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In this way, the fleets of the Qing and British sailed in opposite directions. As the distance grew closer, when the lookout post reported that the two ships were five thousand meters apart, Filimante gave the order to aim. Phillimante, who was also holding a telescope, was horrified to find that before his adjutant had finished all the orders to aim, the Qing fleet had already completed aiming at them! The Qing fleet's reaction speed was even faster than theirs! If the Far Eastern Fleet completes aiming, the shells of the Qing Kingdom have already flown to the barrels! In this round, he Filimante lost.

"The muzzle of the gun is zero, and the voyage remains the same." Felimante didn't admit defeat: "Full speed ahead. ”

The guns of the British fleet were zeroed, and the Qing army naturally also zeroed out the guns of the Qing army. But no one on either side changed the voyage, not only were they accelerating. Even the two pairs of fleets adjusted their sailing slightly, so that their fronts rushed towards each other.

When the 10,000-ton ship sails at full speed, it will be a furious sea lion, and everything that stands in its way will be ruthlessly destroyed by it. But what would the two sea lions look like when they hedge? If one of them doesn't get out of the way, it can only hurt both. The British Far East Fleet lined up in a line, headed by the flagship Resolve, which had a displacement of 14,000 tons. The Qing fleet was also lined up, starting with the Longyin, with a displacement of 12,000 tons. They had the same speed, both at 18 knots. Two ships of similar displacement will collide head-on......

"Order you to deflect at once!" When the two fleets were 3,000 meters apart, Filimante couldn't help but finally raise the flag. It's a pity that yes, now it's the turn of the Qing Navy that doesn't respond.

2000 meters, 1000 meters. The British Navy has waved its flag countless times, and the light signals have not stopped, but the Qing army on the opposite side has not changed at all. The same speed of 18 knots, the same formation lined up, but the course is opposite to each other.

Seeing that the distance was getting closer and closer, Filimante's face was already flushed. The collision of two 10,000-ton ships. The result must all be sinking. He is not a fool, and he also believes that Wu Deren is not a fool either. Now it's up to you to see who is the first to resist the pressure and turn to avoidance.

"Tell them that all obstacles that stand in the way of the Royal Navy of the British Empire will be ruthlessly destroyed by the Royal Navy of the British Empire." Filimante was already roaring. His fists could almost reach the water.

The distance of 1,000 meters can be collided in 1 minute for a warship sailing in the opposite direction at a speed of 18 knots. Time passed by second by second. But neither fleet had the idea of backing down first.

"General, if you don't get out of the way, you're going to hit ......" Li Guanshan's feet were weak, he held the handle of the hatch, and said tremblingly: "If you hit it, the consequences will be serious." ”

"Once you hit it, you only sink." Wu Deren said with a smile: "But even if the Qing Navy is completely annihilated, it will never back down." It's aligned with Lao Tzu. ”

The helmsman had long been pushed aside, and the navigator himself was at the helm. Li Guanshan suddenly found that there was no one in the entire bridge who was afraid except for the three of them, not only were they not afraid, but they even showed a trace of excitement.

"Be prepared for shocks—" cried the navigator. The officers at all levels in the bridge had already hugged everything they could hold, waiting for the impact to come, and all the eyes in the bridge were focused on Wu Deren, who was still standing upright at the window.

"Right full rudder, evade."

Almost before everyone thought they could avoid the impact, a voice finally sounded from inside the bridge of the Resolve, and the captain turned the steering wheel with all his might. Philmantle believed in his calculations that as long as the Qing army could turn with him at the same time, the two ships should be able to stagger the distance by more than ten meters. But what made Phillimante furious was that the Erlenzi on the opposite side had to wait until the capital of the USS Resolve had clearly turned away before turning to the right. Now a collision between the two ships is no longer inevitable. And the most critical of them is that it was the British ** ship that turned first......

The sailors on the British ship ran to starboard, hoping to avoid the impact from the port side. But even the gunners on the port side of the ship remained at their posts. Because the time of the clear ship turned too late, the impact could no longer be avoided. Everyone stared at each other, waiting for the moment of impact.

"Madman, madman, madman......" Philmante's curse was determined to stagger with the ship's prime minister, but the swollen parts of the two ships could no longer inevitably slowly lean together under Filimante's gaze.

"Boom!"

It's not the sound of a cannon, but it's more frightening than a cannon. Although the violent impact was only for a moment, the violent tremor made everyone feel as if they had experienced a century.

In the sound of squeaking and creaking, the dragon and the determination collided with the port side, and the huge impact force lifted the port side high due to the rapid right turn. Forced into the sea, the main armor belt up to hundreds of millimeters thick twisted and deformed in the friction at zero distance. Then cracking.

All the secondary guns on the port side of both ships were submerged in the seawater, and the decks were tilted nearly forty degrees. At the same time as splashing countless waves, even several sailors on the Resolve who were not well defended were knocked out in an instant. Because the sailors on the Dragon Yin had undergone more rigorous training, and the sailors were prepared for the impact in advance, only a few soldiers who had not been caught were injured.

The warships following the two ships began to turn one after another, and everyone on the British ship was stunned by this scene, when the Determination leaned to the left sharply, and the deck on one side was even completely immersed in the sea, almost all the naval guns were pointed at the Qing fleet, and each gunner was ready to open fire, until the two ships separated, and the Determination gradually regained its balance, and then breathed a sigh of relief.

For Felimante, apart from the fact that he had been pointing at his gun from the moment of the collision, it was the faces that hugged the armrests, stared at them, and had mocking at the corners of their mouths that made him feel cold. When the two ships staggered, the hideous face of Wu Deren that he saw through the window on the bridge was what made him feel palpitations the most.

They did it on purpose!

They are laughing at themselves!

But Felimante couldn't care about the counterattack, the damage caused by the impact was extremely staggering, and several huge cracks had been torn open in the thick armor belt on the port side, and the sea water was pouring in frantically. Similarly, the Ryuyin was also uncomfortable, and the violent impact also completely deformed the swollen part of the ship. Seawater also began to enter through the cracks, but fortunately the internal structure was still intact. After Wu Deren ordered to inject water to starboard, he barely managed to keep the battleship balanced. The Qing fleet, which had readjusted its course, continued to sail northeast.

The Qing fleet, which was lined up in a line, staggered past the British fleet in the same formation at a distance of several tens of meters. Apart from the sound of the water churning by the propellers, there was not a single sound between the two fleets. The fleets pointing at the other side confronted each other from a distance of several tens of meters, and no one fired the first shot. Until the last warship that was dragged behind staggered, cheers broke out from the Qing ** ship, which resounded through the sea and air.

A wave of humiliation and inexplicable sorrow rose from the bottom of Philiante's heart, and the original act of trying to save face for the Royal Navy of the British Empire became a move to completely erase the dignity of the British Empire. Defeated, the humiliation of defeat was felt for the first time in nearly a hundred years since the British Royal Navy won the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

At this moment, Filimante wanted to rush back to Hong Kong as soon as possible to report the incident to the government. Then accept the government's treatment of him. And Guangxu, who was taking a nap but was woken up, was stunned by this huge impact before he came to the furiousness. Guangxu took the telegram into his arms, trembled and climbed on his horse, and then galloped towards the staff headquarters.

"General, the warship is fine." Li Guanshan asked Wu Deren tremblingly, he had not yet recovered from the shock of the impact and the excitement afterward. Now he couldn't describe whether he was shocked by the ferocity of the impact or excited by the feat of the impact.

"How can it be okay, this time I have to repair it for three or five months."

Looking at Wu Deren, who was mourning, Li Guanshan stepped forward and said comfortingly: "The general doesn't need to be like this, the general's move has greatly boosted the morale of our Chinese people." If the emperor blames it. The old man tried his best to intercede for the general. In Li Guanshan's view, this is not only not a punishment but a reward for great merit.

"It is inevitable that the emperor will condemn the guilt, after all, we must give an explanation to the British if we hit the British ship. But I believe that the emperor will definitely praise us for this feat in private. After the excitement, Wu Deren sat down in the chair decadently: "Even if the household department kills them, they will definitely not pay this maintenance fee." And the emperor will definitely ask me to pay for it myself. But my old Wu is only paid for this little ......"

"I really let you talk." Feng Qi put down the telegram he had just received: "The emperor said that if Britain reacts too strongly, he is ready to remove you from the post of commander-in-chief of the navy and transfer you to the director of the Huludao Shipyard." The emperor also said, you have done a good job surnamed Wu, but remember to pay for maintenance. ”

"I knew it, I knew it." Wu Deren grabbed his hair and suddenly jumped up: "The fleet went straight to Dagukou, and it no longer docked halfway." After getting off the ship, Lao Tzu immediately led a company of marines into Beijing in full armor. A bunch of bastards in the household department. They don't give Lao Tzu a loan, the kind that goes to the bank for 70 years. If you don't give a loan, you will be robbed. Anyway, the position of commander-in-chief is gone, so let's just grab his vote first. ”

Right in front of Li Guanshan's eyes. The commander-in-chief of the Qing Navy wanted to rob the Daqing Bank of the Qing Dynasty. This shocked him incomparably, and Li Guanshan also understood that robbing a bank was not as good as hitting a warship. Anyway, you hit a foreigner's warship, but the bank you robbed was your own. If the emperor blames him, he will be killed.

Li Guanshan hurriedly stopped Wu Deren, who was about to leave: "The general doesn't have to worry, the general's move is also because of my Nanyang Chinese." I don't know how many silver taels it will take to repair the warship, but I, the Nanyang Chinese, have to bear it. It's hard to say more, but three or five million taels is still no problem. ”

"It's not about the money." Wu Deren waved his hand and said, "You don't understand, if you can't take out money from the household department this time, there will be more places in the household department next time that you don't take money." So this time, the payment of the household department is settled, anyway, Lao Tzu didn't plan to pay it back. ”

Since it involved the political dispute in the imperial court, Li Guanshan naturally stopped talking. The fleet still maintained its cruising speed and headed towards the mouth of Dagu, but the leader became the Dragon Roar. But Li Guanshan felt the kind of confidence from his homeland from the fleet. We Chinese are not afraid of the British.

The British Far East Fleet sailed back to Hong Kong, and the huge scars on the Resolve made the Governor of Hong Kong think that the Qing Kingdom had started a war against the British. Knowing what was going on, a telegram reached Ogner.

Guangxu hid and didn't see anyone, Li Hongzhang was frightened by Ogna's words to start a full-scale war, and he panicked when he heard the word Britain. Then the Nanyang pacification of the Chinese was recalled and asked to go to Hong Kong to negotiate with the governor of Hong Kong in person.

The news of the head-on collision between the British and the Qing warships in the South China Sea spread from Hong Kong, and the next day the front pages of the world's major newspapers were headlined in huge bold letters: Qing and British battleships collided head-on.

The facts are clear and the evidence is clear. When all countries reported the news, they used Filimant's statement: In order to avoid a collision, the British Imperial Navy took the initiative to turn to evade, but the Qing ** ship estimated that the delay in steering and evasion time led to the collision. However, the official statement of the Qing State is: everyone can't just listen to one side, and need to wait for the fleet to return to Dagu to understand the truth of the matter before dealing with it.

If all the countries in the world say so, forget it, but there is one country that does not promote it. What they advertise is that the British fleet was damaged by the Qing fleet and ran back to Hong Kong. That country is Germany. Even Kaiser Wilhelm II ordered the navy to make a scrubbing ramming, but fortunately, Chancellor Bismarck and Field Marshal Schlieffen persuaded him to abandon this crazy idea. Otherwise, Britain, which is really challenged, will vent all its anger on Qing Guo, and Qing Guo will be really in trouble.

"Your Majesty, the imperial court initially decided that it was the time to seek stability and develop the country's economy. Wechen implored the emperor to order the army to stop any provocations with the outside world, and to force concessions even when provoked by other countries. At this time, it is not easy to make branches, and there are many tricks. "Li Hongzhang has reached the point of pleading at the weekly court meeting. A British is already in trouble, and must not provoke the French again. He received accurate information that Liu Yongfu, the commander-in-chief of the Liangguang Army, and Zhao Erfeng, the commander-in-chief of the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan provinces, had moved their respective mountain regiments to the border. I heard that it was because of this collision of the navy that the morale of the army was greatly boosted, and the army did not want to fall behind. It was too cold in the north to move, and the damn army gave up the target in the south.

I can't make trouble anymore, and I can't imagine that things will turn out like this when I kill Guangxu. It is necessary, resolute, and decisive to bring the matter down, and we must not allow the situation to escalate any further. The mountain regiments were ordered not to approach the border, the border troops were ordered not to act provocatively, and the garrisons in various localities were ordered not to leave the camp without authorization. The Great Qing Dynasty can dispose of Wu Deren, and the Great Qing Dynasty can afford the repair cost of the Determination...... Anyway, it immediately began to negotiate with the British, except for public reprimands, money is not an issue. Everyone began to regret the impulsive decision to storm Malacca, which knocked Guangxu and the staff headquarters unconscious.

The Qing court was in mourning, but the people of the Qing Dynasty were angry. The overwhelming propaganda in the newspapers made everyone know that the Qing fleet bravely rushed to the other side in the face of the British provocation, and also damaged the British warship. But somehow the news came out that the emperor was going to be the commander-in-chief of the navy at this time? Not only can he not be punished, but he must also be promoted and make a fortune, which is the right brave general. It is resolutely not to be punished, because this is an act that greatly boosts the morale of the people and a move to boost the prestige of the country.

"This is to force the imperial court to go to war with foreigners......" Putting down the letter of the people presented by the locality, Guangxu rubbed his head painfully: "I decree that all newspapers and other propaganda agencies are not allowed to publish all speculative remarks, otherwise you will bear the consequences." ”

At this time, Guangxu reacted that the reason why Hitler did this was because he had completed the integration of the country before this, and the whole of Germany was guided by his Hitler's will, so he dared to do this. But Guangxu has not.

No matter how much Guangxu remorseed, the fact now is that all the Chinese and foreign reporters of the Qing State began to march towards Dagukou, and they wanted to learn first-hand information about the Qing-British conflict in the South Seas from the mouths of the returning Qing fleet.

A week later, a long whistle sounded on the sea, and the mottled hull of the Longyin finally appeared on the sea surface of Dagukou. (To be continued)