned Dutch sailors!

Rear Admiral Heimer in the distance couldn't believe his eyes - the steam cruiser was engaging in a boarding battle, and was even using the bow of the steam cruiser to directly hit the opponent's outdated sailing ship.
"Speed ​​up, quick." After suddenly understanding something, his voice seemed to age ten years. "We have to save the children on the sailboat!"

"General! The Chinese steam cruisers are coming towards us!" The adjutant pointed to the northwest in horror. Four Shanghai-class cruisers were coming in a column at full speed, emitting black smoke!

"Left rudder thirty!" Ding Xianda's Anhui accent echoed throughout the Ningbo. This captain, who would be renamed Ding Ruchang in history, was now the ace captain of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Navy, and the vice admiral of the Nanyang Fleet, a rising star!

"1500 meters away!" The observation officer's voice suddenly became sharp. "The Netherlands is about to take the T-position!" "Full speed reverse! Port guns ready!" Ding Xianda's roar pierced the roar of the steam engine. The paddle wheel of the Ningbo suddenly turned in the opposite direction. The 8-ton wooden cruiser drew a strange arc on the sea and completed an incredible turn - this was a special tactic he mastered when he was the captain of the Lan Fang and dealt with the South China Sea pirates. The Dutch flagship Netherlands's side gun window had just lit up when it was caught off guard by this sudden attack, and all eight 68-pound picric acid shells were fired.

"Distance: eight hundred meters!" The observer's voice was distorted with excitement.

"Port salvo."

Three 24-pound picric acid bombs spun and tore through the ship's planks, and the violent explosion turned the gun bay of the Netherlands into a living hell. Rear Admiral Helmer staggered and grabbed the handrail, and heard the "bang bang" sound of metal breaking in his ears - the steam pipe was shattered, and boiling water mist swept through the engine room.

"General! The Chinese armed merchant ships are slaughtering our sailboats!" The lookout cried out from the masthead. Heimer looked through the broken porthole, his eyes bloodshot: Twelve Taiping Army steam merchant ships had followed at some point, biting the lone Dutch sailboat like a pack of wolves. The easternmost "Jianghai" class ship actually crashed into the hull of the sixth-class ship "Madurean", and the Chinese sailors on the deck jumped into the enemy camp waving swords and axes, and blood surged wherever the cold light passed!
"Turn rudder! Turn rudder!" Heimer shouted loudly, but it was too late - the "Netherland" he was on had been targeted by four "Shanghai" class ships, and it was difficult to save itself!
After the three 24-pound picric acid shells from the Ningbo severely damaged the Netherlands, the Shanghai circled behind the Netherlands and fired another salvo at the Netherlands from a distance of less than 600 meters, turning the stern of the Netherlands into a sea of ​​fire. The yellow-green poisonous fire spread all over the wooden cruiser with a displacement of nearly 2000 tons.

Tan Shaoguang spat out blood foam from his mouth, and with the help of two soldiers, he walked laboriously across the burning deck and retreated to the "Changzhou".

His Changzhou was stuck with the wreckage of the Batavia, and he personally led the second group of "boarding team members" to rush onto the Batavia. The second group of "boarding team members" all carried Molotov cocktails, and set fire everywhere after boarding the ship, and soon turned the Batavia into a sea of ​​fire. However, he was also shot in the abdomen by a cold gun from somewhere, losing his combat effectiveness and vomiting blood. His Changzhou was also seriously damaged by the collision just now, and could only withdraw from the battle regretfully.

Seeing that the Batavia, Java, and Netherlands had been badly damaged, Wang Yan ordered his men to raise the bloody battle flag, symbolizing a fight to the death. The six Shanghai-class ships that were still intact were lined up in two columns, charging across the sea. The roar of the 24-pound rifled cannons continued, setting fire to the Dutch sailing ships that were trying to gather one by one.

Rear Admiral Heimer once again watched the main mast of the sixth-class ship "Sumatra" break in flames, and hundreds of sailors fell into the boiling sea like dumplings.
"General! The fire is out of control." The charred gunner reported with heavy breathing, "All the picric acid shells have been thrown into the sea!"

"Retreat!" Major General Heimer uttered the word with difficulty.

At this time, Ningbo once again bit the stern of the wounded "Netherland".
As the red sun gradually disappeared on the western horizon, the surviving Dutch warships began to flee westward. Suddenly, three red flares were fired from the direction of the Banten Fortress, indicating that the 20,000 Taiping troops led by Wei Jun were launching a general attack. The native warriors of Sultan Agung blew the conch horn, and countless canoes emerged from the rainforest, rushing towards the fortress moat like ants.

Wang Yan pointed his Taiping sword at the gradually silent battlefield: "Raise the flag! Sound the whistle for the fallen brothers!"

Seven Shanghai-class ships blew their whistles at the same time, and the sound startled seabirds. Among the floating wreckage, the surviving Jianghai-class ships were trying to salvage the drowned. The 17-year-old Ah Shui was holding onto a half-mast, with a monocular tightly clasped to his chest. This was his weapon as a lookout!

Major General Hemer took a last look at the sunset over the Java Sea and pointed his rifle at his temple. Under his feet, the bow of the Netherlands was slowly sinking, and the yellow-green fire spread everywhere, with charred bodies everywhere. They were among the more than two thousand dead, and they were also the last colonial fighters of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The next morning, when the red morning glow pierced through the smoke, Wei Jun put down his telescope and smiled on his face, which was blackened by the smoke. A white flag was rising on the bastion of the Banten Fortress.

Behind him, three hundred homemade bronze cannons of the Taiping Army were still roaring, but even more shocking was the war cry coming from the rainforest - thirty thousand indigenous warriors holding spears and muskets were launching a general attack under the leadership of Sultan Agon.

The fortress commander, Major General Van der Kok, sat slumped in the command room, holding an empty revolver in his hand. He heard an unfamiliar voice coming from the city wall: "Long live the Celestial Empire!"

This was followed by the Natives’ war cry: “Freedom!”

The red flag of the Taiping Army was hoisted on the highest point of the fortress. On the sea, Wang Yan's fleet was lining up and blowing whistles, and the sound of the whistles and the cheers on the shore intertwined into the prelude of a new era.

(End of this chapter)