Hearing Ren Chao say this, Wang Weihua and Ye Feng couldn't help but nod. Before, they focused on the European powers, and indeed ignored the United States, but now they have been awakened by Ren Chao, and they realize the key role that the United States can play in this war.

"Lao Mei is now, like us, taking the attitude of sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger fight, taking the opportunity to make some war money and preserve its strength. However, once the United States enters the war, it will inevitably affect the entire war situation, and the United States will certainly become a great enemy of ours. Ren Chao said with a stern face.

"Then which side does Your Majesty think the United States will join?" Wang Weihua asked suspiciously.

"In my judgment, it is more likely that I will join the side of the Entente. However, they should not participate in the war for the time being, unless the Entente side loses, for example, if Tsarist Russia is out of the game early, then the United States may not be able to sit still. Ren Chao said after thinking about it.

Ye Feng frowned and thought for a while and said, "Then His Majesty is planning to join the side of the Allied Powers and fight against the Entente together?" ”

Ren Chao smiled and said, "In fact, which side we join, what we have to consider is not which side can win, but which side we join to obtain greater benefits." With the current strength of our Huaxia Empire, there is no need to fear any enemy at all, and we are confident that we can defeat any enemy. ”

"Your Majesty!" Wang Weihua and Ye Feng said in unison, although Ren Chao didn't say it explicitly, but neither of them was a fool, and they had already guessed what Ren Chao had in mind.

……

On the battleship Huaxia, Zhou Jingbo, commander of the North Sea Fleet, held a telescope and looked at the blue sea in the distance, with a solemn expression; at present, the main force of the North Sea Fleet has rushed to the waters near the Ussuri Bay, and according to the latest intelligence from the Military Intelligence Department, the main force of the Russian Pacific Fleet has left the port of Vladivostok. But so far, the North Sea Fleet has not found any traces of the Russian fleet, which makes Zhou Jingbo slightly worried.

"Report to the commander, the North Korean fleet has just sent a message that says. The traces of the main force of the Russian Pacific Fleet were discovered, located in the waters about 100 nautical miles northeast of our North Sea Fleet. Just then, a naval officer came up and said loudly.

"What? The Russian fleet has been discovered! Zhou Jingbo said excitedly, turned his head and looked at the map, and then the staff officer next to him pointed out the approximate location of the Russian fleet on the map.

Zhou Jingbo quickly calmed down, frowned and thought for a while, and ordered with a stern face, "Order the North Korean fleet to closely monitor the movements of the Russian fleet and find a way to hold back the Russian fleet." ”

"The commander, with the strength of the Korean fleet, is probably no match for the Russian fleet." The chief of staff next to him couldn't help but remind.

"I know, order the Third Fleet to immediately rush to support the Korean fleet. The main forces of the fleet are inserted behind the Russian Pacific Fleet. Prevent the Russian fleet from escaping back to the military port of Vladivostok. Zhou Jingbo then ordered.

"Yes!"

On October 5, 1914, in the morning, the fleet of the Korean Kingdom under the Chinese Empire first discovered the main force of the Tsarist Pacific Fleet, which opened the prelude to the Battle of Shengwu.

The main forces of the Russian Pacific Fleet discovered the traces of the Korean Fleet almost at the same time, and the Russians knew very well that with the strength of the Russian Pacific Fleet, it could not compete with the North Sea Fleet of the Chinese Empire. Although in terms of the number of capital battleships, the North Sea Fleet had a total of 9 battleships, and the Tsarist Pacific Fleet had 8 battleships. In terms of numbers, there is not much difference in strength between the two. But qualitatively. Then it was a far cry, of the 9 battleships of the North Sea Fleet, 4 of which were dreadnoughts, and the remaining 5 belonged to the former dreadnoughts. And the eight Russian battleships were all former dreadnoughts.

Judging by the development of dreadnoughts. The Tsarist Russian Navy was significantly behind the world's major naval powers at that time, and at present, all major naval powers have been equipped with dreadnoughts. In 1911, Tsarist Russia also began to build its first dreadnought, the Gangut-class battleship, a total of four. Leaving aside the strength of the Gangut-class battleships for the time being, let's just say that although these four dreadnoughts have been basically built, they have not yet entered service. According to the history until December 1914. The first dreadnought of Tsarist Russia was officially commissioned. That is to say, so far there is not a single dreadnought in the entire Tsarist Russian Navy, let alone the Russian Pacific Fleet.

Therefore, in terms of overall strength, there is a lot of difference between the Russian Pacific Fleet and the North Sea Fleet, not to mention that in addition to the North Sea Fleet, there is also the North Korean fleet on the Chinese side. In the past ten years, with the vigorous support of China, the DPRK Navy has developed rapidly, and the DPRK fleet now has two battleships (former dreadnoughts), cruisers, and more than 20 destroyers, with a total tonnage of nearly 150,000 tons, which is also a force that cannot be ignored. If the North Sea Fleet and the North Korean Fleet meet, the Pacific Fleet has almost no hope of victory.

Therefore, after discovering the North Korean fleet, the Russians were very excited, especially when they learned that the main force of the North Sea Fleet was not with the main force of the North Korean fleet, and the Russians thought that this was a godsend. If they can be the first to defeat the weaker North Korean fleet, then the Russian Pacific Fleet still has the strength to fight the North Sea Fleet, so the Russians decided to take the lead in defeating the North Korean fleet.

Persimmon has to be picked up and pinched softly, such a simple truth, the Russians are also very clear. Therefore, after discovering the North Korean fleet, the main force of the Russian Pacific Fleet rushed forward with great momentum, hoping to take advantage of this opportunity to defeat the North Korean fleet in one fell swoop, further weaken the strength of the Chinese side, and narrow the balance of strength between the two sides.

The North Koreans also knew that with their strength, they could not compete with the Russian Pacific Fleet at all, and seeing the Russians rushing up, the North Koreans made a very wise decision at this time, that is, to turn around and run. The enemy is too strong, and he can't deal with it by himself, so he can only seek the protection of his big brother. The intention of the Koreans was to lure the Russians further afield, and then let the big brother of China help annihilate them in one fell swoop.

The Koreans' run made the Russians make a wrong judgment, and they were also worried that the Huaxia fleet was nearby. However, the North Koreans' run made the Russians mistakenly believe that the North Sea Fleet was not in the nearby waters, because if the North Sea Fleet was nearby, the North Korean Fleet would not have to flee at all, but should try its best to pester the Russian fleet and wait for the North Sea Fleet to rescue. But the North Koreans ran away, and they fled so simply, so the Russians thought that the North Sea Fleet was definitely not in the nearby waters and could not rescue the North Korean fleet in time, so the North Korean fleet would run away so simply.

Of course, the Russians also thought that this was a trick of the Koreans to lure the enemy, but the Russians believed that this place was not too far from Vladivostok, and although the strength of the Russian Pacific Fleet was not as strong as that of the North Sea Fleet, it was not so weak that it would be vulnerable to attack, and even if they could not defeat it, they would be sure to escape back to Vladivostok. So the Russians, who refused to give up this opportunity, could only chase after it. (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you very much for the generous reward of the book friend "exhausted the floating life"!