The news of the departure of the Russian fleet was sent directly by the intelligence officers in Manila to the cruiser Zhenyuan in Dagou Harbor by radio, and the cruiser Zhenyuan then transmitted the news to the whole army.

After receiving the news, in order to save time for battle, Mo Haihu, who was the commander of the First Fleet of the Imperial Chinese Navy and the captain of the Zhenyuan, immediately summoned all the captains and directly started a conference call to discuss the tactical issues of the trip.

As for specific tactics, they have already done many simulation exercises, and they have also made a lot of arrangements in advance.

In order to better carry out tactical interception and increase its own success rate, the First Fleet not only hid in Dagou Harbor and planned to take it by surprise, but also set up an outpost on Crescent Island, that is, Dongsha Island of the Dongsha Islands in the later generations, in this outpost, not only stored a lot of combat materials in advance, but also set up a small radar station specially to search for the Russian fleet.

Dongsha Island is located in the middle of Guangdong, Hainan Island, Taiwan Island and Luzon Island in the Philippines, and can be said to be the only way for international navigation routes.

It is 780 kilometers southeast of Manila and 440 kilometers northeast of Kaohsiung Port, making it an ideal transit and supply station. Whether the Russian fleet was going to attack Canton or going directly to the East China Sea, it had to pass through this place.

Therefore, setting up a small radar station on this island in advance will not only be able to search for the Russian fleet more accurately in advance, but will also be conducive to the First Fleet's night battle!

That's right, it's a night fight!

The General Staff has done a deduction before, don't look at the five warships in the First Fleet, in fact, there are only two ships in the real main battle, that is, the cruiser Zhenyuan and the frigate No. 1 Gray Arrow, and the other ships are at most fighting tailwinds and helping to sweep the tail and the like.

As for the Russian fleet, according to the currently known intelligence, the Russian Baltic Fleet that came to attack had 26 warships, including 1 traditional second-class sail warship. There are 3 ships of the third class, 5 ships of the fourth rank, 6 ships of the fifth rank, 8 ships of the sixth rank, and 3 warships that use steam engines.

It's just that this is already very powerful, in fact, it is not the Baltic Fleet, but the ships of other fleets are drawn and gathered together, but more importantly, this time the Russian expeditionary fleet is nominally a Russian fleet. In fact, Britain and France are also on the side.

According to the regulations, the troop carriers and supply ships were provided by British and French "volunteers", but in order to escort and take advantage, Britain and France also dispatched escort fleets.

Among them, Britain dispatched 1 "Warrior" armored battleship, 3 3rd class sail warships, 5 4th class ships, and 5 5th class ships.

France dispatched the armored battleship "Glorious", 5 3rd class sail ships, 6 4th class battleships. 6 fifth-class ships.

Among them, the Warrior and the Glory are the latest warships newly produced by Britain and France, and they are steam ironclad ships wrapped in ironclad on the outside, also called armored ships. It is the most technologically advanced warship of this era.

It is conceivable that the purpose of Britain and France in dispatching these two warships is very intriguing.

Although Britain and France did not declare war on China, troop carriers and convoys came in the name of "volunteers". In other words, nine times out of ten, these convoys will also participate in the attack, so these British and French fleets can also be said to be enemies.

So. This Russian expeditionary fleet, nominally called, was actually an attack fleet of the British-French-Russian Combined Attack Fleet, which became unprecedentedly powerful, far stronger than the First Opium War and the Second Anglo-French Combined Fleet.

With so many ships, it is necessary to rely on two warships to defeat it head-on, even if the technical generation gap is relatively large, but the difficulty is quite against the sky, so in order to narrow the gap and strengthen their technical advantages, Mo Haihu and others formulated a tactic to promote their strengths and avoid weaknesses, that is, to fight at night!

In this era, other countries have not even invented night vision devices, not even flares, so the navy basically does not talk about night battles, and the navies of various countries also try to avoid night battles.

However, the First Fleet of the Chinese Navy is different, they are generally equipped with modern night vision devices, plus radar fire control, plus flares, if they fight at night, they have obvious advantages, basically in a state where they can see others, but others cannot see them.

The timing of the night battle is very important, so in order to increase the chance of success, they set up a radar station on Dongsha Island in advance, so that the first fleet can have a foothold first, and then find a suitable fighter to fight with the other side at night.

In fact, these tactics have been discussed in advance a long time ago, and the reason why they should be discussed again before leaving the station is not enough to emphasize.

According to intelligence, the Russian expeditionary fleet set sail out of Manila Port at two o'clock in the afternoon, because the wind at sea was not strong, and the size of the fleet was too large, and they were walking in groups, the average speed of Soyi was only about 10 knots, one section was 1.852 kilometers per hour, that is to say, their speed was 18.52 kilometers per hour.

Manila is at least 780 kilometers away from Dongsha Island, and normally speaking, it will take at least 42 hours for the Russian fleet to reach Dongsha Island!

In this way, at about 8 p.m. the day after tomorrow, the Russian fleet will arrive in the waters near Dongsha Island.

Of course, this is an estimate, and the actual time may vary, but it will not exceed a five-hour error.

The port is only 440 kilometers away from Dongsha Island, and the average speed of the entire First Fleet can reach 15 knots, so they can reach Dongsha Island first, and have plenty of rest time, and can completely wait for work.

Finally, after the discussion was completed, the fleet was fully manned, and confirmed the information with the intelligence officers in Manila again, and then according to the predetermined plan, all of them left the port at 3 p.m., and all of them sailed to Dongsha Island.

This time, because the intelligence had already been determined, in order to seize the advantage of fighters, to exercise tactics, and especially to give the combat detachments more time to rest, the First Fleet was divided into two parts.

The first part is the vanguard attack force, only two ships, the Zhenyuan and the Gray Arrow No. 1, who will sail at a speed of more than 20 knots to Dongsha Island.

The reason why these two ships are separated separately is because these two ships are the fastest, and it is the most unwise to mix new and old ships in the battle, because it will slow down the speed of these two ships, and this time let them go first, it also means that they can arrive at Dongsha Island in advance and repair in advance.

The second part is the follow-up troops, including three other converted bird ships, as well as a large number of supply ships and empty ships, which will sail slowly towards Dongsha Island at a speed of about 12 knots.

The role of these units is in addition to providing supplies. Another important role is to clean up the battlefield after the war and catch prisoners on the sea.

This is not the kindness of the Chinese Imperial Army, it is purely that a living prisoner is worth more than a dead soldier, and it can also increase the bargaining chips, and it can also show the benevolence and righteousness of the Chinese Empire, in short, there are many benefits, and the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

Due to the calm sea surface, the Zhenyuan and Gray Arrow 1 of the vanguard team traveled at an average speed of 22 knots, and it took only 13 hours, that is, at two o'clock in the morning the next day. Arrived at Dongsha Island.

After that, the vanguard anchored at Dongsha Island, entered a final state of rest, and quietly waited for the Russian expeditionary fleet to take the bait.

It didn't take long for the follow-up troops to arrive at Dongsha Island, which also entered a state of rest, leaving only the most basic monitors to monitor the movements of the Russian fleet, and all the combat personnel were doing the final repairs and adjusting their biological clocks. Wait for the next night's combat operation.

The so-called final trim is not to force sleep or give everyone a complete holiday or other relaxation, but to maintain the usual training state, but the intensity is slightly reduced.

This is naturally the practice in the Navy Drill Code. Because after research in later generations, it is not good to be too relaxed or too nervous before the war, and you can only keep it as usual. Then relax a little in the details, it is the best state of battle.

The First Fleet waited and waited in this relaxed state until three o'clock in the afternoon of July 9. Most of the officers and men of the fleet who had adjusted their biological clocks woke up one after another.

"How's it going?" Mo Haihu, who had just woken up, yawned and asked the adjutant who came to report, "Where are the Russians?" How long will it take to get over? ”

"Admiral!" The adjutant immediately replied, "According to the monitoring of the intelligence service and the radar station, the Russian fleet is still about 80 kilometers away from here, and their speed is estimated to be about 12 knots, which means that it is about three and a half hours to reach the nearby seas. ”

"Hmm." Mo Haihu took out his pocket watch and looked at it, "It's three and a half in the afternoon, three and a half hours, that is, about half past six to seven in the afternoon?" ”

"Yes, Admiral." Adjutant respectfully said.

Although the Chinese Imperial Army has undergone restructuring, and the army has removed the old titles such as Admiral and Pipe Belt, for the Navy, the two old titles of Admiral and Pipe Band have been retained, which is naturally caused by Li Yongji's nostalgia complex.

Admiral of the Navy is the official title of the commander of the naval fleet, and the general military rank can only be obtained if you are at least lieutenant general or above; The pipe band is the title of the captain, and the military rank is generally limited to major general, and the two titles are also an honorary title, and the other generals and guerrilla and the like are all removed.

At present, there is only one admiral in the navy of the Chinese Empire, and that is Mo Haihu, and there are many pipe belts, such as Mo Haiwen, which is the pipe belt of the Gray Arrow No. 1 ship.

In the Navy, Admiral or Pipe Band is the official official title of Commander and Captain of the Fleet, respectively, not a military rank. That is to say, when you say the admiral, you will know that it is the commander of the fleet, and when you say the pipe band, you will know that it is the captain.

On the contrary, the two titles of commander and captain have become common names, not official titles, so in general, the commander in the military is called Lord Pipe Band, and the commander is called Lord Admiral, which is called Chinese characteristics.

However, there are some exceptions, such as Mo Haiwen, who has a foreign stomach and doesn't like others to call him the captain, but likes others to call him the captain, so everyone follows his wishes and calls him the captain in private, but the other captains are called the captains. Of course, if it is a formal occasion, Mo Haven has to be called a so-and-so pipe band.

"That's right." Mo Haihu nodded, took a wet towel and wiped his face, and then threw it directly into the basin, "Order, all personnel enter the first-level combat readiness, so that they can be dispatched at any time!" ”

"Yes!" The adjutant saluted and accepted the order.

"Also, let the kitchen add food." Mo Haihu touched his beard, and clicked his mouth again, "What kind of canned meat, canned fruit, etc., are open to eat, in short, let everyone have a good meal, tell them, eat and drink well, and we will go to the Russians at night!" (To be continued......)