It's like a dazzling gift!

When the guns and decks of the Warrior were spewing smoke and smoke everywhere, almost everyone thought of the word "salute". Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

But the impact of such an expensive "salute" on people, especially for those British sailors, was unprecedented.

When the surviving sailors on the Warrior began to abandon ship, for the sailors on the "Black Prince" who were alone on this battlefield, what they witnessed finally formed a signal in their minds - failure!

Now the ironclad fact is that no one believes that they can defeat the Chinese fleet, and they even suspect that the Chinese only need one salvo to send them all to the icy bottom of the sea, of course, maybe many people will be spared.

Now they are glad that they are near the sea, not in the depths of the Atlantic, which allows them to paddle their sampans to land easily, even if they become prisoners of the Chinese.

No one even had the courage to fight anymore, and the naval battle, which lasted less than two hours, was undoubtedly catastrophic.

Eleven of the thirteen warships of the task force sent by Britain to visit Panama were sunk within half an hour of the start of the naval battle, and the first ironclad ship "Warrior", which was regarded as the pride of Britain, turned into a huge firework, and even the surviving "Black Prince" ironclad ship is now full of holes and may become a "fireworks" at any time.

How powerful is the deterrent power of the barrel of the black hole?

For the hundreds of British sailors on the "Black Prince", facing the four besieging Chinese warships and facing their black holes, there was only one thought left in their minds - they would die.

All will die!

Die or live!

That's a problem!

This was a problem for Ergin, who was on the ironclad ship "Black Prince", and it was also a problem for Vice Admiral Herb.

What should I choose?

Faced with this situation, a voice in Herb's head told him to keep fighting, to fight for the honor of the Royal Navy.

He could even imagine that if the fight continued, after the sinking of the ironclad ship "Black Prince", after the news in London, all the newspapers would call him a hero, and despite his defeat, he defended the honor of the Royal Navy.

"As Vice Admiral Heber also tried, but the technical gap put him at a disadvantage from the beginning, and there is no doubt that the Chinese have left us far behind in shipbuilding technology!" That's why the Royal Navy suffered defeat......"

To be sure, his failure will spur the British to build more ironclads, and as for him personally, it is possible to become a hero full of tragedy, which of course is the best outcome.

What is the other outcome?

It was the politicians in London who would have blamed him for everything - it was his incompetence that led to the defeat of the task force, and for ordinary people they could not see the technological gap between the Chinese and British navies, nor how hard they had fought.

For ordinary people, what they saw was a 13-0 victory, what they saw was his fiasco, and he Hober was very likely to become the most disgraced general in the history of the Royal Navy.

And this possibility is the greatest, because politicians need someone to take responsibility for this naval battle, and who better to act as such an object than a dead man?

Dead people don't justify themselves!

It is impossible for a dead man to defend his honor!

Thinking of the accusations and criticisms made by London's politicians and newspaper critics after his death in the war, Herb's hands could not help but clench into fists, and he could not tolerate all this.

But what will happen if the fight continues?

What is certain is that if he continues to fight, he has little chance of survival, and he is very likely to become a dead man in the next battle!

At that time, everyone in London will blame him for the defeat of this naval battle, and his wife, children, and family will bear unprecedented shame.

Just as He Bo was thinking about this, Ergin, who was a special envoy, unexpectedly came to the bridge and walked to He Bo's side and said.

"Your Excellency, I'm sure everyone has done their best!"

As an official, Ergin said in a compassionate tone,

"This naval battle, to the point where it has been fought, there is no hope, and if it continues to fight, it will only make everyone pay senseless sacrifices......"

As a civilian official, Ergin never thought of sinking to the bottom of the sea with the fleet, and as a diplomat, even if he surrendered now, he would be treated well by the Chinese, after all, he was a diplomat.

As a diplomat, he naturally has no responsibilities and no obligations, and lives and dies with the fleet.

Ergin's words spoke to everyone's heart—almost all of them didn't think they could continue fighting, and now the results were clear, and even if they did, they would just become another "Warrior".

If you don't continue to fight, then, what should you do?

Surrender or run away!

There are only these two options.

"Your Excellency, our shells are running out!"

The words of the gun commander made everyone's minds sink slightly, and the two-hour battle had already made them almost empty of shells.

The same is true of the Warrior, if it weren't for this, perhaps it would have sunk to the bottom of the sea by the detonation of ammunition at times, instead of floating on the surface with black smoke as it does now.

The shells are running out!

It's really a terrible battle!

The fact that the naval battle has reached this point shows that everyone has done their best.

Including himself......

But how should you choose?

He first thought of escaping, but looking at the Chinese warships that had been surrounded, He Bo knew very well that the possibility of escaping was almost zero.

Is it really necessary to hang up the white flag and surrender to the Chinese?

Just as Herb hesitated, a steam dinghy was lowered from the "Hubei" with a white flag hanging over it.

Will Job surrender?

When the traffic boat was dispatched, looking at the "Black Prince" less than a kilometer away, Zhang Di felt as if his heart was about to jump to his throat.

After the "Warrior" lost its combat effectiveness, he set his sights on the "Black Prince", and he was eager to end the naval battle with a clean and complete victory, but the harsh reality forced him to put this idea away.

The two-hour naval battle also almost ran out of shells - less than 30 shells were left for the main gun and less than 30 for each secondary gun, which meant that he would not have enough shells to sink the "Black Prince" and even less enough shells to deal with what might happen next.

For Zhang Di, he must consider what the consequences will be after the end of this naval battle - China and Britain are very likely to declare war on each other, and the Western fleet in the Atlantic Ocean may be intercepted by the British Royal Navy at any time, if he runs out of shells in this naval battle, then how will he deal with the British Royal Navy at that time?

If there is a naval port in Panama and there are shells in the military port......

Now all this is obviously utopian, as the captain of the fleet, Zhang Di needs to be responsible for the entire fleet, and needs to be responsible for the future of the world's most powerful ironclad fleet, after all, this is the most deterrent fleet of the Imperial Navy.

Immediately after the "Warrior" lost its combat effectiveness, he made a decision - to persuade him to surrender!

"Rear Admiral Zhang Di, Admiral of the Western Dispatch Fleet of the Chinese Empire, sent a letter to His Commander-in-Chief of the British Empire Task Force, under the command of He Bo:

With the changes in the current situation, I and Your Excellency are engaged in the field, how unfortunate is it? However, today's affairs, state affairs, and non-personal enmity, the warmth of my friendship with Your Excellency is as good today as yesterday'......"

After receiving this letter of persuasion, Herb's expression changed, and he did not doubt that after the surrender promised in the letter of surrender, every officer and sailor of the Royal Navy would receive treatment corresponding to his rank and would be able to retain his personal belongings, after all, many officers in the Chinese Navy had studied in the British.

Now what?

Is it really just a surrender?

When this idea really came to mind, he even thought of sending someone to the bilge to gouge through the bottom of the ship so that the warship would not be captured by the Chinese, but after thinking that the ship was an iron-hulled ship, he gave up this idea.

The Chinese are closer!

Looking at the Chinese warship hundreds of meters away, looking at the black hole barrel pointing straight over, the officers on the bridge all sweated for themselves.

Everyone looked at Hebb and waited for his decision.

"Everyone obeys my orders."

Finally, after a long silence, He Bo puffed up his chest and shouted.

Hearing the order of the commander, all the officers and men on the "Black Prince" looked at the enemy, they waited for the final order, as long as the order was given, they would shoot all the shells out in the shortest possible time, and then ......

What happens then?

No one cared, and the soldiers all held their breath and waited for the final orders. They knew what they were up against, but no one hesitated, and as a Royal Navy, they were used to obedience. In any case, they have kept their oath, they have fulfilled the last duty of a soldier, and what will happen to them in the future no longer means anything to them.

But Heber did not continue to give orders, his eyes were fixed on the Chinese warship, staring at the enemy ship that seemed to have almost no damage, and despair once again swelled up with his heart.

In the midst of this despair, Heber had already commanded loudly.

"Raise the white flag!"

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