"Can the observer confirm whether it is a civilian ship or a warship?"
"We can't confirm yet. It's too dark and the other party didn't turn on the lights. Maybe it's a merchant ship that has broken down, or maybe it's an old sailboat without power..."
Before Chief Staff Officer Wang Wen could finish his words, Zhuge Weidao put down the telescope in his hand and frowned: "Even if there is no electricity, you should hang up a lantern. This is the Seto Inland Sea after all! Well, you must be on guard against others... ....Let’s go to blackout!”
"Yes, sir."
"Light the Vladivostok again and report our findings to Commander Li."
"Yes, sir!"
On the cruiser Lushun, the observers on duty had discovered a vague "big thing" on the sea five or six kilometers away. It was at least a "big ship" of several thousand tons. They didn't turn on the lights at night. Lying like this on the sea, it looks a bit weird no matter how you look at it.
Zhuge Weidao became the captain of a warship for the first time, so of course he had to be careful. So regardless of how big this "weird" thing was, we implemented a light blackout for the entire ship based on the idea of sailing the ship for ten thousand years with caution.
Now is the time of peace, the Port Arthur is visiting Japan, and the Seto Inland Sea is a narrow and busy sea area. In order to avoid collisions, of course the lights should be turned on during night sailing. Therefore, lights are on on the mast and in the bridge of the Port Arthur, so they can be seen from a distance. And as soon as the lights were turned off...the four camouflaged attack ships hiding in the darkness couldn't hold on any longer.
Just when the eyes of the people on the bridge of the Port Arthur were still trying to adapt to the darkness after the lights were turned off, several bright and dazzling fireballs suddenly appeared in the southern sky, and several muffled thunderous roars appeared almost at the same time. !
At this moment, everyone in the bridge who was looking out felt like they were "blinded by the light". In just ten seconds, except for these dazzling flares, they could no longer see anything.
"Flare? Is this...a war?" Zhuge Weidao's heart suddenly sank. Although it was his first time on board a ship, his mind was still very sharp, and he immediately thought of "war" - -Pirates can't use flares to rob, so they can only rob in the dark!
"Battle alarm!" Thinking of this, Zhuge Weidao roared again. Just as the battle alarm sounded, Chief Staff Officer Wang Wen also reacted.
I only heard Wang Wen shouting: "Prepare the flares from Battery No. 1! Guns and guns, determine the target position!"
"Boom boom..."
Almost at the same time as the shouting, the four camouflaged attack ships parked on the southern coast of the Naruto Strait began to fire. Because Zhuge Weidao's sudden action of asking someone to turn off the lights scared the four camouflaged ships to open fire in advance, the distance between the two sides was still a bit far, more than 5,000 meters, which was really a bit far for the naval guns of this era. A dozen 6-inch and 4-inch caliber shells landed on the sea a hundred meters away from the Lushun, and the splashes could not even touch the sides of the Lushun.
In just a minute or two, the two 155mm guns on the bow of the Lushun also let out a continuous roar, and several illumination bombs with scorching and dazzling white light illuminated a large area of the sea four to five kilometers away. .
Zhuge Weidao raised the telescope again. What appeared in the eyepiece were two large ships of four to five thousand tons and two small ships of one thousand tons. They formed a column outside the south entrance of Naruto Strait and stood in a T-shaped formation. position, using more than twenty 6-inch and 4-inch cannons on one side to fire fiercely!
Although the distance was a bit far and the cannon shots were inaccurate, Zhuge Weidao was still a little confused.
This firepower...can't be a pirate, right? Could it be that the Japanese devils want to go to war with Ming Dynasty? Are they crazy?
Just when Zhuge Weidao thought of this, the "Yamato" in front started to light up the lights again.
"Sir," the signal officer on the bridge reported loudly, "the Yamato says we have encountered pirates... let us retreat first, while he takes cover!"
Let us withdraw?
Does it cover?
Is there a conspiracy?
Zhuge Weidao didn't need to count with his fingers, he knew there was something weird in it.
But before he could think about whether to open fire and sink the Yamato ahead, the 600-ton Yamato was actually hit first... It must have been! All I saw was a huge fireball suddenly bursting out from the small hull of the large ship. It looked like it had been hit by a 6-inch blasting bomb.
The Port Arthur followed the Yamato at a distance of two to three hundred meters. The officers on the bridge all screamed in surprise when they saw the Yamato being shot.
"Hit?"
"Isn't this too unlucky?"
"It's at least 4,000 meters away, why was it just hit?"
The distance of 4,000 meters was normal during World War I and World War II in history, but it cannot be done now. The naval gun fire is not so accurate, not to mention it is still late at night. So this Yamato is really unlucky!
At this moment, a raging fire broke out on the unlucky Yamato, and then the lanterns started to shine again.
"Sir, the Yamato said, 'This ship has suffered heavy damage and is withdrawing from the battle'!"
What? Zhuge Weidao was stunned again and again. Just now he said who was protecting him, and now he is withdrawing from the battle?
Before he could react, the signal officer shouted again: "Sir, the flagship lantern signal, let our ship be the vanguard of the entire team and move forward at full speed!"
The person who issued the order was of course the formation admiral, the somewhat slow Colonel Li Chenghui. It took several rounds of cannon fire before his order came.
"Execute the order..." Zhuge Weidao quickly ordered, "Go forward at full speed!"
"Yes, sir!"
...
"Sir, Minko's cruiser is rushing towards us!"
On the bridge of the Kirigakure Maru's disguised attack ship, a shrill scream suddenly sounded in Saigo's ears.
By the light of the Yamato's burning fire, Saigo actually saw the 5,000-ton Port Arthur accelerating towards him. He was very aware of the power of the Port Arthur, so he immediately ordered: "Put up the artillery and lower the mast." Disk, evacuate at full speed...raise the East India Company flag!"
"Hai!"
Following Saigo's order, the steam engine of the Kirigakure Maru also began to output power at full power. The propeller at the stern of the ship rotated at full speed, pushing the Kirigakure's several-thousand-ton hull to speed toward the southeast. The Amegakure Maru, Sunagakure Maru, and Iwagakure Maru following behind the Kirigakure Maru also accelerated their escape at the same time, put away their artillery, put down their camouflage, and even hung the East India Company flag with a red cross and red stripes.
It was already past three o'clock in the morning. Although the light on the sea was dim, you could still vaguely see the several attack ships escaping quickly.
"Captain, the enemy has escaped...it may be a trap. Should we pursue him?"
In the bridge of the Lushun, the deputy commander Chen Jian, who had just arrived, raised his telescope and asked Zhuge Weidao questions, his tone full of caution.
"Sir, we cannot stay in the Seto Inland Sea no matter what. We must rush through the Naruto Strait before entering the Pacific Ocean." Wang Wen immediately reminded.
Zhuge Weidao nodded. The current situation really cannot be reduced to the Seto Inland Sea... After all, the Seto Inland Sea is the territory of the Japanese. Cruisers like the Lushun and Vladivostok cannot operate in such a narrow sea area. , we must rush into the Pacific Ocean as soon as possible.
Thinking of this, Zhuge Weidao immediately asked: "The direction of those pirate ships?"
"Southeast...they are retreating towards the Pacific!" Wang Wen reported.
"Okay!" Zhuge Weidao nodded, "Let's follow...but don't follow too closely yet!" He then said to the signal officer, "Send a signal to the flagship, and it is recommended to pursue cautiously."
After a while, the lantern signal on the Vladivostok also came back, and the communications officer loudly shouted: "Sir, the lantern signal of the flagship, we agree to pursue cautiously and stay about 4,000 meters away from the enemy formation until they enter the Pacific waters, then pursue at full speed!"
As a result, a "cautious pursuit" soon began on the sea south of Awaji Island. Four cruisers and destroyers of the Ming Dynasty, with the Lushun as the leader, formed a column. After rushing out of the Naruto Strait, they At a speed of about 20 knots, they followed four camouflaged raiding ships flying the flag of the East India Company, pursuing them all the way to the southeast, firing flares while pursuing them.
The chase lasted for almost an hour. It was already past four in the morning, and the sea was much brighter. The observers could see how far away they were without the need for flares.
Suddenly, a staff officer on the bridge of the Port Arthur put down the phone receiver in his hand and shouted loudly: "Sir, a suspected British and Japanese naval mixed formation was discovered in the southeast, with more than ten ships, including a Sovereign class!"
Sovereign level?
The atmosphere in the bridge of the Port Arthur suddenly became tense.
Is this a trap? The British and Japanese have united to go to war with Ming Dynasty?
