Chapter 841 Great Britain, Times Have Changed (Third Update, Please Subscribe)
July 27th.
Early in the morning, Atlantic Ocean, east of Uruguay Province,
The starry sky was reflected in the sea. The silver waves rising and falling under the moonlight were cut into pieces of silver waves by the ramming bow of the cruiser "Sete de Setemblé". The ship of more than 2,000 tons was sailing at a high speed, and the lights on the ship were bright.
This cruiser is the pride of the Brazilian shipbuilding industry - it is a Brazilian-made ironclad ship.
In the past years, especially after the victory in the war against Paraguay, Emperor Pedro II has strengthened the construction of the navy. After all, the turning point of the Paraguayan War was created by the navy.
Unfortunately, Brazil's proud naval warships were abused by Ming Dynasty gunboats using Gatling machine guns on the Paraná River and were almost wiped out.
Although the Brazilian Navy suffered a disastrous defeat in that naval battle, they also realized that wooden warships were doomed to be eliminated, so ironclad ships became the only choice for the Brazilian army.
With the emperor's strong support for the navy, shipyards in Brazil began to get busy, and several important warship designers in Brazil worked day and night to design new warships for the empire. In this atmosphere, many Brazilian citizens actively participated in the empire's naval cause, making the Brazilian Navy the fourth largest navy in the world in the 1870s.
However, the fourth place is far behind the third place - yes, it is the Ming Dynasty!
Who would have thought that in 1876, the third and fourth naval powers in the world would be Ming Dynasty and Brazil!
Compared with Brazil, which built ironclad ships as early as 1865, the Ming Dynasty Navy, which had accumulated strength over time, made even more astonishing progress, especially after 1870. With the successive commissioning of the Nanhua class and the Linhai class, the Ming Empire Navy quickly left Brazil behind.
Brazil was not content to be inferior to the Ming Dynasty. Facing the rise of the Ming Dynasty navy, it immediately increased the expansion of its maritime forces. Therefore, in the past six years, the maritime arms race in South America has never stopped.
The cruiser "Sete de Setembre", which entered service two years ago, is just a part of it. The real competition is the four Riachuelo-class combat ships that Brazil purchased from the UK.
It is these four combat ships that have enabled the Brazilian Navy to surpass the United States and become the world's fourth largest naval power.
Inside the bridge of the flagship, Admiral Marquis Tamandare stood on the bridge with his hands on the railing, looking at the silvery sea. His expression was solemn but not proud.
Four ironclad battleships and four cruisers, this is the most powerful fleet in Brazil's history. Now they are heading towards their target. The only question is how the Ming Dynasty will respond.
"Baron Ladario, how do you think the Ming Empire will respond to our actions?"
Faced with the admiral's question, Lieutenant General Radario thought for a while and then said.
"Your Excellency, the Ming Dynasty should choose to give in now, but this concession is definitely temporary. After all, their fleet is much larger, and now they are just temporarily sending the main force of the fleet to Europe. Your Excellency, I doubt it..."
After a pause, Ladario said.
"The reason why the Ming people suddenly intensified the relationship with our country because of the border incident at this time may be that they have their own very special intentions."
"An extremely special purpose?"
The Marquis of Tamandare asked back.
"You mean they're looking for excuses?"
"They are not looking for an excuse to start a war, but to find an excuse to bring their fleet back. Your Excellency, it is well known that the Imperial Alliance Fleet is now the most powerful fleet in the world. Even a powerful fleet like the British Royal Navy can only choose to retreat in the face of it. However, the Ming Dynasty is different from France, Austria-Hungary and Russia. They do not have any territorial claims on Turkey. They certainly do not want their navy to be stationed overseas for a long time, so they need an excuse to bring the fleet back to the country!"
Ladario's answer made Marquis Tamandare's eyes light up, and then he said.
"So, the Ming Empire is deliberately creating a tense atmosphere?"
"It's possible. Otherwise, why would they choose this time to create problems?"
"So, we don't need to consider their response?"
"Respond? Sir, even without this premise, if they ask you to withdraw from Montevideo, will you agree?"
"Of course not. This is about the dignity of the empire! We came here to show the determination of the Brazilian Empire to the Ming Empire!"
After that, Marquis Tamandare said.
"As soon as our fleet arrives in Montevideo, the whole world will see that Brazil will never compromise on its own issues..."
…
On that evening, Emperor Zhu was sitting on the balcony of the palace, gazing at the stars in the night sky, like a fortune teller observing the night sky. Just a few hours ago, the Brazilian Empire fleet sailed into Montevideo, facing Yingtian, the capital of the Ming Empire, across the river!
"Your Majesty, how do we respond now?"
In response to the question from Zhu Guozhong, the Imperial Minister of Foreign Affairs, the corners of Emperor Zhu's lips slightly raised.
"Hasn't there already been a plan? Demand that they withdraw their troops, otherwise they will bear all the consequences themselves!"
After thinking for a while, Emperor Zhu added.
"Tell Brazil that if Brazil insists on challenging the bottom line of the Ming Empire, it will be met with resolute countermeasures!"
"Fight back firmly? What if they ignore it?"
"Then let us wait and see!"
Emperor Zhu smiled. His smile was brilliant, because he knew very well what was waiting for the Brazilian. He had not simulated for a long time, so he specially conducted a short-term simulation for this operation. After all, he was the founder of this plan, and the title of "Father of **" in the future would definitely be on Emperor Zhu's head.
Of course he was a little excited about this!
"Your Majesty, are you planning to send out a fleet to attack?"
Zhu Guozhong asked with some curiosity. As the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Empire, he had no idea what plan the Navy had formulated, but he came to a conclusion through information from various sources - the Imperial Navy would definitely attack.
Montevideo is where it all started!
"fleet……"
Emperor Zhu sighed and said.
"Our fleet is too weak. After we sent the fleet to Europe, we only had two combat ships on the mainland. That's why Brazil dared to send out its fleet."
"Your Majesty, why don't you call back the Imperial Navy fleet from the Alliance Fleet?"
“That’s not necessary!”
Patting the stone railing, Emperor Zhu said with a smile:
"I calculated with my fingers and knew that we would definitely win this battle, and we would win beautifully. Because..."
Just as he said this, he suddenly saw a meteor streak across the southeast sky.
It's a comet!
Looking at the comet that suddenly appeared in the southeast sky, Emperor Zhu was suddenly shocked. At this moment, he suddenly felt like he had turned into a charlatan.
Is this a sign?
Comet...Comet is commonly known as a broom star, and it represents getting rid of the old and bringing in the new.
Get rid of the old and bring in the new!
What a sign!
This is definitely a good omen!
Auspicious sign from heaven!
Emperor Zhu whispered:
"Great Britain, times have changed, your era is about to end! Brazil...it's just the beginning!"
(End of this chapter)
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