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"Boom! Rumble! "The three 'Xia-class' cruisers of the 5th Fleet of the Xinhua Navy caught up with one 'Apollo-class' cruiser of the British Navy. Three battleships, besieged it. Although the 'Apollo-class' battleships were desperately trying to escape, they could not outrun the 'Xia-class' cruisers even in a tailwind state. In terms of firepower, the 'Apollo-class' battleships were even less than the opponents of the 'Xia-class' cruisers. In a one-to-one situation, the 'Apollo class' will definitely be defeated, let alone besieged. In less than twenty minutes, the 'Apollo-class' battleship was hit and burst into flames. Seeing that there was no hope of escape, the captain promptly ordered the white flag to be raised and surrendered to the Xinhua army. Otherwise, they will be sent to the bottom of the sea.

By this time, the sky had already darkened. Visibility on the sea surface is very low. In addition, the storm came suddenly, which made the pursuit of the British Navy by the Xinhua Navy have to stop. Taking advantage of the fact that the night was already stormy, the remnants of the British navy escaped smoothly. However, after a day of fierce fighting, the British Navy also suffered heavy losses. By the time he left Singapore, Rear Admiral Allen had 46 Apollo-class ships in command. But up to now, the number of warships that have been sunk and heavily damaged by the Xinhua Navy, as well as those that voluntarily surrendered to the Xinhua Navy, is a full 31 warships. In this battle, the British Navy has lost two-thirds of its strength, which can be described as a great loss of vitality.

Although the navy of the new country won a decisive victory. But its own casualties were not small, and the number of sunken and heavily damaged warships reached 13. This is also the reason why the 5th Fleet arrived on the battlefield in time. If the 5th Fleet fails to arrive in time, perhaps the Xinhua Navy will suffer a big loss this time. The British Navy had a high probability of winning this naval battle.

Although the British Navy was lost, the Xinhua Navy did not give up and was still sailing westward. Rear Admiral Wei Yong, commander of the 1st Fleet, Commodore Xu Hai, commander of the 2nd Fleet, and Brigadier General Liu Xu, commander of the 3rd Fleet, also gathered on the cruiser Xia Qi, the flagship of the 5th Fleet. In today's naval battles. All three of their fleets suffered huge losses. However, the faces of the three of them were full of smiles. After all, in this battle. The Xinhua Navy won after all. The main force of the British Navy has been destroyed, and if the remaining warships of the British Navy are dealt with, the entire South China Sea will fall under the control of Xinhua. Although the British Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet still has quite a few warships, those warships are only old-fashioned warships. Even the 'Apollo-class' warships are no match for the Xinhua Navy. Not to mention these old battleships.

"Haha! Today's battle is really exciting. If it weren't for the weather. The British, don't try to slip away. Brigadier General Lu Haipeng, commander of the 5th Fleet, said with a smile. His 5th Fleet sank more than a dozen British Navy warships, but suffered casualties on its own. Although in the naval battle, when fighting hard with the British Navy, the 5th Fleet also had many warships shot. But the steel plates laid on the deck of the battleship effectively resisted the shells of the British Navy. Although some of the battleships suffered some injuries, they were only minor injuries and did not affect the rest of the battle.

"yes. If you hadn't arrived in time, we might all have to explain it here. Major General Wei Yong said. At that time, the pressure on the Xinhua Navy was already very great. The situation was very bad, and the British Navy had completely gained the upper hand.

"yes, yes!" Brigadier General Xu Hai and Brigadier General Liu Xu also said. Now that I think about it, they all still have some lingering palpitations.

"Old Wei, although our losses are not small, no matter what, we still won this battle. What's next? Although the main force of the British was wiped out by us, they still have more than a dozen 'Apollo-class' warships. The more you keep them, the more you have to find a way to kill them all. Brigadier General Lu Haipeng said.

"Hmmm! These dozen or so 'Apollo-class' warships are already capable of posing a threat to the situation in the South China Sea. Major General Wei Yong nodded. In today's battle, the performance of the British Navy's 'Apollo-class' warships can be said to be vividly exerted. The 'Shark-class' cruisers, which have been in service for several years, are no match for each other at all. If it weren't for the killer feature of the 5th Fleet, the outcome of this naval battle would still be unknown.

"General Wei, I think so too. Those British battleships, could not stay. We'll have to keep pursuing. Brigadier General Xu Hai also said.

"But now that the weather is so bad, those Englishmen have long since fled when they saw how good we are. It's not easy to catch up with them. Brigadier General Liu Xu said.

After all, in today's naval battle, the appearance of the Xinhua Navy is enough to frighten the British Navy. As long as they don't have their heads caught in the door, they won't stay and continue to fight, but desperately run away. It is not so easy for the Xinhua Navy to wipe out the British Navy.

"Humph! If you can run, the monk can't run the temple. After all, these British are going to return to Singapore via Guò, or to the Indian Ocean via the Strait of Malacca. We're going to the Strait of Malacca to block them. I don't believe they can't be stopped. Brigadier General Lu Haipeng said.

"That's a good idea. Going to the Strait of Malacca to wait for the rabbits has a good chance of intercepting these Brits. In this way, the 5th Fleet will go first, and we will arrive later. Major General Wei Yong said. The steam warships of the 5th Fleet are not affected by the wind, and they are naturally very fast when calculated comprehensively. Although the wind is blowing from the northeast, no one knows if the wind direction will change after the storm passes. As soon as the wind changed, the British Navy slowed down. In this case, the Xinhua Navy will have a chance to block them.

"Okay, then I'll lead the fleet and set off." Brigadier General Lu Haipeng said. However, before departure, the 5th Fleet carried out a batch of supplies. After a day of fierce fighting, the coal and ammunition on the battleship were quickly consumed. Although the speed of the steam battleship is stable, the only disadvantage is that it needs to be replenished with coal, unlike the sail battleship, which does not need to think about fuel. Although the endurance of the 'Xia-class' cruiser is 3,500 nautical miles, the last few days of wandering around the South China Sea, coupled with today's fierce naval battles, have left much coal on board. In the next pursuit, I don't know how much time it will take, and there is nothing wrong with adding more coal.

At 8 o'clock in the evening, the 5th Fleet of the Xinhua Navy, with the help of the supply fleet, completed the replenishment of coal. After that, the 5th Fleet continued its voyage westward, preparing to go directly to the Strait of Malacca to intercept the British Navy. Before that, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd fleets had already departed.

The storm came and went as fast as it came, and after a few hours, the clouds dispersed and a few stars appeared in the sky.

On the dark sea, a fleet is speeding westward. The St. George's flag hanging from the mast is hunting in the wind. However, the British naval officers and men on the battleship were in a very heavy mood. Today's naval battle is something they will never forget. No one would have imagined that such a result would be. Leaving Singapore, almost everyone thought they were going to get a big win. However, reality mercilessly slapped them in the face.

On the battleship "Ethiopian Russia" of the British Navy, the commander of the British Navy, Rear Admiral Allen, had a gloomy face as if he could drip water. Looking at the remaining 15 warships on the sea, he wanted to cry without tears. Although the coming of the storm made them evade the pursuit of the Xinhua Navy. But several battleships, passing through the storm, also suffered some losses. In particular, the main masts of the two battleships were damaged, which severely affected the speed of the battleships. God knows if the Xinhua Navy will continue to chase them. If they are dragged down by these warships, then they will die.

"Damn the yellow-skinned monkey, this naval battle is simply a trap. They have carefully prepared this trap, just waiting for the British Empire to fall into it! Major General Allen said viciously. In his opinion, this qiē was carefully planned by the Xinhua Navy. At the beginning, the British Navy was very excited to see that the Xinhua Navy had not built a warship for several years. Because once the Xinhua Navy does not pay attention to military investment, then the final result can be imagined. However, I didn't expect that the Xinhua Navy built advanced steam warships and hid them, isn't this just waiting for the British Navy to send it to the door?

The thought of the low-hanging fruit victory shattered by the sudden appearance of a steam battleship, Rear Admiral Allen felt a great pity.

"General, there are two battleships with damaged main masts, and now the speed is only about 10 knots, should we give up on them." Lieutenant Colonel Smith, the epaulette of the 'Ethiopian Russia', asked. At this time, it was the British who abandoned some of the damaged warships in order to be able to save the main force of the fleet.

Rear Admiral Allen hesitated, now he only had 15 'Apollo-class' warships in his hands, and if he discarded two more, there would only be 13 left. Every remaining battleship was invaluable to him.

"No, we can't leave these companions behind." Major General Allen shook his head. Once the abandoned battleship is caught up by the Xinhua Navy, there will be only one way to die.

"But General, if the Xinhua Navy catches up, what should we do?" Lieutenant Colonel Smith asked.

"Don't worry, Lieutenant Colonel. The South China Sea is so big, as long as we change our course at any time, it will not be easy for us to be caught up by the Xinhua Navy. I believe that God will surely bless us from the pursuit of the Xinhua Navy. Major General Allen said. (To be continued......)