Kowloon wins

Chapter 1125 The Elegy of the Swan ([-])

On August [-]th of the second year of Renhe, more than [-] troops from the [-] famous coalition forces around Kyoto, Japan, attacked Kyoto in an attempt to take advantage of the chaos and hijack the King of Japan, but they were stopped by the third brigade of the Qing Marine Corps, and the two sides fought fiercely. Day and night, when the outcome was uncertain, the First Brigade of the Cavalry Division of the Second Army rushed to Kyoto overnight and defeated the Japanese pirates in the city in one fell swoop. During the battle, most of Kyoto was burned and the Kyoto Imperial Palace was dilapidated. The Qing army suffered more than [-] casualties. Counting, more than [-] Japanese people were killed, and more than [-] were captured alive. The remnants of the enemy scattered and fled in all directions. A few days later, he was captured alive in his vassal.

On August 22, Taninghe, commander of the Second Army of the Qing Dynasty, led the Second Brigade of the Cavalry Division and the Infantry of the First Division to Kyoto. Squadron No.11 arrived in Edo Bay. With the cooperation of the officers and soldiers of the [-]nd Marine Corps Brigade, they successfully captured the forts in Edo, covered the [-]nd and [-]rd Divisions of the [-]nd Army to land in Edo, and swept across the densely populated areas of Edo. The remnants of the Tokugawa shogunate in the area wiped out more than [-] enemies in the First World War, and then divided into four groups to wipe out all the vassals around Edo. Chief Tokugawa Ieyasu and others were captured alive, and the rest of the big names surrendered to Beijing, and the emperor was delighted, and issued an edict to reward the three armies, and ordered Taninhe to escort all the Tokugawa family to Beijing, and go to the Meridian Gate to offer prisoners matters.

On August 23, the second year of Renhe, at noon, a large fleet was sailing with full sail on the ocean thirty nautical miles southeast of Miyako Island. Fleeing in panic means that this fleet is the United Fleet of the Five Western Nations that was defeated by the main force of the Bohai Fleet of the Qing Dynasty. After seven days of fleeing, after being chased and suppressed by the Bohai Fleet several times, the huge fleet originally had a total of 49 ships, but now only 31 ships were disembarked, among which the British warships were the majority, with [-] remaining, followed by the Spanish warships, with [-] remaining, the Netherlands and Portugal each had [-] ships, and the other [-] were French warships. The previous flagship "Brave" was already in the It was sunk during the pursuit of the Qing army, and Admiral Edward Vernon, the commander of the United Fleet, had to switch to the second-class battleship "Hood" and use this ship as the new flagship.

"report!"

The battle has turned into what it is today. Edward Vernon is in a bad mood. He has no intention of going to the deck to enjoy the scenery along the way. While contemplating the tactical arrangement for the decisive battle, a password sounded outside the door.

"Come in!"

Hearing the sound of the password, Edward Vernon's brows were even frowned. There is nothing else. In the past few days, the main force of the Bohai Fleet of the Qing Army has been chasing after him. Most of the warships were sunk by the chasing Qing fleet, and the reports he could get were all bad news. Therefore, whenever someone came to report something, Edward Vernon was always upset. Chaos.

"Report to the general, a high-speed cruiser of the Qing army is found ten nautical miles ahead, please tell the general clearly."

As soon as Edward Vernon finished speaking, an attendant officer walked in from the door immediately, and gave a standard military salute to Edward Vernon, and hurriedly reported.

"Huh? Take a look!"

Edward Vernon's heart twitched involuntarily when he heard that the Qing Army cruiser was spotted in front of him. For the past few days, the high-speed cruisers of the Qing Army's Bohai Fleet have been keeping a close eye on the United Fleet, but they all fell on the ground. The rear of the United Fleet, under surveillance, has never surpassed the front of the United Fleet. Now, there is actually a Qing cruiser blocking the way of our advance. This is obviously not strange. Edward Vernon can't help it A little unable to sit still, he suddenly got up and hurried to the front deck...

"Send an order to send a report to the commander immediately. Our ship has found the main force of the enemy fleet. There are 31 large and small warships in total. The position is: 126 east longitude, 70 north latitude. The speed of the enemy fleet is 24 nautical miles per hour."

Just when the United Fleet discovered the Qing cruiser "Shunfan", the captain of the Qing Army Zhang Dagao who stood at the bow of the "Shunfan" also discovered the United Fleet galloping at high speed. , Hastily issued a general order.

"Beep, beep..."

Following Zhang Dagao's order, the beeping sound of sending a message immediately rang out, and a message flew across space and was sent to the East China Sea Fleet of the Qing Army thirty miles away.

"Report to the general, the 'Shunfan' has sent an urgent call, and the main force of the enemy fleet has been found."

In the combat room of the flagship "Zhenwu" of the East China Sea Fleet, Admiral Wang Changgeng, the commander of the fleet, and a dozen generals at all levels are discussing strategies and tactics around a large chart, when a communications officer hurriedly walks in from outside. He came in, holding a telegram in his hand, and reported aloud.

"Oh?"

Hearing what the communication officer said, Wang Changgeng immediately raised his eyebrows, but he didn't make any other indications, he just let out a quiet voice, took the telegram casually, and quickly After a glance, he took a charcoal pencil and drew a few lines on the chart, and quickly delineated the location of the intended battlefield.

"Order: Immediately send a report to the capital and the Bohai Fleet: Our fleet has entered the predetermined battle zone and found the enemy's main force. It is expected to be with the enemy in about an hour. The position is: 126 east longitude, 72 north latitude to start a decisive battle, please Bohai Commander of the Fleet Wang will lead the main force of the fleet to join forces with our troops to annihilate the enemy fleet as soon as possible, this order, Commander of the East China Sea Fleet Wang Changgeng."

After delineating the predetermined battlefield, Wang Changgeng didn't dare to procrastinate a little, he casually threw the charcoal pencil on the table, clapped his hands, and issued the general order with a solemn expression.

"Yes!"

After the general order was issued, the communication officer who came to report the matter did not dare to be negligent, and hurriedly agreed loudly. After performing a military salute, he hurriedly exited the war room, and went to arrange to send a message without mentioning it... …

"Order: All ships move forward at full speed, ignore that Qing warship!"

At the bow of the "Hood", Edward Vernon held a binoculars and stared at the "Shunfan" on the distant sea for a long time, his heart was full of puzzlement and doubts. Over the past few days, the United Fleet has used the cover of night to change its course several times, trying to avoid the pursuit of the Qing Army's Bohai Fleet, but every time it is always quickly attached by the main force of the Qing Army Fleet, and it can't get rid of it no matter what, Edward · Vernon really couldn't figure out how the main force of the army fleet was connected with those high-speed cruisers swimming around the United Fleet, but he was clear about one thing, that is, once discovered by the high-speed cruisers of the Qing army, The main force fleet of the Qing army was not far away. At the time of this great defeat, Edward Vernon naturally did not want to fight a decisive battle with the main force of the Qing army, but when he saw him waving his hand, he had already made his bid. The order to escape.

Although the United Fleet has been severely damaged, there are still 31 warships in the end. The "Shunfan" is just a cruiser. Naturally, it dare not forcefully block the progress of the United Fleet, so it can only go to the side He gave way, but he never left, and followed four nautical miles to the left of the United Fleet, constantly reporting the location of the United Fleet to the main force of his own fleet.

"Qing Fleet, the Qing Fleet is found ten nautical miles ahead!"

The United Fleet did not attack the "Shunfan", which was following the advance, but blindly galloped forward with full sail in an attempt to throw off the main force of the Qing fleet chasing behind, but it never expected that the "Shunfan" was not It belongs to the Bohai Fleet, but is a reconnaissance ship sent by the East China Sea Fleet. In this way, it is inevitable to be blocked by the East China Sea Fleet. The main force of the East China Sea Fleet that was approaching at high speed in the sea, as the roar of the lookout post sounded from all the ships, the entire combined fleet suddenly fell into panic, nothing else, the size of the East China Sea Fleet blocked ahead was larger than that of the Bohai Fleet It must be big, there are as many as [-] large and medium warships in total, obviously not the Qing fleet that has been chasing behind the United Fleet a few days ago!

"Order: All ships center on the flagship and seize the downwind line immediately. Squadrons [-] to [-] are on the left, and Squadrons [-] to [-] are on the right. They are arranged in a line of battle to block the direction of the enemy fleet!"

With the constant reports from the "Shunfan", the main force of the Qing Army's East China Sea Fleet had grasped the direction of the United Fleet early on, and was already ready for battle. The lookout post of the fleet has also discovered the arrival of the United Fleet. For this, Wang Changgeng, who had been mentally prepared, would not have the slightest hesitation, and issued the general order decisively.

"Order: Each ship slows down with half sail, with this ship as the center, 'Rose', 'Hundred-eyed Giant'...and fifteen ships on the left, 'Brandy', 'King'...and ten The five ships are on the right, immediately line up, going east and west, ready to meet the enemy!"

Seeing that the huge fleet of the Qing army had seized the T-head and blocked the way for the United Fleet to go south, if he really tried to force his way in, he would only be looted by the powerful firepower of the Qing army. Edward Vernon dared not He acted so recklessly, but he gritted his teeth, put down the binoculars he was holding up, and issued a general order in a low voice.

Although the United Fleet is already a homeless dog, it is a well-trained division after all. After hearing the order, the tactical actions are still very fast. After a while, the formation has been adjusted. 31 warships lined up. The way of sailing in the word "Zig" approached the direction of the Qing army's battle line unhurriedly, obviously intending to fight in the same direction to offset the advantage of the Qing army's number of warships.

"Order: The No. [-], No. [-], No. [-] and No. [-] Squadrons will move forward, line up in the formation of wild geese, and prepare to meet the enemy!"

As soon as the United Fleet's tactical move came out, Wang Changgeng immediately guessed the opponent's intentions, and he didn't dare to take it lightly, but when he saw him raise his hand, he gave the order to change formation...

(End of this chapter)