Beginning on 18 October, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Chinese Empire sent notes to the European and American powers protesting against the British occupation of the territory of the Chinese Empire and the British navy's attack on overseas Chinese in Australia.

As a result of the three-year alliance between the Chinese Empire and Germany, the protest of the Chinese Empire was immediately supported by Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.

The Netherlands and other countries in Europe have always been dissatisfied with the Boer War launched by the British, so seeing that the Chinese Empire rose up to rebel against the British, the Netherlands and other countries also expressed their support for the Chinese Empire.

Britain suddenly fell into a state of diplomatic passivity, but the isolation that British political axes have always called "glorious" does not care.

On the 19th, the Chinese Empire once again dropped a bombshell and unilaterally abolished the binding relationship between the dragon currency and the British pound, and the dragon currency and the US dollar. After the abolition, Li Xiaochuan, governor of the Imperial Bank of China, said that after the legal ratio of 5:1 between the dragon currency and the British pound was stopped, and the legal ratio of 1:1 between the dragon currency and the US dollar was stopped, a floating exchange rate system would be adopted.

The move is intended to show that the pound, dollar and dragon coin could be volatile.

Senior officials of the European and American powers held meetings to discuss the purpose behind the Chinese Empire's actions, and eventually some far-sighted politicians and military strategists said that the Chinese Empire might be at war with Britain, because only in a state of war could the dragon currency and the pound sterling fluctuate.

At first, the U.S. political axe chose to bind the dragon coin to the U.S. dollar with the intention of controlling the currency of the Chinese Empire and reducing the risk of dollar depreciation, but with the strength of the Chinese Empire, the Americans found that their intentions had been shattered, so the binding was not necessary. On the contrary, the Americans were afraid that the Chinese Empire would issue dragon coins indiscriminately and drag down the United States, so the American political axe supported the uncoupling of dragon coins and the US dollar.

For the British political axe, the British political axe originally wanted to blackmail the dragon currency of the Chinese empire by issuing additional pounds, because the large-scale expansion of the British navy consumed hundreds of millions of pounds, and the British finances were tight, thinking that the Chinese empire would share the risk of the depreciation of the pound. However, as soon as Britain secretly issued an additional 30 million pounds, the Chinese Empire announced that it would untie the dragon coin and the pound sterling, which suddenly made the British Central Bank dare not throw the additional pound sterling into the market.

At this time, the British political axe officials seemed to see a complete rupture in the relations between the Chinese Empire and the British, and some British officials began to feel that war between China and Britain was about to break out.

The report submitted to the Parliament by the Marquis of Rannes, the Secretary of State for Defense, said that the Chinese Empire was likely to take military action against Britain in the near future, and asked the British Parliament to make early plans.

However, both the House of Lords and the House of Commons of the British Parliament regarded the words of the Secretary of State for Defense as a deliberate attempt by the military to scare the political axe and attempt to demand funds.

The Australian Civil War continued to be fierce, and the British troops drawn from India joined the Eastern Australian Army, which caused huge military pressure on the Western Australian Army, and the war began to be unfavorable to the Western Australian Army.

In order to help the Western Australian Army, the Chinese Empire accelerated the pace of war preparations.

On October 23, the 5th year of Guanghua, the Admiralty of the Chinese Empire finalized the plan for fighting Britain at sea.

According to the battle plan, the First Fleet of the mainland continued to be responsible for the defense of the coastline of the homeland, the elimination of the British cruiser detachment on Hong Kong Island, and the cooperation with the Guangzhou Military Region to recover Hong Kong Island.

The Pacific Fleet of the Second Fleet, as the main fleet, will seek a decisive battle with the main force of the British Asian Fleet and completely defeat Britain's maritime power in the Asia-Pacific region. However, before the Pacific Fleet looked for the main force of the British Asian Fleet for a decisive battle, the Pacific Fleet Command formulated an operational plan for a sneak attack on Singapore, intending to inflict heavy damage on the main force of the British Asian Fleet before the decisive battle.

Singapore is the largest British military base in Asia, and except for a cruiser detachment stationed in Hong Kong, the main force of the other British Asian Fleets is stationed in Singapore.

Because of the tension between China and Britain, the British Admiralty transferred a large number of warships from the Atlantic Fleet, the Indian Ocean Fleet, and the Mediterranean Fleet to supplement the Asian Fleet, so that the Asian Fleet has 20 first-class battleships, 4 second-class battleships, 19 first-class cruisers, 21 second-class cruisers, 13 third-class cruisers, more than 30 torpedo boat destroyers, and a large number of supply ships and auxiliary tugboats, with a total tonnage of more than 500,000 tons.

With such a huge fleet, the Imperial Chinese Navy had to use its brains and use some tricks in order to achieve victory.

The British built a large naval base and land fort in Singapore, with the naval base located in the port of Singapore. The port is located on the southern coast of Singapore, bordered by the southeast side of the Straits of Malacca to the west and the northern side of the Straits of Singapore to the south. The natural conditions of the port are superior, the water area is spacious, and the storm is rarely affected, the area of governance is 538 square meters, the water depth is suitable, and the ships with a draft of about 14 meters can enter the port and berth smoothly.

In order to obtain information from the British Navy in Singapore, the CIA of the Chinese Empire began to collect intelligence three years ago, from the daily weather forecast of the port, to the specific location of the berth at anchor of the British Navy, to the layout of the minefield under the sea level of the port, the depth of water in various places, and the main and backup channels.

For three years, the Ninth Staff Office of the Imperial Chinese Admiralty had been a specialized department in the study of the port of Singapore, and they had tried various methods to attack the British fleet in the harbor after countless war games, but in the end they found that the British Navy was well-trained and had a very strict defense, and the only hope was to use submarines to carry out a sneak attack.

However, because the submarines of the Chinese Empire were no longer an international secret, various countries successively imported a large number of submarines from the Chinese Empire for research. In particular, the British Navy has taken a series of measures against submarine sneak attacks, the most effective of which is that British warships must lower their mine nets after they enter port and drop anchor.

According to intelligence, the commander of the British Asian Fleet is Admiral Lyons, who is a China expert, and has worked with the admirals of the Chinese Imperial Navy for many years, and is familiar with the operational thinking of the Chinese Imperial Navy.

However, the Ninth Operations Division developed a sneak attack plan for the British Navy's defensive loopholes.

Although the British warships would lay down the mine nets, the Admiralty designed a torpedo weapon with a sharp cutting head for the British-made mine nets, and this kind of torpedo with metal cutters could easily cut through the British mine nets at high speeds, so that the torpedoes could hit the British ships. However, the disadvantage is that the kinetic energy of the impact is reduced, and the destructive power is reduced. The Admiralty conducted a series of live-fire tests using target ships, and the results were satisfactory, so the plan was approved.

On 28 October, the main force of the Pacific Fleet of the Imperial Chinese Navy quietly left the Guam Naval Base, entered the southernmost part of the South China Sea, anchored near the Nansha Islands, and then released the submarine fleet.

The submarine fleet immediately left for Singapore, and eight hours after their departure, the main force of the Pacific Fleet set off as a pick-up.

At this time, the Pacific Fleet was organized into:

Battlefleet:

First Squadron: Flagship Diqi First Squadron: Taikang, Zhongkang, Emperor Xiang, Emperor Shu Second Squadron: Emperor Huai, Emperor Mang, Emperor Gao, Yinjia Second Squadron: Flagship Dengyun Third Squadron: Tayun, Chongyun, Cirrus, Bayun Fourth Squadron: Jianwei, Xuanwei, Zhiwei, Panyun Third Fleet: Flagship Chasing Wind Fifth Squadron: Yu Yong, Brave Brave, Dou Yong, Fen Yong Sixth Squadron: Chasing the Wind, Chengfeng, Hunter, Gangyong Fourth Fleet: Flagship Haiqi Seventh Fleet: Hairong, Haichou, Haichen, Haixi Eighth Fleet: Haiyue, Haihai, Haiyang, Haigu Fifth Fleet:

Second Group of Destroyers: 18 Mistral-class DestroyersThird Group: 18 Mistral-class DestroyersFourth Group: 18 Mistral-class DestroyersSixth Fleet:

Submersible fleet: 30 Eastern Han-class attack submarines.

Supply Fleet:

At 8 o'clock in the evening, 12 Westlake-class large supply ships (Westlake No. 1~12) and 7 Poyanghu-class large supply ships (Poyanghu No. 1~7) ~~30 arrived off the coast of Singapore's port.

Lieutenant Colonel Wang Zhigang, who served as the commander of the submarine fleet that attacked the port of Singapore, made great contributions to the ambush in the Torres Strait three years ago and has rich experience in commanding operations. With the large-scale construction of submarines by the Imperial Chinese Navy, the submarine commander was also greatly promoted, and Wang Zhigang was promoted to commander of the submarine fleet of the sixth detachment of the Pacific Fleet, while his old boss was transferred to the commander of the submarine fleet of the Atlantic Fleet.

Wang Zhigang's command ship this time was the Fish, the first ship of the Eastern Han Dynasty-class submarine.

Looking at the berth map of the British Navy ships in Singapore Harbor, Wang Zhigang immediately ordered: "Order, the second squadron is responsible for the eastern dock, the third squadron is responsible for the western dock, and the first squadron follows the flagship to be responsible for the northeast dock." The squadrons followed the squadron leader to move together, and each submarine was responsible for attacking all the enemy ships on a trestle, and the total attack time was set at eleven o'clock, and it was now eight o'clock and thirteen. ”

The correspondent received the order and quickly sent out a broadcast radio signal. The so-called broadcast radio signal is a radio system specially designed for naval combat ships by the Chinese Emperor, and the flagship of the fleet and the leader of each detachment are equipped with a radio device that can transmit broadcast signals, and other ships can receive orders from the flagship or the lead ship, and this radio communication system makes it very easy for the commander to command the operation.

Soon, the submarines replied one after another with the signal "received," and Wang Zhigang immediately ordered the Fish to enter the port of Singapore, and the other ships moved forward in turn in the order of squadron and squad.

Because the intelligence department had already figured out the location of the British mines in advance and accurately marked them on the waterway map, the submarine fleet participating in the sneak attack operation was able to avoid the minefields smoothly.

After an hour and a half of diving, thirty submarines entered the harbor in turn and anchored in their respective attack areas.

"What time is it?" Wang Zhigang asked.

"Ten minutes to go, twelve o'clock, sir!" The staff officer on the side replied.

"Almost!" Wang Zhigang suddenly got up and ordered: "Put away the ventilation pipe, prepare for battle!" ”

"Yes! Ready for battle! "All the personnel in the boat entered their respective combat positions, and the periscope was raised.

"Ready for battle, dive to a depth of 15 meters!"

"Search for enemy ships!"

Wang Zhigang asked: "Report on the sea ”

The observer reported: "Bearing 012, 350 meters away, judging that the target is a large enemy warship." ”

"Left rudder 2, dive to 5 meters!"

"Yes! Left side drive 2! ”

"Rise to five meters!"

The Carp quickly adjusted its bearing, and the bow was facing a large British warship.

Wang Zhigang ordered: "No. 1 to No. 4 bow torpedoes are prepared, set to a depth of three meters!" ”

The lightning strike chief repeated the order: "Set the depth to 3 meters!" Torpedoes No. 1 to No. 4 are ready for launch! ”

The order was given, and the crew quickly opened the torpedo compartment and took out the torpedo.

Several torpedo crews fused the torpedoes, calibrated the depths, and sent the four torpedoes into the launch bays of torpedoes No. 1 to No. 4.

Click! The torpedo compartment is locked.

"Number one is ready!" Torpedo Corpsman No. 1 reports.

"Number Two is ready!" Torpedo No. 2 reports.

"Three ready!" Torpedo No. 3 report.

"Ready for Four!" Torpedo No. 4 report.

"Four torpedoes are ready!" The lightning strike chief reported to Commander Wang Zhigang.

Wang Zhigang looked at his pocket watch, there were still three minutes left, so he had to wait.

As the minutes ticked by, there was silence inside the submarine, and everyone was waiting for that moment to come.

It's time!

Wang Zhigang shouted, "The target enemy ship, No. 1 and No. 2 torpedoes are launched!" ”

"Torpedo No. 1! Launch! ”

"Torpedo No. 2! Launch! ”

While repeating the order, the torpedo crew quickly pressed the first and second launch buttons.

"Tom! Tong! ”

Two torpedoes were fired in sequence, heading straight for the target.

"Boom! Boom! ”

With the sound of two huge explosions, the Sino-British War officially broke out.

Two 18-inch torpedoes fired by the Fish tore through the mine net and hit the British battleship Hood at berth seven.

The battleship Hood was the No. 8 ship of the British Navy's first class all-steel battleship Sovereign, with armor reaching 356 mm at its thickest point, and almost no battleship's shells could penetrate her armor, and it was known as an unsinkable battleship. However, her fatal flaw was that her armor belt below the waterline only extended 1.07 meters below the waterline, which made her unable to defend herself against the attack of an 18-inch torpedo fixed at three meters.

In an instant, the amidship and stern of the Hood were hit by two torpedoes one after another, and the huge explosion stirred up huge waves several hundred meters high, and the entire Hood instantly tilted to the right more than 70 degrees, and the hull was blown open into two mouths more than one meter wide, and the sea water poured into it violently, and the battleship quickly tilted.

When the first target hit, the crew roared with joy.

At this time, twenty-nine other submarines also fired torpedoes almost simultaneously and launched attacks on British warships in their respective areas of responsibility.

"Boom!"

In an instant, the entire port of Singapore was filled with violent explosions, and one British warship after another was hit and exploded violently.

"Woo woo woo~"

Rapid sirens sounded suddenly, and the British troops in the harbor had already discovered that they had been attacked.

"Enemy attack! Enemy Attack Alert! ”

I saw that the warships moored in the harbor wharf exploded violently one after another, and the flames soared into the sky, and thick smoke rolled out.

Most of the British sailors had hardly ever seen a real war scene, they had always been used to being on top, and they never thought that one day their warship would be attacked, so in an instant, the British sailors and sailors were dumbfounded.

When Lyons heard the alarm, he immediately ran out, and when he saw the British ship exploding one after another, he knew that it had been torpedoed. Experienced he immediately judged that the torpedo came from a submarine.

"What are you doing? Battle Alert! Order: So fire opens fire on the nearby water! ”

Lyons was so angry that he almost vomited blood, and kicked a stunned officer next to him.

The sea was basically full of smoke, and after hitting the Hood, the Fish quickly started its engine, sailed to the side of the Hood, and approached the battleship Royaloak, and under the cover of thick smoke, when the distance was less than 200 meters, Wang Zhigang ordered the No. 3 and No. 4 torpedoes to be fired.

"Tom! Tong! ”

The two torpedoes crashed straight into the starboard side of the Royal Oak, and exploded violently, and the waterline belt, which was only less than 100 millimeters under the waterline, was instantly blown open with two openings more than one meter wide. The huge blast blast slammed the Royal Oak into the dock on the other side, and most of the port side smashed into the iron dock, sending out a dazzling spark.

After the explosion, the Royal Oak shook a few times, and as the sea poured violently into it through the starboard breach, the battleship gradually tilted to the right and began to sink.

If it weren't for a rough-skinned battleship, for an ordinary battleship, an 18-inch torpedo with a black gold charge would be enough to tear it to shreds.

"Bang bang bang!"

The British ship-borne rapid-fire guns opened fire, and the well-trained British soldiers quickly reacted and fired fiercely at the nearby sea.

Small-caliber shells pierced under the surface of the sea and became a great threat to submarines.

"Urgently dive to 13 meters, full rudder on the left, and retreat at full speed."

The Carp quickly dived, turned around and retreated.

At the same time, the other squadrons and squads of the submarine fleet have also completed their attack targets one after another and are preparing to retreat.

However, the British navy was well trained, and at this time turned on a high-power searchlight, which illuminated the surroundings of the battleship, not only a large number of rapid-fire guns were fired into the sea, but also a large number of torpedo boat destroyers were reinforced around it, blocking the entire port.

The British Navy swore that it would pay a huge price to intervene in the attack on them.

In an instant, the cannon roared, and countless waves stirred up on the sea. A large number of rapid-fire artillery shells poured down, almost sparing almost any of the calm sea.

Because the water depth in the harbor was only 15 to 18 meters, and the speed of the submarines was slow, many submarines were hit when a rapid-fire artillery shell penetrated the water.

The submarine with Xiaocai on it continued to dive and waited until it escaped from the harbor before coming afloat. The submarine had to float and use a surface diesel engine to escape, but it was soon chased and intercepted by British torpedo boat destroyers and sunk one after another.

In front of the torpedo boat destroyer, the submarine could only be beaten, and there was no room for retaliation.

At two o'clock in the morning, only 11 of the 30 submarines of the submarine fleet took part in the sneak attack, and almost every submarine was put on the spot. The other 19 submarines were all sunk, more than 600 officers and men were killed, and more than 100 other officers and men were captured.

However, the British Asian fleet suffered even more heavy losses, and the cost was far from being compensated for by nineteen submarines.

(To be continued)