It's finally begun...... Lu Zhiyuan was still staring at the enemy ship in the distance, gritting his teeth and pretending, eager to swallow this enemy ship in one bite, this is our dish!!

With an order, the 8 120mm rapid-fire guns on the 601 ship immediately launched a fierce attack on the cruiser "Hiei", this A-type rapid-fire artillery shell uses the warhead blasting part of TNT explosives, and the propellant is a single-base smokeless propellant developed and produced by Mawei itself, and the range is far greater than that of ordinary maroon explosives......

I saw the cannon rumbling on the 601 ship, and 8 shells roared towards the cruiser Hiei, but the hit rate was really not high, and they all fell into the sea with a crackle! However, this range has already surprised the commander of the "Hiei" ship, Sakuraiyuki, but seeing the deviation of the opponent's shot, he is also a little relieved.

But a few seconds later, the opponent's movements, once again made him fall into the realm of madness, only 7 seconds, the opponent's second round of salvo came again, this time 8 shells are much more accurate, one of which has directly hit the side armor, but the side armor of Rui is as thick as 88-137mm, this 120mm small-caliber gun is not enough to penetrate in the maximum effective range.

But when the third round of shelling came eight seconds later, Sakurai had already fully felt what this meant, and he was about to be completely baptized by the rain of shells......

"Turn 15 degrees to the left and dodge!" Sakurai gave the order loudly.

To be honest, Sakurai should be regarded as a qualified battleship commander, otherwise he would not have been selected to command Japan's first ironclad ship, but at this time, the damaged machinery helped Lu Zhiyuan a lot, and when the Japanese officer went to the bilge to convey the steering order, the platoon guns from the 601 ship slipped 6 and concentrated on Hiei's bridge.

This is definitely a perfect burst of fire, the "Hiei" cruiser command tower, cockpit is teak structure, covered with steel armor of 35mm steel plates, can withstand the fire of small-caliber guns, ordinary 120mm rapid-fire guns are absolutely impossible to penetrate, but what Sakurai did not understand to death still happened.

Four of the six shells successfully penetrated the armor of the conning tower, three of which exploded in the bridge command room, and on the cruiser Hiei, all 13 officers were completely strangled by the three 20-kilogram warheads, except for one officer who went to the bilge to inform the rudder to survive!

Another shell that pierced through the armor was fired into the cockpit, which was only 10 square meters, and the fragments of the bomb flew horizontally, and the explosion caused a fire in the cabin at the same time, and the composite structure of wood and steel plates was obviously not conducive to arson, and the smoke immediately burned the entire cockpit into a large boiler.

After discovering that the command tower had been shot, the personnel and soldiers immediately rushed to put out the fire, but ...... They were greeted by another round of rapid-fire shells, and the front and rear decks of the "Hiei" cruiser were full of Japanese soldiers killed by the explosion of ploughing shells, and the entire battleship was in flames, and immediately fell across the sea in a state of no command.

Lu Zhiyuan's 18-knots speed of the 601 ship could only make the 13-knots Japanese wedge-shaped queue stare dryly, and the Fuso, which occupied the left position, loaded the heavy guns of the four-corner battery and fired a shot at the 601 ship, but it was not an easy task to hit a target with a speed of 18 knots!

The 601 ship managed to destroy the cone tip of the Japanese wedge formation, which immediately caused a lot of trouble! Arai's planned wedge formation was apparently bankrupt, but it strengthened his willingness to retreat as much as he could, and after abandoning the burning Hiei, the Fuso ironclad took the lead in charging the Combined Fleet warships encircling the fleet.

Seeing the achievements of the 601 ship, the artillery fire of other warships became even more intense! In the next three rounds of artillery bombardment, the Japanese fleet constantly adjusted its direction and launched a charge at full speed, and the artillery on both sides did not gain anything.

On the 501 flagship, Qin Kai also ran out to watch the battle at this time, the eye-catching watch of the 601 ship just now really made the whole fleet excited, the new battleship reflected strong mobility and explosive power in actual combat, so that the generals of the naval division were very excited, this is a new battleship made by Mawei Shipyard itself!

And by this time, the Japanese fleet had already been hit by Yan zhòng. The Tsukushi fast cruiser lost half of its heavy firepower, and the Hiei cruiser was already a furnace, and the heavy guns that the opponent could exert firepower at this time were only the four-corner batteries on the Fuso, and the ratio of heavy guns between the two sides at this time could already be described as "disparity".

The second squad had already used its speed to completely suppress the Japanese fleet, and it was naturally the best option to crush the Japanese fleet within effective range with heavy artillery. But at this moment, the officer at the lookout post suddenly rushed in and reported loudly, "Pipe band, there is a black cloud due north!" Estimated there is a storm! ”,

Hearing the news, Lu Han was also stunned, he immediately ran to the side of the high-magnification telescope to look north, and sure enough, ...... The sky to the north was dark and dreary, and it was slowly rolling towards the war zone!

Qin Kai also fell into contemplation at this time, this storm is definitely an unexpected situation, above the sea, facing the vast heaven and earth and the unpredictable power of nature, even in his own era of incomparably advanced science and technology, human beings still maintain their awe of nature!

Although the 501 ironclad ship and the officers and soldiers experienced a storm test in the last surprise attack on Saigon, but now he is responsible for the entire fleet, and the south and north of the town in the fleet are small mosquito boats, Dengyingzhou, and Chaowu are also iron-wedged wooden hull ships, which are the elites of the future naval development that they have carefully gathered!

However, for fleet operations, Qin Kai never pointed fingers, he saw Lu Han's eyes turned to him, so he nodded and smiled slightly, and said: "Gengtang, you are the commander, you can make up your mind!" ”

Lu Han nodded, and ordered loudly: "Order, approach the enemy ship at full speed, and at a distance of 2,500 meters, carry out a surprise attack according to the sequence, and strive to destroy the Japanese fleet!" ”

The 501 ship took the lead in speeding up, approaching the Japanese cruiser "Soun", which had fallen behind due to speed, from the side and rear positions! Chen Ying had already given the order to shoot the secondary gun at this time, and for Cangyun, an outdated battleship, he didn't need the main gun to shoot at all!

When the second squadron of the Combined Fleet saw the flagship's order, it immediately adjusted its speed and turned its head to plunge into the Japanese fleet, which was breaking through with all its might......

At this moment, Arai Yougong obviously also received the message of the storm, which made him feel a little excited, this is a great opportunity to get rid of the Qing fleet, in the storm, although the speed of the ship will be affected, but this is the same difficulty for both sides, but, in the storm, the influence of line of sight, this is the most important factor.

In that case, he was very sure that he would be able to successfully get rid of the pursuit of the Qing fleet, after all, in that situation where the field of vision was only one or two kilometers, it would definitely be an extremely difficult job to pursue the target!

"Is Biei Hui in command?" Arai asked loudly.

"Dazuo, news has come from Hiei that the command tower Yan zhòng has been damaged, and only one herald officer has survived, and it is estimated that he has completely lost the ability to command and control! At this time, it is still driving in the same direction as us behind the side! ”

Arai lowered his head and pondered for a few seconds, then raised his head with a stern face and said, "Then send a signal to them, now is the time for them to be loyal to the Emperor and the Empire!" ”

"Yes!"

At this time, another officer rushed in and shouted: "Report! Arai Daisa, the Kiyokuni fleet in front of the left is speeding up towards us! ”

All the time, Arai Yougong is desperately commanding the fleet to try to shorten the distance with the interception fleet in front of the left, hoping to have a decisive battle with the opponent, if the emperor ** team plays well and can defeat the other party, then there are too many opportunities to maneuver! But after seeing the unpredictable speed and firepower of the opponent's fast battleship just now, he immediately wisely gave up that idea......

Obviously, the other side is not only far ahead in the firepower of heavy artillery, but also terrifying in the firepower of secondary artillery! At this time, the other party suddenly closed the distance, and as an excellent fleet commander, he understood the other party's plan without guessing...... It's just that in the face of the other party's strong strength, what counterattack can you make?

Arai Yougong thought about it for a moment, and immediately ordered, "Order the Akumo cruiser to fight with Hiei, and drag the pursuing fleet behind no matter what!" ”

He made up his mind, in front of him are the four armored cruisers of the Qing Kingdom, and on his side at this time on the local battlefield is an ironclad ship Fusang, plus two armored cruisers Zhuzi and King Kong, with 3 to 4, but the armor of the Fusang should be stronger than the other party, at present, this should be the best tactic! It's time to bring out the Japanese Navy's strong level of training!

Both sides are desperately adjusting their formations, Lu Han is striving to annihilate them all, while Arai Yougong is trying his best to break through and kill the combined fleets of Nanyang and Beiyang! And during this period, the two sides completed two rounds of mutual firing, but the high-speed adjustment of the battleship affected the accuracy of the shooting, and both sides exchanged blank rolls!

Soon, the Fuso had approached the second squad of the Combined Fleet occupying the top of the T-shape, and the distance between the two sides was already rapidly closing, and it was obvious that it was not the Japanese fleet that had accelerated its speed, but the second squad of the Combined Fleet had slowed down, and after the two sides exchanged more than a dozen rounds of heavy artillery, the Japanese fleet's firepower configuration was already very clear. ,

The 601 ships and 701 ships in the second squad are equipped with rapid-fire guns with a range of more than 3,000 meters, and the battle at this distance is shortened, and the artillery put into battle by the second squad will add 11 rapid-fire guns on the basis of 7 heavy guns! This kind of powerful firepower is absolutely ruining.

Of course, the probability of both sides being hit is also greatly increased by shortening the distance, but considering the greatly increased firepower of their own side, any qualified commander will choose to take a little risk!

Xu Shoushan stood majestically on the observation position of the bridge, watching the Japanese fleet in the distance split into two to meet the enemy, and smiled in his heart, little Japan is really not stupid at all, it can even be said that it is very smart and decisive, if the two sides switch positions, he can only think of this, but he doesn't need to feel this desperate situation!

Now it was time to deliver a fatal blow to the enemy, and he immediately issued a new order for shelling, "Order, the heavy artillery to suspend the shelling, close the distance to 2,500 meters before shelling, and order the port rapid-fire gun to fire at full speed after the final range!" ”

The Japanese fleet, which was attacking northward, and the second squadron of the Combined Fleet, which was intercepting flanks in front of them, pounced on each other without hesitation, and the commanders of both sides hoped to inflict heavy losses on each other in this round of hand-to-hand combat!

3300 m ......

3200 m ......

3100 m ......

3000 m ......

The rapid-fire guns on the second series of 601 cruisers were not the first to fire rapid fire, and the rapid-fire guns loaded with twin 120mm spiral drums emitted a sharp "bang" shooting sound, and the white smoke and fire sprayed from the barrel did not affect the field of vision at all, which also made the efficiency of continuous fire reach an astonishing speed.

The target of the 601 ship was the armored cruiser "Kongo", the second position of the Japanese fleet's wedge formation, and in the first salvo, one shell hit the front deck of the Kongo, sweeping down several Japanese soldiers who were carrying things on the front deck.

Following the shelling of the 601 ship, the 4 120mm rapid-fire guns on the side of the 701 ship also attacked, and the shells rushed to the Japanese flagship Fuso in front of the side!

On the 701 ship, the shooting officer Liu Ye is nervously giving orders, and now the position of the battleship is at the position of 40 degrees to the right chord of the Fusang, and the 240mm heavy gun at the front end of the right side of the opponent's quadrangular gun room can launch a counterattack, but with three 254mm and 35 times the diameter of the heavy guns against the opponent's 240mm and 25 times the diameter of the heavy artillery, it is a big profit! The next round of 2500m shooting, that is almost a direct shot, must be a one-shot hit!

At this time, the officers of the gun position on the "Fusang" also had the same idea as Liu Ye, and both sides were waiting for this to be shortened to the best flat firing distance, but it was obvious that at this point, Liu Ye was obviously picking up the bargain again, and he had already put four 120mm double-diameter guns into fire at this time, and was baptizing the money battery of the Fusang ironclad ship.

The 120mm artillery shooter is actually quite depressed, the battle of the Nanyang naval division, almost rarely give these people a chance to play, generally far away with heavy artillery to complete the roll call, they are also a leak of life, today finally caught the opportunity to play, this time is completely serious about the shell, desperately fired towards the Fusang!

From the second round onwards, the Fuso suffered from the baptism of small-caliber rapid-fire guns, which also severely affected the efficiency and speed of the Fuso's counterattack.

The distance between the two sides is already less than 3000 meters, on the 701 ship, Liu Ye is working nervously in front of the rangefinder, he obviously has no intention of paying attention to anything else, seeing that the distance between the two sides is getting closer and closer, he waved his hand violently and gave a loud shooting order, "40 degrees to the side side, the target enemy ship "Fusang", ready to fire a salvo!" Countdown to 15 seconds......"

At this time, the battleships of the second detachment and several Japanese ships were fighting hotly, and although the "Hiei" cruiser at the rear of the Japanese fleet was still burning with flames, under the command of the officer, the battleship had already recovered part of its combat function at this time, and they had received the order of the flagship, so they simply broke away from the queue, crossed the hull, and prepared to counterattack with all the side guns.

The Japanese cruiser "Cangyun", which was the slowest in the Japanese fleet, had already fallen into the siege of the slow warships of the first squad at this time, and the speed of the ships Huashan, Dengyingzhou, Chaowu, Zhennan, and Zhenbei could not catch up with the ironclad ships such as Fuso in front, so they unanimously turned their guns to deal with the weakest Japanese battleship.

Just a round of attack, under the close bombardment of all kinds of rapid-fire guns and heavy artillery, the Cangyun emitted thick black smoke, and there were more fires on the stern and waist of the ship. However, on the Cangyun, which took on the task of blocking the fleet, the Japanese soldiers still desperately loaded the shells to counterattack. ,

However, it is obvious that they can play a very weak role, and when they cross the 501 ship next to the Cangyun, the 150mm auxiliary gun on the side of the ship is another bombardment, which immediately blows up the Japanese soldiers in the gun positions on the deck, and another shell hits the hull position of the Cangyun under the waterline.

Immediately seawater poured into the hull through the breach, and soon, the Cangyun capsized sideways on the surface of the sea!

Arai Yougong also saw the situation of the two warships behind the palace at this time, the wooden-hulled "Cangyun" was overturned on the sea before it could even resist a single face, and as for Hiei, who had not yet extinguished the hull fire, he could not give any hope.

At this time, his eyes were already fixed on the 701 ship that was advancing at high speed in front of the side, and if he could damage the other party, it would be an excellent condition for the evacuation! The hull of the ship shook violently, and it was the central quadrangular gun room that fired!

Almost at the same moment, the three 254mm heavy guns on the 701 ship also launched an artillery attack on the "Fuso", this time both sides did not miss, after all, at a distance of less than 2500m, the artillery fire is almost a direct fire, this hand-to-hand combat, the hit rate naturally increased greatly!

The Japanese shells hit the waist of the 701 ship directly, but it is true that the thickest part of the armor of the 701 ship is here, and the thickness of the waterline armor at the waist of the ship has reached 125mm.