"Your Excellency, what you need now is rest. I will send you ashore and let you receive the best treatment. This war is not over yet, and although we have suffered huge losses, the combat power of the Beiyang Fleet has also dropped to a record low! We still have a chance. Toyarev said softly.

"I'm afraid I can't continue this war. At the same time, there is no need for them to continue this war. We don't have a chance, and in the next five years at least the oceans of the Far East will be the Beiyang Naval Division. "Makarev was pale from excessive blood loss, and at the same time suffered moderate burns to his body, blood seeped out of the bandages.

"But the order of His Highness the Tsar." Toyalev said.

"We are people, not gods, our fleet has lost its ability to fight, and if it continues, there is only a dead end. The difference is simply a matter of time. Makanov said intermittently. I will write my opinion to His Royal Highness the Tsar, this war is already lost by Japan. Russia needs to rethink its plans. ”

"But it will take time, my general." Toyarev said with a deep face.

"Time? I'll do it as soon as possible, and the fleet will be handed over to you. Avoid the Beiyang Fleet! Wait for the truce to come. We need this fleet to continue to exist. Makanov took a sip of water and continued.

"And then? Will you stay in Vladivostok, or will you return to the Baltic with defeat and disgrace? Toyarev asked with a gloomy face.

"No, Vladivostok is not a suitable base for the Far Eastern Fleet. We now have a better base, one that has access to both the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean. A blush appeared on Makanov's face.

"You mean Muroran Port? I'm afraid after the end of this war. I am afraid that the cooperation between Japan and Russia has come to an end. Toyarev pouted.

"Go on." Makanov gave a rare smile.

"After the defeat of Japan, it will completely collapse because of foreign debt and huge attrition. Japan could not be without the ability to be a qualified thug. There was no need for the empire to help Japan. And Japan owed a large amount of foreign debt to the empire during the war, so it ....... Toyarev sighed.

"So Russia must be compensated from Japan, and if the Japanese cannot pay the bill with real money, then they must be replaced by something else!" Makanov said meaningfully.

"You're saying that our country may want to seize the port of Muroran?" Toyarev said in shock. Although it is very unscrupulous to Japan as a country. However, this move of turning his face faster than turning a book still shocked him!

"How can a single Muroran port satisfy the appetite of the Empire? What we need is all of Hokkaido and the Kamatsu Strait, which controls access to and from the Sea of Japan! That is, the empire also needed a part of the island of Honshu. Makanov said softly.

"Originally. The empire intended to take advantage of the Qing-Japanese war to gain some benefits from both Japan and the Qing state, but now it seems that the behemoth still has some strength. Empires need to accumulate. At least one railway across the entire Eurasian continent was needed to supply and support the land forces in the Far East. An ice-free port is needed to provide a safe home for the fleet. And now Japan is giving us this opportunity. The Japanese Army had only one division on its own soil. The others were in Korea and the northeastern part of the Qing Dynasty. And in addition to the lack of military power. No less than the number of Japanese logistics personnel remained in Korea and the Qing State. Other words. In the face of the attack of the Empire, Japan did not have even basic manpower! Japan, so weak, would not have any ability to resist the attack of the Empire. Makanov said quietly.

"As long as we can get enough land to Hokkaido, and we can use the remaining warships to control the surrounding waters and transportation lines, then we are the winners. Of course, the premise is that an understanding is reached with the Qing State. Toyarev said with a twinkle in his eyes. …,

"The remaining 3 warships of the Japanese are also scarred. If an understanding can be reached with Qing Guo. Our remaining fleet was enough to pack up the 3 remaining battleships of the Japanese. Therefore, your task now is to protect the ship! Makanov said meaningfully.

"General, as soon as I send you ashore, I will lead the fleet to the supply point in the Okinawa area. And where to wait for the news of the truce. Toyarev said.

"No, don't stay there too long. It is not suitable for a long stay there, the Beiyang Fleet has already swept the vast majority of Japanese ports, and they will continue to look for us. When they can't find it in Japan, they expand their search. If I could, I hoped, to remain maneuverable at sea after the fleet was replenished. Makanov said.

"Why don't we go back to Vladivostok? There are better facilities there. Toyarev asked.

"That is equivalent to bringing the flames of war to the Russian mainland, although the Qing fleet may not be able to take it there now, but as long as it fires into the port and sinks a few transport ships, it will be a big blow to the future plans of the empire. Moreover, Russia needs to remain in the East China Sea. Paralyze the Japanese. Let the Japanese believe that Russia will continue to help it against the Qing state. Only then will our blows be sudden! Makanov shook his head and vetoed Toyarev's proposal.

"Besides, let the Turquoise and Pearl go to the supply point first, and send me back with only one Rurik, the Turquoise and Pearl are badly damaged and need to be repaired. Let them go first and save some time. Makanov thought for a moment and said.

I don't know if it was a coincidence, or if Makanov had thought about the possible tracking behavior of the Beiyang Fleet in advance. But it was precisely because of this proposal to divide forces that the Beiyang Fleet did not discover the secret supply points of the Russians for the time being. Less than 1 hour after the Turquoise and Pearl left, two Guiyuan-class battleships appeared 5 nautical miles behind the Rurik's flank!

"General, we're being followed! It is two Guiyuan-class. Toyarev said with some concern, the current Rurik is very stressful to deal with two Guiyuan-class light armored cruisers. If you want to run, Rurik's speed will definitely not be able to shake off the speed of the Guiyuan class, which is known for its speed.

"Go to the Karumsu Strait, where there are mine arrays, we pass through the middle, and the Beiyang fleet will not dare to chase them." Makanov was also very nervous, after all, the current Rurik is not in good shape, and the Rurik has a huge consumption of shells for its 12-inch guns and 10-inch guns. As for the 6-inch gun? It doesn't mean much to the Guiyuan level. The Japanese 6-inch picric acid shells can still set fire, but it is difficult for the Russians to even set fire!

At the same time, Lin Yongsheng looked at the big guy in front of him and was also very entangled. Only one battleship Rurik was there, and the other two were missing. This is actually equivalent to losing half of the Russian fleet. If you want to talk about attack, as an armored cruiser of more than 10,000 tons, Rurik's strength is basically the same level as the PISA class. Although there are more of the two Guiyuan guns, the projection volume will exceed that of Rurik, but if it is fired by Rurik's 12-inch cannon, it will be worth the loss, PISA has a problem with the anti-Rurik 12-inch cannon, and the Guiyuan-level anti-10-inch cannon depends on the situation. After all, the last time the Japanese 11-inch shore defense cannon could scrap a turret at once. Moreover, the state of the two Guiyuan class is not very good, and the combat effectiveness of these two ships is greatly reduced by damage and ammunition consumption, as well as personnel losses and fatigue. But if you don't fight, you're unwilling.

So the three ships confronted each other in a very strange situation, like two cheetahs stalking a bison in the distance. Although the bison was seriously injured, its strong body and brute strength still made the two equally tired cheetahs very jealous. From time to time, the two Guiyuan-class ships approached less than 4 km away from the Rurik, and then the two sides greeted each other with naval guns, and at such a distance, in the face of the pitiful low hit rate of high-speed target shells, it was not so much a battle as a demonstration. …,

However, the cost of this kind of demonstration is relatively expensive for the Rurik, and the Rurik must use 10-inch and 12-inch guns from time to time to warn the two uninvited guests behind: "Brother has a big killing weapon, don't go too far!" "Of course, the Russians know that it is really a bit difficult to hit the agile Guiyuan with only one 12-inch and one 10-inch guns. But if you don't do this, it's hard to guarantee that people won't kill you and then use an 8-inch gun to wash the deck again!

"My lord, shall we continue to follow? It's been 2 days and one night. An officer asked, Lin Yongsheng was also extremely tired at this time, the behemoth in front of him was indeed not something that the Guiyuan level could deal with. It's not that Lin Yongsheng didn't think about attacking, and even Lin Yongsheng took two battleships to attack at a distance of 2,500 meters from the other party, and the 8-inch shells flew towards the Rurik like raindrops, and the Rurik also decisively gave up evacuating, and the whole battleship turned and used all the firepower of the side chord to meet the Beiyang Fleet.

Soon, the same dense rain of bullets made it very uncomfortable for both sides. Just when the Suiyuan used an 8-inch gun to turn the stern of the Rurik into a ball of fire, the Rurik also hit 2 shells of the Guiyuan. A 10-inch shell hit the rear turret of the Guiyuan, probably because of the angle, the 10-inch shell just rubbed a little. However, the vibration of this rub damaged the artillery hydraulics of the Guiyuan. The other shot hit the vicinity of the Guiyuan's conning tower, and although it did not break through, it still made several officers and soldiers hang their colors. Therefore, Lin Yongsheng thought about it again and again and decided to avoid it.

And as the two sides fled to the Qingjin Strait, Lin Yongsheng knew that he should go back, because there was a mine array in front of him, and it was impossible for Lin Yongsheng's fleet, which was not followed by minesweepers, to continue the pursuit. Looking at the Rurik that was gradually moving away, Lin Yongsheng couldn't help but sigh. The Rurik must have run away, but he didn't plan to return empty-handed, the other two Russian cruisers must be resupplied somewhere, Lin Yongsheng decided to stop by and look for those two cruisers again!

Thank you for the tips from book friends Kong Chen and techie81. As well as the monthly pass support ~~~~~ of book friends Xiangzhiyue, Zhongren and Linallen. (Your support is my biggest motivation.) )