Chapter 164 Unsinkable Jingyuan

"Steel head, iron tail, tofu waist!"

Any naval officer who has served on the ships of Haitian and Haiqi knows the problem of Haitian and Haiqi. In fact, this problem is precisely due to the prototype "Yoshino" of the two ships. More than a decade ago, when the British naval designer Watts designed the "Yoshino", in order to obtain a strong fire, he did not hesitate to lengthen the hull to More sideline secondary guns are added, but its thin ribs and armor are its fatal weaknesses. Whether it is the sinking of the Haitian on the reef, or the "Yoshino" ship was sunk by the adjacent Japanese warship "Spring" due to heavy fog during the heavy fog in the Russian War last year. The common point of the two is the waist of the ship, so in the Chinese navy and The Haitian and Haitian of the same level of Yoshino fell on the steel head, iron tail, and tofu waist.

As a sister of the Yoshino, Takasago also has the same problem.

"Aim at the waist of the boat and hit it hard!"

Deng Haohong, who is well aware of the weakness of Takasago, would not know the weakness of Takasago. The first order was to identify its weakness. For a time, the four 105 guns on the port side of the Haitian and the three 150mm rapid-fire guns on the bow and stern immediately fired shells at the Takasago at the maximum rate of fire.

In the roar of gunfire, Deng Haohong stared at Takasago. At this time, his expression was like his father's "Target Yoshino, full speed impact!" Eleven years ago. The order is generally firm.

Whether it is Takasago or Kasagi or Chitose, the speed is far faster than that of Hairong, and Takasago is at least one or two kilometers away. For any modern navy, this distance is undoubtedly the distance of the warship bayonet. At this distance, the sailors on both sides can shoot directly and continuously without fine-tuning. Objective.

The Hairong was chased by three cruisers and attacked by the secondary guns of the two major ships. At this time, it was like being in a storm. The shells kept hitting the warship, and the fragments of the explosion flew away everywhere. The Hairong looked like a flames rushing into the sky. The front armored protection surface was actively and limited. At this time, it was suffering from the world's latest The concentrated attack of four protective cruisers.

The traces of Gaosha, who chased Hairong, were severely damaged. The 150/105mm shells fired by the gunners of Hairong kept hitting his deck or theboard of the ship. The smoke of Hairong soared in the air, and Takasago was also full of black smoke.

The turret of the Hayong has been completely shrouded in flames, and there are corpses around the semi-enclosed turret. This is a gunner killed and injured by the bombard. The semi-enclosed turret without armor protection. In the naval battle, it is simply a hell made of iron and fire.

"Quick! Armor-piercing bullets!"

The bloody gunner shouted loudly. The sailor carrying the shell just rushed to the deck, and the flying shrapnel took his life. His brain and blood fell down the steel ladder.

Oh! Oh!

At the moment when the shell fell heavily in the aisle, another sailor rushed up to carry the shell and carried the shell to the gun position in three steps and two steps. There were only one sailor with a broken arm in the turret.

"I aim, you load..."

"Yes!"

"Wock!"

The shell was put into the barrel. The moment when the sailor, who had broken arm was bleeding too much, stood up like a return of light. He put his arm on the tail of the gun, put his eyes covered with blood on the rubber pad at the end of the eyepiece, and his left hand slowly shook the level.

The Gaosand still keeps firing with thick smoke, which will get closer and closer. Even the sailors feel that they can clearly see the bow coat of arms of the Takasago, staring at the enemy ship, and the gunner keeps mobilizing the level.

"Steel head, iron tail, tofu waist!"

For the gunner, he did not know what was wrong with Takasago. All he knew was that he must hit it. This may be his last shot. After finally aiming at his opponent, the bloody gunner's face showed a smile or other expression.

"Boom..."

After a cannon, following the impact of the back seat of the cannon, the broken-arm gunner, who was covered in blood, lay down softly, and the look in his eyes gradually dissipated.

"Sergeant Wu, Sergeant Wu..."

The loaded sailor dragged him up and was about to drag him to the operating room.

"Cannon... gun, ship,...gun, cannon..."

The gunner with a broken arm squeaked. At this time, there was no spirit in his eyes. His eyes stared at the sailor who hugged him, and there seemed to be a look in his eyes.

Suddenly, a violent explosion came from afar. The Gaosha, which was originally steaming black smoke, suddenly exploded at a distance. With the explosion chimney, it was blown dozens of meters away. During this time, you can even see the blown-upboard gun. The Gaosago, which was approaching at high speed, almost stopped in an instant. Then the ship began to break.

"Sergeant Wu, Sergeant Wu, we have sunk Gaosago. It's sinking high sand..."

Looking back at the sunken Takasago, the sailor shouted at the sergeant, but at this time, the sergeant with broken arms was full of brilliance, and he did not see the moment when Takasago was sunk until he died.

"Captain, we sank Takasago!"

Compared with the excitement in the bridge, Deng Haohong just nodded. His expression was not excited and there was no other emotions. The officers in the bridge looked at him and knew that he had realized his deceased father's last wish to some extent.

"Hur, there is water in the lower cabin!"

"I see!"

"Wo..."

A sharp fragment broke through the air and scratched the motionless Deng Haohong's ear. He only felt a numbness in his left ear. He touched his hand, and the red blood was stained with his left hand.

"Target Fuji! Hit at full speed!"

No emotional order came out of Deng Haohong's mouth. It seemed that the huge warship in his eyes was only a nautical mile away. It seemed that at this moment, he saw his father.

"Yes!"

The captain's eyes were also with perseverance. He made a military salute to the captain, and then repeated the order.

"Target Fuji! Hit at full speed!"

The sea breeze and gunpowder smoke were involved in the armored command tower. The wind and smoke stroked his face and stared at the Fuji in the distance. Deng Haohong seemed to see the scene where his father commanded the Zhiyuan to hit the enemy ship at full speed eleven years ago.

Finally, when Hairong was getting closer and closer, Gao Zhuangzhicheng, who was standing in the command tower of the Fuji, could no longer ignore the small ship. He stared at the ship slowly rolling thick smoke and seriously entering the water, but still forced him at all costs.

"Focus all firepower to attack Hairong!"

After the order was spit out of Gao Zhuangzhicheng's mouth, the remaining four Japanese warships on the battlefield all concentrated all their firepower to attack the small ship, and the "Hairong" was just a dome armored protective cruiser with almost no onboard armor defense, but its performance at this moment was enough to win everyone's respect. This one and her At the most critical moment of Jingyuan, the captain's fierce warship resolutely chose to use his weak body to attract enemy firepower and shells through a resolute active attack, so as to protect the flagship and strive for the time for the flagship to save itself.

"The weather is fierce, and the whole army is the only one!"

When Jingyuan was gasping and the sailors desperately rescued the warship, in the command tower of Jingyuan, Tang Tingguang, who had always stared at the Hairong with a telescope, came up in the heart of the words that had been used to describe Deng Haohong's father.

"A son is like his father! If you are born like this, there is no regret to die!"

With a sigh, looking at the warship that was constantly being hit, Tang Tingguang only felt confused in front of him. This was the first time after the naval battle began that he had the impulse to cry.

"Concentrate theboard guns and attack the cruisers!"

Tang Tingguang understands that maybe this is the only thing he can do for this junior.

At this time, when the "Hairong" ship collided with the Fuji, it was constantly hit and caught fire. Many parts of the warship have been pierced into the water. Although the cabin separated by the watertight compartment is more balanced by continuous water injection, at this time, because of too much water, the speed of the boiler chamber has obviously gone down. The ship has even reached the last moment.

When the huge water column came to his face, he knew that it was the water column caused by the main gun attack of the Fuji. Deng Haohong laughed for the first time. He looked at most of the injured subordinates in the bridge and smiled with relief.

"Well, our task has been completed, and we are using our lives in exchange for the safety of the flagship! It's worth it!"

"Sir, it's really an honor for me to defend China's sea with you!"

At this time, in everyone's surprised eyes, they only saw that the severely damaged "Hairong" was like a holy and arrogant unicorn. The seriously injured "Hairong" began to accelerate to rush to the flagship of the Southern Fleet of the Japanese Combined Fleet.

1200 meters!

Speed 17... The order was interrupted by the explosion of the shell. Obviously, the officer who reported the speed was hit by shrapnel.

800 meters, with a speed of 15 knots.

At the same time, a large-caliber explosion accurately hit the bow of the Hayong. The violent explosion blew up the main gun of the bow on the spot, and the bridge was a mess, and the screams of the wounded were everywhere.

Trying to support his body, Deng Haohong found that he was covered with blood and forced himself to stand up. An elderly sailor who rushed into the bridge hurriedly supported him.

"Captain!"

"Keep the course! Target Fuji!"

Strive to push away the sailors beside him, Deng Haohong resolutely held the steering wheel and stared at the Fuji, which was getting closer and closer in front of him.

When the smoke of the bomb dissipated, the Japanese army on the Fuji was surprised to find that the "Hairong" had not sunk. It had tilted, but it was still floating on the sea and could even start! Although its speed dropped quickly, he still rushed towards Fuji.

"Torpedo attack!"

Finally, another order was spit out of Deng Haohong's mouth. Under the bow line of the Hairong, there was a torpedo launch tube. At this time, there had already been water in the torpedo cabin. When the signal to launch the torpedo was sent out, a sailor immediately plunged into the sea. He groped in the sea for a while and pulled it down. The launcher rod.

"S sir, the torpedo has been launched..."

When this sentence came out of Deng Haohong's ears, he still held the rudder with no strength, but his head drooped slightly. If it was not a faint breathing sound, it might have the illusion that he was dead.

"It's... successful!"

At this close range of the bayonet, the military firepower was far more accurate than expected. At 6:35 a.m., after receiving countless shells, the tenacious old ship tilted to the right after firing the last torpedo, and finally sank head down into the depths of the South China Sea.

The torpedo dragging the bubbles ran in the sea, and at this time, the Fuji, which was shrouded in a dense column, immediately began to avoid it urgently. "Left rudder! Left full rudder!"

When the torpedo was getting closer and closer, the captain was only heard shouting in the command tower.

When the Fuji urgently avoided the torpedo, Gao Zhuangzhicheng's eyes stared at the "Hairong" tilted to the left. He couldn't speak for a long time, but finally spit out a sentence in Chinese. This is the tears of the world, and there is a public foot to strengthen the navy! Deng Shichang, Deng Hao..."

With the father and son of the Deng family in his suffix, Gao Zhuangzhicheng seemed to sigh helplessly, but was interrupted by the shock brought by an explosion. The deadly torpedo hit its stern and exploded near the rudder leaf, raising a column of water. The whole warship suddenly felt a terrible and violent shock, as if the huge warship was about to be torn apart. Because the rudder blade was stuck, the warship kept turning crazily.

"Sar, the rudder was hit by a torpedo, and the stern of the ship entered the water!"

"Order Aso to lead Kasagi and Chitose to withdraw from the war zone at full speed..."

He seemed to be helpless, but the tone of sighing showed Gao Zhuangzhicheng's helplessness at this time. He even lowered his head and slowly left the command tower in the surprised eyes of everyone. He understood that it was impossible for the Fuji to escape!

At this time, Tang Tingguang and Yang Shuzhuang stood solemnly on the bridge of Jingyuan, observing the gunfire and Fuji with binoculars. On the water antenna, the Fuji was still spinning there at this time, and there was still smoke on his stern. Not far away is the silhouette of the armored cruiser "Aso" almost covered by thick smoke and water columns.

"Asu is going to escape,"

Yang Shuzhuang continued to shout again.

"A lot of cigarettes! He is running away with a smokescreen.

"I can't stop them!"

Helplessly put down the telescope. Tang Tingguang sighed heavily and suffered a heavy blow. A turret lost its combat effectiveness. The Jingyuan, which had entered more than 3,000 tons of water, is now safe to sail back to the port, which is a problem, let alone chase the three cruisers that left the battlefield at high speed. Then, he turned around and looked at Yang Shuzhuang and the bridge. Officers.

"The flag is to let the Fuji surrender, and I'm ready to release the boat to rescue the sailors who fell into the water. Don't let Hairong die in vain!"

With that, tears fell from Tang Tingguang's eyes. This was his first tears, for his Jingyuan, and also for those sailors.

"Hur, telegram to Zhiyuan!"

The telegraphman rushed over excitedly and took the telegram. Tang Tingguang glanced at the telegram.

"At present, our ship is rushing to the battlefield at a full speed of 27 knots. Please insist."

Looking at the message, Tang Tingguang smiled bitterly at the corners of his mouth. At this time, a sea breeze wrapped in thick smoke and drilled into the bridge from the crack, which was dazzling and choking. The pungent smell produced by the explosion of the explosives was that only choked people wanted to shed tears. He threw away the message casually, but Tang Tingguang's eyes were dead with the slowly sinking "Hairong". If they could arrive more than ten minutes earlier, if, but there was never a if on the battlefield.

"S sir, the Fuji sent the flag!"

"Big, Japanese, original, imperial, national royal navy, no, surrender, enemy, ship!"

While the Fuji issued this flag, from the telescope, it can be clearly seen that on both sides of Fuji's deck, there are sailors jumping into the sea.

"Sir, they abandoned the ship!"

"Desink it!"

He spit out this order coldly, and Tang Tingguang's eyes restrained. He wanted to sink himself and thought about beauty!

The two main guns before and after the originally silent Jingyuan sounded again. The bell-like gunfire was tearing through the sea and the sky, and six water columns exploded around the hull of the Fuji. At this time, there were eight more columns of water around the Fuji.

"Sir, Zhiyuan has arrived, and they began to launch shelling from 17 kilometers away!"

With a smile, Tang Tingguang didn't say anything. If he still had a torpedo boat or a cruiser, he could carry out a close-range attack on Fuji. Although Jingyuan had a torpedo launch tube, he did not want to add any unnecessary risks to Jingyuan at this time.

Suddenly, there were violent explosions in the bow and sterns of the Fuji, which even overthrew the Japanese sailors who were about to abandon the ship and flee, and dragged them into the deep sea.

"S sir, we have won!"

Looking at most of the Fuji that sank in just dozens of seconds, Yang Shuzhuang tried his best to restrain his emotions and said to the officer, and then he repeated it again.

"This can be regarded as a classic example of a battle of annihilation, a victory that determines the surname, and a classic example of winning more with less in a world naval battle. For this reason, your name will remain in people's memory forever. It's a great honor for me to be the first to congratulate you.

While talking, Yang Shuzhuang gave a standard military salute to Tang Tingguang, while the rest of the staff stood next to him and saluteed the captain at the same time. Everyone looked happy and smiling. Today, the Chinese navy finally tasted the fruit of victory and could finally taste the beauty of victory. Wine.

"Thank you, Colonel."

Tang Tingguang just nodded quietly and looked at the shamboard put into the sea. At this time, the sailors on the sump were salvaging the fallen crew of the enemy and us, and then he gestured to his chief of staff with his left hand.

"Report the news of this victory to Nanjing immediately."

Then he added specifically.

"It should be sent immediately!"

Twenty minutes later, Zhiyuan, who also received the telegram, rushed to the war zone. The sailors on Zhiyuan looked at the upper Habitat almost completely destroyed, and Jingyuan, who had fallen off the armor plate, could hardly believe their eyes in the yellow-dyed sea after being blown by the explosives.

What kind of warship is this!

At this time, the black smoke had not completely dissipated from the Jingyuan. The hull of the gunfire was seriously flooded. It was surrounded by oil, the smell of gunpowder smoke in the air, and the thousands of enemy troops on the sea constantly reminded the officers and soldiers on the Zhiyuan that Jingyuan had experienced a naval battle of great disparity in strength, and More importantly, they won!

"No, not sinking Jingyuan!"

(to be continued)