"Governor, let me go! The soldiers of the Empire cannot be sacrificed in vain! The Ottoman Empire should pay for what it has done!"

On the deck of the command ship, Nakhimov gritted his teeth as he looked at the wood chips on the sea and spoke to Menshikov.

"Indeed, Governor! Let's go! I bet they have no defense left now!"

Standing on Menshikov's right, Admiral Kornilov of the Black Sea Fleet also presented his suggestion to Menshikov, speaking earnestly.

According to Admiral Kornilov's understanding of the Ottoman Empire's forces, after such a "great victory," the Ottoman Empire Navy would surely be celebrating, which is often when they are the most lax.

Facing the appeals of his two generals, Governor Menshikov remained silent, quietly watching the sea where the double-deck battleship had sunk.

On this shimmering sea, Menshikov seemed to see the struggling figures of the loyal Russian Empire sailors.

Indeed, those damned heretics would never miss such an opportunity for revenge!

Thinking of this, Menshikov couldn't help but clench his fist, he wished he could lead the navy directly in a raid on Sinop Port.

With enough Flower Shells at his disposal, Menshikov had the full capability to annihilate the navy stationed at Sinop Port.

However, reason told him that Sinop Port must have already strengthened its defenses.

If the coastal batteries were to target his fleet, even if they could destroy all the navy at Sinop Port, they would have a few ships left by the batteries.

Menshikov believed that as a Governor, he couldn't avenge the dead at the cost of the living.

Publicly, Menshikov had to ensure that the Black Sea Fleet did not suffer excessive losses, as His Majesty Nicholas I needed a grand victory, not a tragic one.

Privately, Menshikov felt obliged to lead these young men to survival, as they bore the earnest hopes of their fathers.

Of course, if Menshikov were commanding an army unit, he would unquestionably attack those damn Ottoman barbarians.

"Return!" Under the hopeful gaze of Admiral Kornilov and Admiral Nakhimov, Menshikov hoarsely made the decision to retreat to the Sevastopol Fortress.

"Why? We could clearly take the opportunity to annihilate them! The Ottoman Empire would not have guarded against us!" Admiral Kornilov couldn't help questioning Menshikov.

"Because I am the Governor!" Menshikov commanded Kornilov unequivocally: "I said, return!"

"I..." Admiral Nakhimov gritted his teeth and said to Menshikov, "Governor, forgive me for being unable to understand!"

"I don't need your understanding!" Menshikov maintained a firm stance, sternly addressing Nakhimov: "You only need to follow orders!"

Then, Menshikov paused briefly and continued, "If you are unwilling to follow my orders as Governor, then you may take off your uniforms and leave the army right away!"

There was no trace of compromise in Menshikov's words, as far as he was concerned, a soldier who did not understand obedience was not an excellent soldier.

Such a person in the army would affect the discipline of the entire force.

In a way, the discipline of the Russian Empire Navy was even stricter than that of the army.

This is because the navy was still fully aristocratic in tradition, with many navy officers being sons of aristocrats or middle class (Russian Empire middle class) families, whose knowledge far surpassed those of the Slav brutes and who were also subjected to far more constraints.

And their Tsar Nicholas I always believed in a simple truth: the more a person knows, the more easily they become Decembrists.

Hence, the navy required even stricter discipline.

Of course, this strictness was only relative to the Russian army, as the Russian Empire Navy officers themselves were more lax compared to those of England and France.

Otherwise, incidents like Nakhimov idling at the Sevastopol Fortress would not occur.

Following Menshikov's forceful command, Kornilov and Nakhimov did not raise further objections, and the fleet majestically returned to the Sevastopol Fortress.

As Menshikov suspected, when the Ottoman Pasha followed the Garrison Major General to the Garrison Commander to host a welcome banquet, his inherently cautious nature led him to specially instruct his subordinate to go to the batteries and assist the garrison in controlling the cannons.

If Menshikov's fleet attempted a sneak attack on Sinop Port, they would face relentless bombardment from the Sinop Port batteries.

One might say, Menshikov's enforced retreat avoided a costly risk for the Russian Empire.

However, every coin has two sides; while Menshikov unwittingly avoided great losses, he also had to face the disheartened atmosphere on the fleet.

Returning to the Sevastopol Fortress, Menshikov also noticed that the fleet's morale seemed to be in a low state, and he hurriedly called for Andrei Bolkonsky.

At this time, Andrei Bolkonsky was in a very low mood. It seemed that this defeat had dealt him a great blow.

"Andrei Bolkonsky!" Menshikov addressed Andrei Bolkonsky with a serious tone.

"Here!" Andrei Bolkonsky quickly responded upon hearing Menshikov's call.

"Look at you, in your current state, can you win a war? If I asked you to fight fiercely against those Osman dogs now, could you?" Menshikov said with an unusually severe expression.

"Yes!" Hearing Menshikov's words, Andrei Bolkonsky's eyes lit up, and he shouted a response.

"Really?" Menshikov looked at Andrei Bolkonsky with feigned skepticism, "Why do I find it hard to believe?"

"Your Excellency the Prince, I can assure you! As long as you let me deal with those dogs..." Andrei Bolkonsky immediately thumped his chest and told Menshikov, now having shaken off his previous depression and returned to normal.

"Good! Now I'm giving you a task. If you can do it well, I can let your fleet be the first to launch an attack!" Menshikov said to Andrei Bolkonsky, striking the table.

"What task?" Andrei Bolkonsky eagerly inquired of Menshikov.

"Reorganize the soldiers under your command! What I need are soldiers who roar into action, not a group that droops all day! Do you understand?" Menshikov said loudly to Andrei Bolkonsky.

"Understood!" Andrei Bolkonsky replied to Menshikov with equal enthusiasm.

"Go!" Menshikov waved his hand lightly, and Andrei Bolkonsky departed.

After Andrei Bolkonsky left, Menshikov called in the other fleet commanders for discussions.

The various captains also promised Menshikov that they would renew their morale. However, Menshikov had to promise them that they would serve as the vanguard.

Menshikov immediately agreed to their request, assuring them they would be able to prove their worth.

After reassuring all the captains, Menshikov called in both Kornilov and Nakhimov.

"I know you two blame me in your hearts for not daring to attack Sinop port tonight!"

"We dare not ×2"

"Dare not? You're not that timid! Let me tell you the truth, I didn't want to attack tonight, not because I'm afraid of failure, but to preserve the vitality of the Russian Empire. We must wage a war of annihilation! Otherwise, how can I repay His Majesty the Tsar's trust in us, and the soldiers who have died?"

Upon hearing "His Majesty the Tsar," Kornilov and Nakhimov also became particularly solemn.

"Your Excellency the Prince, what strategies do you have next?" Nakhimov asked Menshikov.

"Since the main fleet of the Ottoman Empire has appeared, it proves that our previous plans weren't in vain! We just need to employ some maneuvers to make them believe Sinop port is invulnerable!" Menshikov said with a cold smile to both of them.

Then, Menshikov went on to form a strategy with Kornilov and Nakhimov.

After hearing Menshikov's operational plan, Kornilov and Nakhimov immediately understood his intention and vowed to actively cooperate with Menshikov's command.

In the following days, a unit composed entirely of steamships began to continuously attack supply ships, greatly irritating Ottoman Pasha.

However, he had no way to deal with this swift-moving unit.

As the steamship attacks became more rampant, Ottoman Pasha had no choice but to lead the main fleet to escort personally.

Upon receiving the news, Menshikov also led his main fleet out to meet the enemy.

The two main fleets tangled with each other in the western Black Sea, eventually leading to the Ottoman Empire retreating from the Battle of Sinop with a slight disadvantage.

This battle caused the Ottoman Empire to lose another steamship and a double-decked battleship.

On the Russian Empire's side, Andrei Bolkonsky became a critical factor in the war, as the steamship he led managed to hold that double-deck battleship in check, allowing the Russian sailing warships to strike calmly.

The soldiers and officers on both the steamship and the double-deck battleship were similarly buried at sea by the Russian Empire.

The only ones rescued were the British instructors on the double-deck battleship.

After this battle, the Ottoman Empire's navy returned to its previous state.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.