Chapter 551: I Am Weak, Am I Guilty?

1850 American Gold Tycoon Chapter 551: Weak power, is it a crime? At dawn the next day.

The sea around Hong Kong Island Port was as calm as a mirror, reflecting the faint moonlight and twinkling stars.

The six warships of the British and French coalition forces stationed in Hong Kong Island were anchored here, standing quietly in the night.

The quiet night was broken by a sudden sound. Suddenly, waves of abnormal tides rang through the night sky, but the sailors on guard did not cause any alarm.

The first to discover the abnormality was a sailor who got up at night. The sailor came to the deck comfortably and was about to take off his pants and rush to the sea.

Suddenly, he saw the giant beast that suddenly appeared in front of him.

A large ship, a large ship with a displacement of at least 4,000 tons appeared in front of him, and behind the large ship was a fleet that appeared like a ghost in the moonlight. This huge fleet floated quietly around the British fleet.

Just when the sailor who got up at night thought that the friendly forces that attacked Guangzhou City were returning to Hong Kong Island for supplies. The ship's guns suddenly opened fire, the flames cut through the darkness, and the shells whistled in.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

The sailor who got up at night ran to the alarm bell in two steps and hurriedly rang the alarm bell, but the chaos was irreversible.

Their ships were hit by fierce artillery fire, the sound of wood breaking and water splashing intertwined, and the dark night was instantly lit up by the blazing fire.

The Hong Kong Island defenders who were still dreaming were awakened by the sudden artillery fire and looked confused.

Not only the ordinary Hong Kong Island defenders and Hong Kong Island soldiers were confused, but even the Hong Kong Governor Wenxian, who woke up in shock, sleepy, and still wearing silk pajamas in the Governor's Mansion, was full of confusion and puzzlement.

The Qing army attacked Hong Kong Island?

It's incredible to think about it. Which blind Qing army commander dared to attack Hong Kong Island?

Bonham hurriedly sent people to find out what was going on.

It has to be admitted that the British Navy's training level is indeed high. Even when stationed in Hong Kong, there are crew members staying on the warships to keep watch at night, and they react quickly when they encounter sneak attacks.

The four British ships stationed in Hong Kong quickly entered combat status, and the other two French Navy gunboats reacted a beat slower than the British warships.

Even so, the four British ships left behind in Hong Kong Island still received five or six rounds of artillery fire from the Hong Kong Island fleet before moving.

The British flagship Scout received special attention from the opponent. The middle mast accurately caught a cannonball flying from the darkness, and was smashed directly and cracked, almost falling down. The sails hit by the explosive bomb also caught fire quickly.

Fortunately, the Scout was a new ship that had just been launched in 1856. The ship was in good condition. Although it was suddenly hit hard, it had not been completely paralyzed and lost its combat effectiveness.

The Incitement, built in 1834, was not so lucky. This 23-year-old three-masted sailing warship had a mottled exterior, its sails were covered with wind cracks, and was full of traces left by the years.

The shells of the Hong Kong Fleet broke through the air and hit the old warship accurately again and again.

With a loud bang, the hull on one side of the Incitement exploded, and smoke and fire splashed in an instant. The sparks ignited the sails. The mast was shaky and the hull began to tilt slowly to the right.

The British sailors howled on the chaotic deck, some were blown away by shells, some were engulfed by flames, and some jumped into the sea and mixed with the sea water.

The muzzles on one side of the Incitement were still emitting smoke, but there were only a few guns that could continue to fire. The seawater quickly poured into the cabin, and the lights in the cabin quickly went out after sinking into the sea level, plunging into darkness.

The old warship slowly sank into the sea, leaving only a blood-red sea surface and floating debris, as well as a few surviving sailors who were struggling to survive by holding onto floating objects.

The rapid firing rate and high accuracy of the enemy's naval guns frightened the British sailors. They did not expect to encounter such a strong enemy in the Far East, a naval depression.

"Quick battle, quick decision, and quickly eliminate the remaining enemies!"

Liang Yao issued an order on the Pioneer, where the cannons were deafening.

After the British and French forces under Guangzhou learned that Hong Kong Island was attacked, they would definitely return to support at all costs, whether it was a feint or a main attack.

Victory or defeat was no longer the key to this naval battle. The only suspense was how much time he needed to finish it off so that more warships could rush to support the Pearl River Fleet at the mouth of the Pearl River.

In the firelight, the half-crippled British Navy battleship Scouting struggled to move the hull, and finally aimed the side at the Pioneer, adjusted the shooting angle, and the side guns fired at the Pioneer ironclad ship one by one.

Three or five solid iron lumps hit the armor plate of the Pioneer, creating dazzling sparks and echoing "Duang~Duang~Duang~".

The Pioneer's solid iron armor seemed to be an invincible shield, easily deflecting the shells.

The Pioneer was hit without any damage, but the hull trembled slightly as if provocatively, as if saying: We are weak, do you want to eat?

This scene shocked the crew of the Scout and they couldn't believe their eyes.

We failed to penetrate the enemy's armor? !

Especially the gunners on the lower deck, who forgot to reload and fire in shock.

The 64-pound naval gun that hit the enemy ship just now was! It was the 64-pound naval gun of the British Empire Royal Navy that traversed the four oceans and killed gods and Buddhas! It didn't hurt the opponent at all?

Fear, an unprecedented fear surged in the hearts of the British sailors. They felt the breath of despair for the first time at sea.

In the past, this feeling was only felt by their opponents.

The towering, indestructible hull of the Pioneer, like a moving plug, shocked the British sailors greatly.

This was the first battle of the Pioneer ironclad.

The ironclad was Liang Yao's top-secret weapon, and the parameters of the ship were strictly kept secret.

Gibson and Le Goff, two British and French spies, were only lucky enough to see the Pioneer class and sent a message to the country that the San Francisco shipyard could build a huge ironclad.

As for the specific parameters and performance of the ironclad, they did not know and could only guess.

The British Navy did not know that their 64-pound naval guns could still penetrate the armor of the Pioneer within 500 meters.

Now is the Pioneer's counterattack time!

The gun muzzles of the Pioneer ironclad turned to the Scout, and the strong sense of oppression suffocated the British sailors on the Scout.

The next second, the firelight jumped out of the huge running pipe like a hideous ghost, making a deafening sound.

The flames were like dragons, the gunfire was like thunder, and the barrage poured down densely on the Scout, one after another.

Under the intensive firepower of the Hong Kong Fleet, the damage to the Scout gradually worsened, the hull was torn by shells, the fire was raging, and the screams of the sailors echoed on the sea.

The British army was half dead, and was firmly suppressed by the four warships and gunboats in the port like lambs swept away by the flood. Facing the Pioneer ironclad ship and a group of Bold-class frigates, the ruthless attack of the Loach-class gunboats was helpless.