As the time for the Istanbul Peace Conference approached, delegations from more and more countries rushed to Istanbul. This ancient city has become the focus of the whole world for a while. The Ottoman Turkish Empire also became a powerful empire in the world. Of course, although the speed Abdul. Mejid I was excited and ambitious, but he knew the strength of the Ottoman Empire. It may be no problem to bully a weak country. But if you want to confront a powerful country like the Kingdom of Prussia with a blow from the Chinese Empire, it will obviously be looking for death. So, in front of the upcoming delegation of the Chinese Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia, the people of the Ottoman Turkish Empire looked very humble.

On October 15, 1855, in the north of the Suez Canal, the fleet of the Imperial Navy, escorting to the Istanbul Peace Conference, joined the main force of the First Fleet of the Imperial Navy. Eight huge battleships, floating on the surface of the sea like a small mountain, gave people a great shock.

"Is this the Empire's weapon of the sea? Sure enough, it is worthy of being the most powerful maritime combat force in the empire! On a cruiser, the Imperial Crown Prince Long Hua looked at the battleship coming in the distance, his face excited. A powerful battleship is not only the most powerful naval combat force, but also a deterrent for the country.

"Yes, Your Highness. This is the pride of the Imperial Navy, and the pride of the Empire. Originally, our naval strength was significantly inferior to that of the British. However, it was with these huge ships that we achieved a counter-overtake over the British, and in one fell swoop annihilated the main force of the British Navy, gaining control of the world's oceans! Prime Minister Lin Zihao was also full of emotion. The empire can have its current status, and the navy can be said to have contributed a lot.

"Then why are we still selling these ships? Although the Qin-class battleships and the Western Han-class battleships are a bit old, no country in the world can build more powerful warships than them. "Crown Prince Longhua said that he himself was opposed to the sale of eight 'Qin-class' battleships and eight 'Western Han-class' battleships. After all, after selling these battleships, there were only eight 'Eastern Han-class' battleships left in the capital ships of the Imperial Navy. The cutting-edge 'Tang-class' battleships, on the other hand, will not be able to enter service until two or three years later. In the past two or three years, it will be a great challenge for the empire's maritime strength.

"Your Highness! It was very cost-effective to use the 'Qin-class' battleships and the 'Western Han-class' battleships in exchange for more shipbuilding funds for the Imperial Navy. The 'Qin-class' battleships and the 'Western Han-class' battleships were nothing more than actual warships. The caliber of the main gun is too small, and many of the performance is not perfect. Although they are still sharp weapons at sea, as time goes by, they will soon have to face retirement. When the time comes, it will be worthless. It is better to take this opportunity to sell all these warships, so that the empire can use sufficient funds to build more warships. Foreign Minister Wei Yuan also said. Although Longhua is a prince, he is still too young. Their teachings are needed in these areas.

Long Hua nodded, although he was a little unhappy about selling so many warships, but he knew that it was right. It's just that he can't turn the corner for a while. After all, in the next two or three years, there will only be eight capital ships left in the Imperial Navy, which is much less than the current twenty-four. Of course, relying solely on eight 'Eastern Han class' battleships, no country could threaten the empire.

"If our warships are sold to those who are hostile to the Empire, will that affect the Empire's security?" Long Hua was a little worried.

"Your Highness, the Empire's warships will only be sold to the Empire's allies. As for the hostile countries, don't think about getting advanced warships from the Empire. In a certain sense, the sale of advanced warships is also a kind of expression to win over other countries. With the current financial resources of the empire, it has not reached the point where it has opened its eyes to money! Prime Minister Lin Zihao said with a smile.

Long Hua was relieved, after all, there were only two hardcore allies of the empire. Other countries, hostile to the Empire, want to buy the Empire's warships, it is impossible. The Empire will certainly not sell these advanced warships to the other side.

"Your Highness, General Liu Zhongming and General Wei Yong are both on the battleship 'Han Gaozu', let's go over too!" Prime Minister Lin Zihao said.

"Good!" Long Hua nodded, a hint of excitement flashing across his face. He was the crown prince of the Empire, but he had never been to the most advanced warships of the Imperial Navy. Now, finally, there is a chance to get on board.

Soon, Prince Longhua, Prime Minister Lin Zihao, and Foreign Minister Wei Yuan boarded the battleship 'Han Gaozu' by guò transport boat.

"Minister Wei Yong (Liu Zhongming) knocks on His Royal Highness the Prince!" On the deck of the battleship 'Han Gaozu', Admiral Wei Yong and Vice Admiral Liu Zhongming were already waiting here. After seeing Long Hua, he immediately saluted.

"Two generals, excuse me. The two generals fought for the country, and it was really hard! Long Hua hurriedly helped the two up.

"Your Highness!"

Next, Long Hua visited the battleship 'Han Gaozu' under the leadership of Admiral Wei Yong with great interest. Although the 'Western Han class' battleship was slightly weaker than the 'Eastern Han class' battleship, as many as ten 280 mm main guns still shocked Longhua.

At the same time, Lieutenant General Liu Zhongming and Prime Minister Lin Zihao and others discussed what they should do at the Istanbul Peace Conference.

The fleet began to sail towards Istanbul, and along the way, it encountered merchant ships and cruise ships from many countries. When everyone saw the eight tall battleships like hills, their hearts were full of shock. This is the symbol of the world's first power, and the symbol of the hegemon of the seas. It is precisely by relying on such powerful warships that the Chinese Empire has become the world's number one power!

Before the Imperial Navy entered the Dardanelles, it joined the Spanish Navy. The Spanish Navy now also has a powerful 'Qin-class' battleship. After the fall of the British, the navy of the Kingdom of Spain became second only to the Chinese navy. Of course, compared with the Chinese Navy, the gap between the Spanish Navy and the Spanish Navy is very large.

The Prime Minister of Spain, the Duke of Valencia, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José, came from the Kingdom of Spain to attend the peace conference. Morality. Both of them boarded the battleship 'Han Gaozu' and met with the Imperial Crown Prince Longhua. Both said that at this peace conference, the Kingdom of Spain would be in line with the Empire.

Subsequently, the powerful Imperial Navy entered the Dardanelles. The defenders of the Ottoman Turkish Empire's coastal fortifications along the way were stunned one by one when they saw such a large fleet.

As many as nine formidable battleships (plus the 'Qin-class' battleships of the Spanish Navy) were enough to destroy the coastal fortifications built by the Ottoman Turks on both sides of the Dardanelles. In front of such a powerful steel beast, they are like humble ants, and they are not vulnerable at all. As for the navy of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, it was wiped out in the last Russo-Turkish war. Later, it was never rebuilt.

"Allah above, is this the Chinese armada? It's just spectacular. If the Ottoman Turkish Empire could have such a powerful fleet, the entire Mediterranean and even the whole world would have a place for us! A young naval officer of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, looking at the Chinese naval fleet sailing into the Dardanelles, said with emotion.

"Don't think about it, now there is no country in the world other than the Chinese Empire that can build such a powerful warship. If nothing else, the cost of these warships was also prohibitively high, how could the Ottoman Turkish Empire have extra money to build a navy? Another officer shook his head. The navy was very expensive, and the finances of the Ottoman Turkish Empire were already very bad, and the sultan and his ministers were still counting on the use of this peace conference to scrape a fortune from those defeated countries! If you want them to come out with money to build the navy, it is simply impossible.

After the Dardanelles, there is the Sea of Marmara. Istanbul is located on the eastern shore of the Sea of Marmara, on the border with the Bosphorus. The once glorious capital of the Eastern Roman Empire and the center of the Orthodox Church. However, from the 15th century onwards it became the capital of the Ottoman Empire.

On October 28, 1855, the huge fleet of the Imperial Navy arrived in Istanbul. However, Istanbul at this time simply did not have such a large berth to moor the huge warships of the Imperial Navy. Therefore, these battleships of the Imperial Navy were able to anchor only off the coast of Istanbul. Only some light warships were able to anchor in the harbor.

When the huge fleet of the Imperial Navy arrived in Istanbul, it caused a stir throughout Istanbul. Countless Turks gathered on the seashore and looked at the huge battleships from afar, and from their mouths, they continued to let out exclamations, which showed their fear and longing for such a powerful battleship.

The commander of Istanbul's defense, on the other hand, was calculating how these battleships would be able to withstand if they opened fire on Istanbul. Although Istanbul also has a lot of coastal fortifications, those old coastal fortifications are probably useless in front of these giant ships. In the end, Istanbul's defense commanders came to the sad conclusion that they could turn the whole of Istanbul into ruins if the Chinese navy wanted to.

The missions sent to Istanbul by various countries are also watching the huge fleet at sea, and their thoughts are also different. R1152