The cannon roared, and the smoke and water were mixed together, like a thick layer of clouds in the sky, covering the sea more than ten miles away, and only the fleeting orange flame could be seen.

"There is an order! Unmooring, half-sailing, against the wind! ”

"Order! In the cable team, the front sail does not move, the middle sail is half down, and the rear sail is all down! ”

"The front sail team has the order!"

"The Zhongfan team has an order!"

"The Housail team has the order!"

On the deck of the cruiser "Ganjiang" of the first class, the sail cable chief issued an order, and a sail cable midshipman who was still childish on his face, but the fifteen or sixteen-year-old sail cable trainee was going to the rear sail in accordance with the combat regulations to assist the sail chief in supervising the sail raising work.

"Vice Lieutenant Li, summoned by the general! Belch...... All apprenticeships are called. ”

The captain called out to the young man, who looked back suspiciously, and explained with some weakness that he did not have the majesty of his superiors in the face of his subordinates.

The young lieutenant adhered to the military order, and saluted and retired, and the sail captain looked at his back and sighed.

The wide cabin at the stern of the ship was already crowded with young men in blue clothes and white trousers, ranging in age from fourteen to eighteen, all of whom were midshipmen from the Naval Academy. The Anglo-Chinese Army and Navy each have their own upbringing systems, with the Army recruiting orphaned teenagers as service auxiliaries or ceremonial soldiers, while the Navy uses cadets trained by the academy system as auxiliary officers.

The young lieutenant stepped into the official cabin and waved his arms: "Sail cable midship, lieutenant Li Kezai reports!" ”

The originally low and chaotic chatter in the official cabin suddenly dissipated, and everyone suppressed their breathing, resisting the urge to look at it, this young lieutenant was none other than the eldest prince Li Kezai.

The time was September of the 19th year of the Holy Dao, and the location was 400 miles northeast of Ceylon in the Indian Ocean, when the Second Ceylon Naval Battle between the British Asian Fleet and the Anglo-Chinese Western Fleet broke out.

At the top of the official cabin is a veteran with a white beard, and the reserve team is under control, Commodore Lin Liang. He commanded eight cruisers of the first and second rank to stand by in the rear of the battle line, and now received an order from Hu Hanshan, the commander-in-chief of the Western Fleet, who was on the front line, and was preparing to attack against the wind.

"You have all learned something, and I don't have to pretend that the battle situation is not very good......

Although the veteran's words were decadent, the man stood upright, and his eyes flashed with thirst.

"We all underestimated Britain's naval prowess and thought it was the same as it had been two years ago. You can take the enemy lightly, but I didn't expect the enemy to dare to break into pieces, cut into our army's battle line, and fight separately. The consul general wants the reserve to strike against the wind. Copying the enemy's rear road, he has made up his mind to defeat both the enemy. Before our team attacked in place, due to the headwind and head-on momentum, it was bound to be heavily killed and wounded by enemy artillery fire, so it was ......"

Lin Liang glanced at dozens of trainees and said in a deep voice: "I am determined to issue a death order, and all trainees must be evacuated immediately!" ”

There was a sudden silence in the official cabin, after a long time. Only then did the cadet choke up and said, "General, we are also members of the navy, why don't you let us do our duty, why don't you let us fight to the death!?" ”

The students said excitedly: "We are waiting for this day, why should we stay out of it!" ”

Lin Liang had already expected the emotions of the students, and he raised his eyebrows and scolded: "Pay attention to your attitude!" Warriors take it as their duty to obey orders, and I am your commander. Do you want to disobey the military order!? ”

Then he eased his face and said warmly: "This is not the final battle, even if our Western Fleet is defeated, there is still the Nanyang Fleet, and the newly built eighteen battleships are all in the Nanyang Fleet, as long as they enter the Western Ocean, no matter how strong the Britons are, they will never be opponents." But newly built battleships needed officers. The future of the Navy, and the ultimate victory, depend on you. ”

Speaking of which, the strategy of the Western Fleet in this battle is already very clear, no matter whether it is won or lost, as long as it effectively kills and damages the enemy. Buying time for the real main fleet, and these trainees are the talents that the main fleet urgently needs, Lin Liang naturally does not want to let them lose in this battle. …,

There are military orders, and there are reasons, but the cadets who are still between teenagers and young people still find it difficult to accept them. It is not only difficult to accept that he has been deprived of the qualification to serve the country with loyalty, but also difficult to accept the conclusion that his fleet may be defeated.

"With us, the fleet may not be defeated!"

"Without us, the fleet has one less chance of victory!"

"What is our life compared to victory or defeat? From the moment we entered the school to become warriors, our lives were used to win victories! ”

"The twin dragon banner must rely on the blood of our warriors to not fade!"

The cadets wept blood for battle, and in the generosity of his classmates, Li Kezai felt that his chest had been melted by the raging fire, and at this moment he had forgotten another layer of his identity, and his heart was full of the martial arts feelings cultivated by studying at the Hong Kong Naval Academy for two years and probationing for one year.

He stepped out of the ranks and said loudly: "General, according to the "Naval Combat Regulations", the authority to issue death orders is in the hands of the highest commander on the battlefield, and your death orders are invalid!" ”

Everyone knows this, but no one wants to use this one to tear his face with the old general, except for someone who is detached.

Lin Liang put on a straight face and said coldly: "Deputy Lieutenant Li Kezai, you are transferred to the liaison officer, return to Huangpu quickly, and report the battle situation to the Admiralty." ”

Li Kezai was stunned for a moment, and then his cheeks swelled with a large crimson of anger, since he was sensible, he liked the atmosphere arranged for him by his father, and as an ordinary naval cadet, he really felt the times. Of course, sometimes he is too deep in the play, and he needs this kind of "care" to remind him that he has another identity. The prince, who was still young, was always particularly disgusted by this special care. There are also some immature minds who are difficult to fully adapt to this double life.

Whether it is inherited from his mother's stubbornness or his father's dignity, he is unwilling to write the article of avoiding war in his life resume. Just as he was about to resist the order with the combat regulations he was familiar with, Lin Liang raised a dossier and said: "This is General Hu's military order, not mine!" ”

Damn Huhan Mountain! The face is righteous and awe-inspiring, and he never sees himself as a prince, but he is ready behind his back.

Li Kezai secretly gritted his teeth, and also made a mistake: "The post is not ordered!" ”

Lin Liang said angrily: "Li Kezai, remember your duty!" ”

The veteran's exhalation was full of breath, and it brought a rich echo in the official cabin, Li Kezai was stunned, and his duty was ......

Yes, he is not only burdened with the vocation of a warrior, but also the vocation of a prince.

"My father hasn't made me the crown prince yet, and I still have my younger brothers when I die."

He didn't say it. But the blood in his chest had cooled down.

Climbing the rope net down to the dinghy, and then turning to the wind-chasing liaison ship at the rear of the battlefield, Li Kezai and dozens of students silently watched the "Ganjiang" lead the ship to the distance, and saluted solemnly together.

On the 6th of September of the 19th year of the Holy Word, the Second Battle of Ceylon, the British side had nine battleships. Seven cruisers, fourteen armed merchant ships, and on the Anglo-Chinese side were six battleships of the Western Fleet, nineteen cruisers. The comparison of the warships of the two sides was thirty to twenty-five. The artillery ratio is 1450 to 1280, and the personnel ratio is 13000 to 11000.

Although the gap between the two sides is not large, the British and Chinese still surpass Britain in the quality of artillery, and have hundreds of cross-era weapons: rear-loading rifled guns, but the British navy, which has learned the lessons of the first naval battle of Ceylon, fully carried forward the British nation's tradition of daring to fight, dare to fight and dare to take risks, tore apart the battle line of the Anglo-Chinese fleet, and the two sides fought a close melee, plus the capital ships had a numerical advantage, and occupied the initiative on the scene. In the end, it was a defeat with the Western Fleet.

Strictly speaking, the Western fleet suffered a small defeat, and the Britons won a crushing victory. The Western Fleet lost two battleships and seven cruisers, 3,700 people under Commodore Lin Liang were killed, and Hu Hanshan, the commander-in-chief of the Western Fleet, was seriously wounded. The Britons lost only one battleship, four armed merchant ships and two cruisers, and the commander of the fleet, Edward? 2,400 men below Admiral Vernon were killed. …,

Even if the fleet commander is lost. But Britain still won. After this battle, the Western fleet retreated to Chittagong to lick its wounds, temporarily unable to control the Coromandel coast of India, and the British took the opportunity to recapture Madras and Fort St. David's, which the French had recently received. The British people believed that the battle was revenge for the First Battle of Ceylon, in which George Anson's advance fleet had been defeated by the Western Fleet two years earlier, and only two cruisers had escaped and one had fled westward. Bringing valuable experience to the British reinforcement fleet, one was piloted by George Anson through Java and the Moluga Islands, embarking on one of the most famous adventures of later generations.

At this time, Li Kezai did not know the final result of the battle, and he and his classmates were full of depression, talking and deducing this naval battle every day. It has never been able to overturn Lin Liang's previous judgment, and the Western Fleet can only defeat the other party at most.

"Chief Xiao is too conservative, all the newly built battleships are assigned to the South Ocean Fleet, even if they are only assigned to two or three ships of the Western Fleet, this battle will not be like this."

"I think Commander Hu is too light on the enemy, it is said that Commander Lu was going to send a battleship detachment over, but Commander Hu didn't ask for it, and boasted in front of Commander Xiao that he could defeat the Britons by relying on the Western Fleet."

"There are too many things we don't know, and we can't rashly speculate on the decisions of the officials. There were many battleships, but they were all new ships and new guns, the officers and men were also new, and the tactics were different, and they could not form a joint force with the previous battleships. ”

"I think we also underestimated the British, they are dull to death in land warfare, but the naval battle is like a thief, how sharp and how to come, we can only fight according to the canon, and there is too much lacking. Compared to the British, we always have fewer naval battles...... Spirituality, yes, spirituality! ”

The liaison ship passed Malacca and headed for Eagle Yang Harbor, and the discussion around Li Kezai did not stop. Everyone said their own thing, which made Li Kezai full of entanglement.

He also has his own opinion, the Department of Naval Intelligence failed to grasp the situation of the British fleet in time, guilty! Hu Hanshan's arrogant temperament has always remained the same, and now the entire Western fleet is paying the price for his negligence, Hu Hanshan is guilty! Boss Xiao is becoming more and more like a miser, gathering new battleships one by one, and he is unwilling to let go of it until he has to, and the more he lives, the more he goes back, he is also guilty!

The more he thought about it, the more depressed he became, and Li Kezai finally complained about his father, why did he move the capital to Jiangnan? The headquarters of the general headquarters is in Jiangnan, but the admiralty is still in Huangpu, and of course there is a disconnect between military orders. In the past two years, my father's horizons seem to be getting narrower and narrower, and he is staring at what is under his nose...... Fathers are responsible, too!

Li Kezai suddenly felt that there were too many incorrect and unreasonable places! And just a lieutenant himself, he has no power to change all this. If he had the name of the crown prince and could influence this battle, the old general might not go into battle like a death, and the Western fleet might not face a dilemma.

Although the veteran Lin Liang has a low rank, he spans the two eras of the old Qing Dynasty and Yinghua, and is particularly humble and low-key. When he was a teacher at the Hong Kong Naval Academy, he was also the respected division commander of Li Kezai and many cadets. Before, everyone asked for battle, not only out of enthusiasm, but also out of admiration for not wanting to see the veteran go into battle alone. For veterans, dying on the battlefield is the best destination, but for students like Li Kezai, it is a grief that cannot be shaken away.

If you are the prince, at least you can keep the veteran......

Li Kezai suddenly had a desire to gain strength and change the world, he gasped for a while, and Duan Hongshi's words and his father's teachings flowed through his mind again.

"See yourself clearly and don't try to take responsibility beyond your own capabilities."

Li Kezai read silently, his mood gradually calmed down, leaving only a youthful unwillingness, which could not be erased. ..., "What is Your Highness thinking?" ”

"This is not in the palace, why is it still called His Highness?"

"Donor, you are in love, Your Highness is Kezai, Kezai is Your Highness, there is no other meaning, but you think to yourself."

"There is only the sacrifice of the Heavenly Temple in our navy, where did the bald donkey come from!"

The classmates noticed Li Kezai's abnormality, giggled and gagged beside him, causing Li Kezai to laugh.

He Yingfu, Liu Zhi, Zheng Mingxiang, An Pingyuan, the four of them were in the same class as Li Kezai. Li Kezai did not have an attendant by his side, although he was secretly escorted by people from the Praetorian Guard Administration and the Naval Intelligence Department, he did not follow him all the time. His mother once quarreled with his father about this, but his father persuaded his mother with a word, and made Li Kezai more proud, "With the entire navy under the protection, is there a safer place in the world than this?" Besides, our son, can't you even see the wind and the waves? ”

His father threw him into the navy, but he didn't do anything about it, these four classmates are Li Kezai's companions in a sense, but whether it is for the four of them or for Li Kezai, there is no formal constraint of master and servant, and the friendship between classmates is more.

Among the four, Zheng Mingxiang is the son of the Zheng family, An Pingyuan is the son of the An family, and He Liu is a commoner, which is also carefully arranged by his father, and he does not want Li Kezai to be confined to a simple family circle.

"Okay, it's almost time to Eagle Yang Harbor, everyone still plans for the future, I'll go to Commander-in-Chief Lu to ask for a favor, let you be assigned to the Nanyang Fleet, and finish the rest of the probationary period."

Li Kezai is the prince after all, so he thinks about things more deeply. Li Kezai himself shouldered the nominal position of liaison officer, while the other four were relieved of the trainee status of the Western Fleet by Lin Liang with a death order, and they needed to be reassigned to the trainee area. Combined with the current war situation, it is the best choice to go to the Nanyang Fleet to take revenge.

The four of them looked at each other for a while, and reluctantly took out an order: "We also want to stay in the Nanyang Fleet, but we all have orders in our bodies, and we have to act as an auxiliary officer to Your Highness, the liaison officer, and escort you back to Huangpu all the time." ”

Li Kezai said in disgust: "It's really boring......"

Of course, it was arranged by Hu Hanshan in advance, and the biggest scale of the navy is to let the prince feel the war on the front line, but it is impossible for the prince to risk the arrows himself. Even if you contact you on the return trip, you have to arrange a credible entourage by your side.

For Li Kezai, the friendship between classmates is gradually deteriorating, and of course it is not very comfortable.

An Pingyuan grinned and said, "Your Highness wants to get rid of your old love and find a new love?" ”

Zheng Mingxiang pinched his chin and said, "Pulin's Wanguo Flower Tower is very famous, does His Highness want to go and have some experience?" ”

He Yingfu joked with Liu Zhi: "How can Your Highness leave us to enjoy alone, it's really unrighteous." ”

Li Kezai grinned, and said again: "You guys, it's really boring." ”

By this time, the haze of the Second Battle of Ceylon had gradually dissipated in his heart, and the young man was always happy to look forward, and even if there were many setbacks, the future was always bright.