This is an era of sea power!

Since Mahan's "Theory of Sea Power", for the whole world, sea power has become a vital link in safeguarding national interests, and when the cruisers of the world's major powers are cruising around the world, the Admiralty is the heart and brain of the country to maintain sea power.

As far as China is concerned, he does not have a strong navy, and even his naval power is far inferior to that of the banana republics of South America, but this does not prevent his Admiralty from being the heart of its own navy, and it is in the Admiralty on Yongxing Road in Nanjing that a gradual naval rearmament plan is drawn up, and the corresponding timetable, which is classified as secret, is also locked in the secret room of the Admiralty.

In the courtyard of the Admiralty there is a new war room, and on the wall of the war room hangs a huge nautical chart covering the whole world, and on the nautical chart, there is a blue line, and in front of the map, a dozen naval officers stand in front of the nautical chart as if discussing the time.

"Sir, returning home from the Sunda Strait seems safe, but the risk is even greater than returning from the Strait of Malacca! Our intelligence officers in Singapore sent back a report that the British cruiser detachment in Singapore had canceled its leave, and that it was very likely that they would sail to the Sunda Strait to intercept the two ships and return home! ”

"These two warships have to find a way to drive back no matter what!"

Ye Zugui nodded and said, although the ruling government has made up his mind to be ruthless, if he is intercepted, he would rather sink himself than set a precedent for the navy to surrender and surrender the ship.

Staring at the nautical charts, Ye Zugui's eyes had already turned red for the past two days, and the attention of the entire Admiralty was focused on these two warships, and even the tense situation at the mouth of the Yangtze River could not distract him.

"How much coal do you have on the two ships!"

"About 1,100 tons!"

"How far can you sail!"

"At a speed of ten knots, about three thousand eight hundred nautical miles!"

If the endurance is sufficient, they can turn to Australia and enter the Pacific Ocean, and then re-enter the capital, so that they can return home safely.

The two ships with unstable fleets and insufficient endurance need to face the Chinese fleets of Britain, France, and the United States, and whether they are from Malacca or the strait, they will inevitably be intercepted by the three Asian countries.

For these powers, they also urgently need some actions that will not provoke an overreaction from China to show their attitude, especially when the ruling axe is preparing for war in Shanghai and Pingjin. For them, perhaps the capture of these two warships may be the best way to make a statement, and for the ruling party, he would rather choose to sink himself than be held hostage.

While Ye Zugui frowned and pondered, a major staff officer who had been staring at the map turned to look at the minister.

"Minister, maybe there's another way!"

"Say!"

At night, the fog on the sea cleared, a crescent moon crept into the sky, and the snow-white waves stirred up by the warship's night voyage were particularly dazzling. At this time, the two battleships "Zhenhai" and "Dinghai" were sailing at full speed in the Indian Ocean, and if they had just left Alexandria and were loaded with 2,048 tons of coal, it would have been impossible for these two "fast battleships" to reach a high speed of 14 knots.

The two warships sailing on the surface of the ocean maintained the lights at this time, and instead of entering the Gulf of Mannar and entering the Andaman Sea and then the Strait of Malacca as planned, the two warships headed directly to the south to avoid possible interception by the Indian detachment of the British Navy.

In the moonlit conning tower, Cheng Biguang searched the sea with a telescope from time to time, which made him even glad that he had chosen Welsh anthracite to protect the boiler, and the lighter soot was conducive to the concealment of the warship. After traveling nearly two hundred nautical miles to the south, the two ships suddenly turned and headed straight for Malacca, and the two ships were still maintaining high speeds.

"General, do you think the British will be fooled?"

"I'm afraid it depends on the decision of the British themselves, it is relatively safe to return from the Sunda Strait, the strength of the Dutch East Indies Fleet is far inferior to mine, and I will never dare to intercept it, anyone who faces the current situation will choose to pass through the Sunda Strait instead of the high-risk Malacca!"

Cheng Biguang shook his head.

"Although passing through the strait seems to be safe on the surface, the British Navy stationed in Singapore can intercept near the Sunda Strait, and it is probably not easier to return home safely than from Malacca!"

Picking up the pitch-black sea surface that the binoculars were searching again, Cheng Biguang continued to speak.

"Although the Strait of Malacca is narrow, close to the base of the British fleet, but the strait is full of sea fog, we can use the cover of sea fog to cross the Strait of Malacca, sailing south can put on the false appearance of the fleet turning from the Sunda Strait navigation, so as to mobilize the British ships to turn to the Sunda Strait, the strength of the British and Chinese fleets is inferior to our fleet, if it wants to intercept our ships, it will definitely pour out, so that the area around Singapore is an empty city, even if it is discovered by foreign ships in the Strait of Malacca, as long as the high speed of the Zhenhai class is played, Before the British ships returned from the Sunda Strait to pursue, the fleet was probably already sailing into the South China Sea, and the Chinese fleet had only one battleship, while the Chinese fleet stationed in Hong Kong had no warships. ”

Although Zhong is full of confidence, Cheng Biguang's expression is still solemn, he knows the risk he has to take when choosing this route, but this risk is always worth taking, as long as he sails into the South China Sea, and waits for the rendezvous with Haiqi, Haitian and other ships, this task will be completed.

"Sir's telegram!"

Taking the telegram from the confidential officer's hand, Cheng Biguang looked at the telegram, his brows first furrowed, and then he showed it.

"Order, head at full speed towards the Strait of Malacca!"

Singapore is like a green triangle of land cut off from the rugged Malayan Mountains, with undulating waves on the high seas. Two grey "nodules" spoil its jungle beauty: to the southeast is a modern city dotted with red roofs, and to the north near the causeway is a large expanse of small shacks, cranes, barracks, streets, houses and a wide green field: the Singapore Naval Base.

The small base was particularly quiet, with more than a dozen cruisers ranging from more than 2,000 tons to more than 6,000 tons parked at the wharf and the vast anchorage, which was the main port of call for the British Chinese fleet.

At dawn, on the foredeck of a light cruiser in the military port, barefoot sailors are washing the deck there, often which means the beginning of the day, while on the other side, the sailors are constantly lifting vegetables and grain onto the ship, and coal is constantly transported onto the warship by conveyor belts, which is the prelude to the departure of the fleet.

Standing on the deck, Puggs felt comfortable stepping on the iron deck under his feet. The Japanese breeze in the harbor has a pungent smell and smells pleasant. This was the world he knew, a well-organized world of massive warships, powerful machinery, active young sailors, heavy artillery, and the sea.

"Henry, we will go to the Sunda Strait today to search for the two ships Zhenhai and Dinghai!"

There was a hint of helplessness in Puggs's words.

"Have you spotted them?"

"From the moment they turned, they were lost, but compared to Malacca, Commander Géralnoel is confident that they will choose the Straits to return home! So we're going to get there and intercept them. ”

Henry shrugged his shoulders and continued, "To be honest, this is definitely not a good task, the Chinese ruler has already made his attitude that he would rather sink the warship than hand it over, and Duke Ji Li is also on the warship, if they don't stop, should we use the ship's guns to sink them?" Although they have no ability to fight back at all, Duke Ji Li has already said that he will never leave the ship, if she really sinks with the ship, at that time, I am afraid that war will be inevitable! ”

"Who knows?"

Puggs narrowed his eyes, remembering the telegram sent by Duchess Gilly to her husband in the newspaper, and couldn't help but sigh when he thought of the beautiful face in the newspaper.

"If you say, they sink themselves. At least then, Commander Gérardnoel will set a record not only by forcing an English duke to die at sea, but also by adding an unprecedented victory to the navy, in which we have killed an empress. ”

While Paggs and Henry were talking on the warship, the commander of the Chinese fleet, Gérarnoël, was there savoring a telegram from London, from Commander Fisher, the content of which was very simple, but only reaffirmed his friendship with the Duchess of Platinum Khan, and again named London's attitude, not to wage a war with China, but to convey appropriate pressure to China.

“…… If Her Excellency the Duchess sinks with the ship, whether we like it or not, then we must have an all-out war with China, and for the navy we can fight at any time, but the final victory in China will need to be fought for by the army, and London does not have much hope for this...... The Foreign Office in London believes that the right amount of pressure can achieve the goal, not provoke a war. ”

"Damn the Chinese!"

Vice Admiral Géralnoel scolded helplessly, he understood what he was facing, what he was facing was two warships that put explosives in the ammunition depot and were ready to sink themselves at any time, if it was just two [***] ships that had no ability to resist, the problem was very simple, even if they sank themselves, then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs could praise their bravery in a very regretful tone, and then express regret that this was their choice and had nothing to do with Britain.

But what about now? Ji Li on the ship? Chen's presence complicates the problem, not only him, but also London has become a rat trap, if Ji Li? Chen is really dead, and it is not only a British duke who is killed, but also the future empress of China, is it possible to avoid war by then?

"Hope...... Hopefully they will understand......"

Thinking of the send-off banquet at noon today, Lieutenant General Géralnoel shook his head again, hoping that those Singaporean Hua Lings would understand the information they had revealed.

(To be continued)