1850 American Gold Tycoon

1850 American Gold Tycoon Text Volume 551: Is it a crime to be weak? At dawn the next day.

The sea around the port of Hong Kong Island is as calm as a mirror, reflecting the faint moonlight and twinkling stars.

The six warships left by the British and French forces to guard Hong Kong Island were anchored here, standing quietly in the night.

The peaceful night was broken by a sudden noise. Suddenly, unusual waves of water filled the night sky, but the sailors on watch did not alert themselves.

The first person to notice the abnormality was a sailor who got up at night. The sailor came to the deck comfortably and was about to take off his pants and take a plunge into the sea.

Suddenly, he saw the giant beast suddenly appearing in front of him.

A large ship, a large ship with a displacement of at least 4,000 tons, appeared in front of him, and behind the big ship was a fleet of ships that appeared like a ghost in the moonlight. This massive fleet floated quietly around the British fleet.

Just when the sailor who got up at night thought that this was the friendly force attacking Guangzhou City returning to Hong Kong Island for supplies. The naval gun suddenly opened fire, the flames pierced the dark night, and the shells roared.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

The sailor who got up from the night ran to the alarm bell in three steps and two steps, and hurriedly sounded the alarm bell, but the chaos was irreversible.

Their ship was hit by fierce artillery fire, the sound of splintering wood was intertwined with the splash of water, and the dark night was instantly lit up by a raging fire.

The Hong Kong defenders who were still dreaming were awakened by the sudden sound of artillery, and looked confused.

Not only the ordinary Hong Kong Island defenders and Hong Kong Island soldiers were confused, but even the Hong Kong Governor Bonham, who woke up in surprise, bleary-eyed and still wearing silk pajamas in the Governor's Mansion, was full of doubts and confusion.

Did the Qing army attack Hong Kong Island?

It's incredible to think about it. What blind Qing commander would dare to attack Hong Kong Island even if he wanted to die?

Wenxian hurriedly sent people to find out the truth and find out what was going on.

I have to admit that the training level of the British Navy is indeed high. Even if it is stationed in Hong Kong, there are still crews staying on the warships to keep watch, and they can respond very quickly when encountering a sneak attack.

The four British ships stationed in the harbor quickly entered combat mode, and the reaction speed of the other two French Navy gunboats was a beat slower than that of the British warships.

Even so, the four British ships left behind on Hong Kong Island still endured five or six rounds of bombardment from the Hong Kong Island fleet before moving there.

The British flagship Reconnaissance received special attention from the other party. The mast in the middle accurately caught a cannonball flying from the darkness. It was smashed to pieces and almost fell down. The sail hit by the explosive bomb also quickly burst into flames.

Fortunately, the Scout was a new ship that had just been launched in 1856. The ship was in good condition. Although it was suddenly severely damaged, it was not completely paralyzed and lost its combat effectiveness.

The Incitement, built in 1834, did not have such good luck. The appearance of this 23-year-old three-masted sailing warship was mottled, and the sails were full of wind cracks and full of traces of time.

The artillery shells of the Hong Kong Island Fleet broke through the air and hit the old warship accurately again and again.

With a loud noise, the hull on one side of the Incitement exploded, filling the air with smoke and flames, and the flying sparks ignited the sails. The ship's mast was crumbling, and the ship's hull began to slowly tilt to the right.

The British sailors howled on the chaotic deck. Some were blown away by the shells, some were swallowed by the flames, and some jumped into the sea and merged with the water.

The guns on the side of the Incitement were still smoking, but there were only a few naval guns that could continue to fire. Sea water quickly poured into the cabin, and the lights in the cabin quickly went out after submerging into the sea level, plunging into darkness.

This old battleship slowly sank into the sea, leaving only a blood-red sea surface and floating wreckage, as well as a few surviving sailors who struggled to survive holding on to the floating objects.

The rapid fire rate and high accuracy of the enemy's naval guns in the sneak attack frightened the British sailors. They did not expect to encounter such a powerful enemy in the Far East, a naval depression.

"Quickly fight and quickly eliminate the remaining enemies!"

On the Pioneer, where the cannons were ringing loudly, Liang Yao gave the order.

After the British and French forces under Guangzhou learned that Hong Kong Island was under attack, whether it was a feint attack or a main attack, they would definitely return reinforcements at all costs.

Victory or defeat is no longer the key to this naval battle. The only suspense is how much time it will take to finish the battle so that more warships can be released to assist the Pearl River Fleet at the Pearl River Estuary.

In the light of the fire, the half-disabled battleship HMS Reconnaissance of the British Navy struggled to move its hull, and finally pointed its side at the Pioneer, adjusted the shooting angle, and fired its side guns at the ironclad Pioneer one after another.

Three or five solid iron lumps hit the Pioneer's armor plate, creating dazzling sparks and echoing like Duang~Duang~Duang~.

The Pioneer's strong armor seemed to be an invincible shield, easily deflecting the shells.

The hit Pioneer was unscathed, but the hull trembled slightly provocatively, as if to say: Weak strength, food?

This scene shocked the crew of the Scout and they couldn't believe their eyes.

We failed to penetrate enemy armor? !

Especially the gunners on the lower deck were so stunned that they forgot to reload and fire.

The enemy ship that was hit just now was a 64-pound naval gun! It is the 64-pound naval gun of the Royal Navy of the British Empire that spans the four oceans, killing gods when God blocks it, and killing Buddha when Buddha blocks it! Unable to hurt the opponent at all?

Fear, an unprecedented fear surged in the hearts of British sailors. For the first time, they felt the breath of despair at sea.

In the past, this feeling was only felt by their opponents.

The ship was towering and indestructible, like a moving fortress, which greatly shocked the British sailors.

This is the first battle of the ironclad Pioneer.

The ironclad ship is Liang Yao's top-secret weapon, and the parameters of the ship are kept strictly confidential.

The two British and French spies, Gibson and Le Goff, were just lucky enough to have a glimpse of the Vanguard class, and they only warned the country that the San Francisco Shipyard could build huge ironclads.

As for the specific parameters and performance of the ironclad ship, they did not know and could only guess based on thin air.

The British Navy did not know that their 64-pound naval gun could still penetrate the Pioneer's armor within 500 meters.

It's time for the Pioneer to fight back!

The guns of the ironclad Pioneer all turned towards the Scout, and the strong sense of oppression suffocated the British sailors on the Scout.

The next second, the fire jumped out of the huge running tube like a ferocious ghost, making an earth-shattering sound.

The fire was like a dragon, the gunfire was like thunder, and the barrage poured down towards the reconnaissance ship intensively, one after another.

Destroyed by the intensive firepower of the Hong Kong Island Fleet, the Scout's injuries gradually worsened. The hull was torn apart by shells, the fire raged, and the screams of the sailors echoed on the sea.

The British army was half-dead, and the four battleships and gunboats that were firmly suppressed in the port were like lambs swept away by the flood. Facing the ironclad Pioneer and a group of Bold-class frigates, the Loach-class gunboats were helpless against the ruthless attacks.