"How far is it?" On the bridge of the Hansea, the commander of the fleet of the African fleet, Rear Admiral Herzendorf, stayed up all night.

"We passed through the port of Durban half an hour ago and are now at 16 knots, about 70 nautical miles from Maputo Bay, and we expect to arrive in about 4 hours and 30 minutes." Captain Otto? Ernst responded.

"How is our ship doing? Especially our motivation. Herzendorf asked.

"It's great, she's in the same shape now as we were when we first set off, the lads in the power cabin are doing a great job, and it's up to them that we've been able to sail so long without problems." Ernst exclaimed: "Keep up this speed and we'll surprise the British at breakfast." ”

"Yes, the lads have worked hard, but now is not the time to relax, let them work a little harder, speed up to 21 knots, and we will surprise the British while they brush their teeth." Herzendorf ordered.

"But in that case, we won't have enough coal left to make it to Dar es Salaam to replenish it, and we'll probably be floating at sea by then." Ernst said worriedly.

"The country knows that we must not be able to burn coal in such a hurry, and Berlin will send a coal ship to pick us up, if not, then we have to go to Madagascar and let the French fill us with coal, I don't think they will refuse." Herzendorf smiled and said: "But I hope it would be better for someone to pick us up, and I don't think Berlin wants to see that we owe the French a favor." ”

"Yes, Your Excellency."

With the order of the captain. The Lufthansa began to pick up speed, and the only sound of roaring machinery and the sound of the bow splitting the sea could be heard in the stillness of East Africa.

The sun is gradually rising, and the morning sun is shining on the sea. The sparkling waves and the cool sea breeze brought in the British sailors on the Citis to start their day refreshed. They gathered on deck for the morning wash, all the sailors were in order under the supervision of the non-commissioned officers, and the sailors chatted with each other with smiles on their faces, and the atmosphere was very relaxed.

Captain Stokes? Rees stood on the bridge and watched the relaxed sailors smile as they began the blockade mission on the Sitis. A qiē is very smooth, no ship dares to disobey the orders of the Royal Navy, intercept, stop, board, inspect, and release. Any passing vessel is subject to this process.

Except for a damn German cruise ship, the more suspicious it is to refuse to stop and not accept inspection in the face of orders from the Royal Navy. But when his own naval guns are pointed up. The Germans obediently succumbed.

Although nothing unusual was found on board, the German captain was very unfriendly, and there were Boer sympathizers among the passengers on board, who scolded the British sailors during the inspection. So I detained this German cruise ship and taught these Germans a little lesson.

Although two days ago, a ship from the port of Durban came to inquire about the situation, and he learned that Germany reacted very violently to the matter. But so what, the Germans can only lose their temper there. Just like the German captain, he could only obediently follow the instructions of the Royal Navy in the face of naval guns.

And the Sappho came only to inquire about the situation. He did not bring any orders, so his own action to detain the German cruise ship was not opposed by London, so he could continue to detain the German cruise ship until an order was issued from above.

Due to the inefficiency of the Salisbury government, the British missed the opportunity to make the big thing small, and if the ship that came to inquire about the situation had brought an order to let the German cruise ship go immediately if it did not detect anything unusual, the Herzog would have left the Hansa long since it arrived in the area.

Then the German side can only get the news that the British side has released it 2 days ago, and the Lufthansa is equivalent to running for nothing, and the next step should be for the government to fight each other through diplomatic channels. But it was precisely because the Citis had not received any orders that the detention has continued to this day.

As the British sailors had finished washing, dressed, and prepared to go to breakfast, there was a sudden agitation in the bridge of the Citis, and Stokes heard a nervous shout coming from the lookout: "Three o'clock!" German warships! ”

"What!" Captain Stokes did not bother to go to the officers' quarters to enjoy his exquisite breakfast, grabbed his binoculars and looked in the direction of 3 o'clock, and when the target appeared in his field of vision, Stokes' face immediately turned pale.

The entire hull of the incoming warship was not yet visible, but the characteristic German tubular mast and the enclosed watchtower at the top (which the British had never known was the location of the rangefinder and firing command room) and the fluttering German naval flag were enough to determine the identity of the comer.

And what made Stokes even more nervous was that the German small ships did not have such masts, and the German warships that arrived were bound to be large ships. Although Stokes had never seen the Elizabeth class, as a British Royal Navy officer, he could still judge the identity of the other party.

The German battleships were far from home, and two Victoria? The Louiser class is all in the Philippines, so it must be the latest armored cruiser in service with the German Navy, but even the latest German cruiser can't get here so quickly!

The nearest Walvis Bay port base for the Germans is also more than 2,500 nautical miles away, have the Germans kept coming at full speed?! Even if their powertrain doesn't fail, they won't be able to afford the range.

In fact, Stokes guessed correctly, the Lufthansa had run out of coal at this time, and if there was no coal ship to replenish the coal, it was estimated that the Lufthansa would have to go with the tide at sea by then.

But now, although it was not in time for the British to brush their teeth, Herzendorf decided to surprise the British with a big surprise.

When the entire hull of the Hansa jumped out of the sea, Stokes saw a huge cruiser rushing straight towards him, judging by the splash of the opponent's bow, the speed of the opposite cruiser would not be lower than 22 knots!

Due to the long run, the Lufthansa, which had run out of coal, had its displacement greatly reduced by this time. However, the German power system is often designed with a certain margin, so it can output more power than the design value when used in actual navigation.

At this time, the Lufthansa output more than 22,000 horsepower under overload, pushing the hull of the ship, which was already close to the unloaded displacement, to run 22.3 knots!

Therefore, the British watched a huge ship of more than 8,000 tons approaching at a speed of more than 22 knots.

The Citis was nothing more than a second-class protected cruiser. With a displacement of 3400 tons, the fire of 2 152-mm rapid-fire guns and 6 rapid-fire guns of 119 mm faced the newest German armored cruisers, God! I guess it's not enough for the other party to stuff his teeth!

As a bargain for the Royal Navy to maintain the mass construction of sea shipping lines, the Apollo-class second-class cruisers did not even reach a speed of 20 knots, and they could not even run!

"Prepare for battle!" Stokes shouted, "Send a signal, ask the other party about their intentions!" Sue them, this is the control of the British Royal Navy! ”

With Stokes' orders. The Citis began to deflect the bow and met it. Although he was a little arrogant, Stokes still had the simplicity and courage of a British Royal Navy officer.

Never back down! Fight when you see the enemy!

On the Sitis, which was turning sharply, lights and flags were constantly played. But the German warships in the distance seemed to be blind, and still kept speeding up.

"Damn it, right full rudder, full speed!" Stokes shouted, "Stop them!" They cannot be allowed to continue deep into our blockade zone! ”

The two sides walked in each other's directions, and the distance between them became shorter and shorter. And as the distance decreases. Stokes' heart was beating faster and faster, and the Germans' 210mm naval guns could smash the Citis to pieces without reaching the other side at all! And his own speed is not as fast as the other party!

Stokes planned to turn the rudder when the two ships were close and then block the Germans in order to force the Germans to change course. However, the Germans did not intend to rush straight over and easily pass the customs by themselves, looking at the British warship rushing towards him, Herzendorf smiled slightly, and then ordered: "Left full rudder, no cannon is allowed without my order." ”

The Lufthansa turned right as soon as it was still 4,000 yards away from the Citis. Placing the entire side in front of the British, 6 210-mm naval guns and 4 150-mm naval guns were pointed directly at the Citis. The British also tasted the feeling of being pointed at with naval guns this time.

At this time, the Lufthansa and the Citis formed a perfect T-shape, and Herzendorf was confident that the second-class cruiser would be sent to the bottom of the sea before the British support arrived, but Berlin ordered that no first shots should be fired, and if the fight really started, the Hansea, which had run out of coal, would never be able to break through the British blockade and reach the German East African colonies.

What's more, the slow Herzog is estimated to be the best target for the British, so Herzendorf can only use this way to scare the British.

And Stokes also knew that the Germans on the opposite side could quickly let a boatload of people go to God, so they didn't dare to fire the first shot, and everyone on the Citis was nervous, sweating profusely under the wind of the Indian Ocean. Those gunners were even more in a cold sweat, if the captain gave the order to fire the cannon with a stroke of his brain, or if any guy caused the fire to go off with a draw, it would definitely be a disaster.

With no one able to fire the first shot, both sides began to rack their brains to put pressure on each other, and the Citis made a turn to the right without the Germans firing, allowing all of its broadside fire to be directed at the Germans and closing the distance to 3,000 yards, but Stokes knew that if the Germans fired, he would not have a chance to complete the turn.

In this encounter, he has already lost, even if he enters the same battle now, 6 210 mm and 4 150 mm naval guns against 2 6-inch and 3 4.2-inch naval guns, he is still at a disadvantage, and now all he can do is to keep the course and force the Germans to continue to maintain parallel to him.

After figuring out the intentions of the British, Herzendorf smiled coldly: "Think beautifully, the right full rudder, let's cut off their connection with the coastline!" (To be continued......)