The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 945 This sea is dyed with blood.
1883 11 Month 22 Day.

The Gretch Strait at dusk was stained crimson by the gunfire, and the smoke, mixed with burning fuel, formed a thick black fog on the sea, obscuring half the sky.

Luo Xinhua stood in the conning tower of the battleship "Tianjing," his right eye pressed against the eyepiece of his Zeiss telescope. His field of vision encompassed the main force of the British Far East Fleet—the two "Monarchy-class" battleships, HMS Royal Oak and HMS Windsor Castle, and the three "Majestic-class" battleships, HMS Majestic, HMS Mars, and HMS Brilliant. The five steel behemoths stood in battle line, the roar of their 40 254mm main guns shaking the sea. The water columns from the impacts of the shells reached tens of meters high, encircling the "Tianjing" like a death forest. However, these impacts were somewhat distant from the "Tianjing." Although shells occasionally landed around it, they were from different battleships and didn't constitute a "sandwich."

"Navigator, plan the route. I need to get within 1 to 3000 meters of target A!" With the victory in the Battle of the Tenth Strait, Luo Xinhua was full of confidence in the defense of the "Tianjing". Although he was facing five opponents, he was not flustered at all. Instead of maintaining distance from the opponent, he took the initiative to rush forward.

"Captain," the naval officer, Tsubaki Onodera, quickly reminded him, "the Zhiyuan, Pingyuan, and Ningyuan are on their way and will soon join the Jingyuan. They cannot withstand 254mm armor-piercing shells!"

"Send a signal telegram to Deng Shichang," Luo Xinhua said. "He will command all the Jingyuan-class battleships. His task is to bombard the superstructures of the five Junquan-class and Weiyan-class battleships from a safe distance with 210mm guns, and launch a torpedo attack when appropriate!"

On the bridge of the HMS Majesty, Admiral Hood gripped his binoculars tightly, staring intently ahead. The massive Pacifica known as the "Hidden Dragon" was turning towards the gunfire, the waves cleaved by its bow resembling burning flames in the setting sun.

“General, they seem to be…” Before the staff officer could finish speaking, Hood raised his hand to interrupt: “Order ‘Royal Oak,’ ‘Windsor Castle,’ ‘Majesty,’ ‘Mars,’ and ‘Brilliance’ to concentrate their firepower and sink that Qianlong-class first!” His voice was clearly filled with anger. “These yellow-skinned monkeys must know who the masters of the sea are!”

The captain of the Majesty hesitated, "But their armored cruiser squadron seems to be trying to seize advantageous firing positions..."

"The 210mm guns can't penetrate our main armor at all!" Hood sneered. "Maintain the battle line and let them see the Royal Navy's gunnery!"

On the bridge of the Fujian, three nautical miles behind the Tianjing, Ji Qingyuan's fingers dug deeply into the edge of the chart table. Through his binoculars, the Tianjing was charging headlong into the gunfire of five British ships, a sight that made his eyes twitch slightly—although he had entrusted Luo Xinhua's Tianjing with acting as a shield, the Tianjing was perfectly capable of engaging the British ships at a distance of 10000 meters. According to estimates, the British 10-inch main guns would struggle to penetrate 200 mm of Krupp carburized armor steel at this distance with their hardened steel-capped armor-piercing shells; penetrating the Tianjing's main armor or conning tower was a pipe dream.

But if the distance is too close
"Admiral, the 'Tianjing' is in danger!" Liu Buchan's voice was hoarse with anxiety.

Ji Qingyuan whirled around, glaring at Liu Buchan: "Major General Luo knows how to fight. Our main task now is to quickly destroy the British Centurion and Hurricane formations! Order! Sea Dragon Squadron, right turn 30 degrees, targets 'B1,' 'B2,' and 'B3'! Gunnery staff, devise a bombardment plan!" His voice boomed like thunder, "Today, either Malacca will change hands, or we'll all perish in the sea!"

At the same moment, the turret of the "Tianjing" began to slowly rotate, and the barrels of its eight 280mm main guns were already aimed at the rapidly approaching "Royal Oak" of the "Monarchy" class battleship.

"8000 meters away!" the rangefinder shouted.

"Begin test firing!" Luo Xinhua gave the order.

Eight main guns roared simultaneously, the immense recoil causing the 20,000-ton behemoth to tremble slightly. Shells whistled towards the HMS Royal Oak, exploding around it in towering columns of water. Although not a direct hit, this salvo had formed a perfect "fork"!
Hood, witnessing this from HMS Majesty, paled slightly: "Their gunnery—" He abruptly turned to the communications officer: "Order HMS Royal Oak to turn frequently, don't let them lock on easily! I need HMS Royal Oak as our 'Iron Shield'!"

On the other side of the battlefield, Deng Shichang stood on the bridge of the "Jingyuan," his eyes fixed on the approaching British fleet. "Torpedoes ready!" His voice was slightly hoarse with tension. "Full speed ahead! We must break through their battle line!"

Four Jingyuan-class armored cruisers, like agile cheetahs, traced graceful arcs across the sea. Their 210mm main guns relentlessly bombarded the superstructures of the British warships, failing to penetrate the main armor belt but successfully disrupting the enemy's firing rhythm. Their rapid approach also attracted the attention of five Sovereign and Majestic-class battleships, whose dozens of 6-inch secondary guns were all aimed at the four rapidly approaching cruisers. The light cruisers responsible for covering the British battleships also turned around and launched an attack on the four Jingyuans.

4500 meters...4000 meters...3800 meters...

Deng Shichang's military uniform was soaked with sweat as he stared intently at the numbers on the synchro rangefinder.

"Captain, any closer and..." The navigator's voice trembled with tension.

"Shut up!" Deng Shichang ripped open his collar. "Order all ships: course unchanged, prepare for torpedo attack, target A1!"

"Jia 1" is the "Royal Oak" that is currently being heavily bombarded by the "Tianjing" - it has already been hit by the "Tianjing" and is turning around at sea, trying to break out of the crossfire zone. If another wave of torpedoes comes at this time, it will really be a case of dodging shells but not torpedoes!
"3500 meters! 3000 meters! 2500 meters!" The torpedo officer's voice rose higher and higher. "Launch!"

Sixteen torpedoes entered the water simultaneously, leaving white trails as they hurtled toward the unfortunate HMS Royal Oak.

"Port side. Torpedo!!"

Terrified cries from the observation post echoed in the command tower of HMS Royal Oak.

The captain of the Royal Oak watched in horror as the torpedoes approached: "Hard to port! Quickly!" But the 15200-ton behemoth was slow to turn, and before it could even align its bow with the torpedoes, two gas torpedoes slammed into its port side at 30 knots. The violent explosions tore two huge gaps in the hull, and seawater rushed in.

"A golden opportunity!" Upon seeing this from the Tianjing, Luo Xinhua immediately ordered: "Full speed ahead! Close the distance to 3000 meters! I'm going to sink that 'Monarch'!"

The three engines of the "Tianjing" roared deafeningly, and its smokestacks spewed even thicker black smoke. Like an enraged bull, the giant ship charged straight towards the heart of the British fleet.

Hood immediately realized the situation was dire: "Order the Mars and the Splendor to turn and intercept! We can't let that 'Hyperion' get close to the 'Royal Oak'!"

“3000 meters away!” The rangefinder’s voice was hoarse.

"Fire!" Luo Xinhua ordered again.

This salvo, fired at a distance of 3000 meters, accurately hit HMS Royal Oak. Two shells struck the waterline at the bow, while the third hit the forward main gun turret directly. The British warship's armor was finally torn apart at such close range, and the violent explosion ripped the entire foredeck into the air.

"Keep fighting! Fight them hard!" Luo Xinhua roared again.

In fact, he didn't even need to give the order. The deputy captain, Jiang Zhaoxing, stationed in the main fire control room, had already loudly relayed the order to sink "Target A1" to all the main gun turrets via telephone. Boom! Boom! Boom!
Round two, round three, round four!

Shells rained down, and HMS Royal Oak was hit repeatedly, with one 280mm shell hitting the conning tower squarely!
The captain of HMS Royal Oak was killed in the explosion, while the first officer was busy directing damage control. The 15200-ton warship, temporarily without command, began to spin in circles and slowly sink. Hood, aboard HMS Majesty, witnessed this and his face turned deathly pale. "Order all ships to concentrate fire! Sink that 'HMS Dragon' at all costs!" His voice trembled with rage.

Meanwhile, the Tianjing had already been subjected to crossfire from the enemy—at a distance of three to four thousand meters, the British gunnery was still highly skilled. The 32 guns of the four battleships, namely the Majestic, Mars, Splendor, and Windsor Castle, roared as they hurled wave after wave of 10-inch armor-piercing shells at the Tianjing. The Tianjing's sturdy hull was constantly riddled with fireballs from the 10-inch shells!
Inside the command tower of the "Tianjing," Luo Xinhua's temples throbbed. When the seventeenth shell struck the hull, the entire warship emitted a metallic groan of unbearable strain.

"Report! Flooding on the starboard side, boiler room number three..."

"Seal the hatches! Maintain speed!" Luo Xinhua's shout echoed through the megaphone. Suddenly, his pupils contracted sharply—through his binoculars, the muzzles of the "Majestic" were flashing with deadly fire.

boom! ! !
The world lost its color in that instant. The 220mm observation port armor was torn apart like paper. Luo Xinhua only saw a blinding white light before being slammed against the bulkhead by the blast wave. When the broken copper pipe pierced his shoulder, he felt no pain, only warm blood flowing down his uniform.

"Boss Luo!" Jiang Zhaoxing's voice seemed to come from a great distance, "Medic! Quickly!"

Luo Xinhua tried to speak, but coughed up blood and then fell into darkness.
At the same time, the battleship "Fujian" was on board.

"1800 meters away!" the rangefinder shouted, his voice trembling.

Ji Qingyuan's hand rested firmly on his saber: "Fire at full speed across the entire ship!"

The eight 240mm main guns of the "Fujian" roared simultaneously, shells whistling as they hurtled towards the "Guardian". Through the smoke, Ji Qingyuan saw fireballs exploding on the sides of the "Centurion"-class warship.

"Hit! Enemy ship on fire!"

Ji Qingyuan suddenly turned around: "Full stern! Get a little closer!" His eyes burned with a mad flame, "Today I will show these red-haired devils what close combat is!"

The massacre of the three Centurions by the four Sea Dragon Type IIs has begun!

"General! The 'Glory' has been hit!"

Hood gripped his binoculars tightly. At a distance of less than 3000 meters, the "HMS Brilliant's" gunfire was terrifyingly accurate; the deck of the "HMS Brilliant" was already a sea of ​​fire. Worse still, the four armored cruisers were pouncing on the dying "HMS Royal Oak" like a pack of wolves.

"Order the Mars to provide support!" Hood's voice finally cracked slightly. "Damn it, how can their artillery be so bad..."

A near miss by a shell exploded on the side of the "Majestic" and the resulting spray interrupted his words. Seawater splashed onto the bridge, and Hood wiped the water from his face, suddenly realizing that his hands were trembling slightly.

"General, our centurions."

The words of the Far East Fleet Chief of Staff were like a knife to Hood's heart once again. He quickly changed his observation port and raised his binoculars to look in the direction of the three Centurion-class battleships. He saw that these three "small warships," with a displacement of only 11500 tons, were being attacked by four large battleships (Hai Ryu-II) and four armored cruisers (Chen Hai-class), and were all engulfed in flames!

Suddenly, the four enormous "Sea Dragon II" abandoned their slaughter of the heavily injured "Centurion" class, turned their bows in unison, and charged toward Hood!

这 是
Hood witnessed it all from the Majesty, and he knew defeat was inevitable. "Order to disband the formation and retreat! Order the Mars to cover the retreat," his voice was hoarse, "and the Majesty to cover the rear."

As the last rays of the setting sun sank below the horizon, the Strait of Malacca became a living hell.

The bridge of HMS Majesty was half destroyed. Hood knelt on the tilting deck, watching the HMS Royal Oak sink slowly, its hull up, in the distance. The seawater had reached his knees, but he still clung tightly to the Union Jack.

"General, lifeboats..."

Hood shook his head, then suddenly laughed. Amidst the laughter, a shell struck the bridge, tearing him and the flag to shreds.

On the deck of the "Fujian," Ji Qingyuan gazed at the burning strait, when suddenly his knees buckled and he collapsed to the ground. His staff rushed to help him up, but they heard him let out a wild howl.

"Admiral."

Ji Qingyuan pointed tremblingly at the sea: "Look! We won! A resounding victory!"

Following his finger, the staff officer saw that the dragon flag of the "Tianjing" ship, which was riddled with holes and had lost 8% of its combat effectiveness, was still flying in the smoke!
Inside the medical pod, Luo Xinhua's vision was blurry. Someone was shouting something in his ear, but he could only hear the distant sound of artillery fire.

Xinhua News Agency

He vaguely recalled what his father had said many years ago when he first boarded a warship: "This sea is dyed with blood."

(End of this chapter)