Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 286 Stuck in the Saigon River

The 15 sailing ships carrying the Saigon Expeditionary Force arrived late at night and, led by a guide ship, anchored near the mouth of the Mekong River.

Most of these large sailing fleets were thousand-ton sailing transport ships with amazing troop carrying capacity. Each ship could carry as many as a thousand fully armed soldiers.

The Saigon Expeditionary Force did not have a mission to hold on to Saigon. Its mission was to rob and fight in Saigon. It did not need to carry thousands of tons of food, thousands of tons of building materials and other supplies like the Singapore Expeditionary Force. It only needed to transport troops and weapons and equipment.

Around 3 a.m.

The rumbling sounds of the steam engines of the five ironclad warships started one after another cut through the dark night of the bay, bringing an invisible solemn atmosphere to this quiet bay.

After starting the warm-up engine, the ironclad fleet that took the lead in attacking raised the anchors and lowered the sails. The captain and the boatswain shouted a series of orders loudly, and the sailors ran back and forth on the deck, busy preparing to set sail.

The huge winch pushed by seven or eight people made a loud "clatter, clatter" sound when the anchor was collected. The huge sail fell down and unfolded with a "whoosh", which was more like the sound of a drum.

After a busy
The ironclad ship's large chimney gurgled out thick black smoke, and it followed the tall, bright kerosene signal light on the guide ship's mast, heading all the way to the mouth of the Mekong River.

With such a loud commotion, King Zheng Guohui of Chu couldn't sleep anymore. He walked out of the rear cabin in his pajamas and stood on a high place to look around.

He saw that the sailors of the sailing fleet also stood up, some washed up, some made fire and cooked, and many sailors stretched their bodies on the deck, preparing to start sailing.

Compared with the slow-moving ironclad warships, the sailing fleet is much more flexible and fast.

Even if we let the armored fleet go ahead for two hours, they will still be able to catch up later, so there is no need to worry at all.

more than an hour later

After washing and having a full meal, the sailing fleet drew anchor, hoisted the sails one by one, and set sail in a single column, heading towards the mouth of the Mekong River.

Along the way, they passed a large sailing fleet carrying the Saigon Expeditionary Force, which was anchored in the bay. This large fleet was still asleep, with only the officers on duty at the side of the ship sending light signals to receive relevant orders.

According to the order of battle
The large sailing fleet will set sail a few hours later and go up the Saigon River.

Six or seven hours later

At about ten o'clock in the morning, among the armored troops that took the lead in attacking,

The modified ironclad ship "Taishan" took the lead, cutting through the waves and sailing in the front. The fleet commander, Captain Phelan Williams, was smoking a briar pipe in his mouth.
Next to him was Lieutenant Colonel Fu Hongyu, deputy commander of the armored formation and captain of the "Taishan". With its extraordinary firepower configuration and powerful deterrent force, the "Taishan" became the undisputed flagship of the armored fleet.

It was around 10 o'clock in the morning. Villages stood in rows on both sides of the Mekong River, and the ironclad fleet was sailing arrogantly in the middle of the Saigon River. Oncoming ships of all sizes had to give way.

If the ships traveling in the same direction do not give way, they will be crushed directly, without slowing down at all, and rushing forward all the way, while looking at the terrified eyes of the crew members who fell into the water and the shattered small wooden boats.

The huge black body of the ironclad warship "Taishan" was like a small mountain, which attracted the terrified eyes of the boatmen on both sides of the Saigon River. They then fled in all directions as if a disaster was about to happen.

Captain Phelan Williams said proudly, "Hey, man, I think these Jiaozhi barbarians have a very accurate intuition about danger. They know we are going to give them a big surprise."

This Irish-American, now a naturalized citizen of the Chu State, has a beautiful Han Chinese wife and a newborn son in Manila. He also has a mansion with more than 10 maids and servants, and he has long been reluctant to leave.

After years of hanging out with his Han naval colleagues, Captain Phelan Williams also developed a bad habit of looking down on his neighbors. He would always call them "barbarians", "unruly", and "fearful of power but not virtue", and he spoke Chinese quite well.

"Compared to these natives, I would rather see the terrified eyes of the French." Lieutenant Colonel Fu Hongyu replied with a reserved expression.

This remark touched the heart of Captain Phelan Williams, and he replied with a smile:
"When these French guys see the four big babies we specially prepared, they will be so happy. They really need these big iron guys."

"They are 12 big treasures, your Excellency," Fu Hongyu said, with a look of pride on her face.

The big treasure they were talking about was the incredibly powerful 15-inch Dahlgren gun. The Taishan was equipped with four, and the other four ironclads were equipped with two each.

Lieutenant Colonel Huo Chongshan, commander of the newly formed 7th Royal Infantry Regiment, walked into the command tower from the side door, holding a bottle of French red wine in his hand. Hearing the two fleet commanders' happy words, he smiled and said;

"Hey guys, before the party starts, I thought we'd have a drink."

"Oh my god, great, why not?" Captain Phelan Williams, also in high spirits, said, "This time I want to collect enough spoils to fill my wine cellar. Dear Commander Huo, can you fulfill this little wish of mine?"

"I can only say that I'm willing to serve." Lieutenant Colonel Huo Chongshan said, handing the red wine in his hand to the naval lieutenant beside him.

The lieutenant officer swiftly opened the red wine, poured three glasses, and served them to the three officers one by one.

"Cheers, men! May we live up to His Majesty's expectations, triumph, and kill these Frenchmen!"

"Well said, cheers!"

The three officers raised their glasses, took a sip, and then laughed complacently, each of them full of confidence.

As long as the fleet successfully entered the Saigon River, the French fleet gathered in Saigon Port would be trapped, unable to escape or escape the fate of complete destruction.

Saigon Port is a famous rice market in Indochina. It is the confluence of three rivers. The river is wide and there are many boats. Hundreds of boats gather at the port all year round.

But most of these boats are very small fishing boats, flat boats and rowing wooden boats, with a cargo capacity ranging from a dozen to hundreds of tons. The larger wooden boats can only carry 10 to 20 tons of cargo.

The Chu navy received accurate intelligence from the lead ship;

In order to prepare for the expedition against the State of Chu, the French Governor-General of Saigon has withdrawn ships from Da Nang, Guang'an, Kunlun Island and other places, and concentrated the main ships in the port of Saigon.

As soon as they received news from Britain, they jointly launched an expedition to the Hainan Islands (Note: formerly the Luzon Islands).

Now we are stuck in the Saigon River and it is impossible to escape.

The 15-inch Dahlgren cannons equipped by the ironclad fleet had amazing destructive power and had proven their absolute striking power against wooden sailing warships in the Battle of Manila.

In the battle where the ironclad warships concentrated their fire on Fort Santiago, the ironclad warships withstood the bombardment of the fortress's large-caliber coastal artillery and destroyed this sturdy coastal fortress with their huge cannons, proving their absolute defensive power.

It is precisely because of such a powerful support that the commander of the ironclad fleet, Captain Phelan Williams, and the deputy commander, Lieutenant Colonel Fu Hongyu, are so excited. This is all the credit that comes right to them!

In the future, high positions, promotions and wealth will all depend on attacking the French Far East Fleet.

Lieutenant Colonel Huo Chongshan, commander of the newly formed 7th Royal Infantry Regiment, was originally the deputy commander of the Royal Guard. He received an important appointment in the new military expansion and was able to lead a 3,000-man infantry regiment.

Although the rank of lieutenant colonel did not change, his position was promoted from deputy regimental commander to full regimental commander, which was a small promotion.

The newly formed 7th Royal Regiment under his command, numbering over 1560 men, was on board the ironclad strike formation. The spacious cabin of the giant ship Taishan carried over officers and men.

The four ironclad warships behind each carried three hundred and fifty to sixty officers and soldiers.

The 7th Regiment was the vanguard of the attack on Saigon and had an important mission. This was also a good opportunity to make achievements.

As long as enough merits are won in the war, the perfect transition from the Royal Guards to the Royal Army will be completed, laying an excellent foundation for the next step of promotion to colonel.

These are all roads to success that His Majesty the King of Chu has specially paved in order to promote his trusted confidants.

Also taking advantage of this war opportunity, the former deputy commander Fang Shiwei came out of the Royal Guards and served as the commander of the newly formed Second Royal Guards. He had already thrown himself into the bloody battle of Singapore and made great achievements.

There are also the battalion commanders of the Royal Guards, Dong Jiasheng and Zheng Jiayu, who serve as lieutenant colonel commanders of the newly formed 10th and th Royal Regiments respectively. Lieutenant Colonel Dong Jiasheng's th Regiment is on the troop transport ship behind.

Zheng Jiayu's newly formed 10th Regiment went to East Malaysia and should now be stationed in Brunei Darussalam, which is the headquarters of the East Malay Expeditionary Force and a city with a large number of troops.

The King of Chu has always been generous in promoting the officers who were his personal guards. The generals who came from the King of Chu's personal guards were the largest faction in the army and had the strongest strength.

This includes the current Minister of Military and Political Affairs, Lieutenant General Qian Jiang, the Second Division Commander, Major General He Ruolin, the Third Division Commander, Major General Huang Shan, the Fifth Division Commander, Major General Zheng Fu and other high-ranking army officers, all of whom are trusted confidants cultivated by His Majesty the King of Chu.

On the ironclad ship "Taishan"
The deck was crowded with soldiers, who walked around with guns on their backs, smoking and chatting, taking the opportunity to get some fresh air, looking relaxed and comfortable.

The Saigon River was calm and the ironclad warship sailed steadily through the waves. The Chinese officers and soldiers on the ship looked at the fields and villages on both sides of the river, pointing and talking, and bursting into laughter from time to time.

at this time
The lookout on the top of the tall mast suddenly sounded the alarm bell and shouted loudly downwards: "Emergency battle alert, enemy fleet spotted ahead, all ready for battle."

The three officers who were chatting in the command tower heard the urgent alarm bell, and the relaxed expressions on their faces quickly disappeared and became serious.

Lieutenant Colonel Huo Chongshan put down the red wine glass in his hand, walked over to the brass speaker next to the control console and shouted loudly;
"Attention, this is an emergency combat alert.

I am Lieutenant Colonel Huo Chongshan, commander of the Seventh Regiment. I now order officers at all levels to immediately urge the infantry on the deck to return to the lower cabin, check their combat equipment, find a quiet place to stay, pay attention to damage from artillery fire, and find a stable handrail or railing nearby to prevent collisions and falls.

Now immediately execute the order, all officers and soldiers evacuate into the cabin."

Hearing the order from their superiors, the soldiers on the deck stopped laughing, lined up one by one and returned to the cabin, and soon left without a trace.

Lieutenant Colonel Huo Chongshan saluted and said solemnly, "Please allow me to take my leave for now, gentlemen. If you need me, I will be happy to serve you at any time."

"Thank you, Commander Huo. If we have a chance of capturing one or two warships, we will definitely need your help."

"I'm happy to help. I'll take my leave now." Lieutenant Colonel Huo Chongshan replied and turned to leave.

Captain Phelan Williams, commander of the Ironclad Fleet, put down his monocular and gave the order calmly:

"Raise the battle flag. This battle concerns the glory of our Chu Navy. I urge all officers and men to fight bravely and repay His Majesty's grace!"

"Open the gun ports, order the main and secondary guns to load ammunition, and prepare for battle."

"Combat alert, all combatants, take up positions and prepare for combat."

"All gun positions, report your readiness."

A series of orders were issued, and all the sailors began to prepare busily. The warship was filled with a thick pre-war atmosphere, filled with boundless and cold murderous intent.

"Bang", "Bang", "Bang", "Bang"...

The gun ports on the second-level gun deck opened one after another, and the black ten-inch muzzles pointed towards the river bank. The artillerymen nervously cleaned the barrels, stuffed the silk-wrapped gunpowder bags in, then loaded the shells and pressed them down with ramrods.

on deck
The four semicircular revolving gun platforms slowly rotated, and the officers and soldiers in the platforms were busy preparing for firing. After loading the shells, the officers raised the red flag in their hands and shouted loudly: "Report to the commander, No. 1 gun position is good."

Then a series of reports sounded from behind;
"Report to the commander, gun position number 3 is good."

"Report to the commander, gun position number 4 is good."

"Report to the commander, gun position number 2 is good."

"Report to the commander, the port side gun position is good."

"Report to the commander, the starboard gun position is good."

"Sir, the mainsail is furled."

"Sir, the foresail is furled."

"Report to the commander, the mizzen sail is furled."

"Reporting to the commander, the pressure of the No. 6 steam engine is normal, the boiler is working normally, and the pressure has been increased to , and the pressure is rising slowly."

"Reporting to the commander, the pressure of the No. 5.5 steam engine is normal, and the boiler is operating normally. The pressure has been increased to , and the pressure is rising slowly."

At this time, the river surface gradually widened, and the leading ironclad ship "Taishan" had entered the wide river branch area, which was the confluence of three rivers and was as wide as a lake.

From afar, you can see the shore of Saigon Port, with hundreds of small boats densely packed together, and many indigenous people of Cochin wearing conical hats. They are wearing very easily recognizable wide-leg pants, which are unique to the tropics and only reach above the calves.

On the wide river ahead
It can be seen that the French sailing warships are urgently forming a team. The current few French warships are lined up in a column and are heading towards the ironclad fleet.

Behind these French sailing ships, several more sailing ships hurriedly came and merged into the battle column one by one. Although they were in a hurry, they managed to complete the battle line formation with their skilled sailing skills.

The French sailing fleet had very little time to react, only about thirty to forty minutes.

Being able to raise anchor and lower sails, sail out of the port and line up to meet the enemy in such a short period of time has demonstrated the French Navy's profound global naval foundation, which is truly extraordinary.

If it were a less powerful European power, its fleet would probably still be in chaos in the port at this time.

If the Chu Navy were to complete this series of complex ship-handling maneuvers in just thirty or forty minutes, there would probably be only a few ships that could pass the test. It was too difficult.

From this
The French Navy is so powerful that it is a formidable rival to any naval power and should not be underestimated.

But so what?

Captain Phelan Williams, commander of the Ironclad Fleet, had a bloodthirsty smile on his face and gave orders in an extremely cruel and cold voice.

"Guys, the bloody feast you've been waiting for is about to begin. Take out your wild and restless weapons and pound these Frenchmen hard. Let them see how powerful you are."

"Now... everyone prepare for artillery fire!"

(End of this chapter)