After nearly 50 hours of sailing, the Anyuan is finally ready to arrive at the most important transportation artery in Europe - the Strait of Gibraltar!

But anyone who has a certain understanding of the world economy, military and history knows the importance of the Strait of Gibraltar, and Xiao Feng also boarded the lookout of the 'Anyuan', ready to take a good look at this 'throat' by the sunset!

The Strait of Gibraltar is an important gateway connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, located between the southernmost part of the Iberian Peninsula of Spain and the northwest corner of Africa, with the British Gibraltar on the north coast and Morocco on the south coast, with a total length of about 90 kilometers. The mountains on both sides of the river are majestic and the scenery is beautiful.

The Strait of Gibraltar is only 58 kilometers long, the strait is wide in the west and narrow in the east, only 13 kilometers between Maroquiro in Spain and Cape Sires in Morocco at its narrowest point, between the city of Gibraltar and Mount Aljo at the eastern end of the strait, 22 kilometers wide in the middle between Marquiro and Sirez, and 43 kilometers wide at the western entrance to the gorge, between Cape Trafalgar and Spare. The water depth is 301 meters at the shallowest point, the water depth is 1181 meters at the deepest point, and the average depth is about 375 meters.

When the 'Anyuan' arrived in the Strait of Gibraltar, it could not pass directly, and it still needed to be issued a passage permit by the local shipping authority before it could enter the strait according to the designated route.

After all, this strait is too narrow, and there are many ships passing through it, and in the event of an accident, it will undoubtedly be devastating for the destruction of global shipping, especially in Western Europe.

Zhou Xiao is also a veteran who is used to running Atlantic routes, so he naturally knows the rules and keeps the 'Anyuan' idling and can set off at any time while waiting for orders.

Xiao Feng, who was standing on the lookout, saw that almost the entire ships sailing in the Mediterranean Sea had gathered, and there were all kinds of large cargo ships in the past. The flags of various countries flutter in the wind, and it is magnificent!

"Actually, it's nothing, if you get to the Panama Canal, the Suez Canal and the Strait of Malacca, you will know what the busiest route is!" Seeing Xiao Feng's stunned appearance, Zhou Xiao still felt a little funny, and said with a smile: "Now the labor cost in Western Europe is too high. There is basically no manufacturing anymore, and there are many fewer ships transporting raw materials, which is only spectacular when I first ran the boat more than 30 years ago!"

Zhou Xiao's words are full of pride, as the first batch of ocean-going seafarers after China's reform and opening up, Zhou Xiao has witnessed the rise of Chinese manufacturing and the decline of Western Europe's economy. Don't look at the so-called aristocratic atmosphere in the bones of Europeans, but they have to eat and drink Lazar from China, if the Strait of Gibraltar is closed for a day, it is estimated that parents in Western Europe and England will not be able to find diapers in the supermarket!

For Zhou Xiao, he was born after the founding of the People's Republic of China. For people born in the 60s who grew up under the red flag, the prosperity and strength of the motherland have brought them more pride and honor, which is very different from some of the so-called post-90s generations in China!

You can think that these old people are a bit earthy and can't keep up with the trend of the times, but you can't deny the faith in their hearts, which is incomparable to many young people nowadays.

In Zhou Xiao's body, Xiao Feng can see the same temperament as his uncle and father, as the so-called 'humble position does not dare to forget the country'. Although they can't say vigorous and bold words, they silently support the backbone of this nation!

Xiao Feng's attitude towards Zhou Xiao changed all of a sudden. became closer, and even took the initiative to call him 'Uncle Zhou' and chatted with him about family life.

Knowing that Zhou Xiao's son, Zhou Jianjun, who is old and has a son, graduated from college this year, Xiao Feng has already made up his mind to let the 'Jinghu Group' contact Zhou Jianjun, and if it is possible, give him a chance, and also give the 'Jinghu Group' a chance.

In Xiao Feng's opinion, there is a father like Zhou Xiao who leads by example. Zhou Jianjun may not be very bad, as long as the character is good, the professional ability can be trained later!

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While the two were chatting, the Straits Shipping Administration sent a notice of passage, and the 'Anyuan' trembled slightly. Slowly sail away and into the strait.

Standing on the watchtower, Xiao Feng can clearly see the buildings of the city with different styles through the telescope, which is a fusion of Asian, African and European cultures, and is naturally full of rich cultural atmosphere.

The Strait of Gibraltar is the only channel connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, and together with the Mediterranean Sea, it forms a natural dividing line between Europe and Africa, and is known as the "lifeline" of the West.

After the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, especially after the development of oil fields in the Persian Gulf, its strategic position became more important, becoming the "lifeline" of energy transportation in Western Europe, and an important maritime communication route between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean, as well as the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. With thousands of ships passing through the Guò Strait every day, up to 100,000 per year, it is one of the busiest passages in international shipping and has an important economic and strategic position.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the Strait of Gibraltar has become one of the busiest sea lanes in the world. Ships from Western and Nordic countries to countries bordering the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean generally pass through the Strait of Gibraltar - Mediterranean Sea - Suez Canal - Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Ships carrying oil from the Persian Gulf also travel through the Strait of Gibraltar to the countries of Western and Northern Europe.

The Strait of Gibraltar is the only passage between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, and it is also the throat of the Atlantic Ocean into the Mediterranean.

The Spanish government is haunted by this territory, which was originally all its own territory, but is embedded with a territory of another country, and feels as if it has inserted a needle in its own body, and there is an indescribable pain in its heart. For more than a century, I dreamed of returning to my own territory, but until now, the Spanish government has no choice but to let the British arrogantly look down on themselves on this hill, watching the warships of the British government cruising in Gibraltar and sharing the rights and interests of Gibraltar.

This is a matter of history for a long time, and the Spaniards have already begun negotiations with the British government, but to no avail.

The 58-kilometer strait was only a matter of two hours for the 'Anyuan' with a speed of 20 knots, but in this short voyage, Xiao Feng saw the Spanish warships, the English fleet and the American warships patrolling.

For the Strait of Gibraltar, which is guarding the key point of the Atlantic Ocean, the world policeman America naturally cannot miss it, after all, it is also a necessary passage for the Russian Black Sea Fleet to go to sea, and it is reasonable for them to strengthen their vigilance.

Not far from the Strait, Rota Naval Base is the base of the American Mediterranean Fleet, relying on the Sixth Fleet and the NATO fleet, the United States and its NATO allies firmly control the Strait of Gibraltar and also grasp this lifeline!

If it was replaced by the previous Xiao Feng, he would naturally not pay attention to these things, but after marrying Xu Mengyao, General Xu was very concerned about the current military dynamics of various countries in the world, and even Xiao Feng had to become a military fan in order to talk to the old lady.

Don't look at General Xu's old age, but he is not confused, nor is he the kind of stubborn old stubborn, but quite keeps pace with the times, and is even a 'super-large' registered netizen, often making remarks on it.

Of course, those otaku who are generous in their mouths on the oversized cannon don't know that the 'General Xu' who is arguing with them happily is the old lady himself, otherwise they have to be scared out of illness!

With the rapid development of China's economy, the situation of shipping being controlled by others is becoming more and more obvious, but this dilemma is really difficult to break, even if Xiao Feng is worth hundreds of millions, he still has no say in this kind of matter!

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After the 'Anyuan' left the Strait of Gibraltar, Zhou Xiao immediately adjusted the route according to the current location, and this time it will stop directly at New York Harbor.

The Atlantic storm in April was very small, which also made Xiao Feng secretly feel a lot more relieved, after all, the Atlantic Ocean is not a calm Mediterranean, if it is too bumpy, I am afraid that even if there is a 'space spirit spring', the breeding cattle may not be able to stand it.

After two days at sea, Xiao Feng and the cowboys' novelty of life at sea gradually disappeared, and even the cowboys, who like to watch dolphins on the deck, returned to the cabin to brag and chat.

Now, in addition to using his camera to record the daily life of the crew and cargo ship at sea, Xiao Feng is also quite bored the rest of the time, so he has to take out the English version of "The Old Man and the Sea" that he bought in the United States and study it carefully.

Speaking of which, Xiao Feng's spoken language has improved rapidly under Xu Mengyao's teaching, and he can basically communicate with Americans, but his ability to read and write is much worse, and he has to continue to improve.

You know, Nini and Yu'er will go to school in the United States in the future, and if Xiao Feng's father can't speak English, it will be a bit bad.

Therefore, recently, as soon as Xiao Feng was free, he began to study hard, and he had some momentum to take the fourth or sixth level exam, and gradually picked up the English that had been lost.

Seeing that the boss was so serious, the other cowboys were not too embarrassed to continue to mess around, so they also took out simple English training materials and learned English.

In this way, the sea trip turned into a learning trip, and everyone lived a fulfilling life!

Zhou Xiao saw that the 'Jinghu Group' was working so hard, and only then did he know that the 'Jinghu Group' could rise in just a few years, not to mention anything else, this excellent learning atmosphere alone is a very important reason.

From an ordinary crew member to the captain of an ocean-going freighter, Zhou Xiao knew the importance of 'learning', and he remembered Xiao Feng's words at this time, and felt that he should send his son Zhou Jianjun to the 'Jinghu Group' to give it a try, maybe he could make greater progress......! R1292