The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 597 There is the Zhenyuan Ship
Hurrying up to the bridge, somewhat exasperated, Wittheft was still preparing to organize a fleet to fight.

However, when he saw dozens of warships on the sea in the distance spewing terrifying artillery fire, a strong chill suddenly rose in his heart, and the idea of ​​fighting disappeared in an instant.

Without looking up, Wittheft knew that he was unlucky enough to be attacked by the main fleet of the Japanese Navy today.

You know, now on the sea in the Far East, apart from the Pacific Fleet, only the Japanese Navy has the strength to deploy so many warships at one time.

Looking at his own squadron, although no warships had sunk yet, six of the eight warships had been engulfed in smoke and fire by the enemy's fierce artillery fire. The remaining two were intact and it was estimated that they would be hit and catch fire in a matter of moments, including the flagship of his squadron.

Wittheft secretly groaned in his heart. He wanted to fight at this time, unless he wanted to bury the entire fleet in this cold sea.

"Shabaka!" Witheft cursed loudly in anger.

"Shabaka!" is the Russian word for bastard, villain, and despicable hooligan. Wittheft originally wanted to curse the despicable Japanese monkey, but no matter how vicious the language he used to curse the Japanese was, it was useless now.

"Send a signal quickly!" Wittheft shouted at the top of his lungs to the first mate who had just run onto the bridge.

"Everyone, weigh the anchor, turn the rudder, and head for Port Arthur! Each one for his own! Each one for his own! Quickly!"

"The war has begun!" Ye Zugui, who had already occupied the downward observation mirror, finally shouted excitedly.

"Judging from the flashes from the guns, the Japanese combined fleet has no fewer than thirty warships!"

"Some of the Russian fleet's warships have been hit and caught fire!"

This time, Teng Yuzao did not go to the observation mirror to observe the situation of the naval battle. As for the outcome of this naval battle, Teng Yuzao was very clear. Under the sudden and fierce attack of Togo Heihachiro with his absolutely superior forces, the Pacific Fleet would definitely be defeated. There was no doubt about that.

It is very difficult to take shortcuts in naval warfare, as it is a battle where strength is paramount.

Moreover, Teng Yuzhao was well aware of Ye Zugui's mentality at the time, and he was also willing to let Ye Zugui, the head of the Beiyang Navy, once again personally experience the cruelty of naval warfare.

Although he had just poured a cup of ginseng soup for Ye Zugui, Teng Yuzhao still looked at Ye Zugui who was dancing excitedly with some concern.

That thermos of ginseng soup was brought by Teng Yuzhao specially for Ye Zugui to drink.

In Teng Yuzhao's opinion, Ye Zugui is a very suitable naval head. Ye Zugui not only has high naval professional knowledge and rich experience, but is also willing to devote everything to the navy. In particular, he is also a generous and honest elder.

It was precisely because of Ye Zugui's presence that the merger of the South and North Sea Fleets went so smoothly. In just one or two years, the South and North Sea Fleets would be completely integrated, and there would no longer be any distinction between the North and the South.

However, according to the original history, Ye Zugui would die of illness in the army the next year. Although there is no record of what disease Ye Zugui died of, Teng Yuzhao now knows the cause of Ye Zugui's death.

Because Teng Yuzhao learned that Ye Zugui often had symptoms of heart discomfort, Teng Yuzhao therefore judged that Ye Zugui was very likely to have died of heart disease.

To this end, Teng Yuzhao not only invited many famous doctors from Beijing, Suzhou, Hankou, Nanchang and other places to help Ye Zugui regulate his body, but also bought nitroglycerin tablets from the UK, which had been used as a heart emergency medicine, and asked Ye Zugui to carry them with him at all times.

Teng Yuzhao even gave Lin Lianhui the recipe for the Bear Bile Heart-Saving Pill, which was invented in China more than 80 years later, for trial production.

Now, the bear bile heart-saving pill that was developed based on the prescription he provided is almost successful.

In short, Teng Yuzao was prepared to do everything he could to save Ye Zugui's life.
"Marshal! The Russians couldn't resist the attack and have already pulled anchor and fled. All eight warships were hit and caught fire! One of the destroyers seems to have tilted."

Ye Zugui stood up in front of the observation mirror and shouted excitedly to Teng Yuzhao.

Teng Yuzao collected his thoughts and said loudly with a smile, "The main force of the Japanese combined fleet is not pursuing us, right?"

A staff officer who had taken over the observation mirror replied, "Marshal, the Japanese combined fleet is not pursuing us. They are still pursuing the Russian fleet with heavy artillery fire."

"Minister Ye, the Russian fleet has been badly damaged. Why aren't the Japanese chasing them?"

Zuo Baotian asked Ye Zugui in surprise, "Isn't it a good opportunity to destroy the Russian squadron at this time?"

Ye Zugui, still looking excited, laughed and said, "Director Zuo, judging from the location and intensity of the fire on the Russian fleet, although the power units of these warships were not damaged, they were seriously injured. It will take at least three or four months to repair them. They probably don't have much combat effectiveness for the time being."

"You know, it's night now. If the Japanese fleet pursues at full speed, it is very likely to be attacked by torpedoes. At night, it is difficult to detect torpedoes from a distance. Once discovered, they are already close at hand and difficult to avoid."

"According to the British Navy's request, we should not risk pursuit at this time."

Teng Yuzao smiled and said, "Deren, you may not know this yet, but both Togo Heihachiro and Tong Hou have studied in the British Navy. Tong Hou can tell the opponent's tactics at a glance."

Teng Yuzao continued with a smile, "Although Togo Heihachiro did not order the fleet to pursue, it does not mean that he will let the Russian squadron go."

Ye Zugui gave Teng Yuzao a thumbs up and said admiringly.

"The Marshal is right. The Japanese have already thought of winning the naval battle. There is no suspense about it."

"The Japanese should have been prepared. They must have ambushed the Russians on their way back to the port with warships or torpedo boats. Once the Russian warships with fireworks pass by, they will release torpedoes in the dark. It will be no problem to sink a few of them."

Hearing that the combined fleet would set up an ambush, Zuo Baotian's eyes lit up. He was about to say that he wanted to catch up and see what happened, but seeing that Teng Yuzhao had no intention of moving, he immediately stopped talking.

Teng Yuzao smiled and said, "Let's not chase them. We can just use the telescope to monitor the fleeing Russian fleet and watch the excitement. We should stay here and see if the Japanese will go to Jemulpo tomorrow."

"Marshal, are you so sure that the Japanese will land there?" Zuo Baotian asked hesitantly.

Ye Zugui also said with some uncertainty.

"Jemulpo is an open port. There are not only warships from the British, American, French, and German powers, but also Russian warships. I'm afraid the Japanese wouldn't dare to fight the Russians there, right?"

The last two telegrams that Teng Yuzao asked Wei Jinghai to send to Alexeev were orders issued on the airship, and Ye Zugui and Zuo Baotian knew the contents. They originally thought that Teng Yuzao was trying to scare the Russians, or deliberately induce them to disperse their forces, but now it seems that this is not the case at all. Teng Yuzao really believed that the Japanese Combined Fleet would cover the landing of the army there.

Teng Yuzao nodded and said, "The Japanese are now worried that they can't beat the Russians. They are not only worried that their army can't beat the Russians, but they are also worried that the combined fleet can't fully control the sea power."

"Therefore, not only should the fleet fight without declaring war, but it should also use sneak attacks to preemptively strike the Pacific Fleet, and strive to weaken some of the Pacific Fleet's strength first, laying the foundation for the subsequent naval decisive battle."

Teng Yuzhao was well aware that Togo Heihachiro would also accept the advice of his staff and adopt the port blocking tactics used by the Americans in the Spanish-American War to block the Pacific Fleet in the port.

"If there is a method other than a decisive battle between naval fleets, the Japanese will definitely use it. For example, the waterway of the Lushun military port is only 273 meters long, so the Japanese are likely to make a move on the waterway."

Ye Zugui nodded nervously and said, "Marshal, you are right. The Japanese are likely to use the method of actively sinking ships and blocking the waterway to block the Pacific Fleet in the port."

"Should we inform the Russians about this matter? Otherwise, once the Russians fall into the trap of the Japanese, the Japanese combined fleet will not suffer too many casualties."

Teng Yuzao shook his head and said, "The Russians would have thought of blocking the waterway. Otherwise, even if they were blocked in the port, it would be their own fault and they can't blame anyone else."

Teng Yuzao continued, "In short, the Japanese are also gambling now. They are gambling that their navy will completely suppress the Pacific Fleet, thus ensuring the safety of their landing troops' retreat."

"That's why they didn't take a more radical approach and choose to land at Daedonggou, which would have caught the Russians by surprise, nor did they take a safer approach and land at Busan, but chose a compromise landing site, namely Jemulpo."

"However, the Japanese will soon find out that their worries are completely unnecessary. The Russians are strong on the outside but weak on the inside. Their real combat effectiveness is not as strong as it seems. This will make the Japanese have a stronger fighting spirit and their combat effectiveness will be greatly improved."

Zuo Baotian thought for a moment and said, "Does the Marshal think that the Russians will definitely fail? So we should help the Russians and make them fight more fiercely."

"Yes." Teng Yuzao nodded affirmatively.

Teng Yuzao sighed and said to Ye Zugui, "When we mentioned the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, it reminded me of something else."

"Regarding the Japanese combined fleet's decision not to pursue the fleeing Russian squadron, besides the British naval regulations that you just mentioned, which required that they not chase the Russian squadron at full speed at night, it was because they were worried that the Russians would release torpedoes. In fact, there may be another reason."

Teng Yuzao looked at Ye Zugui and said, "Lord Tong, the Japanese are going all out to suppress the Pacific Fleet this time, so they must have gathered all their large ships to rush to Port Arthur."

"Although the Japanese used the imperial indemnity to build four more battleships in Britain after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, these are the only battleships they can use. The other two are too old and too slow."

"Given this situation, in addition to their four new battleships, the ships that came to Lushun this time should also include the captured warships of the former Beiyang Fleet, which must include the Zhenyuan ship that was comparable to a 10,000-ton battleship."

"As for warships of similar age to the Zhenyuan, such as the Japanese warships that participated in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, Matsushima, Hashidate, Chiyoda, Akitsushima, and other main battleships of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, although they are not fast, they have larger tonnage and may also be pulled here to make up the numbers."

"For example, the Zhenyuan ship's speed is only over 15 knots. If they want to chase the fleeing Russian fleet, these warships will not be able to keep up. By the time the main force of the combined fleet reaches Lushun, they will be scattered far away."

When Ye Zugui heard Teng Yuzhao talking about the Zhenyuan ship, his face suddenly turned ugly and he spoke through gritted teeth.

"Liu Buchan sank the Dingyuan before committing suicide. It's a pity that Lin Zengtai died cleanly, but he didn't sink the Zhenyuan in time, which brought shame to the Beiyang Fleet to this day."

Teng Yuzhao knew very well that the Third Fleet of the Combined Fleet was an auxiliary fleet. Although it had a large number of ships, most of them were old. Not only was the Zhenyuan, whose name had not been changed by the Japanese Navy, in the Third Fleet, but also the main battleships of the Japanese Navy in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, such as Matsushima, Hashidate, Chiyoda, and Akitsu, which had a similarly low speed, were in the Third Fleet.

Teng Yuzao stood up, pushed Ye Zugui to sit on the chair and said, "Tong Hou, don't worry, as long as we plan carefully, at most one year later, we will not only avenge the humiliation of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, but also capture several Japanese and Russian warships. Then we will also humiliate the Japanese."

"it is good!"

Ye Zugui said to Teng Yuzao in a serious tone, "Marshal, let's make it a deal."

"Commander!"

A staff officer observing from the porthole of the airship cabin shouted loudly, "Ten nautical miles away, the fleeing Russian fleet seems to be under attack."

The staff officer's shout immediately attracted Teng Yuzhao, Ye Zugui and Zuo Baotian.

Without the aid of an observation mirror, one can see through the porthole glass that on the dark sea in the distance, two ships of the Tsarist Russia's Pacific Fleet were running wildly with fireworks, and seemed to be gradually sinking into the sea.

The rest of the warships were constantly performing serpentine maneuvers, which is one of the standard ways to avoid torpedoes.

"It's a torpedo attack!" Ye Zugui said excitedly.

"It must be a torpedo, because we didn't see any muzzle flash." The staff officer said excitedly.

Ye Zugui said in a complicated tone, "The Japanese are still one step behind. If they had deployed a few more torpedo boats here, they wouldn't have let the other side escape with six boats."

Teng Yuzao smiled and comforted Ye Zugui, "Don't worry, Lord Tong. They can't repair the ships that escaped back."

"Oh?"

Ye Zugui said doubtfully, "Marshal, you said that the Russo-Japanese War would last at least a year. Not to mention such a long time, even if it's only two or three months, as long as we hurry up, we can basically repair it."

"Besides, the power systems of these Russian warships are fine, so they can be repaired much faster. How could they not be repaired?"

Teng Yuzao sighed and said, "The Russians' army tactics have always been rigid. In comparison, the Japanese are much more flexible. If they really land in Jemulpo this time, it will definitely not be the only landing tactic they use."

"Don't forget that Lushun is at the southernmost tip of Fengtian."

Zuo Baotian said in surprise, "The Marshal means that the Japanese will land behind Lushun!"

Teng Yuzhao is still very optimistic about Zuo Baotian. Although he is not as smart as Li Jinyu, Zuo Baotian's thinking is more meticulous.

(End of this chapter)