The sad scene was also carried out in the American fleet, where Commander Barker personally attended the burial ceremony at sea, wrapped in white cloth and floating on the dark sea. Almost identically, a horrific report of battle damage appeared in front of Buck. The battle-damaged material seemed unusually heavy, and Barker's hands seemed to tremble. The surrounding generals all looked at the commander with pale faces and blank faces. The air was extremely heavy, "Your Excellency, the battle damage has been reported to the Command, and we are waiting for a reply from the Command. Chief of Staff Rice said softly.

Buck finally set his eyes on the battle damage material, only to see that it read: "The damage is as follows, 22 cruisers, 10 sunk, 6 seriously damaged and unable to fight, 6 each with damage. Of the 23 battleships, 11 sank, 8 were badly damaged and could not be combated, and 4 were damaged to varying degrees. Of the 55 frigates, 22 sank, 15 were seriously damaged and inoperable, and 18 were slightly damaged. Of the 55 destroyers, 8 sank, 12 were seriously damaged and could not be combated, 15 were slightly damaged, and 20 were intact. Losses ??????, face of huge casualties, Buck couldn't stand it anymore.

Rice said: "Your Excellency, after our analysis, the losses of the enemy fleet are equally serious, after counting the loss of 52 of their carrier-based aircraft, it is obvious that their cargo ships are carrying spare fighters, and it is impossible to judge how many fighters they still have." If there is a battle tomorrow, in the face of the enemy's air strikes, our main battleship will probably be devastated. Buck was silent for a long time and said suddenly: "The enemy fleet uses tactics at any cost, and it is possible to cover the landing fleet's sneak attack." Immediately report the situation to the high command, maybe we have been fooled again. ”

"The delay in the disappearance of the enemy's landing fleet really shows the problem, and it is difficult for them to fly over with their wings?" Rice was confused. "If the enemy's target is Los Angeles, that's. The signs are clear. The Chinese have never played their cards according to common sense, and perhaps their target is Los Angeles. Immediately report the situation to the high command and be prepared. "Your Excellency, the current situation of the fleet is very bad, and if we fight again tomorrow, we may not be able to cope with it," Barker said, "I have decided to fight until the last moment." Say no more. ”

Late at night, Buck still sat in silence in front of the charts in the war room, it didn't matter what the outcome would be tomorrow, as a soldier of the United States. He had put life and death on the line, and perhaps tonight was the last night of his life, and there was no doubt that if he fought again tomorrow, the enemy would definitely target him. Buck stood up and walked over to the table and sat down. After pondering for a while, he picked up a pen and left a message for his wife, who was far away in New York. After the letter is written. Carefully seal it and put it in your jacket pocket. At this time, a communications officer hurriedly walked in and said, "Your Excellency, Washington is calling!" ”

Buck took the telegram: I saw that it read: Los Angeles reported that no enemy landing fleet had been found in a 500-kilometer radius of the sea area, and it is estimated that the landing fleet is still in your direction. Your unit is already in danger, and it is recommended that your unit retreat to San Francisco and stand by. After reading the telegram, Buck's expression perked up and said, "Call the chief of staff immediately!" After reading the telegram, Chief of Staff Rice reported: "Your Excellency, General, if we retreat, the enemy will soon find out. The enemy fleet launched a pursuit. After dawn we still face the threat of carrier-based aircraft. ”

Buck pondered for a moment and said, "Leave the frigate that is too badly damaged to fight, and light up all the lights and evacuate." In addition, all evacuated warships were notified of the lighting control. Evacuate to San Francisco. "About two hours later, the American fleet quietly went on its way. As the day dawned, the battle alarm sounded again. Wen Biao walked into the command cabin and picked up the binoculars, and at this time a subordinate came in and made an urgent report: "Report 506, the forward alert battleship reports that the US fleet is abnormal." "About an hour later, the covering fleet reached the waters of the American fleet.

Wen Biao looked at the lonely 15 enemy frigates, scattered floating on the sea, and said: "We were fooled, the enemy fleet fled." But the Americans were generous enough to give us 15 battleships at once, why didn't we accept that? Immediately organize personnel to pedal the ship to check, and if there is no problem with the machine, drive the US ship to follow behind, and the other main warships will pursue San Francisco. In addition, reconnaissance planes took to the air to reconnoiter the sea area ahead. Since the reconnaissance plane could only search the sea area 70 kilometers ahead, and five hours had passed since the US fleet retreated, the US fleet was already 100 kilometers away.

In the evening of that day, Commander Barker was having dinner when Chief of Staff Rice came in in in a panic and said, "Your Excellency the General has a call from the Command, and according to the report from San Francisco, a large number of fleets have been found in the waters west of San Francisco, and it is possible that they are the enemy's landing fleet. The situation was not good, and the High Command ordered us to retreat along the coastline towards Los Angeles. Buck took the telegram and looked at it a few times, slapped the telegram on the table in annoyance and said: "We made a mistake in judgment, the Chinese have a proverb called Ming Xiu Plank Road secretly crossing Chen Cang." The enemy used the covering fleet to entangle us, and the enemy landing fleet headed due north, and then turned to San Francisco, it must have been like this. ”

"Order the fleet to turn the ship around and retreat along the coastline towards Los Angeles! We can't afford to fight anymore. Buck sat down in his chair decadently.

On the Yangtze River, the flagship of the covering fleet, a communications officer hurriedly came in and said: "Report 506, contact with the landing fleet, they successfully approached the waters of San Francisco, 501 and 502 express their salutes to all the officers and men who fought bloodily." They estimated that the US fleet would definitely flee to Los Angeles after hearing the news of the landing fleet. Command ordered us to advance at full speed toward San Francisco. ”

Everyone couldn't help but cheer and hug each other when they heard this. Wen Biao's eyes were a little moist, he walked out of the command cabin to the tower, looked at the scarred fleet left and right, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart, the imperial navy can only be stronger in the battle of blood and fire, this is the beginning of dominating the ocean. In this battle, the Imperial Navy truly forged the military soul, and the military soul means that the Imperial Navy is invincible. Facing the direction of the motherland, Wen Biao involuntarily raised his hand and solemnly saluted. The afterglow of the West sprinkled on his body and face, shining like a statue.

At 8 o'clock EST, the White House in Washington was once again shrouded in haze. After the generals and government dignitaries arrived, President Cleveland said gloomily: "What a great achievement, the organs are exhausted, we have lost our wives and soldiers." The Pacific Fleet was devastated. Although the enemy's covering fleet also suffered heavy losses, the enemy's tactics of stealing the sea made it impossible to see what was going on in San Francisco. The enemy's landing fleet was about to launch a landing operation. The situation is very critical, and the United States is at a critical point of life and death. ”

Ingmart, commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, said: "Your Excellency, we didn't expect that the enemy fleet would be divided into two, and now there is no point in complaining, we can only implement the second plan." At present, General Shaq has concentrated 10 troops in San Francisco, and General Hanrowe himself is in charge, as long as we hold out for 10 days. The first batch of reinforcements will be able to reach San Francisco. The 5th Army Corps of 50,000 field troops had been pulled out of the Mexican border. Cleveland said: "General Shaq's troops are second-line combat troops, can they hold out for 10 days in the face of the elite troops of the Chinese Empire?" ”

"The worst outcome was a San Francisco miss, but we had a plan to fight back," Ingmat said. As long as reinforcements continue to arrive on the West Coast. We will be sure to drive the enemy back to sea. Of course, we are first faced with the problem of holding on to San Francisco, and I have already telegraphed General Han Ruowei to immediately form a defense system in depth on the outskirts of San Francisco and plan to fight for a long time. Navy Commander Leicester said: "Your Excellency, President." At the moment the Pacific Fleet has been dealt a devastating blow. It was no longer able to fight, and the task force was entangled in the enemy's 2nd Fleet, and our coastal defenses completely collapsed. I suggest that the center of gravity of defense be fully shifted to land operations? All funding budgets are tilted in favor of the Army. Cleveland nodded and said, "The United States has reached a life-and-death point, everything is for the front line, and I decided to make a speech and tell the truth to the American people." ”

Los Angeles, the largest city on the West Coast of the United States, seems to be calm. On a bustling street, loudspeakers broadcast the news. Suddenly, the news stopped, and a shocking voice came over the loudspeaker: It was 10 o'clock Western time. The President delivers an important address to all U.S. citizens. Pedestrians on the street stopped to listen, and President Cleveland's voice sounded over the loudspeaker: "Citizens of the United States of America, just this morning, a huge fleet of the Chinese Empire appeared in San Francisco. The enemy was about to launch a beastly attack, and the United States was at its most dangerous. ”

"Citizens of the United States of America, on behalf of the Government of the United States of America, I call on you to join the fight for the defense of your homeland, and ask you to take up arms and fight for the defense of the United States, and the American people will defend every inch of land with their blood and lives, and make every inch of land the grave of the aggressor, and the United States Government and myself will stand with you, and we will fight until the moment after the formation, until the aggressor is driven out of their homeland??????。" The more and more pedestrians gathered on the streets, they finally realized that disaster had befallen the United States, and such a scene was playing out in major cities in the United States at the same time.

The Ministry of Defense in the capital of the Chinese Empire, Deng Zixuan led all the generals and commanders to return to the war room after attending Deng Shichang's memorial service. Seeing that everyone was silent, Deng Zixuan said: "Commander Deng sacrificed his life bravely, and my heart is as heavy as everyone else. The Chinese nation will inevitably pay a price on the road to rise, and we must always remember them. Let us turn our grief into strength, complete the strategic blueprint of the expedition to the American continent, and welcome the day of victory. Chief of Staff Pei Gejin said: "The situation of the expeditionary operation has been announced to the world, do you have anything to add?" ”

Deng Zixuan shook his head and said, "The situation is detailed enough, this is another thunderbolt." At this time, the intelligence chief Wan Chuan walked in and said: "Your Excellency, there is news from the German side that a large-scale anti-war march broke out in Moscow, the capital of Russia, and was bloodily suppressed by the Tsar. Deng Zixuan heard a smile on the corner of his mouth, this is the result he wants to see the most. Russia has been dragged into a mud pit by the war, and the contradictions in the country have reached a critical point of eruption. In particular, the collapse and collapse of the Liberals made the Russian elite wake up. There were signs that a bourgeois revolution might break out in Russia ahead of schedule.

Chen Jintang said: "President, He Meng called to inform him that in view of the devastating blow to the US Pacific Fleet, he asked the third batch of reinforcements to directly transport two armies, and if the situation permits, add one more corps on the basis of the original four armies, with a strength of 200,000 troops." After analysis, the War Department considered it feasible to take into account the difficulty of fighting on the American mainland. Deng Zixuan said: "There is no problem with increasing an army, the key is how to solve the problem of logistics and supply." Now that the landing force has been increased, it is clear that they already have a solution and leave it to them to deal with it as appropriate. ”

Deng Zixuan thought that there were a large number of Chinese in San Francisco, and there were a large number of Chinese in the enemy's territory, which meant that it would bring unexpected surprises, and obviously He Meng thought of this layer.

(To be continued......)

PS: The price of blood achieves its purpose.