At about 8 o'clock in the morning of June 17, 1902, with a gentle breeze and a bright sun, more than 100 kilometers west of the Penghu Islands in the Taiwan Strait, the main force of the joint expeditionary fleet of the Eight-Nation Alliance Navy used the radio stations on the warships of the British Navy to gather together with the fleets of Britain, France and Japan that had departed from the port of Fuzhou.

As soon as the British, French, and Japanese fleets departing from the port of Fuzhou were integrated into the joint expeditionary fleet of the Eight-Nation Alliance's navy, the entire fleet noticed thick smoke in the distance.

Bridget, the commander of the British Navy fleet, was in the bridge of the all-steel battleship Majesty, and suddenly shouted excitedly: "The Northeast Navy must appear in front, send flags to their respective fleets, and send messages to our various battle teams, maintain the battle formation, and we will meet them." ”

The captain of the Majesty next to him, Birdom, immediately said, "Yes, Commander, let the Bannerman and the Radio Soldier convey your order immediately. “

The British Navy, the French Navy, the German Navy, and the Russian Navy have each formed a sub-fleet with their own warships, such as the British Navy, which has 9 Majestic-class all-steel battleships, 8 Duncan-class all-steel battleships, 4 old man-class all-steel battleships, 4 Sovereign-class all-steel battleships, 22 large fast armored cruisers, 32 new fast protection cruisers, 4 @ submarines, 32 new destroyers, and 32 torpedo boats.

The British naval detachment alone had 25 all-steel battleships, and so many other warships, for ease of command. So the British Navy divided these warships into several teams, such as the all-steel battleships into three teams. Nine Majestic-class all-steel battleships are the first team, and eight Duncan-class all-steel battleships are the second team. 4 Old Man-class all-steel battleships and 4 Sovereign-class all-steel battleships are the third warframe.

The 22 large fast armored cruisers were divided into 3 squadrons, the 32 new fast protection cruisers, 32 new destroyers, and 32 torpedo boats were divided into 4 squadrons, and the 4 submarines were divided into 1 squadron.

In addition to Britain's own warships equipped with radio stations, the warships of the other seven countries do not have this kind of equipment, so the flag language is also a bridge between the fleets, that is, all the warships of the British Navy are not equipped with radio stations, only some of the warships are installed, so it is between the warships of the British Navy. Flags are still needed to call the shots.

The detachments of other countries in the Eight-Nation Alliance Naval Joint Expeditionary Fleet were also like the British Navy, and they all divided a large number of warships into a number of battle groups, and after receiving the order of Bridget, the commander of the entire Eight-Nation Alliance Naval Joint Expeditionary Fleet, the five detachments rushed towards the Northeast Navy Fleet that appeared in front of them with a black momentum in the sky.

What appeared in front of the joint expeditionary fleet of the Eight-Nation Alliance Navy was not the main force of the entire Northeast Navy, but the six armored cruiser formations of the six main fleets of the Northeast Navy, a total of 24 large fast armored cruisers of the Temperance class.

After the distance between the two sides is shortened to 20,000 meters. Without the slightest hesitation, the 24 large fast armored cruisers of the Trotta-class immediately turned around and headed towards the north of the Penghu Islands.

Although these Temperary-class large fast armored cruisers were prepared to be used as bait to lure the Eight-Nation Alliance's Joint Expeditionary Fleet into the bait, it did not mean that these Temperary-class large fast armored cruisers had to make any sacrifice to fight with the bayonets of nearly 100 all-steel battleships. It would be enough to lure the Eight-Nation Alliance Navy Joint Expeditionary Fleet to the main force of the Northeast Navy.

In the bridge of the all-steel battleship Majesty, the captain of the Majesty, Bedol, stood by the observation window and saw these large fast armored cruisers of the Northeast Navy approaching 20,000 meters. Without hesitation, he turned around and retreated, putting down the telescope in his hand. I couldn't help but say to Commander Bridget: "Commander, these large fast armored cruisers of the Northeast Navy that appeared. There is clearly an intent to seduce us, shouldn't we be careful? ”

Bridget, who was also standing by the observation window, put down the telescope in his hand and said indifferently: "The purpose of these large fast armored cruisers of the Northeast Navy is nothing more than to lure us to their main fleet, but isn't this exactly what we want?" And in the face of absolute strength, any little trick is meaningless, order the entire fleet to keep in formation, we chase over, follow these large fast armored cruisers of the Northeast Navy, find the main fleet of the Northeast Navy, and completely solve them! ”

Although the captain of the Majesty, Bedolm, didn't know how to have a feeling of unease in his heart, but the commander's words were indeed very reasonable, with such a strong strength of the Eight-Nation Alliance Navy Joint Expeditionary Fleet, there should be no force on this planet that could stop him, so Birdom nodded and said: "Yes, Commander, I will pass on your order immediately." ”

Soon, the 24 large and fast armored cruisers of the six armored cruiser formations of the Northeast Navy led the joint expeditionary fleet of the Eight-Nation Alliance Navy to a place several tens of kilometers north of the Penghu Islands in the Taiwan Strait, and the main force of the Northeast Navy was already waiting for them here, starting with six Dragon-class dreadnought battleships and seven super dreadnought battleships named after the provinces.

Behind the 13 dreadnought battleships are the six main fleets of the Northeast Navy, led by 40 all-steel battleships, and the 14 submarines of the Northeast Navy's submarine force have all dived to the nearby seabed, waiting to give the main warships of the Eight-Nation Alliance Navy Joint Expeditionary Fleet a chance to strike a fatal blow.

The captain of the Majesty, Birdol, ran into the bridge in a panic and shouted at Commander Bridget in shock: "Commander, the soldiers of the watchtower report that there is an abnormal situation in the direction of the main fleet of the Northeast Navy, and there are more than a dozen big guys similar to our British Navy Dreadnought battleship, just at the front of the Northeast Navy fleet!" ”

Because of the distance, Bridget couldn't see very clearly through the guò telescope in the bridge. It's just that those large fast armored cruisers of the Northeast Navy were discovered, and sure enough, they attracted their Eight-Nation Alliance Navy Joint Expeditionary Fleet to the main force of the Northeast Navy. Bridget could only faintly see a piece of warship in front of him through the telescope, and he was very excited at this time. One of the largest naval battles in human history under his command was about to begin.

As soon as the excitement rose, he heard Birdom's words, which made Bridget suddenly chuckle in his heart, and immediately held the telescope and looked in the direction of the main fleet of the Northeast Navy, impossible, absolutely impossible, our British Empire's Dreadnought battleship has just been launched, and it is undergoing sea trials, and the Northeast Navy is an imitation. It is also impossible to build in such a short time, and there are still a dozen of them, what is the situation!

However, as the distance increased, when they were more than 30,000 meters apart, Bridget finally saw the true face of a row of big guys through the guò telescope, 6 battleships with a displacement of about 20,000 tons and 7 battleships with a larger displacement, like 13 sea monsters ready to hunt, staring coldly at the prey in front of them in the distance.

From the six battleships of about 20,000 tons, five double-mounted giant guns were faintly visible, and the main turrets of the seven battleships with a larger displacement were small. But if you count it carefully, it looks like a three-in-a-row cannon.

A chill that rose from the bottom of my heart suddenly spread all over Bridget's body, how could this be? God, how could the Northeast Navy have a battleship like the Dreadnought?

Inside the bridge of the German Wiecchersbach-class all-steel battleship Wicchelsbach. The commander of the German naval fleet, Tessim, and the captain of the Wicchersbach, Edasl, looked through the telescope in amazement at the 13 unexpected dreadnought battleships of the Northeast Navy that appeared in the distance.

Tessim muttered to himself with some uncertainty: "These battleships that suddenly appeared in the Northeast Navy are none other than big guys like the British battleship Dreadnought." Am I dreaming, isn't the British Dreadnought still on sea trials? The design of such dreadnought battleships of our German Navy was just beginning. There are more than a dozen, and there are also 7 super battleships with a displacement of at least 3 or 40,000 tons. Could it be that the Northeast Navy began to build such dreadnought battleships much earlier than the British? ”

Edasil put down his binoculars and said with a wry smile: "It seems that the Northeast Navy dared to fight a decisive battle here in the Taiwan Strait with our Eight-Nation Alliance Navy Joint Expeditionary Fleet, not because of their courage, but because the Northeast Navy hid these 13 dreadnought battleships and gave them confidence, what should we do now?" ”

Tessim hesitated, although he knew that this kind of dreadnought battleship was very powerful, and the main guns of 1 dreadnought battleship were more than the main guns of 2 all-steel battleships, but only in terms of the total number of main guns of the battleships of both sides, the joint expeditionary fleet of the navy of the Eight-Nation Alliance still had a very large advantage, and Sim thought that his chances of victory were still very large, but the price paid would definitely increase a lot.

"Send a flag to General Bridget and ask if we are going to move forward and prepare for war?" But I don't think we're all here, and we're not going to turn around and leave. ”

The commanders of several other countries were surprised to see the 13 dreadnought battleships that suddenly appeared in the Northeast Navy, and they all sent flags to Bridget, like the commander of the German naval fleet, Tsim, asking whether the battle would continue according to the plan.

However, the commanders also believe that the odds are still on their side.

Bridget received flags from the commanders of the naval fleets of several other countries in the bridge of the Majesty, and his brows furrowed, as a senior admiral of the British Navy, he knew the power of the Dreadnought battleship, and the Dreadnought battleship of his own British Navy Compared with the all-steel battleship, it is definitely not as simple as doubling the main gun and doubling the combat effectiveness, the Dreadnought battleship with faster speed and thicker armor, there is no problem with single-handing 3 British Fearless all-steel battleships, considering the Dreadnought's ultra-long range, Even more Majesty-class all-steel battleships can be singled out.

If the Dreadnought battleships that appear in the Northeast Navy are at the same level as the Dreadnought of the British Navy, then the Joint Expeditionary Fleet of the Eight-Nation Alliance Navy will encounter big trouble, and the Northeast Navy has 40 all-steel battleships and these 13 dreadnought battleships, and in terms of strength, it has greatly distanced itself from the main force of the Eight-Nation Alliance Navy Joint Expeditionary Fleet, which has 93 all-steel battleships, and the Eight-Nation Alliance Navy Joint Expeditionary Fleet is plus the Japanese and US naval fleets that have not yet appeared. Now it is not an absolute advantage.

Bridget couldn't help but marvel that the fleet of battleships of this size in the Northeast Navy could actually completely surpass the combat effectiveness of all the battleships of the British Royal Navy combined.

However, the posture of the two sides has been opened, that is, with the accident of 13 dreadnought battleships, there is absolutely no reason for the joint expeditionary fleet of the Eight-Nation Alliance Navy to withdraw without a fight, and Bridget also instantly considered taking this opportunity to erase the accident of the Northeast Navy, which has faintly surpassed the British Royal Navy in real strength.

Bridget made up his mind and said to Captain Birdom of the Majesty: "Inform the respective detachments and the various warbands of our British Navy to keep the formation and continue to approach the main force of the Northeast Navy, and the battleships of each detachment are ready to seize the T-head and use sideboard fire against the enemy." ”

And in the bridge of the super dreadnought battleship Fengtian opposite, Yu Fu, the temporary commander of the dreadnought battleship formation, saw the joint expeditionary fleet of the Eight-Nation Alliance Navy approaching in the distance, and said to Zhen Li, the captain of the Fengtian beside him, with a smile: "The warships of the Eight-Nation Alliance are almost approaching 30,000 meters, and our 7 super dreadnought battleships can be prepared to surprise these visitors from afar first!" ”

Zhen Li, the captain of the Fengtian, said with a smile: "I just don't know that these guys from the Eight-Nation Alliance, seeing that we can accurately shell them at a distance of 30,000 meters, I don't know if they will turn around and run away in fright." ”

The 406 mm guns on the 7 super dreadnought battleships can shoot shells 30,000 meters away, especially the 4 Iowa-class with 50 times the caliber 406 mm guns, the range is more than 40,000 meters, but the effective range is within 32,000 meters.

As the Eight-Nation Alliance's Combined Expeditionary Fleet approached and came within 30,000 meters, the seven Super Dreadnought battleships slowly raised their main guns and aimed at their respective targets. (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you okman for the tip, thank you General Mao Mao for the tip, thank you for the brothers who voted for the monthly ticket and the recommendation ticket.

I'm not in a good state today, I don't know if I can write another chapter, if I can't apologize to my brothers first, woo woo ~ R1292