"General, we will arrive in Puerto Ayora at ten o'clock tomorrow morning at the latest. But by then, the Pacific Fleet of the Chinese Navy must have fled! This afternoon, a destroyer of the West Coast Fleet spotted two battleships of the Chinese Navy a hundred nautical miles north of Santa Cruz Island, and were sailing towards the two 'Zhonghua-class, battleships!' of the Pacific Fleet of the Chinese Navy. "A staff officer asked William. Admiral Benson reported. Everyone in the U.S. fleet thought that this battle was in their hands, and 14 powerful battleships were enough to form an overwhelming advantage over the Chinese Navy's Pacific Fleet, and in such a situation, if the Chinese did not want to be sunk, it was undoubtedly the best choice to escape before the arrival of the U.S. fleet. Of course, the U.S. fleet hopes that the Chinese Navy's Pacific Fleet will stay and fight the U.S. fleet. In this way, they will be able to defeat the Chinese Navy with dignity and shame!

"Humph! The flight of the Chinese from Santa Cruz is inevitable, and we are now more than twice as strong. With the exception of one'Han-class, battleships, all the capital ships of the Pacific Fleet of the Chinese Navy are no match for us. However, it is good that without the interference of the Chinese Navy's fleet, we can destroy the Santa Cruz Island Naval Base without being affected! "William. Admiral Benson said with a smile. In the plans of the US Navy, the destruction of the naval base on the island of Santa Cruz is the first priority. Of course, it would be great if the Pacific Fleet of the Chinese Navy could be defeated or even annihilated. If possible, if there is more time to spare, the U.S. fleet will also carry out the destruction of the Pearl Harbor naval base, so that the threat of the Chinese Navy to the United States will be minimized for a long time to come. And the U.S. Navy also had plenty of time to wait for the more powerful Pennsylvania-class, battleships to enter service. At that time, the US Navy will have the strength to confront the Chinese Navy head-on!

"Order the fleet to do anti-submarine work, we have to guard against submarine attacks by the Chinese!" William. Admiral Benson admonished. If there is anything else he is worried about this operation, it is probably the submarine force of the Chinese Navy. Although the United States is also developing submarine forces, the submarines it is building are all small offshore submarines with a very short range and can only operate in offshore waters. When the Chinese Navy used submarines in the Battle of the Red Sea to defeat the British and French navies, William was defeated. Admiral Benson was shocked, and he feared that such a situation would happen again in the U.S. Navy. You must know that the performance of the Chinese Navy's submarines is much more powerful than that of the U.S. Navy's submarines. Having entered the Pacific Ocean from the fleet, the American fleet has intensified its anti-submarine readiness.

"Yes, General!" The staff officer nodded, and quickly went down to deliver the order.

Looking at the destroyers and light cruisers cruising around the battleships, William. Admiral Benson's worries have diminished considerably. With such tight protection, it should be difficult for Chinese submarines to sneak in. If a submarine is spotted by a destroyer or light cruiser on the surface, it will be attacked by naval guns or depth charges. The thin shell of the submarine could not withstand such an attack.

The next day, at 5 o'clock in the morning, a trace of fish belly had appeared in the sky, and the night was about to disperse. The sailors of the American fleet were also busy. After a brief wash, breakfast began. Everyone realized that there was going to be a big battle today, so the American fleet had breakfast an hour earlier than usual.

At this time, the U.S. fleet was only about forty nautical miles away from Santa Cruz Island, and if the Chinese fleet had not intercepted it, they would have arrived at Puerto Ayora in three hours and launched an attack

At a distance of only twenty-five nautical miles from the American fleet, a fleet was sailing at high speed on the sea.

This fleet is the main force of the Chinese Navy's Pacific Fleet, starting with the flagship Guangwu Emperor, followed by Qin II and Qin III. Battlecruisers

Wang Jian led the other 6 Jianghe-class, heavy cruisers, and when they started, their main task was to entangle and sink the U.S. Navy's Philadelphia-class, heavy cruisers, so as not to give the U.S. Navy a chance to block the three battleships of the Chinese Navy with heavy cruisers. In this way, the three battleships of the Pacific Fleet could use their high speed to attack the U.S. fleet and then evacuate before they were encircled.

"Commander, at our current pace, we'll be confronted by the American fleet in half an hour." Vice Admiral Zhao Hongcai, Chief of Staff of the Pacific Fleet, reminded. Using three battleships to attack the U.S. fleet with 14 powerful battleships, Vice Admiral Zhao Hongcai still found this tactic very crazy. However, he wondered why both the General Staff and the Admiralty had agreed to such a crazy plan.

"Order all ships to be ready for battle, and after encountering, seize the T-shaped prefix as soon as possible, and the speed will be above 18 knots, and it must not be entangled with the American fleet!" General Gao Yihai ordered. Speed has become his biggest reliance. In the Mediterranean naval battle a few years ago, the Indian Ocean Fleet was also at a disadvantage, but they successfully used their speed advantage to regain the disadvantage little by little. And now, Gao Yihai hopes to repeat this tactic again!

At half past five in the morning, although it was not yet bright, the night had been dispelled a lot. The distance between the Pacific Fleet of the Chinese Navy and the US fleet has also been shortened to 15,000 kilometers. The lookouts on both sides have already discovered each other!

The piercing sirens sounded in the U.S. fleet, and the U.S. sailors, who had just served their plates and had not had time to eat breakfast, had no choice but to grab a piece of bread, put down their plates, and ran back to their posts.

"What's going on?" William. Admiral Benson was also the first to come to the bridge of the battleship Nevada.

"General, the main forces of the Pacific Fleet of the Chinese Navy appeared, and they did not flee, but came to intercept us. In addition to the two 'Zhonghua-class, battleships, the rest of the capital ships are there, and there are also two heavy cruisers and quite a few light cruisers and destroyers! "The staff officer on duty immediately sent a letter to William. Admiral Benson reports!

The Chinese navy did not flee, but appeared here, which made William. Admiral Benson was shocked, but then he calmed down, and now that the strength of the American fleet is now, there is no need to fear the Pacific Fleet of the Chinese Navy.

"Order the ships to be combat-ready, six 'Nevada-class, battleships to form the battle line, the remaining four' New York-class, battleships and four' Wyoming-class, battleships to form battleships. All battleships do not panic, the Chinese have only three battleships, and our strength is more than five times theirs! We've won this battle! "William. Lieutenant General Benson ordered.

In William. Under the orders of Admiral Benson, the American fleet immediately began to change formation, six ships

The Nevada-class, the battleships accelerated towards the Chinese Navy, and the remaining 4 'New York-class, battleships and 4' Wyoming-class, battleships also began to gather, form a battle line, and outflank the Chinese Navy's Pacific Fleet from another direction.

"The battleship accelerated, turned 5 degrees to the left, grabbed the T-shape, and the battlecruiser and the heavy cruiser turned 30 degrees to the left, ready to intercept the heavy cruisers of the American fleet!" In the face of the outflanking American fleet, General Gao Yihai calmly gave the order.

Soon, the Chinese fleet increased its speed to 20 knots, which was much more than the 5 knots of the American fleet.

"The Chinese want to seize the T-word, it's not so easy! Accelerate to 18 knots and turn right 15 degrees! "William. Admiral Benson then ordered. When the Chinese fleet began to turn, he quickly guessed the intentions of the Chinese fleet. It's just that in terms of speed, the American fleet is always at a disadvantage!

At 5:50 a.m., three battleships of the Chinese fleet were lined up with six of the American fleet

'Nevada class, the front of the first battle line composed of battleships. The battleship at the front was none other than the flagship of the American fleet, the Nevada. Although the U.S. fleet is also accelerating its turn and wants to get rid of the Chinese fleet, the Chinese fleet is also turning and always keeping the positions of both sides unchanged!

"Fire!" At 5:55, 'Emperor Guangwu, the gunnery officer of the battleship gave the order to open fire.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "'Emperor Guangwu, the muzzles of the three triple 343mm naval guns on the battleship shone with orange-red fire. The huge recoil force made the battleship of the 'Guangwu Emperor, tremble. Nine armor-piercing shells weighing more than 800 kilograms flew at high speed towards the battleship Nevada. After the shells exploded, columns of water splashed around the battleship Nevada. It's just that the accuracy of the battleship's shelling at high speed is really not flattering. At a distance of 12,000 kilometers, the nearest of the 9 shells hit 300 meters away.

The battleships Qin II, and Qin III, who were following the battleship Guangwu Emperor, also opened fire one after another, and the dense shells exploded on the sea, splashing up columns of water almost slashing

'Nevada, the battleship was completely shrouded in it. It's just that none of the salvos of the three battleships hit the target.

But even this frightened the officers and men of the U.S. Navy on the battleship Nevada. The splash of water on the surface of the sea had already soaked the deck of the battleship Nevada. The sailors on deck, if they hadn't been tied to a safety rope, might have been washed out into the sea!