Chapter 400 Please accept my knees (3rd update, please subscribe)

"Target the enemy flagship."

"put."

"put!"

…

When a 35-kilogram mortar shell was fired from the muzzle, a crisp "bang" sound would always be heard. The 24 150-meter mortars on the twelve "dreadnoughts" fired one by one in order at the Brazilian Navy's flagship "Amazon" stranded on the sandbar in the distance.

The accuracy of the mortar was very average. Even though the "Amazon" frigate was 57 meters long and nearly 11 meters wide, its accuracy was very limited. Shells kept falling around it, and violent explosions constantly created huge columns of smoke or water on the sandbars and in the Paraná River.

Among the 24 shells in a salvo, it is inevitable that one or two will be specially favored by the goddess of luck.

Three shells hit the target, from the bow to the stern, three shells hit the hull accurately, smashing holes in the deck, and violent explosions swept the warship like a storm. The fragments of the shells whistled through the bodies of the sailors. In the crowded cabin, groups of sailors were like rag dolls, with their arms and thighs torn apart by the wind blades formed by the shock wave. The fragments of their bodies were blown into the air along with the broken wood in the explosion, and then thrown fiercely onto the sandbar and into the river.

The explosion ignited flames that set fire to the canvas and planks. In just a moment, the Amazon frigate turned into a blazing torch.

"Quick, retreat, retreat..."

Seeing the warship already burning, Admiral Inacio, who was hiding on the deck, shouted loudly. Now he finally understood the despair that the commander of the Paraguayan fleet felt when facing failure five years ago!

He had been hit in the shoulder by a piece of shrapnel, which cut off his arm. He was bleeding profusely and didn't even have the strength to stand up.

"General, we have to leave now. It's too late to turn back now."

Although the adjutant tried to lift him up, Admiral Inacio replied stubbornly.

"Retreat, everyone, I must stay with my warship..."

As a captain, he lives and dies with the warship. This is a matter of honor for naval soldiers. After refusing rescue from his subordinates, Admiral Inacio lay on the bridge, his dim eyes filled with despair. Until now, his heart is still filled with too many questions.

Why is this happening?

How come their Gatling guns are so powerful?

"That's not a machine gun, that's a cannon! A cannon that can fire like a machine gun!"

Admiral Inacio shook his head and murmured, no matter what, he

His expression was full of despair. Looking at the burning warship, he finally sighed.

"May God bless Brazil and bless..."

While Admiral Inacio was praying and the wounded on the ship were waiting for death, the sailors either jumped onto the sandbar or jumped into the water and climbed onto the lifeboat. As they rowed their boats to try to escape to the shore, bursts of intensive gunfire were heard from the cliffs on the south bank. The infantry who had already landed directly set up dozens of Gatling machine guns and fired at the sailors who were trying to escape on the river. The infantry also aimed and fired with their rifles. For a while, the sound of gunfire rang out on the river.

At the same time, the field artillery troops on the shore also pushed the 88mm field gun to the shore. The artillerymen aimed at the stranded Brazilian warship and launched a round of artillery fire. The 12-kilogram shells directly hit the mast of the "Jekitinha", blowing the mast into the sky and taking the lives of dozens of sailors.

Field artillery and mortars joined the bombardment...For a time, the "Jay" and "Jay" were surrounded by smoke columns from exploding shells. From time to time, shells would fall on the two warships. The warships stranded on the sandbar had no power to fight back and could only watch helplessly as shells fell on the warships.

Seeing that there was nothing he could do, Antonio looked at the sailors trembling in the gunfire, thought for a moment, and then gave an order.

"Raise the white flag and surrender!"

Just as the "Jekitinya" which was already ablaze raised the white flag, the "Amazon" which was burning on the sandbar suddenly exploded like a wild beast suddenly rising from the sandbar. It was torn to pieces in the violent explosion, and the remaining wreckage turned over directly.

In the thick black smoke, two white flags were flying on the remaining two severely damaged Brazilian warships. The surface of the Paraná River was littered with floating corpses. Thousands of corpses were floating on the river. The burning warships seemed to be showing people a reality - the Brazilian Navy had been defeated!

completely annihilated!

When Antonio and more than 1,300 surrendered Brazilian naval officers and soldiers stood on the shore, Li Nan asked repeatedly three times.

"Is everyone here?"

"Yes, sir."

"How many people did you have at the beginning?"

"3,725 people."

"Now... well, there are 1,316 people. The rest..."

Need I ask?

All of them were dead, either on the ship or in the water. Antonio looked around with a sad face. They had lost all their warships, and most of the people died in the naval battle.

The naval battle lasted only three hours and then it was over.

And what about the South China Navy?

Looking at the gunboats on the river and the machine guns on them with a complicated expression, Antonio had only one thought in his mind - in front of these Gatling guns, the wooden-hulled ships were simply vulnerable.

No wonder the South Chinese were so arrogant that they only sent out these small gunboats. If they had sent ironclad ships, would this naval battle still have happened?

The answer is of course yes.

Brazil will never sit idly by and watch the South Chinese army enter the Paraguayan territory occupied by Argentina!

Arriving at the shore, Captain Du Guofeng walked up to the captured Brazilian naval officers. The Brazilian officers, including Lieutenant Colonel Antonio, both nobles and civilians, saluted the young captain.

Although he was only a captain, for these naval officers now, even an ordinary Nanhua sailor was enough to win their respect.

"I am very sorry, gentlemen. I did not expect that we would meet under such circumstances. It is a pity that I could not meet His Excellency the Admiral. He bravely defended the honor of naval officers. His courage is admirable!"

As a naval officer, Du Guofeng is also a gentleman like all naval officers. They respect and affirm the strength and spirit of their opponents who are also devoted to the ocean. The navies of various countries, whether friends or enemies, are in a certain degree connected in spirit, because the ocean is unique, and deep thoughts and courage are the common characteristics of all naval soldiers. Respecting opponents means respecting the only ocean, respecting the common naval identity, and respecting oneself. Respecting opponents, because they are also naval soldiers whose "careers are on the sea". And Admiral Inacio's choice is indeed admirable.

Of course, more importantly, now is the time to show the demeanor of a winner, but there is no need to be arrogant, just show the demeanor of a gentleman.

"Salute you, Captain. Please allow me to express my congratulations to you. This naval battle will surely spread all over the world. While the world marvels at your victory, they will be even more impressed by your courage. Your bravery will be praised by the navy of the world!"

Antonio's praise was from the bottom of his heart. After all, the courage of those people was admirable even as an enemy. They looked so weak, but they rushed forward without hesitation.

In a naval battle with such a huge disparity in strength, it is absolutely admirable for a navy soldier to have such perseverance. Of course, he also has some selfish motives in praising them. It is not a shame to be under the hands of these brave men.

It was even a kind of honor to some extent. It was not that they were not brave enough, but that the other party was braver than them.

When saluting Du Guofeng, Colonel Antonio respectfully took off his command sword and handed it to him with both hands.

"It is my honor to surrender to you!"

(End of this chapter)