Travel through the Qing Dynasty and become emperor

Therefore, after the breakdown of the negotiations, the British immediately withdrew the original troops stationed on the Kowloon Island peninsula to Hong Kong Island, and also withdrew the defenders from other places on Hong Kong Island to Victoria Bay. , at least be more serious with the Chinese, and also defend the dignity of Her Majesty the Queen and the British Empire.However, what they expect most is that the international situation will suddenly change, and China will give up the idea of ​​retaking Hong Kong by force.

However, Lu Rongting, who was on a mission, never thought of letting these hateful invaders go in vain.

On September 5000th, the First Army originally stationed in Guangzhou finally arrived at the Kowloon Peninsula and took control of all strategic locations on the peninsula.Subsequently, a large number of merchant ships departing from Guangzhou and had been waiting at the Pearl River Estuary for a long time, also immediately entered Taijiaozui on the Kowloon Peninsula and several other wharves outside the British artillery fire.Just waiting for Lu Rongting's order, the elite troops of [-] people can forcibly land on the island to fight.

Lu Rongting looked at his watch, it was 55:5 in the morning, [-] minutes before the scheduled time for the general offensive.There was a sneer at the corner of his mouth, and a burst of pride suddenly appeared in his chest.He couldn't calm down when he thought that Hong Kong, which had been wandering for many years, would be taken back in his hands.

Behind the "Changsha", followed by almost the entire main lineup of the South China Sea Fleet, the two former Dreadnought-class battleships "Guilin" and "Chaozhou". "Quanzhou", "Zhangzhou", "Xinghua", "Meizhou" and "Zhenjiang" are five [-]-ton cruisers.As for the other [-] warships in the South China Sea, they are responsible for patrolling the entire South China Sea, and there is no need to participate in this battle at all.

To deal with a small Hong Kong, there is no need to send all the main warships.However, besides being responsible for taking Hong Kong, Lu Rongting also has another task.In this battle, the casualties of innocent people should be avoided as much as possible, and the vicious British should be prevented from using Hong Kong citizens as human shields.

After learning that the United Kingdom had sent additional troops to Hong Kong from India and Central Asia, Lu Rongting and the others made some changes to the plan.After reporting to the Supreme Military Command, the empire sent another armored corps, which is currently stationed in the south of Guangzhou, and it should have begun to gather towards the Hong Kong border by this time.There is also a mysterious paratrooper unit. At eight o'clock, the military aircraft will accurately fly over Hong Kong. This paratrooper unit will also land at the predetermined location and start killing the British army's vital forces from several points. One of them The target even included the Government House in Hong Kong.Capture the thief first, and capture the king first. If the Governor's Mansion can be captured in one fell swoop, then this war will be much simpler.Such a tactical concept was first mentioned by the emperor in a speech at the Army University. Lu Rongting still clearly remembers that this tactic is called "beheading operation".

Looking at the fort beside Victoria Bay ten kilometers away, Lu Rongting had a cruel sneer on the corner of his mouth.Ten kilometers is the best attack distance for imperial naval guns.Although the coastal defense cannon on the fort theoretically has a range of [-] to [-] kilometers, it is only about [-] kilometers that can really work.Thirteen kilometers away, even if it hits a warship, it has no armor-piercing ability at all. The explosion shock wave alone will not have much effect on a fully armored warship.The three warships above [-] tons in Lu Rongting's hands are different. The effective attack range of the main guns is exactly fifteen kilometers, ten kilometers, which is the best distance for the highest hit rate and the greatest power of the warship's main guns. Within a distance, the British could only stare blankly.

From the binoculars, Lu Rongting could clearly see that the Brits were a little flustered. Although the flags on the fort were still fluttering in the wind and the fort was still quite strong, the Brits lacked confidence and ran around chattering. For more than 100 years, the British have always bullied others with their advanced technology. They have done a lot of things like using machine guns to deal with aborigines, but they have never encountered such a multi-army coordinated operation with incomparable weapons and equipment. A powerful army came to attack them, and the way of fighting they were used to before had changed all of a sudden. It would be a lie to say that they were not nervous.The British guys are fairly well-trained. If it was replaced by those smoke and soil soldiers in the previous Qing Dynasty, the cannonballs on the fort would have been louder, and the soldiers would have fired all the shells before the opponent had entered the range. .

Overhead, there was a faint sound of rumbling motors, and Lu Rongting was overjoyed that the bomber was coming.He has always been very strict with the military discipline of the officers and soldiers under his command, and the time for combat and execution of tasks is sometimes accurate to the point of minute and second. This is a habit he has developed in the war for a long time.Because he knows that in a big battle, there may be a big problem in half a second.

As expected, at eight o'clock sharp, puffs of smoke rose from the fort near Xiyingpan, which was facing the Pearl River Estuary, and there were faint rumbling explosions in my ears, which indicated that The scheduled attack begins.A hint of excitement appeared on Lu Rongting's face, and he decisively gave the order for a full-scale attack.

At the same time, intense quarrels were erupting within the Allied Command in Hong Kong.

"Gentlemen, what do you have to do now, the hateful Chinese have been without water and food in Hong Kong for 7 days, we have 10 troops and expatriates in Hong Kong, these days all rely on the British Empire to transport supplies here from India. "Governor Buli roared at everyone in the headquarters.

"Yes, yes, we must do something to scare these Orientals and send us food, water and wealth." The Director of Finance took the Governor's words and echoed from the side.

"Mr. Commander-in-Chief, our heroic army soldiers have already started fighting near the boundary. These Easterners who don't talk about chivalry have used a lot of artillery and an army of about 7 people to launch a fierce attack on me. It is not an exaggeration to say, Every minute that passes, more than 1 brave soldiers will lose their precious lives, and your navy is still arguing about where to attack first. If you don’t issue a counterattack order today, then I will complain to the parliament. It’s you Let these brave British soldiers stay in the East forever." The commander of the Hong Kong Army yelled at the admirals present.

"General, my opinion is to withdraw the army to Hong Kong Island first, and then our powerful navy will assist in the defense, and then send the main fleet to the north, first to find the enemy's main fleet for a decisive battle, and then enter other coastal cities, forcing the Chinese government to take the initiative Give up this stupid action against Hong Kong, and given the strength of its defense circle in the South China Sea, I suggest that we attack Taiwan first, even if they don’t retreat, we can get a big benefit first, and then engage in a protracted war with it.” Chief of Staff Xiang Zong Commander suggested.

Before Bu Li could speak, the navy commander said to the chief of staff angrily: "Are you crazy? We still want to capture Taiwan with our few warships? I suggest you open your eyes and take a good look at the world outside the window. The large black mass in the far sea is all Chinese warships, I am afraid that we will be bombarded as cannon fodder if we can't even get out of Victoria Bay."

The army commander shouted with red eyes: "Could it be that this war is just for our army soldiers to be sacrificed, and your navy wants to avoid the flames of war?"

"Your Excellency, please think about it before you speak. Although the Chinese warship has a super superiority, our navy will never show weakness. It is obviously impossible to attack under the current situation. We have to find a way to block Victoria Bay. stand up."

Seeing that the other generals did not object, Commander-in-Chief Bishi said, "Okay, the main fleet of the Navy will blockade Victoria Bay immediately. No matter what, Chinese warships must not be allowed to rush into the mouth of the bay. Gentlemen, go prepare, for the honor of the empire!"

"For the honor of the empire!"

In the temporary combat headquarters of the "Changsha".

"It is reported that most of the British army troops have withdrawn to Hong Kong Island under the cover of their navy an hour ago."

After hearing the report, Lu Rongting immediately realized that the enemy was trying to defend Hong Kong Island. Thinking of this, he immediately issued an order: "Order all important coastal areas of the Southwest Military Region to be on strict alert to prevent British warships from raiding the coastal areas. The warship immediately blocked the port of Hong Kong."

Beijing, Imperial Admiralty.

Lin Jianzhang held the emergency notification sent from Singapore, frowned and said nothing, and then handed the notification letter to Liu Buchan.Liu Buchan took the notification letter and opened it to watch, "My Singapore Fleet's reconnaissance airship found a large number of British fleets heading south at 9:16 am on September 9 at 50 nautical miles out to sea. I found out, so no detailed information is available, it is estimated that there are about 20 ships.” Liu Buchan had just finished reading the report, and muttered to himself: “Needless to say, the British Indian Ocean Fleet must have made some moves. They want to bypass Malay archipelago, marching toward Philippine waters, putting pressure on the southern defenses of the empire."

He glanced at Lin Jianzhang and said to the messenger: "The Ministry of the Navy has ordered the Singapore Fleet to immediately block the Strait of Malacca and closely monitor the movement of British warships."

"Yes."

Liu Buchan discussed with Lin Jianzhang: "Zengrong, according to the information from the military personnel in Hong Kong some time ago, the British should have no less than 20 warships and 1015 armored cruisers in Victoria and other seaports. It should not be underestimated. The emperor attaches great importance to this battle, and has repeatedly ordered to seize Hong Kong at the lowest cost. How do you think this battle should be fought?"

Lin Jianzhang said: "In my opinion, we should send a battleship formation to the port to provoke, lure out the remaining fleet, and then send a cruiser formation to block the port from behind, forcing it to fight me outside the port to clear the land for the Tenth Army's forced landing operations. obstacle."

After listening to Lin Jianzhang's words, Liu Buchan did not answer, but turned to ask several other senior officials of the Ministry of the Navy what they meant.

Resurgence: The Battle of Hong Kong in Chapter 4 and Ten of World War II

"My lord, I think Zengrong's plan is thorough, but if the 20 ironclad ships are desperate, our cruiser formation may not be able to completely block them from returning to the port. Even if they are blocked, it will definitely pose a huge threat to our fleet. Now the Imperial South Sea Fleet The essence of the war is in Hong Kong, once a fierce battle starts, it will be too much for our side, and if the Indian Ocean Fleet really attacks the southern coastal defense of the empire in the future, I am afraid that the South China Sea Fleet will not be easy to resist." Ye Zugui put forward his own considerations.

"My lord, it's better like this. After my battleship goes to the port to provoke, the enemy will definitely not rush out of the port. If we give our army the opportunity to conduct T-shaped tactical shooting, they will definitely form two rows of horoscopes from the two sides of the port to the center to divide our battleship. Therefore, my plan is, after the enemy divides our battleships, the cruiser formation will launch a torpedo saturation attack on its central assembly, and then cooperate with the battleship formation to carry out the reverse combat method to surround and destroy them." Lin Tai once suggested.

Liu Buchan nodded, agreed to Lin Taizeng's suggestion, and immediately announced that his plan would be carried out, and the telegram was sent to the front line in Hong Kong.

At 9:16 a.m. on September 11, a shrill siren sounded in Hong Kong port.

"Report, Mr. Commander, 7 ironclad ships with dragons hanging on them are launching shells on the forts in our port. Now 2 of the forts have been destroyed by them. The naval guns are extremely powerful."

"What, they launched an artillery attack? According to our intelligence, these warships should still be in the open sea, and their troops on land have not yet assembled, so why did they launch an attack so soon?" the deputy commander of the navy asked in surprise.

"No matter how they appear here, immediately issue an order to the ships of the remaining fleet: form the first fleet formation and the second fleet formation, respectively rush from both sides of the port to the enemy's center to divide the enemy formation, and all other warships, wait for the ships After the formation divides the enemy fleet, it will leave the port and destroy it." The navy commander gave the order skillfully.

Lu Rongting looked at the enemy fleet rushing up from both sides of the port, and laughed heartily: "Sure enough, it is just as the Admiralty guessed in advance, haha, order all ships to attack the enemy's lead ship in a concentrated manner."

"Boom, boom, boom, boom..."

In an instant, dense sprays were released from the originally calm sea.Rumbling, rumbling, every time a Chinese warship fired a salvo, there was a huge roar, and then a British warship was ignited by artillery fire.On the other hand, looking at the record of the British army, since every time the bombardment of the Chinese fleet was launched, it was the first two warships, which could not form an effective firepower circle, and the damage to the enemy ships was extremely limited.

The commander of the navy is worthy of being a seasoned general. He saw that 4 warships were sunk by enemy ships just halfway through the voyage.There was no expression of frustration on the weather-beaten face, but his eyebrows were slightly wrinkled, and he continued to issue orders: "Order the armored cruiser formation to rush into the center of the enemy formation at full speed and divide it."

Following the order of the British commander, the armored cruiser formation immediately formed a dense formation of 5 rows and quickly rushed to the central junction of the Chinese fleet.

Lu Rongting looked at the enemy cruiser fleet rushing fast, and issued the second order: "Order the battleship formation to move left and right according to the plan, and continue to concentrate firepower to bombard the enemy battleships, ignore those cruisers, and order the cruiser formation to attack and intercept. "

The experienced British commander looked at the enemy fleet that was slowly being divided in the distance, feeling vaguely in his heart that something was wrong, but he said that there was nothing wrong with it.While hesitating, he saw the most terrifying scene he had ever seen in his life: the cruiser formation that had already divided the enemy in the distance exploded, caught fire, and sank almost at the same time, and the sea and sky reflected by the fierce flames They all turned fiery red, and then there was a violent explosion, so that he could no longer hear other sounds.

"What is this? A mine? No, mines can't sink so many ships at the same time. What exactly is it?" The British commander kept asking himself these questions beyond common sense. Before he could think of the result, he just listened "Bang, bang, bang..." A series of huge explosions sounded under his feet, and the warship he was on began to tremble violently, caught fire and then quickly sank...

"Report, my lord, most of the British cruiser formation was sunk by the torpedoes launched by our cruiser formation, and the fleet is now deploying as planned."

"Report, my lord, the enemy flagship was sunk by our side."

"Report, my lord...."

The good news of sinking the enemy ship continued to reach Lu Rongting's ears, and the goddess of victory had already sent a bright smile to the Imperial Navy fleet.By 3 p.m., the naval battle was basically over. Although the Chinese fleet was shot hundreds of times, most of the Chinese warships had extremely strong armor protection, so not a single ship was sunk. Only the two heavy cruisers "Weishi" and "Tianshi" were attacked Fang concentrated violent bombardment and was seriously injured, basically losing the ability to continue fighting.On the other hand, only three heavy cruisers from the British army fled back to the inner harbor in embarrassment.

At this time, the battle report ahead had already reached the Imperial Navy Department.

"Your majesty is right. This Lu Rongting is really good at commanding. He even wiped out more than 20 enemy warships without sinking a single ship." Liu Buchan said happily.

"Of course, but Kaishi (Lin Taizeng's word) should be credited for this, thanks to Kaishi's careful plan." Lin Jianzhang looked at Lin Taizeng and smiled.

Lin Tai once waved his hand: "The two adults killed me. In the final analysis, it is due to Lu Rongting and the soldiers in front."

Liu Buchan nodded and said: "However, this battle is not over yet, and we will see how Lu Rongting performs it."

At the mouth of Victoria Bay in Hong Kong, Lu Rongting stood on the "Changsha", looking at the wreckage of the ship and the floating dead bodies scattered around the sea, said in a deep voice: "Send my order, all capital ships will rush forward and attack the British coastal defense forts. Carry out a devastating blow!"

boom……

The huge body of the "Changsha" vibrated slightly, and the ten 295mm main guns sent angry shells out of the barrels almost at the same time.Although it seems that the ten main guns are fired at the same time, there is a slight deviation in the firing time. Otherwise, the recoil force generated by the ten main guns salvo may cause some damage to the hull .

At the same time as the main guns on the "Changsha" rang out, the main guns on the two former Dreadnought-class battleships "Guilin" and "Chaozhou" also roared.