Chapter 79

Lin Yuan listened to Liu Hao's words, and his heart couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. From the mineral resources in Taiwan, he knew that Taiwan had a large amount of coal, sulfur, and iron ore, with iron ore widely distributed in the estuary regions, making mining and transportation extremely convenient. Taiwan also possessed a large amount of raw materials essential for the chemical industry, such as dolomite and serpentine, which contained a large amount of magnesium, calcium, and other elements necessary for the chemical industry.

Lin Yuan's idea was good, to use Liu Hao to transport a large amount of chemical raw materials from Taiwan to the Ryukyu Islands. However, this idea was difficult to realize in the short term because war had broken out!

On December 20, 1894, a British fleet arrived at the Lingdingyang outside the Pearl River estuary. This fleet consisted of six Majestic-class battleships, eight armored cruisers, and fifteen destroyers, far surpassing the Beiyang Fleet in strength.

The actions of this fleet upon arriving at the Pearl River estuary were a replay of the 1840 Opium War. The British fleet first seized all Chinese ships in the Pearl River estuary and launched a probing attack on the Humen Fort.

The Humen Fort is located 120 miles southeast of Guangzhou, controlling the vital point where the Pearl River enters the Lingdingyang. It has a strategic location, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. During the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, fortifications were built and troops were stationed here. From the 56th year of the Kangxi period to the 14th year of the Daoguang period, after more than a hundred years of development, the Humen Fort had become a significant defensive stronghold with 14 artillery platforms and three layers of defenses.

Before the First Opium War, Guan Tianpei, in managing the fort, set up two barriers in the Pearl River channel to prevent enemy ships from entering and threatening Guangzhou: iron chains and large wooden stakes. During the First Opium War, these barriers were destroyed by the British fleet and were never repaired. However, the artillery platforms of the Humen Fort improved the fort's design and re-equipped with cannons.

A historian once said, "Every war is enough to write a grand epic." Indeed, a war is composed of several battles and thousands of skirmishes, with many aspects worthy of detailed description. For this one of the grandest wars in human history, let's temporarily set aside the great figures who will be recorded in history and start with two minor characters.

The Humen Fort has a three-layer defense system. From the Lingdingyang entrance to the north, there are Sha Jiao Mountain to the east and Da Jiao Mountain to the west, each with an artillery platform monitoring the river. However, the coastal artillery has a range of only about 1,000 meters, while the sea outside the artillery platforms is over 3,000 meters wide. Therefore, the artillery on these two platforms could hardly cause substantial damage to incoming enemy ships. Instead, they were used as signaling platforms for early warning.

The British fleet approached the Humen Fort, and the four 343mm main guns of the Majestic-class battleships opened fire first, followed by the eight armored cruisers. Dense artillery fire immediately covered the artillery platforms on Sha Jiao Mountain and Da Jiao Mountain. The artillery platforms immediately issued a combat readiness signal, preparing the second and third layers of defenses.

Upstream from the first layer of defenses, there are the Upper and Lower Hengdang Islands in the river. The western channel is full of hidden reefs, making it difficult to navigate, while the eastern channel is passable. On both sides, there are three artillery platforms each, forming the second layer of defenses. Sun Jiang is a gunner at the Zhenyuan artillery platform, part of the second layer of defenses.

Given that the British envoy Kelsall was assassinated in Beijing, the British repeatedly threatened war. Therefore, the fort's defenses were strengthened, and it was announced daily that war could break out at any time. However, Sun Jiang felt that the war wouldn't happen!

Sun Jiang thought, "Wasn't the British envoy killed by the Boxers in Beijing? There are no Boxers in Guangzhou, so the British should go to Beijing if they want to fight. Why come to Guangzhou?"

Early in the morning, he heard the sound of artillery fire from a distance, thinking he might have heard wrong. But soon he saw the signal cannon from Da Jiao Mountain. The signal cannon is a modified fireworks device that is very bright even during the day.

The initial Humen artillery platforms were open, with walls around them but no roof, making the cannons prone to rust. During the Opium War, many cannons malfunctioned due to rust. Later, when the platforms were rebuilt, a roof was added to form a fortress-like structure.

Sun Jiang looked out from the observation port of the fortress and saw five warships approaching the artillery platform.

These five warships were British 30-knot destroyers. The term "30-knot destroyer" refers to a ship with a speed of 30 knots. At this moment, the young gunnery officer Hill on the Havock was puzzled.

This type of destroyer is responsible for protecting the main battleships in defense, using high speed to attack the enemy's torpedo boats. In attack, they are tasked with launching torpedoes at close range, but due to the limited range of torpedoes (about 500-600 meters), few commanders would give such an order.

The ship was equipped with only one 76mm gun and two 47mm guns, which were insufficient to attack the shore fortifications. However, why did the fleet commander order them to enter the channel? The channel is less than 1,000 meters wide, with artillery platforms on both sides. Despite this, he felt little fear, as the Qing soldiers' combat capability was negligible.

At this moment, the deck beneath his feet began to vibrate. This was due to the thin deck design to reduce weight, causing resonance during navigation. Not only that, as an officer, he had no officer's quarters and had to share a meeting room with other officers to save weight. The ceiling in the cabin often condensed water, which would drip onto him while he slept, making him feel cold. Despite this, Hill voluntarily stayed on the ship because there were no tedious duties like on large warships, and he could learn more about naval knowledge, paving the way for his future. The thought of one day wearing a general's uniform with lace on the sleeves, a sword and scepter on the shoulder, and an eight-pointed star made him feel that everything was worth it!

His opponent, Sun Jiang in the fortress, was thinking about saving enough money to bribe his superiors to get a comfortable and lucrative position!

Perhaps the differences between these two minor characters will ultimately decide the fate of two empires.

The Qing Empire was not unfamiliar with unprovoked attacks. The superiors ordered the raising of the ground-level artillery and preparation for firing!

Following the order, the soldiers in the fortress sprang into action. The ammunition carriers took off their shirts, folded them thickly, and held them in their hands. They ran down the sloping path to the underground ammunition storage, bent down, placed the shirts on their shoulders, and had the soldiers place the shells on them. They then carried the shells and walked away.

Each time Sun Jiang saw this scene, he thought, "Why not use a device like a water well to lift the shells? Wouldn't that be faster?" But every time he had this thought, he reminded himself, "This is not my concern. I must not speak up. The one who sticks out gets hit first. If the superiors have a bad impression of me, it would be bad!"

At this moment, he saw a thick smoke rise from the warships on the river. He immediately realized: the enemy had fired first!