On the sea, the British Royal Navy's East India Fleet flying the rice flag was moving at full speed, and on the flagship 'Colombo', the communications officer walked quickly into the small official hall, glanced at Commodore Kepel, who was leisurely drinking tea, and saluted and reported: "General, the fleet has arrived at the Big and Small Coba Island outside the Strait of Malacca. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo”

Keppel was the commander of the detachment of the fleet in the East Indies and China, and he was well aware of the waters in this area, and when he heard the report, he groaned slightly, and ordered in a deep voice, "The fleet does not need to rush into the Strait of Malacca, and it is divided into two routes according to the formation....... Search for nearby islands. ”

Is it too cautious? Even if piracy is rampant in the nearby seas, no pirate dares to attack the fleet of the Royal Navy of the British Empire! The communications officer paused, and hurriedly said, "Obey, general." ”

Keppel took out his pipe and filled a pot of tobacco, lit it and took a few puffs, then got up and walked to the bulkhead where the charts were hung, and looked at the Strait of Malacca with his pipe.

Prime Minister Palmerston and Foreign Minister Claranton called one after another, and he quickly found out the reason, he sent three clippers to Penang to investigate the situation, and after half a month, there was no news, and he was sure that something big had happened in the Strait of Malacca, and in the waters of the Far East, only the Qing Nanyang Navy dared to move Britain with the courage and strength.

Although he never put the Qing Nanyang Navy in his eyes, he also knew that that fleet was not something that the more than 20 warships of the East India Fleet could compete with, but he was confident that even if he was defeated, he would be able to retreat with his whole body, and his mission this time was only to find out the real situation in the Strait of Malacca.

On the island of Little Coba, watching the British fleet deviate from the course and divide into two formations, the expression on Lao Wei's face suddenly became solemn, and he ordered in a deep voice: "Pay attention to concealment, once it is discovered by the British, it is a small matter for us to lose our lives, and it is a big deal to let go of this big fish!" ”

The British fleet did not land, but only circled around several islands, and returned to the main route without finding anything unusual, and set sail again, and the British fleet set sail again, and the British fleet set out in a long snake formation, divided into four formations, and the end was about fifteen nautical miles apart.

Penang, the military port, received the telegram, Tang Zao Shenglang smiled and said: "Good guy, twenty-five warships, four of which are third-class ships, finally didn't let us waste our thoughts." ”

Chen Hongming said: "This fleet is very cautious and ready to escape at any time. ”

Tang Zaosheng said with a smile: "It's okay, since this fleet is here, the news can no longer be blocked, how much can be eaten, let's try to eat as much as possible." ”

"We must catch them all, and we can't let go of a single one." Chen Hongming said: "We can't let the British know that we are equipped with new artillery. ”

On the deck of the flagship "Colombo", Keppel held a telescope to look at the rice flag fluttering in the wind, and then swept to the nearby sea, there were fishing boats operating, and merchant ships entering and leaving, a peaceful scene.

Seeing this scene, many naval officers who knew about this voyage were secretly relieved, was it too sensitive? Maybe it's the submarine cable that has been broken. Keppel did not let his guard down at all, the situation in Penang is very special, on the other side of the port is a large island - Penang, and the situation of Penang port cannot be seen from the outside.

Out of caution, Keppel ordered the fleet to lower its sails and wait nearby, and the first formation sent a clipper into the harbor to inquire about the details, seeing that the fully guarded clipper turned into the port channel and still remained silent, the officers and men of the fleet were relieved, and even Keppel was secretly relieved, and at this moment, the lookout post of the rear team suddenly issued an alarm of enemy attack.

A fleet flying the golden dragon flag of the Qing Navy came from the rear at full speed, and according to rough estimates, the number of warships was fifty or sixty! In an instant, Kepel reacted that the main force of the Qing fleet was not in Penang at all, but was ambushed behind, and it was obvious that this was preparing to wipe them out!

"Withdraw! The rear warships accelerated to get closer to the flagship! Keppel ordered in a deep voice, although the size of the two fleets is very different, but fifty or sixty warships want to keep them, it is too underestimated to underestimate them, he is confident that the opposite fleet will be defeated head-on and calmly evacuated, and the Qing navy, which has only been established for more than ten years, is like a child in his opinion, and he doesn't pay attention to it at all.

Looking at the mountain and running a dead horse, it is not easy to see the sail shadow of the other party on the sea to meet, after the British fleet is closed, it will move forward at full speed, for the Qing fleet blocking in front, Kepel is not very worried, he is worried that there are pursuers behind, after all, the Qing Nanyang naval fleet has more than a hundred warships.

More than half an hour later, after hearing the news that there were no pursuers behind him, Keppel relieved himself and turned to wonder if if the Qing Nanyang Navy only had this fleet on the opposite side of the Strait of Malacca, should they be taught a hard lesson, and then calmly evacuated.

Report ——。 The communications officer came in and saluted and reported: "A black spot was found ahead, which is suspected to be the second fleet of the Qing Kingdom, with a scale of about 30 ships...... The Qing fleet ahead has slowed down. ”

Keppel's heart sank, this sea area, at this time, except for the fleet of the Qing country, there will be no more fleets of any country, he realized that he was in trouble, no matter how arrogant he was, he would not think that his fleet would be able to defeat the enemy three or four times that of the opposite, God knows if there is a Qing fleet behind?

Diverting and turning to Singapore? There are only more than 100 warships in the Qing fleet, and even if there are still twenty or thirty warships intercepted in Singapore, it is still stronger than the current situation, but soon he gave up this idea, the sea around Singapore is narrow, blocked by the front and back, and there is no chance to fight! And rushing forward, at least there is a chance to break through each before the two fleets of the Qing Kingdom converge!

Half an hour later, the two fleets finally faced each other, and the British fleet successfully won a favorable situation through a series of tactical inducements, and only needed to repel a dozen fourth- and fifth-class warships in front, and the fleet could leave the main fleet of the Qing State behind.

Just when Kepel was smiling and complacent about his command art, the three Qing fourth-class ships in front of him opened fire, and more than a dozen dull cannon sounds rang out one after another.

Fired at a distance of thousands of yards? The British navy strictly stipulates that it is not allowed to fire at a distance of 400 yards, and firing at the Qing navy at a distance of 1,000 yards is purely a cowardly act of courage.

"Phew-" The sharp whistling of shells sounded, followed by a violent explosion, the fire burst out, shrapnel splashed everywhere, the smoke of gunpowder was filled, the water column rose, the sea water was sprinkled everywhere, the sudden change made all the British troops a little confused, Kepel's face was pale to the extreme, this is - rifled guns? The Qing Navy was armed with rifled guns?

Several shells were hit on the deck of the battleship rushing forward, and the sails full of wind power were shot by shrapnel flying everywhere, like fishing nets, and one of the sails caught fire directly, and the speed was immediately slowed down.

Before the British could react, another burst of intensive artillery sounded, the target of this shelling was the second battleship, Kepel's face was already extremely pale, and the shelling was so fast? This is a breech-loading rifled gun! This is the most advanced breech-loading rifled gun in Europe! The Qing Navy has been installed on the naval warships?

Soon, he reacted, why only three battleships opened fire? Could it be that these three battleships are equipped with the latest breech-loading rifled guns? However, even if only three warships are equipped with new breech-loading rifled guns, it will be a nightmare for their fleet, and it will be impossible for the entire fleet to break out!

Now the most important thing is to send the intelligence out! Rush! We must rush out, and we must report this important information to the country, otherwise once we send troops to the Qing State, the consequences will be unimaginable!

Kepel made a decision in an instant, and shouted loudly: "Order, all the third and fourth tier battleships press up and suppress the artillery fire!" Class 5 and 6 light warships are not allowed to fall in love with each other, and break through separately! ”

With this order, the eight fourth-rank battleships immediately broke away from the formation and rushed at full speed towards the three Qing warships equipped with new guns in front, and at this moment, the third round of artillery bombardment on the opposite side sounded again, and what he saw was a large cloud of gunpowder smoke rising from the deck of another battleship, Keppel's eyes were red, and he said in a deep voice: "Raise the flag of St. George!" Hit the Battle Banner! ”

The St. George's flag is a blood-red pennant, and raising it tells both the opponent and his subordinates to fight to the end and never back down!

The slogan of the decisive battle is - England expects everyone to do their duty! This is the flag of Admiral Nelson, the soul of the British Navy, on his flagship "Victory" in the famous Battle of Trafalgar, which is also regarded as the soul of the British Navy.

Sure enough, seeing Keppel's flagship raise the St. George flag and the well-known decisive battle flag, all the British officers and men of the third- and fourth-class battleships were enthusiastic, knowing that the time had come for them to sacrifice their lives for the country, while the officers and men of the fifth- and sixth-class battleships were silent, and many of them had tears in their eyes, they knew that all the third- and fourth-class battleships were fighting for them to break through.

The St. George's flag was raised, and the 'Colombo', which had raised the decisive battle flag, no longer rushed forward, but turned its rudder and rushed straight towards the dense Qing warship group, and the other three third-class battleships followed closely with the rudder.

On the flagship 'Zhenjiang', seeing this situation, Chen Hongming couldn't help but be stunned, what does the British mean by this? The decisive battle to the end, is this to fight with them? He is also counting on the capture of these four third-class battleships, and what the Nanyang Navy lacks most now is the main battleship of the third-class battleship.

"Order, spread out, hit the small battleship first! All stay away from the third and fourth tier battleships. Chen Hongming ordered in a deep voice, but his heart was blocked, the third-level battleship has strong firepower, if you fight hard, it will definitely outweigh the loss, the big war is imminent, they have few warships, but they dare not fight with the other party!

The four third-class battleships of the British army were like wolves entering a flock of sheep, and the battleships of the Nanyang Navy dodged in all directions, while the small battleships of the fifth and sixth classes -- frigates, guard ships, and escort ships -- that the British army broke through -- were surrounded and intercepted, and each battleship was surrounded or chased by six or seven warships, and there was no way to break through at all.

In less than half an hour, the speed of the eight fourth-class ships of the British army slowed down one after another, and the sails were all beaten to tatters.

Although the battlefield was chaotic, the situation was one-sided, and the second batch of Nanyang Navy warships also caught up at this time.

On the deck of the British flagship 'Colombo', Keppel looked at the messy, chaotic, and gunsmoke-filled battlefield, and was speechless for a long time, this was the most chaotic and humiliating battle he commanded in his life! After a long time, he said in a deep voice: "Order, move closer to the fourth-level ship." ”

For the Nanyang Navy, the remaining British warships are a flock of lambs to the slaughter, all the battleships are about a thousand yards away from them, surrounded from a distance, and both sides on the battlefield know that the battle is over!

In just two quarters of an hour, the British army's four battleships, eight fourth-class ships, and five small battleships slowly gathered together, Chen Hongming raised his chin and said, "Send a clipper ship over, publicize our policy, and let them surrender." In addition, all warships were ordered to salvage the British troops who had fallen overboard nearby. ”

On the deck of the 'Colombo', Keppel glanced at the many officers and said in a deep voice: "We lost this battle, but each of you has done your duty, and I am proud of you!" ”

No one said a word, all the officers were silent, they did their best, but they still lost in the end!

"The intention of the Qing Navy, you should also understand very well, is to force us to surrender." Keppel raised his voice and said, "The three ports of Malacca have all fallen into the hands of the Qing Navy, which is a shame for Great Britain and a shame for our Royal Navy of the British Empire!"

What I want to tell you is that the empire will soon send troops to the Far East, and the fall of these warships into the hands of the Qing navy will undoubtedly strengthen their strength. ”

Speaking of this, his tone deepened, "I have decided to scuttle the 'Colombo', your battleship, you have decided for yourself, you have done your due duty for the Imperial Navy, I can no longer force you." ”

Seeing that the clippers were approaching, several British ships fired warning shots one after another, and after forcing the clippers back, one British ship after another began to sink.

Silence, deathly silence, there was no other sound on the entire sea except for the sound of wind and waves, watching the sinking of British ships one after another, and the collective silence of the officers and men of the Nanyang Navy, Chen Hongming slowly took off the military hat on his head despite being depressed and almost vomiting blood.