Kowloon wins

Chapter 485

"Damn!"

Thinking of the whereabouts of the Japanese fleet in the strait, Li Shun's face immediately turned ugly. It was just that the Japanese recaptured the fort, but they did not have the task of blocking the strait. Although there were more than [-] soldiers equipped with two infantry cannons, it was a pity that they were all light cannons, and they were only equipped with conventional explosive shells. Although the range was not bad, There is a distance of [-] steps, which is enough to catch the Japanese fleets passing through the strait, but in terms of the power of the shells, it is hard to say that it is a threat to the warships. A good fort will have to fall, but it is obviously not a problem to just sit and watch the Japanese fleet go straight to Osaka. If Osaka is really attacked by the Japanese navy, the consequences are really not a joke.

"Sentry, blow the trumpet, the enemy attacks, the whole army assembles!"

The main force of the Qing army has already attacked, whether it is the army or the navy. The defenders in the harbor have only seven warships headed by the "Singing", of which the "Weifeng" is half disabled and has basically lost its combat effectiveness. As for the army Well, there are only more than [-] cavalry who have no horses to take on the guard mission. In addition, the sailors of some troop carriers, if they are caught off guard, it is really difficult to stop the sneak attack of the Japanese navy With this in mind, Li Shun didn't dare to procrastinate any longer, and when he had enough Qi, he sent out a warning signal for fighting.

"Ohh Ohh ohh……"

The sentinels on duty always only paid attention to the movement at the foot of the mountain, but they never paid attention to the movement in the strait. Hearing Li Shun yelling again and again, he couldn't help being suspicious, and couldn't understand what Li Shun was saying. Where did the enemy attack come from, but the military order is the military order. Although he had doubts in his heart, the sentinel on duty blew the horn with all his strength. In an instant, the whole fort suddenly became chaotic, and soldiers with long guns rushed into chaos. Everyone ran out of the tent.

"Order: The whole army speeds up and goes straight to Osaka Port!"

The fleet that was rushing in the dark in the strait was the remnant of the Edo Navy. The ship originally planned to sneak into Osaka Bay under the cover of night, and to launch a surprise attack on the Qing army's remaining fleet in Osaka Port before dawn, but unexpectedly, it was still noticed by the Qing army at the Wakayama Fortress. , But, I don’t really care about it, nothing else, Wakayama is a full eighty miles away from Osaka Port, and the mountain roads are difficult to navigate. Even if the Qing army sent someone to notify, it would be difficult for the fleet to go smoothly In contrast, when the Qing army sent people to the port of Osaka, the port of Osaka should have fallen, not to mention that the Wakayama fort is still controlled by the Japanese army. In this dark night, Honda Henglong is really not afraid of the fort. The Qing army went to report the letter, but he didn't want to get entangled with the Qing army on the fort in this strait, so he gave the general order directly.

"Wonu's navy is in the strait, push the cannon up and blast me!"

The situation was urgent, Li Shun was ready to go all out, and he didn't have much to say. He waved his hand and gave a loud order. Dozens of soldiers with quick reactions rushed forward, pushed the two light infantry guns to the edge of the fort, and set them up. Standing up, several gunners nervously adjusted their angles, aimed at the accelerating Japanese naval fleet and opened fire.

"Boom, boom!"

With two muffled bangs, two flowering bombs roared and fell into the strait, but unfortunately they missed their targets, and only exploded two groups of sprays on the sea surface.

"Go on, don't stop!"

What Li Shun is thinking at the moment is only to drag the Japanese fleet to the fort, and he doesn't expect his two small cannons to make any real achievements. He doesn't care much about whether the first shot hits or not. division.

"Boom, boom!"

Although the power of the light infantry gun is not great, the advantage is that the reloading speed is fast, and the interval between shots is not too long. In addition, the gunners are well-trained. This time, there was a result - a shell accurately hit a large Japanese warship, and the flying shrapnel swept down a dozen of the unlucky Japanese sailors, and even set off a fire on its deck. Unfortunately, It was soon wiped out by the Japanese sailors.

"Ignore those Chinese people and keep going!"

After two rounds of shooting on the fort, Honda Henglong immediately realized that there were only two cannons on the fort, and it was really easy to destroy them, but he didn't want to have the slightest entanglement with the Qing army on the fort, his face was expressionless The ground gave the order again.

The strait is not very long, and the Qing army only got three shelling opportunities. The six shells hit two. The hit rate is obviously good, but it is powerless to prevent the Japanese navy from breaking through. As the Japanese fleet sailed into Osaka Bay with full sail, the Qing army's light infantry artillery had to stop.

"Damn it! Quickly, go and pile everything that can be burned on the top of the mountain for me, and burn it!"

Looking at the shadow of the Japanese navy sailing away, Li Shun's eyes turned red on the spot, he gritted his teeth, and gave the craziest order.

The fire broke out very quickly. The officers and soldiers of the Qing army not only cut firewood in the dark, but also piled tents and other flammable objects on the top of the hill where the fort was located. After being ignited with gunpowder, the entire hilltop was destroyed. It became a huge torch, but no one dared to guarantee whether the Qing fleet could be found eighty miles away. After all, the distance was too far. In this dark night, Although the flames were bright, it was hard to say whether the sentinels of the Qing fleet could realize what it meant. However, all the methods they could think of now had been exhausted. As for success or failure, Li Shun could only resign himself to fate. Understand……

"Report."

Wang Yanxia is a cautious person. This time he was ordered to lead the fleet to guard. He felt that the responsibility was heavy, and he dared not neglect it in the slightest. Except for the severely damaged "Prestige", he divided all six warships into three groups. , patrolling outside the port of Osaka day and night to prevent attacks from the sea. Today, he happened to be leading the night shift in person. Even though it was quite late at night, he never took a rest. The captain was studying the chart in the room, and was meditating when he heard the sound of an announcement from outside the door.

"Come in!"

Hearing the sound, Wang Yanxia didn't get up, but just gave orders without raising his head.

"General Wang, there seems to be something wrong with the direction of the Wakayama Fort, where the flames are burning into the sky."

When the door frame creaked, a general hurried in from the outside, gave a military salute to Wang Yanxia, ​​and hurriedly said something.

"Oh? Take a look!"

The Wakayama Fortress controls the main throat that enters and exits the Osaka Bay, so there is no room for loss. At this moment, Wang Yanxia frowned when he heard the report from the commander, but he was not in a hurry to make a conclusion. , but got up right there, striding towards the bridge.

"General Wang, do you need to send troops to reinforce the fort?"

When he got to the bridge, Wang Yanxia picked up the binoculars on his waist without saying a word, aimed at the direction of Wakayama and kept looking, but he still couldn't make a decision. Chang Wanming Yandeng was a little bit impatient, so he suggested something from the side.

"After dawn, make a decision and send a signal to let the three ships 'Prestige', 'Prestige', and 'Majesty' go out to sea immediately, join me, and prepare for the emergency."

Wang Yanxia was also worried about the loss of the Wakayama Fort, but he didn't intend to act rashly when the enemy's situation was unknown, so he raised his brows and gave the order cautiously.

"twitter!"

As soon as Wang Yanxia gave the order, the messengers who followed him loudly agreed and went away. After a short while, there was a roar, and a huge firework suddenly exploded in the air, and immediately there was a commotion in Osaka Port. During the start, the three "Wei"-class warships slowly left the anchorage and approached the place where the fireworks exploded.

"I found the Japanese navy three miles ahead!"

"The Chinese fleet is found three miles ahead, one big and five small!"

……

At six o'clock, the darkness before dawn finally passed, and the sky was already dawning. The Qing fleet and the Japanese navy sailing in the dark spotted each other almost at the same time. The lookout posts on both sides exclaimed loudly. , The horn of the siren was already sounding terribly, and the officers and soldiers on both sides who were resting all jumped up as if they were electrocuted, and rushed to their posts in disorder.

"Seize the T prefix!"

Looking at the fleet of the Japanese navy that was approaching at high speed, Wang Yanxia not only did not panic, but relaxed his heartstrings, because he had already realized the meaning of the fire that burned continuously for most of the night in the direction of the Wakayama Fortress last night. As for the seventy or so Japanese warships in front of him, Wang Yanxia really didn't pay much attention to them.

"Come forward, charge forward with full sail, lean in!"

As early as last night, when the fire on the Wakayama Fort was discovered, Honda Henglong had already realized that this trip might not have good results, but still kept a little luck, after all, the Wakayama Fort is too far away from the port of Osaka. If the Qing fleet hadn't noticed the faint fire in the distance, it might not have realized the surprise attack of its own navy, but the Qing fleet swimming in front of it ruthlessly smashed Honda Henglong's last sliver of luck, Facing a battle that was almost certain to death, Honda Henglong did not back down, because he had no choice but to retreat. Not to mention the large and fast Qing army warships, he might not be able to escape, even if he could, he would I don't want to run away anymore, probably because the country of Wa has reached the critical moment of life and death. As a member of the navy of the country of Wa, he never wants to sit back and watch the motherland be destroyed. Because of this, Honda Henglong is going to fight to the death!

As soon as the commanders of the two sides issued the order, the two fleets began different maneuvers. The Qing army turned at a high speed to form a battle line configuration, while the Japanese navy sprinted with all their strength, intending to rely on the warships of the Qing army to fight a battle. In the brutal boarding battle, as the distance between the two sides got closer and closer, the murderous intent suddenly increased on the spot...

(End of this chapter)