1890 King of Southeast Asia

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye it was June 25, 1916.

A lot of things happened in the past ten days, including China ending the war with Japan and sending an officer observation group to Europe. China is getting closer and closer to the Allies.

Not only that, after the news of China sending an officer observation group to the Allies came out, Italy could not sit still, and different voices appeared inside.

These voices were of course arranged by the King of Italy. After hearing the news, Britain and France rushed to the home of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Italy and promised a lot of benefits.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom did not agree directly, saying that the Prime Minister and the King had to discuss and discuss it together before deciding, and briefly talked about the price.

This has actually released enough goodwill. Italy is quoting, and it depends on whether the British and French can afford it.

The situation is increasingly favorable to the Allies, and the days when the Allies were so powerful at the beginning of the war are gone forever.

Germany also knows this, but they have no way to interfere with the choices of Italy and China.

…

Berlin, Berlin City Palace, the imperial palace and core office of William II.

“We must let the Chinese and Italians see that the Allies are not a good choice, and we must let them understand that choosing the Allies may fail!” The Prime Minister of the German Empire knew that Germany could no longer deal with more enemies.

Maintaining the current situation may still lead to victory, but the fate of the Chinese and Italians will directly threaten the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, and the Russian Empire will be able to spare energy to deal with the Germans.

Germany is currently engaged in the Battle of Verdun, and most of its energy is concentrated on this decisive battle that mobilized more than one million troops. It does not have enough troops and resources to deal with the Eastern Front.

Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the Chinese and Italians from turning to the Allies.

And the only chance to stop them is to let them see the risk, a risk that cannot be ignored.

"There is no breakthrough on the ground for the time being. Your Majesty, we need the navy to play their role."

"Germany spent billions of gold marks to build the High Seas Fleet. It is impossible for it to stay in the port during the war. In that case, it would be better to give the infantry one more bullet." The Prime Minister said to William II with sarcasm.

This is an extremely risky approach. William II is a person with excessive self-esteem. The emperor's power under the German Empire system is very great, which can directly squeeze him out to resign.

But the Prime Minister has no choice. William II cherishes his fleet very much. He is afraid that the ocean fleet will be damaged and is unwilling to attack the High Seas Fleet.

It was not until the end of the Battle of Heligoland Bight that William II relaxed the control of the Ocean Fleet and allowed battlecruisers to be dispatched, but still did not allow battleships to be dispatched.

Although the range of German battleships is generally shorter than that of British battleships, they are still designed according to the idea of ​​ocean decisive battles, rather than near-shore defense ironclad ships.

Isn't it a waste to stay in the port like this?

"Let those traitors and damned Chinese go to hell! The navy will take action to prove itself."

"Scheer has reported the navy's recent plans, and they will plan a battle in the next few days."

"When those Chinese were still on the ship, they received the news that the British Royal Navy suffered a great defeat in the coastal waters. I really want to know what their expressions will be at that time..."

William II was very angry. On the one hand, it was the prime minister's accusation, on the other hand, it was the Italians' betrayal, and finally it was the Chinese's "ignorance".

William II was very angry about the choice of the Chinese, but he didn't care much. After all, the Chinese are yellow people. In his impression, the Chinese still have funny braids.

...

On the night of June 25, the moon that night was only a crescent, and it was pitch black.

In Wilhelmshaven, 9 battlecruisers from 3 battlecruisers were slowly leaving the port. Fisher took away most of the fast maneuvering forces of the ocean fleet at one time.

Before the battlecruiser squadron was dispatched, an advance fleet consisting of more than a dozen destroyers, four cruisers and a cruiser had already been dispatched.

Fisher's target was the British patrol fleet, about two to three cruisers and some destroyers.

If possible, use German cruisers and destroyers to fight the British and attract surrounding warships.

Fisher had already conducted reconnaissance and found that there would be no British battleships within 100 nautical miles of the patrol fleet. The main force of the Royal Navy battleship fleet generally stayed in several ports on standby to encircle the German main fleet.

The warships participating in the patrol were only destroyers, cruisers and old battleships, which was very safe for the large fleet he commanded.

After careful reconnaissance, Fisher determined that within ten hours, he would face at most two patrol fleets, plus the British attack fleet at most.

Recently, the British have been attacking German warships. Fisher felt that there was a problem, but there was no way. William II hoped that the navy would take action.

Fisher couldn't wait and had to go out. For safety, he took 9 battlecruisers at once, which was already a huge force.

Moreover, the speed of all the warships involved in this operation could reach more than 27 knots, so they could always run if there was an unexpected situation.

In addition, Fisher deliberately set sail on a moonless night, and he didn't think the British would know the news in advance.

In this way, Fisher's fleet slowly moved out of the German coastal coast under the cover of night.

Jellicoe's arrangement did not work. Fisher's fleet adopted a blackout, and it was pitch black at night. Jellicoe's submarines used for reconnaissance did not find this fleet.

In this way, Fisher's battlecruiser fleet quietly left the Heligoland Bay and sailed northwest all the way.

This was the route that German submarines had explored for a long time, but Fisher's goal was not to take the fleet to the Atlantic Ocean, so after sailing at a speed of 14 knots for 8 hours at night, Fisher turned south.

Their goal was the direction of the British Isles.

It was already dawn, but there was still no ship on the sea. The sea was too vast.

Originally, there should be many British fishing boats in these places, but recently German destroyers and submarines have visited from time to time, and there are fewer fishing boats.

"How far are we from the bait fleet?" Fisher squinted for a while at 10 o'clock in the morning, and just got up and took a puff of cigarette to boost his spirits.

"About 50 nautical miles. If nothing goes wrong, it will take another 3 hours to reach the Royal Navy's patrol departure route." The fleet staff looked at the sea chart.

"It's almost 9 o'clock. Intelligence shows that the British patrol fleet passed here at 12 o'clock at the earliest, but it can't be too stuck."

"Order the fleet to speed up to 20 knots, hurry up, and try to arrive before 11 o'clock." Fisher silently calculated the distance and ordered to increase the speed.

"Yes!"

Buzz buzz buzz...

The steam turbine roared, the speed of the warship increased by one level, and the entire fleet began to gradually accelerate.

...

In the eastern waters of England, a submarine was moving slowly. This submarine was part of the Jellicoe grid plan, but he had completed two consecutive days of surveillance missions and was returning.

This surveillance has lasted for more than ten days. Because the UK did not have enough submarines to spread all the grids, the British only opened three nets outside the Heligoland Bay.

The effect was okay. These submarines discovered many German destroyers and cruisers and mastered certain rules of the Germans' deployment.

Recently, the British have targeted and killed two German destroyers. The British who knew about it regarded it as a victory, while the Germans who did not know about it did not care.

After all, in a war of this scale, the two destroyers are too small a unit, and they were lost in guerrilla warfare, so there is nothing unusual.

"Sir, do you think there are sea monsters in the sea?" The submarine was traveling on the water, and the sailor Kevin looked at the sea water and suddenly asked the captain.

"Well? Of course, there are not only sea monsters, but also sirens. Kevin, you have to be careful. They like to seduce young and handsome guys like you the most." The captain was stunned, and then said very seriously.

"Really? What do sirens look like? Sir, have you seen them? I heard that they are very beautiful. Can they be shot to death?" Kevin forgot about sea monsters when he heard about sirens.

In British legends, sirens have many images, some of which say that sirens are beautiful and glamorous women.

"Our young man is in love? Hahahaha..." The captain was stunned for a moment, and then laughed.

The sailors around also laughed and started to tease Kevin.

"What are you laughing at?" Kevin was still a little confused.

"Hahaha... Kevin, don't worry, you will see sirens, there are many sirens in the Old William Tavern, they will suck your strength and, of course, your wallet. Hahaha..." An old sailor who looked almost 40 years old pressed his shoulder and laughed.

"You guys?" Kevin blushed. He knew the Old William Tavern, which was full of women who dressed frugally, used inferior perfumes, and served sailors and soldiers.

Sailors and soldiers had good incomes. If they didn't spend money on the ship, they wouldn't have a woman. The long-term mental pressure of sailing was also great, so these frugal women in the port were of good quality.

Of course, their prices were also worthy of their quality.

"Okay Kevin, cheer up. No one has yet produced substantial evidence of sirens or sea monsters, but no one can prove that they don't exist. Maybe they will be discovered in the future?"

"But now, forget about the damn sirens and check the guns on the deck." The captain smiled and helped Kevin out.

"Yes, sir." Kevin walked to the deck dejectedly, ready to see the situation of the 76 guns on the deck.

"Sir, there seems to be a smoke column over there." Kevin was just about to check when he saw a faint black smoke in the distance.

"What?" The captain picked up the telescope with a serious expression and looked at the place where Kevin pointed.

It's unclear which ship it is, but it must be a warship, and it should be big.

"There is no information about this ship. According to regulations, if we may encounter our own ships, we will give us news in advance, unless the engine and telegraph of this ship are broken down." The deputy captain said on the side.

"Send a telegram to the base to inquire about the situation and prepare to dive. Kevin, come back quickly." The captain made a prompt decision and prepared to dive first.

After a while, the submarine sank to the surface and changed its course, heading towards the unknown warship.

Ten minutes later, the captain saw the identity of the visitor through the periscope.

"It's a German warship, a battlecruiser, why is it here?" The captain was very confused and a little worried.

"Put away the periscope, speed up forward, and get behind the enemy." The captain let go of the periscope and the submarine began to accelerate.

The two were sailing at a relative speed of 27 knots, but only a few kilometers apart, and their positions overlapped in just a moment, then staggered and sailed in opposite directions.

After more than 20 minutes, there was no discovery, and the captain could no longer bear it.

"Stop, float to the height of the bridge, send a message outside, and find that a German battlecruiser has passed, heading..." The captain decided to take the risk of sending a message.

...

London, Grand Fleet Headquarters.

"Sir, received reports from three submarines, at least two German battlecruisers arrived about 150 nautical miles northeast of Scotland." The intelligence staff rushed into Jellicoe's office anxiously.

"Order the seaplane to take off for reconnaissance, tell Betty that all warships of the battlecruiser fleet should light fires and be ready."

"Let the surrounding patrol warships move closer to the nearby waters, and the Germans must be left behind."

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