Tsarist Russia at the end of the nineteenth century was full of decay from top to bottom. Constrained by the remnants of serfdom, almost all of the high-ranking officers of the Russian army were from the aristocracy. The promotion of officers is not based on military merit or ability, but on the basis of birth and blood, and power. They were more likely to be promoted in luxury hotels, the Petersburg office, and the palace chambers than on the battlefield.

The entire Russian military top brass is full of the kind of bastards who are uneducated and self-serving. But no matter how ridiculous they are, they can still hold important positions. Countless people have the greatest ability to make sycophants, embezzlement and theft, but they are not very interested in military affairs, and some people even don't know anything at all!

Russian officers are rarely willing to serve in combat units, but prefer administrative organs such as the quartermaster department, the excise tax bureau, the police station, the border guards, and the gendarmerie. All in all, where there is enough oil and water, there is enough work, and the management is loose, there is Xu. Even some officers of the army, openly taking women and champagne to the front.

The Navy is a costly, well-paid service, and those who are captains and principal officers usually get more benefits. Therefore, it is not surprising that a large number of people from aristocratic backgrounds who exude the atmosphere of decay and decadence are mixed in.

Up to now, the military strength of the Tsarist Russian Navy is almost on par with Germany, and it is okay to say that it is the second in the world, and the quality of the warships is not very bad, but the combat effectiveness and will to fight are really not very good. The reason why it can deter European countries is nothing more than that there are enough armies supported by a huge body. If you want to talk about the combat effectiveness of specific troops, it is really not very strong. It's okay to bully and bully the Qing army, which is worse than them, but when it comes to Japan's lifeless poverty. It's easy to show timidity.

Before this expedition. The Russian upper echelons were very unimpressed by the feedback from the Far East. They feel that Cassini and others are exaggerating and deliberately making the situation in China too bad in order to shirk the responsibility for the lack of results in their diplomatic work. More people are interested in the opportunity to take advantage of the fire and loot, and to obtain the huge colonies and ice-free ports of the Far East without much effort, and then to obtain the connection of the Far Eastern Railway, which is an important goal related to the great future of the empire.

As a result, there was a fierce competition in the personnel of the commander of the Pacific Navy. And finally, Yevgeny? Ivanovic? Alekseev, the illegitimate son of Alexander II, distinguished himself with the glorious mission of leading a fleet of 30,000 kilometers to Asia.

It's really not that simple to run down this lap. The performance of the battleship of this year is there. If you are not careful, you may capsize under the sudden attack of wind and waves, and you will never come back.

No matter how luxuriously decorated the battleship is, limited to technical conditions, environmental improvement measures such as ventilation, moisture-proofing, and cooling are not effective, even if it is a special cabin for the commander of the fleet, it is necessary to be cold in winter and hot and humid in summer, and it is smoky and smoky.

So it's a chore. However, compared to the merits that are about to be established and the prestige gained, it is worth suffering a little. In addition, now there is the Tianjin American Concession, the most shining pearl in the Far East, which is said to be the world's most luxurious and gorgeous place of pleasure. How wonderful.

The idea was really good, and the Russian Maozi confidently followed the coalition forces together. Knowing that the British did not want to see them, they had to take advantage of the fire to rob, and they came in a hurry. But what they saw in front of them almost scared them out!

Alikseyev was in command of the Chesma, and he saw with his own eyes that the huge battleships of the British were bombarded to pieces one by one, and the whole process did not even take half an hour! From beginning to end, the "Dingyuan" neither changed direction nor slowed down, just went on a rampage, firing from a distance and racing all the way, destroying and decaying everywhere it passed, and no one could stop it!

After killing along the way, the battleships encountered along the way were all unlucky, and they didn't even have a chance to maneuver, so they were killed and wounded, especially the four battleships of the British, who couldn't stop them for a single round!

What a terrible fighting power!

The Russian Maozi, who itself seems to be weak in strength, is completely frightened! Alekseev swallowed wildly and hurriedly ordered the fleet to evade, but he did not expect that the French were less disciplined than them! Simply dodge left and right to give way to the front, completely exposing its ass to the trap of the two warships in Dingzhen!

Seeing that the "Dingyuan" was not interested in pursuing the French at all, and did not clean up the remaining British battleships, but went straight to his side, Alexiev angrily scolded: "Damn French bastards, they are all going to hell!" God will not forgive them for their shameless betrayal, cowards, they have lost Napoleon's face ......! ”

But swearing doesn't solve the problem, and even if the French hear it, they will never turn back to help, but they will run faster. These European countries were originally chaotic relations with broken bones and tendons, hostile to each other and colluding with each other, and the key depends on who they want to deal with. But when it comes to the critical moment, it must be a catastrophe to fly separately!

The deputy, who was frightened, asked in a panic: "General! What are we going to do? The combat effectiveness of the Chinese battleships was so strong that even the British could not resist it, and we ....... ”

Before he could say anything, Alikseev was furious: "Bastard, you mean to make me surrender, right? The great Tsarist Russian Navy, surrendering to the inferior Chinese? How could you come up with such a ridiculous idea?! ”

A young staff officer next to him was deeply encouraged and vigorously echoed: "That's right! We can't just throw in the towel! Wars are never won by anyone with more advanced weapons! No matter how strong the Chinese battleship seems, he always has weaknesses. If it is a battleship, it will definitely be sunk by artillery, as long as we bravely pounce on it and inflict heavy damage on it with a superior number of artillery, it is not impossible! ”

Alikseev nodded appreciatively at the young officer, as if his name was what? Oh, it's Alexander. Vasilyevich. Kolchak, a top student who graduated from the St. Petersburg Maritime Youth Corps, seems to be only twenty-one years old this year.

What a wonderful age!

Looking at this angular and determined-eyed young man, Alikseev seemed to see himself thirty years ago. At that time, he was also full of fighting spirit, and he couldn't immediately lead hundreds of warships to conquer the seven seas and expand his territory. The Great Tsarist Russian Navy. There is a successor!

His eyes glanced disdainfully at the pale faces of the noble officers. His Excellency raised his bearded chin. "The glorious Imperial Russian Navy will not run away without a fight!" Passing on my order, the whole fleet turned the rudder to the right thirty degrees at full speed, formed an arc array with the flagship as the center, and used the starboard gun to meet the enemy's attack! Act now! ”

He definitely didn't say that he was still maneuvering in the direction of the northward escape, which sounded like he was going to fight the enemy as heroically. At least when Kolchak's junior staff officer heard it, he was so excited that he couldn't go to the front to replace the gunner.

Led by the battleship "Chesma", plus two battleships of the "Alexander II class" turned one after another. The amplitude seemed like a bit large, and it was actually quite dangerous for their clumsy ships. But I can't help it, I can't take risks now! The pursuit came too fast!

At this time, the overall speed of the Russian fleet was barely 14 knots, and except for the three capital ships, the rest of the frigates were almost at full capacity. In such a situation, Cheng Dù, who maneuvered too violently, and the tilt of the ship's hull made people worry about whether they would fall down with their heads and their belly capsized with their bellies facing the sky!

However, it seemed that luck was not bad, and with the negligible effect of the whole ship running to the port side to ballast the balance, they finally turned the corner. Listening to the creaking of the battleship with trepidation, there was no trouble on it.

But that's just when the maneuver was completed. The "Dingyuan" has completed its turn, and the bow is rushing towards the center of the arc-shaped formation of the Russian fleet, seven or eight kilometers away, and it is firing violently!

Two 305mm shells whistled in, passing the "Nicholas I" in third place and landing a few hundred meters to its left, and the colorful water column that exploded clearly reflected the clumsy figure. Knowing that the captain of the sea combat ship trembled with fright, such a precise range, it was only a matter of time before he hit them!

Run, can't run! The speed difference is too much! They have already exerted their strength to eat, but they can only barely do so, and people seem to have no pressure at all, saying that acceleration is speeding - when did the Chinese warships advance to such a distance?

But it's not just him who complains, the "Dingyuan" is not only the front main gun fired, but the secondary guns on both wings are not idle, scrambling to be the first to bloom on both sides!

There were many Russian warships in a semi-circular formation, and the "Dingyuan", which embedded itself in the middle, did not care at all about the possibility of being beaten by a group, and the main guns moved forward, and the three 152mm secondary guns on each side locked on a target and fired one after another.

The three guns on the starboard side were aimed at the most conspicuous "Chesma", and the three test firing shots fell into the water one after another, and exploded not far from the ship, marking a more accurate number of coordinates jù, and quickly adjusted the pitch angle of the gun, and when the main gun was fired for the second time, they fired one after another, and each fired six shells in one breath!

This kind of rapid-fire mode of play is something that the navies of various countries dream of but are difficult to do. Even with rapid-fire guns, the theoretical speed of hitting does not take into account the accuracy at all, and it is impossible to ensure both the rate of fire and the range of the landing point. But today, they all opened their eyes!

A large group of shells and hail also seemed to fall one after another, and a continuous column of water suddenly rose around the battleship "Chesma", and a single shell hit the bow of the ship, and the huge iron anchor hanging in mid-air was actually blown up in the air, tumbling and rolling under the horrified gaze of everyone, and smashed down the starboard side!

Aleksayev even heard the creaking of the outer armor being scraped!

His Excellency the General couldn't put on an awe-inspiring posture anymore, his beard shook, and he urged again and again: "Open the cannon!" Hurry up and fire with all your might to stop that guy from rushing over! ”

There is no need for him to shout, the cannons on the ship can't wait to roar!

The artillery deployment of the "Catherine II" battleship is very peculiar, the front two twin main guns are on both sides of the mainmast, and the third is on the center line of the aft deck, which is displayed in a zigzag shape. This ensures that no matter where the fire is fired, there will be at least two four 305mm guns.

Seven other 152mm secondary guns, three on the left and right, and one with one sticking out of the stern, ideally four of them firing at the same time.

Now, four main guns and three secondary guns are fired together, scrambling to shoot shells at the vague "Dingyuan" in the distance, which looks like they are going to bombard the opponent strongly, but in essence...... Purely for their own courage.

Yes, even the British, who had the highest level of naval warfare these days, wanted to hit the target from a distance of seven or eight thousand meters. It all depends on whether the god of luck takes care of them. It also depends on whether the home-made cannon is powerful. It's obvious. The Russians have never been known for their precision in making weapons, they are not as good as the British, and they are not as good as the Germans.

The roar of the seven cannons was spectacular, and the two battleships that followed closely behind were not far behind, and their firepower looked even fiercer than the former! The twin 305mm guns on the foredeck, two 228mm guns and four 152mm guns on the side of the board were firing together, and eight guns were spitting shells at the same time. If such ferocious firepower were placed within a thousand meters, it would certainly be an unprecedented and violent means of attack.

But what is the effect when it is too far away?

On the "Dingyuan", which was steadily advancing, Liu Buyun calmly faced the rising water columns around him, and said with a contemptuous smile: "The level of the Russians is much worse than that of the Japanese!" There are so many strong ships and cannons in the air, but they don't have much effect. The will to fight is far from it! ”

Jiao Hai was a little speechless for his contemptuous attitude, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, and finally he was embarrassed to squirt. I muttered in my heart: "When you were guarding a pile of broken copper and iron. I'm afraid I wouldn't dare to think about it, right? It was really in the naval battle at that time that he encountered such three huge ships. I'm afraid the Beiyang sailors can only cry. If you fire seven or eight kilometers away, you can still hit someone, this kind of good thing did you dare to think before? ”

Of course, the face must be saved for the old-timers, but he just didn't hear it, and continued to observe the movements of the enemy ships silently.

It was still scary for all the Russian ships to fire together, but their cannons were too slow to catch up with not only the Japanese but also the British before them. In this way, seven or eight warships joined forces to open fire, and the shells that came from each minute were only a few dozen rounds, and they were all messy and unorthodox.

In the panic, the command seemed to be a mess, the battleships were fighting separately, and the coordination of the main guns and auxiliary guns was not good enough, and the result was that when the main guns fired, either the smoke raised would block the line of sight of the secondary guns, or the salvo of multiple guns brought about the roll of the hull to affect the aiming, and the shells fired out by the guide were not accurate at all, and they didn't know where to fly.

However, they didn't expect to be able to hit, and even a shot was earned. The attention of the big guys is staring at the movement of the flagship in front of them, and the speed of running north is not going to fall in the slightest.

Since then, hundreds of shells have been fired out in a row, and almost no hair has been injured on the "Dingyuan."

On the contrary, the "Dingyuan" was in a steady burst of fire, but in just a few minutes, I saw three battleships aimed in the distance burst into significant fire one after another, and exploded gorgeously!

The "Chesma" was washed by seven 152mm shells in a row, the chimney was blown up, two legs of the main mast were blown off, two secondary guns were scrapped, and the main turret in the right front was killed and wounded by grenade fragments, temporarily paralyzing. The worst thing was that it caused a fire, forcing them to send people out to take risks to put out the fire, and then they were continuously killed and injured by more and more accurate grenades, and for a time the flesh and blood on the deck were scattered, so miserable!

The "Nicholas I" in the back is even worse! She was hit by two 305mm armor-piercing shells, one of which hit from the waterline, and the explosion destroyed the 228mm secondary gun in the right front, causing the ammunition to explode and blowing half of the bow into pieces, and half of the people on the ship were stunned at that time!

Another shell slammed into the deck, nearly crossing the entire upper deck, but eventually the explosion tore a large crack in the port side stab, and the fragments swept across the aft mast and the lower compartment, killing not only one main engine, but also dozens of lives.

All in all, the ship is finished.

The three secondary guns on the port side of the "Dingyuan" were also captured, but an old cruiser pierced several holes one after another, tore through the waterline armor guide and violently flooded the hull of the ship, and then the shells that leaned up almost washed the upper deck!

At this time, the distance between the two sides was also shortened to about 5,000 meters, and the accuracy of the "Dingyuan" was greatly improved, and in the next salvo, the "Alexander II", which was shot second, exploded chrysanthemums on the spot! An armor-piercing bullet pierced the stern, damaging one of the main shafts, and the inside of the cabin exploded, and the scene of steel parts spraying together was spectacular!

Commander Alexeyev's backbone evaporated in an instant! Regardless of decency, he shouted again and again: "Speed up! Accelerated with all your strength and retreated straight ahead...... Damn the Chinese battleships, they are simply possessed by Satan! ”

Young Kolchak's eyes almost burst into flames, and his chest was almost choked with humiliation and anger. But he was helpless, as soon as his identity was not in the stream at all, he was not qualified to give advice to the general. Besides, he also knew that even if he said it, what could he do? This war is lost, and the difference in strength between the two sides is too great!

"We must find out how the Chinese are so strong, and then completely defeat them and wash away the shame!"

Kolchak clenched his fists and swore to himself.

However, at this moment, the "Zhenyuan" that came from the other side had successfully killed the closer! Far away, the guy fired four main guns one after another, blowing up one of the Russian cruisers that was dragging behind, and then crossed the tail of the battle formation at close range, sweeping over another ship and crippling it. Then, maneuver to the left at full throttle and fiercely intercept the front of the Russian army!

At the same time, the "Dingyuan" also slowed down and maneuvered, chasing the "Chesma" to the north, and an hour later, the two battleships and the French surrounded the front and rear.

Under the threat of unbeatable artillery, the two arrogant bandit groups finally had to bow their heads, hoist the white flag and surrender. (To be continued......)