Li Pinglang used a semaphore to order the Changbaishan to return to the team as soon as possible.
Shi Lang said in a relaxed tone: "Our fleet has finally lost this big burden. Without their drag, we will arrive in Fujian soon."
As a new generation of navy, by the time he grew up, his predecessors had already eliminated all nearby opponents.
Shi Lang could only take the warships to patrol everywhere on the sea.
This time they obtained Emperor Su He's order, and the Imperial Navy conducted an ocean-going war for the first time.
Emperor Su He's purpose was very clear, to verify the role of the Suez Canal, to observe the strength of the Fujian Navy, and to verify the role of ironclad ships in actual combat.
Shi Lang was overjoyed when he saw Emperor Su He's will.
Watching the Army continue to gain military honors, soldiers who joined the army later than him continued to surpass him in positions and titles.
Shi Lang felt very uncomfortable in his heart and had been longing for a great battle with the Imperial Navy.
This time their fleet is going to the Mediterranean, and he must find a way to make the war bigger, so that he can make great achievements and let the world see his abilities.
It was precisely because of Shi Lang's ambition that he did not want to be a nanny for King Cai Wu Jie's fleet.
Admiral Li Pinglang had not yet spoken. Fleet Chief of Staff Gu Zhonghuang, who was reading a book at the side, heard Shi Lang's words and looked at Shi Lang with sharp eyes.
He said in a very stern tone: "Soldiers must execute orders unconditionally and do not hesitate to think about things that have nothing to do with war.
This is the emperor's decree, and we must execute it to the letter.
I don't want to hear any complaints again in the fleet.
Changbaishan has been integrated into the fleet, and now we will enter the Red Sea and directly reach the Suez Canal."
When everyone heard the chief of staff's anger, their faces became serious and they no longer dared to whisper in private.
…………………………
The Jin navy's sailing battleship Pinghai guards the junction of the Red Sea and the Pacific Ocean. By guarding this narrow strait, the Jin hinterland does not have to worry about enemies at sea.
Xu Huaizhen, the Jin naval general and captain of the Pinghai, was leaning on the mast and smoking a cigarette.
The Jin navy had no enemies nearby, and its only mission was to prevent pirates from attacking the passing team.
To deal with ordinary pirates, the Jin Navy only needs to dispatch destroyers.
There are no pirates worthy of using their battleships yet.
Xu Huaizhen's life was very boring, and he also knew that this was a normal life for the Jin navy.
Jin's martial virtue has always been weak. If he encounters a difficult enemy, his soldiers will not be able to deal with it.
Bang! Bang bang!
Several rapid gunshots sounded, and they sounded like empty shells.
Xu Huaizhen was stunned for a moment, and then he realized that this was the warning sound of the fleet encountering an enemy.
He immediately put out the cigarette in his hand, picked up his telescope and looked towards the entrance of the Red Sea Strait.
Xu Huaizhen saw a fleet of more than a dozen warships lining up to enter the Red Sea.
These ships looked very strange. They had no sails and a large smoking pipe in the middle of the ship.
There are three warships among them, which are obviously larger than Pinghai, especially the huge cannon on the bow, which makes people dizzy just looking at them.
The most critical point is that these warships are not sail warships. They glow with a metallic light under the sun.
Xu Huaizhen muttered: "It's over, it's completely over, it can't be stopped at all."
He raised his hand slightly and saw the flag fluttering on the mast of the army on the opposite side, which made him feel completely relieved.
He was very familiar with this flag, after all, he had also served in the Great China Navy.
Xu Huaizhen saw that officers at all levels were very nervous, and some had slight sweat on their foreheads.
He immediately said loudly: "Don't worry, everyone, these are warships of the Great China Empire, they are not enemies.
Everyone put smiles on their faces, hung welcome flags on the masts, and came with me to greet the imperial warships."
Many of the officers on the battleship Pinghai have never seen the strength of the Imperial Navy of Great China, and this time they have learned a little bit about the strength of the Imperial Navy of Great China.
Most of them are immigrants from the Great China Empire and have no fear of the Imperial Navy.
As the distance between the two parties gets closer and closer, the appearance of the Dahua Empire's armored ship can be clearly seen with the naked eye.
Everyone in the Jin Navy was shocked, and they discussed the situation of the Great China Navy.
"I read that right! The warships of the Imperial Navy are not sailing ships covered with iron armor.
They are warships made entirely of steel, and the capabilities of the two warships are completely different.
With the strength of our Pinghai naval gun, it should not be able to penetrate the armor of the Imperial Navy.
If the two armies really go to war, the Imperial Navy can annihilate us without any damage."
"If you look at the big smokestack in the middle of the warship, you will know that the Imperial Navy is definitely not a sailing warship.
This is obviously the chimney of a steam engine. This kind of warship should rely on steam power to travel on the sea.
If we still use sails, it will be completely unnecessary.”
"No wonder the empire can dominate the world, it's just that the navy is so powerful.
I don’t know if our country can be allowed to purchase this kind of warship.
If we have this kind of warship, the Red Sea Strait will be as stable as Mount Tai."
Li Pinglang saw the Jin navy approaching their fleet and greeted them in flag language.
He ordered the flag language soldiers: "Use flag language to identify yourself and thank them for welcoming you."
Li Pinglang soon saw that the other party was signaling again, asking the Imperial Navy to stop in the Jin Kingdom for a few days to guide the Jin Navy's operations.
He knew that any naval general who saw an ironclad ship would be tempted to go on board and visit it.
Li Pinglang told the flag soldiers: "Let's respond in flag language. This time we are visiting Fujian. When we return home, we will stop in Jin for a few days."
The navies of the two countries communicated using flags, and the ships quickly passed each other.
When Xu Huaizhen saw the flag message replied by the Imperial Navy, he said in a relaxed tone: "This can be regarded as an explanation.
I don’t know why the Imperial Navy went to Fujian. This matter must be reported to the King of Jin as soon as possible.”
…………………………
Du Dayong, the naval governor of Fujian, was at the mouth of the Suez Canal, waiting for the arrival of the Imperial Navy of China.
Navy General Wei Zhifeng said in an anxious tone: "Sir Governor, why haven't the Imperial Navy arrived yet?
We have postponed the opening ceremony of the Suez Canal for half a month in order to wait for the arrival of the Imperial Navy.
If the Imperial Navy is not available, the opening ceremony will be further postponed.
Now that the country is at war for a long time, it is necessary to import a large amount of food and materials from Jin and Zheng.
The imperial court's finances were already insufficient, and there was an urgent need to open the Suez Canal and collect tolls from merchants.
Moving trade through convenient railways is not a long-term solution.
For many goods that are not suitable for loading and unloading, they would rather take the Cape of Good Hope route."
When Du Dayong heard Wei Zhifeng's words, his tone did not relax at all, he just said lightly: "We must wait for the arrival of the imperial navy.
Our domestic envoys have already delivered the personal letter from the King of Fujian to the Emperor of China.
Emperor Dahua replied to the King of Fujian and agreed to the King of Fujian's request and would send a fleet to participate in the opening ceremony of the Suez Canal.
This is something that the Emperor of China and the King of Fujian reached, and there will be absolutely no mistakes.
According to our calculations, the Chinese Navy will arrive here as early as half a month ago, which is also the time when the Suez Canal is originally scheduled to open.
The Dahua Navy has not arrived for a long time. It must have been delayed on the way, so we will wait."
Governor Du Dayong just advised his generals not to be impatient, but he did not go into too much detail.
The Min Kingdom chose to establish its country in Egypt, which marked its feud with the Ottoman Turkish Empire and other European countries.
The century-long feud between the Ottoman Turkish Empire and various European countries was due to the existence of the Fujian Kingdom, and they had already made peace with each other.
The Ottoman Turkish Empire was feudal and decadent, and its army's combat effectiveness was extremely low.
But their population was too large, and the Fujian Army performed very well at the beginning of the attack.
Until the Ottoman Turkish Empire, regardless of the attrition of the army, they had to compete with the Fujian state for attrition.
Even if they had to use fifty Ottoman soldiers to kill one Fujian soldier, they would still choose to do this.
This is because some smart people in the Ottoman Turkish Empire discovered the biggest shortcoming of Fujian, which was insufficient population.
The Fujian army found that it was impossible to eliminate the Ottoman Turkish Empire in a short period of time, so it could only build a large number of fortifications on the front line and fight a war of attrition against the Ottoman Turkish Empire.
The massive strength of the Fujian army was delayed by the Ottoman Empire.
Xiao Zuo has learned from various European countries that European countries are extremely worried about the Suez Canal.
They believe that once the Suez Canal appears, it will mean that the naval power of the Chinese Empire can easily enter the Mediterranean and threaten the hinterlands of European countries.
European countries are preparing to send troops to take control of the Suez Canal.
Now that the canal is not open to traffic, European countries are not in a hurry. They have not formed a synergy just because their interests are unevenly distributed.
As a result, they were unable to send troops to attack Fujian for a long time.
Once European countries learn that the Suez Canal is open to traffic, they will inevitably put aside their prejudices and jointly send troops to occupy the Suez Canal.
The Suez Canal is an excellent strategic location. If China controls it, it can easily send troops into Europe.
There is no need to go around the African continent, and the trip is almost shortened by half.
If European forces control the Suez Canal, they can effectively utilize the resources in Africa and West Asia.
It will also become much easier for European forces to travel to Dahua.
The country of Fujian is now talking about the empty city strategy to the outside world, but it is actually very weak internally.
They were unable to resist the attack of the European coalition forces, and the two countries Jin and Zheng were very weak and could not help at all.
The only choice for Fujian is to turn the concerns of European countries into reality.
Let the Imperial Navy really enter the Mediterranean and contain the navies of European countries.
Egypt does not border Europe, and European navies cannot cross the Mediterranean, so they cannot threaten Fujian.
As for using the road to attack from the Ottoman Turkish Empire.
Even if the Sultan of the Ottoman Turkish Empire was stupid, his ministers would not be stupid and would definitely stop it.
As for the Imperial Navy of Great China, it cannot suppress the navies of European countries.
Du Dayong had never thought about this matter.
The reputation of the Imperial Navy of Great China was built with one ship and one cannon.
Even if artillery technology has not improved since he left, it can still defeat the navies of various European countries.
Du Dayong has learned about the navies of various European countries, and only the Spanish Navy and the English Navy are relatively strong.
It's already sunset in Spain, and the skinny camels are bigger than horses.
The English navy is strong, but England is experiencing civil strife. There is no stable country, and the powerful navy cannot exert its due strength.
Du Dayong convinced the King of Fujian at that time that he would deduce the future development of the situation based on the strength of all parties.
If the future situation is favorable to the country of Fujian, the King of Fujian will not hesitate to support Du Dayong.
Wei Zhifeng looked at the sea in the distance with his binoculars in boredom.
He expected to see several impressive sails through the telescope.
He suddenly saw a pair of thick black clouds floating over the Red Sea in the south.
"Mr. Governor, what do you think is going on on the Red Sea in the south?
Such dense black clouds are very similar to the black clouds above the industrial area.
There has been no westerly wind recently, so it is impossible to blow the black clouds from the industrial area here."
Governor Du Dayong picked up his telescope and observed strange phenomena on the sea.
He couldn't figure out what caused this strange black smoke.
He stared into the distance with his binoculars and soon saw three large chimneys, emitting black smoke, approaching the shore quickly.
Governor Du Dayong thought of the rumors he heard when he was in the Imperial Navy.
He said excitedly: "A steam-powered warship, this must be a steam-powered warship. Such warships are highly confidential in the Imperial Navy.
I really didn’t expect that the Great China Empire would send them out.”
Wei Zhifeng heard Governor Du Dayong say that this was a steam-powered warship, and he also reacted.
There are already civilian ships using propellers, and the results are very good.
According to the practice of the Great China Empire, this technology will inevitably be used on warships.
In his heart, he expected the steam warships of the Dahua Empire to look like, but when he actually saw the ironclads.
Wei Zhifeng opened his mouth wide and couldn't believe the warship he saw.
A warship built entirely of steel is simply too destructive.
Only one such warship is needed to sink all the warships of Fujian.
This is like a cold weapon army encountering a hot weapon army with complete guns and cannons, and is completely unable to resist.
Governor Du Dayong stood up and patted Wei Zhifeng on the shoulder.
"Don't be stunned here. The Imperial Navy of Great China is about to arrive at the port. We have to go there to greet them."
Du Dayong led people to the military port to greet the Imperial Navy of Great China.
When he saw the appearance of the ironclad, he knew that this victory would definitely belong to them.
With the strength of the navies of various European countries, even if the entire army is deployed, it cannot shake the navy of the Great China Empire.
When Admiral Li Pinglang saw the military port, he relaxed.
After wandering at sea for such a long time, the fleet finally reached its destination and the army could go ashore to rest.
His Majesty the Emperor's imperial edict requires the Imperial Navy to cooperate with the Fujian Navy's operations.
They came here as guest troops.
The warships entered the military port in an orderly manner and stopped with the assistance of the guidance ship.
Li Pinglang and Gu Zhonghuang stepped off the warship. They were a little uncomfortable stepping on solid ground.
When Governor Du Dayong saw Li Pinglang, he immediately recognized the naval general.
Li Pinglang was a hawk among the Imperial Navy and had always insisted on the Imperial Navy's outward expansion.
His last worry was also resolved. He was also worried that the Imperial Navy would send some indecisive generals, which would affect the cooperation between the two navies.
Governor Du Dayong stepped forward and took the initiative to hold Li Pinglang's hand.
"General Li Pinglang, I am Du Dayong, the naval governor of Fujian.
When I was in the Imperial Navy, I kept hearing about General Lee's achievements. It is our country's honor that you can lead troops to support our country."
Li Pinglang saw that the other party was very polite, and he also replied politely: "Governor Du is very polite. This time, I am here to support your country of Fujian according to the order of His Majesty the Emperor.
We will never tarnish the glory of the Imperial Navy."
Governor Du Dayong was completely relieved when he heard what General Li Pinglang said.
He immediately arranged for someone to clean up the Imperial Navy. (End of this chapter)
