Chapter 85: Prelude

　　 The beginning of the Great War is somewhat the same as in history, but some are different. The same place is that the Beiyang Fleet has just completed the **** mission of the transport ship and is on its way back. The difference is that the naval battle was delayed until September 1894, and when the Japanese fleet fired its first mission to Beiyang. At the time of the cannonball, there was still no declaration of war between Japan and Qing!

　　 September 15, 1894! It is a day worth recording in the annals of history! Because on this day, the world's largest naval battle since the Battle of Lisa broke out! More than 20 warships from both sides launched a 6-hour battle in the Yellow Sea! The scale of the battle and the intensity of the battle shocked the world!

　　 In this drama carefully orchestrated by the God of War, in addition to the two protagonists of the Beiyang Fleet and the Japanese Fleet, there are also audiences from the United States, Britain, Germany, France and Russia who have witnessed or partially witnessed the battle! This battle brought extremely far-reaching influence to later generations. Some tactics and concepts were even used in the Russo-Japanese War!

　　 The first to find out that the opponents are fast forces from both sides. When the seven warships of the Beiyang Fleet’s main fleet completed the mission of covering and landing and were ready to set sail and return, the fast fleet of three fast cruisers headed by Kaiyuan (the new name of the armored cruiser Mainz) was cruising in the open sea. .

　　 At 10:30 in the morning, the watchman on the Mainz spotted a cluster of smoke plumes approaching quickly to the southwest! Based on the size of the plume, the watcher quickly judged that the opponent should be a squadron, with no more than 5 warships!

　　 "Meet the main fleet immediately! We may be in trouble!" Based on the principle of prudence, Yang Yonglin ordered the fleet to move closer to the main fleet, and the three warships drew a huge U on the sea towards the team. At the same time, the Japanese fleet also discovered the plume of the Beiyang Express Fleet. In this case, in such a place, the Japanese combined intelligence and determined that the opponent should be the Beiyang Fleet! The Japanese fleet is currently blocking the way back to the Beiyang fleet! A big battle is inevitable!

　　 "Get ready to fight!" Ding Ruchang, who received the information, gave a battle order! At this time, Ding Ruchang was still more confident in the Beiyang Fleet. The 150MM Krupp artillery used to fix the two iron-clad warships was replaced with a new type of rapid-fire guns, and 6 4.7-inch rapid-fire guns were installed on both sides of each warship. And some 88MM anti-lightning guns produced in Germany.

All the remaining cruisers replaced the original 150MM guns with rapid-fire guns, and added 88MM guns or 75MM anti-lightning guns. The old 210MM guns also replaced the gun mounts. Although they are not comparable to the new battleship turret guns, The rate of fire is still significantly improved, coupled with the 210MM picric acid high-explosive shell imported from Germany, the lethality is improved by a level!

　　 The specific tactics of the fleet were also formulated before the war. The Kaiyuan, Zhiyuan, and Jingyuan formed a fast fleet to guerrilla and intercept on the periphery. The remaining 9 warships formed a team, divided into 4 small formations, to attack the Japanese fleet in order to lead the battle into chaos! Because there were only 7 ships, Pingyuan was included in the squad. Jingyuan and Laiyuan were a squad, Chaoyong and Yangwei were a small squad, and Guangjia and Guangbing were another squad!

While Beiyang was preparing for battle, the Japanese fleet was also making final preparations. Similar to history, the Japanese fleet was also divided into two fleets, fast and slow. The fast fleet was composed of the first-class cruiser Kasuga (Edgar-class cruiser George ), Takasago (Chile second-class cruiser), Yoshino and Akashi (Brave), these four cutting-edge cruisers are the essence of the Japanese fleet! All Clippers Fast Cannon! The speed is above 20 knots!

　　 The Japanese fleet has changed a lot. The Japanese fleet is stronger and more numerous than in history! The three Sanjing ships and Takachiho constitute the sharpest spearhead of the team! Then came the armored cruiser Chiyoda, the old-fashioned iron-clad ships Fuso, Kongo, and Hiei. What's different from history is that this time the Japanese fleet has two more unprotected cruisers, the Kaohsiung and the Chikushi!

　　 In the end, the Japanese fleet has a total of 10 warships! The strength and number are far beyond history. You know, in history, the Japanese fleet also has gunboats like Akagi and Nishikyo Maru! In addition to these first-line battleships, both sides have a certain number of torpedo boats, but they have not been put into battle because they are too small!

　　14 battleships of the Japanese Fleet vs. 12 battleships of the Beiyang Fleet! There is a slight advantage in quantity, and a great advantage in tonnage! This tonnage ratio is almost 3 to 2! And when the show was about to begin, the actors were already in place, and the audience began to enter the stage one after another!

　　 "It's a British!" Colonel Ingenor, who had returned to the team, stood bored on the deck of the Hamburg cruiser. At this moment, his warship had been sold to Beiyang, and he seemed to be a criminal. On other warships, the colonel felt very upset. Bored, he was looking at the sea with a binoculars ~www.wuxiaspot.com~ but unexpectedly discovered that a fleet was approaching from the south!

　　 This time the Germans did not act alone. Not only did the Russians dispatch a cruiser to act with the Germans, but the American cruiser Chicago was also in the formation! After all, the German fleet's visit to the United States is a good performance, and the Americans who are preparing to enter the Far East also intend to establish a good relationship with Russia and Germany. And beside the fleet, there are two French ships!

　　 "What do you mean by the British?" Lieutenant General Makanov took up the binoculars in his hand and carefully observed the British fleet on the opposite side. The number of the other side was really small, but they were all elite! At the head is the second-class battleship Centurion, the flagship of the British Chinese regional fleet, followed by two Edgar-class cruisers! This scale is already stronger than the fleet of Britain, Germany and the United States! In this case, the significance of the British team is very intriguing! Not only the Russians think so, but the United States and Germany also think so!

　　 "What do these three countries mean?" When the commander of the British fleet Feilimante saw the fleet of the United States, Germany and Russia, the British were also shocked! Is this TM going to team up to fight the Far East? When did Americans mix with Germans and Russians? The British are confused and ready to challenge the world in the Far East? Of course, the Americans are actually just teaming up without thinking too much. It's the British who think a little too much!

　　 When the battle between Beiyang and the Japanese fleet was about to break out, a group of spectators themselves had mutual suspicion. This impact is even greater than the impact of combat! The Americans suspect that the British are firmly supporting Japan, while the British suspect that the Americans are approaching Russia and Germany! Once this suspicion arises, if you want to get rid of it, I am afraid it is not that simple!