Nanyang Storm 1864

"This is the Great Chu Empire's fleet sailing north. British ships ahead, please take note and leave immediately. This is a serious warning."

"This area is a battle zone. We warn British ships to leave immediately, or they will be held fully responsible for any serious miscalculations that may result."

"Wait... Did I hear that right? Or is it April Fool's Day? Have these damned Orientals gone mad? This is trampling on the dignity of the Royal Navy of the British Empire. It cannot be allowed."

Captain J. Robert Beverth, captain of the British cruiser HMS Sir Winchester, was furious, waving his hands and shouting in a frenzy.

The other British officers also had grim faces, their expressions revealing anger.

The Royal Navy of the British Empire was used to being arrogant and domineering on the oceans around the world. When they encountered each other at sea, even the French and German navies had to negotiate in a mild manner.

Instead of directly and bluntly ordering them to leave, which made them extremely uncomfortable.

"Perhaps Great Britain has not demonstrated its strength for too long, which seems to have led these Chu people to misjudge the situation. I don't like their tone."

"We should give these Chu people a good kick in the butt, then they'll behave much better."

"You mean our 280mm cannons? That's really powerful, guaranteed to blow the butts off any Asian."

Bridge

Several British officers chatted arrogantly, giving no orders to change the ship's course, their demeanor brimming with provocation.

"Oh my god, they're serious! The Chu warships have removed their gun covers. Serious warning! Serious warning! Please take appropriate action, sir."

The naval gunnery officer, wearing the rank of British lieutenant colonel on his shoulder, suddenly cried out in alarm, pointing at the two cruisers speeding towards them, one after the other, his eyes filled with terror.

On the azure sea, two Chu cruisers appeared in a horizontal formation, pressing in menacingly. It was clear that the gun covers on the cruisers' main guns had been torn off, revealing the terrifyingly dark muzzles.

Captain J. Robert Beverth, commander of the British cruiser HMS Sir Winchester, was instantly stunned; he could not believe what he was seeing.

The people of Chu actually pointed their cannons at the British warships, which was an extremely offensive act.

A wave of immense fear washed over him, and Colonel Robert's face turned pale. He bore the weight of the safety of hundreds of British officers and men in this squadron on his shoulders and could not afford to act recklessly.

All fleet command orders, course, and movements are recorded in the duty log for post-event review and to clarify responsibility.

If the dispute was initiated by the cruiser HMS Sir Winchester, the Royal Navy would certainly have tried its best to cover it up and support its naval colleagues.

However, this does not mean that responsibility will not be pursued. In serious cases, Colonel Robert could end his military career and be sent to a military court for trial.

Of course, that was handled internally.

In terms of external statements
The Royal Navy has always been known for its stubbornness, refusing to admit its mistakes even when wrong, and instead resorting to arrogant and domineering tactics to stir things up – this is standard practice.

"Final warning, final warning... British ships must leave this area immediately. Your unauthorized actions have seriously affected the operational deployment of our Great Chu fleet."

"Final warning, final warning... Leave this area immediately to avoid miscalculation. If you ignore this warning, you will bear all serious consequences."

"Damn it! Zuo Manduo, let's get out of here for now."

"Yes, sir. Full left and leave this area." "Responding to the Chu fleet's message: Our warships have only entered by chance and have no hostile intentions. We will leave now."

"As you command, sir."

Colonel Robert led a small convoy of two British warships, one in front and one behind, and made an emergency turn westward toward the mainland.

He originally wanted to use the British Royal Navy's influence to show off, but the people of Chu didn't buy it at all.

This was awkward; they were chased away and fled with their tails between their legs.

The large fleet, which was slowly lingering in the surrounding waters, saw this scene, and many Chinese officers and soldiers couldn't help but cheer, feeling extremely pleased.

Perhaps this is the true essence of naval power.

Fusang Wugang
Since the establishment of the naval arsenal in 1903 (Meiji 36), Japan has spent a huge amount of money and five years to transform the Kure Port area into a revolutionary heavy industrial center and the home port of the Combined Fleet of Japan.

The main battleships of the Fusang Combined Fleet were stationed in Kure Port, where there were ten exceptionally large battleships. The core of the fleet consisted of the "Shikishima" class battleships ordered from Britain, plus four captured Russian battleships and two new 16000-ton battleships that had recently returned from British shipyards and joined the Combined Fleet. This was the true main force of the Combined Fleet.

These Japanese ships generally had speeds of 18 to 20 knots, which was significantly higher than the average speed of 15 to 16 knots of the main battleships of the defeated Tsarist Russian Navy.

However, when facing the main force of the Great Chu Empire's expeditionary fleet, their original advantage turned into a complete disadvantage.

The Great Chu Empire's expeditionary fleet consisted of nine Manila-class battleships, most of which had speeds between 17 and 18.5 knots. Although the oldest of them had been in service for 14 years, they were not at a disadvantage against the capital ships of the Fusang Empire.

The new "Kunlunshan" class battleships were even more formidable. Not only were they large in tonnage, heavily armed, and heavily armored, but they also had a top speed of 23 to 24 knots. Powerful steam turbines propelled these nearly 3-ton ironclad warships across the sea.

This extremely high speed can even match that of a destroyer with a displacement of over a thousand tons from more than a decade ago.

Unlike those army idiots who constantly talk about "Great Fusang Empire warriors," the Fusang Navy is known for its elegant beef-eating and coffee-drinking, retaining a strong British style.

Faced with the menacing expeditionary fleet of the Great Chu Empire, the most difficult choice became whether to fight, make peace, or flee.

A direct confrontation is absolutely not feasible; the vast majority of senior officers in the Fusang Allied Fleet tend to believe this.
The odds of winning this battle are less than 10%, unless a miracle occurs.

During the Russo-Japanese War
Such a miracle occurred during the initial siege of the Russian First Pacific Squadron: the Japanese fleet launched 16 torpedoes during a surprise attack on the Russian fleet in the harbor, and only three torpedoes hit their targets.

These three torpedoes struck the three best capital ships of the First Pacific Squadron of Tsarist Russia, damaging and crippling them.

It's nothing short of a miracle that the Fusang Combined Fleet encountered such a one in ten thousand probability.

Therefore, a small group of fanatical war enthusiasts frantically clamored that, under the protection of Amaterasu, the combined fleet would once again create a miracle and defeat and annihilate the invading expeditionary fleet of the Expeditionary Empire in one fell swoop.

With the massive army pressing in, time was running out for the Fusang Allied Fleet.

They could either retreat to the port and rely on the defensive capabilities of the coastal fortresses to block the expeditionary fleet's one-sided crushing attack.

They could either take the initiative and disrupt the deployment of the Great Chu expeditionary fleet through resolute naval combat, thereby finding a glimmer of opportunity for battle.

The decision was extremely difficult, as it concerned whether the rise of Japan would be interrupted, and the future of the Yamato people. Therefore, the debate was fierce. (End of Chapter)