Led by the first-class battleship "Sovereign", a huge fleet of 11 third-class battleships, six cruisers, four frigates, and three troop transports is slowly sailing into the Mediterranean.

Lieutenant General William Simmons is admiring Haydn's Nelson Mass, also known as the Emperor of the Sea's Mass.

William Simmons took part in the Battle of Trafalgar when he was on board the Victory as the starboard gun chief of the Victory.

By the time he heard that Lieutenant Admiral Nelson had been shot, the battle was over, they were victorious, but they had lost the great captain forever.

William Simmons has always felt guilty for not dying on the battlefield. After that, he kept fighting, looking for his salvation.

However, until Simmons became a fleet commander, he still did not die honorably. He was envious of Helmut for being the first to leave for Beirut.

"It would be nice if the fleets of the Egyptians and Ottomans were as strong as they boasted." William Simmons said.

"28 battleships? It's scary, but Captain, you're not going to sail back, are you? ”

Rear Admiral Peel, the deputy commander of the ship, laughed and said that he did not pay attention to the Egyptian Navy and the Ottoman Navy at all. If it were 28 French warships, he might have persuaded the reckless captain to turn around and sail back.

"The battleships of the Egyptians were too weak in terms of protection and firepower. Those fragile guys may not be able to survive a round of our shelling. William Simmons said with some concern.

If someone else, or another captain, had said such a thing, Rear Admiral Peel would have thought that the other party had poured too much rum.

But William Simmons' "King" definitely has this qualification.

The "Sovereign" was modeled after the "Victory" and had a displacement of 3,600 tons, with 40 64-pounder cannons on the ground floor and 30 32-pounder cannons, 20 24-pounder long-barreled cannons on the upper gun deck, 20 18-pounder long-barreled cannons on the top gun deck, and five 64-pounder short-barreled caron guns in the bow and stern.

Its firepower was almost double that of the usual 74 (3rd class battleship), and Captain William Simmons was very fond of fighting the enemy at 300 meters.

"Who knows? Maybe end the battle quickly, and we can go ashore and find the woman. It is said that their women like to wear headscarves, and those women themselves don't know what they look like, how exciting it is. Major General Peel said optimistically.

"You guy" William Simmons was a little speechless, and then asked solemnly, "Are the blasters ready?" ”

"Don't worry, listen to your arrangement, it's already ready. Aren't you afraid that the enemy can't help but fight? Also with this foul weapon. Major General Peel quipped.

"I don't joke with the lives of my men, don't you follow me because I have won every battle? Did you come with me to seek death? Simmons asked rhetorically.

"Mr. Captain, didn't you mix water in your rum today? How to talk nonsense. We follow you, of course, to get rich! I heard that Beirut is a wealthy city, and maybe after this battle, we will have enough money to go home and marry a daughter-in-law and build a factory. ”

On the other hand, the Egyptian Navy, on the instructions of Mohammed Ali, remained in Beirut and awaited the arrival of the British fleet.

Ali received a pigeon letter from the French saying that the French fleet was already on its way to Beirut and was expected to arrive in two days.

According to Ali's estimates, the French fleet will reach Beirut before the British, and by then, the combined French and Egyptian fleets will be unprecedentedly large, and it will definitely be easy to eat this British fleet.

Then there is the Armageddon with the British North Sea Fleet, although the North Sea Fleet is very strong, but he still has a killer weapon, and he may be able to pull the Russians into the gang when the time comes.

As long as the British North Sea Fleet was eliminated, British maritime supremacy would also end. After all, they still have so many colonies to maintain, and it is impossible to send all the fleets to the Mediterranean.

Egypt's domination of Eurasia is approaching, Mohammed Ali imagined.

Friedrich also received information from the Egyptian Navy, and also confirmed that the French Navy had not taken any action.

In fact, by this time Thiers had already lost ground, King Louis Philippe stood up against his adventurous policy, and with the addition of Guizot, the power of the prime minister at this time fell into the hands of Marshal Sirte.

The old marshal only wanted to retire in peace, and he was adamantly opposed to war with the British, let alone send a navy to support the Egyptians, which was supported by Guizot, who even sent this information to the British.

The London meeting at Palmerston became his one-man show, a one-man show in the true sense of the word, with only Britain participating, France not being invited, and Russia and Austria both refusing to participate out of their own interests.

The Prussian ambassador was bribed by the French to advise the king not to participate in the London Conference, on the grounds that the discussion of the Near East question was worthless to Prussia.

William IV felt that Thurville (Prussian Foreign Minister) was right, and agreed with him, and Palmerston was disgraced, and to add insult to injury, the advance party of the British navy was defeated by the Egyptians, creating the greatest maritime tragedy of the 19th century.

There are already members of Parliament who have begun to impeach Palmerston, after all, he has caused both reputational and military damage to Britain.

To make matters worse, there is a British detachment, which is advancing towards Beirut according to the previous orders. If one more British fleet were to fall, Britain would have to send the North Sea Fleet.

The departure of the North Sea Fleet meant a great attrition, and it also meant the bankruptcy of Britain's Near East plans, because the North Sea Fleet's mission was to defend the British homeland, not to fight abroad.

This time, Palmerston did not have the historical turn of hands into clouds and rain, Russia still dominated the Black Sea, and the Straits Convention only existed in his head.

The French are eyeing Britain's position and could become a third contender at any moment. Austria's influence has not been weakened, and it is fighting for its own interests in its own way.

The Ottomans' confidence in Britain was shaken and they began to seek help from other powers.

The Egyptians made Britain their number one mortal enemy and almost completely annihilated a British fleet, with losses so great that even the Queen and Prince Albert were shocked.

Under great pressure, Palmerston did another stupid thing, he broke the virginity of a Queen's maid in Windsor Castle, where the Queen lived.

The news, though temporarily hidden, would sooner or later reach the ears of the Queen, who, in order to escape blame, remembered his old friend Sassoon, perhaps India was a good place.

When Palmerston applied to go to India, he did not arouse suspicion, after all, his series of mistakes caused Britain to suffer huge losses, and the application for demobilization was regarded as atonement.

At the same time, Vice Admiral Simmons also received intelligence from the French, telling him that the entire main force of the Egyptian navy was in Beirut, where there was a death trap specially designed for him, and advised him to wait for reinforcements.

"What do you think, Mr. Peel?" Simmons handed the letter to the other party.

"Listen to your captain, I obey orders." Instead of reading the letter, Major General Peel gave a military salute.

"The plan remains the same, full speed ahead!"

(End of chapter)