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The Fourth Empire of China Piaotian Literature www.piaotia.com Chapter 629 China¡¯s Strength

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    July 17, 1901, Bangkok Bay, Samut Prakan.  A British merchant ship flying the Union Jack flag docked at the dock under the leadership of the guide boat.  After the typhoon passed through, Bangkok Bay looked a bit messy. Many houses in the port were blown over by the typhoon.  Some Siamese people are cleaning up the ruins.  Perhaps because the typhoon had just passed through, the Bay of Bangkok seemed a little deserted. There were only a few merchant ships. Apart from that, there were Siamese fishing boats.

    Bangkok Bay, on the inner side of the Gulf of Siam, along the Chao Phraya River to the north, is Bangkok, the capital of Siam.  Samut Prakan, less than 16 kilometers away from Bangkok, is the most important port city in Siam.  Siam is rich in rice, and a large amount of rice is shipped out from here every year and sold to East Asia.

    "The Queen's Pearl" is a 5,000-ton merchant ship. This merchant ship transported a batch of supplies from London to Bombay three months ago to supplement the British troops stationed in India.  Afterwards, their original plan was to transport a batch of treasures harvested from India back to England.  However, before departure, it was requisitioned by the British.  Now, this ship is loaded with one hundred thousand rifles and matching bullets.  Travel to Siam and complete the deal between Siam and Britain.

    After the merchant ship docked, civilians organized by the Siamese government quickly loaded and unloaded the guns on the ship.  Then it was transported to Bangkok via horse-drawn carriages and ox-carts.  A farmer accidentally fell and the wooden box he was holding fell to the ground and broke. Several rifles were exposed from inside.

    "Damn guy, if it breaks, I can't afford to kill you to pay for it!" Several Siamese people immediately punched and kicked the careless civilian husband.

    A dock worker glanced at it from a distance, then quickly lowered his head and went about his own business.  However, he recognized that the rifle revealed was the standard equipment of the British Army. Li?  Enfield rifle.  This news was quickly reported to the CIA through secret channels, and then appeared in the Chinese General Staff.

    After that, the General Staff immediately analyzed that Britain and Siam were conducting arms transactions.  In other words, the British were arming Siam.  This is very detrimental to China's upcoming combat plan against Siam.  Siam is frantically expanding its army, but the lack of weapons is their flaw.  Even if the combat effectiveness of Siam's army is weak, if Britain sells enough weapons to Siam, it will still not be a good thing for China.  Even if the Siamese army can be defeated easily, if a large number of guns are lost among the people, it will undoubtedly have a great impact on the security of this area.  Afterwards, the safety of Chinese immigrants from Siam could not be guaranteed.

    After Xiong Wu, the chief of general staff, learned about it, he immediately asked Wang Yuze for instructions.  Wang Yuze was also well aware of the seriousness of the matter and immediately ordered the Indian Ocean Fleet to inspect British merchant ships heading to Siam. Once weapons and other contraband were found, all were confiscated.  Although this will intensify the conflict between China and Britain, it is still much better than the lives of Chinese soldiers being threatened.

    After Wang Yuze¡¯s order was issued, the Chinese Navy¡¯s Indian Ocean Fleet, with Singapore as its home port, immediately began to take action.  The entire Strait of Malacca and the South China Sea, as well as the Andaman Sea to the west, are all blocked.  A large number of light cruisers and destroyers cruised in these waters.  Once a British merchant ship is discovered, it immediately pounces on it like a hungry wolf.

    "The Liverpool" is a huge merchant ship with a displacement of tens of thousands of tons and can carry more than five thousand tons of cargo.  Originally, this was a merchant ship transporting iron ore, traveling between India and the United Kingdom. It transported high-grade iron ore mined in India to the United Kingdom, where it was then smelted into high-strength steel and turned into a warship for the British Navy.  a part of.  British steel plants source a large part of their iron ore from India.  Therefore, there are many merchant ships like the Liverpool.

    "It's just that what's loaded on the 'Liverpool' now is not iron ore, but cannons one after another, the barrels of which have been polished until they shine brightly.  These are 75mm mountain guns and 105mm howitzers used by the British Army in India.  On the Liverpool, the organization loaded two hundred 105mm howitzers and 500 75mm mountain guns, as well as a large number of artillery shells.  In order to increase its military strength, Siam spent a lot of money, and almost all of their foreign exchange reserves were spent as a result.  In order to be able to withstand the attack of the Chinese army, Siam has tried its best.

    ¡®Liverpool¡¯ sails on the Andaman Sea.  According to the plan, they would cross the Strait of Malacca and then enter the Gulf of Siam. After arriving in Samut Prakan, their mission would be completed after delivering these artillery pieces to the Siamese.

    The captain of the Liverpool, the bearded Jack, stood comfortably on the bow of the ship with a cigar in his mouth, staring at the calm sea.  The journey from Mumbai, India to Samut Prakan is only 6,000 kilometers.  The Siamese people paid a price of fifty thousand pounds.  Bearded Jack was very satisfied with this. The price was already ten times the normal price.  He really hopes that there will be more orders like this in the future.Shan, in this case, his ship would not have to work hard to transport iron ore.

    Suddenly, a high-speed warship appeared on the sea. On the warship, a blue-backed golden dragon flag was hoisted, which is the flag of the Royal Navy of China.  This warship is the destroyer Pengzhou of the Chinese Navy¡¯s Indian Ocean Fleet.

    "Send a signal to the British merchant ship and ask them to stop immediately and accept inspection!" Yu Zeyang, the captain of the destroyer "Pengzhou" ordered.

    Soon, the signal corpsman on the "Pengzhou" sent a telegram to the "Liverpool" in clear code.

    ¡°Captain, the Chinese want us to stop the ship for inspection!¡± A sailor reported to Bearded Jack.

    "Hell! We are a British merchant ship, why should we accept their inspection? Ignore them!" Bearded Jack said angrily.

    "But Captain, what's on our ship!" the sailor reminded with some worry.

    "We are citizens of the British Empire, and those yellow-skinned monkeys don't dare to do anything to us!" Bearded Jack said nonchalantly.

    "Captain, the British did not reply. Moreover, they began to speed up!" A staff officer reported to the captain of the destroyer "Pengzhou" Yu Zeyang.

    "Hmph! How fast can a merchant ship go? Follow them and stop them!" Yu Zeyang ordered.

    Soon, the 'Pengzhou' accelerated to 25 knots, easily surpassing the 'Liverpool', and crossed the ship in front of them, intending to intercept the 'Liverpool'.

    "Captain, what should we do now?" the sailor on the Liverpool asked.

    "Damn, these yellow-skinned monkeys are looking for death. If we hit them, we have tens of thousands of tons of displacement, enough to sink them!" Bearded Jack said a little crazy.

    "Oh my God! Captain, this is the Andaman Sea, is it the territory of the Chinese Navy?" the man on the ship said in horror.

    ¡°Listen to me, the Chinese don¡¯t dare to stop us!¡± The bearded man said with disdain.

    Afterwards, the 'Liverpool' not only showed no sign of stopping, but accelerated towards the 'Pengzhou'.

    "Turn the muzzle, aim three hundred meters in front of the Liverpool, and fire!" Yu Zeyang, the captain of the Pengzhou, gave the order.

    "Boom!" A 105mm shell exploded less than 100 meters ahead of the merchant ship Liverpool. A water column splashed on the sea, and the falling water splashed onto the front deck of the Liverpool.  Obviously, the behavior of the 'Liverpool' angered the Chinese navy sailors on the destroyer 'Pengzhou', so they adjusted the warning firing distance closer.

    "Oh God! The Chinese have opened fire. Captain, let's stop the ship quickly. Otherwise, the Chinese will sink us!" The sailors on the 'Liverpool' screamed in horror.  They were just merchant ships. Apart from a few rifles used to defend the islands, they had no other weapons at all. How could they withstand real warships?  Even though the destroyer "Pengzhou" is much smaller than the "Liverpool", the destroyer "Pengzhou" can easily send the "Liverpool" to the bottom of the sea.

    ¡°The Chinese are just scaring us!¡± Bearded Jack continued.

    However, when the second bombardment of the 'Pengzhou' hit the 'Liverpool' only thirty meters away, Bearded Jack could no longer hold on.  He had no choice but to order the Liverpool to stop.

    Soon, under the leadership of Major Yu Zeyang, the captain of the destroyer Pengzhou, a dozen fully armed Chinese naval soldiers boarded the Liverpool.

    "Chinese, this is a British merchant ship. You forced to board a British merchant ship. This is a provocation to the British Empire and an act of war!" Bearded Jack ran to Yu Zeyang and roared loudly.

    "If you want to protest, you can go to the Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I am just executing military orders now. Search this ship immediately!" Major Yu Zeyang ordered coldly.

    "How dare you!" Bearded Jack yelled.

    But, a rifle was pressed against his head.  So he immediately remained silent.

    Soldiers of the Chinese Navy immediately searched the "Liverpool".  The artillery loaded on it was quickly discovered.

    "Captain, this ship is loaded with hundreds of cannons!" the Chinese navy soldier reported to Yu Zeyang.

    "Hmph! It is indeed loaded with contraband. Take this ship to Singapore and wait for domestic processing!" Major Yu Zeyang ordered.  Hundreds of cannons, this is a big case!

    "Major, you can't do this, we are a British merchant ship!" Bearded Jack was still making his final struggle.

    but, his struggle had no effect.  More than a dozen Chinese navy soldiers took control of the ship.  Under the surveillance of the destroyer "Pengzhou", the ship was taken to the port of Singapore, where the Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet is stationed!  (To be continued. Please search Piaotian Literature, the novels will be better and updated faster!)
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