Britain is an industrial country, and the characteristic of an industrial country is discipline. The British plan was first and foremost to block the passage of Chinese merchant ships into the Indian Ocean, and if the Chinese took any military action, they would immediately take military action against China.

It was August when fifty British armored ships and more than sixty unarmored ships arrived in Singapore, and Britain announced its decision to China. The Chinese side immediately "strongly protested" and sent diplomatic envoys to Singapore one after another to harness the Governor of the Straits Settlements, hoping that the Governor of the Straits Settlements would revoke such "unreasonable demands."

The British fleet was in a big way, and the Chinese fleet was only nesting in its own home port, and it did not give the British a chance to fight violently. By September 1874, the British fleet saw no chance and began heading north.

The Grand Fleet is quite arrogant in showing off its might at sea. The commander of the British dispatch force had long studied military intelligence in the western Pacific. With more than 30 ironclad ships and 50 or 60 unarmored ships, China is flexing its muscles in the western Pacific. A fleet of this size is at the level of Turkey, the "sick man of Europe", in Europe. As long as Britain is willing, crushing the Chinese Navy is like pinching a bedbug to death.

Previously, the British fleet did not move, giving the Chinese Navy an opportunity for development. Now that the British fleet has finally moved, the good days of the Chinese fleet are over. On board the flagship Agincourt, the commander of the dispatch force revealed his thoughts to his subordinates. If the Chinese Navy is pinched to death when it is in the cradle, it is better to be shot to death when it has just entered the adolescent years. Being pinched to death in the cradle period is simply pinched to death, and the Chinese Navy actually does not know the strength of the British Navy. Filmed to death in a very rebellious and self-righteous teenage years, that feeling of despair is unforgettable. As long as it goes through such a war, the Chinese navy will have a deep fear of the British navy in its bones.

The commander's high remarks made all his subordinates sincerely appreciate. Of course, there are also people who understand among the subordinates. The reason why the British Royal Navy did not pinch the Chinese Navy in the cradle to death was because the British at that time focused on invading Chinese mainland. No matter how good the navy is, there is always no way to drive it to land. If the British Army dared to fight only within the range of naval guns, then the dispatch of the Army to attack China would have become a complete joke.

Now the British Royal Navy has decided to slap the Chinese Navy to death in its adolescence because the purpose of the British Royal Navy is only to slap the Chinese Navy to death, and there is no longer any intention to attack the Chinese mainland. The most optimistic scenario in the whole plan is to occupy important cities along the Chinese coast. There is not even a plan to enter the Yangtze River. It took more than a decade for Britain to clarify its strategic goals, and various plans to send land forces into Chinese mainland were met with various opposition, and these objections eventually prevailed.

However, it is not a bad thing to have a war to fight, as soon as the war begins, the British fleet has a chance to capture merchant ships, and that is a large amount of income. Therefore, the subordinates did not dare, and secondly, they did not consider sweeping the Commander-in-Chief's prosperity at all.

The Grand Fleet first arrived in the French Indochina colony and walked around the Siam route, an important Chinese rice trade route, to familiarize themselves with the site. A little depressed, he added some fuel coal bought by the French at a high price from the Chinese-controlled Hongji coal mine, and then went north along the coastline of China's vassal Vietnam.

Along the way, the other ships only saw the British Grand Fleet and immediately avoided it, and the cruise disrupted the entire route from Siam to China. The fleet arrived in Hong Kong.

The situation is different in Hong Kong, where huge fortified batteries have been erected on the Chinese islands next to which the shipping lines are blocked. Look at the signs, the artillery on the battery must be at least 305. If you want to storm the fort, you will have to pay a lot of money. Huge forts were also erected on the Lion Rock in the Kowloon area opposite Hong Kong Island, and Victoria Harbour was within range of the Chinese forts.

More than ten years ago, the area around the Kowloon Fort was soaked in the blood of thousands of French soldiers. After seeing that battle, Britain no longer dared to make the decision to send troops. At that time, Weser once arrogantly said, "If you want to destroy our Liberation Army, then send 200,000 authentic British lobster soldiers." Not to mention that at that time, even more than ten years later, Britain did not have the ability to transport 200,000 authentic British lobster soldiers to China. And what happens after it's sent? Encircled and annihilated by millions of Chinese troops in the interior?

The feeling that the fleet was within range of the Chinese fortified guns was so bad that three days later, the rested British fleet set off to continue north, targeting Tokyo, Japan. Since the British fleet did not encounter the provocation or onlookers of the Chinese navy, the next thing was to go to Japan to complete the first objective and eliminate the Republic of Ezo.

Japan has already made a big deal of money and asked the British to help take the Chinese-backed Republic of Ezo, or at least help Japan land in the Republic of Ezo. The Meiji government believed that its army strength was superior to that of the Ezo Republic, and that it would be able to land as long as it could win.

Britain knew very well that it would cut off trade with China if it went to war with China, and there was one thing that Japan had at this time that was very good, and that was raw silk. The largest British imports from China are now raw silk and tea. Tea is nothing, China's tea exports have been strong in recent years, and prices have been decreasing day by day. Britain had a lot of stocks, and before the war, they imported a large number of them, and they had no problem drinking them for two or three years. If Japan can provide raw silk, then the pressure on Britain will be completely relieved.

When the Grand Fleet arrived in Japan on September 28, the port of Tokyo was crowded, and the Japanese looked at the overwhelming British Navy, from the military to the common people, they were dumbfounded. Those warships were so huge, they were beyond the imagination of the Japanese.

The flagship of the British fleet, the Agincourt, belonged to the second of the "Minotaur" class ironclads, which was launched on October 30, 1861 and completed on June 1, 1867, and was originally named "Captain" (Captain), which was renamed on March 27, 1865. The new name comes from the famous Battle of Agincourt (1415) in the Hundred Years' War between England and France. King Henry V of England defeated the arrogant French army with a numerical disadvantage of 1:3 and won a decisive victory. The Aginkut was also one of the last British ironclads to be equipped with breech guns, and she had an impressive 5 masts to equip the sails.

This class of ironclads is a continuation of the battleships of the Age of Sail, and like the battleships of three hundred years ago, all the guns are arranged on either side of a long deck; Although a steam engine was installed, the huge sail was retained to provide power. The armor consisted of a long iron plate inlaid on a thicker layer of wood.

Capacity: 800 people

Displacement: 10812 tons

Size: 124 m * 18.2 m * 8.5 m (406 ft 10 in * 59 ft 9 in * 27 ft 10 in)

Endurance: 5067 km (2825 nm) / 10 knots

Armor: 127 mm iron armor belt and 254 mm wooden lining.

Main armament: 4 x 229 mm (9 in), 24 x 178 mm ( 7 in) breech guns.

Maximum speed: 14.8 knots

The Japanese themselves also have ironclad ships, and the kind of ironclad ships of two or three thousand tons are incomparably huge next to civilian ships. The same ironclad ship of two or three thousand tons, next to the Agincourt, the flagship of the British Far East Dispatch Fleet, is as small as a toy.

It's human nature to watch the excitement, and it's the same in any country. The Japanese ships tried to get as close as possible to the gigantic warship and get a closer look. The British fleet was kind enough to send small ships to drive the curious spectators out of the circle of safety. And the photographers who used the British fleet, especially the Agincourt, the flagship of the British fleet, as the background made a lot of money that day.

On October 9, a large number of photos were sent to Lushun. At this time, Lushun was no longer the Lushun of the year, in addition to the port of the North Sea Fleet, Dalian City began to be built in the south of Lushun. Outfitting began after sea trials on 10 of the 12 cruisers, six of which were final outfitting at Tianjin and Lushun.

Battleships could not be added to the naval sequence, the Navy scrapped three cruisers, and the North Sea Fleet now has only six new cruisers and six new destroyers to fight. The Navy General Command told Ding Ruchang, commander of the North Sea Fleet, that as long as a year and a half goes by, the total number of new ships in the Navy can be doubled or even more.

Ding Ruchang does not suspect that major domestic shipyards are desperately building new warships. Ding Ruchang understands very well that the finalization of a new type of warship is a painstaking process. Ding Ruchang even knew that he had no reason to complain at all. The subtle design of the new warship, as well as its overall integration with the operational concept, takes time to study and take time to realize. However, Ding Ruchang still couldn't help but want to say, "It would be nice to be earlier!" ”

In the end, Ding Ruchang still didn't say anything, and he himself realized that just seeing the photo of the Agincourt, the flagship of the British fleet, made Ding Ruchang feel strongly uneasy. This kind of self-knowledge gave Ding Ruchang a sense of shame, and it also made him turn his shame into motivation and make up his mind to fight to the death.

The Republic of Ezo is not to be missed, and the ice-free port in the North Pacific is Hakodate, and if countries hostile to China have this port, they will have a huge advantage. Instead, China could use the port, as well as Hokkaido's abundant supply of high-quality coal, to leverage its navy's combat power.

Now that the two sides no longer even had the opportunity to test it, the navy of the Ezo Republic could never be a match for the British Grand Fleet. The British only had to block both ends of the Tsugaru Strait, wipe out the navy of the Ezo Republic, and escort the Meiji government's army to land in the Ezo Republic. It's a very easy job for the British.

China can only rely on the six cruisers and six destroyers on hand, as well as some supply and auxiliary ships, to force the British Navy's Grand Fleet.

The North Sea Fleet began to go north on October 11, and before the fleet set off, Ding Ruchang only said one sentence, "The brave wins when they meet on a narrow road!" ”

PS: The second chapter is written, but I am not satisfied with it and need to revise it. Sent at 6 p.m.