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"Six battleships, 5 sunk and captured. 5 armored cruisers, 4 sunk, one captured. More than a dozen cruisers and destroyers were sunk or captured. The loss of personnel was nearly 10,000 people. Frederick? William? Sir Richards, how do you want me to give an account to the angry people? The British Prime Minister, the Marquess of Salisbury, glared angrily at the Lord of the Navy. The Far Eastern Fleet was destroyed, which could be regarded as the largest loss of the British Navy in nearly a hundred years.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister! The Far Eastern Fleet has done its best. It's just that our enemies are too strong. The 'Zhonghua-class' battleships equipped by the Chinese Navy are far stronger than our battleships in service! "Lord of the Admirals Frederick? William? A cold sweat appeared on Sir Richards' forehead. There is no doubt that someone must be responsible for this failure, and he, as the Minister of the Navy, is obviously the first person responsible. This would be the best if he stepped down at this point. If it's stricter, maybe you'll be jailed.

"Didn't you give an order before for the Far Eastern Fleet to return to Singapore? Did Fermantle's brain get into the water? The Marquis of Salisbury rebuked. If Lieutenant General Filimantle had complied with their previous orders and returned to Singapore, perhaps this would not have happened. He doesn't have to worry about such a mess.

Admiral Frederick? William? Sir Richards was silent, and when Vice Admiral Philmantle had sent a telegram back, he and the Marquis of Salisbury had tacitly agreed to the actions of the Far Eastern Fleet. Merely. They didn't expect the losses to be so big.

"I am going to take Fermantle to court-martial, and he is responsible for the lives of tens of thousands of valiant British navy!" The Marquis of Salisbury said viciously. in his heart. Lieutenant General Filimantel has been hated to death.

"I couldn't agree more. Your Excellency, Prime Minister, but Filimantle has now been captured, and even if he is to be tried, I am afraid it will have to wait until after the war is over. The Far Eastern Fleet was annihilated, I have a great responsibility, and tomorrow I will submit my resignation like a parliament. However, Your Excellency the Prime Minister, the most important thing is now. How to appease the people! "Lord of the Admirals Frederick? William? Sir Richards said. When such a thing happened, it was clear that it was no longer possible for him to continue as Lord of the Navy.

The Marquis of Salisbury nodded, and the Lord of the Navy, Frederick? William? Sir Richards obviously couldn't save it this time, and if he didn't get it right, he would have to step down again.

"I will immediately ask Zhu Erdian, the minister to China, to declare war on China to divert the anger of the people. Then, send the Navy to the Far East. Teach those hateful yellow-skinned monkeys! Said the Marquess of Salisbury. China annihilated the Far East Fleet of the British Navy. It is clear that war between the two countries is inevitable. Although, this has made a big change in the strategy set by the British government, but there is no way around it now.

"Your Excellency, there is no problem with declaring war on China. But. If you send a navy to the east, I am afraid it will be more difficult. In addition to the 6 battleships of the Far Eastern Fleet, the Royal Navy also had two 'ravage' class battleships, one 'Dreadnought' battleship (a dreadnought built in '79 as a ship of the "Ravage" class. Modify the parameters during construction, which is larger than the parent type. It was the first to use a hydraulic mechanism to operate all the main guns, and it was the first to use an inverted upright compound steam engine with one high-pressure cylinder and two low-pressure cylinders. It is not an exaggeration to say that it was the most elite warship in the world at that time, so the name of the capital ship with innovative performance "Dreadnought" has since become a tradition in the British Navy. Two 'Ajax-class' battleships, two 'Giant-class' battleships, six 'Admiral-class' battleships, two 'Nile'-class battleships. However, these battleships are the oldest battleships, slow and weakly armored, and if they encounter the 'Zhonghua-class' battleships of the Chinese Navy, they will only be slaughtered. The only battleships we can use are the 'pre-dreadnought-class' battleships (the British Navy calls the latest battleships being designed the 'dreadnought', and the previous battleships are called the 'pre-dreadnought'). Now, the 'former Dreadnought-class' battleships include the two remaining 'Sovereign-class', two 'Pafleur-class' battleships, one 'Prestige-class' battleship, and nine 'Majestic-class' battleships. Judging from the performance of the Chinese Navy's 'Zhonghua-class' battleships, unless we send all fourteen 'former dreadnought-class' battleships to the Far East. Otherwise, we don't have a chance of winning! "Lord of the Admirals Frederick? William? Sir Richards analyzed. The British Navy had a very large number of battleships, fourteen 'former dreadnought-class' battleships plus the old battleships built before, a full thirty. It's just that these battleships, in the face of the 'Zhonghua-class' battleships of the Chinese Navy, are completely outdated.

The Marquis of Salisbury also had a headache, the British Navy was the first naval power, but now it was like this, which made him very aggrieved. The appearance of the 'Zhonghua-class' battleships suddenly made all the battleships of the British Navy obsolete. And the latest design of the battleship is just a drawing. I am afraid it will take two to three years to enter the service.

Although the British navy was strong, there were many places that needed to be defended, such as Europe, and in order to defend against Germany, it was necessary to leave enough battleships behind. In particular, when the Germans had already begun to build the 'Nassau-class' battleships that had been modified from the drawings of the new battleships obtained from the Chinese side, the British Navy needed to pay more attention.

"Your Excellency, the rise of China is becoming a growing threat to Britain and the West as a whole, and I think now Britain needs to strengthen its ties with France and stabilize Germany. It would be better for Britain and France to form a combined fleet and sail together to the Far East. In this way, we can leave enough battleships in Europe. "Frederick? William? Sir Richards built yì road.

The Marquis of Salisbury nodded and said, "I'll consider your build!" Who is more suitable for you to succeed the Lord of the Admiralty? ”

"Second Admiralty Walter? Lord Kerr is more suitable, and he can take over. In fact, the most suitable candidate is the third Admiralty John? Abbasnot? Fisher, it's just that his qualifications are too shallow, I'm afraid it will be difficult to convince the public! "Frederick? William? Sir Richards said.

"Alright then, just let Walter? Lord Kerr succeeded you as Lord of the Admiralty, by John? Abbasnot? Fisher becomes Second Admiralty! Said the Marquess of Salisbury.

"That's for the best!" Frederick? William? Sir Richards said.

In the afternoon of the same day, the House of Commons of the British Parliament passed the letter to Frederick? William? Sir Richards' resignation, the nomination of the Marquess of Salisbury, the appointment of Walter? Lord Kerr as Lord of the Admiralty, John? Abbasnot? Fisher became Second Lord of the Admiralty. At the same time, the Marquis of Salisbury gave a speech to Parliament, in which he declared that the annihilation of the Far Eastern Fleet was completely in the trap of the cunning Chinese, and that the mighty British Empire would avenge the fallen warriors of the Far Eastern Fleet. And declare that from now on, the British Empire and China are at war. The Chinese minister to Britain was asked to leave within a time limit. However, it was already evening in the Far East, and the British minister in China could only wait until the next day to submit a declaration of war. However, the news of Britain's declaration of war on China spread throughout the world in a very short time.

And, in the afternoon of the same day, Queen Victoria officially declared war on China on behalf of the British Empire! And British Prime Minister Marquess Salisbury left for Paris to meet with the new French President Emile? Francois? Lubé, discuss the joint efforts of Britain and France to deal with the Chinese threat.

Britain is the number one power in the world, and every move is watched by the whole world. Britain's declaration of war on China will undoubtedly escalate the war in the Far East. The world's major powers are nervously watching this change and considering how to stand. The countries of the Pacific Alliance, on the other hand, are very happy. Among them, especially in Japan, it is simply ecstatic!

When Hirotomo Murakami, Japan's minister to the United Kingdom, sent back to Japan the news of Britain's declaration of war on China, the entire Japanese government cheered. The Japanese government was very frightened when the navy was wiped out, fearing that China would attack Japan. Four years ago, China almost knocked Japan back to the Stone Age, which left Japan with lingering fears.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the British declared war on China, and this is really good news! Although the China Navy was strong, it was certainly no match for the British Navy. When the British Navy annihilated the China Navy, the warriors of the Great Japanese Empire would be able to set foot on the mainland again and expand the territory for the Empire! Japanese Prime Minister Aritomo Yama Prefecture waved his hands excitedly, venting the excitement in his heart.

"Yes! With Britain on board, maybe France will join in. In this way, the enemies of China became the five great powers of the world. No matter how strong China is, it will definitely be defeated this time! Foreign Minister Shuzo Aoki smiled.

"When the time comes, the warriors of the empire will definitely hit Beijing and capture the emperor of the Chinese people, and they will be ashamed!" Katsura Taro also shouted. It was as if Britain declared war on China, and they had reached the dawn of victory. There is no more anxiety when I learned that the navy has been annihilated.

Among the people present, the only one who did not have a smile on his face was probably Prince Arisugawanomiya Weihito, who temporarily acted as the prime minister of the sea. Sea Minister Yamamoto Gonbei seppuku, the commander of the Combined Fleet, Heihachiro Togo, was killed in battle, and he was the only one left among the three commanders of the Japanese Navy.

PS: The second update is here! Ask for a subscription, ask for a monthly pass! (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to come to the Biquge www.biquge.info (0000) to vote for recommendation, monthly pass, your support, is my biggest motivation. )