I have to say that this point was really guessed correctly by Tong Lei.

The manufacturing cycle of battleships is too long, and the consumption is too great, after completing the construction of a battleship, Charles Crumbel, who was worried that the second battleship would not be finished and the war had already begun, turned to order someone to start building heavy cruisers.

In a way, this is a clear compromise.

After all, according to the situation of the empire at that time, it was already very unwise to continue to hold back the battleship.

Now to get back to the point, there is only one battleship on the opposite side, and according to the reconnaissance results of the elven druid, the remaining four battleships of considerable tonnage, although they also look like they have good firepower, but it is obviously impossible to compare with the battleship......

At this moment, Tong Lei also showed his decisiveness as a fleet commander.

"Pass the order, maintain a speed of twenty knots, the whole fleet has entered a state of first-class combat readiness, the southeast position, and all battleships are ready for artillery bombardment!"

With this order, the heavy main ship guns of the four battleships suddenly turned slowly.

By the time the Imperial Fleet discovered the existence of the Yangtze River Fleet, it would be too late.

At the moment when the opponent entered the attack range, the main gun of the battleship, which had been locked in a large direction, suddenly swept over with a salvo after relatively efficient adjustments!

The powerful artillery bombardment directly caused the entire sea area to shake violently, and the Imperial fleet, which was caught off guard, had already lost the opportunity as soon as it began.

Two of the civilian warships, after being hit by the guns of the battleship's main ship, sank on the spot, failing to create half a cent of value in this battle.

didn't have time to think about it, Polkruff, as a naval commander who was driven out of the shelves at the time of the national crisis, at this moment, he could only give the order to counterattack.

Here, by the way, it is worth mentioning that the battleship he was riding on at this time was called the 'Counterattack', and the meaning of this can be imagined.

The situation was urgent, and the triple main gun in the bow of the Counterattack was the first to fire, but failed to hit any of the enemy ships.

Although from the beginning, he didn't expect it to hit with one hit, and at the same time, he was mentally prepared, but now in the face of this result, Polkruff still gritted his teeth.

Obviously, at the moment when the cannon was fired, he still hoped that a miracle could happen, for example, directly sinking the enemy's battleship or something, when the time came, not only could he weaken the enemy's naval combat power, but his own morale could also be greatly improved.

Of course, now that the reality can be recognized, one order after another was quickly issued, and as the only battleship in the Imperial fleet, the counterattack slowly turned sideways over the hull and adjusted its shelling angle.

At the same time, the four heavy cruisers also fought hard, rushing forward while joining the battle of firepower.

The situation at sea is changing subtly.

In this regard, the Yangtze River Fleet, which temporarily had an advantage in range and firepower, naturally did not relent, and the four battleships opened fire frequently and launched a merciless naval artillery attack.

A naval battle in the South China Sea of the Empire officially kicked off at this moment!

At the same time, Yuan Xi, who did not know that the empire's naval fleet had been dispatched for the time being, was rushing back to the South China Sea with half of the combat strength of the Yangtze River Fleet along the Grand Canal, which ran through most of the northern border.

Compared to the earlier time when they went around the outer seas, this canal channel within the empire was obviously much faster, which could save them a lot of time.

But even so, after setting sail from Manning City, it may take two to three months to rush back to the South China Sea.

In order to get the information about the South China Sea as soon as possible, he had already sent the elf druid who accompanied the army to fly back to confirm.

But after that, Yuan Xi was still inevitably worried.

"Colonel, with Lieutenant Colonel Tong Lei here, nothing should happen, right?"

At this time, it was Yuan Xi's other adjutant who spoke, Wang Sheng.

At the age of 26, he is already a captain of the navy, and he can be regarded as a young and promising person in their Yangtze River fleet, and he is also one of the young talents that their navy is currently focusing on cultivating.

The qualifications are much shallower than Tong Lei, and there are still many things to learn, so I am currently following him temporarily as a deputy.

Hearing Wang Sheng's words at this time, Yuan Xi, who was frowning slightly at the time, suddenly shook his head.

"Lieutenant Colonel Tong Lei's ability is naturally no problem, and his years of experience in the army are also extremely rich, but ......"

Speaking of this, Yuan Xi's voice paused slightly, as if he remembered something, and he couldn't help but sigh.

But he didn't continue, or he didn't know what to say.

Because Tong Lei has a shortcoming, that is, he is too one-dimensional and inflexible in doing things.

To put it simply, he and Tong Lei, if they conduct a battle deduction.

Then, before starting, Yuan Xi can accurately report all the operations of Tong Lei from the first step to the tenth step, which are absolutely formal to the extreme textbook operation, and there is no accident.

And it is precisely because of this that Yuan Xi is worried.

Now, judging from the entire naval battle situation, their civilization of all worlds occupies an absolute advantage.

The naval power of the enemy empire was completely suppressed by them.

But now the fleet led by him, after the battlefield of Manning City appeared, the fact that their Yangtze River fleet had been dispersed was naturally exposed.

If the other party wants to turn the tables, when their Yangtze River Fleet is scattered, it will be an excellent time.

In other words, even if the number of your own warships is outnumbered, the other side will start a war with a kind of 'fight for it'.

Under this premise, if the opponent wants to win, it will inevitably use some special tactical means.

And it is this special tactical means that Tong Lei is the least good at dealing with......

There is no doubt that Charlie Crumbel as a player is equally aware of this.

As the commander of the fleet, Polkruff is a talent at the level of a good general, Charlie Crumbel does not expect him to save the world, he only needs him to carry out the plan, and it is still very reliable to think about it.

I saw that at the same time as the heavy firepower warships on both sides exchanged fire with each other, the enemy's civilian warships and destroyers, which were small warships, quickly evacuated, and then, in a kind of outflanking formation, rushed towards the Yangtze River Fleet on a large scale.

In this regard, Tong Lei, who confirmed the situation at the first time, was quite calm, and directly signaled the destroyers under his command to come forward to meet the attack.

At this moment, on this sea area, the second phase of the battle has begun!

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