Dong Shuheng has not received any news from Sakhalin Island. At this time, outside the Heilongjiang outlet to the north of Sakhalin Island, in the future Chinese North Sea, the largest naval battle in the Far East in the past ten years is brewing.
The light cruiser Feiyu dispatched by Bao Youzhi quickly caught up with the main fleet and quickly reported the news obtained from Yating Bay to fleet commander Liu Dahai. After hearing the news, Lieutenant Colonel David felt that he should strike preemptively against the Russian fleet.
Of course, like other British people, Lieutenant Colonel David also had his own selfish motives. After all, causing trouble for his enemies was in the national interest of the British Empire.
The British in this era have the strongest national consciousness in the world. On the one hand, it is because of the British Empire’s world hegemony, and on the other hand, it is Queen Victoria’s personal leadership charisma. Internationally, many British people will consciously defend the United Kingdom.
Interests.
The fleet formed a battle formation and headed towards Temple Street.
At this time, Temple Street had been renamed "Nikolaevsk-on-Amur" by Tsarist Russia, and it became the new base of the Okhotsk District Navy Fleet.
The current commander of the Okhotsk District Naval Fleet is Ivan Fomich Pavlov.
Commander Pavlov was a very enterprising naval officer. Although the Okhotsk Navy was small in size and its ships were very old, he still actively implemented the Tsar's Far East expansion policy in recent years.
It was he who led people to occupy Temple Street and moved the naval base from Petropavlovsk to here. It is close to the warm current and the winter conditions are much better.
But this is far from his end point. His end point is to go all the way south to find an ice-free port for his navy. Pavlov feels that only by having an ice-free port can his fleet be considered a real fleet.
Just like the Black Sea Fleet.
But today he was very uneasy. The two cruisers and four gunboats that were sent to Yating Bay to check the situation have not heard back yet. They should be back by this time.
Let's move forward in time a little further.
In the Tartar Strait, in the sea between Yating Bay and Temple Street, the main fleet led by Liu Dahai is searching and advancing in a battle formation. The north-south wind in this strait is very strong, and the fleet has to move forward at half sail, so the speed of the ship is very low.
It has exceeded 15 knots.
"Report to the commander, there are two cruisers and four gunboats ahead, facing us, heading south, about 10 nautical miles away."
"Haha, I didn't expect them to come to my door."
"Instruct all ships to prepare for battle!"
The messenger quickly conveyed the order to each ship using flags.
"Commander, we should let the light cruiser go behind to prevent the other party's gunboats from escaping to report. Considering the size of the other party, it is just a patrol, not the main force of the Russian Navy." Lieutenant Colonel David suggested.
Lieutenant Colonel David has always looked down upon the Russian Navy. However, the fleet he is currently in is also full of novices. Therefore, it is naturally better not to confront the Russian Navy head-on.
"David, you are right. We must completely eat up this patrol, and then attack the main fleet of Tsarist Russia by surprise. This way the chance of winning will be much greater," Liu Dahai said.
"Order all personnel to enter the fighting position. The cruisers Haizhou and Xuzhou are on the left, and the cruisers Changzhou and Suzhou are on the right. Full sails are mounted to outflank them from the left and right. First kill the opponent's two cruisers and three light cruisers.
The Fish, the Barracuda, and the Swordfish will make an outer circle and intercept the escaping ships."
At this time, the Tsarist Russian patrol fleet also saw the ships of the Nanyang Navy.
A lookout on the cruiser Rurik hurriedly ran to Captain Brzezin and reported: "Report Captain, a fleet of seven battleships, four cruisers, and three light cruisers was found 15 nautical miles ahead.
.Looks like a British battleship."
"How did the British warships get here? Are they here to attack us?"
Lieutenant Colonel Brzezin was the commander of this temporary fleet. On the order of Commander Pavlov, he led the temporary fleet to check whether the American Company had occupied the Gulf of Atyn.
He didn't expect to encounter the British fleet in a remote sea area like the Tartar Strait. He knew that Russia was fighting Turkey in the Black Sea, and the British would definitely not sit idly by and ignore it, but it seemed that Britain had not yet joined the war.
Although the opponent only has seven battleships, the total number is not as large as ours, but the opponent has four cruisers, and the number of main battleships is twice ours.
As a young general of the Russian Navy, Brzezin was not lacking in bravery. He ordered the fleet to meet them. At this time, even if he returned, he might not be able to escape the opponent's pursuit.
Moreover, the opponent is now in a favorable position upwind. When your fleet turns, the opponent will be able to catch up with you.
"Order the fleet to meet them at full speed, and when they get close, send a signal to warn them to leave."
The soldiers of Tsarist Russia did not know how to write the word "coward" on the battlefield. Usually, under the instigation of their generals, they would rush forward desperately.
"Captain, I saw the other side's flag. It's the Qing fleet."
"The Qing fleet? How is this possible? How come they have British cruisers? Don't they only use heavy hard sailing ships?" Brzezin had never heard of the Qing people having new warships, especially in such remote waters.
, even more impossible.
"That's right, Captain, it's the Golden Dragon Flag, the same as the one on the Qing patrol ship on the Amur River."
"Order the fleet to prepare for battle!" Brzezin shouted to the messenger beside him.
Since it is the Qing fleet, there is nothing to be afraid of, and there is no need to warn, just go up and do it.
He did not believe that these Qing people could still play with the navy. These people were ignorant and backward, and it would be useless even if they were given advanced ships.
The distance between the two fleets was getting closer and closer, and the Qing ships divided into two columns and surrounded them.
This was obviously a very provocative formation. Brzezin also divided the fleet into two groups to meet them, each group was led by a cruiser.
However, the gunboats of the Tsarist Navy obviously cannot keep up with the cruiser. If Brzezin slows down the cruiser now, then after the contact, our side will obviously suffer even more losses. We are already upwind. If we start to turn to the crosswind now, then
It is very likely that you will expose your side to the other party.
Brzezin was very torn, and in the end he decided that the cruiser would attack first, and the gunboats would follow behind. He believed that even if his cruisers were one-on-one, they would be able to hold on long enough to wait for the gunboats to support them.
The two sides quickly approached the attack range of the naval guns. The Nanyang Navy was already in the upper wind direction, and the ship was faster, so it quickly occupied a favorable position. A total of more than fifty artillery pieces on the sides of the four cruisers were the first to open fire.
Two Tsarist Russian cruisers fired fiery projectiles.
"Why did they run away so early? Are these Qing people crazy? Fire back!" At this time, the Tsarist Russian cruiser also adjusted its direction and fired its first shot.
Neither side hit the target, but the Nanyang Navy ship's shells landed very close to the Rurik.
"Oh, damn it! There is no way the naval gunners of the Qing Dynasty can have such a level. It must be the damn British who are causing trouble!" Brzezin cursed loudly.
According to such a landing point, it will be difficult for your own cruiser to survive the next shot.
Just as I was thinking about it, the Nanyang Navy had already fired its second salvo.
"Hell, such a fast rate of fire is definitely not something that the Qing people can achieve." Brzezin could guarantee that there must be British people on the opposite ship.
"Crack..." There was a crisp sound, and Brzejin's heart skipped a beat.
"Captain, our foremast has been broken." The damage control officer on the ship ran over anxiously and reported.
"Go and cut the cable and throw the broken mast into the sea."
"Yes, Captain."
Brzezin was really unlucky. The mast was damaged at the beginning, which would seriously affect the speed and flexibility of the cruiser Rurik.
The Qing cruisers opposite were all relatively advanced British cruisers. The flexibility of the ships and the accuracy of the artillery were obviously not comparable to those of our own old cruisers.
"It's really a shame. Since when have I been inferior to the Qing people in terms of equipment? It's all the fault of those officials in St. Petersburg. They gave all their advanced ships to the Black Sea Fleet." Brzezin cursed in his heart.
"Bang bang bang..." Shells kept hitting our own ships.
The distance between the two sides is still getting closer.
Another loud noise was heard. A violent explosion occurred on the Tsarist Russian cruiser.
As the distance got closer, the Nanyang Navy had replaced the explosive shells. The shock wave of the explosion left the Rurik's deck in a mess. Many gunners lay on the deck and groaned.
Brzezin was bounced against the wall of the captain's cabin by the shock wave, and was beaten to pieces.
He called to his lieutenant, but no one answered him.
He wiped the blood on his eyes with his hand, and his vision was filled with blood.
He saw his adjutant lying in a pool of blood at the door of the captain's cabin.
On board the Xuzhou, Commander Liu Dahai was thinking that if it were replaced with the Huaihai Navy's new breech-mounted cannon, the two cruisers on the opposite side would have been sent to the sea to feed the fish.
However, now that the Nanyang Navy has British instructors, it is impossible for the Huai Navy to put its new weapons on the ship for display to them.
Moreover, this wooden sailing ship cannot withstand the stress of the new artillery.
We can only survive like this for now.
By the way, the British's naval artillery aiming skills are really good. After three rounds of salvo fire, the enemy has not even touched their own skin.
Our own side has already caused heavy damage to the other side. If we let our gunners do it entirely, we will definitely not be able to achieve this result.
"Commander Liu, let's move in and capture them. Under the attack of explosive bombs, their cruiser has no power to fight back." Lieutenant Colonel David suggested.
When the sailing battleship finally determines the outcome, it still needs to jump into gangs to fight.
It is very troublesome and uneconomical to completely sink a wooden sailboat.
Brzezin tried to organize the remaining soldiers to reset the artillery. The shock wave of the explosive shell just now caused chaos on the deck.
Many artillery pieces had left their emplacements. Fortunately, no explosions occurred. Otherwise, people like myself would have been buried in the sea feeding the fishes.