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"Enemy attack! Get ready for battle! "When the Xinhua Navy discovered the British Navy, the British Navy also discovered the Xinhua Navy. The well-trained British Navy, immediately reacted. The officers and men rushed to their respective posts, and one after another, the warships all took action. The guns on both sides of the battleship, the gun jackets were removed, and the shells were also loaded into the gun chambers, and the guns were fired only after waiting for the order to be given.

The British Navy's 'Apollo-class' warships have a displacement of 1,800 tons, which is larger than the 'Shark-class' cruisers of the Xinhua Navy. The naval guns on the battleship were also newly developed by the British Navy, of which there were two 4-inch guns in the bow and stern, and six 3.7-inch guns on each side of the battleship. The total number of naval guns reached 16, four more than the 'Shark-class' cruisers of the Xinhua Navy. Moreover, these new naval guns are also breech-loading guns, with advanced performance. It's just that the shells and propellants of the British Navy are all black powder, which cannot be compared with the smokeless gunpowder used by the Xinhua Navy in terms of power. But even so, the combat power of the 'Apollo-class' ships cannot be underestimated. The 'Shark-class' cruiser of the Xinhua Navy can only tie with the 'Apollo-class' at most.

However, there is a big problem in this, that is, the 'Shark-class' cruiser of the Xinhua Navy. have been used for many years. Although maintenance is carried out regularly, the wooden hull is very old. Now the performance has and just entered service. There are some gaps. In such a situation, the 'Shark-class' cruisers could not defeat the 'Apollo-class' battleships. If the Xinhua Navy only has these 36 'Shark-class' cruisers, then the Xinhua Navy will undoubtedly be in danger in this war. Fortunately, the Xinhua Navy still has a killer weapon that has not been used. After discovering the British Navy, the Xinhua Navy immediately sent clippers to inform the 5th Fleet. And all this, the British Navy simply did not know anything about. The commander of the British Navy, Rear Admiral Allen, was on the flagship battleship 'Apollo'. The order was given to prepare the fleet for combat.

"Haha, I've finally found those yellow-skinned monkeys. Now, then, let's send them all to the bottom of the sea with naval guns! Defend the glory of the British Empire with the blood of these yellow-skinned monkeys! Major General Allen shouted very arrogantly. I thought I had a chance to win.

The 46 'Apollo-class' cruisers, lined up in three columns, quickly slaughtered the Xinhua Navy. Because they are in a tailwind state and are fast. According to the battle plan that had been prepared before. Rear Admiral Allen divided the British Navy into three teams. The 18 'Apollo-class' warships of the Far East Fleet are the 1st warship. The 28 Apollo-class ships of the Indian Ocean Fleet are divided into two groups. They are the 2nd and 3rd Squadrons, which are under the command of two brigadier officers of the Indian Ocean Fleet.

The imposing British Navy charged quickly. The guns on the battleship were also ready for battle. They are full of confidence in this victory.

On the cruiser 'Xinhua', Rear Admiral Wei Yong's face was stern. Although it was already expected that there would be a decisive battle with the British Navy. But when dozens of 'Apollo-class' warships came quickly, he still felt tremendous pressure.

"Order the fleet to turn, and separate fleets to meet the enemy. Sue General Xu Hai and General Liu Xu. As long as we hold out until the 5th Fleet arrives, it will be a victory. Before that. It is necessary to preserve the strength as much as possible. Major General Wei Yong ordered. The reason why it was separated from the 5th Fleet was that it was afraid that the appearance of the 5th Fleet would scare away the British Navy. In this case, the goal of total annihilation of the British Navy will not be achieved. Once the battle started and the two sides were scuffled, it would not be so easy for the British Navy to escape.

In addition, in order to avoid nearly a hundred warships on both sides from scuffling together, which would cause huge losses. Rear Admiral Wei Yong ordered the three fleets to move separately, each forming a small battlefield. In this case, the numerical disadvantage will not be so obvious.

At this time, the Xinhua Navy was in a state of headwind. After the discovery of the British Navy, the battleship began to turn. Only in a tailwind state will the Xinhua Navy not suffer in speed.

"Pick up the speed, rush up, and don't let those yellow-skinned monkeys run away." Major General Allen ordered excitedly. Because the three fleets of the Xinhua Navy changed course and gradually separated. Major General Allen also made adjustments. The 1st Squadron he personally led quickly rushed to the 1st Fleet of the Xinhua Navy. The other two teams faced the 2nd and 3rd fleets of the Xinhua Navy respectively.

The 1st Squadron led by Rear Admiral Allen had 18 'Apollo-class' battleships, while the 1st Fleet of the Xinhua Navy had only 12 'Shark-class' cruisers. In terms of numbers, the 1st Fleet of the Xinhua Navy was completely at a disadvantage and suffered a lot. The other two fleets are two ships less than the enemy, and the gap is not very large. If you're lucky, you might even win. After all, luck is very important in naval battles, and can even become a key factor in determining a naval battle.

At 10:35 a.m., the battle began. The British Navy's 'Apollo-class' warships fired the first salvo of this naval battle. Four 4-inch cannons in the bow and stern of the battleship and six 3.7-inch cannons on the left side of the battleship fired simultaneously. 10 shells whizzed towards the Xinhua warship in the distance. It's just that because the distance is too far, these shells have fallen into the sea, splashing columns of water on the sea, and there is still a long way to go from the warships of the Xinhua Navy.

At this time, the 1st Fleet of the Xinhua Navy and the 1st Fleet of the British Navy were almost parallel, sailing to the northeast. The distance between the two sides, which was almost four kilometers apart, was already within the maximum range of the naval guns of both sides. However, whether it is the British Navy or the Xinhua Navy, it is almost impossible to hit each other at this distance.

Major General Wei Yong deliberately chose this direction. Because the 5th Fleet of the Xinhua Navy is in that direction. As long as it lasted a few hours, the 5th Fleet was able to arrive. At that time, the 1st Fleet will be able to flank the 1st Sentai of the British Navy with the 5th Fleet. Even if the number of warships of the British Navy's 1st Sentai was as high as 18, in the end there was only a dead end. The firepower of the 5th Fleet is much stronger than that of the 1st Fleet.

Because the number of warships of the 1st Squadron of the British Navy was 6 more than that of the 1st Fleet of the Xinhua Navy, Rear Admiral Allen had 12 warships in front of the squadron when assigning targets to strike, forming a two-on-one advantage. The 6 battleships in the back are one to one. Rear Admiral Allen thought to himself that with such an advantage, if he could not defeat the Xinhua Navy, it would be too undeserved.

"Order the ships, open fire freely. Let these British know that although they are powerful, we are not vegetarians either. Major General Wei Yong ordered calmly. Although the navy of the new country has not been in force for a long time, it has also grown up through successive naval battles. Perhaps they are not as good as the British Navy in terms of individual soldiers, but in terms of combat experience, they are definitely not inferior to them at all.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "The cruiser 'Xinhua' opened fire at the first time. The four 105-mm guns in the bow and stern, together with the four 75-mm guns on the starboard side, opened fire one after the other, targeting the British Navy's flagship battleship Apollo.

However, soon Major General Wei Yong frowned. All eight shells fell into the sea, and the nearest point of impact was more than 500 meters away from the battleship Apollo. This level of accuracy is too low.

"Commander, there's no way. Now it is only possible to fire each cannon in turn. If a salvo is to be fired, the hull will be severely damaged, and there is a danger of disintegration if the person who speaks will disintegrate. Therefore, it is undoubtedly the safest to fire sequentially. It's just that the accuracy is really not high. The gunnery officer reluctantly reported to Major General Wei Yong.

Such a situation made Major General Wei Yong very aggrieved. However, he also knew that there was no way around it. The Xinhua Navy did have too many weaknesses in this naval battle.

"Order the ships to be aware of the distance between them and the enemy ships. Be sure not to allow enemy ships to close the distance. Major General Wei Yong ordered. In order to ensure that the losses of the fleet would not be too great, it was only possible to control the distance of the engagement. In this case, although it will be difficult for the Xinhua Navy to hit the British warships, in the same way, if the British warships want to hit the warships of the Xinhua Navy, they can only be blessed by God. Rear Admiral Wei Yong wanted to drag it until the 5th Fleet arrived.

However, the 5th Fleet was more than 60 kilometers away from them, and it would take at least 4 to 5 hours to shoot the clippers to inform them, and then the 5th Fleet would arrive.

"Boom! Rumble! Rumble! "The warships of both sides kept firing at each other. The rumbling sound of cannon echoed across the sea as if it were thunder. However, although the fight was lively, the battle lasted for almost half an hour, and neither side was able to hit the other.

"Bastard, what do those yellow-skinned monkeys want to do? Are they going to the South China Sea to blow up fish with too many shells? Order the fleet, continue to turn, and close the distance between the two sides. Major General Allen ordered. At present, the combat distance is almost more than 3,500 meters. Even if the British Navy had a high level of suzhì, it was not possible to ensure a hit rate at this distance.

It's just that the British Navy wants to shorten the combat distance, but the Xinhua Navy deliberately wants to maintain the combat distance. Once the British Navy made a turn, the Xinhua Navy followed suit. With the speed of the two sides about the same, it was difficult to realize Major General Allen's intention, which made Major General Allen angry. (To be continued......)