Standing at the stern of the boat, looking at the Tianjin Port in the distance, Cai Ye sighed softly.

It's not his first time abroad, it's just that the pressure on his shoulders is significantly greater than the last time. Because when he was leaving, Yan Shao had already told him many things very clearly, so that he understood that although the expeditionary force did not need to enter the war immediately after arriving in Europe, as long as it participated in the war, it must exert its combat effectiveness that impressed Britain and France.

Only in this way can the expeditionary force gain a firm foothold in Europe, and they can be regarded as opening the way for the subsequent expeditionary force.

"Commander..."Walking over from the side, Liu Guangyuan patted Cai Ye on the shoulder and said. It's windy on deck, so let's go inside the cabin first..."

In this expeditionary force, Cai Yi is the commander, and Liu Guangyuan is the deputy commander, and he also serves as the commander of the First Army and the division commander of the A division.

In other words, Liu Guangyuan is Cai Yi's deputy.

Because he had worked with Cai Ye in Shandong in the past, Liu Guangyuan and Cai Ye were relatively familiar, and they also knew that although Cai Ye's body had almost recovered, he was still a little weaker.

Now that the weather is relatively cold, and the sea breeze on the sea surface is very strong, Cai Ye is standing here, in case he has any illness...

That's why Liu Guangyuan came over to persuade Cai Ye, after all, no matter what, he couldn't let the commander of the expeditionary force just set off and contracted wind chills and other diseases...

————————————————————

turned his head and glanced at Liu Guangyuan's concerned look. Cai Ye smiled slightly. "Let me stay here a little longer, I still have some things to think through, and when I think about it, I'll go back to the cabin..."

"Like...", they worked together for a while. Liu Guangyuan also knew that Cai Ye was the kind of person who would not easily change his decision as long as he thought it through, so he didn't continue to persuade him, but said softly on the side. "In that case, let's let someone else get something hot..."After speaking, Liu Guangyuan looked at the many guards on the side. You go get some hot tea for the commander, so that the commander can warm himself up, and get a coat over here..."

"Yes!"

Heard Liu Guangyuan's words. The guards nodded hurriedly, and in a short time, a few people had already run away. Look for the things that Liu Guangyuan just said.

Looking at Liu Guangyuan's actions, Cai Yi opened his mouth, but he didn't say much.

Although he didn't feel the need to be so troublesome, he also knew that his body was indeed weak. And now the expeditionary force has just set off. If he fell ill, it would indeed be a big deal for the expeditionary force.

So after sighing, Cai Ye didn't say anything more...

Continue to look outside, let the sea breeze blow, under the cold sea breeze, Cai Yi's thinking is obviously much clearer.

Thinking about it, it didn't take long for the guards to come running over with their coats and hot tea.

The coat and hot tea are naturally Cai's. And what was given to Liu Guangyuan was a bottle of wine that had been scalded.

For Liu Guangyuan. Obviously, this thing is the most cold-warding thing...

Looking at Liu Guangyuan's appearance, Cai Yi shook his head. "It's okay now, but when it comes to the battlefield, it's still..."

"Don't worry, Commander..."Although he is Yan Shao's descendant, he has a high status even in the National Defense Army, but Liu Guangyuan still respects Cai Ye very much. There is no other reason, because he knows Cai Ye's ability very well, and he has always admired people who have ability. "It's just that I drink some now, and when I get to Europe, I'm really busy, I will never touch these—————— of course, provided that those Europeans are better than hooking up with me, then again, if you drink at some banquets, it shouldn't be considered a violation of military discipline..."

The military regulations of the Wehrmacht have always been very strict, and it is absolutely forbidden to drink alcohol during combat, in order to avoid delaying things. But...

"Of course this is no problem..."Cai Ye chuckled. The military regulations only stipulate that alcohol is not allowed during combat, but if it is not a state of war, or a state of recuperation, naturally there is no need, and if the French really invite us, naturally there will be no problem..."

Even if it is a military regulation, it is impossible to stipulate this strictness.

What's more, although wine is a mistake, it also boosts morale, and at the same time, in the war, for soldiers between life and death, alcohol is also the best thing, a thing that can numb themselves.

Therefore, the ban on alcohol is only limited to the time of war, as long as there is no war, even people like Cai Yi don't mind his subordinates drinking some.

After talking and laughing with Liu Guangyuan for a while, Cai Ye looked at the sea.

On the sea, dozens of transport ships, escorted by more than a dozen warships, are sailing above the sea.

This was definitely a novelty for many officers and men of the Army, so many officers and men ran out of the cabin and walked out onto the deck to look at the scenery outside. And for them, everything in front of them is so new.

However, Cai Ye is different from them, Cai Ye is more concerned about...

"Navy..."After thinking about it, Cai Ye said in a low voice. Hopefully they will be able to make sure we arrive in France safely..."

"It should be fine," Liu Guangyuan said with a smile. This time, the navy is still working very hard, discharging ten new destroyers at a time, and three new cruisers, except for the Japanese ships that have just been fished from Longkou Bay, and the three dreadnoughts bought from the Americas, the number of these warships is already equivalent to one-third of the number of new ships in the navy at present, and I heard that the ones sent this time are also elite..."

In fact, the navy also attaches great importance to this expeditionary force.

Although it is normal for there to be contradictions between the arms of the armed forces in various countries, and there are also some contradictions between the army and navy of the Wehrmacht, these are only some minor contradictions in peacetime, and they are not just some verbal disputes when they are competing for military spending.

In fact, compared with the arms of other countries, China's army and navy still have a relatively good relationship. At least it's definitely much better than the relationship in Japan—————— and it's rare to see something like Japan.

Just like Liu Guangyuan said. In order to ensure the safe arrival of the army in Europe, the navy was also selling its life this time. Those ships that have just been salvaged from Longkou Bay, and the three dreadnoughts are not mentioned for the time being. Although there have been quite a few new warships launched in recent years, they are not many, and this time the navy has dispatched one-third of the number at a time, and they are all the earliest batches, and the officers and men on the ships are all veterans, and they are definitely not comparable to the officers and men of those ships in the later batches.

Whoever can say that the Navy is indeed selling its life...

"Here's the problem. The submarine force of the Germans seems to be very powerful, in case it really happens..."Speaking of this, Cai Yi shook his head with some concern...

In fact, he was more worried. Will the Germans, after learning that they have sailed, make a special trip to ambush them? After all, their expedition was really a bit of fanfare, and almost the whole world knew that they had set off, and it was difficult to say whether the Germans would ambush them once in this case.

After all, it's a whole army. Fifty or sixty thousand people.

If it can be solved at sea...

That was for the pressure on the Germans on the Western Front. Undoubtedly a small subsidy...

————————————————————

The fleet sails very fast, and unlike other countries, most of the ships equipped by the Wehrmacht have just been launched in the past two years, and a large number of new technologies have been adopted, and on paper performance they are definitely not inferior to ships of the same class of any country in this era.

It can be said that if it is said that in terms of naval strength, perhaps China does have a large gap with many countries. But if it's in terms of technology, as long as it's in the Wehrmacht. It will definitely not be much worse than the ships of the same type in other countries ...

In addition, the transport ships that transported troops this time have just been launched in recent years, and although the speed is not as good as that of warships, it is also good in the transport ships, so...

After departing from Tianjin, the fleet soon moved south to Singapore, where it was resupplied and then to the Indian city for another resupply.

Of course, after the replenishment of Singapore, to be honest, the fleet does not need much. The main purpose of this time was to round the fleet with the British.

Although almost all of the main naval forces of the British were concentrated in Europe and used to suppress the German high seas fleet, the British still had a large number of ships in their colonies in Europe or in various parts of the world, but the main ships were only in Europe.

Just like the British in India, although the main force of the fleet is no longer there, the remaining fleet...

Seriously, it's not necessarily worse than the naval fleet escorting the expeditionary force, but even much better...

Similarly, compared to the Chinese Navy, the British Navy is much stronger in all respects. After all, the navy is a technical service, and compared to the army, which only needs to train for a few months and can be put into the battlefield, the navy needs more time to train a suitable navy...

————————————————————

According to the agreement between China and the British, when the fleet arrived in India, the British would send a navy to escort the expeditionary force with the Chinese fleet to ensure that they could safely reach the French mainland, which was also the city where Yan Shao had —————— used as a starting point...

The British clearly did not intend to break the contract, and they also knew what the consequences would be if something happened to this navy on the way.

In China, war-weariness is not small, and many people feel that this is a war for Europeans, and there is no need for China to get involved. It was only because of Yan Shao's great prestige, and because the Chinese people did not want to express their thoughts to the government, that the declaration of war on Germany and other Allied countries, as well as the dispatch of expeditionary forces, was in the past.

Even after the expeditionary force was dispatched, there were still many people in the country who didn't know about it at all...

But if the expeditionary force sent to Lu this time is solved by the German submarines on the way, as Yan Shao once said, then the enthusiasm of the country to participate in the war will be extinguished, and the anti-war faction will gain the upper hand, even if China will not withdraw from the Entente, it will become impossible to continue to send the expeditionary force.

At the moment, Britain and France are in urgent need of help from other countries, and naturally they will not want to see this happen, which is why Britain will send a fleet.

As for the French—————— although the French also want to help, it is a pity that the French are too weak on this side.

Although it has a certain strength in French Indochina, that is, Vietnam. But instead of taking out this strength to protect the expeditionary force, it is better to protect himself first, which is also one of the reasons why the French bought it this time...

And wait until the escort fleet of the Chinese Navy. When it converged with the ships sent out by the British Navy. The size of the entire fleet has expanded from the original three cruisers plus 10 destroyers to the scale of eight cruisers and 24 destroyers, which is obviously much larger than the original.

If it weren't for the British fleet in India, many of which were old ships built many years ago, some of which were even more than a decade old, perhaps they would have been even stronger than the Chinese convoy. But now...

Although there is a gap in numbers between them, with superior performance, the two are comparable—————— if the naval officers and sailors of the two sides are also equal...

————————————————————

The French port of Marseille. As the second largest city in France, Marseille has always been one of the most prosperous cities in the Mediterranean, with countless ships coming and going every day.

And by the war years, as the largest port in France. Marseille played a huge role.

Colonial troops from various colonies. People from Africa, from Asia, white, black, yellow, almost all of them can be seen here...

Here, too, almost all races gather.

The British expeditionary force was mainly equal to the other direction, so there were hardly any Englishmen to be seen in Marseille. But here, it was the place where the French mainland and the various colonial forces converged. So even though there were no British, there were no fewer troops than the ports in the north.

Even. There's only more here...

Although, that is in the not-too-distant future ...

————————————————————————

On the docks of the port of Marseille, some generals wearing gold stars on their shoulders were standing and chatting with each other.

Between words, these generals talked about what was happening on the front line.

Judging from their expressions, the situation of France on the Western Front does not seem to be very good—————— perhaps not only for this, but also for the annoyance that France needs the help of a yellow country.

"The Chinese Expeditionary Force, how long will it take to arrive..."

Standing at the front of everyone, Bertrand, wearing the rank of lieutenant general, asked a lieutenant colonel.

As one of the Frenchmen closest to Yan Shao, and also a lieutenant general in the French Army, Paris unanimously agreed that Bertrand was the most suitable candidate to meet the Chinese expeditionary force. So Bertrand, who was originally wandering around Paris, was brought to Marseille under the orders of Paris, and his task, in addition to meeting the expeditionary force, was to deal with the relationship between each other—————— perhaps because of Yan Shao's relationship, in recent years, Bertrand has also been studying Chinese, although he is not very fluent, but it is already rare among the French...

"It shouldn't be long," replied the lieutenant colonel, who had heard Bertrand's reply. At least some time ago, we were in contact with the fleet of the Chinese, who, according to them, had just passed through Genoa at that time ...

"That's it—" nodded, and Bertrand didn't say anything more...

Unlike those who are annoyed by the need for Chinese strength, Bertrand has been to China and is well aware of the amount of power China has. So it is clear that if France wants to win this war, then China, which is rising, is definitely one of the forces that France must rely on.

"Even......... If France wants to maintain its global interests and its position in Europe after the end of this war, it must cooperate with China at a deeper level, otherwise..."

Bertland knew exactly how much France had lost in this war, so he also knew very well that if France wanted to maintain its position in Europe and its interests in the world, it had to have some cards...

True, France and England are now allies, but this does not mean that Britain and France will always be allies, they will only mix together because of their German relations, nothing more...

And let's not forget that before the German threat, Britain and France were the biggest rivals in Europe.

In this war, France lost too much, and even if the war was won, it would definitely be greatly damaged. On the contrary, the British, although they also lost a lot of things, but after all, the war did not really take place in Britain itself, unlike France, and even Paris was once under the threat of German troops...

By the end of the war, will the British fall into the ground?

Bertram didn't want to think about it, but he had to...

And if at this time, France can have a strong foreign aid, the situation will undoubtedly be much better.

And China is obviously the most suitable role...

After all, there is not much conflict of interests between China and France, even if there is a French Indochina...

"It's a big deal, just give it to China..."

Just when Bertrand was thinking this, the lieutenant colonel suddenly ran over and said to Bertrand and the other generals. "They've arrived..."

Hearing his words, everyone immediately cheered up and looked intently at the sea.

I don't know how long it took to do it, but gradually, a huge fleet slowly appeared in front of everyone.

Looking at this huge fleet, the people who were originally on the dock suddenly made an uproar.

And that fleet is also sending its own signal to Bertrand...

"From Asia to Europe..." (To be continued......