Four days later, when the Spanish fleet reunited in the port of Santiago, the logistics staff in the port began to be busy, they needed to maintain and repair the battleship, need to replace damaged parts and guns, need to deal with scale in the boilers and dust in the flue, need to replenish ammunition, food and all kinds of water. While the port of Santiago was in full swing, the top brass of the Spanish fleet was also discussing the next battle plan in a small building not far from the port. And after a few days of thinking and communication, Yang Yonglin's plan has basically taken shape!

"The premise of the whole plan is a successful strategic deception! We all know that there are many warships in the shipyards of each country that have been outfitted with similar warships, and at the same time, we also hope that the Spanish government can negotiate loans with major banks, and the result does not matter, but what we need is momentum. Yang Yonglin said with a smile.

"And then? Is this the rhetoric and the lie we need? I'm afraid it won't last long. Sevela said after a moment of contemplation.

"We don't intend to keep this scam going, we just need to keep it going for a few months, and that's enough pressure for the U.S. Navy to take action, because the enemy doesn't know what we do. What we need is for the American fleet to come to the door after engaging us, without being fully prepared. Yang Yonglin did not deny it.

"Then what if the American fleet doesn't hit us?" Fisher asked.

"Then we really can't help it. If we continue to wear it down for a long time, we will definitely lose. This is our only chance. So we had to play this scene realistically enough, more real than real! Yang Yonglin said helplessly.

"And then? If the Americans were deceived. What do we need to do with the rest? To be honest, I am not optimistic about the sea trials and protection of Sturgeon-class torpedo boats, these things do little in a normal fleet engagement, and the American fleet, no matter how anxious, will not easily come outside the port of San Diego. Jericho said with some confusion.

"So the U.S. fleet will definitely try to lure us into taking the initiative to fight a decisive battle. For example, escorting an army transport fleet or something. And we have no choice, even if there is a 90% probability that the Americans are escorting a bunch of empty ships, we must act. That's when the cheap but ferocious battleships of the Americans came into play. Yang Yonglin said.

"And then? In this state of war, it is clear that we are at a loss. After the First World War, I am afraid that we will suffer heavy losses. Sai Vera interjected, at this time he couldn't understand what Yang Yonglin meant.

"The intention of the Americans must have been to inflict heavy damage on our fleet with the help of this naval battle. Then consider traveling to San Diego under the right circumstances to fix the problem once and for all, of course. It is not clear whether it will be a direct destruction or a mine-laying blockade. But one thing is for sure, they will find a way to attack Santiago. Thoroughly solve the problem of sea power. Yang Yonglin analyzed.

"There is nothing wrong with this strategy, and we have no chance to take advantage of it. Even if we have sufficient supplies, it will be difficult for us to completely repair the damaged warship. If we wait for another batch of auxiliary cruisers, we may indeed be driven out of the Caribbean. Sevela said a little depressedly, until now, not only did he not know, but even felt that Yang Yonglin was giving ideas to the Americans!

"It doesn't matter if the strategy itself is right or wrong. It's all about how you use it and whether it's appropriate for the situation. The Americans if they cover army transport ships as bait. The Spanish navy was indeed forced to meet the attack, but it was not necessarily necessary to fight the other side to the death. Yang Yonglin began to explain in detail. …,

"You mean that if we find that the situation has changed, we can choose to retreat? The other side is not as fast as us. We are leaving, and the main forces of the American fleet simply cannot keep up. Sippel said.

"Let's go? I'm afraid it won't work. In the event of an engagement, the American fleet will certainly find a way to entangle us so that we cannot retreat easily, and I don't want to go like this yet. Yang Yonglin sneered.

"If we go, this war will drag on, and sooner or later the time that our strategic deception has bought will be consumed. Our aim is to inflict heavy damage on the American fleet. However, in this engagement, it was clear that we would not be able to inflict heavy damage on our opponents in the face of the American fleet, which had the advantage of firepower. So our aim is to massively consume each other's regular cruisers! And for battleships, it was to be put in a secondary position. After Yang Yonglin finished speaking, he continued: "This is not the end, we have to carry out the next step of strategic deception in the war, we need to make the Americans feel that our fleet has been severely damaged, or that the firepower has been greatly reduced, so that they can rest assured that they will boldly attack Santiago!" ”

"This is easy to do, although our turret guns are good in terms of protection and firepower, but they are prone to jamming, etc., if we stop using a certain turret in the war, it is possible to make the other side misjudge, it is really not good, we can even fill some cabins with water, so that the battleship has a slight tilt. (2 battleships have water injection tests, and there are also reverse water injections to maintain balance after thunder.) Let the other side think that we have been thundered. Scheer thought for a moment and said.

"It's even more realistic to add a few smoke canisters while retreating, how do I feel like I'm acting?" Jericho said with a smile.

"We're acting, we're going to make the Americans think that our fleet has been battered, and then feel free to come to San Diego for a decisive battle! And only then will those 15 torpedo boats of ours have a chance to play a role and, in the right case, inflict heavy damage on the opponent! As long as the battleship formation of the US Navy is damaged, the Americans will not be able to make any big waves in this war. Then the rest of the problems are left to the diplomats to solve. Yang Yonglin said.

"That's a good idea, but the key problem is that even if we focus on attacking the other side's cruisers and auxiliary fleets, the results may still be very unfavorable. Even if the Americans did not replenish a large number of combat ships because of time constraints, the American fleet would still have a sufficient number of warships outside the port of San Diego, and the American battleships themselves would have a lot of rapid-fire guns, which would be a challenge for torpedo boats. "Severa doesn't have a lot of faith in these little things.

"So outside the port of San Diego, we still have to engage in an artillery battle with the American fleet. Only by dragging the battle into the endgame will those daggers we have prepared be of maximum use. And with the installation of new mine-strike ships, our attack methods must also change. After Yang Yonglin finished speaking, he spread a schematic diagram on the conference table.

"In the past, the pattern of individual lightning strikes must be changed, and I propose to divide the torpedo boat formation into three teams, and attack in groups of five boats, and then after entering the attack distance, the fuselage turns, and then a fan of the torpedoes from the sidechord salvo is fired to completely block the opponent's route, so as to improve the hit rate. This is only a method of group cooperation, and another method is to approach three attack groups from 3 different directions and launch a centripetal attack on the opponent's capital ship. In this case, the hit rate will be higher. Most of the American battleships have very low stems, less reserve buoyancy, and are more overweight, so as long as one hit can be fatal to these battleships with low reserve buoyancy. Yang Yonglin gestured as he spoke, trying to let everyone understand his intentions.

"I didn't expect that we would ultimately pin our victory in the war on these small boats." After Yang Yonglin explained, Sai Vera smiled bitterly. At this time, he had to admire Xu Jie's foresight when he provided these mine-striking ships to the Spaniards, the navy is a system, any shortcoming will lead to failure, and a reasonable fleet allocation will bring unexpected benefits to the fleet, for example, now, when the capital ship damages the opponent, these torpedo boats will become the last straw that crushes the US Navy! Sevela knew very well that once the battlefleet of the US Navy was severely damaged, then the US Navy would have no hope in this war! …,

The cruisers and auxiliary ships were able to exert their firepower under the support of the battleship, but if the pillar was gone, the fragile hull and low speed made the ships immediately vulnerable. Even if the U.S. Navy can replenish it, in the face of regular capital ships, these warships are still far from enough! Therefore, Yang Yonglin planned to directly target the final target of the 4 battleships of the US Navy!

"I think this plan is okay, but how does the specific grouping of the fleet work?" Severa said.

"Use the captured auxiliary cruiser Taifeng to replenish the sunken battleships, and the rest will be in the original formation, General Cervila, if you can, I hope you can contain the four battleships of the United States Navy, and I will command the remaining fleet to destroy those auxiliary warships and cruisers." Yang Yonglin thought for a while and said.

"I agree with this plan in principle, but there are some details that need to be finalized." Sai Villa is actually somewhat dissatisfied with Yang Yonglin's behavior of acting as a substitute for the cook, but at this critical moment that determines the outcome of the war, he is not easy to object, after all, Yang Yonglin's talent in many battles has convinced Sai Villa. Moreover, Sevela thought that he would not be able to lead 6 uneven warships to win against the opponent's overwhelmingly numerically superior fleet.

"So when are we going to act?" Sippel asked.

"Don't be in a hurry, we don't take the initiative to aggravate the situation until the fleet completes the most advanced preparations, so don't start a diplomatic strategic deception first. Unless the Americans strike first, we must set the start of the battle at least 1 month later! Yang Yonglin said after pondering for a moment.

"One month of preparation time doesn't seem to be a problem, the U.S. Navy is also a new defeat, and their warships are more damaged than ours. Now that the strategy has been finalized, let's split up and prepare, and in a month's time, we will stage a major battle with the American fleet in the Caribbean that is comparable to the Battle of Trafalgar! And you will be witnesses and participants in this historic battle! Sevela said excitedly!

Thanks to the book friend Kongchen for the reward, in other words, the subscription of new chapters every day is less than 300. This makes the author embarrassed~~ It's all over the holidays——! (Your support is my biggest motivation.) )