The Battle of Toshima not only shocked Japan and Qing Dynasty during the war, but also caused considerable shock in Europe, which was thousands of miles apart. The Qing Dynasty, an East that had not won a single battle at sea since 1840,

The giant finally made his strong voice on the sea. There were not many warships participating in this battle, and the scale was not very large. But there are still many things that can be seen in the eyes of European politicians and military affairs.

The most excited people were the Italians. On the day the news of the victory in the Battle of Toshima reached Europe, Italian Navy Minister Mr. Breen gave a passionate speech in the newspaper, claiming that the performance of the Italian Navy's warships had been tested in actual combat.

, among the warships of the same level, Italian warships are definitely top-notch! Even compared with warships produced by the first-class maritime powers,

Absolutely not inferior. Vittorio was awarded the title of count by the Italian authorities in recognition of his contribution to the Italian navy. On the day when he was awarded the title of count, the talented designer said that he

It is about to design a new type of battleship with the Beiyang Design Bureau. The Italian authorities said that the government will definitely purchase it. European public opinion is in an uproar.

Milan's "Legend" even published a huge portrait of Vittorio on the cover. In the portrait, Vittorio is holding a trident symbolizing sea power, and the three prongs of the trident are Italy.

Wen's **-class cruiser, Garibaldi-class armored cruiser, and the yet-to-be-named Y-class battleship. Because of the outstanding performance of the Italian battleships, the major Italian ships

Orders from the factory are pouring in. After Spain ordered the first batch of **-class dome-armored cruisers, it decided to order Italy's new Garibaldi-class and Pisa-class armored cruisers, and expressed its interest in the next-level battleships that Count Vittorio was preparing to launch.

Expressed strong interest. And said that if Italy agrees to export new battleships, the Spanish will definitely buy them.

Mahan, the president of the Naval Academy in the United States, said in his article: "This young general from the East and the fleet he led have made the world refreshing. The cruiser formation with high speed, proper protection, and strong firepower can deal with non-main forces.

A strike from a fleet of warships would be fatal.

While the Japanese were complacent about the new second-class dome-armored cruisers they had obtained from Armstrong Shipyard, General Xu took a different approach and boldly used new armor and weapon systems, easily obliterating the second-class dome-armored cruisers that had been developed for more than ten years.

And in the fighter

In terms of selection and overall strategy, this young general goes far beyond his understanding of battleships. His grasp of the battle situation has reached an extremely high level. He can choose the right time to enter the battlefield and attack the exhausted Japan.

fleet, avoiding an encirclement and annihilation battle.

Defeat the battle, and then quickly hit the Japanese army in Inchon Port before the main force of the Japanese fleet could react. Projecting the navy's influence to the land to the greatest extent. Then it broke away from the battle and gave full play to the high maneuverability of the cruiser. I am very

Looking forward to his future performance.

At the same time, the British were half happy and half worried. Their public publications or newspapers only objectively described the basic situation of this naval battle, and expressed their appreciation for the high quality of the Qing Navy in this naval battle. But secretly

, the entire British Admiralty was in an uproar. "How could the Armstrong Shipyard just survive?"

Do those greedy shipyard bosses who produce these wastes that can sink as soon as they hit them plan to let the Royal Navy use this kind of cardboard ship to fight?" Admiral Hood asked angrily in front of the representatives of Armstrong Shipyard. "Takasago"

The cruiser was sunk by two Italian cruisers after a long battle with the Qing Dynasty's Zhiyuan ship

Yes, even God can do nothing in this situation." The shipyard representative said while wiping cold sweat. "Then you mean that the Takasago can defeat the Italian ship in a fair situation?" Admiral Hood sneered.

"Uh, I would like to remind you, Admiral, that the Italian warships are 5,000 tons." The shipyard representative blushed.

Face said. "Everyone, I think we don't need to worry about this matter anymore. There is a more important news that we need to discuss. Mr. Representative, please step aside." At this moment, I received a letter handed over by the adjutant.

Behind the paper, Sir Hamilton's expression suddenly changed, and he immediately interrupted the farewell meeting.

"According to reports from our intelligence personnel in Italy, Lang Weili, Deng Shichang and other Qing officials and some Qing people boarded three Italian second-class battleships (the Garibaldi and Pisa classes are defined as second-class battleships by the British)

Battleships) and these battleships are going to participate in the so-called circumnavigation of the Italian Navy. Damn it. What are the Italians and Qing people doing? After the rest of the crowd dispersed, Sir Hamilton threw the information on the table with a pale face.

"What do you mean? These three battleships were actually sold by Italy to the Qing Dynasty? And Langweili knew about this but did not report it?" Lieutenant General Baird said in surprise.

"The outcome of this war has been decided. Please see, Xu Jie's fleet did not return to Lushun, but stationed in Weihai. The result of the discussion by the Naval Staff is that it is very likely that he will launch a battle in the relatively vast East China Sea.

The first stage of the battle. The deeper strategic purpose is to merge with the main fleet from Italy. Once the battle group is completed, it will have a rapid group of 45,000-ton warships.

He will directly enter the Yellow Sea to join the Beiyang fleet. In order to ensure the smooth flow of sea transportation lines, the Japanese fleet must have a decisive battle with the Beiyang fleet, and I think there is no suspense about the outcome. The so-called emperor of Japan cannot bless him.

The fleet! And after losing sea control, no matter how far the Japanese army fights, it will eventually collapse due to lack of supplies." Admiral Hood analyzed objectively.

"Okay, we need to do two things now. The first is to give a report to the Prime Minister and tell him our reasoning, so that those greedy financiers can sell all Japanese bonds quickly. The other is to

Be prepared for the return of our quasi-ally warships. The fleet has to pass through the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Strait of Malacca, and the South China Sea to reach the Far East. I think our friends need to prepare their warships in Hong Kong so that they can better engage in battle.

at the same time

We also need to telegraph General Fremantle of the Far East Fleet to lead a team to the Far East. The experience brought by this first large-scale duel between steam battleships is very important, although the warships produced by the British Empire in the Japanese fleet may not be

The opponent of Italy's new warship, but we have to learn lessons from it. And if the former designer can survive this battle, he will probably become the supreme leader of the First Fleet in the Far East?" Hamilton smiled strangely.

"If the Qing Dynasty can defeat Japan, will the Queen's government really want to support the Qing Dynasty to fight against Russia?" Lieutenant General Baird asked.

"Even if Japan cannot be defeated this time, the Queen's government must support the Qing Dynasty or the powerful figures in the Qing Dynasty. The polar bears are moving faster and faster in the Far East. They have obtained Muroran Port. It is urgent to contain Russia." Hu

Admiral De said.

"And this Mr. Xu is our best choice. He is not opposed to the West, has had cooperative relations with the United Kingdom, and is a disciple of Beiyang leader Li Hongzhang. It is really a perfect choice." Lord Hamilton said.

"Okay, let the neutrality clause go to hell. I will persuade the Admiralty to let Fremantle use all means other than directly participating in the war to support the Qing Northern Fleet." Admiral Hood said.

Just as the British government is preparing to adjust its policy and fully support Beiyang, Russian naval bosses in Moscow are also assessing the situation after the Toshima Battle. "The Japanese fleet will not be able to restrict the actions of the Beiyang fast fleet within 2 to 3 weeks."

, and after 3 weeks, it was only a partial restriction. Because of the remaining five cruisers of the Japanese Navy, except for Edgar and Yoshino, which are fast enough, the battle speed of other warships cannot keep up with the new Beiyang ship that was launched less than a year ago."

Major General Fukeshan pointed at the map and said.

"However, the Japanese Navy still has a chance to win. The overall strength of the Japanese fleet is still higher than that of the Beiyang Navy. As long as we can seize the opportunity, the outcome can be decided in one battle." Rear Admiral Nobougatov said.

"Even if the victory is a disastrous victory, the victorious Japanese fleet will be unable to attack the well-defended Weihaiwei or Lushun. The remaining task is only to ensure the smooth flow of transportation lines. And I doubt whether the Japanese fleet has the ability to destroy Dingzhen.

Although the two ships in Dingzhen are very old, it is possible for Japan to penetrate Dingzhen.

Its artillery only has three 320mm Ghana guns and the 9.2-inch guns on Warspite and the Edgar cruiser. The 3-Scenery ship equipped with 320mm guns is too fragile, and the Edgar must first face the Qing's new cruiser.

The export of heavy artillery to Japan is not guaranteed at all." Major General Fukeyama retorted.

"Gentlemen, I think we should change our thinking. Destruction in naval battles is relative. Japan has the opportunity to destroy Beiyang's ironclads, while Beiyang still has the opportunity to destroy Japan's ironclads. Once the ironclads are severely damaged, according to the industrial base of Japan or the Qing Dynasty,

Generally speaking, they cannot be repaired in a short period of time. After this battle, the armored ships of both sides will be eliminated from the battle sequence. The remaining ones will be those battleships that survived due to damage during the war. It should be noted that Japan

Fleet’s new models above 6 inches

The number of artillery is very small. After excluding the large-caliber main guns on old ships like Takachiho because their rate of fire is too low, the number of remaining new tube-pushed large-caliber artillery will be very small except for dealing with Dingzhen, and the new Qing Dynasty's

Cruisers are said to be able to defend against

Attacks by artillery of 6 inches and below, and the armor protection range is very large. If the Qing Dynasty can have two new cruisers left after the war, it will be a very terrifying existence when the battleships of both sides have lost their combat effectiveness." Marka

Nov said seriously.

"But one thing is certain. After the decisive battle, the winner will not be the Qing Dynasty or Japan, but our great Russian Empire. The cruiser fleet that the empire spent more than 4 years preparing is already ready to go, with 4 cruise ships and 2 cruise ships.

The fast fleet of protected cruisers will lay the foundation for the empire's next expansion in the Far East." Rozdvinsky said with a smile.
Chapter completed!