The war was imminent, and there was no room for hesitation at the top, and soon the cabinet made a decision to transfer three battleships from the Mediterranean Fleet to supplement the expeditionary fleet. The British battleships were concentrated in the Atlantic Fleet and the Mediterranean Fleet, and the cruisers were scattered all over the world because of strategic needs, and the temporary deployment was time-consuming, so the losses of the cruisers of the expeditionary fleet were not replenished.

The existence of every battleship had a political role, and the Mediterranean Fleet, second only to the Atlantic Fleet, played a decisive role in containing Russian expansion, safeguarding British interests in Africa, defending the Suez Canal, and balancing the situation in the Balkans. When drawing battleships from the Mediterranean Fleet, the cabinet considered that Spain, France, Italy, and other Mediterranean powers were all anti-China allies, and in order to divide the interests of China, they would not stumble at this time. Russia, on the other hand, suffered heavy losses in the Far East war, its navy did not have five years to recover, the domestic economy was depressed, revolutionary activities were rising one after another, and Nicholas II could not look for trouble in Turkey, the Balkans and other places in a desperate situation.

The convenience of the international environment gave Britain more confidence, and deeper, the British did not intend to show off their force through this war, to show that the sun never sets on the empire, to maintain their supremacy. The Boer War and the Burma War were a humiliating blow to the British, and flexing their muscles in the war against China was no less significant than the benefits of technology and turf gained from China in the face of the imminent movement of emerging powers such as Germany.

So even if Britain suffered heavy losses in Rangoon, it had to bite the bullet and continue. The telegram from London soon reached Admiral Natal, who finally relented and ordered the fleet to set sail and return to Bombay to join the Indian fleet and await reinforcements from the Mediterranean.

The most reassuring thing for Natal was not the reinforcements from within the country, in the telegram. Three battleships from the Mediterranean Fleet were to compensate for the losses of three battleships of the expeditionary fleet, keeping the battleship detachment intact. And after the convergence with the Indian fleet, four armored cruisers were mobilized from here, and the battleships built after 1900 were supplemented to the 1st and 2nd cruiser detachments. After that, the expeditionary fleet was to rendezvous at the British Far East Fleet anchored in Singapore, from where it was again replenished with two Centurion-class battleships and three cruisers. As a result, the number of warships of the expeditionary fleet increased instead of decreasing. The combat effectiveness was again strengthened, and the naval strength of the British was visible.

Normally, the great powers would be completely wiped out after the loss of six capital ships, but the British replenished the losses of the battleships in a short time, and this is not counting the new ships moored on the slipway of the shipyard, if you count the British terrifying shipbuilding capabilities, even if all the British warships of the expeditionary fleet are sunk, the British are confident that they will regain their strength in two to three years, and they will once again dominate the seas by virtue of their numerical superiority. At this time, the British Navy was really invincible all over the world, and the battleships that other countries could not ask for were entered into service like dumplings. It's them who the master is talking about.

What reassured Admiral Natal was that this telegram ordered him to continue to serve as the commander of the expeditionary fleet and preside over the naval war against China, which showed that he had not completely lost trust, and also showed that Fisher and others in China had not lost the ability to control the situation, and that Navy Minister Bellas had not regained the right to speak in the navy because of this matter. What is even happier is that he can obtain a rich merit through the victory of the naval battle against China, make up for his mistakes in Yangon, and not only will he not be punished at this time, but he can also go to the next level. It's worth a drink!

Of course, the plundering of gold by the sailors and officers of the expeditionary fleet caused the fleet's defenses to be lax. Even if you cover it up now, it will be discovered later. This is the responsibility of Natal, who cannot be shirked, and I am afraid that it will become the main firepower of the attacks of political opponents afterwards.

Ma Kui, the head of the Yangon station of the Investigation Bureau, felt that his work was not too easy, and he was transferred from China to serve as the head of the Yangon station last year, but he was not suitable after leaving the fancy world in Tianjin, although everyone in the Investigation Bureau knew that the speed of promotion abroad was faster and the space was larger. But Ma Kui still doesn't want to go abroad - he still has a wife like a flower in Shanghai, and he can't take him with him to work abroad, and he can't see him twice a year, who knows if she will find the old king next door to relieve her loneliness?

However, Ma Kui has indeed risen in his career, and Yangon Station is the key station of the Investigation Bureau. This is the relay point between the Burmese Free Army and China, and it is also an important passage for China to the outside world. It is also an important clearinghouse for Western intelligence, and the British attach great importance to India and Burma, and the frequent exchange of information makes it easy for Magui to obtain the information he wants.

For example, this time, the intelligence room of the Yangon station intercepted the coded telegram sent by the British from London, and the code was not a problem under the strong decipherment level of the Investigation Bureau, and what made people feel more happy was the equipment equipped by the Investigation Bureau. Deciphered intelligence indicated that the British would reinforce the expeditionary fleet, and ships from the Mediterranean Fleet, the Indian Fleet, and the Far East Fleet would make the expeditionary fleet even stronger.

After sending this information back to China, Ma Kui began to deal with the aftermath, the sea snake team looked stupid and stupid, making people think that they were all strong men with developed limbs and simple minds, I didn't expect to come up with such a clever plan, and it was very lucky, it was also the British who died, and even the defense of the battleship was ignored for the sake of gold, which made the sea snakes destroy the nine battleships of the expeditionary fleet in one fell swoop, happy!

The sea snakes are happy, the military is happy, the government is happy, President Lu Liang is happy, and even the people are happy, the only one who feels a little unhappy is probably Ma Kui, his mission is not over, the Yangon station of the Investigation Bureau wants to help the sea snakes escape from Yangon, escape from Myanmar, and return to China. Because at this time the British were frantically looking for the attackers.

After bidding farewell to Natal, Admiral Kitchener stood on the pier and watched the dinghy carrying Admiral Natal go away, and then looked at the wreckage of the battleship that had sunk in the distance, but there were still places with thick smoke, and he felt angry.

Natal could not even hide his joy when he received the telegram from home, and Kitchener could see that he Natal was worthy of joy from the abyss to the rebirth. If it weren't for the importance of dialogue and naval warfare at home, Natal might have been brought back to China for trial! Damn, I left the mess by myself, and I hate wiping my ass the most!

No matter how annoying it is, it has to be carried on, since last night, Kitchener organized an attack investigation team, and quickly found the suspicion - before the sinking of the Edward VII, more than 100 crew members on board were rescued, and one of the sailors took the initiative to report, saying that a few minutes before the explosion, he was helping to transport "supplies" from Jimmy, the owner of the Maple Bar, on the merchant ship, and saw a small fishing boat of locals more than ten meters from the side of the merchant ship, but there was no one on the fishing boat. It was the location of the fishing boat that exploded, and Kitchener sent men to dive underwater, and found that the location of the explosion matched the sailor's description.

Another seriously wounded sailor, who was being treated an hour later, woke up and described a similar situation. That is, fishing boats mixed in small boats transporting "supplies", carrying a large amount of explosives close to the battleship, and then detonating the explosives in some way, which led to the sinking of the battleship.

Admiral Kitchener has been in the army for so many years, and he has not heard of any way to detonate explosives from a distance, except in a suicidal way (the long-range Goliath bomb only appeared in the forties). Moreover, military ******* explosives are not available to everyone, and it is possible that the Free Army of Burma has them, and they have accumulated a large amount of explosives in the course of many attacks on British convoys, and although it is somewhat reluctant to take out thousands of kilograms at a time, it is not impossible.

Wait on the shore, find the right moment, approach the battleship in a dozen small boats, and then detonate the explosives. Admiral Kitchener mentally walked through the attack, and if it was a suicide attack, all the attackers would have died in the explosion, and the real mastermind behind it was the Free Army of Burma. If that's the case, it's easy to do, at least you can hand over to London, and your mission has always been to fight the Free Army of Burma, and then it's good to continue.

There is another possibility, and it is very likely, that the Chinese army sent people to carry out this attack, they have all kinds of unpredictable equipment, they have the motive, the ability, and they can also rely on the help of the free army.

In other words, there are two biggest suspects now, the Free Army and the Chinese Army, and they are indeed ******** and terrorist countries! In any case, the attackers started on land, and the city-wide martial law and the blockade of Yangon's roads were necessary, if not effective, as a gesture for London.

Beginning at five o'clock in the morning, Kitchener, who had completed the information, ordered martial law throughout the city to look for traces of suspicious persons. The 3rd Royal Infantry Brigade of the British Army, the 15th Infantry Division of the Indian Army, and 1,000 policemen from all over the city joined the search for them, and the land and water routes within 100 kilometers outside the city were blocked.

Three hours have passed since the end of the attack, and the Sea Serpent team, with the cooperation of the Investigation Bureau, has just left Yangon and has traveled less than 15 kilometers to the north. Immediately after hearing the movement, they hid on the side of the road, and soon saw a group of cavalry and infantry passing quickly, indicating that the British reacted quickly, and it was unlikely that they would want to leave by land with a swagger.

Unable to disguise themselves as Burmese natives, the sea snakes are over 1.8 meters tall on average, with a fierce face and a strong body that is out of place with the locals. And each person also carries a certain amount of weapons and ammunition - these things must not be discarded, and they will definitely be noticed after dawn, so the escape route must be changed. (To be continued.) )