At 1:10 noon, the Martinez fleet finally met with the main fleet of the Expeditionary Force. Martinez finally breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, the battle with the People's Army fleet was not long, and its main fleet basically did not fight much, but it made Martinez feel a little tired.

Judging from the British fleet's several changes in navigation operations just now, the opponent's response showed that although the naval technology was proficient, the actual combat experience was insufficient, but the reaction speed and judgment were too fast. Almost as long as one changed, the opponent could make changes immediately. In addition, the performance of the opponent's warship was indeed very excellent, so in the end, he went around behind the opponent and formed a clamping force with the main fleet of the Expeditionary Force. However, he finally dragged the opponent down, and when the main force of the Expeditionary Fleet arrived, it was not a complete failure.

At this time, the main force of the expeditionary fleet was lined up in three columns, namely the British battleship group, the French battleship detachment, and the Russian-Dutch battleship wing separated from the left and right; the right wing was the British armored cruiser team, the first team of protective cruiser team; the left wing was the French armored cruiser team, and the second team of protective cruiser team; the ships were all followed behind the battleship detachment. After the return of the Martinez fleet, it was arranged on the right side of the Russian-Dutch battleship wing, two armored cruisers were temporarily incorporated into the second team of armored cruisers, and five destroyers were formed into one team, following the Martinez fleet.

Just as Martinez's fleet returned to the team to adjust its queue, Martinez also reported the process of his fleet fighting with the People's Army fleet to Phillips, the commander of the Expeditionary Fleet. Of course, the focus was on the process of his own and the People's Army fleet's movement. The battle between the cruisers on both sides had been reported to Phillips by three British cruisers who had evacuated the battlefield in advance.

After reading the telegram sent by Martinez, the staff members started a heated discussion, but Phillips was not sure about it, and just looked at the People's Army fleet about 15,000 meters away.

At this time, the People's Army fleet was also adjusting its formation. The six battleships were arranged in two rows, and the heads were the Gan Jiang and Mo Ye. Although the traces after being shelled on the deck were still very obvious, they also added a bit of murderous aura to the two warships. After all, they were baptized by blood and fire on the battlefield. Behind the battleship were armored cruisers, which were also divided into two rows, with one cruiser on each side, and finally the destroyer.

However, what puzzled Phillips was that the formation of the People's Army fleet was arranged, attack was not like attack, retreat was not like retreat, and they didn't understand what it was intended, as if they were waiting for the Expeditionary Fleet to take action first and then respond.

Judging from the battle between the People's Army Fleet and the Martinez fleet just now, although Phillips also admitted that the People's Army Fleet is indeed very powerful, the performance of warships is excellent, and although the crew and soldiers have insufficient practical experience, they are well-trained and skilled. Although the Expeditionary Fleet is divided into three fleets, the single fleet is basically winning less and losing more when fighting with the People's Army Fleet. However, the Expeditionary Fleet has an absolute advantage in number. Therefore, if the People's Army Fleet fights head-on with the Expeditionary Fleet, it will undoubtedly be defeated. The head general of the People's Army Fleet cannot see this, but why are they now posing a stance waiting for the Expeditionary Fleet to fight? Is it hard to say that there is any trick?

Thinking of this, Phillips also felt a strong sense of uneasiness in his heart, but he could not think of any other tricks at this time, and there were ambushings behind him? But before the war, Britain had inquiries from multiple sources, and it was basically confirmed that the People's Navy had only 8 battleships. Even if the East China government had privately held it, it would be 10 battleships in the sky, and there were 6 in front of him. There were ambushings and several battleships, or the People's Navy's plan used a large number of destroyers to launch attacks against the close expeditionary fleet under the cover of a small number of battleships of the People's Army. However, the Expeditionary Fleet itself also had a large number of destroyers, cruisers, and the mid- and close firepower of the battleships was not weak. Therefore, relying on the cover of a small number of battleships, it was difficult for destroyers to get close to the expeditionary fleet that could be launched at a distance. So what tricks could the People's Navy have?

The more I couldn't figure it out, the more I felt unsure in Phillips's heart, and the more I felt uneasy, and I even thought about whether to retreat to Kaohsiung Port. But this was just thinking about it, because it was already at this moment, of course it was impossible to retreat. There were indeed not many opportunities to find the main force of the People's Army's battleships. Therefore, Phillips thought for a moment and ordered the four battle fleets to advance together and approach the People's Army fleet.

Seeing that the Expeditionary Fleet finally came, the People's Army Fleet immediately turned around and retreated.

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"Report that the expeditionary fleet has all entered the Taiwan Strait."

"Very good, where is the Southern Fleet now?"

"They have started and have now reached the Kaohsiung Sea. It is about 100 kilometers away from the southern entrance of the Taiwan Strait, which takes about 3 hours."

"Well, okay, then let's drag it for another 3 hours. Tell Chen Xiaojiang that you can't be careless. Now that the Expeditionary Fleet has just entered the Taiwan Strait, it is possible that you can turn around and retreat, let him hang the Expeditionary Fleet a little, and don't throw it too far."

In fact, after knowing that the Expeditionary Fleet entered the Taiwan Strait, the crew members on the Kunming ship were also very happy. Because they had planned a long battle, they were finally about to succeed. They just waited for the Southern Fleet to be in place and completed the last piece of the puzzle.

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Phillips looked at his watch and said that the time had been instructed to enter the Taiwan Strait at 3:45 pm. The Expeditionary Fleet entered the Taiwan Strait at around 1 pm. Almost 3 hours had passed.

During this period, the People's Army fleet was retreating, while the Expeditionary Fleet was pursuing. Neither side used full speed, basically kept between 14-15 knots, and the distance was about 10,000 meters. Phillips also tried to make the fleet accelerate the pursuit, but as soon as the Expeditionary Fleet accelerated, the People's Army fleet also accelerated immediately. When the Expeditionary Fleet slowed down, the People's Army fleet immediately slowed down, always keeping the distance between the two sides at about 10,000 meters. Sometimes both sides would also shell each other, but neither hit each other.

In fact, at this point, Phillips didn't understand that the other party was intentionally introducing himself to the Taiwan Strait, but the width of the Taiwan Strait was more than 100 kilometers, and there was still enough room for combat. In addition, the Taiwan Strait was the territory of the Qing court and the other belonged to Japan. The Qing court had secretly reached an agreement with Britain that the expeditionary warship fleet could dock at coastal ports under the control of the Qing court when necessary, and Japan not to mention that it was a member of the expeditionary force and was prepared to join the expeditionary force's army as soon as the expeditionary force arrived. Therefore, on the Taiwan side, not only could the warships of the expeditionary warships dock at will, but also get support from the shore fire prevention parties. Therefore, Phillips was not worried about fighting with the People's Fleet in the Taiwan Strait.

Of course, when entering the Taiwan Strait, Phillips was still a little worried, because although the southern entrance to the Taiwan Strait was wider than the northern entrance, it was divided into two waterways by the Penghu Islands, and it was also the narrowest section of the entire Taiwan Strait. The side close to the Taiwan Island is narrower, about 40 kilometers, and the side close to mainland China reaches 150 kilometers. The People's Army Fleet entered the Taiwan Strait from the narrower waterway, and the Expeditionary Fleet naturally entered.

However, there are more than 60 islands of all sizes in the Penghu Islands, and the sea area is very complex. If the People's Army intends to ambush the Expeditionary Fleet in the Taiwan Strait, this section of the sea is the most suitable place. Therefore, when the People's Army fleet passes through this section of the sea, Phillips stares at it, just to see if the People's Army fleet will turn around. If the People's Army fleet turns around here, it means that they must have ambushed in the Penghu Islands, and are preparing to ambush the Expeditionary Fleet here. Then he knows that the People's Army fleet has passed through this section of the sea very smoothly, and there is no intention of stopping or turning around at all.

Even though the People's Army fleet passed, the Expeditionary Fleet naturally had to follow up. Phillips also sent two cruiser fleets to cover the passage of the fleet, and also sent a destroyer fleet to enter the Penghu Islands to search. As a result, the Expeditionary Fleet also passed through the Penghu Islands very smoothly. Nothing happened, and the search fleet did not find anything.

After passing the Penghu Islands, there was no island blocking the Taiwan Strait, and it was completely flat, so there was no need to worry about the attack of the People's Army fleet. This was a good thing, but Phillips's uneasiness became stronger and stronger. He didn't know what the People's Army fleet had to lead him into the Taiwan Strait.

At this time, a staff officer suggested to Phillips: "Commander, it is not a solution to continue to waste with them like this. It is better to divide two fleets and flew up from left and right to see how they deal with it."

Phillips pondered for a moment and thought that this suggestion could be tried, because it is already 4 pm. Although it is still the end of August, the day is long and the night is short, but it is only more than 3 hours before darkness is at most. You can't just spend the darkness with the other party.

And at this moment, another adviser suddenly said: "General, they began to turn."

Phillips was stunned for a moment, immediately grabbed the telescope and looked forward. Sure enough, he saw that the warships of the People's Army fleet were turning. The staff officer also said, "It seems that they are planning to fight us here?"

So Phillips put down his telescope and said, "Slow down, notify all fleets to prepare for battle, watch the watchtowers of each ship, look around, are there any other fleets leaning against us."

Not long after, all the fleets responded one after another, but no other fleets were found nearby. At this time, all the battleships of the People's Army Fleet had turned around and changed to horizontal formations. The six battleships lined up horizontally, with the bow facing the expeditionary fleet.
Chapter completed!