Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 173 Oh my God, what kind of hornet's nest did this stir up? (Please support me with monthly tickets and recommendation tickets, thank you)
"Look at these lively Spaniards, running around like frightened rabbits. I like them..."

Rear Admiral Robert, the commander of the sailing cruiser squadron, put down his telescope, licked his lips, and with a look of eagerness like a hound, he immediately gave the order:

"Disband the battle formation. Endeavour and Struggle will be responsible for hunting down the anchored sailing ships and firing intimidating cannons. Anyone who attempts to resist will be killed without mercy."

"Remember to bring two troop transports closer and capture them for me. These sailboats are my spoils of war, don't let them get away."

"Order the Fenwu battleship to get close and catch that little mouse trying to slip away. I don't like others playing tricks under my nose."

"Guard the transport fleet to the far pier. We need two hours to get the troops ashore. Get moving, boys."

The order was conveyed through flag signals, and the four escorting sailing cruisers, named "Fen" and "Weiwu Zhandou", quickly broke up the formation and split into three, fighting on their own.

The Endeavour and the Struggle, along with the two troop transports, sailed straight to the anchorage, opened their gun ports one after another, and fired several salvos of "boom, boom, boom..." to deter the enemy.

The Spanish sailing ships that had just lowered their sails, under the threat of artillery fire from the rapidly arriving warships, obediently sent their rigging hands to retract the sails and raised their hands in surrender.

There is no way to surrender. The anchor cannot be pulled up. It is useless to cut the anchor rope at this time. It is too late.

The two sailing warships, the Endeavour and the Struggle, opened their gun ports and patrolled around the anchorage, occasionally firing a shell that landed near the sailboats trying to escape.

Those large ships with their sails lowered are the main targets of surveillance.

The troop transport then approached, threw out a grappling rope to grab the side of the Spanish ship, and then quickly tightened it around its own anchor pile.

The two ships were facing each other, and the flying claw rope was instantly tightened, pulling the two ships closer together, and they collided with a "bang".

The sailors quickly untied the ropes, tightened them again, and tied the two ships tightly together.

While boarding
The soldiers standing by the side of the ship lowered their guns, and the commander shouted, "Aim and fire!"

"Bang, bang, bang..." All that was heard was the sound of dense volleys of gunfire.

Those white Spanish sailors who tried to resist with knives and guns had bloody holes in their bodies in an instant, and fell to the ground like bowling balls.

The rigging hand on a high place was hit by the raised muzzle of the gun and fell down with a scream. The gun stopped abruptly with a "pop" sound, and blood splattered everywhere like a broken tomato.

After a round of volleys of gunfire, the sword and shield soldiers climbed over the side of the ship and rushed forward shouting.

Such situations happened repeatedly at the anchorage. Anyone who did not drop their weapons and kneel on the ground with their hands raised would be blasted with a barrage of musket fire.

After boarding, the swordsmen and musketeers on the troop transport ship occupied the deck, cleared out the prisoners and remaining enemies, and killed all the resisters.

Less than two hours

More than a dozen large sailing ships at the anchorage were all occupied and none escaped.

Time goes back to more than two hours ago

After disbanding the sailing cruiser formation
The battleships "Fenzhan" and "Fendo" rushed to the anchorage one after another, and the battleship "Fenwu" sailed out directly and pounced on the schooner "Ocean Goliath" which had just left the dock.

At this time, the pirate ship "Ocean Goliath" had just left the dock, with a speed of about four to five knots. Faced with the oncoming battleship "Fenwu", it was forced to raise the pirate skull flag and send out flag signals to identify itself.

Meaning:

This pirate ship is just passing by. Your grudges have nothing to do with me. Please don't hurt innocent people.

The battleship "Fenwu" ignored it completely. When it approached to a distance of about 700 to 800 yards, it suddenly made a sharp turn, leaving a clear "L"-shaped track on the sea.

Pointing the black muzzle of the gun on the other side of the ship at the enemy, the distance was rapidly closing, quickly approaching within 300 yards, posing a great threat to the "Ocean Goliath".

"You think I'm a wimp? Fire and fight back!" The desperate pirate captain Kureliar jumped up and down and gave orders with a fierce look.

He doesn't care who the person is?
As long as the "Ocean Goliath" is endangered, no matter whether it is a bishop or an angel, even if the Pope comes, it will be useless. I will kill them first.

"Boom boom boom..."

After three cannon shots, thick blue-black smoke rose up.

The pirate ship "Ocean Goliath" was equipped with a total of 7 guns, including a 6-pound cannon on the bow and three 12-pound cannons on each side of the ship. Its firepower was not weak.

The "Ocean Goliath" faced the fast-moving battleship "Fenwu" and hit it with one of its three 12-pound guns on the side.

The solid shell made a loud bang on the side of the Fenwu, creating a hole as big as a washbasin. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

The other two shells hit the turbulent sea water, splashing two high water drops.

When the gun was fired, the two ships were about 250 yards apart and were on different trajectories.

The fact that the Corsair was able to hit the target with one of its three shells shows that its artillery skills are quite sophisticated and quite good.

In modern naval warfare

Naval guns are short and thick, with a short range and high power, aiming for high power at short distances. 300-400 yards is the extreme end of the range; anything further would be a waste of ammunition, with neither power nor accuracy guaranteed.

The optimal engagement distance is between 200 and 100 yards, with the closer the distance, the greater the damage. Seeing the pirate ship brazenly opening fire in retaliation, Captain Zheng Fangshan of the Fenwu, with a stern look in his eyes, ordered decisively: "Musketeers, prepare! Hold your guns level, aim, and fire!"

"Clap clap clap clap..."

Dozens of sailors stood on the side of the ship, pointed their guns at the pirate ship and fired at it. The deadly bullets flew over like locusts, making the pirates scream in pain and fall into the sea like dumplings.

"Reload, gun level, ready...fire"

"Clap clap clap clap..."

"Ride right 15 degrees, prepare for boarding."

Several rounds of musket fire killed or injured the sailors who could be seen on the deck of the "Ocean Goliath".

The pirates on the lower gun deck were also not spared. The hot rain of bullets penetrated the gun ports and fell to the ground under the fire of muskets, resulting in heavy casualties.

The reason why Captain Zheng Fangshan of the Fenwu did not order a counterattack was that he was worried that the pirate ship would be damaged, which would be a pity.

The speed of the "Ocean Goliath" has not been fully increased. As the "Fenwu" approaches at high speed, it is making a last-ditch effort. It is just like a grasshopper in autumn, unable to jump more than a few times.

“奋武”号舰装备的是18门32磅轰击炮和8门12磅火炮，合计26门火炮。

The 32-pound bombardment gun weighs about 820 kilograms. A few shots can make a big hole in the "Ocean Goliath", and the explosion and tearing power are extremely powerful.

With the small size of this schooner, it could not withstand it anyway.

With a "clang" sound, the two ships collided with each other. The swordsmen and shieldmen climbed over the side of the ship and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the pirates who rushed out from the lower deck, starting a fierce hand-to-hand combat.

"Clap clap clap..."

The musketeers at the rear immediately climbed over the side of the ship, and in groups of three or five, they lowered their guns and attacked the pirates who were roaring and shouting. The pirates rolled in the air, and blood spurted out of their bodies.

The pirate captain Kurelial rushed forward with a knife in one hand and a short-barreled musket in the other. He raised his hand and knocked down a sword and shield man with a single shot, then started fighting with two sword and shield men.

"Back off, back off and get out of the way."

There were urgent shouts behind them, and the two sword and shield fighters raised their shields in tacit understanding to block, then quickly retreated to both sides.

The five Chinese musketeers in the rear raised their guns in unison, and the pirate captain Kureliar rushed forward with a roar and bloodshot eyes.

"Clap clap clap clap..."

The distance was less than 10 meters, and the five deadly bullets produced a strong repelling force, and none of them missed.

This forced Kurel to retreat, leaving five shocking bloody holes in his chest and abdomen. He fell to the ground and died, like a wild dance in the wind.

The musketeers and swordsmen worked closely together to kill these white pirates efficiently and soon cleared the ship of everything.

Just like an old farmer with a good harvest, the swordsmen and shieldmen chopped off the heads of the white pirates with a smile and threw the bodies directly into the sea to feed the fish and shrimps.

These pirates were equivalent to armed white civilians. The reward for each head was 10 taels of silver, and the leader of the pirates was worth 50 taels. The total amount of money for seventy or eighty pirates was not a small amount, and everyone made a small fortune.

The flagship "Fenwei" led by Major General Robert was slowly sailing at the far end of the dock, on the one hand intimidating the Spanish sailing ships docked at the dock, and on the other hand protecting the landing troop ships and performing escort missions.

The troop transport ship docked at the pier, and a large number of Chinese soldiers wearing iron hats and gray military uniforms rushed onto the pier and immediately split into two groups to take action.

They moved along the docks and occupied the docked Spanish galleons, decisively killing those who dared to resist, and captured and drove away other white sailors.

They advanced quickly, occupied the dock square and surrounding high ground and buildings, and through short and quick battles, eliminated any white militants who tried to resist.

A company of Spanish soldiers stationed at the Visayas Fort, built high above the harbor, watched helplessly as the task force occupied the dock.

This Visayan company has a total of 83 people. Excluding the gunners who operate the three coastal cannons, the grooms, cooks, signalmen, and the company commander, there are less than 45 musketeers who can be dispatched.

These white officers and soldiers were brave and confident, but not stupid.

They were confident that they could deal with 400 Eastern soldiers, but it was impossible for them to deal with an army of people.

The 32-pound coastal howitzers equipped by the Visayas fortress had a range of 1400 yards, which could only protect a limited area of ​​the harbor and was powerless to protect areas farther away.

The invading enemy sailing fleet wisely operated in the far harbor area outside the range of the fortress's artillery fire. It seemed that they had no intention of storming the fortress, but rather wanted to transport personnel ashore.

Although they guessed the enemy's intentions, the Spanish officers in the fort were helpless.

You can't beat them by hitting them, and you can't drive them away by chasing them away.

Looking at the increasing number of Oriental troops landing, as dense as a tide, the faces of these Spanish soldiers all looked ugly.

Oh my God, what kind of hornet's nest did I stir up?

(End of this chapter)