The Spanish fleet did not go directly to the Cuban region, and before the war began, they resupplied and reconditioned in the British colony of Bermuda, and then split up on 25 April, with four battleships and two fast-converted merchant ships under Admiral Sevela heading for Newport. The six warships led by Yang Yonglin will go to Haiti three days later and seek an opportunity to break diplomatic relations.

"Captain, look, where is what? What a big ship. Jack, the lookout of the merchant ship Wanderer, said as he looked at the puffs of black smoke rising from the distance.

"What a fuss." Captain Jewell picked up the telescope in his hand and looked into the distance, only to see two huge figures in the distance coming towards this side at high speed, and there were two slightly smaller ones behind. However, that is only compared to the previous two behemoths, and overall, it is still a lot bigger than his 7,000-ton Wanderer merchant ship!

"That's a lot of speed, they should have 15 knots. Did their captains think coal was too cheap? Jack pouted.

"They don't seem to be merchant ships...... It's a warship! "The two giant ships are getting clearer and clearer in Jewell's telescope! The huge turret in the bow and the knife-like flying scissors made Jewell's heart tighten! "This is certainly not an American battleship." A thought popped into his head! …。

"This is certainly not an American battleship, and the British and French did not have such a huge battleship in the Americas." He said with a calm face that the warships of the US Navy have been concentrated in the south, and half a month ago, the Wanderer was leased by the US Navy to transport arms. In the south, they had seen almost all of the 10,000-ton battleships of the U.S. Navy one after another, and it was impossible for them to return to the north after the war.

"Damn, it's the Spanish flag! It's the Spanish fleet! At this moment, Jack on the lookout had already confirmed the identity of the other party!

"God, let's get out of here, Zuo Manrudder, let's get out of here!" Jewell said in a panic. This is a 7,000-ton merchant ship. Almost all of his worth!

"Captain, it may be too late, they want us to stop the ship!" Jack said in despair.

"Leave them alone, they can't be here for us, they may not catch up when we leave the main channel. Then let's go back! "On the orders of Captain Jewell. The Rover began to turn slowly, but the heavy load made the ship clumsy.

Captain Jewell was right. Admiral Sevela really didn't come here to loot. But again, Admiral Severa would not let go of any merchant ship he encountered, and in order to ensure the concealment of his movements, the Spanish fleet did not follow a straight line, they left the busy shipping lines as much as possible and had to intercept all American merchant ships they encountered..........

"A futile move." Scheer looked at the Wanderer who was evading in the distance, and a sneer appeared on his lips. Subsequently, the Pisa-class armored cruiser Okando left the queue. Started heading towards the Ranger, and after easily catching up with the Ranger, two 12-pounder shells made the 7,000-ton guy honestly stop!

"We are civilians, and you can't do this to us." After being taken aboard the Okando, Captain Jewell exclaimed.

"Wars are all reciprocal, you can blockade Cuba, and we can blockade the east coast of the United States." A Spanish officer said with a smile. "You are now our captives, and that poor merchant ship will be scuttled after we have taken some of the necessities."

"You barbarians, you blew up the Maine! The American Navy will not let you go. Jack exclaimed as he struggled.

"Is there any benefit in us blowing up the Maine? Except for allowing the United States to find an excuse for war. We won't get anything, and if it were me, I wouldn't have taken care of that broken ship, and because of that, we'd have to cross the Atlantic to fight here! It's terrible. Probably because of the capture of a large ship, the Spanish officer had a good temper and actually began to talk to Jack. …………。

"As for the US Navy? We're really afraid that they won't come to us. Do you know where we're going this time? The Spanish officer asked with a smile. Our destination was the Newport News Shipyard, which is said to be the largest shipbuilding base in the U.S. Navy. So we're going to visit it. ”

"Don't talk nonsense, Mr. Ensign." At this moment, a yellow man appeared in front of Jack.

"They are captives. It's going to be fine, Lee. Don't be so nervous, the U.S. fleet is already in the south, we're safe now, you know, the entire U.S. East Coast is undefended. The Spanish officer said embarrassedly.

"Are you from Qingguo? Damn, why would Colonel Majifen actually help you win against Japan? You ungrateful guys, you are inferior to even the meanest blacks. Jewell scolded loudly after looking at a yellow man surnamed Lee who appeared on the Spanish ship.

"Colonel Magifin used to be my boss...... I have a lot of respect for him. The officer surnamed Li said solemnly, "But we will not forget that the Japanese have the support of you Americans in the funds for waging the war, and the weapons that killed our comrades-in-arms were produced by you Americans." And what is even more hateful is that our compatriots in the United States have built a railroad across the American panorama for you with their own lives, contributing their wisdom and labor to your development, and you have reciprocated with the Chinese Exclusion Act! Tell me, is that what you advocate for ethnicity and freedom? ”。 …。

"You inferior people! You don't deserve the same rights as blacks as whites! At this time, Jewell, who had been carried away by anger, said loudly.

"I will prove that the Qing people are as good as the Qing people, and the way to prove it will be to defeat your fleet in war! Americans must pay for everything they have ever done! Whether it is support for Japan or the persecution of our compatriots! You will all pay a heavy price for it! The cold words of the officer surnamed Li made Jewell's heart swell with deep fear. This kind of killing spirit revealed after many bloody battles will definitely make ordinary people feel afraid, and the will to fight to the death without fear of strong enemies makes everyone present in awe!

The Rover wasn't the first unlucky, and definitely wasn't the last. During the long voyage of thousands of kilometers, General Sevela's fleet sank more than a dozen large and small transport ships. More than a hundred American sailors became prisoners. And the US Navy knows nothing about this. And it's no wonder. Almost all of the ocean-going naval forces of the United States have reached the South. In the view of the US side, the top priority of the Spanish fleet must be to enter Cuba first, and then start a decisive battle with the US fleet after completing its rearmament, or first launch a decisive battle to break diplomatic relations and then start a decisive ..........

But the Americans may have forgotten that movement warfare has always been the choice of the weak, and the American fleet once used seven cruise ships in the War of 1812 to break up the engagement. The British Navy was more passive. (A cruiser can be understood as a type of ship that is somewhere between a battleship of the 3rd rank and a cruiser.) And the strategy of the Spanish fleet was the same, only playing a little bigger, aiming the guns directly at the cradle of the American fleet - the Newport News Shipyard!

It would also be incorrect to say that the Americans were not at all guarded. Although the ocean-going fleet has all gone south, it still has a certain amount of defensive strength in some important military ports, for example, in the naval Hamilton military port, the Americans left behind the 6,000-ton coastal defense ironclad ship Texas and the 6,000-ton shallow water heavy gunboat Puritan...... The tonnage shallow water gunboats USS Fear (BM4) and USS Monterey (BM6), plus two torpedo boats, TB2 and TB3, were used to guard Hamilton Military Harbour and the adjacent naval Newport News shipyard.

According to the estimates of the Americans, even if the Spaniards separated 4 light cruisers from the fleet to carry out the task of breaking diplomatic relations, those 4 cruisers would definitely not be the match for 4 shallow water heavy gunboats. But alas, they ran into a bunch of guys who didn't play cards according to common sense! 4 offshore combat ships are about to clash head-on with 4 battleships! …………。

In the early morning of April 29, when the Sevila fleet could already see the continent in the distance with binoculars, the two torpedo boats patrolling outside happened to spot each other, although the Americans were extremely shocked, but soon, they realized that this might be the Spanish fleet, and when they saw each other's flying shear heads and 3 main gun turrets through the telescope, the two torpedo boats quickly turned. Evacuate to the Hamilton Military Harbor at a high speed of 24 knots, and begin to warn with the ship's 3 1-pounder guns, regardless of whether the harbor can hear it or not!

"They found us...... It seems that a big war will be inevitable. Sevela looked at the two torpedo boats that were speeding away, with a hint of concern in her eyes.

"If there are no errors in intelligence, there will be a maximum of a few coastal defense ships in the harbor, and we will have an overwhelming advantage, and believe me, Mr. Admiral, in a few hours we will celebrate our first victory!" Schell was not worried about this, if he was now moving at a high speed of 18 knots, he would be able to reach the outside of Hamilton Military Port in more than one hour at most, and if the boilers of American battleships did not store steam, it would take about three hours to start the battleship (in the case of water-tube boilers, this time would be shortened to about one hour). When the time comes. It's basically a case of killing a dog. Even if the Americans were lucky enough to fight an honest naval battle with the Spaniards, the Spanish fleet would definitely not have the slightest fear! …。

At this time, the Texas and Monterey in the American fleet happened to have set fire to anchor, and the sailors of the other two battleships were desperately refueling the boilers, so at the first time, only 2 battleships could be put into battle. Of course, it would be safer if the U.S. fleet stayed in port. The heavy guns of the 4 ships plus the shore guns at the Hamilton Naval Port were enough to intimidate the opponents, but they had to get out, because there was also the largest shipyard of the US Navy outside the military port! There are also 3 battleships being built there, two of which have already been launched and outfitted!

"Lads, let's teach the hateful Spaniards, who blew up our warships and came to attack our shipyard and military port, what do we say?" A U.S. ** official asked loudly.

"Kick their ass! Sir! A freckled sailor said loudly.

Thank you for the breeze tip, the Spanish-American War officially began, everyone supports ~~ (to be continued) RQ.