Chapter 78 The Bubble of Hope

In the early morning of October 2, 1903, the combined fleet flagship "Ruixiang".

News from each battle position was constantly coming from the sound transmission tube on the command podium.

"The bow of the ship is broken!"

"Water in the chain locker!"

"The first sailor's cabin is flooded!"

"A turret ammunition compartment is closed!"

"The turret ammunition compartment is closed!"

"Engine shutdown completed!"

"The ship tilted three degrees to the right!"

"The first damage control team enters the fighting position!"

"The mobile damage control team enters the first damage control team's area of ​​responsibility!"

"The third damage control team is on the move!"

"Port side water injection in progress."

"The first water injection on the port side is completed!"

"Stop tilting to starboard and prepare for the second water injection on the port side!"

"Port side water injection in progress..."

Lieutenant General Lin Taizeng, Commander of the Combined Fleet, held on to the leaning podium railing and sighed softly: "It's really dangerous."

Rear Admiral Sa Zhenbing, chief of staff of the fleet next to him, was holding the railing with one hand and holding a telescope with the other. He muttered silently: "The enemy ship is sinking. I think the other party deliberately led our troops into the minefield. It is really an amazing 'suicide'."

Tactics...if this mine had exploded next to the ammunition depot, we would have been reduced to powder."

Lin Tai once nodded: "It is indeed amazing, but the protection of the flagship itself is also the key. Rui Zihao's underwater cellular protective partitions and improved cabin watertight separation system were originally set up to resist mine and torpedo attacks. Now it should be said that

The design requirements have been verified. If the mine was struck by a Dianzihao or Yunzihao, I’m afraid the results would not be so good.”

At this time, the hull began to gradually flatten, and the secondary water injection on the port side showed its effect. When the hull completely flattened, about one thousand tons of seawater had been swallowed into the ship.

"The battle is over, let's evacuate."

Sa Zhenbing let go of the railing and stood steadily on the podium and said.

Lin Tai once looked at the dark sky and sea, and the dim lights around him concealed his expression.

"I don't think the enemy will give up here. Let this ship go to Sasebo for repairs. I want to go to the St. Regis. I always feel that the results of tonight's battle will be more than this. What do you think?"

Sa Zhenbing raised his telescope and said, "I will listen to your instructions."

Lin Taizeng snapped his fingers: "Adjutant Ye, pass the order."

"yes!"

Lieutenant Colonel Ye Fei, Lin Taizeng's adjutant, responded with a loud voice.

"The fleet commander will transfer to the battleship Ruigi and order the remaining troops of the first expulsion team to escort the damaged Ruixiang to the Sasebo naval port for emergency repairs. If the Ruixiang needs to be overhauled, its captain can lead the expulsion of the second group after notifying the commander.

The first battle group is heading to Yokosuka Naval Port. The fifth torpedo battle group should immediately start mine clearing operations and open up a safe route for the fleet to withdraw. The remaining ships should stay put until the safe route is opened and receive new orders from the commander-in-chief."

After issuing the order, Lin Taizeng and his staff team took a transport boat and transferred to the "Ruixiang" sister ship "Rigi". This ship has the same facilities as the "Ruixiang" and can be deployed immediately as long as it is equipped with enough personnel

Able to exert flagship performance.

At about three o'clock in the morning, the Russian Pacific Fleet flagship "Petropavlovsk".

Lieutenant General Makarov, commander of the Pacific Squadron, stood solemnly on the command platform of the battleship, combing his thick long beard with a small goat-horn comb.

The sky is covered with thick clouds, not a single trace of starlight or moonlight can shine through. Visibility on the sea surface is very low, but you can still see your fingers if you stretch out your hand.

After the "Petropavlovsk" where Lieutenant General Makarov is stationed, it is followed by the armored battleships "Sevastopol", "Zarya" and "Victory", and the cruiser "Novik"

"Hercules" and "Hercules" each led three destroyers to screen the battleship column.

Squadron Chief of Staff Witgeft stepped closer to Makarov's ear and whispered: "Your Excellency, it has been half an hour since we lost contact with the Rurik. The ship must have been destroyed by the enemy..."

Makarov shook his head, his eyes filled with terrifying murderous intent: "We can't lose the Rulik, we can't lose anything. I would rather let the fleet perish together with the enemy on the sea, than leave them all in the harbor for the enemy."

The airship exploded and sank!"

Witgeft was surprised. At some point, his commander had become so impulsive, impatient, and extreme.

During the six months since Makarov took office as commander of the Pacific Squadron, the impression he left on his subordinates was basically positive and wise, enthusiastic and calm.

Maybe it was the continuous bombing by the Chinese army that destroyed the commander's will.

Witgeft thought, feeling that his will was being eroded by something.

"Ship shadow found on the port side forward!"

The observer at the podium shouted, Witgeft trembled all over, and for a moment he thought he was no longer alive.

Makarov was extremely excited. He patted the railing of the podium heavily, raised his hand and gave the order: "Maximum battle speed, prepare for artillery battle!"

Witgeft trembled his lips and whispered: "Sir, there may be enemy minefields nearby..."

Makarov roared angrily: "There may be enemy minefields everywhere. In this case, we should never set sail, and we should all be trapped in the harbor and let the Chinese aircraft massacre us!"

"Preliminary confirmation, there are five enemy armored ships, four second-level cruisers, and six destroyers."

The observer had just sent out his report when suddenly several strong searchlight beams came, shaking Makarov so hard that he couldn't open his eyes.

"Attention, all ships, focus on shooting and attacking the enemy flagship!"

Makarov shouted, covering his eyes.

The large-caliber searchlight on the "Petropavlovsk" was first opened, shining directly on the Chinese battleship "Rigi" a thousand yards away.

The main gun and the three dual 305mm main guns of the "St. Regis" fired almost simultaneously. The dazzling flash of the muzzles clearly reflected the majestic appearance of the warships on both sides. This was the first time in the world that a battle was conducted between large armored warships of 10,000 tons.

A night naval battle. All human beings participating in the battle are passionate. When the blood boils, the brain boils. When the brain boils, the nerves boil. Collective blindness, collective hallucination, and collective madness. At three o'clock in the middle of the night, in less than a thousand yards,

From a distance, people mounted on hundreds of thousands of tons of steel kill each other with cannonballs ranging from 1 kilogram to 400 kilograms. Hundreds of megawatts of electric light sweep across the sea, and the flashes of hundreds of cannons come and go. Who is not crazy about this?

Don't be crazy about this.

At such a close distance, the thick armor of both sides becomes meaningless. The main guns of both sides can easily penetrate the armor of the other side's battleship at this distance. At this time, the number of main guns and the accuracy of the hit rate will matter.

determined the outcome of the battle.

The e-country battleships "Petropavlovsk" and "Sevastopol" are each equipped with four 305mm main guns, and the "Zarya" and "Victory" are each equipped with four 254mm main guns, with a total of 305

8 mm main guns and 8 254 mm main guns.

The Chinese battleship "Rigi" is equipped with 6 305mm main guns, and the "Feidian", "Zhendian", "Thunder" and "Yundian" are each equipped with 4 305mm main guns, for a total of 22 305mm main guns.

Less than five minutes after the battleship columns of the two sides started fighting, a Chinese armored cruiser column suddenly appeared behind our own battleship column, including "Suzhou", "Hangzhou", "Chuiyun", "Caiyun", "Baiyun" and "Xiangyun".

Six ships, each of these six ships is equipped with four 305mm main guns. This brings the ratio of large-caliber main guns on both sides to 46:16, and the combat firing rate of the Chinese army's main guns is twice that of the Russian side.

Lieutenant General Lin Taizeng was very clear about the above figures. He marveled at the strong fighting will of the E people, and was secretly happy that his side had the opportunity to annihilate the main force of the enemy fleet outside the harbor.

To the senior generals of the Chinese Imperial Navy, nothing about the Russian Imperial Navy is a secret. All kinds of information that is difficult to obtain through human power magically appear in the confidential document rooms of the General Staff Intelligence Office and the Naval Headquarters Intelligence Office.

In it, it is as detailed as the design plan of every battleship of Country E, and as trivial as the food and slang of the sailors of Country E. It almost makes people think that "every organization of the Navy of Country E has a door that leads directly to the Intelligence Department of the Chinese General Staff."

Makarov is a wise general and a fierce general at the same time. He is full of warlike elements in his heart. He is not afraid of sacrifice and thirsts for honor. All his wisdom is just an accessory to his passion. He will never tolerate anything like

The future of being trapped and dead in the port like a caged bird. The Chinese army’s continuous air raids on Vladivostok made Makarov lose his patience. Every large warship in the Pacific Squadron was scarred, and the port facilities were severely damaged by the Chinese army’s bombs. The damage to the warships

Repairs cannot be carried out normally at all. If this consumption continues, the fleet will be destroyed sooner or later - destroyed by the enemy's aircraft rather than the fleet.

But his impulse that night was really inexplicable. Just to rescue a cruiser that was trapped in a tight siege, he pulled out all the remaining available troops to duel with the superior enemy. People can't help but doubt Makarov's mental state at that time. After all,

Never before has a naval admiral had to watch an enemy in the sky bombard his fleet with almost no threat every day, and he was helpless.

"Command, 02, 03, 04 focus on attacking enemy 01, 04, 05, 06 focus on attacking enemy 02..."

When Lin Taizeng was giving orders loudly on the command platform of the "St. Regis", a 152mm artillery shell exploded under the command platform, and the strong vibration knocked everyone on the command platform down.

Lin Taizeng stood up holding on to the railing and continued to issue orders. Adjutant Ye Fei begged him to leave the command podium, but he ignored him. Within five minutes after the start of the war, four officers and soldiers had been removed from the command podium of the "Rigi".

After being lifted off their seats, their blood and brains were still left on the railings and the floor, clearly visible under the reflection of the enemy's searchlights.

Sa Zhenbing also came to plead with Lin Taizeng to evacuate and temporarily avoid the enemy's intensive artillery fire in the armored main gun command post. Lin Taizeng responded casually: "I read Chinese and foreign history books, and I have never heard of hiding in the cabin.

If I can win a naval battle, my fighting position is here. If anyone wants to drive me away, I will drive him away first!"

Sa Zhenbing was speechless and had no choice but to accompany the commander and stand on the command podium in the rain of bullets. Fortunately, from beginning to end, none of the E-State artillery shells hit the command podium. After a fierce battle, the commander

He and the chief of staff were both safe and sound.

Country E was not so lucky. The flagship "Petropavlovsk" was attacked by three Chinese battleships. The two main guns lost their function one after another, and then the chimney was destroyed and covered with gray soot.

Half of the ship's hull was covered with fire, which leapt up at the front of the superstructure and swept toward the command podium.

A shrapnel penetrated Makarov's shoulder, and the pain suddenly woke him up.

"Send the order! The armored ship column turns right to break away! The destroyer column turns left and rushes towards the enemy ship to cover the retreat of the main force!"
To be continued...