In the Indian Ocean, in the Arabian Sea, a detachment of the South Sea Fleet of the Imperial Navy is sailing on calm seas. At this moment, the sky has not yet dawned, and the sea is still a little gray.

On the battlecruiser 'Long Fei,' the flagship of the squadron, the captain of the fleet, Brigadier General He Xinchuan, had already risen, and in his hand he was holding a telegram that had just been forwarded from the headquarters of the Nanyang Fleet. The content of the telegram was precisely the order for him to take revenge on the British merchant ships for the sunken imperial merchant ship Rising Sun. So, their mission needs to be changed on the fly.

Although, Brigadier General He Xinchuan did not want to attack civilians. But the duty of a soldier is to obey orders. What's more, this time it was the British Navy that made the first move against the defenseless civilians of the Empire. Then, it is only natural that the Imperial Navy will return a tooth for a tooth and blood for a blood.

"Ordered the fleet to turn and turn 15 degrees to the left. Search for British ships on the sea. Brigadier General He Xinchuan ordered.

This is the route from India to the Suez Canal, which was originally a busy traffic artery, and the British collected all kinds of supplies in India and transported them back to the British mainland for those on the mainland to enjoy. After the war began, the British began to frantically collect all kinds of war materials from the colonies to meet the needs of the local war force. For example, iron ore from India is rough-processed, forged into steel ingots, iron ingots, and then shipped back to Britain to be produced into weapons. India's copper ore and other non-ferrous metals, grain and cloth, etc., were also shipped back to Britain by ship.

It can be said that India has become the most important colony of Britain. If it weren't for the continuous blood transfusions of the Indian colonies to the British, the British would not have been able to hold out at all.

At 6 a.m. on March 24, 4614 (16), the detachment of the Imperial Navy's Nanyang Fleet began to search for British merchant ships on the sea. Because the entire Mediterranean was still under the control of the British Navy, it entered the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal and returned to Britain from there. It is undoubtedly the most convenient route. On this route, there are also few warships to escort them. After all, the submarines of the German Navy could not yet go to the Indian Ocean for activities.

On this busy route, it was undoubtedly easy to find British merchant ships. Half an hour later. The destroyer 'B-4' reported the discovery of a British convoy about ten kilometers north of the detachment.

It was a fleet of four merchant ships, with the Lady Luck at the front, followed by the Dawn, Mariner and Cocktail. It was a fleet that transported grain from India back to the British mainland. Every merchant ship is a large ship with a displacement of more than 5,000 tons. As a maritime hegemon, the UK's shipbuilding strength has always been a global leader. Its shipping strength is also the world's first.

It is these merchant ships. This enabled Britain to rely on the blood transfusion of the vast colonies and fight against the powerful German army. Otherwise, Britain may not be able to support it for a long time. This time, however, the fleet was met by the Chinese fleet that had come with a vengeance. Then, they are doomed to tragedy.

"Order the fleet and speed up to that fleet. Light cruisers and destroyers attacked with naval guns. Brigadier General He Xinchuan ordered. As for the battlecruiser 'Longfei', it did not personally open fire. After all. The shells for the 305 mm main guns on the battlecruiser 'Longfei' were much more expensive than those for the main guns of the light cruisers and destroyers.

The Chinese fleet swooped down on the British merchant fleet with great vigour. It immediately aroused the vigilance of the British merchant ships.

"Captain, the Chinese warship." The sailor in charge of the lookout reminded loudly.

"What about the Chinese? If it weren't for the fact that the main forces of the Royal Navy were used against the Germans, where would they be left to the wild in the Indian Ocean. Stuart, the captain of the Lady Luck, said disdainfully. Their merchant ships have traveled to and from India and the British mainland many times, and they have also encountered Chinese fleets many times. But. Stuart didn't take it to heart at all. They are compared to British merchant ships, and Britain is the hegemon of the world. And China is a neutral country. So, it is impossible for the Chinese fleet to do anything to them.

"Captain, that's not right! Those Chinese warships are constantly approaching us. The first one is a capital ship. The lookout continued to roar. Obviously. He was already feeling the crisis.

"What's going on? What the hell are those yellow-skinned monkeys trying to do? Captain Stuart was also a little confused.

However, when the man raised his binoculars and looked at the Chinese fleet, he suddenly realized that something seemed to be wrong.

"Damn, these yellow-skinned monkeys are not good! Send a telegram to several other ships and tell them to be careful. Stuart commanded. However, he still had some hard time believing that China and Britain were not at war with each other, so how could the Chinese navy dare to embarrass them?

The other ships obviously also noticed that something was wrong, which made the queue of the fleet a little panicked.

When the Chinese fleet was less than five kilometers away from the British fleet, the main turrets of the two 'Blue Dragon' class light cruisers and two 'B-class' destroyers of the Imperial Navy began to turn.

And this scene directly frightened the British sailors who saw this scene.

"Oh God! Did the Chinese go to war with Britain? They're going to attack us! The sailors exclaimed.

"Invent code telegraphs for those Chinese and tell them that we are British merchant ships." Captain Stuart broke out in a cold sweat on his forehead. He also realized that this time there seemed to be some danger.

The Chinese fleet, despite the telegrams received from the British, ignored them.

"Order the ships, open fire! All four British merchant ships were sunk, and none remained. Brigadier General He Xinchuan ordered.

"Yes, General." The communications officer immediately gave the order.

In less than two minutes, the two 'Blue Dragon-class' light cruisers and two 'B-class' destroyers of the Imperial Navy began to tilt their shells at the British merchant ships.

The 155-mm guns of the 'Qinglong-class' light cruisers and the 105-mm guns of the 'B-class' destroyers opened fire one after another.

For a time, the cannon rumbled on the sea, and the cannonballs continued to fall around the British merchant ships, splashing up a column of water that was more than ten meters high.

"Oh God! Did the war start? Did the Chinese declare war on the British Empire? "All the British sailors were dumbfounded, their eyes full of despair. Everyone knows very well that after encountering the attack of the Chinese Navy, they are dead this time.

"Hell! Immediately sent a telegram informing the country that we had been attacked by the Chinese navy. Captain Stuart commanded.

Now, all he could do was pray that God would bless them, and that a British warship would pass nearby and come to their rescue. It's just that after the main force of the British Navy is transferred to the mainland, even if there are warships of the British Navy passing through this sea area, I am afraid they will not be able to save them. After all, the Chinese fleet has one capital ship.

The two light cruisers and two destroyers of the Imperial Navy opened fire frantically, and shells rained down. Soon, four merchant ships of the British were hit.

The first to be hit was the Mariner, and the attack was on a 'Blue Dragon-class' light cruiser of the Imperial Navy. The continuous firing of the three twin 155mm guns directly announced the fate of this hapless merchant ship.

The hull of the merchant ship was already very fragile, and after being hit by three 155-mm shells, the merchant ship was immediately blown off its keel, broken in two, and sank to the bottom of the sea.

Subsequently, the remaining three merchant ships did not last long, and in less than ten minutes, they were sunk one after another.

After sinking these four British merchant ships, the detachment of the South Sea Fleet of the Imperial Navy swaggered away, without any intention of rescuing the British sailors who had fallen overboard.

However, these British sailors were also people who were afraid of death, and after the merchant ship was hit, they got on the lifeboats. So, apart from the injuries of two unlucky ghosts, there were no casualties.

"Damn the yellow-skinned monkeys, they actually dare to attack the merchant ships of the British Empire, this is a provocation to the majesty of the British Empire. The British Empire would never let them go. Looking at the Chinese fleet that was leaving, Stuart and the others gritted their teeth with hatred.

Just as the Imperial fleet was sinking the British merchant ships, the car of the British Minister to China, Sir Juerdian, stopped outside the gates of the Imperial Foreign Office. He was instructed to communicate with the Chinese side to explain that the merchant ship Rising Sun had been mistakenly shot by the British Navy, hoping to obtain the understanding of the Chinese side. However, what he did not know was that at this moment the Chinese Navy had completed its retaliation against the British.

Although Sir Zhu Erdian had a great headache, as soon as he thought of his mission, he still got out of the car and went to the office of Tang Shaoyi, the Imperial Foreign Secretary.

"Your Excellency the Foreign Secretary, good morning. The British Empire deeply regrets that your merchant ship was accidentally shot by the Royal Navy yesterday. We hope that the Chinese Empire will exercise restraint. The British Empire will organize a special investigation into the matter and give the Chinese Empire a satisfactory answer. Sir Jurden said.

Tang Shaoyi glanced at Sir Zhu Erdian, and then said, "Your Excellency, I'm sorry, I also have bad news to tell you. This morning, the Imperial fleet was attacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean. The Imperial fleet had to open fire and sink the pirate ships. However, it was later discovered that it was a British merchant ship. ”

"What?" Sir Zhu Erdian was stunned at once, he did not expect that the Chinese's revenge would come so quickly.

"Oh God! It was murder, a long-planned attack on a British merchant ship. Merchant ships and pirate ships, how can they be the same! Sir Jurdian said angrily.

This time the meeting inevitably collapsed. At the same time, because of China's retaliation against the British, the tension between the two countries has become more and more serious (to be continued). )

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