On August 10, 1628, King Gustav II of Sweden, who is recognized as the most outstanding military strategist of the 17th century, built the sail battleship "Vasa" with his self-righteous layman's opinion, which capsized and sank ten minutes after the first launch of the sea trial, and led more than 400 people to die, making a classic joke of the 17th century navy.

But in an era that was quietly fluctuating by butterfly wings, the completion of such a marginal thing as the Vasa was more than a month later than the original history, and the timing of the first voyage was also skewed. Due to the shape of the ships of an emerging maritime power on the other side of the Atlantic, the Vaasa, which was originally a classic Galen ship, became a bit nondescript this time. The triangular bow used to increase speed awkwardly grew on a galen with an extremely fat aspect ratio, and the Swedish shipwrights struggled to pick up the bow of the plank, which was extremely difficult to process.

However, the basic "general trend" could not be changed, and the three-tier gun deck and huge armaments that Gustav insisted on were still crammed with the Vaasa, and the result of the over-centering was that the Vasa adhered to the "original appearance of history" without hesitation, and sank to the bottom of the sea shortly after sailing, and more than 20 of the latest 18-pounder iron cannon guns of the United States that were said to have been purchased at great expense were also lost.

……

Monday, September 18, 1628.

The military port and naval base of Nanshan City, which is under the command of the Governor of Nanshan of the People's Republic of China and the United States of America, is located in the south of the city and in the small bay on the west side of the Nanshan Peninsula, which is more than ten kilometers away from the city. In the drizzle, the military port was already crowded, the whitewashed ships were ready to go, a large amount of cargo was still being transferred to the cargo ship with the help of steam cranes, and hundreds of dock workers were busy walking around the dock. On the east side of the military port, patches of gray-green army barracks are scattered on the edge of the mountain range. Thousands of army units have long been ready. You can board the ship at any time. The biggest military expedition ever built is about to take off.

Because the military port is far away from the urban area of Nanshan and is still under military martial law, there is no pompous farewell procession of citizens like the local towns, and there is no noisy military band. Everywhere you look, except for busy dock workers or black hired workers, they are basically all soldiers in the uniforms of the Chinese Navy and Army.

Dressed in a brand-new admiral uniform and wearing a one-star brigadier general's epaulettes, Zhang Chunrui, commander-in-chief of the Eastern Expeditionary Brigade. At this time, he was accompanied by a group of naval officers, patrolling the shore, and among the accompanying people were a number of young men in ordinary costumes.

After arriving at Nanshan Port a few days ago, Zhang Chunrui convened a series of military meetings with all the naval and army officers. Formulate detailed rules for various operations of sailing, adjust the proportion of fleet supplies and carrying, and sort out personnel. Even if the voyage is imminent, Zhang Chunrui still feels that many things have not yet been implemented.

"The delay in the voyage shows that our plans were really rushed, and two months is not enough time for us. Many of the officers and men drawn from the home fleet had even arrived the day before. Looking at the tired figures on some warships, Zhang Chunrui's brows furrowed slightly.

"It's fine. After working overtime overnight last night, the temporary maintenance of the light cruiser Republic was completed. The loading of logistics materials has been delayed due to the rainy season, but the rest will definitely be completed before nightfall. However, the inventory and inspection work was in a hurry, and many of the verification and statistical work could only be carried out after the voyage, or it was meaningless. ”

Lieutenant Colonel Sun Yang, commander of the expeditionary fleet on the side, hurriedly walked a few steps and carefully explained to the second general-level general in the navy today.

Zhang Chunrui, as the second-ranked senior officer with old qualifications in the navy, may have been in charge of training work for a long time, so he was more severe than Vice Admiral Wang Tiezhu, the commander of the navy, in many cases.

"Xiao Yan, what's the arrangement over there?" Zhang Chunrui turned his head to Yan Xiaosong and his wife on one side, and while nodding slightly at his new adjutant, Captain Katarina, he also cast an inquiring glance at Yan Xiaosong.

It's just a drizzle, but Yan Xiaosong still held up an umbrella for his wife like a gentleman, exposing a commander-in-chief like Zhang Chunrui to the drizzle. Along the way, seeing that even the Commodore had no one to serve with an umbrella, Caterina was secretly blushing and complacent.

"The Kingdom of Spain has agreed in principle to our request to enter the port of Manila, Philippines, for recuperation, but due to the time rhythm of their document delivery, it is impossible for us to enter the port with Spanish documents on the spot, so we will have to negotiate at that time; On the Portuguese side, they had already sent ships to the East Indies colonies of Goa and Malacca a month in advance, and a dozen Portuguese navigators we had hired from Brazil who were familiar with the Far East routes were already on board. ”

Yan Xiaosong's answer was quick and concise, and Zhang Chunrui just hummed.

"All the way we have been 'borrowed'. So in the long run, we need to look for a forward base in the South China Sea that can really foothold, and not the colonies that have been dependent on European countries. Yan Xiaosong then added, and this paragraph caused a slight discussion in the crowd.

Even though he had known about the Eastern Plan jointly formulated by the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zhang Chunrui still nodded silently. Before leaving, Vice Admiral Wang Tiezhu, commander of the navy, said that "you must be prepared to grab your eyebrows and mustaches," which seems to be becoming more and more realistic.

"Khan, aren't we just going to reinstate the immigrants, it's so complicated......" As a representative of COSCO International Trade Group, Yang Xiaohua muttered not far behind Zhang Chunrui, and his expression was a little exaggerated.

"The purpose of the expeditionary fleet seems simple, but the country will never pay such a large price for a simple purpose." Zhang Chunrui stopped, turned around, still with a calm and stern expression, "The ugly words are ahead, this time the army and navy are all in battle, and even bring you traders, just to establish an order that we can control along the coast of Daming, except for the diplomatic actions that Yan Xiaosong is responsible for, everyone must abide by the arrangements of the military, and if you want to run around, you should quit early, and it is still too late." ”

Zhang Chunrui, who is highly respected in the Navy and Army, said this, and the atmosphere that was still a little hip-hop and laughing was not serious instantly condensed. Army Captain Scott, who was silently following at the end of the line, stared blankly in the northwest direction. It's as if thinking about Alice, the only daughter who is being cared for by her neighbor, Mrs. Santos.

"Captain Scott." Zhang Chunrui suddenly called Scott's name. The crowd suddenly parted ways. The commander of the Foreign Legion combat battalion was revealed.

"Yes, General!" Scott came back to his senses, quickly took a few steps, and saluted the Commodore Officer.

"I heard that last year there was an incident in which soldiers of the Foreign Legion ransacked a local black indigenous village. Do you have any plans for this expedition? Zhang Chunrui's question is very acute, and this topic, which once caused a high degree of tension in the Ministry of Defense last year, but has not been resolved, is now being said again, but people have to admire Zhang Chunrui's meticulous heart.

"The parties concerned have been given warnings, and the military regulations have also been amended. The troops will be more managed, and the soldiers can understand it. "Scott told the truth, there were no promises, and there was no resistance.

"This time it will be a long time, please restrain your subordinates...... Okay, no problem, let's disperse, and finally go and sort out the affairs of the trip, and the fleet will leave on time at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning, and the ceremony or something will be waived, Lao Wu. When the time comes, please do away with all the flashy things. ”

After speaking, Zhang Chunrui strode away from the team alone. Caterina looked at it, and quickly left her husband and followed. On the side of the dock, a group of young people looked at each other, and Wu Yuanyi, the governor of Nanshan Domain, who had been planning to hold a grand farewell party for the expeditionary fleet tomorrow, had a very embarrassed expression on his face.

……

In the early morning of the next day, nearly 40 officers and men were still making intense preparations before sailing on the sail transport ship Blue Whale, which had a full load displacement of up to 2,800 tons. In the storage and transportation compartment inside the hull, as many as 600 tons of weapons and ammunition and more other military supplies have been stacked and stopped, several non-commissioned officers are leading the team to inspect them one by one, and Second Lieutenant Yan Xianping, who is the chief officer of transportation management, is also engrossed in checking the safety measures everywhere, and there is no room for sloppiness.

Walking through the passage of the cabin, a naval corporal who was blocking the way stood up and saluted, and nervously stepped aside. Yan Xianping simply returned the salute, and continued to bury his head and walk towards the next inspection post.

After a few steps, Yan Xianping stopped and turned back curiously, because the non-commissioned officer who passed by just now was not a subordinate who had been familiar with the ship in the past few days.

"You're new here? When? Yan Xianping turned around and quietly looked at the soldiers a few meters away from him.

"Report to the chief, Corporal Huang Hu'er, he only arrived at the post the day before yesterday, and he used to be on the frigate Dongfang! Now as the leader of the Blue Whale's tail gun! Huang Hu'er's heart jumped, and she hurriedly raised her head against the passage again.

"Oh, it's all veterans......"

The Blue Whale is a new ship that only entered service this summer, and this time it is a long voyage, so veterans are drawn from various warships. In fact, not only the artillery leader Huang Hu'er in front of him, but even more than half of the officers and soldiers on the Blue Whale were all transferred from the Gray Whale, so Yan Xianping felt that the soldiers in front of him were very unfamiliar.

"I'm checking the safety of the cabin right now, your post shouldn't be here, don't wander around, you know?" Yan Xianping nodded, which was the end of the inquiry.

was transferred to the expeditionary fleet by mistake, and from then on he could embark on the road back to Daming, but when he thought of his "boss" Sun Jiang's command, Huang Hu'er was terrified. The fragrant breeze gradually faded away, and the female ensign officer who walked by looked like she was 18 years old at most, and Huang Hu'er couldn't help but take a deep breath while being nervous.

It has been more than 3 years since she came to Huamei, and Huang Huer, like most Chinese immigrants, has adapted to the characteristics and rhythm of life in this country that is different from that of the Ming Dynasty, and has become a naval non-commissioned officer who is envied and loved by Chinese Americans. But in private, he is still subject to that Mr. Sun. In the words of the other party, their families are all in Daming, and they will collect as much information as possible about the Yan family for the guerrilla general Zheng Zhilong, and any betrayal will bring death and harm to his family.

With a prosperous capital with a population of tens of thousands, a vast territory, an infinite steam engine, a fireless lamp of the everlasting Ming, a government rule without a monarch and no emperor, and a warship with a novel appearance but far more powerful than the Ming Dynasty...... Not only the movements of the Yan family and his party in the United States, almost everything, made Sun regard the general as a treasure and recorded them one by one, and Huang Hu'er also gathered some information on the operation of the Chinese and American navy and weapons from time to time.

Bit by bit, whether it is hearsay or what I have seen with my own eyes, the information that Sun has recorded in the past few years has been thick. However, the two faced a very embarrassing situation, that is, it was impossible for any information to be transmitted back to the Ming Dynasty, and with the current strict entry and exit control, the chances of sneaking to various overseas territorial ports and boarding the ship of the Francophone were extremely slim. Now that the opportunity has finally come, Huang Hu'er will set off with the fleet as the leader of the Blue Whale gun, and a large amount of information that Sun has compiled in the past three years has also fallen into Huang Hu'er's hands.

"The ship is about to set sail and leave the port, and all units are ready."

The voice of Lieutenant Hannah, the first mate of the Blue Whale, sounded in the microphone at the end of the corridor, and Huang Hu'er hurriedly suppressed his chaotic thoughts and ran towards the deck stairs.

……

At 8 o'clock in the morning, the Eastern Expeditionary Fleet of the People's Republic of China and the United States of America, consisting of five naval light cruisers and 12 logistics support vessels, officially set sail. In addition to carrying more than 2,300 people and a large number of supplies, the flagship Republic also carried $2 million in cash and silver coins. He will be accompanied by the sail frigate Dandelion, which will escort engineers to Reunion Island and set up a wireless relay communication station.

The fleet turned around the Nanshan Peninsula and met a Portuguese merchant ship from India, and looking at such a neat fleet heading eastward, the Portuguese captain avoided it with great sensibility, and then took off his hat on the side of the ship with all the sailors.

On the Huaqingchi, which was transformed into a hospital ship, looking at the black and white Chinese Navy warship, all the henchmen of the Yan family who returned from the United States were excited. Most of the female dependents or young children of the team in the United States still stayed in Huamei, and the main ones who returned to China this time were Luo Da, Uncle Yan Qi and other people who could speak in the Yan family.

"Ping'er is young, she hasn't seen her for a few years, she is already a captain of the Huamei Naval Division, whether it is a disaster or a blessing is unknown, if her father knows it, I don't know how to judge." Standing on the side of the ship, experiencing the speed of more than 8 knots, Uncle Yan Qi was mixed, "Luo Da, you said that the elders of Huamei Mansion here, do you really help my Yan family?" When I first met Mr. Yan, I felt that this beauty was extraordinary. ”

"Uncle Seven, Luo Da has lived in Huamei for a long time, and he has heard and seen it, and it is difficult to say anything else, but Huamei is a politician, but he has a lot of friendship with my Daming, and the eldest lady can join the Huamei Navy, which is also Huamei's intention to teach me Daming Western techniques and tactics." Luo Da pointed to the Bloodstone light cruiser in front of him, looking a little excited, "I have visited the Chinese and US Ministry of Defense many times to ask whether the Chinese and US Navy warships can lose eastward, and Lord Zheng has not refuted it. ”

"Hmph, Da Ming...... Da Ming, who keeps saying it, is now going to kill my Yan family! I'm going to ask these gorgeous ships and artillery generals thousands of miles away to seek justice! The seventh uncle suddenly became excited, and couldn't help coughing again and again, so frightened that the seventh aunt on the side hurriedly went to stroke her back, and after a long while, she breathed a sigh of relief, "I'm afraid that after today, my Yan family may not be a person from the Ming Dynasty......"

"Uncle Seven!" "Daddy?!"

Seeing the old man sighing like this, Luo Da and Qigu were inexplicably surprised. (To be continued.) )