Master Yuan, start!

And last time, if the Russians hadn't been unlucky and encountered a tsunami, the Chinese Beiyang Fleet would have had no chance of winning against the Alexander.

However, no matter what, the most important thing now is to reach Indochina as soon as possible!

Thinking of this, Xiafei recalled the decision he made a few days ago.

If ships departing from Europe wanted to reach the coast of East Asia smoothly, they often had to pass through the British Straits Settlements and pass by their Singapore Fort.

For civilian ships or in peacetime, this is the shortest and easiest route.

But Joseph Joffre did not want to expose the French fleet to the British sight, so he chose to take a detour and pass through the Sunda Strait in the Dutch colony.

The thought of this crossroads occupied by the British made Joffre's heart ache.

France's expansion speed has always lagged behind others by half a step. In the Mediterranean, the Strait of Gibraltar was blocked by the British, and in the Far East, the Singapore Strait was also blocked.

"When will France be able to lock the British on the island?"

Xiafei grumbled, then stuffed a piece of sliced ​​baguette into his mouth. The slightly moldy smell of the bread made him frown.

Fortunately, they will reach their destination in a few days. The Indochina colonial authorities will definitely treat these French soldiers who have come from afar well.

Xiafei clapped his hands, shook off the bread crumbs in his hands, and looked at the Sunda Strait that was already far away behind him.

We were delayed for half a day yesterday while resupplying coal in the Sunda Strait, but fortunately the Dutch did not impose any restrictions on the French Navy.

On the deck, more and more soldiers gathered, huddled together to talk about their hometowns, smoke cigarettes, eat baguettes, and enjoy the last leisure time of this journey.

"Ahead is the Natuna Islands. Once we pass this small island, we'll be just one step away from Indochina!"

After the officer announced the good news, he also joined in and started playing with the sailors on the deck.

The gradually rising sun brought with it scorching and comfortable sunshine. Even Xiafei stretched without caring about his image and walked step by step towards the flying bridge on the top of the bridge. When he stepped onto the flying bridge in the gaze of several officers, the corner of his eye suddenly twitched.

Not far to the north, several warships were seen rapidly sailing out from behind the archipelago, with black smoke rising into the sky. They were obviously heading towards the French support fleet.

"Boom boom boom!"

Before they got close, the 105mm rapid-fire naval guns of these warships spewed out three huge fireballs in succession, and thick smoke instantly covered the blue sky.

"Enemy attack, enemy attack!"

The battleship Osh is not afraid of artillery fire, but the troop transport ship is!

The French soldiers squatting on the deck were like a pot of boiling water, all standing up and looking for cover.

"What is that...?" On the mast of the Osh, the scout looked at the red flag in his sight, put down the telescope, and shouted to the soldiers and officers on the deck:

"China, it's the Chinese Navy!"

Chinese Navy?

Joseph Joffre opened his eyes wide, somewhat unable to believe it.

How dare they travel thousands of miles to the edge of the South China Sea to ambush the support fleet he led?

Aren’t they afraid of being discovered by the French Navy in Indochina and attacked from both sides?

Chapter 470 Natuna (Part ) Lease

Why was the Beiyang Fleet able to accurately reach the edge of the South China Sea and ambush the French support fleet that came from afar?

Naturally, it was because the French leaked their tracks when they were resupplying the Dutch East Indies colony.

The original Hongsou Ke developed Chinese offline networks and set up branch offices in the colonies of various countries in Southeast Asia.

There is a lot of trade near the Sunda Strait, and it is an area where Chinese people are concentrated.

96?6?7?91?零贰5肿z。

Therefore, when the French were refueling here, they were discovered by the Chinese on the dock and reported to the local Red Search Bureau organization. The local Red Search Bureau also quickly reported the news to Guangzhou via a cross-sea telegram.

Xiafei didn't know this, or perhaps, even if he did, he wouldn't care.

Because what he cared more about was why the French Indochina Navy did not discover the Chinese warships near the coast and did not intercept them, allowing them to ambush them near Natuna Island.

The crisp sound of artillery fire continued, and columns of water shot up into the sky from all around the ships. After coming to his senses, Xiafei rushed into the command room and did his best to organize the soldiers to fight back.

"The troop transports move to the flanks to avoid the shells. The cruisers and gunboats follow behind the Osh and move forward at full speed!"

Following orders, the French sailors quickly formed their battle formation.

But at this time, they gradually discovered something wrong.

The Chinese warships seemed to be firing without any plan, as if they had no clear target at all. It was obvious that this was not a normal ambush. Even if the distance was far, they should not have fired so blindly.

Joffre squinted his eyes and watched the opposing warships aiming at the battleship Osh, then at the troop transport, and even at the escorting gunboats with the last few shots, but all they did was splash columns of water without any substantial results.

Damn yellow monkey!

Obviously, this is a demonstration and a blatant provocation!

Joffre knew that even if the enemy were allowed to fire freely, the maximum 150-caliber rapid-fire guns on their side would not be enough to cause much damage to the Osh.

However, for a fleet that had sailed more than 5,000 nautical miles and had been in a state of tension and anxiety, this provocation was enough to release all the anger that had been pent up in everyone's hearts.

Therefore, Joffre and the officers were immediately enraged. They did not expect that the three small warships in front of them would dare to open fire on the Panghoche fleet. They were so angry that they jumped to their feet.

Joffre immediately ordered the sailors to send out flag signals, ordering the troop transports to watch the battle from the rear, while he himself took the Osh and some combat ships to pursue the Beiyang Fleet near Natuna Island.

After receiving the order, a light cruiser and three gunboats in the center of the fleet immediately accelerated and rushed out of the main camp.

These small warships were originally designed for speed, so after leaving the troop transport ship behind, they quickly caught up.

The speed of the Beiyang Fleet's warships was obviously not slow. When they saw five warships surrounding them, they immediately retreated while firing, and two of their shells almost hit a gunboat.

Billowing black smoke spewed out of the chimney, and the boilers in the cabins kept roaring. There was no tropical plankton on the bottom of the Hailong, Haiji and Haifeng ships heading south, so after sailing at full speed, they were obviously faster than the French fleet.

The French warships pursued the Beiyang Fleet, but they were getting further and further away.

"Did these warships escape?"

This strange situation made the French fleet, which was about to break out of the formation and bombard the enemy, somewhat confused.

In the command room, a group of French officers began to whisper.

"Chinese, are you really planning an ambush?"

"Of course, otherwise, why would they travel from the near sea to the far sea to specifically wait near Natuna?"

"But, they only hit two shots and then ran away. This doesn't look like an ambush."

Not to mention the officers, even Xiafei was a little confused.

"Could it be that they want to attack the troop transport?"

Thinking of this, Joffre did not intend to continue the pursuit and quickly ordered the Osh to lead the warships back.

"The army is important. It is Indochina's hope of turning defeat into victory. We cannot let them perish in the belly of the fish!"

Seeing the French warships that had come out to pursue them return, the three Beiyang Fleet warships that had already run far away gradually turned their bows and approached again.

In the command room of the Hoche, a French officer asked: "General, those Chinese warships are approaching again. Should we give chase?"

Seeing the Beiyang Fleet lingering around, Joffre said viciously, "These...these annoying flies!

Ignore it and return to the vicinity of the troop transport. As long as the Osh is with them, these ships will not dare to approach.

In at most one day, we will reach the southernmost tip of Indochina. Just one more day to hold on!"

Joffre returned to the troop transports with the battleship Hoche.

Just when he thought that there would be a turning point if he persisted, several columns of smoke rising into the sky from the sea in the southwest shattered his fantasy.

"That's it," Xiafei exclaimed, looking at the black, white, and red national flag flying on the fleet coming from the southwest.

"Germans, when did the Germans come? Why didn't we notice it before?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xia Fei immediately reacted.

The French support fleet passed through the Sunda Strait, so the Germans must have come from the Malacca Strait!

Logically speaking, they would not be able to catch up with the French support fleet, but because they were blocked by Chinese warships and delayed, the Germans appeared in the southwest of their own fleet at this moment!

At this moment, Xiafei suddenly recalled a piece of news he had read in the Figaro newspaper in Paris before leaving.

According to reliable sources, although the German Emperor claimed not to interfere in the war between Britain and the Boers, he still sent a fleet south across the Atlantic, apparently heading to South Africa.

People from all walks of life in Europe were discussing this, and they all believed that Germany had not abided by their statement and was still secretly supporting the Boers.

"I understand now. The German fleet is not heading to South Africa at all. They are just taking a detour through South Africa. The final destination of this fleet is East Asia!"

Just as Joffre was figuring this out, the thick smoke from the German fleet gradually began to fill the sky.

The vision suddenly became blurred. Because the French support fleet was located downwind of the equatorial southwest wind, the black smoke drifting from the southwest soon obscured the vision.

"Hahaha, the reinforcements we've been waiting for are here!"

Seeing the thick smoke rising from the southwest, Xie Baozhang, the captain of the Beiyang Fleet's Haifeng, who had been harassing the French army in the northeast, applauded:

"Now, we don't have to hide anymore!"

Looking down from the sky, the German fleet was in the southwest, the Beiyang Fleet was in the northeast, and the French support fleet was sandwiched in the middle!

"Germans, how dare the Germans declare war without declaring it?!!!"

Joffre was shocked and angry. He couldn't believe that the Germans would not abide by the tacit understanding of war established by European countries and would choose to launch a sneak attack. What were they doing here? Were they going to fire at the French warships?

In fact, it was not what Xiafei thought.

Although the Germans had decided to take action against the French Indochina colony, they had no intention of directly engaging in war with the French.

They still tend to abide by the principles of old Europe and try not to use force if they can gain benefits at the political table.

So at this moment, the German fleet was just bluffing.

The real killer move is hidden in the fleet.

Just as the smoke gradually dissipated, the two warships "Fuji" and "Yashima" on the flank of the German fleet, which were following them to the Far East, lowered their black, white and red national flags.

Under the operation of Japanese sailors on the fleet, the bright red flag with a yellow sun and twelve stars was slowly raised.

“Gentlemen, this naval battle is the hope for the rise of the Imperial Navy.

The government has signed an agreement with China, and they helped pay the balance of Yashima and Fuji in exchange for a lease of 5 years.

During the lease period, if you fight bravely, you will receive additional rewards: 5 taels for sinking a French gunboat; 20 taels for sinking a French cruiser; 50 taels for sinking a French battleship!

The time has come to sacrifice yourself for the Empire of Japan!"