Boom! Boom! Boom!

The cannon roared, and the smoke of gunpowder filled the air.

The moment the ships Tenryu and Tatsuda opened fire on the Tang ship Leander, it meant that the Japanese had already fallen for the trick and they would completely lose the initiative in international public opinion.

The first round was destined to be the victory of the Tang Empire after careful planning.

Also at the moment of firing, Kotaro Aso was also dumbfounded, because he didn't see the other party's shells coming.

He was a smart man, and at that moment he understood that the other party had just fired three empty cannons. But he could not stop it anymore, because his battleship had already opened fire.

When the ship's shells stirred up huge water columns more than ten meters high on the sea around the Tang ship Leander, he might have quibbled that it was a warning for the Leander's shooting, but then he hesitated, and this hesitation, the well-trained Japanese Navy shelled the Leander ship one after another, and suddenly a 200-millimeter shell hit the front deck of the Leander.

In an instant, a fiery red mushroom cloud rose into the sky.

Kotaro Aso had no chance to quibble, because in addition to injuring three sailors of the Tang Imperial Navy, the cannon also killed Major Cameron, the British military attache in Fiji, and Lieutenant Colonel Harrison, the US military attache in Guam, as well as six reporters from Britain, France, the United States, and Germany who were busy taking pictures.

Through the glass windows of the bridge, Li Haichen saw everything that was happening on the deck.

Admittedly, Cameron and Harrison didn't have to die, they were killed by shells for the sake of the few reporters who ventured to take pictures on deck. But this is exactly the result that Li Haichen wants, because the death of these two people means that Britain and the United States will never give up.

In the middle of his thoughts, a 200-mm shell of the enemy exploded near the bridge.

Li Haichen stumbled and was almost knocked down, and hurriedly held his safety hand.

Damn little devil, the artillery skills are amazing.

Like Zhang Meng, Li Haichen also despises the little devils strategically, but attaches great importance to the little devils tactically.

Undoubtedly, the fact that the Japanese Navy was able to climb to the position of the third largest navy in Shijie is definitely not the so-called luck and coincidence, they have strength.

"Immediately retreat to the predetermined sea!"

Li Haichen was not in a hurry to fight the Japanese, because he was not a reckless man. The fighting quality of individual soldiers, the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire, which had just become an army, was obviously no match for the well-trained and battle-hardened Japanese Navy. At the same time, the other side is two new-type light cruisers, while Li Haichen only has one old-style light cruiser, and the firepower and number of battleships are inferior to the other side, so he will not fight hard with the enemy.

According to the previous tactical deployment, the Leander quickly turned around and sailed to the No. 5 sea area, which was an ambush area specially prepared by Li Haichen to deal with the two Japanese ships. The other five light cruisers and six submarines of the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire were arranging their pockets there, just waiting for the Leander to lure the two Japanese ships in.

The Leander's U-turn and escape made the already high-spirited Kotaro Aso even more arrogant. He thought that the Tang army was cowardly and had no combat effectiveness, and he was already frightened and fled in a hurry.

"Chase!"

As soon as Kotaro Aso gave the order, the two ships of the Tatsuda and the Tenryu immediately pursued the Leander at full speed, and were unknowingly led to the ambush area of the Tang army.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The two ships of the Tianlong and the Longtian kept shelling the Leander, and one shell after another whistled in, stirring up huge columns of water and splashing waves.

Under the command of Li Haichen, the Leander evaded the shelling of the Japanese ships left and right, but the Japanese Navy was not in vain, their gunnery was very strong, and one out of every ten shells would hit the Leander.

"A fire broke out in the port C area!"

"The fire brigade rushed to help!"

"The B3 position of the ship was shot, and the No. 4 gun was damaged!"

"Repair it now!"

……

Although the officers and men of the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire studied very hard, their training results were also very good. Although it is still some distance from Shijie's first-class British Navy, it is already a rapid progress. It's a pity that they have not experienced a real war, and their actual combat experience is slightly insufficient.

Every soldier of the Tang Army may have fantasized about the scene of a naval battle and made a lot of preparations, but when they really experienced the battle, when the bodies of their comrades and comrades were instantly blown up by shells, when the blood and water sprinkled on their heads were not rain but blood, mixed with minced meat, feces and urine and stumps and broken arms, their illusions were suddenly shattered, and most of them panicked, and the soldiers even vomited wildly, how embarrassed and embarrassed they were.

In this case, Li Haichen expected that the real elite grew up from the baptism of blood and fire.

"Cheer me up!"

"If you don't want to die, let me go back to my fighting position!"

Li Haichen personally supervised the battle, and many of his subordinates had seen bloody killings on the battlefield when they were in the army, and although these people had experienced naval battles for the first time, they could quickly control their fears and cooperate with Li Haichen to supervise the officers and men of the whole ship to enter the battle.

"I'm going home! I don't want to die! I still have a wife and children to take care of! ”

A sailor, about 20 years old, was stupefied by the violent explosion and was on the verge of a mental breakdown. If he was just hiding alone, maybe no one would blame him. But he shouted at this time, and his actions can be said to have shaken the morale of the army, and it will affect many people who are hesitating to fight.

"There is no forgiveness for those who escape!"

An officer quickly drew his pistol, and in extraordinary times he could not allow the man who shook the morale of the army to appear, and killed the sailor with a single shot.

"Either be killed by me, or die on your own combat post!"

The officer pointed a gun at the sailors who did not dare to go out to fight and told them to make a choice.

"Everyone has to think clearly! If we are killed by the commander, we are deserters, and our families will not be compensated after death! ”

"Lao Tzu is not a deserter!"

"Our reinforcements are coming soon, I'm afraid of a ball!"

"We are also heroes when we die on the battlefield! The country and the people will remember us, and our families will be bereaved and proud of us! ”

"That's it! We've fought with the little devils! ”

……

At this time, most people have no backbone, and it is very important for someone to stand up and show the pros and cons at a critical moment.

All the officers and men on board the Leander quickly stabilized, and all quickly returned to their combat positions and began to return fire under the command of their respective officers.

"Calm down, just do what you usually train!"

In real combat, it's good to be able to play half of your usual training level.

After enlightenment, it brings a strong counterattack.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Leander's main guns opened fire, and the shells whistled and landed on the sea less than fifty meters off the starboard side of the Japanese ship Tenryu, stirring up several huge columns of water.

The waves splashed and fell on the Tenryu, and Kotaro Aso, who was observing the enemy situation on the open-air platform of the bridge, was drenched in soup.

Kotaro Aso shivered, and the sergeant beside him hurriedly stepped forward and persuaded: "Your Excellency, Captain, please go down to the command tower to hide." ”

Kotaro Aso waved his hand and signaled that he didn't need it. In his eyes, he didn't believe that the newly formed Datang Navy could have much combat effectiveness.

However, his judgment was misguided.

Half an hour passed, although the Tang Army Leander was hit by dozens of bullets, fires broke out in many places on the deck, and the hull was scarred, it was still fighting, and it accurately hit the Japanese ship Tenryu many times, causing certain casualties and losses to the Japanese army.

Jihua, who had sunk the Leander, failed to materialize, much to Aso's annoyance. He had intended to continue the pursuit of the Leander until it was sunk, but was informed that reinforcements from the Don Army had arrived.

Originally, Li Haichen and Jihua directly led two Japanese ships into the No. 5 ambush area, and then annihilated them together with five other capital ships and six submarines. However, Jihua could not catch up with the changes, and Li Haichen, who lacked actual combat experience, underestimated the combat effectiveness of the Japanese ships, and the Japanese ships' artillery fire was ruthless and accurate, and one of the shells damaged the two boiler compartments of the Leander, causing a loss of power and a decrease in speed, and it was impossible to reach the ambush area at all. In a hurry, Li Haichen had no choice but to temporarily adjust the operation and order the other five capital ships to rush to reinforcements.

Fortunately, the more than 300 Tang officers and men on the Leander ship overcame the fear of the battlefield in time and gradually entered the combat state, so that the Leander was able to hold out until reinforcements arrived under the fierce attack of the two Japanese ships.

At this moment, the other five main warships of the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire, the Amphion, the Arisiusa, the Falta, the Iris, and the Mercury had entered the battlefield in a column from the southwest, forming a favorable T-shaped shooting position for the two Japanese ships.

Knock knock!

Five Tang ships fired a salvo, and in an instant, dozens of shells whistled and fired at the two Japanese ships.

The shells walked within a radius of more than 100 meters around the Japanese ship, and the explosion stirred up huge columns of water, splashing the waves, and the sea water boiled in an instant.

Faced with the absolute superiority of the Tang Army in numbers and firepower, Kotaro Aso was forced to give up his plan to continue the attack on the Leander and urgently turned around to evade.

"Reinforcements have arrived, and all the soldiers will go back with me!"

On the Leander, Li Haichen shouted loudly, and the officers and men of the whole ship immediately shouted in unison, and their morale increased sharply.

The situation on the battlefield was suddenly reversed. In the past, the Japanese ships had a two-on-one advantage, but now it has become a six-on-two overtaking opponent by the Tang Army.

Kotaro Aso was nervous, and immediately ordered the Tenryu and Tatsuda to turn around and retreat.

Due to the better maintenance of the Japanese Tenryu-class light cruisers, the combat speed of 33 knots was maintained for a long time without decreasing. On the other hand, the six Leander-class light cruisers leased by the Tang Army from Britain were able to pursue at a combat speed of 33 knots at first, but after half an hour, the speed suddenly dropped sharply, and the problem of aging equipment was suddenly exposed.

Although Li Haichen was a little unwilling, he had no choice but to order to stop the pursuit.