At this point, Ito Shoyu finally understood that there would be no second outcome for the combined fleet of the Japanese army today except for fighting to the death with the powerful Huaxia fleet, so he threw away all illusions and gave a categorical order: "All warships immediately form a team and prepare for a large column battle." ”

"All the whole team, prepare for an artillery battle with the Japanese fleet!"

Zheng Dingbang gave the order, in addition to the battleships Daxia and Carlos V and five cruisers in the battlefield reserve, the remaining four battleships, 20 cruisers, and 18 destroyers immediately formed a three-column column to pounce on the combined fleet of the Japanese army.

A decisive battle that will determine the fate of the East Asian continent and the western Pacific for the next few hundred years is about to begin!

Ito Shoyu wanted to fight to the death with the Huaxia fleet, but there was someone in the combined fleet of the Japanese army who disagreed, and this person was the captain of the cruiser Naniwa, Heihachiro Togo.

Anyone who is familiar with history knows that the captain of the Naniwa, Heihachiro Togo, is a person with a lot of background, and the author is not popularized here, so everyone knows what a powerful character this is when they look at the Battle of Tsushima.

The Naniwa, who was following the group, sent a suggestion to Ito Henyoke on the flagship: In view of the fact that the enemy is too strong, the combined fleet should immediately disperse and break through and move into the country, and defend the fortress and maneuver with the Huaxia army.

Scatter the breakout! That meant that two-thirds of the combined fleet's cruisers with a speed of less than 18 knots would be annihilated by the mighty Huaxia fleet in the waters near Weihaiwei!

As a soldier who upholds the bushido spirit of the Wakuni, it is absolutely unacceptable!

Ito hesitated for a moment, but he thought that he was very patient and made a quick decision: "At the right time, the new warship can break through and transfer to the country with the advantage of speed!" ”

This Japanese country is a very particular country, and even the fugitive shortlist is dead with the word "turn in", instead of saying "escape" and "retreat".

As for when the right time will be, Ito Hyungwoo did not say, and there is no time to say.

The Huaxia fleet rushed over at a fleet speed of 17 knots, and halfway through, the fleet of 18 cruisers suddenly accelerated and sailed at a speed of 21 knots. Crossing the left side of the combined fleet of the Japanese army, it outflanked on the left side.

Eighteen destroyers, led by two cruisers, outflanked the Japanese fleet on the right side at an ultra-high speed of 24 knots.

The four capital battleships continued to attack the front of the Japanese fleet at a speed of 17 knots. And make a sharp turn to the right, seize the T-head, and deploy all the large and small guns on the broadside to aim at the Japanese army.

When the distance between the two fleets was still 6,500 meters, the sight rangefinder on the battleship had already completed all the measurements. Data reporting to the flagship command tower.

After listening to the concise reports of each battle position, Zheng Dingbang smashed his fist on the table and decisively ordered: "Carry out the first round of artillery test firing against the enemy!" ”

The twenty main guns of the four battleships shrank back sharply, spewing out a row of orange-red blazing flames, firing the first salvo at the Japanese army, and twenty huge shells carried an astonishing whistling sound, piercing through the air and rushing towards the Japanese warship group.

"It's been fired, it's finally fired!" The soldiers and civilians watching the battle on Liugong Island jumped and cheered, and these days they have been pressing on everyone's hearts with sorrow and depression because of the fierce fire of the Huaxia fleet. It was all swept away.

Yang Yonglin decided not to sit here and wait to see the results of the battle of the Huaxia Army, and issued a flag order to all ships: "All the warships of the Beiyang Naval Division immediately set sail for battle!" ”

All the officers and men of the Beiyang Naval Division understand that under the all-out attack of the powerful fleet of the Huaxia Army, the combined fleet of the Japanese army will definitely be defeated, and this is an excellent opportunity to beat the water dogs.

All the officers and men were very enthusiastic, and all the movable warships of the Beiyang Naval Division moved, and even the Dingyuan, which had a difficult voyage, also followed.

When the Huaxia Army opened fire from 6,500 meters away, and a few shells landed in the sea only a few dozen meters away from the Matsushima, the flagship of the Combined Fleet ship group, all the Japanese officers and men knew about it. They will definitely lose this battle!

As well-trained officers and men of the Japanese Navy, they have seen two very important points from this: First, the fact that the Huaxia Army was really able to hit targets with artillery at a distance of 6,500 meters shows the advanced degree of its fire control system. Far more than the Wa Kingdom! Second, the Huaxia Army adopted a very domineering outflanking position, which was completely a posture of completely annihilating the combined fleet.

Matsushima Captain Sakajimoto knew that at this time he finally understood that Togo Heihachiro's suggestion was reasonable, and he also quickly suggested to Ito Hensuke: "Commander! Let's hurry up and disperse and transfer to the country! ”

"It's too late!" Ito shook his head, he saw that the warships of the Huaxia Army were much faster than the combined fleet, and the Huaxia Army still had two battleships and five cruisers waiting as reserves on the periphery. If the combined fleet disperses and breaks through, its own warships will definitely be slaughtered by the Huaxia army one by one.

However, after a pause of a few seconds, Ito Hyungwoo still ordered: "Immediately send an order to the commander of the First Guerrilla Force, Kozo Tsuboi, and ask him to grasp the timing in the battle, lead the First Guerrilla Force and other cutting-edge warships to break through together, and reserve the seeds of the navy for the Yamato nation!" ”

When the Matsushima put out the three flags to Tsuboi, Zheng Dingbang ordered all the battleships and cruisers to concentrate their firepower on the Matsushima, the flagship of the Japanese army.

In the overwhelming explosion, the Matsushima was hit by more than a dozen shells.

These dozen shells were not inferior black gunpowder filled with the Beiyang Fleet, but armor-piercing shells with tungsten core caps and high explosives, and as long as one shell hit the vital point of the Songdao, all the Japanese officers and men on the Songdao could be sent to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish.

However, the luck of the Matsushima was still good for the time being, after being hit by more than a dozen large-caliber shells, only the hull of the ship was in flames, and it did not sink, but all the hanging ropes on the Matsushima were blown off, all the hanging flags were burned to ashes by the cannon fire, and the blazing fire on the deck made it impossible for people to stand at all, and they could no longer send flag commands.

As a fleet flagship, the Matsushima was no longer able to fulfill its duties.

The fleets of the two sides advanced opposite each other, rushing closer and closer, and soon entered a distance of 5,000 meters, and the secondary guns of the Huaxia Army below 100 mm also began to shell, pouring down cannonballs like a torrent of shells, causing the ships of the combined fleet to be hit by bullets and burst into fire.

However, the effective shelling distance of the Japanese combined fleet is 3,500 meters, which has not yet entered its effective shelling range, and the Japanese army can only grit its teeth and endure it, hoping to enter the effective firing range before starting to shell the Huaxia army.

As the distance approached, the god of fate no longer favored the Matsushima, and several salvos resulted in more than thirty more rounds, one of which was 305 mm and exploded directly through its ammunition depot. (To be continued.) )