Compared with the stormy waves and turbulent currents in the Mozambique Channel, the sea in Maputo Bay, which is just a bay away, is calm, because there is no Qing naval fleet in the bay, and the British fleet and supply ships are directly anchored in the sea ten kilometers away from the Qing army's Maputo coastal defense position.

The flagship 'Sultan' in the center is a battleship that was launched only the year before last, with a displacement of 9,693 tons, a length of 99 meters and a width of 18 meters, a steam sail hybrid, equipped with 8 254 mm caliber front-loading rifled guns and 4 228 mm caliber rear-loading rifled guns.

The "Sultan" was not equipped with the strongest firepower, and the battleship "Sovereign" with a displacement of 8455 tons on the left was equipped with four front-loading rifled guns of 305 mm caliber, 2 rear-loading rifled guns of 228 mm, and 10 rear-loading rifled guns of 152 mm.

The reason why the 'Sultan' can be used as the flagship is because of its large tonnage, thick armor, and advanced design concept, and all the guns of the ship are placed in a more than 20-meter-long armored gun group in the middle of the hull, which is obviously superior to the broadside artillery ironclad ship.

On the deck, Vice Admiral He Bu, commander of the South African Expeditionary Force's fleet, held a telescope and carefully observed the Qing army's coastal defense position on the opposite side.

Rear Admiral and Captain Arthur Hood of the 'Sovereign' put down his binoculars and said: "Under normal circumstances, it takes several years to build a general coastal defense position, and Portugal originally had no coastal defense in Maputo at all, and the Qing army bought Maputo from Portugal for only half a year, just half a year, it is not easy to have such a scale." ”

He Bu said in a sullen voice: "The Qing army is good at building positions, trench warfare is the first use of the Qing army in actual combat, Humen in Guangzhou, Wusong in Shanghai, and Dagukou in Tianjin are all first-class coastal defense fortifications. ”

Arthur Hood glanced at him, and swallowed the words to his mouth, when Britain, France, Spain and the Netherlands jointly sent troops to the Qing State, Hebu was the commander of the naval fleet, and in the first battle of Tianjin, the combined fleet was blocked in the Bohai Bay by the Qing naval fleet, which eventually led to the four countries being forced to end the war through negotiations under the hopelessness of retreat, and that war was an unbearable humiliation for Britain and France, and for Hebu, it was also a very disgraceful stain in his military career.

He Bu seemed to know what he wanted to ask, and said slowly: "The Qing army has been operating in Maputo for too short, and this position is not at the same level as Dagukou in Tianjin. After a pause, he continued: "The Qing army soldiers are cunning and ruthless, without any gentlemanly demeanor, and they should not underestimate the enemy under any circumstances. ”

Nodding slightly, Arthur Hood said: "It's still early, why don't you send a few warships to test the other party's firepower deployment ........" ”

It is indispensable to test the opponent's firepower deployment, Hebu pondered for a moment before saying: "The Qing army in Pretoria can have large-caliber heavy artillery, Maputo's heavy artillery is naturally impossible to be less, and the wooden-hulled battleship may not be able to carry it, let the 'avant-garde' and 'Prince Albert' test it." ”

On the coast, the Qing army's position, the No. 3 main battery, watching the two ironclad ships slowly approaching, the company commander Lin Hongsheng was excited, "It's really arrogant, I actually used the ironclad ship to test ......." As he spoke, he turned his head to look at the battalion commander Song Deheng, "Battalion commander, our three main guns can definitely sink these two iron bumps." ”

Song Deheng didn't even put down the binoculars, and asked directly: "Have you ever fought an ironclad ship?" ”

"Nope." Lin Hongsheng said a little shyly: "This is the first time my subordinates have seen an ironclad ship. ”

"Ironclad ships are so easy to sink." Song Deheng said softly: "The thickness of the armor is 45 millimeters, I'm afraid our cannon is a bit mysterious, unless it is closer." ”

After hesitating, Lin Hongsheng said, "Don't we have special shells?" ”

Song Deheng put down the binoculars and rolled his eyes at him, and said, "Two ironclad ships, you just shook off all the money for others?" How to fight in the back? Be prepared and wait for orders. As he spoke, he took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took out one of his own and lit it, and then threw the cigarette to Lin Hongsheng, "Scatter around." ”

The "Hercules" has a displacement of 8,971 tons, a huge size, and is one of the capital ships, and the "avant-garde" has a displacement of 6,106 tons, which is a medium-sized warship. ”

Listening to the unconsciously revealed joy in the words, Jiang Baxiang frowned and said, "Shouldn't you have changed your mind?" ”

"It's really tempting." Tang Zaosheng said: "He Bu actually sent the main warship to test our firepower, which is really atmospheric." ”

"If we don't send the main battleship, how can we test our firepower?" Jiang Baxiang said unhurriedly: "Should you obey his wishes?" ”

After a slight groan, Tang Zao said: "If we can sink a British main warship and the news is transmitted back to China, will it be exciting?" ”

"What's there to excite? Our navy fought against England, and ....... more British warships were sunk. Jiang Baxiang said straightly: "Let's not talk about whether it can be sunk for the time being, let's talk first, if it is sunk, what will be the result?" As soon as the war began, the British army was sunk two capital ships, and if you were replaced, would you be in a hurry?

The task assigned by the headmaster is to let us hold on for ten days, to ensure that Maputo does not fall within ten days, and to provoke the British army as soon as the war begins, which I do not approve of. ”

"I'm still in a hurry, that's what I said." Tang Zaosheng said with a smile: "According to the original plan, use a few special bombs to scare the two warships away, so that the other party will suffer and lose." ”

The two battleships, the "Hercules" and the "Avant-garde", did not dare to get too close, and slowly stopped four thousand meters away, and the British troops on the two battleships did not know that as soon as their speed slowed down, the observers of the Qing army on both sides of the line were constantly reporting the positions of the two ships.

At this time, the artillery did not have optical ranging and the like, and the distance was close to the direct aiming method, such as the shore defense artillery, the firing range was too far, and the direct aiming method was naturally difficult to work, and the Nanyang Navy was using a stupid method, setting up vertical and horizontal scale marks in the position, and according to the scale of the report, the distance of the battleship could be accurately calculated, so as to fire at the artillery.

This method was first used in actual combat in the Humen Fort, and the effect was amazing, so it was further promoted, but this was only limited to inland rivers and bays, and did not work on the sea.

The crisp telephone ringing of "Tick Bell" sounded in the ammunition reserve room behind and below the No. 3 main battery, and the communication liaison soldier hurriedly stepped forward to pick up the microphone, "I'm No. 3." ”

"Special ammunition loading! The elevation angle is six, and the direction is 15 ...... to the left. ”

Gun emplacement three, "Report, reloaded!" ”

"Report, aim done!"

"Fire!"

On the sea, the "Hercules" had just stopped, and the artillerymen were busy loading the shells and turning the muzzles. With a dull cannon sound, all the British officers on the battleship were stunned, and the cannon was fired?

For 200 years, the British Navy has been adhering to the tactics of firing artillery at close range, although the range of heavy artillery is getting farther and farther, but the hit rate of artillery is also lower at the same time, like this distance of 4,000 meters away, even if it is aimed at again and again, if you want to hit accurately, it depends on luck, and their battleships stop to see if they can't wait, and the Qing army can't wait to open fire, and they naturally look down on it in their hearts.

Before the British officers and men could burst into a sense of superiority, the battleship shook, and then a huge explosion sounded, and the deck suddenly burst into flames, and before they could return from their astonishment, another shell fell on the nearby sea, and the waves raised by the explosion made the battleship tilt, and then several shells whistled, and the hit was extremely accurate, and the deck and the ship's side connection were hit three times, and the missed shells were also in the nearby sea.

The unprepared officers and men on the ship suffered heavy casualties, and what made them even more shocked was that the shells not only exploded with amazing power, but also produced a large fire after the explosion, and the flames formed would flow in all directions like water, and the smoke produced after the explosion was not white but yellow.

The officers and men on the ship who witnessed all this were terrified, this is a newly invented cannonball from the Qing Dynasty? What kind of shell is this?

The situation of the "avant-garde" was similar to that of the "Hercules", two bullets were hit on the deck and on the side of the ship, and the casualties were also miserable, fortunately, the boilers were not damaged, where did the two battleships dare to stay, and hurriedly retreated at full speed, with such a high hit rate of the Qing army, another round of shelling, maybe there was no chance to retreat!

On the sea in the rear, the officers and men of the British Navy who had been paying close attention to the battle situation were stunned to see this scene, the tragic situation of the two ironclad ships made them all cowardly, the Qing army's heavy artillery hit rate was beyond their imagination, the distance of four thousand meters, the hit rate could be so high, how to fight this battle? What's more, what kind of shells did the Qing army use? A fire can be lit on the steel deck of an ironclad ship, and what will a wooden-hulled sail warship be burned?

On the flagship 'Sultan', Hebu looked at the two battleships that fled in embarrassment with a bit of distraction, and was speechless for a long time, just to test the firepower of the Qing army, but without firing a shot, it was a round of artillery bombardment by the Qing army.

Arthur Hood was also shocked, all along, he did not take the Qing Navy in his eyes, although the two Eastern Crusades failed, in his opinion, it was completely incompetent, the Qing Dynasty's modern sense of the navy was only created for many years, how could it be the opponent of the British Imperial Navy that had been across the sea for 200 years? The army can be built quickly, but the navy must rely on accumulation!

But the scene in front of him is extremely true to tell him that the navy seems to be able to be built quickly, and the Qing Navy, which has only been established for 30 years, already has the capital to compete with the British Navy!

After a long time, he spoke: "Why is the artillery hit rate of the Qing Navy so high?" ”

"It should be a major breakthrough in artillery aiming technology." He Bu said in a deep voice: "Automatic machine guns, artillery aiming technology, and new gunpowder ......, the Qing Kingdom has surpassed us in the research and development of the military industry. As he spoke, he turned around and returned to the official cabin, but he wondered in his heart, how should this battle be fought?

The two ironclad ships "Hercules" and "Avant-garde" were beaten and fled in embarrassment, which not only shocked the officers and men of the British Navy, but also shocked the Americans and Russians who were watching the battle behind the Qing army's position.

Looking at the two fast-retreating ironclad ships, Tang Zaosheng was full of regret, put down the binoculars, and then he said: "The power of this special bomb is really amazing, even if it can't penetrate the steel armor, such power is enough to pose a fatal threat to the ironclad ship, a 178 mm caliber coastal defense gun can deal with a British capital ship!" ”

Jiang Baxiang glanced at him and poured a basin of cold water on his head, "Don't forget, we don't have many special bombs." ”

"If there are enough special ammunition, you won't worry about not being able to hold it." Tang Zaosheng snatched him a sentence, turned around and raised the telescope again, the power of special ammunition is great, but it cannot be stored for a long time, and the danger is also high, the naval warships dare not carry it with the ship, and the transport ship that transports special ammunition to Maputo explodes on the way, resulting in a serious shortage of special ammunition.

"What's there to see." Jiang Baxiang muttered before saying, "For the British army, this is tantamount to a slap in the face, and it is best that they can delay for a few more days." ”

On the surface of the sea, the two ironclad ships, the "Hercules" and the "Avant-garde," which were emitting thick smoke, escaped at full speed for two nautical miles, only to slow down and gradually stop, and the officers and men on the ships finally extinguished the fire on the ships after a long period of busyness, and the battleships were full of charred and blackened corpses of officers and men, and the steel deck hit by the shells had been seriously burned and deformed.

The British flagship 'Sultan' official cabin, Hebu stood by the porthole with a pipe in his mouth and looked at the two ironclad ships that were slowly returning, and he breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, although the new shells of the Qing army were powerful, they could not sink the ironclad ships after all, as long as they knew the situation of the Qing army's shells, they could still prevent it, although this time the temptation was a little embarrassing, but it was still worth it.

It's just that the firepower deployment of the Qing army's position has not been able to figure it out, and only more than ten guns have opened fire on the Qing army's position.

Intensive shelling directly with large-caliber naval guns? At present, it seems that there is only this way, but he has to guard against the fact that the Qing army also has large-caliber heavy artillery, and he is also a little afraid when he thinks of the Qing army's super high artillery hit rate.