"Your Excellency Prime Minister, we can form a combined fleet with the French Navy, but! The command of the fleet must be in our hands, and it is difficult for me to trust the fleet to the French! "Lord of the Admiralty, John. Sir Fisher said. Since the failure of the Napoleonic period and Britain in the struggle for maritime supremacy, France has shifted its focus to land, ensuring France's position as the number one land power on the European continent. The investment in the navy is very small, and when the world navy entered the battleship period, the French navy chose to vigorously develop thunderbolt ships, missing the best period of development, so that now the strength of the French navy is only at the second-rate level in the world.

"Of course! Is the French Navy qualified to command the Navy of the good British Empire? Prime Minister Asquith agrees with this. After defeating the German Navy, the British Navy has once again consolidated the position of British maritime supremacy, and it has also made British senior officials proud again. In their opinion, the British Navy is the most powerful in the world, and the officers and men of the British Royal Navy are the best.

"But, Sir Fisher, the Mediterranean Fleet needs a good commander, and I hope that this time the Mediterranean Fleet will once again be victorious for the British Empire. Let those yellow-skinned monkeys know that we are awesome! Prime Minister Asquith said solemnly. The reason why Britain began to decline was that it suffered a crushing defeat in the South China Sea naval battle, and then the Red Sea naval battle and the Mediterranean naval battle, which were once again defeated, making Britain's position as the world's hegemon almost untenable. Prime Minister Asquith doesn't want to repeat the mistakes of the past.

"Then, Your Excellency Prime Minister, I have decided that the decision will be made by John. Count Jericho served as commander of the new Mediterranean fleet. Now that the German Navy has been crippled, the Germans did not dare to leave the port at all, except for those submarines that were like water rats. The blockade of Germany can be done by other generals. Dealing with the Chinese is the most important task. Therefore, I think that John. Count Jericho's talent will definitely be able to defeat the Chinese and lead the Royal Navy to victory again! "John. Sir Fisher said. John. Count Jerichoe was an English admiral, and he commanded the naval battle in which the commander of the home fleet defeated the German Navy's high seas fleet. It was with such outstanding achievements that he was named Earl of the British Empire by the British royal family. If he had once again commanded the Royal Navy to defeat the Chinese fleet, perhaps he would have been able to take advantage of this to become the British Field Marshal. Sir Fisher's successor is also highly likely.

"Well, I also think that John. Count Jericho is a very good candidate. I am sure that he will lead the Royal Navy to defeat those hateful yellow-skinned monkeys and retake the Mediterranean! Sir Fisher, the formation of a joint fleet with the French government, the government will negotiate with them. I think the French government will not refuse as long as it is not a fool. Your task is to reorganize the Seven Mediterranean Fleet within a month, and after a month, the fleet will sail to the Mediterranean, form a joint fleet with the French Navy, launch an attack on the Chinese Navy, contact the Italian crisis, and regain control of the Mediterranean! Prime Minister Asquith said.

"Yes, Your Excellency Prime Minister, I will equip the Mediterranean Fleet with the most powerful combat power!" Sir Fisher said. Even though he believed that the Royal Navy was strong enough to defeat the Chinese Navy at this time, he was still very cautious. The Chinese fleet in the Mediterranean Sea is only the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Chinese Navy, and the main forces of the Chinese Navy, the Home Fleet and the Pacific Fleet, are all gathered in the waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean at this time. If this were not the case, the British Navy would not have dared to attack lightly.

After the meeting, John Brown returned to the Admiralty. Sir Fisher immediately summoned the commander of the British Navy's Home Fleet, John Fisher. Admiral Jericho.

When he learned that he was going to be sent to the Mediterranean Fleet, John Murphy learned that he would be stationed in the Mediterranean Fleet. Admiral Jericho was dissatisfied. Because among the major fleets of the British Navy, the home fleet is the most important. Especially at a time when the British Navy was shrinking on a global scale, and all capital ships were concentrated in the home fleet

The commander of the home fleet is the one who is in high authority. And the Mediterranean Fleet has become an empty shell, and sending him to the Mediterranean Fleet, isn't that exile in disguise?

"General Jerichault, after the defeat of the German navy, the threat to the homeland has been lifted. For a long time to come, this will no longer be the focus of the Navy. Now the latest focus is on the Mediterranean. The Chinese had just eliminated the main fleet of the Italian Navy, which had occupied most of the Mediterranean, and the Royal Navy's mission was to defeat the Chinese, regain control of the Mediterranean, and relieve the crisis in Italy. The British government did not want Italy, a country that had just joined the Entente, to become the first member of the Entente to collapse! Sir Fisher said.

John. Admiral Jericho nodded, agreeing, though he still had some concerns about fighting the Chinese navy. After all, the British Navy has suffered a lot in the hands of the Chinese Navy.

"Admiral Jericho, this time I will equip the Mediterranean Fleet with the most powerful combat power. In addition, the government is ready to negotiate with the French Navy, and we will once again form a joint fleet to deal with the Chinese Navy. The Chinese occupied the Mediterranean and posed a greater threat to the French. I don't think there's a reason for them to refuse. In the Mediterranean, the Chinese Navy only has the Indian Ocean Fleet, with only 8 battleships and 1 battlecruiser, and among the 8 battleships, 5 are old battleships. I believe that the Royal Navy will be able to defeat the Chinese with ease! And you, too, will be promoted to marshal for defeating the Chinese. Sir Fisher said.

John. Admiral Jericho nodded, looking a little excited, becoming a marshal had always been his dream. This time he defeated the German Navy, he could have been promoted, but the royal family made him an earl, which made him have to give up the opportunity to be promoted to marshal. If he can defeat the Chinese Navy in the Mediterranean this time, then he will justify becoming a marshal.

"Yes, don't worry, I will definitely lead the Mediterranean Fleet to teach those yellow-skinned monkeys a hard lesson!" John. Admiral Jericho said confidently. With the strength of the British Royal Navy, if it cannot deal with the Mediterranean fleet of the Chinese Navy, it really makes no sense.

The British government sent a note to the French government, proposing that the two countries work together to counter China's expansion in the Mediterranean, and that the two countries form a joint fleet to jointly launch an attack on the Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet. The British government's proposal was immediately supported by the French government.

At this moment, France was exhausted in dealing with the German invasion, and all its national strength was invested in dealing with the German invasion, and there was no extra energy to take care of other places. Although the capture of Sicily by the Chinese navy and the annihilation of the Italian navy posed a great threat to France. But at this moment, France no longer has the strength to deal with it. And now, Britain has offered to unite against the Chinese, and the French government is of course unable to ask for it. As for the command of the Combined Fleet, the French government, of course, did not dare to be delusional. After the construction of three 'Brittany-class, battleships, the French Navy had no extra money to develop its navy. With the current strength of the French Navy alone, it is simply not able to compete with the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Chinese Navy. Therefore, this time the combined fleet will definitely be dominated by the British Navy. Anyway, all the French government wants is to get in touch with the threat from the Mediterranean direction, and as for the command and the like, it doesn't matter!

Britain and France hit it off on the issue of countering the Chinese threat in the Mediterranean, and the two countries immediately hooked up and agreed to form a joint fleet. The Combined Fleet will have the new Commander of the Mediterranean Fleet of the British Navy, John Brown. Admiral Jericho as commander, with Admiral Palmiro, commander of the French Navy's Mediterranean Fleet, as deputy commander, the French Navy will send three 'Brittany-class, battleships and several armored cruisers to join the combined fleet. The British Navy will also send more than a dozen new battleships and battlecruisers to join the combined fleet to ensure that the combined fleet of the British and French navies has an overwhelming advantage in dealing with the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Chinese Navy.

Britain and France agreed that the combined fleet would be formed within the next month, and then wait for an opportunity to launch an attack on the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Chinese Navy. By that time, three ships of the French Navy

'Brittany-class, the battleships have been repaired, and the British Navy's ships damaged in the Battle of the North Sea have also been repaired, which can be used in the Mediterranean direction.

Britain and France hooked up and did not escape the attention of the Chinese side. However, China has not made any other moves in this regard, and the Mediterranean Sea is still the defense area of the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Chinese Navy, and the main force of the Chinese Navy has not been transferred to the Mediterranean.

China's capture of Sicily is also proceeding in an orderly manner. On 25 July, the Chinese Navy's huge convoy arrived in Catania, Sicily, where ten divisions of the army landed, bringing with them a large amount of engineering equipment and supplies. The Italian troops in Sicily had long escaped under the attack of the 8th Marine Division, and the surrender of the surrender was not at all a threat to the squadron.

The squadron landed in Sicily in a big way, on the one hand, to consolidate the occupation of the island, and on the other hand, to build a field airfield and a port for submarines to dock, and to dig a pit for the upcoming British and French combined fleet, waiting for them to jump in.