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Piaotian Literature of the Fourth Empire of China www.piaotia.com Chapter 688: Encounter

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    On the calm Red Sea, a fleet is heading south quickly, led by two giant ships that look like hills. These are two of the latest 'Dreadnought-class' battleships in service in the British Navy. 'Formidable'  HMS Defiance and HMS Defiance.  Lieutenant-Admiral Howard, commander of the British Navy's Mediterranean Fleet, was standing on the bridge of the battleship HMS Formidable, holding a pipe in his mouth and enjoying the unique scenery of this peaceful sea area.  Due to geographical factors, the sea surface of the Red Sea is relatively calm, the wind and waves are very small, and warships can sail at high speed without feeling any bumps.

    This time, Lieutenant-Admiral Howard, commander of the British Navy¡¯s Mediterranean Fleet, was the commander of this operation.  Not only did he gain the authority to command the six 'Dreadnought-class' battleships of the Royal Navy, but at the same time the four 'Courbat-class' battleships of the French Navy also accepted his command.  Together with other armored cruisers, light cruisers and destroyers, a total of fifty or sixty battleships were under his command, which made Lieutenant General Howard feel confident and high-spirited.  Even though the opponent is the powerful Chinese Navy Indian Ocean Fleet, Lieutenant General Howard is confident.  In his opinion, ten new battleships are twice as advantageous as the Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet. Under such circumstances, not to mention blocking the entire Red Sea, even if they enter the Indian Ocean and compete with the Chinese Navy  There is no problem with sea control in the Indian Ocean.

    Thinking of this, Lieutenant General Howard couldn't help but complain about the caution of the Navy Department and the Cabinet. If it could annihilate or even severely damage the Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet, what a great achievement it would be!  Lieutenant General Howard determined that he could even be promoted to an admiral in one fell swoop and become the commander of the most important Home Fleet in the Royal Navy. It would not be a problem to become the Third Lord of the Admiralty or the Second Lord of the Admiralty one day.  If you're lucky, you might even become Lord of the Admiralty!  However, the Navy Ministry strictly ordered him that this operation was mainly to block the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, prevent the Chinese Navy from entering the Red Sea, and ensure the safety of the Army's operations and supply lines in the western region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  This made Lieutenant General Howard think that it would be too much to dispatch so many new warships just for such a task!

    "What a great thing it would be to be able to penetrate into the Indian Ocean and kick the butts of those yellow-skinned monkeys!" Lieutenant General Howard said with envy.  However, he knew that this was something he could only think about.

    "How long will it take to reach Yanbu?" Lieutenant General Howard asked.  The transport fleet they escorted will land in Yanbu and then launch an attack on the Chinese and Saudi forces in the southwest of the Kingdom. Lieutenant General Howard's mission is to continue southward and block the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.  The four French Navy's 'Gourba-class' battleships were right behind them.  In addition, the other four Dreadnought-class battleships are also on standby in Alexandria, Egypt. If necessary, they will pass through the Suez Canal and enter the Red Sea for operations.

    "General, at the current speed, we will be able to reach Yanbu in one hour. After that, we will quickly go south. It is estimated that we will be able to reach the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the afternoon of the day after tomorrow!" a major staff officer reported.

    "Okay! After arriving at Yanbu, we can finally get rid of these slow guys! After arriving at Yanbu, immediately accelerate south. I'll go back and take a rest first!" Lieutenant General Howard ordered.  The speed of the transport ship was only ten knots. This speed made Lieutenant General Howard feel a little uncomfortable.  The top speed of the 'Dreadnought-class' battleship has reached 21 knots!

    "Yes, General!" the staff major replied.  As the commander of the fleet, Vice Admiral Howard has the right to enjoy the most luxurious cabins on the battleship, which are much more luxurious than the cabins ordinary sailors live in.

    At two o'clock in the afternoon on October 25, the fleet arrived in Yanbu, the transport ship docked, and a large number of British and French forces began to land, while the British fleet accelerated southward at a speed of 15 knots.

    On October 26, at 12 noon, Lieutenant General Howard started having lunch.  Despite the limited conditions on the battleship, the chef prepared caviar and grilled steak for him, which made Lieutenant General Howard very satisfied.  Of course, it would be great if you could have another glass of French red wine.  However, drinking is prohibited when performing military missions. Even if Vice Admiral Howard is the commander of the fleet, he cannot violate this rule!

    "Woo!" Just when Vice Admiral Howard was about to start, the whistle suddenly sounded on the battleship. This was the sound of a battle alarm. The entire fleet immediately became busy.

    "Damn, what happened?" Lieutenant General Howard immediately stood up from the dining table and asked loudly.

    Soon, his adjutant rushed in and reported to him: "General, Chinese warships were found in the south, a heavy cruiser, a light cruiser and a destroyer!"

    "Chinese? Those yellow-skinned monkeys actually entered the Red Sea again? Or heavy cruisers! Order all ships to rush up and sink them!" Lieutenant General Howard immediately became excited.The order was given.  The heavy cruisers of the Chinese Navy are equivalent to second-class battleships.  In the great sea battle three years ago, it caused a lot of trouble for the British Navy. Many old battleships in the British Navy were sunk by heavy cruisers of the Chinese Navy.  Now, it seems it's time for revenge.  The 'Dreadnought-class' battleship is much more powerful than the heavy cruiser of the Chinese Navy.

    The British fleet began to accelerate continuously and pounced towards the Chinese fleet in the south. It was very obvious that it wanted to keep the Chinese fleet behind.

    Twenty kilometers away from the British fleet, on the heavy cruiser 'Nanjing', the captain, Colonel Liu Fei, frowned tightly. Before entering the central waters of the Red Sea, he actually encountered the British fleet, and  , or two 'Dreadnought-class' battleships.  Although the 'Nanjing' heavy cruiser has two twin-mounted 305mm main guns, which can threaten the 'Dreadnought-class' battleships, the displacement of the 'Nanjing' heavy cruiser is only 10,500 tons, which is only half of the 'Dreadnought-class' battleships.  , even if the British Navy does not pay special attention to armor, the armor of the 'Dreadnought-class' battleship is much thicker than that of the 'Nanjing' heavy cruiser.  If the two sides faced off, unless the 'Dreadnaught' class battleship was unlucky, the one that would be sunk would definitely be the 'Nanjing' heavy cruiser. What's more, the opponent also had two 'Dreadnought' class battleships.

    "Captain, the British have begun to speed up. I'm afraid they want to attack us!" The navigator on the heavy cruiser 'Nanjing' reported to Colonel Liu Fei.

    "Immediately turn around, sail south, and exit the Red Sea. In addition, send a telegram to the fleet headquarters and tell them the news of the British 'Dreadnought-class' battleship appearing in the Red Sea!" Colonel Liu Fei did not hesitate and immediately chose to retreat.  After all, the heavy cruiser "Nanjing" cannot fight the "Dreadnought-class" battleship one against two, and can only rely on high speed to leave.  Fortunately, the maximum speed of the heavy cruiser "Nanjing" is more than 26 knots, so it is not difficult to get rid of the "Dreadnought-class" battleships of the British Navy.  However, since then, their mission has failed. Originally, Colonel Liu Fei expected to be able to advance to the vicinity of the Suez Canal.

    "Yes, Captain!" the Navigator replied.

    The heavy cruiser "Nanjing" quickly began to turn, drew a long arc on the sea, turned around and sailed south.  At the same time, the speed also began to increase sharply, from 15 knots to 22 knots.  The light cruiser "Linxia" and the destroyer "Changle" followed closely behind and began sailing south at high speed.

    ¡°General, the Chinese have escaped!¡± On the battleship Formidable, the adjutant reported to Lieutenant General Howard.

    "Catch up and find a way to stop the Chinese!" Lieutenant General Howard ordered with a cold face. Of course he knew that the Chinese would run away. After all, the Chinese were not fools and would attack the enemy with an egg against a stone.  However, he was still a little unwilling to see the victory slip away like this.

    "General, the Chinese are very fast and it will be difficult for us to catch up!" the adjutant replied.  The maximum speed of the 'Dreadnought' is only 21 knots. Even if it is pursued at the highest speed, it cannot catch up!

    "Hmph! Use light cruisers and destroyers to pursue them and intercept them. Create opportunities for the battleships!" Lieutenant General Howard ordered through gritted teeth.

    "Yes, General!" Although this approach was somewhat dangerous, the British fleet did it anyway.

    The four light cruisers and four destroyers of the British fleet rushed out of the queue and accelerated towards the Chinese fleet. Their speed had increased to 26 knots.

    In response, Colonel Liu Fei, the captain of the heavy cruiser Nanjing, did not order the fleet to continue to accelerate, but to maintain a speed of 22 knots.  Since these British people are coming to seek death, let them be allowed to die!  Although the heavy cruiser "Nanjing" is no match for the "Dreadnought-class" battleship, it can still handle several light cruisers and destroyers with ease.

    At 3 pm, the light cruisers and destroyers of the British fleet caught up with the Chinese fleet.  However, they also encountered fierce firepower from the heavy cruiser "Nanjing".  The two twin-mounted 305mm naval guns on the heavy cruiser 'Nanjing' are undoubtedly deadly weapons for these light cruisers and destroyers. Whether it is a light cruiser or a destroyer, as long as it is hit, there is only one way to die.  .

    "Boom!" At 3:24 pm, the bow of a British Navy light cruiser was hit, and the entire bow was blown off. In less than a minute, the light cruiser sank to the bottom of the sea.

    At 3:43 pm, a British Navy destroyer was hit by a 305mm main gun. The shell weighing more than 300 kilograms directly blew the destroyer with a displacement of less than 1,500 tons into two pieces.  Dozens of British naval soldiers, no one survived!  (To be continued. Please search Piaotian Literature, the novels will be better and updated faster!)
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