Travel through the Qing Dynasty and become emperor

Chapter 230: Battle for Hegemony at Sea (6)
At this time, with the support of Shengli and Tongan, Zhaohe destroyed the British ship Black Falcon in one fell swoop, and the Black Falcon fled to the distant sea in embarrassment dragging a long yellow smoke.The three Zhaohe warships joined forces with six warships including Kaixuan and Yangwu. After they won the battle, they split into two groups. After Nanrui went to Qianwan to fight the fire and save himself, the rest of the warships reorganized into a strategic formation, and under the command of the Yangwu, they rushed to the British flagship Dreadnought.

Dingyuan and Weiyuan, two steel sister ships of the same class, faced the six British rear warships headed by Nelson and Northampton.The intention of this strategic formation is obvious. Dingyuan and Weiyuan are one of the pillar forces of the United Fleet. As long as they can be completely defeated, they can temporarily make up for the loss of the Far East Fleet and balance the balance of power between the two sides.For this reason, the Northampton even boldly ignored the powerful artillery offensive of the two ships, and ventured forward to a distance of 3700 meters in order to improve the hit rate of the artillery through short-range bombardment and tear apart the thick steel armor of the two ships. .

The remaining five British ships also followed Northampton's approach and were distributed in a zipper formation to gradually erode the waters controlled by the two ships Ding and Wei.At this time, the six British ships seemed like bloodthirsty jackals on the African savannah, trying to hunt down the two lonely lions.

The six British warships had a total of 50 artillery pieces with a caliber of more than 120 meters continuously shooting at the two ships in Dingyuan. This was the most violent artillery fire encountered by the two ships since the Sino-Japanese War. The hull of the ship is covered.However, the excellent combat performance and the German armor technology made the two ships still stand firm like Mount Tai, and fired back slowly but rhythmically, appearing extremely strong and persistent.

Under Liu Buchan's command, Dingyuan and Weiyuan formed a stable formation of double halberds, and the two warships advanced alternately, disrupting the organized offensive of the British ships many times.Facing the accurate and powerful artillery of the two ships, the Welsh and the Liedan were destroyed one after another, and they had no choice but to withdraw from this sea area. The remaining four warships were still fighting fiercely.

Under the intensive artillery fire from the enemy ships, both Dingyuan and Weiyuan were covered in bruises, but none of the bullet wounds had a depth of more than 4 inches. The British ships were almost helpless.The British officers and soldiers who were originally invincible and thought that victory was at their fingertips, after more than half an hour of fierce fighting, did not cause much damage to the two Chinese warships. Many of their faces were full of helplessness and even despair. It is impossible for these two Chinese warships to be sunk.

However, the timely arrival of the three Triumph ships has deepened the despair of the British. The current situation is five against four, not to mention that there are two flagship Dingyuan ships on the Chinese side. Two ships were sunk, and two were destroyed and fled in a hurry.

The Chinese United Fleet has achieved victories in two major sub-battlefields. Standing in the Dingyuan command room, Liu Buchan finally sees the hope of victory.He ordered this fleet to temporarily form a strategic formation and speed up towards the British main fleet of the Dreadnought. He knew that a thrilling decisive battle at sea would be staged in the northwest sea area.

In the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Guan Xuqing was discussing matters with several important ministers. The faces of Li Hongzhang, Feng Xianghua, Deng Shichang, and Yuan Shikai were not only dignified but also anxious. The battle reports ahead made everyone's hearts hang in their throats.

"What's going on with Yan Fu and the others? I haven't responded to the telegram I sent yesterday." Guan Xuqing was a little annoyed. Yan Fu has always been serious in his work. What are the consequences.

"Could it be that the telegraph over there is out of order?" Yuan Shikai, who was newly promoted, whispered.

"Whoever delays the important affairs of the country, I will definitely not let him go!" Guan Xuqing's voice cut through the hearts of everyone present like a blade. They all saw the emperor's stern expression, and their backs were covered in cold sweat.

In the past few days, the Ministry of War has sent telegrams one after another. The only content of the telegrams is that the Chinese series ships must be completed within five days. Especially the closer to the final stage of the project, the more sloppy it is, otherwise a small mistake will cause the warship to face a fatal disaster.Yan Fu was so anxious that his mouth was filled with rage. He ate and lived next to the No. 7 and No. 8 berths of the Fujian Ship Administration Bureau. In order to speed up the construction progress of these two warships, he simply ordered other shipyards to stop working, and all skilled workers were divided into two shifts day and night. Constantly rushing to build, and ordered to temporarily save all ship decoration links.

After four days and four nights of hard work, Yan Fu led the shipbuilders of the Fuzhou Shipping Bureau to create a miracle. The 1-ton Zhonghua 2 and the [-]-ton Zhonghua [-] were finally successfully built.Yan Fu let out a long breath, and collapsed on the ground like a deflated ball, he said weakly to the people around him: "Send a telegram quickly and report to the emperor."

Not long after, the communications soldier ran over sweating profusely: "Return to my lord, the telegraph is broken!"

"What?" Yan Fu's eyes widened at that moment, and he, who has always been polite, stepped forward and gave the messenger a resounding mouth: "I don't care what method you use, you must send the telegram within two hours, otherwise I will I can't spare you!"

After receiving Yan Fu's telegram, Guan Xuqing finally breathed a sigh of relief. He said to Li Hongzhang and the others nonchalantly, "Don't go back to the residence tonight, and ask the imperial dining room to set up a banquet. I want to invite you to dinner."

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At the mouth of Sihanoukville, the decisive battle has begun!
Intrepid faced Dingyuan, Weiyuan, Zhenyuan, Jiyuan, Kaiyuan, Laiyuan, Raging Waves, Hurricane, Baomin, Haitian, and Yangwu, the most important forces of the Chinese navy.

Kaiji, Huantai, Jiangyuan, Guangjia, Henghai, Jiangheng, Zhaohe, Yingrui and other ships were divided into four strategic formations, and launched battles with the remaining eight British ships according to the strategy of dividing and annihilating. In the counter attack, the Chinese side surpassed the British side in terms of the number of ships and the power of the artillery, and it was only a matter of time before the eight British ships were wiped out.

The sound of guns rumbled on the sea, and the huge sound caused waves in the sea.Dingyuan and other eleven Chinese warships aimed their guns at the Intrepid at the same time, and the dense shells hit various parts of the Intrepid like criss-crossing hailstones. But what is shocking is that these 213 to 275 mm shells It is difficult to shake the opponent's steel armor, and at most it can leave a six-inch-deep bullet mark.Moreover, there is almost no combustible material in the exposed parts of the entire ship of the Intrepid, and the possibility of fire and explosion is very small.On the contrary, the Intrepid has ten main guns with a 180-degree shooting range, aiming at ten warships except the collision cruiser Baomin, and spewing hot flames from the barrel of 32 times the caliber from time to time.In just ten minutes, the mizzenmast of the Laiyuan ship flying the flag was split in two by shells, and it exploded under the upper mast plate. The seven sailors on the mast plate who were in charge of machine guns sank together with a Gatling cannon. into the sea.The waterline armor on the port side of the Yangwu was hit, and the shot was just at the joint of the armor belt. The armor belt immediately ruptured and part of it fell off. The shell penetrated into the steam chamber of the hull and detonated the three power boilers there. , After a series of huge explosions, the whole ship was surrounded by fire and thick smoke, and a large amount of seawater poured in from the gap, causing the Yangwu to tilt irretrievably to the left.

The rest of the warships were wounded to varying degrees, and even the port side of the Dingyuan, which has always been known for its thick steel armor, was punched with a hole one meter wide.Liu Buchan was furious, but facing the strong ship and powerful guns of the Intrepid, he had nothing to do now.

Far East Fleet Commander Hamilton is sitting in the command room of the Intrepid, like a parasite hiding in the shell of a tortoise. He has changed from fear to pride. What he wants to do most now is not to pray to God, but to pray to God. Thanks to the great designer of the Dauntless, Mr. William White.

But his pride didn't last long, because he clearly saw two huge warships emerging from the straight coastline opposite, and he immediately picked up the military binoculars.My God, those are two huge ships that are not much bigger than the Intrepid. What is that on the large deck? Is it an airship!The most frightening thing is that the two giant ships are flying the Chinese dragon flag!This is impossible!This is absolutely impossible!How can the Chinese build such a warship?
From this moment on, Hamilton completely lost his fighting spirit. It was hard for him to imagine how the Dreadnought would look like with the addition of such two warships. In order to protect the honor of the Royal Navy, he resolutely ordered that the Dreadnought and the remaining warships All retreated northward at high speed.

But this decision was made too late. Zhenyuan, Weiyuan, and Jiyuan completely blocked the way to the south. Under the fierce artillery fire from the other side, it was already difficult to control the Intrepid.

"General, it's our warship and airship!" Yang Yonglin was as excited as a child.

"That's Zhonghua 1 and Zhonghua 2 built by our country, your majesty!" Liu Buchan's lips were trembling with excitement.

The two Chinese warships fired artillery at the same time. The 295 mm caliber guns fired high-speed armor-piercing projectiles developed by the Fujian Shipping Bureau. All eight shells were concentrated on the hull of the Intrepid, and there was a shocking explosion sound from the Intrepid. .

The 126 airships on the Zhonghua ship launched at the same time, and came to the sky above the Dreadnought at the fastest speed. The [-]mm howitzers crazily fired at the British officers and soldiers on board, and flammable bombs dropped from the ship The high-explosive bomb instantly lifted the roof of the Dauntless's tower to one side.The mighty Intrepid was ablaze from the inside out.

At the same time, the Baomin, driven by the high-horsepower power unit, slammed into the rear left of the Intrepid with an unstoppable force, and the huge inertia force immediately knocked out an astonishing hole, and the sea was endless. Stop pouring in.

Fortunately, the internal isolation layer of the Intrepid is extremely strong, and the advanced water guiding and drainage design has temporarily avoided the danger of sinking the warship.

"Call to the southwest, turn on the horsepower, and rush out no matter what!" Hamilton huddled in the corner of the ship, shouting desperately.

The Intrepid, which contained hundreds of tons of seawater in its bottom tank, still ran at an astonishing speed of 21 knots after running at full power. This speed makes any warship can only sigh.The remaining five dilapidated British ships also made a bloody trail behind the Intrepid, and fled to the southern waters in a hurry.

(End of this chapter)