Chapter 629: China's Strength

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July 17, 1901, Bangkok Bay, Samut Prakan. A British merchant ship flying the rice flag, led by a guide ship, docked. After the typhoon passed, Bangkok Bay looked a little messy, and many houses in the port were blown over by the typhoon. Some Siamese are clearing the ruins. Perhaps because of the typhoon's recent passage, Bangkok Bay is a little deserted, with only a few merchant ships, and other than Siamese fishing boats.

Bangkok Bay, on the inner side of the Siam Bay, along the Chao Phraya River to the north, is Bangkok, the capital of Siam. Samut Prakan, less than 16 kilometers from Bangkok, is one of Siam's most important port cities. Siam is rich in rice, and a large amount of rice is shipped from here every year to be sold in East Asia.

The Queen's Pearl, a 5,000-ton merchant ship, had been transported from London to Bombay three months earlier to replenish the British garrison in India. Later, their original plan was to transport a shipment of treasure recovered from India back to England. However, before departure, it was requisitioned by the British. Now, this ship is loaded with 100,000 rifles, as well as matching ammunition. Travel to Siam and complete the deal between Siam and the UK.

After the merchant ship docked, the Siamese government quickly loaded and unloaded the guns on the ship. It is then transported to Bangkok by guò carriage and ox cart. A man accidentally fell, and the wooden box he was holding fell to the ground and broke, revealing several rifles from inside.

"Damn it, if it breaks, you can't afford to kill it!" Several Siamese people immediately punched and kicked this careless man.

A dock worker glanced at it from afar. Then quickly bow your head and do your own thing. However, he recognized that the revealed rifle was the standard equipment of the British Army, the Lee Enfield rifle. This news was soon reported to the CIA through secret channels, and then appeared in the Chinese General Staff.

Afterwards. The General Staff immediately analyzed that Britain and Siam were engaged in an arms deal. Or rather, the British are arming Siam. This is very detrimental to China's upcoming war plan against Siam. Siam is frantically expanding its army. But the lack of weapons is their flaw. Even if the Siamese army was weak, if Britain sold enough weapons to Siam, it would still not be a good thing for China. Even if the Siamese army can be easily defeated, if a large number of guns are left in the civilian population, it will undoubtedly have a great impact on the security of the region. After that, the safety of Chinese migrants in Siam was not guaranteed.

After the Chief of the General Staff Xiong Wu learned about it. immediately consulted Wang Yuze. And Wang Yuze was well aware of the severity of this matter, and immediately ordered the Indian Ocean Fleet to inspect the British merchant ships bound for Siam, once weapons and other contraband were found. All confiscated. Although this would exacerbate the tension between China and Britain, it would be much better than threatening the lives of Chinese soldiers.

After Wang Yuze's order was issued, the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Chinese Navy, with Singapore as its home port. Immediately began to act. The entire Strait of Malacca and the South China Sea, as well as the Andaman Sea to the west. All are blocked. A large number of light cruisers and destroyers, cruising in these waters. As soon as you spot a British merchant ship, you immediately pounce on it like a hungry wolf.

The Liverpool is a large merchant ship with a displacement of tens of thousands of tons and the ability to carry more than 5,000 tons of cargo. Originally, it was a merchant ship that transported iron ore between India and the United Kingdom, transporting high-grade iron ore mined from India to the United Kingdom, and then smelting it into high-strength steel that became part of the warships of the British Navy. The British steel mills, and a large part of the source of iron ore, are India. Therefore, there are a lot of merchant ships like the "Liverpool".

It's just that now the 'Liverpool' is loaded not with iron ore, but with cannons, and the barrels are polished. These are all 75mm mountain guns and 105mm howitzers used by the British garrison in India. On the 'Liverpool', the organization was loaded with 200 105-mm howitzers and 500 75-mm mountain guns, as well as a large number of shells. In order to increase the strength of the army, the Siamese side paid a lot of money, and their foreign exchange reserves were almost completely spent as a result. In order to be able to withstand the attack of the squadron, Siam has been desperate.

The 'Liverpool' sails in the Andaman Sea. According to the plan, they were to cross the Straits of Malacca and then enter the Gulf of Siam, and once they arrived in Samut Prakan, their mission was completed after the artillery was delivered to the Siamese.

The captain of the 'Liverpool', bearded Jack, stood comfortably at the bow of the ship with a cigar in his mouth, gazing at the calm sea. From Mumbai, India, to Samut Prakan, it is only a 6,000-kilometer voyage. The Siamese paid a price of 50,000 pounds for this. The bearded Jack was very satisfied with this, and the price was already ten times the normal price. He really hoped that there would be more orders like this in the future, so that his ship would not have to work hard to transport iron ore.

Suddenly, a high-speed warship appeared on the sea, and on the warship, a blue background gold dragon flag was hoisted, which was the flag of the Royal Chinese Navy. This warship is the destroyer "Pengzhou" of the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Chinese Navy.

"Signal the British merchant ship to stop it immediately and be inspected!" Yu Zeyang, the captain of the destroyer Pengzhou, ordered.

Soon, the signal corps on the 'Pengzhou' sent a telegram to the 'Liverpool' in clear code.

"Captain, the Chinese want us to stop the ship for inspection!" A sailor reported to the bearded Jack.

"Hell! We are British merchant ships, why should we be inspected by them. Ignore them! Bearded Jack said angrily.

"But Captain, we ...... on board!" The sailor reminded with some concern.

"We are the people of the British Empire, and those yellow-skinned monkeys dare not do anything to us!" The bearded Jack said nonchalantly.

"Captain, the British did not reply. And, they're starting to accelerate! A staff officer reported to Yu Zeyang, captain of the destroyer 'Pengzhou'.

"Humph! How fast can a merchant ship go? Keep up and stop them! Yu Zeyang ordered.

Soon, the 'Pengzhou' accelerated to 25 knots, and the light ones overtook the 'Liverpool' and crossed the hull in front of them, intending to intercept the 'Liverpool'.

"Captain, what shall we do now?" The sailor aboard the Liverpool asked.

"Damn, these yellow-skinned monkeys are looking for death. Crash into it, we have tens of thousands of tons of displacement, enough to sink them! Bearded Jack said a little frantically.

"Oh my God! Captain, this is the Andaman Sea, the territory of the Chinese Navy? The ship's man said in great horror.

"Listen to me, the Chinese dare not stop us!" The bearded man said with an excuse of disdain.

After that, the 'Liverpool' not only showed no signs of stopping, but accelerated towards the 'Pengzhou'.

"Turn the muzzle, aim three hundred meters in front of the 'Liverpool', and fire!" Yu Zeyang, captain of the 'Pengzhou', gave the order.

"Boom!" A 105-millimeter shell exploded less than 100 meters in front of the left side of the merchant ship 'Liverpool', and a column of water splashed on the surface of the sea, and the falling water splashed on the foredeck of the 'Liverpool'. Obviously, the behavior of the "Liverpool" angered the Chinese naval sailors on the destroyer "Pengzhou", so they adjusted the warning firing distance a little closer.

"Oh God! The Chinese opened fire. Captain, let's stop the ship. Otherwise, the Chinese will sink us! The sailors on the Liverpool cried out in horror. They are just merchant ships, and they have no other weapons on board except for a few rifles to defend against the island, how can they resist real warships! Don't look at the size of the destroyer Pengzhou, which is much smaller than the destroyer Liverpool, but the destroyer Pengzhou can easily send the destroyer Liverpool to the bottom of the sea.

"The Chinese are just scaring us!" Bearded Jack continued.

However, when the second shelling of the 'Pengzhou' was only 30 meters away from the 'Liverpool', the bearded Jack could not hold on. He had no choice but to order the Liverpool to stop.

Soon, under the leadership of Rear Admiral Yu Zeyang, the captain of the destroyer Pengzhou, more than a dozen heavily armed Chinese naval soldiers boarded the Liverpool.

"Chinese, this is a British merchant ship, you forcibly boarded a British merchant ship, this is a provocation to the British Empire, it is an act of war!" The bearded Jack ran in front of Yu Zeyang and roared loudly.

"If you want to protest, you can go to the Imperial Foreign Ministry. I'm just carrying out military orders right now. Search the ship now! Major Yu Zeyang coldly ordered.

"You dare!" Bearded Jack yelled.

However, a rifle was pressed against his head. So, he immediately remained silent.

The soldiers of the Chinese Navy immediately searched the 'Liverpool'. The artillery loaded on it was quickly discovered.

"Captain, this ship is loaded with hundreds of cannons!" Chinese Navy soldiers reported to Yu Zeyang.

"Humph! Sure enough, it was loaded with contraband. Take this ship to Singapore and wait for the domestic processing! Major Yu Zeyang ordered. Hundreds of cannons, this is a big case!

"Major, you can't do this, we are British merchant ships!" The bearded Jack is still making his final struggles.

However, his struggles did not have any effect. More than a dozen Chinese Navy soldiers took control of the ship. Under the watchful eye of the destroyer 'Pengzhou', the ship was taken to the port of Singapore, where the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Chinese Navy is stationed!