The rising sun hid the full moon in the western sky and reflected the eastern sky. Occasionally, there are seagulls passing by from high in the sky, and the breeze blows up the waves on the sea.

At five o'clock in the morning, the sailors of each ship had already put away their hammocks, washed up, and gathered at the designated place. Start a new day of training.

At this time, in addition to the "Triumph", "Juin", and "Chaoyong" repaired in the Jiangnan Shipbuilding Bureau. The rest of the five capital ships "Nanji", "Nanxiang", "Undefeated", "Changsheng", and "Yang Wei" all docked at the port of Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Since the last battle in the East China Sea, two ironclad ships and one cruiser have been damaged to varying degrees. However, after more than two months, it has been basically renovated. On the same day, they pulled anchor and left the port and sailed for Taiwan, along with the 10 small gunboats newly built by the Jiangnan Shipbuilding Bureau, which had just been launched. They all only have a displacement of 800 to 1,400 tons, and they were originally formed with the Beiyang Naval Division after returning to China with the four German ironclad ships. But now, in order to completely defeat the French, he was assigned to the Nanyang Naval Division in advance.

Zuo Zongtang was recalled to Beijing from Fujian, did not stay for a day, and went to Taiwan non-stop. Everyone doesn't know what the two of them are doing, if it's just a simple army transfer, a telegram is enough! Why let this national commander of soldiers and horses toss back and forth for thousands of miles.

Zuo Zongtang came to Taiwan and looked at the warships in his hands. "Triumph", "Undefeated", and "Changsheng" are three large ironclad ships of 4,600 tons, "Juyin" is a medium-sized ironclad ship of 3,500 tons, and "Nanji", "Nanxiang", "Chaoyong", and "Yang Wei" are four cruisers of different sizes, of which the two cruisers "Nanji" and "Nanxiang" have a speed of only 13 knots, but they have a displacement of 3,200 tons. It can barely be used as a medium-sized ironclad ship, and although the two cruisers "Yang Wei" and "Chaoyong" have a displacement of only 2,200 tons, their speed has reached 16 knots. It is most suitable for rapid reinforcements, evacuation, escort and reconnaissance on both flanks of the fleet. In addition to the above eight capital ships, the rest of the small gunboats and torpedo ships such as "Zhendong", "Zhenxi", "Zhenbian", "Nancen", "Wannianqing", and "Haidongyun" also made up the Nanyang Naval Division composed of 28 ships.

This is the emperor who has put all the sea power of the Qing Dynasty into his hands, looking at these warships in Kaohsiung Port. Zuo Zongtang deeply felt the burden on his body!!

"Zuo Shuai, the military aircraft department is in a hurry." A soldier ran over and delivered a telegram.

Zuo Zongtang turned around and took it, and it was a joint telegram from the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Crime, and the Ministry of Households: Zuo Zhongtang, please immediately draw up a naval battle plan and submit it to the Military Aircraft Department for review, the French pirates will not be destroyed for a day, and the Vietnamese army of the Qing Dynasty will not dare to go south for a day. You know that the 100,000 troops of Vietnam cost the imperial court 200,000 silver a day. Remember! Draw up a plan and fight the French army immediately!

Zuo Zongtang sighed deeply, and rushed to the courage of his body a little heavier. Of course he knows the truth, but it's easier said than done! Let's not talk about the silver thing, that is, most of the 18,000-mile coastline of the Qing Dynasty in the north to Lushun and Tianjin, and to Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces in the south is now in a vacuum. What if I take the opportunity to invade in the future? You know, Japan, like the Qing Dynasty, also has four ironclad ships! Now that we are seeing each other again in North Korea, we can't guarantee that the Japanese will take the opportunity of the Great Shimizu Division's southern transfer to cause some chaos in the north!

But what if you want to solve it quickly?

"Zuo Shuai, the emperor's secret message." Another soldier ran over.

"Oh? Get it. Zuo Zongtang urged.

"Zong Tang Wuqing, I know the fierceness of the French fleet. And my Great Clear Water Division has just been formed, and its combat strength is insufficient. You can only outwit, not attack. Thou shalt not be anxious, wait for the warplanes to appear. I and the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty, the people of the world, and the people of the world are waiting for your good news! ”

"Your Majesty!! Zong Tang will do his best to repay the emperor's kindness! Zuo Zongtang knelt down to the south and yelled at the sky.

"Zuo Shuai, General Deng waved the flag on the Changsheng. Black smoke appeared in the south, suspected to be the French Far Eastern Fleet. Ask the warship to leave the port and go to sea to meet the enemy. A pro-soldier reported.

"What? They're coming? Take a telescope. ”

"Wow."

Zuo Zongtang climbed the tower and saw the soot in the southwest direction from the telescope, which was at least 80,000 meters away from here. Due to the curvature of the earth, even if you look through a telescope on such a clear day, it is completely impossible to see the flagpole of the opposing warship, and even the soot is very faint. Of course, I don't know the identity of the other party's ship, is it a merchant ship? Is it the fleet of a third country? Or the Far Eastern Fleet of the French army? Only when the two sides are close to 10,000 meters can they distinguish the type of ship and nationality.

But Zuo Zongtang is a person who has suffered a loss, and last time it was because he ordered the fleet to defend the military port. led to the result of being completely annihilated by the French army, and this time, he would not fall twice in the same place. He knew that he was responsible for the results of the entire Sino-French war, and he could not lose!

"All warships, pull anchor and leave port. The speed was 8 knots, the direction was southwest, closer to the other side, and all the battleships were separated by 2,000 meters, lined up. Zuo Zongtang reacted quickly.

"Zuo Shuai, you should stay in the military port bureau and command. Don't board the ship! A pro-soldier advised.

"Put your mother's bullshit, how does this commander command in the military port? Get out of the way, bunny, let the French warship run away, and Shuai screw off your head! ”

Twenty-eight warships lined up and slowly moved closer to each other.

Closer, closer. The black smoke became thicker and thicker, more and more, and after a while, there were three or four wisps. At this time, everyone saw clearly, and it was almost certain that this large-scale fleet was the newly formed Far East Fleet of the French army. It is very likely that this move to Taiwan is to eliminate the Nanyang Naval Division, which hit him hard last time.

At this point, there is no need to hesitate. The two sides are separated by 10,000 meters in the South China Sea, and a major war is about to break out. The flagship, Changsheng, raised a piercing battle alert, piercing the blue sky, and the ships immediately responded in unison, and a naval encounter was about to be staged. There was no ambush, no so-called encirclement, and both sides were stunned.

Zuo Zongtang first changed the formation and played the flag. In the "Chang Sheng", "Undefeated", "Ju Yin" and "Triumphant" innings, "Chao Yong" and "Yang Wei" protected both sides of the fleet and reported the situation on both sides at any time. Whether or not there was an encirclement of enemy ships on the flanks was reported by these two super-fast cruisers.

"Nanji" and "Nanxiang" burst forward. Due to the superior ability of the German-made cruisers to resist attacks, let the two of them rush forward and properly attract some firepower.

All the fish' torpedoes were behind the four main ironclads, and the rest of the gunboats were around the ironclads.

The ships are separated by 3,000 meters and the speed is adjusted by 10 knots. Approaching the enemy ship, it was the flagship "Changsheng" that took the first mission, and the aim was the ironclad ship "Langmu" with a displacement of 3,800 tons.

The main guns in the bow of the "Changsheng" have been removed from the tarpaulin, and the 240mm muzzle of the black hole has been pointed at the French warship.

"The flag was issued, and all the gunboats increased their speed to 11 knots, and the Triumph, the Undefeated, and the Guin to 13 knots. Full speed ahead, into the range of the shot, by the start of the victory. Remember, be sure to hit the first shot! Zuo Zongtang decisively ordered.

However, just as the naval battle was about to break out, the sailors had even loaded their shells. The "Chaoyong" sent a flag from the east, and the enemy ships were spotted in the southeast, a total of 8 ships, and the speed was unknown.

Zuo Zongtang suddenly came to his senses, and the French must have guessed that they would lead the navy to battle. An ambush has already been set up in the Yellow Sea, how can this battle be fought? It has not yet started to fight and has been surrounded.

If a retreat is ordered at this time, their own 8 capital ships can ensure no worries. And what about those 20 small gunboats and torpedo ships? They only have a pitiful speed of 11 knots and 8 knots. You can't escape it no matter what!!

What to do? To fight or not to fight? The officers and men of the Sailor Division, who were originally confident slowly, fell to the bottom at this time.

All the commanders of the ships pointed their binoculars at the flag soldiers of the "Changsheng" at this time, waiting for the order from the commander-in-chief!

At this moment, the "Wan Nianqing", which had a displacement of only 1,134 tons, waved the flag: "Zhendong, Zhenxi, Zhenbian, Nancen, Zhennan, Haidongyun, Chaowu, Yuankai, follow me to block the enemy ships in the southeast." Zuo Shuai led the main force to destroy the enemy ships on the opposite side and then came to reinforce them. ”

Zuo Zongtang was stunned and did not stop it. The ships saw that the commander did not have the latest orders, and then "Zhendong" first silently began to turn, and then "Haidongyun" and "Yuankai" ......

Some of them were bought from the British, some were produced by the Jiangnan shipyard itself, and most of them were small gunboats of about 1,000 tons. For example, "Haidongyun" is a small wooden gunboat produced by the former Mawei Military Port, with a displacement of only 700 tons. And what they went to block was the ironclad ships with "Grace", "Doer", "Victory" and so on.

On the left and right fleets, which had just separated, everyone stood straight, watching their comrades go away. The dark blue military uniforms embroidered with large pieces of moire lace slapped their bodies under the raging sea breeze, and the green dragon flag on the yellow background on the flagpole fluttered proudly in the sea breeze.

At this time, the "undefeated" number on the left side played a banner slogan: I serve the country today.

Everyone's hearts were excited, and they took down all the cumbersome things, including canvas, cutlery, and pulling beds, under the leadership of the commanders of the ships. Some are properly preserved, and some are thrown directly into the sea; Sandbags are piled up all around the important parts of the main deck, more than a meter high.

Dozens of 150-mm grenades were placed in the middle of the sandbags. The positions of the machine guns were all under the protection of sandbags, and in especially important places, even coal bags were used. The main deck was poured with a layer of seawater to simulate a fire. But in order to prevent the soldiers from slipping, another layer of fine sand was sprinkled. Firefighters hold rubber hoses, connect water pumps at one end, and dutifully stand by on deck. There were also many sailors who carried more than 20 kilograms of the main gun and fired the 'medicine bag', lying on the deck at a distance to replenish the ammunition for the main gun at any time. The air ducts in the upper part of the ventilation ducts were removed, and the doors of the unrelated watertight compartments were closed to prevent the fire from spreading to the other compartments.

Now that they have chosen to dismount from the Tian Ji horse race, the fate that awaits them may only be failure! However, all the officers and men of the ship were still actively preparing, and some soldiers even wiped their sabers, fantasizing that their warships could get close to the enemy's warships, so that they could jump onto the enemy ships and cut off the enemy's generals' heads, and capture the opponent's iron armor with their own strength......

Of course, this is just pure fantasy. The speed difference between the two ships is too great, and even if they can dodge each other's shells, it is impossible to catch up with each other's speed.

However, at this moment, the fledgling Chinese Navy showed the qualities it had done before, and everyone was in a hurry, with serious and serious expressions on their faces. They're ready. Fight this battle for the sake of this country.