The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 901 Admitting Defeat, Admitting Defeat, We're Not Fighting Anymore

The Black Sea is not a gentle ocean.

Its unique topography results in strong winds at sea year-round, especially in winter when the Bula winds can cause temperatures to drop by 10 to 20 degrees Celsius, which are extremely dangerous.

At the same time, since the Black Sea and the Mediterranean are connected only by a narrow Black Sea strait, which is only about 700 meters wide at its narrowest point, the tides of the Black Sea have nowhere to dissipate.

The constant surging waves within the Black Sea cause large waves to form even in calm conditions, sometimes creating whirlpools reminiscent of those in horror movies.

However, this also became a shield for the Rus' Empire, because under such harsh sea conditions, maritime powers such as Britain and France, which were relatively powerful than the Rus' Empire, rarely posed a threat to the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

It was under these circumstances that the Rus' Empire, when planning its war with the Great Yu, never considered that the Great Yu's fleet would enter the Black Sea, or at least put so much pressure on the Rus' Black Sea Fleet.

According to the Rus', it would take at least six or seven months to adapt to the Black Sea's waters and climate.

The Great Yu fleet simply did not have that time; if they forced their way in and a battle broke out, they would undoubtedly be defeated.

But they never expected that the steam-powered sailing warships of the Great Yu Dynasty had developed to this extent, with horsepower and range far surpassing those of sailing warships.

No matter how big the wind and waves are, I can sail without raising the sails. If there are swells and whirlpools on the sea, I can leave with the propulsion of the steam engine alone. This has wiped out much of the advantage of the Russian Empire's Black Sea Fleet.

It is always difficult for people to imagine things they have never seen. The Rus' impression of steam engines was still stuck in the era of English steam pumps and railways that could not outrun horse-drawn carriages. They knew nothing about the development of steam engines in Dayu.

What they didn't know was that the steam engines of the Great Yu and those of England were completely different.

This is determined by the primary purpose of the steam engines used by both parties.

In England, the primary use of steam engines was to pump water from coal mines, and later they were developed to drive railcars in mines.

Therefore, the focus of steam engine development in England has been on these two points, especially the former. Even now, the Great Yu still imports steam pumps from England from time to time.

However, under Mo Zibu's strong impetus, the steam engine of Dayu was heading in the direction of marine steam engines.

This is because the most economically developed areas of Dayu, namely the Jiangnan and Pearl River Delta regions, as well as their hinterlands, the relatively developed Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Anhui, and the inland areas of Guangdong and Guangxi, are all connected by inland waterways.

This led to the most urgent need being to equip inland waterway boats of 70 to 80 tons to 100 to 200 tons with steam engines to replace manpower.

Furthermore, Dayu had an urgent need to firmly control Southeast Asia, but the geographical environment of Southeast Asia was simply not suitable for building railways.

Therefore, whether it was connecting Southeast Asia with mainland China or between the various islands in Southeast Asia, steamships were needed to quickly link them together.

The result was that the steam engine technology tree of the Great Yu Dynasty was basically focused on powering ships of all sizes, with even the steam engines used for railways being relegated to a later stage.

The most advanced steam engine in Dayu can start a ship under 500 tons in less than 20 minutes, and the fastest speed can reach about 17 knots.

It should be noted that modern sailing warships below level three generally have a speed of around eight knots, which translates to less than fifteen kilometers per hour on land.

The steam-powered sailing warships of the Dayu Kingdom typically ran at thirteen knots, and could reach seventeen knots at high speeds, which translates to about twenty-four to thirty-two kilometers per hour.

Such a significant advancement can already be described as a generational leap.

Therefore, shortly after the Great Yu fleet entered, Admiral Pavel Vasilyevich Chichagov, commander of the Black Sea Fleet, discovered the problem.

Given the speed of the Da Yu's 500-ton frigate, catching up with the Ross Navy warship would be a matter of minutes.

The Ross Navy, however, is different. Once it falls into a disadvantageous position, it faces the awkward situation of being able to fight but not catch up, or being unable to escape and only waiting to die.

Therefore, Admiral Chichagov devised a relatively passive response: relying on the Sevastopol fortress to maintain the Russian Black Sea Fleet in a state of presence, capable of providing small-scale support.

Most importantly, it was to prevent the Great Yu Black Sea Fleet from sailing recklessly on the Black Sea, so that its very existence would be a threat to the other side.

But man proposes, God disposes. The defeat in the land battle was too devastating, and the Rus' Empire could not afford the consequences of losing Rostov.

Because once Rostov falls, the Western Route Army of the Great Yu can obtain continuous supplies from the Black Sea, and the western route will be completely revitalized.

With dark waves and high winds, Chichagov deliberately chose weather unsuitable for sailing and led seventeen warships from the Sevastopol fortress.

He was to travel to the Kerch Strait to symbolically fulfill Alexander I's order to reinforce Rostov.

At this time, Rostov had been besieged by the Western Route Army of the Great Yu for more than half a year, and there was indeed a shortage of supplies in the city, mainly lead bullets and gunpowder, as well as spare parts for repairing firearms.

If this resupply mission can be completed, at least the Tsar in St. Petersburg will have something to report.

"They're like devils from hell, they're always here!" General Chichagov sighed with disgust as he watched a plume of black smoke rise in the distance.

This is a fast steam cruiser that Da Yu left to patrol near the Sevastopol fortress, specifically to monitor the Russian Navy.

Three hours later, more than 40 kilometers from the Sevastopol fortress, the Da Yu Black Sea Squadron, which was conducting a routine search, received a notification and began to search for the movements of the Russian Navy.

Fifteen hours later, the main force of the Da Yu Black Sea Fleet, anchored at the Constanta naval port near the mouth of the Danube River on the western coast of the Black Sea, received the news.

Subsequently, under the command of Vice Admiral and Fleet Commander Wang Delu, four battleships and nine escort ships headed directly towards the Kerch Strait.

At that time, there was no radio, and communication was extremely difficult after the fleet set sail. Even though the Great Yu had conducted many exercises before, finding a fleet that had already set sail still depended largely on luck.

However, the advantage lies in the fact that the Russian navy consists entirely of sailing warships, which can be used to determine the general direction by considering the wind direction over the past few days.

Moreover, the Black Sea is not large, and the steamships of the Dayu fleet can sail multiple times without refueling, and once spotted, they can catch up with the Russian Navy by virtue of their speed advantage.

Two days later, the squadron that had been conducting the initial search caught up with the Ross Navy.

However, most of them were third-class cruisers of three to four hundred tons, which were no match for the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the Yaroslav-class third-class battleship Isidore.

This was an entry-level Tier III battleship with a displacement of approximately 1700 tons, equipped with 26 30-pounder cannons, for a total of exactly 74 guns.

The Isidore maintained the typical characteristics of the Rus' Empire's warships: large, bulky, and crude. It was more than 300 tons heavier than the last batch of pure sailing warships built by the Great Yu Dynasty—the Chenghua Emperor-class Zhao Gongsu (Zhao Fu)—but its number and quality of cannons were far inferior.

Of course, strictly speaking, it's not that the Dayu fleet couldn't defeat them; it would be more accurate to say they were unable to defeat them.

The fifth-tier steam-powered cruisers of the Great Yu were only equipped with sixteen-pounder cannons, which were nothing more than a tickle to the third-tier battleships, capable of causing no damage other than washing their decks.

If a fifth-class ship were to be hit by a thirty-pounder from a third-class ship, it would be smashed with a huge hole.

However, the battle still began. The Russian Navy needed to shake off its pursuers, and the Da Yu Squadron needed to create the appearance of a naval battle by using the damaged warships to remind the main fleet that the Russian Navy had not retreated and that the battle had already broken out.

Three days later, Wang Delu's main fleet discovered the wreckage of the destroyed Russian fifth-class sailing frigate Death in the northeastern Black Sea.

"We've already crossed the Kerch Strait. It seems the Russian Black Sea Fleet has been unable to shake off the entanglement of Captain Johnson and his squadron and is unable to cross the Kerch Strait to support Rostov."

Wang Delu quickly made a judgment: despite the rustic-sounding name of this naval vice admiral from Chiayi County, Taiwan Prefecture, he was actually a renowned general who could be ranked among the top in the Da Yu Navy.

Unless specially arranged by the emperor, given his qualifications and abilities, he would not have been appointed to command the Black Sea Fleet.

"Since the enemy fleet is so close, I order the Qin Zhongzhen (Qin Liangyu) to go full speed ahead and catch up with the Russian fleet."

The Qu Zhongmu (Qu Shisi) ship is ready to reinforce Qin Zhongzhen as soon as news arrives.

Both Qin Zhongzhen and Qu Zhongmu arrived in the Black Sea at the beginning of this year, and both belong to the Jiashen-class of new steam-powered sailing battleships.

The two ships displaced 3,900 tons and were equipped with 48 guns of various types. They were powered by the latest horizontal reciprocating two-cylinder steam engines, with a horsepower of up to 1050 and a speed of over 14 knots (26 kilometers per hour) at full speed.

This configuration was quite strange for the time, because a Tier III battleship should be equipped with at least 74 guns and have a displacement of around 1100-1800 tons. By all accounts, these two warships did not meet the standards of a Tier III battleship.

But this is actually a manifestation of technological innovation; the battleships of the Great Yu Dynasty are no longer on the same level as those of other countries in the world.

The displacement was 3,900 tons because it was necessary to carry more coal for the steam engine, so it had to be large.

The reason there were only forty-eight cannons was because the naval guns of the Great Yu had made terrifying progress.

Mo Zibu's fourteenth son, Mo Zhouneng, who is thirty-six years old this year, invented the hollow casting method for cannons five years ago. Subsequently, based on the progress of this casting method, he invented a cannon that was ahead of its time.

This cannon has a particularly large tail section, and its overall shape resembles a beer bottle.

Its firepower far surpassed that of naval guns at the time, whether cannons or howitzers, and even forced the bombardment guns that the Dayu Navy was about to equip to be retired before they even entered service.

Mo Zhou was thus granted the title of Duke of Liang, and Mo Zibu even personally named the cannon he invented the Liang King Cannon.

The closest historical counterpart to the Liangwang Cannon is the Darengle Cannon, invented by the American Darengle around 1850.

This thing is terrifying. Currently, the Liangwang Cannon of the Great Yu has three calibers, among which:
A 7-inch cannon (corresponding to a 9-inch cannon in history) could fire a solid shot weighing 81 pounds.

A 9-inch cannon (about 11 inches) can fire a solid shot weighing 168 pounds.

A 10-inch cannon (about 13 inches) can fire a solid shot weighing 277 pounds.

The ten-inch cannon was considered too intimidating, and there were concerns that the current warships' strength could not withstand it, so only ten were built for testing on land.

This was Wang Delu's confidence, because at that time, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the Isidore, was only equipped with a 30-pound cannon.

The 9-inch guns equipped on the Qin Zhongzhen (Qin Liangyu) were actually equivalent to 168-pound guns. Compared to the guns of the Ross battleship, the Qin Zhongzhen's guns were less than half of its size. The improvement in firepower was equivalent to two different eras, so there was no need to pile up 74 guns on the warship to increase damage.

June 15, 1811 (Gregorian calendar).

On the third day after Qin Zhongzhen received the order, they encountered Zhenwei, a fifth-class steam-powered cruiser whose boilers had been accidentally destroyed and which was forced to sail slowly.

This was the naming convention of the Dayu Navy: battleships of level four and above were named after an emperor, and the names of the specific warships were given to famous civil and military officials under the emperor.

Cruisers and frigates, on the other hand, are named using a naming convention such as "Zhenwei" or "Yangwei".

The Zhenwei's awkward predicament was also the biggest drawback of sailing steam warships at that time.

Due to design and crew limitations, the sails of steam-powered sailing warships could not compare with those of purely sailing warships, and if the boilers malfunctioned, their speed and maneuverability would be greatly reduced.

Fortunately, the Yangwei only had its boiler damaged and was not completely rendered combat or operational.

Therefore, after it left the battle formation, the Russian Navy probed it at close range, and finding that it could not be sunk, chose to leave.

Rear Admiral Zhang Baozai, captain of the Qin Zhengzhongzhen, stood at the bow and issued orders.

After obtaining more detailed information from the Yangwei, the Qin Zhongzhen immediately used both its steam engine and sails to accelerate to its maximum speed of about fourteen knots, chasing after the ship ahead.

Two days later, Zhang Baozai encountered another fast frigate that the squadron had deliberately left to patrol the vicinity, waiting for the main fleet to arrive, and thus learned the exact direction of the Ross Black Sea Fleet.

However, that very night, enormous waves surged on the Black Sea, the Black Sea's characteristic "mad dog waves," where the spray rises and falls like a mad dog, a massive wave that surges upwards with frenzied force.

One of the frigates was swept towards the shore and repeatedly slammed into the shallows by the raging waves, causing great damage to the warship and resulting in the disappearance or death of more than fifty officers and soldiers. The Qin Zhongzhen also lost contact with the two escorting frigates.

Zhang Baozai could only lower two small boats and had the military doctor take medicine to assist in treating the wounded; he was now hesitant.

There are still hundreds of wounded comrades here. If he ignores them, he will be in danger. If they encounter the Rakshasa cavalry, they might all be killed.

But not long after, Zhang Baozai spotted a group through his binoculars, carrying the Great Yu Sun and Moon Flag.

He sent someone ashore to inquire, and it turned out that this place was already considered Liao territory. His Highness the Liao King had appointed a Han Chinese from Xiangfan, Hubei, as the garrison commander, who ruled over more than two thousand people.

Cheung Po Tsai was overjoyed. After entrusting the wounded to the garrison commander, the lone ship continued its exploration.

Four days later, on the eastern Black Sea, about 80 kilometers west of the Liao Dynasty's Bashi County (Batun, Georgia), Zhang Baozai finally spotted the main force of the Rus' Black Sea Fleet.

By this time, the two sides had been playing hide-and-seek on the sea for more than fifteen days.

It was only because Cheung Po Tsai was lucky; otherwise, with the communication methods available at the time, he might have searched the entire Black Sea and still not found the Rus' fleet.

Ross's fleet was reduced to only nine warships; the rest had either been lost in battle, capsized in the sudden high waves last night, or been scattered.

"We'll cut right between their two battleships, and I'll take them on two at once. One salvo will sink them!"

Zhang Baozai chose the most aggressive approach, and the two battleships he mentioned were two of the four third-class battleships in the Black Sea Fleet.

The Black Sea Fleet flagship Isidore, and the Illusion of Mary, which was of the same class as Isidore.

Of the four third-class battleships in the Black Sea Fleet, one is undergoing major repairs, one is in Sevastopol, and the remaining two are here.

Once these two ships are sunk, the Ross Black Sea Fleet can be declared free of threat, because the remaining small ships not only have weak firepower, but their speed is also completely unable to keep up with the steam warships of the Great Yu, so they can basically be ignored.

"The Khitans only have one Tier III battleship left. Hmm, is it a Tier I battleship or a Tier II?" Black Sea Fleet Commander Pavel Vasilyevich Chichagov asked hesitantly.

It wasn't that Admiral Chichagov was incompetent and didn't even understand the main enemy's warships; rather, it was because the Great Yu had never produced a third-class battleship like the Qin Zhongzhen before.

The difference between steam-powered sailing warships and purely sailing warships in the past was not so great that they could be considered as two completely different types of ships.

Before the technological leaps in steam engines and cannons, many steam-powered sailing warships were simply sailing warships with a steam engine installed.

Many of the steam-powered sailing warships of the Great Yu Dynasty were even converted from sailing warships.

The Qin Zhongzhen, which General Chichagov was looking at, was more of a steam warship, belonging to a new generation of warships that were primarily steam-powered and secondarily sail-powered.

"General, the Khitan warships are coming very fast. They seem to be trying to pass right through us. What are they trying to do?"

The sharp-eyed adjutant immediately spotted Qin Zhongzhen's intentions. It billowed black smoke and headed straight for the space between Isidore and the Virgin Mary.

At this time, the ships Isidore and The Immaculate Conception were about 600 to 700 meters apart, with the Isidore slightly ahead and sailing slowly.

"This is an insult to us! The Khitans are too arrogant!" General Chichagov shouted.

"Order the Mother of the Immaculate Conception to approach us. The Khitans want to get close and attack, don't they? I'll give them that chance!"

Based on previous experience, even if the Qin Zhongzhen was a first-class battleship, it would be difficult for it to withstand an attack from two third-class battleships sandwiched in the middle.

Regardless of whether they could penetrate the defenses, the tactic of two third-tier battleships using howitzers on their open decks to bombard the decks would be too much for a first-tier ship to withstand.

"With the sails down, the ship was powered entirely by a steam engine, and everyone on the open deck hid behind the steel-reinforced hull."

"Notify all artillery commanders, we will close to within 100 meters before firing, one volley, and that will send all the Russians to the bottom of the sea!"

Cheung Po Tsai shouted orders, explaining that the advantage of pure steam power was that as long as there were no sharp turns, the sails didn't need to be raised, so there wasn't a need for too many people to stay on the open deck.

At the same time, because the Liangwang Cannon can destroy a Tier 3 sailing battleship with a single shot at close range, there is no need to arrange gunners to bombard the enemy on the open deck. It's just a matter of destroying it with one shot.

Forty-five minutes later, the three ships were only four or five hundred meters apart. The Ross warship turned slightly to the side and began to bombard the enemy with its cannons.

Cheung Po Tsai remained unmoved. He knew the other side was testing their cannons, and they couldn't hit anything at a distance of four or five hundred meters at sea.

Sure enough, almost all of these shells fell into the sea.

At around 300 meters, the Rus' Isidore and the Virgin Mary reduced their speed to the lowest possible level, and the two ships began to line up in battle formation, no more than 300 meters apart, waiting for the Qin Zhongzhen to pass between them.

At 200 meters, perhaps fearing that the Qin Zhongzhen would not pass through the middle, the open deck guns on the stern of the Isidore and the HMS Mother of Immaculate Conception did not fire explosive shells or grapeshot to bombard the deck of the Qin Zhongzhen.

At eighty meters, everyone's hearts were in their throats. The three ships could hear the drums from each other's warships, and the gun ports on their respective decks were pushed open, revealing the dark gun barrels.

At 40 meters, the three ships were almost parallel to each other. The Isidore and the Virgin Mary opened fire almost simultaneously, with more than 50 shells trailing pale blue smoke as they hurtled towards the Qin Zhongzhen.

With a loud thud, the steel-plated hull of the ship let out a painful roar, but it was not penetrated. The bullets fired by the Ross Navy gunners also hit various places, making a series of crackling sounds.

Three shells flew through the gun ports of the Qin Zhongzhen. They were so close, only about a hundred meters apart. There was bound to be some of these 'lucky' shells.

Casualties began to appear on the lower deck of the Qin Zhongzhen. More than twenty sailors and gunners were hit, and many of them were turned into mincemeat before they could even scream.

Admiral Chichagov smiled with satisfaction. At this point, even at this distance, it would be difficult for battleships to suffer heavy casualties at the outset.

According to the standards of a third-class battleship, a one-square-meter area on the hull must be able to withstand at least three hits from a 36-pound cannon to be considered acceptable.

The fact that there have been casualties in the first round is already a very good result.

However, the next second, General Chichagov heard a cannon shot that was completely different from any he had ever heard before. It was exceptionally loud, and the sound of the cavity exploding instantly was extremely piercing.

Then, as if a giant had suddenly shoved it sideways, the thousand-ton warship began to shake violently.

General Chichagov and his officers were thrown to the ground, and then countless pieces of wood flew rapidly toward them.

The general's thigh was pierced by a piece of wood, and he screamed in pain. Just as he was about to give an order, he noticed that almost all the officers around him had been hit by the flying wood fragments, and many of them were already on the verge of death.

'boom! ’

Another violent explosion rang out, and the Isidore shook even more violently. It was unclear where the upper deck had been damaged, but the entire sterncastle on the open deck was collapsing downwards.

"My God, have you sided with the Khitans?" A terrified cry rang out as Admiral Chichagov struggled to his feet and stumbled out of the captain's cabin.

Then he witnessed a scene he would never forget: the sterncastle of the Isidore had been almost completely sheared off, and the hull on both sides of the upper deck was almost completely damaged.

A huge shell flew in from the port side of the Isidore right before his eyes, then passed through the hull and came out from the right side.

The warship was filled with the cries of Ross soldiers, and a cannon, along with its carriage, rolled directly from the upper deck into the sea.

Admiral Chichagov looked into the distance, beyond the smoke, past the Khitan warship that now looked terrifying. The Virgin Mary was in even worse shape, almost smashed in two.

It takes more than three hits with a 36-pound shell to cause a problem, so what about a 168-pound shell? That's almost five times the destructive power. Can you handle that?

"It's over, it's all over, all the Europeans' warships have become toys!"

General Chichagov let out a painful howl, then shouted to the few remaining officers who had not been killed: "Lower the sails, raise the white flag, we're not fighting anymore, we surrender, we surrender!"

(End of this chapter)