After withdrawing ten nautical miles in one breath, the coalition fleet was like a frightened bird to stabilize its position, but the coalition warships that were originally scattered and mixed together became five fleets at this time, and there was a clear distinction between the fleets of various countries.

On the flagship 'Sewani', Du Bailei glanced at He Bu and said in a cold tone: "Your Excellency is satisfied now, right?" ”

"Even if you don't retreat, it's still discouraged." He Bu replied with a salute, and then said, "Time is pressing, let's convene a meeting of the admirals of various countries." ”

Before the words fell, the communications officer came to report: "The 'Inference Lai Xibai' invites the generals of various countries to discuss countermeasures....... ”

"It seems that Bendman has seen through your intentions." Du Bailei's face was a little gloomy, "Go?" Or not going? ”

"Go. Why not. He Bu said: "If we don't go, it seems that we are weak-minded, abandoning the ship and landing, it is also a breakthrough, besides, Bendeman still dares to detain us." ”

In less than a quarter of an hour, seven or eight admirals gathered in the official cabin of the 'Inferai', and everyone talked softly, no one expected that the situation would be so bad, let alone that Qing Guo had developed a submarine that could launch torpedoes under the surface, and what was even worse was that the torpedoes launched by the submarine did not even have a track, and there was no chance to dodge.

No navy could have imagined that a mine could be laid under the surface of the water, and that thing could also be called a weapon of naval warfare, with no less lethal power than torpedoes, and the effect of blockading ports, harbors or inland waterways was extremely good.

For the current situation, all the generals present are extremely pessimistic, it is impossible to break through, and there are only two ways in front of them, surrender or total annihilation.

As soon as Du Bailei walked into the official warehouse, he felt the sadness and despair permeating the official warehouse, glanced at everyone, and said in a deep voice: "Under the deliberate guidance of the Qing army, we seriously underestimated the combat power of the Qing navy, Maputo Bay is a huge trap laid by the Qing army a long time ago, and our situation is very bad now.

I ordered the retreat, the purpose of which was to get out of the range of the Qing submarines and buy time for us to discuss the next course of action, for it is now impossible to break through from the mouth of the bay, and it is less than an hour before it gets dark, and you should all know that after dark, our situation will be even worse.

At the moment, there are only two options before us, one is to surrender, or the other is to sail directly to the west, and after docking, abandon the ship and land, and withdraw to Durban by land.

Less than 500 kilometers from Maputo to Durban, we will face the Qing army on the way, but at least there is more hope than surrender. ”

As soon as the words fell, there was a discussion in the official warehouse.

If there is a chance to break through, no one is willing to surrender, but it is also conceivable how much it will cost to abandon the ship and land and break through by land, not to mention the loss of all the warships, how many people can finally return to Durban safely after trekking more than 400 kilometers under the encirclement and interception of the Qing army?

Listening to the discussion, Hebu was about to open his mouth to agitate a few words, but he didn't want Bendeman to speak first: "The attitude of the Qing army towards prisoners, you should all know, not only will they not kill prisoners of war indiscriminately, but they will also give prisoners of war basic humanitarian guarantees and allow them to be redeemed. Once we abandon our ships and land, we will undoubtedly break through by land, which will undoubtedly give the Qing army an excuse for slaughter. ”

Speaking of this, he looked at He Bu and Du Bailei, "If we abandon the ship and blow up all the warships when we land, the Qing army will not leave a single prisoner, and I think you have also heard of the ruthlessness of the Qing army."

Finally, I would like to say one more thing, will the Qing army, after being provoked, send a fleet to capture Durban? ”

There was a sudden silence in the official warehouse, Maputo to Durban was only 270 nautical miles, and the Qing fleet could arrive in a day and a half, and I was afraid that it would not take half a day to capture Durban, and they fled to Durban with great difficulty, but they still fell into the hands of the Qing army.

After hesitating, Du Bailei said: "If you don't blow up and sink the battleship, you won't anger the Qing army." ”

Bendman asked rhetorically: "If we don't blow up and sink the battleship, why is it necessary for us to break through by land at a heavy price?" ”

"Of course it's necessary." He Bu took over and said, "I believe that none of you here wants to be a prisoner of the Qing army. ”

Bendman glanced at him and said, "Once it gets dark, surrender may be a luxury, I don't want to waste time arguing with you pointlessly, take a stand." As he spoke, he glanced at everyone, "Raise your hand in agreement to surrender." As soon as the words fell, he was the first to raise his hand.

After hesitating, Albini raised his hand and said, "I have no reason to sacrifice the lives of most of my subordinates, just to fight for that slim chance. ”

Immediately afterwards, the generals of Germany, Austria and Italy raised their hands one after another, seeing this situation, Bendeman nodded, "Very good, agree to surrender, we raise the white flag to surrender to the Qing fleet, if you are not willing to surrender, you can continue to go west, abandon the ship and land to break through." ”

Seeing this situation, the expression on He Bu's face was extremely ugly, but there was nothing he could do, Du Bailei spread her hands helplessly, "In this case, I also agree with surrender." "Only the British and French fleets abandoned their ships and landed to break through, and they didn't even have the slightest way to survive, or even have a chance to land.

Even if it was to surrender, Bendeman was not willing to join the British and French fleets, he was afraid that the British and French would drag them all into the water, if the British and French opened fire when they surrendered, the three of them would have no chance to surrender even if they wanted to, he immediately said simply: "In case of accidents, it is best for us to surrender in two batches." ”

Hearing this, He Bu showed a wry smile on his face, the other party was determined to surrender, and he didn't even give them the slightest chance, he immediately said aloud: "Everyone, I will say one last word. ”

Everyone who saw it looked over, and then he continued: "Have you ever thought about it, we surrendered so easily, the Qing naval fleet not only did not suffer any damage, but also obtained a large number of warships, next, what action will the Qing naval fleet take?"

If I were the commander of the Qing Navy, I would immediately send a fleet to Cape Town, Elizabeth, East London, Durban and other coastal ports to blockade the entire South African sea, and all the transport ships and merchant ships of various countries would become the spoils of the Qing army, and the land forces of various countries would have no choice but to surrender.

Before you decide to surrender, I would like to ask aloud, are you so at ease? ”

These words were very heartbreaking, and when they listened to the translation, all the generals present trembled in their hearts, and Bendman sneered: "Abandoning the ship and landing, blowing up and sinking the battleship, can you change this situation?" No! The Qing people will still blockade all the ports and seas along the coast of South Africa!

Unless we can inflict heavy damage on the Qing fleet, or successfully break through, however, we can't do it, the Qing fleet will not fight with us at all, and will not allow us to break through! ”

On the flagship of the Qing army, the 'Jingyuan', the coalition fleet was divided into two, and one of them drove straight in the direction of their fleet, Xiao Mingliang said coldly: "This is to play a two-sided attack?" ”

Report ——。 The communications officer said in a tone that was obviously a little excited: "The enemy fleet has raised the white flag. ”

Just surrendered? Xiao Mingliang was a little speechless, and there was a new torpedo that didn't work yet, so he surrendered? This was too unbeatable, and sure enough, the coalition forces were a rabble, and he immediately ordered: "Confirm again!" ”

Soon, the communications officer reported again, "All the more than 30 warships of the fleet that came came hung white flags, judging from the flags hoisted by the warships, they belonged to Germany, Austria and Italy. ”

"Is there any infighting?" Xiao Mingliang said: "Send a speedboat to test it, if it really lands, lead them to dock nearby, and return to Hong Kong tomorrow to surrender." ”

On the flagship 'Sevani', looking at the German, Austrian, and Italian fleets flying white flags in the distance, Du Bailei sighed lightly, "I originally thought that this was at least an unprecedented sea battle, whether you won or lost, it was enough to go down in history, but I didn't expect this ending." ”

"Go down in history for sure." He Bu said with a gloomy face: "Although this battle is not fierce, it is still a classic naval battle, torpedo boats, submarines, and mines will have a profound impact on future naval battles." ”

Du Bailei nodded, and then said, "It's time for us to set sail too." "With the surrender of the German, Austrian, and Italian fleets, they had no choice but to surrender if they did not want to be annihilated.

Shanghai, Zhennan Wangfu, Changle Book House.

In the study, Yi Zhizhi stood in front of the desk and practiced calligraphy with full concentration, and in the outer living room, Zhao Liewen leisurely sipped tea and looked at the newspaper, the two seemed to be idle, but in fact they were waiting for news from Maputo, and learned that the coalition fleet sent troops to Maputo, and Yi Zhizhi ordered to go down, and did not see the guests!

The Battle of Maputo was the key to the war in South Africa, once defeated, the Qing Dynasty would not only lose the gold mines of the Transvaal and Mozambique, but also face the European coalition forces to attack the door, whether it was Britain, France, Germany, Austria and Italy, they would not miss a great opportunity, and would inevitably take advantage of the great victory of the naval battle to directly attack the door in order to grab more benefits and greater benefits.

Even if the situation of being invincible and undefeated, it is unbearable for the Qing Dynasty, once the navies of European countries understand the true combat power of the Qing Navy, this war is very likely to become a protracted war, and the current Qing Dynasty is absolutely not capable of supporting a protracted large-scale war, especially the battlefield is still in distant South Africa.

Although he is full of confidence in this battle, before the result is out, Yi Zhishu is also nervous, the war is full of uncertainty, sometimes a small mistake may affect the entire battle situation, not to mention, the disparity in the strength of the two sides is still extremely large.

A rush of footsteps came, Zhao Liewen hurriedly put down the newspaper and stood up, at this time no one else could come in except Yan Yangtian, sure enough, soon Yan Yangtian appeared at the door, and when he saw the excitement on the other party's face, he immediately put his mind at ease, glanced back, and saw that Yi Zhizhi had already appeared at the door of the study.

"Great victory, great victory in Maputo!" Yan Yangtian excitedly raised the telegram in his hand, "Xiao Mingliang called, sinking sixteen enemy warships, capturing sixty warships, capturing more than 50,000 prisoners, and a large number of transport ships ....... ”

Zhao Liewen said: "What about our losses? ”

"Minimally!" Yan Yangtian said: "Only two torpedo boats were sunk, and many other battleships were damaged, all of which were not serious, and the casualties were only two thousand. ”

After reading the telegram, the smile on Yi Zhixiang's face was even stronger, "This battle was fought beautifully!" It's a classic! After a pause, he continued: "Call back, immediately divide your forces and blockade the sea of South Africa, all the ships of the belligerent countries will be ordered to surrender, otherwise they will be sunk, the ships of neutral countries will be ordered to stop for inspection, and those who resist will be sunk!" ”

"Yes!" Yan Yangtian replied loudly.

"Wait." Yi Zhizu said with a smile: "Jingshi is also looking forward to the news when he wants to come, and forwards the Old Summer Palace and the Prime Minister's Palace." ”

Yan Yangtian, who was waiting, left quickly, and Zhao Liewen smiled and said, "Congratulations to the big shopkeeper, the battle is decided!" ”

"The battle is decided, exaggerated." Yi Zhicontent said with a smile: "However, this battle completely annihilated the naval fleets of the five countries and completely controlled the sea dominance, and there is no suspense in this battle of South Africa." ”

"The students are not exaggerating." Zhao Liewen said with a smile: "This battle not only established the victory of South Africa, but also established my country's position as the supremacy of the sea. ”

Yi Zhishu shook his head, "Today's maritime hegemon not only needs strong industrial strength, but also needs strong economic strength, with the current situation of our country, the position of this maritime hegemon is still unstable, we must guide public opinion to clearly understand this, otherwise it will breed arrogance and arrogance." ”

Listening to the mention of public opinion, Zhao Liewen took the opportunity to ask: "Maputo is a big victory, there is no need to continue to hide it?" ”

"It would be hypocritical to hide it any longer." Yi Zhishu smiled: "Publicity with great fanfare." ”

The great victory in the naval battle of Maputo, the annihilation of the naval fleets of the five countries in one fell swoop, and the complete control of South Africa's sea power, there was no suspense in the South African war, and the final victory was only a matter of time.

Kyoshi, Prime Minister's Office.

The first prime minister of the Qing Dynasty, Prince Gong Yili gently patted the thick stack of newspapers on the desk, "Since it has been reported, it means that there is no moisture in Maputo's victory, and some people should be beaten." ”

Su Shun naturally knows who these people refer to, Prince Yiyun who sits in the northeast! For him, this is naturally a good thing, after all, Yi Yi's identity is there, and it is more appropriate for him to come forward to clean up Prince Alcohol than for him to come forward, and immediately smiled and said: "The drought in the north has passed, and the war in South Africa is about to end, and the northeast is indeed not suitable for delay." ”

It really can't be delayed any longer, once the war in South Africa is over, free up, Yi Zhizu will definitely turn around and clean up the Northeast, with that guy's temperament, how can he tolerate the situation of the Qing Dynasty, the imperial court must do it before this, if you really have to wait until Yi Zhishu solves the problem in the Northeast, the Beijing division may be implicated.

With a long sigh, Yi Yi said, "Without further ado, I'll go to Shengjing in person." ”