It turns out that luck is like a fart, sometimes it has been brewing for a long time and nothing is released, and sometimes there is a chain without a hint.

When the French fleet began to search in the waters of Cape Verde, the luck of the Zhiyuan obviously began to dissipate, and it was sunny for three days in a row, the view from the sea was excellent, and the wind direction was also conducive to the search of the French fleet, and the tall white sails cut the wind diagonally and moved at high speed on the sea.

Eighty nautical miles west of the Cape Verde Islands, the cruiser USS Holy was the first to spot a suspicious target, and a clipper ship was found in a non-main channel area.

"Unidentified ships were spotted due west...... Close to continue close ......"

The lookout yelled, the flag bearer began to signal, and soon the two commanders on the Glory spotted the strange clipper.

"The Belgian flag, why is this ship in these waters, and how far from the main channel it is...... Adjutant, check the charts now......"

Bruce and several lieutenants quickly marked the location of the clipper ship on the chart, and the rear admiral's eyes lit up, "It's really okay, this ship is actually 35 nautical miles north of the main channel, what kind of shit captain is this, is it waiting for the pirates to attack like this?"

The Rear Admiral is right, but anyone who begs for a living on the sea understands how important the shipping lanes are. In the course of human exploration of the sea, at the beginning, Prince Enrique organized an ocean-going fleet that dared to go all the way south near the coastline of Africa.

In order to prevent the seafarers from revolting, the captains of that era had to make the sailors see the land every day, otherwise their fear of the Atlantic would cause immeasurable damage.

The lighter one kidnaps the captain and sends the ship to Europe, and the worst one kills people!

At that time, shipping lanes were concentrated in the safe coastal waters, and there were no shipping lanes across the ocean. Any daring explorer who wants to explore the Deep Blue relies on nothing more than a bounty and the iron-blooded rule of a pirate boss.

Later, with the successful exploration of the New World, the discovery of South America, and the encouragement of circumnavigating the world, the Europeans became a little bolder, and it was at this time that the golden chapter of the Great Voyage officially began.

In the beginning, people were running around like flies on the sea, and explorers drew new charts by hand, each of which sold for a high price in Europe.

After two or three hundred years of accumulation, some golden shipping routes have been discovered, and the lives of countless navigators have explored the safest and most economical routes.

Follow the Golden Passage and you'll get the best winds, the most island supplies, and even the shortest voyages...... Only the Golden Passage will allow you to get the best business benefits.

The politicians of this era all regarded the control of the golden shipping routes as the lifeblood of the empire, and Xiao Lotian had long predicted that when steam-powered ships completely replaced sailboats, the importance of the golden trade routes was destined to multiply at the rate of opening squares.

Because whether a merchant ship burns coal or oil, it requires a high cost, and it is not the ubiquitous wind on the sea that you can try for free, and the cost is a nightmare for all merchants.

In other words, the more advanced human navigation technology is, the more serious the dependence on shipping lanes will become. Because only waterways can balance the two elements of safety and economy.

It's not okay to go straight on the sea, because you can't guarantee safety. It is also not okay to sail as you like, because businessmen must save costs in order to obtain benefits, who is stupid to deliberately burn more coal and more oil?

Molière and Bruce are not mediocre, they both know that the big fish has been found when they look at each other, Belgium, a small kingdom independent from the Netherlands, has weak maritime interests, and the limited ships are all for the whole world to make money.

Not to mention outside the golden waterway, even on the golden waterway, they are rarely seen on weekdays, and it is conceivable that the nationality of this merchant ship is not Belgian at all, it must be fake.

"Speed up, get closer, and send friendly messages to each other......"

The French fleet discovered the Ryukyu fleet, and the same Ryukyu clippers also discovered the French army, and the closest to the French army, that is, the easternmost side of the herringbone formation, the flying clipper Kunshan, the captain Sun Chujian, heard the shouts of the lookout and ran out of the captain's room.

"Captain...... It was a French battleship...... But it is impossible to distinguish the type of ship...... The battleship is covered in iron armor!"

When Sun Chu saw it, he was covered in white sweat and "sent an emergency evasion signal and hit a signal flare...... The Kunshan sprinted southward, allowing the Zhiyuan and the other ships to quickly break away from the west, and we were the bait to lure them away......"

In just a moment's effort, Sun Chujian made the most correct judgment. Now the whole fleet is moving from north to south, and he is the first to spot the enemy ship, and the closest friendly forces are five nautical miles away.

"We still have a chance, let the Zhiyuan leave immediately, and the enemy will not find out...... This is the main force of the French Navy, not a merchant ship, we can die, but the Zhiyuan and other clippers must not have anything to do......"

"Brothers, now is the time for us to sacrifice! The Kunshan is loaded with coal, food, and fresh water, and we have lost ...... of these things."

"And other ships can't, there are drawings and materials for the production of ironclad ships, as well as precision processing instruments, and if you lose any box of goods, the prime minister's ship-building plan will have to be postponed...... Time is running out, China has no time to wait!"

Looking at the sailors on the deck with solemn faces, Sun Chu saw red eyes and said, "Now, let's be the pawns crossing the river to attract the enemy's firepower...... If you want to go south, if you can't do it, turn the bow of the ship and rush east, and give the enemy a broadside battle!"

What is the elite, these Xiao Letian's thousands of selected students and Prussian sailors are elite, there is no fanaticism and no shouting, all calmly carry out the captain's orders.

Death is such a thing, they have been ready for it for a long time!

Bang bang bang...... Three red signal fireworks rushed into the sky, this is the most urgent signal flare, five nautical miles away from any flag bearer can not clearly see the other party's flag, the fleet communication with each other depends on the role of signal flares.

The meaning of the three red signal flares is that when the enemy's main fleet is discovered, our side will quickly withdraw, and our ship will be ready to carry out the sacrificial plan! Sun Chujian believed that Xiang Ying could make the most correct judgment, and the Zhiyuan was carrying the dream of China's big naval strategy, and this was a dream ship, and it absolutely could not be damaged in the Atlantic.

The emergency signal sent by the Kunshan shook the entire fleet, and everyone looked at the three fireworks that exploded in the blue sky, although not as bright as the night, but still clearly visible.

"Damn! Sun Chujian is a safe person, he said that it was an emergency, it must not be wrong, ninety percent of it was likely to be a warship, and there was definitely more than one ......"

Xiang Ying smashed his fist on the steel plate, his eyes blood-red and panting, "Pass my order...... Abandon the Kunshan! The remaining ships go all the way west!"