On September 24, the 10th year of Taiping, two huge Ming naval formations sailed out of the Lesser Luzon Bay and Brunei Bay, and sailed to the Lombok Strait and the Malacca Strait respectively.

The First Voyage to the Lombok Strait took the Sulu Sea, the Sulawesi Sea, the Makassar Strait, and the Java Sea. Except for the Java Sea, almost all of them are the de facto "inland seas" of the Ming Dynasty, with patrol ships of the Nanyang Fleet on the sea and airships hovering in the sky. These days, because the Ming Dynasty is actually at war, the vigilance is even tighter. Any ship that enters it will be stopped by a patrol ship and strictly checked!

And the Dutch on the island of Java have long been "lying flat imperialism". The reason why they were able to rule the East Indies was simply the need for a buffer zone between the Ming and the British.

The Dutch, who already knew what kind of goods they were, didn't bother to struggle, and they didn't have any decent fleets here on the island of Java, and naturally there were no airship patrols - airships were so expensive and not very safe, so why did they do it? There are some patrol ships, and they are all hybrid, can burn coal stoves, and can also use wind energy. However, he will not run to Kassar, or even to the northern part of the Java Sea, just to guard the meaning of his own East Indies.

As for whether the soldiers of the Great Tomorrow love to come or not, they don't care. If the Ming Dynasty doesn't come, they will be colonists for one day and collect taxes for one day. Daming is coming, and their big deal is to roll up and run away.

So before the passage of the Lombok Strait in a sea battle, most of the Dutch would not have known. The Dutch didn't know, and the British certainly didn't know where to go.

However, the British and Indian troops and fleets placed in the Strait of Malacca still took themselves very seriously. In their own words, the Strait of Malacca was the British Empire's first gateway to Western civilization.

Since you have to defend the portal, then patrol boats, airships, and spy and reconnaissance ships are all indispensable. Among them, airships and spy reconnaissance ships were sent to Temasek 400 kilometers to the east, and the main force of the Nanyang Fleet of the Ming Navy only needs to sail west out of the waters near Borneo, or it will be discovered in a few hours. And because there is no radar in these years, the aircraft is a top-secret project, and it is impossible to take it out to intercept the airship.

As for the airship blocking the airship. This speed is not good, and by the time the interceptor airship arrives, everyone will already go home for dinner.

Therefore, when the main force of the South Sea Fleet sailed to the sea less than 400 kilometers from Temasek Island, the British reconnaissance airships in the sky and the spy reconnaissance ships on the sea had already discovered them. However, wireless telegraphy is not yet widespread in the UK, and most of the reconnaissance airships and spy ships do not have such advanced machines.

Therefore, after discovering that the Ming navy formation was heading towards the Strait of Malacca, these airships and spy ships could only drive at full speed towards Temasek Fortress. Three hours later, two reconnaissance airships had landed at the airship base on Temasek Island. About a quarter of an hour later, Kaiser William, who was on the shores of Elephanta Island in Mumbai, had already received a military intelligence emergency from Temasek!

"Your Majesty the Emperor, the main force of the Nanyang Fleet of the Ming Navy is sailing towards the Strait of Malacca. According to airship reconnaissance, the formation has a total of four hero-class battleships, eight Han Wu Emperor-class battleships, and twelve Haohan-class armored cruisers! The total number of cruisers, destroyers, and transport ships of all types that followed was no less than 100! ”

Inside the Emperor's Elephanta Palace, a luxuriously furnished and air-conditioned hall, Emperor William was admiring the art of belly dancing from Charles. Yilu learned the news of the main force of the Nanyang Fleet of the Ming Navy.

"Quick, invite the Marquis of Nelson, the Earl of Amsterd, the Foreign Secretary, Staunton, and the War Minister Gough to the Elephanta Palace!"

"Yes, sir."

The Marquis of Nelson was still aboard the Warrior, and Amestad, the Chief Minister of the Indian Empire, Staunton, the Foreign Secretary, and the War Secretary, Gough, were all present in Bombay. However, Koh Chang is only a few kilometres from Mumbai by water, and it takes a short time to get there by speedboat.

So about an hour later, Nelson, Amsterd, Staunton and Hugh. Gough has arrived.

"They're coming!" Kaiser Wilhelm, sitting on the throne of the audience hall, said to the ministers who had hurried in, "There are no aircraft carriers in 12 new battleships, 12 brand new Hero-class armored cruisers, but there are light airships in the sky that are on a covering role. In addition, there are more than a hundred light ships, auxiliary ships and troop carriers. It seems that a great war between the East and the West has really come! ”

Kaiser Wilhelm looked at his ministers: "What now?" I need your advice! ”

"Your Majesty," said Foreign Secretary Staunton, "now it is time to submit an ultimatum to the Ming court!" ”

The ultimatum is actually a declaration of war!

Because it is impossible for the Ming Empire to accept the conditions on the ultimatum!

"Your Majesty," said Chief Chancellor Amsterd, "I also propose to submit an ultimatum to the Ming court that the Indian Empire needs an all-out war!" Only an all-out war against the invasion of the Ming Empire can bring together the near-loose country of India! And only a declaration of war will allow us to fully mobilize India's manpower and material resources. ”

War Secretary Hugh. Gough also said: "Your Majesty, declaring war can give the imperial government more power and also allow us to organize more troops. In order to defeat the Ming Dynasty, these are all necessary! ”

"Your Majesty," also the Marquis of Nelson, "is actually in a state of war with the Ming Dynasty, and I think we should not only let India declare war on the Ming Dynasty, but also let the United Kingdom join the war!" Only in this way will we be able to fully mobilize Britain's financial, material, and human resources, especially industrial strength! ”

Emperor Wilhelm shook his head: "No, it's not yet, Marquis, are we sure that we can defeat the main force of the approaching Nanyang Fleet?" ”

Marquis Nelson nodded: "Of course. General Hood's fleet had 22 battleships, 22 armored cruisers (including 2 Blake class that had just joined), 15 motherships! In addition, there are 15 shallow water heavy gunboats in the Temasek Fortress! In Malacca, we are far stronger than the enemy. ”

"Good!" Emperor Wilhelm nodded heavily, having already made up his mind, "Send a telegram to our ambassador in Beijing, Sir Pu Dingcha, and ask him to submit an ultimatum to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Ming Empire!" ”

"Yes, my majesty!"

Beijing, Chang'an Avenue, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Building.

In the afternoon of the same day, in the hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lin Zexu, a scholar of the Ming Foreign Ministry, couldn't help but frown when he saw Sir Pu Dingcha, the ambassador of the Indian Empire with a gloomy face. Sir Pu Dingcha, who was very stylish, frowned when he saw the Ming Dynasty minister in the black gauze python robe in front of him, and there was an indescribable pleasure in his heart - you oriental yellow-skinned monkeys are too late to hurry now, because the British Empire will soon lead the entire Western world to fight you!

"Sir Pudingcha, why are you here alone?" Lin Zexu looked at the Indian ambassador in front of him and frowned and asked, "What about Bomai?" Why didn't he come? ”

Bo Mai is the British Royal Navy Colonel who escaped by swimming in the Battle of Kii Waterway, he found an opportunity after the Battle of Kii Waterway, and got a diplomatic errand, and is now the chargé d'affaires in Daming - diplomatic relations between Daming and Britain have been reduced from ambassador to chargé d'affaires! And this chargé d'affaires is still temporary.

Sir Pudingcha could understand Lin Zexu's Chinese, and after being stunned, he asked in English: "Mr. Minister, what do you mean?" Today I am submitting an ultimatum on behalf of the Indian Empire, which has nothing to do with the Chargé d'Affaires a.i. of the United Kingdom. ”

Lin Zexu snorted and laughed: "Ambassador Pudingcha, you go back and tell your Emperor William that his cleverness is useless to the Ming Dynasty!" Those who offend me will be punished even if they are far away! We are also not stupid and know who the real enemy is? So we'll definitely go to the island of Great Britain to settle accounts with the British! Whether they declare war or not, they can't change this outcome!

Finally, I don't want to know what the ultimatum of the so-called Indian Empire was? We refuse! From now on, the Ming Empire and the Indian Empire are in a full-scale war! ”

(End of chapter)