Z-flag. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Yuzaburo Kato looked at the flag hanging from the mast, which represented "the rise and fall of the imperial kingdom in this battle", and felt more and more that today could be a dark day.

"Why should we accept that Mi man's suggestion?" He grunted and shook his head.

A young naval officer standing next to him heard him talking to himself. "I think the advice of that writer gentleman is very isolated, Daisa Kato." He seriously defended Cox, "That Z-shaped flag can inspire the will of the Imperial Navy officers to fight bravely to kill the enemy......"

"Come on, Akiyama Shaosa." Yuzaburo Kato snorted, "Your brother is an officer in the army, you should be in such serious trouble that Mr. Writer has caused the Imperial Army." Because of his madness, an infantry brigade was lost in a senseless way. ”

"But that doesn't mean every opinion he has is wrong."

"My fear is that he's going to get an inch."

As if choked by a strong hand in the throat, Akiyama Shiyuki choked at once - Yuzaburo Kato was right, the biggest problem with that American writer was that he always liked to give inch after inch, put forward one opinion after another, whether they were really reasonable or not, and even issue orders on behalf of the commander of the army.

Just like he did in Lushun.

Akiyama Shinyuki became as worried as Yuzaburo Kato, worried about whether Cox's old problem would happen again.

He didn't worry for long, though, because soon, Cox was no longer the most important issue.

"Discover the Lucia fleet, five nautical miles away!" The lookout post gave the signal.

There was a whisper on the bridge, and the excited, uncontrollable, depressed atmosphere that had plagued the people for two hours was swept away.

Many had feared that the Lucian fleet would not be able to be found—the dense fog at sea interfered with the view of the lookouts, and except for the Yaeyama notification ship, the reconnaissance ships sent by the fleet and the conscripted fishing boats failed to find their targets; However, after a brief telegram, the fleet never heard anything from the old, unarmored cruiser.

The staff officers saw only two possibilities, a technical malfunction of the radio system of the "Yaeyama", or it had been sunk by the Lucia fleet. However, no matter which guess was correct, there was always only one result: the fleet could not obtain the location of the target, or even completely lost its trace.

The staff officers could only guess the possible direction of Lucia's fleet with charts, slide rules, and mapping tools based on the little information they had received, which was no longer accurate, and lead the fleet to that position.

No one can be sure that the calculations are correct. They were nervous and worried, and as time went on, their frustration grew, even as the fog thinned.

Until the lookout post sees the target.

People finally breathed a sigh of relief. Now, all that remains is tension - an involuntary reaction to the battle.

Mayuki Akiyama felt his heart beating violently.

"Four and a half nautical miles away!"

The heart was beating harder.

In a few moments, the Lucians would be in range, and every officer and sailor of the fleet would be ready at the moment when the Z-flag was raised, and the shells and cartridges would have been sent into the chambers or to the best position to be loaded, and with a single command, the flames of death would descend on the target, destroying them all.

It's an exciting time. Akiyama Shinyuki.

It was at this moment that he heard an untimely sigh.

"It's a shame." Yuzaburo Kato whispered.

Mayuki Akiyama looked at him with a stunned face. "Daisa Kato?"

"Don't you think it's a pity, Akiyama Shaosa?" Yuzaburo Kato asked rhetorically, but before he could answer, the chief of staff had already continued: "The three Lucia ironclads in Arthur Fortress are not here, and we can only leave them to the army fools." ”

Akiyama Shinyuki was silent - his brother Akiyama Yoshiko Osa was one of the "Army fools", but as a naval officer, he could not argue with Kato's assessment of the Army - in such times, silence was the best option.

However, it is indeed a sigh that the ironclads of the Lucia Navy cannot be wiped out, and it is unexpected: everyone thinks that Stepan. Vice Admiral Makarov at this time led the fleet to break through and join the expeditionary fleet somewhere in the Yellow Sea, and then go to Vladivostok; The intelligence system also swore that St. Petersburg had given Makarov clear instructions to break out immediately. However, the very good commander of the Lucia Navy turned out to have taken no action.

The final reports sent back by the battleships blockading Arthur showed that the battleships Lucia there did not move at all, and did not even light the boilers.

It's a situation worth guessing. What Makarov had in mind, almost everyone wondered: did he not believe that his fleet would be able to join the expeditionary fleet, or that this fleet would be able to break through the interception to Vladivostok...... Or his three ironclads have not yet been repaired?

In any case, Lucia's fleet in Arthur would not enter the battlefield, and the army would have a chance to take revenge on Lucia's navy for the damage it had inflicted.

For the Army, this is a good thing, for the Navy, it is a pity.

It's a shame.

Akiyama Mayuki sighed to himself.

Then he heard another point of view.

"On the bright side, the loss of three Russian battleships also gives us a better chance of victory." Cox came out of nowhere, alone, and seemed to throw Ogasawara Nagasei aside, who had been with him.

Akiyama Shinyuki saw Yuzaburo Kato's beard twitch for a moment.

"Attention, Mr. Cox." The chief of staff reminded with a serious expression, "First of all, according to the comparison of the strength of our army and the Lucia fleet, even if the three Lucia ironclad ships of Lushun participate in the battle, our army can still win, and secondly, you are not Japanese, you are from the United States." ”

"Oh," the writer raised his eyebrows, "so what's there?" ”

"You used the word 'we' instead of 'you'." Yuzaburo Kato said, "Mr. Cox, I am very grateful that you can unreservedly stand by the side of the Empire and contribute to the Empire's war, but your choice of words will confuse some people. ”

He's deliberately finding fault. Mayuki Akiyama thought, his gaze resting on Cox, wondering how he was going to fight back.

But the development of events was still not what he expected—the writer simply smiled and said, "My readers will not be confused, and that is enough, Colonel Kato." ”

That's a soft nail.

Yuzaburo Kato can only admit that he suffered one defeat. He was silent for a few seconds, then walked away. Normally, this would be embarrassing for people, but Yuzaburo Kato didn't feel that way, and at the same time, very lucky and timely, the lookout did him a small favor.

"Four nautical miles away!"

"Why hasn't the fleet fired yet?" Cox shouted, "The Russians have discovered us, and our tactical advantage will soon disappear." ”

Glancing at Yuzaburo Kato, and then Heihachiro Togo and Gengo Hayasaki, who had not turned their gaze to this side, Akiyama Mayuki had to explain in their place: "At such a distance, it is basically impossible for our artillery to hit anything, and neither can the Lucia. ”

"How can a well-trained and determined Japanese navy be compared with a weak-willed Slavic barbarian who lacks training?" Cox's fists swung with an emotional look.

For a moment, Akiyama didn't know what to say—he didn't understand why the American writer was so excited, and it took him a long time to figure out what he meant by the utterly unpaused remark—and just as he racked his brain for the answer, Cox's voice came again.

"I have always believed that if the sailors of a certain navy are really unable to hit targets at a long distance, they should be trained continuously and intensively, all vacations should be canceled, and Planet Six should be regarded as Friday, and Sunday should be regarded as Monday, according to the Japanese saying, that is, 'Moon, Moon, Water, Fire, Wood, Gold, and Gold', and then continue to train until everyone becomes a good sailor who can see the stars in the daytime!"

Akiyama's head began to hurt. He finally realized that it was a complete mistake to deal with this American writer.

You never know what his next words will be.

Shinyuki Akiyama twisted his body to the other side, ignoring Cox, and allowing him to continue to gush on and on about his unique opinions and concerns about the situation.

And his requirements.

"Don't hesitate any longer, the Russians are changing their course, and we're going to lose the advantage of the T-shaped cross! Fire, fire now, it's now! ”

Akiyama moved a little to the side, and several other officers and sailors did the same, all pretending to concentrate on their work.

"Gentlemen, you should be bold and take the initiative. I know that the hit rate is important, but courage and spirit are more important. The columnist snorted. You can't give up the initiative to the Russians......"

"Three and a half nautical miles." An officer shouted, trying to overwhelm the chattering Mi people.

Shinyuki Akiyama turned his head to look at Yuzaburo Kato. He had already walked behind Heihachiro Togo and asked, "Your Excellency? ”

At first he didn't get a reply, until another dozen seconds passed. Finally, the Admiral, who had remained silent, as if unaware of what was happening around him, raised his right hand. "Tell the ships and fire!" (To be continued, if you want to know what will happen next, please log in to the www.qidian.com, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!) (To be continued.) )