Just after lunch, the Mediterranean Sea, which had been clear skies, suddenly became windy. After a while, the whole sea became overcast, and it looked like a rainstorm was coming.

Algeciras, Spain.

The vast harbor was empty, with only a few patrol ships docked lonely on one side, and even the Spanish flag on their masts looked so languishing. There were few sailors on the docks, and soldiers in yellow or white uniforms with rifles on their backs walked around.

Just two months ago, it was a busy commercial port, located in the Gulf of Algeciras on the north shore of the eastern mouth of the Strait of Gibraltar, and was an important port on the Mediterranean Sea and European routes, with a variety of qualified port equipment and railways to the interior of Spain, but the only thing it did not have to do was to face the mountains of Gibraltar across the bay. Since Spain declared war on Britain, the port has been included in the war zone, and the number of merchant ships entering and leaving the port has been drastically reduced, and it is a detachment of the Spanish Navy that uses it as a temporary home port. During the Spanish attack on the British fortress of Gibraltar, it was not invaded by fire, however, the sudden attack of the German army made it the forefront of southern Spain, and the German positions on the outskirts of the city could be seen from the tallest building in the harbor and looking east.

The Spanish admirals did not want their fragile ships to be pitted against the opposing artillery, so overnight, most of the ships of the Spanish detachment were withdrawn, but this did not mean giving up. On the contrary, the retreating army from the front line and the reinforcements from the rear converged here, and the Spanish army in Algeciras now numbered 30,000 men, which far exceeded the German armies and infantry led by Rommel.

At this time, although both sides were restrained by the armistice, that atmosphere of unease pervaded every corner, and the officers on both sides were well aware that no one could guarantee the outcome of the negotiations between Berlin and Madrid, and that war was inevitable once the negotiations broke down.

On the afternoon of April 12. A hearty downpour of rain has arrived. Due to the increasing wind and waves, the few Spanish patrol ships also took refuge in the harbor. For in the port? For Alcaraz, a Spanish corporal on duty at the watchtower, it was an afternoon that almost gave him a heart attack, because his vision was so limited in the heavy rain that even the sea was not far away from the rain and fog.

Alcaraz, dressed in a raincoat, looked boredly at the sea, and the temperature outside had dropped a lot due to the heavy rain, and the poor corporal was shivering in the wind and rain.

Suddenly. Some vague black shadows appeared in his blurred vision, and Alcaraz squinted his eyes and tried to look at it, and what came out of the rain and fog made him almost out of his soul.

"Oh my God! That's a fleet! ”

The sentinels on duty gathered one after another, and they soon found that the other party was less than a yard away from the entrance of the harbor, a distance where the port defense forces could not react at all! What is even more annoying is that the port also has no fortifications to rely on at all! Panicked, the sentinels immediately reported the situation to their superiors, but what awaited them was not a scolding of their heads, but an order to guide the fleet into port.

"That'...... It's clearly the fleet of Austria-Hungary! When Alcaraz and his companions opened their mouths wider than they had ever been when they saw the battle flag of that fleet, it was not the great Spanish navy. And not the hateful German Navy. Not to mention the once arrogant British Navy, but the Austro-Hungarian Navy, which has been unknown in this sea area for a long time.

Guided by the signal lights, the Austro-Hungarian fleet slowly approached the entrance to the harbor. In a few moments, three Spanish patrol ships sailed out of the harbor, and the big guys began to sail into the channel one by one.

In front of this fleet, which came from the far northern shores of the Mediterranean, the Spanish soldiers were as stunned as countrymen. They had seen the largest battleship of the Spanish Navy, the Alfonso XII, which had been sunk by a British torpedo boat off the port of Gibraltar not long ago, and each of these Austro-Hungarian battleships seemed to be larger and stronger than the former. At this time, Alcaraz and the others realized that they had been frogs in the deep well before, ignorant and arrogant.

However, the surprise and admiration lasted only for long, when the sentinels noticed another fleet sailing out of the rain and fog on the sea. Two of the same irritation in quick succession drove the poor men almost mad, and their superiors were quick to inform them that they had not been informed that a second fleet would be in port.

Suddenly, the entire port was on the verge of a great enemy, and the alarm signal flag was at the highest? The watchtower was raised, and the garrison of the harbor - a garrison of about 2,000 men and some artillery units sent by the army to assist in the defense began to enter their positions, and the scene was somewhat chaotic, but the harbor was finally able to enter) in a state of alert.

The second fleet, which appeared outside the harbor - which soon proved to be a maritime power from the German Empire - did not sail into the harbor like the Austro-Hungarian fleet, but lined up in battle formation outside the harbor

The distance between them and the harbor is currently beyond the reach of the Spanish artillery fire in the harbor. But not beyond the better fortress guns, such as the 280 mm naval guns used by the British Navy.

Tension was in the air, but the Germans had no real intention of going to war, otherwise the artillery in the fort would not have been silent when the Austro-Hungarian fleet passed in front of the fortress of Gibraltar - although they had just been captured by the British, the fortifications on the seaside of the fort were strong enough to resist the attack of the Austro-Hungarian fleet.

About 1 hour later, the Austro-Hungarian fleet entered the port of Algeciras in its entirety under the watchful eyes of the Spaniards and Germans. After this, high-ranking generals from Madrid boarded the flagship of the Austro-Hungarian fleet. By the time they disembarked from the ship, the gloom that had hung on their faces had faded a lot. Subsequently, the garrison of the port received an order to meet the requirements of these "distinguished guests" as much as possible, including fuel and food for the fleet.

In the evening, the two countries jointly announced that the port of Algeciras would be provided free of charge to the Austro-Hungarian Navy to ensure the security of the Strait of Gibraltar and the waters south of Spain.

As night fell, the Hipper fleet outside the harbor turned away, leaving only a few light ships to keep watch. However, the German fleet did not go far, but entered the port of Gibraltar, which was separated by a bay.

Berlin is more bustling at night than during the day, and with the arrival of spring, the nighttime temperature is no longer so cold. On the metropolis's main streets, shops and restaurants are mostly open after 10 a.m. Here there is basically no concept of a curfew, after all, they are the honorable victors of this war.

After dinner, the main German ministers and generals gathered at the Imperial Palace, the heart of Berlin. Two hours after the proclamations in Madrid and Vienna, Chentian convened an extraordinary imperial council.

For Vienna's ambitions, Chen Tian has never been surprised. Although the Habsburgs were decaying, they had a rich family property in their hands; The Austro-Hungarian army, though weak, was at least numerically formidable.

Obviously. This action of the Austro-Hungarian navy was quite detrimental to Chentian's Mediterranean strategy, but the emperor did not lash out at it. A wise monarch does not prove his majesty by shouting in front of his subjects, and sometimes that serious and indifferent expression is more terrifying than furious.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me for my rudeness, but I think the Austrians are challenging us!" Cal? Feng? General Birlow said loudly in his gruff voice, "We should give them some color!" ”

No one agreed, but also refuted.

Since the end of the French War, General Bülow's 2nd Army has been stationed on the German-French border and around Belgium. Chen Tian could see it. The veteran was a little flustered. It is no wonder that his elite troops were only strategic reserves in the Battle of England, and the Battle of Italy was dominated by General Hausen. Fortunately, he contributed to Chentian in the previous coup, otherwise he would really have "the sword should have been roaring to the sky, and the hero He Nai was adrift".

"General, please be seated!" Chentian is still very calm, and this calm is often compared to Wilhelm II, and many people feel that the character of the old and new Kaiser is simply on the opposite side.

General Billo sat down very cooperatively, and at present, Chen Tian and the War Department are considering promoting him to the rank of Field Marshal and taking over the post of Minister of War of Rupresin. As for the command of his front-line troops, Chen Tian was ready to let a younger general take over.

"With the current situation, we can't mobilize more naval forces to the Mediterranean, and it will take quite some time before the warships received from the Italians can regain combat requirements!" In this regard. Chen Tian didn't want himself and his generals to be like the Austro-Hungarian Navy, he still remembered the old Chinese saying: you can't eat hot tofu in a hurry!

"Your Majesty is wise! At this time, if the ships besieging the British Isles were to be transferred to the Mediterranean to confront Austria-Hungary, it would not only be possible to make our war against Britain fall short, but the more direct consequence would be to lead to the deterioration of the situation in the Mediterranean. "It was Alfred von Tirpitz who spoke as the mainstay of the Imperial Navy. In recent times, the Navy's blockade of Britain has proved to be very efficient, and the Admiralty has received a satisfactory share of the first war reparations of the French government, plus new ships such as the battle cruiser "Deflinger" have been completed and put into service. The Admiralty is a smooth sail, except for the events that have taken place today near the Strait of Gibraltar in grey tones.

At this time, another important figure in the navy, Marshal Pol, stood up from his position.

"Speaking of which, I must sincerely remind Your Majesty that most of our submarines and the officers and men on board are tired! Now, our sailors are fighting by willpower, but this situation does not last long. There are two best ways to do this, one is to temporarily reduce the number and time of attendance of submarine forces, but to add enough new submarines! ”

After listening to the report of the chief of staff of the Navy, Chen Tian expressed his understanding that in the eight months since the start of the war, the number of submarines in the Navy has nearly doubled, and the number of personnel has increased by 1.5 times, but this is still a bit stretched for the blockade of the entire British Isles. You must know that the British have money, and now the prices of goods on the island, especially military supplies, have skyrocketed, and it is said that a box of rifles from Norway to Scotland can get a profit of 30,000 to 50,000 pounds, driven by such huge interests, not only the British colonies tried their best to send supplies to the mainland, but many shipowners who wanted to make violence also took risks, so although the British ships were getting fewer and fewer, there was never a shortage of transport ships on the British routes to the outside world. In order to maintain a tight blockade, in the Atlantic, the German raiding fleet and submarine forces were always the busiest group.

"On the one hand, reward our bravest and most industrious sailors and tell them that if they hold on for another month or two, the British will be completely destroyed! On the one hand, the newly commissioned battleships should be put into blockade operations as soon as possible, and the progress of transforming auxiliary cruisers should also be accelerated! All in all, unleash the entire German sea power and completely suffocate the British on the island! ”

For Chentian's opinion, everyone expressed absolute approval.

"Alright, let's get back to the point! In the current state of affairs, we are already sending the most powerful fleet possible to the Mediterranean! For a long time to come, I am afraid that the size of our Mediterranean fleet will not increase again, after all, the future maritime center of gravity of the empire is not the Mediterranean, but the world's oceans! I have already explained this to Admiral Shepar before the fleet set sail! Now, even though our opponents look very strong, we are not bad! We have the best battleships and battlecruisers, and our Tunisian fortress will soon be built! From now until the end of the war of Great Britain, we should exercise as much restraint as possible in the Mediterranean, and whether it is the Army Expeditionary Force or the Navy's Mediterranean Fleet, we should take an active defensive position! As for the negotiations with the Spanish government, we can make a small concession, and the concession made today will be ten times more demanded back in the future! ”

Chen Tian raised his head and looked ahead, in his heart, he would get back ten times more than in the future.

The generals present were more excited about this, some of them supported it loudly, and some of them were gearing up. As historians say, constant victories not only increase self-confidence, but also fascination.

In contrast, Prime Minister Bateman is much calmer, but this does not mean that he is not interested in the military, in fact, he only focuses on political factors.

"Your Majesty, as far as I know, this move by the Austro-Hungarian government is not only because of their new crown prince, but also because of the covert support from the east, which is a reason that cannot be ignored!"

"I know!" Chen Tian's tone suddenly became much lower, "I think the one who is manipulating these behind his back must be a big conspirator!" A big conspirator! ”

On 17 April, after several days of efforts at the negotiating table, the German and Spanish governments finally reached an agreement that in the subsequent Madrid Agreement, the strip of Málaga, Fonherola, and Marbella up to Estepona previously occupied by the German army would be under German control under the name of Lend-Lease, and the area of Lalinea, the mountain of Gibraltar and the port of Gibraltar would be under the control of the coalition forces composed of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia and Turkey, and local affairs would be decided by the representatives of the four countries.

After that, the Austro-Hungarian Second Fleet sent some ships into the port of Gibraltar, Russia and Turkey also sent warships and marines to station, and the Hillpel fleet left some ships, including the battleships "Oldenburg" and "Hindenburg", and the main force was stationed in the port of Tunis in North Africa at the end of April.

At this point, the war clouds on the Mediterranean side have temporarily dispersed, but the real battle is far from begins.

In April 1915, the German military offensive operation codenamed "Sunken Island" officially began, and Britain began to tremble under the rumbling of artillery.