Rebirth of The Deer and the Cauldron, Wei Xiaobao Becomes a God

As for whether the Qing army dared to attack the ships of the Dutch, the world's number one maritime power, de Vries believed that they were a paper tiger. The naval strength of this great Eastern power was not enough to defeat their second-rate fleets that were used for both commercial and military purposes, let alone dare to challenge the Dutch naval strength.

So, he said to his first mate Peter without hesitation: "Sail at full speed, keep up!"

When the ships behind saw that the Dutch dared to chase them, they knew they would not give up easily. They had to share a piece of the fat sheep they had caught and would not let the Dutch have it all to themselves.

They sped up and followed closely behind the Dutch ships, forming a long fleet. The sea was full of waves, which hit the hulls and made a lot of noise.

On the Julong in front, the crew was busy and nervous, preparing to speed up. They knew that once they entered Wusongkou, it meant entering the territory of the Qing Dynasty. These naval soldiers were Chinese immigrants who grew up in Ryukyu and were full of expectations to return to their ancestral land.

The captain on the Wusong Fort witnessed the leading giant ship emitting thick smoke and rushing towards them in a brutal and reckless manner. It was only 5,000 meters away from the Wusongkou Fort, but there was no sign of slowing down to stop and inspect the dock.

At the same time, more than a dozen ships from different countries followed closely behind, only a hundred meters apart, with their masts and sails all hoisted high, with no intention of slowing down.

Just as the captain was about to order the firing of blank shots as a warning, the artillery position on Changxing Island on the opposite bank had already fired three warning blank shots.

"Notify the engine room, advance at full speed!" After seeing the alarm sounded by the artillery firing blank shots, Wei Xiaobao decisively gave the order to Wang Liqiang.

"Full speed ahead! Level one combat readiness!" Wang Liqiang responded loudly and gave the order.

The soldiers who had been prepared took action immediately. The masts and sails that had been lowered were quickly raised, and the three steam boilers were turned on at full power. The steam engines drove the steam turbine propellers to rotate rapidly.

After only three minutes, the ship's speed was successfully increased to the full speed of thirteen knots, just in time to enter the effective range of the red cannons of the artillery batteries on both sides of the river.

"Light up, fire the cannons..." The commander of the Wusongkou artillery platform shouted loudly, and the eleven coastal defense cannons that had been on standby immediately ignited...

"Boom, boom, boom..." Eleven cannon shots rang out almost at the same time, shaking the earth.

Eleven iron balls as big as bowls flew towards the Dragon with a roar...

As the Dragon moved forward rapidly, the eleven iron balls were left far behind.

The unfortunate Dutch ship was hit by two of them.

One of the shells hit the deck, penetrated the first deck and landed in the second-floor cabin, scaring the sailors who were preparing to fire at the second-floor gun ports out of their wits.

The other one hit the side of the ship, but fortunately it did not penetrate the side of the ship and finally slid into the water.

De Vries could not stand such frustration. He knew very well that at their current speed, it would take at least sixteen minutes to get out of the attack range of the coastal defense artillery.

According to the frequency of the Red Cannon firing once every three minutes, they still had to withstand five attacks. If the batteries on both sides fired five rounds each, could the ship still remain intact?

Things like diplomatic affairs and provoking wars are all just clouds. The most important thing is to save your life.

"Fight back immediately! Attack the artillery batteries on both sides!" De Vries roared.

This Dutch ship was a 1200-ton galleon, divided into three decks, with a total of 120 gun positions.

Although the caliber of these cannons was not as large as that of the coastal defense guns, the iron balls they fired were as big as fists and weighed up to 20 kilograms. Once they landed on a wooden boat, they would create a hole; and if they landed on a person, they would either die or be disabled.

“Boom, boom, boom, boom…”

The Dutch ships were the first to open fire on the artillery batteries on both sides, followed by the multinational fleets that came within range.

In an instant, the Changxing Island Fort and the Wusongkou Yantai were like being hit by a rain of iron bullets, and iron balls fell like raindrops.

Those soldiers on the artillery position who had not been hit and killed in the first round of iron bullet rain were frightened and fled in panic.

Some of the iron balls hit the gunpowder barrels directly, causing violent explosions. For a moment, explosions occurred one after another in the two turrets, and flames shot straight into the sky.

The 201 Julong had already sailed out of the Wusongkou and was far away from the firing range of the artillery. At this time, Wei Xiaobao deliberately asked Wang Liqiang to slow down the speed, but still maintained a speed of 6 knots, and slowly sailed towards Yangzhou.

In the Shanghai County government office, less than ten miles away from Wusongkou, the county magistrate, like all the residents of Songjiang Prefecture, was looking in the direction of Wusongkou, listening to the "boom, boom, boom" sound of cannons and watching the flames and explosions rising into the sky from time to time.

"Quickly prepare the bridge, quickly prepare the bridge, go to Wusongkou, what happened there?" the magistrate shouted loudly.

At the same time, Mu Tingye, the general of the Chongming Navy stationed on Chongming Island, also heard the sound of artillery fire from the direction of Wusongkou. He was startled and immediately realized that the situation was not good. So he beat the war drum without hesitation and summoned his soldiers to prepare for the expedition.

The Chongming Navy consisted of four camps: Zhong, Zuo, You, and Qi. They had 63 large and small warships, 299 horses, and 3,680 cavalry and infantry. They were stationed on various beaches and were responsible for land and water defense.

Mu Tingluo ordered more than 30 warships to quickly sail to Wusongkou to support the battle of Wusongkou. Half of these warships were Fuchuan warships, and the other half were small boats specially used for blasting.

These small blasting boats are of little use on the wide sea, but they are extremely powerful on the narrow river.

Their tops are a bit like black-sailed boats, with a semi-arc roof supported by wooden pillars to protect against arrows and muskets.

The blasting boat has no sails and relies entirely on human paddling. Its fastest speed can reach eight or nine knots, which is much faster than an ordinary sailboat.

The bow of the boat was sharp and had a long iron nail that could pierce the enemy's ship, detonate the gunpowder barrels on the ship, and cause great damage to the enemy ship.

When the Chongming Navy's fleet arrived at Wusongkou, the multinational fleet that was tracking the Julong had already sailed into the Yangtze River for a long time, and the distance between the two sides was at least fifteen kilometers.

After arriving at Wusongkou, Mu Tingyu stood on the bridge of the flagship, holding a telescope to observe the surrounding situation. He saw that the artillery batteries on both sides had been basically destroyed, and the originally solid fortifications had now become a ruin.

The coastal defense soldiers who had escaped had now returned and were collecting the bodies of their companions. The whole scene looked extremely desolate and tragic.