Chapter 794

At the end of the European War, the Government of the United Kingdom seized the French Indo-China Peninsula when the Holy Roman Empire was too busy to look east.

Cam Ranh Bay, the headquarters of the French Far East Fleet, also changed owners and became the headquarters of the British Royal Navy.

With the number one military port in Asia, the Royal Navy naturally didn't care about the other military town, Singapore.

Of course, this was just lip service. The real reason was that the Government of the United Kingdom was a step too slow. Sumatra was occupied by the Netherlands, and the Malay Peninsula fell into the hands of the German Confederation controlled by Hanover.

At that time, Britannia and Fao were at loggerheads, and Hanover and the Netherlands were their loyal followers. The Government of the United Kingdom acquiesced to this fact.

No one thought that the international situation would change so quickly. With the European War, France fell to the mortal world, and the Holy Roman Empire was reborn and unified again.

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

The hegemon of the European continent was born. Influenced by the geopolitical situation, the Dutch government, who knew how to adapt to the current situation, naturally leaned towards Holy Empire.

In the blink of an eye, Singapore, an important military port for Britannia in the Far East, became undesirable.

Although the Malacca Strait was still in the hands of the Royal Navy, both sides of the strait had become the enemy's sphere of influence.

Without any underlings to rely on, with just a corner of Singapore, it was obvious that it could not support Britain's hegemony in Southeast Asia. Their rule over the Strait of Malacca suddenly became precarious.

At this time, it was too late for the British to regret. The meat that fell into the belly of the Holy Roman Empire naturally could not be spat out.

Seeking Sumatra, which was ruled by the Dutch, was also not advisable. With Shinro by their side, it was simply impossible for them to act freely.

Although Britannia's rule of the Malacca Strait was challenged, they also took over the Indo-China Peninsula.

Not only did they remove the threat from the southeast of India, but they also expanded their colonial empire and increased their voice in Southeast Asia.

Whether it was a loss or a gain, this question was difficult to answer. But for the colonial government, it was definitely a gain.

Their rule of the Malacca Strait was challenged, but it was still in their hands. With the rich Indo-China Peninsula to exploit, of course, everyone's life would be more comfortable.

Those who saw it had a share. The colonial bureaucrats were able to make money, and naturally, the Far East Fleet had a share.

As the commander of the fleet, Admiral Michael was living a comfortable life. More than once, he lamented that coming to the Far East was the best decision he had ever made in his life.

Unfortunately, good days were always short-lived. Along with the tension in Europe, the situation in Nanyang also became turbulent.

The Far East Fleet was stronger than the Nanyang Fleet. If a war were to break out, Michelle was confident that they would win.

But as the situation in Europe changed, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands succumbed to the Holy Roman Empire, and the situation changed.

The advantage that the Far East Fleet had had was now flipped. One against four, no matter how good the Royal Navy was, it would be difficult for one to fight four.

The only thing that comforted Michael was that Britannia still had allies. With the power of the Japanese Navy, he still had the confidence to win.

However, a telegram from London shattered Admiral Michel's fantasies. The Government of London asked him to attack the Nanyang Fleet and annihilate their main force.

Looking at the big picture, there was nothing wrong with this order. Although fighting without a declaration was against the spirit of a knight, Michael was not a knight and had no moral fetishism.

The situation was so tense, the Nanyang Fleet could not be completely unprepared. It was difficult to attack, not to mention annihilate.

In his heart, General Michael complained more than once. If you want to attack, just say so. Why wait until the situation is out of control before giving the order? Do you think I'm stupid?

Fortunately, Michael did not know that the Government of London's original plan was for the Far East Fleet and the Pacific Fleet to attack together and annihilate Shinra's Nanyang Fleet and Central American Fleet.

Otherwise, it would not be a complaint, it would be impossible to carry out. A sneak attack also needed to consider the right time and place. It could not be carried out at any time or place.

If they were unlucky and the weather was not on their side at the appointed time, there would be a fog, or a huge storm, or the enemy was not in the predetermined battlefield. All of these could lead to failure.

Fortunately, the Navy was not made up of civil servants. There were professionals who stopped the farce in time.

In the end, the Far East Fleet and the Pacific Fleet received orders to attack and annihilate the enemy's main force.

Although it was still difficult, there was a possibility of success. As long as one side succeeded or failed, an all-out war would break out, and the other side could only fight head-on.

Compared to fighting the enemy head-on, General Michael was more willing to give it a try. If the sneak attack was successful, he would be the biggest hero of Britannia.

There was no other way. If the two overseas fleets of Shinra were not taken care of, the Royal Navy would not be able to concentrate their forces and put them into the war against the main force of the Shinra Navy.

The big bathtub in the Mediterranean Sea had two exits. If they wanted to force the Shinra Navy to come out and fight, they had to attack from two routes at the same time.

The Royal Navy was indeed powerful, but if they divided their forces into two routes, it would not be easy to suppress the Shinra Navy. If they were not careful, they might even lose their lives.

The only way was to cut off the wings of the Shinra Navy, eliminate their overseas fleets, and then concentrate their forces to suppress the local fleet.

Of course, this was General Michael's own judgment. In reality, there were more ways, such as blocking the Suez Canal and preventing the Shinra Navy from entering the Indian Ocean.

Michael looked at the map on the wall and fell into deep thought. He pointed at it from time to time, as if he was looking for a "place" to break out of the situation.

…

Since the opening of the Suez Canal, it carried the economic fate of Asia, Europe, and Africa.

Every year, tens of thousands of ships entered and exited the canal. The revenue from tolls alone was tens of millions. It was a well-deserved golden waterway.

No matter how tense the situation in Europe was, the number of ships entering and leaving the Suez Canal did not decrease. It gave off a sense of detachment.

Unfortunately, this kind of "detachment" was just an illusion. If one looked closely, they would find that the merchants along the coast and the merchants who came and went were all solemn.

Everyone knew the war was coming. Once the war broke out, the bustling Suez Canal would immediately quiet down.

There was already a long queue at the canal's security checkpoint. Following the tense situation, the security checkpoint of the Suez Canal also went up a notch.

As a merchant, Owen hated the tedious security checkpoint. However, he had to go through the inspection if he wanted to pass through the Suez Canal.

Seeing the staff constantly rummaging through boxes and cabinets, almost unloading the goods and reloading them, Owen could not stand it anymore. "These are ballast stones. There's no need to take them out one by one to check, right?"

This time, they were transporting porcelain and silk from the East. They were all relatively light products. To ensure the stability of the hull, ballast stones were naturally indispensable.

Now, they even wanted to inspect the stones. This level of caution was truly astounding.

The staff turned around and replied very seriously, "I'm sorry, Mr. Owen. This is a special period. Please cooperate with us.

This is not only for the safety of the canal, but also for the safety of your life and property. You must know that spies are everywhere. Maybe there will be a loophole, and they will take advantage of it. "

When he heard the word "spy", Owen decisively chose to shut his mouth and quietly waited for the result.

As a businessman, Owen was most afraid of being involved with spies. Once he was involved, even a thousand mouths would not be able to clear his name.

How could he get a spy to help prove that he was innocent?

Even if a spy was willing to testify, it would be useless. No one would believe him at all.

Even if there was insufficient evidence to convict him, the connections that he had accumulated for most of his life would 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 escape!"

The scene, which was originally orderly, was instantly thrown into chaos. Just as the canal police were taking action, two oil tankers suddenly started and rushed at full speed toward the entrance of the canal.

It happened too suddenly. Even though the canal guards reacted quickly and immediately activated the shore cannons to intercept them, they could only stop one ship. The other ship directly crashed into the lock.

After a loud noise, the warship began to sink slowly. At this moment, the surface of the river had been covered with leaking crude oil, and a pungent smell assaulted their nostrils.

Looking at the scene in front of him, Owen's mouth was wide open, but he did not know what to say. He could not help but think, "We've been tricked", "death soldiers", "we're going to suffer a huge loss" …

Owen was not the only one who was agitated. Whether it was the crew or the captain, all of them had ashen faces.

Although they saw it with their own eyes, they still did not know the specific extent of the damage to the canal.

Even if it was just a scratch, it would take time to dredge the river. At the very least, the wreckage of the two oil tankers had to be salvaged before it could be restored to navigation.

If they did not want to wait, they would take a detour to the Cape of Good Hope. These days, the ship operators were all smart people, and they naturally knew what to choose.

Seeing that a war for hegemony was about to break out, and that the war in South Africa had already started, it would definitely not end well for them to go over at this time.

The merchants were worried, and the expressions of the staff in the canal management office were even more exaggerated. All of them had ashen faces.

Under such tight security, the enemy still managed to steal the chicken, so they definitely had to take responsibility …