Shortly after Cervera led the fleet to Newport, Yang Yonglin also led six cruisers to the Caribbean. Note that it is not to go to Cuba, before the US fleet is transferred, such a large fleet will definitely be discovered when it appears in the coastal waters of Cuba, and then waiting for Yang Yonglin will be followed and pursued!

Although the slowest warships in Yang Yonglin's fleet have a speed of 20 knots, after a long period of sailing, the performance of the battleships has decreased to varying degrees, and in this case, it will be difficult to get rid of it once it is topped by the American cruiser! And because of the problem of coal reserves, it will eventually be caught up by the Americans! This is undoubtedly fatal.

Therefore, Yang Yonglin did not lead the fleet to Cuba, but after leaving Bermuda, he first avoided the main trade routes with the supply ships and went to the Bahamas, and after a short stay and supplies, he continued south to the Turks Islands, a British possession. This archipelago is not far from the Windward Strait (which is between Cuba and Haiti). The reason for choosing this position, Yang Yonglin has the following considerations.

First, this is quite a distance from the Florida Strait, the channel where the US fleet is heading north, that is, if the US fleet chooses to go north, it will basically not meet Yang Yonglin's fleet. Second, the fleet, if it departs from the Turks Islands, can quickly pass through the Windward Strait, then detour along the south coast of Cuba, enter through the western entrance of the Florida Strait and then attack the possible American convoy. Thirdly, because this is the territory of the British, even if the American fleet finds out, it will definitely not come to the door in this situation. Safety is guaranteed.

If the American fleet had not chosen to go north, but had continued to maintain the blockade of Cuba. Yang Yonglin still has two options, the first one can wait for the fleet led by Sevela to come and converge. In addition, it is possible to enter the waters off the coast of Cuba to find and engage the smaller American fleet. Of course, this is the next step. If the U.S. fleet is fast enough and chooses to retreat, then the whereabouts of Yang Yonglin's fleet will be exposed.

And just when Yang Yonglin went to the Turks Islands to wait for an opportunity, the U.S. fleet finally began to move. In addition to leaving the Third Fleet responsible for covering the landing of land forces in Cuba. And the remaining 3 fleets went to the Florida Strait to prepare for the setup. At that time, the United States had also considered the possibility of the Spanish fleet passing through the Bahamas with the help of the British. However, the U.S. fleet could not casually enter the British possessions, and second, there were not so many warships to carry out this mission, so they more often discharged camouflaged notification ships equipped with radio to reconnoiter near the Bahamas. Report any Spanish fleet as soon as it is discovered.

However, because of the limitations of radio technology at that time. This briefing is still relatively close. At the same time, it is limited by the number of notification ships, so this coverage area is not large, but the Turks Islands, where Yang Yonglin's fleet is located, happen to be outside this coverage area! As for the Windward Strait. The American had been hesitant about this, because before that, the Spaniards still had several gunboats in Cuba, and if the notification ships were discharged, it was very likely that they would be discovered by the Spaniards, and then their whereabouts could be exposed. And if the ships are not excluded, they are afraid that the Spanish fleet will enter the Windward Strait from a certain direction. Then sail into the port of Santiago.

"We have absolutely no need to worry about the Spanish fleet entering the port of Santiago, if the Spanish fleet enters the port of Santiago, we can block them in the port if they are detected in time. After all. The Spaniards, whether they were supplied or refurbished, had to stay inside for a considerable period of time. Dewey's words finally convinced Admiral Simpson to open his face to the Windward Strait. But in order to fill this possible loophole, the Americans sent several camouflaged notification ships to the east of the Bahamas to search for the Spanish Navy that might have entered the area. That's it. An arc-shaped cordon was opened, and as long as Sevela's fleet entered here, it would be difficult to avoid being discovered, and Yang Yonglin's fleet was out of this blockade line by mistake! …,

After the Spanish fleet attacked the Newport News shipyard, the American fleet and the Spanish fleet were trying to hide their whereabouts, and Sevila was now thinking about how to avoid the encirclement and suppression of the American army and go to the designated range to join Yang Yonglin. And Yang Yonglin is also more inclined to respond to changes with the same. And the American fleet. At the same time as the overall situation threatened to go north, he went to the north side of the Florida Strait and launched a cordon across the Bahamas, and this cordon was undoubtedly a fatal hinge for the Saivela fleet that could not sail at high speed due to fuel problems!

And in the face of this trap that is gradually extending and forming, the Spaniards have no gap, but it does not mean that the British do not have a gap. They suddenly found that more and more ships had appeared in this area, and some of these ships were even some of the American civilian fast ships they had seen before, but with a different name and a radio transceiver. And it is impossible for these ships that have suddenly become active and frequently appear in the nearby waters not to be discovered by the British authorities, and after discovering this abnormal action, through some secret channels, this information was put on Yang Yonglin's table!

"This American is going to wait for the rabbit!" Seeing this information, Yang Yonglin's head is a little big! The Americans were very smart, they knew what their strengths were, and what the ultimate goals and weaknesses of the Spanish fleet were. The Americans are fighting on their own soil, have adequate supplies and maintenance, and more importantly, can mobilize enough ships to carry out reconnaissance. The advantages in terms of information perception are too obvious. The Spanish fleet, on the other hand, was more elite and flexible, but they did not have many options because of their limited supplies. And under the premise of defending Cuba, they will eventually have to risk crossing this blockade to Cuba, so all the Americans need is waiting and a tight reconnaissance net!

The Americans had already made a move, and Sevela didn't know anything about the situation, "Maybe he still thinks that the American fleet will be transferred north and then take advantage of the situation to join me in the south?" Yang Yonglin said to himself. But in this way, it is possible that Evera directly hit the blockade line of the Americans. If you go north to respond, it is really unrealistic. First of all, Yang Yonglin was not sure which route Sevela would take. Secondly, if he goes north, it will be easy to be exposed, and the result is that maybe the Americans did not catch Sevela and cleaned themselves up first, but Yang Yonglin knew very well that his fleet was worth two pounds. In the face of American cruisers equipped with 8-inch guns, the two dome ships are simply unreliable, and if they encounter the American battleship formation, then I am afraid that only two 10,000-ton cruisers can survive the fierce artillery fire, although the number of hits of 12-inch shells and 13-inch shells will not be too many, but as long as one shot, I am afraid that a 5,000-ton light armored cruiser may be slowed down! And in the face of the superior US Navy, the result of the slowdown is annihilation!

"Now it's not good, can we choose to bypass the blockade of the American fleet and look for Admiral Sevila?" Hippert said with a gloomy face.

"The probability of success is too low, it is very likely that we have not found General Seveira, we have been targeted by the American fleet, the speed of General Seveira's fleet will definitely not be high, if the convergence is over, the speed of the entire fleet will be slowed down, which will lead to being caught up by the American fleet, and forced to fight a decisive battle that we do not want to see under unsatisfactory circumstances!"

"Even so, we must fight such a battle, and General Sevela's fleet cannot be sacrificed in vain. And if you stay here, you're shirking your responsibilities! Jericho expressed his support for Hipper.

"Two gentlemen, we can think about it from a different angle, we can't follow the path that the Americans have designed for us, then we will never win! Because the other side has designed the engagement mode to give full play to their strengths, we need to think differently. Yang Yonglin said after pondering for a moment. …,

"We have to get to the sore spot of the Americans, or in other words, what the American fleet must protect and cannot give up." Yang Yonglin continued. "In addition to annihilating us, the American fleet has two important tasks. The first is to ensure coastal security. The second is to ensure that the army can smoothly land in Cuba! For the first mission, in fact, the US Navy does not attach great importance to it, this is a matter of face to put it bluntly, even if it is not regarded, the Spanish fleet is unlikely to have much impact on the United States because of the endurance and supply problems. ”

But the second question is different. The common goal of the US Navy and Army is strategic Cuba, and there may be differences on the question of who is in charge and who is secondary, but the Navy must not sit idly by and watch the Army's transportation lines be cut off! I think everyone understands this, right? Yang Yonglin said with a smile.

"According to the words of your Qing people, this is the so-called snake beating seven inches?" Siperel said thoughtfully.

"Therefore, it is best for us to launch an attack on the American convoy in the Florida Strait as soon as possible, and of course, we can only operate along the southern coastline of Cuba and enter the battlefield from the western entrance of the Florida Strait." Yang Yonglin quickly formed a clear plan in his mind.

"What if the U.S. fleet had already launched an attack on Admiral Sevela before that? Or what if the American fleet decides to abandon the sea transport line first? Jericho is still bent on stability.

"We can't help the former. But for the latter, I'm afraid that even if the US Navy Department wants to insist, then the US government will not agree to the Navy's inaction, right? It all depends on how hard we can fight this battle. Yang Yonglin said.

"In that case, we might as well let it go! There is no turning back, and there is no time for us to hesitate. In the middle of the ring, Sippel agreed with the plan.

"In that case, I have no opinion." Jericho also gave up his opinion.

"Then let's act, hopefully, we can meet a big prey." Yang Yonglin said confidently. "Order the fleet, prepare to sail!."

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