Chapter 39 Fierce Battle in the Harbor (1)
Although there were four iron-shell fishing boats parked on the coast, Sun Changmi decided to dispatch only two of them. This was not for the sake of saving fuel, but because there was really no way around it. Currently, there were seven or eight people who had learned how to sail a boat among the time-travelers, but in terms of reliable skills, he and Yue Zhiyun were still the only two. Of course, this statement excludes all the North American gangs. Although they can all drive boats, when it comes time to dispatch iron-shelled fishing boats, the more suitable position for them is to be warriors with guns rather than captains at the helm.
Sun Changmi and Yue Zhiyun, who came after receiving the news, each brought three people aboard the ship. Half of the remaining people from the shipping department boarded the "New World" and the other half stayed in the defenses of Base No. 1.
The actions of the Military and Police Department were also quite swift. Almost at the same time that the fishing boat started its engine, the Military and Police Department's team also began to board the ship. According to the preset action plan of equipping each ship with ten armed personnel, the six North American people were divided into two groups and boarded the ship respectively. One group was four Chinese and six members of the military and police department, and the other group was a combination of foreign doctors and Gu Kai and seven members of the Military and Police Department were forcibly brought aboard. There were so few English-speaking people left behind that Gu Kai could only be temporarily detained. The remaining members of the Military and Police Department will also work with people from the Maritime Department to defend the two strategic points of the "New World" and the No. 1 Base.
During this process, reports from the Yulinjiao outpost came at a frequency of once every two minutes: the other party had no intention of slowing down the ship or changing direction, and continued to sail straight to the Victory Harbor.
"Let's go!" Sun Changmi gave the order, and the diesel engine made an ear-splitting roar. The propeller stirred up large waves of water, pushing the nearly thirty-meter-long hull to slowly sail away from the barge.
Considering that the military use after crossing will be far greater than civilian use, these iron-shelled fishing boats were slightly modified by the Ministry of Maritime Transport in accordance with the requirements of the Military and Police Department before crossing. In addition to removing some components such as the Beidou navigation system, In addition to useless tools, The side of the front deck was specially raised, and several shooting holes were left on the side. This could provide better protection for the armed personnel on the deck, and also make it easier for them to shoot in rough seas. Shoot from a more stable crouching position.
The only regrettable thing is that there are currently no more lethal ship guns available in the hands of the people who travel through time. At present, they can only rely on the rifles in the hands of armed personnel to carry out long-range strikes on targets. However, the actual effect of such a strike is relatively limited, whether it kills personnel or destroys ships.
In order to make up for this shortcoming, the Shipping Department specially installed strong steel rams from the top to the bottom of the bow. Originally, the Ministry of Shipping and the Military and Police Department had no idea of how effective this collision angle would be. However, after the capture of the Haicang ship, there were comparable examples. After professional calculations, this crazy ship The wedge-shaped collision angle at a speed of ten knots is enough to tear apart the four-inch-thick Haicang ship in one breath. Even if it cannot be directly smashed into two pieces, it will leave a large V-shaped crack in the hull that cannot be bridged. The person hit will lose the ability to move in a very short time.
According to the designer Sun Changmi, since these iron-shelled fishing boats can make Yue Monkey boats scream in the South China Sea four hundred years later, then in this time and space, there should be no problem in hoisting ships smaller than themselves in tonnage. Not to mention the existence of such a devastating sea-killing weapon like the angle horn.
The iron-hulled fishing boat was less than a kilometer away from the coast, and the shadows of sails could already be seen appearing on the distant sea. At this moment, the sun was setting to the west, and a group of seabirds were flying over the bay, preparing to return to their nests. Below them, an armed conflict seemed to be about to break out.
"Follow the afternoon formation, sail past both sides of the opponent's fleet and see the reaction. Be careful to keep a distance from the opponent's ship!" Wang Tom stood in the cab, looking at the fleet in the distance with a telescope. Orders were given to Sun Changmi and another ship at the same time.
Of course, Sun Changmi remembered what Wang Tom meant by the "afternoon formation", but he did not express any dissatisfaction about it and just responded softly. On the other hand, Xie Chun, the first mate next to him, snorted. It was obvious that Wang Tom's statement had aroused his unquenched inner fire.
As the two sides got closer, Wang Tom could faintly see the figures running back and forth on the sailboat through the telescope. Two of the six larger ships were brigs, while the four smaller ones were sloops. The two larger ships are indeed close to the Haicang ship in size, but they are different in shape. The Haicang ship has a pointed front and a wide back, with upturned heads and a towering bow and stern. The ship in front of us has a long pointed body and is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. When viewed from the direction of the ship, it shows an obvious V-shaped structure.
"It's Guangzhou." Wang Tom put down the telescope and said calmly.
"Do you know Guangzhou?" Xie Chun next to him asked a little unconvinced.
"Fu Guang Sha Niao, I can still recognize the four ancient Chinese ships." Wang Tom had no intention of fighting with Xie Chun and responded to his question with a smile. Sun Changmi responded smoothly: "If it is really a Guangzhou ship, it is hard to say how effective the collision horn installed on our ship will be."
A major feature of Guangzhou Shipbuilding compared to Fuzhou Shipbuilding is that the materials used for Fuzhou Shipbuilding are stronger. Fuzhou Shipbuilding Shipbuilding mostly uses fir, pine, etc., while Guangzhou Shipbuilding Shipbuilding uses a large amount of ironwood, an extremely tough wood, as the main material of the hull. According to the "Coastal Defense Compilation" written by Wang Zaijin in the Ming Dynasty, "Guangzhou regarded the Fuchuan as being particularly large, and its sturdiness was far greater. The Guangzhouchuan was made of iron wood, and the Fuchuan was nothing more than a pine and fir tree. If the two ships hit each other in the sea, the lucky ship will be broken, and it cannot be used as a strong iron." By the way, this dear friend is currently serving as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel in Nanjing, and will be transferred to the Minister of the Ministry of War in the near future.
"If it's really pirates, we don't need to sink their ship, just make them lose their ability to move at sea." As the distance got closer, Wang Tom picked up the telescope again: "It seems that the other party has also paid attention. It's our turn... everyone on deck seems to be in a panic."
"It would be strange not to panic! Our ship is just running on the sea without masts and sails. If these people don't get scared, they will be brave." Xie Chun's mood gradually became excited. After all, he was about to personally participate in a naval battle in the early 17th century, which was still unimaginable for a former maritime department employee.
The fleets on both sides were approaching quickly on the sea. When they saw these two strange ships rushing towards their own fleet, the opinions on several sailing ships did not seem to be completely unified. Some ships were still charging straight forward, and some were still rushing forward. The ship was trying to adjust its direction to avoid the strange ship coming from the opposite side.
When the two sides were still about a hundred meters apart, Wang Tom suddenly said: "Turn the rudder and walk from the outside! There are cannons on that ship!"
When Sun Changmi heard this, his heart suddenly became excited, and he quickly hit the left full rudder. Although the ship-borne guns of this era were not very powerful, if by chance they were lucky enough to hit the cab with glass windows on all sides, it was impossible to expect the glass to block the shells.
Almost at the same time, several people in the cab saw a puff of white smoke rising from the bow of the ship on the opposite side, and then there was a muffled "bang" sound. It seemed that the other party couldn't hold it back, and directly fired at Baidu. The gun was fired from a distance of 100 meters.
Sun Changmi and Xie Chun both subconsciously wanted to bury their heads to avoid it, but seeing Tom Wang motionless, they felt a little ashamed of their timidity. In fact, Wang Tom didn't move because he knew very well that at this distance, no matter in terms of range or shooting accuracy, this kind of inferior cannon could not hit his ship. During this period, in addition to the gunboats started to be built by some Western maritime countries, naval warfare in East Asia still remained at the level of gang jumping and fire attack as the main offensive methods. The few ship-based guns on the ship were basically used to listen to the sound to strengthen their courage. , the role it can play in actual combat is quite limited.
Sure enough, the place where the shell finally hit the water was at least thirty or forty meters away from the iron-shelled fishing boat. After the shot was fired, there was no movement on the bow of the other side's ship. Instead, several more muskets protruded from the side of the ship, crackling. Played a few times. There were also people who leaned out with knives and guns in their hands and yelled curses, but they were too far away to hear what they were yelling at. In Wang Tom's opinion, such an attack can only be said to be better than nothing, and the effect of scaring is greater than killing. However, since the other party has taken the initiative to launch an attack, it can at least confirm that the other party's identity is not a good person, so that the time travelers will not have any psychological pressure if they take action next.
"I think they really didn't expect us to come out of the port to greet them." Wang Tom patted Sun Changmi on the back: "The ship is handed over to you. I have to go out and teach them how to behave. By the way, contact Tao Tao Boss, tell him we have started fighting here.”
The armed men crouching on the front deck had already set up their guns and were waiting for orders from Tom Wang. Tom Wang walked to the front deck with HK416, stood firmly, and said loudly: "Save bullets, aim and shoot again, ten rounds for each person, shoot freely!"
Because the ammunition they carried was very limited, the members of the military and police department only fired live ammunition a few times before crossing, and they did not even conduct live ammunition shooting training after crossing. This was a good opportunity today, and the crisp sound of gunfire immediately It rang on the front deck.
In order to ensure the safety of the iron-hulled fishing boat, when it finally passed by the two leading ships of the opponent's fleet, the distance between them was at least thirty meters, which was much further than this afternoon when the North American gang teased the rookie crew. This distance and the bumps of the waves are not ideal conditions for traversers who lack live ammunition shooting experience. Despite this, despite the concentrated firing of hundreds of bullets, someone was lucky enough to hit the target, because a clearly audible scream came from the opponent's deck, and it seemed that more than one person was hit by the sound.
(End of chapter)