Warring States Survival Guide

Chapter 221 Just a Little Bit More
Using the propulsion generated by black powder, the "Wanjin rocket" can reach a maximum speed of 150-250 meters per second after launch, starting from 30 meters per second. Subsequently, due to increased air resistance and reduced propulsion, the speed will drop to 80-100 meters per second.

This speed is average, unlike later rockets which generally start at 800 meters per second, such as the BM30 "Tornado", which can reach an initial velocity of 850 meters per second. However, in medieval Japan, this was sufficient. Launched from about three miles away, it left Kinoshita Tokitada only about ten seconds to react.

On land, ten seconds is enough time to do a lot of things, enough to perform three "lazy donkey rolls" and roll in eighteen different ways. However, at sea, ten seconds is not enough time for a ship to make any response, not even to tilt its bow.

And that was indeed the case. Before Musashi Tadashi could even figure out what was flying over him, and without giving any orders, the "Wanjin rocket" had already... flown over his head.

Well, the lowest one grazed the top of the "Ryuo Maru" ship's superstructure. If the "Ryuo Maru" had been a little slower, or if the rocket had been launched at a lower angle, it probably would have hit.

This was a very fortunate thing, after all, they had almost wiped out the Kinoshita family's elite samurai in one fell swoop. However, Kinoshita Tokitada had no excitement about surviving at this moment. He was just tracking the rocket in a posture that was about to break his neck, watching the rocket hit the ship behind the "Ryuo Maru".

Of the twelve rockets, three exploded and disintegrated during the staged combustion due to substandard propellant and excessive cavitation. Of the remaining nine, four deviated too far from their target area due to issues such as detached stabilizer bars and defective tail fins, flying into empty sea areas. In the end, only five reached the expected area—two missed their target, creating large splashes, and three hit two guard ships and one small boat.

The ship was too small and the planks were not thick enough. Before the delayed fuse could detonate, the rocket, with its sharp warhead, pierced the entire ship at an angle and plunged into the sea. The powerful kinetic energy caused a series of splinters to fly, causing the six or seven pirates who were preparing for battle on the deck to fall to the ground with screams of pain.

The situation was much better with the straitjackets. The carefully selected linden and elm wood provided excellent protection, forcibly keeping the rockets inside the hull. As the delayed fuse ignited the propellant, the propellant ignited the warhead mixed with the accelerant. In an instant, the hull of one of the straitjackets expanded, and countless hulls were reduced to fragments, which swept across the sea in an instant. Then, this straitjacket even rose into the sky as a huge fireball, which was then blown down by the sea breeze like a hat, washing the entire ship again.

When Mu Zhengshizhong regained his senses and could see the ship clearly, he discovered that it had broken into two pieces, with only the bow still burning fiercely and stubbornly protruding above the sea. As for the more than eighty crew members on board, they had barely made a sound and could no longer be found.

One shot destroys the ship...

If the "Ryuo Maru" gets hit...

The Ryuo Maru's defensive capabilities were relatively weaker than those of the Kaneshiro, except that its planks were thicker and its keel was stronger. In reality, its defensive capabilities weren't that much stronger. After all, it was still a wooden ship, and its limit was that it could withstand ordinary iron ball cannon fire. Using it to block exploding shells that could implode and were oxidized was a bit too much.

Historically, with the widespread use of exploding shells, wooden sailing ships were decisively phased out of history. Otherwise, why would everyone be rushing to build ironclad warships?

It's simply because the wood couldn't withstand the strain!
Now, Mu Zhengshizhong also wanted to build ironclad warships, but he clearly didn't have the time. In the one or two seconds that he was distracted, another ship that had been hit suddenly exploded. The entire stern was instantly blown to smithereens, and the bow was raised high, pointing to the sky like a middle finger for a moment, before it began to sink into the sea in a strange posture.

"What...what kind of weapon is this? A cannon?"

Mu Zhengshizhong was dumbfounded. He had spent most of his life at sea and had never heard of such a powerful weapon, let alone imagined that it could hit a place more than three miles away.

If you really had to give him an answer, he would probably think of a cannon, which is said to be a weapon similar to a musket, but with larger and more powerful projectiles.

Kijima Tokitada's close retainers were also shocked by this extraordinary attack, and no one answered. Even the two guys who had been trying to be the straight man earlier were gaping and didn't utter a sound.

Is Saburo Nohara out of his mind? If you have such a weapon, why didn't you bring it out sooner? We can definitely talk!
Thinking about it carefully, the Hojo clan was a bunch of poor people, and there wasn't much to gain in the Izu Sea. It didn't seem like it would matter if they gave it to the Nohara clan. This battle could have been avoided entirely.

…………

"I'm sorry, Your Highness!"

On the foredeck of the "Kikudo," a junior officer from the Internal Security Forces was already feeling utterly ashamed.

He was the human rangefinder of the "Wanjin Rocket." In this day and age, even if Haruno wanted to, he couldn't develop a radar. Accurate distance measurement in a short time was a huge problem, which troubled him for a long time. Finally, it was Izumi Heiji, the advisor, who gave him the answer: trust humans. Some people are just exceptionally talented. If you really want to judge the distance, just find someone who can tell how far away they are just by looking at them.

Yuan Ye, with the attitude of "listen to advice and you'll be well-fed," actually ordered Aman to go and search. He discovered that human talents are indeed diverse, and they found several people who could, with just a glance, accurately predict the distance between two places. The best among them could predict within a meter or two within a five-mile radius. It sounds incredible, but similar examples exist in real life. For instance, some people could cut a pound of meat exactly as they wished, without even counting; others were bank tellers who could tell you the value of a bag of coins just by holding it in their hand.

You could say that such people are skilled through practice, but while there are many skilled people, there are very few like them. There is probably some element of talent involved as well.

This junior officer is now a "rangefinding prodigy." The field has given him extremely high treatment, specially recruiting him into the army. Once enlisted, he becomes an officer and receives a special food allowance. He regularly consumes supplements such as cod liver oil to protect his eyes and enhance his vision, all so that he can determine the enemy's distance within three to five seconds. This is even more convenient at sea. In good weather, ordinary people can spot the masts of large sailing ships 70 li (about 20 nautical miles) away, see the hull clearly from 35 li away, and identify flags within 20 li. Not to mention those with exceptional eyesight, who are said to be able to see stars even in daylight and have incredibly sharp eyes.

Even though this "range finder" was excellent and very serious, the first combat firing of the "Wanjin rocket" still missed. It was just a hair's breadth away from hitting the target. The junior officer felt that he had let Yuanye down and even considered committing suicide.

It's probably because of Yuan Ye's status! After two years of disaster relief, Yuan Ye's reputation on the Chita Peninsula is now comparable to that of gods and Buddhas. He could easily organize a large cult to achieve godhood in the flesh. Ordinary people always hope to leave a good impression on such a big shot. Once they fail, their frustration doubles and doubles. They really want to die.

Yuan Ye is now getting used to the attitude of the people around him. If he didn't know very well that he was just an ordinary person in modern times, he would probably start to think that he was also made for a great man.

He was self-aware enough not to take such attitude to heart, and quickly comforted the "special talent" who had just joined the army not long ago, "Don't worry, it's normal to miss, we can try again. Besides, it's not entirely your fault, it's more likely caused by the ship's rocking - let's re-measure the distance and see how far away the enemy flagship is from us now!"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

The junior officer responded gratefully. In a sense, failing to hit the target on the first try had put Haruno and even the "Chita" in danger. He would completely understand if Haruno slapped him twice now. He immediately looked at the "Ryuo Maru" more seriously, praying in his heart that he would hit the target next time. In fact, it didn't matter whether he was serious or not. His distance measurement was an instinct, and he didn't even know why he could know how far away something was from him.

The "Chita" is now at full speed and is still forcing its way forward to slow down the time it takes for the enemy's early ships to surround it. The rocking is quite severe, which has caused a slight delay in the second round of ammunition loading. Haruno has already comforted his men, but the synchronous start-up lines for the twelve new ammunition have not yet been connected.

He didn't urge his men on; they had already done their best, and urging them wouldn't help. He simply looked up at the "Ryuo Maru," which was still charging resolutely towards them, seemingly intending to ram them into the sea. He couldn't help but say, "These pirates have a very strong will to fight. Aren't they afraid of this?"

He thought that after the thunderous strike, even if it didn't hit the enemy flagship, the pirates would be shaken, and even if they didn't avoid battle, they would be in chaos. But the enemy didn't react at all and was still charging towards them in an orderly formation, their desire for battle still strong. Even though he was thousands of meters away, he could still feel it.

"They're quite interesting, not much worse than the Imagawa clan back then." Aman also looked at the approaching Atakebune, his tone becoming cautious. Back when the Imagawa clan was at its peak, they dared to forcibly build a castle on earth at the cost of thousands of lives. Now it seems that the Kanto barbarians are quite formidable, even more fearless than the heavily armored samurai of the Imagawa and Matsudaira clans.

They were discussing the Satomi pirates and the fierce nature of the Kanto barbarians, and they all had some respect for them—on the battlefield, one should have at least some respect for those who dare to die, regardless of whether they are friend or foe—at this moment, a sailor from the "Chita" rushed over and asked Haruno, "Your Highness, the chief instructor is asking if we should turn around so that you can maintain firing distance."

"What about Mr. Yu's judgment?"

"The enemy's early morning fleet is about to catch up with us. The chief instructor believes we should lead them to break through the enemy's intercepting fleet."

The implication is that it's best not to slow down or turn, and instead charge straight ahead with its large size and powerful firepower, to avoid being entangled by enemy boats early on and losing too much maneuverability. One of the annoying things about small boats is that they can damage the oars of large ships, so even if the "Chita" is not afraid of fire attacks, it should try to avoid being surrounded and attacked by small boats.

If it cannot be avoided, rush into the enemy's large fleet and engage in a melee. With each other blocking each other, the enemy's small boats will not be so easy to get close.

Since Yuan Ye was unfamiliar with naval warfare, he naturally had to trust the people he employed. He immediately said, "Do everything as Mr. Yu wishes. You don't need to consult me ​​anymore. You can give me orders directly if needed."

"Yes!"

The situation was urgent, so the sailors didn't waste any words. They saluted and returned to the deck. At that moment, the rocket launchers were ready. Under the command of the field, they were adjusted again according to the wind speed and relative distance, and then ignited.

Based on the reload time, this is the last launch before the two sides meet. Once the battle gets out of hand, it will be difficult to adjust the launch so smoothly again, and it will no longer be possible to attack the enemy's flagship with an arc-shaped path. Direct fire is also powerful, but by then, enemy ships will be blocking the way in layers, making it unlikely that the "Ryuo Maru" will be able to get a direct firing range.

This launch must be a hit-or-miss!
(End of this chapter)