At the No. 2 Pier of Zhoushan Military Port, the second "Huashan" of the Wuyue-class battleship, the inauguration ceremony was underway, and several thousand naval officers and men, dressed in crisp white uniforms, lined up under the main gun turret of the battleship to be inspected by Chinese President Lu Liang.

"Salute!" The officers and men looked at the approaching President with proud eyes, hoping that he would notice his efforts, but the President seemed to be absent-minded, could it be that the powerful warship and the majestic main gun could not attract him?

After one year and seven months of construction and six months of sea trials, the Huashan finally became a member of the main warship of the Chinese Navy. During the construction of this warship, the core parts, such as the power, main guns, and armor of key parts, were built by the steel base, and the rest were all built by the Huaguo Shipyard, and finally assembled at the Zhanjiang Shipyard. In addition, the perfect training system for naval officers and sailors enables the Huashan to obtain excellent officers and men at the first time and form combat effectiveness in the shortest possible time.

The entry into service of the second Wuyue-class battleship indicates that the Chinese Navy has the ability to attack abroad, and the two super warships, one for maintenance and one for combat readiness, can allow the navy to have a battleship sailing at sea at any time. In the relatively tense situation in wartime, two warships can attack at the same time, and the deterrent power of one Wuyue-class can make the Western powers dare not act rashly.

The Western powers should be afraid, and in fact there is a clear expression of fear, even horror. Before the launching ceremony of the Huashan, the Chinese newspapers had publicly reported that there were pictures and truths, including individual data such as the tonnage of the battleship and the caliber of the main guns. While the top leaders of the West were silent about this, public opinion maintained the greatest attention to it, setting off a storm of super-warships in Europe and North America, and the sound of wolves coming was endless.

The Times, the largest newspaper in the UK by circulation, is known for being conservative. The day before the Huashan entered service, it published a commentator's article: The Far East is no longer a desert of civilization, a giant dragon is waking up, and it is making a roar that shocks the world -- the Wuyue-class super warships have a profound impact on the world order, and China, which owns a Taishan, has almost dominated the sea surface of the Far East. It is not difficult to imagine how much Huaguo's ambitions will swell after the second Huashan enters service! With the Far East muddy, the British Empire's interests at great loss, victory over Japan, acquisition of large territories, and arming to defeat Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Bloc, China not only had endless maritime ambitions, but also a growing demand for land.

The more politically radical Guardian declares that China's existence is a sabotage of the world order, a sabotage of Western civilization's dominance of the world, and a scar on human civilization. The world can only be controlled by great Christians. Eastern pagans were doomed to be enslaved by Western civilization. The British government should unite all the civilized nations of the world, declare war on the infidels of the East, launch a new crusade, completely eliminate the threat from the East, and restore at least to the state of the end of the nineteenth century! Unless China surrenders unconditionally and accepts the punishment of the West, it surrenders all advanced technology, including the control of the two super warships, and the British will take custody of it.

Another British newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, has focused its fire on the Liberal government: since Prime Minister Henry formed his cabinet. He did nothing to achieve in the Far East, and allowed the Chinese to expand their influence in the Far East. At the same time as the super warships of China were launched. The British could not see a single ship in their shipyard that could compete with super-warships, and such a government made the population feel no sense of security. We cannot help but wonder when, when the subjects of the empire on which the sun never sets, when they do business all over the world, fear the enemy ships that sail on the seas, but cannot find their own fleet to protect them? Are we back to the time of the Spanish Empire in the Age of Discovery? His Majesty the Great King is advised to take decisive measures to at least abolish Henry's cabinet!

Besides. Le Figaro, the New York Times, the Italian Post, the Royal St. Petersburg News, the Vienna Observer, and so on all expressed similar views, and the most representative was the article of the St. Petersburg Royal News: China is the most shameless and untrustworthy country, such a country and such a race are not worthy of having super warships, and China must hand over two super warships to Tsarist Russia. to compensate for the betrayal of Russia at the San Francisco talks.

Even Ottoman Turkey, the sick man country in Europe on a par with the Qing Dynasty, expressed its desire to have super warships through newspapers, and the newspapers in Istanbul first reviewed the great history of the Ottoman Empire and boasted about the royal family, and only then shouted to Huaguo: the price Huaguo is free, as long as the Ottoman Empire has a super warship!

It is only surprising that this phenomenon did not occur in the German Empire, one of the major Western powers, and there were no reports of Chinese super warships entering service in various newspapers, and ordinary Germans knew that this news was still circulating from abroad.

On the contrary, he felt that this was the clarion call of the Western powers against China, indicating a new round of interference in China!

The feeling of uneasiness lingered, which was the main reason why Lu Liang was absent-minded when he participated in the induction ceremony. The Bureau of Investigation did not obtain any accurate information on this matter from abroad, and could not make preparations accordingly because it could not find out about the plans of the West.

Returning a military salute, Lu Liang turned back to Lu Hai who accompanied him and said: "Looking at it, we don't have an ally, and it is still difficult to reach the top level just by relying on the actions of the Investigation Bureau, especially in the United Kingdom, where the rules of order are relatively perfect, every family has been inherited for hundreds of years, and it is much more difficult to forge an identity than in the United States." In this way, the news is blocked, and we haven't experienced this kind of confusing situation! ”

"The soldiers are coming, the water is coming to cover, it is conceivable that this time the leader must be the British, with certain interests as bait, to win a large group of allies, such as France, Russia, etc., of course, the last charge is definitely not the British themselves, with their shamelessness, they must be hiding behind to cheer for the allies." Lu Hai analyzed, and then motioned to Lu Liang to concentrate, and the officers and men of the navy were all watching, no matter what they said, they had to maintain it.

Lu Hai is right, no matter what he does, I just have to do my own thing. The planned Second Northern Expedition cannot be changed, and until then, strengthening itself is the last word.

By the beginning of April 1906, the more accurate news was finally fed back to Lü Liang, and a secret telegram from San Francisco showed that with Britain as the leader, France, Russia, Japan, Italy, Austria-Hungary, the United States, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain as members, the ten countries formed a temporary anti-China alliance, and the goal was directly aimed at the Hua led by Lu Liang. The apparent decline in steel exports from the United States in April was a striking sign that William of the San Francisco consortium had a British envoy at a secret meeting convened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The emissary conveyed the official British message and invited the United States to join the anti-Chinese alliance, and after a series of bargains, Roosevelt agreed to the proposal of the British, which was supported by the consortium. Reducing steel exports is the first step for the United States, and the United States will continue to reduce the share of exports to China in the future. Corresponding to the effort is that the United States will get the manufacturing technology of super warships, 20 percent of the Chinese market, and Fujian Province after the destruction of China.

Based on this calculation, the member countries of the anti-China alliance must have received a corresponding share of interests, and the most important thing now is the plan of action of the anti-China alliance, but it is a pity that William has close relations with China, and Roosevelt deliberately concealed a lot of information.

More and more news was confirmed by the Investigation Bureau, first of all, the Japanese and Russian troops stationed in the Northeast and Korea, and the number of Russian troops who remained in the Northeast after the war was more than 30,000, but in a month it increased to 50,000, and through the sea and the Trans-Siberian Railway, war materials were being continuously transported to the Northeast. The Japanese also increased their garrison in the northeast, from 30,000 to 60,000, and the Japanese and Russian armies in Korea were also increased to the size of four divisions, blatantly tearing up the provisions of the San Francisco Treaty. This was already the most obvious signal of war, and in addition, merchant ships from the United States and Britain transported war materials in large quantities and became the main sponsors of the Japanese and Russian armies, which was the main reason why Japan and Russia were able to mobilize again in a short period of time after the war. Based on this, it is conceivable how much the anti-Chinese alliance paid for this operation, and it can be said that it hired the Japanese and Russian armies with money.

In addition, the expeditionary fleet composed of the navies of Britain, France and other countries has been assembled in the Thames, and the Investigation Bureau has not obtained detailed information, but it is certain that there are two Dreadnought-class battleships in the fleet, at least ten other pre-Dreadnought-class battleships, and countless cruisers, destroyers, and other ships. The expeditionary fleet set out on April 3, 1906, and the send-off shouted: "Punish the infidels of the East!" Hang all the Chinese people on the cross! ”

On the afternoon of April 3, the British ambassador of the Qing Dynasty entered Yuan Shikai's official residence and brought with him the requirements of the anti-China alliance for the Beiyang group. Just when the war was imminent, the Bureau of Investigation finally obtained detailed information from here. Compared with foreign countries where secrecy is very strict, the Beiyang Group and the Manchu high-level officials are full of the eyes of the Investigation Bureau, from the little guy who serves tea and water to the staff around Yuan Shikai. (To be continued.) )