The nightmare of the British Empire is, of course, coming from the Ming Empire!
However, the Duke of Wellington was still calm. He had never fought against Emperor Napoleon on the battlefield and won!
In addition, the British Empire had been preparing for a war against the Ming Dynasty for a long time, and the preparations were relatively sufficient.
Now all the large shipyards in the UK are working day and night to build various ships for the Royal Navy, Indian Navy, and US Navy. In the lands of the Indian Empire and the United States, many British-owned shipyards and arsenals have opened in the past two years or have introduced British advanced technology. They are also full of orders and are working overtime to produce warships and other weapons and equipment.
The more important preparation for war is to transform India and win back the United States. The former was to transform the Indian colonies under the jurisdiction of the British East India Company into an "independent" Great Indian Empire - of course, it also had to be led by the Crown Prince of the United Kingdom, Prince William (now Emperor William), and the huge army from the British mainland led by him. The management team and security team help Indians become independent. This is by no means colonial rule, but the deepest love of the father's country for the son's country.
Great India is now the eldest son of Great Britain and the eldest brother of the United States. When will Great Britain's loving father no longer be alive, Great India will still have an eldest brother like his father!
Therefore, now India's nobles and Chaiminda landowners are very motivated, and they have come forward to serve their own Emperor William, and they have also bought a large amount of Indian Emperor's bonds - the more bonds they buy, the more important they are to the emperor. The more loyal you are, the higher the position and title you can get! For more than a year, the "loyalty bonds" issued in India have been enthusiastically subscribed by Indian dignitaries and landowners, and have now sold more than 1 billion rupees.
At the same time, Emperor William's Indian Imperial Government also issued a large number of Indian bonds in the financial markets of London, Paris, and Frankfurt, raising hundreds of millions of pounds!
With the support of sufficient Indian funds, at least half of the ships currently under construction in British shipyards are being built for the Royal Indian Navy. The ships being built on the slipways and docks of the Hindustan Shipyard belong 100% to Kaiser Wilhelm.
It is no exaggeration to say that now Great India has begun to rise!
As for India, the "naughty younger brother" of the eldest son of Great Britain, the United States of America, has recently begun to pour into Texas due to a large number of Japanese immigrants. It has also established an autonomous city called "Texas City", and the Mexican Emperor and Bolivar have spent a lot of money to buy it. He joined the "Navy Anti-American Package" provided by Ming Dynasty, and got closer and closer to Daying's father. With the help of Daying's father, he also began to expand the strength of the U.S. Navy, which made him want to turn around.
Of course, the current U.S. government is far less generous than the Indian government. The latter taxes and borrows at will and spends as much as it wants. And the U.S. government also has Congress watching over it, so it can't mess around. But fortunately, the oil fields were discovered in Pennsylvania! Therefore, the US government can implement an "oil sharing tax" and "oil for warships" plan. The U.S. naval upgrade plan was launched by charging Pennsylvania "oil adventurers" a portion of the oil produced and then exchanging the oil with the British government for warships.
With the support of India and the United States, the two sons of Great Britain, the British government's war preparation plan went very smoothly. Although the "Three-Year War Preparation Plan" was not completed ahead of schedule, the Indian Empire still had the power to fight a war!
In the conference room at No. 10 Downing Street, the light was dim and the atmosphere was gloomy. The smell of cigar smoke and burnt coffee floated in the air.
"Horatio," British Prime Minister Duke Wellington said in a calm tone, exhaling the second-hand smoke from his Cuban cigar, "tell me about the situation."
"Your Excellency," Lord Nelson, the First Sea Lord, said in a heavy tone, "What is currently certain is that the total number of ships in the fleet includes 10 battleships, 8 armored cruisers, 8 fast cruisers and 8 large sail battleships. A huge fleet of more than 50 ships has entered the Indian Ocean through the Strait of Malacca!"
"What? They just passed the Strait of Malacca?" The question was from Foreign Secretary Robert Peel. This layman in the navy was very surprised by the Royal Navy's inaction. "Shouldn't the Royal Navy do something?"
Earl Nelson glanced at the Tory politician, shook his head and said: "Mr. Minister, the Malacca Squadron of the Royal Indian Navy is just a small outpost fleet, and blocking the strait is completely beyond their capabilities. After all, the other party has As many as 10 battleships, including 2 powerful hero-class ships!"
The myth of the hero-class battleship has not been broken yet! It is still one of the best battleships in the world.
In the Aegean Sea, the Rakshasa Empire Navy firmly controls the absolute sea power with just one hero ship! The Turkish Navy tried several times to destroy the Catherine the Great by setting up ambushes and sneak attacks, but the result was that it was a waste of time. The armor protection of the Catherine the Great is quite strong, and the power of its 12 280mm main guns is also amazing, and it fires accurately and hard.
If the Turks had not firmly controlled the Dardanelles Strait, the Rakshasa fleet in the Aegean Sea would have been able to bombard Constantinople!
As for the Victory class used by the British Empire to fight against the Hero class, no one has been completed and delivered yet. Although the British Royal Navy and the Royal Indian Navy both have the Indomitable class improved from the Sovereign class, they have to fight against the two Hero ships. The Ming Navy's westward march formation was still very difficult.
As for the Malacca Squadron, there was no hope of surviving under the 24 280mm cannons of the two hero ships.
Now the Ming fleet is just passing through Malacca, they should be grateful!
"By the way," Robert Peel asked, "Did the Ming Dynasty navy attack Temasek Island or land somewhere on the Malay Peninsula?"
"No." Nelson shook his head.
"Then" Robert Peel turned to look at the Prime Minister, "Duke, what should we do? Should we issue an ultimatum to the Ming Empire?"
The Duke of Wellington asked: "Have they issued an ultimatum?"
"No." Robert Peel shook his head.
"Then there was anything unusual about the Ming Dynasty's mission in London?" Duke Wellington asked again, "For example, they burned documents and evacuated their families."
"No," Robert Peel said, "They are doing fine. Maybe this is a surprise attack? Their purpose is"
"It's India!" Viscount Palmerston saw Robert Peel hesitating, so he took over his words and continued, "Prime Minister, if I haven't guessed, the Chinese's goal is to seize somewhere in the Indian Ocean, maybe Ceylon, maybe They are other small islands. They need to have a foothold in the Indian Ocean, and then use it as a stronghold to block India's shipping route to Malacca and harass the Indian coastal areas."
Viscount Palmerston was not a professional soldier, but his analysis was still reliable.
No one would have thought that Ming Dynasty would send such a huge fleet just to occupy the Persian Gulf. What good would the Persian Gulf do?
Moreover, without completely opening up the Strait of Malacca, it was impossible for Ming Dynasty to attack India because the logistical supplies could not keep up. Although the Ming Dynasty and its vassal state Myanmar and India bordered on land, the bordering areas were either high mountains or tropical rain forests, which were not suitable for large armies to pass through.
Therefore, the sea route through the Strait of Malacca is the only way for Ming Dynasty to seize India!
Thinking of this, Duke Wellington glanced at Earl Nelson again, "Horatio, are Emperor William's fleet going to be dispatched?"
"Duke," Earl Nelson said, "in fact, they have already dispatched! As soon as Vice Admiral Codrington learned that the Ming Dynasty fleet passed through the Strait of Malacca, he led the main force of the Royal Indian Navy fleet from Bombay strikes!”
Duke Wellington nodded and said: "Okay, let's wait and see. It's not the time to issue an ultimatum yet. At least for now, this war is still between the Ming Empire and the Indian Empire. We can still Take a look around and then make a decision.”
(End of chapter)
