When the early morning sun shone on the bridge of the King, Yang Yonglin and others stood in the conning tower to make the most difficult preparations. Because the main attack objectives of the entire fleet have two goals, although the entire fleet is lined up in a battle line to fight, but because there are two targets, so, in order to facilitate command, Yang Yonglin actually chose the same method as Majifen, and arranged Jericho to be responsible for commanding 4 cruisers on the Manila, while Yang Yonglin was responsible for commanding the King and Cologne.

And just as the mission was arranged, the captains were about to return to their respective warships, when a thick smoke screen suddenly appeared from the northeast, which looked particularly eye-catching against the golden morning glow. Judging from the intelligence reported by the lookout, the speed of the other party is very fast, and it seems that it is at least 16 knots or more! The two sides are basically walking in the opposite direction, and it is only a matter of time before they meet.

"It seems that it should be the first class cruiser fleet of the US Navy, and they have come to the door!" Siperel said with some excitement.

"Let's prepare, yesterday's battle is just an outpost battle, today's battle is the decisive victory, if we win, we still have a chance to go head-to-head with the US Navy, if we lose, it's all over." Yang Yonglin said solemnly.

At the same time, Dewey also found Yang Yonglin's fleet approaching in the distance from the telescope, Dewey was not satisfied with this combat situation, the tonnage of the two sides was equal, but the firepower was much worse than the other party, the original plan was that Dewey planned to merge the two warships of Shelly's fleet before the convergence and then come to Yang Yonglin's trouble, and last night, Dewey did send this crucial telegram. Not only did he send a telegram to Shelly, but also to the remaining five third-class cruisers, and in the spirit of ants gnawing more elephants, Dewey sent the telegram every half an hour regardless of whether the other party could receive the telegram or not. But now, the reinforcements haven't come yet, but the other party has already called the door!

"Whether it is a brave fight or a cowardly escape, this is a question worth pondering!" Dewey muttered quietly. To put it bluntly, it's to fight or not to fight! At this time, he already had some sympathy for Shelly, I am afraid that Shelly may be in this mood when he finds out that there is such a fleet rushing over, right? Wrong. Shelly must have been more afraid. After all, the difference in strength between the two sides was there, and just when he hesitated, a staff officer sent a telegram to Dewey. After reading the telegram, Dewey was so excited that he still decided to face his opponent.

"Shelly, this guy seems to be of some use." Dewey nodded with satisfaction, and in the telegram Shelly said that within 2 hours, his fleet would rush to the predetermined location, and now the place where Dewey and the Beiyang Fleet fought was on Shelly's route, which means that Shelly's fleet would arrive within 2 hours! From this point of view, Majifen's plan is still very feasible, as long as it can severely damage the opponent's two protective cruisers and ensure that the speed of his fleet does not decrease. Then after achieving the goal, Dewey can dodge, and the other party will definitely not dare to pursue in order to protect the two damaged warships, and the American fleet can find a place to repair it after it is damaged. But after the Spanish fleet was damaged, it was difficult to do it in the port of Santiago!

As a result, Dewey's fleet resolutely decided to go into battle, and Dewey's actions made Yang Yonglin also a little worried, and he planned to take advantage of this opportunity to severely damage the American fleet. But he believed that Dewey was not a fool, looking from a distance, the other side only had 5 cruisers, and the generals on both sides had a certain understanding of the performance of each other's warships. But such a direct rush made Yang Yonglin a little worried.

"The order is to keep a distance of 3,000 meters between the two sides, and after suppressing the opponent's firepower, they will attack closely." Yang Yonglin ordered. After verifying the condition of each ship at the end of the day, Yang Yonglin finally decided to meet the enemy, this is an opportunity, a chance to let the Spanish fleet win! …,

Thus, the first main collision between the navies of the United States and Spain officially kicked off at 9 a.m. on July 20, 1898! A total of 11 cruisers of various types on both sides lined up in two columns facing each other. The first place in the U.S. fleet is the newly commissioned armored cruiser USS Brooklyn, this fully loaded armored cruiser with a displacement of tens of thousands of tons is slowly adjusted in a cross layout of four twin 8-inch guns, one of which six guns are slowly aiming at the enemy ship in the distance, the slender hull with a total length of 122 meters and a width of 19.71 meters is speeding on the sea at a high speed of 18 knots, coupled with the powerful firepower of as many as 6 8-inch guns and 6 5-inch guns on the side chord, giving people a sense of agility and strength. Live like a jaguar rushing towards its prey!

Although the New York in the back is smaller, the 5 8-inch guns and 6 4-inch guns on the side chord still make people dare not underestimate it. Although the Columbia-class dome cruiser followed by it has a large tonnage, the firepower of only 1 8-inch gun and a total of 10 5-inch guns on it really makes people feel a little shabby. And the last of them, the Olympia dome cruiser, fully explains what a thorny hedgehog is! The firepower of 4 8-inch guns and 10 5-inch guns was already on par with that of the Santiago.

If the Brooklyn feels like a slender, agile and explosive jaguar, then the Spanish fleet's flagship King, has the impression of a lion! Compared to the elegant Brooklyn, the King feels heavy and powerful! Unlike the Americans, who have little experience, after years of hard work by Xu Jie and Italian designers, the Garibaldi-class armored cruisers have matured thoroughly! It can be said that under the condition of ensuring the basic seaworthiness, every penny of weight is spent on enhancing combat effectiveness! The four 11-inch 40L guns showed the strength of the King, and the full-turret medium-caliber rapid-fire gun was well robust in terms of protection and firing boundaries. The latest Krupp hardened armor allowed the battleship to withstand 8-inch guns with only 5 to 6 inches of upper armor.

In addition to the King, the newest descendant of the Garibaldi-class, the Pisa-class armored cruiser Cologne, which had shown great prowess in the Sino-Japanese War, followed closely behind, and the three 10-inch main guns of the Shuanglianzhuang slowly rotated. The battle-tested Pizza-class armored cruisers are even more terrifying than the cutting-edge King. In a way, pizza and king are actually two ways of thinking! Whether to choose more guns with a faster rate of fire of smaller calibers or a smaller number. And what about the main gun with a slightly slower rate of fire but a larger caliber? This battle that is about to break out will ultimately determine the merits of both ideas!

Of the four ships that followed, two of the Santiago-class were improved versions of the Guiyuan-class, which were comparable to the USS Olympia in terms of firepower, but superior in terms of protection! And the last two original versions of the hot (Baidu) Naya-class cruisers, although they are already a little backward in front of these cutting-edge warships, their strength is still not to be underestimated!

The fleets of both sides quickly approached at a relative speed of more than 30 knots! and turn smoothly, then aim the side line full of weapons at the opponent. Then the two sides carefully adjusted the course of the two sides, and gradually approached each other, when the distance between the two sides reached 4KM. The King's four 11-inch guns finally let out their first roar! Orange fireballs erupt from the muzzle! A huge shockwave then spread in all directions. A huge air flow crashes into the surrounding air with a dull loud noise! Then four huge red balls slashed across the sky and smashed into the Brooklyn in the distance.