"The whole ship turns to course 95 and moves at full speed while concentrating fire on the enemy armored cruiser forces!"

The acting commander of the Russian fleet on the "Dawn", Wittgeft, issued an order, and with his keen observation and strong desire for survival, he saw a layer of long fog shrouded in the sea antenna to the east, and the fog could hide the traces of the fleet, and as long as he rushed into the fog, he could temporarily avoid the fierce fire of the Chinese army.

The four remaining Russian armored warships cut through the dark blue sea with their bow at the angle of attack, quickly turned and accelerated, while carefully avoiding the fierce artillery fire of the Chinese battleship column, while concentrating their main gun fire on the weakly protected coalition armored cruiser forces. The Japanese armored cruiser "Yakumo" at the end of the column was hit by many bullets, the two gun barrels of the front main turret were all blown up, the superstructure was on fire, and it was forced to withdraw from the battle.

The maximum formation speed of the Chinese battleship column was 17 knots, which was one section lower than the maximum formation speed of the remaining four Russian battleships.

Sa Zhenbing on the "St. Regis" discovered the enemy's attempt in time: "Commander, there is a heavy fog over there!" The enemy wants to hide in the fog! ”

Lin Tai hurriedly raised the binoculars, and suddenly frowned: "It's foggy at this time, God is thinking that we can't get along......

"What to do? Do you want to load a patrol to go over and intercept at all costs? ”

Lin Tai once put down the binoculars and grabbed the railing in front of him: "We can't sacrifice the patrol team anymore, so far we have eaten the enemy's three battleships and most of the cruisers, and the remaining four battleships are also seriously injured, I think it is impossible for the enemy to continue to insist on breaking through under such circumstances, the enemy's intention should be to temporarily hide in the fog to escape from our artillery fire, and then try to escape back to the military port at night." ”

Sa Zhenbing hesitated: "However, there is still a possibility that the enemy will continue to break through, here to the entrance of the Soya Strait is only two hundred and fifty nautical miles, and it can be reached in more than ten hours, and the Tsugaru Strait is even closer...... Although the remaining warships of the enemy were all on fire, it seems that the fire has been brought under control and can still maintain a high-speed course, indicating that the power system and the watertight system have not been damaged too much...... More importantly, although the enemy's flagship was sunk, the chain of command did not collapse, and the enemy was still fighting as a unit, and if the enemy's commander was strong enough, it was very possible to persist in carrying out the breakthrough operation. ”

Lin Taizeng sighed, put his hands behind his back, patted the innocent telescope, and pondered.

After a while, Lin Tai turned to Sa Zhenbing: "Do you think that in order to achieve the great feats of the Imperial Navy and my personal annihilation of the enemy's Pacific Fleet, no matter what the price is acceptable?" ”

Sa Zhenbing looked at Lin Taizeng calmly: "What does the commander mean?" ”

"The French are willing to send a fleet to meet the Russian fleet to break through, so that in the future we may have to face a confrontation with the second navy of the world, and today we certainly have the opportunity to completely annihilate the Russian fleet, but if the losses are too great, the victory itself will be greatly reduced. I mean, find a way to drive the remnants of the enemy back to the military port of Vladivostok and continue the blockade. ”

"However, if the enemy enters the fog, it is not under our control how to act......

Lin Tai once raised the binoculars in his hand and shook the thin figure of a destroyer with the Moon number guarding the left rear of the battleship column: "Let these little things block the enemy's current course with a dense torpedo attack, and at the same time equip the patrol team to make a desperate interception posture, and this team will turn south and get out of the way for the enemy fleet to return to Vladivostok Military Port." ”

"Will the enemy take the bait? What if they are desperate to rush into the fog? ”

"In that case, the patrol team will abandon the interception, the lightning strike force will return, and after regrouping at sea, cruise along the edge of the fog area, while monitoring the light forces and fishing flotilla as much as possible, and at the same time first gather torpedo boat flotillas and support forces in the northern straits, ready to strike at the enemy fleet that may break through."

Sa Zhenbing was still a little uneasy: "Even if the enemy fleet can be discovered again in the near future, isn't it necessary to use the patrol to intercept it in the end?" It is true that sending an armed patrol to attack now may suffer great losses, but since it is possible to take the same risk in the future, why not seize the opportunity now and firmly establish the victory? ”

Lin Taizeng shook his head: "Even now, the victory has not been firmly established, and the patrol is likely to be repulsed again, and after paying the price, it has failed to achieve the goal of delaying the enemy army, and this bad situation must also be taken into account." With the current level of technology of the empire, the speed, protection, and firepower of the warship cannot be taken into account at the same time, and our army's armored cruisers are based on firepower, so they can cause large losses to the enemy battleships in harassment battles, but the speed cannot completely make up for the protection, you have also seen that the armored cruisers of our army and the Japanese army cannot withstand the blows of the enemy's main guns, and they will not be able to bear it with a few shots, and the battle has begun until now, and it has been sunk and wounded, and the remaining five ships may be eaten at any time...... At present, the shipbuilding capacity of the naval shipyard is not very developed, and it is difficult to quickly make up for the loss of capital ships, so we should think more about the overall situation......"

"But if the enemy fleet manages to break through, things will be in trouble......

"Maybe one or two ships will be able to get away with it, but I firmly believe that with the net we have arranged, it is impossible for the enemy to break out of our hands in the form of a 'fleet'!"

Sa Zhenbing muttered in his heart: "Take risks in order to preserve your strength...... So, is the commander cautious or bold?"

At 17:55, the 16 destroyers of the Chinese army broke away from their own squadron and the patrol squadron and rushed at high speed towards the enemy battleship column that was about to rush into the fog.

At the same time, Wittgeft on the "Dawn" received a report that the five ships of the allied armed patrol force had accelerated their course to their own side in an attempt to intercept them; on the other hand, the seven large ships of the Chinese warfleet suddenly turned southward, as if to block the route of the Russian ships to the south, but in doing so, they gave way for the Russian fleet to return to the military port of Vladivostok.

"What exactly is the enemy's intentions?"

Wertgeft's brain raced, and answers popped up one after another.

"The enemy wants to maintain effective surveillance of our troops, so under no circumstances will our troops be allowed to enter the fog...... The enemy's fleet moved out of the way, trying to lure us to the west or north, where we feared an ambush of a large number of mine-striking troops, and when night fell we would again have a terrible night of torpedoes...... The enemy wanted to hold us back by the patrols and lightning strikers, and then the team would go around to the front of our troops, seize the cross-head position, and deliver a decisive blow before the sky was completely dark......"

"Rather than dwell on the enemy's lightning strike units and mounted patrols, which eventually expose the fleet to the powerful artillery fire of the enemy's own team, it is better to risk another night of torpedoes, break away at high speed to the west, and reach our mine-defended zone by noon tomorrow...... I can only give it a try, and even if I rush into the fog, I don't know how big the fog area is, how long it will take to disappear, and if I am unlucky, I may suddenly collide with the enemy team......"

After thinking faster than the speed of light, Wittgeft ordered: "Turn the whole ship left to course 280!" The attached ships immediately returned to formation! ”

Here, Sa Zhenbing was a little relieved when he saw the Russian ship turning: "Fortunately, the enemy is not turning north......"

Lin Taizeng smiled slightly: "There are three teams of Japanese torpedo boats waiting over there, besides, then they will be forced to the Tatar Strait, presumably they are not willing to bypass Sakhalin Island and go around the Pacific Ocean through the partially frozen Sea of Okhotsk, in that case, the coal reserves will be insufficient." ”

"What's next? Do you want to keep the eastern, northern, and southern routes tightly sealed and drive them back? ”

"Yes, the detachment and the patrol team drove the cattle behind, and the lightning strike troops attacked and disturbed on both flanks, only letting go of the west side, forcing them to return to the harbor, and then as soon as the weather was good, they urged the aviation squadron to bomb continuously, and in addition, to expand and encrypt the mine blockade area, forcing them to stay obediently in the harbor, and at the end they became the trophies of our army...... Presumably, the Russians will not honestly hand over the complete battleship, but if it sinks itself or is sunk in the harbor, it can be used by fishing it up and repairing it. ”

Sa Zhenbing then understood the commander's good intentions - instead of paying a large price to send all the enemy warships into the deep sea and never see the light of day, it is better to block the remaining enemy ships in the harbor, and wait until the army conquers the fortress, seize the enemy ships, make up for their own losses in the war, and even enhance their own strength, after all, they are more than 4 main armored warships of more than 10,000 tons, and the Chinese Navy has only 7 armored warships of more than 10,000 tons in total so far - only 5 can fight at present.

"So, there's no going to be a massive lightning strike tonight, are you?"

Lin Taizeng nodded a little tiredly: "It's enough to carry out harassing attacks in the direction we don't allow them to go, now we are sitting on horses, holding a whip on each side, driving the disobedient calf back to the cattle pen and waiting for the butcher to come to slaughter and get meat, since we don't need to kill the calf with our own hands now, then there is no need to replace the whip with a butcher's knife." ”

"Got it......"

At 22:35, the Russian ship "Dawn".

Wittgeft sat in the seat of the command tower in a daze, exhausted from the hard fighting, and he wanted to sleep, but he couldn't, and the bloody corpse of the former commander Makarov jumped into his eye socket from time to time, as if to tear his eyes apart.

The fleet was still in danger, at any moment it could be attacked by torpedoes as terrible as last night, and the enemy's armored cruiser forces were likely to emerge from the darkness of the night, but it was still better to cover the defeated fleet than to be exposed to the clear sky during the day.

A young adjutant came over and reported softly: "Commander, the fog is rising. ”

Wittgeft nodded tiredly, "That's good." ”

The darkness of the night and the fog made it even more difficult for the fleet to be detected, but if it did not enter its own mine positions near the military port of Vladivostok before dawn and fog, the chances of the fleet succeeding in escaping were greatly reduced.

"Mines?"

Wittgeft suddenly thought of something, got up and leaned over to the map table, stared at the map, and after a while, he turned to his adjutant: "Send a telegram to Vladivostok, ask Lieutenant Colonel Tukusky to lead all the remaining troops, fully loaded with mines, and set up a medium minefield five to six nautical miles southeast of the X7 mine position tonight and tomorrow morning, and a small minefield four to five nautical miles south of the Z3 mine position, and ......"

After issuing the order, Wittgeft instructed the doctor to bring sleeping pills, and he decided to take a nap.

At 11:45 the next day, the Chinese ship "St. Regis".

Through the binoculars, Lintai saw the Russian fleet flying the flag of St. Andrew's again.

Sa Zhenbing muttered a little unwillingly: "Commander, we still have one more chance, the two wounded ships of the patrol team are completely unhindered, and they can be put into battle immediately, and they may be eaten by another front and rear attack, and they may be eaten......"

Lin Tai once put down the binoculars, and his face was a little hesitant: "Maybe soon, they should change the dragon flag of my Great China Empire, and let the army do a good job...... But if it ends here, I'm afraid some people will not be satisfied......"

"You're saying that the people in the army will laugh at us for being incompetent, and the navy will not be able to hang on to the face, right? Don't worry, Commander-in-Chief Liu will definitely understand you, he originally advocated trapping the enemy fleet in the harbor, and then capturing the enemy ships for his own use after the army conquered the fortress, sinking the enemy ships is certainly not as good as capturing the enemy ships. ”

"If only it were that simple......"

Lin Tai once said that he was about to continue to observe the Russian fleet, when suddenly there was a loud sound like millions of thunder and lightning roaring behind him, and he hurriedly looked back, only to see that the battleship "Zhendian", which was ranked third in the column of the team, was shrouded in a terrifying mist of smoke and water, and countless iron stumps flew in all directions, and the hull of the ship overturned rapidly to the port side, revealing the vermilion lacquered bottom of the ship in a few minutes, and quickly sank into the sea, bringing out several circles of whirlpools swept by broken wood and various debris. Within five minutes of the explosion, the 12,800-ton armored battleship had disappeared from the sea, leaving only 17 of the 695 crew members alive.

As soon as he saw the tragic situation of the "Zhendian", Lin Tai decisively ordered: "The whole ship stops advancing!" Each capital ship deploys a lightning net! Destroyer units carry out minesweeping and rescue operations! ”

Sa Zhenbing looked at the sinking "Zhendian" with some confusion, and muttered: "It should be the mine that detonated the ammunition depot, it's really unlucky...... Originally, that mine was supposed to be for our flagship, but it actually caused the third ship in the column to run into ...... But the enemy's nearest minefield should still be five nautical miles away, how can it be ......"

Lin Taizeng frowned, lowered his head and said: "Maybe it was newly laid out last night, we only cared about encircling and suppressing the enemy's main fleet, and didn't pay attention to the small miscellaneous pieces left behind in the nest, it's really ......."

Chief of Staff Sa Zhenbing and Adjutant Ye Fei both stood with their hands down, looking at the commander with a solemn face, silent to each other.

On November 30, 1903, the so-called "Battle of the Sea of Japan" ended with the failure of the main force of the Russian fleet to break through the operation, the Russian army had 3 battleships (Petropavlovsk, Poltava, Sevastopol), 2 armored cruisers (Thunderbolt, Parada), 2 light cruisers (Novik, Hercules) and 9 destroyers were sunk, one destroyer was captured, and the fleet commander Vice Admiral Makarov and the following 2,967 people were killed and missing, and 4 battleships fled back to the harbor. 1 armored cruiser and 8 destroyers are all scarred and will not be able to sail again in the short term, and in December, the military port of Vladivostok will be frozen, and the Russian fleet will not be able to move freely until the spring thaws. The coalition side lost the battleship "Zhendian" and the armored cruiser "Baoyun", the destroyers "Xiaoxue", "Frost Snow" and a total of 17 torpedo boats; 2 wounded armored cruisers and 2 light cruisers; A total of 1,521 officers and men were killed and missing.

Two days later, the Russian armored cruiser "Askold", which received the order to "break out on its own", appeared near the port of Korsakov in the south of Sakhalin, but found that it had been occupied by the Chinese army, and the old armored ship "Zhenyuan" and 2 Japanese armored cruisers "Izumo" and "Iwate" and 2 light cruisers and 4 destroyers were on guard outside the port, and the coalition ships immediately launched a pursuit, and the "Askold" was damaged in the battle, rushed to the coast and ran aground, and 498 people under the captain Lieutenant Commander Vasilik were captured, For them, the war was over.

For many, the war is still long and there is no end in sight, but it seems that the outcome can already be predicted.

Some people are already predicting the ending, and what will happen after the ending.

On the seventh day after the Battle of the Sea of Japan, the imperial capital of Jingshi, the cold wind was steep, and there were few pedestrians on the street, but the embassy area of Dongjiaomin Lane was extremely active, with cars, carriages, and sedan chairs shuttling back and forth, and the river was endless.

The most magnificent embassy in Dongjiaomin Lane is the British Embassy, which occupies the most extensive area and has the most luxurious buildings.

At the head of the long table in the reception room sat the British Minister Dou Nale, who was nearly fifty years old, with a large body, a ruddy face, a short beard, and wide sideburns, typical of an English gentleman.

Opposite him sat the French Minister Jeroa, a little gray-haired old man, the door of the reception room locked, and the next small room awaited diplomats from other countries.

"Sir, we need to coordinate our actions, and as the two most influential powers in Europe and the whole world, we should submit together an ultimatum to the so-called East Asian Alliance, demanding that China, Korea, and Japan stop this irrational war against Russia and compensate Russia for all its losses."

Jerroa said, his eyes fixed on the tip of Dounarle's nose, as if gold would burst out there.

"I didn't receive instructions from home."

Dou Nale's response was cold.

"Aren't you going to ask for advice? You should see that this is a war between the yellow race and the white race, a blow from the forces of the East against the forces of the West, and a reaction from Asia against Europe, and if we cannot stop them, I am afraid that it will cause the collapse of the entire Asian order. Now it is the frozen soil of Siberia, and what about later? Indochina, the East Indies, the Indian subcontinent, and even the coast of the Persian Gulf will all be in danger......"

Dou Nale interrupted Jéroa very dryly: "I personally believe that your country's operation of a powerful fleet to the south of the Bass Strait and the Formosa (Taiwan) Strait is a real threat to our maritime commercial interests, and for this reason we have assembled our fleets in Singapore and Hong Kong respectively, and are ready to protect the merchant fleet of Great Britain at any time. ”

"I have already sent a note to your country that it was only for defensive exercises......"

"So our country is preparing for a similar exercise."

Jeroa had nothing to say and had to take his leave.

Looking at Jerroa's back, Dou Nale said sarcastically: "The French got too much because they were defeated by the Chinese in 1885, so they thought they could get more by threatening today." They threw large sums of francs at the Russians, of course they did not want Russia to be defeated, but from another point of view, if Russia was defeated, it would have to borrow more money from France, and the French bankers would be more able to influence the Tsar. But what does it matter to us? ”

"It has a lot to do with it."

The man who spoke was a young man, twenty-seven or eighteen years old, well-mannered, with a well-shaven beard, his hair combed and shiny, handsome and dashing, his name was Brand, and he served as a clerk of the embassy, and he was usually diligent and studious, and he was very much liked by Dou Nale.

Dou Nale tilted his head towards him: "My gentleman, what do you think?" ”

"The Russians will henceforth withdraw from the Far East, their greedy tentacles will be turned to the Balkans, Turkey and Persia, the Russian bear will never stop its expansion, no amount of blows will make them back down, in the Crimea we taught the Russians a lesson, but soon after they returned to the Black Sea and re-dominated the Ottoman Empire. If the Russians do not benefit from the Far East, they will have to be compensated from elsewhere. ”

Dou Nale shrugged his shoulders and leaned back in his chair: "Yes, they will return to the Near East and Europe, everyone will return to Europe, the world is almost divided, and it is time to go home and settle the account." ”

Brand was a little surprised: "Sir, are you saying that a new war in Europe is about to break out?" ”

Dou Nale smiled slightly and did not answer.

At this time, someone outside the door reported: "There is a Mr. Slan-Bernard asking to see you." ”

"Ask him to come in."

The door opened, and a gentleman in a cylindrical top hat walked in, he was Slan Bernard, nominally the owner of Yuansheng Foreign Company, an ordinary British businessman who lived in Beijing for a long time, but secretly served the British government, carrying out some secret missions that the government did not want to do.

Dou Nale greeted him affectionately: "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Bernard, what good news have you brought us this time?" ”

Bernard bowed slightly, took out a few pieces of paper from his bosom and presented them: "I can't say that it is good news, I got it from the inside line of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the copy of the secret letter from the German minister to the Chinese prime minister has been translated by someone." ”

Dou Nale took the piece of paper, put up his glasses and browsed, and couldn't help but frown.

Brand asked with concern, "Sir?" Did something happen? ”

Dou Nale handed him the document, put down his glasses, and said to Bernard: "Is this thing from a reliable source?" ”

Bernard nodded without hesitation: "Absolutely reliable, we have been working together for more than two years and there has never been a problem." ”

Brand flipped through the documents and couldn't help but exclaim: "God, is this the German?" While advocating the 'Yellow Peril' everywhere and letting Europe unite against the East Asian Alliance, behind the scenes they want to make deals with the Chinese! Military alliances? Naval base? Are they crazy? If the Chinese really accepted this alliance, the French would be furious, and the flames of war would burn from the Far East to Europe! ”

"It's not that serious," Dou Nale took the document from Brand and threw it on the table, "but this is indeed a big temptation for the Chinese, if they form an alliance with Germany, they can resist French interference, and if a conflict breaks out between Germany and France in Europe, China can also take the opportunity to get involved in French Indochina, and the cost is only one or two harbors, and there are many such harbors on China's coastline, in short, this kind of deal is worth trying." ”

Brand was a little anxious: "So what should we do?" You can't watch the Germans gain a foothold in the Far East, right? ”

Dou Nale put his hands behind his back and looked out the window, the walls of the Forbidden City were far away.

"Now, it's time for us to take a stand."