Although it was only 3 pm, the sky was gloomy, as if at dusk, and the faint black smoke emitted from the chimney of the warship quickly dissolved into the dark sky. There were dense rain lines in the sky, and the visibility on the sea surface was not high. The strong wind brought the waves and kept hitting the warships anchored in the port. Even the huge hull of the flagship Mikasa, the flagship of the United Fleet, still floated up and down with the waves. In the face of the powerful power of nature, the representative of human technology in this era could only be like a lonely leaf floating on the sea surface.

However, on the deck of the Mikasa, the soldiers and sailors were still busy working hard in the heavy rain, hanging flags, untied cables, lifting anchors, putting up gangways, closing the hatch doors, etc. Although the soldiers on the warships were old naval soldiers who had been through the battle formation for a long time, people still fell from time to time in the violent ups and downs.

"Tongxiangjun, do you still plan to sail in such weather?" Naval Command Minister Honbuki Yamamoto stood on the left side of the front main gun of the Mikasa, holding the steel ladder on the turret with one hand, and trying his best to stabilize his body through the ups and downs.

In front of him were the commander of the Joint Fleet, Hirahachiro Togo and Chief Staff Staff, Matsuno Akiyama. Hirahachiro Togo was still wearing military uniforms, and Matsuno Akiyama, who was always careless, was rarely serious. Not only did he wear his military uniform neatly, but he even put on his military cap very well. Of course, at this time, the two of them were also holding objects that could be handrailed, and their uniforms were wet with heavy rain, so they still looked a little embarrassed.

Hirahachiro Togo nodded and said, "Now the Russian fleet has sailed across the coast of Taiwan. If the Russian fleet does not go to the Tsushima Strait, it is only possible to go to the east of Japan's waters, so we must rush to intercept as soon as possible."

There are three routes to go to Vladivostok from the sea outside Taiwan. One is to enter the East China Sea through the Miyako Waterway and cross the Tsushima Strait. This is also the closest route, about 2,100 kilometers, but it is easy to be intercepted. Second, sail along the sea outside Taiwan from the east of the Japanese archipelago, enter the Sea of ​​Japan in the waters of the Japanese archipelago between Hokkaido and Honsou Island, and then to Vladivostok. The distance is about 4,000 kilometers. Third, cross the Nemuro Strait in Hokkaido Island or turn northeast of Zeta Island, enter the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, and then drive westward. After passing through the Sogo Strait between Hokkaido and Koye Island, enter the Sea of ​​Japan, then turn south and arrive at Vladivostok. The distance is about 5,300 kilometers. Although the distance between these two routes is more than twice, there is a lot of room for maneuver, which is conducive to avoiding the interception of the Japanese fleet.

After the division, Hirahachiro Togo and Matsuo Akiyama believed that the Russian fleet was more likely to go to the Tsuma Strait, because the Russian fleet had been sailing for more than nine months and had a journey of 34,000 kilometers. When they arrived in the Far East, they were physically and mentally exhausted and only thought about reaching Vladivostok as soon as possible to end this long voyage. Therefore, the chance of choosing a short voyage is definitely greater than choosing a long voyage. Moreover, the commander of the Russian fleet, Rorijjwinstsky, was just a mediocre person and did not have the courage to take a further route. In addition, whether the coal carried by the Russian fleet can ensure that they go to a long voyage is also a question.

So from the coast of Taiwan, Hirahachiro Togo and Makoto Akiyama sent a large number of warning ships to organize surveillance, forming a huge warning network, waiting for the arrival of the Russian fleet.

At this time, Yamamoto Honbuki said: "Togo Jun, Akiyama Jun, this naval battle is of great importance. Not only should you win, but you should also damage the Russian fleet as much as possible and try your best to protect yourself. It is quite difficult to achieve this goal, but the rise and fall of the imperial country is in this battle, so I would like to ask you two for this battle."

Of course, Hirahachiro Togo also knew Japan's current situation. Guan Jian, who was winning and defeated by Japan, was indeed in this naval battle. If the joint fleet could severely damage it, it would be impossible to completely wipe out the Russian fleet. Not only could it completely defeat the maritime forces that paralyzed Russia, but after this naval battle, the Japanese navy still had enough power to threaten the East China government from the sea and restrain the naval fleet of the East China government. In this way, the East China government will find it difficult to launch an attack from Lushun. The Japanese army only needs to defend the Liaohe defense line to curb the military operations of the East China government. This is the most favorable situation for Japan. So Hirahachiro Togo nodded and said, "Yamamoto, we will definitely try our best to achieve this goal."

Yamamoto Honbuki saluted to the two and said, "Two, please ask two of you for everything." After leaving, he turned around and got off the warship.

Togo Heihachiro boarded the bridge, ordered the sailing, and ordered his own flag to be raised. Mikasa issued a flute and slowly sailed out of Sasebo Port, facing the heavy rain and wind and waves, heading towards the sea. Other warships followed the Mikasa and left the port one by one.

In the heavy rain, the visibility of the sea was very low, and there were not many soldiers left on the deck. Only Hirahachiro Togo was still wet on the bridge. Watching the waves keep opening the bow of the ship, his military uniform was soaked by the rain, but he didn't want to hide in the cabin. Of course, it was not Hirahachiro Togo who was wet, and there were a lot of adjutants, staff and guards around him. After all, the commander was wet on the bridge, so who dared to hide? Only Shin Akiyama hid in the headquarters, but only Shin Akiyama dared to do so.

At this time, the adjutant came to Hirahachiro Togo and said, "Your Excellency Commander, the surveillance ship has sent a telegram back, and the telegram team is translating."

Hirahachiro Togo was excited and hurriedly got off the bridge and came to the headquarters. At this time, the telegram had been translated. In the hands of Masato Akiyama, when he saw Hirahachiro Togo coming, Masato Akiyama handed the telegram to Hirahachiro Togo and said, "Your Excellency, please read it yourself."

Hirahachiro Togo received the telegram and found that it was a telegram sent by the reconnaissance ship Shinnomaru. The Russian fleet had entered the East China Sea through the Miyako waterway. Hirahachiro Togo couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, because entering the East China Sea means that the Russian fleet would definitely go to the Tsushima Strait.

In fact, what Togo Hirahachiro is most worried about is that the Russian fleet does not follow the Tsuma Strait, but takes the route along the eastern coast of Japan. Although even if the Russian fleet goes along the eastern coast of Japan, the combined fleet can still intercept and defeat the Russian fleet at a very long time, the sea area along the eastern coast of Japan is wide, which gives the Russian fleet enough space to escape, and the combined fleet is basically unable to wipe out the Russian fleet; while the Tsuma Strait is narrow, only more than 400 kilometers away from Yokosuka Port, the home port of the Combined Fleet, leaving the Russian fleet with very little room for maneuvering and flashing. Therefore, only when the decisive battle of the Tsuma Strait can the combined fleet be able to wipe out the Russian fleet.

Since the war to intercept the Russian fleet is of great importance and can even affect the trend of the entire battlefield, Hirahachiro Togo also feels his own responsibility and has been under tremendous pressure. What makes Hirahachiro the most uneasy is that this war is not enough to fight to the death. If the Russian fleet does not go to the Tsuma Strait, no matter how hard it works, it will be impossible to achieve the goal of completely annihilated the Russian fleet. Although Hirahachiro Togo and Masao Akiyama believe that the Russian fleet will go to the Tsuma Strait, things are unpredictable and no one can be sure that the Russian fleet will definitely go to the Tsuma Strait. Now, the route of the Russian fleet can be finally determined, and Hirahachiro Togo finally put a big stone in his heart.

After a while, Hirahachiro Togo came to his senses and handed the telegram to the adjutant and asked him to read it in public, while he hurried back to his room to change his clothes.

When Hirahachiro Togo changed into a clean military uniform and returned to the headquarters, the headquarters was filled with laughter and joy, celebrating the Russian fleet's journey through the Tsuma Strait. Although ordinary staff, adjutants, and soldiers did not understand the country's grand strategy, they also knew that the Tsuma Strait was only 400 kilometers away from Yokosuka Port. If they wanted to intercept the Russian fleet in the Tsuku Strait, Nemu Strait, and Soya Strait, the distance was about 2,000 kilometers. Therefore, the Russian fleet's journey through the Tsuma Strait, the joint fleet did not have to run that far, and could be avoided by many storms. However, amid this laughter, only Akiyama Shiman was sitting in the corner smoking.

At this time, Togo Heihachiro completely calmed down from his excitement and issued two orders. One was to order all reconnaissance ships to continue to monitor the Russian fleet closely. He discovered the Shinnomaru, who discovered the Russian fleet, stared at the Russian fleet and reported the movements of the Russian fleet to himself at any time. Although it was confirmed that the Russian fleet entered the East China Sea, they might have shot it. As long as the Russian fleet did not enter the Yellow Sea, they could pass through the Ryukyu Islands at any time and still go to the east of Japan. Although this possibility is extremely low, it cannot be completely ruled out; second, it is notified that the squadrons that were leaving the port in advance would arrive at the Tsushima Strait to join them. Hirahachiro Togo led the main force of the joint fleet. A few days ago, several non-main fleets of the joint fleet had sailed and waited in several waters that the Russian fleet might pass through. Now it is basically confirmed that the Russian fleet would go through the Tsushima Strait, so naturally all warships must be concentrated to fight the Russian fleet with a complete lineup.

At this moment, someone said, "The wind and rain have stopped."

After hearing this, everyone found that the warship had been no longer in the waves, and a ray of sunlight shone into the command room of the headquarters from the porthole on the left, bringing a warm color to the headquarters full of cold and hard lines.

Hirahachiro Togo came to the porthole and looked out. It turned out that it was almost dusk, the wind stopped and the rain stopped, and the sea surface returned to calm. From time to time, seagulls flew past the sea and made crisp sounds. A sunset was embedded in the distance between the sea and the sky, making half of the sky and half of the bay, making half of the sky and the sea surface of the bay look golden red, making it hard to tell the difference between the sky and the sea. Hirahachiro Togo had been in the army for more than 30 years and had seen all kinds of sea winds, but at this moment he felt a kind of shock.
Chapter completed!