Chapter 1357 The Crusades (First update, please subscribe)
“This is such a beautiful place…”
On the other side of the earth, in the Persian Gulf, Vice Admiral John Arbuthnot Fisher gazed at the warm sea with admiration.
"General, we have finally entered the Persian Gulf."
John Jellicoe, who was standing next to him, said respectfully.
He had just escaped a disaster. During a naval exercise held in Alexandria last year, he was forced to follow the turning order after repeated confirmation even though he knew he was going to be rammed and sunk. As expected, the ship was rammed and sunk by a warship commanded by John Jellicoe. A total of 358 soldiers, including Admiral Tryon, died. Jellicoe was able to escape death because of his prior preparation. When he was tried by a military court afterwards, the court pardoned him on the grounds that military orders must not be violated.
He was able to continue serving in the military, and the battleship HMS Renown, which he commanded, was the flagship of the task force.
"We have to be careful not only of Russia, but also of the Ming people, who have colonies here."
Jellicoe reminded Fleet Commander Fisher.
"Once upon a time, we thought the Persian Gulf was not worth mentioning. That is why we ceded the protectorate of the Bandit Coast to them, allowing them to control the key points in and out of the Persian Gulf. In order to win them over over the years, the British Empire has paid too many sacrifices."
Fisher stared off into the distance and then spoke.
"That's why the Russians are now pushing their limits on the Persian issue!"
In the eyes of Fisher and many British people, it is the repeated concessions made by the British Empire that have led to the current situation.
"What we need now is toughness! Use a tough attitude to make the Russians back down!"
Just at this moment, a slight buzzing sound was heard in the sky above them. Two small combat airships, as big as a small boat, flew low over the warship, and three airships were hovering not far away.
In addition to four dreadnought-class battleships, the task force led by Fey Hope also included an airship carrier "Royal Ark" which was converted from a coal carrier.
Ever since the Ming Empire attacked the Brazilian fleet with airships, the issue of fleet air defense has been taken seriously by countries around the world. From anti-airship machine guns to combat airships, they have everything. And every fleet often has one or two airship motherships accompanying it on its trip.
Just as Fisher finished speaking, someone reported.
"Four columns of smoke spotted at 320 degrees on the port side!"
Soon, the lookout on top of the mast identified the approaching ships as the Russian Dreadnought-class battleships Sevastopol and Petropavlovsk, both of which were equipped with 356mm cannons.
“Here they come!”
Looking at the approaching Roman warships, Fisher sneered.
"The Russians thought they could build a modern navy by introducing Ming technology. I promise that if necessary, you will see that a large fleet is not just a fleet of warships..."
Fisher's sneer turned into a vague irony, as if to him, the Russian Navy... was not even worth his attention.
Just as Fisher ordered the fleet to be on alert, the Russian naval fleet in the distance discovered the British Royal Navy fleet. Instead of approaching them, they sent an inquiring flag and chose to return.
"That's it..."
Amid the ridicule, an officer came up to Fisher and reported.
"General, an urgent telegram from the Admiralty in London..."
After taking the telegram, Fisher raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Negotiations broke down!"
"What?"
"Our negotiations with the Russians have broken down!"
What does the breakdown of negotiations mean?
Does it mean war?
No one can predict the future, the future is often unpredictable.
Although the future is unpredictable, it can be manipulated and controlled as long as you master the method.
Although the outside world did not know it, the world situation was sliding towards the brink of war step by step according to Emperor Zhu's plan. At the same time as the British fleet arrived in the Persian Gulf, the Roman legion occupied Rasht. While they were marching towards Tehran, Tabriz and other cities were also occupied by Russian troops.
Following Russia's "offense" against Britain in Persia, there was a wave of anger across Britain. Under the leadership and instigation of the public opinion, what did the British feel?
The British Empire is facing unprecedented challenges.
"If we allow them to occupy Persia, then the next step is for them to occupy India and take away the Queen's crown!"
After returning to London, the special envoy Randolph Churchill did not report to the Prime Minister immediately when he arrived at the train station, but directly told the press the results of his trip.
Soon after the speech began, he lost control.
"What did I feel in Constantinople? It was the Russians' disregard for us. Not only did they ignore the interests of the British Empire, but those guys even humiliated Britain. In their view, the British Empire had declined and was a declining, insignificant country..." From the first sentence, Randolph Churchill's speech was taken out of context, but because of his straightforward language, the listeners could understand his words. At the train station, people listened to his speech. Facing the excited audience, Randolph, who had never been so welcomed, looked terrible and crazy.
"War! The Russians are shouting war, war.... They think that the British Empire is afraid of them, is afraid of them, but will the British Empire be afraid of that barbaric thief?"
"No!"
The surging public opinion was awakened by Randolph's speech. For Randolph, it seemed that at this moment, he once again successfully gained the attention of the people.
"For the sake of the British Empire, if the Russians want war, then we will give them what they want..."
Even though the British had just ended a war and had lost tens of thousands of troops in South Africa, they were also patriotic and proud. They could not tolerate Russia, the Eastern European country that had stolen the name of Rome, offending the British Empire.
Who can tolerate it?
When public opinion was surging, the British Foreign Office once again made serious representations - demanding that the Roman Empire stop its brutal invasion of Persia!
Even in the negotiation, they did not hesitate to use force as a threat. How did the Roman Empire respond to the threat from Britain?
They sent more troops from Asia Minor to Persia, and even Tsar Alexander III declared in Hagia Sophia that "This is another Crusade!"
The old group is down, so I created a new book club group: 739209015. Everyone is welcome to join and discuss and deduce the plot together.
(End of this chapter)
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