South China Sea, northeast of the Paracel Islands

One battleship, two light cruisers, four destroyers quietly moored to the sea, rising and falling with the waves. The calm exterior can't hide the restlessness inside. The pressure of each boiler is on standby, and with just one command, they can quickly put the battleship into a state of war. This fleet was officially named the Imperial Nanyang Fleet of China, and the battleship Haiqi as the flagship was the captured Russian Catherine II, which was repaired and went south to become the flagship of the Nanyang Fleet.

On the bridge, Luang Weili held a telescope and looked anxiously to the northeast.

HSBC has been in business for more than 30 years since its establishment in China in 1864, and its capital has grown from an initial capital of 5 million Hong Kong dollars to the largest commercial bank in China, earning countless real money from China every year. Previously, precious metals were shipped to the country every five years, but this time it has become three years. The upsurge of investment in the Qing Dynasty for three consecutive years, especially the policy of changing to the gold standard in the Qing Dynasty, has made HSBC even more profitable. Although the newly established Daqing Bank of the Qing Dynasty had a slight impact on HSBC, it was all affected by the Qing Dynasty's own business, and the large increase in overseas business far exceeded the loss of the Qing Dynasty itself. Now HSBC has filled its warehouses with gold and silver, and it has only been shipped back to China, and it is all gold, because all the silver has been exchanged for gold with other foreign banks. Although no one dared to attack the British Empire's freighter on this voyage home from the Far East, the stakes must have been high, and for the sake of safety, the cruiser Nelson was sent to escort him.

But no matter how slow the ship is. It's time to arrive, right? Luang Weili said to himself, no matter how anxious he was, there was nothing he could do. The fleet that would have met here early in the morning has been waiting here for a long time. In the vast sea, I couldn't contact each other. Could it be that they are on the wrong course? It shouldn't be possible, you must know that the captains of both cargo ships and cruisers are veterans of this route. Is it possible to encounter pirates? Lang Weili laughed at himself, how could this be possible. Not to mention that the largest pirate in the South Seas, the Sand Monk, has never crossed the Dongsha Islands, even if he dares, he only has two destroyers in his hands, and even if he gives him two more, he is no match for the cruiser. Maybe it's a mechanical breakdown.

Luang Weili raised the binoculars again and looked at them for a moment. There was still no column of smoke on the distant sea antenna. He put down his binoculars: "Continue to keep an eye on the northeast direction, and report as soon as you spot a British cruiser." With that, he returned to his cabin. I'm going to take a nap first. It's still hot in the South Seas, and it's really drowsy under the cool sea breeze.

From being in charge of the Beiyang Navy, the most elite of the Qing Dynasty, to fighting against Japan, to taking charge of the Nanyang, a weak brigade of partial divisions, cruising the sea, it seems that the power has plummeted, but in fact there are many benefits. Since the sudden return of the Pacific Fleet. Lang Weili knew that he would not be in the Qing Kingdom for long. Because the Pacific Fleet is a well-trained fleet. The military regulations and regulations are very strict, which cannot be compared with the still scattered Beiyang Fleet. As a country's well-trained elite navy, it is impossible to involve him as a foreigner in it, so he even wrote his resignation. However, the Nanyang Fleet, which had done nothing in the entire Sino-Japanese War, was disintegrated by Guangxu like a thunderbolt before the war was completely over, and when he met the Qing Emperor, he became the supreme commander of the newly established Qing Imperial Nanyang Fleet.

Although the commander of the fleet was Lin Yongsheng, the Qing Emperor's decree clearly pointed out that the entire Nanyang Fleet was still under his command during the non-war period. Even the Nanyang Fleet, which was ordered to go north to protect the East China Sea during the Qing-Russian War. Because he did not intervene in the war, he was still in command. The Qing Emperor trusted him, and once praised him in front of all the naval officers as the most professional naval officer with professional ethics. And in order to allow him to have an equal dialogue with Vice Admiral Philiante, the commander of the British Far East Fleet, Qing Guo appointed him as Vice Admiral of the Qing Navy. At this time, he was only a British rear admiral, and because the British considered his military rank in the Qing State to be higher than the military rank in the British was a humiliation, so he was officially promoted to lieutenant general. This has surprised Luang Weili.

With the end of the war between Qing and Russia, the warships built by the Qing State in various countries have also reached the delivery period. Although Liu Buyun and Lin Zengtai of the Beiyang Fleet were transferred to Germany because of the British resale, Lin Yongsheng, commander of the Nanyang Fleet, also went to the United States with Ye Zuqi and others, and they also took a large number of sailors and officers from the Beiyang and Pacific fleets, and the vacant personnel were replenished from the Nanyang Fleet. After his rigorous training, the officers and men quickly became competent for the duties of the Two Oceans Fleet and won unanimous praise. For this reason, the Qing Emperor specially crowned him as a baron of the Qing State in recognition of his contribution to the Qing Navy. As he expected, a month later the British government also declared him a baron of England.

Overjoyed, Luang Weili bought his life, and the officers who graduated from the naval school and the newly recruited sailors refilled the vacant Nanyang Naval Division and entered a new round of military training**. However, no matter how bad the soldiers were in the past, they must have fought in the First Sino-Japanese War, and the will of those who came out of the war was clearer and firmer. But these are all new recruits, and no matter how serious and hard they are, they cannot be compared with those officers and soldiers who have gone through the war. For this reason, he contacted the captain of the escort cruiser and his old friend, Colonel Semet, and asked the officers and men of his ship to go to the Nanyang Fleet and use this short escort time to help them conduct an exercise. Sematic agreed, and after Guangxu learned of this, he specially approved an additional training fund of 5,000 yuan to thank the British naval friends who helped the Qing Kingdom.

He wanted to retire with the rank of general, of course, it would be more perfect if the title could be upgraded to another level. Luang Weili, who had a sweet dream, fell asleep with a smile. It wasn't until Liu Guanxiong, the staff officer of the ship's remaining team, came to inform him that the British fleet had arrived, and at this time, the sun had already begun to set in the west.

As Luang Wei expected, the ship had a mechanical failure, and the repair was delayed for a full seven hours. But it doesn't matter, it's not bad to change the exercise to night. Because it was an escort ship, no Qing people were allowed to board the ship, but after the Nelson maintained the minimum necessary number, the other sailors and officers boarded the Qing warship. Luang Weli wanted to give the recruits a glimpse of the training of the British.

When the second morning came. The temporary fleet passed through the Spratly Islands, and the exercise was coming to an end. The British officers and men of the ships of the South Ocean Fleet also returned to the Nelson one after another. On the deck of the Haiqi, a simple banquet was held. There is no hearty food. Luckily, there was also a bottle of red wine.

"Your Excellency Luang Weili, they are all good guys, well-trained and quick to react. It only takes one more battle and they are the most elite navy. It's all your credit. Sematic held up the wine and smiled.

Yes, through these two nights and one day of intense training, the navy has practiced all the situations that the navy may encounter at sea. Even the Nelson got in and performed what a raid is. The officers and men of the Nanyang Fleet were all good, and their reactions and actions were very good. As Sematic said. Luang Weli also discovered the biggest problem of the entire fleet during the training: everyone could not see the atmosphere of war on their faces, and they did not understand what war was.

Luang Weili raised his glass in response: "I don't think it's a problem, because the Japanese will be back soon." I believe that they will perform even better in future wars. ”

"Haha. That's of course. After laughing, Semat suddenly said in a mysterious way, "You know man. For the upcoming naval battle between Qing and Japan, even if the Japanese have four more battleships, I am still optimistic about the Qing fleet. ”

"Why?" Luang Weili was a little surprised: "You must know that even the Qing Dynasty is considering a plan to return the fleet to the shore and engage the Japanese in a place where there are shore artillery. ”

"I don't know, it's just a feeling." Sematic shrugged: "It's just a feeling. The Qing fleet is the only fleet in the world that has experience in fighting ironclad warships, and it is also a fleet that has won both battles. This wealth of experience would greatly enhance the capabilities of the national fleet, while the Japanese fleet, on the contrary, had previously been sailors for the vast majority of their crews. This difference will level the level of the two fleets. ”

"Maybe you're right, I think. We'll see results soon. ”

The banquet lasted only an hour before it ended. The South Ocean Fleet began to turn to the north, and they were returning to their stations. The Nelson led the freighter on its way to Singapore.

After a hard night's work, and having had a little drink in the morning, Sematic handed over the Nelson to his first mate, and then went back to sleep in the cabin. The first mate looked at the endless ocean and commanded the warship forward boringly and monotonously, and nothing happened for two hours. Except for the two French-flagged freighters that were heading for the Qing Kingdom just across.

"I really don't understand, why does the poor Qing country still have to purchase materials from all over the world, are the Qing people crazy?" The first mate looked back boredly and asked the second mate.

"What do you care about them? It would be nice if this kind of drill could be done a few more times. The second mate laughed with the first mate.

But their happiness did not last long, and the navigator looked at the left and suddenly muttered: It seems to be a torpedo.

The first mate laughed and said, "Now there are only cargo ships at sea except for us, could it be that the cargo ship fired torpedoes at us." "The first mate doesn't care.

The second officer responded: "The cargo ship is loaded with gold, but there are no torpedoes. If they are willing to use gold as a torpedo to attack us, I will gladly take it. Ha ......"

"Boom-" The loud explosion stifled the laughter of everyone on the bridge, and the skyrocketing splash overwhelmed everyone. Someone threw a shell into the water? Without thinking about it, two explosions sounded again. The Nelson, an old cruiser of more than ten years, had been attacked by three torpedoes, and in less than a minute, the whole ship was babbling and began to tilt to port.

"What happened?" Semat, who was in the cabin, was also awakened by three loud explosions, and when he reached the bridge, he saw a crowd of people looking at each other.

"We were torpedoed and three were hit. But ......" the first mate pointed to the sea, and there was nothing.

There were still two sturdy pillars, but now they really don't have them. On the empty sea, there is only blue sky and white clouds. News came from the cabins on the lower decks that the ship could no longer be saved. Sematic decisively ordered the ship to be abandoned, but he demanded to bring all the weapons he could, and he had a premonition of danger.

The freighter behind is really messed up. The miraculous torpedo attacked from out of sight, and even hit three of them. That is, someone has their eye on the goods they are shipping. Is it a pirate or a plundering ship of a country? It doesn't matter, the important thing is that they have a rough fate. Therefore, the freighter could not control the sailors who fell into the water, and increased its horsepower to bypass the sinking warship at full speed. The intention is to leave quickly. But they couldn't go, and just in front of their course, two destroyers with black skull flags appeared in view.

"We are sand monks, stop the ship immediately and stop resisting. If you dare to sink the ship, you will kill them all. "This is the flag of two destroyers at the same time.

This time, everyone was relieved. Sha Shangshang was the biggest pirate in this sea, and they took advantage of the sympathy of the Qing people to snatch two destroyers from the Qing Nanyang Navy, which is already a joke in the world's navies. But this group of pirates, in the words of the Qing people, is called - there is a way of piracy. is only to rob goods, not kill people, and not harm women, of course, if you want to resist, that's the way you can find death.

So seeing Monk Sha's flag, the freighter shipyard immediately ordered the ship to be stopped. And the boilers did not stop, and all the people in the cabin were put on deck. The group of pirates of the Sand Monk is all too familiar with it, and every cargo ship that transits the Sea of China understands it. Don't resist, take as much fresh water and food as you can and go down to the boat yourself. Then Monk Sha can take over your cargo ship as soon as possible and leave. Although the sand monk does not kill many people. But they must be pirates, and if you can stay with them less, you will stay with them less.

Seeing the cargo ship stop and put down the boat, Sematic was not happy. His order was to protect the ship of gold and return home, and if he could not return there now, he would not hand it over to the pirates, and the ship must be sunk. However, the sinking warship next to him muffled Semet's shouts, so he waved the flag to signal the cargo ship to sink itself. He is a soldier, and giving his supplies to the enemy is a capital enemy.

And for cargo ships. Saving your life at sea is the first priority. No one looked at Sematic's flag, and they all went down to the boat in an orderly manner.

"Boom-boom-" A cannonball whizzed into the empty sea in the distance. I saw flags on the destroyer. If you want to live, stay away from that banner. Sematic angered the pirates, and the men on the cargo ship ran faster.

The Nelson finally sank, and the two destroyers sailed over. I can't help but say that I killed all the people on the small boat that was flying the flag first, and the blood of Sematic stained the sea red and stimulated the people on the cargo ship, and now they ran faster.

Quietly watched the pirate take over the freighter, quietly watched the freighter sail eastward, and quietly watched the pirate take a man from himself. While the shipyard was still begging the pirates to spare the young man for their sake of not resisting, the pirates brought everyone together, and the brutal slaughter began. Dense machine-gun bullets pierced everyone's body, until there was not a single moving corpse on the surface of the sea. This is not the end, the two destroyers stayed here for an hour, killing all the last people hiding in the sea.

"Zhang Hao, be careful yourself." Sa Zhenbing handed over a small bag of fresh water and food to the young man brought back from the freighter, and repeatedly admonished: "It is a matter of national security, and there must be no other life except you." A short sword was handed to Zhang Hao.

"Don't worry, sir." Zhang Hao took the short sword, turned around and jumped into the sea.

Zhang Hao is the son of a Chinese British, and when his father was on the streets of England, a kind British prostitute took him in. Then there was him, but his father died when he was five years old. Then the mother and son survived with the help of the Chinese. Three years earlier, the year his mother had died, he had joined a British cargo ship bound for the Far East in accordance with his father's will. It was also in that year that he joined the British Division of the European Branch of the CIA, and he had not done a single thing for three years with the extra income. Three days ago was the first time he made a move, it was to destroy the engine room of the freighter, so that the freighter was delayed by six is only a minor problem. But he didn't know that because of his reasons, the seven hours of delay had happened to the earth-shattering thing. This made him feel uneasy when he jumped into the sea.

Sa Zhenbing left, and the radio transmitted everything that happened here in Nanyang to Beijing. Guangxu put down the telegram in his hand and said to himself with a hideous face: When you go to the South Seas, you start with pirates. (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to come to the starting point to vote for recommendation and monthly passes, and your support is my biggest motivation. For mobile phone users, please go to M. to read. (To be continued......) u