Chapter 1560 South Pacific (Second update, please subscribe)
When the rainy season in the Indochina Peninsula was broken by the sound of military boots of hundreds of thousands of Tang Dynasty troops, on the other side of the ocean, after hearing the news that Tang Dynasty had declared war on Britain and the United States, the embassies and consulates of Tang Dynasty in Ming Dynasty were filled with cheering crowds.
People cheered again and again, and the voices of "blood brothers" were heard continuously. Feeling the excitement outside the consulate, Tan Sitong, the Tang Dynasty's Consul General in Linhai, stood by the window and sighed.
"Okay, nothing can be changed!"
As he finished his sigh, Zuo Xiaoxun, who was sitting on the sofa with a cigar between his fingers, smiled.
"Change? Don't you want to change?"
“Hyohoon, you know me.”
Turning around, Tan Sitong walked up to Zuo Xiaoxun, took a cigar from the cigar box, slowly lit it with a match, and spoke.
"What we have been longing for these years is change, even..."
After thinking for a while, Tan Sitong said.
"Last year, if the Empire hadn't stopped us, we might have taken action earlier."
"yes!"
Zuo Xiaoxun nodded and said.
"It's just that we were not strong enough at the time. Among the 26 divisions of the army, only 7 were ours. Although many regiment commanders and battalion commanders were ours, most of the troops stationed in Xuzhou were Li's cronies. If the empire hadn't intervened at the time, the possibility of success would have been..."
Zuo Xiaoxun did not continue speaking. As the leader of everything, he was well aware of his dissatisfaction when he was stopped at that time. However, after returning to China and communicating with his father many times, he realized how naive he was.
"There was a previous example of a military remonstration. No matter what the reason is, they will keep it in mind. So many division commanders of the army are generals of the Huaixiang Army. If we can't defeat them in one blow, it will be difficult to succeed."
After taking a puff of his cigar and exhaling the smoke, Tan Sitong sneered.
"But things are different now. Last year, the army doubled in size and 24 new divisions were established. Among the 100 regiment commanders, 90% are our people. Even if the division commander is from the Huaixiang Army, so what? It's nothing more than..."
Tan Sitong did not continue speaking. By then, everyone knew what would happen.
"It's too early to say these things now. Let the war continue. The army is going to be expanded to 100 divisions now. By next year, our people will be able to control the army, and the time will be ripe by then."
In fact, since the day the army expanded from 26 divisions to 50 divisions last year, the young officers who stayed in the Ming Dynasty and graduated from the Army School began to control the officers. They had been suppressed for many years, but overnight, they became the actual rulers of the army.
Nodding slightly, Tan Sitong said.
"So, you plan to go back to Haizhou?"
"It's not Haizhou, it's Shenyang."
Zuo Xiaoxun took a puff of his cigar and smiled.
"I haven't seen the King of Liao for more than a year. I really miss him."
His words made Tan Sitong burst into laughter.
"You, after all, are still you. The conflict between the King of Liao and the King of Qi has become increasingly intense in recent years, and your influence is evident in all of it."
"Look at what you are saying. I am doing this for our great cause. The King of Liao also wants to get involved in the army. Among those old Xianghuai generals, many are inclined to the King of Liao. Seizing the throne... will benefit us in every way. Let them cause chaos first, then we can fish in troubled waters..."
Then, Zuo Xiaoxun looked at Tan Sitong again and said.
"After I leave, you should keep in touch with King Cheng. King Cheng is the sixth prince. When the time comes..."
"I know. When the time comes... we will welcome the emperor back to Xia to calm the people's hearts."
Nodding, Tan Sitong asked.
"When are you leaving?"
"It's these two days,"
Zuo Xiaoxun smiled helplessly.
"War has been declared. The Tang Dynasty mail ships are being re-registered as Mexican merchant ships. This will probably happen in the next two days."
"When the time comes, I'll take you there..."
Two days later, standing on the dock, Tan Sitong watched Zuo Xiaoxun board the cruise ship returning to China. As they waved goodbye to each other, when the cruise ship sailed into the Pacific Ocean, they did not know that the Pacific Ocean had already been set on fire by war.
In the Tasman Sea east of Australia, the sea and sky are dim and the star-dotted sea is undulating. Leaning behind the telescope, the lookout turns the telescope from time to time to observe the distant horizon.
Gazing at the horizon, a blurry "fog" suddenly attracted the lookout's attention. He increased the magnification of the telescope, and the blurry fog became clear...
"Smoke column spotted! Direction 32..."
The sudden discovery made the lookout shout into the megaphone.
"Have you confirmed?"
Zuo Xiaotong hurriedly walked up to the command tower. As soon as he got up there, he picked up the telescope and looked towards the target direction. However, due to the distance, he could not see the target at all.
"Target found, preliminary confirmation of target ship twelve, distance 22 nautical miles, unable to distinguish the target's nationality! But it is estimated to be the US-UK joint fleet."
The so-called US-British Combined Fleet was actually a combined fleet formed by the US warships that escaped from San Francisco and the British fleet in Australia. However, it only had 4 pre-dreadnought battleships and 5 armored cruisers, plus several light cruisers. Although its scale seemed quite powerful, it was actually... already behind the times.
However, the South Pacific Fleet led by Zuo Xiaotong… only had three pre-dreadnoughts and three armored cruisers, and was weaker than the other side. In the past year, the South Pacific Fleet had launched many attacks and fought with Australia many times in the waters around Australia. Both sides had won and lost, but this was the first time that the main forces had collided.
However, this time the main force collision was initiated by them. This was in accordance with the plan of the Admiralty, and they realized this sea area instead of sailing in the northern waters.
Obviously, the British must have discovered their tracks, so they sent a fleet to intercept them, and this was also their purpose.
"Call the Admiralty, my fleet has encountered the British and American South Pacific Combined Fleet!"
This was not an encounter, but a deliberate meeting. In the Admiralty's operational plan, this was the first step of all plans.
What happens next?
He already had the answer in his heart. It was nothing more than a battle. Although there was a huge gap in strength, a naval battle... the outcome would not be known until the last moment. Besides, the purpose of this naval battle was not to gain a certain victory, but to send certain signals through this naval battle. Even so, Zuo Xiaotong still hoped to win this naval battle. After all, soldiers always yearn for victory.
"Just in time! Order the fleet to prepare for battle!"
In the following few minutes, Zuo Xiaotong kept issuing orders. What he needed now was to maximize the power in his hands to meet the upcoming enemy!
"Order the First Squadron to reduce the distance to 300 meters and maintain a speed of 15 knots!"
Although pre-dreadnoughts have fallen behind, they have not been eliminated. In the past few years, the pre-dreadnought fleets of the Imperial Navy have been practicing the tactics of long-range bombardment and multi-ship coordinated attack on the same target. The tactical principle is very simple: concentrate firepower to attack a target in a naval battle. The core principle of this tactic is to compress the distance between multiple warships, use the middle ship as the firepower command ship, and command the shooting in a unified manner. In this way, logically, these multiple warships become one, thereby achieving the goal of destroying the enemy with overwhelming firepower.
Although some mistakes are inevitable, it can make up for the firepower gap with the dreadnought to a certain extent.
Under his orders, the distance between the fleets was shortened, and at the same time, the submarines cruising beside the fleets quietly left the fleets. In just half an hour, the fleets were ready for battle.
While the sailors were in position, Zuo Xiaotong, who was standing on the bridge, looked ahead with a cold and resolute gaze. He just stared quietly at the sea, at the enemy ships that had appeared at the end of the sea and sky in the distance.
At this time, the sky was getting brighter and the enemy ship was right in front of us...
(End of this chapter)
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