The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 977 Where did Australia's fleet go? Did they run away?
Aircraft cruiser "Skysea", South Pacific, January 10, 1886.

The cool summer sea breeze of the South Pacific swept across the open flight deck of the Tianhai—this 1.38-ton Frankenstein-like "half-cruiser, half-mothership" special vessel was sailing through the waves of the southeastern Pacific at a speed of 20 knots, with the smoke billowing from its funnels leaving a long tail under the leaden sky.

Inside the bridge, Colonel Lin Lizhong rested his hands on the chart table, his brow furrowed. The chart was densely marked with the possible routes and positions of the British fleet, but each mark was as chaotic and disorganized as a headless fly.

"Where are we now?" he asked Navigation Officer Chen Jinkui, his voice carrying a barely perceptible hint of anxiety.

"27 degrees 12 minutes north latitude, 153 degrees 05 minutes east longitude," Chen Jinkui quickly recited a series of numbers, adding, "It's about 180 nautical miles from the Port of Brisbane."

The deputy captain, Li Dingwen, leaned closer and whispered, "Captain, should we release 'Honghu'?"

Lin Lizhong nodded, his fingers unconsciously tapping the edge of the nautical chart: "Send the Honghu 1 into the air to search for Brisbane Port. Tell Li Yuanhong that this time I need to know the detailed information about every berth in the port."

On the deck, Captain Li Yuanhong, one of the first generation of "naval naval naval commanders" of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, had already climbed into the airship's cabin. This "Honghu" type reconnaissance airship was 45 meters long, its gasbags inflated like a giant silver silkworm cocoon, trembling slightly in the cold wind. Inside the cramped cabin, two crew members—telegraph operator Huang Daiwen and mechanic Shen Shouan—were busy checking the equipment.

"Hydrogen pressure normal, engine warm-up complete." Shen Shou'an patted the 80-horsepower Daimler gasoline engine, which immediately emitted a deep roar. He turned to Li Yuanhong, "Captain, is this mission urgent?"

Li Yuanhong put on his flight goggles, a wry smile tugging at the corner of his mouth: "The British are playing hide-and-seek, and the captain is very unhappy." He gestured to the ground crew on deck, "Loosen the mooring lines!"

The steam-powered propulsion rails jolted violently, propelling the airship to 30 km/h in a mere five seconds before it detached from the deck and took off. The Tianhai rapidly shrank in the field of vision, soon becoming a tiny black dot in the waves.

Six hours later, at an altitude of 3000 meters, the wind was biting cold. Li Yuanhong tightened the collar of his flight jacket and looked down at the distant port of Brisbane through his binoculars. The bay was calm, the cranes on the dock were still, and a few cargo ships were anchored forlornly, but there were no warships.

"No warships, not even armored cruisers." Li Yuanhong muttered to himself as he adjusted the focus of his binoculars, and the details of the harbor became clearly visible.

“The coal piles on the dock are still there,” Li Yuanhong muttered to himself. “There’s also a lot of debris next to the crane. They left in a hurry.” He turned to the telegraph operator and said, “Send a telegram: No trace of the British fleet in Brisbane port. Dock facilities are intact and appear to have been in use recently. Repeat, no trace of the British fleet.”

Shortly after the telegram was sent, the Tianhai replied: "Continue searching the surrounding waters within 50 nautical miles."

Li Yuanhong sighed: "Where on earth have the British gone?"

Port Moresby, home of the First and Second Squadrons of the South Pacific Fleet.

Luo Xinhua stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the steel behemoths anchored in the bay, a slight smile playing on his lips. Sunlight filtered through the clouds, casting dappled shadows on the warships' armor.

Four Qianlong-class II battleships—"Tianjing," "Beijing," "Jintian," and "Yong'an"—stood like four floating fortresses, their 305mm main guns pointing straight to the sky. Eight Hailong-class III, four Hailong-class II, and four Donghai-class armored cruisers—these were the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's newest armored cruisers, designed specifically for commerce raiding. They had a standard displacement of 14,200 tons, equipped with kerosene-oil co-fired boilers and a total of 42,000 horsepower steam turbines, achieving a maximum speed of 25 knots (without high-pressure ventilation). In addition, there were four older Jingyuan-class and three Tianhai-class aviation cruisers.
"I've never fought such a rich battle in my life!" Luo Xinhua couldn't help but laugh out loud. He turned to look at the huge nautical chart on the wall, which marked the locations of the major ports in the South Pacific. "The British must be so scared they'll wet their pants when they see the size of our fleet."

Just as he was feeling smug, Chief of Staff Deng Shichang strode in with two telegrams in hand, his brow furrowed.

"Zhengqing, is the British fleet in Brisbane, Nouméa, or Sydney?" Luo Xinhua asked without turning his head, his finger tracing several key locations on the nautical chart.

Deng Shichang took a deep breath: "They're all gone."

Luo Xinhua was taken aback, then turned around abruptly: "Nobody's here?"

“Honghu 1 reports that Brisbane harbor is empty,” Deng Shichang unfolded the telegram. “Honghu 2 searched Nouméa, also to no avail. Honghu 3 just sent back news that there are only a few old gunboats in Sydney harbor.”

Luo Xinhua's face gradually darkened. He strode to the nautical chart and pointed heavily at several key locations: "Melbourne? Hobart? Auckland?"

“We’ve checked everything,” Deng Shichang shook his head. “We even sent airships to check the bases in Fiji and the Solomon Islands, but there was nothing there.”

Luo Xinhua slammed his fist on the chart table: "They ran away?"

Deng Shichang was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded: "I'm afraid... they've fled back to India. That so-called 'Russian aid army' from the Tang Dynasty in Central Asia staged a coup in Tehran, taking control of Persia and threatening India and the Middle East. The British can't afford to lose there." "Impossible!" Luo Xinhua exclaimed sharply, "The British have been operating in the South Pacific for decades, how could they just give it up like that? Even if they were to give it up, they should use it as leverage to negotiate peace with us!" He paced back and forth, then suddenly stopped, "Unless..."

"Unless what?"

“Unless they’re hiding somewhere,” Luo Xinhua squinted, “waiting for us to land in Australia, then catching us off guard and launching a fierce attack.”

Spencer Bay, South Australia, January 1886.

A thick fog blanketed Spencer Bay in South Australia, and a massive fleet lay dormant on the grey sea. The fog was so dense that only the outlines of a few warships could be vaguely discerned from the shore.

Sir William Horatio Key, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Navy's Australian Fleet, stood on the bridge of his flagship, HMS Orion, gazing at the steel mighty force before him, a cold smile playing on his lips.

"Did the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom think we'd just sit idly in Sydney or Brisbane?" he murmured to himself. "No, we should be the ones to set the rules of this game."

Chief of Staff Rear Admiral Montagu handed over a cup of hot tea: "Commander, all ships report that their concealment status is good."

Sir Key took the teacup and took a sip of the sweet milk tea: "What's the matter with our 'guests'?"

“The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom’s airships were circling over Brisbane and Sydney,” William Montagu laughed. “They looked very confused.”

“Confused?” Sir Key took a sip of tea. “No matter how confused they are, they can’t possibly give up on the military operation to land in Australia, can they?”

“Of course not,” Montagu said. “Taking Australia was a national policy that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had been pursuing for two or three decades, and it was absolutely impossible for them to give it up!”

"That's good!"

Sir Key walked to the porthole on the side of the bridge and looked through the thick fog into the depths of the bay. In this often foggy bay, the full force of the Royal Navy's Australian fleet was on high alert:
The flagship, HMS Orion, was an Orion-class battleship with a displacement of 24,000 tons. It was armed with four twin 13.5-inch guns and had a speed of 21 knots. This giant ship boasted an armor belt 305 mm thick and was one of the most advanced battleships in the Royal Navy.

The four Dreadnought-class battleships—"Dreadnought," "Fearless," "Endless," and "Boundless"—each displaced 18,100 tons, were armed with five twin 12-inch main guns, and had a speed of 21 knots. These warships formed the core of the fleet's striking force.

The four Invincible-class battlecruisers—Invincible, Unyielding, Unyielding, and Steadfast—displaced 17,200 tons and were armed with four twin 12-inch guns, achieving a speed of up to 25 knots. These four battlecruisers could serve as a rapid strike force for the fleet and also engage the enemy with 12-inch guns alongside the Dreadnought-class battlecruisers.

The four Majestic-class battleships—"Majestic," "Solemn," "Brilliant," and "Magnificent"—displaced 16,000 tons, were armed with four twin 10-inch main guns, and had a speed of 20.5 knots. Although these warships were slightly inferior in firepower, they had excellent armor protection.

The four Duncan-class battleships—"Duncan," "Cornell," "Exmouth," and "Russell"—displaced 13,500 tons, were armed with four single-mounted 10-inch main guns, and had a speed of 20.5 knots. These old warships, after modernization, still possessed considerable combat capability.

The four Typhoon-class armored cruisers—"Typhoon," "Storm," "Cyclone," and "Mistral"—displaced 12,500 tons, were armed with two twin 8-inch main guns, and had a speed of 25.5 knots. These fast cruisers were tasked with reconnaissance and pursuit missions.

The four Hurricane-class armored cruisers—"Hurricane," "Thunderstorm," "Rain," and "Hail"—displaced 12,000 tons, were armed with four twin 9.2-inch main guns, and had a speed of 24 knots. Their higher speed allowed them to form the vanguard of the fleet alongside the Invincible-class cruisers.

“Commander,” Montagu said, taking a telegram from a staff officer, “the scout airship ‘Seagull’ discovered two hours ago that the main Taiping Heavenly Kingdom fleet is still in Port Moresby, consisting of a total of 16 battleships!”

"Sixteen ships." Sir Keith frowned slightly. "That's quite a number!"

"Sir, what should we do?" Montagu asked in a low voice. "Should we ask India for help? The Hindustan Shipyard has recently repaired several Centurions, a Royal, and a Majesty. With them, we can gain a significant numerical advantage."

Sir Key shook his head: "No, the key to this battle is not a few more battleships, but timing! We must seize the opportunity. Order the Cape York airship base to closely monitor Port Moresby."

(End of this chapter)