After Ivan sent Makanov's opinion back to Russia by telegram, although the tsar and a number of important ministers attached great importance to Makanov's opinion, after many deductions, it was found that the Russian fleet really had little hope of victory. But in the face of this golden opportunity for the two great powers in East Asia to compete fiercely, Tsar Nicholas II still decided to give it a try, it was best to defeat the Beiyang Fleet, and Russia could take both sides. Even if it loses, Russia is not without a backhand, in the dictionary of the Russians, there is never the word ally, only interests! Now Japan is already quite weak, and if it fights for another 2 months, I'm afraid that Japan will collapse, right? When the time comes, in the face of Russia, which has been preparing for 2 months, it should be impossible to resist, right?

Thus, this can be called the most bizarre situation in the history of war! Russia had no intention of starting a full-scale war with the Qing state, after all, the Russians' goal was to obtain ice-free ports in the Far East, and the port of Muroran had already met Russia's needs, and in the face of the Beiyang Fleet and the tight fortification system, the Russians were still very empty in their hearts. What about the Qing Kingdom? At this time, it is better to have more than one thing, so the two sides did not declare war on each other!

But the Russians still found a rather unreliable reason for the opening of the film! "Because the actions of the Beiyang Fleet in the Sea of Japan and the Western Pacific seriously affected the naval transportation of the Russian Empire in the Far East, the Russian fleet will provide escort for all Russian and other ships. All attacks on merchant ships will be considered hostile. The escort area will include Japan's territorial waters and areas of the high seas. The meaning of this is very simple, that is, to fight merchant ships, Russia will be in charge. But the Russian fleet will be limited to a certain extent! Don't go overboard, everyone!

Xu Jie, who had already arrived in Shanghai, couldn't help but laugh as he watched the briefing sent from the telegraph office. If you say you want to fight, then you will directly declare war, how can there be two sides who have already started fighting but still want to maintain normal diplomatic relations? Xu Jie's opinion is simple. Since it is a fight, then declare war. Perhaps, the Beiyang Fast Fleet can go around Vladivostok and clean up the current base of the Russian Far East Fleet! (Okay.) Although there are no good ships there anymore) As for the army, Xu Jie is still not very afraid, first, if there is a big trouble, the British emperor will not stand idly by. Second, Maozi can't get on the stage in the Far East Army, and it's not as good as Japan.

But the gang in the center of the Qing Kingdom still thought this method was good. If Li Hongzhang wants to fight, let him fight well, but the situation must be under control. Your Beiyang fleet is going around in circles with the Russians at sea. But don't make a big deal out of it! In this way, the Beiyang Fleet and the Makanov Fleet are ready to pinch each other without declaring war between the two countries!!

The Beiyang should cut off the Japanese army's sea supply line, and the Russian fleet should organize the Beiyang to cut off the Japanese army's sea supply line. The focus of the battle between the two sides is this life-and-death line. As long as you can control the sea route. It doesn't matter if you don't destroy the Russian fleet. If it is to destroy the Russian fleet and lose control of the sea routes, then it will not make much sense to destroy the Russian fleet.

The key to war is to cut through the layers of fog and get to the heart of the matter! It seemed that only by destroying the Russian fleet could Japan be completely locked up. But in reality, this is not the case. First of all, the strategy formulated by Xu Jie, Yang Yonglin, Ding Ruchang and others is aggressive! How to destroy the sea transport of the opposing side? Yourself with a fleet of endless searches over the seas? That's inefficient!! See what the British do? As early as the Sail Age, the British admired the nearshore blockade, which went directly to your port and blocked it with the fleet and transport ships, but it was an overwhelming advantage of the Beiyang Fleet. Xu Jie decided not only to block the problem, but to completely block it with mines or destroy it directly with conditions! (Of course, timeliness still needs to be considered)

Therefore, when the Beiyang Fleet decided to go out with all its strength and "visit" the major Japanese ports one by one, the Russian fleet's plan to take the opportunity to attack a part of it basically failed. If everyone wants to go, they all go together. You come up and beat you directly, and you're gone. I then went to the port and picked up the transport ship I came across. What can you do to me? …,

Because the war is about to enter the final stage, and in the case of the Beiyang Fleet, it already has the ability to capture and send the enemy ship back to the port, so the Beiyang Fleet has also begun to focus on capturing rather than destroying, and when encountering Japanese ships, first the small cannon warns, let the other side stop the ship, and continue to scare with 12-pounder guns, and then sink them without stopping! In addition to the Beiyang Marine Corps, there are also a large number of crew members called by the people. After the Japanese side stopped the ship, it sent people to occupy it, and then acted together with the Beiyang Fleet under the supervision of the Beiyang armed personnel. Isn't it nice to be able to watch the "fireworks display" outside the Japanese port for free?

Beiyang is making plans, and Makanov is also making plans. To be honest, the experienced Makanov has already thought of the strategy of the coastal blockade that the Beiyang Fleet may adopt, after all, it is better to hit the bird's nest directly! Everybody understands this. If the Beiyang Fleet is not dispersed, Makanov will definitely not fight with the Beiyang Fleet, it is looking for death! Makanov thought about it and formulated a plan for external operations, that is, to directly attack the transportation lines of the Qing State and then force the Beiyang Fleet to come back to help. But when it came time to discuss, the other captains disagreed!

"Your Excellency, I think it is necessary to emphasize that His Majesty the Tsar does not want the war to escalate, and if our fleet brazenly attacks the transport ships in the territorial waters of the Qing Dynasty, what if the Beiyang Fleet wants to attack Vladivostok? Before the arrival of the port of Muroran, Vladivostok was the only military port in the Far East. Captain Rurik Toyarev said.

"The British sent a note claiming that the British Far East Fleet had an obligation to guarantee the freedom of navigation of British ships in the Far East, and that if a British flag ship was attacked, it would be tantamount to a declaration of war on Britain. And with the acquiescence of the British, those Qing transport ships have begun to fly the British flag that is not worth even a ruble, and we bumped into it, to fight or not to fight? A staff officer asked.

"Damn the British." Makanov cursed. Although Britain and Russia, both European powers, will not go to war easily, the British are well known to the world for their sensitivity to sea power! At that time, Russia just wanted to open the Dardanelles Strait and enter the Mediterranean, it was not a big deal, and as a result, the British and the French fought a Crimean War with Russia! As a result, Russia promised not to allow the Black Sea Fleet to enter the Mediterranean.

You have to ask Makanov if he has the guts to try the bottom line of the British, obviously not, don't say that Makanov doesn't dare, he doesn't dare if you change it to Nicholas II! The current situation is that at least Russia can take Japan, but if the British intervene, then maybe Muroran Port should be surnamed Yingli!

As a result, Makanov could only lead the fleet around the periphery of the Beiyang Fleet and wait and see what happened. There is no courage to go up, and there is unwillingness to leave, this is Makanov's mood at that time.

A chapter added in the evening. For the sake of the author's efforts, let's subscribe more. It's best for book friends to give some recommendations and collections, anyway, it doesn't cost money, it's a matter of minutes. Thank you very much (to be continued......)