The fleet soon returned to the port of Gibraltar, and everyone went ashore to rest.
Governor Niu Xiangshan also knew about the expansion of Gibraltar.
He patted his chest and promised: "The territory you have worked so hard to gain will never be lost in my hands, Lao Niu.
I have long disliked that Gibraltar is a bit small, but now it has an additional 100,000 square kilometers of land.
This is a county, larger than some small European countries.
With a large site, there is room for growth here in Gibraltar."
Governor Niu Xiangshan looked at the new regional territory of Gibraltar on the chart.
He was grinning from ear to ear, even though this area is a large mountainous area.
But as the territory increases, regardless of its economic benefits, it becomes much easier in terms of defense.
Gibraltar before was only the size of a port.
Relying entirely on warship defense, the northern region would not be able to send large-scale troops to attack unless it were a mountainous area.
The last war would not have been so easy.
Now that the land area of Gibraltar has expanded, more military facilities can be built on the land.
With the defensive capabilities of the Royal Army of China, European countries cannot break through heavily defended fortresses even if they clear difficult mountain roads and gather heavy troops.
Everyone in the Imperial Royal Navy fleet rested in Gibraltar, allowing the engineers accompanying the army to speed up the maintenance of the fleet's warships.
Once the warships are overhauled, they will continue their journey.
Governor Niu Xiangshan took advantage of the fact that the battleship Taishan had not left the port of Gibraltar, which was the time when the deterrence of the Great China Empire was at its strongest.
He urged the Kingdom of Spain to use war threats and other methods to make the Kingdom of Spain hand over the ceded territory as soon as possible.
The Kingdom of Spain suffered heavy losses due to this war, and they were already devastated.
In particular, the powerful local factions in the Kingdom of Spain are even more dissatisfied with the royal family, and the idea of local secession has risen.
The Kingdom of Spain was busy appeasing the domestic nobles, and they did not have the ability to provoke another war.
Faced with the urging of the Great China Empire, the Kingdom of Spain could only show unprecedented efficiency.
Let the people living in the ceded territory speed up their evacuation.
Fortunately, the territory that was cut off was in a mountainous area, and apart from the troops stationed there, there were not many civilians.
For those people who cannot evacuate within a time limit, the Kingdom of Spain declares that they do not belong to Spain.
Governor Niu Xiangshan represented the Great China Empire and went to the local area to take over the territory.
Neither side wanted to cause trouble, so they completed the handover of territory at an extremely fast speed.
Admiral Li Pinglang watched Governor Niu Xiangshan return from the new territory with a smile on his face.
He took the initiative to say hello: "Governor Niu, with your achievements, I believe that we will be able to meet in the empire soon."
When Niu Xiangshan heard this, he laughed from ear to ear.
Going to the port of Gibraltar to be stationed is not a chore.
The Port of Gibraltar is close to a European region where conflicts are extremely intense.
As long as the Governor of Gibraltar does a little bit, he can make great achievements and be promoted much faster than others.
Governor Niu Xiangshan has now gained all his credit for nothing.
As long as Gibraltar can be developed well, he will be promoted soon.
This is also an important reason why Niu Xiangshan works conscientiously here.
A bastard with no hope of promotion definitely has low subjective initiative.
Governor Niu Xiangshan saw that Li Pinglang had changed out of his regular clothes and was wearing a navy uniform.
He asked in a determined tone: "You are leaving the Port of Gibraltar."
Li Pinglang nodded and said: "The fleet has been harassing Gibraltar Port for a long time.
Now the fleet has completed all maintenance work, and all warships with problems have been repaired.
It's time for us to leave, and I'm here specifically to say goodbye this time."
Governor Niu Xiangshan knew that this day would definitely come, and he said cheerfully: "Thank you for the contribution your fleet has brought to me.
The arrival of the battleship Tarzan also allowed me to see the most advanced warships of the Imperial Navy in advance.
I have a clear blueprint in my mind for the development of the Imperial Navy.
We are two grown men, so we don’t need to be so coy. Let’s do things more happily.”
The two of them said goodbye to each other, and Governor Niu Xiangshan personally watched the fleet leave.
He looked at the powerful background of the battleship Taishan, and silently made up his mind that he must command this kind of warship, so that his life would be truly complete.
…………………………
Su Shu looked at the calm waves of the Mediterranean Sea and the seabirds that kept falling on the deck and pecking at food scraps.
He looked at Staff Officer Lu Yuanqi next to him and asked worriedly: "The fleet is heading towards the Mediterranean, which means passing through the Suez Canal.
Can the depth and width of the Suez Canal allow the battleship Tarzan to pass?
The battleship Tarzan ran aground in the Suez Canal, which was a big joke.
In order to allow the battleship Tarzan to pass smoothly through the Suez Canal.
The soldiers and transportable items on the battleship Tarzan need to be moved to other ships first.
Only empty ships were left to allow the battleship Tarzan to pass through the Suez Canal smoothly.
Doesn't this just show the weak side of the battleship Taishan?
Doing so will undermine the majesty established by the battleship Tarzan in Europe."
Staff officer Lu Yuanqi said somewhat unconfidently: "With the reported width and depth of the Suez Canal, it is still a bit difficult to pass the battleship Taishan.
If the battleship Taishan wants to pass safely, it really needs the method Xiao Su mentioned.
This is not just the result of European countries looking down on the battleship Tarzan.
Fujian also believed that by controlling the Suez Canal, they could blackmail the empire, and this deterrent operation was greatly compromised."
After Su Shu found his approval, he immediately approached Chief of Staff Cao Zhengyuan and wanted to use this reason to convince Chief of Staff Cao Zhengyuan.
After Chief of Staff Cao Zhengyuan heard this, he laughed and said: "Xiao Su, when you look at the fleet entering the Mediterranean, you think the fleet will go through the Suez Canal.
It is not said whether the Suez Canal can allow the battleship Tarzan to pass through.
Our mission this time is to train the battleship formation.
There is no complicated sea area and you should go to the gentle sea area.
How can we train troops if we only take shortcuts?
This time entering the Mediterranean, we were heading to Rome to make a deal with representatives of the Holy Roman Empire.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! This is the battleship Tarzan’s last stop in Europe. After that, we will return to the Atlantic and go south, bypassing Africa and entering the Pacific.”
Chief of Staff Cao Zhengyuan whispered: "There is another reason, I just want to talk about it privately.
The Min Kingdom has settled in eastern Europe. It defeated the Ottoman Turkish Empire and completely occupied the territory of the Ottoman Turkish Empire in Eastern Europe.
Constantinople has been captured by the Fujian Kingdom.
The power of Fujian has expanded, and he wants to continue to expand his territory. He has set his sights on the Holy Roman Empire.
The population of Fujian was too small, and it also absorbed a large number of foreign people. Without integration at all, it provoked a war with the Holy Roman Empire.
As outsiders, we can all see that the Republic of China was a raging fire. As long as there was any failure, the front line would inevitably collapse.
The battleship Taishan is not going to Fujian now to explain to European countries that the Great China Empire has no intention of getting involved in this war.
If the country of Fujian is defeated on a large scale, in order to preserve the vitality of the country of Fujian.
The Great China Empire acts as a third party to mediate the war between various forces."
Su Shu has been learning the art of emperors since he was a child.
Chief of Staff Cao Zhengyuan said it very cryptically, and he immediately understood the connotation contained in it.
The Min Kingdom may have been defeated. At that time, the empire had never intervened as a third party in the dispute to mediate the war between the two parties.
The weaker countries on both sides had no choice but to obey this method of trying to push the powerful empire away from each other.
The Great China Empire is now in close contact with the Fujian Kingdom, and even uses the battleship Taishan to give them a platform.
It will not be so easy to mediate a war later.
The Great China Empire can also intervene in the Suez Canal by mediating wars and take the opportunity to control this strategic waterway.
The steam-powered ships moved very quickly, and they quickly reached the ports near the city of Rome.
As a representative, Wei Yuansheng went to Rome to negotiate an agreement with representatives of the Habsburg family.
Following the example of the Kingdom of Spain, representatives of the Habsburg family soon formally signed the treaty on behalf of the Holy Roman Empire.
The Habsburg family representatives were able to contain the situation so quickly, apart from the fact that Spain's fate was frightening.
He also confirmed from Wei Yuansheng that the Great China Empire and the Min Kingdom were completely two different forces.
Fujian is not an overseas territory directly controlled by the Great China Empire.
After the Habsburg family confirmed this news, they dared to fight a large-scale war with Fujian.
Otherwise, the president will be tied up in this war, worried about angering the Great China Empire at any time and asking them to mobilize a large number of military forces from overseas.
While Su Shu was waiting on the deck of the battleship Taishan, he met with business representatives from the Dahua Empire.
Some of these merchants had just arrived in Europe and were heading to Rome to prepare educational goods.
There are also merchants who have finished trading goods from England and France and are preparing to return to the country.
Through the introduction of businessmen, Su Shu gained a clearer understanding of the situation in European countries.
He learned about the war a year ago and the war with Spain some time ago.
In these two wars, the Chinese Empire achieved crushing victories, and both times were disastrous defeats for Europe.
Such a disastrous defeat brought great changes to Europe.
The first point is the attitude towards Chinese merchants.
Their attitude before was very arrogant, but after losing the war, their attitude became very respectful.
The knowledgeable people in Europe also began to reflect, and a large part of them were in the city of Rome.
This area of Rome seems to be very close to the Pope, but in fact the power of the church here is not strong.
The most important point is that the church here does not control the army.
This led to many enlightened people who opposed the church's restrictive ideas to gather here in large numbers.
These enlightened people, because the reason why Europe is backward is not unrelated to the church's restriction of ideas.
Merchants can also realize that behind these enlightened people are the newly emerging big businessmen in Europe who are funding them.
If they don't even have enough to eat, how can they consider the church oppressing them again?
The real reason is the rising industrial and commercial capital, which competes with the church for power in various ways.
Su Shu didn't care about the turbulent undercurrent behind Europe. When he saw this sign, he could clearly understand why Europe was called a rare civilized place by his father.
What he saw on the American continent was that without the intervention of outside forces, the local indigenous people would be in an uncivilized state.
Except for a few areas such as Inca civilization ruins, they have signs of civilization.
Most areas still live a life of eating hair and drinking blood, which is worse than the slave society of China thousands of years ago.
Most countries in Europe have different cultural customs, but they have a civilized order.
It’s just that the gap between Western civilization and Chinese civilization is really huge.
After experiencing it firsthand, Su Shu believed that the biggest gap was that Western civilization was extremely xenophobic.
The churches in various European countries worship only one God.
In Chinese temples, gods and Buddhas can be worshiped all over the sky.
Because of the influence of religion, history and culture, Europe is bound together by race and belief.
Only white people who believe in "God" are their own people.
This influence affects every aspect, he learned from the businessmen.
After many countries in Europe were destroyed, the remnants wandered around Europe, never being able to integrate into the mainstream nation.
The largest group among them is so rich that it is so rich that even the country cannot integrate into it.
China is completely different. The most powerful thing about Chinese civilization is that its ability to assimilate is too strong.
Even the previous mortal enemies, the Xiongnu and Xianbei of the Han Dynasty, the Khitan and the Jurchens of the Song Dynasty, have now disappeared.
No matter how xenophobic European countries are, they do have a civilized side and respect various systems and contracts.
Wei Yuansheng soon returned from Rome, bringing with him the agreement signed with the Habsburg dynasty.
Su and Shu were both surprised at the speed of Wei Yuansheng's negotiation, it was too fast.
The battleship Tarzan exited the Mediterranean Sea and headed along the west coast of Africa.
The fleet has completed supplies in the port of Gibraltar. Even if they encounter strong winds and waves and are delayed for a while, they can bypass the African continent.
The fleet's supply ship is preparing to approach the river to replenish some fresh water.
Fresh water left in wooden barrels for a long time will have an extremely unpleasant smell.
Even after boiling, all the germs inside will be killed and there will be no impact on the body.
This kind of fresh water with a strong flavor is very unpleasant to drink even if tea is added to it.
Along the way, the fleet encountered a fresh water river, and they all replenished fresh water in the river.
Su Shu picked up the telescope and observed the cargo ship that was replenishing fresh water in the river.
He saw simple camps on both sides of the river.
A large number of European sailing cargo ships gathered here.
When they saw the huge fleet arriving, they were panicked for a while.
These people saw that the fleet was just to replenish fresh water and had no intention of embarrassing them. They immediately returned to normal and continued to do their own things.
Su Shu observed the camp and soon saw some strong black-skinned natives escorting another group of black-skinned slaves.
Come and do business with these European merchants.
They used slaves to exchange for food and weapons from these European traders.
Su Shu immediately recognized the identities of these European merchants. They were notorious slave traders.
He had previously thought that these slave traders secretly controlled so much power that they could capture a large number of black slaves every once in a while.
It turned out that they relied entirely on local indigenous forces to capture black slaves.
As long as the local indigenous people with fighting ability are armed, a steady stream of black slaves can be obtained.
As for what they paid, it was just some food and weapons, which were completely worthless.
These black slaves tied their hands and stuffed them into the cabin one by one, not caring about their physical condition.
It can be seen from the draft of the cargo ship that a large number of black slaves were crammed into the small cargo ship.
Animals will not be transported in such a dense manner, which will cause a large number of animals to die.
These slave traders did not care about the lives of slaves at all.
Su Shu can see the barbaric side of European civilization from the practices of these slave traders.
Their methods are extremely cruel towards forces that are weaker than them.
When their strength is close to them, these people will show their gentlemanly side.
If the difference in strength is too great, these people will immediately turn into wolves.