In the eastern waters of the Ryukyu Islands, a huge battleship flying the Rising Sun flag is sailing on the sea, and this battleship is the only remaining battlecruiser of the Japanese Navy, the second ship of the "Kongo-class" battlecruiser, and the "Hiei" battlecruiser.

Although it was a battlecruiser built and commissioned before World War I, its speed of 27.5 knots and four twin 45-caliber 356mm guns made the Hiei a formidable capital ship even now. The only drawback is that the armor defense is relatively weak. If you encounter an enemy capital ship, although the 356 mm main gun can penetrate the armor of the enemy's capital ship, your own armor will also be easily torn apart by the main gun of the enemy's capital ship. This is probably the criticism that all British battlecruisers exist. The thin-skinned British battlecruisers, which had been proven in the Battle of Jutland and the Battle of Ceylon, were not suitable for capital ship battles at all, and at most were used to bully some heavy cruisers or even light cruisers with smaller tonnage and weaker defenses.

After exiting the Sasebo Naval Base, the battlecruiser Hiei sailed eastward, bypassing the island of Kyushu and entering the Pacific Ocean under the cover of night. For the battlecruiser Hiei, the narrow bathtub-like East China Sea was not suitable for him to fight. On the contrary, the vast Pacific Ocean is more suitable. In addition, although the political antagonism between the Chinese empire and the United States is becoming more and more serious. However, economic trade is booming. This resulted in a large number of Chinese merchant ships crossing the Pacific. Most of these merchant ships enter the East China Sea from the waters near the Ryukyu Islands. If the battlecruiser Hiei had been active in the western Pacific, it would have been easier to sink more Chinese merchant ships. It is also more difficult to be blocked by the warships of the Chinese Navy.

The captain of the battlecruiser "Hiei" Yasuhei Osa, Yoshikawa Yasuhei Osa, thought that he had chosen a very good combat area, which would not only allow him to achieve as much victory as possible, but also to preserve himself as much as possible. It's a win-win.

In the battle on August 21 alone, as many as seven merchant ships were sunk by the battlecruiser Hiei, and as many as a dozen fishing boats were sunk. Of course, before the merchant ships sank, the news that they had been subjected to the battlecruiser Hiei was sent by telegram. The Imperial Navy has already sent warships. I came to encircle and suppress the battlecruiser Hiei.

It's just that the Pacific Ocean is vast, and it is undoubtedly more difficult to find a battle cruiser in the vast ocean than to ascend to the sky. This allowed the battlecruiser Hiei to continue to show off its might in this area.

However, after August 22, the good fortune of the battlecruiser 'Hiei' seemed to run out. At dawn, a Chinese Navy's 'Shark-class' submarine surfaced more than 10 kilometers away from the 'Hiei' battle cruiser. After discovering this big guy. The submarine immediately sent a telegram and fled. And the battlecruiser 'Hiei' didn't know anything at all.

After receiving the telegram, the command of the Pacific Fleet of the Imperial Navy immediately ordered the warships of the encirclement fleet operating in the vicinity to go to the sea area to search for the battlecruiser 'Hiei' and try to sink it. If the Hiei battlecruiser could be sunk, there would be only four Kii-class battleships left in the capital ships of the Japanese Navy. Other than that. It will have a major impact on the morale of the Japanese Navy.

Battleships of the Imperial Navy operating in the nearby seas. These include a 'Five Emperor-class' battleship, a 'Tsurotto-class' heavy cruiser, a 'Zodiac-class' improved heavy cruiser, and a 'Xuanwu-class' light cruiser.

The light cruiser "Niu Taurus" was the closest to the place where the submarine found the battlecruiser "Hiei". So, the light cruiser was able to sail at speeds up to 35 knots. Rush to that sea.

Two hours later, even at 7:48 a.m., the light cruiser Niu-Taurus spotted the battlecruiser Hiei. However, the light cruiser "Niu Taurus" stopped eighteen kilometers away from the battle cruiser "Hiei" and did not get any closer. Even the light cruiser "Bull Taurus" had a displacement of more than 10 thousand tons. This is equivalent to about 30 percent of the battlecruiser 'Hiei'. However, a single shot of the 356 mm guns of the battlecruiser 'Hiei' was able to inflict heavy damage on the light cruiser 'Bull Taurus'. If it is hit by the vital point, it is even more likely to make the light cruiser "Niu Taurus" kill the soul.

Therefore, the light cruiser "Niu Taurus" was only able to send the position of the "Hiei" battlecruiser and call for other warships to come as soon as possible.

After receiving the telegram from the light cruiser 'Niu Jinniu', the heavy cruisers 'Shock' and 'Youji' rushed to this area at a speed of thirty knots. However, the Imperial Navy's battleship "Zhuan" was only able to increase its speed to 23 knots. In addition, the battleship "Zhuan" is still hundreds of nautical miles away from this sea area. If it were to arrive, even if the 'Hiei' battlecruiser did not leave, it would take four or five hours. If the battlecruiser Hiei fled at the opposite speed, the battleship Tsubishi would not be able to catch up.

When the light cruiser "Niu-Taurus" discovered the battlecruiser "Hiei", the battlecruiser "Hiei" also discovered the light cruiser "Niu-Taurus". The terrible sirens were already sounding over the battlecruiser Hiei.

"A light cruiser of the Chinese is 18,000 kilometers away from us."

"Yaga! How can there be a light cruiser of the China people here? "The construction of the battlecruiser 'Hiei' Yoshikawa Yasuhei Osa, scolded. Although the battlecruiser Hiei was very powerful, he did not think that the battlecruiser Hiei would be able to escape if it was besieged by the enemy.

"Confirm the identity of the counter." Yoshikawa Yasuhei Osaku ordered.

A few minutes later, the staff officer reported that the light cruiser had been identified. It was one of the 'Xuanwu-class' light cruisers of the Chinese Navy.

"One of the 'Xuanwu-class' light cruisers? There's no way to get rid of it. Yoshikawa Yasuhei sighed.

The speed of the 'Xuanwu-class' light cruiser was as high as 35 knots, while the speed of the 'Hiei' battlecruiser was only 27.5 knots. The gap in section 7.5 made it impossible for the battlecruiser Hiei to escape the tracking of the light cruiser Taurus Niu.

Yoshikawa Yasuhei Osa was almost certain that the Chinese Navy's light cruiser had sent the news of the encounter with the battlecruiser Hiei. It is foreseeable that a large number of warships of the Chinese Navy are rushing to this area.

The battlecruiser 'Hiei', as a broken ship, it is better not to show its tracks. Otherwise, once exposed, it will be impossible to escape the end of being besieged. If they were unable to get rid of the opposing light cruisers, it would be even more difficult for the 'Hiei' battlecruiser to fly.

In which direction should I retreat? Yoshikawa Yasuhei Daisa thought secretly. He did not know from which direction other warships of the Chinese Navy were coming. If the direction of the evacuation is to move in the opposite direction of the Chinese Navy's warships, wouldn't that be a self-defeating trap?

As for the sinking of the light cruiser of the Chinese Navy, it is even more impossible. It is impossible for the other side to take the initiative to come up and send him to his death, knowing that he is not the opponent of the 'Hiei' battlecruiser. The captains of the Chinese Navy are not caught in the door.

A few minutes later, Yoshikawa Yasuhei Daisa made a decision.

"Order the battleship to sail eastward, increasing the speed to 25 knots!" Yoshikawa Yasuhei Osaku ordered.

Sailing east can ensure that you will not encounter the capital ships of the Chinese Navy, after all, to the east is deep into the Pacific Ocean. The Chinese Navy is fighting the Japanese Navy, and it is impossible to deploy in the depths of the Pacific Ocean. The battlecruiser Hiei could go around in a large circle and throw off its deep tail. Even if you only need to insist on the night, you may be able to use the cover of the night to get rid of the other party. If you're lucky, you might be able to take advantage of the opportunity to close the distance between the two sides, and then launch a surprise attack that will sink the other side in one fell swoop. In this case, the crisis will be completely resolved.

The reason for the increase in speed to 25 knots is that the vast majority of the capital ships of the Chinese Navy have a maximum speed of only 25 knots. Moreover, it is impossible for these capital ships to rush at a speed of 25 knots. The Hiei can take advantage of this speed and escape leisurely.

When the light cruiser "Niu Taurus" discovered the movement of the "Hiei", it immediately reported the situation to the command.

The staff officers of the Imperial Navy Command also had to admire the wisdom of the battle cruiser 'Hiei' and actually chose to retreat in this direction. In this way, the battlecruiser Hiei will be farther and farther away from the battleship of the Imperial Navy. It was even more difficult for the Imperial Navy to sink the battlecruiser Hiei.

However, it was not easy to catch the battlecruiser 'Hiei', so naturally it could not be allowed to escape.

The commander of the Imperial Navy, Marshal Cheng Biguang, ordered the light cruiser "Niu Jinniu" to keep a close eye on the "Hiei" battle cruiser and not let him escape. At the same time, let the heavy cruisers "Shocking" and "Youji" arrive as soon as possible, and use these two heavy cruisers to besiege the "Hiei" battlecruiser. Even if it could not be sunk, even if it could be damaged, especially if it damaged the power or steering mechanism of the battlecruiser Hiei, it would undoubtedly create an opportunity for the battlecruiser Hiei. (To be continued.) )

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