Outside Chelyabinsk, after the eight commanders of the Imperial Chinese Army reached an agreement on the allied forces attacking Chelyabinsk as soon as possible, the troops outside Chelyabinsk had arrived and entered the final preparations before the attack.

On the night of October 21, 1908, in the Forbidden City of Beijing, Lin Daxin received a telegram from the city of Chelyabinsk, which was sent to Lin Daxin by Ni Fan, the commander-in-chief in charge of attacking the city of Chelyabinsk.

On the telegram, Ni Fan reported to Lin Daxin about the air battle during the day, as well as the troops on the front line of Chelyabinsk, preparing to launch an attack the day after tomorrow, and no longer waiting for the troops of the eight main armies to arrive outside Chelyabinsk before launching a siege battle.

At this time, there was another person beside Lin Daxin, who was Wu Peifu, Minister of National Defense, and Ni Fan's telegram was sent directly to the Ministry of National Defense, and Wu Peifu entered the palace overnight and handed it to Lin Daxin.

Wu Peifu said to Lin Daxin: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that Ni Fan's opinion is completely feasible, the current 8 main forces outside Chelyabinsk City, heavy equipment has been completely in place, and the strength of the troops is nearly 800,000, so that our firepower advantage and armor advantage can be brought into play, we can start fighting, and if we wait, the strength of the Entente and the Central Powers in Chelyabinsk City will become stronger and stronger." ”

Lin Daxin nodded and said: "Since the generals on the front line think that it is now suitable to launch an attack on the city of Chelyabinsk, then according to the opinions of the generals on the front line, launch an attack on the 23rd." ”

Wu Peifu said: "When I return to the Ministry of Defense in a while, I will immediately send a telegram to Ni Fan." ”

Lin Daxin thought about it for a moment and then said: "The Ministry of Defense should also consider the situation of insufficient troops in Chelyabinsk, after all, the strength of the Entente and the Central Powers there. It is already several times more than our Imperial Chinese Army, but I promised Ni Fan in the telegram. If there is a shortage of troops in Chelyabinsk, the reinforcements will definitely come up as soon as possible. ”

Wu Peifu said confidently: "The emperor can rest assured. The Ministry of Defense has already made arrangements for this, at present, our Imperial Chinese Army has concentrated 8 field armies and 3 guards armies to prepare for an attack on the defense line of the Russian Ural Mountains, and only in the city of Chelyabinsk 6 field armies and 2 guards armies, but considering the superiority of the Entente and the Central Powers in the city of Chelyabinsk, the Ministry of Defense is ready to transfer another 1 guard army near the Ural Mountains to the city of Chelyabinsk, but at present, considering the problem of capacity, The Guards had not yet moved to the city of Chelyabinsk, and the Ministry of Defense had mobilized four newly formed field armies into Andong Province. Ready to enter the territory of Russia at any time to provide support to the city of Chelyabinsk. ”

Lin Daxin nodded, then glanced at the military map on the table in front of him, and couldn't help but sigh and said: "This section of the railway from Omsk City to Chelyabinsk City must be repaired, otherwise we will lay down Chelyabinsk City, and our Imperial Chinese Army will continue to attack Russia and Europe, and we will also face great difficulties in the transportation of troops and war materials." After all, the more we advance into the hinterland of Russia and Europe, the greater the pressure on our Imperial Chinese Army. ”

Wu Peifu sighed and said: "Your Majesty, the Russians have completely damaged the railway between Omsk and Chelyabinsk, if it can be repaired in a short time. We chose to use the railway to transport troops and war materiel to the city of Chelyabinsk. We have sent people to roughly estimate that it is impossible to repair such a long section of the railway without a year and a half. ”

Lin Daxin frowned and said, "If that's the case." In the future, it will be very difficult to continue the offensive against Russia in Europe. After all, relying only on trucks, transport planes and airships, it will be more difficult to transport troops and war materiel across the Ural Mountains than it is now to the city of Chelyabinsk. Forget it, now let's take down the city of Chelyabinsk and then study the rest! ”

The battle that is about to break out in the city of Chelyabinsk can be said to be very crucial to the war between the Chinese Empire and the Entente and the Central Powers, no matter which side wins this battle, it will take the initiative in the Russian battlefield, but now Lin Daxin's mind cannot be completely in the city of Chelyabinsk, because the Military Intelligence Bureau has obtained accurate information, and the navies of the seven countries of the Entente and the Allied countries have been assembled in the port of Herakrion on the Greek island of Crete, and the assembly is almost complete, and it will set off at a later date.

The port of Herakrion on the Greek island of Crete is located in the Mediterranean Sea, not far from the Suez Canal, when the first war broke out between Russia and Lin Daxin, the combined fleet of Russia and France was assembled here, and then rushed all the way to the Asian seas, and was defeated by the Northeast Navy at that time. This unusually large combined expeditionary fleet will arrive in Asia.

Although Greece did not join the war against the Chinese Empire, the Entente and the Allies told Greece that they wanted to use your port, and Greece did not even dare to raise a voice of opposition, so it obediently lent the port of Herakrion on Crete to the Entente and the Central Powers, and let the joint expeditionary fleet assemble in the port of Herakrion.

Moreover, according to the intelligence of the Military Intelligence Agency, the size of the joint expeditionary fleet of the Entente and the Central Powers is larger than the scale agreed by the previous countries, and Britain, France, and Germany, these three countries have sent more warships than originally agreed.

This combined expeditionary fleet of the Entente and Allied powers was originally planned to have at least 66 dreadnought battleships and 66 all-steel battleships, plus a large number of other ironclad battleships, large fast armored cruisers, fast protection cruisers, destroyers, torpedo boats and submarines, the strength of which had surpassed the entire imperial navy of the Chinese Empire. According to the intelligence agency, in fact, the size of the joint expeditionary fleet has now exceeded the original plan, and the number of dreadnought battleships has reached 72, and there are several more all-steel battleships, and there are many more warships of other types.

Although the Royal Navy of the Chinese Empire has 4 mythical aircraft carriers as killer features. But when the larger joint expeditionary fleet was coming, it should be said that Lin Daxin did not have a little worry in his heart. That's impossible.

After talking about the Chelyabinsk city, Lin Daxin continued to say to Wu Peifu: "The latest information from the Military Intelligence Bureau has been obtained about the joint expeditionary fleet of the Entente and the Central Powers. Ziyu, what do you think? ”

Wu Peifu said: "The scale of the joint expeditionary fleet of the Entente and the Allied Powers is larger than agreed by the previous seven countries, if it is just a hard fight, our Royal Navy of the Chinese Empire has no chance of winning, and now we can only count on 4 mythical-class aircraft carriers!" In addition, the submarine force of our Royal Navy is also a magic weapon for us to win. ”

The submarine force of the Royal Navy of the Chinese Empire, in addition to the two J-class conventionally powered submarines of the former Soviet Union J-class and the Bayonet that Lin Daxin got from the future time and space, as well as 64 Q-class submarines, also has 24 new S-class submarines, which is definitely a terrifying force.

The S-class submarine was developed on the basis of the Q-class submarine. The water displacement is 1,600 tons, the submersible displacement is 1,970 tons, the diving depth is 180 meters, the length of the ship is 74 meters, the width of the ship is 7.5 meters, diesel-electric power, two-shaft propulsion, the water speed is 19.5 knots, and the underwater speed is 14 knots. It can carry out 120 hours of diving at a speed of 5 knots, and is equipped with four 533-mm torpedo tubes with 16 ammunition in the bow and two 533-mm torpedo tubes in the stern. Eight bombs are in reserve, and the S-class submarines are also equipped with more advanced radars and radio stations.

Lin Daxin said: "Ziyu, let the navy start gathering now." Prepare to meet the combined expeditionary fleets of the Allies and the Central Powers at any time, and Britain has a sizable fleet in Asia. Now is also the time to pack up this British fleet, and not wait for the decisive battle with the Combined Expeditionary Fleet. Let this British Asian fleet add to the chaos. ”

Wu Peifu nodded and said: "Our Ministry of Defense has gathered two field armies and garrisons from several provinces on the border with several British Asian colonies, with a total of more than 600,000 troops, and is ready to attack several British Asian colonies, just so that the navy can cooperate with the army to launch an attack on the British Asian colonies." ”

Lin Daxin glanced at the map on the table in front of him again, pointed to a location on the map with the index finger of his right hand and said, "The location of the decisive battle between our Imperial Chinese Navy and the Combined Expeditionary Fleet, I will choose here!" ”

At this time, in the port of Herakrion on the Greek island of Crete, and on the sea outside the harbor, which was already densely covered with warships, in the bridge of the British Navy's Giant-class dreadnought battleship Giant, the commanders of the fleets of the seven Allied and Allied countries gathered here to discuss matters before the departure of the joint expeditionary fleet.

The commander of the British naval fleet is Bridget, who is the commander-in-chief of the entire eight-nation alliance navy a few years ago, although because of the birth of the dreadnought battleship, the eight-nation alliance naval joint expeditionary fleet led by him was defeated by the Northeast Navy under Lin Daxin, but the British considered Bridget's familiarity with the Chinese Imperial Navy, this time he asked him to lead the fleet of LinkedIn, and after the fleets of various countries arrived at the port of Herakrion, Bridget was commanded by the fleets of other countries, Once again, he was elected commander-in-chief of the entire Combined Expeditionary Fleet.

The fleet commanders of the other countries of the Joint Expeditionary Fleet were Francois, Commander of the French Naval Fleet, Commander of the German Naval Fleet, Tessime, Commander of the Italian Naval Fleet, Erebet, Commander of the Russian Naval Fleet, Vladienovich, Commander of the Austro-Hungarian Naval Fleet, and Ishmael, Commander of the Ottoman Imperial Turkish Naval Fleet.

Bridget, the commander of the British Navy's fleet, saw the dense warships of various countries outside from the observation window of the bridge, and said to the other six fleet commanders in high spirits: "Many of you have participated in the naval battle with the Northeast Navy a few years ago, although we lost last time, but this time we will definitely wash away the shame of the last defeat, because our joint expeditionary fleet is too powerful. ”

The commander of the French naval fleet, François, the commander of the German naval fleet, Tessim, and the commander of the Austro-Hungarian naval fleet, Rusdit, like Bridget, led the fleets of the navies of various countries, and participated in the poignant naval battle a few years ago.

Bridget can have the confidence to wash away his shame, not because he is arrogant, but because the joint expeditionary fleet is indeed strong enough.

First of all, we can see how powerful the joint expeditionary fleet is when we look at the British Navy and the German Navy, which are the strongest in this joint expeditionary fleet.

The British Navy sent 4 Bellerophon-class dreadnought battleships, 8 St. Vincent-class dreadnought-class battleships, 6 Neptune-class dreadnought battleships, and 4 giant-class dreadnought battleships, a total of 22 dreadnought battleships to join the joint expeditionary fleet.

Britain also sent 6 Majestic-class all-steel battleships, 4 London-class all-steel battleships, 4 Duncan-class all-steel battleships, and 10 Edwardian VII-class all-steel battleships, for a total of 24 all-steel battleships to join the joint expeditionary fleet.

In addition, the British also had 8 ironclad battleships, 28 large fast armored cruisers, 76 fast protection cruisers, 106 destroyers, 140 torpedo boats and 16 submarines also joined this joint expeditionary fleet, making the total displacement of the fleet sent by the British Navy exceeded 2.1 million tons, which is already more than half of the strength of the entire British Navy.

The German Navy had 6 Nassau-class dreadnoughts, 8 Oldenburg-class dreadnoughts, 4 Westphalia-class dreadnoughts, 4 Helgoland-class dreadnoughts, and 4 Wiecelsbach all-steel battleships, 6 Braunschweig-class all-steel battleships, and 6 German-class all-steel battleships, for a total of 22 dreadnoughts and 16 all-steel battleships joined the joint expeditionary fleet.

In addition to the formidable dreadnought battleships and all-steel battleships, the Germans sent 8 ironclad battleships, 14 large fast armored cruisers, 44 fast protection cruisers, 70 destroyers, 78 torpedo boats and 24 submarines, bringing the total displacement of the German joint expeditionary fleet to 1.7 million tons, and the Germans, like the British, also took out most of the strength of the navy. (To be continued......)