Volume 4: Hot! The whole world is a warring state Chapter 689: Enemy Ships Approaching the City
"Woo~ Kongchi~"
At nine o'clock in the morning on November 5, 1639, at the construction site of the Singapore Fortress, two huge steam engines roared with effort, squeezing out the ultimate power to drive two gantry cranes to lift a huge gun barrel from the only 7,000-ton transport ship of the Ming Navy that had come from afar, and then slowly moved it towards the pre-built gun position.
"Slow down, slower. The left side is a little low. Lift it up, lift it up. OK, hold on. Keep going."
At the construction site, Sun Yuanhua and Song Yingxing from the Ming Fangshan Academy of Sciences, officials at all levels from the Ming Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of National Defense, as well as the local Governor of Central and South China, all craned their necks to the extreme, nervously looking at the huge gun barrel suspended in the air by steel cables.
"It's really big! As expected, our navy still likes things with thick barrels. Mr. Sun, what are the parameters of this gun?"
In the early years, in order to develop smokeless gunpowder and various explosives, in addition to having three fingers blown off, Sun Yuanhua's face was also the focus . Hearing the question from Admiral Li Guozhu, the commander-in-chief of the Ming Navy, he turned around and forced a smile on his face with a different skin color: "Okay, General, this 305mm fortress gun is codenamed Giant Si by the Army. It weighs 35 tons, 25 times the caliber, and has a maximum range of more than 10,000 meters. However, after repeated experiments, if you want to kill effectively, it is best to put the target within 8,000 meters. Fangshan Gunpowder Laboratory is equipped with special armor-piercing shells and incendiary shells. Each shell weighs between 360 and 380 kilograms depending on the filling material. It uses a hydraulic mechanical feed. If the gunner is skilled in operation, one shot can be fired in about three minutes."
"Hmm..." Li Guozhu stroked his beard for a while and said, "Not bad. Although the firing rate is a bit slow, it can hit farther and has great power. It's better than those 105mm naval guns that can't reach the enemy or can't penetrate the armor even if they reach the enemy."
"Yeah." Yan Siqi beside him also let out a long sigh: "I really don't know when such a cannon can be installed on our ship."
"That can't be helped." Sun Yuanhua, a pure science and engineering student, said expressionlessly, "To put such a gun on board, the ship must have a displacement of more than 8,000 tons. Otherwise, if the six main guns fire together, the ship itself will not be able to withstand it before the enemy is sunk. Wait, the works below the waterline of Yu Tonghai and Zheng He are almost completed, and the navy version of the giant rhinoceros will soon be on board. By the way, your navy has not yet named this 305 giant gun. Why, are you going to use the name given by the army directly?"
"How is that possible?!" Li Guozhu and Yan Siqi shouted at the same time: "Who the hell wants a name given by a bumpkin in the army?"
As soon as these words were shouted, the people in green military uniforms turned their faces away with unfriendly expressions, while Li Guozhu and Yan Siqi in white military uniforms glared back without fear.
"Damn it, the two admirals of the navy are here, and the highest rank here is only a major general... Wait, I'll go back and complain to Cao and Liu about you!"
Just when the officers of the navy and the army were getting mad at each other, a communications ship crashed into the port at a very high speed. After the ship violently collided with the embankment, the soldiers on the ship didn't care how big the dent was on the hull or how high the deck was from the cement surface of the embankment, and they jumped down directly.
After jumping ashore and briefly scanning the crowd on the shore, the messenger quickly ran to Li and Yan and said, "Urgent report to the two generals, 23 hours ago, our fleet stationed at the northern end of Sumatra Island discovered a large fleet of Western pirates!"
"What?"
The Strait of Malacca, which starts at the northern tip of Sumatra and ends at Singapore, is 1,080 kilometers long. The fastest communication ship in the Ming Dynasty can only sail at a speed of 25 knots. Therefore, for 23 hours, the communication ship has been reporting at a speed that exceeds the maximum speed, even at the cost of damaging the engine.
According to the battle between Yan Siqi and the enemy's 10,000-ton warship last year, the enemy's warship generally traveled at a speed of about 12 knots. In this way, our communication ship traveled 1,080 kilometers in 23 hours, and the enemy also traveled nearly half the distance. Even if the enemy was not very familiar with the waterway, or was hindered by transport ships, the time left by the enemy would definitely not exceed 24 hours.
"Mr. Sun, Mr. Song, did you hear that? Can these four turrets be completed within 24 hours?"
"How is this possible? It would be great if all four cannons could be hoisted into place within one day. After the gun barrels are put into the turrets, the reinforced concrete dome must be poured on the top of the turrets... It will definitely not be completed without 72 hours."
"Okay, the Navy will buy you 72 hours. I just hope that when we do, you won't hold us back."
After Sun Yuanhua and Song Yingxing hesitated for a moment, Sun Yuanhua said, "Okay, as long as the navy gives us 72 hours from now on, if we fail to complete the task on time, please chop off my head!"
"Then it's a deal!"
After saying this, Li Guozhu and Yan Siqi, two middle-aged men in their fifties, began to run vigorously. A group of naval officers in white shirts and white pants also began to follow the two admirals and ran towards the other side of the port area, the naval anchorage.
"The emperor was right, damn! The enemy king is a lunatic! They have only conquered India for about a year, and now they are really coming back."
"Humph, isn't it good to be a madman? As long as we beat him back with one slap this time, won't it be easier for us to beat him back after our big ship is put into service?"
"That makes sense." Yan Siqi took a deep breath, turned around and shouted to those behind him, "Young men under the age of 30, run faster and get our mine fleet to set sail immediately. Lay mines across the area we have designated in advance!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Young and strong men under the age of 40, speed up and board the ships first. Let all our warships light fires and prepare to set sail!"
"Yes, sir!"
He shouted twice, and the space behind the two generals was suddenly half empty. Li Guozhu said to the guards around him, "Why are you all standing there? Is there anyone who can assassinate me in this place? Go and tell the Governor of Central and South over there to quickly notify all the merchant ships nearby to get out of the way!"
"Hey..." Such a loud roar was heard by Peng Ziqin, the governor of Central and Southern Ming Dynasty, who was standing not far away. Facing the navy guards who hurried over, he smiled bitterly and said, "Reply to your two admirals, I know."
"Zhijun, there are no less than a thousand merchant ships passing through Singapore every day. How can we notify them?"
"Do your best. Also, quickly tell the port management to put up fire barriers between the warehouses and prepare more fire-fighting supplies. No matter how long the navy can hold out, I estimate that this place will eventually become a battlefield."
When this was said, all the officials of Singapore State were stunned: God has mercy on us, Singapore is a small island surrounded by the sea. That is why the so-called Singapore Fortress must be equipped with 305mm fortress guns on all four sides.
Although the length of this island is more than 40 kilometers, and the narrowest part is more than 20 kilometers. No matter how powerful the enemy's naval guns are, they can't penetrate the entire island. However, after more than 20 years of development, Singapore has long been the first port under the Meiji era, with an annual throughput that is the sum of the bottom three. Along the coastal area of the island, there are all kinds of warehouses and docks! All of these are within the firing range of the enemy's naval guns.
"Bo Yun, when you became the first governor of Singapore, did you ever think that this place would become so prosperous? And did you ever think that such a prosperous place would be destroyed by war?"
His untimely sentimentality only lasted for a moment, and he soon began to give intensive orders and mobilized people to make various preparations.
Local officials, urged by Peng Ziqin, worked efficiently. Although Sun Yuanhua and Song Yingxing were anxious, they calmly told the operator of the gantry crane: Don't panic, take your time, the navy will definitely buy us enough time - there is no other way, if the operator panics, shakes his hands, and fails to place the gun in the right position, it will take a lot of time to do it again.
"Beep~~" long whistle sounds rang out in the port area one after another. The ten 5,000-ton ironclad ships and twenty 3,000-ton warships of the Ming Navy gathered here, and billowing black smoke emerged from their chimneys one after another.
"Admiral Li, Admiral Yan, come aboard!"
After returning the salute to the officers who stood at attention, Li Guozhu looked at Yan Siqi, who nodded, then turned to everyone and said, "Everyone, our next task is to be on guard behind the minefield. Once an enemy ship breaks through the minefield, we must fight to the death and never allow the enemy to advance any further."
Looking at the officers with tense faces, he took a heavy step forward: "Many of you present here have fought against the giant ships of the Western pirates before. You should know that our current warships are no match for the opponent's giant ships. In the past, when I led you to fight against the opponent's giant ships, it was a guerrilla fight instead of a head-on fight. But today is different. Today, Singapore is behind us As long as the enemy crosses here, they will enter the South China Sea and the core waters of our Ming Dynasty. Therefore, unless the ship is sunk, no matter how hard it is or how huge the casualties are, we must fight to the end. Do you understand?"
"Reporting to the General, we understand!"
"Okay, let's check the watches now. It's 10:32 in the morning. The brothers of the mine fleet have already set off. We are expected to set off in four hours. Now everyone, hurry up and write to the trustee if there is anything you can't put down at home or anything you need to explain!"
