"We'll be home in two days." A Russian officer said with a slight maneuver as he looked at the blue sea.

"The closer we are to home doesn't mean it's a good thing, maybe the closer we are to death, maybe the Beiyang Fleet is already waiting for us outside Muroran Harbor, right?" The other officer said with some apprehension.

"General Makanov will help us. We still have 2 battleships, and Beiyang doesn't know what the road is for this time, only armored cruisers have been sent, maybe, we can fight a gap from the blockade line. The officer said with hope still in mind.

"What? Three Dante-class battleships were not dispatched? What is this for? Where did you get the news? Another officer asked curiously.

"Who knows how the Beiyang Fleet was arranged, anyway, judging from the telegram sent by Commander Makanov to General Essen, the absolute main force of Beiyang was not dispatched, not even 3 lightly armored cruisers, but all 7 main forces were in place, and there were a bunch of auxiliary ships." The Russian officer who got the news said with some smugness. "By the way, the Japanese dwarfs are also here to join in the fun. The Kasuga armored cruiser also came. ”

While the two Russian officers were exchanging gossip, Essen was also thinking about his next move. Leaking some of the information out was intentional on Essen's part, for the simple reason that it was revealed. Essen knew very well that the last obstacle to leading the fleet home was the Beiyang Fleet operating near Hokkaido, on the one hand, Essen had to keep the fleet fighting and not lose its vigilance because it was about to go back, but at the same time. Essen couldn't let his subordinates down and couldn't be crushed by the powerful Beiyang Fleet, so he thought twice. Essen decided to reveal part of the information provided by Makanov.

For the current situation, Makanov personally thinks that it is not bad, although the Beiyang and Japanese fleets are large, they are divided into 4 independent combat groups, each of the two armored cruisers in a group, except for two PISA group, the others are a king-type armored cruiser with a Garibaldi type or Kasuga. On paper, no fleet could eat the Essen fleet, although the losses of the Essen fleet were somewhat large. But if it is evacuated at any cost, the Beiyang Fleet will not be able to chase and fight well, and more importantly, the two Russian battleships that are ready to go have left the military port. They will actively search for and attack one of the patrol groups. To attract fire for Essen, of course, in order to retreat if necessary, the torpedo boats still had enough! And Essen needs to wait for the opportunity to rush through the cracks in the blockade!

Makanov didn't let Essen wait too long, and only half a day later, Makanov's main fleet ran into the King commanded by Lin Tai and the Kasuga commanded by Masayuki Akiyama not far from the port of Muroran!

"Prepare to receive the enemy, send a telegram, tell the fraternal fleet. Let's just say that there are two big guys. Let Lord Deng and Lord Lin pay attention to the movement of the open sea, Essen may be about to act! Lin Tai once glanced at the Russian fleet with his family in tow and said.

A few minutes later, the Taipei and Kasuga turned and prepared to engage the enemy. Although the main gun was an inch smaller, whether it was the elastic performance of the guns, the rate of fire or the quality of the officers and men, Lin Tai believed that the king was not afraid of these two battleships. Therefore, Lin Taizeng meant to face the battle immediately, at least he could drag the opponent and wait for the reinforcements of friendly troops, and if he was lucky, it was not impossible to directly beat the opponent back.

But it is a pity that Lin Tai once overlooked one point, that is, the fleet in his hands was not two Kings, but one King and one British Lite Patrol Kasuga, and the latter was too weak for Russian battleships! And this has become one of Lin Taizeng's few failures!

"Concentrate your fire on the Japanese armored cruiser behind you, and suppress the King-class cruiser." Makanov ordered after a moment's scrutiny.

"General, the threat of the king level is greater. And it's also the flagship of the other side. A captain next to him reminded.

"After this battle, whether you win or lose, the biggest threat to Hokkaido is the Japanese fleet, and Beiyang has no intention of helping Japan recover Hokkaido. Otherwise, the port of Muroran would have been hoisted with the Japanese flag long ago. Makanov thought for a moment and said.

A few minutes later, the battleships Poltava and Navarin slowly pointed their thick 12-inch 40L guns at the Kasuga. With the order to open fire, the 8 thick 12-inch cannons let out an earth-shattering roar! And almost at the same time, the 11-inch 40L naval guns of the Taipei and the 8-inch 40L naval guns of the Kasuga also began to fight back!

"Uh, this 8-inch cannon is really not powerful?" Less than 5 minutes into the battle, Lin Taizeng finally realized that he was not accompanied by a ship of the same class, not even a Garibaldi-type armored cruiser, but the Japanese Kasuga. The two sides fought back and forth for several rounds, and the Beiyang side relied on the high rate of fire to get the first hit, and the Taipei's 11-inch main gun knocked on the port side of the Poltava. Hit the lower part of a 6-inch gun, and the huge force directly blew up the entire gun gallery above. The Kasuga also made a hit, but the 100KG high-explosive shell fired by the 8-inch gun only lit a small fire on the deck of Poltava, and was solved by the Russian damage management team with a hose a few minutes later!

And soon, the Russians counterattacked! A 12-inch shell fired from the Navarin hit the Kasuga sideline armor hard! After tearing open the upper armor, the shell destroyed several compartments in quick succession, exploding above the dome, and from the Russians' point of view, a bright yellow ball of fire flashed from the middle of the Kasuga's hull, followed by a column of smoke rising into the air. A FEW MINUTES LATER, A 12-INCH SHELL HIT THE POOR KASUGA, AND THE SHELL HIT THE BOW OF THE KASUGA, AND THE 100MM ARMOR BELT AT THE BOW WAS TORN APART WITHOUT ANY SUSPENSE! Coming in from the side of the hull. And there was an explosion under the anchor chamber! A breach of more than a few square meters poured hundreds of tons of seawater in a short period of time!

When the two Russian battleships beat the Kasuga, the Taipei did not fail to win, and an 11-inch shell hit the bridge of the Navarin, slaughtering the Russian officers and men in the bridge of the navigation ship! But that's the way it was, after all, as the two sides approached, the rapid-fire guns of the two Russian battleships began to strafe the deck of the Taipei, and the rear main guns of the Navarin were also aimed at the Taipei. Comparing the projection amount alone, the Russians still have an advantage, although the Russians' 6 main guns are still facing the Kasuga, but the pressure on the Taipei is gradually rising! Because on the flank of the Russian battleship, a vote of torpedo boats appeared in Lin Taizeng's field of vision!

"Distance. We are ready to retreat. Looking at the Kasuga who was tired of coping with the back, Lin Taizeng really had no intention of fighting anymore, maybe when, it would become one of his own to fight the other party's two! The firepower of the Kasuga has been suppressed, and the Russians will definitely take the opportunity to lightning strike, in case if the spring sinks, won't they be miserable? It's not a shame to say that the situation is not good, especially if it has nothing to do with the big picture!

Thank you for the monthly ticket support of Book Friend 62592299, Tianji Scholar, and Dongguan Bald King~~~. (To be continued.) )