The harassing fleet set sail at night, and at a time when curfews and martial arts were in place in Rome, no one noticed that a large fleet had quietly left the harbor.

As a precautionary measure, the fleet sailed a long way west from Rome, along the edge of the Tyrrhenian Sea, avoiding the usual route from Italy to Sardinia.

However, at night, the ships lacked illumination, and the full view of the fleet could not be seen by the moonlight alone.

But in the daytime, even if you are very careful, you will inevitably encounter a large number of merchant ships and distant-water fishing vessels - after all, this is one of the most prosperous seas in the Mediterranean, and it is impossible to walk on this sea without being seen.

However, this was expected by Vice Admiral Morales, who had already sailed more than 150 kilometers in the night, and had bought enough time.

The next thing that needs to be done is to complete the mission before Italy receives the news.

This is not difficult to do, even the wooden cruisers in the fleet are equipped with steam engines, and with the assistance of paddle wheels, the average speed is more than 11 knots, although it is not up to the level of ironclads, but it is not far off.

What is the concept of 11 knots, which can run about 20 kilometers per hour.

Rome, on the other hand, took the sea route to Palermo, which was less than 700 kilometers even if it took a long detour, which meant that they could reach their destination in about a day's sailing.

If the captain he met on the way wanted to alert the Italian government, he had to go to the nearby provincial capital first, and then shoot telegrams, verify again, and dispatch again, which was definitely far more than a day.

……

Alfonso did not pay much attention to the operation to harass the fleet - there was no chance that it would fail, because there was no hard target at all.

As the name suggests, it is enough to harass them, whether it is running to the port and firing a few guns indiscriminately, or sinking a few patrol ships, they are considered to have completed the task.

What bothered him more was the news from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Perhaps influenced by the victory of Rome, Gisela and his correspondence were mixed with current affairs and politics for the first time.

Reading between the lines hints that he was dissatisfied with the outcome of the Austro-Austro-Prussian war.

Most likely, it was Eugenie who did not know where to leak her mouth and let Austria-Hungary know that Spain wanted to lease the French Mediterranean fleet.

Not only Gisela, but even Rudolph wrote a letter, asking sideways whether he wanted to lease the Austro-Hungarian fleet.

Apparently under the guise of exchanging boats for land.

It is not surprising that Austria-Hungary had this idea, and the reason why they did not participate in the Franco-Prussian War was because the gap between their strength and Prussia was too great, and Prussia did not have too many harsh requirements for them, and they lacked the motivation for revenge.

Not to mention that Prussia was still at ease, even if the defeat was decided, they would not necessarily do it.

This was not the case at all with Italy, Venice was the essence of the empire, and Austria-Hungary dreamed of taking it back.

Italy was inferior to them, and it was normal for Austria-Hungary to take advantage of the Spanish-Italian war to try to regain lost territory.

But...... You can take it, it's a bit too much to think about empty gloves white wolf, right?

Take the ship for land, you used to be the United States?

Alfonso was full of slander about this, but he had to take care of the feelings of Austria-Hungary, and he couldn't say it too bluntly.

On the one hand, the two countries were quasi-related, and on the other hand, he also supported Austria-Hungary in taking Venice back.

Before, he was reluctant to involve Austria-Hungary in this matter because he was afraid of disturbing his negotiations with the Papal States, and he was also afraid that the fate of Austria-Hungary would attract too many variables.

Now there are no more concerns, the power of the Roman Church is gradually withdrawing from Spain, and the Reformation will begin when the war is over.

At such a time, it was naturally a good thing that Austria-Hungary declared war on Italy in the north.

I don't want them to make much contribution, the main thing is that after the war, if there is a live target of Austria-Hungary, then Spain can be more presumptuous.

You Austria-Hungary have taken back the rich Venice, isn't it reasonable for me Spain to take Sardinia?

Alfonso discussed the matter with Campos, who was puzzled at first, and only after synthesizing the intelligence of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did he know the reason why Austria-Hungary wanted to prostitute for nothing:

"At the end of the Austro-Prussian War, Austria-Hungary ceded Venice to Italy, and if they took it on their own initiative, it would be tantamount to overturning the Treaty of Prague, and the Prussians would fear that the terms of the renunciation of German leadership would also be torn up.

Austria-Hungary did not want to anger the Prussians, who had achieved absolute superiority in the Franco-Prussian field, and it was said that they had received a warning from Prussia. ”

Campos pointed out a document to Alfonso: "And only the royal family and the people want to take Venice back, and the army and parliament are against it."

Two days after the Battle of Rome, Emperor Franz had privately revealed the idea of going to war with Italy, and the next day he received many letters of opposition.

Italian unificationism would continue to bleed Austria-Hungary, especially since it had just returned and then been annexed, and the local Italians would certainly not be happy. ”

Campos concluded: "It was difficult for Austria-Hungary to solve the problem militarily if the army was unwilling, so they thought of exchanging ships for land, and did not take the formal diplomatic route, but mentioned it in the private correspondence of the royal family." ”

After understanding the Austro-Hungarian Empire's thoughts, Alfonso tentatively said in his reply to Rudolph that Spain did not need ships much now, but if Austria-Hungary could share the pressure on Italy, not only Venice could take it back, but Milan would not be negotiable.

Communication between Madrid and Vienna is difficult, and it takes at least 4 or 5 days to receive a reply after the letter is sent.

……

During this time, the harassing fleet was already closing on the port of Palermo.

Not surprisingly, Palermo continues to carry out normal business activities, and as the largest trading center on the large, isolated island of Sicily, the port is almost clogged with ships coming and going.

Morales stood atop the provisional flagship Numancia and looked at the defenseless sight with some sigh.

Fortunately, their mission was only to harass, and in case it was the main mission, they would be able to take Palermo without much effort, and then take control of the Strait of Messina and Sicily.

"Lieutenant General, what now?"

Morales turned his head to see a group of officers waiting for him to give orders.

To be honest, he was also a little hesitant, mainly because there were too many ships in the port, and it was terrible to shoot a few shells at the ships of China, Britain and France.

And there was a huge commotion in the port, which was clearly being armed, and he had to make a decision sooner rather than later.

After thinking about it, Morales ordered: "Let's shoot the shore defense artillery first." ”

As soon as he finished speaking, a cannonball was thrown out of the harbor and landed heavily on the water next to the Numancia, causing a huge splash.

Morales didn't laugh angrily when he saw this, it was impossible for these shore defense guns to penetrate the armor of the ironclad ship, and it would be easy to know the location.

"The cruiser retreats, and the Victoria goes to knock it out."