On April 2, 1866, the port of Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, which was occupied and developed by the British, was not much worse in all respects than the Imperial Navy's Cheung Chau Military Port in Guangzhou.

To a certain extent, it is even more suitable for use as a military port than the Changzhou Military Port in Guangzhou.

Because Guangzhou's military ports are all inland ports, there are many ships coming and going, it is difficult to distinguish between military and civilian ships, and the infrastructure is not very perfect.

The Tsim Sha Tsui Ocean between Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula is a small bay sandwiched in the middle, with an average water depth of 12 meters, and the maximum depth of the channel is more than 40 meters.

This water depth is enough to moor those giant ships of more than 10,000 tons, and even those 100,000-ton aircraft carriers of later generations can be berthed.

Contemporary medium-sized ironclad ships, such as the Pangu-class ironclad ships of the Imperial Navy, have a draft of just over five meters, while the 4,000-ton Yandi-class ironclad ships have a draft of less than six meters.

The 10,000-ton ironclad ship of the British, for example, the latest 10,000-ton giant ship of the British, the Minotaur-class ironclad ship, has a draft of only 8.5 meters.

Even the Yamato-class, the world's largest battleship in terms of tonnage, had a draft of just over 10 meters, and the Ford-class, the latest US super aircraft carrier, had a draft of 12 meters.

Therefore, the water depth in the waters of Tsim Sha Tsui in Hong Kong is enough to moor all warships for at least 150 years to come.

The port was so good that the British would not sit idly by after occupying Hong Kong Island, so the infrastructure of the port was built and became the station of the Chinese fleet of the British Royal Navy.

Now the Chinese fleet of the British Royal Navy has been completely wiped out, and it is in a series of battles ahead. A number of battleships were directly sunk, and the remaining warships were dismantled by the British. Some of them sank in the harbor, and some of them were still there. Subsequently, he was captured and accepted by the Imperial Navy.

However, these captured British battleships were of little use, they were all small gunboats of several hundred tons and the like.

Thus the Chinese army had fully landed on Hong Kong Island and had occupied most of the island, and the British could only retreat to a small part of the area to wait for reinforcements.

The northern part of Hong Kong Island, near the Tsim Sha Tsui Sea, was naturally taken over by the Navy, and thus became a temporary supply port for the Imperial Navy's Combined Fleet.

Here, they prepare for one last rest, and then go out to sea to face the British Navy!

In the evening of the second number, information was already coming from a number of reconnaissance ships. It is said that British fleets have been spotted one after another in the coastal areas of Vietnam and other waters.

And after learning that the British did not enter the port of Saigon in Vietnam for a large-scale rest, but only received supplies such as coal and fresh water outside the port, they quickly continued north.

According to the formation of the British East India Fleet, it is expected that they will arrive in the waters of the Pearl River estuary at noon tomorrow!

So tonight, too, is the last night of preparation for the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Navy!

On this night, many people in the Combined Fleet couldn't sleep, especially Lin Tongshu, who discussed the battle plan with his staff team until more than one o'clock in the evening, and then forced himself to sleep.

Early the next morning. That is, April 3rd.

The port of Tsim Sha Tsui in Hong Kong is very noisy, and many tugboats began to help the warship sail out of the port and into the open sea!

On the Emperor Yan, Shen Tongdeng looked at the huge fleet under his command. There was no expression of excitement or excitement in his heart, on the contrary, his mood was a little nervous and even a certain fear of the upcoming decisive battle.

Shen Tongdeng was a person who served as an observer military attache in the British Channel Fleet. He knew better than anyone else in the navy the British were at sea, and this disparity in strength was not only reflected in the number and quality of warships. The same is reflected in the overall quality of the officers and the level of training of the sailors.

Compared to the old world's number one naval power, Britain, the Imperial Navy is incomparably weaker newborn. There are not even a few qualified officers who can command the ironclad ships in battle, otherwise, why not let a few hairy young men who are only in their twenties form a staff group and actually take charge of this decisive battle.

In the final analysis, it was due to the serious shortage of officers with sufficient qualifications in the Imperial Navy.

Thinking of this, he glanced at Lin Tongshu next to him, this young lieutenant colonel couldn't see any expression of joy and sorrow, even if the fleet had left the port now, but his attention was always on his battle plan, writing and drawing on the chart from time to time, and then exchanging views with the staff group colleagues next to him.

Although Shen Tongdeng still had great doubts about Lin Tongshu and others, he also understood that if he wanted to win this naval battle, he really had to rely on Lin Tongshu and others.

I hope they will not disappoint the expectations of tens of thousands of officers and men of the Navy!

And yourself, all you have to do is support them!

Since the Combined Fleet left Tsim Sha Tsui Harbor, the entire fleet has unconsciously permeated a dull atmosphere, especially among the officer groups, which have lost their former calm demeanor, but are all silent.

This is especially true on the Flame Emperor, the flagship of the Combined Fleet!

In the war room on the bridge, Shen Tongdeng and many other naval officers were staying together, some people were talking in low voices, some were smoking, and some were still writing and drawing on the charts.

Now the fleet has left the port, and according to the previous calculations of the staff group, the British fleet may arrive in the waters of the Pearl River Estuary in the period from this morning to the afternoon, and now, they are just going to find, or rather wait for, the arrival of the British.

Before the discovery of the British fleet, this huge combined fleet could only sail aimlessly and slowly on the surface of the sea.

And this kind of dull waiting can easily make people's emotions collapse, especially when the big war is approaching and their side has no advantage, the longer you wait, the greater the psychological pressure.

When it was eleven o'clock in the morning, Shen Tongdeng couldn't hold it anymore, and asked Lin Tongshu quietly: The British fleet should be nearby! ”

Lin Tongshu's expression was obviously calmer than that of the others present, and he said expressionlessly: "If the British don't have any accidents on the way, they should not be far from us." However, the reconnaissance ships on the periphery have not yet sent back information, and the specific situation will need to wait a little longer to know! ”

Hearing Lin Tongshu like this. Shen Tongdeng didn't ask again, he knew. Lin Tongshu's pressure is not less than him, or even greater than him!

This time, the Imperial Navy poured out of the nest and formed a combined fleet to fight, and he Shen Tongdeng was nominally the commander of the fleet, but it was not him who was actually responsible for commanding the operation, but Lin Tongshu in front of him.

At the age of twenty-six, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, he was in charge of the first large-scale naval decisive battle in the history of the Imperial Navy, and Lin Tongshu's pressure can be imagined.

Countless people in the navy were staring at him, and it is said that even His Majesty the Emperor summoned him when the United Fleet was first formed. He listened in detail to Lin Tongshu's thoughts on naval tactics and strategy.

In this battle, if he wins, then everything is easy to say, and high-ranking officials are not a problem, but if he loses, Lin Tongshu will fall into a place of no return.

Not only Lin Tongshu, if this decisive battle fails, then all the admirals who participated in the battle today may not have a good end, and dying on the spot at that time may be the best end. Otherwise, they will either be forced to commit suicide or sentenced by a military court.

Even Lin Dabiao, the chief of the Navy Department, will be seriously affected, and his dismissal will be minor and slightly more serious. Lin Dabiao is afraid that he will have to die to apologize.

Therefore, this naval battle is not only related to the national fortune of the empire in the next hundred years, but also to the future of many officers in the navy and even the fate of their wives and daughters!

Time passes little by little. Soon it was 11:30 p.m.

At this time, Shen Tongdeng, Lin Tongshu and other officers in the Combined Fleet Headquarters were leaving the war room. Get ready to head to the officer's cafeteria, like all modern navies of our time. The Imperial Navy is also full of traces of the British Navy from the inside.

For example, officers will never go down to the lower cabin casually, because it is humiliating. Sailors were also not allowed to go on deck or enter the bridge without permission.

Even for the meal, the officers ate Western food, and there was a small orchestra playing next to it!

There is no way, the Imperial Navy has learned the British Navy from the beginning, and in order to completely imitate it, it will not make a four-like, so it is copied from the tactical regulations to some traditional styles, so the Westernization phenomenon within the Navy is very serious.

Even these naval officers communicate with each other in English, more than they communicate in Chinese, because there are many dialects in China, and although there are official languages in these years, but in the end it is not the Mandarin of later generations, and the popularity of Chinese is still lacking, so it is very common to see officers speak a strong local accent of Chinese to communicate.

The Navy's officer school adopts English education, and some talented officers generally have the experience of studying in English, so they talk to each other in English more than in Chinese.

Of course, this is just talk, and no one actually talks in English in everyday conversation.

Before the lunch had been eaten, a young captain walked in from outside, his steps were a little hurried, and his tone of voice was a little fast.

As soon as he came in, he said: "Report, the reconnaissance ship Qi Song has sent a flag, and a large fleet has been found thirty nautical miles away from the right front of our ship!" ”

As soon as they heard this, many of the officers present couldn't sit still, and Rear Admiral Liao Yizhai, commander of the First Squadron, took two steps forward: "Are you sure you have discovered the British fleet?" ”

The captain had already walked up at this time, handed a report in his hand to Lin Tongshu, the head of the staff group, and Lin Tongshu unfolded it to see that this was a flag signal of the fast reconnaissance ship Qi Song, which was about fifteen nautical miles away from the right front of the main fleet of the Combined Fleet! ”

The Qisong is a wooden fast cruiser, with poor firepower and protection, and its tonnage is only a little more than 500 tons, but its speed is very fast, so it acts as an outpost reconnaissance ship in the fleet.

And the flag sent by the ship said that they had found traces of a large fleet in the front right, judging by the column of smoke, the fleet had at least ten or more steam ships, and considering the influence of the curvature of the earth, there should be more ships that have not yet appeared in sight.

"The fleet that appeared at the mouth of the Pearl River at this time is estimated to be such a huge fleet, except for the British East India Fleet, there is no one else!" Lin Tongshu handed the report in his hand to Shen Tongdeng.

Then he said, "Commander, it's time to begin!" ”

Shen Tongdeng also looked at the flag report in his hand, and then turned his head to look at the many officers present: "Gentlemen, the time has come to decide the national fortune of the empire for a hundred years and carry forward the might of our navy!" ”

Then he said to his adjutant: "Order the whole fleet to eat at once!" (To be continued.) )