"This is a Chinese warship. I still remember the pattern of the bombardment." Kuroda Kiyosu, the Satsuma Domain officer on the Iron Clad, said calmly. The people around him were so excited that no one noticed Kuroda Kiyosu's expression. As long as Kuroda Kiyosu didn't shout, "This is a Shrimp ship," no one would be surprised. The Japanese flag on the mast of the gray warship was fluttering in the sea breeze. The owner of this warship might be British, French, Chinese, American, Dutch, or even Spanish, who were clearly told that they had been expelled from the Western Pacific. No matter who the real owner was, Masuda Torinosuke, the commander of the Meiji government Navy Fleet, knew that this terrifying warship did not belong to any side of Japan.
"The enemy ship is approaching us." The voice of the Japanese lookout was full of despair. There was an Armstrong 300-pound cannon on the bow of the Iron Clad, which was the trump card of the Japanese Navy. The maximum range of the Armstrong cannon was more than 4 kilometers, but everyone knew that 4 kilometers was the world of God. At this stage, human artillery did not have the ability to control the landing point at that distance.
The more reliable distance now was around 400 meters. The gray warship initially approached from 2000 meters to 1000 meters away from the Spring Sun. Now they were continuing to approach. Once they reached a distance of about 500 meters, the gray warship's already incomparably accurate cannons could be further improved.
In theory, it was also an opportunity for the Iron Clad when the enemy approached. This distance was also within the effective range of the Iron Clad's cannons. In addition to the Armstrong 300-pound cannon on the bow, the Iron Clad also had two Armstrong 70-pound cannons, two 6-pound cannons, and two 4-pound mountain cannons. Two Armstrong 70-pound cannons were installed on both sides of the ship. At least one of the cannons could exert its power. The Japanese Navy could only pray that the gray warship could move and enter the firing range of the Japanese Navy's cannons.
However, the gray warship kept its position outside the firing range of the cannons. At this time, almost all the crew members on the Iron Clad began to pray. Some were muttering, some were looking up at the sky, and most of them were holding the amulets tightly in their hands, hoping to activate the power contained in the amulets. Amaterasu Great God, various Bodhisattvas worshiped in temples, mountain gods, river gods, foxes, raccoons, dogs … Guardians of different types and powers were prayed to.
Perhaps the prayer worked, and the gray warship was hit by a shot. Everyone on the Iron Clad wanted to cheer subconsciously, but their voices were stuck in their throats. It was a shell from the 12-pounder cannon on the old warship, Current. The shell hit the bow of the gray warship and bounced off. The 12-pounder cannon did not even leave a mark on the gray warship.
The only result of the bombardment was that the two cannons on the back of the gray warship changed their aim from the Iron Clad to the Current.
"Please disperse and break out of the encirclement!" Kuroda Kiryu once again said to the fleet commander Masuda Torunosuke calmly. Masuda Torunosuke was dumbfounded at this time. Kuroda Kiryu's calmness made him a little more clear-headed at this time. Masuda Torunosuke asked in a daze, "Where should we disperse and break through?"
After saying this, Masuda Torunosuke became much more clear-headed. He asked Kuroda Kiryu, "The other party only has one warship. How can we break out of the encirclement?!"
Kuroda Kiryu was very disappointed. If the leader of the fleet was Yamanishi Osamu, with his understanding and decisiveness, there was no way he would say such silly words. Judging from the speed displayed by the Chinese warship not long ago, as well as the speed of the Japanese Meiji government's warship. It was not difficult for a Chinese warship to "surround" a Japanese fleet.
"Please disperse and retreat!" Kuroda Kiryu changed to a more reasonable word. At this time, time was more precious than gold and diamonds. The speed of the Chinese warship's bombardment just now was frightening. In the time it took to say a few more words, China's next round of bombardment would begin.
"This …" Masuda Torunosuke hesitated.
Looking at the fleet commander's ugly behavior, Kuroda Kiryu was even more disappointed. A few years ago, when the Satsuma Domain's Navy fought with the Chinese Navy, some of the warships managed to escape back to the Satsuma Domain. That was because the Satsuma Domain immediately scattered and retreated when they saw that the situation was not right. However, judging from Masuda Torunosuke's words, he might be hoping that the other warships could come and help the Iron Clad. He wanted the other warships to bear the fire of the Chinese warship so that the Iron Clad would have a chance to escape. However, with the Iron Clad's speed, this was obviously wishful thinking.
Kuroda Kiryu wanted to tell Masuda Torunosuke that the Iron Clad was the warship that posed the greatest threat to the Republic of Prawn. Since the Chinese had the opportunity to sink the Iron Clad, they would not let it go. Therefore, the people on the Iron Clad gave up on the thought of escaping and fought with all their might against China. If they did not have the courage to be loyal, then they should just surrender.
However, Kuroda Kiryu did not say it out loud. He was calmly calculating in his heart. Since Masuda Torunosuke had completely lost his cool, there was no point in saying anything else. Now, Kuroda Kiryu needed to consider his own safety instead of trying to save the fleet that was about to be destroyed.
Just as he thought of this, he heard the roar of cannons. Everyone on the ship turned their attention to the outside. Just now, the courageous Electric Current had fired at the gray warship and even scored a hit. Now, the gray warship had started firing at the Electric Current from a distance of 600 meters. The Electric Current's hit was probably a lucky shot, but the gray warship's shot was not a lucky shot. The first two shots missed at close range, but the third shot hit. Following that, the Electric Current was hit by three consecutive shots. Because the shot hit from the front, it did not completely penetrate the hull. After half a minute, the interior of the Electric Clad suddenly exploded. From the Iron Clad, it was clear that the people on the deck of the Electric Current could not stand steadily due to the tremors. Some fell in the middle of the deck, while those near the edge of the deck fell directly into the sea.
Before the tragedy of the Electric Current was over, the first three turrets of the gray warship had already begun firing at the Iron Clad. Now, the Iron Clad had officially become the new tragic protagonist on the stage.
"The current high-explosive shells are still unstable." In the command room of the Qingdao, the captain discussed this issue with his comrades. At this point in the battle, there was no need for the captain to give special instructions. The enemy's cannons could not penetrate the armor of the Qingdao, and the Qingdao could make full use of the warship's maneuverability and firepower to sink any enemy one by one. At this moment, everyone was concerned about the power of the cannons.
"The armor-piercing shells have a timed detonator at the tail. As long as it can penetrate, it will explode. The high-explosive shells are mainly used to wash the deck. " The chief of staff's voice was not loud. Although he and the captain no longer had to worry about winning the battle, they still tried not to forget the work of the artillery commander and the chief engineer.
"This broken ship of Japan will be finished as soon as a high-explosive shell hits it." The captain had his own opinion on the current battle.
"What should we do if we encounter the British ship? The British still have a large number of ironclads. "The chief of staff also had his own opinion.
While the two were discussing the naval battle, the first three turrets had already begun firing at the Iron Clad. The side that was firing desired to hit and sink the enemy. On the other hand, the one being hit was thinking about not being hit and not being sunk. However, the difference in equipment between the two sides was too great. No matter how much the people on the Iron Clad prayed to the various Japanese gods in their hearts, the illusory gods could not interfere with the material world. Just as the ammunition compartment of the Current was detonated by the explosives in the armor-piercing shells and began to slowly sink from the tragic stage, a 150mm armor-piercing shell hit the Iron Clad. The sharp cone shell easily penetrated the 140mm wrought iron armor and shot into the interior of the Iron Clad from the side.
The violent vibration caused by the strong collision between the metals could be clearly felt in the command room of the Iron Clad. Just as the observer of the Qingdao was shouting excitedly, "It hit! It penetrated the enemy's iron armor!", Torunosuke Masuda heard many people on the deck shouting in horror, "We've been hit!"
Torunosuke Masuda's face turned pale. He shouted to his subordinates, "Go and see what's going on!"
Damage management was a very professional position. The British Navy, French Navy, and Chinese Navy all had specialized damage management personnel. However, the Japanese Navy did not have such a position. After Torunosuke Masuda's order was issued, the confused Japanese Navy officers looked at each other. They had no idea who should complete this task. It was already a mess below the deck. If they went to check the damage, they might even be hit by the enemy's shells. The danger was too great.
At this moment, Kuroda Kiyatsu volunteered with an extremely cold tone, "I'll go take a look!"
Torunosuke Masuda couldn't care less at this moment. He quickly nodded and said, "Hurry up!"
Kuroda Kiyatsu calmly walked out of the command room. At this moment, he saw the appearance of the middle-sized warship in the distance firing fiercely. There was no one on the deck except for the five twin turrets that were spewing long flames. The Iron Clad kept shaking. After the iron armor was penetrated, an indescribable sound of metal shattering could be heard. The sailors on the deck screamed in panic. They grabbed onto ropes, railings, or simply held onto the mast in order to stabilize their bodies in such a violent shaking. Kuroda Kiyatsu walked straight to the side of the ship with good balance. He threw a wooden barrel that was used to scrub the deck into the sea. He then grabbed onto the side of the ship and used the impact of the Iron Clad being hit to jump over the side of the ship and into the sea.
There were also sailors on the deck who saw Kuroda Kiyatsu's actions. Some even tried to warn the officer to be careful of the shaking hull. In the eyes of these people, the officer who was unexpectedly calm and out of place among the panicking crowd was a little too outrageous. At this moment, he was still concerned about whether the deck was clean enough. He wanted to clean up the wooden barrels that looked like they were in the way.
Even Kuroda Kiyatsu's action of jumping over the side of the ship left an impression in the confused minds of the sailors that he had accidentally fallen into the water while inspecting the hull of the ship. Some of the sailors felt that it was a pity for the officer who looked very competent to fall into the water. There were also some who were secretly happy that this ostentatious guy fell into the water. Of course, there were also sailors who felt that this officer was trying to jump into the sea to commit suicide. However, their attention was soon diverted from the scene just now because two more shells hit the Iron Clad, causing the ship to shake violently again. A greater fear instantly filled the hearts of the Japanese sailors. Compared to this great fear, the officer who fell into the sea was nothing.
When Kuroda Kiyatsu floated up from the water, he had already kicked off his cumbersome shoes. He stepped on the water while spinning on the surface of the sea. After a while, he found the direction of the wooden barrel. He swam over and grabbed the barrel. Using the buoyancy brought by the accumulated air in the barrel, Kuroda Kiyatsu swam away from the Iron Clad.
At this moment, the sound of explosions came from inside the Iron Clad. Kuroda Kiyatsu sped up and tried his best to get away from the dying Iron Clad. The sound of explosions was intermittent. 10 minutes after Kuroda Kiyatsu escaped from the Iron Clad, the ship began to sink. The sinking speed was getting faster and faster. Kuroda Kiyatsu seemed to hear something. Then, he saw the Iron Clad break into two and disappear into the sea. A huge whirlpool appeared on the sea. Those who could not jump into the sea in time but were still alive were on top of the whirlpool. They could not help but be dragged into the sea by the current. Whether they could escape from the whirlpool completely depended on their luck.
Kuroda Kiyatsu calmly turned around and continued to swim to the south. At this moment, a broken piece of wood from a sunken battleship floated in front of him. Kuroda Kiyatsu grabbed the piece of wood. He felt that it was much easier to use than the wooden barrel. The sound of cannons did not stop. Kuroda Kiyatsu knew that the Chinese warship was annihilating the other Meiji Navy ships. With his back facing the cruel battlefield, Kuroda Kiyatsu swam away with all his might. 'Maybe I will be punished when I return? ' Kuroda Kiyatsu thought. The punishment would probably not be light. However, if a person could not even protect his own life, he would lose everything. Therefore, he eliminated all the thoughts in his mind and started to do his best to save his own life.
The battle officially ended at five o'clock in the afternoon. The fleet led by the Iron Clad was all sunk. The navy of the Meiji government had little combat power left. On the other hand, the Republic of Prawn's Iron Clad "Mizuno" had been repaired with the help of the Chinese Navy. After that, it was towed to China for repairs. It would take at most two months for it to return to the Republic of Prawn's naval forces. Before the Mizuno returned to the Republic of Prawn's naval forces, the Chinese Navy would continue to patrol the Tsugaru Strait. However, everyone knew that the symbolic meaning of this patrol was greater than the actual meaning. The Meiji government did not have a navy to fight for them. Even if they had a navy, they would not have the guts to come here again after the battle where one warship destroyed an entire fleet.
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