Scapavolo Military Port, United Kingdom.

The clouds were stacked, the wind was blowing, and most of the golden-red sunset was already hidden below the horizon, reflecting the fiery sunset in the western sky. Since the beginning of August, Scapaflo, located in the far north of Scotland, has been soaked in autumn weather; As far as the eye can see, groups of British Army soldiers patrolling the docks are wearing wide and thick cold season uniforms.

In a high-class office building next to the docks, the commander of the British Grand Fleet, John ? Admiral Jericho was standing in front of a six-story Gothic square window, quietly surveying the group of miracle ships in the harbor. From this point of view, it is possible to have a panoramic view of all 25 battleships in the main berth. The noble and elegant Victorian livery, the cold and majestic steel mountains, and the majestic and sturdy artillery are like the most effective tranquilizers; In the silent passage of time, the melancholy and solemn expression on the admiral's face was slowly soothed.

In February 1906, when the British Navy was determined to launch their long-planned battleship Intrepid to deliver a shocking shock of a magnitude 10 earthquake to the navies of the world's great powers, they were shocked to find that the Germans across the Channel had already begun construction of this new capital ship with the concept of all-heavy artillery at its core three years earlier. What made them even more frightened was that in the following time, Germany actually started a large number of warships of the same type. Overnight, more than 100 British battleships and cruisers of the first rank were reduced to second-rate or even scrap metal; The 300-year-old blue crown above Britain's head is crumbling, but the Germans are rushing to the supreme palace of the Sea Emperor Poseidon's halberd at an unprecedented speed.

Jericho is glad to be. The Anglo-Saxons who have been listening to the sea since the Viking Age. Apparently possessed a thirst and dedication to the sea that the Teutons could not match. The parliamentary parties stopped the endless invective squabbles. The crowd was excited about a new round of huge shipbuilding budgets; The Navy's military spending fund, which was set up to build warships and raise donations from the public, also received abundant income. The wealthy gentry and wealthy businessmen, who usually have nothing to do, are now generously buying this empty check whose credit is difficult to guarantee and does not know when it will be truly cashed; And the low-level workers, who work hard for more than 12 hours a day, also contribute their meager income for the country's sea power. John Bull's stubbornness and tenacity, which are deeply rooted in the marrow, are stimulated by the urgent and enormous pressure from the outside world, and are pushed and led by the extremely bold reformer Marshal Fisher. Began their unprecedented, thrilling journey of building ships.

From 1906 to 1912, eleven large British shipyards with dreadnought construction qualifications received a total of 48 horrific orders from the Admiralty, with an average of nearly 7 ships per year. This is not counting the five foreign trade ships they have successively built for Brazil, Chile, Turkey, Japan and other countries. Especially from 1911 onwards, the British Navy's shipbuilding became even more frenzied: they first built eight Queen Elizabeth-class battleships with an average price of nearly 2.7 million pounds in one fell swoop, and then the following year they started construction of seven revenge-class battleships with an average price of 2.45 million pounds, all of which were designed to be equipped with eight 15-inch guns. In order to counter the latest German capital ships in the intelligence, Britain pushed four Admiral-class super battleships with a standard displacement of up to 41,200 tons and expected to be equipped with 12 16-inch or 8-inch guns in 1913. Britain's unrivalled shipbuilding capacity shook the world.

So, despite these smelly sea giants. Still lying on the slipway or in the process of intense outfitting, there is still a long time before it can form a combat force. However, thanks to the stormy speed of the British shipyard before, the Royal Navy still came from behind and stood on top of the world again.

What Jellico is currently in charge of is the Optimus Pillar of the Empire, a source of confidence for London's high-level warmongers to dare to plunge into the war. Including 1 Dreadnought-class, 6 Bellerophon-class, 3 St. Vincent-class dreadnoughts, and 4 Giant-class, 4 Orion-class, 6 George V-class, and 1 Irish-class super-dreadnought that was snatched from the Turks, almost all of them were now fully combat-ready and neatly moored in the deep military harbor of Scappaflo. The fleet's battle line salvo firepower composed of 8 356 mm guns, 132 343 mm guns, and 80 305 mm guns was firmly superior to the 56 350 mm guns, 80 305 mm naval guns, and 72 283 mm guns of the German High Seas Fleet battleships, becoming the closest to God's majestic strike force on the planet.

However, this is obviously not enough for the Royal Navy, which has regarded sea power as its life and has dominated the world for more than 300 years. What's more, the situation of naval warfare is treacherous and ever-changing; If the British had deviated in the slightest in their outpost reconnaissance, or if Lady Luck had been in a bad mood and had chosen to side with the Germans, then the shallow paper advantage that the Grand Fleet currently possessed would have collapsed like dominoes. And even if the Grand Fleet is in a desperate situation and is defeated by the Germans in one fell swoop, it is entirely possible!

Therefore, in history, Jericho, who knew this well, was cautious everywhere, and even in the Battle of Jutland, where the firepower of the Grand Fleet completely crushed the German Navy, he chose to defend it safely rather than aggressively fight to start a decisive battle formation. In this plane, since the strength of the main fleet of the German Navy had swelled to the point of being almost the same as that of the British, Jellicoe, who had a deep understanding of the nature of British sea power, put stability first in everything and refused to give any orders that would damage the core combat effectiveness of the Grand Fleet.

However, this time, the iron-clad military order of the Admiralty had already been issued directly to the general.

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The sound of low footsteps came from the corridor, like the approaching night rain outside the window; The faint knock on the door made Jericho's heart twitch. He turned around slowly, spat out a syllable that invited him in, and saw a young general with an angular face and piercing eyes appear in front of him. Jellico is all too familiar with this face; Except for Davy? Betty, who could have been promoted to vice admiral at the age of 42 and become the second commander of the Royal Navy after him in military power?

"You're here." Jericho calmed the strange feelings in his heart and said lightly in a calm tone.

Betty walked slowly into the room and closed the door without a trace. In front of the commander of the Grand Fleet, the young commander of the fast fleet did not have the sharp and aggressive signature image in front of his colleagues, and only had the respectfulness and peace of being a subordinate. Hearing Jericho's words, he hummed and said, "Your Excellency, I have come to take over the post of General Levison of the Second Battleship Detachment on the orders of Chancellor Churchill and Sir Fisher. In five hours, I will lead the fleet out of the port of Scapaflo. ”

Jericho nodded slightly, and said, "I have given orders to all the warships that are sailing on the mainland and in the Atlantic. Whenever you need them, they'll be your scouting eagles and hounds, helping your fleet navigate without anyone noticing. There is a supply fleet of 10 coal carriers in the southwest of the Bay of Biscay, France, and the call code is in the telegraph room of your new flagship, the Orion. Before going to Gibraltar, you can choose to carry out a sea refueling to ensure that there is enough fuel for the tactical maneuvers that follow. It's important to note that this time you're no longer commanding the Lion, which can easily reach 27 knots, but a standard battleship that can only run at 21.5 knots with strong pressure and ventilation, so you'll have to get used to your new companion as soon as you step onto the gangway. ”

The corners of Betty's mouth hooked into a smile, and she said, "Please rest assured. In the past few days, I have worked out a plan with my staff in sufficient detail to ensure that the operation will proceed as Chancellor Churchill envisioned. At present, the cowardly Austrians, the vile Italians and the filthy Turks are uniting to invade the Mediterranean and Africa of Britain, and I can only say that they are dreaming! The Royal Navy may not be sure enough to defeat the Germans, but destroying them is as easy as trampling an ant to death! Speaking of this, Betty's eyes flashed with cold light, and the momentum of the whole person was like a sharp sword out of the sheath, with a sharp edge, which made people dare not look at it, "I will lead the fleet into the Mediterranean Sea this time, and I will definitely cut off the evil tentacles of these three reptiles reaching out to the Mediterranean Sea with the power of thunder!" ”

"If you can seize the opportunity to plug in and annihilate the main force of the Allied Mediterranean Fleet, it will naturally be the best ending. However, if the naval battle situation is not ideal, and the Allied fleet has a chance to escape, you can only carry out a limited pursuit at most, and you must not go too deep! Jerry was stern, and his tone suddenly became solemn, "This time, in addition to the 4 Orion class ships of the Second Battle Fleet, the 4 Giant-class ships of the Fifth Battle Fleet will also be with you, if you count the firepower factor, this is already more than one-third of the strength of my Grand Fleet." So no matter what happens, you'll have to bring back these 8 Dreadnoughts to me in their entirety! Do you understand? Betty was shocked, and then said yes.

Chief Jerry exhaled, his gray-blue eyes full of complicated expressions. (To be continued......)