In 1917, the United Kingdom had lost its status as the "world's factory" and its major industrial indicators were surpassed by the United States and Germany. Only the shipbuilding industry still maintained its leading position.
At the end of the World War, Britain still accounted for 62% of the world's shipbuilding, and the majority of ships sailing in the world's oceans were British ships.
After the outbreak of the World War, the United Kingdom imposed a blockade on Germany. German ships would be seized as soon as they entered British ports. As the World War progressed, those German ships were requisitioned one after another, and some were even sunk by German submarines for flying the British flag.
Without the intervention of Southern Africa, the number of American merchant ships should have exceeded that of British merchant ships. However, the United States in this time and space is different from the United States in another time and space. During the World War, it did not receive many orders from the Allied Powers. Therefore, in terms of the total number of merchant ships,
, the UK is still number one in the world.
What I have to mention here is Japan. During the World War, Japan not only was not affected by the war, but made a lot of money from the war through trade with Europe. Japan's ocean transportation has also made great progress. Every day, Japanese merchant ships leave from Baipei.
Passed by Lawai Port.
Rock's main target is these Japanese merchant ships.
There is no way. As a Marquis of the British Empire, Roark should be gentler on his own people. If he charges too much tolls, he will cause dissatisfaction among British ship owners, and he will be embarrassed to deal harshly with France. After all, Britain and France used to attack France during the World War.
They fought side by side, so they can only make money from Japanese merchant ships. Otherwise, there is no hope of driving the Somaliland rebels out of Somaliland.
That's right, just drive out Somaliland, not eliminate it.
To eliminate the Somaliland rebels, unless Rock has Kitchener's courage and persuades the British government to mobilize more than 200,000 troops, it can be done. If there are too few troops, it will be impossible to block the Somaliland border. In that case, the rebels will pass
Fleeing across the border to Italian Somalia.
Roque's purpose is to drive the rebels out of Somaliland. Roque doesn't care where the rebels go.
With Rock's order, the 1917 version of the "Somali Pirates" was freshly released. At noon on the day when the order was issued, the destroyer "Alligator", captained by Patton, intercepted a Japanese cargo ship in the outer port of Berbera.
This merchant ship called "Tosa Maru" was loaded with silk, tea, porcelain, silk, and pig hair. Its destination was Southampton. The captain was an Englishman named Terry.
Seeing the sailors carrying rifles boarding the "Tosa Maru", Terry greeted the sailors enthusiastically. He still didn't know the purpose of the sailors boarding the ship, and thought it was just a temporary inspection, so when he knew he had to pay
, Terry was surprised.
"Brother, please understand, you have no right to collect taxes here. The Tosamaru is just passing by you and has no plans to stop in Berbera." Terry is responsible for his employer, and the officer who led the team asked for the money.
There were too many, and Terry didn't dare to make the decision.
"Then you can dock in Berbera and add some coal, water or whatever - oh, your ship burns oil, so you can add some oil -" Ensign Benjamin, who led the team to board the ship, is French.
This was the first time he dared to do something like this, so he was really unskilled in business and not thick-skinned enough.
"We don't need to refuel, we will dock at Port Said, we don't need to dock at Berbera -" Terry hoped that Benjamin would hold up his hand and push a roll of pounds over him as he spoke.
Although Terry is British, he still understands the principle of losing money and avoiding disaster. There are many such things on ocean voyages these days. This is in Berbera, if it were replaced by other places——
There are so many accidents on long-distance ships every year. Are they really all natural disasters?
Hard to say.
Benjamin really wasn't collecting dirty money, he started counting in front of Terry.
Terry's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.
"This money is too little, not enough!" Benjamin gradually started to go on the road. He wanted to bribe an upright officer with only fifty pounds. Who was he to blame?
"Less, less. 1,500 pounds is too much. We can't even earn that much from this cargo. We also have to pay taxes when we go to Southampton -" Terry begged with a grimace. If this was done, not only would the ship owner be
If you can't make money, you have to lose money.
"The goods on your ship do not match the waybill, so your ship was detained." Benjamin was ruthless and impounded the ship first, and then talked about the rest of the matter slowly.
"Whatever, but I want to remind you that this ship is the cargo of Croydon Trading Company. You have to think clearly." Terry didn't care. He was just a sailor. He could clear the ship if he could. If it couldn't, he was not responsible.
Benjamin didn't know the background of Croydon Trading Company, but judging from Terry's confidence, he must be very powerful.
No matter how powerful Benjamin is, he doesn't have to worry. He is just a second lieutenant who carries out orders. If the sky falls, there will be a tall man to hold him up. It has nothing to do with Benjamin.
As a result, the "Tosa Maru" became the first merchant ship to be seized by Berbera.
A day later, the number of impounded merchant ships increased to five.
To Rock's surprise, Rock's old friend Colonel McMahon arrived in Berbera the next day. The Croydon Trading Company did have a background. The big boss behind the scenes was the Duke of Belfast, and it was said that there were
Royal shares.
It's just a merchant ship. It's not worthy of Colonel McMahon coming to Rock to intercede. The key is that this kind of behavior is relatively bad. Anyone who can enter the ocean trade industry has a background with great skills and eyes. Today Rock dares to buckle "Tosa Maru"
", Rock will dare to dock the "Queen Elizabeth" tomorrow, what's the big deal if this continues.
"What if we don't seize it? The Prime Minister asked me to quell the rebellion in Somaliland, but how can we quell it if we don't give troops or money?" Rock and McMahon did not discuss whether it was correct to seize the "Tosa Maru".
is incorrect, but Roark has a good reason.
"Then we can't directly seize merchant ships, which will affect our canal business -" McMahon didn't say anything, and went straight to the core of the problem.
The core of the problem is that McMahon is also a stakeholder. If a Japanese cargo ship is seized in Berbera, it will affect the business of the Suez Canal. The Egyptian colonial government can live by collecting tolls in the Suez Canal. Berbera
The location is also awkward. To pass through the Suez Canal, ships must pass through Berbera.
"It doesn't matter. If the Japanese ship doesn't go through the Suez Canal, it can go around Africa -" Rock is not in a hurry. If the Japanese ship doesn't go through the Suez Canal, it will have to go around southern Africa. In this way, Port Edward will open.
Cape Town, Walvis Bay——
The scene was simply not too beautiful.
"Locke, don't be like this. I understand you are in trouble, but you can't use this method to solve the problem." McMahon collapsed. If the Japanese ship bypassed Africa, it would not be able to escape Locke's clutches, but in that case
There would be nothing wrong with the Egyptian colonial government.
"Then what method do you want to use to solve it?" Old God Luo Ke is here. Anyway, the ship is in my hands. No one can sail away without peeling off the skin.
"You can fight for more funding -" McMahon said nonsense. If he could get money, would Rock still use such despicable means?
In a world war, the British government has lost all its wealth. The Second Boer War 17 years ago was enough to cause pain to the British government. As a result, the losses caused by the world war to the British government were a hundred times that of the Second Boer War.
Above, guess how the British royal family and relatives are feeling now!
Rock can now understand why Neville would implement the infamous "appeasement policy" twenty years later. It was not that Neville didn't want to be tough, but simply couldn't. The First World War cost France a generation, and at the same time it also
Having ripped out the backbone of Britain, Winston is now living life with a tight neck, without money or his life.
"Stop talking nonsense, you can take away the Croydon Trading Company's goods, you can find the ship yourself, and you have to pay the tax -" Roark didn't want to kill everyone, but he wanted to keep a line in his life so that we could meet each other in the future.
"Where's the ship?" McMahon was surprised. The Croydon Trading Company's goods didn't just run to Berbera on their own. They could have taken the goods away, but the ship wouldn't let them go. What's going on?
"There is no ship, the ship has been sold by me -" Rock killed the goose to retrieve the eggs. The cargo belonged to the Grand Duke, but the ship was not the Grand Duke's ship.
In fact, the shipping company to which "Tosa Maru" belonged was also controlled by several Japanese nobles. However, Rock did not know those Japanese nobles and had no interest in asking. After "Tosa Maru" docked, all the crew members were
He asked to leave the ship and was placed in a hotel owned by the port authority.
Pay your own expenses.
"I'll just--" McMahon finally collapsed. The Duke's goods could be taken away and the ship was sold directly. This was a rhythm of killing everything. If this continued, the Egyptian colonial government would drink from the northwest wind.
"What are you anxious about? No matter who I sell the ship to, as long as it passes through the Suez Canal, won't you still be able to sit on the ground and collect money?" Rock didn't understand why McMahon was angry. It seemed that McMahon had no Japanese ancestry.
Right!
McMahon calmed down immediately. As long as the big bosses in the country were not angry and the Egyptian colonial government's income did not decrease, Rock would not care even if McMahon wanted to go to heaven and would help hold up the ladder.
"Who did you sell it to? Do you want me to help you find a way?" McMahon indeed started to hold up the ladder.
"No, there are a lot of ocean trading companies in southern Africa waiting in line." Rock doesn't need McMahon's help in "selling stolen goods". A new ship worth 15,000 pounds can be sailed away for 8,000 pounds after depreciation. This price is not
Does it smell good?
"How much did it sell for?" McMahon gossiped.
"It has nothing to do with you." Rock warned, no one can take the money away when it comes to Rock.
McMahon is not looking for money. In addition to coordination, he also comes to Roque with the intention of deepening his relationship with Roque. Although the Sultanate of Najd has been recognized as an independent country by the Allies, everyone knows this "independence"
what's going on.
Therefore, if McMahon wants to live comfortably as the Egyptian commissioner, he must have a good relationship with Rock.
