The Yellow Sea has high winds and rough waves in January, and experienced fishermen know that this time is very unfavorable for fishing.
The sharp bow split through the rapid waves, causing spray flowers to appear on both sides of the ship. The warships of the Italian task force, which the combined fleet had never forgotten, were rushing through the waves on the Yellow Sea.
On the flagship Turin, Lieutenant General Alvaro, who was the commander of the fleet dispatched this time, looked at the poor sea conditions on the water, then looked at the telegram in his hand, and turned back to the captain, Colonel Leifer, and asked.
"The captain of the Eagle, Major Pez, sent me another telegram. An unidentified civilian ship was spotted ahead. Why are there so many civilian ships in this area?"
The Eagle mentioned by Lieutenant General Alvaro is the most cutting-edge reconnaissance cruiser of the Italian Navy. Its 12 high-speed coal-fired boilers can provide it with power of up to 17,000 horsepower, supporting this 4,500-ton warship and running at 24.3 knots.
With its high speed, it strives to win the title of the fastest warship in the world.
Moreover, the Eagle not only runs fast, it is equipped with four 152mm main guns and eight 120mm secondary guns, which are enough to solve a lot of troubles. It can be said to be the best among reconnaissance cruisers.
Of course, most of the warships built by Italy are for the purpose of competing with France for rights and interests in the Mediterranean. In addition, many people believe that Japan is just a test stone for testing the achievements of Italian warships.
Facing the Vice Admiral, Leifer, who was the captain of the Turin and the commander of the temporary battleship formation, immediately said with a smile.
"Lieutenant General, it may have a lot to do with our proximity to the war zone, otherwise there wouldn't be so many uninvited guests."
"Yes, there are too many uninvited guests. Especially when there are uninvited guests, it is even more boring."
After speaking, Vice Admiral Alvaro looked behind the fleet. There were several small black dots following them closely in the distance.
Needless to say, these are warships from Britain, France, the United States and other countries. These annoying guys have been following them since they set off from Shanghai.
Fortunately, they do not have their own secret weapons, otherwise the fleet's position would be exposed at any time.
Lieutenant General Alvaro is well aware of the situation of his fleet. Because his country participated in the Sino-Japanese War regardless of advice, the United Kingdom and the United States were very dissatisfied. Needless to say, it had a relationship with France, so there was an opportunity to stab it.
, definitely not to be missed.
However, these three countries have the largest power in the Far East, so Lieutenant General Alvaro always feels like he is being watched on the sea. But fortunately, it is just surveillance. The main force of the British Far East Fleet is still in Hong Kong, and the French Far East Fleet is also in Hong Kong.
Saigon didn't move, otherwise we don't know what trouble would have happened.
"Order to increase the speed of all ships by 2 knots to a speed of 14 knots."
Lieutenant General Alvaro planned to change the speed and play with the tail behind.
As for why it is only increased by 2 knots, it is because the transport fleet can only reach this speed. As for whether increasing the speed is useful, the experienced Lieutenant General Alvaro can only tell you, young man, you are too young.
Sure enough, as the formation increased its speed, the little tail behind immediately caused a stir. In order not to lose track of the target, they also immediately increased their speed. Of course, just increasing the speed was not enough, and necessary small actions were also required.
As a member of the Little Tail, the captain of the cruiser USS Bauhinia, Captain Wigginton, immediately issued an order. "Have the gunboat Stubborn immediately inform the Skylark behind us of the news that the Italian formation has increased its speed by two knots."
"As you command, Captain."
Following the operation of some semaphores, the Stubborn Stone made a sharp turn and rushed to the rear.
The Skylark is a communications ship, and its high-flying Union Jack flag declares its identity. However, if you can observe closely, you will find that these people wearing British military uniforms are all yellow people, and they are relatively short.
Yes, the naval officers and soldiers on the Skylark do not belong to the British Empire. It can even be said that the real Skylark is still in South America. This is the Sakura notification ship owned by Japan. It is also the fastest ship currently in Japan.
Reaching a speed of 21.4 knots.
Because it is of the same class as the Skylark, it is pretended to be the Skylark as a weapon for the combined fleet to control the Italian formation. Of course, this is only convenient for the British, otherwise the Japanese would not dare to do it even if they had not the courage to do so.
And in order to avoid being spotted, the fake Skylark was dragged at the end. This made it look like they were following the Italian formation and the Skylark was following them.
In addition, in order to ensure that the Sakura would not be accidentally captured by the enemy and cause trouble to the British Empire, several bombs were prepared on the ship. Of course, the officers and soldiers on the Sakura were also carefully selected.
After receiving the information conveyed by the Obstinate Stone, the counterfeit Skylark immediately set off at full speed, bypassing the Italian formation and heading towards Nampo.
Incheon, located on the Korean Peninsula, is one of the three major trading ports in the Kingdom of Korea, as famous as Nampo and Busan. As the port closest to the Shandong Peninsula, Incheon Port was also chosen by Ito Yuhyung to become the temporary anchorage of the combined fleet.
When the Skylark brought the news that the Italian fleet had increased its speed by 2 knots, on the flagship Yamashiro, several heads gathered around a chart and watched Captain Dewa perform operations on the chart.
As the chief of staff of the combined fleet, Colonel Shigeto Dewa did a very good job in drawing. He not only marked the position of the Italian fleet that Sakura had just reported before departure, but also marked the position of the Italian fleet at 12 knots and 14 knots based on the time Sakura arrived.
, indicating the current location of the Italian fleet.
After Colonel Dewa marked the map, Lieutenant General Ito Yuhiro, the commander, looked at the chart for a while before speaking. "Currently, it seems that the Italians have passed through the sea area of Haizhou Bay, and are currently 100 meters away from Weihai."
Weihaiwei is still 210-240 nautical miles away, and it will take at least 24 hours. We are only 98 nautical miles away from Weihaiwei, and it only takes about eight hours."
Don't look at Lieutenant General Ito Yuhiro talking about the distance between the two sides. He is calculating the time when the two sides will encounter. In other words, he is choosing which time for the two sides to encounter, which is most beneficial to his own side.
In fact, the position of the Italian fleet is easy to calculate, because the destination is clear, Weihaiwei. The departure point is also clearly Shanghai. There are only a few routes from Shanghai to Weihaiwei, and there are also trailing warships reporting their positions in the name of observation.
.
Therefore, the whereabouts of the Italian fleet cannot be hidden, and everyone knows this.
Of course you know, but everyone recognizes the strength of the invading Italian fleet. Otherwise Ito Yuhiro wouldn't have to carefully calculate the time in order to improve his winning rate.
After thinking for a while, Ito Yuhiro took out a pencil and drew a straight line from Inchon to coincide with the possible sailing route of the Italian fleet.
"Order all officers and soldiers to pay attention and seize the time to prepare for rest and preparation. We will set off in ten hours. Prepare to fight from 9 am to 14 pm tomorrow."
According to the identification of the location on the chart, this is the sea outside Jiaozhou Bay. Ito Yuhiro planned to meet up with the Italian fleet in the sea outside Jiaozhou Bay to compete here.
