Considering that the U.S. military is not yet a completely regularized army from organization to training, well, in my Daqing Dynasty, it should probably be regarded as training bravery. In addition, in many places, the military power of the United States at this time was really a bit similar to that of the Qing Dynasty. That is, the equipment and morale of the regular army in our Qing Dynasty are generally inferior to those of Lian Yong; In the United States, federal troops are generally inferior in equipment, morale, and pay to state soldiers.

And this time, the situation should have changed, because the French weapons were obtained by the Federation, right? But when it came to allocating weapons, these things were still divided mainly among the states, because the number of federal troops was too small.

Since the army you see is basically a group of practicing bravery, then in terms of the way it is used, it is naturally different from the army of the Eight Classics. Therefore, according to the results of their research in Turkey, the adviser of the French advisory group, Colonel Severge of the French Army, proposed a set of tactics specifically aimed at the army that had a huge advantage in material but insufficient training and organization:

"We don't have to pay attention to the actions of the British army, we just need to make our fortifications so tight that their various intrigues and tricks are useless, and then we can expel them from Cleveland with real strength!"

If this kind of practice of "hardening the village and fighting a dumb war" is made on this premise, it is estimated that the Americans will not be able to accept it under any circumstances. But after being beaten twice in a row in the front, and even the presidential palace was turned into an adult art center, even the proud southerners had to admit that they were indeed backward militarily, and it was no longer an era when they could be invincible by bravery.

So the U.S. military set up camp near Cleveland, and then began to build fortifications on a large scale, digging trenches, assuming barbed wire, and laying mines...... Surround Cleveland by land.

But a land siege alone cannot really threaten Cleveland. Because Cleveland is a port city, through the Great Lakes, it is possible to keep people and supplies recharged. If you can't cut off Cleveland's waterways, it won't be easy to get Cleveland back.

In fact, the French had a way of cutting off Cleveland's waterways. The French had in their hands small mines designed for shallow waters such as inland rivers. Each of these small mines weighs only a few tens of kilograms, and even a small boat can carry several. And the sturdiness of inland waterway ships is incomparable with that of sea ships, and even such mini mines are enough to easily sink an inland river vessel. At night, using small boats, Cleveland's shipping lanes can be gradually blocked.

But the French advisers did not raise this. As for the reason, it's actually very simple, because they didn't know that the French had this in their arsenal. And the reason why they don't know is because it is not in the interests of France to sell this thing to the Americans.

For the French, it is better to shed blood on both sides in this war, and thus forge a long, even generational grudge. And keep them in the confrontation all the time, then they won't pose much of a threat to Louisiana. And if they let the Americans have this kind of mine, then the British will definitely take the initiative to retreat as soon as they find out that the American army has begun to lay mines. And in this way, the Americans will be able to take back Cleveland without much sacrifice.

So the advice given by the French was to first surround it, and then slowly gnaw at the British defenses little by little through repeated shelling by artillery. Of course, this method of warfare is time-consuming and labor-intensive, but doesn't France need the Americans and the British to consume time and energy?

So the Americans and Canadians were locked in a bloody war in Cleveland.

And in Europe, the French military exercises in Calais have also come to an end. During the exercise, the French army also invited observers from various countries to visit the exercise. During the exercises, the French once again demonstrated their completely new landing combat technology to the countries of the world, especially to the British. For example, in the follow-up process of the login, the French showed a floating pier made of cement that can be quickly deployed, and a floating breakwater that can float on the surface of the sea and sink when it reaches a suitable place.

These techniques meant that once the French had a landing site, they could quickly bring large numbers of men and supplies ashore without having to rely on seizing the enemy's port. This, naturally, put more pressure on the British defenses.

However, how to withstand this pressure is a matter for the future, but now, as the French fleet has returned to its home port, the French Army has also left the exercise site one after another and returned to its own station. The British were able to breathe a sigh of relief for the time being.

After organizing such a large-scale exercise, the British felt that the French would not and were unlikely to organize an invasion of Britain at once in a short time, and from this point the British had gained freedom of movement, at least for a short time.

So the British immediately made a decision to send a fleet, including the newest battleship "Queen Elizabeth", to escort the expeditionary force to the Americas to defend British territory in North America.

The fact that the British sent an expeditionary force could not be hidden from anyone in Europe. Among other things, just as in the vicinity of every important military port in France, there were merchants from England, or who had economic dealings with the British, there were also French "legitimate merchants" operating there near those important military ports in Britain.

An important job of these men was to count the warships anchored in the harbor every day. "Well, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5...... The main forces of the British Navy are still ......"

And on this day, as soon as I counted, well, I found that several ships of the "Queen Elizabeth" were missing. So the news that Britain had sent a fleet was quickly confirmed.

However, because transatlantic communications still rely on ships, and the speed of ordinary civilian ships cannot catch up with the speed of warships, although the speed of the "Queen Elizabeth" is not particularly fast, the speed at which the news reaches North America will certainly not be able to catch up with the speed of the British fleet rushing to North America.

"So that the warships we lease to the Americans will not be in danger, right?" Lucien was a little worried, "I'm not worried about the 'Free Trade' and the 'Common Market'. I knew they couldn't beat the old English virgin, but they were faster than the English ships. The British could not catch up with them. But I was a little worried about the two cruisers that Louis later leased to the Americans. You know, they were all colonial cruisers, and although theoretically faster than the British battleships, they were not faster than the British cruisers. Nothing could go wrong, right? ”

"No, there will never be a thing where our warships are sunk or captured by the British, and they will cause trouble for your propaganda." Napoleon said indifferently, "We have been prepared for a long time." ”

The French in North America were indeed prepared. Although it is not known when the fleet of the British will arrive. But they knew when their exercise would end. So they can also roughly guess when the British will arrive.

Therefore, at the earliest possible arrival of the British, they had already sent the two colonial cruisers out of the most dangerous Cabot Strait and returned to New Orleans for "repairs" on the grounds that "machinery needed maintenance."

In fact, both ships are new and do not need to be immediately docked for repairs. But the ship is full of French, they say that there are some problems with the ship's machinery and needs to be maintained, can the Yankees on the ship disagree?

So, the two colonial cruisers left first.

If the British had gone straight to the Cabot Strait, they would have been able to crash into the American fleet on a blockade mission. This fleet includes the "Free Trade" and "Common Market", as well as two American hybrid cruisers.

But......

"If we go directly to Cabot Strait, we can be sure that we will catch the American fleet. But do you think we can keep those two French ships? The commander of the fleet, Admiral Nelson, said to his officers in the spacious conference room of the "Queen Elizabeth".

"You know, General, those two ships are much faster than we are. Unless they enter the narrow sea on their own, we can't keep them. Hardy, the captain of the "Queen Elizabeth", replied.

"According to the information we learned before we set off, in addition to these two French ships, the U.S. fleet probably has two steam-sail hybrid cruisers, and we are sure that these two ships will keep them." General Nelson's adjutant continued the briefing.

"General Nelson, I don't think it makes sense at all to sink only two completely obsolete old warships and make the Americans prepare for our arrival." An army general spoke.

"General Wellesley, what do you think?" General Nelson asked.

"I don't think we can just think of ourselves as a merchant fleet engaged in transportation." General Arthur Wellesley said, "The French won't give us much time." In two or three months at most, they'll have something going on over there in Europe. Therefore, our fleet will not be able to stay here for more than a month and a half. Within a month and a half, we must deal a big enough blow to the Americans, otherwise, it is difficult to say how the situation of the war will develop. And if my troops enter Canada first and then fight slowly from Canada to the south, it will be difficult to deal a decisive blow to the Americans within a month and a half. So, my advice is, let's not go to Canada, let's go straight here! ”

General Arthur Wellesley tapped the map with his white-gloved hand.

General Nelson looked down at the map, nodded, and said, "I agree. ”

Two French colonial cruisers were sailing south along the coastline of North America. Walking in front was the cruiser "Kagetsuki", and a little behind was the cruiser "Kazetsuki".

"In another hour, we should be in Savannah. We can take a break there, add a little stuff and by the way let the lads go ashore and relax. Alençon, the captain of the "Flower Moon", said to First Officer Edmund.

Savannah was Georgia's oldest port city, and in this era, it remained the capital of Georgia and one of the most important ports in the South. Many of the cotton, tobacco and other products of the southern United States were loaded onto ships from here and shipped to Europe continuously.

Because of this, Savannah is quite bustling and has a lot of entertainment for sailors. Everyone is still looking forward to resting in Savannah. This is especially true after receiving the combat allowance from the Americans.

Soon, the port of Savannah was already in the telescope, but at this very moment, the lookout post shouted: "Fleet spotted, in the direction of ten o'clock!" ”

Alençon hurriedly looked over there, and sure enough, on the eastern sea, some columns of smoke appeared. It's just that it's still far away, and he can't see the flag of that fleet yet.

After a few more moments, the mast of that fleet finally rose from below sea level. At the very top of those masts, a proud St. George flag fluttered - this is the British fleet!

Alençon wasn't nervous at all, though, because when they decided to return to New Orleans, they had lowered the American flag and hoisted the French tricolor. In this way, their current identity is no longer a US warship, but a French warship. Did the British still dare to open fire on a warship flying the French flag?

Although the British Navy has always been brave, the current situation should make them sober enough. And, if they were really daring, the French would be justifiably able to take full action against the British colonies in the Americas.

So Captain Alençon didn't worry about his safety at all.

Soon, the British fleet was completely in the sights of Captain Alençon. He immediately recognized the British battleship "Queen Elizabeth".

"The British sent out all this old virgin? Now the Yankees are going to be out of luck. Captain Alençon immediately made such a judgment.

To be honest, Captain Alençon, as well as the crew of the cruiser "Hanazuki", had a good impression of the Americans. Because the military salaries paid by the Americans were paid in gold and silver. But after recognizing the "old virgin", Captain Alençon did not want to fight the British at all. Two colonial cruisers to confront a huge fleet, including the "Queen Elizabeth" - do you think you are driving a drop?

The trouble is, however, that there are Americans on the "Kazuki".

"Captain Alençon, it's the British fleet! We must stop them and give Savannah time to prepare! Major Francis, the representative of the US military, shouted.