1855 United States Tycoon

A small sailing boat is galloping on the river. The white sails are illuminated like transparent wings by the noon sun. The river water is split by the bow, making a rustling sound. This boat is like a boat on the water. The jumping white fish ran fast. But several sailors on the boat still thought the boat was not fast enough, and they all picked up the oars and rowed desperately there. On the river behind them, there were still some boxes floating, which they had just dropped. And behind these boxes, there are three Spanish frigates, which are chasing closely.

"Major, do you want to fire at them?" Captain Pires asked.

"No, no need, Captain, they can't run very far like this. We have to take the boat with someone and catch it alive." Major Massa said. He knew very well that if he walked a little further ahead, the river would turn around, and then the wind direction would immediately become unfavorable to the sailing boat and its disadvantages. At that time, with only a few people paddling, the speed of the boat would be It will plummet, and at that time, they can catch alive.

Sure enough, as he expected, as the river turned a corner, the ship immediately slowed down, and the three frigates immediately surrounded it.

The sailors on the sailing boat had already dropped their sails, they dropped the anchors into the river, and then stood beside the boat with their hands high.

"Well, these guys are wise," Major Massa said. "Slow down, get closer, and capture them."

The three frigates slowed down, and on the deck, the soldiers raised their guns and aimed them at the sailors who had surrendered. The frigate was getting closer and closer to the sailing ship.

Suddenly there were two cannon sounds. With the sound of these two cannons, the sailors on that sailboat all jumped into the water together. Immediately afterwards, two white phosphorus incendiary bombs exploded over the ships, throwing countless flames dragging white smoke towards these ships. Before the Spaniards could react, the two guns that did not know where they were hidden fired again, and two more white phosphorus incendiary bombs exploded over the frigate.

Both Major Massa and Captain Pires knew that they were trapped, and Colonel Massa immediately ordered: "Speed ​​up, get out of here!" Now they are being shelled, and they don't know where the enemy's guns are. Under these conditions, continuing to stay here is nothing short of suicide! Well, the great Lord Nelson said: "A fort with one cannon is enough to resist a battleship with a hundred cannons." Massa remembers this teaching of the great Lord Nelson at all times. Now the enemy has at least two guns. One hundred times the number of two guns is two hundred. And the three frigates of own have only six small guns, which is far from the standard of 200 guns that can compete with the enemy. Far. That being the case, why not retreat as soon as possible?

However, the steam engine is different from the internal combustion engines such as gasoline engines and diesel engines that we are familiar with in later generations. It takes a lot of time for this thing to accelerate. At this time, the fire had already splashed on the four boats.

The canvas of the Cuban sailing boat was stained with some kind of fire, and it immediately burned, and it burned into a big torch in the blink of an eye. The Spanish soldiers standing on the deck of the frigate also fell on a lot of fire. They immediately remembered the horror legend on the Havana Square, immediately threw their weapons and jumped into the river. The experience of Havana Square tells them that water cannot extinguish the flames from The Underworld. As long as they get out of the water, the fire that sticks to them will continue to burn. But soaking your body in water can at least guarantee that you won't be burnt to death for the time being. Then, um, use a dagger to cut off the spot where the fire is attached, along with the flesh, which may be able to save your life.

Massa and Pires were both in the bridge, so the flying fire did not fall on them. However, their ship is also in danger. All three of their frigates are of so-called iron-bone wooden shell structure. Its keel is iron, but most of the ship is made of wood, so it can also be ignited by incendiary bombs!

...

On the small hill, a few "Free Cuba" soldiers were shaking the wheel in their hands quickly, and the barrel of the 1866 type infantry gun pointed to the sky was leveled. Just now, in order to make the incendiary spray fire larger and more evenly sprayed, the two guns used very curved high-throw trajectories, and now, they have burned all the white phosphorus incendiary bombs. According to the original plan, they have You can retreat. Anyway, the flames on enemy ships cannot be extinguished, and they will never return to their own port. However, since the enemy hasn't found himself, since the enemy's speed has not been raised, it would be too cheap for the Spaniards to leave like this. Anyway, the white phosphorus incendiary bomb is finished, and there is the cheapest training bomb.

The so-called training bomb at that time was actually a hollow metal bag with sand or something in it. Well, in the subsequent Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 and the Yellow Sea War, the Beiyang Navy used this type of shell to shoot at Japanese warships.

The power of this shell is of course very average. But you can easily make a hole in the wooden boat on the opposite side. So Juan decided to shoot him a few more shots. If the enemy found out and counterattacked, he would immediately retreat.

...

"Mr. Hugo, you can't go to the front line. This is too dangerous. This is not good, it really is not good!" Aimar said firmly, standing in front of an old man.

"Emar, I am not Jiaojiaobao. I have been on the battlefield. I have fought those who oppose the people and freedom on the barricade. I have always been a soldier." The old man said dissatisfied.

"Mr. Hugo, you are not Jiaojiao, but you are definitely a priceless treasure in this world. We are still waiting for you to write another masterpiece that shocks the soul like "Les Miserables". You promised us, I wrote an epic for our battle. We don’t want you to leave an unfinished "Don Juan" like Byron did to make people worry about it. Well, anyway, Mr. Hugo, the order I got That is, you are never allowed to enter the battlefield, and you are not allowed to participate in the battle. Well, Chief Gomez said, if you appear in any dangerous position, no matter what happens, he will kill me, Gomez. The sir is not kidding, I know him too well, he can tell, he can do it too." Aimar spread his hands and said to the old man in front of him-Victor Hugo.

Yes, this old man is the French writer Victor Hugo who wrote "Notre Dame de Paris" and "Les Miserables". Speaking of it, the 65-year-old writer is still an angry young man who will never grow old. Because he opposed Napoleon III's claim to emperor and maintained the traditions of the French Republic, he had to leave France and go into exile more than ten years ago. And Scrooge, who was considering how to create momentum for the Cuban revolution, suddenly thought of this god-tier. Because in this era, he is the writer who is best at praising the people's pursuit of freedom. So Scrooge asked the people of the "Free World" Foundation to find Mr. Hugo and told him that the people of Cuba were ready to revolt and overthrow the Spanish colonial rule. This will be the last struggle for the entire Latin America to break the colonial shackles and gain freedom. People from the "Free World" Foundation asked Hugo if he would like to witness this moment and tell the people of the world the truth about the Cuban people's pursuit of freedom. Perhaps at that moment, he was not alone in making such a decision. The souls of Byron, Shelley, and Petofi were all attached to Hugo. He stood up, his eyes shining with dazzling light, like a god descended on the world, he replied with a firm and deafening voice: "This is my glory, and it is my responsibility!" So the great man came. Here it is.

"But, if I can't see the battle scene, how can I write it?" Hugo asked.

"Ah..." Emar thought for a while, and said, "Mr. Hugo, I will take you to see Chief Gomez and let him make the decision."

...

Victor Hugo put on a green military uniform and came to an observation post. Gomez did not agree with him to go directly to the battlefield, but he agreed to go to a place closer to the battlefield, such as this observation post.

This observation post is located on a high point outside the city, and only 400 meters away from it is the first trench outside the city. During the negotiations where both sides were insincere and both sides were delaying time, the fighters of the "Free Cuba" who pursued freedom and independence and the citizens of Bayamo worked together to build fortifications one after another outside the city. It's just that their supplies are always insufficient, so according to the standards of the United States, the density of barbed wire and landmines is far from enough.

Most of the observation post where Hugo was located was buried underground, and the top was covered with a layer of thick logs and a half-meter thick soil on top, and then another layer of logs and a layer of soil. It is basically a fortress.

A pair of binoculars stood facing the observation port directly in front. Because of the stable support, the size of this telescope is quite large. The magnification is also relatively high, reaching a level of 20 times. However, this telescope was to be used by combat commanders, so Hugo only got a hand-held 8*30 telescope. However, considering the distance from the first trench, such a telescope is sufficient.

"Sir, the enemy has appeared!" a soldier shouted.

"Where, how many people are there?" Gomez stood up, put the tea cup aside, and asked.

"Ten kilometers ahead! The number is still unclear. The opponent has cavalry and artillery." The soldier replied.

...

After a difficult trek, all the Spaniards have put away their contempt for the rebels, and the news of the collapse of the squadron that came yesterday made the Spaniards even more heartbroken. Their only hope now is that the rebels will only sneak attacks, and normal combat methods are not very good. However, the morning reconnaissance of the rebel positions gave the Spaniards another blow: in terms of the arrangement of the defensive positions, the rebels were even more professional than the Spanish soldiers. But the arrow is on the line, anyway, they must attack.

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