Chapter 1435: Fleeing in all directions (First update, please subscribe)

Cape of Good Hope is where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet.

Here, just like in the past, the sea is surging. Amid the howling wind, huge waves are colliding and hitting each other on the black ocean. The crests of the waves can be as high as ten meters, and at the same time, there is a thunderous roar. The huge crests of the waves and the sound of the waves are intertwined, which is extremely shocking.

Crown, wrapped tightly in a cloak and wearing a life jacket, stood at the top of the mast. As usual, he stood on the guardrail and observed the sea in the distance.

About half a mile to the starboard side of the bow was the Sea Spirit, and further ahead was the Ellis, a fleet of more than 20 merchant ships carrying a variety of supplies from India. There were grains, cotton, and other minerals. The British industry could not do without the supplies from the colonies. Without the supplies from the colonies, not only would the British factories not be able to operate fully, but the British people would also starve.

According to the conventional route, the shortest way from India to the UK is naturally through the Red Sea, across the Suez Canal, into the Mediterranean Sea, through the Strait of Gibraltar to the Atlantic Ocean.

But now, the war has broken out, and the French and British armies are fighting in the Suez Canal area. It is naturally impossible to take the Suez route. Therefore, the traditional Cape of Good Hope route has become the only option. After leaving India, the traditional route will enter the Atlantic Ocean through the Mozambique Channel and the Cape of Good Hope, and then head north to Britain.

However, now that the war has broken out, the merchant fleet no longer needs to worry about being intercepted by the Empire's East African Fleet. After entering the Atlantic, they will have to face interceptions by the West African Fleet and the Atlantic Fleet. Although these merchant ships are flying the flags of neutral countries such as Norway, Sweden, and Spain, no one can guarantee that they will not be intercepted.

To ensure transportation safety, they could only sail east from Madagascar, or even from the waters near Prince Edward Islands far away from the Cape of Good Hope, where the winds and waves were even stronger.

The Cape of Good Hope itself is known as the "Gate of Hell on the Sea" because of its frequent storms and strong waves. The winds and waves in the southern waters are even more violent. In the past, this area has never been a sea area for merchant ships to sail. Even after twenty years of sailing on the sea, it was the first time for Crown to pass through this area. In the past, only whaling ships would come to this area. After entering this area, the ship entered a windy and waved area, with heavy rain and huge waves falling from morning to night without any end.

A few days later, the wind and waves gradually subsided. We finally got out of the stormy area, but before the calm lasted for two days, we entered the sea fog area again. The sea fog on the ocean made it difficult to see the stern from the bow. The other ships seemed to have disappeared in the thick fog, and there was only this ship left on the vast ocean.

"Into the Atlantic Ocean."

Although Crown was just an ordinary sailor, when he saw the thick fog on the sea, he knew that they had entered the Atlantic Ocean, where there was a lot of fog.

A century ago, sea fog was the biggest enemy of sea voyages, but now, in the eyes of Crown and all sailors, sea fog is their best friend. After all, sea fog will not only block their vision, but also the vision of the Ming Navy. If they discover the fleet and intercept it, it will be bad.

"God bless us, we will be covered by sea fog forever."

Apparently God did not hear Crown's prayers. Two days later, the sea fog dissipated. When the fleet crossed the Tropic of Capricorn, the sea fog disappeared. This huge fleet consisting of 28 merchant ships was finally exposed to the world.

Two days later, May 7th.

As the merchant ship continued to sail on the vast Atlantic Ocean, Crown was enjoying the bright sunshine with his pipe in his mouth as usual, when someone on the ship pointed to the west and shouted:

"Look! There's smoke in the west!"

Several streaks of black smoke were vaguely visible at the junction of the sea and the sky in the west - this was seen on the deck. If it was on the lookout on the mast, it should be possible to see it more clearly.

"Is it the British West African Squadron coming over?"

A sailor said that Britain had large colonies in West Africa and also had a squadron.

"It is possible, after all, that these ships are loaded with cargoes almost exclusively of English descent?"

"Haha, the Royal Navy is still quite something!"

"The Royal Navy is the Royal Navy after all!"

Just as the sailors on the deck were expressing their respective guesses, they saw that the cruisers "Bombay" and "Ceylon" had already sailed out in large forces to meet them.

"It must be the British escort fleet..."

At this time, the merchant fleet's speed was still maintained at seven knots, and the fleet continued to sail north. After about twenty minutes, the smoke column became clearer. There was not one, but four. Four smoke columns rose from the sea level. At this time, the lookout on the top of the mast was almost able to identify the other party's identity.

After a while, the first mate's voice came from the bridge:

"It's the Ming people! It's the Ming fleet! ... Those British guys let us run for our lives!"

The first mate's shouting caused the deck to fall into a dead silence, and all the sailors turned pale. Soon, the deck was full of crew members running there, and they all put on yellow life jackets.

The British fleet encountered four cruisers from the Imperial Navy's West African Squadron, which had been searching the area for Allied merchant ships in an effort to strike at Britain and the Allies' maritime shipping forces.

While the sailors were terrified by the encounter with the Ming fleet, the Indian Ocean Fleet's cruisers "Bombay" and "Ceylon" commanded by British Captain Sybil had already bravely headed towards the Ming fleet.

Although they sent out signals to the merchant ships behind them to flee, they themselves did not think of escaping.

“Fight when you see the enemy!”

This is the tradition of the British Royal Navy. Moreover, for Colonel Sibyl, he also hopes to use his fighting to delay the Ming people as much as possible and create an opportunity for the merchant fleet to escape from this sea area.

When the British fleet was heading towards the Imperial fleet, the merchant fleet that was originally sailing in an orderly manner on the sea immediately became a group of headless flies. They all fled the battlefield at full speed. At this time, there was no formation left. It was time for everyone to escape.

Although merchant ships could never outrun warships used for combat, the captains of the merchant ships knew very well that as long as the fleet dispersed, most of them would have a chance of survival. After all, there seemed to be only a few warships on the side of the Ming Empire, and it was impossible for them to chase all the warships.

"God bless us, we just have to outrun those Brits..."

Looking at the merchant ships fleeing in all directions, Crown prayed silently in his heart.

As long as they can outrun the British, they will be safe!

God bless, their boat is still very fast!

(End of this chapter)