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Piaotian Literature of the Fourth Empire of China www.piaotia.com Chapter 499: Abandonment of the Far East

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    Sir Frederick William Richards, Chief of Staff of the Combined Fleet, left the main force of the British Navy on the light cruiser HMS Sapphire at 5 pm on June 22, leading several light cruisers and destroyers to evacuate early.  .  This enabled him to avoid being captured like Sir Algernon MacLennan Lyons, the commander of the United Fleet.

    At 5:30 pm, Sir Frederick William Richards sent the results of this naval battle to India, and the Governor-General of India forwarded the telegram to London.  The wireless telegraph on the light cruiser was too small and had to be forwarded.  It was exactly ten o'clock in the morning when London received the results of the naval battle.

    At 10 a.m. London time, the British Prime Minister, the Marquess of Salisbury, is at work.  However, today, he obviously didn't pay much attention to routine official duties.  According to the news sent back by the Admiralty, the decisive battle between the combined fleets of Britain, France and Russia and the Chinese Navy will soon begin, either today or tomorrow.  This naval battle is related to Britain's layout around the world. If it fails, the consequences will be very serious.  The third term in office of the Marquis of Salisbury may once again end prematurely.  After that, he may not have another chance to come to power and form a cabinet.

    "Your Excellency Prime Minister, Lord Walter Kerr, Lord Admiralty, would like to see you!" At this time, his secretary Diem came in.

    "Minister of the Admiralty? Is there any result in the naval battle? Let him come to see me quickly!" The Marquis of Salisbury was suddenly shocked.

    Subsequently, the British Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Walter Kerr, walked into the office of the Marquis of Salisbury with a gloomy look.  Seeing Lord Walter Kerr's face, the Marquis of Salisbury's heart suddenly sank. He knew that there might be bad news coming from the Navy, and this expedition might fail.  Got it!  However, this shouldn't happen!  This time the combined fleet has a total of twenty-nine British and Russian battleships, and hundreds of other battleships. With such a powerful force, no country in the world can compete with it.

    "Your Excellency, Lord Walter Kerr, what happened? Is there any news from the expedition fleet?" asked the Marquis of Salisbury.  No matter what the outcome was, he had to face it.  Maybe the outcome wasn't as bad as he thought.

    "Your Excellency Prime Minister, the decisive battle between the Combined Fleet and the Chinese Navy started at 10 o'clock last night. The Chinese Navy ambushed the Combined Fleet. As of now, the naval battle is over. The Combined Fleet has been completely wiped out!" the voice of Lord Walter Kerr, Lord Secretary of the Navy  He said with some trembling.

    "What? The whole army was wiped out? How is this possible?" The British Prime Minister, the Marquess of Salisbury, suddenly stood up from behind the table, his face full of disbelief.  Such a powerful combined fleet was completely wiped out.  He knew very well what this meant.  His political life, from this moment on, is over.

    Secretary Dim just came in with coffee. After hearing the news, the coffee suddenly fell to the ground.  The snow-white Persian handmade carpet is covered with coffee.  However, no one pays attention to this anymore.

    "What's going on? How could such a powerful combined fleet fail? Didn't the Admiralty promise me that it would be able to defeat the Chinese Navy? How could such a result happen?" The Marquis of Salisbury asked frantically.  growled, as if he felt cheated.

    "Your Excellency Prime Minister, the Chinese Navy used new weapons in this war. They used weapons like submarines to launch heavy torpedoes at our battleships underwater. We lost 7 battleships under the submarine attack.  Two ships were severely damaged. Later, while the fleet was in chaos, eight new battleships of the Chinese Navy joined the attack on the combined fleet. The new class of 'Qin-class' battleships of the Chinese Navy were more powerful.  During the naval battle, most of our warships were sunk. Afterwards, the commander of the Combined Fleet, Sir Algernon MacLennan Lyons, ordered a retreat. However, they were still captured in the end!" Lord Walter Kerr, the Lord Admiralty, said bitterly  , the United Fleet was annihilated. As the Minister of the Navy, he was also the first person responsible. I am afraid that he will not be able to keep his position in this case.  When the Far East Fleet was annihilated by the Chinese navy, the former Lord of the Admiralty, Sir Frederick William Richards, stepped down.  However, he later became the Chief of Staff of the Combined Fleet, preparing to avenge his past humiliation.  However, unexpectedly it failed.  And this time, as the Minister of the Navy, he would definitely not be able to escape.

    "What about the losses of the Chinese? How about the losses of the Chinese? After annihilating the United Fleet, the losses of the Chinese are probably not small!" asked the Marquis of Salisbury.  If both sides lose, then he might still have a chance.

    ¡°Your Excellency, Prime Minister, according to the telegram sent back by Sir Frederick William Richards, the losses of the Chinese Navy are minimal and the performance of the Chinese Navy¡¯s warships is??Whether it is a battleship, a heavy cruiser, a light cruiser or a destroyer, their performance far exceeds ours.  Therefore, in this battle, numerical advantage played no role at all.  No matter how many warships there are, they will only be massacred by the Chinese!  "Lord Walter Kerr looked sad. Not long ago, the British Navy was the number one in the world, but now, this position may have to be given to others. Although the British Navy still has more than a dozen battleships, these  The old battleships are simply vulnerable to the Chinese Navy.

    "What to do? What to do now?" The Marquis of Salisbury sat slumped in his seat, not knowing how to deal with the current crisis.  After the combined fleet was completely wiped out, Britain had no way to deal with China.  In this war, China has already gained all the advantages.  Britain, which has become a loser, will shrink rapidly.  Most importantly, the Marquis of Salisbury will sadly step down.

    That afternoon, the Marquis of Salisbury convened cabinet members to discuss countermeasures, but they were unable to face the current crisis.  After China and Britain declared war, although Britain recalled its ambassador to China, some newspaper reporters still stayed in China.  The grand celebration held in Beijing, China on the evening of June 22 naturally let these reporters know what happened.  Those reporters sent news back to domestic newspapers one after another.  Therefore, on the afternoon of June 22, London time, the news that the combined fleet was defeated and the entire army was annihilated has spread everywhere.

    "The Times" and other influential British newspapers have issued extra reports one after another, reporting the failure of the Combined Fleet.  At this time, starting in London, countless people took to the streets in major cities in the UK to protest against the government's incompetence and demand the resignation of the Marquess of Salisbury's cabinet.

    That night, Queen Victoria summoned the Marquess of Salisbury.  The next morning, the Marquess of Salisbury led the cabinet officials and submitted their resignations to Parliament.  The new cabinet was formed on the same day.  The Conservative Party still came to power. Even though it suffered a major defeat during the Marquess of Salisbury's term, the Conservative Party was powerful in the UK. Arthur Balfour succeeded the Marquess of Salisbury and became the 50th Prime Minister of the UK.  .  Of course, what he inherited was a mess.  The primary problem facing the new cabinet is how to face the current war.  For Britain, there is no hope of victory. The next step is to consider how to end this war with dignity!

    The new British cabinet, in addition to Arthur Balfour as Prime Minister, also includes Chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Thomson Ridge, Foreign Secretary Lord Lansdowne (the fifth Lord Lansdowne), and Admiralty Secretary John Fisher.  Lord Sir Neville Bowles Chamberlain, Field Marshal.

    After Prime Minister Arthur Balfour came to power, he immediately summoned his cabinet ministers to discuss how to deal with the current situation.

    "Everyone, the United Fleet has been annihilated, and Britain is already in a very dangerous situation. In this war, it is no longer possible for us to win. So, what should we do next?" Arthur Balfour  the Prime Minister asked.

    "Your Excellency Prime Minister, if the navy cannot restore its decline, then we will not be able to defeat China. I think it is time to end the war now!" Foreign Secretary Lord Lansdowne said briefly first.

    Prime Minister Arthur Balfour nodded and looked at Lord Admiralty Sir John Fisher.

    "Your Excellency Prime Minister, judging from the telegram sent back by Sir Frederick William Richards, the strength of the Chinese Navy is very powerful. Now the Royal Navy of the British Empire only has more than a dozen old battleships left. Even so.  Sending all these battleships to China will not have any effect. Before the new battleships are put into service, we are no match for the Chinese!" said Lord Admiralty Sir John Fisher.

    "Your Excellency Prime Minister, Burma and the Straits Settlements have fallen, and the empire has no foothold in the Far East and Southeast Asia. I also suggest that the war with the Chinese be stopped. If the Chinese take the opportunity to attack India, the empire will have no  Way to stop it!" Field Marshal Sir Neville Bowles Chamberlain also said.

    "India must not make any mistakes! Then, prepare to contact the Chinese and negotiate peace with them! However, the Burma and Straits Settlements occupied by the Chinese will probably not be taken back!" Prime Minister Arthur Balfour said.  The Chinese have eaten all the fat in their mouths and obviously will not spit it out.  In order to prevent China from attacking India, the pearl in the crown of the Queen of the British Empire, they can only temporarily abandon the Far East!  (To be continued. Please search Piaotian Literature, the novels will be better and updated faster!)
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