On July 19, 1896, after a month and a half of grinding with the officials of the Admiralty of Tsarist Russia, the reinforcement fleet to the Far East finally received a special allocation of 130,000 gold rubles for fuel and transit supplies, as well as 170,000 gold rubles for the war "opening fee", and on July 21, the fleet was fully replenished with coal, water and food before slowly leaving the St. Petersburg naval island base and embarking on the journey to the Far East.

At the same time, five of the seven warships of Wang Chenhao's private fleet have been renovated, and the outfitting and upgrading of the last two warships, the Courage and the Dou Yong, are also nearing completion and are being intensified.

Wang Chenhao has officially renamed his private fleet the Pacific Fleet in accordance with the operational objectives of his private fleet and the deterrent sea area.

Lin Jianzhang and other officers of various warships were also intensively preparing for war, and they first conducted a series of sea trials on the five warships that had completed the transformation to check the comprehensive navigation capabilities of the hulls. At the same time, at Lyons' suggestion, the Chinese and British officers and men of the whole ship carried out necessary joint exercises, such as the most basic combat instructions coordinated by various departments on the warship, as well as the command and flag liaison between the ships.

Thanks to the installation of advanced radio systems and telephone systems on all ships, communications and command have been greatly improved in the interior and on the ships. British Sea Secretary Fisher, after visiting these modernized warships, praised this epoch-making naval revolution.

Fisher suggested that the British Admiralty should also equip the British warships with radio systems and telephone systems, but the British Admiralty rejected the proposal due to the bloated radio system equipment, limited communication distance, and extremely high cost.

On 2 August, the Russian reinforcement fleet moved out of the Baltic Sea into the North Sea, and the British Royal Navy's home fleet kept it under strict surveillance. Because the two countries were still entangled in the issue of Sadaoyi's assassination, the officers and men of the Russian fleet were very nervous, for fear that the British navy would boil them up.

Rear Admiral Enkvist, commander of the Russian reinforcement fleet, saw that the officers and men of the fleet were quite nervous, so he ordered the whole fleet to quickly pass through the English Channel at combat speed, out of sight of the British Navy's home fleet, out of sight and out of mind.

Lin Jianzhang and other officers led warships to follow the Russian fleet in the English Channel, with the purpose of reconnoitring the warships of this Russian fleet and determining which warships Russia had sent, so as to collect more information for study and find out its flaws and weaknesses.

On the Weiyuan, the bridge staff officer held an archive full of photos of various Russian warships, and while observing the foreign trade and configuration of Russian ships, he found relevant information on it. The results were not long in coming.

"The report determined that the four warships of the Russian fleet were one battleship, the Sisoya; a large armored cruiser, the Russian; Two protective cruisers, the Svetlena and the Kornilov, as well as a coal supply ship, could not be identified. ”

Staff Officer Gao Erqian turned to Lin Jianzhang and said, "Commander Lin, as we judged before, it is indeed these four warships that were sent to the Far East. ”

Next to Leons said: "Most of the Russian Baltic Fleet are old warships, and most of them are low-freeboard shallow sea warships, sent to the Far East to sail tens of thousands of miles, only high-freeboard warships have ocean-going navigation requirements, and there are only a few warships in the Russian Navy that can fight in the ocean, just a few." ”

Several of them nodded in agreement.

Soon Lyons added: "However, I heard that Nicholas II is planning a great navy, and there are already many warships suitable for ocean-going voyages being built on the slipways of Russian shipyards. I think your country is in trouble! ”

Lin Jianzhang smiled: "The trouble has begun, hasn't it?" However, I feel like we have a common enemy now! ”

"Of course!" Lyons laughed, "We're in the same boat!" ”

There was a burst of laughter from several people, but they couldn't help but feel nervous when they looked at the Russian warship passing through the English Channel. Don't look at the fact that Russia only sent four warships to the Far East, but the overall strength is no less than Wang Chenhao's Pacific Fleet.

Theoretically, the battleship Sisoya could only be sunk by battleships, and although the Weiyuan was called an iron battleship, her main guns were only 35 times the diameter of 240 mm Ghanaian guns and 4, which could not penetrate the frontal armor of the Sisoya. Similarly, the Russians outperformed their own ships in armor and firepower.

Lyons asked, "How is Commander Lin going to eat them?" They look prickly! ”

Lin Jianzhang replied: "I know that there are thorns in my hands, but I have to pull them out." We have no choice, if we let them get to the Far East, this military conflict will be endless. ”

Lyons nodded, agreeing with Lin Jianzhang's point of view, and said, "If we fight alone, none of us will be their opponents, so my suggestion is to pick those two protective cruisers first, and then concentrate on cleaning up the other two big guys." ”

Staff officer Zhao Sheng said: "Those two protective cruisers are relatively fast, and they are protected by two other large ships, so it is not easy to start. ”

Gao Erqian said: "Unless there is a decisive battle with the Russians, it is difficult to have a chance!" ”

You Xuekai said suddenly: "Wasn't our tactics a consumable word before?" Since we're playing a war of attrition with them, our first target should be their supply ship. Knocked out their supply ships, their ammunition can't be supplied, and one is less than one, this is a long way by sea, as long as we have the surname, I don't believe that they can't be consumed! ”

Lin Jianzhang suddenly smiled: "That's right! For now, that's all we can do is plan first! However, we also need to prepare for the worst, and if necessary, we will fight their fleet! ”

The crowd roared into orders.

Lin Jianzhang turned to Lyons again and said, "I hope that your country's political axe must prohibit the Russian fleet from passing through the Suez Canal, otherwise our plan will fail!" ”

Knowing that the Pacific Fleet was short of time at the moment, Lyons replied, "I'll check with the Admiralty again, and hopefully I won't make a mistake." ”

On August 15, the Russian reinforcement fleet arrived at Port Said, the Mediterranean port of the Suez Canal, and asked for passage. The British authorities had already received an order from the British political axe before that, prohibiting the passage of the Russian fleet through the Suez Canal. Major General Enkvest immediately went to Port Said to negotiate with the British commander, but to no avail.

Enkvest immediately sent a telegram to the Russian Foreign Ministry, asking the Russian political axe to solve the problem immediately, because he knew that Wang Chenhao's Pacific Fleet was not ready to return to China at this time, and if the Russian fleet could arrive in the Far East to participate in the war earlier than the Pacific Fleet, then it would gain the initiative in the war against China.

On 16 August, the Russian Foreign Minister urgently instructed the Russian envoy to Britain to ask the British side to allow the passage of the Russian fleet.

However, British Foreign Secretary Kimberly played Tai Chi with the Russian minister, and took the opportunity to threaten that the Russian side was not sincere enough on the issue of Sadaoyi's assassination, and the British Empire did not accept it, so he refused to allow the Russian fleet to pass through the Suez Canal.

But Kimberly did not say anything to death, and he gave the Russian minister a hope, saying that if he could give Britain a reasonable explanation, the British side would consider letting the Russian fleet pass.

Kimberly's purpose in doing so was nothing more than to stall for time and give Wang Chenhao's Pacific Fleet more time to prepare. Of course, he was also out of consideration for Britain's own interests, and it would be better if he could take the opportunity to knock the Russians and force Russia to make concessions.

At this time, the contradictions between Britain and Russia in Europe were already in a secondary position, and after the 11th Russo-Turkish War, Russia had been beaten back by the Anglo-Turkish-Austrian forces, trapped in the Black Sea, and the threat in the Mediterranean Sea had weakened. The contradictions between Britain and Russia were reflected in the problems of Central Asia, Afghanistan, and the Tibetan province of China, and both countries had territorial and colonial needs in the region, so they were on edge.

The Russian political axe did not want to compromise, but the Admiralty said that if it did not take the Suez Canal and detoured to Africa or the Americas, it would take more than half a year to reach the Far East, when it was estimated that the cucumbers and vegetables were cold. The Admiralty demanded that the Russian political axe make concessions so that the Russian fleet could pass through the Suez Canal and plunge into the Far East as soon as possible to save the face of Imperial Russia.

As a last resort, the Russian government had no choice but to make certain concessions, and on the Anglo-Russian issue concerning Tibetan provinces, Russia expressed its willingness to make concessions. Russia has pledged to withdraw from prying eyes on China's Tibetan province and is willing to maintain a neutral attitude on the Tibetan issue.

For a long time, Tibet Province was the target of British and Russian prying eyes, and it was precisely because Britain and Russia both put forward territorial and colonial claims to Tibet Province that the Qing Empire's fishermen were able to temporarily keep Tibet Province from losing. Now that Russia is willing to give up its territorial claims to Tibet, there is no way to counterbalance the British's power, which will lead the British to make a plot to carve up the province ahead of schedule.

The Russians threw out the benefits that the British were excited about, and the British political axe was divided on it. Some people think that this is a great opportunity, and only if Russia does not interfere, then the Tibetan province will be British.

There are also some people who believe that the Russians' words are not credible, and that after the Russian fleet is allowed to cross the Suez Canal, Britain will no longer be able to manipulate the Russians' bargaining chips, and the Russians may not abide by their commitment to neutrality on the Tibetan issue.

There are also some people who believe that it is in the interests of Britain to let a large-scale war break out between Qing and Russia, because Britain also has interests in the Qing Empire, and now the Qing Empire is entering a new round of change, and the construction of a powerful navy and army has begun again. Russia was the near-term enemy, while the Qing Empire was the medium- and long-term enemy, and in order to defend the long-term interests of the British Empire, the Qing Empire could not be allowed to rise. Therefore, they suggested that the Russian fleet should be let over, so that a large-scale naval battle would definitely break out in the Far East, and the Qing Empire's navy would be severely damaged if it was not destroyed, and the Russian navy would be weakened as a result, and the British navy would continue to dominate the Pacific Ocean, and at the same time it could continue to export warships to the Qing Empire in exchange for foreign exchange.

The ambivalence of the British led to the fact that this question was repeatedly studied and discussed, and the answer to the Russian side was delayed.

After a week had passed, the commander of the Russian fleet, Enkvest, could not wait, and as a military commander, he had a keen sense of smell that the British were helping the Qing Empire against Russia, and they would not let the Russian fleet pass. Instead of waiting here, it is better to make a detour to Africa and buy as much time as possible.

On 23 August, Enkowest informed the Russian Admiralty of his opinion. The Russian Admiralty also believed that the British were deliberately delaying, so they approved Enkvest's proposal.

On 24 August, Enkvest ordered the fleet to set sail, leave Port Said, return from the Mediterranean, and enter the Atlantic Ocean on 1 September.

The British argued in the House of Lords for more than a week, and the quarrel was red-faced, and in the end the Russians had given up, and they immediately felt very entangled.

However, the Russian fleet made a trip to the Mediterranean, which bought the Pacific Fleet nearly a month's precious time.

In the course of one month, all seven warships of the Pacific Fleet were outfitted and modernized.

On 2 September, seven warships of the Pacific Fleet, plus three supply ships and one tugboat, set off from the port of Portsmouth and prepared to follow the Russian fleet.

However, just a moment before the fleet left the port, Lin Jianzhang received an urgent order from Wang Chenhao. Due to the sudden change in the situation in the Far East, the Russian Army lost the battle, which led the Russian Navy to start acting. Wang Chenhao asked Lin Jianzhang to lead the Pacific Fleet to rush back to China and relieve the siege of Weihai in Lushun. The Russian reinforcement fleet will arrive in the Far East at least three months later than the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, and Wang Chenhao asked that the Beiyang Naval Division be united to solve the Russian Far East Fleet within three months and end the war.

The plan could not catch up with the changes, Lin Jianzhang did not question Wang Chenhao's order, and immediately ordered the whole fleet to abandon the pursuit of the Russian fleet and return to China immediately. But externally, Lin Jianzhang still said that he planned to intercept and kill the Russian fleet halfway, and all countries in the world knew the news, and even most of the people in the Pacific Fleet were kept in the dark.