After that, it was almost clear that the French colonies throughout Africa would inevitably follow the British. The only variable is... Where will the Navy go. ”

"Yes, even if the French colonial authorities wanted to remain neutral, the British would not sit idly by."

At the regular meeting of the Mandarin Hall on the morning of May 10, the ministers discussed the latest situation.

Lin Xi glanced at the documents on the table a few times, and muttered: "There are a few French warships that are enough to pose a threat to Britain's sea transportation lines, and the British will definitely be on guard." ”

"I wonder what the French Navy will decide...... Disobedience? Or do you turn to the democratic commune? Xie Qinduan said.

Yu Shenhua, who was opposite him, replied in a rather convinced tone: "With the style of the British, if it really comes to a critical juncture, it will immediately turn its face." ”

Lin Xi said as a matter of course: "That is also a matter of no choice, in the final analysis, we must put the safety of our country first, and the British know the truth of interest." The two French battlecruisers and the high-speed battleships that had just entered service, combined with what the Germans already had, were enough to turn the Atlantic upside down. ”

The French Navy had two Dunkirk-class battlecruisers, the Dunkirk and the Strasbourg, both of which were armed with two quadruple 330mm guns with a full forward layout and a maximum speed of 30 knots.

The high-speed battleship is naturally the Richelieu, a cutting-edge battleship that has only been in service for a few months, and its sister ship, the Jean-Bar, is still being outfitted.

The two Richelieu-class battleships were even more terrifying, thanks to their superior high-pressure boiler technology, they could reach a maximum speed of 32 knots, and even faster when the power system was overloaded.

In addition to the two experimental pocket battleships, the German Workers' Navy now has two Mackensen-class battlecruisers and one Franz-class battlecruiser, which unfortunately its sister ship, the Albert, was sunk in a previous naval battle.

But the Workers' Navy will soon have its own super-warships – two high-speed battleships named after Marne with a standard displacement of 40,000 tons.

This class of battleships is equipped with 4 twin 406mm main guns, which are also high-speed light bullets with German characteristics, and the weight of armor-piercing shells is only 1045kg.

With so many high-speed capital ships, one can imagine how much pressure the British are on now.

The Counterattack was sunk by the Germans in the North Sea, and the Prestige was sunk by the Ming in the waters off Malaya, leaving only the Hood alone.

Although four King George V-class battleships are under construction at the same time, the two fastest will not be completed until early next year.

The old men of the British Empire were already trembling and fearful, and it can be said that the statements and appeals issued by the French Democratic Commune deeply stirred their sensitive nerves.

Now, if a French high-speed capital ship defects to the Germans, then I am afraid that the Atlantic route will really be finished!

The initial estimate of the Ming cabinet is that the French government forces will continue to retreat in the future, and there is a certain possibility of stabilizing the front in the southwestern region.

However, this was only temporary, and the French rebels and Germans would continue to attack after regrouping, and they would sweep through France like a devastating force.

So, the Third Republic is probably going to become a government in exile.

After that, it is more likely that the German Society will cross the Pyrenees, attack Spain, Portugal, and then unify the Iberian Peninsula.

As a result, the westernmost to easternmost parts of Europe will be united, and how many leaders in history have had their ambitions realized in such a situation?

Out of consideration of its own national interests, the Ming court actually hoped that the United States would get involved in Europe, and it was best to fight with the German Society.

Because the situation has changed far more than people expected, I am afraid that Washington is also arguing these days, and London, which is aware of the seriousness of the problem, is already organizing a team of special envoys to the United States.

It is really difficult to sustain itself, and if the Yankees continue to stand idly by, the British Empire will probably be forced to sit down at the negotiating table in the near future.

"If the Germans want to force the British to their knees before the Americans intervene, it's time to get started."

Zhou Changfeng also came to the staff office of the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion again today, and everyone had relatively few affairs in the past two days, so they had time to talk for a while.

A fat colonel, Gao Shen, said nonchalantly: "The British mainland of the three islands are short of resources, except for coal, almost 48 million people, and two-thirds of the food they eat is shipped from overseas. ”

Immediately, a young lieutenant colonel added to his words in detail with astonishing speed, "Eighty percent of oil, eighty percent of iron ore, ninety percent of copper ore, ninety percent of lead ore, and eighty percent of meat are all imported." ”

"So, even if the British really want to persevere, they are powerless." The colonel continued to say in that contemptuous tone, "Hehe, the small island nation has only developed for a while by relying on the colonies won by Buwu Tianxia, and it will eventually decline. ”

"Seriously, if the Germans decide to strike the route with all their might, we can echo it from afar." Zhou Changfeng crossed his waist, looked at the map not far away, and said: "Indu has provided a large amount of grain, rubber, iron ore, and copper ore to the British mainland, which is too important. ”

"Does Zhou Zhizhao refer to submarines?"

"Hmm."

Among the people present was a lieutenant colonel and staff officer, who thought for a moment and muttered: "The entire Nanyang is under the control of my Ming Dynasty, and submarines can depart from Xingzhou and Bacheng. At present, about 30 ships can be dispatched to carry out the battle, one-third of them are resting in port, one-third are on the way to and from the port, and one-third are cruising and hunting. ”

The Daming Navy did not build submarines this year, and only started construction of a high-speed experimental boat for technical verification.

At present, there are a total of 61 submarines of various types in service, of which 17 are Chun-class, 12 Guyu-class, and 15 Lixia-class.

If there is no practical significance, these submarines should not be wasted in the Induyang Ocean.

"Well, I can't tell." Zhou Changfeng sighed, "I don't know what the Germans are going to do, and I don't know when the Americans will end." ”

In the evening of the same day, Wusong Wharf in Shanghai.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please pay attention to the steps you take."

The soft sunset hangs in the western sky, casting a thousand feet of red light on the world, and the floating clouds seem to be marshmallows made with brown sugar powder.

The salty smell of the sea breeze is refreshing, and it makes people subconsciously feel like they are in the ocean.

The Shengping cruise ship is quietly moored at the dockside, with four large and straight chimneys, white and purple hull paint, and neat oak deck, all marking this is a luxury cruise ship.

For a long time, the average person judged whether a ship was tall or not by its size and the number of chimneys - a large ship was stronger than a small boat, and a three-chimney ship was stronger than two.

Two companies, Pingkang Cruises and Datong Shipping Group, own all five of Daming's supercruise ships.

Shengping is one of them, which is operated by Pingkang.

She was launched in the 21st year of Zhichang, with a registered tonnage of 34,000 tons, an actual displacement of 42,000 tons, a double shaft and two oars, and a maximum speed of 25 knots.

More than ten years ago, compared with the cruise ships of the same period, the Shengping is nothing, it can only be said to be mediocre, and now the largest super cruise ship in Daming is the Suzaku ordered by Datong Shipping Group with a huge amount of money.

The Suzaku delivered four years ago is the real palace of the sea - with a registered tonnage of 63,000 tons, an actual displacement of 70,000 tons, four axles and two oars, and a maximum speed of 29 knots.

In a sense, these behemoths are also strategic.

During the Great War, the British made extensive use of high-speed super cruise ships for the transportation of soldiers.

The famous Queen Mary was requisitioned by the Royal Navy as a high-speed troop carrier, and because of its speed of up to 30 knots, she could sail the wolf-infested Atlantic Ocean with impunity, without fear of German submarines.

[Picture]

The 80,000-ton behemoth, known as the Grey Ghost, travels to and from Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom, transporting troops from all over the world to their destinations almost non-stop.

The Queen Mary could transport 15,000 men at a time, and she sailed about 600,000 nautical miles, equivalent to 15 times around the equator, and transported nearly 800,000 troops in total.

These castle-like high-speed supercruise ships are the product of the rise and dance of Europe's high society, and after the end of the European war, the old powers are recuperating, but the competition among the people has not stopped.

The German Society built two 50,000-ton high-speed cruise ships, but because of the well-known reasons, the decoration of these two cruise ships is relatively simple, and the cabins are not divided into first, second and third classes, only business class and economy class.

Immediately after, Italy built two 50,000-ton cruise ships; France, on the other hand, decided to put an end to the competition by building the 83,000-ton Normandy.

Who would have believed that such a giant cruise ship, equivalent to two Titanics, could reach a speed of 30 knots? And she was propelled by an electric motor driving a propeller.

[Picture]

Daming did not participate in this increasingly outrageous competition, anyway, the Atlantic route has nothing to do with Daming.

The reason for the construction of the Suzaku is funny, and the widely circulated story is that the president of Chase Shipping Group and the owner of the British White Star Shipping Company (the company to which the Titanic belongs) were discussing business while vacationing in Greece, and the two began to brag after getting drunk, so they inexplicably made a bet - to build the largest cruise ship in human history.

Construction of the Suzaku began shortly thereafter, but due to the high cost and economic crisis at the time, the construction of the Suzaku was forced to suspend for a time - the president of the Chase Group was distressed, and the available funds and loans were not enough.

Just when he was at a loss, he dreamed one night that an immortal showed him the way, saying that there was a shipwreck near Treasure Island in Changsha to help him survive the difficulty. With the mentality of giving it a try, the Chase Group hired a salvage company to go to the South China Sea, and after many days of searching, it was actually salvaged a merchant ship from the Southern Song Dynasty, which was full of porcelain, copper coins, silver ingots, and gold ingots.

Thanks to the auction of artifacts and the molten and recast precious metals, another windfall was finally raised, and the Suzaku was able to continue to be built.

"It's the last trip, and everything shows the future."

"If it is changed to a troop carrier, how many people can the Suzaku carry at one time?"

In a corner of the pier, two naval officers in dark blue uniforms chatted while smoking cigarettes.

"That's 70,000 tons, if you use it properly, it is estimated that there will be 12,000 or 13,000, right?"

"Tsk, eight boats on the top of a boat."

The Shengping is about to set sail, and after this round trip between Shanghai and San Francisco, she will be requisitioned by the Ming Navy.

The precious Suzaku is even more important, and all tickets booked last month have been refunded, and passengers have been told that the Suzaku has been suspended due to maintenance, and it will probably be requisitioned in the near future.

On June 12, 72 km southeast of Izhevsk west of the Ural Mountains, Sarapur.

The first rays of morning light passed through the passes of the Ural Mountains, dispelling the last darkness before dawn.

Sarapur, a small city with more than 300 years of history and a predominantly leather manufacturing industry, welcomes a group of uninvited guests today.

Several "bang-bang" gunshots came from the suburbs, making the hearts of the citizens tighten. When someone fled back from the suburbs, they were immediately surrounded by frightened people and questioned them.

"There are a lot of cavalrymen, they shot at random in the village of Esoka, killing more than a dozen people!"

"What?! Where did the cavalry come from? ”

"I don't know, I don't know."

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Sarapur, the village of Esokha.

Dozens of Russian cavalrymen on tall horses were marching slowly, and on the side of the road, several officers were either looking through binoculars or scanning the map.

"Captain, we can be sure that Sarapur is already under the control of the Liberals from Izhevsk."

"It looks like we're going to have to fight them here, or we won't be able to cross the Kama."

The plundering plan that Lieutenant General Ilya had been planning for a long time was being carried out, and the 109th Infantry Regiment, the 110th Infantry Regiment, and the 12th Cavalry Brigade, totaling more than 8,000 men, first rode in the military column, and then disembarked and marched, and now arrived on the east bank of the Kama River.

They planned to capture Sarapur, use it as an offensive base, and then attack Izhevsk a few dozen kilometers away.

Lieutenant General Ilya named his armed forces the Armed Forces of the Siberian Defense Committee, or Siberian Defense Forces for short.

Izhevsk is now occupied by the National Republican Army, or rather, the local Tsarist garrison has changed its name.

The National Republican Army (REA) was founded by a coalition of bourgeoisie-level political parties, including the Socialist Revolutionary Party and the People's Freedom Party, and was strongly supported by Britain and France, and is said to have been supported by the United States.

Now Izhevsk has about an infantry division, an artillery brigade and several improvised self-defense regiments, with a total strength of nearly 20,000 men.

From a practical point of view, it is impossible for the Siberian defense forces, who are intent on taking advantage of the fire, to succeed, because they do not carry many heavy weapons when they come from afar.

However, they have an inexplicable sense of superiority, believing that "warriors from remote and desolate lands" must be better at fighting than "encouraged farmers and mechanics", enough to defeat each other with one enemy and three enemies.

In this way, on the same day, the troops erected pontoon bridges over the Kama River.

However, just after the two companies crossed the river, a dull sound of "dong dong" came from the distant woods.

"Shelling !!"

"Boom—boom, boom—"

In an instant, five or six bombing points appeared on the river beach!

The raindown of 82mm mortar shells devastated the soldiers of the Siberian Defense Forces, and the screams filled the entire river beach for a while.

(End of chapter)