The warship traveled at a slow speed in the Suez Canal.
Admiral Li Pinglang looked at the busy canal. Merchant ships were constantly queuing up, trying to pass through the canal.
The emergence of the Suez Canal shortened the distance from the Chinese Empire to Europe by almost half.
The sea conditions along the way have also become more stable, allowing shipping to flourish.
The people on both sides of the Fujian Canal are also very interested in ironclad ships.
In particular, the ironclads achieved crushing victories in Europe, representing strong strength.
The people on the shore looked at the armored ships with expressions of fear and envy, and whispered about the armored ships' achievements.
The Imperial Navy fleet did not need to queue up and smoothly walked out of the Suez Shipment and onto the Red Sea.
Admiral Li Pinglang refused the invitation of Fujian officials and let the warship boiler operate at full power.
The warship puffed out thick black smoke and headed south under the watchful eyes of everyone on the shore.
Li Pinglang looked back at the Suez Canal and thought about this battle in Europe.
He lamented: "If it weren't for the small number of troops this time, I would definitely land on the ground and turn him upside down."
Chief of Staff Gu Zhonghuang walked out of the ship island. Hearing Admiral Li Pinglang's words, he said regretfully: "We only play the role of explorers.
The main purpose of coming to Europe this time is to examine the hydrological information on the route, establish a stable base, and test the combat performance of the ironclad ship.
We have completed these tasks very well and will definitely be rewarded by His Majesty.
Before coming to Europe, no one knew that an ironclad ship versus a sailing ship would be such a crushing situation.
We need to bring our successful experience back to China so that the Navy will have sufficient experience for its next operation."
When Admiral Li Pinglang heard Chief of Staff Gu Zhonghuang's comfort, he could only nod helplessly.
The most regretful thing about this war was that due to lack of strength, we were unable to land in the hinterland of Europe and occupy well-known cities.
In the military of the Great China Empire, if a general accomplishes something that no one has accomplished before, that is a huge bonus.
Admiral Li Pinglang calmed down and returned to his room. He looked through the battle information recorded by the fleet and wrote a detailed battle report.
This battle report records the achievements of everyone in the fleet, and there must be no mistakes.
This was also the first time that an ironclad ship fought against the enemy.
The battle reports he wrote are likely to be studied by all generals in the navy.
This battle report must be refined and there must be no mistakes.
Once Admiral Li Pinglang writes this battle report, he is likely to rise to prominence.
Never allow yourself to fail to seize this precious opportunity.
…………………………
Admiral Li Pinglang's eyes were red. He went into seclusion to write a battle report. After many inspections, he finally produced a battle report that he was satisfied with.
He called Zheng Sen, Shi Lang and other generals to read the battle report and look for errors in the battle report.
After many discussions, there are absolutely no simple errors in the battle report that can be discovered at a glance.
Admiral Li Pinglang opened his arms and stood on the deck, facing the sea breeze.
He felt that the warship was a bit slow, looked at Chief of Staff Gu Zhonghuang next to him, and asked: "Where is the warship going now? Is it going to the port to resupply?"
Chief of Staff Gu Zhonghuang nodded and said: "We have now reached the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.
We are preparing to go to Cai State to replenish some fresh water and vegetables.
In difficult situations, soldiers can rely on tea and bean sprouts to avoid scurvy.
However, since supplies are convenient, it is better to eat more vegetables, which is more in line with the taste of the soldiers."
Admiral Li Pinglang turned his head and looked at the shore. There was already the prototype of a busy town.
When they came, they escorted King Cai Wu Jie. Now they can observe Cai Guo's performance here.
When the Imperial Navy fleet docked, Wu Zhengxi, the Crown Prince of Cai, wearing a python robe, led people to greet the Imperial Navy fleet.
When Wu Zhengxi boarded the Wuyishan, he saw Admiral Li Pinglang and said with a smile: "I have also heard about Lord Li's heroic deeds in Europe.
This war established the reputation of the Imperial Navy of Great China.
It has become much easier for us vassal countries to do business in Europe.
The arrogant Europeans before no longer dare to treat us as barbarians.
The improvement of the business environment all depends on Mr. Li's great achievements.
The Imperial Navy fleet is docked at the port, if you need anything, just ask."
Admiral Li Pinglang saw Wu Zhengxi's performance. The originally young boy had become much more mature. The environment was really training.
He cupped his hands and said politely: "The fleet needs to replenish some fresh water and food, especially shelf-stable vegetables."
Wu Zhengxi smiled and said: "There is no problem at all. There is a small river around the port and there is plenty of fresh water.
We also grow potatoes, cabbage, and radishes here.
These are shelf-stable dishes that can be supplied to the Imperial Fleet."
Wu Zhengxi lives in the capital all year round. He knows that the Great China Empire's military purchases supplies and pays for them very happily.
There will never be any bullying and domination of the market.
Through this transaction, Cai Guo not only made good friends with the Imperial Navy, but also earned a generous amount of silver coins.
One wants to buy and the other wants to sell.
The two quickly reached a deal, and Wu Zhengxi immediately ordered local officials to organize a batch of vegetables as soon as possible to supply the imperial fleet.
At the same time, civilian men were dispatched to fetch fresh water from the river and supply it to the imperial fleet for free.
While Li Pinglang was waiting for the supplies to be delivered, he also chatted with Wu Zhengxi.
"Prince Wu, does Cai Guo have a firm foothold in the Arabian Peninsula?
Are there any powerful enemies around you?"
Wu Zhengxi showed a smile on his face and replied happily: "This place chosen by my father is really good.
The two neighboring powers, the Ottoman Turkish Empire and the Fujian Kingdom, were plunged into war.
The Arabian Peninsula is full of tribes. They live around oases and are not strong at all.
Near the sea, desertification is not serious, but the tribes here live a more comfortable life and are not strong.
After my father landed on the island, he immediately led his troops to clear out these tribes.
They were still in the cold weapon age and had only loose tribal alliances. They were not our opponents at all, and their resistance was quickly suppressed.
However, most of the Arabian Peninsula is desert and has little development potential.
But there are many minerals in the desert, especially oil.
We are drilling in the desert and want to build an oasis.
Oil can be drilled from very shallow places underground.
It is the cheap oil supplied by our country that has led many merchant ships on this route to choose oil-burning boilers for their boilers.
We can live very comfortably just by selling minerals."
When Admiral Li Pinglang heard what Wu Zhengxi said, he was really envious.
As long as you find a piece of land and establish a vassal state, you wonder what kind of surprises will be left in this land?
Nowadays, there has always been a dispute between coal and oil as fuel for steam ships in the Great China Empire.
There is more coal and less oil in the empire, and the price of coal is very cheap. Local businessmen are very fond of coal-fired ships.
Nanyang and other places are rich in oil and the price is cheap.
High-quality coal is rare and very expensive.
In order to save costs, local chambers of commerce prefer coal-fired ships.
In order to verify different technical directions, the imperial military has both coal-fired warships and fuel-fired warships.
Only whichever technology achieves a better breakthrough will the Imperial Navy completely favor a certain technology.
Now that Cai Guo has a large amount of oil supply market, I wonder if it will cause changes.
Admiral Li Pinglang bid farewell to Wu Zhengxi, and the Imperial Navy fleet continued its journey.
The Changbaishan located at the rear of the fleet waved its flag.
Chief of Staff Gu Zhonghuang looked at the flag and said: "General Zheng Sen said that a large number of merchant ships are following behind our fleet.
Should we send destroyers to drive away these merchant ships?"
Li Pinglang waved his hands and said: "Ahead is the Persian Gulf, where pirates frequently appear.
There were not many pirates here originally, but as the merchants of the Great China Empire continued to go to Europe to do business.
There are some Japanese, Koreans, Ming Dynasty veterans who are full of hatred for the Great China Empire, as well as domestic scum with criminal records.
They formed pirates along the route and strengthened the caravans along the way.
After many strikes, the navy has been able to ensure that there is basically no place for pirates on this route east of Ceylon Island.
But west of the island of Ceylon, especially where the Imperial Navy could not reach, piracy was rampant.
These businessmen are also for safety, and the Royal Navy of China has the obligation to ensure their safety.
As long as it does not affect the normal navigation of the fleet, let these caravans follow the fleet.
With us clearing the way ahead, I'd like to see if there are any pirates who don't have the courage to come and die."
Chief of Staff Gu Zhonghuang said helplessly: "It has been more than ten years since the founding of the People's Republic of China. In the early days of the People's Republic of China, at least one million bandits and pirates were imprisoned.
After so many years of imprisonment, His Majesty has granted amnesty many times.
Most of these imprisoned people have been released.
These people did not catch up with the rapid development of the empire and were out of touch with society.
They were still stuck in the period when the Ming Dynasty had just died, but the empire had long since changed.
Some of these people cannot survive, so they must take desperate risks and return to their old profession.
Once all these people are dead, the environment around the empire should become better."
The two of them only talked for a few words and then stopped talking about the matter.
Issues left over from history are not something they can solve.
The mission of the Imperial Navy is to see a group of pirates and send them into the sea to feed the fish.
The Imperial Navy fleet rushed all the way to the waters near Ceylon Island with its vast merchant ships.
This island located at the southernmost tip of India is also one of the home ports of the Third Fleet of the Chinese Navy.
When the merchant ships saw the island of Ceylon, they knew that the road ahead was very safe.
The sailors on the merchant ships kept waving to the warships to say goodbye to the Imperial Navy.
Admiral Li Pinglang did not stop at Ceylon Island.
After a long voyage, the Imperial Navy fleet must dock at a military port for maintenance.
The reason he did not choose Ceylon was that there was no telegraph here.
The situation on the European battlefield can only be reported to His Majesty the Emperor and the top brass of the Navy as quickly as possible through wired telegrams.
Admiral Li Pinglang will never stop at a port without telegraph.
The Imperial Navy fleet passed through the Strait of Malacca and docked at Temasek, the largest port in Southeast Asia, for rest.
This is one of the home ports of the Second Fleet of the Great China Empire and has the most complete shipbuilding industry.
Admiral Li Pinglang did not choose to go south along India and stopped in the East India region.
One of the reasons is that in the East India region, the pioneering war is still going on, and there is no stable situation there.
The most important reason is that the Governor's Mansion formed in the later period of the Great China Empire was mainly based on agriculture, and its industry was not developed at all.
The local shipyard can repair some fishing boats, but it is impossible to repair ironclads, the pinnacle of industrial technology.
Only Temasek has strong industrial strength after a long period of development, and the local shipyard has the ability to repair ironclads.
Admiral Li Pinglang led the fleet to dock in the port.
As the entrance to the Strait of Malacca, Temasek is a very prosperous port.
Admiral Li Pinglang gave the fleet officers a holiday so that they could move freely in Temasek.
He went directly to the telegraph office dedicated to the military and reported in detail the relevant situation of the European war to His Majesty the Emperor and the top brass of the Navy.
Admiral Li Pinglang watched the telegraph machine keep ringing, and the operator's fingers were trembling as he sent out the thick battle report in full.
Only then did he relax completely and prepare to chat with his friends.
As soon as Li Pinglang went out, he saw Wang Doudou walking in.
He immediately stepped forward to say hello: "So it's your boy who is on duty here in Temasek."
They are good friends who have worked together for many years. If they make jokes to each other, no one will care.
Wang Doudou came over, patted Li Pinglang on the shoulder, and said enviously: "I heard that your boy is making great achievements in Europe.
I think you have the dignity of a governor, and you will definitely rise to great heights in the future."
Li Pinglang immediately stepped forward and covered Wang Doudou's mouth, and whispered: "This is unreasonable. If this reaches Governor Zhou's ears, he will think that I want to pull him down, and he will wear small shoes for me in the future."
From their tone of voice, it can be heard that they have little respect for Governor Zhou.
They were all direct descendants of Feng Sanqiu, and it was thought that the governor of the Second Fleet might be promoted from within the fleet.
No one expected that Zhou You would parachute directly and completely take over the affairs of the Second Fleet.
Many generals of the Second Fleet were not convinced by Zhou You.
Even for this trip to Europe, Governor Zhou also arranged for his confidant Shi Lang to be in the fleet.
Li Pinglang waved his hand and said: "I just came back from fighting in Europe thousands of miles away. I don't want to hear about the dirty things inside our Second Fleet."
He actually knew in his heart that this was His Majesty's plan to mix sand.
Governor Feng Sanqiu has become the Grand Governor of the Empire. It is impossible for His Majesty the Emperor to let the Second Fleet become a piece of iron.
It was the Second Fleet that broke the shackles of the past and became a practitioner of the navy's new tactics.
Only then could Li Pinglang stand out from the army and go to Europe to verify the performance of the ironclad ships.
Wang Doudou nodded and said: "Okay, let's not talk about the things in the fleet, but let's talk about the recent major events in the navy.
The navy's pinnacle of stability, the armored battleship has been demonstrated and is under construction at the Qinhuangdao Shipyard.
Everyone in the navy hopes to become the captain of a battleship.
The cruiser is so powerful, I don't know how powerful the battleship will be."
When Li Pinglang heard the news, he was also very excited.
The Empire classified warships similar to sailing battleships as cruisers.
This shows the empire's ambition to build powerful battleships.
As a naval officer, he also yearns for battleships that have not yet been launched.
Li Pinglang and his comrade Wang Doudou learned about some major situations that occurred in the empire during his absence to prevent future jokes. (End of this chapter)