Matssevic's heart sank, and he hurriedly picked up the telescope and looked forward. In the light of the flare, he could see clearly that the two warships in the middle were battleships. Although the warships of this era were different in shape, the battleships still had very obvious characteristics. One was that the main gun was large; the other was that the hull was fat and short, so it was also very easy to recognize.

At this moment, the staff officer Yajsky, who was beside him, shouted: "That...that is the Russian, the one on the left is the Russian, how could it appear here?"

After hearing this, Matssevic hurriedly looked to the left, and saw that the warship on the left was even larger, and it was indeed the Russian.

Warships that can be named after a country are naturally very important in a country's navy, and this is the case with the large armored cruiser of the Russians. Therefore, despite the past four years, Russian naval officers like Matssevic and Yajesky still remember the appearance of this warship.

But Matssevic's heart completely sank, because the appearance of the large armored cruiser of the Russian USS also confirmed his speculation. Matssevic remembers very clearly that Russia was sunk by overseas Chinese during the Dagukou naval battle in the Eight-Nation Alliance's war of aggression against China four years ago. Later, it was salvaged and repaired by overseas Chinese, incorporated into his own fleet, and renamed it Kaihai.

Now that the Russians have appeared, the six warships blocking the Crown Prince are naturally all warships of the East China Government. In addition, the two warships that have been parallel with the Crown Prince on the left, there are a total of 8 warships of the East China Government. Of course, Matssevic would not think that it is necessary to dispatch 8 warships just for patrol and surveillance, including at least two battleships and a large armored cruiser. It is obviously for the Crown Prince.

Being surrounded by these eight warships, the Crown Prince was almost impossible to escape. Despite this, Matssevic ordered all the officers and soldiers of the ship to prepare for battle.

The flare's lighting effect lasted for only 2 or 3 minutes, then it went out one after another, and the starlight and moonlight returned to the sea. At this moment, a flash of light signals appeared in front of me. Matssevic's heart moved and knew that the other party sent a signal to him again.

About 10 minutes later, the signal of the Crown Prince reported to Matssevic that the other party's signal was to ask the Crown Prince to slow down and park on the spot. The two sides sent people to meet to negotiate.

Matssevic nodded and looked at the officers and staff around him. They saw that everyone had hesitation on their faces. Two people opened their mouths, but they wanted to speak but stopped. Matssevic sighed in his heart. Of course, he knew the mentality of everyone. After a fierce battle, the Crown Prince broke through the blockade of the joint fleet. The officers and soldiers of the ship all had a sense of survival after a disaster, and were exhausted both physically and mentally. Now they were intercepted by warships from the East China government, and they were still defeated. They all had a huge sense of loss in their mentality, and generally they did not want to fight again. The People's Army Navy only made a request for negotiation and did not directly demand the Crown Prince surrender. This was acceptable. There was some idea of ​​negotiating before negotiating.

But Matssevic knew very well that so-called negotiations were just to give himself a decent step. Otherwise, what would the other party intercepted the Crown Prince and would not have to treat guests to dinner. However, Matssevic still asked: "The other party asked to negotiate with us. What do you think should you do? Do you agree to their request or refuse?"

Yajsky said: "The other party does not seem to be hostile, and it is an international practice to meet at sea and ask for negotiations. If we refuse the request of the party, we may anger the other party. It is better to send someone to negotiate with them first and see what they are going to say?"

Navigation Chief Olovich said: "But once we stop the boat, we will not be able to run."

Yajsky said: "Even if you don't stop the ship, do you think we have many opportunities to escape or break through their blockade? Since we can't escape, then it's better to stop the ship and negotiate with them, and maybe there's still a chance."

The others stopped talking because what Yajsky said was indeed the truth, and the Crown Prince would definitely not be able to escape, so they could only choose to negotiate with the other party. So Matssevic said: "Okay, then that's the decision, reply to the other party, agree to the negotiation, and stop the ship."

Although the Crown Prince slowed down immediately, due to inertia, it drove forward 5,600 meters. The six interceptor warships of the People's Army Navy formed a "u"-shaped array. The two armored cruisers of the Kaihai and Tuohai were deployed to both sides. The front was still dominated by the Yuanyang and the two battleships of the Leyang. The Dongchang and Jining were on both sides of the battleship. The six warships formed a half-encircled, trapping the Crown Prince in it, with a distance of about 2,000 meters. The Qingzhou, which has been chasing the Crown Prince, remained at about 3,000 meters on the left side of the Crown Prince.

The representative of the negotiations sent by the Crown Prince was Yajsky, while the representative of the People's Army Navy was Colonel Zhang Hao, the deputy captain of the flagship Takuhai, the battleship detachment. In fact, such negotiations should be sent to send lower-level officers. It was a bit too much for the deputy captain to be dispatched, but Zhang Hao was proficient in Russian, so he finally decided that he would be responsible for the negotiations.

Both sides took a small boat and walked opposite each other. After meeting, they respected each other. Yajsky was also a little surprised. The other party could communicate with him directly in Russian, but this was convenient. There was no one who knew Chinese on the Crown Prince. Yajsky could speak French and also brought an English officer, but neither of them could communicate directly in Russian.

Yajsky said: "Col. I don't know what you want to negotiate with us?"

Zhang Hao said: "We hope that the Crown Prince will be docked at Qingdao port and disarm, and all soldiers on the warship will be placed on the ashore. We will protect the warships. We can ensure the personal safety and basic power of the officers and soldiers of the ship. After the war is over, we will contact the Russian government and arrange for you to return to China."

Although I had already been mentally prepared, after hearing Zhang Hao's words, Yajsky's heart was still hit hard, saying: "The Russian and East China governments have not declared war. It is a violation of international convention for you to intercept Russian warships on the high seas."

Zhang Hao said: "Russia's occupation of our northeast region is an act of aggression, and we have stated that we have 'will use any means to defend our territory' so our actions are not considered a violation of international conventions."

Yajsky said: "Does the East China government intend to declare war on Russia?"

Zhang Hao said: "Declaration of war is a matter for politicians. We are all soldiers. What we should do is to speak with the weapons in our hands. You should be very clear about the current situation. There is no other choice except to accept our conditions."

Yajsky said: "No, Russian soldiers will never surrender. For the dignity of soldiers and the glory of Andre's flag, we would rather choose to die gloriously on the battlefield."

Zhang Hao said: "Mr. Major's words represent individuals or soldiers on the entire ship. Think about how many young and ordinary soldiers are on the warship. Think about the families of these soldiers. You had the opportunity to bring these soldiers back alive to reunite with their families."

Yajsky doubted for a moment, but still said firmly: "I believe that even an ordinary Russian soldier will not live humiliatedly by surrender."

Zhang Hao laughed and said, "Major, I think you are probably misunderstanding. We did not ask you to surrender. According to international treaties, warships from belligerent countries can sail into ports of neutral countries, disarm, and seek protection in neutral countries. This is not surrender. Therefore, you are not our prisoners, but as protected personnel, and do not damage your dignity as soldiers."

Yajsky was stunned. Of course he knew that there was indeed this international convention, but it was a warship that automatically entered the port of neutral countries and voluntarily disarmed. Now it was completely forced by overseas Chinese to enter Qingdao port. In fact, there was no difference between it and prisoners, but it was indeed better in terms of reputation and peace. Of course, Yajsky also knew that this was just the East China government for him to find a way out for these people.

Although Yajsky said it passionately, he was unwilling to fight a death-death battle in his heart. This excuse was a fig leaf available. However, Yajsky wanted to fight for himself again and said, "If we accept your conditions, but require the warship to be kept by ourselves, and I can still leave the port at any time, of course, without any armed forces."

Zhang Hao said decisively: "No, we have tried our best to protect your dignity, and you should not be too arrogant. After disarming in the port, all officers and soldiers must leave the ship and go ashore. We will make proper placement, but the warship must be kept by us."

The purpose of the East China government is to obtain Russian warships. At least it does not restrict the use of any method. The international convention of using neutral ports is to hope that the officers and soldiers on the Crown Prince will be rescued and captured. Therefore, this is the temptation to prevent the Russian army from being captured. However, the Russian army's request to continue to keep the warships in the port is a condition that the East China government will absolutely not accept. So it would be better to sink the Crown Prince directly.

Yajsky was silent for a while and said, "Okay, I have already understood your conditions. I can go back and tell our captain your conditions, and he will decide whether to accept your conditions."

Zhang Hao nodded and said, "Okay, we can give you an hour to negotiate. After an hour, if you have not responded, then we will regard it as your rejection. In addition, it is best for you to not make any changes within this hour, otherwise we will not respect the one-hour time limit."
Chapter completed!