At this time, the sea was turbulent. In the picturesque Taiwan Strait, more than a dozen French warships were parked there, including the 4600-ton Lagarizonia and Triumph, the 3,000-ton Volda, and the 6000-ton giant like the Baya.
On the flagship, the Baja, Vice Admiral Guba, the commander-in-chief of the French long-range army, stood beside his adjutant, Lieutenant Colonel Pierre.
"Commander, isn't it too dangerous for you to do this? We can go to Keelung or Mawei Shipyard together.”
Pierre said uneasily.
"Is there a need? Since our country has decided to completely defeat the people of China, we can only give them a strong enough blow to make them submit!”Gu Ba said as he looked in the direction of China.
"Why? Can't we occupy them? There were still new troops to be sent over from the country.”Pierre asked in confusion.
"Pierre, this country is too big. There are hundreds of millions of people. Perhaps we can win one victory after another, but France is too small. We don't have that many soldiers, and we still have many colonies to protect. We can't completely occupy China.”
Gu Ba turned to Pierre and said with a smile.
"General, I understand. The Chinese can replenish their troops at any time, but we can't afford the consequences of failure. One major defeat is enough to hurt us. The Republic is not as strong as it used to be after the war with the German nazis.
"We can only get enough benefits from them! General, you should take Ba Ya with you. If the Dingyuan comes, Ba Ya can still fight him.“
Pierre felt that he understood, but he still felt that Gu Ba's plan was a bit risky. He had to attack Keelung on two fronts at the same time.
"No, I can't! Dingyuan had already returned to Lushun. The emperor of the Celestial Empire was always afraid of death. He would not let the north fall into emptiness.”
"I'll just lead Volda. Keelung is a fortress, and we need Baja to deal with their coastal defense cannons. Don't worry, I'll protect myself well.”
Gu Ba shook his head and denied his adjutant's idea.
"Yes! Commander!“
Lieutenant Colonel Pierre had no choice but to accept the order.
The French fleet split into two teams, one headed for Mawei and the other headed for Keelung Harbor.
At the confluence of the Wulong River and the Nantai River in the southeast of Fuzhou, the section that entered the Pacific Ocean was called the Majiang River, and the port was called the Mawei Port.
Here was the most advanced Mawei Shipyard in the Celestial Empire, where the Fujian Navy and the Navy Academy were stationed. Not far away, Fuzhou had the Fuzhou Shipyard Bureau.
"Sir! The imperial court called! He ordered us to protect Mawei Shipyard! If the French army attacked! Defend and wait for reinforcements!“
Gao Yuanzheng rushed to the Fujian shipping minister He Ruzhang and said.
"But the French army didn't come, and they won't attack the military port, right? There were warships from other countries here!“
He Ruzhang was confused by this sudden order. In his opinion, there were four warships docked in the port, including the British and American " Enterprise " and " Gem ". The French should not make a move, and there was no sign of the French army at all.
"The telegram said that Fearful of War should be dealt with as well as Zhao Wo! Daren could not care so much.“
Gao Yuanzheng looked at these foreign countries and the warships could not help but sigh. His own military port was actually docked with warships from other countries.
"Order the coastal defense artillery to take their positions! All the ships turned around and could enter combat mode at any time! Navy personnel on standby! Get into position!“
When He Ruzhang thought of the fate of Zhao Wo and the others, he couldn't help but break out in cold sweat. He gritted his teeth and immediately ordered.
After a while, Zhang Cheng, the captain of the Fujian Navy's flagship "Yangwu", hurriedly ran over and said to He Ruzhang,""Sir, what is going on? Is it going to start?"
He was overjoyed. His boss, who was usually a good-for-nothing, had suddenly changed his attitude. He thought that he was going out to sea to deal with the French.
"Take a look! This is an order from the Imperial Court!"
He Ruzhang said as he handed the telegram to Zhang Cheng.
"That's great! That was great! The Imperial Court must have received the news! I'll go prepare it now!"
Zhang Cheng was overjoyed after reading it. He immediately ordered all the personnel to prepare. The fleet added artillery shells, torpedoes, and coal. Set sail and occupy a favorable terrain.
"What's wrong with these Qing people? Could it be that they were preparing to go out to sea to fight?“
Some foreigners were confused, but some people had already vaguely sensed something.
"Look! Fleet! A fleet is coming!“
As one person shouted, everyone turned their eyes to the sea. At the end of the water, there were several plumes of smoke. Several warships lined up and rushed into the military port. These warships were flying the French flag.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。