"Ahem, ahem, ahem......"

Taking a sip of wine in his mouth, General Silva coughed violently, he didn't know that he needed a strong fleet, the key was no!

Lisbon, the home country, needs to be on guard against Spain, a neighboring power, and the main ironclad ships of the Royal Portuguese Navy must not leave for a moment, let alone support the African colonies, which is not to be considered.

This pocket fleet on the island of Mozambique has only a few sail warships that have been in service for more than 40 years, and it is still up to the task of fighting smuggling, fighting piracy, etc., and it is difficult to do anything more than these old arms and legs.

The African Expeditionary Force also did not have any warships that could be used, only the fast and agile "mosquito" gunboats and two more than 1,000-ton Seagull-class cruisers, which could eat the sail warships to death by virtue of their speed advantage alone, and they never fought with the Portuguese warships, but used their main energy to deal with the slow freighters, which was a very powerful trick.

The expeditionary fleet is stationed on the island of Igbo in the Quilimba archipelago, which is the main stop for Dar es Salaam, the capital of German East Africa, on its way to Mozambique, and is about 170 nautical miles from Mozambique.

General Silva had been trying to eradicate it as quickly as possible, but unfortunately the Portuguese sail ships were not effective.

Speaking of which, it is necessary to talk about the topography of the eastern coastline of Africa.

Mozambique is located in the western part of the Indian Ocean, across the Mozambique Channel from the island of Madagascar, and the Mozambican Warm Current flows from north to south to the Agulhas Basin, bringing a lot of marine life, and the coral reefs off the coast are full of life.

On the map, the coast of Mozambique looks like a big bend, with many islands along the coast, dotted like a strand of pearls dotted along the mainland coastline.

The Kilimba archipelago is located in the northeastern province of Mozambique, on the coast of the Indian Ocean, its main island Igbo Island is located off the east coast of Kisanga, the archipelago includes Igbo Island (the station of the expeditionary force fleet), Matemo Island, Loras Island, Killimba Island, Medum Bay Island, Makaroe Island, Metudo Island, Kissiva Island, Varmiz Island, Mefengwo Island, Kiswula Island, Tavari Island, Quero Mingbi Island and other about 32 islands, with a total area of about 1430 square kilometers (550 square miles), coastal forests, With 750639 hectares (1,854,870 acres) of mangroves and coral reefs, and a colorful flora and fauna such as elephants, lions, leopards, crocodiles, turtles, manatees, and giraffes, the coast is picturesque and breathtaking.

The problem was that the German territory of Dar es Salaam on the way to Mozambique had to pass through the Kilimba Islands, where the African Expeditionary Force's gunboats waited to intercept cargo ships, essentially cutting off the Mozambique island's supply routes.

"Sir Sheng, things are not as simple as you think." There was a hint of resentment in General Silva's tone; You don't know anything, you're blind!

Breaking the blockade can only be done with a strong fleet, but where does the fleet come from?

"My dear Portuguese friends, the situation is not as bad as you think, and the Queenslanders are making a big move in Africa, which must have touched the sensitive nerves of the Germans and the French, and it is evident from the supply of arms and supplies to the island of Mozambique by the Germans that Dar es Salaam did not like this new neighbour to the south and that France ......"

Sheng Yeyun smiled slightly, he didn't care about General Silva's attitude, as long as he could help the Portuguese regain their fighting spirit, he was personally wronged.

"What's wrong with France?" The other party intended to sell off, and the Portuguese governor Bernardo Fernández asked impatiently.

Sheng Yeyun looked at Mr. Governor, then at Mr. General, and then at the high-ranking officials and nobles present and said reservedly; "The French attempt to colonize the Kingdom of Madagascar is clear, and although last year's military operation failed, it does not mean that the French will stop there.

From the map

French Reunion Island is only 650 kilometers from the Kingdom of Madagascar, and the only drawback of Reunion Island is that it is too small, only more than 2,000 square kilometers, far from satisfying the good appetite of the French colonists.

Therefore, they were bound to win the kingdom of Madagascar, but it was only a matter of time.

Now that Mozambique and the Kingdom of Madagascar are close by sea, this poses a great threat to the interests of the French, and I don't think the French mind causing them some trouble, but they just need a suitable excuse to intervene.

Queensland's naval strength in Africa is very weak, as long as the French or Germans send an escort fleet to transport a cargo fleet full of supplies to Mozambique Island, it is enough to supply the basic living materials in the area for 3~4 months, and it can hold on for a long time.

You know, the French have a sizable fleet on Reunion Island, with two cruisers and several ironclad gunboats, which is by no means something that the Queenslanders can resist. ”

Sheng Yeyun's suggestion was like a lightning bolt piercing the dark clouds, and the crowd present was excited, and they exchanged words with each other.

Whenever possible, no one wants to give up their homes that have been in business for hundreds of years.

For the Portuguese whites present, for hundreds of years, there is no place for them in their homeland in Europe, and they will be excluded and suppressed by the local magnates.

The idea offered by Sir Sheng Yeyun was well worth studying, and it was certainly impossible to hire a French or German fleet, and if it was to provide escort in the name of protecting the merchant fleet, as long as it passed through the waters of the Kirimba Islands and sent a large amount of much-needed supplies to the island of Mozambique, the Portuguese would have a precious respite.

By the way, why not give the famous African Queenslanders a little color?

Like a straw grasped by a drowning man, the Portuguese took this advice very seriously.

Governor Bernardo Fernández had a private discussion with General Silva, and felt that there was a lot of room for manoeuvre, and that the details would need to be considered after returning, but the general tone was set, and an envoy must be sent to contact the French and Germans as soon as possible.

We are deliberating

The general's adjutant walked into the dome hall in a hurry, looked left and right, and quickly walked towards the guest of honor, with a hint of haste in his steps.

He came to General Silva's side, leaned closely, and whispered something in the general's ear in a hurry, and General Silva's face changed suddenly when he heard this, and he stood up and said with a slight apology; "I'm sorry, but it's a little thing that needs to be taken care of."

After speaking, he hurriedly left with the adjutant, causing a lot of discussion behind him.

Sheng Yeyun vaguely heard some words such as "scramble for food", "riot", and "suppression", and his face couldn't help but become solemn.

Unexpectedly, the situation on the island of Mozambique has deteriorated to such an extent, and the occurrence of popular riots every now and then has brought a great impact on the entire social order, and has slowly destroyed the confidence of the Portuguese to hold on.

The Mozambique Marine Police District, which belongs to the African Expeditionary Force, is stationed on the island of Igbo in the Quilimba archipelago, which is located on the coast of the Northern Province, 8.3 kilometers from the mainland coast, the island is 4.9 kilometers long, 4.7 kilometers wide, and covers an area of about 9 square kilometers, with a population of about 3,000 people in the main town of Vila.

First visited by the Portuguese Vasco da Gama in 1502, the island was used by Portugal as a trading point for slaves and ivory from 1590, and in 1791, the Portuguese built Fort São João Battis, a port town with a history of more than 200 years, on the island of Ibo.

In early May 1886, Igbo Island fell under a sudden Queenslander attack, and it is said that one person was killed and seven were wounded in the battle.

Occupied by the African Expeditionary Force and the nearby Portuguese towns, the famous Igbo Island Hotel in Vila has a strong Portuguese architectural style, some rooms face the sea, some face the garden, and the large balconies are handmade with furniture and soft straw cushions, where you can sit quietly and enjoy the view of the sea and sky.

The Mozambique Marine Police District, to which the expeditionary force belongs, is located here, and is equipped with more than 10 "mosquito" gunboats with a displacement of more than 300 tons and two Seagull-class patrol ships of more than 1,000 tons.

The Mosquito gunboat was equipped with a 95mm Miss Australia gun, which was enough to pose a serious threat to the freighter when firing at close range, and the main power of this small gunboat was two 3.0-liter high-horsepower diesel engines, which had a fast ignition start, and was small and extremely flexible, which was difficult for the Portuguese sail warships to deal with.

The two more than 1,000-ton Seagull-class frigates belonging to the Marine Police District are equipped with a 150 mm main gun (later improved, the caliber of the main gun is reduced, and the hydraulic re-entry system is adopted to enhance the projection fire density per unit time), and four 95 mm Miss Australia secondary guns, and their combat effectiveness should not be underestimated.

With a few old sail warships on the island of Mozambique, it is impossible to cope with such a new naval force.

Sheng Yeyun's idea is very vicious, whether it is Dar es Salaam, the capital of German East Africa, or the French Reunion Islands, there are 3000~4000 ton heavy cruisers, as long as there is a main ironclad ship to participate in the escort, these small gunboats on Igbo Island have to flee from the wind, and the noose on Mozambique Island quietly dissolves......

"Your Excellency the Governor, I feel that the island has a surplus of military strength, and it is necessary to launch a counterattack on the mainland at the right time, any victory will greatly boost the confidence of the defenders, instead of sitting in a city of sorrow here." With a roll of his eyes, Sheng Yeyun came up with another idea.

Now Governor Bernardo Fernández attaches great importance to Sir Sheng who has come from afar, he thought for a moment, turned sideways and whispered; "My dear friend, the situation on the island is not entirely under the control of General Silva, there are too many Balazzo here, each with a variety of armed forces, General Silva must always sit in the City of Stone, and must not leave for a moment, otherwise he will ......"

The Governor did not continue, Sheng Yeyun fully understood the meaning of his words, it was nothing more than that there were all kinds of landlord forces gathered on the island, each of them did not obey orders, and they could not form a joint force to control each other, and there was no water to eat if there were too many monks!

Really dripping...... The mud can't hold up the wall!

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