Chapter 537 Turn on all the lights!

Eastern Pacific, Christmas Island.

In the observation tower at the top of the Yanjing triangular mast, the three watchers raised their telescopes with cold eyes.

A drop of sweat slid down their temples, soaking the corners of their mouths with a salty smell. The white navy uniforms have long been wet with sweat. Although they hide in thick armor, there is no air conditioner here. The hot sunlight near the equator makes it extremely sultry.

But they still dare not relax at all, because there is a huge fleet not far away, and the cold guns are all aimed at this side. As the eyes of the warship, they must carefully observe every detail.

Especially the American [***] ships that came later, two new South Carolina-class battleships, and four Pensacora-class heavycruisers that are almost the same as the British Invincible Class. Their addition made the atmosphere more tense!

"These foreign devils!"

An old lookout scolded from the bottom of his heart that as an old non-commissioned officer, he was much better than the two recruits around him who had not experienced actual combat. The observation for several hours in a row was just a little sweat for him.

Seven years have passed since the last war test, and the new faces in the navy account for half. Fortunately, the commander-in-chief retained a large number of experienced non-commissioned officers with promotion and treatment, and also increased the proportion of non-commissioned officers. Otherwise, the combat effectiveness is really not completely guaranteed.

The old lookout looked down. The muzzle of the nine main guns had all pointed to the British and American fleets with unknown enemies and friends. He believed that at this moment, the armor-piercing shell must be installed in the gun, and the second bullet to be fired was also increased by half, because only in this way can rapid shelling be achieved. You should know that the probability of hitting the first round of shelling in the naval battle is almost With neglect, so who can play three rounds first to form a bullet density, then it will occupy a great psychological advantage. This little skill can only be realized by his "old guy" who has experienced actual combat.

However, he doesn't think that the war is going to start now, because at present, there are only two battleships and two light patrols on his side, which can't take much advantage in fighting, so the reinforcement fleet must have set out.

It should have arrived, right?

The old lookout looked around, but found that there was still a clear sky around, and there was no sign of smoke rising in the air. He couldn't help frowning. Isn't the fleet going to reinforce?

Suddenly, the warships under their feet began to move, and thick smoke came out of the two large chimneys behind them. Then the three partner ships also began to accelerate, and the bow tilted slightly to the east.

"What's wrong? No more fighting?!"

The two young lookouts who are looking forward to the war and make contributions are also surprised. In the confrontations over the years, the Imperial Navy has never blinked first. Even the last time the Strait of Hormuz was so nervous that they dared to take the initiative to attack across 3,000 nautical miles. Why is it their turn to retreat first today?

The changing Xinhua Imperial Fleet also puzzled Lieutenant General Steddy on the Unyield, but soon a telegram from Australia answered all the doubts.

The Xinhua Empire seized six cruisers of Spee and his Far East Fleet on the grounds of Pacific security, and announced that it would guard them indefinitely on the grounds of Chinese legislation until the agreement and the alliance were divided.

This news relieved the British and French naval sailors who were in full confrontation with the Chinese Imperial Navy because of the search for Spee's fleet, which meant that they did not have to continue to be nervous at sea.

But is it really like this?

Looking at the full retreat of the Xinhua Navy, President Wilson subconsciously shook his head.

It's not normal!

Since winning the Battle of Sibylu Island, Li Mo and his fleet have walked almost horizontally in the Pacific Ocean, and those experienced and aggressive hound-like sailors have never retreated.

In the famous Gilbert Islands confrontation incident, he sent a battleship and decisively issued a shelling warning. Later, in the Strait of Hormuz incident, several small cruisers disrupted the British deployment with a long-distance attack, and took the Great Kuwait.

Although Europe has always called the young emperor an arsonist, and he has also been dressed as a belligerent and madman by newspapers and the public, Wilson did not dare to underestimate it.

For more than ten years, he has brought a large country with a population of nearly 500 million to a rapid development path, from basically zero industrial capacity to surpassing the sum of France and Italy. He has also solved the problems affecting development such as food and land. His free education, medical care, the implementation of national endowment insurance, and the implementation of the most A series of policies such as low-food and wage protection have won the welcome and love of the vast majority of people in the country, making the foundation of his rule gradually solid, which shows that he is an iron-blooded, tough figure without losing means and deceit.

Of course, the United States is still the world's largest economic power. Only people like him know the capabilities of this country. Although Xinhua claims to be the second in the world, it occupies a demographic advantage. If you put aside the effect of population, it is less than one-fifth of the United States.

But such a country, after a series of war baptisms, burst into a daunting force, which makes Wilson seem to see the superpower in history that once ruled most of the world.

Therefore, it is obviously extremely abnormal for such a country to suddenly retreat!

Wilson looked up at his Secretary of State Brian and asked, "William, what do you think Li Mo is thinking?"

"War!"

Brian did not hesitate to say his guess without hesitation, and his face was solemn: "Mr. President, there is a saying on the boxing ring that if you want to knock down your opponent, you must first withdraw your fist."

In fact, Wilson had already guessed the reason for the sudden contraction of the Royal Navy of the Xinhua Empire, but after listening to Brian's words, he still felt as if a big stone was pressed on his chest. He looked at Brian, waved his hand to let the secretary go out first, and then closed the door and asked, "William, I want to know your opinion!"

Brian looked up at his friend. He knew very well that Wilson had been under a lot of pressure recently. The British had sent many invitations to join the war, and the news that the Republican Party was going to impeach the president not long ago. What's more serious is the damn Pacific agreement left by the former President Taft. Now it seems that this is simply It is a big trap arranged by Britain, which makes the United States involuntarily get involved in the whirlpool!

Then there was a huge amount of loans and material assistance, which kidnapped the United States in disguise!

To be honest, Brian hated Britain because they played with American feelings and set up a seemingly wonderful trap, and during the Republicans' rule, they jumped in without thinking, which caused such a situation.

So in the face of Wilson's eyes, Brian shook his head even with a sigh in his heart: "Mr. President, I have no right to make a decision. You should know that I am a pacifist. If that day comes, I will resign."

After saying that, Brian saw Wilson's eyes fading and suddenly smiled, "However, I will not object to your decision, because I know that it is related to the future of the United States!"

Wilson patted his friend on the shoulder and sat down again. He knew Brian's temper, but he knew more that with Spain and Portugal secretly joining the treaty, the scale of the war was beyond imagination. No country could be alone. For politicians, this war was an international wash. Cards.

There is no doubt that the United States can't really get rid of Britain now. Once Britain fails, the United States can't be alone. In this case, it's better to do our best earlier and let the war end earlier.

"Thank you!"

Thinking of this, Wilson took a deep breath, nodded heavily at Brian, grabbed his clothes and walked out. He wanted to give Prime Minister Asquith a phone call, and the United States was on the side of Britain--

The last setting sun was projected on the tall ship of the Oriental Princess, and a huge shadow was reflection.

On the deck, sailors patrolled back and forth with guns on their backs. Although the British [***] ship has not landed so far, this can't make everyone relax.

In the restaurant, Sang Hanmin greeted everyone he met. As long as he saw the captain who had been smiling with affinity since he was trapped, encouraging and comforting everyone, everyone seemed to have a backbone.

The dinner was not very rich. Although the bread, rice and simple beef soup were much worse than the days when they first set out, no one complained, because everyone knew that after being trapped for more than 20 days, the reserve food on the ship was rapidly decreasing.

Everyone hates the British cruisers that are still standing around them. They not only tortured 5,000 innocent people, but also blocked their right to yearn for freedom and blocked the future.

They couldn't defeat the Germans themselves, but they vented their anger on ordinary people. They finally tore off the last disguise and trampled the pride of the nobles under their feet.

A mechanical engineer from Vienna, after giving the beef and vegetables in the soup to the two children, he wiped his mouth clean, got up and smiled at Sang Hanmin, said goodbye to his wife and children, and firmly walked to the deck.

Like him, many strong people are temporarily organized. They don't want to fight, but they want to protect their women and children!

Looking at these people who have been launched and are about to participate in the vigil to protect the safety of the fleet, Sang Hanmin's smile is deeper, or there are only people like the emperor in the world who will regard such a big crisis as a good opportunity to promote Xinhua. Now I'm afraid that the whole Europe knows that thousands of immigrants are trapped. In the end, if you can go back smoothly, it will be a huge publicity and an opportunity to show the strength of Xinhua.

But the question is, can you go back smoothly?

Although the Suez Canal is not far ahead, it looks like a raine at this time. The most serious thing is that there is not much food and fresh water on the ship. It is overloaded. If it can't be solved, I'm afraid I really have to dock.

Send telegrams over and over again in China to calm down, but how long will it take?

Thinking of this, feeling the depressing atmosphere in the restaurant, Sang Hanmin shook his head and was about to go back to the telegraph room to ask how long it would take. Suddenly!

A burst of low shouts came from the outside. The immigrants who were eating raised their heads one after another and looked at each other. They didn't know what had happened. Sang Hanmin's heart also sank. Did the British board the ship?

At this moment, the big man who had just left suddenly rushed into the restaurant, rushed to his stunned wife and children, and hugged them with open arms. Then he raised his arms, waved his fists fiercely around, and shouted, "They're gone!" The British are gone!"

"We are free!"

"Free!"

Cheers flooded the whole cruise ship in the blink of an eye. When Sang Hanmin returned to the bridge, all the crew and people on the deck saw that the four British cruisers that had blockaded them were slowly leaving, and the two imperial cruisers had drilled out of the Suez Canal.

The future is already open!

In an instant, whether it was the Xinhua crew or the immigrants from European countries who avoided the war, the corners of their eyes were moist and looked at the rapid approach, and then made a detour to protect the two Yangtze River-class cruisers around the fleet. Sang Hanmin opened his arms and looked at the cruisers that kept hitting light signals, with tears in the corners of his eyes. Water shouted emotionally, "Pella the whistle and turn on all the lights!"

In an eye, five pearls seemed to light up on the dark Mediterranean Sea. The beautiful cruise ship like the Crystal Palace made a shocking whistle, with a crowd full of cheers on the deck, sailing to the east under the protection of two cruisers!

"Let's go home!"

(to be continued)