at the same time.
High seas, Roman Islands.
Qin Ze, who returned triumphantly from the continent of Salisno with his fleet, had been here for several days. Although the Roman Islands were located in international waters, they were a transportation hub for the various countries on the continent of Leon. The islands not only had several large trading ports, but also stored a considerable amount of military supplies. They were also a base for major powers, led by the Kingdom of Sari, to set sail for distant seas.
However, nowadays, apart from the people of Yan Kingdom, all the people of other countries have evacuated from the Roman Islands. In fact, they had all left a month and a half ago and returned to their respective countries. The reason for this is that the Yan Kingdom fleet took over control of the islands from the Sa Ri people.
That's why, on such an afternoon, Qin Ze was able to leisurely bask in the sun on the beach on the south shore of the main island.
However, in contrast to his leisurely lifestyle, his fleets are conducting exercises in various sea areas outside the high seas.
The exercise covered an extremely wide area and involved an astonishing number of warships, with over eight hundred large steam-powered ironclad ships sailing across the vast ocean, and countless other small and medium-sized vessels of various types.
Within the exercise area, the territorial waters of the Kingdom of Sari became the main region. In addition to the territorial waters of the Kingdom of Sari, further afield, in the waters of the Kingdoms of Jishenglu and Hunli, warships are currently conducting exercises in their respective territorial waters.
To prepare for this exercise, Qin Ze began working on it after arriving in the Roman Islands from the Salisno Continent. It wasn't until two days ago that everything was fully ready, and the warships scattered throughout the islands arrived at their respective sea areas.
This led to the commencement of a large-scale naval exercise. All participating warships were equipped with ample ammunition, so the sound of live-fire shooting was almost constant once the exercise officially began two days ago.
Even though Qin Ze was currently in the Roman Islands in international waters, he could still faintly hear the sound of cannons coming from afar.
The sea breeze was fierce, sweeping across the sea and causing the waves to surge and crash violently against the shore. Qin Ze, shirtless, slowly opened his eyes in the deck chair, got up, picked up a bottle of Gels wine from the small square table next to him, and took a sip.
The wine, warmed by the sun, was hardly refreshing. Qin Ze wiped the fine foam from the corner of his mouth and turned to ask the soldier waiting beside him:
"Has the Sauri Kingdom made any move yet?"
"Your Majesty, no, they have withdrawn all their ships back to port, and there has been no further movement so far," the soldier replied.
Qin Ze nodded slightly, squinting as he watched the waves roll in, and said calmly, "Those who understand the times are wise. It seems that the Saru people are not unaware of this principle either."
The soldier nodded and said, "Your Majesty, a week before the exercise began, the Kingdom of Shenglu sent an envoy who hoped to meet with you."
"You have not given a reply. Now the exercise has lasted for two days, and the Shenglu people have all returned to their port. Do you think we still need to give them a reply?"
Qin Ze stood with his hands behind his back and said slowly, "Of course we need to, but that will have to wait until the naval exercises are completely over."
"After these few days of exercises are over, I think... apart from the Shenglu people, all the countries on the Leon continent will have to come looking for us."
——
Pulton Inner Harbour, Maritime Authority.
It was already 3:30 p.m. In the conference room, Isabella stood with her arms crossed in front of the table, looking calmly at James who was speaking.
James, his face flushed with anger, confronted Commander Dolphin of the Royal Fleet:
"General Dorfin, what are you saying!"
"The Yan Kingdom is brazenly conducting military operations in our territorial waters. If we allow them to continue as you suggest, wouldn't that cause us to lose all face?"
"And you have to understand, the reason they've made such a big show of force isn't just to intimidate us, it's to challenge our authority!"
"They are also conducting unbridled drills on the Kuradi Sea and the Capeion Sea. The Shenglu people pretend not to know because that's how they always are, but the Grand Duke of Saint Ister has already made a request to us and is just waiting for our response."
"At a time like this, how can you suggest that the Yan Kingdom continue their exercises?"
After he finished speaking, Dorfin's face immediately turned ugly. He glanced at Isabella, then quickly turned his gaze back to James's face and said:
"In short, I believe it's inappropriate to interrupt their exercise; it could escalate the situation and cause unimaginable consequences..."
At this point, he looked at Eddington, who had a stern face.
But as soon as he finished speaking, General Egan, sitting next to James, said with a stern face:
"The Yan Kingdom launched this military exercise without even informing us beforehand. Instead, they forcefully drove away our entire fleet and arbitrarily entered our territory to conduct the exercise. This is not just an offense, but a blatant act of provocation."
"Our maritime rights have never been trampled on by other countries like this before. Now, the actions of the Yan people are probably known to all the countries on the continent. They are all watching. If we choose to turn a blind eye at this time, then without a doubt, our country's influence will decline."
"And the Yan Kingdom... Hmph, those bastards..."
No sooner had Egan finished speaking than James impatiently stood up and looked at Isabella, saying:
"Your Majesty, as you can see, we must take action at this time."
"Since the last naval battle, the attitude of the Shenglu Kingdom has been quite different from before, and now the Yan Kingdom is showing off its power in our territorial waters, isn't that...?"
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