"In the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean, there is a sea area surrounded by the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, and Norway. Europeans call it the North Sea. It is the transportation artery for Sweden, Poland, Germany, Denmark and other Nordic countries to enter and exit the Atlantic Ocean. It has been a necessity for military strategists since ancient times. Fighting for land..."
"The terrain of this sea area is very special. The British Isles and Iceland to the north are like a lid that semi-closes the North Sea. Any ship passing here will be monitored by the British Navy..."
"Of course the one who is most unhappy about this is Russia. Although it has a very long coastline in its huge country, more than 90% of these coastlines are in the icy cold zone. It is already amazing to have three or four months of thawing period a year. Now, the only port we can rely on is St. Petersburg..."
"But unfortunately, St. Petersburg is hidden at the end of the deep Baltic Sea, and that area of water is also suppressed by the North Sea. As long as the British block the Kattegat Strait, the huge Russian bear will not be able to rush into the Atlantic..."
The long journey has just begun, and Xiao Letian's small lessons for the brothers have begun again. Now that the ship is sailing in the North Sea, of course his lessons will be concentrated here.
"I understand. No wonder the Prime Minister has been emphasizing that Russia is the country that will pose the greatest threat to us in the next few decades. Other European monarchs only want money, but this polar bear wants life." An officer on the deck suddenly jumped up shouted.
"Yes, yes, the Prime Minister said that whoever can control the ocean will be the master of the world in the future. The more maritime interests he controls, the stronger his national power will be... The Russians are desperately trying to get a warm water port. Ah, they are going to build a military port."
With a snap, Xiao Letian snapped his fingers excitedly, "Yes, yes, you finally understand. Don't look at the French people who are so angry and coming to kill us now, but in my mind, France is not the biggest threat to us." …”
"First of all, the strategies of countries such as Britain and France are mainly based on establishing colonies. They don't have much territorial desire for China. Occupying a few islands and ports is enough. In their hearts, they still want to make money..."
"But the Russians are different. They have clear territorial needs. Their purpose is to press southward from the cold zone. This nation has an unusual desire for territory. Coupled with the strong need for temperate zone ports, they are weakly satisfied. Qing will naturally become the meat on the chopping board..."
Xiao Letian smiled bitterly and said, "Do you really think that the Russians supporting Aguba in Xinjiang want the pastures of the Tianshan Mountains? They want to test and attack the Pamirs. Their goal is the Arabian Sea..."
Dozens of senior officers on the deck gathered around Xiao Letian and listened to his lecture attentively. Although the Portuguese sailors around him could not understand Chinese, they could still feel that he was very powerful.
The merchant ships followed the busy trade route, and there were cargo ships from various countries and countless fishing boats with sails. But one thing is certain, as long as the ships sailing out of the Port of Hamburg saw this clipper ship, they would all send flags to express their respect.
"Your Majesty Prime Minister... There is another Prussian merchant ship on the port side sending us a semaphore. They are paying respect to you..." After the captain finished shouting, Xiao Letian quickly stood up and stood on the side of the ship to wave, which was met with cheers.
"Thank you, thank you..." Xiao Letian kept showing off all the way. His name was already a household name in Prussia. All the German captains and sailors in this area expressed their gratitude to him when they heard that the benefactor from the East was coming. Respected.
Just when Xiao Letian was waving desperately to look like a great man, suddenly the lookout's roar rang out from the tall mast of the merchant ship.
"At seven o'clock in the southwest... three large ships appeared... at a speed of 10 knots... heading straight towards us..."
"What's going on?" Upon hearing this, the Portuguese captain quickly grabbed his telescope and started to look out, but the distance was too far. Even with a high-power telescope, there were only blurry shadows of the three ships.
"Captain...give me your telescope...the power I have is too low..."
"Oh, I'm so stupid..." The captain gave himself a quick slap on the forehead and quickly asked a dexterous sailman to send his telescope up.
While the sail operator was climbing up, Sima Yun, Luo Huo and others also gathered around and asked, "What's wrong? What happened? What's on the sea?"
The captain was so anxious that he didn't know how to explain that this ocean mission was personally arranged by the Prussian Prime Minister, who wanted to use ships from Portugal, a neutral country, to ensure the safety of the Eastern guests.
Moreover, the background of this ship is very deep, and the shareholders behind the scenes include the shadow of the British royal family. Even though it is just an ordinary small clipper ship, the goods it pulls every year are top-notch goods that are difficult to buy even if you have money.
The captain was a good person and had already done his homework before taking this job. He had already investigated how important Xiao Letian and his group were to Prussia and how high their status was.
"Don't let anything happen to you. God bless you. Don't let anything happen to you..."
At this moment, the lookout above the head suddenly let out an extremely frightened roar, "Oh no... it's the French flag... it's a battleship... three heavy cruisers..."
I was really afraid of what would come. The Portuguese captain clenched his hands so tightly that the sweat in his hands almost turned into streams. "How far is it? Can you send a semaphore? Change to the largest Portuguese flag, and the flag of our chamber of commerce should also be hung." Come out, I don’t believe they haven’t heard of our Chamber of Commerce..."
The ship with full sail was very fast, and after a while the people on the deck could see clearly even without telescopes. At this time, the French cruiser on the opposite side sent a semaphore signal in advance.
"Reduce the sail...slow down...let us get inspected, bastards, why are they French? This is the high seas..." The flagman cursed after two sentences.
The captain was also angry, "Send a semaphore and tell him that this is high seas. They have no right to inspect our ships. France and Portugal are not at war. What do they want to do..."
As a result, after the flag message was sent, even Xiao Letian could tell that something was wrong. The French didn't even bother to reply. They suddenly opened all the gun ports on both sides of the battleship and showed off their force to the merchant ships.
The vast North Sea was suddenly filled with murderous intent. The fishing boats and small cargo ships hauling goods offshore were all frightened when they saw this posture, but within three minutes they began to reverse direction and run for their lives.
Xiao Letian put his hand on the captain's shoulder and sighed softly, "They came for me. Although I lowered the lower limit of Napoleon III again and again, I was still wrong. Only now do I understand that this war madman is There is no lower limit at all, he is essentially a scoundrel."
At this point, Xiao Letian turned around fiercely: "Brothers, this is the sea, but there is not a warship around us... If it were on land, maybe I could lead you to fight again, using my bullets and bayonets. and blood to teach these French guys a lesson, but unfortunately this is the sea..."
Xiao Letian punched the wooden board and roared with grief and anger, "It's a pity that we don't have a navy. It's a pity that we only have passion. Even if I have a battleship in my hand, I can lead you to rush forward and fight them to the death."
"The captain... sent a signal to all the Prussian fishing boats on the sea, saying that I, Xiao Letian, asked them for help... and asked them to take my brothers to evacuate and go to Hamburg... I, Xiao Letian, went to meet these French people. , I don’t believe that Napoleon III can shoot me,”
"Prime Minister," the crowd exclaimed. Xiao Hexin even fell off the wheelchair. He climbed up to Xiao Letian on his hands and feet, grabbed his thigh and cried bitterly. "No, sir, you can't die in vain. You can take us with them." Come on, let's rush up and fight them with bayonets..."
Countless brothers shouted, "Let's fight, let's fight... Ever since we came to Europe, we have not had the luxury of going back alive. To die here today is to join the brothers who took the first step..."
"Fight, fight, fight..." The thunderous roar frightened these sailors and turned them pale. This group of Chinese people had experienced the bloody battle of Stone Bridge. It would be no exaggeration to say that each of them is a god of hell.
"That's enough..." Xiao Letian suddenly shouted, "If any of you force me again, I will jump from here into the sea, and I will die in front of you..."
The crowd was dead silent. Xiao Letian helped Xiao Hexin on the deck and said sadly, "You have misjudged me. You really think that I, Xiao Letian, am a reckless man, a gangster who only knows how to shout hot-blooded slogans and fight to the death. You are wrong. Big So wrong..."
"Every miracle we have created along the way, I, Xiao Letian, did not deduce it with my gray hair and careful calculation. To be honest, even in the bloody battle at Stone Bridge, I led you to fight with a 70% chance of winning... "
"But today, I don't see the slightest possibility of victory..." Xiao Letian pointed to the battleship on the sea. "I know such a battleship. It is called a heavy cruiser. It has a double-layer shooting deck. One battleship has sixty or seventy guns. The giant cannons, one of their volleys can tear our ship into pieces..."
Xiao Letian looked at the brothers tenderly, "Why should we fight a battle that has no chance of winning? I, Xiao Letian, have led you on this road of no return. For what reason? Is it my own selfishness? Do you really think that I, Xiao Letian?" What does Lotte want to be?"
"What I pursue is just to make our nation and country stronger, so that we will no longer be bullied by others. If I just want to be a rich man, why should I wear it..." Xiao Letian, the Vietnamese character at the back, is really I can't say anything.
"You are all the elites brought out by me. You are the vitality of this nation and this country. If one of you survives, our country will have one more person who can see the world with open eyes. This is what I want... Be good, be obedient, and get on the fishing boat back to Hamburg. The target is small and the enemy cannot hit it..."
Xiao Letian's tears flowed down immediately. He cried more today than he did in his previous life.
"Captain, what are you looking at? I beg you to send a signal to the ships on the sea quickly... let them come to rescue people."
"Sir." There was a boom, and people fell to their knees on the deck. All the brothers of the New Army hit the ground, and blood splattered.
