What really decided the victory or defeat of this sea was the duel between the battleships of the two sides. The battle lines of the two sides are like two long dragons, winding on the sea. Each of the battleships was desperately throwing shells on top of each other's heads.

Under the deliberate control of the Chinese Navy, the distance between the two sides has been maintained at about 12,000 kilometers. At this distance, with advanced ranging equipment and fire control systems, the hit rate of the Imperial Navy was significantly higher than that of the Japanese Navy. Although, the advantage at this point does not seem to be obvious. However, this will undoubtedly become a powerful weight for the Imperial Navy to defeat the Japanese Navy.

"Boom! Rumble! "Two shells exploded in quick succession on the left side of the battleship 'Zhonghua' of the Imperial Navy. This means that the Japanese Navy's battleship "Ise" has successfully formed a straddle shot. Next, it was time for the battleship 'Ise' to launch a concentrated fire.

However, before the battleship "Ise" formed a straddle, the battleship "Chugo" of the Imperial Navy had already formed a straddle fire on the battleship "Ise" and began to fire a salvo.

Marshal Cheng Biguang, commander of the Imperial Navy and commander of the Pacific Fleet, stood in the bridge, holding a telescope, observing the battle situation. The Imperial Navy's four 'Zhonghua-class' battleships were fighting against the Japanese Navy's two 'Ise-class' battleships and two 'Fuso-class' battleships. Judging by the current situation, the four 'Zhonghua-class' battleships of the Imperial Navy have all begun to fire in a salvo. It's just that so far no hits have been made. From this point of view, the Imperial Navy's 'Zhonghua-class' battleships were not inferior to the Japanese Navy's 'Ise-class' and 'Fuso-class' battleships, and were even slightly stronger.

This point has long been expected by Marshal Cheng Biguang. A strong battleship does not rely solely on the accumulation of the number of main guns. Rather, it depends on the comprehensive performance of each element. The Imperial Navy's 'Zhonghua-class' battleships took into account defense, firepower, and speed, unlike the Japanese Navy's 'Ise-class' battleships and 'Fuso-class' battleships, which one-sidedly pursued firepower and speed and despised defense.

"Marshal, for now. It's still us who have the advantage. All four of our 'Zhonghua-class' battleships switched to a salvo, and only three of the Japanese 'Ise-class' and 'Fuso-class' battleships switched to a salvo. Vice Admiral Li Dingxin, chief of staff of the fleet, appeared very optimistic.

"Well, our overall strength is indeed stronger than that of the Japanese. However, there is no room for sloppiness in naval warfare, and any negligence may lead to a crushing defeat until the final victory is achieved. Marshal Cheng Biguang said.

Lieutenant General Li Dingxin nodded. The Imperial Navy is in a position to win. But before the capital ship of the Japanese Navy was really sunk, it was indeed a little early to talk about victory.

"Marshal, our mixed fleet of battle patrols and heavy cruisers has completely suppressed the heavy patrol formations of the Japanese Navy, and it is only a matter of time before they are completely crushed. After the Battle Patrol has eliminated the heavy patrol of the Japanese, you can consider having the Battle Patrol join the battlefield as well. When the time comes. Our strengths will be further expanded. Lieutenant General Li Dingxin suggested.

Cheng Biguang shook his head: "Although our battle patrol has good firepower, its defense is also okay. But. It's still too risky to use it for battle line battles. You know, every one of our warships is precious. Our enemies are not only the Japanese, but also the Americans on the other side of the ocean. In order to guard against the Americans, we defeated the Japanese at the same time. We also need to preserve our strength as much as possible. ”

After finishing speaking, Marshal Cheng Biguang's eyes fell on a light cruiser flying the American flag on the edge of the battlefield, which was undoubtedly a warship sent by the US Navy to observe this war.

"In addition, with the strength of our eight battleships, it is necessary to solve these six battleships of the Japanese Navy. It shouldn't be too much of a problem. Now, it's just the beginning of the battle, and we'll soon be able to make a breakthrough. Cheng Biguang said confidently.

"What does the marshal mean by the siege of the 'Kawachi-class' battleships of the Japanese Navy by our 'Longxing-class' and 'Longteng-class' battleships?" Lieutenant General Li Dingxin asked. In the duel on the battle line, the Imperial Navy obviously had an overwhelming advantage in the second half of the battle.

Marshal Cheng Biguang nodded, he did put the hope of breaking the game in the second half of the battle line. Wait until the Imperial Navy's 'Ryuxing-class' battleships and 'Ryuyao-class' battleships have solved the 'Hanoi-class' battleships of the Japanese Navy. The advantages of the capital ships of the Imperial Navy will be further expanded. And, it will expand from local advantages to global advantages. When the time comes, the victory will almost be set.

Lieutenant General Li Dingxin's gaze also fell on the second half of the battle line. There, two 'Longxing-class' battleships and two 'Longteng-class' battleships of the Imperial Navy were besieging two 'Hanoi-class' battleships of the Japanese Navy.

Among the main ships of the Japanese Navy, the 'Hanoi-class' battleships are undoubtedly the weakest in combat effectiveness compared to the older ones. The Hanoi-class battleships had a displacement of 21,000 tons and were armed with two twin 50x caliber 305 mm guns and four twin 45x caliber 305 mm guns. Although, the number of main guns was six 12 guns. However, with the exception of one twin 50x caliber 305 mm gun in the bow and stern, the remaining four twin 45x caliber 305 mm guns were deployed on either side of the battleship. This meant that when the 'Hanoi-class' battleships fired on one side, they had only eight main guns. And because of the different ratio of the main gun, it is impossible to achieve salvo fire, which greatly limits the play of its own combat effectiveness.

It can be said that on the body of the 'Hanoi-class' battleship, a great shadow of the former dreadnought was retained. It's just that the 'Hanoi-class' battleships replaced the 254-mm second-class guns of the former dreadnoughts with 305-mm guns.

In addition, on the battlefield, the two 'Hanoi-class' battleships of the Japanese Navy were besieged by the battleships of the more powerful Chinese Navy, and their situation can naturally be imagined.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! ”

The four main guns of the battleship 'Hanoi' opened fire fiercely. However, at a distance of 12,000 kilometers, the dispersion of their shells was too large. So much so that by this time, there had not yet been a cross-shot. On the other hand, the battleships "Long Xing" and "Long Fury", which were besieging the battleship "Hanoi", had already formed a cross-fire and turned into a salvo.

"Yaga! The artillery was ordered to aim a little. At such a level, they are burying the future of the Great Japanese Empire! The captain of the battleship 'Hanoi', Machida Komajiro Osa, scolded viciously.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, the battleship 'Kawachi' broke out with a loud bang, and the entire battleship trembled, and Machida Komajiro Osa immediately grabbed the handrail with both hands, so that he did not fall. On the other hand, the other officers in the bridge had already fallen to the ground.

"What's going on?" Machida Komajiro Osa asked in a loud voice.

"Your Excellency, Captain, we have been hit. A 343-mm shell hit the side side, leaving a large hole in the side of the side. Fortunately, the part that was hit was above the waterline. However, one of the main guns was affected and could not be rotated for the time being. Soon the damage management staff reported.

"Amaterasu bless!" Machida Komajiro Osa said secretly. If the hit position is a little further down, then the fun will be great. The battleship Hanoi's waterline armor was only 305 mm, and it is difficult to say whether it could withstand the 343 mm main guns. Once the waterline armor is penetrated and a large amount of water is entered, even if the battleship does not sink, it will lose its combat effectiveness due to too much water.

"Fix that main gun as soon as possible, the rest of the main guns, and keep firing. Amaterasu bless us, and we will definitely be able to defeat the Shina people. Machida Komajiro Osaku shouted loudly.

However, as soon as Machida Komajiro Daisa's words fell, the battleship "Hanoi" was hit again. This time it was a shell fired by the battleship "Dragon Fury" that hit the aft deck of the battleship "Hanoi". A large hole was blown out in the aft deck, and several cabins below the deck were destroyed at the same time, igniting a raging fire.

From this time, almost every few minutes, the battleship 'Hanoi' was hit. Under such circumstances, even if the battleship 'Hanoi' was well defended, it was obvious that it would not last long.

"Boom! Rumble! ”

The Imperial Navy's battleships "Longteng" and "Longxiang" also hit the battleship "Settsu" into a high tide. As the second ship of the 'Hanoi-class' battleship, the inferior ship of the 'Settsu' is still very obvious. Even if it was a one-on-one duel, it was definitely no match for the Imperial Navy's 'Dragon-class' battleships. Not to mention one against two.

After the battleships "Longteng" and "Longxiang" successively formed a straddle of the battleship "Settsu", the situation of the battleship "Settsu" was also precarious.

At 3:12 p.m., the battleship "Longteng" of the Imperial Navy hit the battleship "Hanoi" for the third time. This shell hit the No. 2 main turret on the right side of the battleship 'Settsu'. However, due to the angle, the shell was deflected off by the 280 mm thick armor on the turret.

Originally, the Japanese officers and men on the battleship "Settsu" should have been rejoicing. But then they were unlucky. Because after this shell was ejected, it hit the waterline armor more than a meter below the waterline, and an explosion occurred.

The violent explosion tore a hole in the waterline armor of the battleship 'Settsu'. (To be continued.) )

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