1890 King of Southeast Asia

On March 1, the sky over the North Sea was covered with dark clouds, and the clouds were very low.

Xu Sunming stood on the battleship Iron Duke, the flagship of the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet and the flagship of Admiral John Jellicoe.

They were about to leave, but before boarding the ship, the Germans suddenly moved, and the scale was unprecedentedly huge. The British submarines were only half of the sky dyed gray and black.

Xu Sunming originally didn't want to get involved. He had been in the UK for so long, eating poorly, sleeping poorly, and being bored every day.

And it was not that the Germans had not been dispatched before, but it was often thunder and rain, and Xu Sunming followed in vain.

However, this time, Jellicoe insisted that Xu Sunming go with him, and his attitude was very firm, so Xu Sunming stood here, on the Iron Duke.

This warship is very large, with a displacement of more than 30,000 tons. It is equipped with 5 twin-mounted 10 356mm 45-caliber naval guns, with 2 in front and 2 in the back adopting a backpack main gun layout, and the 5th turret is between the rear mast and the chimney.

As a relatively new warship, the Iron Duke class's paper combat power is only two main guns stronger than the second-level battleship Xuchang class of the Huaxia Empire Navy, but it is lower than the Xuchang class in terms of defense and speed.

In terms of defense, the waterline armor of the Iron Duke class is still good. The waterline defense composed of 152 to 305 mm surface hardened armor can basically be immune to most artillery attacks.

However, the Iron Duke class canceled the underwater longitudinal watertight bulkhead, the underwater structural strength is worrying, and the performance of the watertight compartment is seriously reduced.

After being attacked by a near-arrow projectile, the main armor belt may be able to block it, but the underwater structure may be deformed, resulting in a decrease in defense.

However, there are gains and losses. The protection of key positions of the Iron Duke class has been strengthened, and more advanced fire control and communication systems have been installed, so that it is used as a flagship by Jellicoe.

Xu Sunming stood on the bridge of the Iron Duke battleship, looking at the warships around him, and couldn't help but sigh.

"From front to back on the left are HMS Marlborough, HMS Colossus, HMS Hercules, HMS Colin 5, HMS Neptune, and HMS St. Vincent."

"On the right are HMS King George V, HMS Ajax, HMS Centurion, HMS Irene, HMS Orion, HMS Conqueror, and HMS Thor."

"We also have 5 battleships here, belonging to the Iron Duke class battleships, 5 ships at level 1."

"These are just 3 battle squadrons of the Royal Navy, with a total of 20 battleships, and the 5th battle squadron is on its way."

"With the 5 ships of the 3rd battle squadron already in front, Britain already has 30 battleships, and with the remaining 10 battlecruisers, the British already have 40 battleships."

"Farther away, there is a large formation of armored cruisers and old battleships, with about 230 ships."

"This is the foundation!"

Xu Sunming sighed to several junior officers.

The advantage of the British Royal Navy is that it has enough warships. Yes, it is just a lot. Let's not talk about any technology. Even with so many warships, it may not be able to turn left if given to other countries.

Even if you give these ships to the Chinese Empire, the Chinese Empire cannot guarantee that these ships are combat-capable without 3 or 2 years.

If given to some non-traditional maritime powers, such as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, they can't even get enough sailors.

Including throwing 30 battleships to the Chinese Empire, 30,000 people have to be drawn to operate, and the maintenance and logistics management of these warships require another batch of manpower.

The Chinese Empire Navy, together with the Navy's six squadrons, logistics and other six personnel, has a total of only more than 300,000 people, which is simply not enough to maintain such a large main fleet.

After all, a country's navy does not only need main battleships.

"General Xu, Admiral Jellicoe invites you to come over." Garfield, the captain of the Iron Duke battleship, walked over with his back straight, and his every move was full of British aristocratic atmosphere.

Xu Sunming didn't care about Garfield's arrogant behavior. He was used to this kind of thing. The British high-level officials knew that they couldn't leave China, but the middle and low-level officials couldn't know these things unless they were smart people.

"General, how can I help you?" Xu Sunming walked into the command tower. Many staff officers were busy, and more than a dozen radio stations were working behind. The two added up, and the command tower was very noisy.

"General Xu, we hope to incorporate the Baghdad battlecruiser into the cruiser squadron, and act with the cruiser squadron to explore the location of the Germans." Jellicoe stood up and said in a serious tone after seeing Xu Sunming coming in.

"No problem, the Baghdad can act with the Royal Navy's cruiser squadron. Is there any news about the Germans?" Xu Sunming nodded without hesitation.

What is the Baghdad? After the Japanese surrendered, one of the Kongo-class battleships that was towed to China for repair. There are still many battleships that can be repaired, but not all of them have been repaired.

One Kongo-class ship was repaired, followed by two Fuso-class ships and one Kawachi-class ship. These ships were relatively easy to repair. They only needed to drain and plug leaks, and dismantle the subsystems of other ships and use them.

In terms of naming, the battlecruiser was named Baghdad, and the battleships were Basra, Kuwait, and Hormuz.

Together with the captured Japanese Navy destroyers and cruisers, they formed the Huaxia Empire Expeditionary Fleet, which set out one after another at the end of 1916.

Most of the sailors on the ship were Japanese, as were the technical officers. Only the management officers were Chinese. There were 800 to 1,000 people on a ship, and 95% of them were Japanese.

Will they rebel?

Don't be ridiculous. During this period, the Japanese could not rebel. If they rebelled, who would provide them with logistics? Germany?

A fleet without logistics would have no combat effectiveness.

Besides, these things were originally waste recycling. After the war, they would have no value. If they rebelled, they would rebel, and they would save a ship dismantling fee.

The only countries that could accept the rebels were the enemy countries, and they could also consume the military expenditures of the enemy countries, which was perfect for supporting these wastes.

"Submarines observed that they turned left at about 56 degrees north latitude and headed southwest."

"The total number of German warships exceeded 70, with at least 10 battleships. This scale was accompanied by at least a battlecruiser squadron."

Jellicoe marked a point on the map. This was the last location where the British submarines found the Germans.

"That is to say, the Germans have at least dispatched half of their main forces. Where is their target? What is there in the southwest?" Xu Sunming subconsciously entered the thinking of the naval general.

"Oh! I'm very sorry, if this involves the secrets of the Royal Navy..." Xu Sunming realized what he had done after he finished speaking.

He is not the commander. Although in fact the Huaxia Empire Expeditionary Fleet listens to his command, he is nominally just an observer, and the Huaxia Empire Expeditionary Fleet is only an auxiliary battle.

"There is nothing bad to say. The 3rd Battle Squadron of the Royal Navy Battle Fleet is at this position, less than 200 nautical miles away from the last position where Germany appeared."

"Their mission is to provide protection for the 5 Revenge-class battleships that are undergoing training and running-in." Jellicoe marked a point in the lower left corner of the nautical chart.

"Ten battleships? If the Germans are targeting them, then the scale of the Germans may be larger than we thought." Xu Sunming frowned and said.

"Yes, that's why I summoned the main force of the fleet. The 5th Battle Squadron is on the way. No matter how many Germans come, we are in an absolute numerical advantage!" Jellicoe nodded.

This is why he must bring Xu Sunming with him. Although the combat effectiveness of the four battleships of the Huaxia Empire can only be said to be average now, they are still 28 343mm main guns and 10 305mm main guns, which can always share some firepower.

"The good news now is that although the five Revenge-class ships have not yet undergone formation combat training, they are currently learning artillery techniques, and there are many mature gunners on them."

"With the five battleships of the 3rd Battle Squadron, I believe they can hold on until we arrive and perfectly complete the task of luring the enemy." Jellicoe's eyes flashed with excitement.

Although he didn't know how many ships Germany had come, it was definitely no less than ten battleships, which was certain.

This was a godsend for Jellicoe. Seize this opportunity and hurt the Germans. Even if only some of the German battleships were damaged, the Germans would have to stay quiet for at least three months.

The construction progress of the Admiral-class has reached 30%. According to the efficiency during the war, after the Germans repaired the ships, the power gap between the two sides will be even greater in the next war.

And Jellicoe didn't believe that not even a single German battleship could be left.

The British used battleships as consumables because they had a strong foundation. Could the Germans do the same?

"General Jellicoe, I have a suggestion." Xu Sunming looked at the positions of himself, the Germans, and the German targets on the nautical chart, and some new ideas came to his mind.

"Please speak." Jellicoe said with a serious look.

"Battlecruisers are faster, and it's a waste to follow the fleet. It's better to let the battlecruisers go forward to support the 3rd Battle Squadron."

"In this way, the 3rd Battle Squadron plus the Revenge class will have a total of 21 main battleships, and the battle fleet can change its route and sail to the northeast."

"The Germans will most likely choose to retreat when they see the powerful force of the 3rd Battle Squadron. This is their usual practice."

Xu Sunming glanced at Jellicoe when he said this, and seeing Jellicoe nod thoughtfully, he continued:

"This is a good opportunity. It's better to make some sacrifices and let the 3rd Battle Squadron go up to entangle the Germans. It only takes two hours to delay. If our team moves at full speed, we can reach this position."

Xu Sunming pointed out a position about 50 nautical miles away from the 3rd Battle Squadron on the nautical chart. If the Germans really find the 3rd Battle Squadron, then this position can form a pincer attack from both sides.

Jellicoe's eyes flickered, and his heart was moved...

(