October 5, 4344 (1647 AD).

Admiral Zhan Tie of the battleship fleet received an imperial edict from Emperor Su He.

He read the imperial edict to the fleet admirals.

This is not a formal imperial edict, but a telegram translation with special markings.

With this mark, it means that this is a telegram sent from Qianqing Palace.

Now the imperial edict communication system of the Great China Empire has been completely changed to telegraph.

Only for extremely special matters will an entity's imperial edict be issued.

Chief of Staff Cao Zhengyuan listened to the contents of the imperial edict.

There are two things in total. The first thing is that Emperor Su He allowed the army to go to vassal states and other countries around the world to show the power of the Imperial Navy.

The second thing is that the eldest prince Su Shu visited the vassal country on behalf of the emperor, but he had to seriously learn how to be a good naval officer on the ship.

Chief of Staff Cao Zhengyuan thought in his mind that these two things are very simple, but it is very difficult to avoid any omissions.

In particular, the battleship Taishan is a new warship and is sailing on the ocean.

Any problems may arise, and these things are beyond human control.

The fleet must have all plans in place and be able to react quickly when encountering problems.

Admiral Zhan Tie put this specially marked telegram into the most important file bag and sealed it.

He looked at everyone and said: "Your Majesty's ambition far exceeds ours.

We were too conservative before and just wanted the battleship Taishan to go to the ocean for training.

His Majesty the Emperor's order is for us to demonstrate the power of the Royal Navy of the Great China Empire and complete training in the process.

Chief of Staff Cao Zhengyuan leads the staff of the General Staff Department and is responsible for planning the fleet's material support and other matters.

Everything is in accordance with the requirements of the war, simulating the material consumption of the fleet in war situations.

We need to plan the fleet's march route, not to miss any vassal country, and to pass through as many countries as possible."

Chief of Staff Cao Zhengyuan smiled and agreed: "Leave these matters to me, you can rest assured to plan the route.

The route is the most important, leave the trivial matters of the fleet to me."

Chief of Staff Cao Zhengyuan was leading the staff when they were busy providing material support for the fleet.

Admiral Zhan Tie unfolded the world map, and they planned the fleet's route.

The map of the Royal Navy of the Great China Empire is the most accurate world map in the world.

The map is made to scale and has longitude and latitude lines on it.

The most important areas in the world have been shown on the map.

The eldest prince Su Shu attended the meeting and listened to the generals arguing.

While planning the route, they got into an argument.

More than ten routes were proposed, mainly in two directions.

"I support taking the Malacca route first, heading to Europe, then detouring to the Americas, and finally returning to the Great China Empire."

"We should go first to America, then to Europe via the Atlantic, and finally back to the Empire."

While everyone was arguing, Admiral Zhan Tie made the final decision: "Based on the merits of each route, Admiral, we will choose to go to America first.

On this journey, only when crossing the Pacific Ocean, the fleet could hardly find a stopping route.

After all, the battleship Taishan is a new warship, and some minor problems or major problems may occur.

But when you first use it, the probability of problems is low.

We crossed the long route of the Pacific Ocean during the best time period for warships.

In the subsequent voyage, even if there are some problems with the moving average, docking at the dock will facilitate the maintenance of the warship and the supply of materials to the fleet."

Admiral Zhan Tie's opinion was recognized by everyone.

Both directions are similar, but considering the probability of a warship accident, it is a better choice to go to America first.

If the battleship Taishan loses power, the towing speed using barges will be very slow.

If the fleet is insufficiently supplied in the vast Pacific Ocean, the risk will be too great.

The eldest prince Su Shu saw the generals and quickly finished arguing about the fleet's route.

The entire fleet is in a busy state, preparing for the upcoming voyage.

The eldest prince Su Shu has also been busy.

After more than ten days of preparation, the mighty fleet set off from the port.

The battleship Taishan is at the forefront of the fleet, and the battleship is escorted by cruisers on both sides.

Behind is a huge 10,000-ton cargo ship, with transporters following behind.

None of the ships in the fleet had a mast. They all had a huge chimney, emitting billowing black smoke.

The eldest prince Su Shu stood on the deck of the battleship Taishan. He watched the huge fleet traveling and was filled with emotion.

In the palace, you can't see such a majestic scene at all.

His father has always taught him that the power of industry is unimaginable.

He was still ignorant before, but only when he came to the battleship Tarzan did he truly see the power of industry.

Industrial power has formed a surging trend that cannot be reversed by manpower.

Any country that refuses to embrace industry will surely be eliminated by the times.

Su Shu saw a busy island in front of the fleet, which was Jeju Island.

He had been working on the ship during this period, and he had memorized the world map by heart, and he remembered all the iconic locations.

He can judge the destination of the fleet through the location of Jeju Island and the direction in which the fleet is heading.

"Commander Lu, the fleet is heading towards the Japanese province.

I remember the previous discussion that the fleet should cross the Pacific and head directly to America."

Staff officer Lu Yuanqi explained: “In order to deal with emergencies, coal and other materials can be purchased from outside sources, and the fleet will not use its own reserves.

Going to important ports for supplies is the navy's greatest guarantee.

If two navies go to war, the difference in equipment and personnel will be small.

Whichever side has more supply points along the way will have the advantage.

The fleet went to Edo to replenish supplies, and on the way to Honolulu Island to replenish supplies and conduct maintenance on the warships.

The fleet will then head to Zhao State and cross the Pacific Ocean where there are basically no ports, and the road will be much smoother after that."

When Su Shu heard the explanation from staff officer Lu Yuanqi, he didn't understand it except for some details. He already knew the fleet's idea of ​​​​choosing the route.

The fleet soon docked at Edo Military Port, which is one of the main ports of the First Fleet.

Admiral Zhantetsu allowed the officers and soldiers of the fleet to go to Edo Castle for fun, but they must return to the warship at night. Anyone who fails to return within the time limit will be subject to military law.

Staff officer Lu Yuanqi took Su Shu, who was interested in this place, to visit Edo Castle.

It is also one of his tasks to lead the eldest prince Su Shu to appreciate the customs and customs of various places.

But he would never dare to lead the eldest prince Su Shu to the most famous industry in Edo City.

Su Shu was walking on the streets of Edo Castle. He looked at the pedestrians coming and going. They spoke Chinese and discussed the interesting things happening around them.

It was already November. Su Shu was wearing a sweater and felt a little chilly.

He saw some women in Edo City walking on the street wearing Confucian skirts, not afraid of the cold at all.

Su Shu lamented: "The empire does not encourage women to serve as soldiers, otherwise these women would really be the best soldiers guarding Northern Xinjiang.

Even people from the Northeast moan and groan when they go to Beihai Province due to the cold."

Staff Officer Lu Yuanqi looked at the sparse beard of the eldest prince Su Shu. The underage boy did not understand these things and pretended to be an adult to give advice. It was not easy for him to teach him this kind of thing.

He could only mutter: "I don't understand it now, but I will understand it later."

Su Shu observed the customs and customs of Edo, and he found that the people of Edo were extremely thoroughly Chineseized.

He has been traveling for so long and can no longer find any traces of local culture. All the plaques on the street are in Chinese characters and there are no local characters.

Su Shu heard his father say that ethnic groups with their own historical and written heritage are extremely difficult to eliminate.

The situation here in Edo was somewhat different from what he thought.

They were walking on the street, buying some souvenirs.

A middle-aged man in his forties, wearing silk and satin, was slightly fat and looked like a smiling Buddha.

"Your Highness, the eldest prince, I am Ma Heng, the governor of Dongying Province. I would like to invite your Highness to sit in the mansion for a while."

Su Shu immediately agreed to contact these governors. If he could draw him closer to his camp, it would be a great help.
To be continued...