Just when Admiral Zhang Rude pressed his command knife and was about to explode in annoyance that Lu Chongwen's body could not be found, on a destroyer in the distance, an officer on the watchtower put down the binoculars in his hand, and then looked at his companions beside him.

There was a hint of surprise in his eyes, then he pointed to the direction he was looking at just now, and said to his companion: "Lao Jia, look over there, am I mistaken?" ”

Hearing his words, the sergeant surnamed Jia picked up the binoculars, shifted an angle and looked in the direction pointed by the other party, and then put down the binoculars with the same shocked face, rubbed his eyes, and continued to pick up the binoculars and look at them again.

"It's not a mistake! This situation must be reported immediately. After finally confirming that he was not dazzled, the sergeant surnamed Jia hurriedly spoke: "I have to report to the fleet commander, this is not left by our warship, it must not be!" ”

"Hello? Feed? Bridge? Captain? I'm Sergeant Jia! A large pool of oil was found on the sea, which was not a trace that our battleship could leave, presumably the enemy warship was damaged by the Wuyishan and leaked fuel! Grabbing the phone, the sergeant on the mast shouted into the telephone receiver.

……

"General! Checkmate! The destroyer Mozu called, saying that it had found traces left by enemy warships! When Zhang Rude was grieving, his adjutant ran quickly in front of him with a telegram, Zhang Rude snatched the telegram and looked at it, and it was exactly the same as what the adjutant shouted.

So he raised his head, as if he finally had an outlet to vent, and said: "What are you waiting for, let the fleet search eastward and pursue the enemy who sank the battleship Wuyishan!" ”

"General, the telegram just sent back says that the city of Mukden has fallen, and the governor Wang Fu has died in battle...... We gave up the Zhuanghe East Port and continued to advance eastward, do we want to ask the Navy Command and make plans again? The adjutant took a step forward, leaned over to General Zhang Rude's side, and asked in a low voice.

"At this time, where is the time to ask the command, besides, they are in the rear, and now they are still busy with the affairs of Mukden, how to judge the current actions of the fleet? I have the right to make a decision on the spot, and the fleet immediately moves eastward to pursue the enemy ships! Zhang Rude snorted coldly, refuted his adjutant's suggestion, and ordered: "Shrink the fleet, my flagship should attack the enemy first!" ”

"Think twice...... If the enemy fleet entangles us, and there are further losses, it is the fault of your decision, general, our duties are small, we are all the strength of the North Sea Division, if there is a business trip, how to explain to His Majesty the Emperor? The adjutant stubbornly spoke again. It was not that he was afraid of death and did not dare to fight, but he felt that it was too rash to risk the entire North Sea Division.

Zhang Rude thought for a few seconds, and then made up his mind to fight: "Before General Lu Chongwen died, the telegram repeatedly confirmed that there were only 4 enemy warships. Presumably the Japanese broke boats. Now that General Lu has been wounded by one enemy and four others, our army will catch up and fight again, and it will not suffer too much! ”

While saying this, Zhang Rude clenched the palm of the command knife, and said coldly: "The fleet of my Daming Navy Division has no habit of retreating from the enemy!" Ordered the fleet to go full speed and pursue the Japanese fleet for a decisive battle...... Avenge my Huaxia sons! ”

"Revenge!" Slogans were shouted on the bridge, and soon black smoke rose from the chimney of the battleship Huashan, which had just slowed down, and with the roar of the huge machine, the Huashan took the lead and rushed towards the oil trail left by the wounded Japanese battleship Nagato.

……

There is an old Chinese saying that "debts are repaid quickly in June". It is said that if you borrow money in the middle of the year, the interval between repaying the debt at the end of the year is shorter. At this time, Naya Odada, the captain of the Japanese Navy's battleship Nagato, suddenly remembered such an old saying from the Ming Dynasty.

His battleship was hit by the main gun of the battleship Wuyishan of the Ming Empire, hitting the steering gear and the oil tank. These injuries made it impossible for the battleship Nagato to keep up with the speed of the fleet when it retreated, and could only hang alone at the rear. Just a few minutes ago, a Japanese destroyer behind the battleship Nagato saw the Daming Naval Division rushing towards him, and was so frightened that it accelerated to catch up with the battleship Nagato, which had only a speed of 5 knots.

"Your Excellency General Ota! Abandon the ship...... The black smoke rising from the chimney of the Daming Navy Division obscured the sky and the sun, and it was definitely the main fleet of the Beihai Division, not a two-ship battleship......" After approaching the battleship Nagato, the captain of the Japanese destroyer lowered his sampan, boarded the battleship Nagato, and admonished Admiral Naya.

Ota also knew that if the opposing fleet really caught up, his battleship would not be able to escape no matter what. So he stretched out his hand, patted the captain of the destroyer on the shoulder, and said with a wry smile: "Your Majesty the Emperor handed over to me this warship that has embodyed the painstaking efforts of our people for several years. ”

After finishing speaking, he looked in the direction of the Ming fleet, looked at the oil stains on the sea that could not be dispersed for a while, gritted his teeth and clenched his fists and shouted fiercely: "There is no shortage of loyal and brave men in my Great Japanese Empire, and someone in his Ming Dynasty dares to meet our fleet with a battleship, why don't I dare to meet his Ming fleet?" ”

While shouting, he pulled out the command knife on his waist and pointed in the direction where the Ming Imperial fleet was coming: "Sound the battle alarm, I want to fight to the death with the Ming warship here!" ”

Just when Ota Naya was determined to fight to the death with the Ming Imperial Navy, the commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet, Takaichi Togo, was struggling with the news he had just gotten in front of him. What he feared the most had finally happened, and the three Ming battleships that were supposed to be near Fushun had indeed caught up.

Moreover, they found the oil trail leaked from the Nagato, and without wasting half effort, they bit the wounded battleship Nagato, whose speed was already close to zero. Takaichi Togo wanted to command the fleet to turn back to cover the Nagato, but he didn't dare to make this determination.

The first is because the fleet in his hand is half of Japan's combat power, and he does not dare to take risks easily and fight a decisive battle with the Ming Empire. Another reason is that if he wanted to cover the battleship Nagato, then his advantage in fleet speed would be limited, which would be tantamount to fighting the enemy with his hands and feet, which would be no different from suicide.