[237] Close Combat Deng Shichang received an order to appoint him as the commander of the North Sea Fleet. He was asked to lead the North Sea Fleet to Qingdao for refitting and then go south to fight to the death with the Chinese Fleet of the Royal Navy. He thought he had heard it wrong. He read the telegram repeatedly and found out. It's true. ~ Along with the combat telegram, a secret telegram from Yao Fan was sent to Dagukou, Tianjin, which was personally delivered by the commissioner of the Intelligence Department. Deng Shichang opened the telegram, which contained only one simple sentence: "Prove your courage to the motherland, and then the motherland can trust you with the fleet that dominates the world." Deng Shichang had seen the royal fleet showing off its power in China's territorial waters, and knew what a powerful group it was. opponent. While sailing south to Qingdao, he also thought about whether the new government wanted to test his loyalty, or whether it wanted to use the hands of the British to eliminate the remaining naval officers and soldiers of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. For this latter idea, Deng Shichang quickly ruled it out. Chen Weipeng, political commissar of the North Sea Fleet, was sent from Beijing by the General Political Department. Chen Weipeng was a man of loyal character and resourceful and decisive in dealing with matters. He had attended a private school but did not pass the examination as a scholar. His family opened a lacquerware shop. He was born in a small handicraft family and used his enthusiasm for the Republic. and fanatical admiration for Yao Fan dispelled Deng Shichang's concerns. "Old Deng! Why bother doing this for the sake of the motherland?! The revolutionary army led by Chairman Yao was invincible and liberated the whole country! How arrogant the five-nation coalition forces that came to interfere in China's internal affairs! Weren't they also beaten to pieces! The Yangtze River Fleet When they encountered our revolutionary army, they were beaten to a pulp, and all six ships were fed to the bastards!" Since Chen Weipeng came to the North Sea Fleet, he has led dozens of people from his political department to provide ideological education to the sailors and officers. Deng Shichang understood that the ship was now full of Chen Weipeng's people, and everyone was looking forward to the new China and the new life where everyone was equal as preached by the political commissar and the instructors of the Political Department. The government has not adjusted the salary of junior officers and soldiers of the Navy. It is still 10 taels of silver for a first-class sailor and 20 taels of silver for a first-class gunner. However, the original income of senior naval officers has been greatly reduced. For example, the annual salary of a naval admiral plus the annual salary of a ship. The annual salary of 8,400 taels was forcibly determined according to the unified salary standards for the entire army. Although Deng Shichang was promoted from the gunboat "Haidongyun" to the position of commander of the North Sea Fleet, his monthly salary was only 245 taels and his annual salary was 2,940 taels, which was not much higher than his previous annual income of more than 2,600 taels. But for grassroots sailors, all wages are now paid in full, and there is no deduction. They are paid in full by the Political Department, which is equivalent to doubling their income. ¡° Moreover, the political commissars sent by the new government have no pretensions. They implement the new military discipline of equality between officers and soldiers on the ship and in the base all day long. They no longer kowtow and have abolished all corporal punishment. Therefore, the new government is extremely popular among the grassroots sailors. After more than a month of studying common doctrines, practicing a lot of formation, and emphasizing military appearance and discipline every day, the North Sea Fleet has taken on a completely new look. Deng Shichang knew that the whole country was under military control. Even the original admirals of the Beiyang Navy, Nanyang Navy, Fujian Navy, and Guangdong Navy were dismissed and reviewed. Almost all lay admirals and generals who were transferred from the Army to the Navy had their homes confiscated and shot or were sent to labor camps. Only serious officers were Only professional officers who graduated from Fujian Shipping School can be reused. Nowadays, among the three major fleets adapted from the four major navies, the personnel changes are extremely drastic. The "shipping department" has flourished, and the "political department" who was born in poverty has risen rapidly, and has been inserted into the navy. The Manchu and Qing bureaucracies and the army officers of the Huai Army and Hunan Army were swept away. Under such violent turmoil, Deng Shichang originally only hoped that Mingzhe would protect himself and stay in his beloved navy and work with warships. But it happened that that person heard about him, Deng Shichang, from somewhere, and promoted him to the commander of the North Sea Fleet like a rocket! Deng Shichang had never seen that person, but now his portrait is plastered everywhere. He looks amiable in the portrait, wearing a simple green military uniform like a soldier, but without a red collar badge or a military cap. Deng Shichang had read that man¡¯s work. After reading it, Deng Shichang understood the meaning of the word politics for the first time in his life. Deng Shichang was convinced of the various new teaching materials for the navy secretly issued by the central government. He heard that these were compiled and printed by that person himself. "Principles of Naval Ships", "Navigation and Ship Strength", "Sea State Analysis and Operations", "Basic Maritime Positioning", "Ocean Navigation Ship Maintenance", "Maritime Maneuvering and Formation Regulations", "Navigation Psychology" In principle, these teaching materials are not allowed on the ship. If they are on the ship, they must be destroyed immediately when necessary to avoid falling into the hands of the enemy. Deng Shichang has been eagerly studying these secret teaching materials provided to senior officers within the navy. The more he reads, the more profound and profound he feels, and he admires that person even more in his heart. At the Qingdao pier, Deng Shichang saw something called a crane for the first time.The long crane can lift dozens of tons of cannons off the ship. Some workers brought a strange large iron can onto the ship and used an air gun that sprayed blue fire to cut off the gun base on the bow of the ship like cutting tofu. "I heard that this is the most advanced technology in the world." Political commissar Chen Weipeng said proudly to Deng Shichang. After observing the land shooting performance of the Type 82 80mm recoilless rifle, Deng Shichang was convinced. "The power of this gun is unparalleled! I have never seen such a violent explosive shell. If a wooden ship were to fire one shot, even a thousand-ton ship would not be able to withstand it! It is so powerful but so magical that there is no recoil. Two people can fire the cannon, which is really a weapon for the military. This cannon shell can actually pack the propellant inside. It does not require the artillery to load and tamp the barrel on the battlefield, which greatly saves the firing time. It is 5 to 6 rounds per minute. It is incredible. ! The artillery of the Qing Dynasty always takes three minutes to fire. I have never seen such fast artillery, and its power is so amazing!" Deng Shichang sighed repeatedly. "It's a pity that the range is not enough. If the barrel can be lengthened and thickened, and the shells can be filled with more gunpowder, it will surely be able to reach far. Mounting it on the ship will definitely make our Qing navy prestige in Asia!" Deng Shichang put forward a hypothesis very sensitively. "Old Deng, we must try to fight at close range. Although recoilless guns are powerful, they cannot reach far. Only by rushing within two thousand meters can we defeat our opponents." Political Commissar Chen Weipeng warned. "The British naval guns generally fire at 4,000 meters, with a salvo range of 3,000 meters. To reach within 2,000 meters, you must have the courage to die." "Old Deng." "Comrade Weipeng, don't worry, I, Deng Shichang, will definitely live up to his expectations. Chairman Yao's kindness. "In the spring of 1877, there was a Level 2 easterly wind on the East China Sea. The boundary between water and sky in the distance appeared and disappeared. Snow-white waves lapped at the battleship, accompanied by the loud sound of the steam engine, like an epiphyllum. Life and death. Deng Shichang tensed his muscles and ordered: "All warships raise full sail and form a single line to meet the enemy." So when the Royal Chinese Fleet lined up in a single column to the west of the sea battlefield, the five warships of the North Sea Fleet lined up in a horizontal line. With full sails heading west, the Royal Navy in position T moved hand in hand. "A decisive battle? It seems that these yellow-skinned pigs have not learned the meaning of respect in the several punishments given to them by the British Empire." Griggin looked disdainfully at the lonely figures of the five small boats of over a thousand tons in the North Sea Fleet. The flagship of the Royal Navy's China Fleet, HMS Ellercourt, has a displacement of 4,700 tons, 3,550 horsepower, and a full power output of 12 knots. It can reach 15 knots with full sail and a tailwind. A fifth-level battleship, the Cleopatra, has a displacement of 2,380 tons and a full power output of 2,540 horsepower. The two sixth-level ships Pegasa and Abatros have displacements of 1,130 tons and 940 tons respectively, and steam power of 940 horsepower and 830 horsepower. Even two small gunboats have a displacement of more than 500 tons and a power of 500 horsepower. Compared with the previous blockade fleet that rushed into the Yangtze River, the main force of the Chinese fleet at sea at this moment is the embodiment of its true strength. The flagship of the North Sea Fleet is the Weiyuan, with a displacement of 1,268 tons and a horsepower of 750. It is China¡¯s first and only iron keel warship. The iron keel used for shipbuilding is purchased from France, the main engine is purchased from the United Kingdom, and the hull is manufactured by Fujian Shipyard. In order to cope with the intensification of the revolutionary army's siege of the city, the Fuzhou Shipyard hurriedly moved forward the launch of the warship that was originally supposed to be launched in 1877 to the end of 1876, just in time for the revolutionary army to sweep across the country, so Yao Fan used generous treatment After integrating the national navy, the Weiyuan was transferred to the north as usual in history and became the flagship of the newly formed North Sea Fleet. This is how it is these days. China can¡¯t even build a 750-horsepower marine steam engine, and it can¡¯t cast a qualified iron keel. The only advantage of the Weiyuan is that when the sails are full and the wind is down, it can drive at a high speed of 16 knots. The narrow hull and the structural stability provided by the iron keel allow it to better utilize the wind. The remaining four battleships of the North Sea Fleet have an average speed of 9 to 10 knots, and the full sail is only 13 to 14 knots. With the impact of the North Sea Fleet, full sail and full power, the British Royal Navy opened fire. Seeing the enemy ship firing, Deng Shichang ordered over the walkie-talkie with glaring eyebrows: "Don't be afraid! Come on! Each ship identifies its target, bites it tightly, and must rush into the 2,000-meter range. As long as it can hit one "Sending high-explosive grenades will definitely make the British pull out the list!" With the bombardment of the British fleet, the rhythm of the rolling waves seemed to intensify. The warship, which was slowing down in order to increase its hit rate, vibrated and crushed the surrounding waves and threw them to the sea. The Royal Navy relied on the caliber of the gun barrel and started firing from a distance of 4,500 meters. In 1877, the warship's main gun took three minutes to fire, and some large-caliber artillery even took five minutes to fire. ThisThe North Sea Fleet was given enough time. Deng Shichang understood that according to the current average speed of the fleet of 12 knots downwind, it would take 8 to 9 minutes to close the distance from 4,500 meters to about 1,500 meters. This time is probably enough time for the opponent's naval guns to fire three volleys. Griggin's first shot at 4,500 meters did not choose to fire a salvo. Each ship chose to fire in sequence. The cannons on the battleships made a thumping sound, and fired individually at the North Sea Fleet one after another. What they wanted was That kind of continuous momentum means that there is no intermittent period in the fleet's firing, and there is no need to wait for a long time after the salvo. As a fleet derived from the East India Fleet, the Chinese Fleet of the Royal Navy is small in scale and the warships are of average quality. Except for the flagship HMS Ellercourt, the other ships do not have long-range shooting of 5000 meters to 6000 meters. Therefore, the general approach is to zoom in to 3,000 to 2,000 meters and then flood the opponent with precise and intensive artillery fire. Griggin had sufficient confidence in his warships. With the strength of the Royal Navy's warships, the solid artillery iron pellets of the Qing Dynasty could not be shaken at all. As for the explosive shells of the Qing Dynasty, the explosive shells of the Qing Dynasty could only be broken into 4 to 6 pieces, causing no damage. The force is extremely low. If it hits the thick oak hull of a British warship, it will probably only explode into a black graffiti. Griggin heard Sir Huss who participated in the Second Opium War say that the Chinese navy was extremely cowardly and its artillery range was extremely short, only about 1,500 to 2,000 meters. Once it reached a distance of 500 meters, the British warships would be densely packed. The artillery fire is enough to knock away all the courage of those yellow-skinned pigs. At this time, whether to choose to accept the opponent's surrender or simply beat the opponent into a pile of driftwood at close range depends entirely on the mood of the British Navy.