1890 King of Southeast Asia

"No news yet?"

At 8:30 in the morning, the sun had risen completely. The naval battle had been going on for two hours, but Xu Sunming had not received the planned signal.

"No discovery, maybe we are too far away. So far we have turned seven times, and the distance from the merchant ship is more than 20 kilometers. Maybe they didn't find it?" The first mate comforted Xu Sunming.

Bang! boom!

Xu Sunming was about to say something, but a sudden explosion interrupted him.

The vision was extended and time went back.

In the waters northeast of the Sulu Islands, 100 kilometers away from the north coast, ten warships were constantly bombarding each other at a distance of four kilometers.

For the observation and aiming equipment at this time, the high-speed warships plus the distance of 4,000 meters were really too difficult for them.

So the two sides just fought lively, but the results were few and far between.

Some people say that since the South China Fleet is so disgusting, can't the Japanese Fleet turn in?

It really can't. The speed of the South China Fleet is higher than that of the Japanese Fleet, especially the speed of the formation is several knots higher.

If necessary, the Nanhua armored cruiser can reach a normal speed of 20 knots, while the Japanese fleet can only maintain a formation speed of 16-17 knots at most.

In other words, if you want to run, you can't run away. If you want to fight, it doesn't matter whether you can win or not, they will fight with you to consume your strength.

"Something is wrong! Return to the main team!" At 8:30, Yamamoto Gonbei realized that Nanhua was luring him north. Although he didn't know what conspiracy Nanhua had, if he didn't step into it, then all the arrangements would be useless.

When the captain of Itsukushima had already ordered the rudder to turn and the signal flag had been hoisted out.

Boom!

"Hit the enemy flagship! Large-caliber gun!" An excited roar came from the watchtower.

"What?"

An officer of the first level raised the telescope and observed the distance.

"Yoshi! That's it!" Murase Kazutaka's face flushed with excitement.

"It's the front main gun of Naniwa, the 260mm Krupp cannon! It will definitely hit the enemy ship hard!"

Yamamoto Gonbei didn't say anything, but he also agreed with this view.

Normally, the main gun caliber of the same period can penetrate armor of the same caliber or slightly weaker. Now it depends on how much damage the opponent has suffered.

…

Here, on the Jiaolong, Xu Sunming didn't fall and got a bloody head because he grabbed the handrail.

Others were struggling to deal with the wounds caused by bumps.

"Damage control! Report the situation!" There was no time to pay attention to these people, Xu Sunming shouted to the copper tube for the first time.

"The armor was hit, but not penetrated!"

"The main armor belt was deformed, and three people were slightly injured."

"Report from the boiler room, a pipe was broken, it has been repaired, and one person was slightly injured."

"Hu~" Xu Sunming breathed a sigh of relief with difficulty.

"Doctor!" A voice suddenly sounded beside him.

"How is it?" The first mate was holding a person's head and shouting for a doctor, and Xu Sunming stepped forward to ask.

"He hit his head and fainted. Not to mention that the wound is too big, I don't know how to deal with it." The first mate covered the wound with gauze.

"I'll do it, you go to command, you can slow down and use the power of the main gun." Xu Sunming found a medical box and took over the wounded.

"Send the order, speed 15 knots, shoot it a few times." The first mate picked up the telescope and observed the specific situation.

...

"Nani!"

"This is impossible!"

"How can they block it? This is a 260mm cannon! Even an ironclad ship can penetrate it, right?" Murase and Long were more excited than when they hit it. Amaterasu was unfair!

This was determined by the shells at that time. Before the appearance of armor-piercing shells, the world was in an era where shields were greater than spears.

For example, this 260, theoretically, can penetrate, but it is a solid bullet.

This shell hit the Harvey armored Jiaolong, and the tip of the bullet shattered the moment it hit the armor.

The direction of the force changed, so that the penetration ability decreased, and then the fuse was ignited, detonating the gunpowder loaded inside.

The result was that the shell hit and exploded, but it exploded outside the ship, only deforming a piece of armor. It was enough to return to the port and replace it. It could be used without replacement.

"The outcome is set! Raise the flag and return to the main team." Yamamoto Gonbei was more determined in his thoughts.

But as soon as he said that, the other party obviously slowed down, and it was estimated that the speed was about the same as his own.

"The enemy has turned! They are approaching us!" Murase Kazutaka roared.

"Prepare to fight!" Yamamoto Gonbei's anxiety became more serious.

The enemy approached, but it could not penetrate the enemy's armor. The enemy also had rapid firepower. Even if both sides were injured, there were still thousands of miles to return to Japan...

Boom!

The main gun of the Naniwa fired again. This time it was not so lucky, but it attracted the enemy's attention.

...

"Order, concentrate firepower, attack the fourth ship in the formation." The first mate was eager for revenge and chose to cut off one of his fingers.

The distance quickly narrowed to 3,500 meters, and it was still getting closer. The accuracy of the 7 guns improved a little, but only a little.

"Aim at the enemy ship Naniwa!" The gunner of the No. 1 turret of the Jiaolong was commanding.

"Aiming completed!"

"Fire!"

Boom!

The twin main guns spewed out two clouds of green-yellow smoke, and six-inch shells flew out and landed around Naniwa.

The gunner was still observing, and the second reload was over.

"High and low plus one, fire!"

Boom!

Two shells flew out of the barrel, one passed over the top of Naniwa's main gun and landed on the other side.

Another round hit the command tower, but unfortunately failed to penetrate.

"That's it! Fire at full speed!" the gunner shouted loudly, and then joined the team carrying the shells.

The biggest optimization of the 6-inch 152 rapid-fire gun is that the propellant is loaded in the barrel.

The rapid-fire guns of this period were hand-rubbed guns, and rapid-fire was completed by manual loading. Five skilled ammunition handlers, on flat ground, could increase the firing rate of the 7-inch gun to a terrifying 11 rounds per minute.

Sixteen 152 rapid-fire guns poured shells at Naniwa for five minutes at a rate of four rounds per minute.

After that, because the smoke was too thick, the shelling stopped. The Jiaolong could continue, but the latter could not. The Chilong at the end of the team was even shrouded in smoke for the last minute and could only fire blindly.

"It's okay. The commander's order is not to cause too much damage to them. This is the best way. Repairing it will take a lot of time." Xu Sunming treated the wounded and took over the command of the fleet.

Naniwa was hit by seventeen 152mm shells and dozens of 120mm shells, and was completely unrecognizable.

"The fleet turned right and disengaged at full speed." Xu Sunming ordered.

Jiaolong took the lead, split the water, disengaged from the battlefield, and sailed from the rear of the Japanese fleet to the transport ship.

"Did they leave?" Yamamoto Gonbei's face turned black.

"Yes, judging from the direction, it should be returning." Murase Kazutaka felt bitter in his heart. Who knows if it is a counter-attack? It has to be either way, and it can't be defeated at all.

"How is Naniwa?" Yamamoto Gonbei took a long time to exhale.

"The situation is very bad. The shells ran into the command tower. The captain and many officers died. The waterline was hit like a sieve and the water was seriously inflowing."

"The fire has not been extinguished. The second mate is working hard. The speed of Naniwa has dropped and they are pumping water with all their strength."

The reality is more difficult than Murase Kazutaka said. Naniwa is a dome-armored cruiser. It is not large in tonnage and size. The power of the shells loaded with Ghana explosives is not comparable to that of black powder. The hull has been destroyed beyond recognition.

That is, the fuze technology is not good, otherwise Naniwa would have sunk.

Many shells rushed into the cabin and caused a fire. A part of the steam engine was also broken. The fire is spreading, and the damage control is dealing with the water inflow.

"Let Gao Qianhui help, Chiyoda go find a merchant ship, and go to the Spanish territory to replenish supplies first." Yamamoto Gonbei said.

Chiyoda was also hit by several shells before. He silently repaired and licked his wounds along the way. After another hour, he set off for the waters of the Sulu Islands. The merchant ships had been heading here before.

At that time, the Nanhua Fleet had already returned with four captured merchant ships.

At ten o'clock, the torpedo boat squadron discovered the cruiser fleet returning to find them.

"Flare! Tell them to come quickly!" Yang Boning was always worried. On the one hand, he was afraid that the people on the ship would not be honest, sink the ship or escape, then there would be one less ship.

On the other hand, he was worried that the enemy would come back first, so he could only sink these ships and get away.

This is a credit. I heard that the destroyer fleet was going to be launched. That thing is even more fierce, with three launch tubes, six rounds of spare ammunition, and cannons, real cannons. The caliber is unknown, but it must not be a 37 jelly bean gun.

In fact, Xu Sunming had discovered these ships a long time ago. What's more, the cruiser also has a mast, and the visual distance is much farther than the torpedo boat, and the merchant ship is so big.

"This is a battle!" Yang Boning looked at the marks on the warship.

There were also many holes and some blood.

"How are your casualties?" Yang Boning boarded the Jiaolong and asked the officers who were more or less injured.

"Fortunately, eleven people in the entire fleet were killed and more than eighty were injured."

"Is this the transport ship for prisoners?" Xu Sunming pointed at several xx Maru.

"Hey! How did I do, buddy? What are your results?" Yang Boning asked again after hearing that the casualties were not great.

As for zero casualties? Unless they don't send troops, it's still the Jiaolong class with fast speed and thick armor. If it's a dome-armored cruiser, the Jiaolong will at least have water in the waterline and a decrease in speed after a 260-meter shot.

That's a fleet decisive battle.

"Hit the Naniwa with dozens of guns, and then withdrew from the battle. I don't know if the Japanese can tow it back." Xu Sunming said lightly.

The two had no idea that the Japanese damage control was a pit.

"It's so cool! I wonder when I can play with cannons." Yang Boning enviously said.

"What's so cool? I'm just helping you." Xu Sunming looked at the navy outside who were receiving merchant ships.

"Hey, if there is no order from the Prime Minister, can we win?" Yang Boning suddenly asked mysteriously.

"It's hard to say! Even if we win, there will be a lot of casualties." Xu Sunming frowned when he heard that Naniwa was constantly hit but did not withdraw from the formation.

"The Japanese are too cruel. Naniwa is about to be destroyed, but he will not withdraw from the battle. Be careful in the future. I have no doubt that they will use ramming tactics and torpedo attacks." Xu Sunming finally concluded.

"Torpedo? If you only play with torpedoes, you have to look at me!" Yang Boning laughed.

Beep~

The merchant ship raised the sun, moon and star flag. When it came, there were four cruisers and six torpedo boats. When it went back, four merchant ships were added to form a fleet and slowly sailed towards Xingang.