On the day that Mr. Zhao officially took office, Zhao Hao and the task force passed through the Taiwan Strait.

The powerful Kuroshio Current came from the direction of Luzon and was split into two by Taiwan Island, with the main stream heading north from the east side of the island toward Ryukyu and Japan. Therefore, once the Taiwan Strait was blocked by government troops, the group was fully capable of exploring a route to bypass the strait.

Of course, that was only a stopgap measure in extraordinary times. Once the Coast Guard fleet could not pass through the Taiwan Strait, it would seriously affect the Jiangnan Group's influence in Fujian and Guangdong, and then damage the entire southward plan, which Mr. Zhao would never allow.

Moreover, Zhao Hao had no time to worry about opening up new sea routes at the moment. He was anxious to go to Ryukyu to deal with King Shang Yuan of Zhongshan.

The reason why he was so anxious was that he received an urgent report from the Ryukyu Station, which showed a golden opportunity to take over Ryukyu in one fell swoop!

~~

Riding on the constant southwest monsoon and fierce Kuroshio Current in the Taiwan Strait in summer, the fleet's speed is completely different from the snail's pace when it came.

The 500-kilometer journey from Nan'ao Island to Penghu took only two days.

After receiving the new report from Penghu, the fleet continued to move northward along the Kuroshio Current... As long as they did not try to approach Taiwan Island, the Black Water Channel would not be an obstacle but a great help in moving northward.

In less than two days, the fleet arrived at the northern tip of Taiwan.

Wang Rulong pointed to the eye-catching conical volcano on the island and told Zhao Hao that it was the famous Datun Mountain.

Zhao Hao nodded. He was a man who had read many nautical charts and compasses, and knew that Datun Mountain was an excellent navigation compass. For thousands of years, it had been regarded as an important shore reference by sailors. When they saw Datun Mountain, they knew that they had arrived at Tamsui, the halfway station on the road to North Shanghai and the closest port to the mainland.

Zhao Hao also knew that in another time and space, in a few decades, the Western maritime powers would officially begin competing for Asia. Tamsui's superior geographical location soon attracted their attention.

First, the Spanish built the city of Santo Domingo here as a springboard for trade and missionary work in China and Japan. However, 12 years later, the more powerful Dutch defeated and expelled them, and rebuilt the city and colonized here.

In addition to pacifying the natives, the Dutch also gathered the Han people to open up the land and encouraged them to grow sugarcane and make sugar. The history of large-scale sugarcane cultivation in Taiwan began at this time...

When Mr. Zhao thought of sugar cane, his heart started to itch. Sugar cane was the most enduring and profitable commodity in the Age of Exploration. And it was because of sugar that tea became popular in Europe...

When it comes to growing sugarcane, Taiwan is known as the 'Sugar Island of the East', which can completely realize Mr. Zhao's dream of making all the rich people in the world suffer from diabetes.

Seeing Master Zhao looking at the Datun Mountain and laughing like a pig with his mouth watering, Wang Rulong knew that Master Zhao had set his sights on Tamsui again.

"It seems that we need to prepare for the island capture in advance." General Wang, who had already fully entered the role of chief of staff, silently made a note in his notebook.

But this time, we just took a look from a distance.

Next time, it may not be the same...

~~

The fleet soon passed Datun Mountain, which meant it had left the Taiwan Strait.

From here we continued to sail northeast along the ocean current and arrived at the next navigation aid target - Diaoyu Island - one day later.

When the small island with the shape of a silkworm appeared in the telescope, everyone was very happy, because when Diaoyu Island appeared, it meant that they had entered the route from Ming Dynasty to Ryukyu. The ocean current would take them directly to their destination.

As expected, two days later, we arrived at another relay point on the route, Kume Island. From here, we could reach Shuri Castle, the capital of the Ryukyu Zhongshan Kingdom, in another day.

However, Mr. Zhao's destination was not Shuri, at least not the first stop. The fleet continued to follow the ocean current at Kumejima, and after reaching Yaeyama, it headed north along the Ryukyu Islands. Two days later, it arrived in the waters of Tokunoshima, where it successfully joined the main fleet heading south.

The entire journey was nearly three thousand miles, and it only took nine days! It was like flying!

The journey was smooth, and along the way were the islands of Taiwan and the Ryukyu Islands, a string of pearls, with clear navigation marks, which made the sailors worry-free and labor-saving. This should be the most comfortable and fast route in the entire Asian waters.

No wonder the Ryukyu people are so rich.

~~

But now, there is something that makes Master Zhao even happier.

He stood on the deck of the First Blood in a happy mood, looking through a telescope at the northwest waters of the huge island in the distance, and the huge fleet consisting of nearly a hundred large and small warships, his heart filled with pride.

He truly felt the improvement in the strength of the Coast Guard!

Don’t underestimate this maritime rendezvous. It fully demonstrates that after in-depth training in the Coast Guard School, the police officers have acquired the ability to use various navigation instruments to control the fleet to reach the designated sea area for rendezvous on time and accurately.

This is a sign that the navy is moving from yellow water to green water. Although it still lacks the maritime expeditionary capability to become a blue water navy, it is already a very gratifying progress.

The main fleet heading south this time consisted of four battleships, 20 medium-sized ships, 30 small ships, 30 speedboats, and 10 supply ships.

The scale is nearly twice as large as the punitive fleet that went to Japan two years ago!

Even though the Tamra Garrison has been expanded and its strength has doubled, this time it can be said that they have come out in full force!

Especially the three new warships 102, 103, and 104, almost as soon as they returned to Jiangnan Shipyard and completed the final overhaul, they held a formal delivery ceremony. They left Chongming Island with red and colorful decorations and rushed to Tanegashima Water Police Station, where they joined the southbound fleet and joined the expedition.

As for the defense of the northern seas, it is maintained by Zhu Jue, deputy police commissioner of the garrison area, who leads the five major water police bureaus. Fortunately, the five major water police bureaus together are still the strongest navy among the three countries of tomorrow, Japan, South Korea and South Korea. Coupled with the growing auxiliary police force, there will be no risk of being robbed.

After the two sides communicated with flag signals, the main fleet launched several small boats and rowed quickly towards the task force.

That was Jin Ke, who led the fleet south and came to greet him.

When the boat approached the Yixue, Jin Ke, Rong Sheng and several other middle and senior police officers, regardless of their image, climbed up onto the Yixue in a somewhat awkward manner along the climbing net lowered from the side of the ship.

Zhao Hao and Wang Rulong smiled as they waited for them by the boat. Jin Ke and the others quickly took a deep breath, took the helmets handed over by the guards, stood up straight and gave Zhao Hao a standard police salute.

Young Master Zhao also changed into his police uniform, with the golden anchor on his helmet shining brightly. He returned the greeting to Jin Ke and the others with a smile on his face, and said jokingly, "Brother Jin's skills are not as good as before."

"I'm ashamed. I've been urging others to train every day these past few years, but I've delayed my own training." Jin Ke smiled embarrassedly, "I'll have to go back to Director Tong for a refresher."

"Well, let's see if he can use the big wooden stick to infuse you with spirit." Wang Rulong laughed as if he was afraid that the world would not be in chaos.

"I think he probably doesn't dare." Rong Sheng, who was following behind Jin Ke, said with a smile, "Otherwise, the deputy commander can send him to the Zhenyuan Island Water Police Station to be the director."

"Hahaha..." Everyone burst into laughter. It was always a great joy to meet again in the boundless ocean.

After the greetings, Jin Ke asked the commander-in-chief to review the fleet, and Zhao Hao readily agreed. During the extremely boring sailing, any action to boost morale is very helpful.

So the First Blood sailed to the reviewing position on the northwest side of the fleet and dropped anchor.

Starting with the Zhenwo, warships of all sizes formed a long battle line and slowly passed in front of the Yixue.

The coast guard officers all changed into neat police uniforms and stood in unison to salute him. Mr. Zhao also returned the salute solemnly and sent greetings to them through a loudspeaker.

When the soldiers heard the voice of their beloved commander-in-chief coming from the sea, they no longer cared about military discipline and cheered with ecstasy!

~~

After a brief military parade, Zhao Hao and his party moved to the Zhenwo.

The First Blood was just a small ship, too small to be a flagship. It was also very uncomfortable to live in, and the soundproofing was so poor...

However, Zhao Hao did not go to the three new battleships. Because he knew very well that once he was on board, the commander would be hesitant and put safety first. Even if he had strong combat power, he would not be able to exert it.

Therefore, the firepower and mobility of the three new battleships are far superior to those of the Zhenwo, so it is better to keep them and let them fight to their heart's content.

Besides, the materials used for the three new warships were also very makeshift. Because they were in a hurry, Yang Fan could not wait to use oak, so he had to use whatever he had. Except for the important keel and ribs, which used precious hardwoods such as ironwood, beech, and Korean wood, most of the materials used were ordinary wood for producing large ships.

Therefore, in a fierce naval battle or when encountering a storm, the survivability of these three warships will definitely be compromised. At least not as safe as the Zhenwo, which is made of iron wood and has a watertight compartment structure.

It's not because the Zhenwo has a spacious commander's suite, luxurious decoration, a comfortable big bed, and a full set of enjoyment facilities. How could Mr. Zhao be such a superficial person? Serious face!

"It's so comfortable!" As soon as Zhao Hao returned to his commander's suite, he threw himself onto the finely crafted, elastic brown stretcher, feeling his body rise and fall slightly, and happily lay down in a "Tai" position. "I miss this bed so much!"

Secretary Ma and Qiaoqiao came in with bedding. Hearing this, she didn't know what she thought of, and the innocent Qiaoqiao blushed.

Ma Xianglan had no choice but to cooperate and blushed. In fact, she had been looking forward to getting on this bed... Oh no, on this boat.

"Hurry up and get up." Qiaoqiao put down the mattress in her arms and pulled Zhao Hao up with both hands. "The mattress hasn't been changed yet."

"How could that be? Brother Jin is so thoughtful. The bedding has been changed." Zhao Hao didn't get up and pulled her down.

"That won't work either. I'll only feel at ease if I use my own..." Qiaoqiao was frightened by his burning gaze, and her voice gradually became inaudible.

"That's right. You girls definitely don't like sleeping on bedding made by other men." Zhao Hao nodded suddenly.

"Yes..." Qiaoqiao nodded subconsciously, then realized what she had said. She blushed and said, "Who said I should sleep here? I sleep in the outer room..."

She tried to escape from this bad guy, but Zhao Hao held her tightly, and his hands were still not honest...

"Sister Xianglan, just watch!" Qiaoqiao's voice was so condensed that it could produce water, and she asked Ma Xianglan for help in a sobbing and complaining voice.

"Why, do you want me to play a song to entertain you?" Ma Xianglan said leisurely while watching the show: "I haven't taken out the zither yet."

"Please, I'm in a hurry to cook..." Qiaoqiao begged like a little rabbit.

"Sir, the commanders are still waiting for you to attend the meeting." Sister Ma had no choice but to cough and said, "She can't run away in this vast ocean, so let's get down to business first."

"Then you have to agree to go together in the evening!" Young Master Zhao said in a muffled voice.

“Oh, you just like to bully the two of us…” Sister Ma looked as if she was sacrificing for her good sisters, and nodded shyly with a righteous look.