The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 920 From now on, this sea is ours!

The night was as dark as ink, and the sound of gunfire was as loud as thunder.

The waves of the Pacific Ocean are burning, and the massive formation of the Royal Navy's Australian Fleet heading north is being torn apart bit by bit by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's navy.

The flagship USS Trafalgar was listing at a 15-degree angle, its bow hit by two 240mm armor-piercing shells, tearing through the waterline armor and sending seawater surging in. Inside the bridge, Vice Admiral Tryon was deathly pale, gripping the tilting compass cabinet tightly, the deafening roars of the damage control team and the piercing screams of bursting steam pipes filling his ears.

"General! We must abandon ship!" Captain Hornby rushed into the conning tower, a corner of his cap already torn off by shrapnel, blood streaming down his forehead. "The engine room is flooding, the ammunition magazine in turret B has exploded, we can't hold on!"

Lieutenant General Trein's lips trembled as he peered through the shattered porthole into the distance—the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's battleship column was still spewing flames, unleashing volley after volley upon his fleet. Even more terrifying, the Jinghai-class armored cruisers had broken into his escort formation, slaughtering the defenseless auxiliary vessels.

"Send the signal...the fleet disperses and breaks through!" He finally gritted his teeth and gave the order, "'Indomitable' takes command from the flagship! The rest of the ships retreat to the southeast on their own!"

"Yes, sir!" Colonel Hornby turned and rushed toward the megaphone, but the next second—

boom! ! !
A 240mm shell hit the bridge of the USS Trafalgar directly, instantly blasting the conning tower into pieces. Lieutenant General Trein and Colonel Hornby were engulfed in flames.

—The Royal Navy's Australian Fleet Northbound Squadron, flagship HMS Trafalgar, was sunk.

The sinking of the Trafalgar was like a heavy hammer blow to the backbone of the British fleet.

On the bridge of the battleship "Indomitable," Rear Admiral Montagu, who had taken over command, had a grim face. He had originally thought that Vice Admiral Treyne could at least hold out until dawn, but now that the flagship had sunk, the entire battleship squadron had instantly descended into chaos.

"General! The 'Revenge' and the 'St. Vincent' have broken away from the formation!" the staff officer reported in alarm.

Rear Admiral Montagu abruptly grabbed his binoculars. By the stark white light of the flares fired intermittently by the cruisers and destroyers of both sides, he saw six British battleships scattering like headless flies on the sea. Some turned southeast, attempting to disengage from the battle; others accelerated wildly, trying to rush into the melee area for cover; and some even turned their guns around and fired indiscriminately at shadowy figures in the darkness that resembled enemy ships—this would reveal their positions!

"These idiots!" Rear Admiral Montagu slammed his fist on the chart stand. "Send the signal! Order all ships to maintain formation! Break out to the southeast!"

In the chaos, the signal lights were blurred by the smoke, and responses from the ships were sporadic. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's artillery fire, however, became increasingly accurate, unleashing volley after volley upon the commandless British battleships.

Meanwhile, on the flagship of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Pacific Fleet, the "Jiangsu," General Zhang Bao frowned deeply.

"The British are in disarray," Major General Tang Yuntian, the chief of staff, whispered.

Zhang Bao nodded, his gaze sweeping across the sea. The British battleship squadron had disintegrated, its seven capital ships scattering in all directions, while his eight "Sea Dragon II" battleships still maintained a tight battle line. But continuing to maintain a single column was pointless—the enemy was no longer a unified force, but a disorganized mob.

"Disband the formation," Zhang Bao finally ordered. "Each ship is free to hunt down enemy battleships, prioritizing their sinking!"

His command quickly transformed into invisible radio waves, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's battleship column instantly disintegrated. The eight "Sea Dragon II" battleships, like tigers released from their cages, pounced on their nearest prey.

On the bridge of the Zhejiang, Captain Lin Yongsheng's binoculars were firmly locked on the Vengeance-class battleship, the Saint Vincent, which was turning ahead.

Despite strict blackout measures, this unfortunate 12000-ton standard displacement battleship, which had undergone modern refitting, could not escape the search of the "cat's eye observation post" on the "Zhejiang" ship. Now, it has been exposed by several flares and has nowhere to hide!
"Full speed ahead, intercept it!"

The two steel behemoths rapidly approached in the darkness. When the distance closed to 3000 meters, the eight 240mm main guns of the "Zhejiang" roared simultaneously.

Because of the close proximity, the second half-salvo from the Zhejiang resulted in a strafing attack, and during the third salvo, a shell hit the bow of the St. Vincent, directly blowing off the anchor chain locker. The British warship hastily returned fire, but the chaotic shelling was completely inaccurate.

"Fifth round of shooting, fire!"

This time, two 240mm armor-piercing shells hit the HMS St. Vincent directly. The Indomitable-class's 229mm main armor was no match for the 240mm armor-piercing shells at this distance. One shell penetrated the armor belt and exploded inside the boiler room; the other shell pierced the bridge, completely destroying the command system.

Losing power, the "St. Vincent" quickly listed. When the "Zhejiang" fired its tenth salvo, hitting its magazine, the entire warship broke in two in a deafening explosion and sank rapidly into the dark Pacific Ocean.

On the other side of the battlefield, the Fujian and the Indomitable engaged in a fierce artillery battle.

The two warships exchanged fire at a distance of 3000 meters. The 254mm main guns of the "Indomitable" were incredibly powerful; one shell struck the B turret of the "Fujian," destroying the entire gun crew. But the "Fujian" immediately retaliated, two 240mm shells hitting the "Indomitable's" waterline in quick succession—it was a ship of the same class as the recently destroyed "St. Vincent," and its waterline armor was utterly vulnerable to 240mm armor-piercing shells at 3000 meters!

"Flooding in the cabin!" the British damage control team shouted in despair.

Because one of its triple-expansion steam engines was flooded, HMS Indomitable quickly lost half its power, its speed dropping to 8 knots, making it a slow-moving sitting duck. The 15th salvo from HMS Fujian completely destroyed its stern, and seawater poured in through the massive breach. When the warship listed 30 degrees, Rear Admiral Montagu on HMS Indomitable had no choice but to order the flagship to surrender, and the surviving British sailors jumped overboard to escape. This British rear admiral, who had just taken command of the fleet, accomplished nothing and was forced to board a destroyer to begin his escape.

This once proud battleship eventually sank to the bottom of the sea with its bow facing upwards, leaving only a huge whirlpool on the surface.

The last Trafalgar-class battleship, HMS Camperdon, was surrounded by three Taiping Heavenly Kingdom battleships.

The "Guangdong," "Guangxi," and "Sichuan" ships opened fire simultaneously from three directions. A barrage of shells rained down on the 13500-ton behemoth.

Six out of just five salvos hit it. The fore and aft main gun turrets of the Camperdon were destroyed one after another, and the hull burst into flames. When the second salvo hit its waterline, seawater rushed in from more than a dozen breaches at the same time.

"Abandon the ship! Everyone abandon the ship!"

The captain's order had barely been given when the Sichuan's final salvo struck the ammunition magazine directly. The earth-shattering explosion tore the 13500-ton Camperdown to pieces, burning debris scattering hundreds of meters into the air, illuminating the entire battlefield like a hellish inferno. On the other side of the battlefield, the fighting among the armored cruisers had reached a fever pitch.

The British ten Rafale-class armored cruisers were originally ordered to escort auxiliary ships, but when four Jinghai-class cruisers entered and began to destroy the auxiliary ships, they had to turn their guns around and try to intercept the four deadly Taiping Army armored cruisers.

The Rafale-class cruisers boast a high speed of 22.5 knots and eight 150mm rapid-fire guns, making them formidable against ordinary light cruisers. However, against the 12000-ton Jinghai-class cruisers, their shells are like a tickle.

On the bridge of the "Donghai" ship, Colonel Deng Shichang coldly stared at the "Xifeng" ship in front of him, which had been riddled with holes.

"Aim the main guns at the waterline and fire a salvo to send it down."

"Yes!"

boom! boom! boom! boom!
Four 210mm main guns roared simultaneously, their shells striking the midships of the "Zephyr" with pinpoint accuracy. The waterline armor was instantly torn apart, seawater surged in, and the 10,000-ton armored cruiser capsized and sank within just three minutes.

Just as the Donghai completed its kill, a white light suddenly flashed before Deng Shichang's eyes! Immediately afterward, the lookout's scream rang out: "30 degrees to starboard! A battleship! It's the 'Revenge'!"

Deng Shichang turned his head sharply and saw a huge object rushing out of the smoke – it was none other than the British Revenge-class battleship HMS Revenge! This 11500-ton battleship had originally tried to break out, but in the chaos it had mistakenly entered the battlefield of the armored patrols, and was now less than 2000 meters away from the Donghai!
"Battle alert for the entire ship! Main guns aimed at the 'Revenge'!" Deng Shichang shouted sternly.

On the bridge of the HMS Revenge, Captain Charles Hopkins was equally shocked. He had only intended to use the chaos of the battle between the armored patrol ships as cover to escape, but he hadn't expected to run directly into the HMS East Sea, which had just killed the HMS Zephyr.

What left the British naval captain speechless was that the "Jinghai" class was clearly an armored cruiser, so why did it look bigger than the "Revenge," which was a battleship?
"Fire! All guns at once!" Colonel Hopkins roared.

boom! ! !
The four 254mm main guns of the "Revenge" opened fire simultaneously, and shells whistled through the air. One shell hit the foredeck of the "Donghai" directly, blowing off a secondary gun turret; another shell grazed the bridge, shattering the glass of the observation window, and the shards cut a bloody mark on Deng Shichang's cheek.

The Donghai's counterattack was equally swift, with its eight 210mm main guns fiercely bombarding the bow of the Revenge. However, at this distance, the Revenge's 254mm guns were clearly superior—at less than 2000 meters, there was no need to calculate trajectories; they could simply fire at it. Moreover, the Donghai was caught off guard by a volley of illumination flares and was now exposed to the white light.

"Captain! Our armor can't stop their 254mm main guns, this can't go on!" the gunnery officer shouted anxiously.

Deng Shichang stared intently at the approaching "Revenge," and suddenly shouted sharply:
"Hard starboard! Prepare for ramming! Torpedo room, target the midships of the enemy ship, fire!"

"Crash...crash it?!" the vice-captain exclaimed in horror.

In pursuit of higher speeds, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's battleships and cruisers had replaced their rams with bulbous bows.
"Yes! Smash it!" Deng Shichang's voice was cold and hard as iron. "Either it dies, or we die!"

The steam turbines of the "Donghai" roared deafeningly, and the clipper bow gleamed coldly in the gunfire, pointing directly at the side of the "Revenge".

Colonel Hopkins finally realized the "Donghai's" intentions, and his expression changed drastically: "Hard to port! Evade! Quickly!"

However, the "Revenge" was far less agile than the "Donghai".

The Donghai could reach a top speed of 24 knots, while the Fury was reclassified as a "slow-speed heavy armored battleship" during its modernization refit, with a speed of only 15.5 knots, which was practically nonexistent!

Boom——! ! !
The bow of the "Donghai" slammed into the midships of the "Revenge," the deafening roar of tearing steel echoing across the battlefield. The collision of the two giant ships generated towering waves, and the "Revenge" was ripped open with a gash over ten meters long, allowing seawater to rush in.

At the same time, two torpedoes launched by the Donghai also accurately hit the engine room of the Revenge, and the huge explosion directly shattered the midships of the battleship into pieces.

"Reverse! Reverse at full speed!" Deng Shichang gripped the railing tightly, feeling the ship's violent shaking.

The propeller of the "Donghai" reversed wildly, forcefully pulling the ram out of the hull of the "Revenge". But the cost was heavy - the bulbous bow was knocked off, the bow took on severe water, and the speed plummeted to 15 knots.

The "Revenge" had completely lost its balance, with its bow rising high and its stern slowly sinking into the sea.

"Report the damage!" Deng Shichang asked through gritted teeth.

"The bow watertight compartment is flooded! But the core area is intact!" The damage control captain's voice was full of relief. Although this 12000-ton armored cruiser will inevitably need to go to the shipyard for major repairs, it won't sink.

Deng Shichang took a deep breath and glanced into the distance—the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's torpedo destroyer fleet had entered the battlefield and begun to harvest the damaged British warships.

"Alright, send power to the 'Jinghai' ship. Our ship is heavily damaged. Withdraw from the battlefield."

As the first rays of sunlight pierced through the smoke of battle on June 3, the fighting in the waters near Saipan had ended, and several surviving British destroyers were fleeing frantically, occasionally firing smoke bombs behind them.

On the mast of the "Jiangsu," the red flag of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom fluttered in the wind. Admiral Zhang Bao gazed at this sea conquered by blood, slowly raising his binoculars—surviving British ships were fleeing towards the horizon, trailing thick smoke.

"Send a signal to the landing force in Ryukyu," his voice was hoarse but firm, "so they can set off and occupy Saipan and Guam, which are controlled by the Spanish!"

"The main fleet has regrouped. We'll bombard Saipan and Guam with our cannons to cover our landing in this sea area. From this day forward—this sea is ours!"

(End of this chapter)