The French Navy's expeditionary fleet and the Russian Navy's Second Pacific Fleet, with a total of 204 warships and 50 supply carriers, joined the port of Herakrion on the Greek island of Crete, sailed all the way through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Strait of Malacca, and arrived at Da Nang in the French colony of Vietnam after more than 20 days of sailing.

Da Nang is a port city in central Vietnam, located in the central part of Vietnam, north of the important Vietnamese town of Hue, south of the traffic artery Nha Trang, backed by the Marble Mountains, northeast of the Trang Peninsula as a barrier, the bay is horseshoe-shaped, the port is wide and deep, the shape is dangerous, and it is a natural harbor. The French Asian Colonial Fleet was located in Da Nang.

François, commander of the French expeditionary fleet, and Rozhdestewinsky, commander of the Russian Second Pacific Fleet, jointly decided that the combined fleets of the two countries, which had traveled long distances, would rest in Da Nang for a few days before continuing their departure.

After the combined fleet of the two countries arrived in Da Nang, Vice Admiral AlFreya, commander of the French Asian Colonial Fleet, came to the port dock, boarded the Cecilia, the flagship of the expeditionary fleet, and met with Admiral François, who had come all the way from France.

At present, the French Asian Colonial Fleet has 1 ironclad battleship Osh with a displacement of more than 10,000 tons, 1 Admiral Charr-class large fast armored cruiser with a displacement of 6,800 tons, 4 old ironclad ships, 2 old armored cruisers, 5 protective cruisers, 8 small gunboats and 8 torpedo boats. It was France's most important force in Asia to assert its voice and protect its Vietnamese colonies.

Alfrea saw François in the bridge of the Cecilia and said excitedly: "Your Excellency, welcome to Vietnam, this moment is so exciting!" I saw that row of all-steel battleships, large fast armored cruisers, and ironclad battleships with a displacement of more than 10,000 tons. I deeply feel the strength of our French Navy! This time, the Northeast Navy under the command of Lin Daxin, who is wreaking havoc in Asia, will definitely be completely defeated by our powerful French Navy! ”

François and Alfrea have known each other for a long time, and have served in the French Navy for many years, François nodded and said with a smile: "Alfrea, my old friend, I haven't seen you for a long time, and I said this to you. I couldn't agree more! This time, I brought 22 all-steel battleships, 12 large fast armored cruisers, and 8 ironclad battleships, plus the Russians. And the fleet of the Russians in the port of Vladivostok, completely destroying Lin Daxin's Northeast Navy cannot be said to be easy, and it is also nine out of ten! ”

Alfrea also smiled and said, "Your Excellency, Admiral." We haven't seen each other for almost 2 years since I was appointed commander of the French colonial fleet in Asia. This time, I just invited His Excellency to taste the Vietnamese cuisine, and I also have a bottle of French wine that is 20 years old! ”

François nodded and said, "It's best to invite the commander of the Russian fleet, Admiral Rozhdestvinsky, too, we are already allies of the alliance with the Russians!" ”

So Alfrea invited Rozhdestwinsky, the commander of the Pacific Fleet of the Russian Navy, and Rozhdestwinsky was very happy to be invited and gladly went to the appointment.

In the evening at Alfreya's residence in Da Nang, the three commanders had a sumptuous dinner together, and did not talk about business during the meal. The three commanders only talked about literature, and after dinner Rozhdestwinsky took his leave, but agreed with François. Tomorrow he will personally visit François on the Cecilia, the flagship of the French Expeditionary Fleet, to discuss the operation of the Combined Fleet.

After waiting for Rozhdestwinsky to leave, François asked the commander of the Asian colonial fleet, who was inviting guests to the east: "Alfrea, do you know how the French army in Vietnam is preparing?" We, France and Russia, have agreed that the Philippines, which Lin Daxin occupies, will become France's new colony in Asia! After we eliminated Lin Daxin's Northeast Navy. The Dingbei Army above the Philippines needs the French Army to solve it! ”

Alfrea shrugged his shoulders and said, "Admiral." General Waldeck, the Viceroy of the Indochina Federation in Saigon, had already prepared an army in Vietnam to capture the Philippines, with 8,000 regular troops and 15,000 Vietnamese servants. According to intelligence, the Philippine Dingbei Army has more than 30,000 people, and I think that with the combat effectiveness of the Dingbei Army, it is difficult for these troops prepared by the army to occupy the entire Philippines. ”

The Confederation of Indochina was a French colony in Asia established by France and ruled by a governor in Saigon, consisting of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

Originally, Vietnam was a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty, and in the process of annexing Vietnam, France provoked the Sino-French War of 1883-1885. As early as the early 70s of the 19th century, the Vietnamese dynasty united with the Black Flag Army led by Liu Vinh Phuc to fight against the French army. After the outbreak of the Sino-French War, the Qing Dynasty and Vietnamese soldiers and civilians stood side by side in the Red River Delta against the French attack.

Although the Fujian Navy Division was defeated by the French fleet in the war, in 1885, the Qing army under Feng Zicai won a complete victory in the Battle of Zhennanguan and the Battle of Langshan, and Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army also defeated the French army in Lintao, and the French cabinet of Joferi collapsed. However, the cowardly and mediocre Qing Dynasty government was actually Cixi, a loser old lady, who thought that it should take advantage of the victory, so the victorious Qing Dynasty humiliated the defeated French invaders and sued for peace, and signed the "Sino-French Armistice Agreement" and the "Sino-French Treaty of Ten Articles on Vietnam" in April and June of that year, recognizing the French colonial rule over Vietnam and ceding its vassal country Vietnam to the French.

François frowned and said: "Governor Waldeck's organization of this point of strength is indeed a bit weak, the combat effectiveness of the Dingbei Army in the Russian Army should not be underestimated, forcing the Russians to carry out wartime mobilization to prepare for the expansion of the army by 2 million, and now relying on a part of the expanded army, we can annihilate the 300,000 troops of the Dingbei Army in Outer Mongolia, and these forces of our army can deal with the tens of thousands of troops of the Philippine Dingbei Army." It's a bit unsustainable. It seems that only after the Russians have invaded the hinterland of the northeast and the Dingbei Army has transferred the main force of the Philippine army back to the northeast to resist the Russian army, can our army send troops to occupy the Philippines. Also, what is the situation with the Northeast Navy of the Philippines? ”

Alfrea said: "The current Northeast Navy of the Philippines. All concentrated in the port of Manila. According to intelligence, the Northeast Navy now has 5 detachments, 3 of which are outside the port of Vladivostok, 1 in the port of Arthur in the Northeast, and the last 1 is in the port of Manila. ”

François asked, "What is the strength of the Northeast Navy in the port of Manila?" ”

Alfrea continued: "This Northeast Navy, known as the Fifth Fleet of the Northeast Navy, does not have all-steel battleships, but has 5 ironclad battleships with a displacement of more than 10,000 tons and 4 large fast armored cruisers as the main warships. There are also small warships such as protective cruisers, destroyers and torpedo boats. ”

François nodded thoughtfully, as the commander of the French expeditionary fleet. Hoping that the Combined Fleet would directly attack the port of Manila in the Philippines, eliminate the Northeast Navy detachment in the port of Manila, and weaken the strength of the Northeast Navy, he said: "The strength of the Northeast Navy of the Philippines is very weak. Tomorrow I will discuss with the commander of the Russian fleet, Rozhdestvinsky, to first wipe out the Northeast Navy in the Philippines and clear the way for the army. As for the problem of insufficient army strength, it can only be considered by the generals of those army forces. ”

Afterwards, François left Alfrea's residence and returned to the flagship Cecilia.

The next morning, Rozhdestvinsky, commander of the Russian Second Pacific Fleet, came to the bridge of the Cecilia to discuss with François about the operation of the Northeast Navy.

François proposed to attack the Philippine Northeast Naval Detachment first, but Rozhdestevinsky shook his head when he heard this, disagreeing with François's proposal. It is believed that the Combined Fleet should go directly to Vladivostok and join forces with the Russian First Pacific Fleet to destroy the main forces of the Northeast Navy, and should not waste time on these detachments of the Northeast Navy. and so that the main forces of the Northeast Navy were eliminated. These Northeast Navy detachments, and even all the naval bases of the Northeast Navy, are in the pocket of the navies of the two countries.

François only wanted to take the opportunity to wipe out the Northeast naval forces of the Philippines and clear the way for the French Army to occupy the Philippines in the future, but considering the words of the Russian commander Rozhdestwinsky, he also thought that as long as the main fleet of the Northeast Navy blocked outside the port of Vladivostok was eliminated. The remaining warships of the Northeast Navy are just minor troubles.

Moreover, if it is a joint operation with the Second Pacific Fleet of the Russian Navy, the opinion of the allies should be fully respected. Therefore, François dismissed the idea of first destroying the Philippine Northeast Naval Detachment, and agreed with Rozhdestvinsky that after the two joint fleets had finished resting and recuperating in Da Nang, they would go straight to the waters outside the port of Vladivostok, join the First Pacific Fleet of the Russian Navy in the port of Vladivostok, and destroy the three main fleets of the Northeast Navy blockading the port of Vladivostok.

During this period, Rozhdestvinsky, commander of the Russian Second Pacific Fleet, sent a telegram to Makarov, commander of the Russian First Pacific Fleet in Vladivostok, informing him that the combined fleet of Russia and France was already in Da Nang, Vietnam, and was about to leave for Vladivostok, and that the two men agreed by telegram that on November 3, they would flank the three main fleets of the Northeast Navy in the waters outside the port of Vladivostok. On October 27, the huge combined fleet of the two countries made a rapid journey north from Da Nang, heading straight for the Russian port of Vladivostok.

On November 3, 1898, the Northeast Navy blocked the radar of the three fleets in the port of Vladivostok, discovered a large bright spot in the south, and knew that the long-awaited combined fleet of the French Navy and the Russian Navy had finally arrived, so Lin Daxin, who was on the flagship of the First Fleet of the Northeast Navy, Shenyang, ordered the warships of the First Fleet and the Second Fleet to withdraw from the port of Vladivostok and assemble in the direction of Ussuri Bay near Russky Island to meet the combined fleet of the French Navy and the Russian Navy.

The Third Fleet, on the other hand, continued to block out the port of Vladivostok to deal with the Russian fleet coming out of the port of Vladivostok. At the same time, Lin Daxin sent a telegram to the eight airships parked on Russky Island, ordering the eight airships to prepare for liftoff immediately, Hercules, Helios, Mercury, Venus, and Mars launched an attack on the combined fleet of the French Navy and the Russian Navy, and the Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus directly bombed the Russian ships in the port of Vladivostok.

The days of waiting are also difficult, although there is already an airship as a killer feature, but these days Lin Daxin is still up and down in his heart, and he can't help but hope that the Franco-Russian joint fleet will come soon, and fight happily, and divide the victory and defeat. Now that the Franco-Russian combined fleet is finally here, it also makes Lin Daxin breathe a sigh of relief, and a sea battle that can definitely shock the world is about to break out. (To be continued)