"Hurry, hurry!"

"Your Excellency, Commander, it's already the fastest! If you don't do it soon, the battleship will disintegrate! ”

On the bridge of the ironclad ship of the Fuso, Saigo Takamori remembered to stomp his feet, but unfortunately no matter how anxious he was, the speed of the Fuso just couldn't be raised, seeing that the Chinese fleet was getting closer and closer, and the accuracy of the shells was getting higher and higher, the Fuso was shot one after another, and fires broke out in many places.

Like the other Japanese ships, they were attacked by Chinese warships, and each of them was wounded with a ribbon.

At 3:10 p.m., after more than three hours of pursuit, the distance between the Chinese and Japanese navies was close to 5,000 meters.

At this distance, the main guns of the Japanese ironclad ships can already return fire, but this is the maximum range, and the accuracy is obviously very low, firing dozens of cannons, it would be good to hit the Chinese battleship with one shot, and it was the end of the strong crossbow, which could not penetrate the armor protection of the Chinese battleship, and the damage caused was very limited.

On the other hand, the Chinese Navy was divided into five squadrons, of which nine ironclad ships were divided into three teams, each of which was free to search for targets to attack, and the other eight dome cruisers were divided into two teams to outflank the Japanese naval fleet from the left and right flanks as quickly as possible, using various means to intercept or delay time.

Although the shells of the cruisers of the Chinese Navy could not directly penetrate the armor of the Japanese ironclads, they could destroy the superstructure of the Japanese ships, inflict mass casualties on personnel, and pose a great threat to the Japanese sailors.

However, it was a very dangerous operation to get close to the Japanese ironclads. But the Chinese Navy had no choice, they had to teach the Japanese a hard lesson and prevent them from returning to the Sasebo base.

At 3:17 p.m., the four ships of the left flank detachment, Haiqi, Haitian, Haichen, and Haiji, suddenly accelerated and approached the guerrilla group of the first cruiser of the Japanese Combined Fleet.

The Japanese ships Tsukuma, Akitsuzu, Haguro, and Misumi escorted the combined fleet on the right flank and quickly met the battle.

In an instant, the two sides exchanged fierce fire, and shells flew like rain.

Ten minutes later, the Haiqi suddenly made a bold move, leading the four ships of Haitian, Haichen and Haiji to quickly turn left and right. Rushed sideways towards the Japanese fleet.

The artillery salvo of the Japanese right flank detachment rained down on the Haiqi in raindrops, splashing the sea water and raining smoke.

The Haiqi was shot in many places in the bow, and several fires broke out, but they were all extinguished in time.

The shells of the Japanese cruisers could not penetrate the dome armor protection of the Haiqi, which is why the Haiqi would rush so boldly and quickly approach the Japanese ship Chikuma at a distance of 1,000 meters.

"Launch Fish Radium!"

Tong!

The Haiqi fired a ray of fish from its bow and quickly turned around and fired at close range with its broadside guns. The four ships that followed, Haitian, Haichen and Hai Ridge also drew gourds in the same way, and also shot out the bow of the ship. Make a sharp turn, resume parallel sailing with the fleet on the same day, and join the ranks of the bombardment.

When the commanders of the four Japanese ships saw the Haiqi suddenly turn and rampage, they knew that the other side was adopting some kind of tactic and quickly took precautions, but they did not expect that the other side would launch the legendary Fish Ray weapon when it rushed to a thousand meters.

The commander of the Japanese ship Chikuma was suddenly startled, he had never seen Fish Radium, but he had already heard like thunder, and knew that the Fish Ray that could sail at high speed on the sea surface in the Sino-British Battle of Huangyan Island showed its might.

Seeing the fish radium rushing at high speed. The commander of the Japanese ship immediately panicked and hurriedly ordered evasion.

The Chikuma was the first to spot the Fish Radium, and it was the fastest to evade, dodging the Fish Ray launched by the Kaiqi. Akitsuzu followed the Chikuma closely and was able to make a turn in time to dodge the Fish Ray attack launched by the Haitian.

But the two Japanese ships in the back were not so lucky, they could only watch the movements of the Japanese ships in front of them and then make moves. There was a time lag, so when they spotted the Rays launched by the Haichen and the Ridge, they also gave an emergency evasion order. But it was still half a beat slower, and they were hit by fish radium.

Boom!

Boom!

With two loud bangs, the Haguro was hit by a ray of fish, and in the absence of armor protection, the entire battleship was blown in two from the middle. The stern of the Sanyu was hit by a fish radium, and it was immediately blown apart, and the battleship quickly lost power, and a large amount of seawater poured into the stern, and the whole battleship quickly warped and sank at a speed that could be seen.

The Haiqi paid a very small price, creating the first time in modern naval warfare to sink a cruiser with fish and radium in battle, the Japanese navy's left-wing cruiser guerrillas were heavily damaged, two cruisers were sunk, and the remaining two ships, the Tsukuma and the Akitsuzu, were even more defeated by the siege of four Chinese cruisers.

On the other hand, the Chinese battleships Haidai, Haihuan, Hairong, and Haiyue fought more conservatively, because they were facing four Japanese ironclad ships, and if they were not careful, they would be hit by a large-caliber cannonball.

The situation is becoming more and more unfavorable to the Japanese Combined Fleet, and in the rear are nine main ironclad ships of the Chinese Navy that are fiercely chasing, getting closer and closer to the Japanese fleet, the right flank is four against four, and the left flank has become two against four, and the two ships of Chikuma and Akitsusu are facing the onslaught of the artillery fire of the four Chinese cruisers, and the hull is hit by bullets and fires everywhere, and there are a large number of casualties.

At 3:48 p.m., the Chinese Navy's right-wing detachment changed its tactics, and the three ships Haiqi, Haitian, and Haichen concentrated their firepower to storm the Zhuma, while the Haiji was responsible for pinning down the Qiujinzhou so that it could not be reinforced.

Fifteen minutes later, the main guns on the front and rear decks of the Tsukuma were extinguished, and the Japanese artillery was killed in heavy fire due to the use of open batteries. Without the main guns, the Tsukuma could not pose a threat to the three ships, Haiqi, Haitian, and Haichen, and the three ships approached the Tsukuma again, and hundreds of shells poured down on the Tsukuma, which soon broke the skin and flesh of the Tsukuma, and the entire hull was engulfed in flames and smoke.

Although it was no longer possible to see the Tsukuma in the flames and smoke, the Chinese warships did not dare to be careless, and the Haiqi and Haitian 2nd ships broke away first and went to support the sea ridge, while the Haichen sent the Chikuma on its last journey with a fish radium.

In a series of violent explosions, the Tsukuma was blown apart.

Subsequently, on the left flank, only the Akitsuzu was left alone against four Chinese cruisers, and it was in danger.

"Let the Akitsu Chau give up cover and get out of the battlefield!"

Saigo Takamori watched the three Japanese ships being sunk, and he was already trembling with anger, knowing that it would be useless for the Akitsuzu to continue fighting, so he simply let the Akitsuzu get out of the battlefield and preserve its strength.

The Akitsuzu then broke away from the battlefield and fled in the opposite direction.

Chen Shaoyi immediately ordered the seriously wounded Haiqi and Haidai to leave the battlefield. Instead, he pursued the dying Akitsuzu, and ordered the remaining six cruisers to continue to harass the four main ironclads of the Japanese Navy.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Chen Shaoyi commanded three teams with a total of nine ironclad ships to speed up the pursuit, striving to bite the four Japanese ships as soon as possible.

"Ignore their harassment and go straight to full speed!"

Saigo Takamori looked at the nine Chinese ironclad ships that were chasing after him, and he knew that once he was bitten, then his four ironclad ships would be explained here. Therefore, in the face of harassment by six Chinese Navy cruisers, he could only hit the muzzle of the gun with his head and break through from the front.

Six cruisers of the Chinese Navy. It's still two teams, three ships each. After the right flank detachment's flagship Haiqi withdrew, the Haitian raised the flagship command flag and led the Haichen and Haiji two ships. After Haidai, the flagship of the left wing detachment, withdrew, Haihuan raised the flagship command flag and led the two ships Hairong and Haiyue to continue the battle.

The two teams, one on the left and one on the right, took advantage of the speed advantage to cross positions in front of the four Japanese ships, and always seized the "D" prefix horizontal position of the Japanese ships. Bombarded Japanese ships with superior artillery.

Even with armor-piercing shells, they could not penetrate the armor protection of Japanese ironclad ships, so all six cruisers of the Chinese Navy used blasting shells to attack only the superstructure of Japanese ships. The bombing caused fire everywhere on four Japanese ships, and thick smoke billowed from the bombing.

In order not to be overtaken, the four Japanese ironclad ships did not dare to attack the Chinese cruise fleet with broadside artillery fire, because they wanted to use broadside artillery fire. The battleship can only turn and cross, and every turn deviates from the course, wasting some time. The nine Chinese ironclad ships behind were chasing in a straight line, so the Japanese ships did not dare.

As a result, the four Japanese ships could only return fire from the front main guns.

Eight large-caliber front main guns, very powerful, were able to penetrate the broadside protection of the dome cruiser and inflict heavy damage on the Chinese cruiser.

At 4:37 p.m., when the Haichen slammed into the Japanese ship Kongo, it was unfortunately shot on the port side, and was pierced through the broadside armor by an armor-piercing bullet from the front main gun of the Kongo, causing heavy damage and a large amount of seawater pouring in.

The captain of the King Kong really wanted to turn around and rush over immediately, and he only needed to hit the Haichen with one more shot to sink the Haichen. What an honor it is to be able to sink a Chinese cruiser.

Unfortunately, it backfired, and a large-caliber 305-millimeter shell landed more than 10 meters away on the starboard side of the Kongo, and the huge wave that exploded in an instant fell on the bridge of the Kongo, and the captain and other Japanese officers and men were instantly poured into the soup.

The captain of the King Kong immediately sobered up, and when he saw the main ironclad ship of the Chinese Navy approaching in the rear, he immediately gave up the Haichen and continued to flee for his life.

The two sides chased after each other, four Japanese ships fled for their lives, nine Chinese ironclad ships desperately pursued, and five Chinese cruisers continued to harass.

This state of affairs continued for more than an hour, and only one of the five Chinese cruisers remained, and the other four were also heavily damaged and withdrew from the battle in time. The four Japanese ships were also scarred, the superstructure was blown up beyond recognition, countless people were killed and wounded, there were fires everywhere, and thick smoke billowed out.

Seeing that it would be dark in another hour, Saigo Takamori and other Japanese officers and soldiers seemed to see hope of escape.

But at this moment, the last Chinese cruiser, the Haidai, made a bold move, he rushed at high speed to the Japanese ship Fuso, and launched a ray of fish at a distance of a thousand meters.

At a distance of 1,000 meters, the Haidai could be seen from both the main and secondary guns of the Fusang, and suddenly the artillery was inspired, and multiple shells hit the Haidai, causing heavy damage to the Haidai.

However, Saigo Takamori on the Fuso was still startled when he saw Yu Lei rushing over, and finally ordered to turn to avoid.

If you want to avoid the fish radium, you have to make a big turn.

After dodging the fish rays, when turning back to the original course, the main fleet of the Chinese Navy had already caught up, the distance between the two sides was less than 4,000 meters, and the speed of the Chinese warships was 0.5 knots faster than that of the Japanese ships, and every hour there would be half an hour 3.5 knots, which made the two sides closer and closer.

Knock knock!

The main guns of the nine ironclad ships of the Chinese Navy opened fire in front of them, and as the distance got closer, the eighteen 305-mm main guns became more and more accurate, and the shells continued to fall near the Japanese ships, even if they were only close-range shells, there was a considerable threat.

At 5:03 p.m., the main guns in front of the Zhenyuan ship opened fire, and a 305-mm armor-piercing shell hit the chrysanthemum of the Fuso.

With a loud bang, the tail rudder of the Fuso was shattered, the transmission system failed, and the Fuso lost power and stopped in an instant.

The shot just now shook Saigo Takamori to the ground, and when he got up, he suddenly looked bitter.

"It's over!"

When Saigo Takamori learned that the Fuso had lost power, he was immediately disheartened, and he could not imagine that a battle that he thought would be won would end up being the battle he was buried.

"Let the three ships of Kongo, Hiei, and Kirishima not stop, and be sure to withdraw to Sasebo to preserve the bloodline for the Imperial Navy!"

At this time, Saigo Takamori already knew his fate, and it was better to die in battle than to flee back to Sasebo to wait for execution.

However, King Kong, Hiei, and Kirishima Mifune turned around and came back, which both moved and angered Saigo Takamori.

"These bastards, don't they want to live?"

Saigo Takamori was furious, and then took the flag to inform the three ships to leave, but it was too late, and the main force of the Chinese navy had already surrounded them.

"Fuck, who got that shot? Go back and give him a first-class credit! ”

"Where are you running this time?"

"Order, let go of the Fusang for the time being, the three teams each bite a Japanese ship, be sure to sink it, and do all the miracles!"

In the flagship Dingyuan Commander Tower, Chen Shaoyi said excitedly, and at the same time made tactical arrangements. The Fuso has lost power, so naturally leave him alone. But Chen Shaoyi did not attack the Fusang, that is, he let the wounded drag the other three Japanese ships and could not leave.

This tactic is like a sniper deliberately not killing the target, making the target scream incessantly, attracting more enemy rescue, and then shooting them one by one.

When Saigo Takamori saw that the Chinese fleet did not come to attack the Fuso, but was divided into three teams, each with three ships to besiege a Japanese ship, so as to bully more and less, he immediately understood.

"Shameless! Shameless! ”

Saigo was so angry that he almost vomited blood, and his feet hung down on his chest.

Saigo quickly came back from the back and said: "The rear cabin has been flooded by seawater, all the pumps have been used, and it will not sink for the time being, but the steering gear has been damaged and submerged under water, which cannot be repaired, please get into the dinghy immediately and leave here." ”

Saigo Takamori has the face to leave, and he will be dealt with when he goes back, so it is better to die here.

He didn't leave, but Saigo saw the mentality of the other Japanese officers and soldiers from the road, and everyone was willing to die with Saigo Takamori, after all, this was not a victory, and death was famous. This is a war of wretchedness, and if you die, you will be scolded, and only if you go back alive, you will be ashamed of revenge in the future. Therefore, Saigo forcibly took Saigo Takamori away from the road, and the others naturally cooperated.

The King Kong took the risk to come to pick up Saigo Takamori on board, but was fiercely besieged by the three ships of the Chinese Navy, Dingyuan, Zhiyuan, and Jingyuan, and the battleship was heavily damaged and caught fire in many places.

At the critical moment, Hiei and Kirishima broke through the siege and rushed to the rescue, blocking a large number of artillery hits for the Kongo.

The Kongo then took the opportunity to extinguish the fire and repair the battleship, picked up Saigo Takamori, and continued to sail in the direction of Sasebo under the cover of the two ships Hiei and Kirishima. (To be continued.) )