Chapter 829: The Empire's Era Horn (Third update, please subscribe)
South Atlantic, sunny.
The golden dragon pattern sparkled on the bow of the battleship "Nanhua".
The Suzaku flag with a red background and horizontal blue and white stripes below fluttered in the wind against the backdrop of the blue sky. Under the flag, the gray battleship's hull stirred the sea water, broke through the waves, and left a radial water trail.
Admiral Lin Yuehu, commander of the Zhenyang Fleet, was sitting on the towering bridge of the "Nanhua", gazing at the fleet - what appeared before him were all the main battleships of the Ming Dynasty - four Nanhua-class ships, six Linhai-class ships, ten giant ships plus eight light cruisers and six torpedo boats, lined up on the sea. Half a month ago, the two ocean fleets merged into the Zhenyang Fleet.
Navy Minister Lin Yuehu resigned and took over as commander of the Zhenyang Fleet. This move was seen as the Ming Dynasty's response to the Russian Empire.
What is the meaning of alliance? This is the meaning of alliance. Alliance is to support allies at the right time and with appropriate actions.
Today, the Zhenyang Fleet was finally formed.
Lin Yuehu, standing on the bridge, looked forward. Countless wisps of black smoke were pulled into diagonal lines by the wind and stretched into the sky, dividing the sea and sky with a blue main tone.
The black smoke came from the light cruisers and torpedo boats that were guarding the battleships on both sides.
Unlike the camouflage it had when it first entered service last year, the torpedo ship is now equipped with torpedo tubes, which means it has truly entered a state of combat readiness.
"The situation is becoming increasingly tense. I'm afraid a fight is about to break out."
Lin Yuehu stared ahead and spoke casually.
"There will be a fight eventually."
Chief of Staff Li Fengzhi said this without any emotion in his tone.
After looking at the commander-in-chief, Shen Yaozu looked at the chief of staff and said while holding the handrail:
"So, are we sure we can win?"
Lin Yuehu glanced at him and said nothing. Li Fengzhi smiled and said to him, "That depends on who our opponent is. After all, our strength is right in front of us."
Shen Yaozu pursed his lips, then lowered his head to analyze.
"As for the strength of the ships, our army has four Nanhua-class battleships in service, equipped with four 305mm main guns with a caliber of thirty-five times the length, six 150mm rapid-fire guns with a caliber of forty times the length, and four 120mm rapid-fire guns with a caliber of forty times the length. There are six Linhai-class armored cruisers, equipped with four 254mm main guns with a caliber of forty times the length, six 150mm rapid-fire guns with a caliber of forty times the length, and four 120mm rapid-fire guns with a caliber of forty times the length, with a speed of nineteen to twenty knots..."
Shen Yaozu said, first thinking about the navy's battleships, then looking at the torpedo ship in the distance.
"Considering that submarines and torpedo boats can play a role of surprise, well, even if we fight the British, we will still be able to fight. After all, the British cannot send all their naval forces to South America."
"That's true, but our strength is still a little weak!"
Lin Yuehu nodded and asked.
"So, Chief of Staff, what do you think?"
"If we go to war with the British Navy, we may win in the end, considering the French containment, but it may also be at a huge cost."
Li Fengzhi pursed his lips. He didn't think so in his heart, but he didn't dare to say it out loud. This was not the time to say these words.
"What do you mean by paying a price? Even though we severely damaged the British fleet in South America, we also suffered heavy losses ourselves. After all, the British cannot send all their forces. When we are weak, we should avoid fighting!"
Lin Yuehu looked back at his left and right arms and smiled.
"The purpose of forming the Zhenyang Fleet is not to fight against the British. Of course, we should prepare in advance, but before we are ready, the purpose of the Zhenyang Fleet is to deter!"
Lin Yuehu sighed, but there was certainly no cowardice in that tone.
This is a choice of strength!
While he was speaking, a staff officer came up to report.
"Your Excellency, His Majesty's urgent message!"
After taking the telegram, Lin Yuehu took a look at it, then handed it to Li Fengzhi, the chief of staff he personally selected, and said.
"Look, now is the time for us to play our role! Pass the order, the fleet returns to the port, replenishes fuel, ammunition and various supplies, and we are heading to the Mediterranean!"
…
"When will the fleet set out?"
Emperor Zhu, standing by the window, looked at the Xin'an River outside and asked in a calm tone.
"It should be these two days!"
While answering His Majesty's question, Zuo Zongtang gave a timely reminder.
"Your Majesty, do we need to send eight capital ships?"
The Ming Dynasty only has ten battleships in total, and now eight of them are sent to France at once. This is simply... the whole country's strength!
"Brazil only has four ironclad ships, so it's no big deal."
Emperor Zhu smiled. In the past few years, thanks to the international market's demand for rubber, the price of rubber has remained high, which has allowed Brazil to become increasingly wealthy by exporting rubber. Facing the rapid expansion of the Ming navy, Brazil also began their maritime expansion, which was almost equivalent to the naval competition in South America, but in this naval arms race, Brazil was destined to be the loser at sea.
The reason is very simple. The Ming Dynasty’s fleet warships are domestically produced, while Brazil needs to import them. Their warships are more expensive, more expensive, and the performance... is worse!
"If we declare war during this period, we only need to maintain a fleet that can defeat the Brazilian Navy. I think there will be no problem!"
There is definitely no problem with this. Since Emperor Zhu dared to send the fleet over, to put it bluntly, it is because it is Brazil that is worried about the invasion of the Ming Dynasty, not the Ming Dynasty that is worried about the invasion of Brazil. The initiative of the war is in the hands of the Ming Dynasty.
Even if only two battleships are left on the mainland, there is no need to worry about Brazil. After all, Ming still has its own trump card.
Of course, a more important reason is that Emperor Zhu needs to let the Brazilians see that the main naval force of the Daimyo is not in the Ming Dynasty. Let their ambitions swell, or in other words, at the right time, in the right way to lure them into doing something.
"The most important thing for us now is to let Britain see our strength. Only by showing our muscles can we make the British afraid to act rashly. Only in this way can France, Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire free up their hands and use all their strength on Turkey without any scruples. Only in this way can we destroy Brazil in South America!"
If it weren't for the fact that Ming Dynasty needed these three countries to contain Britain, Emperor Zhu would never have sent his precious fleet to Europe. The fleet's voyage requires money. Money is not the most important thing. The most important thing is deterrence!
The fleet will have deterrent effect if it stays in Ming Dynasty. If it is not in Ming Dynasty... then the deterrent effect will naturally decrease. Fortunately, the Atlantic Ocean is not wide enough. Fortunately, if it sails at full speed, it can return to Ming Dynasty in more than ten days.
The most important thing now is to contain Britain’s power in Europe!
Only when the British focused their attention on Europe could the Ming Dynasty use some means to make Brazil behave irrationally in South America and then completely destroy them.
So now is the best time to send a naval fleet to France. The only question is...will Russia and Austria-Hungary send the main fleet?
(End of this chapter)
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