The Eye operator's report caused quite a commotion on the bridge of the Overlord.
Slowing down in a naval battle is equivalent to shouting to the enemy: Please whip me. Therefore, there is only one possibility for a warship to slow down in a naval battle, and that is if it is shot and its navigation ability is damaged.
Some of the younger staff officers were already quietly high-fiving in celebration, but Lin Guoxiang remained indifferent.
After the Sky Eye scan was completed again, the operator reported: "Target, completely still!"
At this time, the old man spoke slowly: "Tell the Victory the stationary coordinates of the enemy ship. By the way, tell them that this is a stake. If you can't hit it, you will be deducted from the allowance."
"Then should we turn our firepower to the second ship in the enemy's queue?" a staff officer suggested.
"No, Togo Heihachiro must be on the leading flagship. He wants to completely sink that ship and interfere with his command." Lin Guoxiang paused, "And the ships behind will maneuver in order to avoid the stopped flagship, so aiming will be difficult.
Increase."
"Understood."
At this moment, the Victory, which had long been loaded and waiting, opened fire. Compared with the heavy guns of the Overlord, the sound of the salvo of the Victory's main guns was much less powerful, but the bright white flash in the mist was still
It adds a bit of fiery atmosphere to the battlefield.
At this time, the naval battle entered a very boring stage. This boredom was even more prominent because the opponent was unable to launch counterattack artillery fire. We can summarize this long, tortured and patient artillery battle in a simple way:
"volley."
"The enemy ships have not changed."
"Salvo." xn
"The enemy ships have not changed." xn
"volley."
"The enemy ship's response disappeared."
——That’s probably what it feels like.
Nie Xueqiu, the Commander of the Shipborne Shenji Camp, has a deep understanding of this feeling.
"Why don't you let us go to war?" Lin Youde's adopted sister kicked a dent in the inner wall of the standby armored fort prepared for the goddesses. "They were really happy to fight with a bang, but I don't know.
What is the result of the battle? Who knows if they are firing at the empty sea! At least send us over to confirm the effect of the shelling!"
"Miss, please be patient. And it's nice to be able to win the battle without attacking." The naval officer in charge of liaison in the armored fort had a nice smile on his face. Although the identity of Nie Xueqiu, Lin Youde's adopted sister, has not been made public,
, but almost all the public officials in Helangyabo know it, so they all call him "Miss". In Helangyabo, if someone says "big shopkeeper", it is Lin Youde. Generally, the word "big" cannot be added to the shopkeeper.
, Correspondingly, "eldest lady" specifically refers to Nie Xueqiu.
Now the eldest lady is taking her anger out on the walls of the armored fort.
"Lin Guoxiang must be afraid that my brother will blame me if I make any mistakes. What's going on? Although there is no big killer like Sister Fen's rx78, Sister Sophie has also developed a lot of interesting equipment for me! Our Shenji Camp
If we go up and destroy the Japanese goddess, wouldn’t that mean we’re done with it? We’ve been fighting like this for an hour now, but I haven’t heard of any results! It’s so scary!”
"Uh... how about I contact the bridge and see what the outcome is?"
“Contact me quickly! Contact me quickly!”
The moment the liaison officer turned around to pick up the phone, Nie Xueqiu rushed out of the armored fort's hatch.
"I won't wait any longer. I will personally apologize to my brother later."
Saying this, Nie Xueqiu unfolded the amplifying wings hanging on his waist, soared into the sky, and jumped into the misty night sky.
"Miss! Nie Dutong!" the liaison officer screamed and chased after her, trying to grab Nie Xueqiu's ankle to prevent her from taking off, but failed to catch up.
The young officer stomped his feet in anger. At this time, other goddesses waiting in the armored fort also rushed onto the deck...
"Lieutenant Wu, it's very dangerous for Nie Dutong to go out alone. Look..."
The young officer looked at the goddesses, stamped his feet vigorously again, and waved helplessly: "Let's go, let's take off! I can't afford anything that happens to the eldest lady."
**
Togo Heihachiro was led by Kamiki to land on the Hatsuse, with a look of sadness on his face.
The three Shikishima-class battleships are the lifeblood of the Japanese navy. In order to raise the money to customize these three ships from foreigners, the ship management headquarters almost pawned their underwear. Now, most of the Asahi's hull has sunk in the water.
Only the mast and chimney were still exposed on the sea. The Chinese's second salvo destroyed the Asahi's propeller and tail rudder with a near-missile shock wave. After that, this imitation of the British Majesty-class main battleship
Within half an hour, he was hit by nine large-caliber artillery shells, but miraculously none of them hit his vitals.
However, the crack caused by the initial near miss could never be plugged, and in the end Togo Heihachiro had to issue an order to abandon the ship.
At first Togo Heihachiro transferred to the Shikishima, but not long after the transfer was completed, the coal storage bunker of the Shikishima was hit. The fire spread rapidly and could not be extinguished, so he had to abandon the ship again.
Compared with what happened to the two new ships, the Fuji seemed to be even more unlucky. It was directly hit by the ammunition depot, cut into two pieces with an earth-shattering explosion, and sank into the cold waters of the East China Sea within a few minutes.
in sea water.
Togo Heihachiro knew that although he still had two battleships left, and although the armored cruiser of the First Guerrilla Group was still unscathed, this naval battle was probably already in danger.
For the Chinese to be able to fire such precise bombardments at their fleet on such a foggy night, they must be equipped with some advanced weapons. Judging from the current performance, it is definitely advanced equipment that is enough to revolutionize the form of naval warfare.
"Seven years ago, we relied on more advanced ships and tactical concepts to win the Sino-Japanese War of Sino-Japanese War, and now, the Chinese have come back."
Just as Togo Heihachiro finished his soliloquy, a goddess descended from the sky.
"Your Excellency, Commander, the Chinese goddesses are out! We have sensed their movements."
"Oh?" Togo Heihachiro suddenly became more energetic, "Really? In this case, as long as they continue to bombard us, they can win the war without spending a single soldier. They have no reason to send Shen Ji out.
!”
"But, they did go out."
"Could it be that... there's something wrong with the Chinese's new weapons?"
As if to answer Togo Heihachiro's question, a new wave of ammunition fell, stirring up a row of tall water columns near the only two remaining battleships in the Japanese fleet. Togo Heihachiro took off his military cap and poured out the water inside.
He pursed his lips, thought for a moment and then said to himself: "That's not right...what the hell is going on?"
Although he could not understand the Chinese people's intentions, Togo Heihachiro felt that something called courage returned to him.
"No matter what, this is an opportunity," he made up his mind, and his voice became firm. "The Kamiki team is facing the enemy! In addition, you can send a Kamiki who is good at reconnaissance to Vice Admiral Uemura's First Travel Fleet.
The flagship goes up and guides the armored cruiser of the first guerrilla group towards the starting position of China Shenji, looking for the Chinese fleet!"
"Yes, Your Excellency, Commander."
As soon as Kamiki took off, the phone on the bridge of the Hatsase and connected to the top of the mast rang. Togo Heihachiro pushed aside the captain of the Hatsase who was about to answer the phone and answered the phone himself.
The lookout soldier shouted in the receiver: "The ship's shadow has been spotted on the horizon on the right side of the bow!"
"Yo Xi!" Togo Heihachiro couldn't help but say aloud. He always thought that the visibility had improved because the fire on the Shikishima had dispersed the night. Now it seems that this is because the night fog is gradually dissipating...
"All ships, prepare to fight!"
**
"The carrier-based Shenji Battalion disobeyed orders and attacked!"
As soon as the communications officer reported the news, someone among the staff members muttered, "What is this young lady doing?", but Lin Guoxiang immediately stopped the discussion: "It doesn't matter, the fog has begun to lift anyway, and sooner or later it will turn into a serious night battle.
Our advantage is still there, even if the enemy discovers our position, their shooting accuracy will not be as good as ours with clairvoyance and divine calculation."
At this time, the first class soldier in charge of the lookout on the bridge shouted: "There is a fire on the port side!"
So the staff officers all rushed to the port side with a roar, using their telescopes to look at the small white dot on the horizon in the distance.
"See we hit three ships."
"I don't know if it's a battleship or a cruiser..."
While the staff officers participating in the naval battle for the first time were watching the Japanese fleet in the distance like country bumpkins entering the city for the first time, Lin Guoxiang turned to the members of Lande Bell who were still working conscientiously in the corner of the bridge: "What are the movements of the enemy fleet?
?”
"Sir, it seems that a group of fast ships is breaking away from the formation and accelerating."
"Coming toward us?"
"Yes, heading towards us."
"Order the two sea-type ships to turn and prepare for a torpedo attack. The Victory follows our ship and prepares to release smoke, helmsman, left rudder three."
"Left three!"
As the steering wheel turned, the huge Overlord began to slowly turn. At this time, the wind direction on the battlefield had switched from the initial west wind to the southwest wind. The Overlord relied on the steering maneuver to occupy the upwind direction.
At this time, there was a flash of light and shadow in the sky, which meant that the Shenji camps on both sides had made contact in the air.
At this moment, Lin Guoxiang on the bridge suddenly noticed that a Japanese goddess broke through the blockage of the Chinese goddess and rushed towards the Overlord. The Japanese goddess dropped a flare over the Overlord and the Victory, knocking out the two Chinese ships.
The battleship was exposed to broad daylight.
In the light of this flare, the Japanese goddess was intercepted and killed in the air by the Chinese girl who was chasing her. Her body, cut off from the waist, fell into the white tail trail of the Overlord, and was quickly engulfed by the waves. And that
The flare he was sending out was also swept into the sea by a Chinese girl.
But a few minutes later, the first Japanese artillery shell still fell about 5 chains away from the Overlord.
"Don't panic," Lin Guoxiang said calmly to the group of young people on the bridge who had never experienced naval battles. "With this error in targeting, it will take them half an hour to hit us."
As Lin Guoxiang said, the advantage still lies with the Chinese fleet. Even if the fog dissipates and the Japanese fleet can spot the shadow of the Chinese fleet, the existence of night still prevents them from accurately shooting. In addition, the Overlord does not care
Both its firepower and protection are better than those of the remaining ships in the Japanese fleet, and China still has the upper hand when it comes to shooting at them.
The Japanese's only chance of winning is to use armored cruiser units to fight hand-to-hand combat, which is exactly what Lin Guoxiang wants to avoid.
After the Overlord and Victory ships took the upper hand, they began to release smoke. Under the cover of the smoke, the two Haizi ships faced the Japanese armored cruiser formation under the radio guidance of the Overlord.
At 10:55, the Haitian ship first launched its six electric torpedoes, but all of them missed the target due to poor positioning.
Then the Haitian ship fired at the Japanese armored cruiser with its two 200mm Armstrong cannons while approaching the Overlord and Victory at high speed, creating conditions for the Haiqi ship still hidden in the smoke to seize a better attack position.
At 11:03, the Asama, which was in the middle of the Japanese armored patrol, was hit by the main gun of the Victory, and then exploded and caught fire. The fire became an excellent aiming reference for the Kaiqi.
At 11:06, the Haiqi launched six of its own torpedoes, but was also lit up by the flares dropped by the Japanese goddess, and was immediately fired upon by the Japanese...
At 11:09, the Japanese ship Yakumo was hit, and a minute later the Azuma at the end of the queue was also hit. Almost at the same time, a big explosion occurred in the ammunition depot of the Kaiqi.
Subsequently, the Japanese cruise ship and the accompanying destroyer fleet launched a "lightning strike" against the Overlord and the Victory. Unfortunately, the white-headed torpedoes used by the Japanese were of poor quality and failed to hit any of them. The Joban, which finally carried out the lightning strike, once rushed to a thousand miles away from the Overlord.
Yards away, it was hit by intensive fire from the Overlord's port gun gallery and fell upside down on the sea within a few minutes, turning into a brand new and expensive sea coffin.
Before the two battleships could deal with them, the 12 destroyers participating in the assault made a mistake and collided with the ship. In fact, the destroyer detachment of the combined fleet in the Russo-Japanese War in the last time and space made a fool of themselves in the night battle.
It seems that their fate has not changed in this time and space.
However, the Japanese destroyer Avukuma still successfully broke into the stern of the Overlord. Its commander was very kamikaze-like and prepared to stick to the Overlord and then release the torpedoes. Who knew that the C turret of the Overlord had just been loaded, and the gunner of the turret
In desperation, he acted on his own initiative and did not follow the command from the command tower to raise the gun body, adjust the shooting, and wait for the salvo. Instead, he directly fired the gun manually while leveling the gun body.
Two heavy bombs penetrated directly into the Avukuma's small body and blew it to pieces.
**
Lin Guoxiang looked down at his pocket watch.
It was already 0:24 a.m. the next day.
He closed the cover of his pocket watch and looked back at the mess on the bridge: In the second half of the fierce battle, a Japanese artillery shell hit the main armor tower of the Overlord, shattering the glass of the bridge and killing him by the way.
Several staff officers and operators. Lin Guoxiang's own arm was scratched by glass fragments, but he was not seriously injured.
If it was an old-style bridge, he should follow in the footsteps of his old friends, Lin Guoxiang thought.
"The remaining Japanese fleet has sailed out of the effective range of our ship." Major Ou, who was wounded on the head, reported to Lin Guoxiang. The operator of the Sky Eye was leaning on his back, and a piece of shrapnel happened to be inserted into the center socket, so now it is Major Ou who is personally operating the Sky Eye.
On the table.
"Very good, we are also turning to prepare to join other ships. In addition, order the Zhan Crab to attack." Lin Guoxiang nodded to his adjutant, "I'll leave the rest to you."
After saying this, the old man left the bridge.
He returned to his bedroom, turned on the light, then walked to the desk and took out two cups and a bottle of Maotai from the drawer.
The veteran filled the first cup and then placed it in front of the yellowed photo on the desk. It was a group photo taken in the early winter of 1893. At that time, Lin Guoxiang led Guangyi north to participate in the autumn exercises and compete with Beiyang Water
Colleagues of the division left this photo in front of the naval headquarters on Liugong Island.
In the photo, Deng Shichang smiles like a fool, Fang Boqian is handsome and somewhat talented, Lin Yongsheng looks a bit dull, and Huang Jianxun has a livid face.
Ding Ruchang, who was sitting in the middle, had a serious face. Behind him, American Ma Jifen raised his chin somewhat arrogantly.
Lin Guoxiang stared at the photo for a long time before filling up the other glass. Then he sat down in front of the desk, raised his glass high, and made a toast gesture toward the sky.
The old man didn't say a word, but at this time, everything was silent.
**
Lieutenant Sagara climbed onto a floating plank and breathed a sigh of relief.
He looked around the sea and found that the debris around him was covered with people who had narrowly escaped like himself, and in the distance, the shadow of Commander Heihachiro Togo's temporary flagship Hatsase was gradually disappearing into the night.
Ah, we have been abandoned, Second Lieutenant Sagara thought.
But not long after this thought occurred, a destroyer broke into Lieutenant Sagara's field of vision.
Someone started shouting for help. Second Lieutenant Sagara was stunned for a moment, and then he shouted at the top of his lungs. He also took off his wet shirt and threw it over his head...
Unfortunately, at this time, the entire sea was full of Japanese soldiers floating for survival, and the destroyer obviously did not intend to favor anyone. It ran at full speed in the direction where the Hatsase left.
Then the cry for help turned into curses, and as if in response to the curses, the destroyer blew its whistle, as if to say goodbye to her comrades at sea.
Just then, it exploded.
The hull was blown into two pieces from the middle and quickly disappeared into the foam. The whole process took less than three minutes.
For a moment, a terrible silence fell on the sea, and everyone was filled with intense uneasiness, speculating on what had just happened.
At this moment, Second Lieutenant Sagara found a stick moving slowly in the sea not far from him. There was a lens-like thing installed on the top of the stick. The thing rotated back and forth, observing the situation on the sea. Inadvertently
He turned to Second Lieutenant Sagara.
Second Lieutenant Xiangliang, who had enveloped the Nanman Cult, murmured in a low voice: "Oh God..."
That single red eye looks like a demon from hell.
The demon and Lieutenant Sagara looked at each other for a few seconds, then dived into the water and disappeared.
At this time, Lieutenant Xingliang realized that his chest was tight, so he quickly took a deep breath.
But this still couldn't calm the fear in his heart.
At this time, he heard someone crying not far away: "Mom..."
Then another voice started yelling: "Asshole, are you still a man of Yamato?"
But the crying was getting louder and louder, and it had a tendency to spread.
At this moment, Second Lieutenant Sagara remembered for some reason the scene when he graduated from Etajima Naval Academy, and then he realized that he was singing the school song of Etajima Naval Academy.
"You and I are the same cherry blossoms at the same time. The flowers blooming in the garden of Etajima Island have already realized that they will bloom soon. For the sake of the country, we calmly dispersed."
Second Lieutenant Sagara's voice was not loud, but soon the captain on a fragment of a sampan next to him also started singing.
"You and I are cherry blossoms from the same period. We bloomed in the courtyard of Etajima School and are indistinguishable from each other. Why do we have to separate when we are so close to each other?"
Soon, the same song sounded across the entire sea.
"You and I are cherry blossoms at the same time. Although you will never come back, we will meet again in the spring of cherry blossoms at the Yasukuni Shrine in the Capital of Flowers."
The Japanese kept singing this song. Even though some people kept freezing to death, and even though many people gradually became hoarse and could no longer make a sound, the singing never completely disappeared on the sea. In this way, Second Lieutenant Sagara finally persisted until the next day.
The sun rises over the sea.
When he was dying, he saw a giant ship flying a red flag sailing through the wind and waves. There were many bullet marks on the hull of the giant ship, and the black burn marks were not cleaned in time, but this only added a bit more to the warship.
mighty.
Second Lieutenant Sagara vaguely heard the Chinese people on the warship singing military songs in unison. The brisk, exciting and yet mighty tune was completely different from "Sakura at the Same Time". Just listening to it, one could feel positive and uplifting like sunshine.
——Ah, if I could graduate singing a military song like that, I wouldn’t be in this situation now.
This treasonous thought became the last thought that Lieutenant Xiangliang left in the world.
He didn't know that this "Song of the Athletes of Helang Yabo" was translated by Lin Youde into the "Song of the Athletes of Etajima" from a previous time and space. It is a Japanese naval military song with roots in the Japanese military, and it is a rare one among Japanese military songs.
An unusual song that is not tragic...
Under the watchful eyes of the dead and alive Japanese sailors, the Overlord sailed at full speed against the rising sun, followed by a small but well-organized fleet, with battle flags flying and singing loud and clear.