At sea in June, the weather is not too hot, especially during the voyage of the warship, the sea breeze is breezy and relatively comfortable. In the early hours of the evening of June 22, Algernon, commander of the combined fleet of Britain, France and Russia, Algernon? McLennan? After Sir Lyons had slept for two or three hours, he could not sleep at all, and was a little bored, so he simply came out of his cabin and came to the bridge of the battleship 'Majesty'.

At this moment, the Chief of Staff of the Fleet, Frederick? William? Sir Richards was on duty. As it got closer and closer to China, the British, French-Russian combined fleet also entered a state of emergency combat readiness.

"Your Excellency, Commander, why don't you take a break? According to our estimates, by the 24th at the latest, we will be able to reach China's North Sea, and tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, the Chinese will definitely fight a decisive battle with us! "Fleet Chief of Staff Redik? William? Sir Richards said.

"I don't know how, I can't sleep. Just come to the bridge and take a look! "Fleet Commander Algernon? McLennan? Sir Lyons replied. Then he stood on the edge of the bridge, staring at the dark sea outside.

Fleet Chief of Staff Rederick? William? Sir Richards didn't say much, he knew, Fleet Commander Algernon? McLennan? Sir Lyons is under a lot of pressure. Although he was very opposed to the shelling of Singapore, it was already like this, and there was no way to do it. Now, all the energy of the entire fleet is focused on the upcoming decisive battle. However, the harshly worded telegram sent by the Prime Minister, the Marquis of Salisbury, and the strict order that the Combined Fleet must be victorious, gave the Fleet Commander Algernon? McLennan? Sir Lyons was under a lot of pressure. After all, the Marquis of Salisbury threatened that if he was defeated, what awaited him would be a court-martial. Perhaps, the result of the stricter zhòng is to be killed directly by the angry Chinese, after all, the emperor of the Chinese has publicly declared that he will avenge the Chinese who died in Singapore. Therefore, if the war is defeated, the consequences will be unimaginable.

"Your Excellency Chief of Staff, where do you think, where are the Chinese warships? Where are they waiting for us? "Fleet Commander Algernon? McLennan? Sir Lyons asked suddenly.

"We are only 800 kilometers away from China's North Sea, and the day after tomorrow at the latest, the Chinese will fight a decisive battle with us." Otherwise, their most important shipbuilding base will be in ruins under our artillery fire! "Chief of Staff of the Fleet, Frederick? William? Sir Richards said. Although the number of battleships of the Chinese Navy is small, the performance is very strong. If it keeps delaying, or playing cat and mouse tactics, it will be a disaster for the British, French and Russian combined fleet, they simply can't afford to delay, and they don't have so much time. The most important thing is the issue of supply. The nearest supply bases are thousands of kilometers away in India. Therefore, going straight into the North Sea of China and forcing the Chinese Navy to fight them a decisive battle has become their preferred tactic and the best tactic.

"I have a hunch that the Chinese are in front of us, maybe after dawn, the decisive battle will break out!" Fleet Commander Algernon? McLennan? Sir Lyons said with great certainty.

"Perhaps! But that's exactly what we're hoping to see, isn't it? Although it was a two-month long voyage, the morale of our soldiers was still high. At this time, we have a good chance of winning a decisive battle with the Chinese Navy! "Chief of Staff of the Fleet, Frederick? William? Sir Richards said.

"Perhaps! I believe in the soldiers of the British Empire, but the Russians and the French are not sure. After the decisive battle breaks out, we will have to rely on ourselves! "Fleet Commander Algernon? McLennan? Sir Lyons said disdainfully. Although the Russian Navy sent quite a few battleships, he still despised the Russian Navy very much. Joining the Russian Navy in the Combined Fleet is just a last resort.

Algernon? McLennan? Sir Lyons was under great pressure, especially after receiving a telegram from the Marquess of Salisbury, the Prime Minister. In this decisive battle, he has no way out, if he loses, he will not only be ruined, but even lose his life. Although he is 59 years old, he does not want to die like this, especially in the Far East. Therefore, he must win this battle.

Several light cruisers of the Chinese Navy followed the combined fleets of Britain, France and Russia from a distance. As they got closer to the Chinese mainland, the more Chinese warships tracked around the combined fleet of Britain, France and Russia. However, these warships exercised restraint and did not attack the combined British, French, and Russian fleet. Although the soldiers of the Chinese Navy were already furious, they were still patient when they did not receive the order to attack.

"In two hours, the enemy will enter the ambush sea area of the submarine forces, and the enemy's route can be sent to the submarine forces!" The captain of the light cruiser 'Linxia' ordered.

A telegram was then sent to the sea west of the Paracel Islands, 40 kilometers away. Here on the surface of the sea, there are twelve long, dark submarines. They had been floating at sea for a day, and after the mother ship of the submarine brought them here from Subic Bay, they had been waiting for the combined fleet of Britain, France and Russia to arrive at the door.

At present, the submarine force of the Chinese Navy has only 12 submarines, and it is still a 'Squid-class' submarine with poor performance, but if the submarine shows satisfactory combat effectiveness in this war, the submarine force will receive special attention and become a priority development branch of the navy. Therefore, this battle is also directly related to the fate of the submarine force in the future, and the first batch of submarine officers and men of the Imperial Navy also attached great importance to this battle. Although being submariners is not as majestic as being a battleship's sailors, they prefer this way of hiding in the shadows and giving the enemy a deadly attack, just like the ancient assassins, after a blow, they are thousands of miles away.

Twelve submarines were organized into a submarine group, and the commander was Colonel Su Leping, and the boat he was in was also numbered as Boat No. 1. From No. 1 to No. 12, it is the number of the 12 submarines of the Navy's submarine force.

"Send a message to the other boats, let them prepare for battle, there are still two hours before dawn, and the foreign devils are coming!" Colonel Su Leping said to the signal corps.

The signal corps soon sent telegrams to the other 11 submarines. After that, the submarines replied that they were all ready for battle.

At 3:20 a.m., Boat No. 1 of the submarine force received a telegram from the light cruiser 'Linxia', which for them was a combat alert. The first battle of the submarine forces is about to begin.

"Send a report to the other boats, the foreign devils will arrive in two hours, and the route is a hundred kilometers west of Xisha, which is exactly where we are now!" Colonel Su Leping had some excitement. This is not a drill, but a show, and the next thing is the debut of the submarine forces.

The Squid-class submarine is the first-class submarine equipped by the Chinese Navy. The displacement is 220 tons above the water, 290 tons underwater, 30 meters long, 3 meters wide, 4.8 meters high, and 2.4 meters draft. The maximum depth of the dive is 50 meters. Propelled by two 40-horsepower diesel engines and two electric motors, the maximum speed is 10 knots at the surface and 4 knots underwater. The surface range is 500 nautical miles, and the underwater range is 30 nautical miles. It is armed with two 533 mm torpedo tubes, capable of carrying six torpedoes.

In the waters west of the Paracel Islands, twelve submarines are ready, waiting for the combined fleets of Britain, France, and Russia to automatically arrive at the door. And, according to the telegrams sent back by the light cruisers that followed the combined fleets of Britain, France and Russia all the way, their positions were constantly adjusted. Eventually, in the 1-kilometer-long sea area, an ambush was found.

At 5 o'clock in the morning on June 22, a trace of fish belly white had appeared on the horizon, and the sky was about to dawn. And the combined fleet of Britain, France and Russia will soon arrive. When a large area of smoke appeared in the southern sky, it indicated that the combined fleet of Britain, France and Russia had arrived. And the main force of the Chinese Navy's home fleet is also on its way to this sea area, and it will take at most an hour to arrive. And before the main force of the home fleet arrives, this sea area will become a stage for submarines to perform.

"Order all ships, dive to periscope level, and prepare to hunt freely!" Colonel Su Leping ordered. The No. 1 boat he was in was in the very center of the submarine queue. The southernmost is Boat No. 12.

"Gurgle!" The hatch of the submarine was closed, and as a large amount of air was discharged from the submarine, the submarines that were originally floating on the surface of the sea dived one after another, leaving only a periscope on the surface of the sea. Soon, calm was restored to the sea. Because the submarine is very rudimentary, in order to determine the target, the periscope must be paid to the surface. Fortunately, the sky is not yet bright, and the periscope is very small, so if you are not careful, no one will notice a small tube sticking out of the sea.

From 5 a.m., at the command of the Combined Fleet Algernon? McLennan? Under Sir Lyons' orders, the British, French, and Russian navies were all in place. Everyone knows that the decisive battle with the Chinese Navy is about to begin. They must be prepared to fight lest they be attacked. The successive victories of the Chinese Navy have also made them feel tremendous pressure.

However, the officers and men of the British, French, and Russian combined fleets could not have imagined that the threat they faced would come from underwater. Until then, no one will notice this at all!