When the naval battle between the Imperial Navy and the British Royal Navy Expeditionary Fleet came to an end, it was still past three o'clock in the morning London time. However, at this time, the Admiralty building was still brightly lit. The British Navy was also very concerned about this battle. Even Lord Chancellor, Sir John Jericho, remained at the Admiralty. Even at night, I rested in the lounge at the back of the office and didn't go home.

The British Cabinet is also looking forward to this battle. If they can win, they can force the Chinese Empire to make concessions. Not only can the crisis in India be completely resolved, but at the same time, China can abandon the Kingdom of Iran. What's more, China could compensate for the losses of the British Empire. In this case, the unfavorable situation of Britain in this conflict will be completely reversed.

Sir John Jericho, the British Lord of the Admiralty, had already slept, he had slept at one o'clock in the morning. It's not that he doesn't want to wait, but because he's older, his energy is not as good as before, and he can't last long.

However, Sir John Jericho had already commanded that he must be woken up as soon as news of the expeditionary fleet was heard. In fact, Sir John Jericho was still a little uneasy about this naval battle. On the one hand, because the strength of the Chinese Navy is very strong, it is very difficult to deal with. On the other hand, the commander of the expeditionary fleet was Marshal David Beatty. In Sir John Jericho's mind, Marshal David Beatty was simply an arrogant and conceited fellow. The fleet he led is most likely to adopt risky tactics. In this case, it will be very detrimental to the expeditionary fleet. However, the Cabinet had to make Marshal David Beatty the commander of the expeditionary fleet, and Sir John Jericho had no way to oppose it, even if he wanted to.

In the telegraph room of the Admiralty, more than a dozen telegraph machines were dripping. Receiving telegrams from all over the world. Britain is the hegemon of the seas. The British Navy is deployed globally. Therefore, the British Admiralty also needs to keep in touch with the navies deployed around the world. In the past, that would have been almost impossible. However, with the advancement of technology, everything has become possible from the impossible.

"Is there a telegram for the expeditionary fleet?" Major General Jonathan, head of the telegraph room, asked.

"General, there is no news yet." The officer in the telegraph room shook his head.

"Okay. If you receive a telegram, you must report it to me as soon as possible. Major General Jonathan said.

"Yes, General." The officer nodded in understanding.

Ten minutes later, the battlecruiser USS Hood, the flagship of the expeditionary fleet, sent back a telegram. After the capital ships of the British Navy were either sunk or surrendered, telegrams were sent to the battlecruiser 'Hood'. After compiling these telegrams, the captain of the battlecruiser 'Hood' immediately realized a terrible result. That was the naval battle, and the British Navy had already lost a lot. Such a result. Naturally, he had to report back to the country.

When the British Admiralty telegraph office translated the telegram, the telegraphers inside exclaimed. After all, such a loss is a bit too terrifying. The main forces of the Royal Navy's expeditionary fleet, with the exception of the battleship Hood, were all sunk or captured by the Chinese. The first reaction was not to believe it, or to think that there was something wrong with the telegram.

"Bastard. How could it be possible to lose so much? Get in touch with the battlecruiser 'Hood' again and ask them about it. Said the officer in the telegraph room. He did not dare to give such a telegram to Major General Jonathan.

But. Confirmed three times with one face, and even made contact with the battlecruiser "Hood". But the end result is the same. The Royal Navy Expeditionary Fleet did suffer a crushing defeat.

Suddenly, everyone in the telegraph room had an expression that the sky had fallen. As a member of the Royal Navy, they naturally knew that this fiasco was for the Royal Navy, and for the British Empire as a whole. Something that means.

"All of you are not allowed to communicate with the outside world, let alone share the contents of this telegram with anyone else. Violators will be dealt with by military law. I'll report to the general. The officer hurriedly said.

"Yes!" Everyone replied. They also know that if the news leaks out. What kind of consequences will it cause.

The officer then took the telegram and went to find Major General Jonathan. After reading the telegram, Major General Jonathan's face also changed greatly.

"Are you sure that the contents of this telegram are true? Did we really suffer such a terrible defeat? Major General Jonathan asked with a dark face. Obviously, the content of this telegram has exceeded everyone's expectations.

"General, we have made contact with the battlecruiser 'Hood'. The contents of this telegram are true. The officer said.

"Oh God! How so? How could the Royal Navy have failed so badly? Major General Jonathan looked horrified.

"Block the news immediately, I'm going to report to His Excellency the Minister." Major General Jonathan said, then grabbed the telegram and ran to Sir John Jericho's office. As he ran, he was still muttering, "Oh God! Is the sea power of the British Empire finished? ”

"Bang! Boom! "Major General Jonathan knocked on Sir John Jericho's office and there was a knock on the door of his office.

Sir John Jericho, who had managed to fall asleep, opened his eyes.

"Who! What happened? Sir John Jericho asked.

"Sir Sir, there is news of the expeditionary fleet." Major General Jonathan replied.

"What?" Sir John Jericho rolled out of bed at once, put on a garment, and opened the door to his office.

"How's it going, have we won?" Sir John Jericho asked expectantly.

However, what he saw was the frustration on Major General Jonathan's face. Suddenly, his heart continued to sink. He knew that something very bad must have happened.

"What the hell is going on?" Sir John Jericho asked.

"Your Excellency, the expeditionary fleet has failed. And, it was a fiasco. With that, Major General Jonathan handed the telegram to Sir John Jericho. Although, he was also reluctant to believe the contents of the telegram. But facts are facts!

Sir John Jericho was stunned, and quickly took the telegram, read it carefully, and as he read it, his mouth came out with "God! Voices like that. Obviously, he was also shocked by this fiasco.

All 24 capital ships of the Royal Navy Expeditionary Fleet, with the exception of the battlecruiser HMS Hood, were sunk or captured by the Chinese Navy. In particular, five battleships surrendered to the Chinese Navy, which was undoubtedly a disgrace to the Royal Navy. In addition, three heavy cruisers, ten cruisers of the first class, except for one heavy cruiser who fled the battlefield with serious injuries, the rest of the liquid sank. Of the thirty-four light cruisers, all but a dozen or so 'C-class' destroyers escaped, the rest were sunk. Moreover, most of the 'C-class' light cruisers that escaped suffered heavy damage. Of the 39 R-class, only a dozen or so managed to escape. The seriously damaged 'R-class' destroyers also accounted for half of the destroyers that escaped. There is no doubt that the Royal Navy Expeditionary Fleet has really ushered in a fiasco.

"Oh God! The fiasco, the worst defeat ever suffered by the Royal Navy. Sir John Jericho muttered. Even the worst outcome he expected was not so serious! The expeditionary fleet has 24 capital ships! No matter how bad it is, it can fight with the Chinese Navy to break the net. Even if it's a lose-lose situation, it's better than a loss.

"What about the losses of the Chinese?" Was there a report on the battlecruiser USS Hood'? Sir John Jericho asked. Since, the expeditionary fleet paid such heavy losses. If the losses of the Chinese navy are also large, then the British navy may not be at its worst. After all, in addition to the expeditionary fleet, the Royal Navy has more than twenty capital ships, large and small. Although it is an old-fashioned capital ship, it can still hold up the Royal Navy. But the premise is that the Chinese Navy will also suffer heavy losses.

"Your Excellency, behind the telegram is the loss of the Chinese Navy." Major General Jonathan said with his head bowed.

So, Sir John Jericho hurriedly turned to the last page. It records the losses of the Chinese Navy in this naval battle. When Sir John Jericho finished reading it, he almost didn't vomit a mouthful of blood.

The losses of the Chinese Navy turned out to be only two battleships, one battleship "Pinghai" and one battleship "Longxiang". Another battleship 'Huaxia' suffered heavy damage. In addition to this, it was a number of destroyers that were sunk. A small number of heavy cruisers, light cruisers and destroyers were heavily damaged. Compared with the losses of the Royal Navy of the British Empire, the losses of the Chinese Navy are completely negligible.

"Damn, we lost so many battleships, in exchange for two battleships of the Chinese sunk and one battleship was heavily damaged? David Beatty, how the hell did he command this battle? Sir John Jericho yelled.

Of the two battleships lost by the Chinese Navy, the battleship Pinghai was a modification of the hull of a captured Japanese battleship. The battleship Longxiang is the earliest battleship of the Chinese Navy. Just two battleships, replacing almost all the battleships of the expeditionary fleet, this is too unacceptable.

Sir John Jericho knew that after this war, the maritime supremacy of the British Empire was far from them. (To be continued.) )

PS: The second update is here, and there is only a dozen gaps between the latter one, asking for monthly ticket support! Thank you book friend Yandi for watching the free version and watching the cool reward and monthly pass! Thanks to the book friend Sai's appropriate expectations, riding a crab to read the book, Satan's right head, love Nan Snow Wolf, the third uncle visiting the city, Blue Fantasy, want to be a hooligan, and the reward of the Eagle of the People's Liberation Army! Thanks to the book friend Arthur Wang, Water Sky Without Moon, Pegasus Meteor Cannon, Shen Xin, TX Ocean, Wuyuejun1, Guanglong Doudou, Commander of the Sailor, chen880103, Jiayou 229, Kehua Forest, Crane in the Pine Forest, CCA4417, Demon - Little Demon, css713, Revisit 33, Cang. Hao, yang199174, Bin ゞ依舊潇灑, Book Friend 160324161313183, lianjianming, War and Peace, I Love Bookworms, Dalian Haiyun's monthly pass!