Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 236: Battle of Jiangning (Part )

On the battlefield, artillery shells flew across the air.

Not only was the Tang army firing, the Qing-British joint fleet was also using naval guns to deliver firepower at the Tang army's coastal defense batteries on the beach.

Shells were fired one after another, landing in the sand on the beach and then rolling forward.

However, the kinetic energy carried by the shell was absorbed by the wet sand on the beach, and it lost its kinetic energy after rolling a few times.

A Tang army artillery crew in the front position was unlucky and was hit by a shell fired by the British naval guns.

The flying shell smashed the sandbag fortification in front of the artillery and continued to roll forward. After hitting the deputy gunner standing next to the artillery and tearing his body into pieces, it smashed the artillery into shape, then it fell sideways to the ground and rolled out.

The Yangtze River is not like the sea, and the wind and waves are limited, so it is relatively stable for ships to sail on the river.

The ship sailed smoothly and was hitting fixed targets, so the British naval guns achieved a good hit rate.

And because the coastal defense batteries built by the Tang army were only temporary fortifications, in simple terms, they were just a few sandbags and trenches, and were not complete.

Therefore, as long as the British naval guns could hit the target, they would be able to cause casualties to the Tang army.

But soon, the Tang army began to fight back.

"All gun crews, prepare for the second salvo."

"Adjust the shooting parameters and fire!"

The next moment, the Tang army's gunners quickly lit the fuse or pulled the fuse of the breech-loading artillery, and the sound of artillery fire rang out.

One shell after another was fired at the Qing-British joint fleet on the river!

Well, the main focus was on concentrated fire on the British sailing battleships on the river.

Although the Qing army’s warships were also equipped with artillery, only those who knew about artillery knew about them.

To be honest, the threat to the Tang army is definitely not as great as that posed by the British naval guns!

In this case, the best option for the Tang army now is to focus fire on destroying the British sailing battleships and armed merchant ships that pose the greatest threat.

After all, the Qing army had too many large and small warships. Even if the Tang army concentrated its fire on them and sank a dozen or twenty of them in a short period of time, it would not have a significant impact on the overall situation.

On the contrary, the British army had a limited number of sailing battleships and armed merchant ships.

There are only a few of them!

It can be said that every time the Tang army knocked down one, the other side had one less.

As long as one of them could be sunk, the damage to the Qing-British coalition forces would definitely be greater than sinking ten or twenty Qing army boats.

In war, it is better to cut off one finger than to injure ten fingers. The goal is to achieve the greatest result in the shortest time, to deter the enemy and to tip the scales of war.

This is the simplest truth.

The Tang Dynasty naturally understands this as well!
The target of the Tang army's artillery fire this time was the British flagship, the Maria.

Who said that this third-class sailing battleship is the most conspicuous one on the river now?

If you don't hit him, who will?
Boom boom! Boom boom boom!

There was a deafening sound of shelling.

Shells flew across the sky and shot towards the Maria.

There were several roars in succession, and columns of water shot out from the river surface around the Maria.

As the mist spread, the waves surged.

Just as the waves were causing the Maria to roll from side to side, several shells hit the side of the Maria.

Several big holes appeared in the blink of an eye!

The ship shook even more violently.

Fleet commander Paul almost lost his balance and had to hold on to the railing to keep himself steady.

But at this moment, an explosive bomb drew an arc in the air and landed on the deck of the Maria.

The next moment, an explosion sounded.

Fragments and shock waves swept all around, and several British sailors on the deck were affected by the explosion and were blown to pieces.

Broken limbs and blood mixed together, painting the entire deck scarlet.

Paul's pupils constricted when he saw the scene before him.

"Oh, my God!"

"The explosive bombs these Eastern barbarians possess are so powerful..."

As for explosive bombs, this thing is actually no secret in Europe. European countries have long had the corresponding production and manufacturing capabilities.

The reason why the army is not equipped with explosive bombs on a large scale is, firstly, because the production cost of explosive bombs is relatively high, and secondly, because the old explosive bombs are relatively dangerous to use, and it is easy to kill one's own people instead of the enemy.

Third, due to the power of black powder explosion, the killing power of explosive bombs is not that great, and the killing effect is not necessarily stronger than that of solid bullets with lower costs.

Therefore, after comprehensively considering the cost-effectiveness, the artillery shells in Europe at this time will still mainly be solid bullets.

But even though it is not used, it does not prevent Captain Paul from knowing something about explosive bombs.

However, precisely because Paul knew something about the explosive bomb, he was shocked at this moment.

Damn, are you serious?

The explosive bombs used by the Tang army and the explosive bombs he knew were two completely different things.

Not only can the explosion be precisely controlled, but the power of the explosion is also quite amazing. Compared with the explosive bomb production technology currently mastered by Europe, the Tang Army's explosive bomb is already a mature product that can be put into actual combat. Under the continuous bombardment, the Maria became dilapidated.

The sails were set on fire by red-hot incendiary bombs, and explosive and solid bombs left large holes in the sides and decks of the ships.

The secondary mast was hit by a cannonball and broke directly onto the deck.

With a thud, several British sailors who had no time to dodge were knocked down below. The upper bodies of the British sailors who were hit were smashed under the deck, and their legs exposed outside just twitched for a while, and then they were completely motionless.

At the same time, the Tang army's navy continued to advance.

Black smoke billowed from the tops of the first few small boats, and behind the sterns were obvious white marks left by the turning propellers.

These small steamships, under the fire of the Qing-British joint fleet and pushed forward by the current of the Yangtze River, continued to advance.

Behind these small steamships were a dense cluster of rocket launch boats, at least two or three hundred in number.

These boats have no other advantages except that they are maneuverable and extremely fast.

In waters like the Yangtze River where the maneuverability of large ships is significantly limited, their advantages in maneuverability are fully demonstrated.

"The enemy is within 300 meters, rockets ready!"

As the distance continued to shorten, Peng Haishun shouted at the top of his voice, directing his men to prepare to launch rockets.

The enemy's artillery fire is still roaring.

A cannonball flew over, brushed past Peng Haishun's body, and shot directly into the cabin behind him.

After penetrating several layers of wood, it shot out from behind the boat.

Flying wood chips flew everywhere, and Peng Haishun was pierced by several pieces of wood. Even his face and neck were scratched, with skin and flesh turned inside out and blood flowing.

But he still had an unmoved expression and shouted at the top of his voice.

"The enemy is within 200 meters, shoot!"

The reason why we have to get close to 200 meters before releasing the rocket is not because the range of the rocket is only 200 meters.

It’s because the accuracy of rockets is a bit poor. They will float if they are far away. Only when they are launched at a certain distance can they hit the target.

The next moment, the sound of breaking through the air was heard.

One rocket after another, dragging tail flames, was fired from the rocket launcher and shot towards the Qing-British joint fleet not far away.

Unlike artillery that can focus fire on a target, rockets can only aim in a certain direction and provide rough fire coverage.

Rockets flew into the sky and landed among the fleet of the Qing-British joint fleet.

Rockets landed on the ship, explosions were heard, and many Qing army boats were blown to pieces.

But some rockets failed to land in the Yangtze River and exploded in the water, only causing waves.

These days, even artillery can't necessarily hit enemy warships accurately, let alone rockets.

It is normal to shoot into the air.

The Tang army's rocket launchers fired a salvo in a short period of time.

The sharp whooshing sound, like the devil's low hum, resounded over the battlefield.

After several rounds of rocket fire, a large area of ​​the Qing-British joint fleet on the river was wiped out.

As the main target of the Tang army's concentrated fire in this battle, the Maria began to sink slowly after being hit by two rounds of artillery fire and a round of rocket coverage.

The British sailors on the ship jumped into the river and then swam towards other ships of their own in an attempt to escape.

Behind them, the Maria's powder magazine was ignited by the burning flames, and in the blink of an eye, a column of fire shot up into the sky.

The Maria was blown to pieces by the explosion of gunpowder.

The burning and broken planks floated on the river, rising and falling with the waves. The scene was shocking.

Paul was surrounded by several guards and transferred to a boat. He was soaking wet after being pulled out of the water, with his hair and beard sticking to his face. He looked extremely miserable.

"She sank. My Maria. She sank."

"You damned yellow monkeys! I must kill you all to avenge the Maria!"

Paul sat on the deck of the ship in a daze, muttering.

At the age of 26, he left his hometown and joined the British Royal Navy.

With the help of his ancestors, Paul spent ten years climbing the ranks from sailor to boatswain, to captain, to third mate, second mate, first mate, and finally to become a glorious captain.

He spent almost all of these twenty years on the Maria.

Mary was Paul's second home.

But now the Maria sank on the Yangtze River, which Paul could not accept at all.

Paul would have been ready to die with the Maria if the guards around him had not stopped him quickly.

boom! Boom boom boom!
On the banks of the Yangtze River, the Tang army's artillery was still delivering firepower.

They targeted the British sailing battleships and armed merchant ships on the river and carried out indiscriminate bombing.

Explosions kept ringing!

Although the Qing-British joint fleet also fought back, there was no doubt that the Tang army was at an absolute advantage.

(End of this chapter)