Neither the British nor the French expected Xiao Letian to be so domineering. In Major General Jason's mind, more than thirty warships surrounded the Zhiyuan. This was a form of protection and of course surveillance.
He knew very well that in naval tradition, most frictions between the two navies during non-combat periods were accomplished through collisions.
Impact combat is a very traditional and effective method, and the cost is very small and it will not trigger a war. I don't like you on the sea. The two parties are emotionally tense. It is normal for some collisions to occur.
When the French warships appeared, Jason was most afraid of a collision, so he had asked the British fleet to surround the Reach.
In fact, the British intelligence network has known about the French's movements for a long time, but they have not disclosed it to the Chinese. In the minds of Jason and others, having the French disrupt the situation has at least three benefits.
The prestige of being the first to kill Chinese people, making the French look bad and the British good, is a good deal.
The second is to make Xiao Letian realize the importance of the British fleet and let him know that protection is meaningful. Without British military escort, you would have been killed by the French long ago.
The third is to do everything possible to explore the bottom line of the Chinese people, see what kind of character these people are, and ultimately provide London politicians with first-hand character information.
The abacus was so smart, but it was a pity that they never expected that Xiao Letian would be so arrogant as to open fire directly.
It took the well-trained Chinese navy a total of fifteen minutes to go from cruising state to first-level combat readiness and then to launch live ammunition. This was already extremely efficient at the time, because at that time humans did not use electric power technology at all. In the military, all equipment is manual.
The efficiency of the Chinese shocked Jason, and the power of the 210 main gun shocked the entire combined fleet.
The French never dreamed that the Zhiyuan would open fire without even threatening it. When thunder sounded in the distance, a huge explosion occurred at the stern of the armored paddle steamer in the front in just a few seconds.
Boom... The explosion shook the ocean. The shell hit the poop and exploded. Countless fragments flew on the sea. Nearly three square meters of armor was completely overturned. The wooden shell inside was also blasted out with a diameter of one meter. holes.
Sawdust and shrapnel flew in the cabin. That location happened to be the sailor's room. More than a dozen French sailors were taking a rest here. They were caught off guard and were swallowed up by the high-explosive air waves and shrapnel.
The vibration of the bomb also damaged the propeller transmission mechanism of the battleship. The steam power in the boiler could no longer drive the propeller to rotate, and the battleship's power immediately dropped.
Although this shot was a little inaccurate and did not focus on the vital parts, it also caused the French battleship to lose power. At least it could no longer follow the combined fleet disgustingly.
"Long live!" All the Chinese warships suddenly burst into joy, and the British also woke up in a brief shock. When Major General Jason saw that the matter was getting serious, he didn't care whether his men could hear it or not, he just stuck his head out the window and said shouted the sea.
"Drive out the French fleet...surround them and separate the large forces from the French...there must be no war..."
After speaking, Jason stared at Xiao Letian and said through gritted teeth, "Your Majesty the Head of State... Do you want to fire a second shot? Do you really want to cause trouble on the way to visit?"
At this time, Xiao Letian felt relaxed. He shrugged, "I just don't like these hanging ghosts following... As long as they don't appear in my sight, why should I waste cannonballs?"
"Do you know how much that high-explosive shell costs? It's 21,000 silver coins!"
Jason almost had his nose twisted with anger, but he also realized that this was a very tyrannical person, and the important task of dealing with Xiao Letian should be left to the politicians in London.
Jason left the Zhiyuan, and the British fleet on the sea also understood the stakes. Six warships from the Indian mainland began to surround the French navy, and the ships were getting closer and closer to each other.
The flags of the British army were threatening. They ordered the French fleet to slow down and change direction immediately. That shot really woke up the French. They calculated the range of the artillery and finally had to bow their heads.
"Damn it, that battleship's main gun has a much farther range than ours. We don't have any advantage! Damn it, slow down and prepare to rescue the flagship..."
The fanatical French regained their sanity, and the five battleships began to slow down. The injured battleship sailors immediately carried out repair work. Fortunately, the battleship also had masts and sails, and could return to the port with the power of the sea wind.
But the feud was finally settled. The French captain roared angrily, "Go back to the port and send electricity to the mother country! The Chinese were the first to fire at me. We have entered a state of war! This is a declaration of war. This is a declaration of war against France..."
After the brief interlude, Major General Jason and other commanders came to the Reach that night to continue having a meal. During the banquet, the British officers expressed their concerns.
"Dear Head of State, you are really irrational today. Taking the lead in firing will put you at a diplomatic disadvantage..."
"The Emperor of France must think that you are declaring war... This is the naval tradition. If the two sides are hostile, they can collide with their ships, or they can say that the sailors of the two sides are fighting on the dock. This is no problem, but fire!"
"Hey...you are obviously reasonable, but this time you fired, it became unreasonable..."
Seeing the fake compassion of the British, Xiao Letian wanted to laugh, but he still had to maintain his face in diplomatic situations: "Thank you, thank you for your concern. In fact, we are not afraid of the French in diplomatic lawsuits. After all, I also have France in my hands." This is evidence of joining forces with Tsarist Russia to declare war on me!"
"Don't worry, when it comes to negotiations, we still don't know who will suffer the loss... Cheers, congratulations to the Queen!"
The British looked at each other in confusion and didn't know where Xiao Letian's confidence lay. They just wanted to drink and change the subject. However, during the internal meeting of the Chinese that night, Xiao Letian revealed his intentions.
"It doesn't matter whether we start a war or not. The purpose of our trip to Europe this time is to fight the French. Time is still very favorable to us...
"This Indian Ocean bombardment event will have to wait until the French warships return to the port before they can send a report to the mother country. It will take a month or two for the French bureaucrats to discuss countermeasures after the telegram arrives...
"Even if Napoleon III wants to fight me, there must be a stage of diplomatic protest and negotiation, right? Several months have passed. I'm afraid that by the time he makes up his mind to use all his country's power to kill me, the time will have come long ago. It’s 1870!”
"Hahaha... By then the flames of war have been burned under the noses of the French, and I still care about them declaring war on me? Grandma..."
Xiao Letian explained this, and the group of foxes in the cabin all understood, and they all smiled extremely sinisterly.
"It's high! It's really high. If we don't fight, we won't fight. If we fight, we'll fight in vain. Anyway, there are British people acting as human shields for us... Hahaha!"
