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Piaotian Literature of the Fourth Empire of China www.piaotia.com Chapter 481 Murder at Dawn

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    The weather at sea in June was not too hot, especially when the warship was sailing. The sea breeze was blowing and it was quite comfortable.  In the early morning of the night of June 22, Algernon, commander of the joint fleets of Britain, France and Russia?  McLennan?  After Sir Lyons slept for two or three hours, he couldn't fall asleep anymore. He was a little bored, so he simply left his cabin and came to the bridge of the battleship Majesty.

    At this moment, Fleet Chief of Staff Frederick?  William?  Sir Richards is on duty.  As it gets closer to China's territory, the British, French and Russian combined fleets have also entered a state of emergency combat readiness.

    "Commander, why don't you take a rest? According to our estimates, we will be able to arrive in the North Sea of ??China by the 24th at the latest. Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, the Chinese will definitely fight us decisively!" Fleet Chief of Staff Redrick?  William?  said Sir Richards.

    "I don't know what happened, I couldn't sleep. Why don't I come to the bridge to take a look!" Fleet Commander Algernon?  McLennan?  replied Sir Lyons.  Then he stood by the bridge, staring blankly at the dark sea outside.

    Fleet Chief of Staff Redrick?  William?  Sir Richards didn't say much. He knew, Fleet Commander Algernon?  McLennan?  Sir Lyon is under a lot of pressure.  Although he was very opposed to the bombardment of Singapore, things were already like this and there was no other way.  Now, all the energy of the entire fleet is focused on the upcoming decisive battle.  However, the stern telegram sent by the Prime Minister, the Marquess of Salisbury, and the strict order that the United Fleet must win, gave the fleet commander Algernon?  McLennan?  Sir Lyon is under a lot of pressure.  After all, the Marquess of Salisbury threatened that if he lost the battle, a court-martial would await him.  Perhaps the more serious result would be to be directly killed by the angry Chinese. After all, the Chinese emperor has publicly declared that he will avenge the Chinese who died in Singapore.  Therefore, if the war is defeated, the consequences will be disastrous.

    "Chief of Staff, where do you think the Chinese warships are? Where are they waiting for us?" Fleet Commander Algernon?  McLennan?  asked Sir Lyons suddenly.

    "We are only 800 kilometers away from the North Sea of ??China. The Chinese will fight us decisively the day after tomorrow at the latest. Otherwise, their most important shipbuilding base will be reduced to ruins under our artillery fire!  "Fleet Chief of Staff Frederick?"  William?  said Sir Richards.  Although the number of battleships of the Chinese Navy is small, their performance is very powerful.  If they keep delaying or playing cat and mouse tactics, this will be a disaster for the combined fleets of Britain, France and Russia. They simply cannot afford to delay and do not have so much time.  The most critical thing is the supply issue.  The nearest supply bases are thousands of kilometers away in India.  Therefore, penetrating directly into the North Sea of ??China and forcing the Chinese Navy to fight them has become their preferred tactic and the best tactic.

    "I have a hunch that the Chinese are right in front of us. Maybe after dawn, the decisive battle will break out!" Fleet Commander Algernon?  McLennan?  Sir Lyons said with great certainty.

    "Maybe! However, this is exactly what we want to see, isn't it? Although after two months of long voyage, our soldiers are still in high morale. At this time, we have a lot of potential for a decisive battle with the Chinese Navy.  The odds of winning!" Fleet Chief of Staff Frederick?  William?  said Sir Richards.

    "Maybe! I trust the soldiers of the British Empire very much, but I am not sure about the Russians and French. After the decisive battle breaks out, we have to rely on ourselves!" Fleet Commander Algernon?  McLennan?  Sir Lyons said disdainfully.  Although the Russian Navy dispatched many battleships, he still despised the Russian Navy very much.  Letting the Russian navy join the combined fleet is only a last resort.

    Algernon?  McLennan?  Sir Lyons was under great pressure, especially after receiving a telegram from the Prime Minister, the Marquess of Salisbury, which made him feel tremendous pressure.  In this decisive battle, he has no way out. If he loses, he will not only be ruined, but even lose his life directly.  Although he is 59 years old, he does not want to die like this, especially in the Far East.  Therefore, he must win this battle.

    Several light cruisers of the Chinese Navy followed the joint fleet of Britain, France and Russia from a distance.  As it gets closer to China's mainland, more and more Chinese warships are tracking around the joint fleet of Britain, France and Russia.  However, these warships maintained restraint and did not launch an attack on the British, French and Russian combined fleet.  Although the soldiers of the Chinese Navy were already furious, they were still patient when they did not receive the order to attack.

    "In two hours, the enemy will enter the ambush sea area of ????the submarine force, and the enemy's route can be sent to the submarine force.Got it!  "The captain of the light cruiser 'Linxia' ordered.

    Subsequently, a telegram was sent to the sea to the west of the Paracel Islands 40 kilometers away.  There are twelve long, dark submarines floating on the sea here.  They have been floating at sea for a day. After the submarine's mothership brought them here from Subic Bay, they have been waiting for the joint fleet of Britain, France and Russia to arrive.

    The current submarine force of the Chinese Navy only has twelve submarines, and they are still 'squid-class' submarines with not very good performance. However, if the submarines exert satisfactory combat effectiveness in this battle, the submarine force will be affected.  Special attention has been paid to it and it has become a priority development service of the Navy.  Therefore, this battle is also directly related to the future fate of the submarine force. The first batch of submarine officers and soldiers of the Imperial Navy also attach great importance to this battle.  Although being a submarine soldier is not as majestic as being a battleship sailor, they prefer this method of hiding in the dark and delivering fatal attacks to the enemy. Just like the ancient assassins, they can escape thousands of miles away after one blow.  .

    Twelve submarines were organized into a submarine brigade. The commander was Navy Captain Su Leping. His boat was also designated as Boat No. 1.  From No. 1 to No. 12, they are the numbers of the 12 submarines in the Navy's submarine force.

    "Send a report to the other boats and let them prepare for battle. There are still two hours before dawn, and the foreign devils are coming!" Colonel Su Leping said to the signal corps.

    The signal corps quickly sent telegrams to the other 11 submarines.  After that, each submarine responded and was ready for battle.

    At 3:20 in the morning, the No. 1 submarine force received a telegram from the light cruiser Linxia. For them, this was a battle alert.  The submarine force's first battle is about to begin.

    "Send a report to other boats. The foreign devils will arrive in two hours. The route is a hundred kilometers west of Xisha, which is exactly where we are now!" Colonel Su Leping was a little excited.  This is not a drill, but a display. Next is the debut of the submarine force.

    The ¡®Squid-class¡¯ submarine is the first-class submarine equipped by the Chinese Navy.  The displacement is 220 tons on the surface and 290 tons underwater. It is 30 meters long, 3 meters wide, 4.8 meters high, and has a draft of 2.4 meters.  The maximum diving depth is 50 meters.  Propelled by two 40-horsepower diesel engines and two electric motors, the maximum speed is 10 knots on the water and 4 knots underwater.  The surface range is 500 nautical miles and the underwater range is 30 nautical miles.  The armament is two 533mm torpedo launch tubes, capable of carrying 6 torpedoes.

    In the waters west of the Paracel Islands, twelve submarines are ready, waiting for the joint fleets of Britain, France and Russia to arrive automatically.  Moreover, based on the telegrams sent back by the light cruisers tracking the joint fleets of Britain, France and Russia, they constantly adjusted their positions.  In the end, they were ambushed in a 1-kilometer-long sea area.

    At 5 o'clock in the morning on June 22, a trace of fish belly white has appeared on the horizon, and the sky will light up soon.  The combined fleet of Britain, France and Russia will arrive soon.  When a large piece of thick smoke appeared in the southern sky, it showed that the joint fleet of Britain, France and Russia had arrived.  The main force of the Chinese Navy's local fleet is also on its way to this area of ????the sea, and can arrive in up to an hour.  Before the main force of the local fleet arrives, this sea area will become a performance stage for submarines.

    "Order all ships to dive to periscope height and prepare to hunt freely!" Colonel Su Leping ordered.  The No. 1 boat he was on was in the center of the submarine queue.  The southernmost one is boat No. 12.

    "Gurgling!" The hatch of the submarine was closed. As a large amount of air was discharged from the submarine, the submarines that were originally floating on the sea dived one after another, leaving only a periscope on the sea.  Soon, calm returned to the sea.  Because submarines are very crude, in order to determine the target, the periscope must be exposed to the water.  Fortunately, it is not bright yet, and the periscope is very small. If you are not careful, no one will notice a small tube sticking out of the sea.

    Starting at 5 o'clock in the morning, Commander Algernon of the Combined Fleet?  McLennan?  Under the order of Sir Lyons, the navies of Britain, France and Russia were all in place.  Everyone knows that the decisive battle with the Chinese Navy is about to begin.  They must be prepared to fight to avoid being attacked by surprise.  The Chinese navy's successive victories have also made them feel tremendous pressure.

    However, the officers and soldiers of the joint fleets of Britain, France and Russia could not imagine that the threats they faced would come from underwater.  Before this, no one would have noticed!  (To be continued. Please search Piaotian Literature, the novels will be better and updated faster!)
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