Chapter 29: The Invincible Ironclad

"Xiao Bai, these ironclads are truly expensive. Do the prices really double just because there is a single technological generation gap?"

"Sun Li, be content. A one-generation technological gap is a force of total suppression. Back in the day, a few thousand Anglo-French allied troops crushed tens of thousands of Qing dynasty elites. That was just a one-era technological gap, and the result was that they completely decimated an enemy ten times their size."

Xiao Bai paused, sensing Sun Li’s dissatisfaction, and explained further:

"Do you think it's simple to clad a ship in iron? It involves advanced steam propulsion systems, which were incredibly difficult to develop during the gunpowder era. Furthermore, a single ironclad, even the most primitive broadside ironclad, involves technological breakthroughs in every aspect. Simply put, even if you gifted the British Empire a complete ironclad, they wouldn't be able to replicate it for decades—and that is assuming their technological strength wasn't far behind. If you gave one to a kingdom like the Light God's Kingdom, where technology is even more backward, you’d never live to see them successfully research it.

Therefore, ironclads should be considered the military unit with the largest technological span available for exchange with points. They come fully crewed with ships and personnel, all of whom are precious technical experts. If you wanted to exchange for Minie-rifle infantry, the technological generation gap would be much smaller, and the required points would be much lower."

"Alright, I hope these ironclads are as powerful as you say and can annihilate the British Empire's colonial fleet!" Sun Li, finding Xiao Bai's reasoning sound, did not argue for the moment. With a navy effectively at zero, the Song Kingdom could only rely on these super-technological weapons spawned from points to fight.

Although the British Empire had established two governorates in their Jinzhou colony, they only maintained a single fleet to defend it. This fleet possessed over a hundred warships of various sizes, enough to crush the few and far-between warships of the Frankish Empire, making it a hegemon in the Jinzhou waters. Indeed, even on the European continent, the British Empire's navy was the hegemon.

Beyond the mysterious Dwarven Empire, which remained an enigma, the combined fleets of all other nations, including the Elven Empire, were no match for the British Imperial fleet.

"What? You say ten iron-hulled monster ships have appeared at the Song Kingdom's tiny ports? That shouldn't be possible. These waters have long been ruled by our British Imperial Navy, and we haven't discovered any shipyards in the Song Kingdom," the commander of the British colonial fleet said in confusion.

In truth, the reason the British Empire was so lax in its guard against the Song Kingdom was directly related to the fact that the Song navy’s strength was zero. Shipyards must be built by the sea, and such a massive project would have been impossible to miss for a British fleet that treated the New World's coast as its own backyard.

With no navy to speak of, the British Empire naturally did not believe the Song Kingdom possessed the strength or the audacity to attack their Jinzhou colony. What they hadn't expected was that Sun Li was so decisive, leading his main force in a desperate, all-or-nothing landing at Jinzhou, abandoning all logistics. Even more surprising was that he had defeated the over 100,000 British Imperial troops in the Mexico region and, along the way, plowed through the area time and time again.

"This Sun Li and his Song Kingdom truly keep creating miracles. First, a lone force landing without a declaration of war, then using a small detachment to wipe out the Governor of Mexico along with 60,000 troops, and now they've conjured up ten iron-hulled monster ships. Exactly how many trump cards does the Song Kingdom have left?!" the colonial fleet commander muttered to himself.

"No, we must strangle this Song navy, which keeps coming up with such bizarre tactics, in its cradle! To build ten iron-hulled monsters, they must have a massive shipyard. We must destroy it!" the British colonial fleet commander ordered.

"Assemble the main fleet! We will go and meet these ten new-style warships!"

"Understood, Commander!" the officers responded in unison.

At Mexico Port, the British Imperial main fleet hoisted its sails and set off toward the newly established naval base of the Song Kingdom.

***

Sun Li stood at the port watching these strange ironclads, his expression pained. These ironclads didn't look quite like what he had imagined; there were no cannons on the upper deck—all the artillery was mounted on the broadsides. Apart from the iron plating and the steam propulsion system, they didn't really seem all that different from wooden-hulled warships. Was this reliable?

"Your Imperial Majesty, please rest assured. These steel-clad ironclads can withstand direct hits from cannons under 24 pounds at close range. As long as they aren't bombarded on the same spot simultaneously, the British Empire's active-duty battleships cannot shake these heavily armored ships. Furthermore, these ironclads are equipped with specialized explosive shells. Once they strike those wooden-hulled ships, the blast's power will surely render the hit vessel combat-ineffective. In other words, even if our ironclads take several hits, it won't damage their core structure, while a single hit on an enemy ship is enough to force it out of the combat sequence!" Admiral Fu Manduo, the Song naval commander who had been recruited alongside the ten ironclads, explained their power to the Emperor.

Well, the Admiral’s name was another one of Sun Li’s impulsive decisions. When he was recruited, Sun Li didn't know what had gotten into him, but he had given him the name "Fu Manduo." Fortunately, people in this world didn't know what that name implied, and Fu Manduo himself felt deeply honored that the Emperor had personally bestowed it upon him. He would proudly tell anyone he met, "I, the Admiral, have a name personally bestowed by the Emperor—Fu Manduo..."

Amidst Sun Li’s half-belief and Fu Manduo’s absolute confidence, on a beautiful, clear afternoon, the Song Kingdom’s ten ironclads met the British colonial fleet as scheduled.

On one side was a vast fleet composed of over a hundred ships-of-the-line; on the other was the pinnacle of the current era’s technology.

The two sides didn't even exchange greetings before launching into a fierce naval artillery battle.

The Caribbean Strait became the site of what could be called the most intense naval battle in the world—even more tragic and brutal than the destruction of the Madrid Empire’s Invincible Armada back in the day.

The British colonial fleet fired thousands of cannons, enjoying the barrage, but the few shells that actually hit only left marks on the ironclads, doing nothing to stop their slaughter.

The ten ironclads' accuracy wasn't high either, but whenever they hit a battleship, it triggered a brilliant explosion.

If a shell hit the deck, it just killed a pile of men, but if it struck the hull, the ship would likely sink—unless the Light God himself was watching over them.

The British colonial fleet commander finally witnessed the "turtle shell" capability of the ironclads. This was an asymmetric war!

"I’m hitting you and can't even leave a dent, yet you're blowing up a ship with every shot! How is one supposed to fight like this?!"

Seeing his battleships left helpless in the artillery duel, the British commander had no choice but to issue a desperate order.

At this point, even fleeing was impossible; those turtle-like ironclads were actually faster than the wooden-hulled ships!

"Charge them! Board them! If we can't win the artillery duel, we'll drown them in a sea of men!" The British naval soldiers never expected that their navy, a powerhouse built on artillery combat, would one day be forced into hand-to-hand boarding maneuvers!

There was no choice; if they kept being bombarded like this, everyone would be swimming in the underwater world sooner or later.

***

After losing over a dozen ships-of-the-line, the British colonial fleet adjusted into a boarding formation and charged toward the Song ironclads. Although the British navy had always relied on artillery to strike enemies, they hadn't abandoned the ancient practice of boarding for historical reasons. Now, they were actually using it. If they could board those turtle-shell ships and capture them, the British navy would turn a crisis into an opportunity and at least double its strength!

Admiral Fu Manduo, seeing the enemy recklessly charging straight at them, wore a mocking smile. These backward enemies didn't yet know the true power of an ironclad!

"Signal the fleet: as the enemy approaches, go to full power and ram these backward wooden-hulled ships to death!" Admiral Fu Manduo ordered.

The British sailors noticed that instead of fleeing, the ironclads were heading straight for them.

Then, they witnessed a shocking scene: the ironclads simply crushed and pulverized their fragile wooden hulls!

"This... how can they be this hard..." a sailor watched in disbelief, his eyes nearly popping out of his head, as the ironclads trampled over their wooden ships at close range.

"It's over... we can't even board them..." the British colonial fleet commander watched in despair as his warships were rammed and sunk into the abyss one by one.

Amidst the heart-wrenching collisions, the British colonial fleet finally gave up. This naval battle wasn't even from the same era! There was simply no way to resist!

The British Imperial Navy began to retreat, but Admiral Fu Manduo led his ironclad fleet in hot pursuit. If they didn't wipe out the main force of the British navy, would they just let them return to continue blockading the Song army's supply lines?

While the Song navy was fierce in direct combat, they couldn't withstand constant harassment from the numerous British ships. Taking advantage of the fact that the enemy had deployed their entire force, sending their warships to the bottom of the sea was the only way to go!

The naval battle evolved into a pursuit. The conflict lasted from noon until dusk, with the ironclads using their advanced propulsion systems to hunt down the slower wooden-hulled ships. Along the way, the sea was littered with ship debris and the cries of British sailors calling for help.

When night fell and visibility prevented further pursuit, only ten or so battleships remained of the British colonial fleet, limping back to Mexico Port.

Sun Li immediately seized the opportunity, striking from both land and sea to surround and annihilate the Mexico Port and the surviving warships, capturing the last piece of territory in the Mexico region not under Song rule.

From that moment on, the Song Kingdom's rise officially began, and the iron hooves of the Song army showed the world a power that commanded awe for the very first time!