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Piaotian Literature of the Fourth Empire of China www.piaotia.com Chapter 350: Follow all the way

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    The Suez Canal was built and opened to navigation in 1869. It is a sea-level waterway that runs through the Isthmus of Suez in Egypt, connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, and provides the shortest route from Europe to the lands near the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific.  It is one of the most heavily used routes in the world.  It is also the boundary between Asia and Africa and the main channel for people from Asia to Africa.  The canal runs from Port Said in the north to the city of Suez in the south, with a length of 190 kilometers (105 nautical miles). It tunnels into the Mediterranean Sea from the north of Port Said to the south of Suez.  Construction started in 1859 and took 10 years to complete.  Preliminary plans were to dig a small canal from the delta along the Tumela River and a southern branch canal to Suez and a northern section to Port Said.  The canal provided drinking water to other arid areas and was completed in 1863.

    Marx called the Suez Canal "the great waterway of the East."  After the completion of the Suez Canal, the voyage from various ports in Asia to Europe has been greatly shortened by approximately 8,000 to 10,000 kilometers.  It connects the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, and connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian and Pacific Oceans via the Mediterranean Sea and the Suez Canal. It is an international shipping waterway with important economic and strategic significance.

    In 1859, the Canal Company hired thousands of Egyptian migrant workers at very low wages and forced them to perform extremely heavy labor in the tropical desert of the Isthmus of Suez. There was a lack of drinking water at the construction site, and a large number of migrant workers died of thirst.  The meals provided by the company are shoddy and small in quantity. One meal is not even enough for a child to satisfy their hunger. Most migrant workers are often in a state of semi-starvation.  The sanitary conditions were very poor, and diseases such as bronchitis, hepatitis, and pulmonary dysentery were extremely common, especially the plague, which claimed the lives of a large number of migrant workers.

    In 1863, typhoid fever swept through the construction site, and many migrant workers died suddenly. In 1865, cholera broke out at the construction site, and a large number of migrant workers died. Even the people who sent the patients to the first aid station could not be found, and no one was there to dispose of the bodies of the migrant workers who died on the construction site.  To build the Suez Canal, 120,000 Egyptian workers sacrificed their lives, with an average of 738.5 deaths per kilometer.

    In 1875, foreign debt forced the Pasha (Said Pasha's successor) to sell his shares in the canal to the British.  In 1882, British cavalry stationed in the canal. In 1888, the Congress of Constantinople declared the canal a neutral zone under the protection of the British Empire, stipulating that the canal would be open to ships from all countries regardless of peace or war.  In addition, the convention also stipulates that no hostilities shall take place in the waters of the canal and no fortifications shall be built along its banks.  This allowed the British to take control of this transportation artery.

    On February 1, 1899, after two weeks of sailing, the Japanese fleet arrived at the Suez Canal.  In Port Said, there is a supply station established by the British Navy.  The Japanese fleet could replenish supplies such as fresh water and coal here.  At the same time, it also allows Japanese naval soldiers to disembark and exercise to relieve the fatigue of the journey.  Because it is very likely to encounter the Chinese Navy halfway, Lieutenant General Togo Heihachiro hopes to keep the soldiers' fighting spirit high, which is very important for the disadvantaged Japanese Navy.

    Port Said is located at the northern end of the Suez Canal. Due to the opening of the canal, it has developed rapidly.  Here, not only all kinds of food and supplies are sold, but sailors can also go ashore for recreation.  For example, after the arrival of the Japanese fleet this time, it will contribute a lot of money to the prosperity of Port Said.  Many Japanese soldiers vented their pent-up energy on these black African or Arab women.

    And here, there are also warehouses opened by the Chinese.  When the Japanese fleet arrived in Port Said, the news was immediately sent back to the country, allowing the Imperial Navy to accurately grasp the whereabouts of the Japanese navy and make necessary deployments.

    On February 3, the replenished Japanese fleet set sail again, crossing the Suez Canal and entering the Red Sea.  At this moment, in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea, a Chinese naval warship flying the blue golden dragon flag is cruising here. This is the ¡®Wuwei¡¯ among the Chinese Navy¡¯s ¡®Tianshui-class¡¯ light cruisers.  They were ordered to go here, wait for the Japanese fleet, then track and monitor the Japanese fleet, and report the movements of the Japanese fleet to the country.

    In the bridge of the ¡®Wuwei¡¯, the captain, Lieutenant Colonel Gao Hui, looked anxiously at his watch.  The Japanese fleet set off five days ago, why hasn't it arrived yet?  The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is an important thoroughfare connecting the Red Sea and the Sea of ??Aden, and the Japanese fleet must pass through it.  That¡¯s why the ¡®Wuwei¡¯ came here to wait.

    "Captain, please relax! Since the Japanese fleet has appeared in Port Said, they can only pass through here!" The navigator of the 'Wuwei' comforted him when he saw Gao Hui's anxious look.

    "Yes! This time, little Japan knows that it is certain to die, so naturally it will delay a little bit. This is completely understandable!" the gunner of the "Wuwei" also joked.

    "If you delay any longer, it will be a dead end. It is better to die early and be born early! Try not to be Japanese in the next life, and this will not happen!" Gao Hui said.

      "Haha! Captain, you don't know this! Little Japan believes in Shintoism, and they believe in Amaterasu, which is different from the King of Yama we believe in. Even if Little Japan dies in this life, he will not die in the next life.  Ah! I can only be a little Japan!" the gunnery commander laughed.

    ¡°Coming, coming! Little Japan¡¯s fleet has appeared!¡± Suddenly, the lookout hand of the ¡®Wuwei¡¯ issued a warning.  In the meantime, a large plume of thick smoke appeared more than 20 kilometers north of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which was a sign that a huge fleet was sailing at sea.

    "The idiots are finally here! Get ready to turn around, we just need to follow them from a distance!" Gao Hui ordered.  The endurance of the 'Tianshui-class' light cruiser is not high, only 4,000 nautical miles. It can only sail from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to the Strait of Malacca. If it wants to return home, it must be replenished during this period.  However, China has no supply depots in the Pacific, and the British supply depots will certainly not be open to the Chinese navy.  The Chinese Navy had to deploy several supply ships in the Indian Ocean to deal with emergencies.

    The ¡®Wuwei¡¯ is just a light cruiser, and it certainly can¡¯t compete with such a huge Japanese fleet.  Therefore, their mission is only to monitor.  With a maximum speed of 30 knots, it is enough to get rid of all Japanese warships.

    "Your Excellency, Commander, we have discovered a Chinese warship twenty kilometers south of us." In the bridge of the "Shikishima", a staff officer handed the information to Togo Heihachiro.

    "Haga! These Chinese people showed up so early? Damn it!" Togo Heihachiro was furious.  Originally, in order to safely bring the fleet back to the country, he planned to avoid the Strait of Malacca after the fleet entered the Indian Ocean, pass through the Strait of Makassar from the Java Sea, and then enter the Pacific from the Celebes Sea at the southern tip of the Philippines to avoid the heavy Chinese navy.  Guarding the South China Sea.  But now, the Chinese Navy's reconnaissance ship actually appeared in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which immediately made his plan useless.

    "Your Excellency, Commander, send destroyers to drive away that China warship!" Rear Admiral Samejima Aki, chief of staff of the fleet, suggested.

    "Okay! However, it probably won't be of much use!" Lieutenant General Togo Heihachiro said.

    Togo Heihachiro has a deep understanding of the speed of the Chinese Navy's light cruisers.  During the Sino-Japanese naval battle in the East China Sea, the Chinese Navy's "Leshan-class" light cruiser gave the Japanese Navy a powerful blow, leaving the Japanese Navy unable to fight back.  Now, since the Chinese navy dares to send warships to monitor the Japanese fleet, it must be confident.

    Soon, the five destroyers of the Japanese fleet used their full power and quickly chased the "Wuwei". The speed slowly increased from the initial 10 knots to 28 knots.  This is already their top speed.

    "Captain, a small Japanese destroyer is coming up. Should we avoid retreat or teach them a lesson first?" the navigator asked.

    "Captain, there are only five destroyers. If they can't catch up with us, we can sink one or two destroyers first and then retreat!" the gunnery commander also said excitedly.  These people are all militants.

    The armament of the 'Tianshui-class' light cruiser is two twin-mounted 155mm naval guns, which are placed at the bow and stern.  There are also six 105mm rapid-fire cannons as secondary guns and eight 88mm rapid-fire cannons.  In addition, there are eight 37mm rapid-fire guns installed on both sides of the battleship.  The powerful firepower is simply not comparable to the destroyers of the Japanese fleet.  If an attack were launched, even if five destroyers from the Japanese fleet were to attack together, they would probably not be a match for the Wuwei.

    However, Gao Hui hesitated and gave the order to retreat.  Although the relationship between China and Japan is very tense now, overall, there has not yet been a formal war.  He couldn't afford it if a small lieutenant colonel and light cruiser captain started a war.

    "In addition, send the information about our encounter with the Japanese fleet back to the country!" Gao Hui ordered.

    Although the soldiers on the ¡®Wuwei¡¯ were a little unwilling, they still obeyed the order and began to turn around and retreat south.  Thick smoke billowed from the chimney, and the speed of the "Wuwei" quickly increased, reaching 28 knots. It was also the same speed as the destroyers of the Japanese fleet, making it impossible for them to catch up.

    The destroyers of the Japanese fleet chased for dozens of kilometers. They found that they could not catch up and then returned.  When the destroyers of the Japanese Navy returned, the "Wuwei" followed them again, clinging to the Japanese fleet like a piece of brown candy, leaving them helpless.

    After several times in a row, it was discovered that the "Wuwei" could not be driven away, and the Japanese fleet gave up.  However, the faces of everyone in the Japanese fleet were very unhappy.  With Chinese Navy warships following them all the way, there would be no secrets to their actions.  Want to escape the interception of the Chinese navy and return to Japan safely?It is almost impossible.

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