As early as the Ming Dynasty, Chinese fishermen went to South China to fish in the South China Sea, and among the thousands of islands, reefs, beaches and sands in the South China Sea, there are dozens of small islands or reefs that can be sheltered from the wind, and these sheltered islands and reefs have always been stored in the minds of old fishermen.

Torpedo boats have never had the ability to sail far, and even torpedo boats of more than 100 tons could not sail to the ocean because of their low freeboard and limited fuel, not to mention that most of the torpedo boats commonly used by various countries had a tonnage of less than 100 tons.

However, for the Chinese Navy, those torpedo boats of about 100 tons are no less than large torpedo boats, and most of the torpedo boats equipped by the Imperial Navy are designed and manufactured by Ma'anshan Shipyard after the liberation, and the lake-class torpedo boats are wooden-hulled and steel-ribbed speedboats, with a full tonnage of only more than 50 tons, although the tonnage is limited, thanks to the high-power diesel engine that other countries do not have, it still makes it reach a high speed of 34 knots, and can carry 4 torpedoes, small size, fast speed, and strong armament, and it is precisely because of this that the ship-based torpedo boat surprise attack was achieved." Izumo".

However, this kind of small torpedo boat was originally used for coastal defense, and it was by no means an ocean-going voyage, otherwise the waves would have crashed it into the deep sea, but a few days ago, the naval torpedo boat unit stationed in southern Taiwan received a sudden order to move to the South China Sea.

In the face of this order, the officers and men who were originally gearing up and preparing to do a big job in the Luzon Strait naturally felt very sudden, and it may have been a bit of a mixture of joy and sorrow for them personally.

But in the face of the order, no one wavered, but not so excited, in their past drills again and again, they have long forgotten how to evacuate the battlefield after launching an attack, and the most important thing for them is to deliver the most fatal blow to the enemy ship at the nearest distance, after the torpedo boat has been hoisted and fixed by the merchant ship, on the merchant ship. The captain of each torpedo boat repeatedly enumerated to his subordinates the old and new enmities between China and Japan, in an effort to make them share the same hatred and thus raise morale.

Eventually, after a few days of sailing, the torpedo boats were lowered and led by the old fishermen into the Spratly Islands, a small island or reef where fishing boats could shelter from the storm. Prior to this, the Navy General Staff had set up high-power receivers and telegraphs in the South China Sea, built simple observation posts, and appeared in front of the captains of new charts.

In the following days, the torpedo boats moored in the small islands and reefs repeatedly carried out acclimatization training in the nearby sea area, until a storm last night, the torpedo boat team anchored in the small island reef and stopped their sea training, but this did not stop their daily training.

"What a storm"

Second Lieutenant Wang Duqiu, who was exhausted from briefings at the attack team's operational meetings and repeated consultations, came to the beach, outside the reef. sea

The wind roared and the waves slammed into the small reef. Under the strict control of the lights, the black shadows of the torpedo boats in the reef swayed incessantly, making the hair stand on end, this is the 13 torpedo boats belonging to the third squadron, at this time, rows of large waves from the mouth of the reef bay continue to surge, impacting the torpedo boats, stirring up white waves on the side of the ship, and the torpedo tubes on the side of the ship, at this time seem so silent, but anyone understands that once it is its turn to wield, even the battleship needs to be careful.

"With such a big wind and waves, if the boat is at sea, it can't come back."

Tian Jianqiang said to Wang Duqiu next to him. As the captain of the 3rd Torpedo Boat Squadron, he knew that if the order was given now, even if the waves on the sea were ten or eight meters high, he would have to command the troops to attack without hesitation.

"On this day, not to mention torpedo boats, even destroyers are coming and it seems a little troublesome."

Originally, the attack mission in the South China Sea should have been completed by destroyers with a larger tonnage of about 1,000 tons, while the torpedo boats with the smallest tonnage should have launched a surprise attack on the enemy fleet in the Luzon Strait under the guidance of searchlights.

According to the plan, three squadrons of 39 torpedo boats, in groups of three, launched 13 waves of attacks, regardless of the effect, after completing the attack, they would retreat. After their retreat, the 39 torpedo boats of the 2nd Group would attack again with the same tactics, and after two attacks, the torpedo boat force would complete its mission. ,

But now, this small torpedo boat is about to attack in this deep ocean, and in the past few days of seaworthiness training, they have also experienced the waves of the South China Sea to some extent.

"The wind and waves in the South China Sea are really fierce"

Tian Jianqiang muttered. He muttered to himself that if the sea in the South China Sea had always been like this, I am afraid that it would be difficult for a torpedo attack to achieve results, and the training of the past few days has fully demonstrated how difficult it is to launch a torpedo attack on a sea with high waves, at least not accurately.

"Squadron Leader, what are you thinking?"

At this time, Warrant Officer Chen Guhai, the captain of Boat No. 19, came over with a smile, and his words were covered by the sound of the waves, so he almost stuck to the squadron leader's ear and said loudly.

"Squadron leader, just now the telegraph station received a telegram, Chin has set off"

"What"

When Tian Jianqiang heard this, he was only surprised, although the content of this telegram was only four words, it meant that the Zhenyang fleet had gone to sea.

"It's going to start"

Yes, it's going to start, if it doesn't happen until the last minute, the Zhenyang fleet will not sail out of Sanduao, which is protected by multiple artillery bases, and the Zhenyang fleet will leave the port and Taiwan, which means

"Where has the Second Fleet arrived?"

"I don't know, the Second Fleet has not yet broken the radio silence"

From the time the Second Fleet approached Malacca, radio silence had been maintained, and they had to be cautious, as relations between the Empire and Britain were not pleasant at the moment.

"Hey, don't care about them

Let's complete our mission and ...... death."

"Hey, Squadron Leader, you're not allowed to say anything that is not emotionally right."

"Oh, yes. Hahaha. The three of them laughed together.

The laughter flew by in the waves, and no one knew what would happen tomorrow, tomorrow, and for them, what they were waiting for was probably the last order to attack.

On December 14th, it was a rare sunny day, the sun dispelled the mist on the sea, and the gray reefs of the Dongchong Peninsula were like viewing platforms, inspecting the entire Zhenyang fleet. Looking east from the observation post of the battleship Jingyuan, the search fleet consisting of three training ships that had been conducting an advance search of the sea had disappeared at the end of the blurred sea level.

Admiral Liu Guanxiong, who commanded the First Fleet of the Zhenyang Fleet on the "Jingyuan," the fleet's general flagship, put down his binoculars and said to the chief of staff.

"Ready? We're going to go to sea to fight. ”

At this time, Liu Guanxiong on the bridge observed with satisfaction the neat ships behind him, Jingyuan, Zhiyuan, Zhenhai, Dinghai, Zhenyuan, and Jihai, which are all six capital ships belonging to the First Fleet of the Zhenyang Fleet, and behind the main ships are the eight cruisers of Haiqi, Haitian, Haichou, Haichen, Haiqing, Haicang, Haiming, and Hailai, plus five coal carriers, this is the entire strength of the First Fleet of the Zhenyang Fleet.

Today is the day when the Zhenyang fleet goes to sea, and according to the order, the telegraph line in Sanduao has been cut off, and at the same time no ships are allowed to enter or leave, and Sanduao has been isolated from the outside world at this time.

At 5:30 p.m., a staff officer sent a report to the search fleet that no Japanese merchant ships had been found, or merchant ships that were not credible missions, and that the fleet's purpose of concealing shipping was expected to be achieved.

"Alright, ready to go"

For the sake of prudence, at the same time as issuing this order, Liu Guanxiong again asked all 15 seaplanes belonging to the navy to dispatch reconnaissance, and when the fog was about to rise in the evening, the planes were dispatched, and at the place where the sampan was originally parked on the Jingyuan ship, there were also two seaplanes moored, which were converted from flying planes, and the reason why seaplanes were installed was to conduct enemy reconnaissance for the next naval battle.

At the same time, an optimistic atmosphere permeated the officers and men of the entire Zhenyang fleet, and the officers who were not unconfident read out the mission, and when the task was issued, Li He noticed that the captain's tone was not only confident, but also elated.

"Now, the Zhenyang fleet is about to set sail, our goal is the United Fleet, maybe they thought that the Zhenyang fleet was floating in the sea off Kaohsiung, and everyone was going to give them a big surprise. This is the first time that Jingyuan and Zhiyuan have joined forces to attack, and one Jingyuan can sink two or even three battleships independently, not to mention these two big guys, in front of them, sinking a Japanese warship is like an adult screwing a paper ship, so there is no need to worry about it at all. ”

What is revealed in the confident words is not arrogance, but self-confidence, a kind of confidence in oneself and the battleship.

"Do you know what our mission is?"

The officer asked rhetorically,

One sentence, and then he smiled again.

"It's to ensure the normal operation of the boiler, pump the heavy oil into the boiler, and then, well, let Jingyuan reach the maximum speed, so that the guys above can bombard the Japanese with 343mm cannons"

At the same time, in the ammunition depot under the waterline, those sailors who were sweating like rain in the naval battle of the South China Sea sent a heavy shell to the loafer, but there was no one to say, one by one iron barrels were placed in the ammunition depot full of shells, and the iron barrels were wiping the shell lye, at this time, the ammunition operators were quietly, concentrating on wiping the shells with a cloth stained with lye, wiping off the thick layer of butter on the shells, and finally carefully drying the shells with a dry cloth. The first work is all so careful.

This time is different from any previous voyage, this is a combat voyage, all the shells have to be wiped clean, because in the naval battle, there is no time for them to wipe the shells, and throughout the voyage, they must constantly check whether the shells that have been wiped off the rust butter are rusty, in short, in the next few days, until the battle, they must serve the shells like their own sons, carefully and cautiously, if they are not careful, maybe a little inconspicuous patina on the bullet belt will make the shells lose their accuracy, If the turret happens to be corrected based on this shot, then the next shell will lose its accuracy, which is not a pity that it will not be accurate, and this difference is likely to cause the battleship to be sunk by the enemy.

And those of them who hid in the safest place on the ship, protected by heavy armor, and had the side of the ship under the oil tank isolation line, had to pay with their lives for their mistakes, and they had no chance to escape at all.

As the clouds rolled in the west at sunset, nineteen steel giants lined up in three columns, sailing at a speed of 15 knots from the berth yard towards the eastward rush, seagulls chasing the wake hundreds of meters long behind them. In the other direction, Liu Guanxiong, as the commander of the fleet, stood on the bridge of the "Jingyuan" battlecruiser with his arms crossed, accompanied by his Zhiyuan battlecruiser, three cruisers, and two destroyers, both Jingyuan and Zhiyuan have inch guns and speed, which is the most powerful warship of this era.

"What I've got on hand,"

At this time, Liu Guanxiong looked extremely confident.

"It has the best maritime strike force in the world."

The role of the battlecruiser was to maintain a distance from the enemy fleet and to concentrate all 17 main guns on the Japanese battleship at a long distance, using excellent aiming and ranging equipment, which was a battle that had never been fought before.

"Nelson of the East"

Saying this name, Liu Guanxiong sneered in his heart, no matter what, this time, he will definitely be able to wash away the shame of the First Sino-Japanese War, Togo Heihachiro and his combined fleet will become history, and the Zhenyang Fleet will use a victory to prove to the world a fact that the sea in the East Ocean belongs to China and the Zhenyang Fleet, and by no means belongs to Japan and belongs to the Combined Fleet.

A few small ones out to sea

This time, in order to ensure the smooth operation of this operation, the navy mobilized all the ships that could be transferred, training ships, customs anti-smuggling ships, and armed merchant ships, all of which were put into the task of supporting the fleet's covert sailing, and they would be responsible for intercepting and escorting merchant ships found in various countries along the way, so as to ensure that the fleet's whereabouts would not be leaked, and the First Fleet must go to the combined fleet by surprise.

In the middle of the night of 14 December, the Zhenyang Fleet had been out to sea for several hours, but Hashimoto Osa, who was at the General Staff Headquarters of the Imperial Japanese Navy, was still in his office, analyzing the intelligence of the Chinese Navy with his colleagues.

"Why did they cut off Sanduao's external contact?"

"Is there some conspiracy?"

But he was answered.

"We don't have any further information right now"

"So what is the First Fleet off the coast of Kaohsiung doing now?"

"According to information from our diaspora, they are still waiting in the open sea"

"Why didn't they come in?"

"Unclear"

"Did you intercept their telegrams?" ,

"The telegram signal is dense, but we don't know what the telegram is talking about at all, it's all garbled ......"

"Well, that's the difference between the cipher and the telegrams we've intercepted in the past?"

"No, sir, we didn't decipher the Chinese code, so their telegrams are gibberish to us without any regularity."

After his subordinates turned around and left quickly, Hashimoto Osa pondered the whereabouts of the Zhenyang fleet again, and now there was no way to decipher their coded telegrams, perhaps these coded telegrams included the information he most wanted to know.

Why did the Zhenyang fleet stop off the coast of Kaohsiung?

Could it be that they have already received news of the United Fleet? Are they preparing to intercept the combined fleet in the Luzon Strait?

In any case, in the early hours of the next morning, the Combined Fleet's flagship "Shikishima," which had just begun to pass the waters of the Pacific Ocean east of Taiwan, received the following telegram.

"There is no confirmed information, according to the current intelligence analysis, the first fleet of the Zhenyang fleet is still off the coast of Kaohsiung, and it is now impossible to obtain further intelligence reconnaissance, and the enemy has not yet moved."

After receiving this telegram, Heihachiro Togo was silent for a while.

"Zhenyang Fleet"

Just as Akiyama guessed, after receiving the news that the combined ship might leave the port, the Zhenyang fleet went to the sea off Kaohsiung to prevent accidents, which means that until now, the combat intentions of the combined fleet have not been grasped by it, and the combined fleet must now sail to the south as fast as possible, only in this way, can they reach the South China Sea and intercept the First Fleet before they come back to their senses.

"The current situation means that we have no less than four days left, in

Within four days, the First Fleet will not be aware of our operational map, and if it takes a long time, it will be difficult to guarantee that the operational intentions will not be detected by the Chinese."

"In that case, we'll have to choose another route, which will shorten the time by 30 hours."

"But it will cause the Americans to be vigilant, and if the Americans find out, they are likely to inform the Chinese"

"Your Excellency, it was discovered by the Americans that the fleet and the Chinese could not wait for the combined fleet off the coast of Kaohsiung, but if we took that route, we could get an extra thirty hours, which meant that we had won five days, and by that time the naval battle was over"

At Akiyama Shinyuki's suggestion, Heihachiro Togo was silent for a long time, he looked at the stars in the sea and sky, and it was time for him to make a decision.

"Well, order the fleet to go on alternate routes".

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