After the Battle of the Atlantic on 15 December, the British Navy paid the price of 16 first-class cruisers and 6 torpedo boat destroyers, losing a total tonnage of 200,000 tons, and the British Navy suffered heavy losses again.

After the war, the Atlantic Fleet of the Chinese Empire dispatched submarines and hunting ships to attack British merchant ships in the Atlantic, and in just one month, Britain lost more than 300 merchant ships of various types, and the total tonnage rose from 400,000 tons last month to 500,000 tons. The British people were panicked, and the ministers of agriculture, industry and commerce complained one after another that the political axe and the naval escort were unfavorable, causing heavy losses to the British people, and demanded compensation from the political axe.

The British Cabinet and Parliament have been driven to the verge of madness, the British Navy has suffered heavy losses, lost face, and has to be held accountable by the Parliament, and Fisher shouted that this is the darkest month in Britain. However, what makes him even more sad is still to come.

After losing a powerful cruiser fleet, the British Navy no longer dared to send escort fleets to sea, resulting in the British ocean-going convoy being attacked and plundered by the Atlantic Fleet of the Chinese Empire without protection.

In 1906, the number of British merchant ships lost rose to 500 in January, and the loss of registered tonnage was 650,000 tons, and in February, only in the first half of the month, it lost 300 merchant ships, including a British [***] ship Mammoth, which carried 220 tons of gold for international trade settlement with the United States, all of which were captured by the Atlantic Fleet of the Chinese Empire.

This gold was secretly shipped to the United States, and only Rear Admiral Ramors and his three retinues, who were responsible for escorting the gold to the United States, knew about it, so that the pervasive spies of the Chinese Empire would not intercept the news.

In February, the North Atlantic Ocean struck the first typhoon of the year, forcing the fast cruiser Mammoth to dock at Grett Bay in Bermuda Islands.

At this time, the Admiralty of the Chinese Empire was formulating the seizure of some key strategic points in the world, and the Admiralty, according to the special instructions of the Chinese Emperor Wang Chenhao, asked the Marines to capture some strategic points in the Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and Caribbean Sea, so as to prepare in advance for the future global projection of military power by the Chinese Empire.

Among them, in the North Atlantic, the strategic location of the Chinese Empire is placed in the British Bermuda colony, which is a transit point in the Atlantic, and the Atlantic Fleet of the Chinese Empire cannot stay in the Caribbean Sea all the time in the future, and needs to have a foothold in the North Atlantic, and this Bermuda Islands has become the first choice.

Bermuda is located about 900 nautical miles from North America, about 1,100 nautical miles northeast of Miami, Florida on the east coast of the United States, and about 840 nautical miles southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The establishment of a naval base and an air base in Bermuda can directly control sea and air supremacy in the North Atlantic, and can also contain the United States, making it the only overseas military base choice for the Chinese Empire.

With a population of less than 9,000 and a garrison of 50 men, the British have been almost forgotten by the British for centuries of stability, and the old fortified forts have been abandoned for hundreds of years.

After the Chinese Empire launched a war to break diplomatic relations with the British, it was very far away to send naval and supply from Puerto Rico to the middle of the North Atlantic, so this Bermuda archipelago became a very good supply location.

On December 19, 1905, the 3rd Wing of the Marine Corps of the Atlantic Fleet of the Imperial Chinese Navy, under the cover of the naval guns of the Atlantic Fleet, captured Bermuda without much effort.

After the capture of Bermuda, Admiral Dusigui, commander of the Atlantic Fleet, chose to block the news and secretly build a naval and air base on the Bermuda Islands. Among them, a naval aviation base was built on St. George's Island, a naval pier was built in St. Davie's Bay, next to St. George's Island, and a naval base was built.

After that, all the British merchant ships intercepted by the Atlantic Fleet of the Chinese Empire were escorted to various bays in the Bermuda Islands, and supplies from the San Juan Naval Base in Puerto Rico were also transported to the Bermuda Naval Base on a large scale, so as to facilitate the rapid replenishment of the North Atlantic Fleet.

With the occupation of Bermuda by the Atlantic Fleet, control over the North Atlantic route was further strengthened, and the Atlantic Fleet made sorties during the day and returned to the Bermuda base with booty at night to rest, and the frequency of sorties increased several times.

On February 5, 1906, the British cruiser Mammoth was transporting gold to the United States, and repeatedly evaded the detection of the Imperial Chinese Navy, but encountered a typhoon in the Bermuda sea area and had to dock at Glitter Bay in the Bermuda Islands for shelter.

However, when the Mammoth enters Gretel Bay, it suddenly discovers that it has changed owners. Rear Admiral Ramors was taken aback and hurriedly ordered the battleship to sail out of Gretel Bay, but unexpectedly ran into the Chinese Imperial Battle Cruiser Zhou Yiwang, who had just returned from robbery.

At first, Zhou Yiwang did not realize that the British battleship had run to the doorstep, but as soon as Rear Admiral Ramors saw the battle patrol of the Chinese Empire, he immediately raised a battle alarm, and the nervous British naval soldiers immediately opened fire, which provoked Chen Jiliang, the captain of the Zhou Yiwang battle cruiser.

A fierce battle broke out between the two sides, and the Mammoth was nothing more than a fast cruiser, too weak in firepower and armor, and was hit and caught fire soon after the engagement.

During the battle with the battlecruiser Zhou Yiwang, Rear Admiral Ramors and three of his retinue were unfortunately killed by gunshot, and in a panic British sailors drove the Mammoth into the shallow area, where it ran aground. The remaining British naval officers and men surrendered, because they did not know that the ship was carrying 220 tons of gold, and when they knew that the officers and men of the Atlantic Fleet counted the prisoners of war, they found that two of the original five ammunition depots contained boxes of gold bars.

When the commander of the Atlantic Fleet, Du Xigui, learned of this, he was overjoyed and hurriedly reported to the Admiralty and the General Staff for credit.

In the Forbidden City's Qinzheng Palace, Wang Chenhao, the emperor of the Chinese Empire, also learned about it for the first time.

"This Du Xigui is really a lucky general who collects money!"

Wang Chenhao looked at the report submitted by the Admiralty, and his heart was naturally happy, the Atlantic Fleet has made a windfall in the Atlantic Ocean in the past few months, successively robbing a large number of British merchant ships, intercepting a large amount of materials, and the total value has exceeded 30 million pounds. Now another 220 tons of gold have been seized, equivalent to 30.04 million pounds, which is another windfall.

Cabinet Secretary Zhang Feng explained: "This gold should be part of the UK's trade deficit with the United States last year, and as an international trade settlement, countries can only settle in gold." Last year, the British trade deficit with the United States was 29.98 million pounds, and 220 tons of gold was just right when it comes to the fire consumption and purity of international gold exchange. ”

Wang Chenhao said with a smile: "Then Britain has suffered a lot of losses this time!" I have to give Du Xigui a big credit! ”

Deng Shichang, Minister of the Admiralty, said with a smile: "What Your Majesty said is very true, but this kid is not modest at all. ”

Wang Chenhao smiled: "Is it normal? What commander does not want to grow his troops? The Atlantic Fleet has achieved a lot in the past few months, and it is time to reward them. In this way, the decree was to crown Du Xigui as a first-class viscount, and as a first-class baron Li Dingxin, the chief of staff, and confer a second-class medal on each of them. As for the other meritorious soldiers, the Admiralty will award them as appropriate. ”

"Obey the order!" Deng Shichang led the order.

"What other good news do you want to tell me?" Wang Chenhao looked at the ministers.

War Minister Duan Qirui said at this time: "Your Majesty, our army base camp is currently winning a great victory in Burma, the 19th Army of the Chengdu Military Region is progressing smoothly in Burma, and has captured the capital of British Burma, Mandeqin, and the British troops stationed in Burma have retreated to the coastal city of Yangon. As long as His Majesty gives the order, the Imperial Army will completely drive the British army into the sea. ”

Wang Chenhao nodded and said: "If we continue to fight, the interest dispute with the British will be even greater, won't the British make peace with us?" ”

Wang Chenhao never wanted to completely break out a full-scale protracted war with Britain now, he knew that Britain was a country that was difficult to conquer, and Britain would fight with the Chinese Empire to the end, which was a result that Wang Chenhao was not happy to see, so he hoped for peace talks as soon as possible, because the more the war continued, the faster Germany in Europe would develop, which was not conducive to the expansion of the Anglo-German contradictions that Wang Chenhao expected.

Foreign Secretary Ng Dinh Fong replied: "Your Majesty, the British Foreign Office is still taking a tough stance, but there are already some people in Britain who have suggested peace talks between China and Britain. ”

Wang Chenhao nodded and said: "The British are worthy of being an old industrial power, although the losses are huge, but they are far from the point of breaking their muscles and bones. ”

At this time, Minister of the Interior Nguyen Trung Shu said: "Your Majesty, it may only be effective if you teach the British a further lesson, and if it really hurts them." ”

Wang Chenhao nodded, looked at Wang Shizhen, and asked, "What is the opinion of the military department?" ”

Wang Shizhen replied: "Your Majesty, the military department has further confirmed through relevant intelligence that the British have indeed deposited 900 tons of gold in the Cape Town bank, and the military department is further coordinating with the navy and army to formulate a plan to raid Cape Town and seize this batch of gold. ”

Wang Chenhao asked, "Didn't you say that there are more than 2,000 tons of gold?" ”

Wang Shizhen replied: "The British have secretly transported more than half of the more than 2,000 tons of gold plundered from the treasury of the Oran Free State back to London, England, because the Sino-British War broke out, and the Imperial Atlantic Fleet blocked Britain's external shipping lanes, so that the authorities in Cape Town, England, gave up transferring the remaining gold back to London, leaving only 900 tons in the Bank of England in Cape Town. ”

"It's a pity!" Wang Chenhao sighed and said, "Are the remaining 900 tons of gold sure?" ”

Wang Shizhen replied: "After the war, Britain strengthened the defense of Cape Town, especially after the empire won a great victory at sea, the main force of the British navy was transferred back to the home defense. Cape Town was without the protection of the British Navy, and the army was strengthened, from one infantry division to three infantry divisions. The plan drawn up by the General Staff to raid Cape Town by the Marines was very risky, so we prepared to form an expeditionary force to raid Port Elizabeth in South Africa, first cut off the retreat of the British troops in Cape Town to Bechuana, and then counter-encircled Cape Town, and the navy blockaded the port of Cape Town, so as to prevent the British from transferring the 900 tons of gold and ensure that our army got this batch of gold. ”

"Plans can't keep up with the changes!" Wang Chenhao nodded and said: "Britain has 500,000 colonial troops in Africa, so we must fight quickly, don't fall into a stalemate war with the British army, and withdraw as soon as we get the gold." ”

"Obey the order!" Wang Shizhen immediately received the order.

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※On February 17, 1906, the Puerto Rico Military Region of the Chinese Empire formed the South African Dispatch Army, consisting of more than 30,000 men from the 97th Division stationed at the San Juan base in Puerto Rico and the 1st and 2nd Wings of the Atlantic Fleet Marine Corps.

Before the arrival of the South African troops of the Chinese Empire, the CIA of the Chinese Empire sent professional agents to Cape Town to collect all the intelligence information about Cape Town, such as humanities, geography, climate, and the bay.

At 9 p.m. on 2 March, Du Xigui, commander of the Atlantic Fleet, Li Dingxin, chief of staff of the fleet, Vice Admiral Yang Shande, commander of the South African Dispatch Force, and Rear Admiral Zhao Guoxian, chief of staff, held a meeting in the conference room of the battlecruiser Zhou Wuwang.

"This is all the intelligence information that the CIA's Cape Town station gave us, and it covers all the information we need for this operation."

Li Dingxin divided the information into several parts and sent them to everyone.

Then, the MI staff opened the curtain, and the original Atlantic chart on the wall had become a full map of the city of Cape Town, and various important locations had been marked in striking red.

"Gentlemen, may I tell you about Cape Town." The MI staff then highlighted the situation in the Cape Town area as a whole.

The central area of Cape Town is located at the northern tip of the Cape Peninsula, with the Cape of Good Hope at the southern end of the peninsula. Table Mountain's topography forms a bowl-shaped area surrounded by near-right-angled cliffs flanked by Devil's Peak and Lion's Head Peak. Britain built the port of Cape Town in Table Bay, which can accommodate 100,000-ton ships. The port of Table Bay was defended by Fort GreenPoint, located on the northwest corner of the peninsula on the west side of Table Bay. The fortress had more than 2,000 defenders and 22 artillery pieces of various kinds.

"The Achilles heel of Fort GreenPoint was that all of his coastal fort guns were facing Table Bay, built by the Dutch after they had captured Cape Town to prevent a British counterattack. In the Anglo-Dutch War of 1805, the British abandoned attacking Cape Town from Table Bay in front and instead landed at Fars Bay behind Cape Town and attacked Cape Town Town Hall from behind, forcing 20,000 Dutch defenders to surrender without a fight. The British then informed Cape Town that the Fishuk Bay Fortress had been constructed on the Cape Peninsula on the western shore of Fars Bay to prevent other countries from following suit. At present, the fortress has more than 20,000 British troops and 142 artillery pieces. ”

Yang asked, "So if we want to attack Cape Town from behind, we will face more resistance?" ”

The MI staff officer replied: "On the face of it! We have detected another passage for the troop, also in Fars Bay. There is a small Gordon Bay in the northeast of Fars Bay, with a 12-meter-deep waterway, and at the end of the waterway is the small fishing village of the Gordons Cup, which can be landed by our marines. ”

Du Xigui frowned and said: "It is too far to land from there, and by the time our army reached the city of Cape Town, the British would have already transferred the gold." ”

Li Dingxin said: "Not really, do you see, Gordon Bay is not far from the Sten Brasa Railway Station, if we quickly occupy the railway station, we can resist the Goodwood station in the city of Cape Town within two hours, which is less than 500 meters away from the Bank of England building, and our army will attack the bank building with a single charge." ”

Yang Shande said: "The offensive route is not bad, but the position of two stations from the Sten-Brasa railway station is Pass, the British army has 30,000 garrisons in Pass, once the news of Cape Town is attacked, these 30,000 British troops will soon move westward, and the British army will be locked up in the city of Cape Town when the British army turns back with the fortress of Fishuko." ”

Li Dingxin smiled: "So do we still have army brothers involved?" ”

Yang Shande was stunned for a moment, and then smiled: "It turns out that you plan to let my 97th Division be a blocking force?" ”

Li Dingxin smiled slightly, noncommittal.

Du Xigui said: "I see it! As long as the 97th Division held back the British reinforcements for 24 hours, my Marines could safely transport the gold out. ”

Yang Shande said: "This is not good, our army is the organizer this time, and your marines are cooperating, I see that you will come to block the attack, and my 97th Division will go to win the gold." You know, the British must regard gold as more important than their lives, and they will definitely resist desperately, in terms of combat effectiveness, or is our army more suitable? ”

"Old Yang, you're not right!" Du Xigui said: "In terms of combat effectiveness, our marines are all carefully selected elites, and their combat effectiveness is no worse than that of your army. ”

Li Dingxin saw that the two of them were about to stand up to the bull, and immediately stepped forward to stop him: "Where is the difference between the army and the navy? We are all working for the Empire, so don't fight to hurt the peace. ”

"What Chief of Staff Li said is extremely true!" Zhao Guoxian, chief of staff of the dispatch army, also said: "I think this way, there is no main attack and secondary attack, if it is done badly this time, neither our navy and army will have the face to explain to Your Majesty." It's better to be like this, no matter who takes the lead in attacking, the credit belongs to both sides. How about sending half of our forces to attack and half to block them? ”

Du Xigui and Yang Shande are both thinking in their hearts, although the navy and army have always been at odds, but this mission is important, His Majesty the Emperor is watching them, and they can't drop the chain.

"I'm okay with that!" Do Seok-gyu was the first to take a stand.

Yang Shande thought that he had a large army force, and he would definitely be able to grab the first place whether it was blocking or attacking, so he also said: "Since this is the case, then I have no opinion." ”

Li Dingxin then motioned to the military intelligence staff to continue.

The military intelligence staff then said: "The Cape Peninsula has a Mediterranean climate with four distinct seasons. Winter is from May to August every year. The highest rainfall in the city is in winter, with an average precipitation of 321 mm, which accounts for about 60% of the average annual precipitation (about 515 mm of average annual precipitation). Summer is from November to February, and the climate is warm and dry, with an average maximum temperature of 26°C and an average precipitation of only 63 mm. At present, we are in the beginning of autumn, and the autumn weather is high and cool, and there will be no rain in the next three days, which is conducive to the landing operation of our army. Due to the geographical environment of the Cape Peninsula, there are often fresh strong winds blowing from the southeast, and the locals call this strong wind "Cape Doctor". This wind formed in the South Atlantic ridge of high pressure west of Cape Town, and it is expected that there will be a force 6 gale in the next three days, and the artillery of our navy shelled the Cape Town fortress from 8,000 meters south of the bay at full speed, and the shelling trajectory can accurately hit our calibrated target as long as it is multiplied by two-thirds of the arc minutes. ”

Du Xigui smiled: "This information is also given by the CIA?" ”

The military intelligence staff nodded: "Yes, Lord Commander, the CIA stole the meteorological parameters provided by the Cape Town weather station specifically for the military. ”

Du Xigui nodded, very satisfied, and said: "Although these guys are usually, except for Your Majesty, they don't take anyone in their eyes, as if everyone owes them money, but when it comes to the real chapter, don't say that they are quite powerful!" ”

Yang Shande asked: "Lao Du, what does it mean to give strength?" ”

Du Xigui smiled and said, "This is Your Majesty's mantra, it seems that Lao Yang has never talked to Your Majesty!" ”

Yang Shande suddenly glared at Du Xigui angrily, it is undeniable that Du Xigui is still very favored in front of the emperor.

Du Xigui was proud and motioned for the military intelligence staff to continue.

The military intelligence staff then took the guidance whip and pointed to a zigzag position on the map and said: "This is the Masland Airport, there are five reconnaissance planes of the British Army Air Corps, although the cruising radius is only 30 nautical miles, but it is enough to discover the operational intention of our army to attack Cape Town." Our troops must knock out this place before the operation, and the British reconnaissance planes must not be allowed to take off. ”

Du Xigui frowned and said, "Why do you say that the Imperial Air Force sells them planes?" Now it's an obstacle for us! ”

At this time, Yang Shande said: "Lao Du, you don't have to worry, I brought the Desert Fox Special Operations Brigade this time, and it will be effortless to defeat this airport." ”

"Special operations brigade?" Du Seok-gyu looked surprised.

Yang Shande said proudly: "This is the direct force of His Majesty's Special Operations Brigade of the Royal Forest Army, one of the nine special forces of the empire, Your Majesty specially assigned it to me, when necessary, this special operations brigade can directly carry out the decapitation operation, first kill the Governor Churchill of the Cape Town Governor's Palace, and let the British army command the chaos." ”

Du Xigui snorted, what is so great in his heart, look at your proud appearance.

At this time, Zhao Guoxian suddenly asked: "In addition to the Bank of England, what other banks or financial jewelry houses are there?" ”

The military intelligence staff officer replied: "According to reliable information, Goodwood Street is a financial bank street in Cape Town, full of banks and financial institutions from all over the world, there are more than 40 banks on the whole street, South Africa is rich in gold and diamonds, both transactions are carried out in the British Xinzheng Jewelry Bank, with a daily turnover of more than 10 million pounds." ”

Du Xigui's eyes lit up, and he asked Zhao Guoxian: "Brother Zhao, I was about to ask about this too!" I didn't expect that our navy and army also have like-minded times! ”

The two looked at each other, everything was silent, and they immediately laughed.

The other people looked at each other, and soon realized that they looked at the two of them in surprise.

(To be continued)