Blue sea reef, golden sand fishing fire.

In the northern part of the Zhoushan archipelago, where the Yangtze River estuary meets Hangzhou Bay, the Shengsi Islands under the jurisdiction of Songjiang Prefecture are inlaid with more than 400 islands by nature.

Eight of the Shengsi Islands are inhabited, while the others are uninhabited. In addition, there are many natural and excellent sheltered deep-water harbors in the archipelago, which provided a hotbed for the Russian battleship Rurik to temporarily anchor and hide.

Rear Admiral Nebogatov, the captain of the Rurik, learned from the Russian Consulate General in Shanghai that a convoy from the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau was about to leave for the north, and that the fleet was carrying a large amount of munitions, medicines, and provisions, which made Rear Admiral Nebogatov salivate.

At this time, Russia was in a disadvantageous state on the battlefield in the northeast, and if this batch of materials reached the hands of the Qing army, it would be extremely unfavorable to the Russian army in southern Liaoning. In turn, the Russian army in southern Liaoning also continued to supply materials, if this batch of materials was destroyed or intercepted. It will be a major blow to the Qing army and a great benefit to the Russian army.

The Russian consul general in Shanghai warned Nebogatov that the Qing Empire's outsourced fleet would appear at any time. But Nebogatov, believing that his Rurik was capable of protecting itself, decided to lurk near the mouth of the Yangtze River and wait for the supplies to appear, despite warnings.

To the north of the estuary of the Yangtze River is the Eastern Ocean (collectively referred to as the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea), and to the south is the Southern Ocean (collectively referred to as the East China Sea and the South China Sea).

At noon on 8 December, the Pacific Fleet sailed into the southern ocean east of Dinghai and the waters near Taohuashan in the southern part of the Zhoushan Islands.

According to the scheduled plan, the transport fleet of the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau will depart on the morning of the 9th, enter the Eastern Ocean in the afternoon, and head north along the coastline of Jiangsu and Shandong.

"If the Rurik were going to intercept the fleet, the first best place to ambush would be in the waters near the mouth of the Yangtze River. If it were there, the Rurik would have been hiding in the Shengsi Islands in the northern part of the Zhoushan Islands, near the mouth of the Yangtze River, tonight. We still have one day to find the Rurik and kill her before she moves. ”

You Xuekai, a staff officer of the fleet on the Weiyuan, pointed to the chart and made his judgment to Lin Jianzhang and other fleet command personnel.

"There are three or four hundred large and small Shengsi Islands, and the Rurik may be hiding near any small island, if you search for it, let alone a day, it will be difficult to find her in ten days."

Zhao Sheng, a staff officer of the fleet, raised an objection, which was a real problem that everyone had to face.

Lyons then said: "There is little hope that we will be able to find the Rurik by noon tomorrow, and it looks like we will have to wait for the Rurik to arrive at the door." ”

Lin Jianzhang frowned and said: "It is certainly a way to wait for the rabbit, but the Russian Navy is not stupid, before the Rurik hunts, it is estimated that it will first reconnoiter the surroundings before carrying out an interception operation." That means Rurik also has a chance to spot us before we find her, causing the booby trap plan to fail! ”

Gao Erqian rubbed his chin, stared at the chart, and suddenly said: "I think that for the sake of secrecy, the Rurik will definitely stay away from the islands with residential areas in the Shengsi Islands, and it will stay away from the fishing areas of fishermen. At the same time, the Rurik is more than 10,000 tons and has a draft of seven or eight meters deep, and there are not many natural harbors suitable for her to anchor and shelter from the wind, and the Russian ships do not know the nearby water lines, so I think they dare not go deep into the interior of the Shengsi Islands, so they can only hide on the periphery. ”

Then, Gao Erqian gestured with his hand to the chart, and finally stopped near the Flower and Bird Mountain in the northeast, knocked hard, and said: "This place is close to the ocean, you can hide in the deep sea at any time, if the Rurik is nearby, she must be there." ”

Lin Jianzhang looked at Lyons, looked at the other command personnel, and asked, "So we can narrow down the search area, what do you think?" ”

Lyons nodded, "I think this is the best we can do!" ”

Several other people also nodded in agreement, so Lin Jianzhang made a plan.

At 4 o'clock in the afternoon of 8 December, after Lin Jianzhang, commander of the Pacific Fleet, issued an operational order for the entire fleet to prepare for combat at the first level, the alarm horn of the whole fleet sounded for a long time, resounding throughout the entire Pacific Fleet.

"Attention everyone! Attention everyone! ”

The radio horns over the bridges of the warships sounded one after another, and all the officers and men of the Pacific Fleet, who were in the middle of the afternoon class, listened attentively.

"All personnel immediately enter their respective combat positions, the first level of combat readiness procedures!"

"Repeat."

"All personnel immediately enter their respective combat positions, the first level of combat readiness procedures!"

"This is not a drill!"

"Repeat! This is not a drill! ”

For the first time in the past few months, everyone had heard that it was not a special exercise, and the officers and men of the Pacific Fleet, who had smelled the breath of battle, were both nervous and excited, and they disbanded one after another and returned to their respective combat posts to make preparations for battle.

Suddenly, the Pacific Fleet entered a tense busyness.

Lin Fan, the captain of the flagship Weiyuan, stood on the command platform and gave orders from the captains one by one. The communications officer next to him picked up the microphone and repeated the order to the general dispatch room, and the order was conveyed word for word to all departments on the ship through the general dispatch room.

"Anchor!"

The two huge anchors of the Weiyuan were retracted, and at the same time, the dragon flag representing the Qing Empire and the various battle flags of the Pacific Fleet were also raised, fluttering in the wind in the air above the ship island.

"Boiler pressurization!"

In the boiler room, more than a dozen shirtless soldiers picked up shovels to add coal, forcibly ventilated, and pressurized the steam engine.

"The battleship sets sail!"

With this order, the pipe wheel soldier opened the steam valve. The oars slowly accelerated, and the Weiyuan took the lead.

The officers led the sailors in their respective combat positions to prepare for battle, wiping down floors, loading sandbags, stockpiling water for firefighting, placing emergency medical kits, preparing ammunition, etc., everything was in order.

This is all thanks to the diligent training in the past few months, and the officers and men of the ship have long known that they are going to engage the Russian Navy, and after this period of psychological adjustment, they are now in the best condition.

The Pacific Fleet was divided into three squadrons. The Dou Yong and the Courage formed the second team to search and advance to the Shengshan Yang sea area east of Huaniao Mountain, searching the waters near the islands of Panshan, Dushan, and Lixishan along the way. The Fen Yong and the Gang Yong formed the third team to search and advance to the sea area of Dajiyang west of Huaniao Mountain, searching key islands such as Daheng Mountain and Daxiao Qishan and nearby waters along the way. The Weiyuan, Yuyong, and Hailan formed the first team to search directly to the south of Huaniao Mountain, passing through the waters of Huang Dayang and Huang Zeyang, and searching for Miaoshan Islands, Huanglong Mountain, Luohua Mountain and other islands and nearby waters along the way.

The role of the first team is a hornet's nest, and the three ships all advance separately along different waterways, divided into three lanes, left and right. The purpose is to "scare the snakes", and if the Rurik is inside, she will either take the initiative to attack one of the three ships, or she will flee outside. In either case, the ships of the Pacific Fleet will receive timely information via radio and set up ambushes on the periphery to intercept them.

If the Rurik is no longer in the Shengsi Islands, then it must be in the waters near the outer Hanaishan Island, where the three warbands will converge and surround it.

In short, all the tactics of the Pacific Fleet were based on the fact that the Rurik was in the waters near the Shengsi Islands, and if the Rurik was not there, the operation would have failed.

However, the Rurik was there, and she was anchored near a deserted island 22 nautical miles southwest of Bird and Flower Island. Instead of anchoring at a deep-water island near the eastern ocean, the Rurik chose to stay close to the mouth of the Yangtze River, as it would allow it to get closer to the convoy of transports sailing out of the mouth of the Yangtze River more quickly.

Since the Rurik was deployed in the Far East Pacific Theater, it has been unscrupulous because of its own strong armament, and all the officers and men of the Rurik from Captain Nebogatov to the captain have been arrogant and arrogant. Perhaps they were afraid of the British Navy, but they did not take the Qing Imperial Navy seriously at all.

At night, the Rurik was quietly moored to the sea. The figure of the huge battleship could not be concealed even in the night, and her silhouette could be seen from a distance.

At a quarter past eleven o'clock in the evening, the Yuyong of the First Squadron of the Pacific Fleet first spotted the Rurik on the eastern side of Luohua Mountain.

"Combat alert, superiors reported the discovery of the enemy ship Rurik."

When Du Xigui, the captain of the Yuyong, learned of this, he was overjoyed and immediately reported it to the fleet command by radio.

Soon, the commander of the fleet, Lin Jianzhang, asked Du Xigui to stand by, not to startle the snake first, and wait for reinforcements from other warships. At the same time, Lin Jianzhang ordered the second and third teams to immediately outflank from the east and west flanks of Luohua Mountain, intending to encircle and annihilate the Rurik.

However, despite Nebogatov's empty eyes, he was capable as a rear admiral. Although he boldly ordered the Rurik to anchor near enemy-occupied territory, he ordered the scouting sailors to remain vigilant. Therefore, when the Rurik was spotted by the Yurik, the sailors on the Rurik also discovered the Yurik.

Suddenly discovering that the unknown ship was nearby, and it was in the enemy-occupied area, the Russian officers and men on the Rurik suddenly had a flutter.

On the bridge of the Rurik, Lieutenant Colonel Levstey, the staff officer on duty on the bridge, lowered his binoculars and looked puzzled. Although he knew that the battleship that suddenly appeared would definitely not be a friendly force, if the other party was an enemy ship, why didn't he open fire immediately? He then said: "Inform the whole ship of combat readiness, and I will inform the captain immediately!" ”

After giving the order, Lieutenant Colonel Levstey got off the bridge and hurried towards the captain's room.

Afterwards, Levstey went to Nebogatov's bedroom, knocked on the door vigorously, and at the same time shouted: "Your Excellency, General, are you up?" ”

Rear Admiral Nebogatov, the captain of the Rurik, who was resting, heard the knock on the door and was noticeably haste, and he, as a soldier, suddenly got up.

"Come in!"

"General, there is a situation!"

Lieutenant Colonel Lefstey, the bridge staff officer, hurried in, looking nervous.

"Oh! It's Lieutenant Colonel Levstey! What makes you so flustered, it's not like your style! ”

Major General Nebogatov got out of bed and got dressed in a hurry, the obvious difference between a general and a colonel is that the former is much calmer than the latter in the face of anything.

"Your Excellency, an unidentified warship has been found near us, and it has not yet been identified, but I have already ordered it to be on guard."

Lieutenant Colonel Levstey, aware of his nervousness, tried to calm down before answering.

"You're doing a great job!"

Major General Nebogatov smiled at Levstey and unhurriedly buttoned his clothes.

"General, I suspect an enemy ship! Is it combat-ready? ”

Levstey looked nervous, in fact, the Rurik had not encountered a real battle between warships in the Far East, had only attacked civilian merchant ships, and in fact had no combat experience.

"What's the panic?" Rear Admiral Nebogatov laughed and said: "If it had been an enemy ship, it would have attacked us a long time ago!" Haven't they fired at us yet? If it is a warship from other countries that comes in to take shelter from the storm, or a warship that they get lost, we will cause international disputes if we rashly open fire! ”

Seeing Nebogatov's unfazed appearance, Levstey secretly said that he must study hard, and there may be only one link left from a school officer to a general.

"Let's go! Go up and have a look! ”

Rear Admiral Nebogatov finished tidying up and boarded the bridge with Levstey. At this time, other officers were also in place, but there were still some who were half a beat slower than Nebogatov.

The lights were not turned on, and it was pitch black. Moreover, the Yuyong was outside the range of the Rurik's searchlights, and Nebogatov could only see her silhouette and could not see the details.

"Signal to ask!"

The Rurik's searchlights flickered and flickered, and the Yuyong was questioned by the international maritime communication signal.

Here, on the bridge of the Yu Yong, Du Xigui was anxiously waiting for news from the fleet headquarters. Only after the other ships of the Pacific Fleet have entered the designated positions will the encirclement of the Rurik be completed.

"Tell them that we are the German ship Empress Augusta, get lost, stop the ship temporarily, and leave at dawn."

Chief of Staff Li Chengmou asked: "Why don't we take advantage of the Rurik to be defenseless and strike first, and when other ships come to support, I'm afraid the Russian ships are ready for battle!" ”

Du Xigui smiled and said, "Good question, Chief Staff!" In fact, I thought about this too, but the order of the fleet command certainly had his reasons. I just figured out that it was dark at night, and with the help of searchlights, the visibility was only five or six hundred meters. In this case, the hit rate is extremely low, and instead of us suddenly launching an attack and startling the snakes, it is better to wait for the fleet to close and close the door and fight the dogs. ”

Li Chengmou suddenly realized, and immediately exclaimed: "So that's the case, it seems that the fleet command has a better view of the overall situation than us!" ”

At this time, the Rurik sent another signal that they had sent a small boat to say that Rear Admiral Nebogatov intended to visit Rear Admiral Haines, the captain of the Empress Augusta.

"God help me!" Chief of Staff Li Chengmou said happily: "If the captain of the Rurik comes, we will detain him, so it will be much easier to deal with the Rurik." ”

Du Seok-gyu was also surprised, but felt that it was a good thing, so he nodded in agreement and sent armed men to prepare for forcible seizure.

However, things didn't go as smoothly as the two of them had imagined. Soon a Russian dinghy approached, followed not by Nebogatov, but by a torpedo boat carried by the Rurik.

It turned out that when Nebogatov learned that the other party was the Empress Augusta, he immediately saw through Dusygui's lies. Because Nebogatov knew that the Empress Augusta had run aground in the waters near Jeju Island, and that the Rurik was passing by the German naval base on Jeju Island when it was heading from the port of Ulsan to the coast of China, and knew that the Empress Augusta was under repair, he also guessed that he was facing an enemy ship after judging Du Xigui's lies. Nebogatov immediately made a plan, released a torpedo boat and falsely claimed that he was on it, paralyzed the opponent, and prepared to launch a torpedo attack.

"It's a torpedo boat!"

As the Russian torpedo boat approached, an experienced British sailor aboard the Yu Yong heard the roar of the torpedo boat's fast motor, because it was definitely not the speed of the sightseeing boat, but the speed of battle.

"Oops! Fooled! ”

In the next moment, Du Xigui suddenly understood that the other party had recognized their identities.

"Evade it now!"

Chief of Staff Li Chengmou suddenly shouted.

Since the boiler did not go out, the steam engine still maintained the steam pressure required for emergency sailing. When an urgent order was received, the Engineer quickly opened the airlock, and the huge oars spun rapidly to propel the Yu Yong to move.

However, the battleship started slowly, and by this time the enemy torpedo boats were already approaching.

"Shoot!"

The commanders on the various gun emplacements on the broadside quickly drew their command knives, pointed in the direction of the enemy's torpedo boats, and shouted orders.

Well-trained British gunners quickly mounted the battleship's guns and fired at the incoming enemy torpedo boats.

Since the Yuyong has always been in a state of first-class combat readiness, and even more so after the discovery of the enemy ship, all levels of artillery are in the shell loading, and the main gun is aimed at the Rurik. The small-caliber rapid-fire guns on the side of the board were always aimed at the approaching torpedo boats, ready to force Nebogatov above to surrender, and now the crooked ones could immediately attack without preparation.

Four 88-mm rapid-fire guns and four 47-mm rapid-fire guns on the port side opened fire quickly, and this rapid-fire gun was designed to deal with torpedo boats with a fast rate of fire. Of these, 88 rapid-fire guns had 10 rounds per minute, while 47 rapid-fire guns amounted to 22 shells per minute.

"Da Da Da!"

The four 47 rapid-fire guns on the port side of the Yu Yong opened heavy fire, only to see the fire shining at the muzzle, spewing out long flames, and then the shells rained down on the galloping enemy torpedo boats.

"Bang bang bang!"

Immediately afterwards, four 88-mm rapid-fire guns, with a larger caliber and a more dull sound, also opened fire. The shells all smashed into the enemy's torpedo boats.

"Boom!"

Shells exploded in the sea around the enemy's torpedo boats, causing waves to be heard. The powerful and dense rapid-fire artillery fire formed a dense network of firepower, and the enemy's torpedo boats were immediately shot, and bursts of explosions were heard.

However, the enemy torpedo boats were extremely fast, and in the blink of an eye they had reached the port side of the Yuyong.

With a bang, a torpedo has been fired.

The officers and men on the Yuyong suddenly screamed and fired their rapid-fire guns in the direction of the incoming torpedo, and when they saw the torpedo approaching the battleship, Du Xigui suddenly closed his eyes. At the same time, almost all the officers and soldiers froze at that moment, their faces full of horror.

However, a miracle happened. The rapid increase in the speed of the Yuyong, combined with the emergency evasion of the helmsman, allowed the ship to evade the torpedo attack. The enemy's torpedo bounced off the stern of the Brave with a slight touch, but did not explode.

"Fire!"

The officers and men who reacted suddenly turned from sadness to joy, and returned from a trip to the ghost gate, so they fired even more frantically at the enemy torpedo boats.

Heavy shells continued to hit the enemy's torpedo boats, and soon the enemy's torpedo boats caught fire, and the Russian sailors on top suffered heavy casualties.

However, to the infuriation, the torpedo boat, as tenacious as an unbeatable cockroach, fired another torpedo after discovering that the first torpedo missed.

Crazy!

All the officers and men on the battleship Yu Yong fell into panic again, and Du Xigui, who had just opened his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief, closed his eyes helplessly again.

(To be continued)