November 25, Vladivostok, Far Eastern Governor's Palace.

Outside the glass window, the white of the snow falling between the sky and the earth, and inside the window, the red of the fireplace was everywhere.

The former pale face of the Governor of the Far East, Alekseev, was immersed in the flickering red light, and the muscles on his face twitched nervously, making the servants who had come to report shiver.

"Your Excellency...... The generals arrived, and they were all in the living room. ”

Alekseev slowly turned his trembling face and spat out a few words with an expressionless face: "I know the way, I'll come now." ”

A few minutes later, Alekseev sat down in his favorite wide, richly decorated chair, glanced feebly at the generals around the long table, alternately covered his fat belly with his hands, and said: "I have just received a telegram from His Majesty the Tsar, in view of the fact that the fortress is surrounded by the enemy, ordering the Pacific Detachment to break through to Cam Ranh Bay in French Indochina, France has promised to send a powerful detachment to cruise in the Bass Strait in early December to meet it, and finally I have been ordered to go with the detachment, The affairs of the Doge's Palace and the defense of the fortress were under the sole responsibility of General Stessel. ”

There was a deathly silence in response.

Alekseev trembled and turned to Vice Admiral Makarov, commander of the Pacific Detachment: "Dear Makarov, what are your plans?" ”

Makarov shook the long beard on his chest: "I obey the orders of His Majesty the Tsar, but I need time to make a plan, and by the evening after tomorrow at the latest, I will report to you on the breakout plan of the detachment." ”

"Good, good...... It is necessary to formulate the most prudent plan...... Then, General Stessel, the fortress is up to you. ”

Stessel replied coldly: "I will not live up to the trust of His Majesty the Tsar, so you can go on the road with peace of mind." ”

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, from now on all matters relating to the fortress and the Doge's Palace shall be the sole responsibility of General Stessel, and there is no need to report to me except for matters relating to the detachment, well, I will go back...... Packed up ......."

Alekseyev, who was the governor of the Far East, admiral, and general of the palace chamberlain, hid in his room under such a boring excuse as "packing his luggage".

Lieutenant General Stessel, who had just received full authority, decided to continue the meeting.

"Well, this ...... His Majesty's order for the detachment to break through was a very wise decision, which must be carried out unconditionally and quickly, and as the telegram said, the French detachment was to meet at the Bass Strait, which was a very favorable condition to be seized...... In a word...... Whatever the Navy needs, the Army will help as much as it can. ”

Makarov twisted his beard and said: "Then please return our naval guns as soon as possible, including the gunners......"

Stessel snorted, "This...... Many of the ship's guns have been transported into the forts and fortifications, mounted on fixed gun mounts, and there will be a lot of trouble if they are disassembled......"

"I'm not afraid of trouble, I just need naval guns, please send the artillery to the military port as soon as possible."

After Makarov finished speaking, he called the chief of staff, Major General Wittgeft, and left the living room without looking back.

Behind them, Stessel spread his hands and sneered at the army generals present: "Look, they are about to leave, and they are so happy to leave this hellish place." ”

The commander of the Second Army in the Far East, Fock, shook his head with a smile and said, "How can they be happy? The place they were going to was the 'ghost place', and if they had the ability to break through, they would have done so a long time ago. ”

Kontrachenko, chief of staff of the Fortress Defense District Command and commander of the land defense line, made a straight face: "We are all soldiers of the Russian Empire, there is no difference between us and them at all, for the sake of Russia, we should do our best to help the naval brethren complete their tasks." ”

Stessel shrugged his shoulders and said insincerely: "Yes, yes, in fact, I thought the same way, it was just a joke just now, and everyone knows that I have always respected General Makarov......"

Makarov was already far away at this time, and of course he could not smell this sycophant that was more empty than air, and without saying a word, he led Vitgeft to the flagship "Petropavlovsk" in a big stride.

After entering the battleship's conference room, Makarov instructed Wittgeft: "Gather the captains of the armored ships and cruisers, as well as the commanders of the destroyer detachments, and the main staff officers. ”

"Yes, Your Excellency......"

A quarter of an hour later, the conference room was packed.

Makarov solemnly announced: "His Majesty the Tsar sent a telegram ordering the detachment to break through to Cam Ranh Bay. ”

The crowd stirred up excitedly, and several people immediately waved their fists and shouted: "Long live Your Majesty the Tsar!" Long live the Russian Empire! ”

The fleet has been blocked in the harbor for more than three months, and several night sorties have been hit hard by the Chinese fleet and suffered heavy losses, and whenever the weather is fine, the Chinese airships and planes will rush to the military port to and pee, and do whatever they want.

"Quiet!"

Makarov slapped the table, and the crowd fell silent.

"Your Majesty has told us that France will send a strong fleet to meet us in the Bass Strait in early December, so we must begin to break through by the end of this month, and now I need to know the actual situation of the capital ships and destroyer detachments in the Rou Dao, and you will report to me one by one."

"Report to the commander, you also saw that the flagship" Petropavlovsk ", after 50 days of emergency repairs, is no different from new...... It's just that 15 37 guns and 4 47 guns are missing, and they are all sent to the land defense line according to the original order, and there is a shortage of 167 crew members,......"

"Report to the commander, the armored ship 'Poltava' is basically intact, only 20 guns and 37 guns are missing, and there is a shortage of 88 crew members."

"The armored ship "Sevastopol" was repaired urgently, lacking 37 guns, 14 guns, 3 guns, and 125 crew members......"

……

"After more than three months of repairs, the wounds on the underwater part of the armored ship 'Chashalevich' (Prince) were basically repaired, the main guns and 152 secondary guns were basically intact, 8 of 75 guns were missing, 10 of 47 guns were missing, and 68 crew members were missing......

"After three months of repair, the cruiser 'Parada' has been basically repaired, the main guns are in good condition, there is a shortage of 75 guns, 8 guns, and a crew of 45 ......"

……

"4 destroyers of the 1st detachment are in good condition, 2 are semi-intact, 1 is unusable ......"

"3 destroyers of the second detachment are in good condition, 3 are semi-intact, 2 are unusable ......"

"5 destroyers of the third detachment are in good condition, 1 is half-finished, and 1 is unusable......"

……

After listening to everyone's introduction, Makarov turned to Wittgeft: "How is it?" Is there any discrepancy with yesterday's report? ”

"Pretty much the same."

"Good."

Makarov turned to everyone again: "Listen, everyone, from now on, seize the time to prepare for the voyage, as for the lack of naval guns for each ship, I will urge the army to return, as for the lack of personnel, find a way to replenish the reserve troops of the base to the ship, if it cannot be replenished, it is necessary to formulate a new duty cycle, give priority to ensuring navigation, then support operations, and save other forces." In addition, the destroyer detachments should organize manpower and material resources to repair and inspect the ships, and I hope that by then the fleet will be able to sail as a whole, break the enemy's blockade, and rush to the Bass Strait to join the French fleet, God willing, we can only succeed! ”

Many were in high spirits, taking off their hats and waving them in the air.

"For His Majesty the Tsar!"

"Great, it's finally time to strike!"

"Trample Chinese monkeys into meat puree!"

"Chinese monkeys are the best place to feed sharks!"

"Finally, I don't have to stay here, damn Chinese mosquitoes, always buzzing on Lao Tzu's head, Lao Tzu is fed up!"

"yes, to hell with those Chinese mosquitoes who only buzz, we want to show them the real strength of the Pacific Fleet! Chinese pigs who can only play tricks, let's fight with the Russian Imperial Navy in a dignified manner! ”

"Avenge the Rurik!"

"Avenge the valiant Russia, the valiant Bayan, the valiant Paujarin, and our valiant Bravery, Terrible, Determination, Punch, Mighty, Endurance, Tenacity, Pride, Positivity, and Might! Let us tell our fallen comrades that their blood will never be shed in vain! ”

"Ulla!"

……

Three days later, on November 28, early in the morning, Alekseev and his wife boarded the battleship "Sevastopol", which was the deputy commander of the detachment, Rear Admiral Sdarke, and the attendants carried large bags and small bags, almost filling the VIP room assigned to Alekseev.

Sdarke smiled flatteringly at the illegitimate son of Emperor Alexander II (grandfather of today's Tsar Nicholas II) and said, "My lord, I didn't expect you to come to my ship, I thought you were going to General Makarov's ship...... It's a real honor. ”

As he spoke, Stark kissed the Governor's wife respectfully.

Alekseev nodded at him a little dazedly and muttered: "Yes, come to your ship, I like this ship, Sevastopol, after all, it's closer to home, if you go to Petropavlovsk, isn't it even farther from home......"

Sevastopol is on the shores of the Black Sea between Eurasia, while Petropavlovsk is on the Bering Sea between the eastern tip of Asia and the western tip of North America.

In fact, Stark knew in his heart that the reason why the Governor did not take the flagship of the fleet was largely because according to his previous combat experience, the enemy would always concentrate firepower on the flagship, and the Governor would naturally think that the danger on the flagship was greater, so he would run to the second flagship where the deputy commander of the fleet was.

"Anyway, he's a big guy after all, and there's always a good thing to do with it."

With this in mind, Stark was naturally very attentive to Alekseev.

Makarov did not care about Alekseev's choice, and when the chief of staff, Wittgeft, reported to him that the governor had boarded the Sevastopol, he simply touched his beard and replied: "Let him go." ”

When the time came, the whistle sounded, the fleet set sail, and the two tall chimneys of the flagship "Petropavlovsk" spewed gray-black smoke, led by 6 destroyers of Lieutenant Commander Sisevich, and drove out of the military port of Vladivostok, followed by the fleet armored ships "Poltava", "Sevastopol", "Dawn", "Letvizhan", "Victory" and "Chaisharevich" (prince), followed by the armored cruisers "Thunderbolt", "Parada", "Diana" and " "Askold", then the last two surviving light cruisers "Novik" and "Hercules", and the 12 destroyers of Lieutenant Commander Rossbach and Lieutenant Commander Swartoch departed last. Five destroyers in poor mechanical condition, as well as the minelayers "Amur", the gunboats "Manghan" and "Kilyak" were left behind, under the command of the captain of the "Amur", Lieutenant Commander Tukusky, with the task of assisting the army in defending the fortress after the departure of the main forces of the detachment.

After leaving the port, the fleet sailed in a single column at low speed through the safe passage in its own minefield, and cautiously headed south along the passage cleared in the enemy's minefield during the previous two nights.

Before sailing out of the minefield, the armored cruiser "Askold" and the light cruisers "Novik" and "Hercules" with a speed of 23 knots left the main column with six destroyers of Lieutenant Commander Swartoch to form a new column. The task of this force is to attract the attention of the enemy so that the main forces of the fleet can break through the blockade line.

At 10:50 a.m., the Chinese destroyer "Xueyue," which was patrolling the edge of the minefield, spotted the column led by Lieutenant Commander Vasilik and immediately sent a signal to the nearby light cruiser "Wuyu," which immediately spotted the Russian fleet with three cruisers and six destroyers, and immediately sent a report to the "Rigi," the flagship of the Combined Fleet, which was 20 kilometers away.

After receiving the telegram, Vice Admiral Lin Taizeng, commander of the Combined Fleet, did not immediately give an order, but analyzed the situation together with Chief of Staff Sa Zhenbing.

"What are the intentions of the enemy? Sending a detachment of this size out of our minefield in broad daylight cannot be an anti-mine-sweeping and anti-mine-laying patrol, nor can it be a mine-laying operation, and the enemy should be very aware that our side has a heavy deployment outside the minefield to fight our cruiser forces, and they have no advantage at all. ”

Sa Zhenbing said: "I think there are several possibilities, one is to try to lure part of our army's troops into their minefield, causing certain losses to our army; The second is an attempt to sail eastward at high speed to attack the newly opened supply point of our army in the port of Nakhodka, intercept our army's transport ships, and launch a diplomatic breakthrough operation; the third is to break through the blockade of our army and flee to a neutral port; The fourth is to attract the attention of our army in order to cover the performance of tasks by other troops. ”

"All four possibilities make sense, anyway, we must stop this force first, and we can't let it slip away. Adjutant Ye! ”

"In!"

Adjutant Ye Fei came over energetically with the folder in his hand.

"Command. First, the 'Fog and Rain' continued to closely monitor the enemy cruiser detachment with friendly forces, reporting the enemy's position and course every five minutes. Second, the 3rd and 4th Squadrons of the Patrol and the 1st Brigade of the Light Patrol were to expel the 4th Brigade and form the 1st Task Force, which was commanded by Colonel Liang Rensheng, and first sailed to the 13104 and 4132 sea areas, and was guided by the 'Wuyu' to intercept the enemy cruiser detachment. Third, the main force of the team followed the flagship and sailed to the 13106 and 4133 sea areas. Fourth, the ships on each patrol line should be on increased vigilance and immediately report any situation. ”

"Understood!"

Soon, Colonel Liang Rensheng's 4 Yunzi armored cruisers, 4 Jianzi light cruisers, and 8 Xuezi destroyers broke away from the squadron and sailed at a high speed of 22 knots to the designated sea area.

The rest of the squadron set off immediately afterward, including 5 battleships, 6 armored cruisers, 8 light cruisers, and 16 destroyers.

It was a cold day, with strong winds and low visibility, but these did not prevent this fleet with the dragon flag flying from showing off its might in the Sea of Japan, but the aircraft of the naval floating unit could not take to the air, and the task of monitoring the enemy fleet had to rely entirely on the coalition warships deployed around Peter the Great Bay, for which the coalition forces have invested 26 destroyers and 10 cruisers, as well as a large number of fishing boats and torpedo boats, in several shifts, to monitor the waters around Peter the Great Bay 24 hours a day. Efforts were made to detect enemy fleets beyond the coalition mine blockade in a timely manner without air support.

At 11:50, Liang Rensheng's 1st Task Force discovered Lieutenant Colonel Vasilik's detachment 50 kilometers south of Vladivostok.

"Want to escape? No way! ”

Liang Rensheng, who was standing on the command platform of the flagship "Caiyun", waved his hand and ordered: "The whole ship is in pursuit!" ”

However, a quarter of an hour later, Liang Rensheng found that the distance between the enemy and us was gradually widening.

It turned out that the formation speed of the Vasilik detachment reached 23 knots, while the maximum speed of the Yunzi armored cruiser of the Liang Rensheng detachment was only 22 knots, and the difference of 1 knot allowed the Vasilik detachment to distance itself from the Liang Rensheng detachment.

"There's no way, order, the light patrol team and the destroyer team go around to the enemy side at full speed, intercept the enemy's route, and storm the enemy ship!"

The signal flag was raised on the mast, the signal lights flashed, and the radio also sent a telegram, and soon, the four Jianzi protection cruisers "Dragon Sword", "Tiger Sword", "Baojian", and "Wind Sword" with a speed of 26 knots, and the eight Xuezi destroyers with the same speed, "Yuxue", "Frost Snow", "Snowy Snow", "Misty Snow", "Wind and Snow", "Cloud Snow", "Light Snow", and "Shower", quickly plunged into the right side of the enemy column with the momentum of the wind and brake.

At 12:40 p.m., the two 150-mm front guns on the "Dragon Sword" opened fire first, and the shells exploded into a column of water more than 100 yards away from the stern of the Russian ship "Hercules." The "Hercules" immediately returned fire with a 152-mm tail gun, and the battle began.

At 12:50, Lieutenant Colonel Wang Baocheng led the 4th Destroyer Group and eight destroyers of the Xuezi to rush into the enemy column, attempting to launch a torpedo attack on the enemy column. Lieutenant Colonel Wang Baocheng's flagship "Yuxue" was fired upon by enemy ships, its boilers were damaged, clouds of steam and smoke filled the ship, and all power was lost, turning it into a dead fish floating on the sea. As soon as they saw that the flagship was damaged, the wingmen came to the rescue in anger and slammed the Russian destroyer, which was only equipped with 75-mm guns, with 100-mm cannons, and tore the hull of the Russian ship "Ingenuity" alive with artillery fire, and the "Ingenuity" broke into two pieces within a quarter of an hour, flipped and sank to the bottom of the sea.

At 13:04, the torpedo fired by the "Snow" hit the bow of the Russian ship "Calm", and the "Calm" first raised its bow high into the ground, then fell down suddenly, and soon plunged its butt straight into the water.

A few minutes later, Lieutenant Colonel Swartoch's flagship "Indomitable" fired two torpedoes at the Chinese "Xiaoxue" in succession, one of which hit, hitting the main ammunition depot of the "Xiaoxue", and immediately a large explosion that shook the sky and the sea occurred, and the "Xiaoxue" disintegrated into hundreds of pieces and disappeared one after another. However, the luck of the "Indomitable" came to an end, and the three destroyers of the Chinese army, "Hazy Snow," "Fengxue," and "Yunxue," surrounded it, and a burst of shelling turned the "Indomitable" into a special cripple, and the surface of the ship was in shambles, the fire was blazing, and the smell of burnt corpses permeated several hundred yards away.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the remaining three Russian destroyers hurriedly turned their rudders and fled, among which the "Tempest" had just turned its butt, and the boiler pipes were damaged, and the steam was leaking everywhere, and it could no longer move. The other two destroyers, with a high speed of 28 knots, escaped from the battlefield with scars all over their bodies, and then successfully returned to the Vladivostok base.

Just as the destroyers of the two sides were fighting dog-eat-dog, Lieutenant Commander Tong Darkye's four Jianzi cruisers also approached the three Russian cruisers and poured dozens of kilograms of projectiles on the enemy ships with 150-mm main guns and 120-mm rapid-fire guns, while the Russian ships fiercely returned fire with 152-mm guns and 75-mm rapid-fire guns.

With a displacement of nearly 6,000 tons, the Russian armored cruiser "Askold" is the pillar of the Vasilik decoy detachment, the ship has a speed of 23 knots and a 6-inch main armor belt, and the firepower is 12 152 mm main guns and 12 75 mm secondary guns, compared to the Chinese army's Jianzi light cruiser, although it has a higher speed of 26 knots, but only 5 inches of armor are arranged around the boiler and engine room, and the firepower is 4 150 mm guns and 10 120 mm guns. The single ship confrontation was naturally dominated by the Russian ship "Askold", but now it is four to three, and the other two Russian light cruisers "Novik" and "Hercules" are each armed with 5 152-mm guns and 8 75-mm guns, with 4-inch boilers and engine room armor, which is slightly inferior to the sword. However, at this time, the two sides did not intend to fight to the death, Vasilik's task was to divert the tiger away from the mountain and concentrate the attention of the Chinese fleet as much as possible, while Tong Darkye's task was to find a way to hold back the Russians so that four armored cruisers with 305 mm heavy guns could rush over and carry out an exterminating massacre.

The two sides tore up with different intentions, in order to avoid the shells, the Russian ships turned the rudder from time to time, Liang Rensheng's 4 Yunzi armored cruisers took the opportunity to push their butts closer little by little, the vigilant Vasilik found this, and then ordered the column to stop evading and keep sailing in a straight line, so that the distance between his column and the Chinese armored cruiser was opened again, but it became the target of the four Jianzi light cruisers in Tong Dark Night, and more and more shells accurately smashed on the Russian ship.

The "Hercules" behind the palace was the first to be unbearable, the superstructure was on fire, the sea water continued to pour in from the bullet hole on the starboard side, the speed dropped to 12 knots, and fell far behind the column.

"It's like killing chickens with a knife......"

Less than 10 minutes after Liang Rensheng uttered such an exclamation, the "Hercules" turned into a cloud of disintegrating fireworks under the bombardment of 16 305-mm heavy guns.

The contest between Tong Darknight and Vasilik continued, and because of the straight-line sailing, the "Askold" and the "Novik" could also be more easily aimed at the Chinese warships, and while the Chinese troops were beating the "Hercules," the main guns of the two ships were of course not idle, and the accurate artillery fire was concentrated on the "Dragon Sword," the flagship of Tong Darknight.

At 13:20, the "Longjian" command platform was shot, and the commander of the combat team, Lieutenant Colonel Tong Mingye, and many officers and men on the command platform were almost pulp, and then the ammunition depot of the port side auxiliary gun exploded, the hull of the ship was tilted, and the engine room was flooded, and the ship was forced to stop for emergency repairs. Five minutes later, the "Tiger Sword" was hit by a fire and rushed into flames, and the signal flags of "fire on this ship" and "danger on this ship" were raised one after another, and it hurriedly withdrew from the battle.

Seeing that the situation was not good, and that their 150-millimeter main guns could not inflict substantial damage on the "Askold," which was wearing 6-inch armor belts, they had to temporarily withdraw from the battle and retreat to a distance outside the range of the Russian ship's guns.

Knowing that the ships of the 1st Light Patrol Team had withdrawn from the battle one after another, and the commander of the team, Tong Dark, was killed on the spot, Liang Rensheng was sad and angry, and at this time, the Russian destroyer had been driven out of the battlefield, Liang Rensheng immediately ordered the 4th Destroyer Team: "Attack the enemy ships at all costs!" ”

After receiving the order, the six destroyers of the 4th Destroyer Squadron, which were still capable of fighting, fired at full speed, circled the front of the Russian ship, and launched an assault under the dense artillery fire of the enemy ships, releasing 12 torpedoes one after another at a distance of four or five hundred yards. Major Li Mei, deputy commander of the squadron, had just finished firing its torpedo and was about to turn away when a 152 shell hit the front main gun, causing a large explosion at the front ammunition depot, and the bow of the "Frost and Snow" immediately broke, and the warship sank into the sea diagonally, and only 13 of the 114 officers and men survived.

In the face of the torpedo rushing rapidly with a clear trail, the Russian ship hurriedly turned its rudder to evade, but the "Novik" could not dodge and was hit by a torpedo under the No. 3 main gun in the front of the starboard side.

"We're the only ones left, is this already predestined?"

Vasilik watched as the "Novik" was left behind, and in a quarter of an hour, the "Novik" would become a delicious snack on the plate of the Chinese armored cruisers.

Vasilik closed his eyes in pain and ordered the "Askold" to continue to move east at full speed, even if there was only one ship left, he had to continue the battle to lure the enemy, as for whether the operation was successful, he did not want to think too much, at least for now, he had hung 4 armored cruisers of the Chinese army on the back of his ass.

At 14:15, after eating more than 40 305-mm large-caliber shells at a distance of 3,000 to 4,000 yards, the "Novik" disappeared into the sea wrapped in a thick cloud of smoke.

At present, the Chinese army's 4 armored cruisers, 2 light cruisers, and 5 destroyers are closely following the "Askold", and only light cruisers and destroyers can approach the Russian ships, but they are all scarred. The light cruisers of the Sword were no match for the "Ascord", since they did not have an armor belt. The destroyer had to take a huge risk to get within the effective range of the torpedo, and the tragic situation of the "Frost and Snow" just now was not accidental; in fact, for a large warship with heavy firepower, a lightning strike by the mine-striking ship at that time in the daylight was tantamount to a suicide attack.

Liang Rensheng knew all these situations in his heart, and after hesitation, he decided to report the battle situation to Vice Admiral Lin Taizeng, the commander of the Combined Fleet, to see what instructions he could get.

When he received Liang Rensheng's report, Lin Taizeng had just received the latest report from the light cruiser "Wuyu", which was still cruising in the predetermined sea area: "The main force of the enemy fleet has been discovered, 7 battleships, 3 cruisers, and 12 ...... Heading due south......"

Adjutant Ye Fei commented on this: "It turned out that the main force was dispatched, and the small fleet was deliberately sent to set off the smoke screen to disperse the forces of our army, it seems that there is going to be a decisive battle with the bearded Makarov in the open sea." ”

Lin Taizeng shook his head and sighed: "The decisive battle, it's not a good thing, I didn't expect them to repair the battleship so quickly, my Ruixiang is still stuffy in the dock in Yokosuka, I knew that I should have compiled the Ruixian who had not yet completed the training into the combat sequence in advance, and I didn't have to use 5 warships to ...... the enemy's 7 warships like now."

"Isn't it true that our patrol can also be used as a warship?"

"It's no problem in terms of firepower, but the armor is too weak, it's not the same thing as a battleship, it's really going to be a battle, only the two newly-built Suzhou class can make do with it, and the others will be used to deal with the enemy's cruisers first, after cleaning up the cruisers, if they still have spare strength, it's not too late to support the team."

Lin Taizeng's voice did not fall, and he saw Sa Zhenbing jump onto the command platform with a paper bag of buns in his hand, and waved to the two: "Have you two had lunch?" ”

"Nope."

Ye Fei said.

"Thank you."

Lin Tai once said that the bun has reached his mouth.

"The enemy's main force has come out, I'm afraid it wants a decisive battle, and everyone is going to do a big fight."

Sa Zhenbing nibbled on the bun and shook his head: "Actually, I think the enemy is more like breaking through the blockade and escaping, if it is a dignified decisive battle, it would be good to swagger and kill, they also know that we will be waiting at any time, there is no need to play this kind of trick." ”

"It doesn't matter what trick he wants to play, in short, they can't escape from my palm, they want to fight, I will accompany me to the end, I want to escape, wait another 10,000 years! Herald! The first patrol team was incorporated into the battleship column, which was personally commanded by the commander, and the patrol column was commanded by Brigadier General Ma Shengyu...... Tell Liang Rensheng to immediately stop the pursuit of the enemy's single ship, lead all the ships back to the team, and plan to meet in the sea area at the ......"

After the order was issued, all ships of the squadron hung up eye-catching signal flags one after another, and the heralds waved flags and played with signal lights.

The signal from the battleship "Flying Lightning" was: "Complete destruction of the enemy." ”

The signal from the battleship "Thunder" said: "For the shipyard." ”

The battleship "Yundian" sent a signal to the flagship: "This ship is on fire, this ship is dangerous, and this ship will be safe after the war." ”

The flagship replied: "Your ship should be sunk immediately in order to extinguish the fire." ”

The armored cruiser "Suzhou" shouted: "Please note that the ship's food reserves are urgent, and it cannot contain too many prisoners. ”

Its sister ship, the Hangzhou, responded: "Your ship should immediately organize fishing." ”

The Japanese armored cruiser "Fuji" also came to join in the fun: "This ship has a surplus of food, please exchange it for an enemy ship, and a battleship for a bag of rice." ”

"Yakumo" triumphantly declared: "The lack of shells on this ship is only enough to destroy two-thirds of the enemy fleet." ”

"It's so lively, I'm so excited."

Lin Tai once leaned on the railing of the command platform and swallowed the last piece of bun skin.

Sa Zhenbing rubbed the empty paper bag in his hand, nodded and said: "It's been two months since I fought a serious battle, and everyone is suffocated, let them have fun, this can be regarded as a sign of high morale." ”

"It's miserable if you're crazy."

Lin Tai once pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, and the blue handkerchief was printed with a striking white "Z".

The sharp-eyed Sa Zhenbing asked curiously, "What is the origin of the Z on your handkerchief?" ”

Lin Tai glanced at him, raised his hand, and pinched the corner of the handkerchief with only his index finger and thumb, letting the rest of the handkerchief flutter in the air with the cold northeast wind.

"Do you know Nelson? At the Battle of Trafalgar, he led his fleet to charge the enemy column, raising the Z-flag, which means that Britain expects everyone to do their duty. In that glorious naval battle, he completely defeated Napoleon's naval fleet and paid with his own life, which was his greatest victory, and his last victory. Since then, the British Royal Navy has had a special affection for the Z-shaped flag, and I, for Nelson, for Trafalgar, and for the Z-flag, have always had a resonant emotion......"

"You want to be Nelson, right?"

"Perhaps, the word Trafalgar comes to my mind at the thought of the upcoming battle......"

"Don't think so much, Trafalgar is Trafalgar, the Sea of Japan is the Sea of Japan, Nelson in England, Lin Taizeng in China, it's not the same thing at all, it doesn't matter who wants to emulate whom, what does the greatness of others have to do with us? The greatness we create for ourselves is truly meaningful. ”

Lin Tai once put down his handkerchief, looked at the undulating sea in front of him, patted the railing and said: "Order, raise the Z-shaped flag, and send flags, lanterns and telegrams to all ships, the content - the rise and fall of the empire, in this battle, all the kings work hard and fight to the end!" ”

The order was immediately carried out, and a few minutes later a tidal cry echoed across the sea: "Long live the Empire!" Long live the Imperial Navy! Banzai! Banzai! Banzai! ”

The content of the signal that Lin Tai once ordered was the slogan shouted by Liu Buyun, the commander of the Zhenyang Fleet, before the Battle of Dadonggou nine years ago.

Many years later, Lin's adjutant Ye Fei sighed: "The commander is really an uncreative person. ”