The sea, for thousands of years, people have always been full of all kinds of fantasies about the vast sea, whether it is the fairy tale of the East or the West, the sea is always full of too many bizarre stories, people dream of conquering the sea, conquering the vast sea that makes anyone and any man-made object seem extremely small.

More than 400 years ago, pioneers began to conquer the seas in their sailboats in search of new routes, and these explorers ushered in an era in which voyagers were nicknamed "warriors", and indeed, only the brave dared to conquer the seas in that era.

A hundred years ago, since Nelson, the title of Warrior of the Seas was shared by another group of people, and any naval officer who operated a warship on the sea was a warrior of the sea, and these warriors of the sea wrote the song of the warrior with blood and loyalty on the vast sea for a hundred years.

And the vast ocean is very unforgiving, and it is also very fair. Any nation that wants to go to the sea needs to exhaust its own wealth, and the disappearance of such a main fleet built by exhausting the wealth of the king or the nation means the virtual disappearance of a navy, or even the demise of a country.

The sea is always so vast and so unforgiving, it is ruthless and fair to any nation, and in the end, only those warriors of the sea can decide whether they can lead their country to the sea and conquer it.

The calm South China Sea, with clear skies, is full of sunny colors, this kind of sunny day, for people in the north, December 20 would not have such a hot and dry sunny day, but this is the South China Sea, close to the equator, there will never be a scene of heavy snow here at this time.

The seemingly calm waves were opened by the bow of the battleship, and the white sea flowers spread along the sides of the battleship, and in the sun, the imperial chrysanthemum coat of arms on the bow of the ship shimmered with a little golden light, and above the chrysanthemum coat of arms, a rising sun flag representing the Imperial Japanese Navy fluttered in the wind, waving a burst of cloth and silk wind striking.

Despite the bright sun, the deck of the battleship was wet, and the sea water on the deck had been drenched for a day and a night, and the once dry deck had been half-soaked, and flammable materials on both sides of the battleship were thrown directly into the sea from time to time, which was the moment before the preparation for war.

At this time, the combined fleet of the Japanese Empire, consisting of 32 warships and coal carriers, was sailing in the South China Sea, and on the mast watchtower of each warship, Japanese naval soldiers with high-powered binoculars were attentively searching for any suspicious smoke traces on the sea.

The smoke emitted by this fleet is not very obvious, at least not the scene of soot in the sky, which is the credit of the Welsh anthracite, which is used only in wartime, and for the navies of all countries, once they enter the war, they will use high-quality anthracite on their warships, in order to minimize their chances of being discovered by the enemy first.

Waiting is always boiling, on the bridge of the battleship "Shikishima", after the commander of the First Fleet, Rear Admiral Sotaro Misu, lowered his binoculars

, Looking at Marshal Togo Heihachiro, who was slightly shorter than himself, he stood there calmly at this time, only occasionally holding a telescope to observe the sea surface for a while, and then he would put down the telescope, without a trace of anxiety.

"Your Excellency, I really don't know how long it will take."

A few hours earlier, the communication ship "Hisho Maru" had received a telegram from Tokyo, and the number of telegrams between Kaohsiung and Sanduao had suddenly increased, and the number of telegraph exchanges between Sanduao and Nanking had also increased, which meant that the Combined Fleet had been exposed.

Now perhaps the Zhenyang Fleet is replenishing its fuel and preparing to sail to the South China Sea to join the Second Fleet, and now even a second is very precious, but now, there is not a trace of the Second Fleet, not even its information, the last information was received sixty-seven hours ago, it was sent by a British flag Japanese merchant ship, and a large fleet was found in Malacca.

Since then, the Second Fleet has seemed to have disappeared.

"In terms of time, we should be about to find them, but why, it can't be a change of course."

Seeing that Togo didn't speak, Misu Sotaro took the initiative to raise his own questions, his eyes were dark, this is the biggest emotion of Misu Sotaro after sailing into the South China Sea, during the Battle of Tsushima, the intelligence of the Russian fleet will continue to be sent with the telegrams of the sentry ships, and now in the South China Sea, Misu Sotaro even has the illusion that he is in the Second Pacific Fleet, the United Fleet is very unfamiliar with this sea area, and there are not enough sentry ships to provide intelligence, for the Combined Fleet, The only information that could be relied on now was that of the British Navy and six Japanese merchant ships, and that information was still full of uncertainties, as the Sunrise had not received any information from the three cruisers sent by the British Royal Navy. ,

"The British will help us search for targets"

Heihachiro Togo said in a very confident tone.

He believed that the Royal Navy would faithfully fulfill the treaty of alliance, not to mention that some very unpleasant things had happened in the Chinese and British navies in Mannar Bay a while ago, and the Royal Navy officers of the Asian Fleet were very eager to see the "arrogant" fleet sink into the sea, and although London forbade the Asian Fleet to intervene in this conflict, the Asian Fleet sent several cruisers to help the Combined Fleet search for the Second Fleet at sea in the name of patrolling.

"But the British ......"

"Don't doubt them"

Togo immediately interrupted Sotaro Misu's words before continuing.

"Britain is a great country"

Togo's answer was meaningful, and then he turned his head and glanced at the "Sunrise Maru" in the queue, which was a fast cruise ship requisitioned by the navy, the cruise ship that the Japanese cruise company ordered from the United Kingdom three years ago was requisitioned by the navy as soon as it sailed back to Japan, and it was converted into a fleet communication ship, and there will always be some problems in the communication between the South China Sea and Tokyo, so in order to ensure that nothing goes wrong, he is strong

At Lie's suggestion, the Navy bought four of the latest high-power radio stations from the Marconi Company and installed them on the Sunrise Maru.

"Da, da, da, ......"

In the telegraph room of the "Hisaki Maru" and the "auxiliary cruiser" of the Combined Fleet, the telegraph operator listened attentively to the ticking of the telegram and kept writing down telegram signals in Japanese and English on the telegram.

"The Second Fleet has been discovered"

Suddenly, an excited shout burst out from the voice of the codemaker, his face was full of excitement, and as soon as he raised the telegram in his hand, an officer immediately took the telegram, and the officer looked at it, and he also showed joy.

"Fantastic, the British are really ......"

On the bridge of the battleship "Dingyuan", looking at the British cruiser that had slowly sailed away from the telescope, Cheng Biguang sighed in a deep voice.

"We are exposed"

The British never sided with China in this war, and when crossing Malacca, they sailed almost close to the coast of Dutch East India in order to avoid being discovered by the Royal Navy, and the fleet sailed at its top speed for two hours every three hours in order to pass Malacca quickly.

As soon as the fleet sailed out of Malacca, he ordered to take other routes instead of the normal route, so as to avoid the possible Royal Navy search ships, but he did not expect to encounter such a British cruiser in only three hours after sailing through the waters of Natuna.

"Order the fleet to prepare for battle"

A command came out of Cheng Biguang's mouth, and his expression seemed extremely calm at this time, even with a hint of relief.

"The fleet is ready for battle"

After the order was repeated, Li Wei, the first mate of the Dingyuan, changed his face after taking the phone.

"Sir, the British ship is constantly sending out telegraph signals"

"Commander, it looks like you guessed right"

Zheng Rucheng, the captain of the Dingyuan, smiled slightly, this old captain from Beiyang, was once a student who was escorted to the British Navy at public expense in the late Qing Dynasty, when he was recruiting for the commander of the Second Fleet, Sa Zhenbing considered him, but in the end he chose Cheng Biguang, which made Zheng Rucheng a little disappointed at the same time, and breathed a sigh of relief, the fleet commander means more responsibility, compared to the fleet commander, he is more inclined to operate a warship.

Old Beiyang owes the Chinese Navy a life, and in his opinion, instead of taking the responsibility of the entire fleet, it is better to command a warship and pay back this life.

Cheng Biguang looked at the sea, and his expression was extremely calm.

"Call Sanduao, our fleet has been exposed, ask for instructions on the next step"

Now that it has been exposed, there is no need to keep the radio silent anymore, and it is now possible to break the radio silence. As for what the next instruction is, Cheng Biguang has already got the answer, and when crossing the Suez Canal, the fleet came

A naval intelligence officer, he brought with him a written instruction from the Admiralty, which had clearly told him what the mission of the Second Fleet was.

It's a sacrifice, a sacrifice for the sake of the overall situation

The telegraph signal of the battleship Dingyuan was sent from the South China Sea to Hainan Island, and then from the Hainan Island telegraph station to Sanduao, and finally, a few minutes later, the telegram appeared in the underground war room of the Imperial Admiralty on the banks of the Yangtze River. ,

"Your Majesty, the Second Fleet is exposed"

Ye Zugui, who had not closed his eyes for several nights, looked at His Majesty, who also had bloodshot eyes.

"Oh"

Leaning forward slightly, Chen Moran responded, and it was only at this time that he really realized what it was to gamble with national fortunes, and this naval battle was not a gamble with national fortunes?

After receiving the short telegram, Chen Moran glanced at it, and then fell silent again, should he give this instruction by himself, or should Ye Zugui give this instruction?

Intellectually speaking, Ye Zugui should have given this instruction, but emotionally speaking, he should have given this instruction by himself.

After being silent for a long time, glancing at the paper and brush on the table, Chen Moran still picked up the pen and pen and wrote the order in block letters, which should be an imperial decree or a holy oracle to be precise.

Finally, a holy oracle composed of dozens of words was written, Chen Moran raised the paper in his hand and said to Ye Zugui.

"Okay, let's call back"

The hour hand pointed to 14:15 p.m. on December 20, when the holy message was sent from the Nanjing Naval Telecommunications Office, and a few minutes later, in the calm and turbulent waters of the South China Sea, Cheng Biguang, who was nervously preparing for battle, received the telegram from the hand of the communications officer, and stood in front of the sound transmission duct with an extremely serious expression.

"Listen to the Divine Message"

The same scene also appeared in the command tower of each warship of the Second Fleet, and the sound coming from the sound duct spread to all cabins of the ship.

"Wow"

The sailors and officers stood at the same time.

"Officers and men of the Second Fleet of the Imperial Royal Guards Navy Zhenyang Fleet, at this time when the fate of the Empire is decided, you have become glorious soldiers, please remember the oath of loyalty and courage to serve the country, I will give you a word, either unite to win the victory, or the battle flag will be raised high and sink into the sea......"

The words of absolute propriety were transmitted to every warship of the Second Fleet with the brass pipe, and at this time, the officers and men who were listening to the oracle did not complain, there was no dissatisfaction, there was not even determination in their expressions, and even many people only had a kind of indifference that saw through life and death.

"Well, it's time for the soul to return to the sea"

After a shout, the officers and soldiers who were listening to the oracle were busy again, and almost at the same time, at the top of the mast of the Dingyuan, the signalman gave a signal with a flag.

"Good luck"

And in the first turret of the armored cruiser Pingyuan, the gun commander Yu Zhiyuan, a young man who was only twenty-one years old, was writing in his diary with a trembling hand holding a pencil very hard.

"China's 100-year destiny is here"

When writing the last exclamation point

When he put the diary back in his pocket and grabbed the smoke mask, he looked at his subordinates in the turret, some of them looked serious, some of them looked serious, some of them looked a little afraid, and some of them had a trace of indifference.

It is only when people really face death that they reveal their true nature, whether they are brave or cowardly, it doesn't matter at this time. The navy is different from the army, and the naval battle is different from the land war, in the land war, the coward can flee from the battle, but in the naval battle, whether it is a warrior or a coward, they are all living and dying together, and no one can get rid of fate.

"Alright, brothers, our time has come"

Looking at them, Yu Zhiqing smiled.

"Are you afraid?"

"Don't be afraid"

Some shouted flatly, some were silent, and some looked gloomy.

"Scared"

Yu Zhiqing said unabashedly, and then he picked up the pencil and said.

"I was so scared just now that my hands were shaking, and the tip of my pen was broken"

Everyone looked at the chief and laughed, as if at this time, everyone had forgotten the emotions that had been haunting their hearts before.

"I'm really scared, I'm not here to tease everyone"

Yu Zhiqing's expression looked extremely serious, but there was no trace of embarrassment.

"Who is not afraid of death? Everybody is scared,"

Everyone fell silent, everyone was afraid of death, this is a fact, an unavoidable fact.

"But you know ......"

Slap the heavy turret armor hard.

"We are in the battleship, we are sailing on the sea, remember what the commanders said to us on our first day on the ship?"

"There are no sailors, no generals, everyone lives and dies together, lives together, dies together"

The gunners replied in unison, and as the words rang out from their throats, everyone's expressions changed, and in this moment, it seemed that everyone had seen it.

"Here, we have nowhere to escape, in fact, if we think of escaping, it is only a little thought, my brothers, then we will really die",

Not really

As soon as this idea is moved, the big guy will be a little slower, the gods will be a little more divided, the cannonball will be slow, the cannonball will be missed, maybe everyone will go to see the Sea Dragon King together.

"I'm scared, so I don't want to feed the Sea Dragon King, that's why I have to fight desperately,"

Then Yu Zhiqing's voice changed again,

"Not only for the century-old national fortune of the empire, but also for the sake of being able to live, live to see the moment of victory, and live to see my father"

The simplest and most straightforward words were heard in the ears of the gunners inside the turret, and the gunners looked at the commander, and everyone fell silent.

Finally one of the gunners returned to their positions and began to prepare, and then each one silently returned to their posts, now there is no need for superfluous nonsense, just they fight hard, aim and shoot as carefully as they did in training, and leave everything else to God

At 14:52, the first was Dingyuan

A brass pontoon was thrown into the sea from the side of the board, and then each warship dropped a pontoon, the first of which had a sentence written in English.

"Any passing vessel that finds and salvages a pontoon and submits it to the Chinese Legation will receive a prize of 10,000 Chinese dollars for the Imperial Chinese Guards Navy."

This is a pontoon filled with a suicide note, and it is also specially prepared for an encounter at sea, throwing the pontoon means that the warship will fight until the last moment, until it is sunk by the other side.

"Our mission ......"

After watching the pontoons being thrown into the sea, Cheng Biguang muttered in his heart, the task of the Second Fleet is so simple, just to persist to the maximum extent, hold on to the last breath, fire the last shell, and do everything possible to let the Japanese Combined Fleet fire more shells at him, as for the rest, everything depends on luck.

"Spot enemy ships"

At this moment, the alarm suddenly sounded, and he hurriedly picked up the binoculars, in which there was not a trace of the enemy ship on the sea, and after a few minutes, the trace of the enemy ship finally appeared, it was a puff of smoke that was not obvious.

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