[Today's second update, 6300 words]

The north wind howled, and thousands of waves rolled up on the sea, and one wave after another slapped on the shore reef of Weihaiwei Bay, and suddenly the sea water splashed and the waves were full of spray.

In the Weihaiwei Naval Base, on the iron wharf southwest of Liugong Island, five capital ships of the Beiyang Naval Division, including Dingyuan, Zhenyuan, Zhiyuan, Jingyuan, and Laiyuan, were docked at the wharf.

On the wharf, Ding Ruchang, the commander of the Beiyang Naval Division, and Liu Buyun, Lin Taizeng, Deng Shichang, etc., looked at the sea off the breakwater from time to time, and were anxiously waiting.

After receiving the news that the Pacific Fleet was heading north, the Beiyang Naval Division immediately began to actively prepare for the lifting of the siege of Weihaiwei and Lushun by cooperating with the Pacific Fleet. The capital ships of the Beiyang Naval Division were not idle during this period of being circled, but entered the dock to carry out all-round overhaul and transformation, replace the main gun barrels, install rapid-fire guns of various calibers, improve the thermal efficiency of boilers and steam engines, and restore the standard speed of each ship as much as possible.

At noon on the 13th, when the Pacific Fleet encountered the Imperial Russian Far East Fleet, Wang Chenhao's fleet arrived at Rongcheng Bay along the coastline to take refuge. The Qing army in Rongcheng Bay thus learned that the Pacific Fleet and the Russian Far East Fleet had been engaged.

Soon, the news of the naval battle reached Liugong Island, and the generals of the Beiyang Naval Division immediately held a meeting. At the meeting, Ding Ruchang held that the main force of the Russian Far East Fleet was in the midst of a war with the Pacific Fleet, so the strength of the Russian Navy outside the port was definitely weak, and it should take the opportunity to go into battle, break the blockade, and work together with the Pacific Fleet to defeat the Russian Far East Fleet.

The plan was quickly approved by Li Hongzhang, so Ding Ruchang sent six minesweepers, "Fast Horse," "Sea Horse," "Pole Mine," "Mine Guard," "Mine Down," and "Mine Patrol," to clear the mines laid out by the Russian army in the channel outside the port, and at the same time sent several gunboats to drive away the Russian gunboats outside the port.

However, the Russian Navy has been blockading the port for half a year, and a large number of mines have been laid on the open sea lanes, which are difficult to clear for a while.

"When do I have to get out?"

Deng Shichang walked back and forth on the dock, anxious, looking out to sea with binoculars from time to time.

"It's going to take five hours! In the past six months, the Russians have laid at least a few hundred mines outside! ”

Lin Tai had spoken his judgment, and the others all sighed.

"Five hours? The cucumber dishes are cold! ”

Deng Shichang's brows suddenly twisted into iron bumps.

Ding Ruchang sighed and said, "I don't know what Lord Wang Chenhao's fleet has been like with the Russian fleet, it's good to win." ”

Liu Buyun said at this time: "I have to think of a way!" Can't this demining speed be faster? ”

Ding Ruchang smiled bitterly and said, "If you are an impregnable person, it would be good if you went directly to the waterway!" ”

Deng Shichang suddenly said: "It would be good if Chen Hao was here, his Jiaolong will drain these mines in a while!" ”

Liu Buyun said: "Far water can't quench your thirst!" If I'm as rich as Lord Wang, I'll find a few boats and go straight out to hit the mines. Then we can know that the Russians are laying mines there, and we can get out as soon as possible. ”

Lin Tai once said: "I think Lord Wang is so rich, he shouldn't care about a few broken ships, right?" ”

Everyone immediately looked at Lin Taizeng, their faces full of puzzlement.

Lin Tai hurriedly explained: "I mean, with a few ships to go to the minefield, Lord Wang sees that we are in a hurry to leave the port to reinforce the Pacific Fleet, presumably Lord Wang has to express it, right?" ”

Everyone suddenly realized, Deng Shichang hurriedly said: "This must be no problem!" We can't afford the cost of a few ships, but Chen Hao is sure he is fine. ”

Ding Ruchang looked at everyone, and everyone nodded, so he said: "In this case, then let's also be chic, and find a few boats to go out to the minefield!" ”

Everyone was overjoyed, and hurriedly returned to their respective warships, and ordered the battleships to anchor and prepare to leave the port.

Ding Ruchang immediately transferred the "Liyun," "Xizhao," "Feiyan," and "Chaohai" warships to the minefield in front, and in front of the four warships they were towed by several gunboats with shallow drafts; once the four warships hit a mine, the gunboats were immediately dragged to the side to prevent them from sinking in the channel.

The main ships of the Beiyang Naval Division, Dingyuan, Zhenyuan, Zhiyuan, Jingyuan, and Laiyuan, followed suit, and the torpedo boat destroyers Feiying and Feiting set out with the fleet as frigates.

With a loud "boom", the "Liyun" auxiliary ship at the front hit a mine, and the two gunboats quickly towed the "Liyun" to the adjacent waters and get out of the way before the "Liyun" sank.

Then, "Rhinozhao" began to go through the minefield again. The two auxiliary ships, "Feiyan" and "Chaohai", continued to line up, while the ships of the Beiyang Naval Division followed them and marched slowly.

Although auxiliary ships were used to go to the minefield, Ding Ruchang knew that a large number of mines had been laid by the Russian Navy on the main channel, and the four auxiliary ships might not be able to get out. So Ding Ruchang chose the alternate channel, because the alternate channel is a secret channel, and the Russian Navy does not know the specific location of the alternate channel, even if there are mines nearby, the number of them will not be very large, and the probability of hitting it is much lower.

An hour later, the four auxiliary ships "Liyun", "Xizhao", "Feizhuo", and "Chaohai" all hit mines and sank, but they did not sink in vain, but escorted the capital ship of the Beiyang Naval Division into the deep-water safety area safely.

"Listen! It's the sound of cannons! ”

The officers and men of the ships of the Beiyang Naval Division who sailed into the safe sea area suddenly heard a roar from the sky in the distance, and the sound was not very loud, but the officers and men of the Beiyang Naval Division, who had experienced the Battle of Dadonggou, were very sensitive to this kind of artillery sound, and it was easy to hear it.

"Sounds like they're coming from the east?"

"We received information that the Pacific Fleet was encountering the Russian Far Eastern Fleet about 60 nautical miles to the southeast."

"It's been more than an hour of fighting, and it is estimated that the sea area between the two sides has shifted to the east."

Ding Ruchang listened to the analysis of his subordinates and judged that the area of engagement between the Pacific Fleet and the Russian Far East Fleet was estimated to have been transferred to a certain sea area in the east, so he immediately gave the order.

"Order the two ships of Flying Eagle and Flying Thunder to search and advance to the eastern seas quickly, and the whole fleet will set off immediately, heading due east and fighting at a high speed."

"Whoa!"

The generals ordered, and the ships of the Beiyang Naval Division immediately pressurized their boilers and sailed at full speed to the eastern seas.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※ 30 kilometers east of Weihaiwei, the Pacific Fleet and the Russian Far East Fleet were engaged in a fierce battle.

In the second hour of the battle between the Pacific Fleet and the Russian Far East Fleet, the balance of forces between the two sides changed again. The sinking of a protected cruiser Renda and the unprotected cruiser Robber of the third echelon of the Russian Far Eastern Fleet resulted in the loss of four cruisers in the Russian Far Eastern Fleet, and the entire third echelon was completely annihilated.

On the Pacific Fleet's side, the Sea Scale was heavily damaged and forced to withdraw from the battle and make emergency repairs outside the combat area. The 1st Squadron of the Pacific Fleet was left alone with the flagship Weiyuan, which was also heavily damaged by the attack of seven warships of the Russian Far East Fleet. It's just that the Weiyuan is an ironclad ship, with rough skin and thick flesh, and the fortress-like artillery layout allows it to continue fighting, coupled with the urgent arrival of the second squadron of the Pacific Fleet, forcing the Russian Far East Fleet to change its tactics and transfer five warships to intercept the second squadron of the Pacific Fleet. In this way, only two battleships remained in the first echelon of the Russian army to attack the Weiyuan, and the firepower was sharply reduced, giving the Weiyuan a chance to breathe and prevent it from immediately withdrawing from the battle sequence.

At 3:45 a.m., when the Duke of Attenborough was approaching a distance of 1,600 meters with a speed of four knots ahead of the Weiyuan, a shell fired from a 305-millimeter main gun in the bow of the ship hit the Weiyuan island, instantly blowing up half of the seven or eight meters high upper building on the island. The interrogation room above the island was destroyed, and the guns of all levels of the Weiyuan suddenly lost their firing data, and they could only rely on the experience of the gunners to fire their guns.

At the same time, the commander of the Russian Far Eastern Fleet, Vice Admiral Foucedem, again changed the tactics of the first echelon. In order to take advantage of the speed advantage of the armored cruiser Nicholas I, Vice Admiral Foucaedem asked it to break away from the formation, accelerate from the flank of the Weiyuan to the front of the Weiyuan, and carry out interception maneuvers, and cooperate with the flagship Duke of Attenborough to launch an attack on the Weiyuan.

The first echelon of the Imperial Russian fleet changed its tactics, putting the Weiyuan in a serious threat. Although the shells of the Nicholas I could not cause fatal damage to the Weiyuan, its large number of rapid-fire guns caused great damage to the fighters who were exposed on the side of the Weiyuan, causing the Weiyuan to lose its combat personnel. At the same time, the Weiyuan was subjected to a long period of saturation shelling, and its hull superstructure had been beaten into a hornet's nest and was in shambles. When the rapid-fire guns of the Nicholas I rained a large number of shells on it, it immediately caused a large fire everywhere, and the fire tended to widen.

At this time, the Weiyuan lost radio communication, lost the interrogation room on the ship's island, and could not even issue the flag, and the Weiyuan was already isolated on the battlefield. Although the four 240-mm guns of the Weiyuan could still fight, without the comparative firing parameters of the interrogation room, the accuracy was 108,000 miles away, and it could hardly hit the enemy ships and could not pose a threat to the enemy ships.

There was a sea of fire around the command tower, and the smoke in the command tower was everywhere, Wang Chenhao was almost choked so much that he couldn't open his eyes, and his body was covered with black ash. The others were no better, sweat was touching their faces, turning into flower cat faces.

"How long has it been? When will the combat speed be restored? ”

"Lord Hui, I have sent three waves of people down, but I haven't replied, I guess I didn't get it!"

"The artillery fire outside is too fierce, and the people sent out are estimated to have died on the way, the telephone system has been destroyed, and even if it is repaired, they will not receive orders."

"If we don't recover our combat speed, we will have to wait to die, and the 12-inch cannon of the enemy's ironclad ship may overturn us!"

There was too much smoke on it, Wang Chenhao couldn't stand it, so he simply sat on the floor and leaned against the wall of the command tower trying to catch fresh air.

Lin Jianzhang hurriedly came over and said, "Your Excellency is absolutely unreliable on it, although the cannonball can't come in, the shock force is enough to hurt your internal organs." ”

After two hours of fierce fighting, Wang Chenhao's head was already dizzy, the first time he experienced this kind of cruel and fierce naval battle, Wang Chenhao's physical strength was rapidly lost, and as soon as he sat down at this moment, he didn't think about anything.

Lin Jianzhang had no choice but to ask Zhao Sheng to come over and move Wang Chenhao to the middle, away from the wall.

Wang Chenhao shouted: "Send another one!" Restore combat speed now! ”

Gao Erqian smiled bitterly: "My lord, all the eight staff officers of the headquarters have gone out, and now-"

Before the words fell, Wang Chenhao interrupted him and said loudly: "No one? Then I'll go down! ”

Gao Erqian knew that he had said the wrong thing, and suddenly said: "My lord, please calm your anger, and go down in person!" ”

As he spoke, Gao Erqian wrapped his braid around his neck, held the tip of the braid in his mouth and bit it with his teeth, then tucked the placket into the waistband of his trousers, ran a few steps out of the command tower with a sigh, and ran to the aisle of the cabin in the face of artillery fire.

The shells continued to explode around him, and the air waves shook his body from side to side. The aisle of the cabin had been blown up, and Gao Erqian had to crawl forward, climbing in through the deformed steel plates. The steel plate, which had been burned by the fire, was a hot pain at the tentacles. But Gao Erqian gritted his teeth and pushed through, and finally got into the aisle of the engine room and smoothly got out of the steam engine room.

Wang Chenhao saw clearly through the back door, and Gao Erqian's performance was still satisfactory to him.

After a few minutes, the Weiyuan increased significantly in speed and soon reached a combat speed of 18 knots.

"Your Excellency, it worked!"

Lin Jianzhang, Zhao Sheng, and Lyons immediately looked at Wang Chenhao, their faces full of joy for the rest of their lives.

As the Weiyuan returned to combat speed, the Russian ship Duke Attenborough was once again left behind. Its 305 mm main gun is also only 30 times diameter, and when the distance is too long, its hit rate and destructive power plummet, and it will soon be no longer able to threaten the Weiyuan. Although the speed of the Nicholas I was able to catch up with the Weiyuan, its shells could not penetrate the armor of the Weiyuan, and it did not pose a fatal threat to the Weiyuan.

At four o'clock sharp, the Sea Scale outside the battlefield had already extinguished the fire, the broken facilities were roughly repaired, and the chief of staff, Wu Daqing, sent a telegram to the flagship requesting a reformation to participate in the battle, but there was no response. Wu Daqing judged that something must have happened to the Weiyuan, so he immediately led the Sea Scale back to the battlefield.

Returning to the battlefield filled with gunpowder, the Seascale immediately launched an attack on the Nicholas I, which was constantly attacking the Weiyuan. As an enhanced version of the Yoshino, the Sea Scale has a very strong rapid-fire gun firepower. Although the Nicholas I was an armored cruiser, its tonnage was only 3,800 tons, and the thickness of its armor coverage was limited. As a 4,600-ton Sea Scale, although it is a dome armor protection, in fact, the difference with armor protection is that the former is homogeneous armor with uniform thickness, and the dome armor is only because the middle deck is particularly thickened, and the Sea Scale has a large tonnage, and its armor is thicker than the armor of Nicholas I at the thinnest point. This is the difference in the tonnage of warships, and the advantage of warships with large tonnage is this.

"Knock knock!"

The Sea Scale, which had regained its combat effectiveness, poured shells on the Nicholas I.

At 4:03, an 8-inch shell fired from the front main gun of the Sea Scale hit the starboard side of the Nicholas I, and the shell instantly penetrated its armor protection of less than 3 inches and exploded. Fierce flames erupted from the hole that had been blown open, and the Nicholas I was busy concentrating its manpower on extinguishing the fire, and the offensive weakened but the fire continued unabated.

The Seascale accelerated to 23 knots and took the opportunity to approach the attack.

With a "tom", 600 meters from Nicholas I, a torpedo was fired from the bow of the Sea Scale. The torpedo went straight to the starboard side of Nicholas I.

At such a distance, it is difficult for a torpedo to hit. It's just that Wu Daqing didn't expect the torpedo to hit the other side, but took advantage of the launch of the torpedo to force Nicholas I to turn the rudder and give up attacking Weiyuan. Wu Daqing's goal was quickly achieved, and the Nicholas I may have been overly nervous, and when it saw the torpedo approaching, it immediately turned around and evaded, so that the Weiyuan could get rid of the interception of the Nicholas I and make peace with the Sea Scale.

After the rendezvous, the Sea Scale was responsible for the task of covering the flagship, while the Weiyuan escaped from the artillery attack and immediately organized manpower to fight the fire and save people.

After breaking away from the attack of the enemy ship, Wang Chenhao suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, and in the previous half hour, he seemed to feel that his soul had been out of his body. Maybe this is what it feels like to go to the battlefield for the first time, Wang Chenhao is both excited and nervous.

"Flag the Sea Scale, let the Sea Scale send a report to the Yu Yong, make the Yu Yong the flagship of the fleet, and let Du Xigui act as the commander of the fleet!"

"Yes! The humble duty will be done immediately! ”

Lin Jianzhang also knew that in order to attract enemy firepower, the Weiyuan had withstood too many artillery attacks and had actually lost its combat effectiveness. For the sake of the overall situation of the fleet, Wang Chenhao's decision to change the command of the flagship was very correct.

At 4:12, the Captain raised the command flag of the fleet's flagship and took over the Pacific Fleet to continue commanding operations.

At this time, the second squadron of the Pacific Fleet and the second echelon of the Imperial Russian Fleet were still exchanging fierce fire, and the fight was inseparable. Both sides suffered losses on each other, but neither was enough to seize the "T" prefix in favor of attacking the other side.

Du Xigui saw that it was impossible to form a favorable attack posture against the second echelon of the Russian fleet in a short period of time, and it was not a way to wear it down. So he had an idea, and he immediately took it to heart.

At 4:15, the 2nd Squadron of the Pacific Fleet suddenly made a right turn and made a "U" maneuver. The flagship of the second echelon of the imperial Russian fleet believed that the other side intended to make a right turn to seize its "T" prefix horizontal position, so the flagship of the second echelon of the Russian fleet quickly ordered the whole fleet to turn left to prevent the other side from grabbing a favorable attack position.

At 4:25, the second squadron of the Imperial Russian fleet completed a left turn and headed northwest. But to their surprise, the 2nd Squadron of the Pacific Fleet did not stop turning, but continued to turn right to complete the last turn of the "U" shape.

At 4:35 a.m., when the Admiral Nasimov, the flagship of the second echelon of the Imperial Russian Fleet, was observing the opponent's combat intentions, it unexpectedly found that the second squadron of the Pacific Fleet, which had completed a "U" turn, was heading southeast, and used extreme speed to quickly break away from the sea area between the two sides.

Rear Admiral Dobovsky, the commander of the second echelon of the Russian fleet, Admiral Nasimov, suddenly burst out laughing and shouted at his subordinates: "See? They were scared and ran away! ”

Rear Admiral Dobovsky's subordinates burst into laughter, but the next moment, a small staff officer suddenly shouted: "Your Excellency, the enemy fleet seems to be heading for our flagship!" ”

"What? Damn it! Major General Dobowsky suddenly sobered up and knew that he had been fooled, so he shouted the order: "Turn right and back immediately, catch up with them, be quick!" Damn it! ”

It turned out that Du Xigui saw that the second echelon of the Imperial Russian fleet could not be severely damaged in a short period of time, and after receiving the report of the Sea Scale, he knew that the Nicholas I, the first echelon of the Russian fleet, had been heavily damaged twice, and it was a very good opportunity to besiege it at this time to act alone from the first echelon.

Therefore, the second squadron of the Pacific Fleet first went around in circles with the second echelon of the Russian fleet, led them in the opposite direction, and then took advantage of the speed advantage of the ships of the second squadron to quickly kill the Ben Nicholas I, in order to severely damage or sink the Nicholas I before the second echelon of the Russian fleet reacted.

At 4:55, five warships of the 2nd Squadron of the Pacific Fleet surrounded the USS Nicholas I. The Brave and the Brave blocked the Nicholas I's escape in the direction of the Duke of Attenborough with powerful artillery fire, and then the 2nd Pacific Fleet changed its formation to an anti-"L" scythe formation. The Brave and the Brave seized the "T" position of the Nicholas I, while the other three ships approached the Nicholas I from the starboard side, and the Sea Scale soon attacked the Nicholas I from the port side.

In an instant, hundreds of shells smashed into the Nicholas I at the same time, and a cloud of fiery red mushrooms rose into the sky. The entire battleship was instantly plunged into a cloud of fire and smoke, and the flames were scorching the sky, and thick smoke billowed out of the sea.

Three minutes later, two 210-mm shells fired by the Gang Yong hit the starboard side of the Nicholas I, and the shells instantly penetrated its outer armor and continuously penetrated three layers of steel plates and fired directly into the boiler room, causing a chain explosion of the boiler, and soon spread to the nearby ammunition depot and torpedo room, and caused a series of explosions.

"Boom! Boom! ”

A series of explosions rang out inside the Nicholas II, and then a violent explosion instantly smashed the island of the Nicholas II, and the flames gushed out, the smoke and flames rushed hundreds of meters high, and the fragments of the explosion flew into the surrounding sea for several miles. Suddenly, the hull of the ship shook violently, and a series of explosions occurred, and the hull was torn in two and sank into the sea at a speed that could be seen.

Three hours after the outbreak of the naval battle, the Nicholas I was sunk in the most splendid way, which made the officers and men of the Russian Far East Fleet tremble.

At 5 o'clock sharp, the second echelon of the Russian fleet arrived and fought again with the second echelon of the Pacific Fleet. But the two sides are still evenly matched, and neither side can bargain for a big deal.

At this time, there were only six warships left in the Imperial Russian Far East Fleet, and the Pacific Fleet was still seven, but because the Weiyuan was disabled, it had lost its combat effectiveness, so in terms of the comparison of forces between the two sides, the Imperial Russian fleet had the upper hand.

Vice Admiral Foucedem, commander of the Imperial Russian Far East Fleet, was about to adjust his tactics and fight again, when huge columns of black smoke lit up on the sea level in the west of the sky.

Unclear of the identity of the comers, the Pacific Fleet and the Imperial Russian Far East Fleet almost unanimously chose a ceasefire and then stayed away from each other.

"Look! Dragon Banner! It's the Beiyang Naval Division! ”

At 5:13 a.m., when the Pacific Fleet's flagship Yu Yong heard good news from the interrogation room, all the officers and men of the Pacific Fleet immediately cheered happily.

Vice Admiral Foucadium, commander of the Russian Far East Fleet, also learned the news that it was the Beiyang Naval Division at the same time, and he couldn't help but sigh and immediately ordered the whole fleet to retreat.

In the commander tower of the Yu Yong, Chief of Staff Li Chengmou asked, "Do you want to pursue?" ”

Du Xigui looked at the sky, the winter in the north was darkening very quickly, and seeing that the sky had already darkened, there was no need to fight again.

"There's no need for it! Take it when you see it! We haven't fought at night! ”

(To be continued)