Even though he interrogated some of the captured prisoners and asked what was going on with the breech-loading rifled guns, at first the captives refused to confess, but after a period of torture, several of the captives who could not resist finally confessed that this was the most advanced artillery produced by a company called Krupp Iron and Steel in the Chinese Empire.

Sima hurriedly asked this artillery, can the Chinese Empire be mass-produced? Thinking of the power of this artillery, he was most worried about energy production. As a result, the captives' answers confirmed his fears, it was indeed energy production, and the production was not low, and the gun with the door number "Krupp-D/150C/216#" meant the meaning of the 216th rear-mounted rifled gun with a gun diameter of 150C.

As soon as West Malaysia heard this information, he did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly informed the Governor of the Straits, Brandel, and hurriedly reported this important information to the Ministry of Defense and the Admiralty in London through the channels of the other party.

Knowing that the Eastern Empire actually had such an advanced cannon, Channel Governor Brandel also attached great importance to it. And he thought of the plea for help from the Governor of the Dutch East Indies, considering that it would be very harmful to the Far Eastern interests of the British Empire if the region were to be occupied by this newly rising Eastern Empire.

Brandel told Sima that he had to send troops again to crush the South Sea Fleet once and for all, and to help the Dutch recover Borneo and Batavia.

......

Looking through the binoculars at the sponge ahead, Sima's mind didn't know where to fly. He still remembered what Governor of the Straits Channel had said two days ago: "General Sima, I know that recently our British Empire's overseas troops have been transferred to Hindustan to quell those rebellions, and that damned Burmese natives have taken advantage of the fire to loot Calcutta, but according to Governor Canning's recent statement, it is suspected that the Burmese natives have been secretly helped by the restless new empire in the East, and have also participated in the sacking of Calcutta." Therefore, the Governor of Canning has asked London to suppress that country by all means, and that it cannot be allowed to grow any longer, especially the army, and that country, which has the largest population in the world, more than the whole of Europe, and if it is allowed to develop, would not it be terrible? ”

Also, especially for its navy. Now listening to the Dutch East Indies Governor and West Malaysia, the navy of that country has such a strong combat power, which can completely annihilate the Dutch East Indies fleet and capture Borneo and Batavia, which has shocked the Strait Governor Brandell! It was only then that he and Sima remembered the report of the Governor of Hong Kong, Bao Ling, and before they knew it, that country had developed a navy that could not be underestimated.

"General West Malaysia, no matter how powerful the opponent's South Sea Fleet is, now that the Indian rebellion has been basically suppressed, although it needs a lot of soldiers to go to quell the rebellion, this eastern country must be ready to fight, otherwise, our British Empire will lose the entire Far East! We can't let them continue to wreak havoc, it's not just a matter of helping the Dutch, it's about the fundamental overseas interests of our entire empire! I beg you, Admiral Sima, as an earl conferred by Her Majesty, to lead your men to attack, even if you lose most or even all of your entire fleet, defeat that South Sea Fleet, completely contain the Chinese Empire, and not allow the other side to interfere in the East Indies, or even threaten the entire Far East! ”

Sima handed the binoculars in his hand to a captain next to him and sighed.

In the past, he must have been very confident that he would defeat this newly emerged Eastern Fleet, and the other party was nothing more than a newly established navy! But after the last battle, he couldn't help but get worried. Last time, the other party was just a sub-fleet in this South Sea Fleet, and now it is twice as strong as the other side, and after the defeat last time, the other side must have learned a lesson. He knew very well in his heart that the last time he was able to defeat the other party, it was due to the lack of discipline and improper command of the opponent's naval battle, and those soldiers had too little experience in naval combat and insufficient training, but even so, the opponent's artillery, which was more advanced and powerful than the British Empire, made him have a great shadow in his heart.

Hopefully, I will be able to get within range of the guns of the Combined British Fleet, and defeat them with the good training of our soldiers, as I did in the last naval battle. Let's hope your fleet will lose fewer warships!

At this time, the captain suddenly shouted loudly: "General Sima, on the southeast side, there are some dark shadows, suspecting that it is a fleet!" ”

Sima's heart tightened: "Are they also waiting for us?" Give the order and get ready for battle! ”

After a while, the lookout had determined that it was the South Sea Fleet in the distance.

Half an hour later, the fleets of both sides drew closer. The Combined Fleet has discovered the warships of the opposing fleet, although there are more of them than the Combined Fleet, but the balance of the war is the number of artillery and the naval soldiers who fight, and these are never afraid of anyone, let alone just a newly established Eastern Fleet.

Under the methodical command of West Malaysia, the British Combined Fleet seized the semi-tailwind west, and although the wind was very small, they were in good standby, but the other side suddenly began to turn and began to go south with a semi-headwind. The wind on the sea was southwesterly, so if the Combined Fleet rushed to attack, it would lose its completely tailwinding direction. However, the wind and waves on the sea today are very rare, and the wind is very limited, so it is not important for West Malaysia to seize the upper hand.

But West Malaysia could not be delayed, and the more than a day's journey from the rear was Xingjiapo, the seat of the governor of the strait, and there was no room for error. He could only order the combined fleet to meet it all, even if there was no tailwind, it would not be a headwind, everyone was semi-tailwind, and the battle was fair.

Probably also realized that the wind was not strong, and the opposite fleet no longer seized the direction of the wind, but instead of rushing over, it slowly stopped, pulling the formation apart, like a plate of loose sand.

Seeing the other party behaving like this, Sima exhaled lightly. It seems that the commander of the other side really does not command the naval battle of the fleet, so he is much more relieved.

Slowly approaching, the combined fleet had already arranged the best attack formation, with a cone-shaped two columns directly into the enemy fleet, cutting the local interception into two sections, and then it could wait to approach and then start the attack with the best range. West Malaysia believes that it will definitely be able to deal a serious blow to the other side, and with the level of the opponent's third-rate command, it will definitely command chaos, even if the opponent's artillery is sharp, it will greatly reduce the losses of the combined fleet, and naturally, victory is certain!

Twenty minutes later, it was seen that the combined fleet was only seven or eight hundred meters away from the enemy warship. West Malaysia gives the order, get ready to attack!

At this time, the group of enemy ships in front began to move, slowly beginning to move to the side. The seemingly irregular fleet also began to form a group of two or three warships, and finally formed a wedge-shaped queue, but the front one was a cruiser with a deep draft, and in front of the hull, it was facing the British warships.

A staff officer beside him shouted, "Isn't this the main cruiser of the Dutch East India Fleet?" It must have been captured by the Nanyang Fleet of the Qing people, and they actually used it as the lead ship to attract our artillery fire! General, don't care about them so much, since the other party uses it as cannon fodder, sink it first! ”

But a bad feeling inexplicably rose in Sima's heart. He couldn't tell what was wrong, so he couldn't help shaking his head, and when he looked at it again, his face couldn't help but change, and he exclaimed: "It's not good! I didn't expect it to be like this! Really ruthless, really willing! ”

The captain and staff officer next to him hurriedly asked: "What's the matter, General, those Qing people don't understand naval warfare at all, what's wrong?" ”

"Alas, have you noticed, the cruiser had a very deep draft, and the captured Dutch cruiser must have been wounded, and the guns were not strong, so they simply compacted it to increase the tonnage of the ship. In doing so, I am worried that the other side may break the jar and break it and end up together, with this cruiser as the leader ship directly hitting us! And, you see, they are in a strange formation, which I have never seen in my forty years in the navy fight with such a wedge formation! Sima was worried.

"Don't worry, general, even you have never seen it, it is definitely not a combat formation, it is just a random coincidence of those Qing people. Although they have now overthrown the barbaric Qing people, it is only a few years, it is impossible to learn the naval warfare of our British Empire, let them pay the most expensive price to pay the tuition fees! ”

Hearing the staff officer's confident words, Sima didn't think much about it anymore, and ordered: "Let all ships pay attention to cooperation, and wait until you enter 350 yards before starting shooting!" Concentrate your fire and sink that cruiser first! Let's go! ”

There was no warning or temptation on either side, and the naval battle began!