War is fought against the country's comprehensive national strength and resources. In addition to human resources, natural resources are equally important. The war that broke out between the Entente and the Central Powers was, in fact, a drain on resources between these Western powers.

Originally, Germany had placed its hopes on a quick defeat of France and a victory in the war. However, trench warfare frustrated Germany's attempts, and the war became a war of attrition. In this regard, Germany suffers very much. After all, Britain and France had the support of vast colonies, and there was no shortage of resources at all. Germany, on the other hand, has a strong industrial strength, but it lacks resources. Once the sea trade lines were cut off, Germany would be finished. Although, before the outbreak of the war, Germany could reserve a large amount of war materials to support its consumption during the war. However, if they are not replenished, these accumulated material reserves will easily be depleted.

This is also why in the early stage of the war, Germany suffered heavy losses against Britain, France and Russia, and retreated one after another. But as the war progressed, the reason why Germany's attack power continued to decline. In addition to the reason for the excessive loss of elite soldiers, there is also the reason for the insufficient supply of war materials.

It can be said that as long as the material supply channels for Germany can be cut off, Germany will not be far from defeat. Originally, under the pressure of Britain and France, no country could continue to supply war materials to Germany. However, the Chinese Empire was different. The Chinese Empire's military might allowed it to ignore the warnings of Britain and France. And Britain and France, in order to avoid tearing their faces with China, can only turn a blind eye. But now, in order to win the war as soon as possible, Britain and France have decided to blockade Germany in earnest.

After Britain declared the waters off Germany a no-sail zone, it attracted the attention of the whole world. The Chinese Empire, as well as many other countries, expressed opposition. But. Britain's attitude is very tough, and it is not willing to back down at all. The ships of the British Royal Navy have been patrolling the entire North Sea, searching for merchant ships bound for Germany, preparing to intercept them and completely blockade Germany.

On the afternoon of March 23, 4614 (16) of the Yellow Emperor Era. The rough North Sea. The sea conditions in the North Sea, or in the North Atlantic as a whole, are relatively bad. It's not like the Pacific Ocean, where there are very few waves at sea. The sea here is often windy and rough. This makes it necessary for ships to be cautious when passing through this area. At the same time, the seaworthiness of the ship must be good. Otherwise, it is easy to be swept over by the wind and waves.

A merchant ship flying the Golden Dragon Flag of the Empire is sailing in the North Sea, a large ocean-going merchant ship with a displacement of more than 5,000 tons, named the Rising Sun, which is loaded with thousands of tons of steel and copper. These were the war resources that Germany desperately needed now. Of course, China was undoubtedly taking a great risk by providing Germany with such important war resources at this time. Profits, naturally, are also considerable. The price of these resources has now doubled compared to before the war began. However, even so, the Germans could only pinch their noses and admit it.

The Reich had already made a lot of profit by transporting war materials to Germany. Moreover. From the beginning of the war, the empire only received Chinese dollars or its equivalent in gold. Others in marks, pounds, francs and dollars. None of them will be collected. In particular, the mark, the pound and the franc, all of which are at war and are under heavy financial pressures. In such a situation, they often do not hesitate to issue a large amount of money in order to buy more war materials, which will inevitably lead to the depreciation of the currency. So. Naturally, the national currency and precious metals should be preserved a little.

The gold reserves of the Germans, for this reason, had almost been emptied by the Reich. In the end, the Germans had no choice but to exchange advanced technology for these war materials of the Reich. For example, Krupp's technology in large-caliber artillery and rapid-fire guns. Krupp armor steel technology, Carl Zeiss optical instrument technology, advanced engine technology, as well as chemical and metallurgical technology, everything that the Chinese Empire needed, Germany did not hesitate to sell. This has made China almost reach the world-class level in terms of advanced technology. Of course, the prerequisite is that China absorbs and digests these technologies. Otherwise, these technologies will only be used as reserves.

The Reich not only transported these war materials to Germany, but also the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was also an Allied power, and the countries of the Entente countries, were also trade partners of the Reich. It can be said that in the trade of war materials, the empire occupies almost a larger share than the United States. This also makes the empire undoubtedly achieve remarkable achievements in industry in the past two years. In the past, it took a big country ten years or even longer to complete, but in just two or three years, it has been completed.

It is for this reason that the Empire wants this war to continue. In this way, the empire will be able to earn more wealth and gain more advanced technology at the same time. In addition, it can also make the European powers pay more in the war, which is very helpful for the empire to catch up with these Western powers in the future.

The merchant ship Rising Sun is sailing in the North Sea, and at its current speed, it is expected to arrive in Hamburg tomorrow. When the time comes, they will be able to return home. Therefore, although Britain announced that the waters off Germany would be designated as a no-sail zone, the crew of the merchant ship Rising Sun was not worried. They are confident that the British Navy will not be ready in such a short time. It's a big deal, after they finish this business, they will change routes.

The British cruiser "Bristol" was sailing in the North Sea. This cruiser, the lead ship of the British 'Town class' light cruisers, had a displacement of 4,800 tons, a length of 131.1 meters, a width of 14.3 meters, a draft of 4.65 meters, a maximum speed of 25 knots, and was armed with two 6-inch single-mount guns, 10 4-inch single-mount guns and four 1.9-inch rapid-fire guns.

This class of light cruisers was the most cutting-edge class of light cruisers in the Royal Navy, so it was only after the start of the war that they were sent to the eastern waters of the North Sea to carry out the task of blockading Germany.

Major Thomas, now captain of the light cruiser USS Bristol. Already yesterday, they received an order to intercept all the ships they met, heading for Germany. Even Chinese merchant ships were intercepted and brought back to the British mainland for temporary seizure.

After receiving such an order, Major Thomas finally breathed a bad breath in his heart. These days, Chinese merchant ships have ignored the British Navy's passage and wantonly broken through the British Navy's blockade line to Germany. Right under their noses, a large amount of war materials were sent to Germany. There is no doubt that this is a provocation against the Royal Navy, which does not take them into account at all. Major Thomas even stubbornly believed that Germany had not yet been defeated precisely because these Chinese were playing tricks. Otherwise, Germany would have failed long ago.

"Order the lookouts, pay attention to search the nearby sea, and once they find a Chinese merchant ship, immediately chase after it. This time, we're going to stop any Chinese merchant ship from going to Germany. The blockade of the Royal Navy will be like a noose, strangled around the necks of the Germans, and they will finally be hanged alive! Major Thomas ordered.

"Yes, Captain. Please rest assured. Those yellow-skinned monkey merchant ships will definitely not be able to go to Germany again. A staff officer replied with a smile. Few officers and men of the British Royal Navy have a favorable impression of China. They stubbornly believe that China is the culprit behind the heavy losses of the British Expeditionary Force.

At 3 p.m., the lookout of the light cruiser 'Bristol' issued a warning that twelve kilometers northeast of them had spotted a merchant ship heading for German waters.

Major Thomas immediately ordered the light cruiser 'Bristol' to speed up to intercept it.

Almost at the same time, the merchant ship 'Rising Sun' also spotted a destroyer of the British Navy. The captain immediately ordered to speed up, wanting to speed up and rush into the waters off the coast of Germany. If the help of the German Navy could be enlisted, it might be possible to escape the pursuit of the British Navy.

It's just that the speed of merchant ships is only a little more than ten knots. And the light cruiser 'Bristol' reached a speed of more than twenty knots. In less than half an hour, the light cruiser 'Bristol' intercepted the merchant ship Rising Sun.

"Warn those yellow-skinned monkeys to stop the boat immediately and be inspected by us. Otherwise, we will sink them. Major Thomas ordered.

However, the Rising Sun refused to be inspected on the grounds that they were Chinese vessels.

The reply of the merchant ship Rising Sun greatly annoyed Major Thomas and the British officers and sailors of the light cruiser 'Bristol'. Major Thomas gave the order to conduct warning shots to deter Chinese merchant ships.

"Boom! Rumble! ”

The 6-inch guns of the light cruiser 'Bristol' in the bow and stern opened fire, and shells whizzed towards the 'Rising Sun'.

However, to the disbelief of Major Thomas, both shells actually hit the Rising Sun. What started out as a warning shot is now a real one. This stunned Major Thomas and felt a wave of fear in his heart.

Naturally, the defense power of merchant ships cannot be compared with that of warships. Even if the Rising Sun merchant ship was a large merchant ship with a displacement of 5,000 tons, two 6-inch shells still cost the merchant ship's life. After a large hole was blown out near the waterline, the sea water rushed into it frantically. The captain had no choice but to give the order to abandon ship. At the same time, they did not forget to send a telegram to China, claiming that they had been attacked by the British navy and that the merchant ship was about to sink. (To be continued.) )

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