"Your Excellency General, I'm afraid the Turquoise has sunk." In the conference room of the Petro Pavlov, Essen said with a hint of sadness.

"Expected, but fortunately, our other ships in the western Pacific have returned." Looking out the window at the huge ships, Makanov said calmly.

"So what do we do next? The convergence of the Beiyang Fleet and the Foreign Ocean Fleet has become an irreversible trend, because the Japanese Sea Fleet led by the Prince cannot even defend itself, and our current fleet is still not enough to fight the Beiyang Fleet, let alone the opponent's foreign fleet. Essen said impatiently.

"I have to admit that the timing chosen by General Xu is very good, the Far East Fleet has been fighting for a month, and the fleet is divided into three parts, in this case, we are simply powerless to fight against the Beiyang Naval Division, we can only retreat first to correct, and this just gives the Beiyang Fleet a chance to converge with the Foreign Fleet, in this case, as long as the other side is not dispersed, we have no chance to win the opponent, in this case, if we hold on, the Beiyang Fleet is already invincible." Makanov said with a little admiration.

"Your Excellency, what we need is the next battle plan." Essen said with a slight dissatisfaction.

"We must understand the other party's thoughts before we can speculate on the other party's next plan, and then formulate our combat ideas, young man, you are very good, but you are still too impatient." Makanov said with a smile, teaching his students like a teacher.

"In this way, the other side has safely completed the assembly of the fleet, and has gained the initiative, and we have no choice but to retreat. However, fortunately, the seaports east of Tokyo have been almost destroyed by us, so the supply point of the Beiyang Fleet is as far as Tokyo Bay, and there is still a considerable distance from Tokyo Bay to Muroran Port. This is a very important geographical advantage for us, so now. Tell me, Essen, what would you do if you were Xu Jie? Makanov asked.

"Then I will order the Beiyang Fleet to arrive at Muroran Harbor, and then cover the minelaying ships for blockade operations, and if the Russian Navy comes out to meet the enemy, then I will choose a decisive battle." Essen said without hesitation.

"It makes sense, the tactics are simple, but they're tricky. We can't fight a decisive battle with each other, even if all our warships are concentrated, they are definitely not the opponent of the two fleets of the Qing State, not to mention that we can't give up the defense of the Sea of Japan, although some time ago the two Japanese ships were blocked at sea. But it was not hit hard. If they don't have enough strength to subdue their opponents, they will become a nightmare for the Empire. Makanov nodded with satisfaction.

"So where is our way out? We can't let Beiyang lock us in the harbor, otherwise. Not only will we not be able to threaten the sea transportation lines in the North Ocean and thus support the army operations on the mainland, but we will even lose the sea supply lines in the Sea of Japan, which will have a fatal impact on the Russian army, which is at war with the Japanese army. Essen said with some trepidation, this result is too terrible, enough to send all the officers of the Far Eastern Fleet to court-martial! What's even more terrifying. This result is something he can't stop!

"In a short period of time, we can't solve this problem. What we can do is to interfere with the enemy's mine-laying operations under the cover of shore artillery and keep the enemy's minefields as far away from us as possible. Makanov said. As time passes, the other side will also get tired, and they will temporarily withdraw the fleet for a while, leaving only the alert fleet. For example, the Guiyuan class commanded by General Lin Yongsheng is very fast, which is very suitable for reconnaissance missions. ”

"And then we can use this time to open the mine array gap and then expel the attacking fleet? Distance is fair to anyone, and the other party cannot be cruising the sea all the time. Essen's eyes lit up.

"This is not enough, the attack fleet does not mean that it will be successful after sailing, even if the Prince, Rurik and Russia are dispatched together, the other side can still concentrate 3 fleets to encircle, after a bloody battle, I am afraid that our attack fleet will be forced to return due to damage. Moreover, there is too much distance from Muroran Port to Tokyo for the other side to slowly search for us and then arrange for an interception. Makanov shook his head and said.

"Remember, if the other side has a Guiyuan-class ship that can keep up with you, then the attack fleet you lead will have a sword of Damocles hanging over its head at any time! Once the attacking fleet is tracked, it means that it is destroyed by the opposing superior fleet. Makanov said word for word.

"So we have to cut off the other side's Guiyuan-class cruisers?" Essen asked.

"Not only to return to the distant level, we also have to cause some damage to the other party's installation and patrol, at least let them repair Lushun and Weihai. Because their speed will still cause a lot of trouble for your raiding fleet. As for the three Dante-class battleships, we don't have the power to hit them hard, and their slightly slower speed won't be too much of a problem. Makanov said.

"So you're going to fight with the main fleet and the Beiyang Fleet?" Essen asked.

"The task of the three slow battleships of the Far Eastern Fleet is to inflict as much damage as possible on the opposing side's cruisers." Makanov said.

"So how do you retreat? Our battleships are slower than the other side, and once they are entangled, it will be difficult to get out at all, so in order to provide a chance for the three attack ships, is our loss too great? Essen said with a gloomy face.

"If in the open sea, after a long engagement, our slow battleships will naturally be lost, but if we are closer to the port, then we still have a chance to withdraw to the port, in addition, we have some torpedo boats, not counting on these trash fish to sink the opponent's capital ship, but can be used for delay. When the opposing fleet withdraws to the mainland for refurbishment and replenishment, Ethiopia, your fleet can go to the East China Sea to show its skills. Makanov said.

"You mean to use the engagement to force the opponent back to Lushun and Weihai? And then win a sortie for the broken fleet? But what will we do if the Beiyang Fleet completes its rearmament? The opponent's overwhelming navy will eventually expel or destroy my fleet. Essen asked.

"Son, it's not up to us to decide then. In fact, the current Russia is not suitable for a war with Beiyang, not counting the reinforcements from the south to Beiyang, the northeast army that faded out of Beiyang is enough to suppress our tens of thousands of army forces on the mainland. If Japan had not attacked, we might have been able to fight, but now our army is stretched thin. The naval forces were forced to split into two forces. All we can do is do our best to obey the destiny of God. If the main warships of the Far East Fleet are still capable of providing you with another chance to break diplomatic relations, I will naturally do my best, and if we do not have the ability, we will have to retreat to the next best thing, reorganize the defense of the Kamatsu Strait during the time of the Beiyang retreat, and at least ensure that the Japanese army cannot land in Hokkaido. Makanov said with a melancholy face.

"But once we get out of Muroran Bay, we can't afford to fight the Beiyang Fleet head-on." Essen said.

"If the Beiyang Fleet does its best, we naturally can't, but the Beiyang doesn't want to see the reunification of Japan, at least not now, so they won't do their best." Although Makanov is a soldier, he still knows a lot about the politics of the Far East, and he still understands the so-called "ally" relationship between Beiyang and Japan!

"Do you have any views on the future development of the war?" Ethan asked cautiously.

"The Russian Empire may not only lose its benefits in this war, but may even lose a large amount of land, and although Russia is strong, it is very weak to be able to reach the Far East. The long geographical space is enough to exhaust the strength of Russia, and Beiyang is not without the strength to defeat our garrison on the mainland, they are waiting, as long as they can stabilize the domestic situation, then the next step will be to cross the Amur River (called Heilongjiang in China) to attack Khabarovsk and even Vladivostok! Since the empire took Hokkaido and other Japanese territories, it has invested less in the Far East. I doubt that the Far Eastern Army will be able to withstand the offensive of the superior army in the North Ocean. Speaking of this, Makanov's face was completely gloomy.

"The Russian Empire has millions of troops, numerous shipyards, our financial revenues are several times that of the North Seas, and we will not lose militarily to any country." Essen said with some despair.

"But we will lose to a people who aspire to rise, and we will lose to distant geographical spaces. Russia has no other country in the world that can be called a friend except France, and this only friend is only to use Russia against Germany. They want us to focus on Europe rather than the Far East, so they won't fully support us either. Strategically, we have failed. After Makanov finished speaking, he looked out the window at the Russian fleet sailing in the night, this fleet is so mighty now, but it is difficult to say what it will be like after this war is fought!

In this way, the Russian fleet withdrew from the front before the arrival of the Beiyang Fleet, and after the convergence of the main fleet and the two attack ships, it withdrew in the direction of Muroran Port, while the Beiyang Fleet and the Foreign Fleet also successfully converged outside the Gulf of Tonkin. Yang Yonglin and the others did not rush to Muroran Port, they needed to wait for the arrival of minesweepers and minelayers before starting the blockade operation. The Japanese Sea Fleet of the Russian Far East Fleet, which has been cruising in the Sea of Japan, also chose to evacuate, the most powerful of which the warship Prince chose to leave the formation and cross the Karutsu Strait to join the main force, while the other two warships were honestly escorting the passing fleets in the Sea of Japan, although the Japanese Navy did not know the departure of the Prince, but with the arrival of the Beiyang Fleet, the Japanese Navy, which had been blocked at the base, finally decided to go out again to breathe. (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation and monthly passes, and your support is my biggest motivation. )

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