Zhu Chengxiu felt that he was probably going to die today …
Hundreds of meters away, there were five heavy cannons bombarding his small commuter boat. Although the cannonballs had not hit the target, the small broken boat had been repeatedly tossed in the water column, causing the accuracy of his cannons to greatly decrease. What was worse was that the opponent's cannons hit the buildings on the shore from time to time. Warehouses, docks, and trestles were all seriously damaged, and even caused a fire.
"Captain, our rudder is stuck by debris, the hull can't move." The sailor hurriedly ran to report. Zhu Chengxiu found that with the increase of boiler pressure, his ship could move slowly, but the bow was still yawning. The sailor pulled Zhu Chengxiu and said, "Captain, let's abandon the ship. If we continue to fight like this, we will definitely die. "
The naval drill stipulated that the ship could be abandoned when necessary. With the production capacity of the 'Revolutionary Army' shipyard, it was more important to keep the experienced crew than to keep the ship. But Zhu Chengxiu shook his head with a sad face and said, "This is the first battle of my navy. I am not only the captain, but also the commander-in-chief of the navy. If I abandon the ship and run away, I will have no face to face the elders in my hometown. If you want to go, you can go, I can't go. "
Zhu Chengxiu's mind was very clear. If he died in battle, Zhou Qingfeng would definitely give preferential treatment to the Zhu family. But if he abandoned the ship and ran away, his entire family would probably have to bear the wrath of Zhou Qingfeng. The gains and losses forced him to stick to his post – if he ran away in the first battle, his hard-won position would be completely wasted.
The naval officers and soldiers didn't know so much inside information. They only thought that their boss would rather die than surrender and live with the ship. The dignified commander-in-chief of the navy was not afraid of death. The officers and soldiers were also deeply excited and said that they would fight to the death with the captain.
And on the opposite side …
The collapse of the morale of the arsonist ship and even the defeat of the retreat was a blow to Li Guan. He brought more than 70 ships, and more than a dozen sunken ships blocked the channel. Now he lost more than 30 arsonist ships. So he only had about 20 warships that could fight, among which the five turtle-shell ships could really fight.
There were also many small cannons on both sides of the tortoiseshell ship, but their power and range were very weak. Its only strong point was the large-caliber heavy bronze cannon at the bow of the ship. Now, the five heavy cannons were all aimed at the small boat in front of them. Under the continuous firing, the small boat did not hit, but a large number of buildings on the shore were destroyed. It even hit a 500-ton steam transport ship.
If they could continue fighting, Li Guan felt that her trip here would not be in vain. But just as he was about to use the advantage of his heavy artillery to completely destroy the port, an artillery battery of the Imperial Guard had already moved in the direction of the port. Six short-barreled heavy cannons of 150 mm calibre were in position.
After the battle of Zhenjiang, Zhou Qingfeng revised the artillery drill manual, stipulating that in times of emergency, they would no longer use manpower to build a solid artillery position. Instead, they would directly use the propellant packs to blow a big hole in the ground and let the hoes of the artillery fall into the hole to resist the recoil. Facing more than 20 enemy ships that could not maneuver in the narrow river, the independent artillery was the first to test this tactic.
A rumbling explosion came from the riverbank, forcing Li Guan to turn her head to observe. He looked into the distance and saw a few cannons about 400 meters away. He cursed in his heart, but he could only watch helplessly as the enemy artillery set up their positions.
Originally, it would have taken more than ten minutes to set up the formation, but this time, it only took a few minutes to complete. After completing their preparations, the six cannons immediately took aim. Their target was the tortoiseshell ship that was still slowly paddling forward on the river.
Open fire …
Boom! Boom! Boom! The cannonballs hit the sides of the tortoiseshell ship in the blink of an eye. Compared to the warship cannons that were constantly bobbing up and down on the surface of the water, the cannons on land were much easier to aim. It was the same cannon shot from a few hundred meters away, so there was no reason for it to miss.
Even though the sides of the ship were covered with iron plates, the defense of the tortoiseshell ship could not withstand the power of the cannons. The greatest characteristic of a barrelled weapon was that it could restrict the explosion of energy that was released in all directions to push the projectile in one direction. In this case, the power of an explosion would be increased by hundreds or even thousands of times. The power of a single cannonball could easily surpass that of a top-level spell technique.
The tortoiseshell ship closest to the shore was immediately hit, and the hull, which could defend against arrows and canister shells, was riddled with holes by the large caliber cannonballs. The wooden planks behind the holes were sent flying, and the sailors in the hull were instantly killed or injured, screaming incessantly. The tortoiseshell ship was propelled by oars, and the large number of sailors dying or injured on one side immediately caused the force on the hull to be unbalanced, causing it to deflect.
And ten seconds later, another six powerful cannonballs were fired in, and the hole on one side was enlarged again. Several large skylights were opened on the side of the ship that was close to twenty feet long, and one could see the sailors constantly jumping out of the hull to escape, as well as the messy cabin. With just two rounds of accurate cannon fire, a warship that had once dominated the sea was easily taken care of.
This was a large ship that North Korea had built with the entire country's resources, and there were only a few of them in total. Back then, it had relied on this kind of ship to withstand the attack of the Japanese navy and pull North Korea back from the brink of annihilation. But now, it was instantly disintegrated under the attack of the new cannons, and it was as fragile as a small sampan.
The heavily damaged tortoiseshell ship began to capsize, and the hull began to sink, running aground in the river in a crooked position. The remaining four tortoiseshell ships immediately felt the threat of destruction. As the commander, Li Guan understood that he was about to lose this dangerous battle — it was over, there was no hope!
Li Guan suddenly burst into laughter. He knew that he only had one last chance left to perish together with the enemy. Amidst his sorrowful laughter, he let go of his control over his body, allowing a powerful consciousness in his soul to awaken once more.
The artillery battery on the shore of the port was still firing to their heart's content. The tortoiseshell ships on the hundreds of meters of river were too large, making them like dead targets, and it was too easy to shoot them down. But when the second tortoiseshell ship began to catch fire and smoke, a heart-palpitating roar came from it — the waters of the Datong River surged and spiraled upward, forming the body of a giant.
On the bustling battlefield, everyone was attracted by this roar. Even Zhou Qingfeng, who was lying on the wall of Pyongyang and watching the battle, had to stop his gaze. The group of North Korean and Shandong officials who had been listening to his political lecture also uniformly leaned against the battlements and looked down at the entire battlefield. This was a rare life experience.
When the tortoiseshell ships first appeared, the officials from Shandong were all amazed. They did not expect that the land of North Korea could actually build such a terrifying ship. When more than 30 arsonist ships rowed quickly, there were even some people who knew a little about it who explained the power of this arson tactic in a low voice.
Looking at the river, the Revolutionary Army did not seem to have any power to resist. The newly built docks and warehouses were all exposed to the enemy's threat. King Zhu Youshu, who was not on good terms with Zhou Qingfeng just now, said indignantly, "Didn't I say it? This Revolutionary Army is warlike and will die. What good can they do by attacking North Korea?"
The group of North Korean officials who surrendered were both proud and afraid. They were proud that they could straighten their backs in front of Zhou Qingfeng to show that their side was not completely weak and could be bullied. They were afraid that the Revolutionary Army could still retreat after being defeated, but where could they, who had already surrendered, retreat to?
However, in the blink of an eye, the originally murderous arsonist ship encountered a commuter ship that could not move at all. The people on the commuter ship even had to go ashore to find some big wooden sticks to turn the bow of the ship around. However, it was such a ship and a cannon that repelled more than 30 arsonist ships.
Seeing the commuter ship destroying the North Korean arsonist ship with one cannon shot, the Shandong officials were stunned at first, but soon, they began to flatter Zhou Qingfeng with a smile on their faces. The Grand Marshal's army was indeed mighty, they were as still as Mount Tai even when the enemy approached. This backhand strike turned the ship into ashes!
Amazing, truly amazing!
The flattering words were like a tide, making Zhu Youshu feel very awkward standing among them. The Shandong officials around him took a few steps back one after another. At this time, no one dared to stand with him. On the other hand, Zhou Qingfeng did not care about the praises around him at all. He turned his head to look at Zhu Youshu and uttered a long 'hmm'.
Zhu Youshu's old face turned red. After a long time, he finally said, "Didn't I say that there are no taboos today and you can say anything?"
For this reason, Zhou Qingfeng changed his tone and uttered another 'hmm' with a teasing expression. Zhu Youshu continued to say, "There are still five big ships on the river. We might still lose later."
This time, be it the Shandong or North Korean officials, all of them cursed in their hearts. This guy's mouth is too stinky. If the Grand Marshal loses, it won't do any of us any good. Don't tell me you want to die?
Zhou Qingfeng, on the other hand, said seriously, "Zhu Youshu, I hope you can change your way of thinking. You and I are both sides of a civil war. I've stabilized the situation, and I have a place to exile you, so I don't want to kill my own people anymore. I just pity you who have no evil deeds, but I don't necessarily want you to be loyal to me. I can completely ignore your life and death. "
The officials, including Zhu Youshu, immediately had a change of expression as they fell into deep thought. However, they were soon attracted by the changes on the battlefield. After understanding the situation on the battlefield, the infantry of the 'Revolutionary Army' quickly attacked to intercept the North Korean infantry who attacked by land. However, the North Korean infantry was eventually overwhelmed by the local security forces and migrant workers.
Whether it was North Korea or Shandong, the officials on the city wall all turned pale. Zhu Youshu whispered in a daze, "It was the same when Jinan City was broken. The people hated the government like they hated the bandits. No one was willing to fight for Daming. All the officials in the city fell into the hands of the mobs. We have to leave our homes and travel tens of thousands of miles away from the country. "
Zhou Qingfeng only sneered and corrected him, "Pyongyang is less than two thousand miles away from Jinan. It didn't take me much effort to transport you here. It only took seven or eight days. How can it be tens of thousands of miles away? I told you to read more and change your old way of thinking. The world can be said to be very big, but it can also be said to be very small. "
Next, the independent artillery company took their positions at the port and bombarded the tortoiseshell ships on the river. These seemingly mighty warships became incomparably fragile under the bombardment of the cannons, unable to play much of a role at all. But when the hull of one of the tortoiseshell ships collapsed, a roar came out. The river water condensed and formed a tall giant.
The North Korean officials on the city wall immediately exclaimed, "Lord Chungwu … …!"
The officials from Shandong were also shocked. They did not know how to deal with such a powerful monster.
Everyone looked at Zhou Qingfeng. Zhou Qingfeng slowly stood up, stretched his muscles and said, "Finally, there is an opponent worthy of me." He stood up and directly jumped down from the wall of Pyongyang. When he landed, he had already changed into the 'Heavenly Crystal'.
The more than five meters high war machine took heavy steps on the ground. Zhou Qingfeng also threw out a large iron box from his storage bag. After the box landed, it automatically opened and a weapon rack extended out. On the rack, there was a weapon that was originally folded. It was constantly shrinking and expanding. Finally, it turned into a more than two meters long, terrifying tomahawk with a wide blade.
The 'Heavenly Crystal' reached out and grabbed the weapon that was personally blessed by Wen Ruolan. It strode toward the giant who was climbing up the river bank. His steel body shined as he appeared. His burly and ferocious appearance was terrifying. The people on the city wall were speechless. Only now did they know the terror of the 'Revolutionary Army' Grand Marshal.
When the giant saw Zhou Qingfeng approaching, he angrily shouted, "You … … What are you people from the Central Plains doing in North Korea? If you become the ruler of the Central Plains, we are willing to be loyal to you. Why do you want to destroy us? "
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