Volume 1: The Battleship Yitian Changes into the Sino-Japanese War of 1894 Chapter 41: Enemies Come with the Mist
"Boom, boom, boom!" The sound of large-caliber rapid-fire guns unique to Japanese warships rang out, the sharp whistling of shells came from far away, and a series of shells exploding in the water were heard. A row of tall water columns rose up around the "Pingyuan" ship in an instant, and sea water splashed into the command tower, soaking Sun Gang and Li He.
The nervous shouts of the sailors were heard all around, and with a loud bang, the 260mm opened fire. A loud noise like muffled thunder was heard in the distance, which probably meant that it missed the target.
"Yes, it's the Japanese. How many shots did they fire just now?" Li He shook his head in embarrassment and asked around: "Stop! Don't fire yet! Wait for orders!"
The officers around looked a little confused. "Six guns, that's a salvo." Sun Gang replied in a deep voice, "There must be more than four side guns. Our opponent is 'Takasago' or 'Akitsuzou'." He had been on guard since the Battle of the Yellow Sea, and he was familiar with the data of the remaining Japanese main battleships. "Takasago" had one main gun and four secondary guns on one side, plus the main gun at the bow, so a salvo was exactly six guns; "Akitsuzou" had two main guns and four secondary guns on one side, so it could also fire this number; "Takachiho" had three guns on each side, one at the bow and one at the stern, while "Chiyoda" had three guns on each side and one at the bow, so it was impossible for her to fire six guns on one side.
The sound of "boom boom" came from afar, and the shells whistled again, this time falling into the water far away from the "Pingyuan". All the officers looked at the sea nervously. The salvos of the Japanese ships once again showed their terrifying power. The sea seemed to boil instantly! Li He gave Sun Gang a thumbs up and ordered loudly: "Right full rudder! Full speed ahead! Drive into the thick fog!"
The Pingyuan immediately began to turn rapidly and sailed into the thick fog. The Japanese ships started the third round of salvos, this time they were far away from the Pingyuan.
"Sir, there are many reefs here, we..." an officer said worriedly.
"I know." Li He looked at his watch and saw the vast expanse of white surroundings. He could not see anything. He ordered decisively: "Stop the car! Everyone be quiet! No one is allowed to make a sound!"
The huge propeller slowly stopped turning, and the Pingyuan ship slowly came to a stop and stood still.
"If the Japanese send Takasago to deal with us, Lord Sun will be very proud." Li He smiled softly and winked at Sun Gang, "You are a lucky star. This time, I will be rich."
"How come I didn't see it at all?" Sun Gang said with a bitter face, not daring to breathe. He wondered if the guy in front of him was confused by the sea water. If it was the "Takasago", it was Japan's ace cruiser! It was the same type of ship as the "Yoshino", which was known as the fastest and most powerful in the world. Except for the larger caliber of the main gun (it was a typical small boat carrying a large gun), the "Pingyuan" ship could not compare with the opponent in any other aspects. Even escaping became a problem. If the fog dissipated in a while, their death would probably come. But Li He could still laugh out loud. I really don't know what he was thinking!
"I don't dare to say this normally, but today in this place, I'll let you open your eyes." Li He said in a low voice with confidence.
Sun Gang looked at him strangely. He saw Li He whispering something to his officers, "Measure the water depth, quickly." He came to the nautical chart, carefully estimated the lower position with the officers, and nodded.
After a while, two officers came back and gave him the water depth data. He looked at the nautical chart carefully again, marked several places, came to the steering wheel, and began to order the ship to reverse!
Sun Gang carefully observed the sea. The thick fog obscured everything and nothing could be seen clearly. The huge propeller of the Pingyuan ship began to turn again and the steam engine made a huge roar. Sun Gang looked at Li He worriedly. He chuckled, checked carefully with the officers, issued one command after another, and began to steer the ship.
As he continued to issue orders in a deep voice, the roar of the engine began to slowly fade away.
The observer at the stern of the ship kept reporting the location of the reef through the megaphone. At this time, the whistling sound of artillery shells was heard again. Several shells fell into the sea not far in front of the "Pingyuan" ship and exploded, stirring up high columns of water.
"It's really on the way!" Li He stared at the high wall of water that was raised on the sea surface and snorted.
"They are to our northwest," said Sun Gang.
Li He nodded approvingly, listened to the observer's report, and skillfully operated the steering wheel. Sun Gang felt that the warship was reversing and turning several corners at the same time. He didn't know what Li He was trying to do.
Li He was still maneuvering the battleship to reverse, but the speed seemed to have slowed down.
The Japanese artillery shells whizzed in again, and one shell hit the small boat hanging on the side of the ship. The huge shock wave caused the ship to shake violently, and flaming fragments and shrapnel flew everywhere. Fires started around, but fortunately no casualties were seen. Several sailors rushed up and began to put out the fire.
Sun Gang looked at the burning flames and his heart tightened. Although the flames were not big, they were enough for the Japanese to discover them. Soon the artillery fire from "Takasago" or "Akitsuzan" would hit them without mercy, and they would be in trouble.
But he seemed to have obviously underestimated Li He's steering skills. He maneuvered the warship flexibly. At this time, the Japanese artillery shells came again and landed next to the "Pingyuan" ship with a loud bang. The stirred up water column gave them a shower again, but the water column brought an unexpected effect. It actually helped the sailors to extinguish the flames caused by the artillery shells just now!
Sun Gang looked at Li He worriedly. Li He was still making the warship move backwards. Sun Gang didn't understand what he was doing, but he didn't dare to disturb him. After all, he was a professional.
The "Pingyuan" ship continued to retreat, and the Japanese fired another round of salvos, but all of them missed and fell into the water , which was far away from the current position of the "Pingyuan" ship.
"Stop!" Li He ordered, the huge propeller stopped turning again, and the warship slowly stopped.
"Prepare your guns!" Li He said in a deep voice, "Fire only after you get the order!"
Sun Gang looked at him in confusion. He still couldn't see anything around him. How could the artillery fire?
"Sir, what if they don't fall for it?" An officer may have understood what Li He meant and whispered to him.
"They are not fools, they will come." Li He smiled and said confidently.
