Chapter 665 The Provocation of the Combined Fleet in the Sea Battle
General Okani Boudier received orders from Commander-in-Chief Robert Blake to lead a fleet of destroyers to explore the Strait of Gibraltar.
The combined fleet encountered mines laid by the Great China Empire on the route.
The Strait of Gibraltar is very suitable for laying mines.
Commander-in-Chief Robert Blake was worried about this situation and sent a fleet of destroyers to explore the situation in the Strait of Gibraltar.
General Okani Boudil stood on the deck and saw the sound of simmering coming from the trawl behind the destroyer from time to time. The water column caused by the explosion of the mine rushed out of the sea thirty meters high, and the water splashed onto the deck.
When he saw this situation, his face was full of smile.
"This little trick of the Imperial Navy of Great China was easily cracked by me.
Mines are very powerful, but they have extremely serious weaknesses."
When General Okani Budil was feeling triumphant, he had no idea that a crisis was coming.
Niu Baoguo, Acting Governor of Gibraltar, looked at the Combined Fleet warships clearing mines in the strait ahead.
He kept mumbling: "Closer, closer."
Niu Baoguo admired the European Combined Fleet for discovering the weakness of mines so quickly.
But the main purpose of mines is to slow down enemy warships.
Coast defense artillery hits slow moving targets and has a very high hit rate.
Niu Baoguo knew that now was his moment to show off.
They performed well enough in this naval battle, and their army will definitely stand out.
"The distance is enough, let me fire."
The coastal defense guns deployed in Gibraltar can hit the warships of the Combined Fleet.
Niu Baoguo immediately ordered the coastal defense artillery to fire.
The artillerymen received the task of firing and began to carry out the order.
The huge sound of artillery resounded throughout the strait, and the firing of large-caliber artillery was very spectacular.
A high-speed flying artillery shell went straight to General Okani Boudier's ship.
The powerful shells can directly sink battleships, let alone small destroyers.
Niu Baoguo looked at the sea with a telescope. After the small warship of the United Fleet was hit by coastal defense artillery, the warship directly disintegrated.
According to his observation, not even a larger wooden board could be found.
Niu Baoguo said excitedly: "Well done, you guys are really good."
When the combined fleet saw the fate of the destroyer fleet, the people who originally wanted to rescue them immediately returned to the open sea.
As the commander-in-chief of the United Fleet, Robert Blake once again convened a military meeting when the United Fleet encountered difficulties.
He put his hands on his chest and prayed: "Amen, may Okani Budil return to the embrace of the Lord."
The generals who participated in the military meeting prayed for Okani Budil.
Vice Admiral Marton Tropp said with lingering fear: "The artillery of the Great China Empire is too powerful, and there is no trace of General Okani Boudier's body.
But his achievements are worth remembering by all of us.
It was the efforts of General Okani Boudier that allowed us to understand the situation in the Strait of Gibraltar and the powerful power of the Chinese Empire's artillery.
The Strait of Gibraltar is now full of mines. If you want to clear the mines, you must rely on destroyers.
But the artillery of the Dahua Empire is too powerful, and the risk taken by destroyers heading to the strait to clear mines is too great."
As the Vice Admiral of the Dutch Navy, Marton Tropp is now the younger brother of France. He needs France to support him in order to deal with Spain.
His views will definitely be influenced by France.
The commander of the United Fleet, Robert Blake, coughed lightly to attract everyone's attention.
"The artillery of the Dahua Empire is very powerful. The artillery of our army has a lower range and is not as powerful as the artillery of the Dahua Empire.
The Strait of Gibraltar is full of mines again, and destroyers can still survive if they pass through the strait.
When the main warships pass through the strait, they will withstand the double blow of mines and coastal defense artillery.
Consider the current density of mines in the Brotar Strait, as well as the number and rate of fire of coastal defense guns.
If we want to attack by force, we will have to pay huge losses."
George Monk, commander of the British fleet, suggested: "I think a forceful attack is not advisable. With the current situation of the Chinese navy, even if we win, we will have to pay an extremely heavy price.
I still hope that the Combined Fleet will not be affected by the death of General Okani Budil.
We continue to follow the previous plan, which, according to Dahua, is to "lead the snake out of its hole (Chinese)" and find a way to lure the Dahua fleet out of the turtle shell.
In this way, no matter how many mines there are in the Strait of Gibraltar and how powerful the coastal defense artillery is, it has nothing to do with naval warfare.
As long as we can destroy the Imperial Navy of Great China, we have countless ways to take back Gibraltar."
Robert Blake and George Munch cooperated with each other to directly minimize the impact of Okani Budil's death.
The number of French warships is small, but they cannot help but pay attention to the impact of the death of the French representative on the combined fleet.
The combined fleet has now experienced two large-scale morale losses.
Robert Blake used the steps given by George Munch and he immediately agreed: "Everyone should have heard of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", which came from the Chinese Empire.
There are many contents here that angered the commander-in-chief of the Dahua Army.
We can use this method and keep trying.
If it weren't for the nobles above, they would worry about angering the Great China Empire and causing the war to escalate indefinitely.
We are not allowed to use Chinese as hostages to anger the Chinese Imperial Navy.
Otherwise, this method is the fastest effective method for soldiers."
Robert Blake, the commander-in-chief of the United Fleet, quickly reached an agreement with the fleet commanders of various countries.
The combined fleet laid many traps in the designated sea area, and they also began to think of ways to lure the snake out of its hole.
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Admiral Li Pinglang saw a small boat holding a white flag arriving at the port of Gibraltar.
The white flag has almost become a universal semaphore. When used on the battlefield, it means surrender.
When this small boat arrived at the port, it was captured directly by the Imperial Navy.
Chief of Staff Gu Zhonghuang came to Admiral Li Pinglang's room with a wooden box.
He said helplessly: "When the soldier checked the wooden box and saw the contents in the wooden box, he was absolutely furious.
Lao Li, you can't even imagine what's in this wooden box."
Li Pinglang shook his head. Things sent from the local government will definitely undergo multiple inspection procedures.
Countries in Europe can do anything.
They sent blankets covered by smallpox patients to the Inca Empire in America.
This directly led to the death of the Inca Empire from this plague that they had never seen before.
All officers and soldiers of the Imperial Navy have been vaccinated against cowpox, so there is no need to fear smallpox.
But there are so many plagues in the world, who can predict whether they will be exposed to other germs.
All the things sent from the local government and those that can be boiled in water should be boiled in boiling water.
Things that cannot be boiled in water will also be sprayed with alcohol to disinfect.
Admiral Li Pinglang knew that the gift had been processed, so he opened the box directly and said at the same time: "What on earth is it? Chief of Staff Gu couldn't help laughing."
He picked up the gift sent by the United Fleet, and his smiling face immediately turned serious.
A gift from the United Fleet, this is a very standard long waisted skirt for women.
Admiral Li Pinglang said angrily: "These Xiyi people must have watched "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
Sima Yi used this method to humiliate Zhuge Liang.
Zhuge Wuhou saw through this strategy at a glance and was not swayed by such trivial tricks.
My resourcefulness is not comparable to that of Zhuge Wuhou, but how could this little trick possibly shake my mind?
Don't say it's an insult by sending women's clothes, even if you ask me to wear women's clothes, I will not make a small sacrifice."
Chief of Staff Gu Zhonghuang threw the women's clothes directly into the trash can.
"If the United Fleet does this, it means that they are at the end of their rope and can no longer find a good way.
We are hiding in the port now just to delay the war.
It would be best to wait until the combined fleet suffers heavy losses or our reinforcements arrive.
That's when we counterattack, we can't take risks now.
This is the first time that an ironclad ship has participated in a war. Once the war fails, the entire ironclad ship plan is likely to fail.
In this war, we must wait until we are 100% victorious before attacking, and we must not underestimate the enemy and advance rashly."
Admiral Li Pinglang raised his head proudly and said, "I am not the kind of person who is easily angered.
Now we and the United Fleet are competing to see who has higher concentration.
We can delay indefinitely, but the combined fleet cannot.
They are a bulk fleet composed of European countries.
When the fleet was first established, it could still maintain basic stability with its passion.
If it takes longer, problems will arise within the combined fleet.
European countries have just emerged from the quagmire of war, and they cannot afford a long-lasting war.
Even if the combined fleet wants to continue to delay, the conditions of the European countries do not allow them to do so.
As long as our army is dragged down until the European countries cannot bear it, the combined fleet will inevitably choose an aggressive approach."
Chief of Staff Gu Zhonghuang originally wanted to tell Admiral Li Pinglang about the relevant situation.
When he saw Admiral Li Pinglang, he thought more comprehensively than he did. He was finally sure that Admiral Li Pinglang would never be impulsive.
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After United Fleet Commander Robert Blake sent the women's clothes, he found that the Imperial Navy Fleet was indifferent.
He complained helplessly: "Yes, reality is reality.
From now on, I will never predict my opponent's movements based on the plot.
This is a worry-free method, but the other party will not be fooled.
Then we can only make bigger moves."
There are many extremely smart people in the United Fleet, and they have already thought of several ways to anger the Admiral of the Imperial Navy.
The method they learned from "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" has the lowest cost after using it.
Once other methods are adopted, they must use some means with endless consequences.
Robert Blake, commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet, sat at the table and finished writing the corresponding orders.
He did not choose a gentler method. From the previous feedback, it can be seen that the Admiral of the Imperial Navy is a hard-hearted person and must choose more drastic methods.
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Admiral Li Pinglang was eating when he heard a huge noise outside.
He got up and walked out, muttering in his mind: "What happened again?"
He saw Chief of Staff Gu Zhonghuang walking over with a livid face.
A scholar like Chief of Staff Gu Zhonghuang rarely gets angry, but now his face is livid with anger. Something serious must have happened.
Admiral Li Pinglang hurriedly walked over and asked, "Chief of Staff Gu, what is going on?"
Chief of Staff Gu Zhonghuang pointed angrily at the sea ahead.
He didn't speak for a long time, and his arms pointing at the sea were shaking.
Admiral Li Pinglang immediately picked up his telescope and observed the situation on the sea.
On the sea ahead, there is a large, unmanned ship, with its sails spread out and floating on the sea.
On the sail of this ship, there are paintings that make every person in the Great China Empire very angry when they see it.
There is a painting painted on the huge sail.
Emperor Su He was shirtless, kneeling in front of a Xiyi man with a thorn on his back to plead guilty.
The background is the burning capital, with dead bodies of people everywhere on the streets.
After Admiral Li Pinglang read it, he threw the telescope directly on the ground and smashed it into pieces with a bang.
Emperor Su He had faith for a person from the Great China Empire, especially a soldier from the Great China Empire.
These Xiyi people actually used this method to insult Su He, the Emperor of the Chinese Empire.
Any officer of the Royal Navy of the Great China Empire will be extremely angry when they see this painting.
After a loud noise, the empty ship floating on the sea was directly destroyed.
Admiral Li Pinglang looked forward, and the Changbaishan opened fire directly, blowing the empty ship to pieces.
Zheng Sen, Shi Lang, Lu Yuanwang and other naval admirals came together to ask for an audience with Admiral Li Pinglang.
Zheng Sen directly apologized and said: "I did not ask for instructions and directly chose to fire. I asked the Admiral to punish me.
But what the Xiyi people did was intolerable to all our navy officers.
On behalf of the navy officers, I request the admiral to order an attack on the combined fleet.
If the tiger doesn't show off his power, he will treat us like a sick cat.
We must destroy the combined fleet and destroy all the important coastal cities of European countries to teach them a lesson."
Admiral Li Pinglang was very angry when he saw the excited crowd, but he knew that he had to calm down when the war came.
The general must not be angry and raise an army. If he orders the navy to attack now, he will fall into a trap.
Admiral Li Pinglang said seriously: "This battle must be fought, but not at this moment.
Think about it, everyone, if His Majesty the Emperor is personally commanding this war, what would he do if he encounters such a situation?"
As soon as Admiral Li Pinglang said these words, the naval generals fell silent.
Many of them were more or less taught by Emperor Su He.
When I calmed down, I knew that if Emperor Su He was in charge, he would definitely choose the method that would be easiest to win the war.
Admiral Li Pinglang saw that everyone was no longer too excited, and he said loudly: "The Western Yi people are doing this, but they are not as good as Guizhou donkeys.
Everyone, give me a little more time, and I will definitely be able to lead everyone to completely eliminate the combined fleet.
Let everyone have a good time then."
Admiral Li Pinglang used his personal authority to suppress this incident.
He was also extremely angry, but for the sake of victory, everything was bearable.
Robert Blake, the commander-in-chief of the United Fleet, was extremely anxious.
He paced back and forth in his room, repeatedly asking his adjutant if there was any movement in the Chinese Imperial Navy fleet in Gibraltar.
Robert Blake learned that the Imperial Navy's fleet was unresponsive.
He was very puzzled. They had already used a deadly weapon against the Imperial Navy of Great China. Why were they still indifferent?
Nobles from various countries have begun to urge the combined fleet to take action as soon as possible. Is it really necessary to attack the tightly defended Gibraltar? (End of this chapter)