Chapter 419 Japanese Tradition (Second update, please subscribe)
"Nanhua warship sends..."
The loud explosion interrupted the soldiers' shouts. At the same time, two columns of water exploded near the "Sanbang Maru". The shells that hit the side of the ship exploded into a ball of smoke and flames. In the violent explosion, the bulwark that was one foot thick was blown and shattered. The flying wood chips whistled in the air like bayonets, piercing the sailors' bodies. In just a blink of an eye, the deck was covered with blood.
Amid the smoke, a shell blew a hole as big as a desk in the gun porthole of the "Sanbang Maru". The gun carriage and cannon behind the porthole were overturned in the explosion, and the sailor who was hit under the gun was no longer breathing.
The deck was in a mess, with wounded sailors howling miserably, but the gunners did not stop firing.
"put!"
Following an order from Heihachiro Togo, the moment the gunner pulled the fuse, a deafening cannon shot rang out and the shells whistled towards the "Shikai". Although the shells hit the "Shikai" accurately, they were bounced away.
Although the "Si Hai" was hit many times while being besieged by many warships, the Japanese artillery shells did not cause much damage to it. Those round-headed time-fuze shells hit the hull like the sound of bells, making crisp bell sounds on the sea. Amid the loud crashing sounds, the shells were bounced far away and fell into the sea, creating spectacular water columns in the sea.
"This is... an ironclad ship!"
As Ito Yuheng opened his eyes in astonishment, a ball of fire appeared on the mast of the "Si Hai", and the two 20mm Gatling machine guns on the top of the mast fired at the Satsuma fleet. The shells hit the wooden side of the gunboat, and immediately burst into a cloud of smoke. The holes the size of a bowl looked quite amazing, which meant that the iron paddle wheel could withstand the explosion of small shells.
Compared with the main gun that only had a firing rate of two or three rounds per minute, the Gatling machine gun had an extremely amazing firing rate. The continuous shells hit the wooden ship, causing damage that was almost as great as that caused by the old solid shells. The seawater poured into the warship through the gaps created by the explosions.
"Baga, what kind of cannon are they using!"
As Genroku Akatsuka screamed in anger, the Shikai, which had completed loading, fired at it again. Two shells hit its hull one after the other. The 45-kilogram high-explosive grenade directly blew its hull planks into pieces. In the violent explosion, the surging sea water poured into the cabin through the gap that was half the size of a bed.
For the "Sanbang Maru" with a displacement of only 669 tons, such damage was fatal. When the sea water poured into the cabin unstoppably and the sergeants and sailors on board abandoned the ship one after another, the dumbfounded Akatsuka Genroku still could not believe his eyes.
how so?
Once upon a time, he thought that the Armstrong cannon was powerful enough to sweep away all warships, but now? The powerful Armstrong cannon was like a monk in a temple, which could only ring the bell.
"Sir, it's time to abandon the ship..."
"No, we must continue to fight. We must not..."
While he was struggling with his subordinates, a shell went straight through the gap and hit the steam engine. As the boiler exploded, high-temperature and high-pressure steam instantly engulfed the cabin, and flames began to burn inside.
"This, so fast..."
Captain Yumaro Ito of the "Kasuga Maru" was astonished. He had fought against the shogunate navy many times, but he had never thought that naval battles could be fought like this. However, the "Mikuni" was about to sink after just a brief encounter.
The situation of the Kasuga Maru was not much better at this time. Under the attack of the Gatling gun, hundreds of large and small holes were punched on the deck and side of the Kasuga Maru. Faced with the reality that the flagship was severely damaged and about to sink, Ito Yumaro reacted quickly.
"The Nanhua is an ironclad ship, retreat immediately..."
When Kasuga Maru led the remaining ships to retreat, Shikai did not stop attacking. While continuing the bombardment, the gunners continued to aim and fire at the enemy ships.
"Aim at the troop transport behind!"
The gunner on the mast pointed at the troop transports behind him and shouted, those troop transports were packed with Satsuma infantry. Compared to the warships, those people were undoubtedly better targets.
The machine gun on the masttop turned into the scythe of the god of death. Dense shells hit the sailors, tearing their bodies into pieces and exploding on the deck. Each small shell exploded like a grenade, reaping lives on the deck.
For a moment, amid the continuous explosions, the deck was filled with blood and gore.
red!
What Dashanyan saw in front of him was a red bloody rain. Amid the whistling sound of bullets, the infantry crowded on the deck were torn into pieces like rag dolls. After a hail of bullets, broken limbs were everywhere. Many people were even directly broken in half, with their upper bodies struggling in a pool of blood...
The scene before him made Dashan Yan feel an unprecedented fear. He cast his eyes towards the Nanhua warship in the distance. His heart was full of questions. What kind of weapon was this? Why was it so powerful...
At this moment, a thought even popped up in Oyama's mind - fortunately the fleet ran fast enough, if the battle continued, it would be bad...
Amid the rumbling of cannon fire, the Satsuma fleet that had been sailing in such great force escaped in its entirety, leaving behind only the "Kasuga Maru" lingering on the sea with thick smoke billowing out of it. Around it were Satsuma sailors who had fallen into the water, and several small boats were also crowded with people, who stared blankly at the approaching iron ship with awe in their hearts.
"Captain, the enemy has escaped!"
"You can escape the monk but you can't escape the temple. My son got beaten, so I have to step in. Just wait for them to come over."
With a slight smile on his lips, Li Fengzhi looked towards the enemy ship that was about to sink, and then said.
"Rescue the prisoners!"
"An ironclad ship, no wonder it's so powerful..."
Holding the driftwood in his hand, Togo Heihachiro looked at the approaching "ironclad ship" in astonishment, his eyes full of awe. His mood was extremely complicated at this time. On the one hand, he was ashamed that he was about to be captured, but on the other hand, he was eager to board the ironclad ship to take a look.
At this moment, Togo Heihachiro saw a boarding net thrown from the ship. Although he knew that he would be captured if he went up, he still climbed onto the net. When he boarded the enemy ship, he was of course greeted by gleaming bayonets and the South China Army.
Despite this, Togo Heihachiro still looked at the warship and the South China Army on the warship with curiosity.
What a group of brave warriors!
While the sailors who fell into the water were boarding the ship as prisoners, Genroku Akatsuka, who was kneeling in the lifeboat, had taken off his outer clothes. With his bare chest, he stared at the "Shikai" in the distance and gave instructions to the officer beside him.
"Please tell the lord that if Satsuma wants to build a navy, it must have ironclad ships. Without ironclad ships, there is no navy!"
After saying that, Akatsuka Genroku said in a muffled voice.
"My lord, since I have been defeated, I can only die as an apology!"
After saying that, Akatsuka Genroku thrust the short knife into his abdomen, slashing from left to right. As his expression became ferocious, the officer standing behind him immediately howled and swung the knife at his neck...
(End of this chapter)
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