The main guns of the battleship "Republic" stopped firing, Shen Honglie gave a rescue order, and the Chinese destroyer "Hunter 17" was ordered to sail to the battleship "King", which was about to sink, to rescue the Germans.

At this time, Betty was about to give the order to continue the search, when the lookout suddenly shouted loudly: "Periscope found on the port side!" ”

The people on the bridge were all taken aback when they heard the shouting, Xu Zhenpeng and Shen Honglie raised their binoculars and looked in the direction pointed by the lookout post, and they only vaguely saw a trace of white spray.

Everyone was staring at the sea, but after a long time, the daunting torpedo track did not appear, and the people on the bridge breathed a sigh of relief.

"Don't worry about submarines." Betty smiled when she saw the nervous expressions of the two Chinese admirals, and said as if to comfort them, "Submarines in shallow waters, especially in waters with many islands and reefs like Hrigolan, are actually very limited and pose no threat to us. ”

"Yes, in the waters of this area, the role of torpedo boats and destroyers will be greater." Xu Zhenpeng put down the binoculars and said, "The range of activity of submarines in areas with many islands and reefs is even inferior to that of cruisers. ”

"That's right, the light cruisers and destroyers of the Germans are the real threat to us." A British staff officer then advised, "Our hulls are too large for effective formation maneuvering in this area, and we have to consider fuel." Now it is very dangerous to keep these precious battleships here, we have won and it is time to return home. ”

Listening to the subordinate's words, Betty groaned for a moment, a hesitant look on her face.

"Although we didn't find the four German battleships this time, we will have a chance in the future, unless the Germans go back to the old ways and continue to be shrunken turtles." Another staff officer also said, "The result of this battle is that we have regained control of the sea, and this fact will not change." Unless our six excellent ships also suffered. ”

Betty pondered for a moment and nodded slowly.

At this time, he had calmed down and decisively decided to withdraw from the battle, no longer putting the six precious new battleships in danger in order to destroy the four "Byrne"-class battleships. Seeing that Betty finally agreed to retreat, Xu Zhenpeng, Shen Honglie and other Chinese naval generals unconsciously showed a relieved look on their faces.

Betty left behind the "King", which had already escaped death, and set out on the return journey, and signaled the retreat of all Allied ships in the Gulf of Helgoland. Soon, the fleet, which was the first to get the news, gathered and left as if it were about to be amnesty.

Looking at the still smoky sea in the North Sea, Betty turned her head and smiled at her Chinese counterparts and said, "From today on, the position of the Chinese Navy in the world has been established. ”

"Despite all these problems, the young men of the Chinese Navy have added honor to their motherland with their actions today," Admiral Evans, an assistant to the Navy, also said enthusiastically. May God bless this friendship cemented with blood! ”

Hearing the beautiful words of the British, Xu Zhenpeng and Shen Honglie stared at the battle flag with the word "human" fluttering high on the mast, and couldn't help but burst into tears for a while.

On the evening of July 30, 1919, when the Chinese battlefleet sailed into Scapa Bay, passing by the anchored British and American fleets, the enthusiastic cheers of the British and American naval colleagues lasted for a long time. The battleship "Republic" failed to anchor for the first time, so it had to turn around and pass the ship again, and the cheers that sounded again were in no way inferior to the previous one. The tribute from the USS Pennsylvania was more tangible, and the American sailors offered to help the triumphantly returning battleship USS Liberty Spirits load coal (one of the most chores in the Navy). The injured and partially regained power of the Chinese light cruiser "Haizhou" sailed up the Knoll River and returned to the British Chatham Naval Yard for overhauls. The British Admiralty Secretary and some Admiralty officials personally boarded the "Haizhou" to express their condolences to the Chinese Navy officers and men, and in the eyes of some British reporters, the British Admiralty's enthusiasm bordered on flattery. Unbeknownst to the Chinese naval officers and sailors, a poem extolling their bravery in the "Second Battle of Helgoland" has already begun to circulate, and portraits of Chinese naval officers and sailors depicting their heroic battles will soon be sold in London.

For the majority of the British public, who did not understand the process and only cared about the outcome, this was the most glorious victory they had been waiting for since the Battle of Tereland, in which the Allied navies sank four German battleships, two light cruisers, three destroyers, one minesweeper, two heavy light cruisers, and one destroyer. For the British navy, they were compensated for the crushing defeat at the Battle of Deland, but this victory was not without cost, in this naval battle, the Allied navy lost 2 battleships (British), 4 cruisers and 3 destroyers (in this naval battle).

The victory in this naval battle undoubtedly stimulated the British public, and the British people were able to break free from their despair of war. The outcome of this victory meant that the naval supremacy, which was crucial to the war, was back in the hands of the Allies (not the British), and the Times, the Telegraph prominently reported the victory in large print, and some newspapers even described the naval battle as "Second Trafalgar".

However, for some military observers, this brilliant victory also exposed many problems in the operation, communications, and coordination of the Allied navy: Although the Chinese naval officers and men led by British and American naval officers had a high will to fight and performed well, because of the lack of sufficient combat experience in formation and the mistakes in communications, the naval battle turned from the expected decisive battle of the main force into a separate melee, and the location of the melee was the reef and the mine-filled Helgoland Bay, which further increased the danger of battle. However, the stinginess and selfishness of the fleet made the planned support force useless, and virtually increased the losses of the Allied fleet.

The results of this naval battle also proved that the 406-millimeter naval guns manufactured by the United States for Chinese battleships had the power to make a decisive blow in the decisive battle between battleships, and the overwhelming superiority of China's large and fast battleships was vividly demonstrated in this battle, fully proving the important role of high-speed capital ships in avant-garde warfare. The 150-mm guns of the Chinese light cruisers also had the upper hand in the engagements between the light cruisers, so the British Navy later increased the proportion of 6-inch guns on the light cruisers.

Later historians have seldom commented on the significance of the "Second Battle of the Gulf of Helgoland", because this naval battle is far from the Battle of Delan in terms of scale and impact, but there are still many scholars who have conducted in-depth research on the impact of this naval battle on the political pattern of Eurasia and have drawn a lot of enlightenment.

Many researchers believe that in World War I, China's navy went to Europe to participate in the war, which played a crucial role in China's later becoming one of the "six powers" of the Paris Peace Conference and one of the two great powers in Asia.

At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Britain had only a few old warships left in the Far East, and in the face of the elusive German raiders, the defenders had to have enough patrol ships to defend against them. In order to appease the thunderous British Chamber of Commerce and the Parliamentary parties, Winston Churchill, the British Admiralty, assured the British public that Britain's allies in the Far East would have filled the strategic gap. However, in the face of the allies who sought to dominate Asia, the British cabinet was divided over whether to invite the Japanese navy to assist in escorting the convoy. British Foreign Secretary Edward? Sir Grey once bluntly said: "The navy must not be allowed to participate, because the ambition of the navy is so great that it not only wants to eat up the German sphere of influence in China, but also wants to drive all the European countries out of Asia and replace them." ”

The British have been hesitant to invite him to the war. However, from the end of 1914, as the German Navy intensified its raids, especially the gradual implementation of "unrestricted submarine warfare", Britain, which was in an extremely difficult situation, had to change its original intention and begged Ben to participate in the escort operations of the Allied navies. Unexpectedly, the cabinet of Shigenobu Okuma put up a shelf and delayed the decision to send troops to Europe. By 1916, the German Navy had adopted a new tactic of secretly laying mines outside a series of Allied ports, resulting in the sinking of a large number of Allied merchant ships. In February of that year, the British political axe again sent a formal request for help, and he sent a destroyer fleet to Singapore to guard the important Strait of Malacca. By the beginning of 1917, Germany's "unrestricted submarine warfare" was rampant, and British merchant ships could not be built at a rate that could keep up with the speed at which they were sunk. In order to save the situation, Britain bluntly hoped that it would send warships to escort ships in the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean waters. In the face of Britain's urgent plea for help, he himself raised the price even higher, and the newly inaugurated Prime Minister Masashi Terauchi not only demanded that Britain fully recognize the vested interests and "special interests and status" in China that Britain seize in the Pacific islands after its victory over Germany in the future, but also demanded that Britain support his status as a great power in the future reconstruction of international relations.

The British felt more and more unbearable about the lion's wide mouth, and the failure of the invasion of China made the British doubt the combat effectiveness of the army. China's successful victory over the invasion of the British government and opposition has caused many people in the British government and opposition to change their views on the Chinese [***] team. In exchange for China sending its navy and army to support the European theater, the British political axe privately wrote a "diplomatic check" to Yuan Shikai's imperial Chinese political axe, promising to assist China in abolishing all unequal treaties and recovering all sovereignty after the end of the world war. In fact, Britain's conditions for drawing China into the war were contradictory to the demands of its allies, but after carefully weighing the pros and cons, British Prime Minister Lloyd? George eventually chose to turn to China, which laid the groundwork for the "total diplomatic failure" of the 1922 Paris Peace Conference.

Although he did not receive a satisfactory reply from the British political axe, out of consideration for the interests of the political axe after the war, the political axe decided to enter the war. In March 1917, the first fleet was officially sent to Europe. The modest fleet crossed the Indian Ocean and reached the Gulf of Aden on 4 April, where it escorted French merchant ships to land Chinese Army soldiers in Djibouti, Africa, and then continued north. By the beginning of May, the Navy's convoy had arrived in Malta, a fortress in the Mediterranean under British rule, and had used it as a base to protect the Allied lines of communication to Marseille in France, Taranto in Italy, and various ports in Egypt.

When the fleet arrived in Malta, it was at a time when the Allies were at stake in the Mediterranean, and the losses of Allied merchant ships had reached a record 300,000 tons, including 218,000 tons in April 1917 alone. The British even considered abandoning the Mediterranean route, saying that the arrival of this fleet was undoubtedly a relief in the snow.

However, the role of the escort fleet was soon offset by the Chinese naval battlefleet from the United States.

After the Battle of Deland, the British, who had suffered heavy losses, urgently needed large warships to defend their homeland, and the British repeatedly asked the allies for help, but the British ally himself refused to send large warships. Contrary to his own performance, the American and Chinese political axes were very proactive, and the US Navy sent four battleships to Britain one after another. What the British are especially grateful for is that the Chinese Navy not only sent the only little naval resources in the country - a few old cruisers to the UK, but also sent the latest six large new fast battleships ordered by the United States.

The British have always been skeptical about the combat effectiveness of the Chinese navy, even if the navy from the east suddenly has six more powerful battleships, and the British think that it will be difficult for Chinese sailors to control these new warships, but after the end of the "Second Battle of the Gulf of Helgoland", the British no longer doubt the combat effectiveness of the Chinese navy.

After the end of the First World War, although China still contributed to the war in Europe, because China's contribution to the war was far greater than that of China, and with the expansion of China's aggressive and expansionist ambitions, and the United States, which supported China, surpassed the position of Britain in the field of British diplomacy, Britain finally chose to support China at the Paris Peace Conference. At the subsequent Washington Conference, Britain honorably buried the British alliance in accordance with the wishes of the United States, and then snubbed the British alliance everywhere. Annoyed and angry, he brazenly launched a full-scale war of aggression against China, and later turned to Nazi Germany in World War II.

If it had not been for this naval battle on this day in July 1918, perhaps the history of China and the whole world would have taken a different trajectory.

Yanjing, Admiralty.

Liu Guanxiong, who received the news of the great victory in the European naval battle, closed the report in his hand, rubbed his temples with his fingers after not closing his eyes all night, took a deep breath, and came to the window.

At this time, it was early in the morning, and a round of red light had risen from the sky, giving a layer of golden glow to the five-color "X" national flag fluttering high on the flagpole of Xinhuamen Square in the distance.

The gust of wind blew, and his excited mind regained its previous sobriety little by little.

Ever since he got the news of the battlefleet's exotic appearance, he had been feeling unspeakable excitement and excitement.

As a veteran naval soldier who participated in the Battle of Dadonggou in the First Sino-Japanese War, he deeply knew that from this day on, the saying that "there was no navy after Beiyang" had come to an end.

At this time, Liu Guanxiong, when he thought of the mysterious young man, he had a feeling of being in a dream.

Liu Guanxiong never imagined that his dream of building a large navy for China would come true in the hands of this young man.

Liu Guanxiong turned around and came to the filing cabinet, opened the cabinet door, and took out a thick file bag from inside, the file bag was a little worn, but the large title on it was still legible.

Liu Guanxiong opened the file bag, took out the documents and forms inside, and his eyes couldn't help but moisten.

"The Admiralty presents its first ship placement plan"

"March 21, 2nd year of the Republic of China"

"Appendix: One Copy of the Navy's First Ship-Building Plan"

"First, the defense plan"

"Appendix 1: Allocation Table of Battalions, Depots, Docks and Docks of Garrison Ships at Key Ports"

"Schedule 2: Allocation of Personnel and Annual Fees for Defending Ships and Barracks"

"Second, the patrol plan"

"Schedule 3: Ships allocated to the patrol fleet are summarized as follows: the first squadron consists of 2 battle cruisers, 2 armored cruisers of the 1st class, 4 dome cruisers of the 2nd class, 6 dome cruisers of the 3rd class, 2 reconnaissance cruisers, and 2 transport ships; The second group consisted of 4 armored cruisers of the 1st class, 4 cruisers of the 2nd class, 6 cruisers of the 3rd class, 2 reconnaissance cruisers, and 2 transport ships; The third team is the same as the second team. ”

"Schedule 4: Patrol Fleet Allocation and Annual Fee Schedule"

"Schedule 5: Annual Distribution Table of Fees for the First Naval Vessels"

"Schedule 6: Schedule of rudder power for the size of the garrison ship's barracks, warehouses, docks, and docks"

"Schedule 7: Schedule of Fees for the Size and Capabilities of the Patrol Fleet"

"Battle Cruiser Specifications: Displacement: 26,000 tons, Length: 590 feet, Width: 90 feet, Draft: 28 feet, Rate: 28 knots, Horsepower: 30,000 horsepower, Armor: 12 inches, Main guns: 13.5 inches 10 guns, Secondary guns: 14 6-inch guns, 6 3-pounder guns, Torpedo tubes: 4, Organs: Telbin engines, cost per ship: 2,100,000 pounds, number: 2, total cost of 4,200,000 pounds."

"Specifications of armored cruisers: displacement of 10,000 tons, 24 knots, 4 7.5-inch guns, 6 6-inch guns, 25 3-pounder guns, and the cost of a single ship is 800,000 pounds."

(To be continued)