Another World: Naval Storm

"General, we have entered the Strait of Calais and we can see the Francois warships monitoring us ahead." An officer reported to the fleet commander, Lieutenant General Boll.

"Hmph, they are still so timid. Follow us if you want!" Lieutenant General Boll said disdainfully.

The intelligence of the Imperial fleet passing through the English Channel had been reported to the two countries of France and Talen in advance, but the concerns of the French were not unreasonable. If the Drakes acted rashly, all the coastal cities of France would be under the fire of the Drake fleet.

The Frank fleet, which was ordered to carry out the mission, finally waited for the Drake fleet in the dark night. The nervous Franks sent out the entire local naval fleet.

"Nine battleships are enough to send the Home Fleet to the bottom of the sea. The Green Water Navy Plan will make the Franconian Navy lag behind by 20 years!" Lieutenant General Jean Reno, commander of the Franconian Home Fleet, said bitterly. Now the Home Fleet has only 3 battleships and 4 cruisers available, and the remaining several old cruisers can only play a supporting role. The Francons are now weaker than ever.

The ally Rakshasa Empire is preparing to fight with Japan in the Far East. Even though Talen has secretly signed a friendly treaty with the Frans, the Frans have no confidence that they can win the war if they really go to war with the Draks.

You have to know that the Franks are facing the Drake Empire directly. Taren's warships will not go ashore to help attack the Drakes. The Tarens can hide back on the island when they see that things are not going well. With the English Channel, they will be very safe.

"Just escort them out. I believe the Drakes don't want to fight us directly. The large fleet can't be deployed in the English Channel." Jean-Renault ordered. The channel is very suitable for torpedo warfare. The Frankish Green Water Navy plans to launch a desperate charge here with the remaining 100 torpedo boats. Even the Daluo Tianxian can't stop it.

Talen's home fleet also showed up. Ten battleships of different levels, along with a bunch of cruisers and the Fran Mediterranean Fleet, sandwiched the Drake Fleet in the middle. Talen's home fleet was also dispatched. The Drake Fleet, which had been at ease, suddenly felt unprecedented pressure. Instead of slapping its opponent in the face, it was beaten up. This is the current situation of the Drake Fast Fleet.

"Speed ​​up! Speed ​​up! Cross the strait as soon as possible!" Vice Admiral Boll was no longer as calm as before. After all, if an accident occurred, he had no confidence in dealing with the two fleets.

"The Tarun people are here to demonstrate!" Lieutenant General Bol's face was gloomy and he had no idea what to do.

Ever since the Talen government received the notice, it decided to give the Drake people a little icing on the cake and let them feel what real power is.

The huge fleet in front of him really made Bol feel threatened by the Tarens. A squadron of the fleet stabbed Drake's fast fleet in the back. Although he could destroy this Taren squadron if a real fight broke out, the Tarens had more than just this one fleet.

"Their numbers are too terrifying, we will never catch up with them!" Fleet Chief of Staff Sigmund Freud said somewhat frustratedly.

"Cheer up! The Empire doesn't need trash. Major Leo provides new ideas for the Empire. Since we can't match them in numbers, let's compete in technology! The Imperial Navy used to be inferior to this fleet, but now we can defeat them with our fast fleet! This is progress. I believe the Empire will become stronger and stronger!" Vice Admiral Bol began to boost the fleet's lost morale. This is what a qualified commander does.

The injection of more coal made the Drake Empire's fast fleet faster and faster, and the two dreadnoughts cleared the way for the fleet at a speed of 20 knots.

"We can't let the Drakes get away from us!" Bolin, commander of the Talen Home Fleet, quickly discovered the actions of the fast fleet. Being competitive, he would not allow the Drakes to ride on his head.

"All warships maintain formation and let the Talens go play with the Drakes!" The Franks were open-minded. They only needed to complete the surveillance mission. Why keep the God of Plague around?

The high-speed design of the Drake battleship allowed them to gradually distance themselves from the Talen fleet. The battleship formation of Talen's home fleet had been left behind, leaving only Major General Allen and Talen's three Gibraltar-class large protected cruisers following behind.

After an hour of tug of war, the Franks couldn't stand it anymore. After scolding the Tarens and Drakes, they decided to go back and take a shower and sleep.

Major General Allen has already anticipated the dangerous situation that Talen will face in the future. "If we fight the Drakes in the future, the warships that can catch up with them will not be able to defeat them, and the warships that can defeat them will not be able to catch up with them! The maritime hegemony of the Kingdom of Talen has been shaken by the Drakes!"

This is why the Taren people are close to the Fran people. Fran has to face the powerful army of Draco on the mainland, and its investment in naval construction will inevitably decrease, which will not conflict with Taren's sea power.

But Drake is different. Driven by Emperor William's strong desire for the ocean, the navy's strength is expanding rapidly. Now it can pose a great threat to Taron locally. However, Taron has to maintain its huge overseas colonies and it is impossible for it to transfer all its forces back to its homeland.

"Report, a Gibraltar-class ship has become somewhat out of control due to the high-speed operation of its boiler. If it continues, there is a risk of fire and explosion!" The fleet chief of staff hinted not to pursue it any further.

The information that the Mediterranean Fleet watched the Drake Empire's fast fleet leave was quickly delivered to 10 Downing Street, Tarrant.

"I've had enough of the Drake provocations. Our first dreadnought must be launched by the end of 1904. If not, Bartlett, you'd better resign!" Prime Minister Balfour was finally enraged and no longer gave face to Bartlett.

"Yes! Mr. Prime Minister, I will urge the shipyard to improve its efficiency as soon as possible!" Bartlet has planned to inspect the shipyard once a month to see who dares to harm Taren's interests.

"Our warships are like stars in the sky, but they can't catch up with a few Drake warships. I don't want to listen to any more nonsense! I will meet His Majesty the King tomorrow, and the Royal Navy needs to expand its forces to deal with the threat!" said Balfour.

The fast fleet of about 20 knots made the battleships, which generally had a speed of less than 18 knots, helpless, and the other Talen cruisers that caught up were no match for the battle cruisers. If there were multiple fast fleets that destroyed Talen's transportation lines around the world, then the Talen Kingdom, which relied on imports for prosperity, would be trapped.

"Prime Minister, we support your decision!" The First Lord of the Admiralty, Bartlett, and the Deputy First Lord of the Admiralty, Admiral Gavin, both wanted to kneel down and sing the song of conquest in front of Prime Minister Balfour. Both were traditionalists in the Royal Navy and firm supporters of Tallen's "two-power standard" policy. As long as there was a proposal to strengthen the Royal Navy, they would never object.

"The Drakes will continue to expand their military. The German Emperor has great ambitions." Foreign Minister Lansdowne was very worried. He knew the Drakes very well, especially the ruler of this country!

"Then continue to expand the army. Wearing down the Drakes is also a way. The Taren people need a sense of security!" I always feel that there are unruly people in the island countries who want to harm me, so I am wary of any country.