Qianlong: Qing Dynasty?What about my Daqing?

When the Ming Navy was conducting its final pre-war mobilization.

Inside the battleship HMS Orient, the flagship of the British Empire's Indian Ocean Fleet.

Indian Ocean Fleet Commander John Jervis was also issuing orders.

Compared with the simple formation and monotonous column tactics of the Ming Empire Navy.

The tactics of the British Imperial Navy were much more complex.

Because it is firmly believed that the ironclad is a weapon that is more defensive than offensive.

and so.

Based on this judgment.

The naval tactics of the British Empire followed the tactics of combining horizontal formations and columns.

It is somewhat similar to the army's tactical combination of cavalry, line infantry, and artillery a few decades ago.

Horizontal and column formations must be used flexibly.

Light infantry, line infantry, artillery, heavy cavalry, and light cavalry must also be used in combination.

The tactics are quite complex.

Only the British Imperial Navy, a veteran imperial navy that has dominated the oceans for 100 years, can play this well - before the advent of radio technology, the Ming Empire's navy would definitely not be able to play such complex tactics.

Therefore, this navy is really a century-old service.

John Jervis stood on the watchtower, using his binoculars to look at the orderly tactical formation of the fleet, and then looked at the Ming Navy, which was just a few columns away, more than ten nautical miles away, feeling nervous in his heart Suddenly there was a lot less.

“The Chinese may be invincible on land, but they are not a maritime people!!”

he said in a low voice.

He seemed to be speaking to his chief of staff, Will Smith, and also seemed to be encouraging himself.

Look at this complex tactical formation.

Can the Chinese navy do this on the sea?

Victory belongs to the British Empire!
John Jervis's confidence began to rise.

as commander.

He must first make himself confident of victory before he can convince his subordinates that they can win this battle.

However.
What John Jervis didn't expect was that.

If the current Ming Navy wants to play such complex formations and tactics, they can do it well - this is not because of the high quality of the Ming Navy's personnel.

Purely because.

The emergence of radio allows commanders to deploy each ship at any time and at any time.

Now under John Jervis.

He had thirty capital ships.

This is the most critical power in his hand.

In addition, he also has dozens of old wooden-hulled steam sailing ships under his control - which actually don't last long.

Due to wrong prediction of the development trend of naval warships.

Before the advent of ironclads, the British Imperial Navy built and renovated a large number of steam sailing ships.

In the age of sailing battleships.

This kind of sailing ship with steam power obviously has advantages in maneuverability and speed.

however.

The emergence of ironclads made these steam sailing ships completely withdraw from the ranks of naval battleships.

However, in fact, the emergence of ironclads only happened in the past ten years.

It is impossible to waste a large number of steamships from the old era.

and so.

Most of these steam sailing ships are now used to perform diplomatic missions or escort missions.

The decisive battle between the two battleships has not yet begun.

But this does not mean that the battlefield is peaceful.

Since the fleets of both sides began to contact.

The light ships of both sides began small-scale contact.

And in fact.

The fighting between the two sides has been going on for several months.

Steam sailing ships on both sides were engaged in battle on the hard and vast ocean.Compared with ironclad ships that rely on coal energy, steam sailing ships are less dependent on coal. Therefore, their range of activities is larger than that of neat ironclad ships, making them suitable for use as breakers.

Now in Jervis's hands, there are 23 steam sailing ships, which he has also brought to the battlefield. Now they are used as an artillery squadron, cruising at the end of the fleet, looking for opportunities to attack the Ming army's transport ships.

As the huge fleet completed its formation, it formed an array.

John Jervis also gave the order loudly: "Hang the flag! England hopes that every officer and soldier will fulfill their duties!"

Just when the flag was hung.

Sirens rang throughout the Vostok.

"The enemy fleet begins to accelerate!!"

"We will meet the enemy in an hour!!"

a time.

The nerves of all the naval officers and soldiers of the British Empire's Indian Ocean Fleet became tense.

Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Will Smith took out his pocket watch and looked at the time Ian.

"Admiral, it's five-fifty-eight now. In this area, it won't get dark until at least eighteen o'clock in the afternoon. We have at least thirteen hours!"

Because there are no powerful armor-piercing explosive bombs.

and so.

in this era.

The naval battle lasted a very long time.

However, 13 hours was enough time for the two fleets to decide the winner.

"Will, the Chinese commander Zhang Bao and many officers in their fleet are your former students, right?"

John Jervis's telescope was always focused on the fleet in the distance.

"How are they?"

"so so."

Will Smith was able to climb to the position of Chief of Staff of the Indian Ocean Fleet.

It has something to do with his experience in China.

When the emperor of the Ming Empire returned to the East to launch a war against the Qing Dynasty and the restoration of the Ming Dynasty.

At that time, the Kingdom of France and the British Empire both sent a group of officers to the East with Zhu Daohua. However, except for Napoleon, all other officers were arranged by Zhu Daohua to serve as instructors in the military academy.

Will Smith was once the vice president of the Ming Dynasty Naval Academy.

Zhang Bao, the current governor of the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Ming Dynasty Navy, was once his student.

we can even say.

Today, most of the officers in the Ming Dynasty's navy are his disciples.

but.

As the old dean.

He didn't think highly of his students at all - they were truly the worst class Dean Will had ever taught.

"Their tactical training level is very low, which is why they still insist on column tactics. Even the great Emperor of the Restoration did not expect his navy to perform complex tactical tasks. He even hoped that the navy's tactics would be more sophisticated. Simpler is better!”

Will said, shaking his head.

"If they adopt the same complex tactics as us, I'm afraid they will be in chaos before they even reach the battlefield."

Column tactics are indeed very simple.

Just follow the tail of the ship ahead.

How the boat in front drives, the boat behind follows.

It's easy to train.

But like the British, they combined horizontal and column formations.

Even during the battle, the formations had to be constantly changed, sometimes in horizontal formations, sometimes in columns.

Such tactics.

Will didn't believe that his stupid former students could learn it.

"So, we can win, right."

"Yes, tactically, we can definitely win!"

Will Smith said.

"However, in terms of strategy, what matters is not the quality of naval personnel. It is national strength." (End of Chapter)