On December 13, Wang Chenhao's fleet went north to Tianjin under the escort of the Pacific Fleet.

Since the Russian Far East Fleet was cruising in the waters near Weihaiwei and Lushun at the moment, after the fleet left the mouth of the Yangtze River, Wang Chenhao boarded the Weiyuan at the strong request of Lin Jianzhang and others, and once a battle broke out, Wang Chenhao was allowed to enter the command tower of the Weiyuan, because it was much safer there.

"My lord, my admiration for you is like a surging river......

"My lord, my admiration for you is like the Yellow River overflowing and out of control......

"Your Excellency, you are our idol......

"Adult ......"

…… After Wang Chenhao boarded the ship, he was immediately watched by all the officers and men. Especially those British, unlike the domestic officers and soldiers, are not as restrained as the officers and soldiers at home, and what to ask, the more gossip they have, the more interested they are.

In the face of them, even if Wang Chenhao could say it again, he was also a head or two, and soon he was dizzy and hid in the captain's room and did not go out.

However, because the battleship Weiyuan was the flagship and the fleet headquarters was also located on it, the captain's office became a meeting place for the officers of the fleet headquarters. Wang Chenhao stayed in the captain's room, talking with the officers of the fleet headquarters. The content of the conversation was nothing more than Wang Chenhao talking about some epoch-making naval development concepts, which fooled the generals. The generals recounted what they had experienced since their departure from England, and added fuel to the story of how they killed the Rurik in the Battle of the Great Navy.

While Wang Chenhao was chatting with the generals, the Russian Far East Fleet, which was far away in the waters near the Yellow Sea, was making an emergency move.

Originally, the Russian Far East Fleet only blocked the naval bases of the Beiyang Naval Division, Lushun and Weihaiwei, and locked the Beiyang Naval Division in the bases and could not get out. The Russian Navy controlled the Yellow Sea and assisted the Russian army in landing in southern Liaoning, but the Russian Far Eastern Military District was extremely inadequately prepared for war. Originally, the original plan was just to test the surname to attack the Qing Empire, but it soon evolved into an armed occupation of Heilongjiang Province, and then a local war broke out. The expansion of the scale of the war caused the Russian army in southern Liaoning to enter the battlefield without carrying any heavy offensive weapons. Without heavy weapons, the Russian army could not cooperate with the navy to attack the two fortresses of Arthur and Weihaiwei, and as a result, the Russian Far East Fleet did not play much of a role, and only guarded the port of Lushun and Weihaiwei like a watchdog.

As the war changed, the Russian army lost land battles one after another, and the war became more and more unfavorable to Russia. This gave rise to the idea of attacking the coastal cities of the Qing Empire for the Russian Far East Fleet, but it was restrained by the Russian political axe for fear of affecting the interests of other powers in China.

Now, with the news that Rurik was sunk by Wang Chenhao's private fleet, the Pacific Fleet, the Russian Far East Fleet is full of revenge.

After the outbreak of the war, the Russian Far East Fleet has been vigorously seeking a decisive battle with the Beiyang Naval Division. In the open sea around the Bohai Strait between Arthur and Weihaiwei, the Russian Navy concentrated the main 11 capital warships of the Far Eastern Fleet, including one battleship (Duke of Edinburgh), three large armored cruisers (Admiral Nasimov, Azov, and Monomakh), three armored cruisers (Donskoy, Imperial Guard, and Nicholas I), two protective cruisers (Vidjaz, Renda), and two unprotected cruisers (Robber, Manghan). There were also six gunboats (Manchurian, Beaver, Sea Dog, Korean, Thundering, and Heroic), as well as twenty-four torpedo boats, which were responsible for laying mines and patrolling outside the ports of Lushun and Weihaiwei to prevent the demining ships of the Beiyang Naval Division from coming out to clear mines.

In addition, two coastal defense ironclad ships of the Russian Far East Fleet, the Pervinets and the Menya, were also transferred from Vladivostok to the Ulsan naval base, intending to support the capital ships in operations at any time.

Li Hongzhang believed that the Beiyang Navy had too few fast ships to go out to the open sea to compete with the Russian Navy for sea supremacy, so he adopted the policy of ensuring coastal defense and maintaining deterrence. Li Hongzhang's decision may have caused the people to abuse him and may have made the generals of the Beiyang Naval Division dissatisfied, but it is undeniable that the Beiyang Naval Division's stay in the naval base has made Russia dare not easily invade the Bohai Bay and the territorial coastal defense line. Li Hongzhang deeply understood the superiority of forces on both sides of the war, and it was reasonable to adopt this strategy.

However, with Wang Chenhao's return to China, he took the lead in protesting against the imperial court, which made the fierce anti-war sentiment of the government and the opposition rise again. Li Hongzhang, Ding Ruchang and others were repeatedly criticized, and even asked Li Hongzhang to remove Ding Ruchang. Now that Wang Chenhao has been appointed as the Minister of Governor-General and Minister of Plenipotentiary Affairs for Russia, and he himself holds the official post of Admiral of the Beiyang Naval Division, and the officers and men of the Beiyang Naval Division all remember that Wang Chenhao once led them to achieve the brilliant record of annihilating the combined fleet, but now he is blocked by the Russian Navy at the door of the house and does not dare to go out, and he has been stuffed to the extreme.

On the 11th, Wang Chenhao sent a telegram to Li Hongzhang before his departure, saying that the Pacific Fleet was about to set off and prepare to relieve the siege of Lushun and Weihaiwei, so Li Hongzhang immediately ordered the Beiyang Naval Division to prepare for battle, and the officers and men of the mine battalion began to remove Russian mines outside the port.

Beginning on 12 December, the artillery of the Lushun and Weihaiwei fortresses continued to shell the Russian gunboats on the sea, and the officers and men of the mine battalion of the Beiyang Naval Division left the port by demining boats under the cover of the fortress guns and began to clear the mines. When the Russian gunboats found out, they immediately attacked, and fierce fighting broke out between the two sides.

However, the main force of the Russian Far East Fleet is currently focused on intercepting the Pacific Fleet and avenging the Rurik, and in order to save coal, artillery shells, and provisions, it has not been able to send capital ships to support.

As a result, six Russian gunboats and a group of torpedo boats, under the heavy attack of the fortress guns, finally gave up attacking the minesweepers of the Beiyang Naval Division and left them to clear the mines. However, while the Beiyang Naval Division was clearing mines, the Russian minelayers continued to lay mines on the periphery, delaying the time for the Beiyang Naval Division to come out and gaining time for the Russian Far East Fleet to attack the Pacific Fleet first.

On the morning of 12 December, the main force of the Russian Far East Fleet, consisting of 11 main warships and 8 auxiliary ships, anchored at Nampo Port under the leadership of Vice Admiral Foucadem and waited for the supply ships from the Ulsan Naval Base.

At 1 a.m. on the 13th, the Russian Far East Fleet was resupplied and completed at about 7 a.m.

Vice Admiral Foucaugjam immediately ordered all ships to carry out regular operations to simulate a battle with the Pacific Fleet. However, the Russian Far East Fleet only knew that the Pacific Fleet had seven large warships, and the photos and detailed configuration of the specific warships were never sent to the Far East by the Russian Admiralty, so that the commanders of the Russian Navy lacked preparations for the Pacific Fleet.

While the Russian Far East Fleet was practicing how to counter the Pacific Fleet's tactics, seven warships of the Pacific Fleet were escorting Wang Chenhao's fleet toward the Yellow Sea.

Wang Chenhao's fleet was marching along the coastline and flying American flags, which were basically all foreigners, so Wang Chenhao was not worried that the Russian fleet would attack them.

The Pacific Fleet also made tactical adjustments while on the move. Since the Pacific Fleet has the situation and firepower of the ships of the Russian Far East Fleet provided by the British, it has an all-round assessment of the firepower, armor, tonnage, and mobility of the Russian Far East Fleet, and it is very easy to deal with it.

Lin Jianzhang and Lyons worked out tactics for dealing with the Russian Far East Fleet, and the whole fleet was divided into two teams. The Weiyuan and the Sea Scale form the first team, and the speed and firepower of the two complement each other and take care of each other. The second squadron was formed by the Yu Yong, the Fen Yong and the Gang Yong, the Courage and the Dou Yong, and the fleet formation was in the shape of "刂".

This tactical formation is obviously aimed at the weak points of the Russian Far East Fleet's ships with different speeds, many old warships are very slow, and their mobility is poor, and the Pacific Fleet will concentrate five large armored cruisers as a strong firepower attack echelon, so as to sink an enemy ship at the first battle, so as to disrupt the deployment of the enemy fleet and at the same time deter the enemy.

After the Pacific Fleet's formation was deployed, the Seascale, as the lead ship, took the lead in accelerating its advance, so as to discover the enemy fleet at the first time and then gain the initiative in fleet operations.

While the Pacific Fleet was heading in the direction of Weihaiwei, the lead ship Hai Scale, searched for enemy ships and conducted drills during the voyage, and was in a first-class combat state.

At the same time, after the replenishment was completed, the Russian Far East Fleet left the port of Nanpu and headed for Weihaiwei on the other side of the Yellow Sea.

At about 12 noon, the lead ship Sea Scale suddenly noticed a few clusters of black smoke on the sea surface in the southwest direction, and the captain Chen Jiliang climbed to the top of the bridge to look, judging that it was the Russian Far East Fleet.

"Battle alert! Notification from superiors! About 60 nautical miles southeast of Weihaiwei found the Russian Far East Fleet! ”

The Seascale Interrogation Room immediately sent a telegram to the fleet command informing them of the situation of the enemy ships. At the same time, the Seascale raised its battle flag, loaded its main guns, and prepared for battle. Suddenly, the battle horn sounded loudly throughout the ship.

After receiving the telegram from the interrogation room, Wang Shouchang, chief of staff of the Weiyuan, hurried to the captain's room. At this moment, in the captain's room, the fleet's staff officer Gao Erqian was describing the fierce scene of the attack on the Rurik.

“…… In an instant, it was like a hundred lightning and thousands of thunders cracked, making an overwhelming loud noise. Russia, violently shocked, the hull tilted, the flames scorched the sky, and the white smoke covered the sea. The dead bodies were scattered, or they flew to the bottom of the sea, or they scattered the deck, their bones were broken and blood were overflowing, and the smell was foul. Suddenly, the flames engulfed the hull of the ship, and the smoke covered the air......"

"Report! Emergency, discover the Russian Far Eastern Fleet! ”

Wang Shouchang's loud shout suddenly silenced Gao Youqian, and everyone in the room immediately stopped smiling.

Lin Jianzhang took the telegram and glanced at it quickly, and then respectfully handed the telegram to Wang Chenhao with both hands.

Wang Chenhao was stunned for a moment, and then remembered that he was the commander of the Pacific Fleet. When he was in the fleet, Lin Jianzhang was only the deputy commander, so now Lin Jianzhang handed over the telegram to Wang Chenhao and waited for Wang Chenhao to give an order.

Wang Chenhao suddenly got up and said, "Order!" The whole fleet is ready for battle! ”

"Yes!"

The generals stood upright, saluted, and did it in one go.

After fleet commander Wang Chenhao issued the battle order and passed it on to all ships, the entire Pacific Fleet suddenly sounded the alarm.

"Attention everyone! Attention everyone! ”

The radio horns of the ships sounded one after another.

"Immediately enter their respective combat positions and prepare for battle!"

"Repeat."

"Immediately enter their respective combat positions and prepare for battle!"

"This is not a drill!"

"Repeat! This is not a drill! ”

After hearing the announcement, all the officers and men who were undergoing training disbanded one after another and returned to their respective combat posts to make their own combat preparations.

Suddenly, the Pacific Fleet entered a tense and orderly busyness.

Three minutes later, the Pacific Fleet raised the battle flag and the boilers were pressurized. Reserve full firepower and steam for combat operations.

Lawrence, a British correspondent accompanying the ship, wrote: "The sampans have been dismantled by all ships of the Pacific Fleet, which is intended to indicate the fate of the warship, that is, the fate of the crew, the survival of the ship, and the death of the ship." And the fact that our British fighters even acquiesced in this practice can be understood as a model of the Chinese and British armies working together. Of course, I personally think it's because all of them are confident enough to defeat the enemy, so they don't need a sampan to escape at all. In addition, all items such as wood, rigging, and glass, which were useless in battle, were removed from the battleship. Sandbags, which can be three or four feet high, are piled up around the main parts of the deck along the ships. In the cabin where the ventilation duct and ventilation cylinder are salted, the windows and waterproof doors are locked. All crew members are ready for battle, the battle horn is still ringing, and the combat preparations are complete. It can be seen that the Pacific Fleet has become a well-trained elite in just a few months, thanks to the careful training of Admiral Lyons of the British Empire. ……”

The British reporters accompanying the ship were invited by the British Consul General in Shanghai, Jemeisen, to board the ship, and Wang Chenhao also nodded and agreed, intending to publicize the Sino-British cooperation and strengthen the achievements of this honeymoon period between China and Britain.

At half past 12 o'clock, the lead ship Sea Scale once again spotted a few wisps of black smoke, and then saw five or six wisps of black smoke in the distance, so it judged that it was the entire Russian Far East Fleet, and once again issued a report from its superiors: "More than six enemy ships have been found in the northeast direction."

Wang Chenhao, commander of the Pacific Fleet, had already entered the command tower accompanied by Lin Jianzhang, Lyons and others at this time. However, Wang Chenhao's shrewdness lies in the fact that he knows how to use people, and uses the method of asking questions to let Lin Jianzhang and other officers express their opinions, and then he translates words such as "very good" and "reasonable" into his orders.

"Order, according to the original plan, form a longitudinal formation, and march forward vigilantly!"

At 1:12, the Sea Scale completed the pilot ship search mission and was included in the first team. At this time, the fleets of both sides were getting closer and closer. The Russian Far Eastern Fleet also discovered the Sea Scale half an hour earlier and mobilized for battle.

"What a powerful fleet!"

On the Russian [***] ship, Vice Admiral Foucedem, commander of the Russian Far East Fleet, could clearly see through his telescope that on the warships of the Pacific Fleet, there were a mixed battle combination of Qing and British sailors, standing next to various cannons one by one, preparing for this decisive battle to the death.

Vice Admiral Foucajam secretly marveled, he did not expect that the armament of this fleet was very strong, and the mercenaries could show the same strict formation as the regular army. The news of the sinking of the Rurik had already terrified the Russian sailors, and many of them were even more afraid of battle.

Vice Admiral Foucajam saw that the ships of the Pacific Fleet were flying fast, basically exceeding the speed of his own warships of the same type. He knew that the opponent's advantage was speed and firepower. So, he ordered the Russian Far East Fleet to form three battle groups.

The battleship Duke of Edinburgh was at the head of the battle, and the first echelon was formed with the large armored cruisers Admiral Nasimov, Azov and Monomakh, the armored cruisers Donskoy, the Imperial Guard, and Nicholas I formed the second echelon, and the two protective cruisers Vidiaz and Renda and the unprotected cruisers Robber and Manman formed the third echelon.

At 1:20, the three echelons of the Russian Far Eastern Fleet completed the transfer and headed for the Pacific Fleet.

In view of the characteristics of fast ship speed, large number of rapid-fire guns on the side, and fierce firepower, the Pacific Fleet regards the seizure of the "T" prefix and horizontal position by a single column as a magic weapon for victory. At this time, seeing the formation of the Russian fleet, Wang Chenhao decided to take advantage of the speed advantage to maneuver with the enemy fleet first, and wait until the "T" prefix was in a horizontal position to seize the advantage. At the same time, the second squadron, which has the most firepower and the fastest speed, will attack the enemy's weakest third echelon first.

Wang Chenhao's thoughts made Lin Jianzhang and Lyons' eyes suddenly light up, the two of them thought that Wang Chenhao was outstanding in other aspects, but definitely not in naval warfare. But what they don't know is that Wang Chenhao did not stay in vain during the time when he took the Beiyang Naval Division, Ding Ruchang, Deng Shichang and other generals of the Beiyang Naval Division often instilled in him about naval operations, and Wang Chenhao knew the key tactics of naval warfare in this era, as long as he firmly grasped these key tactics, he would not make big mistakes.

"Right full rudder, combat speed!"

At 1:30 a.m., under the order of Captain Du Xigui, the flagship commander of the Second Squadron of the Pacific Fleet, the five large armored cruisers suddenly accelerated from a cruising speed of 10 knots to a combat speed of 21 knots, turned their rudder to the right, and gradually distanced themselves from the First Squadron. At the same time, four cruisers of the third echelon of Russia rushed quickly.

Vice Admiral Foucaeur Jam did not understand the intention of the Pacific Fleet at first, five warships to attack the third echelon, and the remaining two warships would be under siege by the first and second echelons of Russia, which was not a wise way to play. When he was laughing at the stupidity of the opposing commander, he suddenly found that the combat speed of the ships of the second squadron of the Pacific Fleet was as high as 21 knots, while the speed of the four cruisers of the third echelon of the Russian fleet was only about 19 knots due to the aging of equipment, which meant that these four cruisers would not be able to escape in front of the five armored cruisers of the opposing side.

Subsequently, when the first squadron of the Pacific Fleet did not approach the Russian fleet head-on, Vice Admiral Foucajam found that he had overlooked a problem, that is, the speed of the flagship of the Pacific Fleet reached 18 knots, and the speed of the dome cruiser behind it was more than 20 knots, while his own ship, the Duke of Attenborough, was only a pitiful 14 knots. And if he sent other armored cruisers to attack the opponent's ironclad ships alone, it was obvious that he also knew that only battleships could sink battleships, and thought that it was impossible.

"Boom!" There was a loud bang.

At 1:50, when the two fleets approached to 5,000 meters, the third echelon protective cruiser of the Russian Far Eastern Fleet Vidiaz opened fire first.

I saw a cloud of white smoke spit out from the bow gun mount of the ship, and the shells broke through the smoke, shot at the Second Squadron of the Pacific Fleet, and landed on the sea surface about 100 meters on the side of the Yu Yong, and suddenly stirred up a column of water several meters high.

Obviously, the third echelon of the Russian fleet felt a great threat from the second battle group of the Pacific Fleet, so they nervously fired first.

The first shot of the Vidiaz was also the signal for the whole team to attack, and the battle of the Yellow Sea between Qing and Russia kicked off.

"Knock knock!"

Ten seconds later, the four cruisers of the Russian third echelon opened fire one after another, attacking the second squadron of the Pacific Fleet, which was rapidly approaching them.

Immediately afterwards, the ships of the second echelon of the Russian fleet also fired artillery bombardment in unison, and the shells were fired at the first squadron of the Pacific Fleet, which was circling with them.

"Damn, if you fire so far away, can you hit it?"

Vice Admiral Foucaeur was furious, but he didn't have time to curse at the moment, because as soon as the battle began, most of the fleets commanded by the flag could not receive orders, and could only rely on the flagships of the various teams to command in a unified manner.

Here, the Second Squadron of the Pacific Fleet continued to advance rapidly, and Commander Du Xigui strictly ordered all ships not to open fire, but to quickly maneuver to the rear flank of the enemy's third echelon.

Three minutes later, the second squadron of the Pacific Fleet avoided the fire salvo of the third echelon of Russia, and the two sides drove opposite each other. The 2nd Squadron of the Pacific Fleet maneuvered to the flank of the rear of the 3rd echelon of Russia.

"Left rudder, port artillery ready!"

Du Xigui looked at the Russian fleet on the port side from the command tower and seemed to see the scene of the other side about to explode after being hit hard.

"Full rudder left!"

"The port side guns are ready!"

Five minutes later, the second squadron of the Pacific Fleet made a sharp left turn, bitten the last unprotected cruiser of the Russian third echelon, the Manghan, and formed a favorable "T" prefix shooting transverse position against the Manghan by making a quick left turn.

"Fire!"

Seeing the opportunity, Du Xigui immediately ordered the artillery to be fired.

In an instant, two 230-mm 40-diameter main guns, eight 152-mm secondary guns, and eight 88-mm rapid-fire guns opened fire on the side of the Yuyong.

Suddenly, the smoke of gunpowder filled the air, and the sea water boiled.

The unprotected cruiser Manghan is an iron-ribbed wooden shell, with a large caliber of main guns, two 254 mm main guns, similar to the Chaoyong cruiser of the Beiyang Naval Division, and its protection ability is too weak.

In the face of a broadside fire salvo from the Yu Yong in a favorable "T" horizontal position, multiple shells hit the Manghan. In an instant, the hot cannonballs exploded, raising clouds of fiery mushrooms. The heat instantly ignited the shattered wooden planks and caused a fire, and in an instant, black smoke obscured the entire ship.

After the salvo was fired, the four battleships followed by her Brave, Gangyong, Dou Yong and Fen Yong completed a left-turn maneuver one after another, forming a favorable "T" firing position for the Manghan.

"Knock knock!"

"Boom!"

In an instant, countless huge columns of water rose on the surface of the sea, and the sea water splashed and the sea wolves surged.

The rapid-fire cannon shells rained down on the Manghan, instantly turning it into a hornet's nest, riddled with bullets and blazing fire.

A 210-mm main gun shell instantly pierced the unarmored Manman and exploded. Then a 203-mm shell hit the starboard waterline, instantly exploding a hole more than a meter wide. The sea poured into it violently, and the starboard side of the Mandevil quickly tilted, and soon the sea flooded the deck. Seeing that the situation was not good, the Russian sailors immediately jumped into the icy sea and disappeared with the waves.

At the same time that the 2nd Squadron of the Pacific Fleet began shelling the Manghan, the 2nd Squadron of the Russian Far East Fleet also approached directly in front of the Weiyuan, and the two sides launched a fierce artillery bombardment.

The second Russian squadron was an armored cruiser fleet, and the rapid-fire guns were fierce, and the shells poured onto the Weiyuan ironclad ship, sending out bursts of violent explosions. Wang Chenhao's ears were buzzing in the command tower.

However, the caliber of the shells of the Russian armored cruiser was small, and it was impossible to penetrate the heavy armor of the ironclad ship Weiyuan. In turn, the 240-mm Ghanaian guns of the fortress-like Weiyuan let out a roar, and the shells fired at the Russian ship, which suddenly exploded violently, causing heavy damage to the enemy ship.

In front of the ironclads, the armored cruisers clearly suffered.

Seeing the strong artillery fire of the Weiyuan, the Russian second team hurriedly led the team to turn the rudder to the left and accelerated to evade. And the first team of the Pacific Fleet did not fall in love with them, relying on the speed advantage, as much as possible to avoid the exchange of fire with the Russian first-echelon ironclad Duke Attenborough.

The Weiyuan led the Sea Scale to turn the rudder to the right and continued to point at the Russian ship with its bow. The three Ghanaian guns in the bow of the Weiyuan were able to attack the enemy ship from the bow, while the armored cruiser Nicholas I, located in the second half of the second echelon of the Russian ships, was slow and lagged far behind. In this way, the Nicholas I was fiercely attacked by the Weiyuan, and the Seascale also poured its broadside artillery fire on the Nicholas I, inflicting heavy damage on the opponent.

However, when the first squadron of the Pacific Fleet attacked the Nicholas I, because of the right turn, the first echelon of Russia turned left and shortened the distance between the two sides.

Vice Admiral Foucajam immediately seized the opportunity to launch a fierce attack, and the ships of the first echelon bombarded the Weiyuan with their right wing guns, and the Sea Scale with their left wing guns.

"Boom!"

The Duke of Attenborough's 305-millimeter gun finally had a chance to vent, and the shells weighing 300 kilograms roared in, hitting the sea and immediately setting off huge waves hundreds of meters high.

Wang Chenhao really looked at it from the inside of the command tower, and a cold sweat suddenly broke out on his forehead. Although the Weiyuan was not afraid of the enemy's armored cruiser artillery strikes, in the face of 305-mm shells, even the conning tower would be pierced.

At 2:15, the No. 8 gun position of Weiyuan was hit by the main gun of the Duke of Attenborough, and in an instant, the mountains shook like a mountain, and Wang Chenhao stumbled and was almost shaken.

"Damn! Isn't the accuracy of the Russian artillery bad either! ”

"Report! Gun emplacement 8 is destroyed! ”

"Left rudder 20, evade immediately!"

The Weiyuan couldn't withstand this kind of blow, and Wang Chenhao immediately ordered to avoid it. Continue with the initial tactics and use the speed advantage to distance the Duke of Attenborough and avoid the main gun attack of the Duke of Attenbourg. Seeing that the Weiyuan turned around, the Sea Scale also made an emergency U-turn. After all, the Sea Scale could not withstand the bombardment of 305 mm guns.

The Weiyuan and the Sea Scale urgently evaded the fire attack of the enemy's first echelon and rushed to the periphery.

At this time, thick smoke billowed on the surface of the sea, and the huge waves stirred up by the shells obscured the view.

The emergency evasion of the first squadron of the Pacific Fleet happened to collide with the lead ship of the Russian third-echelon cruiser Vidiaz, which was evading the attack of the second squadron of the Pacific Fleet.

Needless to say, when the two sides met, they opened fire fiercely.

The Vidiaz had only two 200 mm guns in the bow, while the Weiyuan had three 240 mm guns, and after a face-to-face fire, the Weidiaz's armor blocked the 200 mm shells fired by the Vidiaz, but the Weidiaz's bow armor was less than 80 mm and was instantly hit by a 240 mm shell from the Weiyuan.

With a loud "boom", the bow deck of the Vidiaz was suddenly blown apart, the huge windlass flew into the sky, the anchor chain was blown off, and the main gun turret was also half a meter too high because of the deformation of the deck base below, like a big scalp shoe with an open mouth in front.

The Vidiaz hurriedly turned to the left, evading the Weiyuan's artillery fire. At the same time, the Weiyuan was also evading the artillery attack of the Duke of Attenborough from the other side, and the two ships avoided in the southeast direction at the same time, and fired at each other with broadside guns. The Vidiaz's broadside guns were unable to hurt the Weiyuan, so they continued to turn to avoid it.

At the same time, the Seascale, which was making a turn behind the Weiyuan, ran into the Renda, which was turning behind the Vidiaz.

Both ships were dome armor protection cruisers, and when they encountered, they immediately wanted to fire at each other as if they were fateful enemies. Since the two ships were less than 1,000 meters apart, the artillery battle between them immediately became white-hot, and a fierce 'white-knuckle battle' broke out between the warships. The reason why it is called 'white-knuckle combat' is because the battleships are too close to each other, and they can all see the opponent's gunners, and all the guns are fired directly. The rapid-fire cannon rained down on the enemy frantically.

"Boom!"

The two sides fired at each other at any cost, causing their respective warships to explode and catch fire, and at such a close distance, even small-caliber guns had enough energy to penetrate the dome armor protection.

The sailors on both sides were frenzied, and the rumbling sound of the cannon had already deafened their ears, supported only by a pair of blood-red eyes and a will to defeat the other.

In just a few minutes, hundreds of shells were poured on both sides, and the sides of the two ships engaged were in a sea of fire, with heavy casualties.

However, the British shooters on the Sea Scale were still more skilled than the Russian shooters on the Renda, and the Sea Scale had six more rapid-fire guns on the side of the Sea Scale, and in the end, this slight advantage forced the Renda to turn around first, and the Sea Scale won the first round of the white-knuckle battle.

The five warships of the Second Squadron of the Pacific Fleet formed a "T" prefix firing position to attack the unprotected cruiser Manghan at the rear of the Russian Third Fleet, creating an absolute firepower superiority in some areas. After being besieged for 8 minutes, the Reckless Man sank unwillingly.

Subsequently, the second squadron of the Pacific Fleet accelerated its turn and made a circle from the starboard side of the third echelon of the Russian echelon to the port position. At this time, the Vidiaz was hit by the Weiyuan, the bow of the ship was in a sea of fire, and the thick smoke made the Vidiaz unable to discern the direction, and after being forced by the Weiyuan to turn two corners in a row, it actually hit the starboard gun of the Yuyong.

"Knock knock!"

The starboard side of the Yuyong suddenly fired a volley, and the shells were overwhelmingly fired at the Vidiaz. The port side of the Vidiaz was hit by numerous bullets, and there was a sea of fire. Immediately after that, the Courage behind the Brave ran into the Vidiaz and immediately gave her a fierce blow, causing countless casualties on the Vidiaz and destroying many gun emplacements.

At 2:35, the Vidyaz made an emergency turn to the right to avoid it, but the Reynda behind it also accelerated to the right to avoid the attack of the Sea Scale, and as a result, the bow impact angle of the Reynda slammed into the starboard side of the Vidiaz. Five minutes later, the Vidiaz sank.

(To be continued)