Chapter 417: Close Range Salvo (Page 1/1)

The seven large warships left in the middle of the Qing army continued to fire after completing the turn.

However, the hit rate of the front-loading smoothbore guns was really pitiful, especially since the Jianyu did not concentrate on the use of the cannons, so all the four twelve-pounder and six nine-pounder guns in the bow of the ship fired three rounds, and only three shells hit the Ming warship.

Of the three guns, only one twelve-pound shell pierced the upper left freeboard of the Jianchang at a distance of 120 paces. Fortunately, however, the Jianchang's thick hull neutralized most of the power of the shell, and the iron ball entered its hold at the end of its powerful crossbow, and after knocking down a nine-pounder gun, it finally landed on the ground.

However, Rao was like this, and the sawdust from the shell still caused eight Ming gunners to fall in a pool of blood, and several others were a little dizzy when the shells hit the hull.

The medics immediately rushed over the gun deck and carried the wounded to the bilge on stretchers.

But then, the flagship of the Ming army, the Shao Wu, raised the order flag for the whole army to shoot, and at the same time the horn conveyed the same order.

The cannon had already been loaded with gunpowder and shells, and the sight had repeatedly calibrated the muzzle, and all the Ming soldiers held their breath. When he heard the order to open the cannon, more than fifty cannons of various calibers roared almost instantly.

Most of the six- and nine-pounder guns were replaced with chain or grapeball shells, which were aimed at the decks of Qing warships.

As the name suggests, chain shells are two shells that are connected together with an iron chain and loaded into the breech at the same time. After the shot, the two iron balls rotated around each other under the traction of the iron chain, and it was easy to entangle the mast of the enemy ship during the flight.

In this round of artillery fire, the Ming army fired a total of 13 chain bullets, two of which accurately hit a "Chang" warship and a "Xuan" 900 Fufu ship.

Under the tremendous force of the shells, the foremasts of the two ships were easily broken like matchsticks, and even the main mast of the "Dingxuan" was folded back forty degrees under the residual force of the chain bullets, and a puff of wooden ballast burst out in the middle.

And those captives who were lucky enough to escape the chain bullets fled south to shoot other shotguns. At a close range of 100 paces, with the coverage of scattered bullets, it is definitely a hundred times more difficult to miss than to hit.

Rigid sails are not like cloth sails, which are torn apart like paper when pulled by shotguns. If the rib in the middle of the sail is shot, it will cause the small half of the sail to fly out.

With the fire of this round of medium and light guns alone, the masts or sails of the four oncoming enemy ships were almost completely destroyed, and the foresail of one was torn off more than half. Only the two rearmost boats were able to preserve their power.

The real Grim Reaper was the Ming army's 12-pounder and 18-pounder guns. In particular, the three eighteen-pounder guns located on the lower gun deck on the port side of the Shao Wu.

Dawn stared at the enemy ship at the front from the muzzle of the gun, and said without looking back: "Two more laps higher." ”

The igniter immediately turned the handle on the tail screw of the cannon as he said, and the muzzle of the cannon of more than 3,000 catties was immediately pressed down.

Chenxi squinted her eyes and glanced at it a few more times, shook her head and said, "You have to raise it a circle...... Ah, good! ”

Then the igniter pulled the hammer next to the fire door hard, wrapped the rope connecting the trigger twice around his fingers, and took three steps back.

Almost at the same time, the sound of the horn giving the order to fire the cannon arrived, and Dawn made one last check, retreating to a safe distance.

Amid the roar of the artillery beside him, the igniter keenly heard the commander shouting "six", and he immediately pulled the firing rope in his hand without hesitation.

With a loud noise that made the cannon compartment tremble slightly, a huge iron ball hit the "Chang" ship at the front with an unstoppable momentum.

The position of the waterline was very particular, if the impact point was too high for the sea water to fill the ship, and if the impact point was too low, it would burrow into the water, and the huge resistance of the sea water could easily reduce the power of the eighteen-pounder gun to the point of inferior to the four-pounder gun.

Dawn aimed extremely accurately, and the shell was almost close to the water, hitting the left side of the bow of the enemy ship.

The devastating force of the cannonball smashed a terrifying black hole into the front side of the ship, and then used the residual momentum to penetrate two layers of watertight cabins in a row before finally stopping.

As the ship was still moving high, the sea water rushed into the breach frantically, and in just a few breaths, the huge warship, which was nearly two feet high, fell to the left side.

(End of chapter)

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