Chapter 81

The news of the destruction of the Humen fortifications quickly spread, and the Beijing warship also received the information.

The Beijing warship immediately dispatched a drone to monitor the Lingding Ocean and soon discovered the traces of the British fleet. To Lin Yuan's surprise, the British fleet did not attack the city of Guangzhou as Zhang Hua had analyzed; instead, it moved northward and attacked Xiamen on December 21.

Upon receiving the news of the outbreak of war, the Beijing warship immediately set sail, joining the fleet composed of captured Japanese warships, known as the Ryukyu First Fleet, and headed for the waters near the Taiwan Strait. In the meeting room of the Beijing warship, Lin Yuan was convening a meeting with the combat advisors.

Lin Yuan began by saying, "Comrades, let me first introduce the situation. On December 20, the British fleet attacked the Humen fortifications. We have not yet analyzed the extent of the damage to the Humen fortifications, but according to our drone reconnaissance, the British fleet's ships were not damaged."

Chief of Staff Shi Yunkai said, "From the composition of the British fleet, all twenty-seven ships are combat vessels, and there are a few transport ships. We are not yet clear about what is loaded on the transport ships."

Lin Yuan asked, "Can't we determine it?"

The Chief of Staff replied, "Since our reconnaissance aircraft began capturing the target ships yesterday, the heavy fog at sea has prevented us from determining what is loaded on the transport ships."

Lin Yuan said, "If the transport ships are carrying personnel, the British might be planning a landing operation. The First Opium War is a case in point. If they want to conduct a landing operation, where will they land?"

Political Commissar Han Mingguang said, "From yesterday's battle situation, the British do not seem to want to land in Guangzhou. Could they be planning to land in Shanghai or Tianjin?"

Lin Yuan said, "If they land in Shanghai, they will threaten the important southeastern city of Nanjing. If they land in Tianjin, the target will be even clearer: the heart of the Qing government, Beijing. But why are the British conducting a landing operation?"

Shi Yunkai said, "I don't think the British want to occupy Beijing, overthrow the Qing government, and turn China into their colony. Their true purpose is to pressure the Qing government to gain more benefits at the negotiating table!"

Lin Yuan said, "This analysis makes sense, but why didn't the British directly land in Beijing and instead attack the Humen fortifications in Guangzhou?"

Everyone was silently thinking, and Lin Yuan suddenly had an idea. He said, "The true purpose of the British: could it be the Beiyang Fleet?"

Lin Yuan's guess was indeed correct. The target of the British fleet was the Beiyang Fleet!

The news of the devastating attack on the Humen fortifications reached Beijing, and the Qing court, while angry, did not rashly declare war but instead wanted to negotiate with the British. The British insisted that the Humen fortifications had fired on the British fleet first, and the British fleet had no choice but to return fire.

On December 21, the British attacked Xiamen, and the Qing court was enraged. Wang Tonghe submitted a memorial: "The British barbarians have repeatedly provoked us. If we do not respond, how can we maintain the dignity of our empire? The Beiyang Fleet has been established for a long time. In this time of national crisis, how can we sit idly by and not fight?"

On December 21, the Qing court declared war on Britain, and Emperor Guangxu ordered the Beiyang Fleet to set sail and engage the British warships.

After two naval battles with Germany, the Beiyang Fleet had not fully recovered. It was now forced to leave Weihaiwei and head to the East China Sea to engage the enemy.

On December 23, young gunnery officer Hill was polishing the deck with his subordinates on the Havoc warship. At this moment, his warship received orders: four Havoc-class torpedo destroyers and two Vandal-class armored cruisers were to head to the southeastern waters to search for the Beiyang Fleet.

In that era, there were no radars, and targets could only be detected using optical reconnaissance equipment. However, the range of telescopes was limited, so high-speed, coal-laden cruisers were sent out from the main fleet to search for the enemy fleet. When they discovered the enemy, they would notify the main fleet, which would then prepare for battle. This is also the origin of the name "cruiser" (in English, "cruiser" means "patrol").

Finding the enemy fleet in the vast sea was a fortunate event, so Hill silently prayed that they would discover the Beiyang Fleet.

However, the weather was not favorable, and fog rose over the sea, making it difficult to see more than a kilometer away through the telescope. Hill felt a bit disappointed.

At this moment, the Vandal-class armored cruiser Vandal issued a battle signal: the Beiyang Fleet had been discovered!

Through the fog, a massive fleet loomed, and Hill felt a sense of panic. The distance between the two sides was too close, less than a kilometer, which was enough for the Beiyang Fleet's Dingyuan and Zhenyuan warships to sink his warship with ease.

At this moment, the captain of the Havoc ordered full speed to gain a favorable position and launch torpedoes at the Dingyuan.

The captain's order was met with cheers from the entire crew. In the boiler room, the coal, gleaming with a metallic luster, burned intensely under forced ventilation. The hot gases passed through the fire tubes, turning the water into high-pressure steam, which powered the propellers, propelling the warship at high speed toward the side of the Dingyuan.

At a distance of 800 meters, the torpedo operators opened the safety mechanisms on the torpedoes, consulted the enemy ship manual to find the draft depth of the Dingyuan, set the depth of the torpedoes, and quickly calculated the speed of the Dingyuan to determine the timing and position for launching.

At a distance of 700 meters, the sound of gunfire echoed across the sea. From the sound, Hill recognized the 234mm main guns of the Vandal. Then, the Dingyuan also opened fire, but to Hill's relief, it did not aim at his warship.

At a distance of 500 meters, the Dingyuan observed the approaching British destroyer and began firing its large-caliber rapid-fire guns at the Havoc. Hill was puzzled: "Why doesn't the captain order our guns to return fire?"

At a distance of 300 meters, a 450mm torpedo launched from the bow torpedo tube "plopped" into the water, a white line carrying the scent of death heading toward the Dingyuan.

The Dingyuan also saw the torpedo in the water. At such a short distance, the Dingyuan could not avoid it!

Since the invention of the torpedo, it has been destined to be the nemesis of warships. Below the waterline, the engine room is typically the source of the warship's power. A warship that loses its power is doomed to be sunk. The immense power of the torpedo can shatter the outer walls of the engine room, allowing water to flood in, causing the warship to lose power.

The part of the hull below the waterline is the source of the warship's buoyancy. If this part of the hull is flooded, the warship will inevitably sink.

Faced with the impending disaster, the captain of the Dingyuan, Liu Buzhan, issued an order that no one on the ship could understand: the Dingyuan turned full speed to face the torpedo with its bow!