The gun salute originated in the United Kingdom. When they first began to colonize the world, the scale of battleships was not very large. The largest sailing battleship carried only 21 guns. This is the origin of the 21-gun rule.
In the age of sailing battleships, the time and difficulty for human beings to sail around the world were much greater than now. Sometimes when a rebellion occurs in a colony, it often takes a year and a half or even longer from the time the message is sent back to the time the fleet is dispatched to suppress it.
Just like the British and French burning the Old Summer Palace in 1860, but in fact the foreshadowing of the war began with the Yarrow incident in 1856. It took more than four years for Britain and France to communicate diplomatically, then mobilize troops, and finally break out into war. It can be seen that It was very difficult to dominate the world at that time.
In fact, not only in the 19th century, even in the United States in the 21st century, apart from strategic missile weapons, it will take time for their aircraft carriers to move from one hotspot to another.
Winning global hegemony has never been easy, and it is impossible to rely on complete force to suppress it. Therefore, the British Empire has always relied on intimidation and support of spokesmen to effectively control colonies.
At this time, we can see the benefits of the salute. Anyway, the colonies are a group of inferior primitive people. Every time the warship passes a port, it will first explode with blank bombs. Anyway, there are no projectiles that can't hurt people, but the roar of fire Among them, the visual conflict and sense of intimidation towards inferior ethnic groups are full.
If you want to conquer inferior nations, you must first make them fearful. What the Chinese like to do is to give both kindness and power, but this is not the case in the West. Their order is exactly the opposite. They must first establish power and then show kindness. Anyway, they will not completely defeat you first. Once convinced, they will not believe any of the other party's sweet words.
The gun salute originated from the navy's deterrence strategy. However, with the growing strength of the British Empire and the gradual expansion of overseas colonies, until the emergence of the Empire on which the sun never sets, this method of using gun salutes as a deterrent was gradually eliminated, but as a ritual of the navy. But it was passed down.
The 21-gun salute is the highest courtesy the British Royal Navy pays to a head of state, but today it was used on Ryukyu Prime Minister Xiao Letian.
Boom boom boom... The loud noise of the salute echoed on the North Sea. In the firelight and white smoke were the faces of the French soldiers, who looked like they were mourning. At that moment, they seemed to have returned to Trafalgar. Nelson was fierce The scene of slapping the French navy in the face appeared again.
The 21-gun salute was a courtesy in Xiao Letian's eyes, but it was a threat to Chi Guoguo in the eyes of the French.
Your French fleet only has three pitiful small-tonnage cruisers, and you still want to show off your power in the North Sea. Who gave you the courage? Look at our British Royal Navy, with three battleships and five heavy cruisers, we also have to fight against others. The Prime Minister is being polite, but you have the guts to humiliate the Prime Minister of a country.
Sometimes there is no need to say it, everyone knows that in this world, it is always the last word.
The French warships did not remain silent for too long. Their expedition was personally ordered by Napoleon III. For the dignity of the emperor, they could not leave in despair without farting. Therefore, the French captains discussed it for a long time and finally decided A very tough fart to the British... Oh, no, no, no, it should be said to be a very tough negotiation.
"Dear British allies, we are a diplomatic ship sent by His Majesty the French Emperor to welcome the Prime Minister of the East. Our mission is to take Mr. Xiao Letian to Paris as a guest. This is a normal diplomatic action. Please do not interfere... Ten minutes later , the French Navy will send a small boat to greet the Eastern Prime Minister, I hope you will not make any impolite moves..."
When the flag was transmitted to the Monarch, all the British navy opened their eyes wide and couldn't believe it. "Oh God, are these French people crazy? They dare to speak to the Royal Navy like this, crazy..."
"It seems that the intelligence is accurate. This French action was personally ordered by their emperor. These poor soldiers must show us toughness, otherwise they will not be able to go back and deliver..."
"Then what should we do, haha... I dare to show off my temper in front of the Royal Navy. I'm sorry. We have never looked down on the pride of you French people..."
"The fleet accelerated and cut between the French and the Eastern Prime Minister...separate them and tell the French that our British Navy will not be responsible for the scratching incident..."
As the most powerful military force of the era, the British Navy not only has the strongest battleships, but also the best-quality soldiers. Under the captain's order, the eight battleships are uniformly controlled as if they are controlled by sophisticated computers, with extremely standard paintings. The arc cuts in like a sharp knife.
This time Xiao Letian could see the main battleship at close range. He and his New Army officers had only one feeling, and that was that it was huge, surprisingly tall.
From the waterline to the deck, it is five stories high, and the entire captain's visual inspection has exceeded 60 meters. The three-story shooting deck is densely packed with closed gun ports, and it looks like the densely packed eyes of a sea monster from a distance.
The sailors standing on both sides of the deck with their hands behind their backs stood as straight as javelins. Their white sailor uniforms and their proud expressions showed that they had been through the iron-blooded battlefield.
The poor Portuguese merchant ship was not half as tall as the other warships. Everyone had to look up at the mountain-like warship, while the British sailors on the deck could easily overlook everything.
Xiao Letian's face was a little hot. He couldn't keep eye level with the British sailors even when he was standing on the mast. They looked at him without much respect, but with a bit of pity. Maybe in the hearts of these British soldiers, although the bloody battle at Stone Bridge was regarded as A miracle, but that's all.
In the eyes of the Royal Navy, through their own efforts, these Chinese people can barely reach the point where they can be treated equally by the Royal Navy. As for respect, it is all a joke in the heart of the British Navy.
"Damn it, aren't you just bullying us that China doesn't have a navy? Aren't you just capturing Beijing six years ago? Do you deserve to be so awesome? My brothers are no better than any of you..."
Xiao Letian was cursing secretly in his heart, but he knew very well in his heart that the British were so confident. Until World War II, the British navy was the most powerful in the world, the only one but not one of them.
At this time, Xiao Letian looked down at his brothers on the deck. He suddenly discovered that these "rabble" who were bandits, Taiping soldiers, and Ryukyu commoners two years ago had suddenly matured. This kind of maturity did not even exist for him. Noticed.
As long as all the brothers can stand, they all stand on the deck with the most standard military qualifications. Each of them has a chest that is almost taller than a woman. Even if you look up at these British soldiers, the brothers are iron-blooded after hundreds of battles. Murderous aura can also deter those arrogant sailors.
Gradually, the officers and soldiers on the Monarch noticed something strange. Countless soldiers put away their requests for instructions with a bit of disbelief in their eyes. Some even straightened their faces and stood in a more standard military posture.
"What's going on?" The captain who was negotiating with the French had thirty years of experience in leading troops. He could smell anything strange in the army without using his eyes. He could smell it with his nose.
When he turned around and walked to the port side and looked down at the short Portuguese merchant ship, the old captain couldn't help but gasped, "Oh, such a tough military temperament... Such a stern look, I just believe that the information is true." Yes, this group of people has really created miracles. This kind of military momentum can only be achieved by elites who have fought in hundreds of battles..."
The captain suddenly stood at attention, raised his hand and gave a military salute to the Chinese soldiers. When the other officers and soldiers on the Monarch saw the captain, they all saluted. Everyone did not dare to neglect to stand at attention and salute collectively.
Xiao Letian nodded with a smile and raised his hand to return the salute to the British navy. He thought with great emotion, "Is there any prime minister in this world who stands on the mast and returns the salute? Haha, I am indeed the first person in the ages...haha , but one thing I am sure of is that I, Xiao Letian, must be the youngest prime minister in the world, and other old men will not be able to climb up to him..."
The actions of the British fleet left the French completely speechless. Veins on their foreheads were all popping with anger. When eight warships separated them from Xiao Letian, the mission was considered a complete failure.
"Send the semaphore...continue to send the semaphore...tell these French people that if they insist on going their own way again, it will cause diplomatic disputes...I can't guarantee whether the gun will go off...Yes, these are my exact words, Send a semaphore immediately..."
This gunpowder-filled semaphore suddenly ignited the anger of the British. As countless orders sounded, the gun doors on the side of the warship facing the French were all opened, and murderous artillery was aimed at them.
"Leave and evacuate... Please do not challenge the endurance of the Royal Navy, please do not delay our mission..." the Monarch responded in an extremely forceful manner.
The French finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Come on, come on, here's the camera. Record the scene where the British are preparing to fire. With these photos, we can make a deal. At least it can make His Majesty less angry..."
These French captains are indeed smart. The threats they just made are actually just to make the British make further threats, so that they can be exempted from responsibility in front of the emperor.
The French got the 'evidence' they wanted, and the British Navy wouldn't care even if they saw through the French's calculations. This is the arrogance of the strong. Even if Napoleon III could punish the whole of France, in front of the British Royal Navy, There was nothing he could do.
"Look, sir, France has retreated... these grandchildren have escaped... Long live." All the fishermen and sailors on the sea shouted excitedly. Only these Chinese people still looked at the British warships calmly.
The tiger drove away the wild wolf, so God knows if the tiger had any conspiracy.
Note: Yesterday afternoon, Xinjing's right eye suddenly shed tears and became photophobic. The eye examination showed acute keratitis. As a result, he started to have a headache and fever last night. He spent the whole day in a coma and was half-blind.
I saved the manuscript in the morning, and what you see now is me covering my right eye and coding in a one-eyed dragon posture. There may be typos, so please bear with me.
Tomorrow's two updates can only be coded tomorrow, it will be very slow, but I assure you, there will be two updates.
I would like to remind everyone that you must use your eyes sparingly. Now Xinjing can’t see anything with his right eye. He sheds tears when he sees light. His head hurts so much when he pulls the right side of his right eye. It’s really uncomfortable...
