Chapter 1106 The Last Letter (Third update, please subscribe)

Under the setting sun and in the starry night, the two fleets sailed towards each other.

The sailors on both sides slept soundly that night. Even after breakfast the next morning, all officers and soldiers of the Imperial Fleet had to take a "combat bath" according to tradition.

This is the tradition of the imperial army since the Nanhua era - taking a bath before a battle and changing into new uniforms is to keep the body clean and avoid the chance of wound infection. Don't underestimate this insignificant tradition, it can reduce at least 30% of deaths from serious injuries. After all, in the wars of this era, half of the deaths were due to blood loss, and another 30% were due to wound infection. In a word, 70% to 80% of the deaths were due to wound infection.

At 8:50 a.m., the fleet completed its final combat preparations. At the same time, they received a telegram from an aerial reconnaissance airship.

"It seems we have become blind!"

Put the telegram away, Cheng Degong said.

"With such thick fog, it's definitely hard to see clearly from the air."

The captain of the "Shanxi", Li Xingyun, frowned.

"We can't help it. This is the situation here. There are more than a thousand kilometers of fog on the sea and on the mainland. If we are in a thick fog area, even vision will become a problem."

To sail in this sea area, you have to get used to the foggy weather. After all, for most of the year, the sea and land for thousands of kilometers from the coast of Shanxi to the southern coast of Peru are shrouded in fog.

At 9:15 in the morning, the lookout sentry of "Shanxi" shouted.

"Multiple columns of smoke spotted in the north!"

Because the fleet was shrouded in thick sea fog, the fleet could not distinguish the model of the new ships. However, even so, Cheng Degong still issued a combat readiness order.

"All ships, prepare for battle!"

With an order, the fleet, which had been transformed into a column, began to face the enemy ships.

Ten minutes later, the Peruvian Federation Fleet discovered the fleet's smoke column.

"The Ming fleet has been spotted!"

As the alarm sounded, the entire Peruvian Federation fleet was in an uproar. Then the sailors saw the imperial warships appearing forty nautical miles away. The fleet's cannons immediately aimed at them, while the gunners aimed at the enemy ships.

Miguel Grau stood on the bridge and began to mobilize his officers and soldiers before the war.

"All officers and soldiers of the Peruvian-Bolivian Federation Navy, we are now responsible for defending the Federation. The fate of the Federation is linked to the outcome of this battle. Ahead are our compatriots in the occupied capital of Tacna and the enemies who have not been punished so far. Now, the time has come to pay blood debts with blood! I hope you know what you should do. Long live the Peruvian-Bolivian Federation!"

At least one-third of the sailors in the federal navy were exiled Chileans. After all, the size of the Chilean navy was much larger than that of Peru. After Chile was destroyed and its naval port was occupied, they fled to neighboring countries. Compared with Peruvians or Bolivians, their hatred for the empire has never disappeared. This is why they say that blood debts must be paid with blood.

Without even needing to be mobilized, the Chilean exile sailors howled and took to their respective posts, operating the 12-inch cannons and 6-inch secondary guns in preparation for the next battle.

At the same time, the Imperial Navy officers and soldiers began to prepare for the upcoming naval battle.

"Order the torpedo boat to port! Enter the fog area."

Following an order, ten small torpedo boats sailed to the port side and soon disappeared in the sea fog.

Now there were only 6 warships left in front of the Peruvian-Bolivia Federal Fleet. After another half an hour, the two sides were finally able to see each other clearly. At this time, the cannons of the entire Peruvian-Bolivia Federal Fleet were aimed at these six warships.

Despite the sea fog, after a period of identification, the officer beside Grau was able to see the details of the Imperial Navy warship through the ship type, and he immediately said to Grau.

"There is only one Nanhua class! One Linhai class, and four cruisers!"

"Are you sure?"

"Nothing wrong,"

The officer replied affirmatively.

"Their rigging and ship types are different, so there's no doubt about it."

Grau nodded at the officer's answer and then spoke.

"Fire blanks and order the fleet to prepare for battle!"

Grau said expectantly as he ordered the aerial artillery fire to notify the fleet.

“We won!”

Grau was conceited at this time. He had even begun to plan the next battle plan in his mind - after defeating the Imperial Navy and blocking the coast of Takna, he wanted to spread the war to the Empire's homeland. He wanted to make the Empire feel the wrath of the Federation.

At this moment, a sudden cannon shot broke the silence on the sea. Perhaps because of the gunner's anger, a six-inch gun on the port side of the "Vaska" fired. Everyone was startled, and the shell fell near the bow of the second warship of the Imperial Fleet.

At the sound of a cannon, all the other ships in the fleet took it as a signal and fired along with it. The deafening sound of the cannon echoed across the entire sea. This naval battle broke out suddenly, not because of the orders of the commanders, but because of the sailors who were eager for revenge.

The Imperial fleet also began to fight back, firing shells directly at the nearest Federation warships. Colonel Pratt on the armored cruiser "Vaska" was surprised to see that the Imperial shells exploded almost instantly when they approached the water surface. Not only did they send up huge columns of water and black smoke, but after the explosion, the sea surface was even filled with flames. These were test shells and range-finding shells used by the Imperial fleet to calibrate the accuracy of aiming.

"New shells?"

Colonel Pratt explained.

"Their shells can burn on the sea surface. They must be shells filled with picric acid. Seventeen years ago, our fleet was defeated at sea by such shells. But seventeen years later, half of our shells are still filled with black powder, exactly the same as before!"

Colonel Pratt's complaint was full of helplessness. Although the Empire had introduced silica explosives and rubber explosives as early as twenty years ago, they were not suitable for use in high-pressure artillery. So they used picric acid fuel as explosives, which was also the fundamental reason why the Empire's artillery was so powerful.

But what about other countries?

It was still in the era of black powder, or at most water-containing guncotton. After all, the use of picric acid shells had various shortcomings.

While Colonel Pratt was complaining, the naval battle had already reached a fever pitch, with artillery shells from both sides bombarding the sea back and forth. Five minutes after the battle began, the roar of twelve-inch cannons finally rang out on the sea.

This naval battle was destined to be written into the history of human naval warfare from the very beginning. It created too many firsts, including the first large-scale naval battle between ironclad ships and the first duel between twelve-inch cannons.

A moment later, at the moment when the twelve-inch shell fell near the warship, a huge column of water rose into the air. At the moment when the shock wave formed by the explosion and the waves hit the hull, the sailors of the Imperial Navy who were desperately shoveling coal inside the cabin, listening to the sound of the waves hitting the bulkhead, couldn't help but have an idea in their minds - fortunately, they sent a letter to their families before going to the expedition.

The reason they had such thoughts was because - that was the last letter they could send while alive!

(End of this chapter)