Marshal David Beatty has regarded this naval battle as a battle that can only be won and cannot be lost. For this reason, he did not hesitate to gamble with the main force of the Royal Navy's expeditionary fleet. If he wins, it will be of great benefit to him personally, to the Royal Navy, and to the British Empire. But if he loses, then himself, the Royal Navy, and the entire British Empire, will fall into the abyss, and fall into the abyss.

Of course, Marshal David Beatty also knew that his actions were undoubtedly risky. However, it was as if he was sure that he would win.

"By the way, what about our 'Prestige' battlecruisers? Why didn't I see it? "Marshal David Beatty asked. ' The design of the prestige-class battlecruiser made him a little disdainful. But the three twin-mounted 45-caliber 381-mm guns are still very powerful. Especially now that there are only eighteen capital ships left in the expeditionary fleet, it is necessary to gather all the forces to ensure that the Royal Navy has the greatest advantage in future naval battles.

"Your Excellency, when you asked me to come closer to you, I had already sent the 'Prestige' battlecruisers out. Later, a telegram was sent to them again, because of the detour, so it was probably a little farther, and it would be a little later. General Charles Madden said.

Marshal David Betty nodded: "Order the fleet to sail southwest at a speed of 6 knots." After 12 o'clock, turn southeast again. After dawn, destroyers and light cruisers were sent out, looking for the location of the main fleet of the Chinese Navy, and then attacking. We must win this battle! ”

"Yes, Your Excellency." Admiral Charles Madden nodded.

The sun sank into the horizon. The entire sea was plunged into darkness. The Royal Navy's expeditionary fleet has also begun to implement light control. With the current technological conditions, it is very difficult to fight at night. Generally speaking, if you want to spot an enemy ship, you often need to get very close. Therefore, the expeditionary fleet can take a good rest. Gather strength for tomorrow's battles.

On the other side, on the battleship 'Fuxi', the flagship of the Chinese Navy, the battleship has implemented light control. The command tower of the bridge also had thick blankets blocking the windows. Although it makes the inside of the command tower look a little stuffy, it doesn't let the light inside leak out.

Marshal Cheng Biguang, commander of the Imperial Navy, was reading today's battle damage report. Although, in today's battle, the Imperial Navy sank a number of British Navy warships. However, their own casualties were not small. The battleship 'Longxiang' was sunk. Four 'B-class' destroyers were sunk, two 'Qinglong-class' light cruisers were heavily damaged, and two 'B-class' destroyers were heavily damaged. More than 1,000 officers and men were killed in the battle, and hundreds were seriously wounded. Such a price is actually not small. The main thing was that the battleship "Longxiang" was sunk, which made the losses of the Imperial Navy somewhat large.

The battleship "Longxiang" is the second ship of the "Longteng-class" battleship, the first class battleship of the Imperial Navy, in the rise of the Imperial Navy. It's a great achievement. At the beginning, the First World War between the Imperial Navy and the Japanese Navy. The reason why the Imperial Navy was able to win more with less and the weak to defeat the strong was mainly because the performance of the two 'Longteng-class' battleships was far above the former dreadnoughts of the Japanese Navy. It was that war that brought the Imperial Navy back from its sinking to the point where it is now a world-class navy.

In particular, Vice Admiral Liu Guanxiong, Chief of Staff of the Pacific Fleet. When I learned that the battleship 'Longxiang' was sinking, I felt a little uncomfortable. When the battleships "Longteng" and "Longxiang" returned to China, he was the captain of the battleship "Longxiang" and the first captain of the battleship "Longxiang". Without the battleship 'Longxiang', there would be no current one.

"Marshal. Go and rest. It's getting late. Maybe there's another tough battle tomorrow. Lieutenant General Liu Guanxiong said.

"Hmmm! With the character of David Betty, he will definitely not give up after suffering such a big loss today. Now the British have only two options in front of them. Either retreat and admit defeat, or make a desperate bet and fight to the death with us. My guess is that David Beatty is undoubtedly much more likely to choose the second path. Therefore, today's naval battles are nothing more than appetizers. Tomorrow will be the real decisive battle. Marshal Cheng Biguang asserted.

"What do you think David Betty will do, Marshal?" Lieutenant General Liu Guanxiong asked.

"It's simple. Today they have lost six battle cruisers, as well as a large number of heavy cruisers, light cruisers and destroyers, and have lost a lot of strength. Next, he had to gather all the main forces of the British expeditionary fleet, and then wait for the opportunity to inflict heavy losses on us. From today's battle, he should also see that our navy is divided into two parts. If we haven't gathered together tomorrow, this will undoubtedly give him a chance. When the time comes, he will attack one of our parts with the main force of the expeditionary fleet, trying to eat us in one bite. In that case, they may be able to turn the tide and regain the upper hand. Marshal Cheng Biguang said.

"Marshal, who will be the priority target of David Betty, us or General Lee?" Liu Guanxiong continued to ask.

Marshal Cheng Biguang shook his head: "It's hard to say. After all, General Li and his side have 11 capital ships, and the 'Five Emperor-class' battleships of the Imperial Navy are not easy to mess with. Although there are only nine battleships on our side, the 'Three Emperor-class' battleships and the 'Pinghai-class' battleships are on our side. We're also not easy to mess with. As for which side David Betty will choose to attack, it is up to him to choose. ”

"For the sake of prudence, the distance between our two fleets cannot be too far. It must be within 30 nautical miles. In this way, if it is attacked by the British, it can be quickly responded," Marshal Cheng Biguang continued.

If they were only thirty nautical miles apart, another fleet would be able to arrive in two to three hours in the event of a naval battle. From the beginning to the end of a naval battle, it often takes a long time. Especially if you have a lot of power. Therefore, if you arrive in two or three hours, you will not delay the fighters. On the contrary, it will be able to drag the British Navy back and create an opportunity to encircle and annihilate them.

Lieutenant General Liu Guanxiong nodded: "I hope they choose to attack us." In that case, we will be able to give those Brits a taste of the power of our 'Three Emperors' battleships. It was also time to let the British know what it was like to attack old warships with the latest warships. ”

Marshal Cheng Biguang smiled, he knew that Vice Admiral Liu Guanxiong was still worried about the sinking of the battleship 'Longxiang'.

"Chief of Staff, you have to relax too. The crockpot will not be broken from Inoue, and the general will inevitably die in battle. This is not only the fate of soldiers, but also the fate of warships. The battleship 'Longxiang' was sunk in the Empire's national war, and it also died a well-deserved death. Marshal Cheng Biguang said.

"Yes, Marshal." Lieutenant General Liu Guanxiong nodded, he was not unable to let go, but he had always had a pimple in his heart. Give him a little time, and he will be able to unravel it.

The time of the night passed quickly, and at 5 o'clock in the morning of April 11, 4620 (22) of the Yellow Emperor Era, a trace of fish belly white had already appeared on the horizon. The darkness was also gradually dispelled by the light. The originally dim sea surface also became brighter.

However, a thick layer of fog appeared on the surface of the sea, which affected the view. The Imperial Navy began to send destroyers to expand the detection area to avoid being attacked by the enemy.

Less than twenty nautical miles from the main fleet of the Imperial Navy, a small fleet of two battle cruisers, two 'C-class' light cruisers, and two 'R-class' destroyers were sailing through this sea area. These two battle cruisers were the British Navy's 'prestige-class' battlecruisers. Yesterday at noon, Admiral Charles Madden sent these two 'prestige' battlecruisers to reinforce Marshal David Beatty. However, before they could arrive, Marshal David Betty had already been defeated and had to run away.

Later, Admiral Charles Marden issued a new order to join the main fleet. However, in the second half of the night, the sea was foggy, which made them lose their way at sea.

"Damn! How so? How long will it be before we can make it to the capital ship? "On the battlecruiser 'Prestige', the captain of the ship, Commodore Thomas, scolded. He was also the commander of this small fleet.

"General, it's about to dawn. Then the fog will clear. We will be able to join the main fleet as soon as possible. A staff officer replied.

Brigadier General Thomas nodded with a gloomy face.

The Chinese Navy's destroyer 'Bing-3' happened to be reconnoitring in this area. They stumbled upon them when they were less than five kilometers away from the small British fleet.

The destroyer 'C3' immediately retreated, and at the same time immediately sent a telegram to the flagship.

As soon as Marshal Cheng Biguang got up, he learned the news from the chief of staff, Lieutenant General Liu Guanxiong.

"Two of the British' battlecruisers of the 'Prestige class' are not far from us? Are you sure there are no other British battleships? Marshal Cheng Biguang looked surprised.

"Sure no!" Lieutenant General Liu Guanxiong replied affirmatively.

"Okay, arrange it, eat them in one bite!" Marshal Cheng Biguang immediately made a decision. (To be continued.) )

PS: The forty-sixth update is here, ask for a monthly pass and a reward!