The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 921 The Four Fleets, Towards the Stars and the Sea!

On the morning of June 3, 1883, in Tianjing, at the Prime Minister's Office, in the Operations Command Hall.

Luo Yaoguo stood before the sand table, a mahogany model of a British warship held between his fingers, gently pressing it into the waters west of Saipan. The scent of sandalwood mingled with the steam of sweat in the operations hall, and the leather shoes of dozens of staff officers creaked on the cement floor. On the west side of the sand table, black flags representing the British Far East Fleet were densely packed across the Malacca Peninsula, while on the east side, the blue and white flags of Punta Gorda (the combined US and British fleet) stood like thorns between the Western Allied Powers and the Inca Empire.

"Your Highness, Prince Wu!" Zhao Liewen stepped forward quickly and whispered, "Minister Wang of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Staff."

Before the words had even finished, Navy Minister Wang Yan had already burst through the nanmu door, followed by a flurry of hurried footsteps. Next to enter was Admiral Ding Ruchang, Chief of Naval Staff. His gray beard trembled with each breath, and the telegram in his hand almost touched the edge of the sand table: "A great victory! A great victory for the Pacific Fleet at Saipan!"

厅中霎时死寂。罗耀国劈手夺过电报，铅字在晨光中跳进眼底：击沉特拉法加级2、不屈级2、复仇级1、阵风级4、辅助舰10，另俘获辅助运输舰6我损轻巡2、驱逐舰3，靖海级东海号重创、海龙级福建号中创.
Luo Yaoguo's Adam's apple bobbed as he grabbed the mahogany model of the Trafalgar ship and slammed it into the wastepaper basket. He then turned to Zhao Liewen and said, "Quickly draft a victory report and tell the people of the Heavenly Kingdom that our Pacific Fleet has achieved a great victory in the Western Pacific. We now control the seas of the Western Pacific. Also, notify Shi Yiwang and Zhu Ba to come to the Prime Minister's Office for a meeting immediately."

At the same time, London was shrouded in continuous rain. At 10 Downing Street, in the Cabinet meeting room.

Prime Minister Disraeli's pipe glowed intermittently in the dimly lit meeting room, wisps of smoke rising but unable to conceal his ashen face. Lord Caldwell, First Lord of the Navy, Earl of Northbrook, and First Sea Lord Admiral Hornby sat around a long oak table, on which lay a wired telegram from Guam: "The Australian fleet's northward detachment was ambushed by the main force of the Taiping Rebellion, losing 2 Trafalgar-class, 2 Indomitable-class, 1 Revenge-class, and 4 Rafale-class ships; of the 17 cruisers, destroyers, and auxiliary ships, only 3 battleships managed to break through."

"My God!" Earl Northbrook's fingers trembled, almost crushing the edge of the telegram. "Where is Lieutenant General Trein?"

"He was killed in action," Admiral Hornby's voice was deep and steely. "His flagship, the Trafalgar, was hit in the ammunition magazine by the 240mm main guns of the Taiping Army's Hailong II battleship and exploded on the spot."

Disraeli slammed his fist on the table, making the ashtray bounce: "'Trafalgar' is a 13500-ton battleship! It's a powerful battleship second only to the Sovereign-class and Majesty-class. How could it let those yellow-skinned monkeys' 240mm main guns blow up its ammunition magazine? What kind of armor steel does it use?"

"Prime Minister!" Lord Caldwell, the Secretary of War, interrupted him abruptly, slamming his fingers on the table. "Now is not the time to study armor steel! We must adjust our strategy immediately!"

After a brief silence, Lord Admiral Northbrook stood up, his voice low and hoarse: "First, immediately order the main force of the British fleet at Punta Gorda to head south and join the Australian fleet! Now that the Taiping Army has won a great victory on Saipan, their next step will inevitably be to move south and threaten the Australian mainland! We must protect Australia!"

"Second, abandon the plan for the 'Second Battle of Oahu'! The Taiping Army has already seized control of the western Pacific Ocean, and we cannot further disperse our forces!"

“Third—” he took a deep breath, “accelerate the construction of the Dreadnought-class battleships and the Invincible-class battlecruisers! We need more powerful warships! As long as the Dreadnoughts and Invincibles are deployed to the battlefield, the British Empire will surely be able to reverse its decline!”

Disraeli looked up abruptly: "'Dauntless' and 'Invincible' classes? Is the design finally complete? Is that steam turbine ready to use?"

The "Dreadnought" and "Invincible" classes of warships were the Royal Navy's envisioned "decisive weapons," massive vessels with standard displacements approaching or exceeding 18000 tons, and requiring very high speeds. The "Dreadnought" class reached 21-23 knots, while the "Invincible" class was required to exceed 25 knots. Without steam turbines, they simply couldn't move! However, the development of British steam turbines encountered numerous difficulties, one obstacle after another!

“Yes.” Count Northbrook pulled a report from the Naval Shipbuilding Bureau from his briefcase. “Parsons’ 10000-horsepower steam turbine has passed most of the tests. Although there are still some difficulties, there are solutions for them. I believe they can be overcome within six months and will not affect the construction of the ‘Dreadnought’ and ‘Invincible’ ships.”

Disraeli paused for a moment, then slowly nodded: "Approval of the construction plan. Tell the shipyard to work overtime and complete it as soon as possible!"

When Shi Dakai and Chief of Staff Zhu Ba stepped into the operations hall, the sand table had been completely transformed. Four staff officers were planting the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's red dragon flag on the beach of Saipan, while small bamboo boats representing the landing fleet filled the waves.

"The British have amassed 80,000 troops in Singapore." Shi Dakai threw a report on enemy intelligence that the General Headquarters had just received onto the sand table. "The Indian troops have set up machine guns on the Johor Strait pontoon bridge, and the British Governor's Office has already ordered the expulsion of all the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom citizens from Singapore! We must act quickly in the Southeast Asia region; we can't let the British consolidate their defenses!"

Zhu Ba stared at the model of Punta Gorda harbor—a semi-circular bay carved from a single piece of Xiuyan jade, with iron cannons the size of grains of rice embedded in the mountain ridges on both sides. "The Inca Kingdom is in a bit of trouble," he said, his thick eyebrows furrowing deeply. "Once this fleet breaks out of Punta Gorda harbor, our supplies of saltpeter and guano will be cut off! Teacher, I advocate strengthening our forces in the Eastern Pacific theater!"

Luo Yaoguo nodded and smiled, "The Pacific Ocean is the ocean of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom! After the great victory on Saipan, we won't make choices. Wang Yan, tell me about the Navy's 'Project Star'."

Wang Yanzhan held the plan document in his hand for a long time. He unfolded the kraft paper and the words "Four War Zones" came into view.

South Pacific Theater: A red arrow pierces through Luzon and points directly at Singapore, while the Javanese Navy's commerce raiding fleet sails straight into the Indian Ocean!
South Pacific Theater: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's expeditionary force marched south from the Ryukyu Kingdom, passing Saipan and Guam, heading straight for the South Pacific islands, with Australia as its ultimate target! West Pacific Theater: This is the Great Wall of the sea protecting the rear of East Asia, and the only opponent to be eliminated is the Western Japanese Empire.

The Eastern Pacific Theater: This theater was responsible for the vast ocean stretching from Hawaii to the west coast of the Americas, and was the lifeline between the west coast of the United States and the Inca Kingdom and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Naval Chief of Staff Ding Ruchang said, "The Navy also plans to establish four major fleets: the South China Sea Fleet, the South Pacific Fleet, the Western Pacific Fleet, and the Eastern Pacific Fleet, assigned to the four major theater commands. Among them, the South China Sea Fleet will block the Strait of Malacca, cutting off the British and Indian troops' retreat; the South Pacific Fleet will block the Coral Sea and the South Pacific Islands, turning Australia into an isolated island! The Western Pacific Fleet will protect our homeland in East Asia, and the Eastern Pacific Fleet—" He picked up his baton and pointed it at Punta Gorda, the eastern end of the Nicaragua Canal, "...take Punta Gorda, seize the Nicaragua Canal, and completely blockade the eastern entrance to the Pacific Ocean!"

June 5, 1883, at dawn.

Before the smoke from the main guns of the Pacific Fleet had even cleared, the Spanish artillery batteries on the beachhead of Saipan had already been reduced to ruins. The landing force's sampans swarmed toward the shore like ants, and Taiping soldiers waded through knee-deep water toward their beach positions.

"Report! The remnants of the Spanish forces on Saipan have surrendered!" The communications soldier, panting, climbed onto the bridge of the flagship "Jiangsu." "Our forces have taken control of the entire island!"

Fleet Commander Zhang Bao stood on the bridge, gazing at the still-burning Western Army forts in the distance, and said in a deep voice, "Order the main fleet to prepare immediately and head towards Guam!"

On the sea, the Taiping army's warships began to adjust their formation. The armored cruiser "Donghai" and the battleship "Fujian," damaged in the previous naval battle, slowly turned and, escorting several captured British transport ships, returned to their base at Qingdao. The remaining warships formed a new battle formation, their bows pointing directly towards Guam to the southeast.

Zhang Baozhi said triumphantly, "Send a telegram to Tianjing: Our army has captured Saipan and is about to take Guam! Saipan and Guam will become the new anchorages for the Pacific Fleet!"

June 6, 1883, Admiralty Building, London.

First Sea Lord Admiral Hornby stood before a giant Pacific Ocean chart, his red pencil fiercely crossing out the name "Saipan".

"Gentlemen, we have lost the first round," he said in a hoarse voice, "but the war has only just begun."

The naval staff remained silent, a newly received telegram spread out on the table: "The main force of the Pacific Fleet at Punta Gorda has set sail south and is expected to arrive in Sydney within two weeks."

"Where is the main fleet of the Taiping Army now?" the First Minister of Naval Affairs asked in a low voice.

“According to the latest intelligence—” a naval staff officer pointed at Guam, “they are bombarding Guam, preparing to land.”

"Then we must accelerate the construction of the 'Dreadnought' and 'Invincible' class ships!" A naval captain stood up. "If we can complete the first eight ships by 1885, we will regain control of the Pacific!"

General Hornby nodded slowly: "The Prime Minister has approved the construction plan, but—" He glanced at the crowd, "until then, we must hold Australia!"

10 Downing Street, London, the Prime Minister's official residence.

Disraeli stood by the window, gazing at the gloomy sky over the Thames.

"Prime Minister, the latest report from the Navy Department." The secretary handed over a document.

He turned to the first page, which contained only one line: "Australian Defense Operations. Begin!"

Disraeli closed the file and murmured to himself:
"Whose ocean is this vast ocean?"

(End of this chapter)