Chapter 166: Sunset over the Ocean

Shortly after 1:00 PM, Feng Chenqian received a telegram from the main battle formation.

In the northwest sector, assisted by the reconnaissance formation and after four hours of bitter combat, the main battle formation had routed the Grand Fleet's main force, sinking five British battleships, severely damaging six others, and additionally sinking, destroying, and capturing twelve other warships—a monumental victory.

Naturally, the main battle formation also paid a heavy price, with two battleships sunk and three severely damaged.

Furthermore, the reconnaissance formation’s SMS *Empress Augusta* and SMS *Prince Karl* had also sustained heavy damage while pursuing British warships. Fortunately, the accompanying light cruisers fought desperately to provide cover; three of them intercepted the torpedoes fired by British light cruisers at the two battlecruisers, preventing them from being sent to the bottom. Ultimately, both battlecruisers managed to return to Wilhelmshaven.

After weighing the pros and cons, Feng Chenqian issued the order to retreat at 1:30.

Although the High Seas Fleet was still capable of fighting, there was no longer any need to continue the engagement. Ten capital ships of the Grand Fleet had already been sunk (at the time, Feng Chenqian was unaware that HMS *Malaya* would also sink), and another seven were severely damaged, meaning the fleet had effectively lost its combat capability. Meanwhile, the United States Atlantic Fleet possessed only six battleships and was simply no match for the High Seas Fleet. More importantly, the four most formidable battleships in the High Seas Fleet had exhausted their ammunition. Furthermore, after days of high-speed navigation, every warship in the High Seas Fleet required refueling.

At this juncture, the most prudent course of action for Feng Chenqian was to leave the operational waters and rendezvous with the supply vessels.

Additionally, he had to arrange for the capital ships that had sustained heavy damage during the battle to return to Wilhelmshaven.

As for whether to seek out the Atlantic Fleet for a decisive battle, that was a matter to be considered later.

In truth, there was little to deliberate.

Although the Imperial Navy had resolved the technical challenge of refueling on the open ocean, it had not solved the problem of resupplying ammunition, particularly main gun shells for battleships. One must remember that a battleship's primary armor-piercing shell weighed several hundred kilograms and was extremely hazardous to transfer. Given the technological means of the era, replenishment was simply impossible while underway; it necessitated anchoring the warships, which in turn required suitable anchorage sites.

Clearly, there were no appropriate locations near the battlefield for the High Seas Fleet to anchor.

Feng Chenqian temporarily withheld the return order primarily because the movements of the Atlantic Fleet remained unclear. If the Atlantic Fleet still intended to proceed toward Britain, he would not let the opportunity slip. After all, he still had seven operational battleships in his main battle formation. Furthermore, the three *Derfflinger*-class battlecruisers retained some ammunition and had not entirely lost their combat effectiveness.

More importantly, the Atlantic Fleet's destination was Britain, and the High Seas Fleet had sorted precisely to crush the British Royal Navy. Although the Atlantic Fleet possessed only six capital ships, even combined with the remnants of the Grand Fleet, they fell short of the High Seas Fleet. Yet, upon reaching Britain, the Atlantic Fleet would instill a glimmer of hope in the hearts of a desperate British populace, granting them the confidence and resolve to continue resisting.

Strategically speaking, preventing the Atlantic Fleet from reaching Britain took precedence over everything else.

Precisely for this reason, Feng Chenqian resolved that if the Atlantic Fleet pressed forward, no matter how arduous, he would fight another battle near the British Isles.

Perhaps the High Seas Fleet would pay a steep price for it, but the rewards would be correspondingly immense.

Fortunately, Feng Chenqian’s apprehensions did not materialize.

Toward evening, Feng Chenqian received a telegram from Hipper: a submarine operating in the mid-North Atlantic had spotted the Atlantic Fleet. However, the fleet was not steaming eastward; instead, it was heading west, with its destination likely being its home port.

The Atlantic Fleet was turning back!?

Feng Chenqian found it hard to believe, nor was there any need to rush into conviction.

The following morning, April 29, Hipper dispatched a second telegram. Based on intelligence provided by the previous submarine, another boat had reacquired the Atlantic Fleet and confirmed it was steaming toward Chesapeake Bay, the fleet's primary base.

That afternoon, Imperial Navy intelligence operatives verified the report.

The British Royal Navy had received notification from the United States Navy. Because the Grand Fleet had been shattered and the High Seas Fleet remained active in the North Atlantic, the Atlantic Fleet was postponing its voyage to Britain and returning to the Norfolk Naval Base, awaiting clarification of the situation before deciding whether to proceed to Britain.

Evidently, at the most critical juncture, the United States Navy had abandoned the British Royal Navy, and with it, Britain itself.

By the time the news arrived, the High Seas Fleet had completed refueling, and the heavily damaged warships, accompanied by light cruisers and commerce raiders, had already embarked on their journey home.

That night, after having Hipper reconfirm the intelligence, Feng Chenqian issued the order to return.

Thus concluded the final large-scale naval battle of the First World War—more precisely, the last clash between capital ships.

Although the British Royal Navy had not been utterly annihilated and the Grand Fleet still retained a few capital ships capable of putting to sea, it had completely lost the confidence to sortie. Even more, it lacked any reason to do so. Knowing full well they could not defeat the High Seas Fleet, why sail out only to court death?

When the news reached the Empire, the most ecstatic individual was none other than the Kaiser.

On the morning of April 30, the Kaiser issued an imperial decree elevating Feng Chenqian to the rank of Grand Admiral of the Imperial Navy and conferring upon him the title of "Prince of the East." This time, the Kaiser did not consult the Empress or other members of the royal family, nor was there any need to, for at this moment, the heaviest heart within the imperial household belonged to the Empress.

One must not forget that Empress Victoria’s ancestral home was Britain.

Although European royal relationships were exceptionally complex and bore no direct correlation to inter-state politics—for instance, the King of Greece was the Kaiser’s son-in-law yet did not join the Axis powers on account of that status, and the Tsar, being the Kaiser’s nephew, had likewise become his mortal enemy—one fact remained undeniable: the Imperial Empress shared an extraordinary bond with Britain as the elder sister of the British monarch.

With Britain facing imminent defeat, the Empress’s mood could hardly be pleasant.

Fundamentally, it was not the Imperial Army that had vanquished Britain, but the Imperial Navy. Feng Chenqian was not only the architect of the Imperial Navy but had also commanded it through the most crucial naval engagements, dethroning the Royal Navy and wresting command of the seas from British hands.

Without command of the seas, there could be no Empire on which the sun never sets.

To speak bluntly, it was Feng Chenqian’s decades of relentless effort that single-handedly orchestrated the downfall of the British Empire, reducing a nation once formidable beyond compare to the status of a defeated belligerent.

With the Grand Fleet utterly ruined, Britain was left with only a single path: sue for peace.

On May 8, the High Seas Fleet returned to Wilhelmshaven.

On that day, the Kaiser personally traveled to Wilhelmshaven to welcome the triumphant return of the High Seas Fleet and the naval officers and men who had fought bloody battles on the seas for the glory of the Empire.

Furthermore, there was another matter of supreme importance.

The Kaiser would conduct a reception here—specifically, aboard the returning battleship SMS *Bayern*, the flagship of the High Seas Fleet—to receive the British special envoy.

Arranging to receive the British envoy aboard a warship, and specifically the flagship of the High Seas Fleet, held profound significance.

Clearly, the Kaiser intended to seize the opportunity to demonstrate through actions to the British envoy that Britain had lost command of the seas, and that the German Empire had ascended as the new master of the oceans.

It was only after his warship docked that Feng Chenqian learned of the Kaiser's arrangement.

Naturally, he had no time to prepare for the impending negotiations. Fortunately, the Kaiser did not require him to prepare; rather, the intent was to let the British envoy witness firsthand the imposing demeanor of the Imperial Navy's battle-hardened veterans returning in triumph. This would leave an indelible impression on the envoy, serving as an indirect warning: should Britain refuse to surrender or reject the armistice terms laid down by the Empire, this formidable naval force would sortie once more, using its heavy artillery to shatter a myth that had endured for over two centuries, reducing the nation that had forced open the doors of others with gunboat diplomacy to ashes beneath the barrels of German guns.

Of course, this was a negotiation, and a tremendously vital one at that.

The reason was simple: the Austro-Hungarian Empire had fractured into multiple smaller states, the Ottoman Empire had erupted into civil war, and numerous Arab nations had declared independence. Although the Empire had won the largest war in European history, it had paid an exceptionally heavy price. To press the conflict further would mean that alongside Britain inevitably tasting the bitter fruit of defeat, the Empire itself risked following in the footsteps of Russia, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. Three ancient empires had already vanished into smoke during this war, and the Kaiser clearly did not wish for the German Empire to become the fourth.

Britain needed peace, and the Empire needed peace.

Yet, Britain required peace with far greater urgency; otherwise, its envoy would never have traveled to the Empire to undergo the supreme humiliation of attending initial negotiations aboard an imperial warship.

Both the Kaiser and Feng Chenqian were acutely aware of this.

With America's perfidy, Britain was beyond salvation. Even if the Empire did nothing further and merely maintained its high-intensity blockade, Britain would face widespread famine within two to three months. By then, every single Briton's primary concern would be how to fill their stomach.

The problem was that concluding armistice negotiations within two to three months was nearly impossible.

One must remember that even for defeated Russia and France, it had taken over half a year to formally sign armistice agreements with the Empire, and Britain had not yet been completely defeated.

Thus, what methods could bring this war to a close within two to three months?

This was a challenge confronting not only the British envoy but also the Kaiser. For the Empire, the sooner the war ended, the greater the spoils.

Indeed, this was precisely one of the primary reasons the Kaiser had made the special journey to Wilhelmshaven.

Before engaging in face-to-face talks with the British envoy, the Kaiser eagerly desired the counsel of one particular man: Feng Chenqian's perspective on the war.