Dalian in September, autumn is high and cool. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

In September, the Drake Passage was raging with a cold and cold wind, and icebergs were scattered in the southernmost strait of the earth, in the air, I don't know whether it was blown from the iceberg or the snowflakes falling from the sky fluttering, this is the harshest climate strait on the earth, and it is also the most dangerous strait.

Between the hundreds of icebergs, a fleet painted white sailed at an even speed among the icebergs, the speed of the fleet was extremely fast, only about eighteen knots, and this speed was undoubtedly high for the fleet passing through here - not even a warship had ever passed through here at such a high speed, but they seemed to have been accustomed to sailing here.

On the mast of each battleship, there are a number of lookouts observing the surrounding sea conditions, they are always constantly sending signals to adjust the course of the battleship, at this time, this stretch of white fleet under the guidance of the lookout, in the iceberg of the sailor, the fleet is white, there are some snowflakes on the hull, snow and white paint, making this huge fleet look like a floating iceberg.

This is an iceberg!

An iceberg of steel and will, and now, the task of this iceberg is very simple - they want to block the Russian Second Pacific from entering the Pacific Ocean in the Le Maire Strait.

As the captain of the armored cruiser "Jibo", Luo Ziwei looked extremely leisurely at this time, in Han Che's eyes, he was a guy with a seemingly numb personality, among all the captains of the entire fleet, he was the only one who never worried about naval warfare. In his words.

"There is a commander to command. There is a chief of staff to plan. There are instructors to supervise, and as for me, a little captain, well, just worry about the training of this ship! ”

Yes, it's called doing their part, and if everybody can do that, then they won't fail. Many wars have been lost precisely because not everyone has done their part.

As now, he left the bridge and wandered on the deck like an idler, and the reason why he had this leisure was simple—it seemed to him that there was still a long time before the outbreak of naval battle, and now all he needed was to relax, if there was any sun. He might even consider putting a deck chair on the aft deck and basking in the sun there. Just as he turned the cruiser "Changchun" into a "private yacht" -- fishing at sea.

Of course, he wouldn't do that now, at most when he looked at the snow-capped mountains in the distance, and a thought would pop up in his heart - would it be a good memorial to take a picture of the iceberg?

Just as he was thinking nonsense, a command interrupted his thoughts.

"Stand upright!"

As they passed the front turret, the sailors, who were making final preparations for the battle, saluted when they saw the commander. Everyone in the fleet on the icy sea looked the same, because they were given the same warm clothing—a heavy navy coat, which was bound to be taken off when the battle began, and in fact in the past they were only wearing slightly thin autumn clothes, and even then, at the end of an exercise, their bodies were drenched with sweat.

In times of war, soldiers are not required to salute, and even the finger touch salute commonly used in navigation can be omitted. However, when these sailors saw the captain, they still nodded their heads.

The respect of the sailors made Luo Ziwei, who was the captain of the ship, nod lightly and saluted in return,

"How's it going, brethren, nervous?"

Looking at the water in front of him with a smile, Luo Ziwei changed his past statement, but changed to a more intimate tone similar to that of the army.

Seeing that no one spoke, Luo Ziwei just smiled, and on the hull on the side, he saw the six characters written by someone with a pen and the tail of the turret.

"I die for the country, my ear!"

Looking at those six words, Luo Ziwei nodded and patted the shoulder of the artillery commander beside him.

"Ear! I'll do my job! ”

Just do your job!

With that, he left the deck and returned to the bridge, where the telegraph officer's report came.

"Sir, Fleet Commander Command!"

The same telegram was transmitted to every warship of the fleet, and at the same time as the telegram was transmitted, the battleship "Jinghai", the flagship bridge of this fleet, Li Weizhong held the telegram he had just received, and stood in front of the microphone with a solemn expression.

"All of them! Attention! ”

As Li Weizhong's standard Nanjing official dialect sounded in the loudspeaker, the sailors who were originally busy stood up one after another.

"Dashuai Dian! Soldiers of the Zhenyang Fleet! ”

Li Weizhong's shouts echoed inside the ship, thanks to the invention of the cone horn by the China Electric Company five years ago based on the principle of telephone microphones, which made it possible to transmit and amplify sound through wires, and the military undoubtedly became the first department to adopt the horn, becoming the adopter of new technology.

"The rise and fall of the country depends on this war! All as one, work hard! ”

The text of the telegram sent by the marshal was very simple, only sixteen words, but it was enough to stir everyone's heartstrings, the success or failure of this battle was related to the fate of the country, no battle had ever been given such honor, and there had never been so few people to achieve such glory.

Putting away the telegram, his expression was even more solemn because of these sixteen words, Li Weizhong took a deep breath and continued.

"The telegram of the great commander is believed to have inspired the loyalty of all the soldiers who are brave and good at fighting! Indeed, the key to victory or defeat in this battle that gambles on the fate of the country's rise and fall lies in the soldiers who are full of honor and self-confidence. ”

Now, any mobilization for war is meaningless, and all he needs now is to inform, in the simplest of words, that "97 years ago Nelson ordered the Z-flag to be raised at Trafalgar!" The fortune of Britain has been unshakeable for a hundred years! Today we will also raise the "Z" flag to attack the Imperial Russian Navy! ”

At the Battle of Trafalgar, Nelson raised the "Z" flag as he led a weaker fleet into an enemy column, which at that time meant "Britain expects everyone to do their duty." "In the midst of that glorious naval battle. The British fleet commanded by Nelson completely defeated Napoleon's combined Franco-Spanish fleet. He himself paid with his life. It was his greatest victory. It was also his final victory.

From now on. The British Royal Navy on the "Z" flag. I have a special affection for the banner of the last letter of the twenty-four letters. It was also at this time that began, under the influence of the British, the navies of the world. There is always a resonant mood towards Nelson, Trafalgar, and the "Z-flag......

After the "Z" flag, there is nothing else! According to the old Chinese saying, this is a shipwreck!

As soon as Li Weizhong's voice fell, the commanders on each ship repeated the commander's instructions. The entire fleet immediately resounded over the ground, and tens of thousands of people roared like a tide at the same time.

"Swear to serve the country!"

Swear to serve the country!

Four simple words, expressing the mood of the admirals, perhaps, they are just a team of navies that have been established for only ten years in the world, such as toddlers, "beginners", they may be despised, or in the eyes of the navies of the great powers, "just a group of babies with big toys", but they will prove themselves through their own actions!

Then the "Jinghai" raised the "Z-shaped flag", and the diagonal four-color triangular ground flag fluttered in the sea breeze. Ninety-seven years ago, in the rough waters of Trafalgar, when the British fleet fought a decisive battle with the Faw-Spanish fleet, Nelson's flagship also flew the flagship. And today, the Chinese Navy also raised this "Z-shaped flag" from Narna.

The "Z" flag is the greatest battle flag in the Navy!

When the Z-shaped flag fluttered over the flagship, all the soldiers heard the voice -- the soldiers should fulfill their duties in this battle.

"Not at this speed!"

Again. In the staff room, Masayuki Hakuyama's eyes were staring at the chart, and at this time, after the fleet attacked, his spirit, which had become a little neurotic in the past days, finally returned to normal, he pointed to the map and said.

"At the current speed of 20 knots, it will be difficult for us to reach the expected rendezvous point at the same time as the Russian Navy passes through the Le Maire Strait!"

The so-called meeting point, in fact, is the island of Estados, opposite Tierra del Fuego, which is the first ambush circle, where the fleet will first inflict a fatal blow on the Russian Second Pacific Fleet.

But now, the plan has changed because the Russians have been discovered too late, and if the fleet does not reach the intended location before the Russians pass through the strait, the whole naval battle may not develop as they envisioned, and more importantly, a sharp "war of annihilation" will most likely turn into a pursuit war.

"Then what do you think......"

Han Che looked at Akiyama and the corners of his lips raised.

"Cruisers!"

Throw the pencil that represents the cruiser out of the course, Akiyama continued.

"The Zhenbo class is very fast, with an average speed of more than 25 knots, and I think they can be dispatched first!"

Divide the troops!

The suggestion of dividing the troops made Li Weizhong's brows jump suddenly, there is only so much power in his hands, if he still has to divide the troops.

"Your Excellency, this is the only way to do it now, and then the division of forces, we also have an advantage, only if the cruiser fleet arrives here first, the plan can be fully implemented......"

After analyzing the pros and cons one by one, Li Weizhong, who finally frowned, knocked on the chart table and said in a deep voice.

"Divide the troops!"

Divide the troops!

When the order to divide the troops was issued to the "Zhenbo" and reached the hands of Huang Zhongying, the commander of the cruiser, he just nodded calmly.

"Reply to the captain of the fleet, my fleet has received orders!"

When ordering the flag officer to issue the flag message, Wang Wei looked at the commander who was not alarmed and said in a deep voice.

"Your Excellency! In that case, we need to be prepared for at least two hours! ”

Two hours, for the next two hours, they have to be mentally prepared to be eight against ten, no!

To be precise, within two hours of the start of the battle, they had to be prepared to fight the entire 2nd and 3rd Pacific Fleets with eight armored cruisers, and this disparity in strength was almost fatal.

"It should be three to four hours!"

Huang Zhongying said in an extremely calm tone.

"In the engagement, the speed of the Russian fleet will be slower, and the naval battle will drag on longer, which means that we must be prepared for a long engagement!"

The cruiser fleet has only eight "wave-class" armored cruisers, eight "prefecture-class" armored cruisers, and six "county" class destroyers, while in comparison, the strength of the Russian fleet cannot but be said to be strong, with ten combat ships, two first-class armored cruisers, four second-class cruisers, seven third-class cruisers, and eight auxiliary ships and 10 destroyers.

In fact, if the Zhenyang fleet did not divide its forces, the Zhenyang fleet would have an advantage over it, but now once the troops are divided, the situation will immediately be completely different.

"But...... Doesn't seem like a big deal! ”

When Huang Zhongying, who seemed to be calm, said this, his breathing became a little short, this was because he was too excited, perhaps, he failed to become the commander of the Zhenyang Fleet as he wished, but he got a chance, a chance to start this naval battle, all he needed was to drag the Russians and lead the Russians to the second ambush point.

Everything is not bad!

Huang Zhongying silently thought in his heart, and at the same time, he ordered the cruiser fleet to leave the fleet and sail in another direction, if you look at it from the air, you can see that the original sailing fleet has become an upside-down "herringbone" at this time, heading in two directions.

"Speed up to 25 knots!"

After receiving the order, Luo Ziwei immediately gave the order calmly, and when he finally left the battlefleet, his eyes once again looked at the Zhenhai, Dinghai and other ships, looking at the mighty battleships, and muttered to himself in his heart, now it is their turn to do their duty!

Despite the firepower of the "Wave-class" armored cruiser with the firepower of a second-class capital ship, his armor was known to be weak, and now, this group of cuirassiers was going to challenge the Russian heavy cavalry, and when his mind became heavy, the words of the navigator suddenly sounded in the bridge.

"Sir, the flagship sends out the flag!"

The flagship sends out the flag!

When the "Jinghai" issued the flag, the entire cruiser fleet saw it, and the flagship issued the flag was very simple -- "China requires each of you to fulfill your duties!" ”

A simple flag signal, when the sun jumped out of the dark clouds for the dark clouds, a seemingly huge fleet of troops divided into two ways, sailing towards an unknown fate, only the flag fluttering in the wind, silently conveyed the final request to the sailors - "China requires each of you to fulfill your duties!" (To be continued.) )