Chapter 1155: Sweeping Jinzhou Bay
Seeing the miserable state of his opponent, Pan Yan secretly felt lucky for himself. He was lucky enough to survive the gunfire of the Haihan battleship last time. It was less than a year after the establishment of the Jin Navy. Most of the personnel were from the former Ming Navy. However, it seems that this change of camp did not allow them to find the opportunity to rise to prominence. Instead, they ran into the big bad guy Haihan. star.
The "Weiyuan" did not look back to look for the bad luck of those warships, but continued to accelerate towards the depths of Jinzhou Bay. According to the intelligence collected from various channels during this period, the main station of the Houjin Navy in the Liaodong Peninsula is Jinzhou Bay. Obviously, there will not be only the few ships that have appeared. Considering the amount of ammunition carried by the fleet, Wang Tom did not have any illusions about annihilating the Hou Jinshui Division in one fell swoop, but it was necessary to take advantage of this opportunity to inflict heavy damage on it to ensure that they would not have any spare power to harass the Changshan Islands or the Changshan Islands this winter. It is the Jiaodong Peninsula in the south.
It is not difficult to find the dock where the Hou Jin Navy Division docked. After all, the harbor area of Jinzhou Bay is limited, and there are only a few places suitable for building large military docks. Not long after, the lookout on the mast discovered the hiding place of the Houjin navy through the telescope, and confirmed that several warships were sailing away from the shore in a panic.
"Fat!" Wang Tom was very excited after hearing the news. He was not worried that the numerical advantage of his opponent's warships would be able to trap his flagship. After all, the tonnage and speed of the two sides were too different. , As long as the operation of the "Weiyuan" does not go wrong and does not deliberately slow down the speed to allow enemy ships to surround it, the threat that the enemy can pose to the "Weiyuan" is basically within the controllable range. However, it is much easier for the "Weiyuan" to take advantage of its own artillery fire to cause damage to enemy warships. Even if it is not easy to sink the ship with solid shells, it is still not difficult to punch some transparent holes in its hull.
In a stunned state, Pan Yan rushed into the queue of Houjin warships along with the "Weiyuan". The rumbling sound of cannons continued to be heard from the sides of the ships on both sides. This sea monster was attacking almost non-stop. Targets within the range of fire spit out cannonballs. Pan Yan had never thought that naval battles could be operated in this way. In the maritime tactics he learned, basically after a symbolic firearms exchange, the two sides should engage in a boarding battle. The real victory or defeat can be determined by fighting hand to hand. Because everyone's equipment level is basically at the same level, the side with a clear advantage in the number of warships and total tonnage is almost impossible to fail in a naval battle, and the situation at hand is indeed far beyond Pan Yan's understanding.
Although Pan Yan also had the experience of fighting against the Haihan Navy once, he realized at this time that they had deliberately held back last time, or they were limited by the relatively narrow combat environment in the Lushun Port Harbor at that time and did not use it to their full potential. Go all out. Now that the sea is open in Jinzhou Bay, the extraordinary maneuverability of the Haihan battleship can be fully utilized, and the combat effectiveness displayed is far better than the previous performance at Lushunkou.
There are at least more than twenty warships of the Houjin Navy that have left the harbor to fight, but most of them are less than half the tonnage of the "Weiyuan". In terms of the speed of the "Weiyuan", it is impossible to dare to try to stop this behemoth at sea. It's different from using a mantis' arm as a chariot.
The first enemy ship to make this risky attempt was a Cangshan ship. This kind of warship was equipped with two Folan cannons, seven or eight firecrackers, rockets, chimneys, fire bricks, crossbows and other weapons. The whole ship It carries more than thirty people. However, Pan Yan believed that the ship would not be fully staffed, because when the Dengzhou Navy was kidnapped and defected to Liaodong, the number of personnel was only about 60% of the regular establishment. The Jin people were not good at sailing and could sail with the ship Not many men went to sea to fight, and it was almost impossible to fill a gap of this magnitude.
The Cangshan ship began to calculate its speed from a distance, trying to create an arc on the sea and intercept the "Weiyuan" laterally from the direction it was heading. With the maneuverability of the "Weiyuan", it would not be a big problem to avoid this almost futile interception, but Wang Tom was eager to kill and had no intention of adopting an avoidance strategy.
"Aim for the bow of the ship and hit it, don't hold back!" Wang Tom gave the order to the helmsman, and then asked the first mate to immediately sound the ship's whistle alarm to alert the crew and sailors of the upcoming collision.
Of course Pan Yan also heard the high-pitched whistle, but he didn't understand what the signal meant. As he was looking left and right, the officer Haihan next to him pressed him against the side of the ship: "Hold on tight." The cable is about to collide with the ship!”
Pan Yanqi said: "Why don't you avoid the other party..." He stopped asking in the middle of the sentence. He also found that this question was a bit redundant. With the size of the hull that the "Weiyuan" had an absolute advantage, there was indeed no need to avoid it. Open each other. The bow of the "Weiyuan" is also covered with a strong steel ram. If the opponent crosses the hull to block the way, it is just like seeking death.
When the sailors on the other side's ship discovered that the Haihan battleship, instead of trying to slow down or dodge, was accelerating and rushing straight towards it, they could no longer dodge and could only watch the tall "Weiyuan" "He ran into the bow of the Cangshan ship he was on from south to north. The expected scene of using one's own small boat to jam the opponent's large ship did not appear. The collision angle of the bow of the "Weiyuan" easily tore off the side planks of the Cangshan ship like the claws of a wild beast, and then used the huge kinetic energy to pull the Cangshan ship into pieces. The entire bow of the ship was smashed into pieces. Amidst the exclamations of the sailors, the numerous naval guns on the side of the "Weiyuan" roared almost in the face of the enemy. Grape bullets hit the deck of the Cangshan ship overwhelmingly, killing all the people on board. Along with the deck, it was riddled with holes and in pieces.
When Pan Yan saw that the two ships were about to collide, he had already crouched down and grabbed the cable next to the ship's side to prepare for the incident. As the hull of the ship suddenly shook, Pan Yan heard constant exclamations from the other ship. Before he could poke his head out from the side of the ship to look around, he heard the sound of cannons one after another, mixed with A shrill scream.
Pan Yan stood up, leaned out of the side of the boat and took a look, then immediately turned his head unbearably. Even though he had been in the army for many years, he had never seen such a bloody scene in a sea battle. About a quarter of the front part of the Cangshan ship, including the bow, has been turned into broken wooden boards of various sizes floating in the sea. Sea water is pouring into the inner cabin from the damaged part of the bow. The deck was filled with dead or injured sailors lying in a pool of blood, and broken legs and limbs were everywhere. Although there were still many injured people who had not yet expired and were still screaming and moaning in pain, there was no one who could stand up on the entire boat.
When the "Weiyuan" left the ship behind, Pan Yan noticed that nearly half of the ship had sunk, and as far as he could see, no one jumped off the ship to escape. It seemed that the ship There is not a single person left alive. Counting from the time when the two ships collided, the entire battle was over so quickly that no one could even react. As for the result of the battle, it was even more one-sided. Except for the scratched paint on the side of the "Weiyuan", there was almost no other visible damage to the naked eye. Pan Yan had never even thought about being able to defeat his opponent so quickly and thoroughly in a naval battle, let alone experiencing it personally. Although there is indeed a clear gap in the hulls and armament levels of the two sides, Pan Yan was so impressed by the strength of the Haihan Navy that he could cleanly clean up his opponents in such an unreasonable way. This fully demonstrated the strength of the Haihan Navy. The commander was confident in the sturdiness of his warship, and the reaction speed of the artillery from the ship was also perfect. After the impact was completed, the enemy ship was immediately covered with firepower, so that the opponent's chance of escape was completely lost.
The shock effect of this heavy-handed attack was also immediate. There were several warships that originally wanted to approach and intercept, but after seeing the tragic end of their companions, they immediately gave up their original ideas and turned instead. And keep a distance and try to use the long-range weapons on the ship as a means of attack. But it is a pity that no matter in terms of range, accuracy or lethality, the weapons equipped on these former Ming army warships are difficult to compete head-on with Haihan naval guns. The attack effect they can achieve is very limited, and it is difficult to rely on the number of ships. Advantage vs Rampage
"Weiyuan" counterattacked.
After the "Weiyuan" broke the mainmast of another Fu ship, the remaining Houjin warships finally realized that the opponent in front of them was not someone they could challenge with their numerical advantage, whether it was a one-on-one fight or a swarm. Basically, they can only play the role of a target in front of them. Although everyone can think that the ammunition on this big ship is not endless, and sooner or later the opponent's ammunition will be used up if it is used up, but no one is willing to step forward and play the role of cannon fodder. At this time, the Haihan fleet, which had dealt with the first six warships to attack, had also completed its mission and rushed to intervene in this battlefield.
Seeing that the situation was over, Hou Jin's warships began to take the initiative to leave the battlefield and sail to the sea outside Jinzhou Bay. Wang Tom was worried that the supply ship waiting outside would be attacked, so he sent several ships to respond. The "Weiyuan" and other warships continued to sweep along the coastline.
If a desperate pursuit is required, then sixty-seven out of ten enemy ships that escape to the open sea will be overtaken by the Haihan warships, but whether they can be sunk or captured is another question. The ammunition carried by combat ships such as Haihan is indeed limited, and Wang Tom does not dare to use it so much that he can shoot out all the ammunition in one go. Moreover, the coal and fresh water used by the steam engines on the ship are also limited, and the cruising range they can support is limited. It cannot support long-distance pursuits, and it is also very risky to use up all these precious reserves. Therefore, despite the opportunity to cause a greater blow to the Houjin Navy, Wang Tom still chose a more conservative strategy with restraint and shifted his energy to reconnaissance of the enemy.
Before dark, the Haihan fleet captured more than 40 people from the Houjin warship that was damaged and sunk. The identity of the captives this time did not disappoint Wang Tom again. There were actually several Houjin officers among them. Wang Tom organized the fleet to find a deserted small harbor on the south side of Jinzhou Bay to dock and rest. At the same time, he interrogated the Houjin prisoners of war overnight and intermittently got some useful information from them.
Hou Jin's business progress in Jinzhou Bay was very slow. Except for the warship anchorage found on the west side of Monk Island, there were no other decent coastal docks. Of course, this is also related to the objective law that the development of surface combat forces is very expensive but the results are very slow. After all, Houjin is a horseback nation. He started his career in land warfare. He is not good at sea warfare and cannot be like Haihan attached great importance to sea control to a crazy point.
For Hou Jin, it was not a wise choice to form a large navy to attack Shandong or North China across the sea. The preparations alone might take several years, and cross-sea operations are easily affected by climate conditions. All are prone to problems. In comparison, it is far less easy than the land attack they are good at. Every year, they only need to drive the horses to the Xuanda area like herds, and organize thousands of cavalry to enter the Ming Dynasty to burn, kill and loot without any hassle. Isn't it better to worry about being stuck somewhere due to weather than to have an uncertain naval battle?
Therefore, although the Dengzhou Navy and the Dongjiang Town Navy had surrendered to Hou Jin in the past two years, this did not cause the Hou Jin rulers to pay enough attention to maritime operations. The Jin Navy did not increase investment in building ships, but only sent a number of officers to the Navy for management and command. Since the senior leaders of Houjin still lacked trust in the surrendered troops, the scope of activities of the Houjin navy was also limited to the vicinity of the station, so as not to lose restraint after going to the far sea area, and someone would try to defect again and return to the Ming Dynasty.
Under such a situation where laymen commanded experts and there was a serious lack of internal trust, the combat effectiveness that the Houjin Navy could exert was naturally very little. In today's battle, the few warships that dared to attack the Haihan Fleet were almost all commanded by officers from Houjin. They threatened the lives of the sailors' families and personal futures, forcing them to forcibly attack the "Weiyuan" charge.
The consequences of this reckless tactic are already on the table. In today's battle, a total of four Houjin warships were sunk one after another, and no less than ten other warships were injured to varying degrees and then withdrew from the battlefield. The Houjin Navy had at least three hundred personnel, but the casualties on the Haihan Army's side were only in single digits, making it clear who was superior and who was inferior.
However, according to the prisoners' confessions, after being attacked by Haihan two months ago, the Houjin Navy also realized that there might be a large gap in the combat power of the two sides, so it assigned some warships to the Fuzhou Guard in the west of the Liaodong Peninsula. , Gaizhou Guard and other places were stationed on the coast to avoid being defeated by the opponent like the army at Lushunkou. Although what Haihan encountered in Jinzhou Bay today was the main force of the Houjin Navy, it was not the entire combat force.
(End of chapter)