Chapter 723 Target, Hiroshima (Third update, please subscribe)
On the main street of the brothel, a fierce fight was still going on, with hundreds of sailors using sticks and samurai swords to fight the swarming Japanese. Song Kid was at the center of the chaos.
He had run out of bullets.
The sailors' sticks were broken, their swords were full of gaps, and there were countless wounds on their bodies and heads. Despite this, these rigorously trained sailors roared like thunder and fought to the death regardless of any consequences.
Everyone remembered the oath they had taken - sailors never surrender!
"What are we!"
Facing the increasing number of Japanese who were pouring in, Song Jide stood there and shouted loudly.
"The Imperial Navy of the Ming Empire!"
"us……"
"Meet at the Martyrs' Shrine!"
The roar that suddenly broke out was like thunder, echoing in the air. Just a few simple words. A simple slogan, to some extent, was the source of courage that supported them to continue fighting. Regardless, it was at this time that the injured sailors also sang along.
"Today we sing loudly and drink the cold wine. I will leave soon, so let the glasses clink with each other. Let me hold your hand again, your fair hand. Goodbye, my sweetheart, goodbye, my sweetheart, goodbye. Take care. We are going to the battle, we are going to the battle..."
It is impossible to verify when the song "We Are Going to England" started to become popular in the navy, but this song was definitely written by Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. It is basically a tribute to the original version. After it was sung in the Naval Academy, it became a kind of dream of naval soldiers - the British Royal Navy is the strongest in the world!
Of course they want to challenge the strong!
The disparity in strength gave this song a special meaning. It was both a hope and a goal, and of course a march, a soldier's song. Of course, to some extent, it was also the military song of the Ming Royal Navy.
Li Cheng, who was in the front row, saw bloodshot eyes. He was exhausted from fighting, and the samurai sword in his hand was full of gaps, like saw teeth. More than 300 sailors stood back to back, relying on each other, protecting each other, sharing life and death, and fighting with the Japanese swarming in with their last bit of strength. Even the so-called Japanese samurai were in awe of this group of fearless and tireless fighters.
"What a group of true warriors!"
While praising in their hearts, they hesitated with their samurai swords in hand, as if waiting for others to rush forward.
In fact, they were waiting for an opportunity. For these Japanese who came from samurai families, they had been learning swordsmanship since childhood. Perhaps they were waiting for an opportunity.
Among the team, a sailor was exhausted and his legs went limp, and Li Cheng pulled him up.
"without……"
In a split second, two samurai swords came slashing towards him. While Li Cheng hurriedly swung his sword to block, a knife stabbed at him from the space between his abdomen. He took a step back to relieve some of the force, and grabbed the samurai sword with his left hand, but the tip of the knife still pierced his lower abdomen.
"ah……"
He half-knelt down with a wound in his lower abdomen. The sailor beside him, who was supported by him, roared and blocked in front of him, and was stabbed in the arm by a knife. He turned around and hit the Japanese who attacked him on the head with a wooden stick.
Despite his injured hand, Li Cheng roared, picked up the tip of the Japanese man's knife, swung the samurai sword like a rifle bayonet, and suddenly stepped forward and stabbed the tip of the knife directly through the Japanese man's chest. The man fell down, covering his chest and spitting blood.
Song Jide, who was standing in the middle of the team, had a frown on his face. There was a wound on his forehead caused by a stone thrown by the Japanese. However, he did not bother to bandage the wound and just let the blood flow through his fingers. Almost all the brothers were covered in wounds, but they still fought with the Japanese with all their might!
The fleet... should know!
They should be able to see those two columns of smoke!
The smoke column was the smoke column that rose when the houses were burned by the sailors. It was to indicate the target for the fleet. As sailors, they knew very well how to guide the fleet.
The fleet must have known about it. Not only did the sailors return to the fleet after hearing the news and bring it back, but of course there were also those Japanese whose hearts were on the side of the Meiji government. When the Navy Vice Admiral Junyoshi Kawamura learned the news, he immediately shouted excitedly.
"Haha, God punish the traitors, God punish the traitors!"
In Kawamura Junyoshi's view, this was the best opportunity for him to make a contribution. He immediately called his adjutant and shouted loudly.
"Quick, quickly gather the sailors, we have to put down the Hiroshima rebels!"
There were more than 10,000 rebels in Hiroshima, but that was no big deal, because there was a powerful fleet behind them, and the fleet was full of indestructible ironclad ships!
When Kawamura Junyoshi excitedly summoned the sailors and miscellaneous soldiers from the artillery and naval camp, the former senator Maehara Issei, the leader of the "Martyr Army", who received the news, almost shouted in surprise.
"Hurry, hurry up, bring the carriage, no, bring the horses over here..."
As the rebel leader elected by the rebel nobles, Maehara Issei was quite reliable. He knew better than anyone the significance of the Ming fleet in the bay. If any of their sailors were killed or injured, it would be the end of them.
Whenever he thought about the possibility that the Ming navy might open fire or even go ashore, and when he thought about the more than a thousand naval sailors under their control, Maehara Issei had only one thought in his mind - those people are crazy!
"These damn guys, are they crazy?"
While complaining, Maehara Issei gave instructions to his subordinates.
"Quick, Kondo, go to the port and ask to see the admiral of the Ming Navy. Tell him that we will severely punish the thugs and will definitely satisfy them! No matter what conditions they offer, they must agree not to send troops ashore!"
Just as Maehara Issei was riding his horse and leading hundreds of soldiers to the brothel in a hurry, the Ming Navy fleet had completed boiler pressurization and began to slowly leave the berth. Looking at the fleet leaving the berth, some crew members of foreign merchant ships who received the news all said, "The Japanese monkeys can only wish for good luck!"
Everyone knows what it means for the fleet to leave its berth while the sailors go ashore.
Finally, when they were about one kilometer away from the port, Shen Yaozu, who was standing on the bridge, gave a solemn order:
"Order, after all guns have found their range, fire at both wings of the smoke column, with the Gatling gun leading the way, and the main and secondary guns waiting to fire!"
Why use a Gatling gun?
Because its firing rate is fast enough!
Listening to the gunner's first officer reporting a series of data...
The four 30mm cannons on the side of the "Nanhua" battleship are pointing to the sky at the maximum elevation angle.
"Far from 4,600 meters, shooting angle...direction..."
As the surveying officer informed the distances one by one, the Gatling gunner adjusted the shooting angle and direction according to the orders.
"finally……"
Shen Yaozu and the chief of staff looked at each other and smiled.
They know what will happen next!
"Fire!"
Following the order, the gunner pressed the button.
“Sizzle…”
Along with the unique sound of the Gatling machine gun, hundreds of shells flew towards the smoke column in a parabolic trajectory in an instant.
(End of this chapter)
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