Cox staggered to his feet. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

He opened his mouth.

"These damn Russians!" Finally, the columnist let out his first scream, and then a series of aggressive words erupted from his mouth as fast as a machine gun.

A raging, uncontrollable anger filled his heart. He had never been so close to death in his life, and, in order to escape the storm of metal shards and flames, he was forced to perform a barely "lying down" motion in an unprotected position that could barely be called "lying down", which caused his forehead to make too close contact with the deck.

Even in the noisy and chaotic environment of the time, Cox was convinced that he still heard the sound of his head colliding with the plank.

"Bang", crisp, loud and by no means funny.

The forehead hurts.

The unmistakable message from the pain nerves to the brain caused Cox to curse more, but it didn't make him feel better, on the contrary, he felt that the pain was getting worse.

Then he felt something dripping onto his face.

Blood!

His own blood!

Without taking any action to verify it, Cox confirmed his suspicions: there was a wound on his forehead, which may not be too serious but it could be serious, and in any case, blood was pouring out of the wound, gradually staining his face red......

After another second, he began to scream, "Medic! I'm wounded, call the medics—"

His voice was very high-pitched, with a hint of hysteria, enough to overwhelm the surrounding noise—artillery fire, explosions, shouts of sailors, and wails of the wounded. As Cox expected, the Japanese soldiers on the bridge could hear him, so it didn't take long for the paramedics to arrive to treat his wounds and take him to the infirmary.

He deserves that treatment.

As it should be.

Unfortunately, his predictions were only half right: the Japanese did hear his uncomfortable screams. But their response was only a frown, and none of them were willing to devote energy and time to meet his request.

They hated or hated Cox, and some even wished with malice that the doom-inducing columnist would go to his God, which was true, but at the moment they just didn't think it was worth wasting anything on him, not the amount of energy, time, or medical power that was stretched thin. Several officers had not been able to avoid the terrible storm, and they needed help even more.

Moreover, compared to the commander of the United Fleet, the columnist from the United Fleet is nothing more than an insignificant little person.

With the exception of a few - who were busy rescuing the wounded - most of the bridge crews who survived the storm were involved in an operation organized by the chief of staff of the fleet: they seized their supreme commander, crushed him on the deck, and tried to prevent him from getting up as best they could.

The shell that exploded in front of the bridge made Yuzaburo Kato see the danger that was close at hand. By the blink of a moment, the Lucians would be able to kill an Imperial Admiral and destroy the command center of the fleet, even if that did not prevent their defeat, but if the commander was killed, it would be an irreparable loss to the combined fleet.

The Lucians must be stopped.

However, Yuzaburo Kato knew very well that the desperate and therefore insane Lucia sailors would never stop firing unless their ships were sunk immediately. Even if they sink their ships, these men might climb the mast with a rifle and shoot any target that comes into range and looks worthy.

Nelson was killed by a French sniper hiding at the top of the mast.

Unable to expect Lucia to give up on his own, Kato Yuzaburo could only try to change Togo Heihachiro's situation - from his own point of view, he wanted the admiral to change the flagship, or order the "Mikasa" to withdraw from the battle column, but Togo Heihachiro had already rejected his suggestion, so he had to resort to a more brutal method.

Knock the Admiral down on deck and prevent him from getting back on his feet, which will at least prevent him from being swept away by another storm or killed by a stray bullet.

The Chief of Staff of the Fleet considered himself to have made the best decision at the moment - the only problem was that his commander-in-chief was very dissatisfied.

To be precise, he was already angry.

"Let go of me, Daisa Kato!" Heihachiro Togo glared at Yuzaburo Kato, "Are you going to let me lie on the deck and command the battle?" ”

"I beg your pardon, Your Excellency, but I can't get you on your feet, it's too dangerous to do that." Yuzaburo Kato did not give an inch, and he also planned to go further, "Your Excellency, I implore you to immediately replace the flagship, or order the ship to withdraw from the battle sequence. ”

"Ridiculous!"

"This is for your safety, Your Excellency!"

"Your actions will make me and the Combined Fleet a laughing stock for the citizens of the Army and the Empire!" Heihachiro Togo shouted, "Do you want the citizens of the Army and the Empire to know that the commander of the Combined Fleet is not as brave as a columnist in the United Fleet?" ”

Yuzaburo Kato suddenly finds himself with nothing to say. He turned his head and looked viciously at the columnist who was still standing there like a stake, covering his forehead, calling to the medics in a shrill voice, hoping that in the next moment he would see a stray bullet send the fool up to the western sky—no matter which side of the cannonball was fired, whether it was the Imperial Navy or the Lucians, he hoped for such a cannonball.

Whatever the origin of this hateful fellow, Yuzaburo Kato wants him to disappear immediately, forever.

But the shell did not appear, and the officers who had caught Heihachiro Togo retreated under the stern eyes of the admiral.

Heihachiro Togo is about to break free.

Yuzaburo Kato can only make the last effort alone, and he also hopes that Akiyama Shinyuki or some other officer will regain his courage and lend a helping hand; However, before his hopes could materialize, the columnist had already staggered over.

"Your Excellency, General, Colonel." He nodded at the two of them, as if not aware of the conflict between Heihachiro Togo and Yuzaburo Kato, or if he was just so focused on the wound on his forehead that he ignored the fact that it was so obvious, "I'm injured and must be treated immediately...... Why are you still lying on your stomach? ”

"Hiding from Lucian fire, of course, you abominable idiot!" Yuzaburo Kato roared inwardly while squeezing a fake expression of concern out of his face, "For your safety, you'd better lower your body." Mr. Cox, Lucia's shells could hit the bridge at any moment. ”

"Oh." Cox shook his head, "You say...... Russian? ”

His mind is very unclear...... Of course, his mind never cleared. Yuzaburo Kato thought and decided to remain silent.

His decision lasted only a few seconds.

The columnist of the "Russian ......" continued to shake his head, "uh...... Mr. Colonel, if my eyesight had not been impaired, I think I had seen the white flag. ”

After a pause, he changed to a more affirmative tone. "That's right, White Flag."

Yuzaburo Kato felt that he had misheard: the white flag, the Lucia surrendered? But a moment ago, they were still shooting the "Mikasa" fiercely, which made people think that they were determined to fight to the death, and now, they actually raised the white flag?

What kind of conspiracy is this?

It was just out of the instinct of a staff officer that Yuzaburo Kato began to think about the problem, and his hand involuntarily let go. Seizing this opportunity, the commander of the Combined Fleet broke free from his grip and got back on his feet.

He saw the white flag on the mast of the flagship of Lucia's fleet.

"Gentlemen, the Lucians have surrendered." Heihachiro Togo announced, then added, "Not all, though. ”

Finally, Yuzaburo Kato no longer doubts what he heard. He stood up and scanned the battlefield as fast as he could. Closely, the remaining Lucian battleships had raised their white flags, while in the distance, Lucia's cruisers and destroyers were speeding up their evacuation of the area.

The battle is over. Although there is still a little finishing work, it does not belong to the battleship formation.

Of course, a command is also needed.

Yuzaburo Kato turned to his commander-in-chief, a little embarrassed and guilty—he had no idea how the Admiral would judge his offense.

But one way or another, not now.

Now, there were only a few things that had to be done: order a ceasefire for the fleet, send a boarding detachment to take over the surrendered Lucia, and send cruisers to pursue the fleeing Lucia - and then the battle was over.

He knew the procedure, and so did Heihachiro Togo.

Without a moment's delay, the Commander of the Combined Fleet gave those orders, and some of the officers moved into action to convey the orders to the lower ranks, while others, such as Yuzaburo Kato, continued to stand in their positions, slowly savoring the taste of victory.

As well as pondering the question: why did the Lucians surrender?

"The Japanese must have wondered why we suddenly announced our surrender instead of continuing to shoot their flagship." Rear Admiral Wizofert's chief of staff looked with interest at the combined fleet's dilapidated flagship, carefully assessing every scar on it, and then turned his gaze back to his dejected commander.

"Don't be so frustrated, General." He advised, "We've done our best." ”

"Hell, it's just one point away from us being able to blow up the fleet commander of the Japanese monkeys." After a moment's pause, Wizofert accentuated his tone, emphasizing once again the unfortunate but unchangeable fact, "My God, it's just a little bit short!" ”

The rear admiral was frustrated. The supreme commander who couldn't take out his opponent dealt him more blows than he had to surrender - when the shells exploded in front of the bridge of the damned Japanese battleship, he had hoped that the next salvo would sweep away its bridge, but his captain told him the next moment that his battleship had used up the last shell, and from now on, she was a target that could only be beaten......

Wizofert could not tolerate the news, and for a moment he almost drew his pistol and plunged all the bullets into the captain's head—it was not his fault, but those who bring bad news usually do not end well.

It's like a mouse that was chosen to hang a bell for a cat.

He didn't really do that for one reason only: the initial hysterical anger lasted less than thirty seconds, and then all that was left was a rambling frustration of disappointment and frustration. He did nothing more, except for two orders: to instruct the remaining battleships to raise the white flag, as advised by the chief of staff, and to let the cruisers and destroyers leave the battlefield at full speed and go to the nearest neutral port.

These are the last things he can do, the only two things.

Everything that follows has nothing to do with him.

Vizofort bowed his head and transformed himself into a sculpture.

The chief of staff still looked at his commander with a calm expression, and after a while he returned his gaze to the flagship of the Combined Fleet. "It's a shame indeed." He shrugged his shoulders and said to himself: "If Vice Admiral Makarov's fleet is here......"

He stopped. At this moment, it occurred to him an interesting question that would concern both himself and the Japanese: Vice Admiral Makarov's fleet, where is it? (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to come to the starting point (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation, monthly pass, your support, is my biggest motivation. (To be continued.) )