Chapter 161 1 to 7

"A night without moonlight, darkness rules the South China Sea!"

If there is any difference between the "Zhiyuan" ship and the former Zhiyuan ship, the world's first reaction is the nine powerful and unified caliber main gun, followed by its speed, but for every person who has witnessed Zhiyuan or Jingyuan, the most impressive thing is not the powerful main gun, but The tall and spectacular mast. .

Unlike the British triangular mast and the alternative American cage mast commonly used in various countries, in the design stage of Zhiyuan, in order to see through and command the main gun in the long-range artillery battle, the front main mast adopts a tall conical mast building supported by 7 pillars, and a shooting command post is set up at the top. The structure is quite strong and not easy to be damaged by bullets, and it just forms a tower bridge unique to the Chinese navy. However, no one knows that the design of this mast is not from the Admiralty, but by the navy after drawing a sketch by His Majesty himself, it is technically integrated by the navy, and a shooting command instrument and a large rangefinder are set up on the mast. , observation stations, etc., the tall mast can fill almost everything, and the equipment that can be imagined to increase the combat effectiveness of warships.

"It does increase the viewing ability, but it also increases the viewing ability. It's really a double-edged sword!"

In the seemingly spectacular mast, Lin Baojie sighed in his heart on the watchtower. He stood on the top of the mast dozens of meters high in the watchtower. He sighed in his heart that the Jingyuan ship with a large mast doubled his viewing ability, but also exposed himself.

Lin Baojie, who is behind the telescope, is facing the 3rd area to the left by starlight, which is actually 300 degrees. There are a total of 6 observers on the observation platform of the whole mast. Each of them is responsible for a zone. All of them are 20-40 times large telescope ordered by the Imperial Navy from the German Chase Company, and observation is high from the mast. Enemy ships 15 nautical miles away can be identified on sunny days. Even at night, the range of action is far greater than the hand-held 4x or 8x telescopes commonly used by navies.

At the time of the new moon, the sea and sky are dim and lightless, and the sea dotted with starlight is undulating. After the telescope, from time to time, the telescope is turned to observe the horizon in the distance. Every looker understands that now he is shouldering the surname of more than 1,300 officers and soldiers on the Jingyuan.

Staring at the sea level, suddenly a very vague "fog" attracted Lin Baojie's attention, increasing the magnification of the telescope, and faintly seems to be visible in the telescope... "Discover the smoke column! ? 312..."

The sudden discovery made Lin Baojie immediately shout at the microphone.

"Are you sure?"

Tang Tingguang hurried up to the conning tower. As soon as he got on the conning tower, he picked up the telescope and looked at the target. In this position, he could not see the target at all.

"Discover the target, initially confirm the target three ships, 12 nautical miles away, unable to distinguish the target's nationality!"

Another shout sounded in the command tower.

Tang Tingguang, with a solemn expression, kept silent unexpectedly.

"Your officer!"

"Order the whole ship to enter the combat readiness, enter the shells, and start ranging from the enemy!"

A second or two later, Tang Tingguang finally gave the order.

"The target is increased to five ships, orientation..."

As time went by, the target number was finally confirmed a few minutes after the smoke of the first enemy ship was found.

Seven unidentified warships!

It's the Southern Fleet!

Everyone in the command tower of Jingyuan immediately confirmed their opponents from the bottom of their hearts.

The joint fleet is composed of seven protective cruisers, including Fuji, Iwami, Bayan, Izumi, and the protective cruisers Takasago, Kasa and Chitose. In the current South China Sea, the fleet is composed of seven warships, which is not the only one.

"The enemy's first ship's target is 16,500 meters,"

After using a 5.5-meter rangefinder to complete the distance measurement on the ranging platform, the officers in the conning tower turned their attention to the captain.

"Let's fire!"

Fight and fire, take advantage of the long-range advantage of the large-caliber ship Jingyuan, and bombard the opponent from afar! Isn't this Jingyuan's mission?

"I won't let the first shot!"

In the face of the request of his subordinates, Tang Tingguang shook his head. Now China said that the two countries have not yet declared war, and the first gun was fired by himself, which undoubtedly led to diplomatic passivity.

When I gave the order of the first gun, Tang Tingguang took out his pocket watch. At 3:15 a.m., he looked outside the command tower, and the stars and the moon were dark.

On November 3, at 4:15 a.m., the darkest moment before Ling Ming, the distance between the two fleets was 6 nautical miles.

"Discover Jingyuan!"

Gao Zhuangzhicheng immediately picked up the newly purchased Chase eight-fold telescope. Before the Battle of the Sea of Ma, the whole joint fleet had only two such high-power telescopes, but now there are more than a dozen of them. This kind of telescope is far farther and clearer than the previous two-fold telescope.

"Yo Xi!"

Looking at the curtain, "loading, all ships are equipped to fight!"

With the order, the main gun bolt was opened, and the 800-pound shells fired by the 305mm main gun began to be loaded into the magazine. At this time, Gao Zhuangzhicheng raised his telescope on the bridge to observe the movement of Jingyuan.

"What the hell is an old navy?"

With a little starlight, looking at Jingyuan, which was a little blurred in the distance, Gao Zhuangzhicheng sent out a sigh of praise. Although Jingyuan seemed to be a little vague, the nine main guns of its three turrets pointed straight in their own direction, as if they had found the Southern Fleet.

"Order Shi Jian to cut 6,000 meters away from the enemy!"

A series of orders came out of Gao Zhuangzhicheng's mouth. Unlike Dongxiang, Gao Zhuangzhicheng did not let his flagship "Fuji" be the first ship of the fleet, but the third ship of the team, so as to use the Fuji's good 1.5-meter three-dimensional cursor rangefinder to provide target instructions for the whole fleet.

At this time, he sailed Jingyuan at a speed of 17 knots, and the royal guard naval flag given by His Majesty was hung on the mast. Most of the front, two and back three triple 346mm cannons pointed high. The stars and moon were not bright, but the muzzle was reflected in a cold light. The dark curtain in front of Ling Ming still shrouded the sea. At this time, the Jingyuan Everyone is holding their breath and waiting for the other party to fire.

"7,500 meters!"

While reporting the numbers, the staff officer in the command tower stared at the captain. The captain from the old Beiyang was still silent at this time.

"I won't send the first shot!"

After giving this order, Tang Tinglong was looking at the distant sea with a silent look, looking at the sea shrouded in night, and looking at the enemy ship that raised the muzzle from the telescope. He knew that he had missed something and missed the moment when he gave full play to Jing's far-distance firepower advantage "6, 800 meters"

"6000 meters! It's the combat distance of the Battle of the Sea of Malaysia!"

Listening to the distance approaching 6,000 meters, Yang Shuzhuang's heart tightened. At this extremely critical moment, all the officers in the command tower closed their mouths. They stand on their posts, either observing the enemy ship with binoculars in their hands, or showing gentlemanly calmness, or anxious or complacent. Different expressions mean different mentality. Only no one came out to break the silence at this time, and no one went to the captain to put forward any opinions and suggestions related to the battle.

Whether in times of war or peace, on any warship, the authority of the captain is unquestionable. This is the rule of the navy. The captain is always right, whenever!

Why don't you fire?

Looking at the enemy ship getting closer and closer, Lin Baojie's heart is full of doubts. Not to mention 6,000 meters, even if it is 16,000 meters, it is the combat distance of the navy. In previous training, at least half of the courses of the navy were long-distance shelling of more than 12,000 meters, or even farther away. The distance forms a span.

In the next minute, the situation continued to change fundamentally. Lin Baojie, who was holding the telescope, could even see that the turret of the enemy ship was turning. Then, the enemy's head ship suddenly made a cross-cut movement, and the battle was about to begin.

"The enemy ship is cross-cut!"

When the watchtower report was delivered, Tang Tingguang, who had been silent, unexpectedly gave an order.

"Turn right, speed 25!"

"Turn right, speed 25!"

The order was repeated. Hearing this order, Yang Shuzhuang immediately picked up the protective cruiser Hairong, which was 3 nautical miles away from the starboard side. Suddenly, he understood why the captain gave the order.

"Jingyuan turns right to change its course!"

When the Shijian cross-cutting array, the watchtower first sent a report, followed by another report: the Jingyuan turned right about 10 degrees, and the speed remained basically unchanged.

In fact, experienced commanders at this distance can find the changes of the enemy fleet only by visual inspection.

"Jingyuan wants to escape!"

Aware that the other party wanted to escape, Gao Zhuangzhicheng suddenly shouted.

"Aim at Jingyuan and get ready to fire!"

The staff officer in charge of the order was stunned at first, and it took a whole second before shouting at the microphone.

"Aim at the Jingyuan!"

At the moment of the order, everyone on the Fuji began to hold their breath, because they knew that the cruelest duel was about to begin.

"With the first round of shooting as the benchmark, each ship concentrates its firepower, targets Jingyuan, and four first rounds of shots!"

The instantaneous change of the battlefield situation often shows the courage and temperament of a fleet commander. At this time, Gao Zhuangzhicheng, a well-known general, did not disappoint. When Fuji has not completed the formation change, it is undoubtedly the best choice to use the Ishimi as the benchmark.

After about ten seconds, in the huge roar, the dark ocean was suddenly shrouded in four huge flames. Gao Zhuangzhicheng and others only felt that their eyes lit up, and even their eyes became blurred, but all of this was not important. After the first round of shooting, except for the gunners in the main turret and the officers responsible for organizing the main gun shooting, everyone else was paying close attention to the sea in the distance, looking forward to the scene of the enemy ship being hit.

Of course, no one has any confidence that the first round of s volley can hit the target, or no one will believe that a s volley can hit Jingyuan or any warship.

"The enemy ship opened fire!"

The huge flame group that tore through the night light up the sea did not need the report of the watchman at all. Everyone saw it. Almost at the moment when the flame group lit up the sea and the sky, Yang Shuzhuang pressed the stopwatch and timed the enemy's shells. The distance was six kilometers, the 12-inch naval gun arrived in about ten seconds... "The speed increased to 26! "

Tang Tingguang, who looked solemn but obviously very indifferent, once again gave the order to speed up.

"Boom..."

Four loud noises came out of the command tower one after another, and four columns of water rose into the air more than 100 meters away from Jingyuan.

"Captain, my ship was attacked!"

"Immediately generate power to the naval department, and our ship was attacked by the Japanese fleet!"

Even if he was attacked, Tang Tingguang did not order a counterattack at the first time, but ordered a telegram. This was a normal procedure. It was just a second, and another order was spit out of his mouth.

"Target enemy ship, fire!"

At 4:21 a.m., with an order, the nine 346mm cannons of Jingyuan, which had already breathed their breathed, sounded. First, the No. 1 turret, then the No. 3 turret, and then the No. 2 turret. The first round of volley was completed in 0.5 seconds.

"Fire!"

In the huge roar, the officers and soldiers of Jingyuan Fleet obviously felt a shock under their feet. The sailors in the armored cabin could not see how spectacular the shelling was at all. After the four explosions, they understood the fact that the war had begun, and now it was a counterattack.

"Nine, Ten..."

With the stop of the second reading, nine huge columns of water appeared one after another around the battleship Iwami. The columns of water were huge, but the officers and gunners on the battleship Jingyuan were not gods. Although the first round of volley was powerful, there was no hit the target, but from the point of the landing of the shells, their whole ship fired uniformly. The technical content of the command system is obviously higher, and more than four of the nine shells are nearly lost.

At this time, a series of water columns continued to appear around Jingyuan with explosions. This is the main and secondary guns of the Japanese fleet. Not only half of them formed near-lost shells, but also some shells almost exploded close to Jingyuan. The fragments of the shells hit Jingyuan's hull, and the water column even hit the bridge when it fell. At the same time, the five 190mm guns on the port side of Jingyuan also began to counterattack at the same time, the same as the target of the main gun, and it was also the leader of the enemy fleet.

"Beep..."

The sharp whistle echoed in the cabin. Yue Pengyuan, who commanded 32 damage management team sailors, only heard the thunderous roar of heavy artillery and the sharp roar of the 190mm caliber secondary gun. When the shells hit the enemy, the whole Jingyuan was shocked, but the cabin was dead silence, and the small electric lights were on. Through the light, he could see the paleness of the sailors, and he smiled.

"Well, we will play soon. Remember, it's just like training!"

Finally, he stressed, "This is the fate of our generation!"

In the opposite operating room, the military doctors and assistants in surgical uniforms are as serious as during the military parade. They are waiting for the arrival of the wounded. In the operating room, everything is ready, but the military medical chief Sang Pingnan is still there to constantly inspect his position and sort out those who have been very neatly arranged. Things: In the steel cabinet, there are all kinds of glass bottles, which contain all kinds of drugs and disinfectants, porcelain plates with bandages soaked in alcohol and a full set of surgical instruments, all kinds of drugs neatly placed, morphine needles, full of 50 syringes, anesthetics, also filled with dozens of syringes, burns. He has prepared everything with the ointment, the sutures soaked in alcohol.

This is my battlefield!

Sang Pingnan whispered to himself in his heart, and then he cast his eyes to Yue Pengyuan, who was standing outside the cabin. Then he smiled at him, and the two looked at each other silently.

Suddenly accompanied by a violent stir, Yue Pengyuan looked up at the top of his head, with a horizontal armor plate above his head.

"I was bitten by a mosquito, a small-caliber shell!"

Yue Pengyuan squeezed out some smiles to comfort the sailors who were a little nervous and even afraid. But Sang Pingnan looked out nervously. Will the wounded come?

When the enemies meet each other, they are very jealous.

After the two rounds of sangulation failed, the officers and soldiers in the turret of the Jingyuan ship couldn't wait to re-enter the loading process. They believed that their next shelling could have better luck. They said that they were not those who could only be hit by targets, so the sooner they were killed, the better! If you kill one, it will be easier next time.

The heavy 653 kilograms of armor-piercing bullets were loaded into the bullet, with propellant, gunpowder,... "The third round of silox!"

Although the conning tower was hit by a small-caliber shell, Tang Tingguang stood there motionless, and even did not dodge when the shell that had just exploded under the conning tower exploded.

At this time, Jingyuan, which was besieged by seven ships, kept falling down the water column around. This is how the naval battle was carried out. The cannonballs were continuously dropped around the enemy ship. In the end, there will always be shells hitting the target, the cannon popped up, and the rest is luck.

A sudden and violent shock only made the body of the sailor in the former main turret shake with it.

"Focus your energy on the job!"

Zhang Haoran, the gun officer of the No. 1 turret, reprimanded him harshly, and then deliberately stressed loudly.

"If you want to live, sink the enemy first"

In Zhang Haoran's reprimand, the sailor immediately began to act. The loading was a series of repeated processes: open the ricket, install a new shell and push it in with a hydraulic push rod, load the firing bag, and then close the ricket again. Perhaps the test of life and death made them perform their best after the initial panic.

"No. 1 cannon ammunition!"

"No. 2 artillery ammunition!"

... It only took 48 seconds to complete a bullet reserve. Zhang Haoran nodded with satisfaction. After just two or three seconds, with the completion of the correction data sent by the gun commander, another volley was immediately fired. As soon as the s shot was over, the gunners were frantically.

Suddenly, a flash appeared in the turret, followed by a loud noise, and they were shaken.

"We were hit."

"It doesn't matter!"

Zhang Haoran continued to shout.

"Quick! It's loaded!"

Then some shells hit the critical part, and the thick smoke instantly filled the whole turret. Zhang Haoran was still standing there.

"Reloading armor-piercing bullets..."

(to be continued)