At 8:50 a.m., the capital ships of China and Britain exchanged fire one after another at a distance of 5,000 meters!

It is worth noting that at this time, because both sides are grabbing the T prefix at the same time, but because the distance between the two sides is quite close, it also leads to both sides grabbing the T prefix, but in fact, both sides can't grab the T prefix.

At 8:56, seeing that it was impossible to seize the T-shape, Admiral Lin Tongshu once again gave an order, and the main fleet turned to the left at thirty degrees! And ordered the second battleship detachment and the first battleship detachment in the rear to closely follow the third battleship detachment and maintain a tight column!

The British also made the same choice, in the face of the Imperial Navy's one-line column, the British also knew that they had no chance to seize the T-shape, in this case, their choice was very limited, that is, like the Imperial Navy, keep the one-line column, and then carry out the most direct and cruel line confrontation with the Imperial Navy.

Since the Battle of the Pearl River Estuary and the Battle of Lisa in the 60s, the V-shaped wedge tactics have been rampant all over the world for decades, but today, after entering the 90s, the two naval powers, China and Britain, have invariably returned to the tactics of line battles.

As the fleets of the two sides turned, the main fleets of the two sides kept a horizontal distance of about four thousand meters and Han Kai shelled it.

At this distance, both the main and secondary guns are firing fiercely!

At first, only the new capital ships of both sides exchanged fire, but after about twenty minutes, the second-line forces of both sides, that is, the old battleships and armored cruisers, also entered the battlefield.

Combined, the two sides had more than 20 capital ships of more than 10,000 tons in total and launched the most direct and brutal line of fire in this sea area.

The fireworks from the muzzles, the rumbling sound that constantly echoes on the sea, and the huge columns of water that rise from time to time on the surface of the sea all represent the largest battle of steel giants in the history of mankind taking place here.

In the first 10 minutes of the battle between the two sides, the main guns of the main fleets of the two sides had a very limited rate of fire, on the one hand, the rate of fire of the contemporary main guns was limited, generally speaking, it took between one minute and two minutes on average to be able to fire a shell, and in addition, the contemporary observation and fire control equipment were very primitive, and whether or not they could hit the ground completely depended on the experience and character of the gunnery officers.

However, despite the low hit rate, dozens of warships on both sides had at least 100 main guns above the nine-inch level, which averaged at least nearly 100 shells per minute.

Therefore, although the overall hit rate is low, it is not possible to see that there are battleships concentrated by shells at the main gun level, and there are more hits from the secondary guns.

On the main mast on the Emperor, the gunnery officer who climbed up was holding a telescope to observe the landing point of his own shells, but it was a bit difficult to accurately observe the landing point of his own shells, because now the Emperor was shelling a monarch-class battleship led by the British together with the Kuafu in the rear.

This was one of the three Sovereign-class battleships that the British put into battle, and its full load tonnage also reached more than 15,000 tons, and its main guns were four main guns 343 mm and 30 times.

In addition, the British also had three cutting-edge second-class battleships, the Prestige, and two Centennial-class battleships, which were built a few years later than the Sovereign class, and were a little more technologically superior to the Sovereign class.

As a comparison, the first of the two battleships of the Empire, the Yandi class, was fully loaded with more than 15,000 tons, and the main gun was 300 mm and 35 times the body barrel. The second is a Houyi-class battleship, with a full load displacement of more than 16,000 tons, and the main gun is 300 mm and 40 times the body barrel.

With so many cutting-edge capital ships and so many shells fired, there will always be a hit.

At 9:03 a.m., the gunnery officer on the main mast of the Emperor Yu shouted in surprise: "Hit, hit the enemy ship No. 1!" ”

Just as he shouted, the others were actually watching the violent explosion on the British monarch-class battleship leading the way opposite!

This must have penetrated the thick vertical armor, and then penetrated deep into the inner compartment to explode, to be able to cause such a large-scale explosion, the fire of the explosion could, you can see that the front half of the British ship was smashed into a large hole, and the violent explosion seemed to lift the upper horizontal deck.

There is no doubt that the 300 mm shells fired by the Emperor can definitely cause such an effect!

When the main gun of 300 mm and 40 times the barrel is combined with the armor-piercing shell with the TN'T charge, it can successfully penetrate the armor belt of the enemy ship and explode violently deep inside.

"Good!" On the Houyi that followed behind, Lin Tongshu also saw the violent explosion of the enemy's No. 1 ship on the opposite side!

This should be the first actual result of the Imperial Navy in this naval battle, although there have been a lot of hits before, and the shells of the main guns have also hit a lot, for example, a minute ago, the Kuafu also hit the shell of one of the main guns of the enemy ship, but unfortunately it should have just hit the main armor belt of the enemy ship, and it should still be the thickest part, and the huge armor-piercing shell only smashed a small hole in the armor of the enemy ship.

There were shells from the main guns that hit other parts of the enemy ship, but for the first time, it was really possible to penetrate the main armor belt, and then hit deep inside and with a big explosion!

However, Lin Tongshu's joy did not last long, just two minutes later, a 343 mm main gun shell from the British fleet hit the Tianwu, this shell did not hit the hull, but hit the front main gun turret circle lower position, and then the violent explosion almost lifted the entire front main gun turret of the Tianwu, and the ammunition in the front main gun of the Tianwu was martyred!

Accompanied by several violent explosions in a row, the first half of the Tianwu was in a mess, and the turret of the entire front main gun was lifted, revealing a huge hole, and the subsequent explosion also severely damaged the hull structure of the first half of the ship and caused a fire!

The Tianwu was forced to temporarily withdraw from the battle line, began to turn left to widen the distance between it and the battle line, and then carried out all efforts to extinguish the fire and close the damage, and did its best to save the battleship.

Tianwu from the battle to withdraw, before and after only a dozen minutes, in the process, he was also hit by many secondary artillery shells, but this time, only hit a main artillery shell, is a heavy hit, it can be seen that although the contemporary theory of the uselessness of the main gun is very common, but the power of the main gun is still not to be underestimated!

However, the many six-inch secondary guns on the battleship are quite embarrassing, for cruisers and even armored cruisers, these six-inch secondary guns can still be useful, but for the existence of the battleship level, the battleship with the concept of full protection, even if it is a random six-inch hardened armor, can block the eight-inch level artillery.

So there is only one use left for these secondary guns, which is to wash the deck!

But in fact, for battleships, the tactic of washing the deck is not very large, especially for the battleships of the Imperial Navy, which is even less useful, because the Imperial Navy pursues comprehensive protection for the capital ship, the area of the armor belt is very large, and the turret is also a closed turret, no matter how many small and medium-caliber shells you come to wash the deck, it will not be able to cause too much fatal damage.

On the other hand, if the shell of the main gun is effective, as long as it hits one shot, it can basically cause fatal damage.

In the first ten minutes of the battle, a British Sovereign-class battleship was heavily damaged, and the Imperial Navy's Tianwu was also severely damaged and was forced to withdraw from the battle for repairs.

This is a battle between the two sides!

However, Lin Tongshu, commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet, did not pay attention to these things, and now the line battle between the main fleets has been carried out in an all-round inertia, and there is not much room for tactical command, and now the two sides can only rely on continuous artillery and artillery re-fire, and whoever can hit the enemy's more shells will be able to win.

Now Admiral Lin Tongshu has set his sights on the right rear of the fleet, where there is the second main fleet of the Imperial Navy, a fleet that is small in number, but it is enough to determine the outcome of the battlefield.

That was Vice Admiral Wang Liyong's fast maneuver fleet, which contained the Empire's latest six armored cruisers!

At 9:23, on the Ziyuan, Wang Liyong did not wear regular clothes with most of the naval officers, but wore a full admiral's dress.

On the navy's admiral dress, there was a badge of his viscount nobility, which was the viscount title he had obtained after fighting in the navy for more than thirty years, and he climbed the conning tower on the Ziyuan with white gloves!

"Your Excellency Commander has arrived!" With the adjutant's shout, many of the officers in the command tower immediately raised their heads and saluted.

Wang Liyong also stretched out his hand to return a military salute, and then said: "It's all hard!" ”

Looking at the smiling appearance of His Excellency the commander, the officers and staff officers in the command tower were all a little peepy at each other, and at the moment of the war, Wang Liyong's expression was so relaxed at this time, it really made them a little incomprehensible.

But those who are familiar with Wang Liyong know that the more critical the moment, Wang Liyong's performance is abnormal, and when he commands the battle, he always looks like a kind elder.

Wang Liyong moved his somewhat obese body and took two steps forward, and he was still talking; "This person is old, and he is tired and panicked after walking a few steps!"

Wang Liyong is not tall, and his body is a little fat, Rao is the most outstanding design of the imperial navy's admiral's dress, but wearing this person, he still can't see that Wang Liyong has any soldier's strong and capable atmosphere.

Wang Liyong went up and forth, then swept left and right, and then said: "I ran ahead just now to take a look, this Brit is still very cautious, there are many guard fleets, and there are many first-class cruisers!" ”

A young major beside him said: "Your Excellency, the firepower and protection of our fleet are better than that of the first-class protective cruisers of the enemy fleet and the old armored cruisers, and our fleet will win this battle!" ”

When the young man spoke, his voice was extremely high and full of passion, Wang Liyong glanced at the young man, and then nodded and said, "Major Lin looks very confident!" ”

This young man Lin Shaoxiao is not an ordinary person, named Lin Yu, although he is only a naval lieutenant, but he has the title of viscount, and the noble title is equivalent to him Wang Liyong, he is so young, this noble title is naturally impossible for him to earn by himself, but inherited, his father is Lin Lan, Lin Zhe's cousin.

Lin Lan because of the identity of the royal family, so he also successfully entered the official career in the early years, at first he was just working in the palace affairs hall, and later Lin Zhe saw that his ability was not bad, and he did not rely on the royal status to make trouble, so he slowly raised it and engaged in diplomatic work according to his own wishes.

Lin Lan had been engaged in diplomacy for nearly twenty years, and finally died of a serious illness while serving as the imperial minister to France, when Lin Lan's title was already an ordinary earl.

After Lin Lan fell seriously ill, Lin Zhe also remembered his contribution in the field of diplomacy, and he was posthumously awarded the title of Uncle Wenzhuang, although he was posthumously awarded the title of earl, but with this title, it means that his title can be reduced to a baron, and it will continue to be hereditary.

One of only thirty hereditary nobles in the Empire!

After Lin Lan died, although Lin Yu was the second son, his eldest brother had died young many years earlier, so he inherited Lin Lan's title, and after reducing the hereditary rank, he was a viscount, but he still had the title of 'Viscount Wenzhuang'.

However, although he inherited the hereditary title and is still a member of the royal family, this status is already extremely noble, but Lin Yu still chose the road of joining the army.

In fact, it is not only him, in fact, in the empire, the proportion of military and political dignitaries, and the children of nobles joining the army is quite high, because joining the army to obtain military merits is the best way to obtain or maintain the title of nobility.

For the sake of glory and wealth, so you can see a large group of noble children running to join the army, and people like Lin Yu are still relatively ordinary, strictly counted.

Of the more than 30 hereditary noble families in the empire, more than 20 families have heirs who serve in the navy and army, and a considerable number of nobles who have inherited titles are still in service.

Therefore, in the future, it should not be strange to see a school official who is called a marquis, an earl, a prince, etc., because most of these are the children of nobles who have inherited the title or are about to inherit the title.

Lieutenant General Wang Liyong didn't have anything special for Lin Yu because of his identity, and he just nodded to Lin Yu's words, and then said, "What do you all think, let's talk about it!" ”

At the moment, everyone just spoke one after another, but most of the content was cliché, Wang Liyong nodded after listening to it: "Well, I know it, we are all ready next, we are going to start!" ”

Don't look at Wang Liyong's relaxed expression, but now his ship, the Ziyuan, is only five or six kilometers away from the British armored battleship fleet in front, and it is already about to enter the range!

Looking at the horizontal formation in front of him, as if he was about to occupy the British fleet with a T-shape, Wang Liyong smiled: "The herald turned left sixty degrees!" (To be continued.) )