After the Japanese captured the castle and the port of Hakuguchi, the Japanese naval detachment outside the port left behind the large fast armored cruiser Kiso, the fast protection cruisers Tadajun Maru and Hokoku Maru, as well as the destroyers Ray and Denki to cooperate with the Japanese army to guard the port of Hakuguchi. ≧ top novel,

The four Aoba-class all-steel battleships Aoba, Kinugasa, Furutaka and Kako left the port of Hakuguchi and sailed south, where they joined the combined fleet of the Japanese Navy near Okushiri Island one day later.

Sekiya Rishi, the captain of the all-steel battleship Aoba, came to the bridge of the all-steel battleship Fuji, the flagship of the Combined Fleet, and saw the commander of the Combined Fleet, Heihachiro Togo, reproaching himself: "Your Excellency Commander, in the face of the very weak Northeast Navy in the port of Maruguchi, my subordinates have lost the Tama, Aikokomaru and Kiyosumi Maru, I am really ashamed of the cultivation of the commander, please punish the commander!" ”

Heihachiro Togo frowned and asked, "Is there a discrepancy between the warships of the Northeast Navy in the port of Bokou and my intelligence?" ”

Sekiya replied: "No, it is exactly the same as the information we have received, only the Northeast Navy has captured 2 protective cruisers, 4 destroyers and 2 torpedo boats of the French Navy and the Russian Navy. ”

Togo Heihachiro continued: "Then Sekiya-kun, you tell me in detail about the battle. ”

Subsequently, Sekiya was determined to describe the situation of the detachment's diplomatic battle at the port of Hakuchi in detail to Heihachiro Togo in 1510.

After listening to this, Heihachiro Togo did not accuse Sekiya Lizhi, but sighed and said: "I didn't expect a small fleet of the Northeast Navy to fight so tenaciously, worthy of the Northeast Navy that has successively defeated many naval powers in the West!" ”

Then Togo Heihachiro said with high morale: "Let's let us join the Japanese Navy Combined Fleet to end this myth of the Northeast Navy!" ”

Guan Gu asked excitedly, "Your Excellency Commander." Could it be that our Combined Fleet is already preparing for a decisive battle with the Northeast Navy? ”

Jiro Takahashi, the captain of the Fuji on the side, said excitedly: "We have received information from the intelligence department, the First Fleet, the Second Fleet and the Third Fleet of the Northeast Navy. Escorting the 3 B divisions of the Dingbei Army, they have already set off from Lushun. Preparing to support Sakhalin, our combined fleet has endured humiliation for 4 years, and now the opportunity for shame has finally arrived! ”

At this time, Togo Heihachiro said: "Since the 4 Aoba-class all-steel battleships led by Sekiya-kun have arrived, then our combined fleet can set off, and we may be in ...... Over here! It will encounter the three main fleets of the Tohoku Navy, and a naval battle that will determine the fate of our great Japan may be staged here. ”

Heihachiro Togo tapped the map on the table with his hand, and Sekiya Rishi and Takahashi Jiro saw that the location pointed by the commander was the Korean Strait near Tsushima Island.

September 17, 1899. The main forces of the combined fleet of the Japanese Navy near the Japanese island of Okushiri almost poured out of the nest and sailed in the direction of the Korean Strait.

The First Battlefleet of the Combined Fleet, the Kongo-class all-steel battleships with a full load displacement of 16,000 tons, that is, the British Majesty-class all-steel battleships, Kongo, Haruna, Kirishima, and Hiei.

The Second Battlefleet of the Combined Fleet, the Kongo-class all-steel battleships Ise, Hyuga, Fuso, and Yamashiro.

The Third Battlefleet of the Combined Fleet, the Kumano-class all-steel battleships with a full load displacement of 14,974 tons, that is, the Italian Queen Margaret-class all-steel battleships. Kumano, Mogami, Suzuya, Mikuma.

The Fourth Battlefleet of the Combined Fleet is the 11,693-ton Aoba-class all-steel battleships Aoba, Kinugasa, Furutaka and Kako, which have just arrived.

The Fifth Battlefleet of the Combined Fleet is composed of the flagship all-steel battleship Fuji and the all-steel battleship Yashima, both of which have a displacement of 12,533 tons.

In addition, the combined fleet of the Japanese Navy had a sixth and seventh battle fleets, before Japan decided to go to war. They bought a batch of army weapons from the British, and let the British know that the Japanese were ready to take action against the forces under Lin Daxin, so the British started their wishful thinking.

Because of Lin Daxin's sudden rise in this time and space. So that the British Navy had a lot more all-steel battleships than the same period in history, and there were many more new warships of other types than at the same time in history. This makes the British Navy face a problem, that is, the problem of the obsolescence of old warships. The British Navy needed to draw the officers and men from the obsolete warships and ration them to the newly built warships.

The war that broke out between Japan and the Qing Dynasty a few years ago has made the British Navy dispose of some of the old warships to the Japanese Navy, and there are even many old ironclad ships that have been scrapped on the list, which is equivalent to making the British Navy make a lot of money.

When the British replied to Japan that they could sell the Japanese a batch of army weapons, the British asked the Japanese if they wanted a batch of warships in service with the British Navy.

The Japanese were immediately surprised when they heard this, what? The British actually wanted to sell the warships in service to Japan, but after the Japanese took over the list of warships to be sold by the British Navy, their faces suddenly turned black and white.

On the list of warships sold by the British Navy, there are some old warships, that is, there are a few ironclad battleships with a displacement of about 10,000 tons that are not too backward, and the price is also very expensive, which is almost the price of brand-new ironclad battleships.

However, after the list of warships was transmitted back to Japan, the commander of the Combined Fleet, Heihachiro Togo, walked into the Japanese Imperial Palace with the list of warships, and after a detailed discussion with Emperor Meiji, Emperor Meiji sent people to discuss the purchase of warships with the British.

Originally, Emperor Meiji was extremely reluctant to buy these obsolete warships of the British, you must know that he spent a huge amount of money to rebuild the combined fleet, only counting the most advanced all-steel battleships, there are 18 of them, and now the shipyards in Japan have begun to build 8 new all-steel battleships, such a powerful combined fleet is still rare for the British to eliminate those warships! The current Japanese Navy is not the same as it was a few years ago!

However, Togo Heihachiro's words made Emperor Meiji change his mind and decide to grit his teeth and be the wronged again. Heihachiro Togo and Emperor Meiji said that although now the combined fleet of the Japanese Navy is already very strong. However, in the face of the Northeast Navy, which ranks second in the world in terms of total displacement, it is still in a weak position in terms of the number of warships. If a group of warships can be added to the combined fleet, Heihachiro Togo is even confident that he will have a decisive battle at sea with the main fleet of the Northeast Navy, severely damage the main fleet of the Northeast Navy, and seize sea supremacy.

You must know that Heihachiro Togo has never considered what kind of decisive battle he will have with the Northeast Navy at the beginning of the war, and he is ready to use the constant sneak attacks and small-scale battles to continuously consume the strength of the Northeast Navy, and wait until the Northeast Navy is consumed to a certain extent. will have a decisive battle with the main fleet of the Northeast Navy, and as for when the Northeast Navy will be able to consume the expectations in Togo Heihachiro's heart, he himself does not know.

Now that the British Navy is suddenly going to sell some warships to Japan, Togo Heihachiro took the list of warships, and thought that this was an opportunity to draw a balance of power with the Tohoku Navy, and it was also an opportunity for the Japanese Navy Combined Fleet to defeat the Tohoku Navy in a decisive battle, so Togo Heihachiro was moved by the Meiji Emperor Xiaozhi, so that the Meiji Emperor decided to do another wrong, and took out a sum of gold from the emperor's treasury. Thus there was the Sixth Battlefleet and the Seventh Battlefleet of the Combined Fleet.

The Sixth Battlefleet of the Combined Fleet is composed of the Akashi ironclad battleship with a displacement of 11,000 tons and the Ichido ironclad battleship with a displacement of 10,900 tons. The 9,600-ton Ironclad Battleship Yura, and the 9,750-ton Kinu Ironclad Battleship.

These 4 ironclad battleships are not too backward, and their maximum speed is above 17 knots. Although the main guns are all old 35 times the caliber naval guns, the comprehensive performance is quite acceptable.

And the Seventh Battleship of the Combined Fleet. It's a bit unsatisfactory, it is made up of 4 old ironclads purchased from the British Navy. They are the Zhanmori ironclad with a displacement of 6,299 tons, the Katori with a displacement of 6,299 tons, the Tokiwa ironclad with a displacement of 5,190 tons, and the Tsugaru ironclad with a displacement of 4,910 tons.

These 4 ironclad ships have the fastest speed, they are the same type of Zhanshou and Katori, and they are only 13 knots, while the Katori is only 12 knots, and the Tokiwa is slower at only 11.5 knots, and the main guns of the 4 ironclad ships are all older 30 times the caliber naval guns, which can only be counted in the battleship engagement.

Originally, the Japanese only wanted to buy 4 ironclad battleships of the 6th Battlefleet, but the British said that if they did not buy a few old ironclad ships, the British would not sell them to the Japanese ironclad battleships, so the Japanese pinched their noses and selected these 4 ironclad ships that could be used at least immediately.

The 4 ironclad battleships and the 4 ironclad ships were all warships of the British Navy's Singapore Far East Fleet or the Hong Kong Chinese Fleet, so soon these 8 warships were in the hands of the Japanese.

The 1st Armored Cruiser of the Combined Fleet, a large fast armored cruiser of the Asama class with a displacement of 9,700 tons, the Nachi, Haguro, Myoko, and Chikuma.

The 2nd Armored Cruiser of the Combined Fleet, the Asama-class large fast armored cruisers, the USS Atago, the USS Chokai, the USS Kazuka, and the USS Maya.

There are a total of 12 ships in the Asama class in Japan, except for the sunken Tama, the Kiso is in the port of Hakuchi, and the other 2 Nagara and Kuma are in the Japanese military port and do not follow the main force of the combined fleet.

The first protection cruiser of the United Fleet, the Yoshino-class fast-protection cruisers with a displacement of 4,200 tons, the Urakaze, the Isoishi, the Tanitake, and the Hamari.

The 2nd Protective Cruiser of the Combined Fleet, the Yoshino-class fast protection cruisers, the Hatsuharu, the Shiri, the Hatsusu, and the Wakaba.

The third protection cruiser of the Combined Fleet, or the Yoshino-class fast protection cruisers, has the Ariake, Sunset, Shiraro, and Joko.

The Fourth Protection Cruiser of the Combined Fleet is also a Yoshino-class fast protection cruiser, the Isoami, the Uratate, Shikiyuki, and Ayaku.

Among them, the eight Yoshino-class ships of the third and fourth protection cruisers were just completed in the Japanese shipyards, and after hastily undergoing sea trials, they entered the sequence of the Japanese Navy.

The fifth protection cruiser of the United Fleet is the purchase of Elba-class fast-protection cruisers with an Italian displacement of 2,800 tons, Chaoyun, Shanyun, Xiayun, and Fengyun.

In addition, there were some fast protection cruisers that did not follow the main forces of the Combined Fleet, and in this transaction for the purchase of old warships of the British, the Japanese also bought 8 old protective cruisers of the British, and did not follow the main forces of the Combined Fleet.

The First Destroyer of the Combined Fleet, the destroyer Kuroshio, the destroyer Pro-Tide, and the destroyer Morning Tide.

The Second Destroyer of the Combined Fleet, the destroyer Xia Chao, the destroyer Hibiki, and the destroyer Dawn.

Originally, the Japanese Combined Fleet had four destroyer fleets, but because of the sneak attack on the Sixth Fleet of the Northeast Navy and the Vladivostok garrison fleet in the port of Vladivostok, the Japanese destroyers suffered heavy losses, and now they can only reorganize two destroyer fleets.

The Japanese actually wanted to buy a batch of destroyers from the British, but the destroyers were only equipped by other countries in recent years, and the British were not willing to sell the new destroyers to the Japanese at all.

In addition, the commander of the Combined Fleet, Heihachiro Togo, also formed 10 lightning teams to join the main force of the Combined Fleet, each of which consisted of six torpedo boats, some of which were purchased from the British. The British were very generous to the Japanese in buying these simple-built torpedo boats, and all the torpedo boats sold to the Japanese were new-type torpedo boats, and the Japanese bought a large number of newly developed steam gas torpedoes from the British. In the sneak attack on Vladivostok, the Japanese used steam gas torpedoes, and achieved good results.

The combined fleet of the Japanese Navy, with more than 100 warships of all sizes and more than a dozen transport ships loaded with supplies, headed southward in a mighty manner, preparing for a decisive battle at sea and the three main fleets of the Northeast Navy.

Looking at the more than 100 warships around, especially the several battleships dominated by 18 all-steel battleships, the commander of the Combined Fleet, Heihachiro Togo, muttered to himself: "Your Excellency Commander Ito, I am now going to the Tohoku Navy, the fierce rival of our Japanese Navy, with the new Combined Fleet, which is several times stronger than the United Fleet a few years ago, to take revenge on our Japanese Navy, and I hope that His Excellency Commander Ito will bless our Combined Fleet and bless our Great Japanese Empire!" “

Ito, the former commander of Japan's Combined Fleet, committed suicide after the destruction of the Combined Fleet a few years earlier. (To be continued......)