Yang Hao's familiarity with the X201 boat is quite average, and he is not even as good as the deputy captain Jiao Hai, who has studied with Yang Haiwei for a long time.

Jiao Hai was the first batch of naval cadets recruited from the plane. He studied at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich, England. Originally, he planned to join the navy after returning to China and serve the imperial court. It turned out that in these years, you can't get ahead if you have the ability.

In addition, I have broadened my horizons in the past few years outside, and I am very blind to some of the styles of the aging Qing Empire and the Beiyang Naval Division. Depressed, he was introduced by his uncle, who was an agent for the Yang family, and after passing the inspection, he served as the deputy captain of X201.

This ship is full of secrets, and Jiao Hai has only just learned the basic operation. When it comes to technical details, he is still in the dark. Not to mention anything else, just in terms of electronic technology, don't think about it for a few years. The power system, the artillery system, and so on, are all new things that have never been seen before.

For Yang Haiwei, whose naval level is unfathomable, Jiao Hai can't be arrogant at all, which is full of admiration and respect.

And Yang Hao, a young owner who has a noble status, has never been indiscriminate, and his kind and natural attitude towards everyone also makes Jiao Hai feel more relaxed. Although the two worked together for the first time, they had quite a tacit understanding.

At that moment, there was no need to say anything, Jiao Hai naturally started the torpedo boat, scanned the surroundings with radar detection, and glided briskly towards the southern sea surface at a "low speed" of 18 knots.

They are located in such a way that a scan is guaranteed to the shore of the Goryeo Peninsula. Ships of this era still largely sail along the coastline. If the Japanese brigade is coming, it will inevitably not be able to escape their reconnaissance.

On the evening of July 15. 9 o'clock.

Gunsan Bay about 70 nautical miles from the sea where the fighting broke out. The main squadron of the Japanese Combined Fleet. Just settled in the anchor. Commander Ito was still on the flagship Matsushima, looking at the telegrams from all sides on land with a stern expression.

On the army side, the 11th and 21st Wings led by Yoshimasa Oshima were ready to attack. Its main force not only besieged Seoul and completely cut off external communications and news, but also sent a powerful force to block Nie Shicheng's main force near Chenghuanyi.

Now, just wait for the news from the Navy to come back. If they were sure to sink the Qing troop carriers, they would be able to attack immediately. A qiē will be completely seen tomorrow morning.

"What the future of the empire will be depends on whether our battle is smooth."

Ito Yuheng put down the text, looked up and asked Shimamura Suo, a staff officer who was serving on the side, "Still haven't you received news from the First Guerrilla?" ”

Captain Shimamura nodded vigorously: "Yes." Sir, I don't think this is normal. According to the agreement, Rear Admiral Tsuboi should have made contact with the enemy ship, or at least sent a report back. But neither land telegraphs nor sea speedboats, there was none. ”

Ito admired this excellent officer who was only a captain at the age of 36. With a faint smile: "It may also be that there is no anomaly, in order to save fuel and communication facilities." There was no notification. How, do you think. What obstacles might the Qing Navy create in the middle? ”

Shimamura Suo said with confidence and keen eyes: "Yes! I believe that our enemies should not be viewed in the same way as they were. The British Navy did not rate them lowly, and when it came to a real battle, we could not have won it easily. In addition, we must take seriously the existence of the 'ghost ship'. By all indications, it is helping our enemies! ”

"Ghost ship?"

Ito's smile froze, and he bowed thoughtfully: "It's a trouble." However, how much do you think a so-called 'ghost ship' can play in the face of a large group of advanced warships? ”

Shimamura stubbornly insisted: "We still don't know what the situation is. But judging from the fact that it sank Yaeyama with rapid firepower, it must have extremely powerful firepower, extremely high speed, extremely long artillery range, and extremely amazing naval quality! Such an enemy must not be taken lightly! I even suspect that he was watching from outside while we were moving! ”

That's a bit of an exaggeration, right?

Ito was a little unimpressed. Captain Shimamura was still younger after all. According to him, wouldn't the other side be able to crisscross the seas, come and go freely, and no one has yet been able to discover a powerful warship?

If so, then the question is, which side of the force they are and what kind of plans they have. The point is, where do they hide in normal times?

A warship like that would have a displacement of at least two or three thousand tons and hundreds of crew members. That's a big goal. A battleship is not a carriage, something that a carpenter can maintain. It is the pinnacle of today's world's various technologies, whether it is maneuvering, mooring, daily maintenance, or even ammunition replenishment, it requires a huge base.

Along the coast of China, the Japanese Navy knows all the docks capable of berthing 3,000-ton ships. A few days ago, I reconnoitred one by one, and with the spies and spies all over the Qing country, there was no reason why I didn't find any traces at all.

And as far as Ito knows, Britain, France, the United States, and Russia are also secretly listening to the news of this "ghost ship". They didn't have such a powerful intelligence force, and it was obvious that Shimamura's judgment was a bit outrageous and unreasonable.

However, His Excellency the Commander still values the views of the other side.

In Japan, Shimamura can be called the "father of the navy" in military tactics. As early as six years ago, when he was just 30 years old, he published his famous essay "A Glimpse of Naval Tactics", which directly led to the compilation of "Naval Exercise Teachings" and "Naval Drill Manual". Don't look at the low rank, the contribution is not small at all.

If there are no accidents, this will be a promising young general.

After thinking about it for a while, Ito Yuheng nodded: "Then ...... Ask someone to take the initiative to contact us! At least to know the whereabouts of the 1st guerrillas. It's a waste of time to do that. ”

"Hey! I'll arrange it! ”

When Shimamura saw that his opinion had been adopted, his heart was filled with joy and he hurriedly withdrew from the command room.

Chief of Staff Shark Island came in from outside and said with a smile: "The young man is just full of energy!" I can't do that with such a sharp mind. It seems that handing over the work to him is the right choice. ”

Ito Yuhiro was really helpless about this chief of staff who liked to do everything, shook his head and said, "You can't always let them think cranky." In the final analysis, the war against the Qing State must be won by regular soldiers. Some external contingent forces, if too much attention, may affect judgment. ”

Shark Island smiled and didn't comment.

Shimamura quickly gave the order and dispatched the No. 22 torpedo boat to set off as a communication ship and rush to the north.

It is an 83-ton steam speedboat that was built and commissioned only last year, with a total power of 1,200 horsepower, and a maximum speed of 24 knots during the test. However, in the end, the measured power was only 926 horsepower and the speed was 19 knots. The cruising range is 1000 nautical miles at 10 knots.

It is armed with two Hatch Kaisi 47mm cannons and three 360mm torpedo tubes.

In fact, Shimamura wanted to send out a battleship the most. However, this seems to be too much of a fuss, and it may cause unhappiness among the other generals. When dispatched, he repeatedly told the captain: "Be careful of any abnormal conditions." In case of crisis, please lean to the shore as fast as possible to take refuge, even if it is stranded and hit the reef! ”

The captain was unimpressed. How can anyone teach people to be deserters like this? In the event of an attack, at the speed of this ship, can't you still escape?

Shimamura couldn't have predicted that they might encounter the ruthless "ghost ship". According to his own analysis, the other party prefers to play a black hand, and he does not care about his demeanor at all. Of the two warships that were sunk by it, there were very few survivors.

Torpedo boat No. 22 set off with a lot of doubt.

Sailing at night, and the sea area close to the island, you have to be very careful and cheer up. All the crew tried to keep their eyes wide and look around, and they sailed fifty kilometers without encountering anything unusual.

"It's just a blind command!"

The captain who looked at Shimamura's unpleasant eyes muttered in a low voice, raised his hand to rub his sore eyes, squeezed them a few times, and then looked up at the dark sea. In a trance, it seems that something is shaking in the distance!

"Huh? Could it be that a ship is passing by? ”

He craned his neck to look intently, but found nothing.

"I guess I read it wrong. Even if there is, it's just passing, or watching the excitement. ”

In recent months, the waters of the Yellow Sea have been particularly lively because of the tension of war and conflict. In addition to the strength of China and Japan, warships from Britain, France, the United States, and Russia also came to join in the fun. Of course, they will not be involved in the battle, but they have to seize every opportunity to observe the actual battle, which is very rare.

In addition, occasionally he has to make a cameo appearance as a savior, salvage the officers and sailors who fell into the water, and show the style of the Western civilized world.

The Japanese Navy was not surprised to encounter warships of other countries on the nearest sea. So Mr. Captain just asked the others to be vigilant and didn't make a fuss.

But he didn't know that he almost saw the X201 torpedo boat driven by Yang Hao clearly!

Ten minutes ago, Yang Hao discovered the Japanese ship through the Guò radar. But the lights are dark, and you can't tell whose house it is. It was not until just now that a sailor with the best eyes confirmed that it was a Japanese battleship, and the distance between the two sides was already very close.

It's just that the stealth design of X201 is very well hidden in the dark, and it is much more difficult for the other party to see clearly.

Sure that it was an enemy ship, Yang Hao shook his hands, and said with a smile: "Little guy, don't think about going back when you meet us." Attention, all of you, take him out! ”

A minute later, there was a short flash of fire from the AK176 in the bow, and the shells swooped down on the target! (To be continued......)

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