The South China Sea, since the Qin Dynasty, has been in the sight of the Chinese. By the Han Dynasty, its sight had gone far into the inland sea. By the time of the Yuan Dynasty, the ships of the Yuan Dynasty had left a historical imprint on the southernmost part of the South China Sea. Since then, the entire South China Sea has been included in China's territory.

With the increasing maritime trade, the South China Sea has become a necessary route from the Indian Ocean to East Asia. With trade, there are people who want to get something for nothing. Like bandits and horse thieves on land, there are more and more pirates in the South China Sea. The South China Sea is dominated by the four major coral reef islands of Dongsha, Nansha, Xisha and Zhongsha, and there are a large number of islands scattered throughout the South China Sea, which also provides enough safe hiding places for pirates, and also increases the difficulty of political axes to exterminate pirates.

Ever since the Dutch occupied a large number of islands in the South Seas, the Dutch Far East Fleet has been encircling pirates. But the island must not be land, and it cannot be garrisoned for a long time, so it becomes a warship, and the pirate runs away, and when you leave, he comes back. Today you have exterminated a share, and tomorrow you will regenerate another on the spot, and the pirates are inexhaustible. With the replacement of the maritime power of Western countries, Britain is now the main force in the South China Sea. But this must be China's territorial waters, and although the Qing navy cannot defeat Britain now, how can there be no Chinese warships patrolling China's waters?

Therefore, since the reorganization of the Nanyang Fleet, patrols in the South China Sea have entered the routine of the Nanyang Fleet. In addition, after the coordination between the imperial court and the British Far East Fleet, the Qing Nanyang Fleet and the British Far East Fleet jointly carried out patrols and bandits in the South China Sea.

According to the patrol coordination method of the two countries in the South China Sea, the British Far East Fleet and the Qing South Sea Fleet patrolled at intervals. To ensure that there is always a fleet in the South China Sea that can provide the necessary assistance to merchant cargo ships.

As soon as this plan was put forward by the Qing State, it was immediately praised by all countries in the world, and they praised the Qing State as a responsible country. The British Far East Fleet was also willing to patrol with Qing warships, and it was not necessary to sail every day, which could save a lot of naval costs. And the Qing State could also use patrols and bandits to train naval officers and soldiers, especially for newly recruited naval officers and soldiers, where else could there be a better training object than pirates. Moreover, the bandits can also be supported by the British Far East Fleet in all aspects, from nautical charts, intelligence, tactical training, to naval warfare and cooperation with a real naval power. In Guangxu's words: Fight monsters and brush experience.

One day in early October this year, Rear Admiral Lin Yongsheng, commander of the Qing Nanyang Fleet, approached Vice Admiral Filimant, commander of the British Far East Fleet, and frankly said: The two destroyers patrolling the Qing Nanyang Fleet had not returned to the Qing Dynasty, and he had specially asked the British Far East Fleet to change course and go in the opposite direction to look for traces of the warships of the Qing Nanyang Fleet. The cruise route of the Qing Nanyang Fleet started from Hong Kong, went east to Dongsha Islands, then headed south, returned north after passing through Nansha Islands, and then returned after passing through Zhongsha Islands and Xisha Islands. Philmante readily agreed, and a cruiser from the British Far East Fleet sailed with two destroyers to the Paracel Islands to begin a routine patrol in the South China Sea.

As a result, as soon as the British Far East Fleet patrol detachment passed through the Xisha Islands, it found 20 or 30 people wearing the uniforms of the Qing Navy floating on the sea. After a brief inquiry after the hurried salvage, it turned out that it was really the officers and men of the two destroyers of the Qing Nanyang Fleet, a total of 28 people. Their warship was robbed by pirates, who escaped by jumping into the sea without the pirates noticing. The patrol captain heard the report, when did the pirates have the ability to fight the regular navy? After detailed questioning, the detachment leader couldn't help but smile dumbly.

The Qing Nanyang Fleet was not as good as the British Far East Fleet and battleship configuration, and the Nanyang Fleet only had two Tiger-class heavy cruisers that had just been bought from the British, and the others were small destroyers. In addition, the Qing Nanyang Fleet had less funds, so the heavy patrol also minimized the opportunity to go on patrol. Besides, no matter how powerful a pirate is, there is only a wooden clipper with sails, which is not only inferior in tonnage, but also in firepower to iron destroyers. Even at the end of the speed, the pirates are not as good as the destroyers. Generally speaking, pirates don't mess with the regular navy, because they can't outrun people.

And it was the two fastest destroyers of the Qing Dynasty that cruised normally to a place about 90 nautical miles south of the Xisha Islands, and found nearly 100 people overboard and fragments of wooden planks floating around. The two destroyers stopped to salvage the people who had fallen into the water, and by the time everyone had been rescued back on board, it was already dark. It was learned that these people were all Chinese who had returned from Nanyang and had been looted by pirates here. After the destroyer had settled the crowd on both ships, it continued its cruise to the north.

When the fleet had been marching at a speed of ten knots for five hours, and it was also in the dark of night, the rescued crowd suddenly attacked various key points on the warship. Since it was night, there were no people except for the necessary posts, the number was at a disadvantage, and the sailors were not trained in combat, so they did not have time to sound the alarm and were quickly defeated. And the command room kept calling the sailor room but there was no response.

When the warship was fully controlled, it was realized that the people who fell into the water and were rescued by them were actually pirates. When they were driven to the deck, a woman who looked like a pirate leader told them that they had gone through the sailors' room with a smoke. Then the pirates began to persuade them to surrender, and the captain and first mate, who did not want to surrender, were killed by them on the spot. The other sober sailors took advantage of the pirates' lack of attention and began to jump into the sea to escape, but only a few of them escaped.

When the captain of the British Far East Fleet patrol heard the news, he really didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

It is a maritime practice to rescue people who have fallen into the water at sea, and it is a misfortune for the navy to cry that pirates actually robbed the regular navy in this way, and they even succeeded! But the ridiculous thing is that the Qing Navy was too careless, and the regular navy was robbed by pirates.

The British detachment commander asked about the situation in detail. According to them, a small number of sailors surrendered under the threat of pirates. But the pirates did not pursue them, and the two warships did not find that the pirates had killed people on a large scale before they left their sight, and the pirates did not seem to be familiar with the warships' **, so they tossed in place for nearly two hours before driving away slowly. And they have been drifting at sea for more than a day.

I watched the Qing sailors eating food like hungry tigers, as well as the salt particles that were dried into the hair. The detachment leader confirmed that these Qing sailors had been in the sea for at least a day. In desperation, the detachment leader could only send a destroyer to send the Qing sailors back. And he continued his patrol, and in the later patrols, he also got a lot of evidence about the robbery - a large number of Qing sailor uniforms and several decomposing corpses.

Two destroyers of the South Sea Fleet were robbed by pirates? The news brought back by the returning destroyer was like a thunderbolt that blinded Philimante, what was the matter? After understanding the situation, he could only arrange for these Qing sailors to send back to the Nanyang Fleet. He then sent a telegram to the Qing court in the name of the British Far East Fleet to see what the Qing court would react to, and how quickly the Qing navy could assemble in this regard. At the same time, Philmantle also made this news a general matter in the Far East, alerting cargo ships in various countries in the form of a notice. To his disappointment, the telegram was not delivered to the military aircraft until the third day, and the other navies of the Qing Dynasty did not respond to Ben. But the news spread all over the world in three days, and the two newest and fastest destroyers of the Qing Nanyang Fleet were snatched by pirates.

This incident has become the most discussed joke in the world today, and they are all watching the reaction of the Great Qing Kingdom.

"Is the South Sea Fleet and all TMD a herd of pigs? was robbed of the warship by pirates who only had a broken sampan, Lin Yongsheng's head was full of pig, or did he grow up eating...... "On the Palace of Nourishing the Heart, Guangxu kept repeatedly mentioning pig or something.

It is no wonder that the emperor's export is dirty, and pirates have robbed the warships of the regular navy, which is unheard of. The emperor was furious above, and the courtiers who were silent knelt down and didn't dare to come out, complaining in their hearts about the Nanyang Fleet, what did they do.

"Also, three days ago the British sent a telegram, why didn't it come until today? Li Hongzhang, as the prime minister of a country, how do you do it? Investigate the matter thoroughly. All relevant persons will be dismissed from their posts and held accountable. ”

"Wow." Li Hongzhang hurriedly responded, and then he said cautiously: "Your Majesty, we must severely crack down on pirates provoking our Qing Navy, otherwise Western countries will not look at my jokes of the Qing Dynasty." It's just that how to deal with it, please ask the emperor to show me. ”

If there is anything else to show, go all out to suppress the bandits. On the same day, the Naval Staff ordered the transfer of four destroyers from the Pacific Fleet to replenish the South Sea Fleet, and at the same time, a regiment of marines was also ordered to transfer south. The Nanyang Fleet, reinforced by the Marine Corps, was dispatched to the South Seas to suppress bandits. At the same time, the imperial court strictly wanted the female pirate, and notified the surrounding countries of the South Seas such as France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Spain and other countries to request assistance in the arrest.

The entire Nanyang family where the woman is the head of the pirate is Sai Jinhua, who is entrenched in the Zhongsha Islands, and there is no other semicolon. It is also the most powerful group of South Sea pirates. When the Nanyang Fleet swept towards the Zhongsha Islands, the marines searched everywhere on the island, and got only one result - people went to the empty building. The officers and men of the Nanyang Fleet, who could not avenge their comrades, poured their anger on other pirates. Supported by eight 203mm naval guns and dozens of 152mm and 102mm naval guns and various small-caliber machine guns, the Marines carried out a major purge of known pirate dens. The recalcitrant pirates were crushed by the regular army, unable to organize a decent resistance. After a month of suppressing bandits, not only did they exterminate several groups of pirates. Moreover, under the behest of Guangxu and under the arrangement of the Navy Staff, from land to sea, from the imperial court to the localities, even the Pacific Cargo Company also participated, and a battle for logistics and supply was also fought at the same time. For Guangxu, this is also a good test of the ability of logistics and supply in wartime. As for the Nanyang Fleet, it not only gained rich combat experience, but more importantly, captured the treasures accumulated by the pirates in the past hundred years. Boxes of gold jewelry worth tens of millions of taels were shipped back to China, and everyone was happy and didn't feel hard.

The Nanyang Fleet is not a pirate, and all captured will naturally have to be handed over. But the emperor didn't let everyone work in vain, and twenty percent of the value of this batch of treasures was taken out, one percent was directly distributed to the officers and soldiers of the fleet as a bonus, and one percent was retained as a pension for the fallen soldiers. When the silver of the white flowers was sent to everyone, everyone was dazzled by the luster of the silver. Just when everyone mustered up the courage to make persistent efforts, the General Staff ordered the Nanyang Fleet to be transferred to repairs. Because Sai Jinhua was secretly arrested in Sarawak.

And the Qing Kingdom's one-month suppression of bandits has suffered the pirates, and everyone has accused Sai Jinhua. Some people even threatened to catch Sai Jinhua and hand her over to the imperial court, so that the imperial court would not be so ferocious in Nanyang. But the fact is that the pirates have fully contracted, giving up the South China Sea and beginning to retreat to Luzon.

The long and narrow island of Palawan acts as a natural barrier separating the South China Sea from the Sulu Sea. There is a nameless island in the south of Palawan, and the local fishermen call it Black Wind Island, because there is a pirate den on the island - Black Wind Village. The reef was so shallow that only a few small boats could be taken, and unless it was an old sea wolf who was familiar with the situation, he would not dare to burrow into it. Only one channel is accessible to larger vessels. Since the imperial court began to suppress bandits, Sun Haitao, the big boss of Heifeng Village, Sun Heihu was in a particularly happy mood, the strength of the pirates from the east was greatly damaged, he took the opportunity to recruit manpower, while expanding his strength, on the other hand, he also issued a summoning order for a name. Gather the pirate leaders to his Black Wind Village to discuss how to deal with the bandits of the imperial court. Actually, he wanted to be a pirate leader. When all the pirate leaders gathered in the Black Wind Village, after nightfall, Sun Heihu set up a banquet.

"Ladies and gentlemen, now that the imperial court is in a hurry to suppress bandits, this place is still safe, but I can't guarantee when the imperial court will kill them. Today, I, Sun Heihu, have invited all the big leaders here to discuss how to deal with the suppression of the imperial court. Sun Heihu picked up the wine bowl and said, "Please speak freely." ”

"Don't you just want to make everyone listen to you, why bother so much. Now we are begging you, why should you be coy? "It was a tall man from the Northeast who spoke. It is said that the pirates of the South Seas are all Chinese in the south of the Yangtze River, and they are generally not as tall as the northerners, so it is really not used to the sudden appearance of such a pirate in the South Seas. He was a newcomer to the area, just in time for the court to suppress bandits. And although this person has a gloomy face, it can be seen that he has not killed many people.

Although Sun Heihu thinks so in his heart, it doesn't mean that he wants you to say it so directly: "What did you say about Sha Da Master." Everyone is in the same boat, and it's time for us to work together. ”

"Lao Tzu didn't bother talking so much, anyway, I can't beat the court. Here is also the strength of your grandson's family, what should I do with your grandson's family. As long as you send a message from the master of Sun Da, I will do it. If there are family matters to deal with, I won't accompany them. After speaking, Sha Da master's fist arched, turned around and left the Black Wind Village.

Sun Heihu smiled a little embarrassedly, although the Sha Da master was a little disrespectful, but he must be the first to support him with a clear banner Sun Heihu. So Sun Heihu didn't stop him, but said, "This old sand." Haha, everyone continue to drink. ”

The Shada boss left Blackwind Island on a clipper, and in the open sea that was invisible to Blackwind Island, two ironclad warships and several old-fashioned wooden sail gunboats converted from merchant ships were quietly moored on the sea.

As soon as the lord of Shada boarded the warship, the captain came forward to report: "Your Excellency, ......"

"Who's big." As soon as the captain spoke, he was interrupted by the Sha Da master: "We are now pirates, not the navy. It's called the big boss. ”

After the end of the First Sino-Japanese War, he was transferred to the Pacific Fleet as a destroyer captain, and after half a year of high-intensity training, he was dismissed from all official positions on the grounds of having no superior, and then secretly came to Nanyang under the arrangement of the CIA to become such a pirate boss.

"Yes, big boss." The captain didn't know how to use words for a while, thought for a moment and said, "Our pirate ship is ready, the reconnaissance pirates have figured out the clear way, and the pirate marines are ready. Please give instructions to the big boss. ”

Pirate Marines? Pirates even use the name of the regular army? How awkward this sounds. Not to mention him, the person who listened, even the person who said it felt deeply awkward. Sa Zhenbing thought about it, and couldn't think of any good name for a while: "Order, all-out attack." ”

All the warships that were in the process of being stopped started and rushed towards Blackwind Island.

"Using the name of the imperial army, with a unified standard of spear, a neat and orderly attack queue. This is not a rabble of pirates. "A woman walked into the command cabin under guard.

Sa Zhenbing thought about it for a while, and what he said was right: "Haha, it seems that the emperor handed you over to me, but it has a deep meaning." After this war, I also asked Zhu Er's master to give us a pirate lesson. "Zhu Er's family is Sai Jinhua Zhu Erniang.

In the Black Wind Village, the big bosses of the pirates from all over the country were drinking happily. A whistling burst of cannonballs rained down from the sky, blowing up all the pirates on the island. Could it be that the imperial court has come to suppress the bandits? Soon, fierce gunfire rang out around the island. With the landing of the Marines, the end of the pirates came.

Sa Zhenbing took Zhu Erniang into the Black Wind Village, where he had only left for less than an hour, and said to Sun Heihu, who was being held on the ground: "Now I have the final say here, Sun San is in charge, what do you think?" ”

The sun had just risen over the horizon in the office building of the Pacific Freight Company in Guangzhou. The telegraph operator woke up Lin Yongxiang, who was still asleep: "The big shopkeeper, Monk Sha sent a telegram: requesting supplies." ”

"Let the fleet go." After speaking, Lin Yongxiang muttered in a low voice: "Hi! Sending supplies to the pirates, what's the matter? (To be continued.) )