"Colonel, we have no such precedent!" , he still used to call him colonel instead of his new rank. "Unless the president or the secretary of the Navy gives the fleet an order, it is impossible for the children to go to sea to escort the Chinese."

"But aren't we allies with China? Why are we indifferent when we know that the Japanese are going to intercept the fleet. Looking at his former boss, Lieutenant General Moffett was puzzled, and he remembered that it was for this reason that he had arranged to go to China.

"William, allies are also contradictory." Admiral Buck sat in his chair in an incredibly comfortable position, and Erlang's legs were cocked, and he was ready to persuade the poor child. "That group of Republican bitches raised in order to make money, sold our most important machine to the Chinese, and also helped the Chinese build several shipyards, you know, William, in twenty years, the Chinese Navy will produce sixteen-inch or even eighteen-inch cannons, and the US Navy's dominant position in the Pacific will be weakened by this, which the Admiralty will never allow to live." We must not be like the British, who prop up a stronger opponent in order to bring down one opponent.

Oh, look at the Germans, they now make those ridiculous little shopkeepers more wolfless, they strengthened Germany decades ago to suppress Russia, but now? Germany, which had become stronger, challenged them in turn. How big the cannon is, how thick the armor is, how thick the ship's ridge is, it all depends on how big the hydraulic press is, industry is the foundation of the fleet, and the navy is the lifeblood of the country. The Chinese just let them show the 6th Army, and the navy they can build a strong navy. But they must not be allowed to produce dreadnoughts, which is of paramount importance to us. ”

"But since we agreed to sell the machine to the Chinese. ...... then," argued Lieutenant General Moffitt, the responsible politician a little confused.

"We have now also agreed to sell the machine to the Chinese. But what accidents happened at sea is unknown. Looking at the insistent subordinates, Admiral Buck was a little impatient, he impatiently removed the last cover-up, and said bluntly: "To tell you the truth, William, this is a matter that Washington, London and Tokyo have long discussed, and the merchant ships of the transport plane must be sunk!" If you take those three poor cruisers to escort him, then you too will be buried at the bottom of the sea. Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Daniels, will keep you and your fleet in New York in the name of joint exercises, and I will build you ......"

"Nope! I can't accept this invitation unless Beijing gives me a new order. Lieutenant General Moffitt interrupted.

The matter of the joint exercise has been discussed by the Chinese minister to the United States for a long time. Admiral Buck knew that Moffett must have known about it. In fact, this is also the strategy of the United States, that is, the Chinese navy can neither be too strong nor too weak, and it is better to be at a level that can just inflict heavy losses on Japan but also suffer heavy losses of its own. The current Chinese navy is still very weak, and it will be a few years before it will fight Japan, and if Moffitt and these cruisers are sunk now, the sluggish Chinese navy will not be able to contain and severely damage the role of the Japanese navy, which is contrary to the established strategy of the United States.

After a long pause, Admiral Buck resumed the conversation. "Colonel, do you like the Chinese?"

"Nope! I don't like them. "Lieutenant General Moffett has been in China for more than a year, but he still can't get used to and like where he is.

"Then you must like the kids in the fleet?" Admiral Buck asked again, he understood that colleagues would also have feelings if they got along for a long time.

"Nope! I don't like them either. Moffett's answer was once again a surprise to the Admiral. I don't like China's one qiē! It was a country full of infidels, and so did the fleet, who never really trusted anything. Nor do they insist on anything. If praying to God will be blessed, then they will pray to God. But if they pray to the devil for blessings, then they will turn to the devil. Although put on the uniform of the Navy. But everyone in the fleet is opportunistic, and even if they don't ask for prostration, their knees are bent, and if they don't drink too hard, they will kneel down in obedience......

I don't think the Chinese will pose any threat to the United States if they have the opportunity, they may have powerful warships, but they can never have a great fleet. Just like in the naval battle of 1894, the poor performance of the officers made Japan win the war outright rather than the other way around, and now the journalists who have been bribed by the Hokkien people have preached in the newspapers that the defeat in the naval battle was due to the previous government, and I was convinced of this, but when I took over the entire fleet, I thought I was wrong. ”

Vice Admiral Moffett said with some excitement that although the situation of the Chinese fleet was improving, he still thought that it was a hopeless fleet, and he was surprised that the current prime minister, Mr. Yang Jingcheng, actually had a similar view to him.

"William, then why do you refuse the kindness of the Secretary of the Admiralty?" Admiral Buck looked at his beloved general and was puzzled, "Are you doing it for your honor?" ”

"Yes, sir. I am now the supreme commander of the Chinese Navy, and the order given to me by the Taiwei Mansion is to defend that merchant ship to the death, and I must complete this mission, even if I die at the bottom of the sea! Lieutenant General Moffett said calmly and firmly.

"Excellent! Child, you are the best, and I believe you can succeed. Admiral Buck suddenly stood up and, after comforting the officer whose life was devoted to honor, saluted him again. I'll let the bitches in New York treat your ships well and keep them in tip-top shape. ”

Vice Admiral Moffitt left the Admiralty without answering after saluting, under the hot sun, he suddenly felt a little cold, at this time the commander of the cruiser fleet, Rear Admiral Cheng Biguang, who was waiting outside, hurriedly stepped forward and saluted and asked, "Lieutenant General, did they agree?" ”

"Oh......" Moffett suddenly wanted to be humorous, and said strongly: "Now I have two news here, a good news and a bad news, which one do you want to hear first?" ”

The humor of the Americans Cheng Biguang does not understand, especially this kind of child's trick. Moffett was not surprised to see him like this, and he had to say the good news first: "The Admiralty will order New York to overhaul and maintain our warships." They will also help us with ammunition - although the British do not sell us shells, the US Navy also has eight-inch shells. As long as we need it, if there are more shells, we can break the barrel......"

Listen to the lieutenant general nagging about shells. Cheng Biguang was a little impatient and asked urgently, "What about the bad news?" ”

"The bad news is that they didn't say yes to anything but that." Lieutenant General Moffett showed his hole cards, and sure enough, he heard Cheng Biguang's surprise: "But! Any Japanese warship can sink our three cruisers, and the smallest main guns of their armored cruisers are all more than eight inches, even if we have a certain advantage, but our warships have been purchased for more than ten years. The largest flight under the wear and tear of the main engine is only twenty-one sections, and we ......"

"Calm down! Mr. Major General, calm down. "I'm worried about it, even ...... Afraid. But that won't help, and perhaps, there will be good news from Mr. Minister. ”

Lieutenant General Moffitt thought that there would be good news from the side of the minister to the United States, 6 Zhengxiang, as well as Yu Zixun, the government representative who came to deal with the matter, Major Li of the General Staff, and Situ Meitang, a local overseas Chinese leader, were all full of sadness. saw him and Cheng Biguang arrive. 6 Zhengxiang couldn't help but say: "Generals, there is nothing the president can do on his side, and it is better for him to leave this month, and he said that the opposing parliamentarians are investigating whether we and the Bethlehem Company have violated the law in operating this contract." If anything, then things are in trouble. ”

"Of course, this can also scare us." This Belgian woman is full of disdain for Americans, unlike anyone else. She even suspects that the Americans had already anticipated today when they agreed to sell the machine — without selling the machine, the Chinese order would not be so large. Having sold the machine and then sinking it with the help of Britain and Japan, China's previous investment was equivalent to a small amount in vain, and those huge dockyards could never produce a giant ship of 30,000 tons by themselves. "Gentlemen, it's time to defend our power with the sword in our hands."

Lieutenant General Moffett frowned at this sharp Belgian woman, while Cheng Biguang looked cautiously at Yu Zixun, the last member of the Revival Association, and he knew that he had negotiated a contract with the United States, and the prime minister had sent him this time to try to deal with the aftermath.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Yu Zixun said: "Now there is almost no hope of a diplomatic solution to this matter, and we should consider it from a military point of view." The Bethlehem company will build the machine so quickly, naturally the reason why we are up and down, although no one will say those things for the time being, but after a long time, it is difficult to guarantee that those who take less money will be unwilling. I think that merchant ships should set sail as much as possible, so as to save long nights and dreams. ”

"And how did the General Staff arrange it?" On the way here, Major General Cheng Biguang had already thought through the matter, and the big deal was just death, and he could just ask the Japanese for the interest of the First Sino-Japanese War, so there was nothing to worry about.

The words in the room were different, but Major Li, who came from the General Staff, sat there unmoved, and when he saw Cheng Biguang asking, he replied: "The General Staff wants us to report the situation, so that they can arrange for ships to meet along the way, so that we can avoid the coal filling stations along the way." ”

The Haiqi coal bunker can carry a maximum of 950 tons of coal, 340 tons of fresh water, and can only travel 2,600 nautical miles with 12 economic voyages, and the voyages of Hairong and Feihong are basically similar, only the 5,000-ton newly-built merchant ship is only equipped with a hydraulic press, and the remaining cargo hold can be used to load coal and water, but even so, coal is added along the way.

Hearing that the briefing was to be given, Lieutenant Colonel Moffitt said, "Gentlemen, when we get back to New York, it will be ready there." My only concern was the Phihong, a new ship, which would not be able to do anything until it was fully trained, and would even be a drag, and I built it to sail separately from us. Since war is inevitable, it is better to come sooner, and perhaps take advantage of the summer storms to avoid the Japanese. ”

Moffitt's Cheng Biguang had no objections, and Yu Zixun saw this and said, "Then let's set sail this month, and you report the route to the country so that they can determine the plan." ”

"Understood!" Major Li and Cheng Biguang of the General Staff replied. Lieutenant General Moffitt saluted bitterly, this time God blesses, may God bless the infidels!

The U.S. side set sail in a hurry and prepared for war, while German New Guinea was disprepared. At this time, Lieutenant Colonel Tian Shijie, who was waiting for the fleet in the port of Alexis, was completely relieved, the situation was not as he had thought before. The need to fight continuously despite fatigue is what worries him the most. Eight years ago, the Russian fleet was in such a hurry that it ended up buried in the Tsushima Strait, and he did not want his fleet to repeat the mistakes of the past.

The upper echelons of the fleet breathed a sigh of relief, but the young captains below were a little restless, and their spirits were slackened by the contact with combat readiness, and even after three days of vacation and resuming training, many of them could not keep their spirits up. But even so, targeted training and scheduling are necessary.

In the war room, Lieutenant Commander Tian Shijie lined up three cruisers and one merchant ship on a large table. Then he said: "Don't think about how to protect merchant ships, submarines are small, thin skin, and the caliber of artillery is not large, so no one can protect them." We should still stick to the previous operational thinking, that is, to destroy the enemy ships, and the fleet to be protected is just a decoy to attract enemy ships. The maximum gun of our cruisers was only twenty millimeters, that is, any Japanese cruiser could sink it alone. Therefore, once the target is presented, the Japanese warships will rush over without any scruples, and in addition, if they want to find a fleet in the vast ocean, the Japanese fleet will definitely be scattered. Even single ships are scattered, so we will have to deal with one or two cruisers.

After the Battle of Tsushima, the Japanese put forward a shipbuilding plan. But because of the appearance of dreadnoughts, the plans were changed again and again. Therefore, the current warships are mainly warships during the Russo-Japanese War. Our cruisers are sailing at more than twenty knots, and the merchant ships are newly built high cruise ships. It can also reach 20 knots, while there are only a few Japanese warships that have sailed 18 knots and have guns larger than 20 mm."

Tian Shijie pointed to the photo of the warship borrowed from the German Navy and said: "The armored cruiser Kasuga, with a tonnage of 7,700 tons, has a maximum voyage of 20 knots; The armored cruiser Nisshin, tonnage of 7,700 tons, with a maximum voyage of 20 knots; Izumo armored cruiser, tonnage 9,700 tons, 22 knots of maximum sailing; The armored cruiser USS Azuma, with a tonnage of 9,400 tons and a maximum voyage of 20 knots; the Joban armored cruiser, tonnage of 9,900 tons, with a maximum voyage of 21 knots; the Yakumo armored cruiser, with a tonnage of 9,800 tons and a maximum voyage of 20 knots; Asama armored cruiser, tonnage 9,700 tons, 21 knots; the armored cruiser Iwate, tonnage of 9,700 tons, with a maximum voyage of 21 sections; the Kasaki protective cruiser, with a tonnage of 4,700 tons, with a maximum voyage of 23 knots; The Chitose armored cruiser has a tonnage of 4,700 tons and a maximum voyage of 23 knots.

A total of eight armored cruisers, two protective cruisers, and six protective cruisers with only fifteen millimeters of artillery should also be noted, the new high protective cruiser, with a tonnage of 3,400 tons and a maximum voyage of 20 knots; Otowa protection cruiser, tonnage of 3,000 tons, maximum voyage 21 sections; Akashi protective cruiser, tonnage of 2,700 tons, maximum voyage 20 knots; Tsushima protection cruiser, tonnage of 3,400 tons, maximum voyage 20 knots; Suma protection cruiser, tonnage of 2,700 tons, maximum voyage of 20 knots; Akitsu Prefecture protective cruiser with a tonnage of 3,100 tons and a maximum voyage of 20 knots. Although the guns of these six cruisers were small, if they were to get close to the merchant ships and inform the other Japanese ships by radio, the escort mission would also face failure. ”

As soon as he heard that the commander said that he had failed, many captains were unwilling in their eyes, and Ouyang Ge, who was the most eager to fight and wanted to be promoted, asked: "Sir, what about our cruisers, can't they sink these six enemy ships when they approach?" ”

"Of course, our cruisers will try to sink the enemy ships, but the Haiqi only has two 20 mm Armstrong breech guns at the end, which was finalized before the First Sino-Japanese Naval War, when the 20 mm naval guns did not fire much better, and it took three or four minutes or more to shoot a shell, while the Hairong was equipped with guns, but it was only fifteen mm, and there were only three. If the first goal of the Japanese ship is to damage or sink a merchant ship, then it is difficult for these five guns to guarantee that the merchant ship can be sunk before it is shot. Tian Shijie said, "And the Feihong cruiser, he is a new ship, if a warship wants to form combat strength, it is not enough to have more than half a year, and besides, it only has two fifteen-millimeter main guns, and it is difficult for gunners without strict training to hit the target." ”

After Lieutenant Colonel Tian Shijie finished speaking, he suddenly remembered the sunken Haitian, if that cruiser was there, not to mention encountering six small-tonnage protection cruisers, it was encountering other large-tonnage cruisers, and one could cover one and escape, but it's a pity! It's really a ship to use when it is hated. Looking at the thoughtful officers, he continued: "The wolf pack tactics practiced before were that the airship searched for the target, and then we judged the course of the enemy ship according to the intelligence of the airship, and set up an ambush in advance to attack the enemy ship. The situation has not changed much, and we still rely on aerial reconnaissance to determine targets, and then determine whether to set up an ambush based on the navigation and navigation of enemy ships.

In order to prevent the failure of the air reconnaissance in the field of climate change, it is also important to have a reconnaissance in front of the water, we will send several submarines to the periphery of the fleet for reconnaissance, while the other submarines are distributed in the flanks and rear of the fleet, sailing in an ambush formation, once encountering an enemy ship, then the fleet will turn back according to the established route, that is, the fleet will lead the enemy ship into an ambush circle, and we will shoot torpedoes at the periscope depth to sink the enemy ship. However, this is not an official war after all, and the safety of merchant ships is our first goal. During the period of stability, the war can be avoided, and if the two armies meet as a last resort, it will be a desperate battle. Especially if we encounter two or three or four enemy ships, and the Haiqi cannot withstand it, then we can only rely on it. ”

"Excuse me, sir, has our airship arrived?" When Hu Qinzhai heard that it was an old tactic, he suddenly felt a little more confident in his heart. Because he didn't study the Sailor Academy, his foundation was the weakest among all the captains.

"There are no airships this time, only seaplanes." Lieutenant Colonel Tian Shijie glanced at the political commissar as he spoke, "According to the information given by the General Staff, there will be six seaplanes involved in this operation, which are more flexible than airships, and as for the time spent in the air, it will be solved by rotation through guò." You haven't seen this thing, and I haven't seen it, but one thing is for sure, what airships can do, they can do, and they can do better! ”

The captains had seen seaplanes, but they were very primitive, and the General Staff did not allow shore-based planes to be transported to Germany for the training of submarine forces for the sake of secrecy. Feeling that everyone was starting to feel at ease about the plane, Tian Shijie said again: "Do you still have any questions?" ”

Everyone shook their heads when they heard this, and when he saw this, he said again: "Then I will first announce the wartime grouping." Thirty submarines in groups of five will be divided into groups of six. The first group was U-24 to U-28, led by Captain Wang Dingzhong; The second group was U-29 to U-33, led by Captain Zhao Zhen; The third group was U-34 to U-38, led by Captain Feng Tao; The fourth group is U-39 to U-43, with Captain 6 Tao as the leader, and the fifth group is U-44 to U-48, with Captain Ding Guozhong as the leader; The sixth group was U-49 to U-53, led by Captain Ouyang Ge. In addition, the U-26 in the first group and the U-4O in the fourth group had poor motivation performance, and the U-5O and U-51 in the sixth group were replaced, so that the sixth group did not carry out the forward reconnaissance mission. Do you understand? ”

"Understood, sir!" The captains replied loudly that the appointment of the team leader was based on the previous results, and that there was no objection to it, and they only wanted to start the war earlier, so that they could take out a few Japanese cruisers.

"Then let's train the teams according to the previous tactics. I would like to stress that although there is a group of forward reconnaissance, the wolf pack of 25 submarines is still very large, and you must pay attention to leaving enough space during training, and the listeners must be careful not to collide with your own people under water, as they did in Germany before. Lieutenant Colonel Tian Shijie remembered the accident of the previous training and carefully advised, "In addition, although the long-snouting torpedo has been shipped from China, there is only one torpedo per person, and you have to think about how to use it well during training. We have three ordinary torpedoes on our own ship, and the Germans will add a batch to us in the near future for training and combat, but remember that these torpedoes are not electric, and the bubbles after firing will expose the torpedo trajectory, so you must take this into account when shooting. Well, disband! (To be continued!)

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