#1116 Canal Attack

At the end of the European Continental War, the British government took advantage of the opportunity of the Holy Roman Empire to take advantage of the opportunity to seize the French Indochina Peninsula.

Cam Ranh Bay, the base camp of the French Far East Fleet, also changed its owner and became the base camp of the British Royal Navy.

With this first military port in Asia, as for Singapore, another important military town, the Royal Navy naturally dislikes it.

Of course, this is just lip service. The real reason was that the British government was one step behind in responding, Sumatra was occupied by the Netherlands, and the Malay Peninsula fell into the hands of the German Confederation dominated by Hanover.

At that time, Britain was having a good time with Fao, and Hannover and Holland were their hard-core brothers. The British government tacitly accepted this fact.

No one could have imagined that the international situation would change so quickly. Along with a continental war, France fell to earth, and the Holy Roman Empire was reborn from ashes and reunified.

There is no doubt that the Malay Peninsula, as a colony of the German Confederation, naturally joined the big family of the Holy Roman Empire.

Continental hegemony was born. Under the influence of geopolitics, the Dutch government, which is aware of current affairs, also naturally fell to the Holy Roman Empire.

In a blink of an eye, Singapore, an important military port for Britain in the Far East, became unsavoury.

Although the Strait of Malacca is still in the hands of the Royal Navy, both sides of the Strait have become the sphere of influence of the enemy.

There is no younger brother to stand by, and it is just a corner of Singapore. Obviously, it cannot support Britain's hegemony in the Southeast Asian region, and its rule over the Straits of Malacca suddenly becomes precarious.

By this time, it was too late for the British to regret it. The meat that fell into the stomach of the Holy Roman Empire was naturally impossible to spit out.

It is also not desirable to seek Sumatra under the rule of the Dutch. With Shinra on their side, it is impossible for them to let go.

"Blessed and misfortune", although Britain's rule over the Straits of Malacca was challenged, they also won the French Indochina Peninsula.

It not only relieved the threat to the southeast of India, but also expanded the colonial empire and increased its voice in the Southeast Asian region.

Whether it is a loss or a gain is difficult to say. But for the colonial government, it must have been a profit.

The rule of Malacca has been challenged, but after all, it is still in their hands, and there is more wealthy Indochina that can be exploited, and everyone's small life must be more comfortable.

Those who see it have a share, and the bureaucrats in the colony can make money, and naturally a share of the Far East Fleet is indispensable.

As the admiral of the fleet, Admiral Michelle lived a good life. More than once, I felt that choosing to come to the Far East was the most correct choice in my life.

Unfortunately, good days are always short-lived. Along with the tense situation in Europe, the situation in the Southeast Asia region also became turbulent.

Originally, this is nothing, the strength of the Far East Fleet is higher than that of the Nanyang Fleet. If a war breaks out, Michelle is confident enough to win.

Only with the changing situation in Europe, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands successively fell to the Holy Roman Empire, and the situation changed.

The advantages occupied by the Far East Fleet had been reversed all of a sudden. One-on-four, even if the Royal Navy can fight again, it is still impossible to beat four hands with one punch.

The only thing that makes Michelle gratified is that Britain still has allies. If you add the strength of the Japanese navy, he still has the certainty of victory.

Just accompanied by a telegram from London, shattering the illusions of Admiral Michel. The London government asked him to wait for the opportunity to attack the Nanyang Fleet and annihilate the main force.

From the big picture, there is nothing wrong with this order. Although undeclared war is against the spirit of chivalry, Michelle is not a knight in the first place, and has no moral cleanliness.

Now that the situation is so tense, it is impossible for the Nanyang Fleet to be completely unprepared, and it is very difficult to just make a sneak attack, let alone annihilate it.

In the depths of his heart, Admiral Michelle complained more than once. If he wanted to make a sneak attack, he would have said it earlier, and he had to wait until the situation was out of control before ordering. He was a fool!

Fortunately, Michelle did not know that the original plan of the London government was that the Far East Fleet and the Pacific Fleet would attack together, and at the same time destroy Shinra's South Sea Fleet and Central American Fleet.

Otherwise, it is not complaining, but simply cannot be implemented. A sneak attack also needs to take into account the right time and place, and it cannot be acted at any time or anywhere.

In case of bad luck, when it comes to the appointed time for action, if the gods fail to make a beauty, there will be a heavy fog, or there will be strong winds and waves, or the enemy will not be on the preset battlefield, which can lead to the failure of the mission.

Fortunately, not all officers in the Admiralty were civil servants, but there were also professionals who stopped this farce in time.

In the end, the orders received by the Far East Fleet and the Pacific Fleet became the main force waiting for an opportunity to launch a sneak attack and annihilate the enemy.

Although the difficulty is still great, it is possible to complete it after all. As long as one side succeeds or misses, a full-scale war will break out, and the other side can only fight hard.

Compared to fighting the enemy directly, Admiral Michel was more willing to try it. If the sneak attack is successful, he will be Britain's greatest hero.

There is no way, unless the two major overseas fleets of Shinra are resolved, the Royal Navy will have no way to concentrate its forces and invest in the war to contain the main force of Shinra's navy.

The large bathtub in the Mediterranean Sea has two exits. If you want to contain and force the Shinra Navy to come out for a decisive battle, you must do both at the same time.

The Royal Navy is indeed a fork, but after the two divisions, it is not so simple to suppress the Shinra Navy, and maybe they will put themselves in.

The only way is to cut out Shinra first

The wings of the navy, kill their overseas fleets, and concentrate their forces on their home fleet.

Of course, this is Admiral Michel's own judgment. In fact, there are more ways, such as blocking the Suez Canal and preventing the Shinra Navy from entering the Indian Ocean.

Looking at the map on the wall, Michelle fell into contemplation, pointing with her fingers from time to time, as if looking for a "place" to break the game.

...

Since its opening, the Suez Canal has carried the economic destiny of Asia, Europe and Africa.

There are as many as tens of thousands of ships entering and leaving every year, and the revenue from tolls alone is tens of millions. It is a well-deserved golden waterway.

No matter how tense the situation on the European continent is, the number of ships entering and leaving the Suez Canal every day has not decreased, which is quite detached from the world.

Unfortunately, this "detachment" is just an illusion. If you look closely, you will find that both the merchants along the coast and the merchants who come and go are very solemn.

Everyone knew that war was coming. Once the war broke out, the lively Suez Canal would soon be silent.

There is a long queue at the canal security checkpoint. With the tense situation, the security inspection of the Suez Canal has also taken a step forward.

As a businessman, Owen naturally abhors cumbersome inspections. But the arm can't bend the thigh, and if you want to pass through the Suez Canal, you must be checked.

Seeing that the staff kept rummaging through boxes and containers, they were about to unload the cargo and reload the ship. Owen couldn't stand it any longer: "These are all ballast stones, so there's no need to move them out one by one for inspection, right?"

This time we transported porcelain and silk from the East, which are relatively light products. To ensure the stability of the hull, ballast stones are naturally indispensable.

Now even the stones have to be checked, this cautiousness is really astounding.

The staff turned around and replied very seriously: "Sorry, Mr. Owen. Now is a special period, please cooperate with our work.

Not only for the safety of the canal, but also for the safety of your personal life and property. You must know that spies are all-pervasive. Maybe there is a loophole somewhere and they will be used. "

Hearing the word "spy", Owen resolutely chose to shut his mouth and quietly waited for the result.

As a businessman, Owen's biggest fear is getting involved with spies. Once involved, even a thousand mouths can't tell.

How to get a spy to help prove his innocence?

Even if a spy is willing to help testify, it is of no use, and no one will believe it at all.

Even if there is insufficient evidence to convict him, the personal connections accumulated for most of his life will collapse in an instant.

After more than two hours, the suspicious parts of the ship were finally checked. Before Owen could breathe a sigh of relief, he heard someone shouting: "Catch the spies, don't let them run away!"

The originally orderly scene suddenly became chaotic. Just as the canal police were in action, two oil tankers suddenly started and rushed towards the entrance of the river at full speed.

It happened so suddenly that even the canal defenders reacted quickly and immediately started the shore artillery interception, but only one was stopped, and the other directly hit the lock.

After a loud bang, the warship began to sink slowly. At this moment, the river surface has been covered with leaked crude oil, and the pungent smell is blowing.

Looking at the scene in front of him, Owen's mouth was wide open, but he didn't know what to say. Involuntarily appeared in my mind: "I was hit", "Dead man", "I'm going to lose miserably"...

It was not only Owen who was stimulated, both the crew members and the captain were now all face ashes.

Although they have seen it with their own eyes, no one knows the exact extent of the damage to the canal.

Even if it is only scratched a little, it will take time to dredge the river, and at least the wreckage of the two tankers must be salvaged before it is possible to resume navigation.

If you don't want to wait, then take a detour to the Cape of Good Hope. Those who run the boat these days are all smart people, and they naturally know how to choose.

Seeing that the hegemonic war is about to break out, South Africa has even started fighting. At this time, there will never be any good fruit to eat.

The merchants were worried, and the expressions of the staff of the Canal Management Office were even more exaggerated, and they all turned ashen.

Under such a heavily guarded situation, it must be responsible for letting the enemy steal the chicken...