Chapter 251

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

Shrapnel whistled through the air, easily tearing apart the Japanese soldiers' bodies and thin uniforms.

The blast wave sent the Japanese soldiers flying like scarecrows.

"Take cover! Find cover!"

The Japanese soldiers' shouts and orders sounded very faint amid the deafening explosions.

But where was there cover? The riverbank was gentle, and apart from some low reeds and ditches, there was no defensible position at all.

When the first shells fell, Minoru Xiangwei and Noda Takeshi were thrown off balance.

Minoru Xiangwei reacted quickly enough, rolling and crawling into a shallow shell crater, his ears ringing, filled with the roar of explosions and his comrades' screams.

He looked up in terror to see that the soldiers who had charged shoulder to shoulder with him just now had fallen in swathes, severed limbs and arms everywhere, blood instantly dyeing the mud red.

Noda Takeshi was not so lucky.

A 140mm howitzer shell from the Ninghai landed less than five meters ahead of his squad's flank.

A huge fireball rose, and the powerful shockwave swallowed Noda Takeshi and the five or six soldiers beside him.

Noda Takeshi couldn't even let out a complete scream before his body was thrown high into the air, spinning as it fell, finally slamming heavily onto the ground, lifeless.

"Noda-kun!" Minoru Xiangwei in the shell crater saw this scene, his eyes nearly splitting.

What killing competition, what merit and glory—Minoru Xiangwei no longer cared.

The artillery fire continued to extend.

Boom—!

A 203mm heavy shell landed nearby, and Minoru Xiangwei felt an irresistible force come from his left, his whole body violently overturned, his left half instantly losing consciousness, followed by searing pain and heat.

Looking down, his vision was a blur of blood red; his left arm below the shoulder had vanished, his left ribcage was a mangled mess of flesh, white bone splinters and writhing organs visible.

Blood gushed out like a fountain, quickly draining Minoru Xiangwei's body heat and strength.

"Hah... hah..."

Consciousness began to blur, the cannon fire in his ears seeming distant.

The last sight the killing demon Minoru Xiangwei saw was a sky filled with gunpowder smoke, and more black dots whistling down...

Several Japanese destroyers that had been patrolling near Jiangyin and responsible for alert duty heard the commotion upstream and realized a fierce battle was taking place.

The Japanese sailors on board immediately entered combat status, not to prepare to go help, but choosing to deploy on the river surface near Jiangyin Fortress, waiting for support from the following fleet!

"Enemy ships! Upstream direction, multiple unidentified vessels spotted! Approaching at high speed!"

"It's the Xia State Navy!"

The Japanese destroyer captains' hearts sank, and they immediately rushed to the observation windows.

Only to see at the bend of the upstream bay, several slender ship silhouettes cutting through the river water suddenly appearing, the Blue Sky White Sun Flag fluttering on the bridge especially glaring in the air still thick with gunpowder smoke.

The remaining army idiots fled downstream along the Yangtze River, hoping to draw the main force of the Xia State Navy First Fleet to Jiangyin Fortress.

First Fleet Commander Chen Jiliang and Navy Minister Chen Shaokuan chose to chase the Japanese on the shore while checking the situation at Jiangyin Fortress.

They happened to meet the Japanese four destroyers head-on!

Fleet Commander Chen Jiliang stood on the bridge of the Pinghai and first spotted the Japanese warships.

"All ships concentrate firepower, take out the two leading ones first!"

"Open fire!!"

The Xia State Navy fleet struck first! Seizing a few seconds of initiative.

The Pinghai and Ninghai's four 140mm main guns roared again, this time aiming at the Japanese destroyer Kikuzuki charging at the front.

The shells whistled shrilly across the river surface of less than five thousand meters.

Boom! Boom!

Two near-miss shells exploded on the target ship's port and starboard sides, sending up tall water columns, the shockwave making the hull shake violently.

Immediately after, a third 140mm shell directly hit its forecastle! Firelight and black smoke rose instantly, its 120mm main gun was blown crooked, the sailors on the gun position were either dead or wounded.

Almost simultaneously, the Ninghai's shells followed, one hitting below its bridge, tearing a huge hole, firelight spurting out from the breach.

This Japanese destroyer's speed suddenly dropped, beginning to veer out of control.

"Good hit!" Chen Jiliang punched hard.

The other three Japanese destroyers had already scattered, returning fire with their main guns and dense machine cannons.

The river surface instantly shook with cannon fire, gunpowder smoke spreading everywhere.

Shells of various calibers flew back and forth, drawing countless arcs of artillery fire in the sky.

At this moment, the venerable cruiser Haiqi, under the escort of several smaller vessels, began to enter the battlefield.

On the bridge, Navy Minister Chen Shaokuan had already handed over command authority entirely to the captain, himself gripping the railing tightly.

Watching the cannon fire flying all around, listening to the sharp whistling of shells tearing through the air and the roar of friendly guns, Navy Minister Chen Shaokuan had only one thought in his heart: Old buddy, show your might once more!

"Target, enemy destroyer outflanking on the starboard flank! Distance four thousand five! Main gun single shot, ranging shot!" The captain of the Haiqi commanded with a hoarse throat.

The Haiqi cruiser turned its hull sideways on the Yangtze River, to better bring more guns to bear.

That 203mm main gun slowly turned within the turret, the heavy shell already loaded awaiting the final order.

"Fire!"

Boom—!!!

A deep, resonant boom far more muffled and sonorous than a 140mm gun erupted from the Haiqi's forecastle, the enormous recoil causing the bow to dip slightly, sending up large splashes along the side.

Not only were there 320-millimeter shells, but also several 120-millimeter secondary guns aboard the Haiqi warship.

That 203-millimeter shell flew on a relatively slow but unstoppable trajectory toward a Mochizuki-class destroyer attempting to launch torpedoes.

The Japanese destroyer captain saw the incoming trajectory and frantically ordered the helm turned to evade.

The shell did not strike the hull directly, but instead grazed the destroyer's bow and slammed diagonally into the river water less than five meters ahead!

It could be said that luck stood on the side of the weathered old Haiqi warship.

For a thousand-ton-class destroyer, a near miss from a 203-millimeter shell, especially exploding in the water at such close range, had equally catastrophic consequences.

Boom!!!!

A dazzling ball of fire erupted beneath the river surface, followed immediately by a stunningly thick water column shooting into the sky, as a massive underwater shock wave slammed hard into the vulnerable underside of the destroyer's hull.

A series of metallic scraping sounds crackled, and the entire hull of that Mochizuki-class destroyer shuddered violently, its bow torn open with a large hole.

River water surged in madly through the break, the stern began to rise upward, and the bow began to sink downward.

One shot from Haiqi decided the fate of all.

The remaining Japanese destroyers, seeing this situation, realized that Xia Guo's First Fleet still had some combat power, and they all turned their bows to flee the battlefield.

Chen Shaokuan stood on the bridge of Haiqi, watching the panicked Japanese ships fleeing in the distance and the enemy wreckage sinking on the river surface, then looked at the old warship beneath his feet whose main gun still stood tall, and murmured, "It was worth it... I led the Navy in this battle, and it was worth it!"