In the temporary office of the port of Cavite, Chen Ping pinched the tip of his nose vigorously in the face of the few pieces of information he had just received.

Fuji, Yashima, Shikishima, Hatsuse, Mikasa, Asahsay.

The six all-British battleships, of which Toyama and Yashima were ordered before the First Sino-Japanese War, so they completely imitated the equipment of the Polar Star battleships, and the weapons and firepower were not much different, but due to the slightly late construction, there were slight improvements in the seaworthiness surname and the Tsusaku surname.

As for the latter four, they were built in full accordance with the standards of the two ships ordered by the young master from the British, and have completely suppressed the Polaris and even the battleships of various countries in the next five years, of which the two ships Mikasa and Asaha are even the two ships ordered by the Pacific Fleet.

The displacement of 16,000 tons is a little larger than the 15,400 tons of the Duke class, four L40/305 mm first-class guns, eight L40/203 mm second-class guns, twelve L45/152 mm secondary guns, plus six 76-mm rapid-fire guns, and twelve 40-mm machine guns.

Moreover, he was apparently still very good at learning, and in the Pacific Fleet the useless torpedo tubes of the battleships were eliminated, and they were adjusted accordingly.

The four heavy cruisers, Asama, Tokiwa, Azuma and Yakumo, were all new large armored cruisers of more than 8,000 tons, and the two in front of them were built by the British and more than 9,000 tons.

Even if the last two ships built by the French have a displacement of only 8,500 tons, because the French ingeniously installed two twin L40/250 mm naval guns for the two ships, the power is even greater than that of the first two ships, if it were not for the young master to make a triple assembly and greatly reduce the recoil and use the updated L45/203 mm naval guns, I am afraid that he would not even be able to find a matching warship in his hand.

The remaining four light cruisers and twelve destroyers are also very dangerous, especially the twelve destroyers that I call the Lei class and the Congyun class, although the largest is only 400 tons of displacement, but the speed can reach 30 knots, once they break into the battleship and heavy patrol formation, it will be a disaster!

Coupled with the Satsuma, Yasuun, and Izumo who were trapped in Tokyo Bay, and the two battleships and two heavy cruisers of the Iwate, as many as eight battleships and six heavy cruisers were actually produced under the crazy shipbuilding plan, and if it were not for the Jinghai class to quietly serve, I am afraid that the total tonnage would surpass its own side!

It's not easy to fight, it's really hard to fight!

If it weren't for the young master's plan to occupy Luzon first, force Yuben to make a detour after arriving in the Andaman Sea, and extend their return road indefinitely, according to the previous deduction of the General Staff, it would be at least five capital ships sunk and several heavy losses to destroy Yuben's capital ships!

To put it bluntly, although the current countries extremely hate the rise of the Pacific Fleet, they are also unwilling to directly participate in the war, because everyone knows that if they want to strangle the Pacific Fleet, they will have to face huge losses.

If more than five capital ships are lost at once, I am afraid that the United States and Britain will immediately pounce and bite a few bites, not to mention the German fleet that has already arrived in Penghu at this moment.

Therefore, in addition to destroying the fleet, this battle also needs to reduce its own casualties as much as possible, and it is difficult to achieve this tactic of getting the best of both worlds, but fortunately, the young master has proposed a plan that still makes him feel bold to this day.

Seize Luzon, force the repatriated fleet to change course, take advantage of the information and intelligence advantages of the fleet after it is fully equipped with radio, and set up three blocking lines with the Jinghai-class as the lead!

The first is to use the speed of the Jinghai-class and a large number of small-caliber main guns to harass along the way, so that the fleet will be exhausted and exhausted to deal with it, and at the same time, it will try to destroy those small warships that are extremely fast.

The second line is to take advantage of the obstruction and delay of the four warships in Jinghai to force the repatriated fleet into a pre-selected ambush circle, with eight heavy cruisers and two battleships as the mainstay, and go all out to destroy several of its capital ships.

The third is the four remaining battleships led by Long Guozhang off the coast of Tokyo, but these three sniper lines cannot guarantee the total annihilation of the capital ships, because the four capital ships in their Tokyo Bay will definitely come to help.

However, this is already in the young master's calculations, who would have thought that he planned to get some loot for the fleet from the beginning to alleviate the reality of the fleet's aging!

When the few remaining warships return to Yokosuka, then! Thinking of this, Chen Ping smiled mysteriously at the corner of his mouth, Qin Shou and Xue Muhua should be ready, right?!

"Report, Lushun telegram, the 1st Regiment and 1st Battalion of the 2nd Division of our vanguard unit have crossed the Yalu River at 9 o'clock this morning, and they have not encountered too strong resistance."

"At present, the work of building the pontoon bridge has begun, and Commander Chen said that it can be completely completed before 0:00 tonight."

"In addition, the Guam radio station received a signal from the Listening Wind 10 minutes ago, and the Listening Wind reported that they had broken away after being shelled by the Tsumoto Fleet in the Lesser Sunda Islands, and that they had now been followed by the Typhoon."

The start of the battle in Yizhou did not surprise Chen Ping, this was originally part of the plan, but listening to the news of the wind horn, it made his heart suddenly stand up, and walked into the temporary headquarters placed next door, and quickly found this small archipelago located east of Java Island, between the Indian Ocean and the Timor Sea.

"What about the other scouts?"

"The Typhoon is trailing, the Listening Wind has withdrawn to a distance of forty nautical miles to the left flank and is on standby, the Gale is on standby in the Arafura Sea, and the Hurricane and Shunfeng have entered the Coral Sea."

Chen Ping nodded, for this mission, the Admiralty secretly built five thousand-ton reconnaissance ships more than a year ago, the Tingfeng class, so after hearing the report, he was too worried that the Tingfeng would encounter danger, although the Tingfeng class is only a reconnaissance ship, and the firepower is only one 105 naval gun and two 37 mm rapid-fire guns, but it is the first warship equipped with a steam turbine, even a month earlier than the Jinghai class.

A more economical coal-fired boiler was used, but the speed still reached an astonishing 30 knots, and the endurance reached 3,000 nautical miles.

So as long as the Listening Wind wants to run, no warship can catch up with it, but there are many small islands with complex hydrology along the way, and if you can't keep an eye on the other party to run away, it will be a headache.

Fortunately, the Typhoon has already been posted, but the question is what does Gonbei Yamamoto want to do? Why the shelling of the reconnaissance ship at this time? Is it the monitoring of the Wind that makes him impatient? Or is he trying to cover up something?

Staring at the location of the Little Sunda Islands, Chen Ping's eyes flashed with a cold light, in front of him was the Maluku Islands, and down there was Mindanao!

Chen Pingmei's heart skipped twice, he took out a cigarette and shook his head after lighting it, although this road can threaten Mindanao, and even the entire Luzon, the sea area is too broken, once it is bitten by the Pacific Fleet, it can't run away.

So, "This shouldn't be the way!" Chen Ping vigorously snuffed out the cigarette butt and asked, "Where has the fleet arrived?" ”

"The 1st Light Patrol Formation has arrived in the Caroline Islands and has contacted the Protective Marines there."

"The second patrol formation is also about to arrive."

"The third battleship and heavy patrol formation have reached the Palau Islands." Seeing Chen Ping's eyes fixed on the Maluku Islands, the staff officer was also a little anxious, and asked, "Chief of Staff, do you want to let the third formation retreat first?" ”

"No!" Chen Ping waved his hand affirmatively: "If Yamamoto Gonbei was so bold, he would not be frightened by our six capital ships to make a detour." ”

"The plan remains the same!"

"Tell Lefei to knock out as many destroyer formations as possible!"

"Yes!" ――

Chen Ping's guess was really good, the reason why the Listening Wind was shelled was not because Yamamoto Gonbei was preparing to escape or make a surprise attack on Mindanao, but because the sailors on the cruiser Azuma were too nervous, and when they saw the Listening Wind covered in pitch black, they thought it would bring the Pacific Fleet, so the shelling incident occurred.

Although several days have passed, that scene still made John Fisher, who was stubborn to watch the battle in person, frown, and the commander of the Far East Fleet, who accompanied him and brought a cruiser to meet Fisher in Port Blair to watch the battle, also shook his head and smiled bitterly.

In order to distinguish itself from the fleet, the cruiser flying the British flag has been following ten nautical miles away from the fleet, in addition to it, France, Germany and the United States have each sent a cruiser, even the countries that did not send warships have also stuffed their officers into these four cruisers through diplomatic efforts, and everyone wants to see with their own eyes what this largest naval battle since the ironclad will be like.

"It's back."

Philettman put down the binoculars, handed it to John Fisher beside him, pointed to the small black warship in the distance, and said, "John, how many do you think there are?" ”

John Fisher has already seen the strangeness, although every time this kind of small warship of more than 1,000 tons appears, it is the same, and there is no sign in the dark, but in fact, everyone knows in their hearts whose warship it is.

In their eyes, they all know that even if a warship of more than 1,000 tons is fully loaded with coal, it can't run that far, so the other party must have adopted the method of relay following, and the small black warship must have other partners.

It's just that no one is worried about their appearance, except for the nervous Yue himself, because everyone knows that even if the small black warship follows all the way back to Yuben, it can't send the latest news back. This is at sea, and it is also the southwest Pacific with dense islands, and there is no telegraph to use at all, even if they can run at a speed of a hundred knots, and then rush here with the main fleet when the news is transmitted, I am afraid that this fleet will be thousands of miles away.

Fisher took the binoculars and looked at the few vertical "iron wires" on the front and rear masts of the small warship in the lens, and for some reason he always felt a little strange in his heart, but he didn't figure out what it was after searching for a long time in the past few days.

"Lightning rod?" Fisher shook his head, the mast needed a lightning rod, but it didn't need that much.

Giving up his unfounded thinking, Fisher returned the telescope to the guards behind him, looked at the German cruiser next to him, and asked, "Who did that madman send Wilhelm II?" ”

"A lieutenant commander named Ferrantz von Persey, I heard that he had brought thirty major officers ready to carry out a plan for cooperation between Germany and the Pacific Fleet, and if Limer wins, these naval officers will enter the Pacific Fleet for internships."

Fisher, who had long been extremely disgusted with the German New Naval Act, listened to Filitman's words, his face turned blue with anger, and he scolded without grace: "Obviously, Wilhelm II and Li Mo have a very big thing in common, they are both madmen!" ”

Fisher scolded a few times before turning his head and asking, "Your Excellency Philitman, do you think Li Mo will wait there?" ”

Filitman took a breath, from the Battle of the Yellow Sea and the Tsushima Strait, the Pacific Fleet chose ambush warfare in the two naval battles, the first took advantage of the Fleet's eagerness to go home, and the second time through a series of successful plans to lure the enemy, deceived the Russians into crashing into the ambush circle, and was finally annihilated.

At this time, Li Mo's battle plan had been initially clear, and he chose to take the lead in the war with Spain before the war, and sent six capital ships to solve the Spanish Far East Fleet with a thunderous and powerful firepower advantage, blocking the Strait of Malacca, just to lengthen the road for the fleet to return home, and to consume his confidence as much as possible and make them tired.

They even believe that the two fleets have already conducted a long-distance race at sea across the islands of Sumatra and Java, but at this moment, will the main force of the Pacific Fleet turn around and enter the Philippine Sea, or continue to chase east to the island of Guinea?

Where are the four mysterious warships, and the four Russian-made warships that have completely disappeared from sight after refitting? Where is the ambush this time?

Philettman quickly walked to the chart, looked at the chaotic southwest Pacific Ocean, and shook his head with a wry smile. Judging from the charts, this sea is the best place for ambush warfare, and it has many small islands and broken shipping lanes, which are very good for covering the surprise attack of the fleet.

But this is also the most difficult ambush point, the complex hydrological situation and the environment of the islands, coupled with the lack of means of communication such as telegraphs, the fleet is simply unable to locate in such a vast area, so.

Philitman fixed his eyes on a spot closer to him, and pointed a finger.

"Ogasawara Islands?"

"Yes."

Philitman nodded: "Since the Ogasawara Islands were bought by Li Mo, they have been in a highly closed place, and it is almost difficult for the outside world to understand the situation inside, so it is the best hiding place, and I believe that their eight disappeared warships are waiting there." ”

"Judging from the previous tactical actions, the Pacific Fleet has always maintained four capital ships to block the Uraga waterway, and now it has been strengthened into four battleships, just because it is afraid to prevent the domestic fleet from rushing out of the waterway to rendezvous."

"Judging from these actions, I think they will be ambushed at a location close to Yomoto, and the waters near the Ogasawara Islands are the only unavoidable leg of the Saimoto fleet's way back to the fleet this time, unless they are willing to go straight to the Ryukyus!"

Of course, it is impossible to go straight to the Ryukyus, although Li Mo's main fleet has come out, but it does not mean that the Ryukyus are so easy to bully, hundreds of large-caliber shore guns, a large number of small torpedo boats and mine blockades, enough to drown the entire inexperienced and inexperienced Yuben fleet!

What's more, this is currently the most experienced fleet of ironclad ships in the world, and I believe that they will never let this happen. In the case of insufficient technical means for interception in the open sea, the choice of offshore interception is definitely the best means.

But will the Pacific Fleet really choose the Ogasawara Islands?

Fisher moved the corners of his mouth, and before he could make a sound, the captain's voice came from behind him: "General, we have entered the Solomon Sea, and the warship has begun to refuel, and it is expected that it will be able to cross the island of New Britain tomorrow morning." ”――

Tomorrow morning through the island of New Britain!

Le Fei slowly put down the information about the movement of the fleet sent by the Gale Wind, and raised his head, the sky outside was already full of stars.

Beside them, the Cossacks and Dradzic, who had completed the task of protecting the marines from seizing the island, had already joined the formation, and they would be tasked with this long-distance attack together with the four Jinghai ships.

The speed of the fleet was not fast, it only maintained a moderate speed of sixteen knots, not that Lefei did not know how fast the six ships could run, but that he had to accumulate strength to prepare everything for the upcoming naval battle.

This is not a test ship that can be tossed at will, from the guns to the power, from the observation and sighting to the various subsystems in the ship, this is a brand new warship, although it has performed perfectly in a few months of testing, and it has been fully maintained not long ago, but this is not the time to toss and turn.

Although the speed was not fast, the whistling sea breeze continued to pour into the bridge along the portholes, and the cool sea breeze blew away the scorching heat of the day, and also made it seem to give wings to this silent fleet.

Ten capital ships, as well as sixteen auxiliary warships, are enough to make any captain of the Pacific Fleet drool, but Le Fei also knows very well that with the ability of the Jinghai class, it is unrealistic to defeat the opponent's battleships and heavy cruisers, although the power of the new 152 mm naval guns has been greatly improved, it is not yet 10,000 meters to penetrate the armor of ten capital ships.

If the distance is pressed to 7,000 meters, it will also be fiercely shelled by the opponent, and although the hull is huge and the displacement is nearly 10,000 tons, the Jinghai class has not yet reached the point where it can withstand a few 305-millimeter heavy bullets without changing its color.

So he focused his attention on the nineteen auxiliary warships, four light cruisers, twelve destroyers, and three supply ships, none of which could withstand the indiscriminate bombardment of forty-eight 152-mm guns and twenty-four 130-mm guns!

Of course, he didn't forget the four warships that came to watch the battle, and the corners of his mouth rarely hooked up a smile.

Tomorrow!

All the fog will be revealed, and he believes that the whole world will be shocked by the rushing advance of the Jinghai ship! Those great powers will find that the mode of naval warfare they uphold and adhere to has completely collapsed, and maritime interception warfare has entered a new era!

With the use of new technologies such as radios, steam turbines, and fuel-fueling, and as the range of new naval guns has become longer and farther, the fleet has developed from a decisive battle in the near sea to a tactical interception in the far sea, extending from an artillery battle distance of less than five kilometers to a distance of 10,000 meters.

He believed that the whole world would be burned by this storm of speed and distance, and when they lowered their heads and carefully studied this naval battle with a magnifying glass, they would find that the Pacific Fleet had quietly stood on the top of this era!

"Lights out!"

Le Fei raised his wrist and looked at his watch, and gave the last order of the day, five minutes later, all the light sources that would affect the rest in the six warships were extinguished, except for the staff on duty, everyone was ordered to climb into bed, whether you can sleep or not, you must close your eyes!

Everything for tomorrow!

(To be continued)