"Mr. Chief of Staff, the Russians have disbanded the formation, and we have won!"

Sherid. Colonel Aspen originally thought that the battle between the ironclad detachment and the Russian fleet would last for a while, but he did not expect that the battleship Daming had just bypassed the northeast corner of Ryukyu Oshima. I saw that the Russian ships were scattering and fleeing, and the wreckage of wooden battleships was floating everywhere on the sea.

Aspen suddenly felt that what he had learned for half his life was completely outdated in one day today! That kind of majestic battleship, with three or even four gun decks, with more than a hundred cannons, is a worthless scrap from now on. Because no matter how strong a wooden-hulled battleship is, it can't resist the flowering bombs filled with starch explosives or A-oil explosives exploding inside the ship. And this kind of flowering bomb can't deal with the thick steel armor of the steam ironclad......

It is clear that the seas of the future will be ruled by steam ironclads! Before the invention of a cannon that could destroy steel armor, an offshore ironclad gunship like the Dinghai class was simply invincible. Any country like China that does not have a traditional naval land power can resist the entire naval power of the British Empire as long as it grits its its teeth, builds a few "Dinghai" class ships, and deploys them on its own coastal points!

No, it is necessary to report to the Admiralty immediately, Britain cannot afford to lose the competition for ironclads in any case!

"Pass my order, disband the formation, and pursue the Russian ship! Even if you chase them to the ends of the earth, you can't let them go......"

Xue Dingyue saw that Aspen was motionless as if he had been pointed, and finally couldn't help but begin to perform his duties as a fleet commander.

At 7:30 p.m. on October 1, 1853, after a one-sided massacre, two of the three third-class battleships and one fourth-class warship of the Russian Eastern Fleet were sunk. The remaining fourteen Russian ships also completely lost the courage to fight. The formations were disbanded and began to flee in all directions under the cover of night.

"Wait. You can't chase it like that! ”

Just when the staff officer of the Ming army on the Daming was about to convey Xue Dingyue's military order, Ah Siben was already in a daze, raised his hand to stop it: "No, you can't chase it like that." The skills of the Russian sailors were much better than those of the Ming sailors, and if we dispersed and went to the sea to fight a chase battle, our losses would be great. ”

"So, what are we going to do?" Xue Dingyue asked a little unpleasantly.

"The fleet was divided into five, and all four of the detachments included 1-2 battleships of the third rank. One battleship of the third rank and three ships of the fourth rank pursued the Russians, respectively. Six cruisers were then used to form an independent detachment to tow the ironclad ships, and were responsible for covering the landing of the army on the Ryukyu Oshima Island with the ironclads. ”

"But the Russians have a dozen warships!"

"It doesn't matter...... They won't run to the sky. Aspen pondered, "If we can defeat the remaining third-class and fourth-class ships, their ten cruisers and escort ships will not dare to harass the South Seas, and there are dozens of third-class and fourth-class ships near China, Britain and France in the South Seas!" I estimate that there are two places they are most likely to visit, Petropavlovsk and Hawaii. ”

Xue Dingyue shook his head: "Petropavsk is a military port for the Russians, but Hawaii ......"

"Hawaii's geographical location is very important, and it has always been the focus of contention among the United Kingdom, the United States and France. Britain, France, and the United States all have small fleets in Hawaii, with the U.S. Navy being the most powerful in Hawaii. And the Anglo-French fleet in Hawaii. I'm afraid it won't be enough to fight ten Russian cruisers and escort ships. ”

The strategic location of Hawaii is very important, but there are many things to do in Britain and France, and there are many colonies to fight for and defend, so it is not easy to manage. Therefore, their fleet in Hawaii is symbolic, and a few armed merchant ships are used to prop up the façade in order to prevent Hawaii from being annexed by the United States, which has been attacked by Britain and France once in history, but has not succeeded because of the strong obstruction of the United States. However, it is very difficult for the United States to seize Hawaii now, because Britain and France will definitely intervene, and although the strength of the British and French fleets in Hawaii is insignificant, the Americans do not dare to attack them, otherwise they will attract big ones if they fight small ones, and the American people do not plan to fight with the two naval powers that rank first and second in the world for the sake of these "desert islands."

But Russia has no such concerns now, and their war with Britain and France is inevitable and may have already begun! So the Russian fleet could completely drive out the Anglo-French fleet...... If Russia then occupies Hawaii on its own, Britain and France can also mobilize fleets for a counteroffensive, but what if Russia does not want Hawaii but cedes it to the United States? At the moment when Britain and France were at war with Russia, did they still have the strength to fight the United States for Hawaii? Once the United States occupied Hawaii and made it a fait accompli without clashing with the British and French fleets in the process of occupying Hawaii, Britain and France could only pinch their noses and admit it.

"Mr. Aspen, then we ......" Xue Dingyue asked with some uncertainty. He guessed that he, the British chief of staff, probably wanted to pull the fleet to Hawaii! However, he was reluctant to go so far, and he estimated that after the Ryukyus, the navy would definitely go to Sakhalin, Nikolaevsk, and Petropavlovsk. That's all a credit! What can you do if you travel all the way to Hawaii? Drive away the Russian fleet and stay there in the sun until the end of the war?

Occupy Hawaii?

Zhu Jishi may want to do this, but Xue Dingyue has no interest in this desert island thousands of miles away. And, can you get it if you want to? Britain and France will not allow the United States to occupy Hawaii, will they allow China to do so? China's current expansion is on the mainland, after all, and the vast expanses of Siberia and Central Asia are ideal trophies.

"Let's go to Hawaii!" Aspen said, "Then deploy a detachment in Japan to guard the Petropavlovsk direction." ”

Xue Dingyue shook his head and said: "No, our supplies are not enough, fresh water, food, and coal are not enough, and the sailors on the ship have not been trained in land warfare, if the Russians occupy Hawaii, we have no way at all." ”

Hearing this reason, Aspen glared at Xue Dingyue: "Sailors can't fight on land?" There are six or seven thousand men on your ships! The Russians have a maximum of two thousand! ”

"Colonel, my sailors are very valuable assets, without them there would be no Ming Navy, and they can't be used for land battles." Xue Dingyue's head shook like a rattle. He didn't want to go to Hawaii in the first place, so how could he let go.

Aspen was silent for a moment, and the corner of his eye suddenly swept to the two Japanese standing next to him - Shimazu Tadashi and Komatsu Honesty. A sly smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: "Okay, let's go to Japan to replenish supplies, fresh water and coal, and borrow another 2,000 Japanese soldiers...... If there's going to be a land war, let them do it. ”

"2,000 Japanese soldiers......" Xue Dingyue thought about it, it was a good idea to send out the new army of the shogunate, on the way to Hawaii, he was going to pass through Japan, and when he replenished supplies there, he would bring 2000 Japanese soldiers, they were originally an army, and it was said that they were still very elite, and they should be able to defeat the Russian sailors who occupied Hawaii. If they want to stay in the future, it must be their business, and they can still take the fleet to fight Petropavlovsk......

"Well, that's it." Xue Dingyue nodded, "But I can't guarantee that Concubine Ming will be willing to borrow troops." ”

Asben patted his chest: "General Xue, don't worry, this matter is on me, I'll go and tell her that I can definitely borrow soldiers." ”

He pointed to two Japanese people: "I can ask one of them to come with me to Kyoto to see His Highness." ”

Xue Dingyue didn't think much about whether Tokugawa Akiko was suitable or not to see the British, so he nodded and agreed, he felt that this matter should not be asked by himself, since Ming Guifei can control a country, she should be measured. Even if her decision is not in line with the emperor's wishes, this board will not hit her. Thinking of this, he nodded.

"Okay, that's it...... The fleet regrouped, and then went into pursuit! If you can kill the target within 3 days, go to Osaka Port and stand by. Otherwise, they will return to Dinghai Port after completing the task or determining that they cannot complete the task. (To be continued......)