Since the Royal Navy and the U.S. Navy joined forces to inflict heavy damage on the German Navy and wiped out the main force of the German Navy's High Seas Fleet, the whole of Britain was plunged into a carnival, and the British people generally believed that the war would soon be over, Britain would win this war, and Britain's position as the world's supremacy would once again be defended. Especially after Italy, a former member of the Central Powers, reneged on the Covenant and turned into the arms of the Entente, it convinced the British people that Britain would soon be victorious.

It is well known that Austria-Hungary, although one of the great powers in the world, was much weaker than the powerful Germany. Once Italy began to attack Austria-Hungary, the entire southern European region would be reversed, and the Kingdom of Serbia and Greece, which had been waiting on the sidelines, might soon join the war against the Central Powers, and then Austria-Hungary would definitely collapse first. Once Austria-Hungary collapsed, Germany would also be left alone. It is foreseeable that the war in Europe will soon be over. After the Entente settled the Allies, they would concentrate all their efforts on dealing with China and returning the world to its original system. Both the British people and the government are convinced of this.

However, in just over 10 days, the situation in the Mediterranean has once again reversed. The Chinese Navy brazenly launched an attack on Italy, and not only the fall of Sicily was a foregone conclusion, but the main force of the Italian Navy was annihilated in half a day. Of the six battleships, two were sunk and four were captured.

The Mediterranean Sea has now been completely reduced to China's inland sea, and although the French Navy still has three Breton-class battleships in the port of Toulon, these battleships have just entered the dock for maintenance, and they will not be able to rejoin the battle until at least a month later. And the Mediterranean Fleet of the British Navy has long been in name only. At that time, in the face of the provocation of the German Navy, the British Navy had no choice but to shrink all over the world, and all the advanced capital ships were transferred back to the British mainland, and the Mediterranean Fleet was left with only a few old battleships and some light cruisers and destroyers to support the scene. Therefore, the current situation in the Mediterranean will be very dangerous for Britain and France.

"Gentlemen, the Italian Navy suffered a crushing defeat, losing all its capital ships. And three battleships of our French allies also entered the dock for repair before the Chinese attacked Italy.

Now that the Mediterranean has become the domain of the Chinese, this will undoubtedly deal a heavy blow to our new ally, Italy. If Italy were to be hit hard and even withdraw from the war because of this, it would be very detrimental to the war in Europe, and our goal of ending the war in Europe at an early date would be completely defeated, and other countries that were on the sidelines would change their minds because of this. Therefore, we cannot sit idly by and ignore the situation in the Mediterranean, and we must send a powerful fleet into the Mediterranean to defeat the Chinese and regain control of the Mediterranean! British Prime Minister Asquith said. After receiving the Italian Prime Minister Giovanni. Immediately after Jolitti's telegram for help, he gathered his cabinet members to discuss how to deal with the dangerous situation in the Mediterranean.

"I agreed to send a fleet to the Mediterranean. Italy is the first world power to fall to us, and if Italy suffers a crushing defeat, it will shake other countries. It took great difficulty for the Foreign Ministry to get the Kingdom of Serbia and Greece to prepare to join the Entente in the war. But the disastrous defeat of the Italian navy made them very worried. If we cannot regain control of the Mediterranean, both the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Greece will be under attack by the Allies and the Chinese. Under such circumstances, the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Greece may have to remain neutral, and may even turn to the Central Powers. We have to find a way to stop this from happening! "Foreign Secretary Edward. Sir Grey immediately chimed in. Drawing Italy into the Entente was one of his feats, and if Italy had suffered a crushing defeat, or even withdrawn from the war, wouldn't it have shown that his previous efforts had been in vain? In addition, it would have had a very negative impact on the activities of the British Foreign Office in the Kingdom of Serbia and Greece

"We must thwart the Chinese's ambitions in the Mediterranean. The Chinese marines had already landed in Sicily, and the Italians had only one infantry division on the island. Moreover, the combat effectiveness of the Italians was very low, and they could not stop the attack of the Chinese at all. A small Chinese naval fleet has blocked the Strait of Messina, and Italy is no longer able to send more troops to Sicily. In addition, according to the information we have received, a Chinese army unit has already boarded a ship from Singapore, and according to our speculation, their destination will be Sicily, and the size of this force is more than 100,000 people. Once the Chinese completely occupy Sicily and deploy enough troops on it, Sicily will become a nail in the coffin laid by the Chinese in the Mediterranean, which will be very detrimental to our next operations. Sicily is located right in the center of the Mediterranean, and once the Chinese occupy it, they will be able to hold the entire Mediterranean, and China's influence in the Mediterranean will spread around. Therefore, we must prevent the Chinese from succeeding in their plot! "War Secretary Winston. Churchill also spoke. When Britain was about to win the war, they didn't want any variables. China's wanton expansion in the Mediterranean is likely to affect British interests, and even delay Britain's victory, which they absolutely cannot accept.

All eyes were on the Admiralty Chancellor, John. Sir Fisher, with three heavyweight cabinet members, including the Prime Minister, already taking a position accordingly, this is a big part of the British Government's decision. However, to send a fleet into the Mediterranean, it is necessary to obtain the consent of the Minister of the Navy. Especially after the Royal Navy defeated the German High Seas Fleet, the Admiral John Brown. Sir Fisher has gained great prestige in the UK, and his status in the cabinet has risen a lot, almost becoming the second person after the prime minister.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the expansion of the Chinese in the Mediterranean does pose a great threat to the British Empire. It is the responsibility of the Royal Navy to send a fleet into the Mediterranean, defeat the Chinese Navy, thwart their plots. It's just that the current Royal Navy does not have enough warships to be sent to the Mediterranean! Although we defeated the German Navy, the losses were not small. Although the number of capital ships sunk in the battle was not large, most of the capital ships were damaged.

Now the shipyard is working overtime to repair these warships, at least until these warships are repaired, the Royal Navy will not be able to complete the task of blockading Germany and sending warships into the Mediterranean at the same time! "Lord of the Admiralty, John. Sir Fisher said. In the Battle of the North Sea, the British Navy had battleships and 6 battle cruisers sunk, which was not a fatal blow to the British, which had 40 battleships and 10 battlecruisers. However, another 14 battleships and 3 battlecruisers were heavily damaged, which left the British Navy without enough warships for a long time. The remaining 18 battleships and 1 battlecruiser were to blockade the German Navy and could no longer send fleets to other seas. Not to mention the fact that the enemy is still the powerful Chinese Navy.

"Sir Fisher, is there no other way?" Colonial Chancellor George. Nathaniel. Marquis Curzon asked. Egypt and the Middle East are occupied by the Chinese, which has always been a problem for him. If the British Navy can annihilate the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Chinese Navy, then Britain may be able to take the opportunity to recover these colonies occupied by China.

"The Chinese Navy is so strong that they have just annihilated the Italian Navy at a small cost, which is already proof of this. Therefore, without complete certainty, I do not think that the Royal Navy can act rashly and avoid defeat! "John. Sir Fisher said. The British Navy had already suffered twice under the hands of the Chinese Navy, and he had to proceed with caution.

"Sir Fisher, among the damaged capital ships of the Royal Navy, can you urgently repair some of them for emergency use. Other capital ships can be slowed down temporarily. First, repair some capital ships that were not very badly damaged. Otherwise, the situation in the Mediterranean will continue to deteriorate! "Foreign Secretary Edward. Sir Grey said.

"Sir Grey, it will take time, too. Even if the major shipyards go all out to repair those battleships that are not very badly damaged, it will take at least a month! "John. Sir Fisher said.

Then, just do it, and a month later, the Royal Navy sent warships into the Mediterranean, reorganized the Mediterranean fleet, and competed with the Chinese for control of the Mediterranean. In any case, the Royal Navy will do everything in its power to retake the Mediterranean! Prime Minister Asquith immediately snapped.

"Your Excellency, I think we can form a joint fleet with the French Navy this time. After all, the three 'Brittany-class, battleships of the French Navy are also very powerful. With them on board, our chances of winning will be much better! "War Secretary Winston. Churchill said.

"That's a good idea. A month later, the battleships of the French Navy should have completed repair and maintenance, just in time for the operation against the Chinese! Prime Minister Asquith nodded and agreed with this Jianyì!