"This is a good thing for us, isn't it? My Foreign Minister." The Tsar looked at Gorchakov and said with a smile.
"Yes, Your Majesty, a powerful Prussia will definitely make Britain and France fearful, and only by uniting with us can they contain Prussia."
"Prussia's geographical location is really terrible. They are too close to the stingy French and too far from the Atlantic Ocean."
"Now we have to properly stand on the side of Prussia and show our support for Prussia. After all, we are relatives!"
"This way we can let the French people see our value. When they come to you later, we can negotiate the price with these French loan sharks. We still owe them five dollars."
Where are the billions of francs?" reminded the Tsar.
The two looked at each other and smiled. The current external political environment is really very friendly to Tsarist Russia.
Perhaps now is the golden time for the development of Tsarist Russia.
Back in the harem, the Tsar happily asked the waiter to open a bottle of expensive red wine.
He drank a cup with his queen, Maria.
The waves in the Atlantic Ocean are rough and a storm is coming.
At this time, the ships at sea basically hid in the nearest safe harbor.
The two warships were like a pair of wandering brothers. The chimney in the center of the deck was breathing violently, and they were still fighting tenaciously against the sea.
"Commander Nie, we have to find a place to hide. The meteorological team just calculated that this storm will continue to intensify, and a large area to our south is a storm zone. We are not too familiar with the sea conditions here.
, if it gets lost, the fleet may run aground." Liu Zhongyun, the temporary captain on the Fuyuan, found Nie Dahua.
This is a young captain who is studying navigation skills and combat command at the Royal Naval Academy of the Great Empire.
Because of his outstanding performance in the battle with the Danish fleet, he was favored by Nie Dahua and promoted to temporary captain.
The young men on the warship are all very good. Most of these first batch of young men selected to study abroad at public expense are hard-working, have excellent grades, and have solid professional skills.
The combined crew of these two warships totals 1,500 people, of which more than 200 are naval officers, covering various professions required by the navy.
There are several officers assigned to many posts.
There is no way, Nie Dahua cannot let these professionals do physical work. This will not allow them to get experience.
In addition, there are 400 skilled workers from the shipyard on board, who play the role of sailors and damage control personnel.
In order to make up for the vacancy in professional sailors, Nie Dahua recruited a group of foreign sailors in Prussia.
What Prussia lacks most is mercenaries, and they are not the only army mercenaries.
Moreover, Prussian mercenaries are known for their honesty and trustworthiness. Their reputation in the mercenary market is very good.
"Where is the nearest port to us?" Nie Dahua asked. On the bumpy warship, Nie Dahua stood upright and didn't even need to hold on to anything.
He spent most of his life on ships. When he was young, their ships were only a few hundred tons, and they dared to make waves on the sea.
Today's large ships of more than 3,000 tons are still iron-clad ships, and their stability is much better.
In fact, if Liu Zhongyun hadn't come to report that the storm was going to get bigger, Nie Dahua wouldn't even have planned to dock.
He originally planned to take the fleet directly to the port of Santos, where the Portuguese had stored coal, and the port was decided by the Portuguese. It was a supply port that had been negotiated in advance.
Although Busi has many coastal ports, not every port can supply coal.
Especially the anthracite used on warships has higher requirements.
If you burn poor coal and there are too many corrosive substances in the soot, the boiler may be damaged.
"Reporting to the Commander, the nearest port to us is the Port of Salvador, which is the capital of Bahia State of Busi Empire.
This port is located at the entrance to the east coast of Todos Os Santos Bay. It is on the southwest side of the Atlantic Ocean and is a good place to take shelter from the wind." Liu Zhongyun was already prepared and reported it immediately.
"Okay, that's it," Nie Dahua said. The Busi Empire has many ports, and they cannot fully control them themselves. Many port protection measures are outdated.
All the major powers in Europe can stop here at will.
Now the warships are just entering the bay to take shelter from the wind, so there should be no problem. Under normal circumstances, these ports will not refuse.
The Donghua Fleet is now sailing south along the coastline of Busi.
After turning southeast, the fleet soon arrived at the port of El Salvador.
Because it was a widespread storm, there were a large number of ships taking shelter in the port.
When the fleet arrived at the outside of the bay, it was discovered by the sentries guarding the harbor.
The Port of Salvador began to be developed in the mid-16th century and is one of the many ports in the Busi Empire with a longer history.
The facilities in the port are also relatively complete.
There is a fort built at the northeast corner of the bay entering the port. This fort has been repaired several times, but it still looks old.
The nine artillery pieces above are placed in the open air, like a fort museum.
The governor of the port is Julio Ferreira, a pure white man of Portuguese descent. Just a few days ago, he had just received an order from the state government not to allow the Donghua Fleet to dock in the port.
Such orders were issued to most Busi ports.
There was no way, the source of the order came from the Royal Palace, not only Pedro II, but even the Parliament agreed to this order.
There is no way, this is a matter explained by the father of the Daying Empire. Although the Busi Empire is also an empire, its strength is too weak.
If you offend the Great Ying Empire Baba, then to whom will the sugar, tobacco, and leather produced by Busi be sold?
Without Dad’s nod, these things might not have been shipped out of Busi.
"Your Majesty the Consul, the Donghua Fleet has arrived outside the bay. They want to come in to take shelter." A subordinate ran to the government building at the port.
The city is built along the harbor and has a long and narrow shape.
Although it is considered a big city in Busi, its population is only about 10,000 people.
"What, it's really unlucky. With so many ports, why did this fleet come to us?" Julio Ferreira yelled, "It's unlucky." He didn't want to deal with the Donghua Fleet, but he couldn't disobey the orders of his superiors.
With so many ships from various countries in the port, he couldn't quietly let the Donghua Fleet enter the port.
With the weather outside now like this, the Donghua Fleet must have come to take shelter. If they were driven away at this time, the fleet would most likely be in danger outside, so Julio Ferreira was worried that the Donghua Fleet would take desperate measures.
I heard that this fleet is composed of two ironclad ships. You must know that there is not a single ironclad ship in the entire South Amelia.
Julio Ferreira had never even seen an ironclad and had only seen introductions in newspapers.
"What do we do now. Keep them out of the bay?"
"Of course, we must carry out the order."
…
"Commander, the other party sent a signal. They want us to stop advancing."
There was only strong wind on the sea at this time, but it hadn't rained yet, and it was daytime.
The signal from the shore is clearly visible.
Of course, the Busi people on the shore also clearly saw these two behemoths painted in gray and white with red background sun and moon flags.
Although many current sail warships are much larger than the "Fuyuan" second ship.
But the sense of oppression given by the steel battleship is still heavier.
On the coastal fort, the artillerymen were already in position despite the storm. They belonged to Busey's coastal defense force.
There is a battalion of soldiers stationed at the fort in El Salvador Port all year round.
In addition, a regiment of the army in the city was also mobilized under the organization of the Salvadoran garrison officers.
Julio Ferreira was prepared for the worst.
Seeing these two behemoths still approaching the port, the Busi artillerymen stationed at the fort were all nervous.
They looked at the outdated front-loaded coastal defense guns on the turret, and then looked at the metallic shell of the opponent's warship.
Can the iron sticks fired by these artillery guns really cause damage to the opponent?
Even the most experienced gunners on the forts expressed doubts.
There are two Busey patrol gunboats in the port, with a tonnage of two to three hundred.
It is steam-powered, so it can still be driven at this time.
With such strong winds, those sail warships would be impossible to sail out.
The two small gunboats approached the Donghua Fleet cautiously. They seemed to be declaring their sovereignty to the Donghua Navy.
"Tell them that we are not hostile, we are just entering the bay to escape the wind and waves."
Nie Dahua looked at the situation on the shore and felt something was wrong.
There were people poking at the open-air coastal defense turret on the shore. There were also many Busi soldiers setting up positions on the pier.
They were obviously preparing for battle.
"The fleet has entered level one alert!" Nie Dahua immediately added.
Shrill sirens immediately sounded on the two warships.
The officers and soldiers on the ship quickly ran to their fighting positions.
The thick main gun on the warship began to rotate slowly driven by the motor as the soldiers pressed the switch.
It was like a giant beast showing its ferocious fangs.
Soon the signal from the Donghua Fleet was sent.
But the response from the Busi people was still to refuse the Donghua Fleet to enter the bay.
What's even more hateful is that the shore defense artillery position on the fort also fired warning shots.
A 36-pound muzzle-loading gun shell shot into the sea not far from the fleet, splashing up a thick column of water.
"Commander, these Busi people are so fucking abominable. They are obviously bullying people. We can't even stop at their port and just take shelter in the bay?" Liu Zhongyun, a young man who usually seems quite polite, couldn't bear it.
He couldn't help but use foul language.
"If we leave now, our fleet may be in danger in the storm. Since we can't leave, let's break in."
"Send them another signal and say that we are just entering the harbor to take shelter. If you continue to fire, it will be regarded as a war against Donghua, and our fleet will have to fight back." Nie Dahua ordered.
On the shore, looking at the approaching Donghua Fleet, the consul Julio Ferreira was sweating profusely. Although there was a storm blowing on the sea, Julio Ferreira still felt extremely hot.
"Sir, what should we do? They didn't listen to our warning."
"I saw it. I don't believe that little Donghua dares to provoke our Busi Empire. The great His Majesty Federo II will punish them. Now we carry out His Majesty the Emperor's order and let the fort fire to destroy these two warships.
Drive away." Julio Ferreira finally made up his mind.
He had never seen the warships on the other side, but after all, the other side only had two warships. He didn't believe how big a wave these two warships could make.
"Bang bang bang..." The artillery on the fort fired at the fleet one after another.
The two gunboats that had just escaped returned to the dock.
The initial warning shot and the mobilization of soldiers in the city had already alarmed the residents and merchants in the city.
At this time, they all ran to the balcony or roof, braving the fierce wind to watch the situation in the harbor.
Two huge battleships painted in gray and white have arrived at the entrance of the harbor. Their tall bodies can be clearly seen even in the city.
The first round of firing from the fort was very good. The shells fell around the fleet, and several shells even hit the deck of the warship.
But these old-fashioned solid bullets are just scratching the surface for the Donghua Fleet, which has 50 mm thick wrought iron armor.
"Boom, boom, boom..." The main guns of the Donghua fleet hit the high-explosive bombs on the Busi's fort without hesitation.
With the violent explosion, thick smoke billowed from the entire fort. The Donghua fleet fired one salvo and disabled one-third of the opponent's artillery.
Before the artillery on the fort could be loaded, the second round of shelling came again.
At this time, Busi could truly feel the power of these two behemoths.
Julio Ferreira's cold sweat seemed to freeze on his face.
He didn't know how to give the next order.
If those powerful cannonballs hit the port city, it won't be long before the Port of El Salvador, which has stood for more than 300 years, will be reduced to ruins.
"Commander, the enemy's fort is finished. Should we stop the bombardment? Our artillery shells will not be supplied for a long time."
"Okay, stop shooting and send a signal to the city again. Just say that we just want to take shelter from the wind and ask them if it's okay." Nie Dahua said.
After all, the wind and waves are too strong now, otherwise Nie Dahua would have organized a landing operation.
With the support of fleet firepower, it is not difficult to take down such a city that relies entirely on port construction.
But the current sea conditions are not suitable for landing craft activities.
At the port, his subordinates reported again: "Sir, the other party sent a signal again, asking us to send people to negotiate and discuss shelter from the wind, otherwise they will bombard the city."
"Damn it, these barbarians and pirates!" Julio Ferreira cursed.
But he still sent one of his men to negotiate.
A steamboat in the port sailed towards the Donghua Fleet with a white flag. Naturally, Julio Ferreira would not risk his own life.
He sent one of his most disliked officials to negotiate.
Nie Dahua really just wanted to take shelter here.
After all, the ammunition he carries is limited and cannot be consumed casually, otherwise he will be in trouble if he encounters a high-intensity battle on the next journey.
It was just that the port official named Freddy Montero asked Nie Dahua if he had any other requests.
This made Nie Dahua extremely happy, but Nie Dahua was not as open-minded as a lion.
He only asked for a sum of money for ammunition consumption, which was not much more than fifty thousand taels of silver. Gold would be fine. In addition, Nie Dahua also asked for some food supplies.
The last 1,500 tons of high-quality coal must be collected for the fleet.
After this condition was brought ashore, the local leading figures who had already gathered in the government building unanimously expressed their willingness to agree.
What should I do if there is no coal burning? It doesn’t matter.
Some factory owners are even willing to use the coal reserves in their factories.
As for that little money, if the government doesn’t have it, then everyone can chip in together.
They all know that if a fight breaks out, they will all lose, and the factories, shops and warehouses near the port will be destroyed.
Although Julio Ferreira was unwilling to do so, these people in the city had spoken out and he could not go against the grain.
But when he agreed to Donghua's naval conditions, he still sent people to report to the Bushi government despite the bad weather.
I hope the government can stop these Donghua pirates in the south.
More than a thousand kilometers south of El Salvador is the city of Rio, the capital of the Busi Empire, where the main fleet of the Busi Navy is located.
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