Just when Li Xiao was depressed because he was being used as a gun, George in the south welcomed a distinguished guest. Commander of the Navy Drake, the Queen's Envoy! His Excellency the Commander of the Navy was no exception, as he led the English fleet to defeat the Spanish Armada. It was precisely because of that war that Britain became the hegemon of the seas.

Drake was knighted and then earled. Although the title was not as good as that of George, he was now the commander of the navy, and he was in charge of the navy of the British Empire.

For this icon, George admires it very much. A super luxurious welcome dinner was specially prepared for Drake, and Wu Sangui and Yu Yi and others were ceremoniously introduced to Drake.

"Oh! Wu! I know you, you're amazing. Your concept was studied by professors at Oxford and Cambridge universities, and we got the ironclad. In Europe, we in England are unique. Half of your credit is here! Drake seemed to like the shrewd and capable Oriental.

"Thank you, Count Drake!" Wu Sangui hurriedly saluted Drake. But the stomach is slandering!

Without Lao Tzu's stealing Li Xiao's black technology, you wouldn't have been able to research the steam engine for a fucking hundred years. If there were no drawings bought by Lao Tzu, what Oxbridge fools could build an ironclad ship according to the drawings?

The drawings of the train have not been stolen, haven't you still made the train?

"This is Mr. Kuichi, the former Governor of Dutch Java, and now a senior advisor to the East India Company." George didn't forget to introduce Kuichi.

"Oh! Mr. Kuichi, I've heard your story. It's legendary! The King of the Netherlands also sent a special letter to Her Majesty for your business. Drake politely shook hands.

"Her Majesty......!" He swallowed in embarrassment, if the Queen promised to extradite him to the Dutch, he would be guillotined back in Amsterdam.

"Her Majesty has rejected the request of the King of the Netherlands, and you can rest assured that you will serve our British Empire. Not only you, but your children and grandchildren will also become subjects of the British Empire. Her Majesty never forgets those who have contributed to the Empire. Drake's words reassured him, and the expression on his face suddenly relaxed.

George then introduced him to a number of people, all of whom were English aristocrats from England in India. Many of these people had known Drake in England and had a quick conversation after meeting.

After the banquet, George invited Wu Sangui and Yu Yi into his office.

Unsurprisingly, Drake sat on a couch in his office with a wine glass containing whiskey in his hand.

"Gentlemen! You have taken up the resources of the whole of India, but you have not been able to defeat the Great Ming, which makes Her Majesty very unhappy. You know, India was the largest colony of the empire. Every year there were many taxes and supplies to be paid back home, but now, for four years in a row, not a single silver coin or grain had been shipped back to England.

Her Majesty is disappointed in you, and the MPs are disappointed in you. They sent me, an old man, to defeat the Ming Navy with an invincible ironclad fleet. Successfully landed on the coast of the Ming Dynasty, opened up trade routes for the East India Company of the empire, and earned the most profits. ”

Drake got straight to the point and told him about his mission this time.

Wu Sangui looked at George, he was a layman in the navy. All the drawings stolen from Da Ming were handed over to Yu Yi, who is now the chief designer of the Bombay shipyard. George has always been in charge of things in the water.

"Earl Drake has been given the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Navy by Her Majesty the Queen, which means that as long as the Imperial Navy is under Sir Drake's command. Other words......! George shrugged his shoulders and looked powerless.

Wu Sangui's head was a little dizzy, and it was George who knew the situation best. In the current situation, the Far Eastern Fleet of England is not at all an opponent of the Ming Navy. To be precise, it was already good that the English fleet was able to defend the coast of India.

But everything is going in a good direction, because India has high-quality iron ore. Wu Sangui is from Daming, and of course he knows that Daming is actually short of iron ore. Even if North Korea has a small amount of high-quality iron ore, the amount is far from enough.

Only when you actually build a factory can you know how important steel is.

With a delay of a few years, the warships of the Bombay shipyard will be launched one after another. When the Far Eastern Fleet of England surpassed the Ming Navy in quantity and quality, it was only a matter of time before the capture of Xinjiapo Castle.

But now ......! Everything seems to be about to change.

"Count Drake, we will follow your orders." Compared with Wu Sangui, he knows more about current affairs.

After years of failure and ups and downs, the high-spirited Dutch governor of Java has been turned into a cautious old man. He now just wants to work in Mumbai shipbuilding until he retires, and when he gets a good pension, he returns to England with his family. Buy a villa in London and spend the rest of your life in peace.

"Excellent! Mr. Kuichi, I would now like to find out about the condition of several warships that are being repaired. Drake was very satisfied with his attitude, and at the same time glanced at Wu Sangui with his eyes, he didn't like this Oriental in his heart. The joy just now is all pretended. After all, there is still a need for etiquette among nobles.

"At the moment there are five main warships, three of which are damaged. However, because the armor is very thick, it effectively protects important facilities such as boilers. It's easier to repair, and you don't have to tow it into dry dock.

However, the Hood was in worse condition, and his near-waterline section was hit by a shell. The armor was torn through a gaping hole almost two meters long, and it was a miracle that he was able to return to the port of Mumbai without sinking.

The most optimistic is Mr. George's flagship, the Queen Elizabeth, whose foredeck was hit by two shells, and has been largely restored to its original appearance after welding. The rest is just to paint and fight again. ”

Since the Battle of Xinjiapo, except for the sunken Prince of Wales. All the English warships returned to the port of Bombay, and they were busy with repairs these days. The situation of the various battleships was well known to him.

"Hmmm! It doesn't look as bad as I thought it would. Drake took a sip of whiskey.

"Except for the Hood, can the remaining four ships leave the port?"

Listening to Drake's words, everyone was taken aback. Wu Sangui, George, and Yuyi, you look at me, and I look at you. I don't know what this Drake Commander is going to do!

"Is that okay?" Drake asked again.

"It should be possible, but because the turrets of some ships are damaged, the combat effectiveness will be reduced. Other than that......! He replied with a stumble.

"There's nothing else, just be able to move. The York, which is part of the British mainland, and the battleship Saxony, will arrive tomorrow afternoon. In this way, we have six ironclads, two of which are still intact.

And I talked to Mr. George last night, although the Ming Navy has sharp weapons. But when it comes to naval traditions and the quality of sailors, it is much worse than our Royal Navy.

In the last naval battle, we also destroyed several ships of the opposing side. Three days later, we played against the Ming Navy again. This time, our forces were superior. And the quality of the soldiers is also better than that of the Ming Navy. This! It is enough to make up for the slight gap in equipment, and this battle is to take advantage of the fact that the Ming Navy has not yet relieved its senses, and to catch him off guard. ”

Drake waved his arm vigorously, as if he had sunk all the Ming navy.

George and Wu Sangui and Yu Yi, once again you look at me, I look at you.

In order to compete for sea supremacy in Europe, the Royal Navy transferred the first and second ironclad ships built by India back to Europe to install a façade. It was these two ironclad ships that made the English fleet the hegemon of the European seas.

Now in order to defeat the Ming, Drake actually transferred the Yorke and the Saxony back.

In terms of numbers, the number of warships of the British Royal Navy is indeed more than that of the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, the quality of officers and men is also better than that of the Ming Navy. After all, the British Empire was a traditional maritime power.

But the York and Saxony are both original ironclad ships. Many of the technologies are not mature, each ironclad ship has only two boilers, and the front main gun is still a 120-mm smoothbore gun. In Europe, it was crushing against the old sail warships, but in the Far East, such warships were already a little backward.

"Lord Earl! In my opinion, warships going to sea can be used to cut off the trade routes of the Ming Dynasty to Europe, and to sink or capture the Ming merchant ships. We will have a great gain, and the loss of Daming will also be great. If you fight hard with the Ming fleet......! Wu Sangui said a compromise plan.

It is very risky to bully the Ming fleet, but it is good to bully the merchant ships. After all, the armament of merchant ships can never be compared with the main warships of the Navy. Moreover, the Indian subcontinent is plunged into the sea like a dagger, and India has a full advantage in geography.

The most important thing is that if you bully a merchant ship, there will be a lot of seizures. Money! Who wouldn't love that?

"Wu! I warn you that we are the Royal Navy of the British Empire, not pirates flying pirates. Striking and capturing unarmed merchant ships is the only thing pirates can do. By doing so, you are going against chivalry. Drake's face sank suddenly.

"Oh! Lord Earl, Wu just drank too much, and what he said was drunk. George hurried out to play the round. I was also quite helpless in my heart!

This Drake Navy Commander was originally a pirate. Now that he has turned positive and become the British Royal Navy, the most annoying thing is that someone ridicules him for being a pirate back then. Wu Sangui didn't know this history, so he came up with such an idea.

Use warships against merchant ships, this is not pirates, what else can it be?