I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 425 Just playing around

Times were difficult, and the Qing Empire, the Russian Empire, and Japan were all struggling desperately, hoping to gain greater living space.

The Qing Empire could at least choose a side in this war.

Goryeo had no choice but to go with the flow and let its fate be determined by the Russian Empire or Japan.

The Koreans chose the Russian Empire.

Before the Sino-Japanese War, Goryeo was a vassal state of the Qing Empire. Datou District Assistant, whose power in Goryeo was comparable to that of the Supreme Emperor.

After the Sino-Japanese War, the relationship between the Russian Empire and Korea gradually became closer. Although Korea was in a subordinate position, its security was guaranteed, and the lives of the Korean people were getting better day by day.

After Japan occupied Goryeo, its crazy plundering of Goryeo reached its peak in the spring of this year.

This spring, famine broke out in Japan, and the situation in Goryeo was even more serious. Even the grain crops were snatched away by the Japanese. Tragedies of cannibalism by Yi Zi were repeated in various parts of Goryeo.

The Korean people have long been eager to see the "Master Wang".

"Shut up!"

Vasily and Yankov looked at each other and made a decision at the same time.

"You really can't do it without our help - did the Grand Duke make a mistake? Is it true that our Sa Shi division is mainly composed of Koreans?"

To deal with the navy, the Siberian fleet must appear.

So Bilov was ridiculed wildly by Colin.

Although Jizhou is not far from the coastline, it can still be regarded as an inland city and cannot receive naval gun support from the combined fleet.

Duanchuan is a port, and the naval guns of the combined fleet can provide fire support for the army. Bilov organized his troops and launched three consecutive attacks on Duanchuan, but failed to capture Duanchuan.

The all-heavy artillery battleship "Yuryev" is undergoing final outfitting and will definitely be ready for service before the end of the year.

In order to ensure that the naming of "Trophy" complies with the naming principles of the Siberian Fleet, the Amur Governorate specially renamed a small river next to Khabarovsk as the "Trophy" river.

The "Romanov" has also been launched, and workers are working hard day and night to catch up with the progress of the "Yuryev".

The commander of the Liujing Division, Bilov, was very excited. Before the Japanese troops around Jizhou were cleared, Bilov couldn't wait to lead the Liujing Division south.

The number of light cruisers has also doubled, and the six newly added ships are: elephant, shark, crocodile, eagle, falcon, and hound.

Colin laughed and beat the drowned dog.

So Ryugyongshi encountered a setback in Danchuan.

Another armored cruiser was commissioned this month, increasing the number of armored cruisers in the Siberian Fleet to four, with the latter two being named "Ural" and "Don" respectively.

The battleships of the Siberian Fleet have been running in for several months and are basically combat-effective.

The cruiser "Kasuga" captured in the Battle of Vladivostok has been repaired, renamed "Trophy", and joined the Siberian Fleet.

"Those who fail have no right to speak!"

Bilov was furious and wanted to have a fight with Colin.

Since the Sa Division suffered heavy casualties when they recaptured Jizhou, the forward of the Goryeo Russian army was replaced by the Ryugyong Division after the recapture of Jizhou.

Submarines are a powerful weapon against the combined fleet. As long as submarines appear in Danchuan, the warships of the combined fleet will have no choice but to flee.

The Vladivostok Shipyard has started construction of another all-heavy artillery battleship.

This battleship was built for the Americans.

After the delivery of the armored cruiser built by the Vladivostok Shipyard for the United States, it received strong praise from the U.S. Navy, and subsequent shipbuilding plans were logical.

This is actually a hedging bet by the United States.

Schiff raised funds for Japan before the Russo-Japanese War broke out, and relations between the Russian Empire and the United States were tense.

Schiff's personal behavior has nothing to do with the US government. The US government, like the Qing Empire, has no position in this war.

This is just the official statement of the US government.

The actual position is fully illustrated by Schiff's fundraising.

This is not a good time for the United States either.

After sending a signal of mediation between the Russian Empire and Japan, John Hay died suddenly at his summer home in Newberry, New Hampshire, on July 7, casting a pall over the peace talks between the Russian Empire and Japan.

Francis Loomis succeeded him as Secretary of State.

Two weeks later, Roosevelt formally appointed Elihu Root as Secretary of State, and negotiations between the Russian Empire and Japan finally got on track.

As a show of support for the Russian Empire, the United States added a fully heavy artillery battleship.

George takes orders when he has them, and it doesn't matter if the dock is occupied. The number of submarines in the Siberian fleet has increased to 16.

After the Battle of Vladivostok, technicians made improvements to the submarine, mainly in terms of bomb load and range.

Among the 16 submarines, 8 are new submarines with improved bomb load and range, which are enough to blockade Nagasaki.

After receiving George's order, Peter led his army to leave the harbor and fight the combined fleet again.

There are 2 battleships, 5 armored cruisers, and 12 light cruisers. As long as he does not encounter the main force of the combined fleet, Peter is confident that he can win.

Even if he encounters the main force of the combined fleet, Peter will have the confidence to escape unscathed by virtue of his high speed. On July 7, Peter led the main force of the Siberian fleet to Ruichuan.

Dongxiang is not stupid. The combined fleet warships that were showing off their power in Ruichuan a few days ago have all evacuated, and Peter has missed them.

Peter was not disappointed, informed the Korean Russian army of the situation, and led the Siberian fleet to continue southward.

In addition to 19 surface combatants, the fleet led by Peter also includes 6 submarines, 2 supply ships, 1 hospital ship, and a seaplane carrier.

This seaplane carrier was modified from a cargo ship and can carry four seaplanes. When releasing and recovering the seaplanes, a crane must be used first to place the seaplanes on the sea so that the seaplanes can take off and land smoothly.

The main function of the seaplane is still for reconnaissance. Among the six crew members, in addition to the pilot, co-pilot and navigator, the remaining three are observers, each with a high-power telescope.

If you replace the high-powered telescope with a heavy machine gun, the seaplane can instantly transform into a fighter jet or bomber.

There were seaplanes out for reconnaissance, but the Siberian fleet was unhurried and headed south from Ruichuan. The submarines didn't even dive, but swaggered through the streets.

In Vladivostok, Dongxiang suffered a big loss from the submarine.

Dongxiang did not want to fight the Siberian fleet before there was an effective way to deal with submarines.

Every time he passed a port, Peter would show off his power and fire a few cannons whether there was a fort or not, lest the Japanese would not know that the Siberian fleet was heading south.

Dongxiang must know it. Dongxiang knew it as soon as the Siberian fleet arrived in Ruichuan.

But then, the Siberian Fleet became a black hole, constantly swallowing the Combined Fleet reconnaissance ships.

The combined fleet has no aircraft and can only rely on faster destroyers or torpedo boats for reconnaissance.

The so-called "faster speed" of the combined fleet is only relative to the battleships.

For the light cruisers of the Siberian Fleet, which had a maximum speed of 27 knots, the destroyers of the Combined Fleet were like ox carts, excruciatingly slow.

The first victim of the combined fleet was the destroyer "Falcon".

The displacement of the "Falcon" destroyer is only a pitiful 280 tons. With such a small tonnage, once it encounters bad sea conditions, it does not need the Siberian Fleet to take action, and it may be knocked over by the waves.

On July 7, the destroyer "Falcon" discovered the Siberian Fleet 26 nautical miles south of Ruichuan.

After discovering the Siberian Fleet, the destroyer "Falcon" not only failed to escape in time, but gradually approached, hoping to confirm how many warships the Siberian Fleet dispatched in total.

To the surprise of the captain of the destroyer Hayabusa, Sakaguchi Nagaken, the Siberian Fleet did not seem to notice the existence of the destroyer Hayabusa, allowing the destroyer Hayabusa to send a telegram reporting the location of the Siberian Fleet.

"After you go back, you must pay homage to Amaterasu and thank Amaterasu for his blessing——"

Sakaguchi Nagaken completed his mission and was about to order a return trip when a light cruiser suddenly rushed toward the destroyer "Falcon" at high speed.

It's not that Peter didn't discover the destroyer "Falcon".

Instead, the destroyer "Falcon" was left to the cruiser "Falcon" of the Siberian Fleet to deal with it.

Ozdoev, the captain of the cruiser "Falcon", was furious, "How on earth do you deserve this name?"

"Don't fire, kill it!"

Ozdoyev was diligent and frugal in managing his family, and he saved everything he could.

For a 280-ton destroyer, the 203 main gun of a light cruiser is only one shot.

Nagaguchi Sakaguchi was so distraught that he commanded the warship to flee crazily.

The cruiser "Falcon" was at full power and passed by the destroyer "Falcon" at a high speed of 27 knots.

The battleship weighed nearly 6000 tons, and the waves stirred up threw the destroyer "Falcon" into the air, and then hit the bottom of the valley hard.

Although warships are stronger than civilian ships, they are not much stronger.

A depressing sound of steel friction resounded through the bridge of the destroyer "Falcon".

Sakaguchi Nagaken was so frightened that he didn't even dare to breathe.

Fortunately, the warship was not damaged.

Before Sakaguchi Nagaken could breathe a sigh of relief, the cruiser "Falcon" left and returned.

"Fire! Fire!"

Sakaguchi Nagaken was furious. This is so disrespectful to his opponent. Where is the military demeanor?
Ozdoyev was born into a noble family and was very graceful when treating noble girls.

When dealing with the Japanese, Ozdoev's mood was similar to that of a cat playing with a mouse.

Before the sailors of the destroyer "Falcon" had time to aim their guns at the cruiser "Falcon", the warship was once again thrown into the air by the waves. Two sailors running on the deck were caught off guard and fell into the sea.

When a ship is sailing at high speed, if a sailor falls into the sea, he will be sucked into the bottom of the ship and there will be no chance to escape.

Sakaguchi Nagaken did not stop the boat to save people. He suddenly realized a very important problem.

The gunpowder used by the Japanese Combined Fleet is Shimose gunpowder. This gunpowder is extremely sensitive. Even if the shell hits a small rope, it will cause an explosion.

Moreover, after the explosion, it will not only form shock waves and shell fragments like the explosion of ordinary black powder shells, but also be accompanied by a fire with a core temperature of thousands of degrees. It is said that steel can be ignited.

Another characteristic of Shimase gunpowder is that it is extremely unstable and may explode if left unmoved.

Before he could finish his thought, Sakaguchi Nagaken flew up.

(End of this chapter)