"Now..., the only problem left is the ocean." Li Xiao looked at the long African coastline and sighed helplessly.

This is destined to be a difficult journey, even if we do not take into account typhoons, hurricanes and other sea conditions at sea.

Simply sailing for tens of thousands of kilometers without any supplies is daunting.

"Oil is the first priority. Without oil, we would not be able to circumnavigate Africa anyway. Our current number of oil supply ships cannot support such a long voyage."

Li Xiu sighed helplessly. The general combat distance of the Ming Navy was within two thousand kilometers.

Therefore, the security construction is also built around the goal of two thousand kilometers.

But this time, the distance of the voyage exceeded 10,000 kilometers. It was five times the limit of the usual distance!

"The airport in Algiers will be initially completed in a few days. The carrier-based aircraft of the Liaoning and Shandong will first land at the Algiers Airport.

This will free up some space for loading supplies.

In addition, the ammunition quantity of all ships is halved. They are also loaded with supplies. Only one of the three battleships is fully loaded with ammunition, which I think is enough.

The transport ship carrying the Marine Corps is also freed up for you to load supplies.

I will transfer two more oil tankers to you, this is the best I can think of."

Li Xiao reluctantly told his plan!

"Actually, we can still do this...!" Li Xiu thought for a while and made some gestures on the map.

"We can let the airship take off in Egypt and then cross the African continent. Find a material accumulation point near the Gulf of Guinea.

After we rounded the Cape of Good Hope, supplies must have been very scarce. It just so happened that we could resupply in the Gulf of Guinea.

If airships are used for hoisting, no port facilities are needed at all. The only drawback of this plan is that it costs too much.

Just the fuel consumption of a large airship flying more than 3,000 kilometers is a huge amount. Moreover, no one has flown this route before, so no one knows what dangers there may be."

Li Xiu pointed at the map and said.

"This is a way. If no one has flown over, we can send people to explore the route. As for the fuel consumption, it is nothing.

You don't know, after Basra oil field.

The oil fields in Oman and Qatar have begun to produce oil. We have also discovered a large number of oil fields in the desert.

Soon you will find that we have more oil than we can use up." Li Xiao sat down at the table again.

Drinking wine and eating food.

I've been busy with all these things these past two days, and I haven't even bothered to get a good night's sleep.

"Are there really so many oil fields?" Li Xiu's eyes widened. He didn't expect there to be so much oil.

"Yes! There are many oil fields, and there are actually many oil fields under the sea. But currently, we have no way to exploit them.

Oil is the lifeblood of industry. When Ming Dynasty controlled oil, it controlled the industries of various countries in disguise.

If we can control food again, then we can control the world.

This is a systematic project, and all of this requires super strong force protection.

Conquering Europe by force and dismembering Europe is only the first step. It is also the most important step, so that the Europeans who are most qualified to compete with us have no power to resist us physically.

After that, we won't need to maintain such a large force.

To control the world, we must use economic means. In the future, it is very likely that one word from us can determine whether a country is poor or rich."

Li Xiao stuffed a piece of beef with soy sauce into his mouth, chewing it very sweetly.

"Not relying on the army, not relying on the navy?" Li Xiu was a little confused, and what Li Xiao said was beyond his cognitive scope.

"Yes, we don't rely on the military. As long as we say that all countries are not allowed to do business with this country, then even if this country has some industrial base, it will be difficult to survive.

They produce things and they also have to sell them.

If this country is short of food, we only need to say that we are not allowed to sell food to them. Then this country will suffer from famine.

As long as we give a little push, the people who can't survive will rebel. And those who oppose us will definitely die without a burial place.

With one or two babies like this in front of us, it won't be long before no one in the world dares to resist us.

This is how we use the economy to control the world. As for the navy, we still need it.

At the very least, we need to control the world's critical waterways.

Like the Strait of Malacca, like the Suez Canal, like Gibraltar.

These places must be occupied, and maintaining huge overseas interests also requires a large number of navies and marines.

On the other hand, the Army will be abolished a lot after returning this time. The Air Force will also be strengthened, but until our fighter jets have no obvious advantage, we will not allow other countries to have air forces."

Li Xiao took a sip of Moutai. It was soft and mellow, and it was indeed a good thing.

"Yes! The advantage of the air force is really great. In the past, battles relied on strong ships and powerful artillery.

At that time, my elder brother said that battleships would be eliminated. I still didn’t believe it.

But it has only been a few years, and the battleships are already out of use. Fortunately, we only built five, otherwise we would really be at a loss."

"No matter how powerful the battleship's cannon is, it can't hit it two hundred kilometers away. Even if it can hit it, they can't aim.

Carrier-based aircraft, on the other hand, can launch an attack from a distance of two hundred kilometers. I can hit you as a standard, but you can't do anything to me.

How could we not win this unfair battle?

However, the technology in this world is making progress.

Only by continuous progress can we take the lead. This requires continuous investment of money and resources in research!

This kind of research is sometimes filled with gold and silver, and many times it may be filled in but without any results.

But as long as you get results, you will make a lot of money, just like gambling."

Li Xiu also returned to the wine table and filled Li Xiao's glass with wine.

"Sometimes life is about gambling. Brother, take us brothers and escape from the village.

At that time, none of us knew where the future would be.

Later, it was you who took Mr. Man and Mr. Ao to Pi Island, and then slowly our family became what it is today.

The third child is gone, and the fourth child is disabled. This is the price our family needs to pay! The only person I feel a little guilty about is actually Xiaoyu.

You said that if we had raised our hands and let it go...!" After taking a sip of wine, a blush appeared on Li Xiu's face.

"This kind of thing must not be let go. As long as we let one go, we will be finished in a short time.

Even if it were to happen now, I would never let this matter go. Once we get to the bottom of it, no matter who it is, we will definitely kill him.

I will kill anyone who is a foreigner, no matter who they are. Even if Li Lin made such a mistake, I will still kill him. There is no need for any hesitation on this point."

Li Xiao's vicious look frightened Li Xiu.

He didn't expect that after so long, his elder brother still had such an attitude.

"Forget it! Don't mention this matter, drink!

It's been a while since we, brothers, drank like this together.

Do it!" Li Xiu picked up the wine glass, clinked it with Li Xiao, and the two brothers drank it down in one gulp.

"When I came back today, I was still thinking about how you would scold me. Chen Laohu also said that he is the deputy commander and all the responsibilities lie with him. If you want me to push it on him!

Haha! This is Chen Laohu." After Li Xiu filled Li Xiao's mouth, he filled it himself.

"I have to say, you're a pretty good deputy commander. You're not like two old guys like Ao Ye and Man Ye, who know how to ask for things from me all day long.

Recently, you have filled in your faults and ordered things from me. Whenever you come to my headquarters, you will either grab a box of cigars and run away, or you will grab two bottles of wine.

The most outrageous thing is that when their jeep arrives at the headquarters, it has to be filled with gas before returning.

Tell me, both of them are under armored forces, how can they be short of fuel?" Li Xiao laughed at himself.

"In fact, they just like to do this, which shows that you should not be an outsider if you take the big brother. If they take yours, it also means that you can take theirs.

We have gone through ups and downs over the years and have become a family. When we go on an expedition to the Western Regions, you can rest assured that Mr. Ao will guard the capital.

To be honest, are you really relieved if I change someone else?" Li Xiu took a sip of wine and smiled.

"Why don't you worry? I'm worried about you, Fourth Brother."

"They are our brothers, how can we have second thoughts? I want to say, eldest brother... the Chen family treats us well.

Whether they are children of the Chen family or not, we will promote them.

Because of Chen Laohu, it is difficult for me to be promoted in the Navy. After all, being a good subordinate is one thing. Having a nest of them is not a good thing."

"Haha! I'm about to become an official. Tell me which of the children of the Chen family can let you speak for him like this." Li Xiao laughed.

It was rare for Li Xiu to open his mouth in person and ask for an official position from him, so he had to ask carefully.

"Chen Laohu's nephew, Chen Xiaolu.

This guy is now a county magistrate in Jiangxi. I asked the fourth child. He specifically checked his political performance, and his official rating for three consecutive years has been excellent."

"Having been an excellent student for three consecutive years but not promoted? Although old Chen Fu is no longer here, he still has an uncle who is the deputy commander of the navy.
To be continued...