Chapter 25: Naval Battle (Part 2)

The tension mounted exponentially. On the Chedian, Monde had already locked the fire control director onto the lead European-style ship, just waiting for the command to fire from the bridge.

The distance closed to 2,500 meters. Monde heard a low roar from ahead. Looking up, he saw the Lichun had fired its first shot, and the signal flag for “engage on the starboard side” was raised. He shouted, “High-explosive shells, fire!”

The cannons, already aimed and ready, roared like thunder. The warships behind fired in sequence. Black smoke and multi-colored waterspouts erupted among Zheng Lian’s fleet. The battle had begun.

The Zheng family’s warships immediately returned fire. The Hongyi cannons on every ship fired, regardless of range. Red-hot cannonballs, trailing black smoke, tumbled through the air towards the First Squadron.

Most fell into the sea without getting close. Only a few landed near the fleet, but they were still too far from the warships; the splashes didn’t even wet the decks of the First Squadron’s ships.

“Not even close,” Le Lin said, standing on the bridge of the Yufeng. He held a pair of US Navy binoculars to his chest, dressed in a high-quality replica of a US Navy white summer uniform. Watching the enemy’s shells fall far short, he shook his head, full of confidence. He recalled his days patrolling in a fishing boat and was filled with emotion.

On the Lichun, Gunnery Officer Ruan Xiaowu was hunched over the sight of the forward angle disk, aiming at the waterspout from the first shell’s impact. In one hand, he held a large, alarm-clock-sized stopwatch, calculating the distance. After three months of study, he had just been promoted to this position. Although he was no longer a captain, being a department head on such a large black ship was much better than being the captain of a special service boat. Everyone in the navy knew that the officers, NCOs, and even ordinary sailors chosen to serve on the steam-powered black ships had great prospects.

Since optical rangefinders were a high-tech item that couldn’t be produced reliably yet, the warships were equipped with an artillery rangefinding system using angle disks. An angle disk with a sight was installed at both the bow and the stern. By aiming at the target, the distance could be calculated from the difference in the angles displayed at the bow and stern.

The gunnery officer would add a certain distance to this reading for the first shot, fire a second shot based on the reading, and then a third shot after subtracting a certain distance. The three shots, with equal range intervals and fired in quick succession, allowed for rapid correction of the trajectory based on the impact points.

Although this rangefinding method was primitive and had a large margin of error, compared to the common practice of this era where range was mostly estimated, it was practically alien technology.

“2,350 meters!” he shouted. The fire control center began to calculate the firing solution and adjust the cannons’ elevation. At the same time, the firing parameters were transmitted to the other ships via light signals.

The four gunboats followed the Lichun’s lead and opened fire. Almost all the shells flew towards the lead European ship in Zheng Lian’s fleet. The 700-ton, three-masted ship was almost immediately engulfed in waterspouts. Suddenly, a flash of fire appeared amidst the splashes.

A 130mm high-explosive shell hit the hull, tearing through the hard planks as if they were paper. Hull fragments flew everywhere, decapitating or dismembering seven or eight sailors on deck. A fire immediately broke out.

From then on, the First Squadron’s fire became increasingly accurate. Within just four minutes of the first hit, the ship was struck twice more by 130mm shells. Its masts and rigging were destroyed, and the entire vessel was engulfed in flames, becoming a massive, crippled torch on the sea.

In an instant, Zheng Lian knew he had no chance of winning a gunnery duel. He roared an order for the fire ships to ignite and charge. But at that moment, the next deadly blow arrived. A 130mm high-explosive shell exploded against the several-inch-thick oak hull of his flagship, tearing a huge hole in it. A large section of the hull was thrown into the air and crashed back down onto the deck, crushing several sailors. The powder in the open cartridges on the gun deck ignited and exploded, killing almost all 80 sailors who were loading and firing the cannons in an instant. Flames shot up through the deck gratings.

“Quick, turn the rudder!” Zheng Lian shouted from the sterncastle. The shell had completely jolted him to his senses. This was no longer about victory or defeat; it was about escaping with his life!

However, escaping from the First Squadron’s barrage was not easy. Although the 130mm guns had a slow rate of fire and a limited number of hits, the 75mm guns repeatedly struck the hull and deck, sending splinters flying and starting fires. The helmsman desperately turned the rudder, and the warship swung sharply 180 degrees to port. The wind fanned the flames across the now-exposed deck, and the white-hot tongues of fire spread everywhere. The open powder cartridges on the deck began to explode one by one.

Seeing that a magazine explosion was inevitable, Zheng Lian, despite the height of the sterncastle, leaped into the sea. The moment he jumped, the flames reached the powder magazine. A bright red flame shot up from the deck, followed by a low boom. Charred debris flew through the air. Then, the entire ship was torn apart by a massive explosion. The deck ripped upwards, the masts twisted and collapsed inwards, and the sails were instantly consumed by fire. A towering column of smoke and fire engulfed the thousand-ton ship, and the black smoke lingered for a long time.

The explosion of the flagship shattered the morale of the other warships. The three-masted gunships and the other Fuchuan and Guangchuan ships all turned to flee. But they had come with the wind and tide behind them; changing direction now was extremely difficult. Compared to the First Squadron, which relied entirely on steam power, they were like naked dancers before the enemy. The squadron’s ships seized the opportunity, closing the distance while firing furiously.

The engines roared, the boilers thundered ominously, and the white bow waves were cut and crushed by the hulls. The blue and white “Morning Star” flag flew stiffly from the masts. The cannons on every warship fired as fast as they could, taking advantage of the brief, favorable position to pour as much ammunition as possible onto the enemy. Shells, trailing red wakes, rained down on Zheng Lian’s fleet, periodically erupting in black and red fireballs, sending incandescent debris flying through the air.

The 130mm and 75mm high-explosive shells had a terrifying effect on the wooden ships. The thick hardwood hulls, which could normally withstand solid cannonballs, were now as fragile as paper, torn apart and set ablaze. Although many shells failed to explode due to faulty fuses, the high velocity of the conical shells from the rifled cannons still allowed them to easily penetrate the hulls, causing significant damage.

The dense smoke from the cannons periodically shrouded the decks, only to be blown away by the sea breeze. The lookouts continuously reported the hits to the bridge.

The battle had effectively become a one-sided firing exercise. After their five main warships were heavily damaged or sunk, the Zheng family’s fleet had lost its fighting capability. The remaining ships were simply trying to escape. But their tactically suicidal turn in the face of the enemy made them perfect targets. The gunners did their best to show off their skills, and one ship after another was hit, caught fire, and sank.

More than 14 ships were observed to be hit. Ten of them were burning fiercely, and another five had disappeared from the surface, likely either sunk or having withdrawn from the battle.

The 20-odd fire ships that had entered the battlefield ignited and charged together in the chaos. With the wind and tide in their favor, their position was advantageous. But they were the furthest from the First Squadron, and when they hastily launched their attack, they were still about 3,000 meters away. Even at a speed of 6 knots, they were easily avoided by the First Squadron.

“Damn it!” one of the fire ship commanders cursed, unable to believe his eyes. The “Kunzei” ships were sailing at high speed against the wind. How could they fight this? His own ship couldn’t even turn properly, let alone catch up and ram them.

Once evaded, chasing the steam-powered warships of the First Squadron, which were sailing against the wind and current, was an impossible task for the fire ships that relied on wind for their momentum.

The strong sea breeze not only made it difficult for the sailors to control their ships but also fanned the flames that had already been lit. The scorching air made it impossible for the sailors to remain on board, and they abandoned their ships one by one. The uncontrolled, burning vessels drifted aimlessly, pushed by the wind.

At 10:40 AM, Ming Qiu ordered the First Squadron to cease fire and begin to turn. The ships of the Zheng family’s fleet were either burning fiercely on the water or had sunk to the bottom. Except for a few Fuchuan and Guangchuan ships at the rear that had astutely turned and fled in time, Zheng Lian’s fleet was all but annihilated.

The subsequent fire ships, unaware of the situation ahead, entered the battlefield to find only thick black smoke rising into the sky and the sea littered with burning wreckage. The dense smoke from the cannon fire made the sea dark and gloomy. The sailors on the fire ships were at a loss—they had been ordered to attack on the flagship’s signal, but now the flagship was nowhere to be found, and they couldn’t even see the enemy clearly.

As they hesitated, a gust of sea breeze blew away some of the smoke that shrouded the sea. The sailors on the fire ships suddenly saw a horrifying sight. Their largest warships were burning on the water, and Zheng Lian’s flagship was burned down to the waterline. In the distance, the five black, smoke-belching ships were making a wide turn, their bow waves churning the sea like great sea monsters gathering their strength for a final, deadly strike.

There was little need for hesitation. The moment a 130mm shell screamed past and plunged into the water, the ships all turned and fled in different directions. The sailors had joined the fire ships to earn their pay and a hefty bonus, not to die for nothing.