Chapter 161: One Punch Opens (First Update, Please Subscribe)
Accompanied by a violent explosion, orange flames exploded in the air and instantly engulfed the entire warship.
Amidst the smoke and fire, countless pieces of steel and scorching flames swept across the deck like sharp blades, piercing the bodies of the Argentine sailors. The fragments hit the hard gun barrels and exploded into the surroundings, shattering the sailors' shoulders in an instant, dragging the broken arms and pieces of flesh to fly elsewhere.
But in just a moment, the originally tidy deck turned into a slaughterhouse. When the smoke dissipated, the black deck had been dyed red, and there were broken limbs everywhere. In the pool of blood and among the corpses, the broken bodies were struggling and howling.
Broken arms, intestines, and internal organs were scattered everywhere in a pool of blood. It looked like a slaughterhouse, and this slaughterhouse scared everyone.
After all, in people's cognition, they never thought that the power of a cannonball would be so great.
After the explosion, the sisal canvas on the mast was instantly ignited as if it was soaked in oil. The canvas on the top of the engine was burning and the deck was all red.
Amidst blood and fire, the wounded struggled and cried desperately.
The casualties caused by the shells exploding in the air were staggering, and the deck at the stern was even more devastating. The officers standing upright were swept by the steel fragments like targets. The violent shock wave even tore some people apart like rag dolls. Their arms and thighs were torn off at the joints. As their limbs were torn off, various fragments also came with the shock wave and penetrated their bodies. The commander of the squadron, Ress, did not even have time to give orders. He was hit by the rigging pulley that was blown away. His chest was sunken and he could no longer breathe. He looked around desperately with blood foam in his mouth. There were almost no living people around him.
Those eyes, which no longer had any spirit, were filled with despair and even more confusion. Even until his death, he did not understand what was going on.
"Oh my God, what's going on..."
Davis struggled to stand up from the pool of blood. He looked around in horror, his eyes full of shock.
Is this... a shelling?
What appeared before his eyes was as if it had been ravaged by the god of death. Everywhere he looked, there was death. In the burning smoke, he even had an illusion - the ammunition depot exploded!
Even the explosion of an ammunition depot wouldn't be this powerful!
"Sir, sir, what do we do now?"
A bloody trainee officer shouted at him.
The captain was dead, the first mate was dead, and they had lost almost all their senior officers—their positions were so suitable that the shells that exploded in the middle of the topmast swept the quarterdeck directly, sending almost everyone to hell.
"Where's the Captain?"
"Dead, all dead, sir, only you are left now..."
Davis was not a soldier. Facing the trainee officer with a sad face, the moment he looked in the direction of the coastal artillery, he shouted hurriedly.
"Retreat, retreat, before we are finished..."
What is certain is that Davis's order saved everyone. If it weren't for the fact that the accuracy of mechanical sights in those days was really touching and the hit rate was limited, they would probably have no chance of escaping.
Escape!
He actually escaped!
Standing on the edge of the parapet, Kal'tsit's eyes widened, she could hardly believe her eyes.
As a photographer, or the only photographer in Nanhua, he brought his apprentice to take some photos, but he didn't expect to be able to take pictures of the war. After all, the exposure time of the camera is very long, and the old-fashioned silver plate exposure time is as long as several minutes. Even with the most advanced "wet plates", the exposure time is only a few seconds, but using them is often quite tedious work, just a variety of equipment and chemicals, etc., need to fill a carriage. The toxic solutions and mixtures involved in using the camera make it difficult for anyone without a practical knowledge of chemistry to take pictures.
The complicated preparation process and long exposure time made it impossible to take pictures of the battle scene. At most, some commemorative photos were taken before and after the battle broke out.
For example, let the soldiers pose for some photos. Zhu Xianhai also posed for a few photos before. Fortunately, he only remained motionless for a few seconds. If he remained motionless for several minutes, it would probably be a typical case of courting death.
The cameras of that time were not mature at all. By the standards of later generations, they were just for taking lonely pictures.
“Can you take a picture of it?”
Kal'tsit took a photo of the sea, but she was unsure. After all, the exposure time was very long, and even if she took the photo, it might be blurry.
But he couldn't care less about that right now, he just wanted to try.
"He escaped! He actually escaped!"
Gazing at the three wooden-hulled ships hastily fleeing on the sea, Zhu Xianhai felt a rush of fear in his heart... They were escaping too fast!
"You...can't you hold on a little longer and let us fire a few more shots to practice?"
Zhu Xianhai was a little depressed. You know, he had prepared 100 100-kilogram "heavy shells" for the Argentine Navy, but its power was not only reflected in its weight, but more importantly in its charge. Unlike ordinary shells loaded with black powder or silica nitrate explosives, these shells were loaded with picric acid explosives, that is, trinitrophenol, which was synthesized in 1771. Since 1849, it has been used as a yellow dye for silk dyeing. It was the first artificial dye used. It had spent decades peacefully in the dyeing workshop and was not used on the battlefield until the 1890s. As a high-energy explosive, it was even one of the key reasons why Japan won the Sino-Japanese War of 1890 and the Battle of Tsushima.
In order to give the Argentines a surprise, Zhu Xianhai specially took this dye from the dye factory and put it into the shells. It turned out that its power was indeed extremely amazing, but now it was just an appetizer.
The main course hasn't even been served yet, why are you running away?
"Can't you have some backbone?"
Looking at the Argentine warships going away, Zhu Xianhai said a little helplessly.
"Director Ding!"
"Marshal!"
Ding Wentao said with great shame.
"We are sorry to disappoint the Marshal. The brothers' firing is really unworthy of the Marshal's training!"
It’s hard to put it into words!
"At a distance of about three kilometers, one out of twelve shots hit the target, with a hit rate of over 8%. That seems to be acceptable, right?"
I'm afraid even this shell was a matter of luck. After all, they had only been training for a few months. Some things can't be forced.
After a pause, Zhu Xianhai patted him on the shoulder and said.
"Let's step up our training!"
The training of gunners still needs to be strengthened!
Looking at the gunners cheering for the enemy's escape, Zhu Xianhai congratulated them appropriately, but he knew very well in his heart that this was just a fluke.
If the enemy is strong enough, it is not certain who will win in the end. However, with the amazing power of the 100 kg shells, as long as one shell hits the Argentine warship, the devastating blow will cause the enemy to flee like now.
Just like now, did the shell hit the mast or the sail? Zhu Xianhai didn't know, but one thing was certain: after this shot, he had a falling out with Argentina.
What will happen in the future?
Total war?
How likely is this?
Zhu Xianhai was a little curious about what choice Mitre would make.
"The game has already begun, just waiting for your next move!"
The corners of Zhu Xianhai's lips curled up slightly, and a sneer flashed across his face.
Strike the first blow to avoid a hundred blows.
Maybe Mitre has not learned this sentence, but he doesn't know at all that, to a certain extent, he is looking forward to throwing this punch!
After experiencing a long war in the simulator, Zhu Xianhai had long remembered Argentina, and he had both new and old grudges against Mitre.
In the Buenos Aires simulation, Mitre had sent his confidant to pretend to be a deserter to steal his wealth and kill him in order to seize the Helen Company. In that long-term simulation, it was that guy who sent the minister to give Nanhua the most fatal blow in the immigration link.
revenge!
Zhu Xianhai has a very good memory. He can not only remember the books and documentaries he has read in the past, but his memory of hatred is even deeper.
And he is definitely a person who holds grudges.
For Zhu Xianhai, this move was revenge to some extent. Of course, it was not a blind action.
"Hehe, it's time for that guy to take action!"
I have set up a book club: 335260551. Everyone is welcome to join and discuss and deduce the plot together.
(End of this chapter)
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