A dozen days later, the expeditionary fleet successfully arrived in Panama for a short rest, and after replenishing fresh fruits and vegetables, clean water, and coal fuel, it set sail again and sailed along the Pacific Rim Current to Paradise Island.

During this period

The latest news from the European continent about the reactions of various countries reassured the expeditionary fleet a little, and thanks to the efforts of the Empire, mainly the diplomatic department, the public opinion reaction of European countries was relatively calm, and Britain even downplayed it.

The famous "Times" only published the news of the tofu-sized expedition to Egypt on page 3, which was unusual to the unusual, while the general public basically swept away the gaze and did not arouse much interest.

The issue of the expedition to Egypt has always been a hot topic in European public opinion.

At the end of the XVIII century

The French Emperor Napoleon, who was invincible all over Europe, once led an expedition to Egypt and fought against tens of thousands of Egyptian Mamluk cavalry in a hollow battle, creating the glorious glory of the classic victory in the Battle of the Pyramids.

At that time, the media in France and almost all of Europe frantically touted and read endless reports on the genius military ability of Emperor Napoleon, which really put Emperor Napoleon on the altar......

Now the news of the Tang expedition to Egypt, the French "Parisian Tribune" only expressed it in a mocking tone;

"The heat and desolation of Egypt made Britain and the Tang Dynasty rush to launch new adventures in this ancient country full of yellow sand.

Following the British, the greedy Tang launched a new invasion of Egypt, which was bound to seriously undermine the peace in the Near East and aroused deep concern in Paris......"

The British and French newspapers downplayed public opinion, and surprisingly, it was the Kingdom of the Netherlands that reacted most violently.

King Wilhelm III of the Netherlands vehemently accused the Tang Empire of being "the source of the troubles in the Pacific," "its dangerous colonial tendencies, which will endanger the stability and peace of the Western Pacific region for more than 300 years," and "undermine the regional situation."

He said that he would "pay close attention to the movements of this unprecedentedly powerful colonial army" and called on the framers of the international order, led by Britain and France, to "pay close attention to this invasion that undermines the international situation" and "shoulder the responsibility of maintaining stability in the world situation......

Dutch Prime Minister Marquis vin Diesel also came out to call out loudly; It is hoped that European countries will pay attention to the "irrepressible invasion impulse of the Orientals" and "unite to oppose the subversion of the existing white world order by the Tang Dynasty and maintain the traditional pattern of the Western Pacific region".

The reason for this

It turned out that the foreign affairs department of the Tang Empire ignored the inconspicuous Kingdom of the Netherlands when doing its work, and instead focused its work on appeasing Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Austria and other major powers, and sent a heavyweight delegation to visit Istanbul.

The mission of the diplomatic delegation to the Ottoman Empire was to elaborate on the Tang Dynasty's ambitions against Egypt, and to punish the rebellious behavior of the governor of Ismail and preserve the dignity of the empire.

The purpose is not to trigger a full-scale war between the Ottoman Empire and the Tang Dynasty, and the two sides maintain a certain tacit understanding, so as not to make it impossible to get down.

Today's Ottoman Empire was plagued by corruption from top to bottom, finances were struggling, Istanbul was unprecedentedly weak, and the vast empire was barely able to maintain its splendor and barely care about Egyptian affairs.

The European powers are all greedily staring at it, taking all kinds of measures to constantly infiltrate, invade, and try to divide a large piece of fat down.

The greatest pressure on the Ottoman Empire came from the fateful enemy of the Tsarist Empire, since the defeat in the Crimean War from 1853 to 1856, the Tsarist Empire, which had lost both face and profit, held a breath of evil in its heart, and its bloodshot eyes were always staring at the Ottoman Empire for an opportunity.

There is such a good neighbor who is always eyeing him, even if the Ottoman Empire is decaying and decaying, he does not dare to be careless, and the first goal is to prepare for war against Tsarist Russia.

If there is a war with the Tang Empire here, and Tsarist Russia stabs it in the back again, the fun will be great......

in Panama

Thanks to the completion of the transoceanic cable connection between the Atlantic and the transoceanic cable, the transoceanic cable telegraph undertaking has been greatly developed, and the number of cross-strait telecommunications can reach tens of thousands of dollars per day, worth hundreds of thousands of Tang Yuan, and the prospects for development are extremely bright.

The latest information from Europe and North America can be sent to Panama on the second day, so that the expeditionary fleet can clearly judge the current international situation and make appropriate responses.

The work of the Imperial Foreign Service was quite good, and the overall performance was excellent.

Only the Kingdom of the Netherlands jumped too hard and had to resort to urgent diplomatic remedies. It is advisable to immediately arrange for the diplomatic attaché to be sent to the Kingdom of the Netherlands to appease him, so as not to make too much trouble.

From the point of view of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, its fears are not false.

Although there is no idiom in Europe that "the false way is destroyed", the Kingdom of the Netherlands has every reason to worry that the powerful expeditionary fleet of the Tang Empire will destroy the Governor's Office of the Dutch East Indies by the way.

Can it be said that the Kingdom of the Netherlands is unfounded?

Over the years

The reputation of the Tang Empire, which annexed territory everywhere and expanded its colonies on a large scale, was not very good, and it has always been known for being domineering and bullying the weak.

What he likes to do most is to meddle in regional wars and then cut large swathes of land from the countries that are at war.

The North American War and the South American War are typical cases, and almost all countries in the world have appreciated the style of the Tang Dynasty.

Andrew Johnson, the former president of the United States of America, lamented weakly; "The greatest sorrow is that the United States has lost God's favor, it is too far from God, too close to the Tang Dynasty."

How can such an extremely aggressive empire not worry about forming a fleet to expedition to Egypt with great fanfare?

The Royal Fleet of the Dutch East Indies accounted for more than half of the Kingdom of the Netherlands' maritime power, with more than two dozen sailing ships, large and small.

It's no problem to be called the overlord of the East Indies, but when you encounter the powerful ironclad fleet of the Tang Empire, you will be dumbfounded, and you won't have to fight at all.

November 21, 1871

The arrival of the mighty expeditionary fleet in the city of Donggang on the paradise island means that the long voyage has been more than half completed, and it has written a strong stroke in the history of the empire's colonization.

Over here

His Royal Highness Don Leeson, Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Fleet, met with Lord Spez, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, who had been waiting for him, as well as Vice Admiral Kahn-Joe-Wood, Commander of the Royal Dutch East India Fleet, and the dignitaries of the Governor's Office. The two sides had a very pleasant conversation.

Lord Speight, the governor of the Netherlands, brought a heavy gift to the trip, preparing more than 60 tons of various spices, 120 tons of tin ingots, 100 tons of aluminum ingots, 200 tons of natural rubber and ten beautiful white Dutch maidens, and even brought a pair of crowns that have been inherited by the Dutch court for more than 200 years.

The Dutch Governor-General was accompanied by four of the Royal East Indies Fleet's main brig sail cruisers, with a displacement of between 1,760 and 2,150 tons.

The good point is to show the strength of the Royal Dutch Navy and the spirit of bravery and good fighting, and seek closer exchanges with the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire, and the two sides plan to conduct joint maritime military training.

To put it mildly, it is equivalent to moving all the knives, guns and sticks out of the house, and putting them in the open to show that I am not a good bully.

Go on an expedition, but don't turn a corner and destroy me......

His Royal Highness Don Leeshin was well aware of the soft and hard tricks of the Dutch, unceremoniously accepted the heavy gift, and comforted the Dutch Governor-General, Lord Spez, and readily agreed to the request for a joint naval exercise between the two armies.

Two days later

On the sea off the coast of Donggang City, a captured wooden sail cargo ship was used as a target, and the crew of the sail cargo ship raised the sails and evacuated in a small wooden boat.

The Royal East Indies Fleet of the Dutch Republic of China took the lead in attacking, and the sail cruisers "Princess Margaret" and "Princess Anne" attacked in turn for more than two hours.

The solid iron balls fired by the old naval guns were of limited power, and most of the shells were missed, making it difficult to inflict substantial damage on the target ship.

The unmanned sail target ship had its mainsail open and sails full of the sea breeze at a speed of 13.5 knots, and the Princess Margaret and Princess Anne had to do everything they could to catch up, firing their guns in a violent pitch state, and the hit rate was touching even when it was close to within 300 yards.

When it was the turn of the Tang Empire's ironclad ship, billowing smoke came out of the chimney of the "Mountain Wind" ironclad ship, and it galloped at high speed all the way.

When the two ships approached within 500 yards, the five 7-inch secondary guns (178 mm) on the port side of the ironclad ship "Shanfeng" opened fire fiercely in unison, and only three salvos were fired.

Within a few minutes, the target ship had disappeared from the sea.

The ship's 4 8-inch main ship guns (203 mm) did not fire from start to finish, and the battle was over, which really confirmed that statement...... Don't use an elephant to crack a nut?

After the joint military exercises, the Dutch were collectively silent.

In the face of the powerful power of the ironclad ships that represent the world's first-class level today, these main sail cruisers of the Royal Netherlands Navy are undoubtedly old and faltering, and the gap is so big that it is already desperate.

originally wanted to show off his strength, but this blow left an indelible psychological shadow.

A few more days later

The expeditionary fleet, which had completed the replenishment and recuperation of the fleet, pulled anchor again and set sail again, aiming for the third stop of the trip, New Xi'an, the westernmost city of Paradise Island.

Over there

The 3rd Marine Division of the Royal Navy, which has been training for more than 4 months, is fully equipped and ready to embark on a journey of 10,000 miles to conquer exotic Egypt......

(End of chapter)