On October 3, 1914, a huge fleet suddenly appeared in the waters near Peter the Great Bay, and this huge fleet was the main force of the North Sea Fleet of the Chinese Imperial Navy.

At present, the North Sea Fleet has a total of nine battleships, and at this time all these nine battleships appeared in this fleet, in addition to fifteen cruisers and twenty-four destroyers, it can be said that the main warships of the North Sea Fleet are now almost all concentrated here.

The nine battleships were the North Sea Fleet's flagship battleship Huaxia, the Empire, the Zhili, Shandong, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Henan, and Ryukyu.

Among them, the Huaxia and the Imperial are the latest Empire-class dreadnoughts built by the Huaxia Empire, which was commissioned at the beginning of this year. What is a dreadnought?

Dreadnought is a general term for a class of advanced capital warships built by various naval powers in the early 20th century. The classification of dreadnoughts is derived from the battleship HMS Dreadnaught (HMSDreadnaught), which began construction by the British Navy in 1906. Its characteristics can be summarized as follows: it has eliminated the secondary main guns used for attack on previous battleships, equipped with the main guns of the same caliber unified model, retained only the small-caliber secondary guns used to defend against light warships, and the use of high-power steam turbines for power. The ship became the ancestor of modern battleships, establishing the basic model of artillery and power of battleships of the world's naval powers for the next 35 years, and the range and sailing speed of battleships continued to increase dramatically. Such battleships were uniformly summarized as "dreadnoughts". Battleships prior to the Dreadnought were referred to as "pre-dreadnoughts". In terms of the division of the caliber of the main guns, the dreadnoughts of the British Navy equipped with main guns of more than 13.5 inches are often called "super dreadnoughts", and their main gun turrets are equipped on the centerline of the hull.

Shortly after the construction of dreadnoughts in Britain in 1906, the Chinese Navy followed the British in equipping them with dreadnoughts. Subsequently, from 1909, the design and construction of a new type of Imperial-class dreadnought was planned, and a total of six warships of this type were planned, of which the Huaxia and the Imperial, which were already in service in early 1914, and all were assigned to the North Sea Fleet. Among them, the Huaxia became the flagship of the North Sea Fleet.

With a displacement of 28,000 tons, a length of 205 meters and a width of 27 meters, the Reich-class battleship was one of the largest battleships in the world at the time. The power is 38,000 horsepower, the speed is 23 knots, the endurance is 5,500 nautical miles at 10 knots. Armament: 7 305mm 45 double-diameter double-mounted guns (two in the front and three in the rear, one on each side, carrying + ladder), 20 single-mounted guns with 152mm 50 times diameter. 3 533mm underwater torpedo tubes. Armor: broadside 229mm, deck 65mm, gun mount 229mm, turret forward 305mm, conning tower 305mm. Crew: 1160 people. It was one of the most advanced battleships in the world at the time.

In addition to the two giant ships Huaxia and the Empire, the two battleships Zhili and Shandong were also new dreadnoughts equipped by the Huaxia Imperial Navy in 1906 and 1908.

Among them, the Naoli has a displacement of 19,000 tons, a length of 163 meters, and a width of 25 meters. Power 24,000 hp, speed 21 knots, cruising range: 10 knots 6,500 nautical miles. Armament: 5 305mm 50 times diameter twin guns (one in the front and two in the back, one on each side). 16 102mm 50 times diameter single-mounted guns, 5 450mm underwater torpedo tubes. Armor: broadside 254mm, deck 76mm, gun mount 229mm. The turret is 279mm in front and the conning tower is 278mm. Crew: 720 people.

The battleship Shandong had a displacement of 21,500 tons and a length of 159 meters. Width 26.5 meters, power: 28000 hp. Speed: 20.75 knots. Endurance: 6720 nautical miles at 10 knots. Armament: 5 305mm 45 double-diameter double-mounted guns (two in the front and three in the rear, knapsack), 16 single-mounted guns of 127mm 51 double-diameter, and 2 533mm underwater torpedo tubes. Armor: broadside 279mm, deck 76mm, gun mount 279mm, turret forward 305mm, conning tower 292mm. Crew: 1001 people.

The remaining five battleships were all former dreadnoughts built before 1906, with displacements ranging from 11,000 to 16,000 tons.

"Report to the commander, our fleet has rushed to the waters near Peter the Great's Bay." An officer walked into the command room and said loudly.

"Peter the Great's Bay?" Admiral Zhou Jingbo, commander of the North Sea Fleet of the Chinese Imperial Navy, couldn't help frowning, "This place has been a territory that belongs to our Huaxia since ancient times, how can you use a Russian name?" ”

"Then what should be the name of this bay, according to the commander?" The naval officer couldn't help but ask.

Zhou Jingbo frowned and thought about it for a while and said, "Since the Russians named after their former tsars, then we will also name this bay after the name of our Emperor of the Chinese Empire, and it will be called Shengwu Bay!" ”

"Yes! Report to the commander, our fleet has entered Shengwu Bay, and no trace of the Russian fleet has been found, please instruct! The naval officer said loudly again.

"Good!" Zhou Jingbo nodded with satisfaction. "The order is given, the whole fleet is ready for battle, and continues to advance in the direction of Vladivostok, looking for the main force of the Tsarist Pacific Fleet for a decisive battle."

"Yes!" The naval officer replied respectfully, and turned to leave the command room.

"Slow? Where is the main force of the North Korean fleet now? Zhou Jingbo suddenly asked.

"Report to the commander, according to the latest intelligence, the main force of the DPRK fleet is in the sea area about 200 nautical miles northeast of our fleet at this time." The naval officer replied respectfully.

"Immediately order the North Korean fleet to move closer to our fleet, and our task this time is to concentrate the main force, annihilate the main force of the Russian Pacific Fleet in one fell swoop, and attack Vladivostok from the sea." Zhou Jingbo said with a stern face.

"Yes! Humble and give orders! The naval officer replied loudly.

"Also, don't forget to report to the Admiralty and His Majesty the Emperor on our current position and current situation." Zhou Jingbo couldn't help but remind again.

"Yes!" The naval officer answered, turned and walked out.

Zhou Jingbo turned his head to look at the blue sea in the distance, and said as if talking to himself, "I heard that His Majesty the Emperor is driving this expedition in person, and now you should rush to the front line if you calculate the time!" Our North Sea Fleet must successfully annihilate the Pacific Fleet of the Tsarist Russian Navy before His Majesty captures Vladivostok, as a welcome gift to His Majesty the Emperor. Saying that, the corners of Zhou Jingbo's mouth couldn't help but show a smile, thinking that the Pacific Fleet of Tsarist Russia was about to be completely annihilated, Zhou Jingbo couldn't help but feel excited. (To be continued......)