Compared with the wind and waves and turbulent currents in the Mozambique Strait, the sea surface of Maputo Bay, which is only a bay, is calm. Because there is no Qing naval fleet in the bay, the British fleet and supply fleet are directly moored on the sea surface ten kilometers away from the Qing army's Maputo coastal defense position.

All the first two rows are English-Geney's proud ironclad ships. The flagship "Sultan" in the center is a battleship launched only two years ago. It has a displacement of 9,693 tons, a length of 99 meters and a width of 18 meters. It is a steam sail hybrid, equipped with 8 254 mm front-mounted rifled guns and 4 228 mm rear-mounted rifled guns.

The "Sultan" is not equipped with the strongest firepower. The "Son" battleship with a displacement of 8,455 tons on the left is equipped with four 305mm caliber front-mounted rifled guns, two 228mm rear-mounted rifled guns, and 10 152mm rear-mounted rifled guns.

The reason why the "Sultan" can be used as a flagship is because of its large tonnage, thick armor and advanced design concepts. All the artillery of the ship are placed in an armored gun group of more than 20 meters long in the middle of the hull - the central gun group ship, which is significantly better than the iron armored ship on the side of the gun.

On the deck, Lieutenant General Hebu, commander of the South African Expeditionary Fleet and Navy, held a telescope and carefully observed the Qing army's coastal defense position opposite. Although it was not real, it could be roughly seen that the entire position was quite large and the layout was very reasonable.

Arthur Hood, the captain of the 'monarch', put down his telescope and said: "Under normal circumstances, it takes several years for ordinary coastal defense positions to be built. Portugal originally had no coastal defense in Maputo, and it took only half a year for the Qing army to buy Maputo from Portugal. It was not easy to have such a scale in just half a year."

He Bu said in a muffled voice: "The Qing army is good at building positions, and trench warfare was the first used by 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 his words again. When Britain, France, Europe and the Netherlands jointly sent troops to the Qing Dynasty, Hebu was the commander of the naval fleet. In the battle of Tianjin, the joint fleet was blocked in the Bohai Bay by the Qing naval fleet, which eventually led to the four countries being forced to negotiate to end the war through negotiations. That battle was a 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 operated in Maputo for too short, and this position is not at the same level as Dagukou, Tianjin." After a pause, he continued: "The Qing army used cunning and vicious soldiers, without any gentlemanly demeanor, so don't underestimate the enemy under any circumstances."

After nodding slightly, Arthur Hood said: "It's still early, should we send a few warships to test the other party's firepower deployment..."

It is essential to test the opponent's firepower deployment. He Buliu pondered for a moment before saying: "The Qing army in Pretoria can have large-caliber heavy artillery, so Maputo's heavy artillery is naturally impossible. The wooden shell warship may not be able to withstand it. Let the "Avant-garde" and "Prince Albert" test it."

On the coast, the Qing army's position, the No. 3 main artillery, watching the two iron armored ships slowly approaching, the company commander Lin Hongsheng looked excited, "I'm really generous, I actually used the iron armored ship to test..." As he said that, he turned to look at the battalion commander Song Deheng, "Battery Commander, our three main artillery can definitely sink these two iron lumps."

Song Deheng didn't even put down his telescope and asked directly: "Have you ever attacked the ironclad ship?"

"No." Lin Hongsheng said shyly: "This is the first time I have seen an iron-clad ship."

"The iron armored ship is so easy to sink." Song Deheng whispered: "The armor thickness is 4-5 mm. Our cannon is probably a bit mysterious unless it is placed closer."

After hesitating for a while, Lin Hongsheng said: "Don't we have special shells?"

Song Deheng put down his telescope and looked at him, saying, "Two iron armored ships, you can shake off your family's assets? How to fight later? Make all kinds of preparations and wait for orders." As he said that, he took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took out one of them and threw them to Lin Hongsheng, "Spread it apart."

The "Herce" has a displacement of 8,971 tons and is a huge body. It is one of the main battleships. The "Qianwei" has a displacement of 6,106 tons. It is a medium-sized warship. Looking at the two ironclad ships slowly approaching from the telescope, Tang Zaosheng, who originally planned to hide his strength, couldn't help but feel a little moved, "Lao Jiang, these two should be the main battleships, and that big one must be."

The joy that was unconsciously revealed in the obedient words, Jiang Baxiang frowned and said, "Are you changing your mind?"

"It's indeed a little tempted." Tang Zaosheng said: "He Bu actually sent the main warship to test our firepower, which is really grand."

"How can we test our firepower if we don't send the main warship?" Jiang Baxiang said slowly: "Will you not fulfill his wish?"

After pondering for a moment, Tang Zaosheng said: "If we can sink a British main warship and the news will be transmitted back to China, will it be exciting?"

"What's there to be excited about? Our navy fought against England and there were more British warships sinking..." Jiang Baxiang said straight: "Let's not talk about whether it can be sunk for now. Let's talk about what the result would be if it sunk? As soon as the war started, the British army was sunk two main battleships. If you were replaced, would you be anxious?

The principal assigned the task is to let us hold on for ten days and ensure that Maputo will not fall within ten days, and will anger the British army as soon as the war begins. I do not agree."

"I'm still anxious, I just said that." Tang Zaosheng smiled and said, "As planned, he used a few special bullets to scare away the two warships, causing the other party to lose their worries."

The two battleships, the "Herrors" and the "Fengwei", did not dare to get too close. They slowly stopped four thousand meters away. The British troops on the two battleships did not know that as soon as their speed slowed down, the observers from the Qing army across the two lines were constantly reporting the positions of the two ships.

At this time, the artillery did not have optical range measurements or the like. The close distance was to adopt the direct aiming method. The heavy artillery such as the Elephant Defense Cannon had a long range and the direct aiming method was naturally difficult to work. The Nanyang Navy used a stupid method to set vertical and horizontal scale lines on the position, and based on the reported scale, the distance of the battleship can be accurately calculated, thereby firing the various elements at the artillery.

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

"Die Lingling" a crisp phone ringtone rang in the ammunition reserve room below the main turret of No. 3. The communication liaison soldier hurried forward and picked up the microphone, "I am No. 3."

"Special bullet loading! Elevation angle six, direction left 15..."

No. 3 gun position, "Report, loading is complete!"

"Report, aiming is completed!"

"fire!"

On the sea, the "Hergen" had just stopped, and the artillery soldiers were busy loading shells and turning the gun mouth. Before all the artillery bombardment was settled, they heard a dull sound of cannons from "boom!". All the British officers on the warship were stunned. Did they fire the artillery?

"Boom boom boom boom" cannons sounded one after another. Seeing this situation, the British officers and soldiers on the two warships were a little disdainful. For two hundred years, the British Navy has been adhering to the tactic of close-range firing. Although the range of heavy artillery is getting farther and farther, the shooting rate of the artillery is also lower. For a distance of four thousand meters, even if you aim again and again, you will have to hit it accurately. The Qing army can't wait to fire the artillery after seeing it. Naturally, they look down on it in their hearts.

Before the British officers and soldiers could burst into superiority, the warship was shocked, and then a huge explosion sounded. The deck suddenly burst into flames. Before they could come back from their shock, another shell fell on the nearby sea. The explosion of waves made the warship tilt. Then, several more shells roared, and the attack was extremely accurate. Three shots were hit on the connection between the deck and the ship's side, and the dead shells were also on the nearby sea.

The unprepared officers and soldiers on the ship immediately suffered heavy casualties. What shocked them even more was that the shells not only had amazing explosive power, but also produced a large fire after the explosion. The flames formed would scatter like water. In addition, the smoke produced after the explosion was not white but yellow smoke.

The officers and soldiers on the ship who witnessed all this were frightened. This was the shell invented by the Qing Dynasty? What kind of shell is this?

The situation of the "Fengwei" is similar to that of the "Hercules". Two shots were shot on the deck and the ship's side, and the casualties were terrible. Fortunately, the boiler was not damaged, so the two warships dared not stay there. They quickly pulled back with the high hit rate of the Qing army, and another round of artillery attacks might not even have a chance to retreat!

In the sea behind, the British naval officers and soldiers who had been paying close attention to the battle situation were all stunned. The tragic situation of the two iron armored ships made them all feel timid. The extremely high hit rate of the Qing army's heavy artillery exceeded their imagination. The hit rate of four thousand meters was so high. How to fight this battle? What's more, what shells did the Qing army use? A large fire could be ignited on the steel deck of the iron armored ship. What would the wooden sail warship be burned?

On the flagship "Sultan", Hebu looked at the two warships that were fleeing in a daze, and couldn't speak for a long time, but just tried the Qing army's firepower. As a result, he was hit by a round of artillery before the shot was launched. Fortunately, two iron-clad ships were sent. If it were a wooden sail warship, it would be too late to rescue the fire.

Arthur Hood was also shocked. He never took the Qing Navy seriously forever. Despite the failure of the two Eastern Expeditions, in his opinion, it was completely incompetent. The Qing navy's modern significance has only been established for so many years. How could it be the opponent of the British Empire's navy that had been traversing the ocean for two hundred years? The army can be quickly accomplished, but the navy must rely on accumulation!

But the scene in front of him was extremely true that the navy seemed to be able to succeed quickly. The Qing Navy, which had only been established for 30 years, already had 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 that artillery aiming technology has made a major breakthrough." He Bu said in a deep voice: "Automatic machine gun, artillery aiming technology, and new gunpowder... The Qing Dynasty has surpassed us in military research and development." As he said that, he turned around and returned to the official cabin, but thought in his mind, how to fight this battle?

The two ironclad ships "Hergen" and "Forward" were beaten to flee in a panic. Not only did they shock the British naval officers and soldiers, but the Americans and Russians watching the battle behind the Qing army's positions were also shocked. However, in addition to being shocked, they were also secretly glad that fortunately, they were not enemies of the Qing country, but allies.

Looking at the two iron armored ships that were quickly retreating, Tang Zaosheng looked full of regret and put down his telescope. He said: "The power of this special bullet is indeed amazing. Even if it cannot penetrate the steel armor, such power is enough to pose a fatal threat to the iron armor. A 178mm caliber coastal defense can deal with a British capital ship!"

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

"If there is enough special bombs, you won't be worried that you can't hold it anymore." Tang Zaosheng snatched him, turned around and raised his telescope. The special bombs are powerful, but they cannot be stored for a long time, and the danger is also high. Navy warships dare not carry them with the ship. A transport ship that transported special bombs to Maputo exploded on the way, resulting in serious shortage of special bombs.

"What's so good about it?" Jiang Baxiang muttered, and said: "For the British army, this is like a blow, it's better that they can delay for a few more days."

On the sea, the two ironclad ships "Herce" and "Fengwei" with thick smoke escaped for a full speed, then slowed down and gradually stopped. After a long busy schedule, the officers and soldiers on the ship finally put out the fire on the ship. The warship was full of burnt charred corpses of officers and soldiers, and the steel deck hit by artillery shells had been severely burned and deformed.

In the official cabin of the British flagship "Sultan", Hebu stood by the porthole with a pipe in his arms and looked at the two slowly returning iron armored ships. He felt relieved. Although the Qing army's new shells were powerful, they could not sink the iron armored ships. As long as they knew the situation of the Qing army's shells, they could still prevent them. Although this test was a bit embarrassing, it was still worth it.

However, the firepower deployment of the Qing army's positions was not clear. Just now, there were only more than ten positions of the Qing army and ten artillery fired. Obviously, the Qing army had some reservations and did not fully expose their firepower. How should we fight in this battle next?

Directly using large-caliber naval guns to carry out intensive bombardment? It seems that there is only one way at the moment, but he has to be wary of the Qing army having large-caliber heavy artillery. Thinking of the Qing army's super high shooting hit rate, he felt a little scared.
Chapter completed!