The Mediterranean Sea is surrounded by the European continent to the north, the African continent to the south and the Asian continent to the east, with a total length of about 4,000 kilometers from east to west, and about 1,800 kilometers from north to south, with an area of about 2,512,000 square kilometers (including the Sea of Marmara, but excluding the Black Sea).

And what many people may not know is that the Mediterranean Sea is the oldest sea in the world, older than the Atlantic Ocean.

The blue waters are almost sapphire-like, and with the beautiful islands that can be seen from time to time, even sailors who have been sailing the sea all year round will be fascinated by the glimpse of the blue waters, let alone those who are new to the ocean.

However, since it is an ocean, in addition to the beautiful side of the ocean, it also has a cold and cruel side.

As one of the oldest oceans in history, the Mediterranean Sea has always been the busiest ocean in the world. The Mediterranean Sea as a land sea, relatively calm, coupled with the coastline twists and turns, many islands, with many natural good ports, has become the communication artery of the three continents, such conditions, so that the Mediterranean Sea from ancient times began to flourish maritime trade, but also played an important role in the rise of ancient Egyptian civilization, ancient Babylonian civilization, ancient Greek civilization. The Phoenicians, Cretans, Greeks, and later the Portuguese and Spaniards along its coast were all seafaring peoples. Famous navigators such as Columbus, Da? Gamma, Magellan, etc., all came from countries bordering the Mediterranean.

The problem is that even in the calmest of the oceans, natural disasters such as storms are still invariable. In addition, the ancient navigation skills were relatively backward, and if an ordinary ship encountered a storm, it could almost be said that it would be a dead death. And this is precisely the cruelest side of the Mediterranean.

Even now, the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea is still full of ships that have sunk over the past thousands of years, and salvaging shipwrecks is a good business there.

Naturally, with the development of seafaring techniques, especially ships, became more and more modern. Ship sinking has become rare, but even so, in the last two decades of Yan Shao's time, more than 20,000 people have sunk in the Mediterranean.

It's still a relatively docile Mediterranean. Replace it with other oceans...

Even Yan Shao almost died in the Atlantic Ocean at the beginning. Of course, in the end, he was also a blessing in disguise, and he actually took this opportunity to achieve the great cause of double flying. At present, it has reached the level of four flights. But even so, Yan Shao was still a little afraid when talking about his original experience...

There is no other reason than that it was really a little bit worse at that time.

If it weren't for the fact that another ship changed direction due to the storm, even if Yan Shao and they survived, I am afraid that they would only die of old age on the island. If you encounter some difficult disease, I am afraid that I will not even have a chance to die of old age...

Naturally, as Yan Shao's most famous experience, many Chinese people are happy. After all, if Yan Shao had an accident at that time, I am afraid that there would be no China today—————— as the opposite of China. Of course, there are many people like Japan who are angry about it...

And at this moment, on the beautiful sea of the Mediterranean, there are many ships sailing slowly...

——————————————————

On the blue Mediterranean, a merchant ship named 'Goddess' is slowly sailing on the sea. As an ordinary merchant ship, the 'Goddess' has an almost rotten name, and its design itself is not very unusual. It can be said that in the extremely busy sea of the Mediterranean, there are countless ships with the same design as the 'Goddess', and there are probably not a few ships with a single name.

At this moment, the 'Goddess' is like many merchant ships in the Atlantic, loaded with goods, sailing in the direction of France—————— at present there are basically only two routes related to the Allies, one is to go through the Atlantic, from the United States or Canada and other regions to transport supplies to the British mainland or northern French ports.

Naturally, the United States is far superior to Canada in terms of industry, population, and other aspects, so that such resources are usually shipped from the United States to Europe, compared to the small amount of supplies sent from Canada.

As for the other route, it is natural to purchase materials from various colonies or countries such as China, it can be said that in this war, countries like China that did not directly participate in almost all made money, and the biggest benefit is naturally China, after all, the industrial base brought by the 'Seventh Five-Year Project' alone is enough for China to surpass many countries in the world—————— the number of countries in this era is already very small, so there is no need to talk about the vast majority.

The 'Goddess' is a British merchant ship, and its current job is mainly to sail on the route from India to France, to transport Indian supplies to the French mainland, which is in dire need of all this, and to supply them to the Allied troops fighting in France...

But it's clear that at this time, such a trade is dangerous...

On the side of the Goddess, a sailor was lying bored on the railing. The posture may have been a little lazy, but the sailor's gaze at the surface of the water seemed alert and sharp...

"I hope this voyage doesn't run into a German submarine like the last time...", leaning back against the railing, the other sailor sighed softly.

"yes—" Joyce bowed slightly, almost looking at the sea. The last time I had that experience, I only had one experience..."

The two were talking about their last voyage, when a number of merchant ships, including the Goddess, had just left India and were confronted by a German submarine in the Mediterranean.

Fortunately, even if the tonnage of the "Goddess" is not the smallest one in those merchant ships, I am afraid it will not be much worse, and it is dwarfed by a few peers next to it, and the Germans on the submarine "God is like electricity" quickly distinguish the difference, so the main target is focused on those large ships, plus the submarine in this period is slow both in terms of surface and underwater speed, although the submarine itself carries naval guns. However, the accuracy of the undulating sea was not very good, and several shots failed to hit the target, and finally three of the six merchant ships ran away. Only the other three ships that were too close to escape were damaged by the Germans with naval guns and then sunk by torpedoes.

Although it was a run away last time, the whole process was indeed thrilling, especially at the last moment, when a cannonball landed around the merchant ship. Fortunately, the Germans, as I had just said, set their sights on other, larger merchant ships. Otherwise, the consequences may be unimaginable...

It is precisely because of the last encounter that this time the merchant ship will arrange manpower on both sides of the ship and other positions to see the surrounding situation. For these people who walk on the sea. Even if the appearance of the periscope is observed only two or three seconds in advance, it is possible to save the ship from danger.

However, it was still too boring to keep staring at the surface of the sea all the time, so Joyce did not forget to chat with his companions while staring at the surface of the sea. Relax your mind a little.

Just while the two were talking. Suddenly there was a warning bell above the ship. Hearing this, Joyce and his companions were shocked, because this kind of signal is usually used only when something very critical happens, which is called a crisis.

For example, if you encounter a storm or something like that, the problem is that the wind is sunny today, and there are no clouds in the sky, and you can't see any signs of a storm from any direction. And if it weren't for natural disasters such as storms, then there was obviously only one left to ring the alarm bells...

"Germans?!"

Joyce and his companions looked at each other and immediately ran to the other side of the boat.

The two of them thought very clearly. Sailors who are taller than the watchman may be able to see far away because of the distance. But the periscope is not a very big thing, so there is also the possibility of missing it, which is also for the relationship between people on both sides of the ship, since they didn't see it this time, then either the sailors in charge of the lookout above saw it, or...

The sailors on the other side saw that, in other words, there was a high probability that the submarine would appear on the other side.

Just as Joyce and the others ran to the other side of the merchant ship, a large number of crew members in the merchant ship also ran out, and then ran to the other side of the ship as instructed.

As a result, they didn't see anything, but they weren't surprised at all. After all, the earth is round, and the lookout hand will definitely see much farther than them when they stand in the lookout position, so even if they can see it, I'm afraid they will have to wait a while.

At the same time, the captain, who had just stepped out of the cabin, looked at the lookout and asked in a loud voice.

"What did you see, was it a German submarine?"

"No, sir!"

Standing high, the lookout shook his head.

"I saw a fleet, a very large fleet..."

"Fleet—" The captain frowned, and there was an uproar on the deck.

The Mediterranean Sea was not calm, in addition to the fact that the submarines of the Germans sometimes haunted here, there was also the naval presence of Austria-Hungary.

Although Austria-Hungary is not strong, and its navy is even weaker, it still has some strength after all, and the neighbors are allies Bulgaria and Turkey, so even Britain and France have nothing to do with them.

Although the Austro-Hungarian navy rarely came out to move, no one dared to guarantee that they would not be unlucky enough to run into one of them, so the ships were soon put on alert—————— in fact, the so-called alert state was to be cautious, and if they really encountered enemy ships, they quickly put up a white flag.

Unlike submarines, the power of submarine guns is very small, even if an ordinary merchant ship is hit by a few shots, as long as it is not a vital part, there will not be much of a problem, but the fleet is different, even ordinary destroyers are equipped with a large number of guns, which is by no means comparable to submarines.

Therefore, when encountering the fleet, the only way is to surrender quickly, and there is no need to think about it, the speed of merchant ships is not very fast, and it is definitely not comparable to ordinary ships.

Fortunately, this kind of ship usually does not rush to kill, and usually leaves a lifeboat for them, but the ship and the cargo on it will definitely not be saved...

————————————————————

Although the existence of the fleet was not discovered, the crowd did not doubt the lookout at all, after all, a fleet could not be mistaken, the only possibility was that it had not yet arrived, so the sailors on the deck quickly waited.

Really. It didn't take long for everyone to see a large fleet appear in view.

The entire fleet consisted of a large number of warships and transports, of which there were thirty or forty warships alone. The number of transport ships is even more numerous, especially one of them, although it is strange to the captain, but even if it is not a battleship, I am afraid it is also a battle cruiser class...

Noticing this, the captain quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Although such a large fleet really has to be an enemy country. They definitely won't be able to run away, but it's because the fleet is so big that he doesn't worry. Because with the capabilities of Austria-Hungary, it is impossible to have such a large fleet go to sea, let alone a large number of transport ships mixed in it.

The only possibility is that this is the fleet of the Entente countries.

It's just that...

"Strange, how strange this fleet is. How come I haven't seen it..."

No wonder the captain thinks so. After all, after so many years of traveling south and north, he can forget about ordinary ships, but he still knows the capital ships of various countries, but he has never seen these in front of him, especially the large one...

Fortunately, as the distance between them approached, the captain could see more clearly with a telescope.

Soon, he saw the red-bottomed dragon flag hanging from the fleet.

"It turned out to be Chinese..."

Looking at the red-bottomed dragon flag hanging on the fleet ships, the captain was completely relieved. Hearing the captain's words, the sailors who were still a little worried also relaxed.

Red Bottom Dragon Flag. If it had been more than half a year ago, I am afraid that not many people in Europe would not have known about it. However, since the Battle of Verdun and the signing of the treaty some time ago, as the main participating country in the Entente camp, China has a high reputation in the Entente camp, and although its flag cannot be said to be as well-known as Britain and France, at least some people can recognize it, at least there is no problem with this captain who has traveled from south to north.

What's more, he originally took the route to India, and he had been to China once in the past, so he still knows a lot about it...

Since it is an ally, naturally there is nothing to worry about, and with a sigh of relief, the captain does not plan to bother anymore. But at this moment, the first mate, who had been following the captain, leaned over and whispered. "Captain, do you want to send a telegram to those Chinese and let us join their fleet, even if it's just tailgating......... We are still some distance from France, no one knows if we will encounter German submarines on the way, following these Chinese should be much safer, even if the German submarines are crazy, they will not be able to pick such a fleet to start..."

More than twenty destroyers, plus seven or eight cruisers, and a mysterious ship that I don't know if it was a battleship or a battle cruiser, as the first mate said, no matter how crazy the Germans were, could not have picked such an opponent.

If you can keep up with the fleet in front of you, the safety of merchant ships can undoubtedly be greatly guaranteed.

Hearing the words of the first mate, the captain did not hesitate, but nodded very directly. After all, safety was important, and he had already seen several ships following the rear of the fleet.

"Okay, let's send them a signal..."

"Yes!"

————————————————————

Inside the flagship, Buzigao was looking at the book in his hand and took two sips of coffee by the way.

He really didn't care much about the merchant ships that appeared on the sea. Although there are often some pirates disguised as merchant ships on the seas today, or some ships of enemy countries, the problem is that unless the opponent is a Star Destroyer disguised as a merchant ship, no matter how you think about it, it will not be the opponent of the huge fleet he leads.

This time, the Wehrmacht dispatched the strength of three armies, nearly 200,000 troops, and although the Wehrmacht has now expanded a lot, the number of nearly 200,000 is definitely not a small number for the Wehrmacht.

The question of how to ensure the safety of so many people became a serious problem, and in order to ensure that the army would not be attacked by the Germans on its way to Europe, the navy sent an extremely large fleet.

There are more than 20 'Shanfeng' class destroyers, which account for almost half of the destroyers that have been launched for such a long time in the past, and there are also seven 'Tiehuo' class cruisers, which I dare not say are dispatched by the whole army, but two-thirds of them are still there, and even the former Japanese Navy's "Kongo" battle cruiser, which has just been salvaged and repaired—————— has just been salvaged and repaired.

The size of the entire fleet is luxurious. Although there were a few submarines along the way that spotted the fleet, the end result was to retreat...

After all, in the face of such a large fleet, the submarine commander who dared to do it could no longer be described as brave. It should be brainless—————— submarine diving time in this era is not long, as long as someone is guarding there, basically it does not run ...

And on the surface, submarines are no match for surface combatants in any case.

Just as Buzigao was reading a book there, an officer suddenly walked over.

"Commander, there seems to be a merchant ship nearby, asking if we can follow us......... It seems that they are going to Marseille as well..."

"Inquire carefully...", and didn't pay much attention. Buzigao said softly. "If it's all right, let them follow."

In this era, there was no land aviation, and there was no naval aviation. The fleet of the Germans is far away in the ports of the German mainland, and in the Mediterranean, except for those submarines and some threats, the rest is basically impossible to pose any threat to the fleet, so there is naturally nothing to be afraid of...

In fact, they did encounter a lot of allied merchant ships along the way. If feasible. The steps were so high that they were all on board. Anyway, in order to accommodate the speed of the transport ships, the speed of the fleet itself is not too fast, and I am not afraid that those merchant ships will not be able to keep up...

Hearing Bu Zigao's words, the officer nodded, didn't say anything more but turned his head and left, and then gave the order out of the house.

Soon Joyce and the others got permission to do so, and Joyce was overjoyed when they got this permission.

After all, in this period, the danger of sailing alone is still very high. For the sake of safety, it is best to follow someone else. And such a fleet in front of the Germans, which the Germans absolutely did not want to touch, was undoubtedly 100% safe.

Soon the merchant ships were thrift up and followed the fleet, and then they found that there were many merchant ships in the rear of the fleet. Among them, there are French merchant ships, Italy, Britain and other countries, almost all countries, most of them are returning from Asian or African colonies, and they happen to meet them, so they ask to follow the voyage...

Although the speed of the fleet was relatively slow for the speed of the Chiaki transports and merchant ships, after a period of sailing, the fleet still arrived in Marseille without any problems.

At this moment, in order to welcome the arrival of the expeditionary force, the generals of the expeditionary force, including Cai Yi, and the commander-in-chief of the French General Headquarters, Xia Fei, also all arrived together—————— The plan for the Battle of the Somme has been almost completed, which also gives Xia Fei time to come to Marseille.

In Xia Fei's plan, the expeditionary force is also an extremely important part of it, so it is natural to pay attention to it.

"General Cai, I'll leave it to you then..."Ignoring the busy port, Xia Fei whispered to Cai Yi.

"Please rest assured, Your Excellency..."Facing Xia Fei, Cai Yi said with a smile. Now that our country and your country are in the same camp, in order to win, our country will naturally do its best........." Speaking of this, Cai Yi hesitated slightly. "However, our department has just been replenished, and new reinforcements have just arrived, and it will take some time to get used to the environment in Europe, so we may not be able to participate in the first phase of the campaign, and I ask for your understanding..."

"I naturally understand this..."Each other's identities are equal, Cai Ye showed his strength in Verdun again, and Xia Fei is also willing to express respect." Your follow-up troops have just arrived in Europe, and of course I can't just let them go to war, but I still hope that your army can get used to the environment in Europe as soon as possible, so that they can exert their greater capabilities..."

"This is natural...," Cai said with a smile.

This was actually discussed by Yan Shao and him, and Yan Shao has a deep memory of the Battle of the Somme, and it can even be said that it is the deepest of several battles in the First World War in Europe. One reason for this is that the Battle of the Somme was the largest and most tragic of World War I, and the other reason is...

It was in this war that the machine gun played its most powerful.

Especially on the first day, the Germans used the Maxim machine gun to inflict nearly 60,000 casualties on the British army, which is definitely not a figure that can be ignored...

And that number alone is enough to make this battle go down in history... (To be continued......)