Dominate the Country

The rumbling of the cannons did not give Zhu Fu much time to carefully consider the part of the French ship No. 2 that was hit by the bullet. The booming sound of the rocket explosion had already sounded on the hull of the Li Guang.

Especially the rocket that hit the side of the ship not far from the command platform. The instantaneous vibration of the Li Guang made Zhu Fu feel that his body directly hit the bulkhead of the command platform like a thrown ball.

When Zhu Fu climbed up again, he glanced at the command platform and couldn't help but secretly feel lucky. The deck and the side of the ship had a hole as big as ten feet, but the rocket did not cause any other damage.

It was really fortunate.

If the sparks of the rocket did not detonate the gunpowder, it would be just an extra-large shrapnel bomb, and everything would be fine. The power of the rocket itself was already at the end of its strength after the hull exploded.

This time, the Li Guang was hit by three rockets, and the three rockets did not arrive at the same time, although the time difference was very small.

The rocket near the command platform did not cause a major disaster. Although the rocket at the bow opened a large skylight on the hull, from a distance, it was still thought that the Li Guang had "grown" an eye. At most, it caused some vibration to the bow structure and affected the life of the ship. As for this battle, it did not cause a major disaster.

Only the rocket that hit the rear deck was the last of the three rockets to hit. The rocket finally detonated a gunpowder barrel, but the wood fragments from the explosion only killed and injured a dozen people, overturned many cannons, and ignited the lower sail of the main mast.

This rocket made the rear deck of the Li Guang a mess.

However, the damage to the Li Guang also brought greater damage to the French ship No. 2, that is, the cruiser "Loire". The brave Lieutenant Colonel Henry and dozens of French sailors on the deck of the ship were killed in the explosion. The entire deck was burning with flames, and the flying wood fragments killed and injured the French sailors on the ship. The explosion of the gunpowder barrel made the situation of the Loire even worse.

The incomplete bodies of the sailors were lying on the deck of the ship. The surviving French sailors were busy putting out the fire and rescuing the wounded.

French Ship No. 1 did not exist in Zhu Fu's eyes at this moment. He now focused all his attention on the French Ship No. 2 that was crossing.

"Prepare for artillery fire, prepare for artillery fire..."

The Li Guang turned around with all its strength under the control of the navigator.

At that moment just now, the Li Guang fired a total of 15 rockets. Although due to the angle and time limit - after the distance between the two ships was shortened to 500 meters, the Li Guang fired six rockets in the moment when the bows were close to each other, and then when they separated from each other - deviated from the course - this dangerous distance, the Li Guang fired a total of nine rockets, but only five of them hit in total.

The remaining two-thirds either fell into the water halfway or missed. Two of the rockets even brushed past the French warship's side, but it was useless, and it was also "passing".

French ship No. 2 almost lost its combat effectiveness. Zhu Fu made this judgment based on the sparks from French ship No. 2. In this case, the Li Guang can slightly distance itself and use rows of shells to send the French warship to the bottom of the sea.

"Boom boom boom--"

The upper and lower rows of gun ports spewed out white gunpowder smoke in turn, and the smoke instantly covered the entire side of the Li Guang.

The Li Guang roared. Zhu Fu stared at the French ship No. 2 through the telescope, but unfortunately he didn't see any reaction. When he was annoyed, he suddenly heard the sailors on the Li Guang cheering, and quickly raised the telescope to look at the French warship. He saw a blazing fire on the deck of the Loire, accompanied by bursts of smoke and violent explosions.

"Damn it, I didn't expect that the flowers I planted with care didn't bloom, but the willows I planted by accident grew into a shade. So many scorching shells were fired before, but they were useless. Now only a few guns fired scorching shells, but they achieved success in one fell swoop." Zhu Fu said with a big laugh.

"Cai Qian is a capable guy." Zhu Fu turned around and praised the captain of the Li Guang, Cai Qian. This French ship No. 2 is finished. The Li Guang can turn around and calmly deal with the French ship No. 1.

The latter had suffered heavy damage before. The period of brave attack by the French ship No. 2, from the beginning to the end, was only twenty minutes at most. The French ship No. 1 has just put out the fireworks and regained its composure.

Of course, the cruiser is faster than the third-class sailing battleship, but can the cruiser that has suffered a lot of damage now be faster than the third-class battleship?

"I think we should let this French battleship go." Cai Qian said to Zhu Fu after returning to the command platform.

He wanted this French warship to become a billboard, and spread the news of the Sino-French naval battle to the world in the shortest possible time.

Zhu Fu was a little hesitant, and he was a little unwilling to let go of a prey in vain. But Zhu Fu also understood that the purpose of his battle was to send a signal to the Ottomans, not to really fight to the death with the French. If the two warships on the opposite side were Spanish, he would not have to worry about it.

"Ding ding ding..." A crazy alarm bell suddenly sounded in the mast.

It turned out that at this moment when Zhu Fu was thinking about it, the French warship No. 1, that is, the Sabre, turned around and rushed towards the Li Guang. This was not to close the distance and start a gun battle, but to break into a 500-meter distance and fight desperately.

The distance of one or two hundred meters was too close, and the Li Guang had not been prepared before. The sudden change of direction of the Sabre put the Li Guang in a dilemma.

Should the Li Guang open up the distance? Is it too late?

If it turns around now, it will be fine if it opens up the distance, but if it can't, the French warship will occupy a great advantage.

The turning Li Guang will inevitably expose a large "body" in front of the French, while the French warship is just a long stick.

Zhu Fu hesitated, and then he was even more late.

"Forward, forward--" There is no time to think so much, prepare the rocket, and quickly, the distance between the two sides has entered 500 meters.

"Boom boom..." In the explosion, Zhu Fu's body was once again lifted up by the shock wave generated by the powerful rocket explosion, and the whole person fell back and hit the bulkhead. In the entire command desk, Cai Qian was the first to recover from the explosion. With blood on his forehead, the first thing he saw was the command desk that looked like it had been destroyed by a storm.

The helmsman, Zhu Fu and others were swept to the corner like garbage. There was blood everywhere!

Zhu Fu's arm was scratched in the explosion just now, and it was bruised, but this time he suffered a big loss. When Cai Qian rolled over, Zhu Fu, who had just regained consciousness, was still dizzy and lifeless. Moreover, his arm and left thigh were scratched by something, and the blood dyed his pants black and red.

Zhu Fu didn't know where he got the strength from after seeing Cai Qian. With Cai Qian's support, he staggered to the deck of the ship. What appeared in front of them was thick black smoke.

The bow of the Li Guang was hit, and there was a wound before. This time the bow fell off, the bow sprit was broken, and the ball sail on it was also engulfed by flames. The entire triangular bow seemed to have been bitten. Thick black smoke rose, and there was a faint flame.

The sailors on the Li Guang were already using a human water pump to pump seawater to put out the fire.

Busyness and black smoke became the theme of the front deck at this moment.

Zhu Fu did not feel sad about the loss, he was just glad that the Li Guang survived. In this rocket confrontation, the front and rear decks of the Li Guang were blown up. Not to mention the huge loss of personnel, the barrels of gunpowder only exploded sporadically, not in a series of explosions, which was a blessing in disguise.

Zhu Fu sat on the deck, with a gunpowder barrel at hand, and the cylinders wrapped in canvas inside were propellants.

In addition to these propellant bags, there was also a lot of water in this wooden barrel, seawater.

This was the seawater to be injected before the gunpowder barrel was sent to the deck. As for the gunpowder bags inside, there was a layer of oil paper or oilcloth under the canvas to isolate the seawater, and there was also tightly wrapped silk inside.

This was a method that Zhu Fu came up with after the naval battle with Spain. Although this method can ensure the safety of the gunpowder barrels on the deck, it slows down the firing rate of the artillery to a certain extent, and it may also make the propellant bags damp, affecting the battle.

But now, the Li Guang has endured two rocket attacks in a short period of time, and it can still maintain this state. The trick he came up with is really useful.

Zhu Fu, Cai Qian, and all the people who are still alive on the Li Guang are grateful for this.

Because of their comparison-the two French cruisers were all severely damaged in the rocket fire.

At this time, the Sabre has turned into a large torch.

"Get ready to save people!"

Cai Qian put down the telescope in his hand. He saw a French officer. His specific rank was unclear, but he was definitely dressed like a French naval officer. He stood next to the raging fire-next to him was the fiercely burning cabin, but he seemed to see no threat. With the cooperation of two sailors, he continued to fire at the Li Guang with the gun. Then, at the same time as the gun was fired, the huge explosion on the French warship made him disappear in the smoke.

This kind of bravery is quite shocking, and this kind of despair also makes Cai Qian, who is also a soldier, very emotional.

Cai Qian is a very hard-hearted person, and he is as hard as a rock, but he has to say that the French Navy is really brave. Whether it is the commanding officers of the two French warships or the sailors on the warships, they are all very brave.

The naval officer is a French naval soldier. It is not that he does not know the danger. They did not escape because they were completely desperate. In this naval battle, France lost completely, and there was no room for salvation.

But they were ashamed to be captured, and they fought back desperately!

When the French ship No. 1 was in trouble, the French ship No. 2 dared to risk his life to take the blame; when the French ship No. 2 was about to be finished, the French ship No. 1, which had just taken a breath, did not turn around and escape, but dared to rush straight to the Li Guang to avenge his comrades...

If the Spaniards had such a strong fighting spirit as the French, Zhu Fu, Cai Qian and others would have died in the Battle of Nice.

The military doctor on the Li Guang bandaged Zhu Fu's wounds in a hurry, but Zhu Fu was unwilling to return to the cabin. He wanted to see the end of the four-hour naval battle.

"After this battle, the Ottomans can rest assured." Zhu Fu looked at the bodies on the deck, and he couldn't tell what he felt.

These people also sacrificed for the country, but their sacrifice was so far away from their motherland.

I hope the Ottomans can live up to this great gift they have given.

Egypt is an important focus of the empire and is of vital importance to the empire's global strategy. The Ottomans must fight for their dignity. Istanbul must not learn from the late Qing Dynasty Tartars, who had internal disputes and watched Ilam fight alone.