Although Xima Zhiguli knew that the Humen Fort was different now, she never dreamed that the hit rate of the Qing army artillery in Humen was so terrifying! The fastest fifth-level ship actually didn't even have a chance to escape!

Looking at the five sinking warships, his face was extremely pale. Even if the main fleet of the Royal Navy came, if he wanted to capture Humen, he would suffer heavy casualties!

The situation has expanded, but he has paid the price of losing five warships. He looked heartbroken and regretted his recklessness. He did not dare to send warships to salvage and rescue the officers and soldiers who fell into the water. He could only wait on the spot, and at the same time ordered to pay close attention to the sea surface with a lookout post.

When the Jingyuan Fortress saw the British fleet, they did not dare to come forward to rescue. The officers and soldiers immediately cheered, but the deputy general Cheng Wenshao felt boring. However, what is there to be happy about sinking five small warships? I don’t know how much ammunition was wasted in these years, and I was simply a loss!

He came to Maitingzhang and said, "Military Gate, should you send a fleet to intercept them?"

"No." Mai Tingzhang waved his hand. He planned to stop when he was about to get it. He knew that the Guangdong Navy's fleet was fine to fight against the Annan Navy and suppress pirates. He was unsure of the naval battle with the British fleet. If he was defeated, not only would the Guangdong Navy look bad, but it would also damage the reputation of the court. He didn't want to end up with a greedy word of credit.

Shanghai, Zhenhai Gongfu, Changle Bookstore.

Cao Gensheng walked into the room with a look of joy and said aloud: "Big shopkeeper, call from Humen, great victory."

"Read——." Yi Zhizu said in a plain tone. He knew the situation of the Humen Fort and knew the situation of the British fleet stationed in Hong Kong, so he was naturally not surprised.

"The British commander of the Chinese fleet in East India, Ximali, led more than 20 warships to invade the Humen Fort, first launched artillery provocation, and then sent five warships to close the artillery. The Humen Forts fought back, sunk five British ships, killed and injured more than 300 British troops, and more than 20 casualties in our army."

"Not bad." Yi Quezure's head.

The five British warships were sunk, with only more than 20 casualties. The result was more than just good! Wei Yuan and Zhao Wenlie were both a little unbelievable. Both of them knew that the Eight Banners Green Camp had always had a tradition of lying about military achievements. Seeing Yi Shizuo's reaction was plain. Wei Yuan tentatively said: "The combat power of Humen Green Camp is so strong?"

Yi Zhizu smiled, "Mr. I don't know the situation of Humen fortress. Today's Humen is no longer the same as before. It has 400 large and small artillery guns. The Green Camp officers and soldiers stationed in Humen are no different from the Nanyang Navy. More than 20 warships... are not enough to block the teeth."

Isn’t enough to plug the teeth? Wei Yuan and Zhao Wenlie couldn’t help but look at each other. When did the Humen Fort become so powerful?

Yi Zhizu looked at Cao Gensheng and ordered: "Send a report to the Military Operations Department. The British fleet blatantly shelled Humen and was sunk five warships, with hundreds of casualties, and there was no room for mediation. The two countries started a war, and it was inevitable. I beg the court to declare war on Britain in three days to take the initiative!"

After a pause, he continued: "The telegram will be ordered by Groba to immediately cut off all cable telegraph lines from Temasek, Malacca and Penang, and cut off the telegraph contact from the three places."

"The telegram ordered Groba to kill the gods, and the Nanyang fleet immediately dispatched to capture Temasek, Malacca, and Penang, block the Strait of Malacca, and not allow a ship to escape from the Strait of Malacca."

After waiting for Cao Gensheng to leave, Yi Zhizuo turned to Wei Yuan. "Mr. I have written an article for the Shanghai Daily newspaper, smuggling eggs from Britain, not following the laws of the Qing Dynasty, not adhering to diplomatic etiquette, and provoking the bottom line of the Qing Dynasty sovereignty, and vigorously criticizing the British ambassador to China and the Hong Kong garrison in the aspects of the "Shanghai Daily" newspaper."

As he said that, he said to Zhao Wenlie: "Hui Fu first drafted a notice that the two countries will not hurt civilians. Yuanqi will protect all the civilians, merchants, diplomats, missionaries, and all the merchants, factories, schools, consulates, churches, etc. at the Qing Dynasty's trading port..."

After hearing this, Wei Yuan's eyes lit up and he hurriedly said, "It's best to publish this notice in the newspaper."

"Yeah." Yi Zhizu nodded, "When the time comes, let Shanghai, Guangzhou Chinese newspapers and foreign newspapers be published." After a pause, he continued, "However, all foreign ships must be detained."

The capital, the Old Summer Palace, the fragrant green clusters.

Xianfeng spread out several telegrams from Humen and Guangzhou on the table and compared them. The content was surprisingly consistent. It was obvious that the victory of Humen was not a false report of military achievements, but a real one. He sank five British ships in just a cup of tea, but his own casualties were minimal.

This surprised and relieved him, and mixed with a bit of heroism. The British, who was known as the overlord of the sea, was just like this. He was thinking about how to reward Maitingzhang when an eunuch reported at the door, "Prince, Su Shun is handing over a sign to ask for a visit."

"Let him come in." Xianfeng thought in his heart that there must be a telegram in Shanghai.

Sure enough, Sushun came in and greeted him and said, "Your Majesty, Shanghai Yizhizu's telegram." Then he submitted a telegram.

Declare war on Britain? After reading it, Xianfeng was a little stunned. The court declared war on Britain. Will the British army point the finger directly at the court?

Seeing that Xianfeng did not say anything, Su Shun kowtowed softly and said, "Your Majesty, instead of waiting for Britain to declare war on our Qing Dynasty, it is better to declare war on Britain first. As the saying goes, it is better to start first."

He listened to the word "Qing Dynasty" and was particularly serious. Xianfeng also recalled that the Guangdong Navy was a real green camp, and it was impossible for the court to stay out of the matter. Besides, Yuan Qi never claimed to be in the separatist position. The South China Navy, Yuan Qi New Army, Northwest New Army, etc. were at least nominally the imperial court's economic and technological commanders.

For him, now he stretched his head and shrank his head and also cut his head. Moreover, the main reason for this battle is easy to satisfy, so why bother to make the other party unhappy? He immediately said readily: "The British bullies too much, and I have to write an order to declare war on the British!"

Hong Kong, Governor's Office.

The ambassador to China and the governor of Hong Kong, Bao Ling, should be the last to know the situation of the Battle of Humen. After the news of the Battle of Humen spread in Guangzhou, he received a telegram from Baxiali from the Guangzhou Consulate and was sunk five warships. This result made him feel a little unbelievable.

After Ximali led the fleet back to Hong Kong and confirmed that the news was correct, he couldn't help but feel furious. The situation has expanded greatly enough now, but who will bear the responsibility for the losses of these five warships and the casualties of more than 300 officers and soldiers?

After being depressed, Bao Ling calmed down and immediately ordered someone to send a report to London. Soon, the attendant came in and reported, "Your Excellency, for unknown reasons, the wired telegram with Temasek cannot be connected."

Bao Ling reacted in an instant. It must be Yuan Qidong's hand and footwork. He wanted to block the news. He immediately wrote a letter to report the situation in detail and sent a clutch to Temasek to deliver the letter.

However, what he unexpectedly expected was that the Emperor of Qing Dynasty actually issued an edict to the world and declared war on Britain! Seeing the telegram, Bao Ling suddenly felt extremely uneasy. The Qing Dynasty actually declared war first! First, it cut off the wired telegrams between Britain and the Qing Dynasty, and then declared war? What does this mean?

The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became, and he quickly ordered to the outside world: "Come here, please invite General Mike to come."

As soon as the words were finished, Ximali hurriedly walked in, "Your Excellency, the Nanyang Navy fleet has surrounded the Bay of Victoria."

After hearing this, Bao Ling's face suddenly turned pale. The Qing Dynasty did take action against Hong Kong.

On the flagship "Zhenjiang", Chen Hongming put down his telescope, raised his wrist and looked at his watch, and said expressionlessly: "Issuing an ultimatum to surrender within 24 hours, otherwise an attack will be launched."

The communication with Temasek was cut off, and the defenders were less than 3,000. Facing hundreds of warships and 20,000 South Ocean Navy fleets, Bao Ling and Ximali made wise choices. The next morning, when there were three hours left before the 24-hour ultimatum, white flags were raised one after another in the military ports of Victoria City and Central.

Three days later, Tang Zaosheng led the Java Detachment of the Nanyang Fleet in the Nanyang South China Association. The Tiandi Association easily captured Temasek with internal and external cooperation. Then he rushed to the west and crossed Malacca and headed straight for Penang.

Just ten days ago, all three British ports in the Strait of Malacca were captured, and none of the ship was able to escape.

After receiving the telegram, Yi Zhizuo breathed a sigh of relief. The British did not have many troops stationed in the three ports in the Strait of Malacca. Under his instructions, the Nanhua Society, active in the South China Ocean, and the Tiandi Society, focused on infiltration of the three ports and dispatched troops to attack. It was not difficult. The difficulty lies in ensuring that the news was not leaked.

Zhao Wenlie asked slightly hesitantly: "The shopkeeper cut off the British army's wired telegrams in the three ports of the Strait of Malacca, and sent troops to capture it, and then completely blocked the Strait of Malacca. Is it to block the news and buy time?"

"Britain is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. It launches wars on the outside world, and requires the House of Commons to vote and pass the proposal to send troops." Yi Zhizu patiently explained: "Cutting off the wired telegram and blocking the Strait of Malacca is equivalent to cutting off all information from the Qing Dynasty and the outside world. This can at least delay the time of British troops to the maximum extent. Before obtaining the exact news about the Qing Dynasty, the House of Commons of the British would not pass the proposal to send troops."

Will this move backfire? Zhao Wenlie was a little confused, "Kolkata is not far from the Strait of Malacca..... Britain noticed the abnormality and would inevitably send people to Malacca to investigate and understand the situation."

Yi Zhizu smiled, "What I'm waiting for is that the British draw nearby fleets to Malacca to investigate the situation. Our navy is far smaller than that of Britain. We must eliminate the British's forces in the nearby waters as much as possible. At the same time, to unplug the three ports of the British in the Strait of Malacca, it will be more difficult for the British fleet to replenish supplies."

Zhao Wenlie tentatively said: "Has the main fleet of the Nanyang Navy gone to Nanyang?"

Yi Zhizu nodded slightly, "To be precise, it's heading to Penang."

London, England.

Prime Minister Bamazun, who was ridiculed by his opponent as an old liar who was deaf, blind and wearing dentures, was almost going crazy. After learning that the cable telegrams from the three ports of the Strait of Malacca - Penang, Malacca and Singapore could not be connected, he keenly realized that there must be a huge change in the Far East. However, few members of the upper and lower houses supported his speculation.

Few MPs believed that there would be a huge change in the Far East. They were more willing to believe that it was a problem with the submarine cable, which caused the wired telegrams at the three ports in Singapore to be interrupted. After all, it was not new to have any accidents in the submarine cables. The submarine cables that crossed the Atlantic Ocean frequently occurred in the past.

Unable to receive support, Pamezun could only keep his feet on the ground and telegrammed Kolkata and Colombo to quickly send a ship to the Strait of Malacca to investigate and understand the situation.

But whether it is Kolkata or Colombo, all merchant ships and warships were sent into the sea, and there was no news!

Shanghai, Zhenhai Gongfu, Heyuan.

Yi Zhizu was half lying on the lounge chair in the pavilion, listening to the cicadas around him, drowsy, and listening to the slight footsteps, he opened his eyes and saw that it was Lin Meilian, and said, "Where are there anyone coming at noon?"

"It's Bo Jia." Lin Meilian said softly, and while saying that, she added half a cup of tea to his teacup.

"Take him here." Yi Zhizu said casually, "Send two more bowls of iced bayberry soup."

Bo Jia walked over without any haste and said in Chinese when he met: "Mr. Yi's yard is so comfortable."

Yi Zhizu smiled and said, "You have something in your words. Why, you are feeling uncomfortable recently?"

"It's very uncomfortable." Bo Jia said: "All businessmen come to ask all day long, when can the ban be lifted? It's not our American business to go to war with Britain."

"I don't know yet that our country has declared war on Britain." Yi Zhizu said straight away: "Can you guarantee they won't sell this news for a good price?"

"There is no point in blocking news like this." Bo Jia said: "You need to block for at least half a year, otherwise it will be meaningless at all, and the British will soon find that there is a big problem in the Far East."

Yi Zhizu answered lazyly. When he saw Lin Meilian sending the bayberry soup over, he smiled and said, "Try the iced bayberry soup, try how it tastes."

Bo Jia didn’t have any intention of drinking bayberry soup. After taking a few sips, he put down the bowl and said, “It tastes very good.”

Yi Zhizu smiled and said, "War breaks out, the prices of raw silk and tea in Europe will soar. Tell them to purchase more and don't rush to take it off when you go back. You can earn more than two trips on your trip, but you just need a little more patience."

After pondering for a moment, Bo Jia said: "War breaks out, the British will inevitably block the coastal areas, and Japan is also rich in tea and raw silk. Can we trade with Japan directly?"

"No." Yi Zhizu said without hesitation: "Water is closed to the country, and is unwilling to open its doors and open its ports."

Bo Jia hesitated for a while and said, "We can choose an island for trade without entering the port of Japan. How about it?"

Since we want the United States to remain neutral, we naturally have to give some benefits. Moreover, maintaining trade between the two countries will also have advantages and disadvantages for Yuanqi. Yi Jingzuo pondered for a moment and nodded and said, "Yes, I will arrange this matter as soon as possible."
Chapter completed!