"Your Majesty, the 5th Fleet has forcibly captured the island of Socotra, and the British have come to the door and demanded that we withdraw from the island and return the island to them." Imperial Foreign Minister Wei Yuan said to Long Yufei. The British Minister to China, Frank, came to pay a special visit to him for this purpose. This has undoubtedly made the relationship between the two countries even more strained.

"Socotra? The geographical location there is really good, Lu Haipeng, that guy, really knows how to pick places. However, it is a bit too bold to dare to snatch it from the hands of the British! Long Yufei was a little speechless. The order of the General Staff was for the 5th Fleet to occupy Tajoura Bay and build a naval base there to hold the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Unexpectedly, the 5th Fleet not only took Tajoura Bay, but also swallowed all the islands of Socotra. Socotra, located at the junction of the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, is in a very good geographical location, and if a military base is built there, it will be enough to block the entire Gulf of Aden.

"Your Majesty, the strategic location of Socotra Island is very important. If I could, I would take Socotra Island! Chief of the General Staff, General Sun Hao, said. With the canal about to open, the empire needed to strengthen its military presence in the Middle East.

Long Yufei nodded, and then asked, "If we forcibly occupy Socotra Island, will the British go to war with us because of this?" ”

"Your Majesty, that's unlikely. The sovereignty of Socotra was not in the hands of the British. There, originally the territory of the Mahri Sultanate on the Arabian Peninsula, was only temporarily given jurisdiction by the British. As far as we know, now the British are in contact with the Sultanate of Mahri. Want to buy the island with money. However, the Mahri Sultanate has not yet agreed! Foreign Minister Wei Yuan said.

"Then this will be easy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will immediately declare war on the Mahri Sultanate! If they dare to counterattack Socotra. Then send troops to destroy them! Long Yufei said. The law of survival in this world is the law of survival of the jungle. Weak countries cannot stop strong countries at all, and once national interests are involved, these small countries are often only destroyed.

"Yes, Your Majesty! But what are we going to do with the British? Wei Yuan asked.

"Confess? Why give an account to the British. Socotra was simply what we grabbed from the Mahri Sultanate. Nothing to do with the British. If they want to seize Socotra, they are enemies of the Empire. The Empire will not hesitate to fight them for this. In the process of negotiating with the British. Be tough! Long Yufei said.

"Yes, Majesty, I see!" Wei Yuan nodded, after having Long Yufei's explanation. He knew what to do next.

"陛xià. According to the information we have received, the main forces of the British Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet are gathering in the direction of the Arabian Sea, and they are afraid that they will oppress the 5th Fleet. Admiral Sun Hao was a little worried.

"With the strength of the 5th Fleet, can it confront the British Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet?" Long Yufei frowned.

"Your Majesty, with the strength of the 5th Fleet, it can completely confront the British Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet. However, this time it was the main force of the 5th Fleet that went to the Gulf of Aden, as well as some of the remaining warships. Still in Singapore! Admiral Sun Hao said. His meaning is clear, that is, with the strength of part of the warships of the 5th Fleet, which is now heading to the Gulf of Aden. Unable to compete with the Indian Ocean Fleet of the British Navy.

"Let the remaining warships of the 5th Fleet also set off immediately and go to the Gulf of Aden to support. As for the defense of the South Seas region, let's take over some warships from the 1st Fleet! Long Yufei said. The 1st Fleet was tasked with defending the empire itself, but in the entire Pacific region, there was no navy that could threaten the empire. On the contrary, the 5th Fleet of the Imperial Navy had to compete with the British Navy in the direction of the Indian Ocean, and the pressure was very great. If the British Navy sends more warships to the Indian Ocean, the 5th Fleet may not be able to afford it.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Admiral Sun Hao nodded. The 5th Fleet is all rushed to the Gulf of Aden, and as long as Britain does not draw the fleet from the mainland, there should be no major problems.

Even so, though. Long Yufei still felt that the strength of the Imperial Navy was insufficient. In the scramble for the Indian Ocean, it is inevitable that there will be some reluctance. If the Imperial Navy had been a little stronger, perhaps there would have been no such problems.

"How's the construction of our 'Qin-class' battleships?" Long Yufei asked. The eight 'Qin-class' battleships under construction will be the hole cards of the Imperial Navy.

"Your Majesty, the 'eight' Qin-class battleships have already been completed for the most part. It will soon be launched and outfitted, and it is expected that it will be able to enter service from June next year. Admiral Sun Hao said. He also knew that the Imperial Navy urgently needed more powerful warships. The 'Qin-class' battleships, with a displacement of more than 10,000 tons, will become the ace of the Imperial Navy.

Long Yufei nodded: "The 'Western Han class' battleship can also start construction!" After two years of service with the 'Qin-class' battleships, the 'Western Han-class' battleships have to be put into service! ”

The 'Western Han class' battleship was an improved version of the 'Qin-class' battleship, with a larger displacement and more main guns. It's also very powerful. Of course, the cost of the 'Western Han class' battleships is also surprisingly expensive.

The 'Western Han class' battleships have a standard displacement of up to 12,600 tons and a full load displacement of up to 14,500 tons. The maximum speed is as high as 17 knots, and the main gun is five twin 280 mm guns, which are deployed in a layout of two in the front and two in the rear. Between the two chimneys in the middle of the battleship, there was another one. Such a layout makes the firepower of the 'Western Han class' warship very strong. However, the main gun in the middle was blocked by the chimney, and the firing angle was limited to a certain extent. The reason for this design is completely unavoidable. The Imperial Navy's 305 mm guns had not yet been developed, so the 'Western Han class' warships could only be replaced with 280 mm guns. In addition, the Imperial Navy was also developing a triple main gun. It's just that the problem of shooting accuracy cannot be solved yet. It can be said that the 'Western Han class' battleship is a substitute. In the next 'Eastern Han class' warships, these problems should be well solved. When the time comes, the warships of the Imperial Navy will be even more powerful.

The cost of the 'Western Han class' warship was as high as eight million Chinese yuan, but even so, Long Yufei still withstood the pressure from the navy and placed an order for eight ships. These eight 'Western Han class' battleships were named 'Han Gaozu', 'Han Hui Emperor', 'Han Wen Emperor', 'Han Jing Emperor', 'Han Wu Emperor', 'Han Zhao Emperor', 'Han Xuan Emperor' and 'Han Yuan Emperor'. The first four ships were assigned to the 1st Fleet, and the last four ships were assigned to the 5th Fleet.

"What about the Navy's 'Temperary-class' cruisers and 'Tiangang-class' destroyer-improved warships?" Long Yufei asked. The Imperial Navy had a sparse number of small warships, and after the 'Temperance-class' cruisers were put into service, the 'Temperance-class Improved' cruisers were also designed and construction began. The new 'Temperance Class Improvement' cruisers, with a larger displacement, increased speed and firepower, were built, and a total of 12 ships were built. The same is true of the 'Tiangang-class Improved' destroyers, with a total of 18 Improved destroyers being built. After these thirty warships are commissioned, the strength of the Imperial Navy will reach a new level.

"Your Majesty, in two months, the 'Temperary-class Improved' cruisers and the 'Tiangang-class Improved' cruisers will be commissioned one after another!" Admiral Sun Hao replied.

"That's good!" Long Yufei nodded. Developing the navy is indeed a matter of burning money. Battleships were almost always stacked with silver. However, the navy must be developed, otherwise the Imperial Navy will not be able to gain an advantage in future naval battles.

The Chinese Empire forcibly seized Socotra from the British East India Company, which caused discontent among the British. The foreign ministries of the two countries engaged in a long war of words. However, the owner of Socotra, the Sultanate of Mahri, seemed to have been forgotten. No one cares about this small country at all.

In fact, after the Chinese Empire declared war on the Mahri Sultanate, it sent troops to attack the Mahri Sultanate. But even this scared the Sultanate of Mahri half to death. Their sultan, hasteningly, renounced the ownership of Socotra.

The Chinese Empire already had de facto possession of Socotra, and the British wanted to take Socotra back, and there was no other way than to start a war. However, Britain did not dare to go to war with the Chinese Empire now, and could only allow the Chinese Empire to occupy Socotra.

The contradictions between the Chinese Empire and Britain became more and more intensified. Although the British did not seize Socotra, this did not prevent them from stumbling on the Chinese Empire in other ways.

In the vast Central Asian region, British envoys traveled around the three Central Asian countries, bringing not only the friendship of the British, but also a large number of rifles and cannons. The British sold these arms to the three Central Asian countries at extremely low prices, and they tried to arm them against the Chinese Empire.

The Russians, who had been defeated by the Chinese Empire in the last war, were not far behind. Compared with Britain, Russia has a better heritage in Central Asia. Knowing that it could not annex Central Asia, the weakened Russia began to provide support to the three Central Asian countries so that they could resist the westward advance of the Chinese Empire in the future, thus achieving the goal of weakening the Chinese Empire.

The intervention of Britain and Russia made the situation in the Chinese Empire even more chaotic. The three Central Asian countries also seem to feel that a crisis is coming. (To be continued......)

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