At dawn, Qiao Zhiqing took everyone back to Zhongnanhai.When I first arrived in Beijing, everything was in the midst of intense reconstruction.Qiao Zhiqing also did not have the blessing of the Taiping Emperor, and was born with a life of hard work.As soon as he entered the study, Wei Ziyou happily followed in with a military newspaper.The military report was sent to Beijing last night, but Qiao Zhiqing went out to play, and Wei Ziyou did not rush to inform him."
Brother Qiao, it's good news, good news from the Philippines in Nanyang" Wei Ziyou handed the military report to Qiao Zhiqing with a sweet smile, with a happy smile on his face."
It would be strange if the Boxer Rebellion of more than 10,000 people could not even contain 30,000 Spaniards."
Qiao Zhiqing smiled, with no surprised expression at all, and took the military newspaper and looked at it carefully.This time, with the cooperation of the South China Sea Fleet, the Navy did not add new warships this year, but still the nine ironclad cruisers.Jiangnan Shipyard and Fuzhou Shipyard are building something big, and the moment they try it out on the ocean, it will definitely shock the whole world.Spain's main focus was on the Americas, with only one colony, the Philippines, in Asia.Its national strength was weak, and its original colonies in North America were gradually annexed by the United States.In Spain, there were only more than 3,000 marines to defend it, and the combined number of warships and merchant ships was only a dozen.At that time, Spain's armada dominated the seas for many years, but it did not expect to be overtaken by Britain later.Now that it has fallen again and again, it can only bully countries like the Philippines.The South China Sea Fleet landed directly in Manila, Philippines, with four cruisers in the vanguard and five warships following closely behind to transport troops.Of course, the Spaniards refused to spit out the fat in their mouths, and mobilized twelve warships to fight against the Huaxing army, and deployed defenses in Manila Bay, hoping to crush the Huaxing army in the sea in one fell swoop.On the day that the South China Sea Fleet sailed into Manila Bay, two Spanish ironclad cruisers patrolling the mouth of the bay met the South China Sea Fleet.The four vanguard warships of the South China Sea Fleet immediately followed, and the Spanish warships, seeing that the situation was not good, hurriedly approached the large forces in the bay without firing a single shot.Where was the South China Sea Fleet willing to let go of this opportunity, and it was now working hard to catch up.Because the steam engines of the South Sea Fleet were all improved, they were far faster than the Spanish warships.Spain is fifteen knots per nautical mile, while the South China Sea Fleet has about eighteen knots of warship.When the two sides were 5,000 meters apart, the four warships of the South China Sea Fleet formed a column and fired at the Spanish warships one after another.The sea, unlike the land, has a completely unobstructed view.As long as the artillery can observe the innings, the cannon can be fired.The Spanish battleship was apparently taken aback when it heard the sound of the cannons, and its hull shook slightly in the sea.The four main guns of the general in the bow of the Huaxing army opened fire at the same time, and the cannonball, which was the size of a bucket, instantly burst out and smashed over the stern of the Spanish ship."
Boom, boom, boom" A huge explosion echoed in the sea, and in the first round of firing, only one shell hit the Spanish battleship on the left, and the other three shells fell into the sea one after another, and under the huge impact, the sea water rose into the sky like a fountain.The two Spanish ships were swayed left and right at the same time by the waves rolled by the explosion, and the Spanish battleship on the left was even more pitiful, being hit directly by the mast by the shell.Because the bomb was filled with Shimose gunpowder, a huge flame burst into flames, burning the entire canvas.The Spanish sailors hurriedly extinguished the flames with water, but instead of extinguishing them, the flames burned more violently.The South China Sea Fleet was completely reequipped with breech-loading rapid-fire guns, and the first round of shelling had just ended.Within half a minute, the second round of artillery was bombarded again.With the coordinates of the first time, the two Spanish battleships were clearly not so lucky.All four shells hit the side and stern of the ship, and for a moment the two battleships were like mountains of flaming floating on the sea, reflecting the sea in red.All the soldiers of the Boxers had never seen a naval battle, most of them were from Jiangbei, and they were all dizzy and unable to find their direction within a few days of getting on the ship.Now it was hard to get used to it, and they all got on the splints, and curiously watched the artillery battle of the four battleships in front."
Amazing, really powerful, Huaxingjun is really like a divine help" "Yes, fortunately I didn't confront Huaxingjun at the beginning, otherwise our brother would not be where he is today." ”"I didn't expect our navy to be so powerful, when the British and French ships and guns first entered the Qing Dynasty, what a show of martial power, unstoppable.Within a few years this time, it was quickly overtaken by the Huaxing Army and fell behind to this point. ”The three elders talked to each other, all in front of the excited spectators with binoculars.When they were in military training and reorganization in Nanjing, they were already equipped with the military equipment of the Huaxing Army.Except for the guns used or breech foreign guns, the other equipment is the same as the regular bureau of the Huaxing Army.What Qiao Zhiqing gave them was still a breech foreign gun, trust and distrust are the same thing, and in terms of force, Qiao Zhiqing hopes that the mainland will always maintain absolute deterrence.The Spanish battleship was full of wails, and some sailors were torn apart by the fragments of the shells, and some sailors were burned alive by the flames raised by the explosion."
God, why do you allow these devils to do evil, save your believers."
The captain of the Spanish battleship fell to his knees, constantly wailing into the sky.After repeated bombardment, the two warships had now lost power, and the steam boilers were overturned by the impact of the bombs.Fortunately, however, the hull was not shot and was not flooded."
Turn the bow of the ship and fight with the Chinese" The Spanish captain yelled at the herald, and without doing anything, he simply fought with the Huaxing army."
Woo, woo, woo" whistles sounded, and the two Spanish battleships that were on fire all turned their bows and aimed the muzzles of the double-decker guns on the side of the South China Sea Fleet completely.The South China Sea Fleet also quickly adjusted its tactics, and the two battleships on both flanks still pursued at full speed, while the two battleships in the middle turned their bows and aimed the 30 guns on the side at the Spanish battleships.The commanders on both sides waved the flags for opening their guns at the same time, and a thick explosion burst into the sky, and the warships on both sides sounded at the same time.Hundreds of black dots crossed in the sky in an instant, and the shells of the Huaxing Army almost completely covered the sea area where the two Spanish warships were located.The two Spanish battleships were all equipped with old-fashioned breech guns, which not to mention their short range and poor accuracy.All of them fell five hundred meters in front of the South China Sea Fleet, crackling in the sea like dumplings.The warships of the South China Sea Fleet on both flanks had already penetrated to a kilometer on both flanks of the Spanish warships, and at the same time they were firing with the main guns of the Great Commander.For a moment, the Spanish battleship seemed to be at the center of a storm, and in five minutes, nearly a thousand shells continued to explode on the side and deck, and the waves on all sides rolled as violently as boiling water.After a while, the two warships sank rapidly without any power to return to the sky.Huge waves rushed into the cabin of the battleship, and the entire hull broke in the middle because it could not withstand the tremendous pressure.Like the last roar of a dying man, there was a loud cracking sound, and finally disappeared.The main task of the Huaxing Army was to transport the Boxers to land, so they did not have time to rescue these prisoners, and fired a salvo directly at the sea.Bullets rained down on the sea, and in an instant the Spanish shipwreck was completely covered in blood.The corpses floated above the surface of the sea, attracting countless predatory fish, all of which became a meal for the inhabitants of the sea in this area.These Spaniards slaughtered China several times in the Chinese town, and Qiao Zhiqing did not have a good impression of them, and the order given to the South China Sea warships was that if there were no conditions to capture them, then let them perish happily.In the Spanish military port of Manila, the two warships on patrol were delayed in returning, and the commander of the command was at a loss in a hurry.It had already received a report that the Huaxing Army was about to attack the Philippines, so it sent four warships to cruise in two directions every day.Now the patrol ships with directions have returned, but the two battleships on the left have not moved.To be on the safe side, the remaining ten warships in the harbor set sail at the same time, searching in all directions along the bay.At this time, Hua Xingjun had already sailed into Manila Bay and sailed along the coastline on the right.At dusk, the setting sun shines on the sea as if it were a yellow coat.The South Sea Fleet again encountered five Spanish warships, and both sides sounded the alarm almost at the same moment.Of the five Spanish ships, only two ironclad battleships were used, and the others were all three wooden ships.Moreover, none of the five warships is more than 6,000 tons, and in front of the South China Sea Fleet, it is like facing one behemoth after another.After the South China Sea Fleet knew the range of the Spanish battleship's artillery, it was also relieved to let the four warships in the vanguard outflank the Spanish warship from both flanks.In order to completely annihilate these five Spanish battleships, the five troop transport battleships in the middle line deliberately traveled to a distance of two thousand meters before turning their bows and preparing to fire.The Spanish battleship was completely stupid when it saw the situation, because it was not in the firing range, and still had to move at full speed.At this time, it was impossible to escape, and they all understood that the defense line on both flanks had been outflanked by the Huaxing warships, and they were surrounded no matter which direction they went.At this time, you can only fight to the death, and maybe there is still a chance to live.Nine ironclad warships of the South China Sea Fleet faced the improvised Spanish fleet, and there was no suspense about the outcome of the battle.Five battleships against five battleships in the middle line, the South China Sea Fleet bombarded the Spanish warships in rows at absolutely safe firing distances.The Spanish commander was so depressed that he almost vomited blood, and their most advanced artillery was still within 1,500 meters, and if they wanted to deal with the Chinese warships, they had to rush forward at a distance of 500 meters.However, the five ironclad warships of the Huaxing Army fired almost thousands of shells per minute, like a wall made of cannonballs, so that the Spanish warships could not move at all.At this time, the four battleships that were head-on from both wings also opened fire with the main guns in the bow, and the shells hit the side of the Spanish battleship
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