Peter the Great Bay. The Sea of ??Japan has reached the melting season in early April, but not all the ice floes have melted. On the ocean surface near Peter the Great Bay, you can often see ice floes of different sizes floating slowly. These ice floes have drifted from the sea at higher latitudes. Fishermen here all know that this kind of ice floe is very dangerous. Even a large ship with a displacement of one or two thousand tons may sink quickly if it accidentally hits the ice floe at night. Therefore, at this time of year, the ocean near Peter the Great Bay is very desolate, and whaling ships, fishing boats, and small sailing ships used by colonists are rarely seen. The "Warrior" is a minesweeper under the Russian Pacific Fleet. There are more than a dozen such ships with a displacement of less than 500 tons in the Pacific Fleet. Their main tasks are to patrol, clear waterways, and ensure that the ships in the fleet are Capital ships with thick steel armor and equipped with huge guns of more than 200 mm or even 300 mm will not be harmed by despicable enemy mines. Of course, when necessary, these minesweepers can also be in areas where enemy fleets may appear. Lay mines to attack enemy fishing boats and transport fleets. Therefore, the Warrior's speed is not slow, but its firepower is weak. The 130 mm caliber main gun on the bow is its main firepower, and there are several small-caliber Green rapid-fire cannons on both sides. "Damn it, why do I have to stand on the lookout post and drink the cool breeze in this season, just for the words of the new 'Alyosha'!" Ivanov tried his best to huddle up in his fur coat, but it was biting The strong sea breeze still penetrated into his clothes from every crack, taking away every trace of warmth. He almost felt that his blood was about to solidify. At this time, he didn't even have the thought of cursing. The only thought in his mind was to make time pass faster so that he could get off work early and go to the cabin to warm up. In the cockpit, Alyosha was looking at the darkness outside the window with bright eyes. As the former gunner of the armored cruiser "Rurik", now he can only become the commander of a small and pitiful minesweeper like the "Warrior". Captain, this is very distressing news. But what can be done? When Alyosha was hospitalized, the position of gunnery commander was already occupied by another officer. What's worse is that this new gunnery commander not only participated in the "Rurik" ¡¯s maiden voyage, and won the admiration of the captain during the maiden voyage, so our unlucky major could only admit that he was unlucky. While Alyosha was working hard on the "Warrior", he kept his eyes wide open, looking for opportunities to return to his position. "Left full rudder!" the first mate shouted loudly. The "Warrior" had reached the furthest point of the patrol and began to turn around and return to the port along another route. Alyosha's tense nerves relaxed. Due to ocean currents, there were almost no icebergs on the return route. "Your Excellency, Captain, there should be nothing going on on the way back. You can go and rest for a while, as long as I'm here to watch over you!" the first mate said to Alyosha with a smile. "Okay!" Alyosha nodded. It would take three hours to return. He planned to sleep for an hour before changing the first mate. About one and a half kilometers away from the "Warrior", four torpedo boats and a cargo ship were anchored at anchor. The hulls undulated with the waves, and they looked no different from icebergs from a distance. "Report, the enemy patrol boats have begun to return!" The first mate put down the telescope and lowered his voice to Zhong Yi who was sitting in the armchair with his eyes closed, as if he was afraid of being heard by the Russians in the distance. "Very good!" Zhong Yi opened his eyes suddenly, his gaze like cold lightning: "The lives of the dozens of people working on the intelligence mission were not in vain. The Russian patrol routes were clear to them. Use the light to issue orders. All ships move forward in a column, keeping a distance of five chains from head to tail. Except for the signal light covered with blue cloth at the stern for identification, all lights of all ships must be extinguished. Soldiers enter the cabin. Anyone who fucking coughs will be given to me. Report!" "Yes, sir!" "Clang!" There was a piercing sound, and the sailors jumped up from the ground and shoveled the coal into the boiler. The flames engulfed the coal, and the huge energy generated passed through it. Pushing the propeller, the torpedo boat was driven forward. The sound was covered by the sound of wind and waves. Soon, the white traces caused by the passing of the torpedo boat and cargo ship were also covered by the waves, as if nothing happened. Two hours later, Alyosha returned to the cockpit energetically. The Warrior was not far from Vladivostok. With the searchlight on the bow, he could even see the outline of the Russian Island. The helmsman was on the big ship. Under the command of the deputy, he skillfully directed the ship through the minefield. Alyosha said to the first mate with some embarrassment: "Sorry, I overslept a little. Originally, I planned to only sleep for an hour and then come over to replace you!" "Captain!" The first mate smiled nonchalantly: "If you really feel embarrassed?, then we can go ashore and have a drink! " "That's good, it's a deal! Alyosha happily clapped his hands with the other party. At this time, his vigilance gradually relaxed. After all, he had entered the minefield. Except for the Russian warships, no one else knew about the safe passage in this minefield. On the lookout post, Ivanov was almost frozen. He carefully poured the last sip of vodka from the flat tin flask into his mouth. Only then did he feel that he was still alive. He had already seen the outline of Russia Island, and the duty time was about to come. At this time, there was a sound of heavy footsteps on the escalator below. The replacement came up, and Ivanov clumsily stuffed the empty wine bottle. With his pocket in his pocket, he walked towards the escalator. Suddenly he turned around sharply, looked toward the stern of the ship, and whispered: "Is this an iceberg? " "Old Ivan, get out of the way, you're blocking me! "Katya complained. He is a fat man with bow legs. Perhaps because of his center of gravity, he can walk freely on the deck no matter how bad the sea conditions are, so he got a nickname-"Katya the Roly-poly." . "Katya, look quickly, is there a boat over there, following us?" Ivanov asked, pointing to a dark figure about a kilometer and a half away. "Old Ivan, are your eyesight?" Katya looked at it nonchalantly and said with a smile: "There isn't even a single star of light. What fool would sail like this? On a moonless night, as long as it hits The iceberg will be destroyed." "It's not a fool, it's the Chinese!" Ivanov replied in a low voice: "Haven't you heard that the Chinese are preparing to go to war with us at any time? "Open fire." "Well, even if what you said is right, a certain ambitious Chinese warship is following us, but why don't they open fire? It's only a kilometer and a half at most. At this distance, the first salvo can be fired. Forming a cross-fire, our broken ship can be sent to the bottom of the sea for the second time. "Maybe, maybe they have other intentions!" Ivanov replied hesitantly, but he himself didn't believe it. own words. "Other attempts, okay! Old Ivan, if the sea breeze hasn't woken you up, I'll go down first and let you continue to stand here!" Katya said angrily: "We have entered a minefield. , it¡¯s safe!¡± ¡°Okay, okay! Maybe my eyes are dazzled!¡± Ivanov finally surrendered, and he climbed down the escalator, muttering: ¡°But the black shadow does look like it. "One ship!" "The Herring" is the flagship of the four torpedo boats in this raid. It has a total of four torpedo tubes. In addition to the torpedoes in the tubes, it also carries eight torpedoes, which means it can be reloaded. Twice, of course Zhongyi didn't think the Russians would give him so much time. In order to complete this mission, the four torpedo boats participating in the operation had their engines modified and their protective armor plates removed. This allowed them to reach a maximum speed of 24 knots, which was a very impressive speed at the end of the 19th century. Of course, so There is another result, that is, even a 47 mm caliber rapid-fire gun can smash the "Herring" into a sieve from a few kilometers away. Therefore, Zhong Yi knew very well that the safety of himself and everyone else could only depend on speed and the cover of darkness. Seeing the shadow of the Warrior disappearing around the corner of the East Bosporus, Zhong Yi licked his dry lips and ordered to the first officer behind him: "Send the signal, speed seven knots, and follow the Russian ship. When the ship enters the harbor, ignore the inquiries from the Russian troops on the shore and wait for my signal to launch an attack." At this point, Zhong Yi subconsciously took out his pocket watch and looked at the time. The hands reached three o'clock in the morning on April 3. Fifty-five points on. "Yes, sir!" the first mate responded and issued an order through the microphone. Soon there was a rush of footsteps on the deck, and all the sailors were ready. The first mate asked Zhong Yi in a low voice: "What about the 'Jiancheng'? Isn't it used to block the Russian military channel?" "Yes!" Zhong Yi nodded: "According to the original plan, let him follow us One nautical mile behind, as soon as we opened fire, they would blow up the ship and sink it at the predetermined position. Our shallow water would not hinder our actions. " "Yes!" The four torpedo boats sailed towards the port at a slow speed of seven knots. , almost every sailor stared wide-eyed at the searchlight position on the Russian island not far away. They all knew that there were several Russian coastal defense artillery positions on this island, and there were less than two thousand at the narrowest point of the entire Golden Horn. Meters, for a shore defense artillery, this distance is almost the same as shooting a fifty-meter target with a rifle. As long as two salvos are fired, the four torpedo boats can be sent to the bottom of the sea.