Volume 1: The Battleship Yitian Changes into the Sino-Japanese War of 1894 Chapter 16 Underwater Vehicles and Mines
After a few days, he realized that Li Hongzhang had actually given him a lot of autonomy. Although his rank was not high, he had certain supervisory powers and could move around the fleet. If he found any problems, he could even report directly to Li Hongzhang bypassing Ding Ruchang. In name, he served as a special adviser, but in fact he could influence the fleet's top brass from the side. Of course , the job of collecting intelligence was still his.
Because he knew that he played a special role, he was always very careful to avoid arousing suspicion from other generals and did not express any opinions easily. He still remembered the lesson that he had learned in the bank when he said the wrong thing and was unable to recover for three years. Especially here, he had to be cautious.
After Li Hongzhang summoned him that day, Zhongtang immediately issued a mobilization order, ordering the fleet to be ready for battle at all times and to fight the Japanese to the death. He instructed, "The Japanese are arrogant and openly threaten to 'annihilate our navy and the Yellow Sea'. All members of our navy should be encouraged and fight the enemy to the death. All ships should carry enough ammunition when sailing and be prepared to engage enemy ships at any time. Don't be panicked. Once you encounter a large group of Japanese soldiers, you should kill the enemy together and strive to win."
Ding Ruchang and his generals discussed the matter and issued a directive, stipulating the requirements for the fleet in combat: "All ships of the same type must act in coordination and assist each other; when engaging in battle, the basic tactic is to always point the bow toward the enemy and maintain position; all ships must follow the flagship's movements within the possible range."
The entire fleet began to get busy, and the atmosphere began to become tense and depressing.
In addition to providing some intelligence analysis to Ding Ruchang, he spent most of his time with Deng Shichang and Fang Boqian, mainly learning naval business from them. He also observed other warships from a distance to avoid the suspicion of those Fujian captains. He did not dare to easily express his opinion on the formation of the Beiyang Fleet. In his opinion, the formation of the Beiyang Fleet was actually the result of a collective discussion between the captains, Ding Ruchang and foreign advisers. It had taken into account the various power comparisons between the enemy and us, and was suitable for the actual combat needs of the Beiyang Fleet. He did not say much. It was just that he always talked to Deng Shichang about mines these days, which aroused Deng Shichang's interest. I don't know what he wants to do.
"Electro-hydraulic triggered mines?" Deng Shichang looked at the sketch drawn by Sun Gang and asked in surprise, "How did you come up with that?"
"I learned this from my unmarried wife. She is always calculating in everything she does (this is actually an occupational disease for bank employees). She likes to get the most benefit at the lowest cost." Sun Gang said with a smile, "It doesn't cost much to modify this large mine, but it can send an expensive warship to the bottom of the sea. This trigger mine will explode as soon as it is touched. If we place a few of them on the Japanese waterway... the Japanese will definitely feel great after tasting it."
Deng Shichang laughed. "You are right. This type of mine does not need to be modified now. It seems that the mine camp has it. It was originally equipped for the underwater motorboat. They are all antiques. I don't know if they can still be used. I will take you to see it now."
When Sun Gang heard the words "underwater motorboat", he felt a shock all over his body and his head was buzzing.
Underwater craft? Submarine?
Did I hear that correctly? Sun Gang was stunned. China even had submarines at this time?
Submarines during the Qing Dynasty! This term sounds incredible and makes people want to laugh.
Deng Shichang found his stunned look somewhat amusing and said, "Come on, I'll take you to see it."
"Well, this...underwater motorboat, is it the kind that can dive?" he asked with some stuttering.
"I forgot that you have a special liking for submarine attack, haha." Deng Shichang laughed, pulling him along and saying, "That thing was made by the Tianjin Machinery Bureau in the sixth year of the Guangxu period. It looks like a big olive. It caused a sensation during the trial voyage on the Haihe River. The mines it carries are of this type of trigger type. It can dive under the enemy ship and release mines. When the mines touch the enemy ship, they can explode the bottom of the ship. Later, this ship was incorporated into our navy array, but once during a trial voyage in the open sea, the cabin was flooded, four people died, and the ship sank. General Ding thought it was unsafe and never asked for a new one."
Sun Gang felt sad. That was China's first submarine! It was designed and manufactured by the Chinese themselves! Maybe there were loopholes in the sealing design. If it could be modified...
His mind flashed back to the amazing performance of German submarines during World War I and World War II. In World War II, submarines of various countries made outstanding achievements, sinking more than 300 large and medium-sized surface ships and more than 5,000 transport ships! The German Atlantic submarine war almost drove Churchill and the British Empire Navy crazy! If China had its own submarine force, and if possible, it could also be Dönitz, then the Japanese would probably not even have the opportunity to launch the Pacific War... Haha, it seems a bit far-fetched, come back.
He finally pulled his wandering thoughts back to normal, looked at Deng Shichang's strange gaze, and smiled sheepishly.
Let’s find a way to fight this battle well.
Looking at the things that the officers and soldiers of the mine battalion moved in front of him, he still felt a little surprised.
It was not the kind of round thing like a thorn ball in his impression. The mine in front of him was actually a duck egg-like thing. Only the several large tentacles and fuses extending straight out from the egg body told him clearly what this thing was used for.
"It's an antique. It can hold 500 pounds of explosives. It's just a shell. But it's new. It can be used after some modification." An officer explained: "Senator, you don't want to use this to bomb the Japanese ship, do you?"
"Your Excellency the Senator has already experienced this once and is very experienced. Don't you know that?" another officer laughed.
"Aren't we allowed to tell?" an officer laughed again. Sun Gang smiled bitterly in his heart. It seems that the confidentiality of the Beiyang Fleet needs to be strengthened.
"Is this fuse useful?" Sun Gang asked.
"They are all electric fuses, just install them. Originally, we wanted to modify them and place them outside the port, but General Ding was afraid that our ship would accidentally touch them at the port, so he didn't allow them to be used." said the officer.
"I will go to see the general right now. These mines will be of great use. Thank you all. You will make the greatest contribution to our Qing Dynasty!" Sun Gang said happily.
