Seven Seas Beacon Fire

"The humiliating defeat at Yuanshan has become the biggest topic of conversation in the West these past few days. Our special correspondent, Fast Wallace, interviewed former West Point Superintendent Albert Leo Podmills. Mr. Podmills stated that the Navy's performance in such a disgraceful manner is utterly shameless..."

Admiral Benson slammed the newspaper to the ground: "Son of the beach! Now anyone can comment on our navy!"

Chapter 91 Attacking Where the Enemy Must Rescue (4)

Faced with the enraged Admiral Benson, the officers of the Third Fleet of the United States Navy exchanged bewildered glances, all remaining silent in fear.

It's no wonder Admiral Benson was so angry. He was angry at the reporters who exaggerated the Navy's defeats, and he was also angry at the so-called military commentators who were not even qualified to make any irresponsible remarks.

When did the superintendent of West Point become able to evaluate the success or failure of our navy? Can you even swim?

When did the second-class peasants of the army become qualified to point fingers at the navy?

Admiral Benson doesn't consider himself a sore loser, nor is he incapable of accepting criticism. However, in his view, many media reports are exaggerated or even fabricated. These reporters, chasing hot topics and big news, are like vultures chasing carrion, completely disregarding the hard work of the naval officers and men throughout the night. In their reports, the Navy has become a complacent, cowardly, inefficient, and incompetent force.

However, the officers and men of the United States Navy also had something to say. It wasn't that we didn't take precautions at the landing site. Perhaps some of our arrangements that night could have been done better in retrospect. But the problem is, what kind of tactical arrangements could be perfect when facing hundreds of enemy torpedo boats rampaging across the sea?

When facing a typhoon of level 10 or above, is there any real difference between using an umbrella and wearing a raincoat?

In Benson’s view, the navy was indeed responsible for the landing at Wonsan Port, but this responsibility could not be borne entirely by the navy. Putting aside everything else, how were those hundreds of torpedo boats transferred from various ports in the southern part of the Ming Empire to Vladivostok? How many agencies, departments, and people were involved in this troop mobilization process?

The intelligence agencies of the United States of Colombia were completely unaware of this incident. Who should bear the responsibility for this?

In fact, this is why Benson was not replaced by President Wilson after the defeat, because the responsibility for the defeat could not be entirely borne by the Navy; the responsibility of the intelligence agencies in this process was no less than that of the Navy.

However, it would be unfair to blame the intelligence agencies for this. The amount of information during wartime is vast, and extracting truly useful information from it is a very complex matter, and sometimes it even requires a bit of luck.

And there's another embarrassing reason—after the Battle of Yuanshan, the intelligence agencies of the United States of Colombia realized that they had indeed obtained some clues through various channels beforehand. However, at that time, the intelligence agencies' main focus and manpower were on contacting a group of officials within the Ming Empire... Yes, that's right, the same group led by Qin Zhaoming. The intelligence agencies of the United States of Colombia were planning a big heist, and as we all know, they messed up.

Of course, at this point, it's pointless to discuss how to divide the blame. The military and political leaders of the United States of Colombia are more aware than the ordinary people and soldiers of the time that the United States of Colombia is now in a predicament.

To put it bluntly, while the United States of Colombia is indeed the world's most powerful industrial nation and the country with the strongest overall strength, it is not strong enough to actually swallow up the great Eastern power, and it may not even be able to take over the sphere of influence of the great Eastern power outside the mainland.

However, the United States of Colombia is still making a final effort toward this goal. Whether it is to end the war in a relatively calm and advantageous state, to lay the foundation for the United States of Colombia to intervene in the situation of the World Island in the future, or to give an explanation to its own people, they need to take over the Eastern Capital.

However, such a heavy responsibility was quite difficult for Benson and the Navy, which was eager to avenge their defeat. After all, everyone knew that the spearhead of the Battle of Tokyo would be borne by the Army and Marine Corps, while the Navy would play an important but often overlooked supporting role in this crucial battle—protecting supply lines and providing fire support. You can't say that such miscellaneous tasks are unimportant, but you have to admit that some roles are easy to achieve results and are easy for people to see, while others can only result in "skilled warriors achieving no great feats".

Just like in another world during World War II, how important was the Atlantic anti-submarine warfare conducted by the Royal Navy in the Atlantic? It was extremely important. It was related to the survival of the British themselves and the course of the entire European battlefield. Whether it was military aid to the Soviets or the counter-offensive in the later stages of World War II, it can be said that it was all based on the successful Atlantic anti-submarine warfare.

However, compared to the Pacific theater, which was as intense as a collision between Mars and Earth, the Atlantic anti-submarine warfare not only seemed dull and uninteresting, but was also often overlooked.

But what can be done about it?

Everyone knows that the remaining main warships of the Ming Dynasty's Royal Navy dare not go out to sea to seek a decisive battle with the main force of the United States of Colombia's Navy. The Navy can only watch as the Army becomes the absolute protagonist in this crucial decisive battle.

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After taking a considerable amount of time to calm himself down, General David Benson straightened his uniform, put on his hat, and prepared to go to the deck to greet General Pershing.

The United States of Colombia has brought in another batch of veteran troops who have experienced the European War. These elite veterans, who are among the best in the United States of Colombia's army, will become the main force in the next offensive against the Eastern Capital. The Third Fleet is now doing the job that the Seventh Fleet, which they used to look down on, is doing – assisting the United States of Colombia's army.

The 38th Fleet's current mission is to transport these troops, who have just crossed the ocean from the mainland to Yingzhou and completed their acclimatization training, to Yanping Island. The United States Army has already amassed more than 35 troops around Yanping, which can be considered the largest army corps assembled by the United States Army since the Civil War. Before this, even though the United States had sent more troops to the European theater than this number, these troops had never been organized into an army corps for combat.

On the deck of the USS Arizona, flagship of the 38th Fleet, Admiral Benson and Admiral Pershing, whom they hadn't seen for many days, shook hands with mixed feelings. They were now old acquaintances. After basic pleasantries, they went to the officers' meeting room on the Arizona. There, Admiral Benson sat down and said with a hint of resentment, "I don't understand why you insist on taking on Dongdu, this tough nut to crack. We failed twice before, which already shows how difficult it is. Why can't we follow my plan, with our navy providing cover, landing in multiple locations south of Yanping, forcing them to fortify the entire coastline of Yanping Island, thus dispersing their forces before..."

“Using the navy’s mobility to wear down the army on long sea routes…” General Pershing could only shake his head upon hearing this: “David, first of all, let me state that I have no other intentions, but I think your navy’s understanding of ground warfare is probably still stuck in the 9th century. The deployment of the navy to wear down the army on the coastline by relying on mobility was basically no longer in use after the railway networks of various countries were built by the end of the 9th century.”

“I understand what you mean, I’m not that ignorant! In the pre-railway era, the army had to rely on its own feet and livestock to travel, while the navy could rely on galleons for mobility. In the last century, under good weather and moderate road conditions, a Prussian division could only march a maximum of four pils (30 kilometers) a day, and the speed of long-distance marches dropped to two pils (15 kilometers) a day.”

Galleons have an average speed of four knots and can travel about 180 kilometers in a day and night. That's eight times the normal marching speed and six times the forced marching speed. I understand what you mean: now that we have railways, the army's mobility is no different from ours, and even faster than our transport ships.

However, the attack capabilities of our fleet now are absolutely incomparable to those of the sailing era. We can use cannons to cut off their coastal railway lines, forcing them to leave the fast-moving railways and rely solely on their two legs to travel!

If we choose the right landing site, and the enemy's main force is more than 200 kilometers away from the landing point, the landing force will have freedom of movement for at least ten days. Even if the enemy's vanguard is lightly armed, they will have to abandon their artillery and supplies, and our navy will always provide you with the most reliable artillery support!

This gives us enough time to control a large enough area, enough room to maneuver, and perhaps even to seize a port. All of this means establishing a strategic bridgehead, and you know, in many cases, this is enough to determine the outcome of a war…

“General Benson!” Pershing finally interrupted Benson, who was becoming increasingly agitated: “I know the entire navy is holding its breath, and you all want to prove yourselves, but if I may be frank, after the defeat at Wonsan, both the army and the country have developed a psychological aversion to organizing large-scale amphibious landing operations. If the navy’s guns were truly that reliable, we wouldn’t have experienced defeat in Silla. The navy’s cannons can only threaten part of the railways along the coastline; it’s unrealistic to expect to cut off the enemy’s railway transport with naval guns.”

Admiral Benson fell silent. Although he had indeed brushed up on his army-related knowledge when he rethought the naval operations after the Battle of Yuanshan, it now seemed that trying to compete with Pershing, a general who was quite well-known in the European theater, was indeed overestimating his abilities.

“I know, David, what you’re most anxious about right now, but I think you don’t need to be discouraged for now. I think your fleet will have a chance to shine next,” Pershing reassured him. “At least one thing we can be sure of now is that our adversary has now been replaced by an extremely tough government, and they are led by a rather iron-fisted prince. In the future, he is very likely to become the new monarch of this great Eastern power, so I think he will not sit idly by and watch us launch an attack on Dongdu. He will definitely try to find a way to contain our forces.”

Dongdu is the most important city on the entire Yanping Island, a city that the enemy absolutely cannot give up. Compared to Yanping, this city is like Paris to Gaul. You just asked me why we must take on this tough nut to crack. It's because our performance in fighting the enemy in the jungle was indescribable. In comparison, urban warfare is something we are more suited to.

Moreover, as long as we attack this city, it will be like kicking the enemy's ball hard. They will definitely react, whether it is their troops in other parts of Yeonpyeong Island coming to reinforce, or the enemy's surviving naval forces coming to attack and contain them. The core of the battlefield will unfold around this city.

I know you might have thought my proposed battle plan would limit the navy's opportunities, but I want to say that unless we can quickly capture Tokyo, once we enter a protracted war, I think the enemy navy will definitely join in. I just hope that your 38th Fleet won't feel too much pressure then.”

"If that's the case, then that's exactly what I wanted. I'm afraid of the pressure? I'm afraid they won't come!" Benson gritted his teeth and said, "Of the 12 battleships in the 38th Fleet, there are 7 powerful standard super-dreadnought battleships. Although our three powerful Colorado-class battleships equipped with 15-inch guns are in the 39th Fleet, our 38th Fleet now has an absolute advantage in manpower to deal with the few operational battleships of the Ming army. If the Ming army dares to join in the fun, we will definitely give them a lesson they will never forget!"

"Yes."

Seeing that Benson had rekindled his fighting spirit, General Pershing was pleased that his earlier remarks had worked, even though he himself didn't know if his deduction was truly correct or if the enemy navy would really dare to harass him. However, for him, rekindling the fighting spirit of Benson and the current Federal Pacific Fleet was more important than anything else.

“Ancient Eastern military books record that ‘attack the place where the enemy will definitely go to rescue’, so that victory can be achieved more quickly. I have been studying our opponents for a while now, and this time we will use Eastern wisdom to defeat them.”

Chapter Ninety-Two already stated that Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a military textbook for East Asia.

"Tell me, is this what you call 'borrowing arrows with straw boats' or 'the empty city stratagem'?"

Looking at the several large ships undergoing renovations at the dock, Xu Yueming sighed and casually asked an old man over 50 years old next to him.

Akiyama paused for a moment, then realized that the young man beside him was talking to him. Although Akiyama's military rank was much higher than that of the young man in front of him, it was clear that as a high-ranking officer of the Shogunate Navy who had fled to the Ming Dynasty, he currently had no warships at his disposal, few soldiers to command, and even his military rank was questionable in terms of international recognition.

It's obvious to anyone that this young man has been highly regarded by His Highness the Crown Prince recently, especially after the Battle of Wonsan. From a traditional perspective, this young man and a group of naval officers personally selected by the Crown Prince can almost be considered his "students," "retainers," or "servants." Among them, this young man surnamed Xu is the one most valued by the Crown Prince.

Because this young man is indeed very capable. For example, the grandson has now entrusted him with the supervision of the conversion of these civilian ships. Although this kind of work does not show much of a naval commander's professional ability, the kind of work that requires dealing with multiple departments can really demonstrate a person's other abilities, such as communication skills and coordination skills.

These abilities are, in fact, among the essential qualities of an excellent commander.

In short, His Highness the Crown Prince believes that Xu Yueming has the potential to be a great general!

Therefore, when faced with such a casual question from a young man, Akiyama thought about it seriously for a while—the renovation work that was taking place at the dock in front of them was actually turning several civilian cruise ships into things that looked like warships.

This may sound a bit far-fetched, but in fact it is not difficult to make changes. The navy identifies a warship at a distance by recognizing its silhouette. So in the classic movie "Pearl Harbor", you can see that after completing the first round of bombing of Pearl Harbor, the pilots of the old Yingzhou Navy carrier-based aircraft began to calculate their results by looking at the silhouettes of warships on the blackboard. During the mission, some pilots in the back seat also had warship identification booklets, on which the warships were naturally also silhouettes.

The main reason for relying on silhouettes to identify warships is that when identifying a warship from a distance, many details of the warship are simply impossible to observe, and often all that can be seen is indeed a silhouette.

Therefore, the identification of warships basically relies on the "prominent features" of different silhouettes. For example, the standard battleship of the United States Navy and the Dingyuan-class battleship of the Ming Dynasty both had four triple-mounted main guns, but the biggest difference in the silhouettes of the two warships is that one uses a birdcage-shaped mast while the other uses a triangular mast. In addition, all the turrets of the standard battleship of the United States Navy are of the negative-back structure, and the distance between the turrets is very close.

These characteristics allow for the clear differentiation of different warships from a distance.

Li Che targeted this point, aiming to create a "fictional fleet" in a short period of time.

Just like in another timeline, the reason why the Shane sisters mistook Renown for Nelson was mainly because, for a long time, the bridge of the Nelson-class battleships, with its tall superstructure resembling an office building, was very unique in the world, and it was also different from the bridges of all other capital ships in the Royal Navy of Victoria.

Therefore, for a long time, this style of bridge became a unique symbol of the Nelson-class battleships, which is why the Scharn sisters mistook the Maid for Nelson (of course, another reason is that the Maid fired three shells in a half-salvo of six guns, while the Nelson also had three turrets).

The ships currently undergoing modifications at the dock are being refitted to resemble other active battleships. This includes adding large triangular masts or various "weapons," such as fake turrets.

This sounds like a huge undertaking, since it's almost like rebuilding the superstructure above the deck, but in reality, the renovation wasn't a huge undertaking at all. The reason is simple: all they needed to do was be able to disguise a "silhouette".

The renovation process doesn't even require steel; simply using wood to frame canvas can create many interesting effects on the exterior.

This means that this kind of renovation work does not require too many resources or too much time, and it is a project that can be quickly completed at the dock in a short period of time.

As Li Che had emphasized at the military conference, the strategic deception against the United States of Colombia's navy would begin when the four battleships he currently possessed, along with these "disguised battleships," formed a single fleet of 12 ships and sailed out of the port.

This fleet will naturally be easily discovered by the United States Navy of Colombia, and this fleet will also do some things to "prove" that it is not a fake, such as using large-caliber main guns, which are only available on battleships, to bombard enemy forces in the coastal areas. At that time, for the United States of Colombia, especially for the United States Navy of Colombia, the definite information they will receive will be that, on the one hand, their own scouts have discovered the approximate size and movement of the enemy fleet, and on the other hand, the army reports that they have been bombarded by large-caliber naval guns, which, after on-site investigation, are confirmed to be at least 12-inch heavy guns.

So, how would the United States of Colombia view such a fleet under these circumstances?

Facing a Ming fleet with 12 capital ships, could the 38th Fleet guarantee a complete victory in a gunboat duel? Although the 38th Fleet had seven super-dreadnoughts, it would still be difficult to achieve this. If the United States of Colombia could be strengthened in the process, then the United States of Colombia would have no choice but to draw on the 39th Fleet.

39舰队的超无畏舰数量是不如38舰队的，但是39舰队相较于38舰队来说他们所装备的最好的战列舰的质量要更好——整整4条装备15英寸舰炮的科罗拉多级战列舰，这款从不列颠进口了马克一型15英寸舰炮的强大战列舰。目前拥有在欧洲的巴登级战列舰更好的防护，15英寸的舰炮拥有比哥伦比亚合众国自己的14英寸舰炮更强的火力。

Although replacing the triple 14-inch guns with twin 15-inch guns sacrificed firepower density, it was still considered an important firepower upgrade. Therefore, four powerful Colorado-class battleships were assigned to the 39th Fleet. As the most powerful "jailers" of the United States Navy of Colombia, one of the main tasks of the 39th Fleet was to keep a close watch on the remaining Ming fleet in Surabaya Harbor.

But what if the 38th Fleet encounters an enemy far stronger than anticipated?

Will the 39th Fleet stand idly by?

Thinking about it this way, it seems somewhat similar to the "borrowing arrows with straw boats" and "empty city strategy," but they are not quite the same.

"I find it difficult to find a suitable allusion in Romance of the Three Kingdoms to draw an analogy to this. In terms of disguise, it is somewhat like the 'borrowing arrows with straw boats' strategy, but we do not need the enemy's cannonballs. Fundamentally, it is also a kind of 'empty city at sea' strategy," Qiushan replied earnestly. His answer, like his personality, was watertight in most situations.

After listening to what he said, Xu Yueming looked at the modified ship, which was already taking the shape of a "battleship," and couldn't help but sigh: "I never thought that one day we would actually prepare for an operation in the style of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. I had heard before that Romance of the Three Kingdoms was an important reference for the staff of many countries and regions in East Asia when formulating battle plans. I used to think it was just a joke, but now it seems that it might actually be true."

"If that's the case, does that mean our support for Dongdu was also fake? Did His Highness's initial plan was to salvage the fleet in Sishui Port?" After figuring out what the entire disguised fleet was for, Akiyama said with some worry, "Then, wouldn't our support for Dongdu also be fake?"

"Pulling back your fist is to make the next punch more powerful. If we can salvage the fleet in Surabaya Harbor, then in the future we can try to force the United States of Colombia's navy to retreat head-on. At that time, we may not even need to fight. I think the United States of Colombia's navy and even the entire United States of Colombia will make a wiser choice at that time—as long as we can salvage the fleet in Surabaya Harbor, the United States of Colombia alone will not be able to completely defeat us in this war."

Xu Yueming highly approved of Li Che's latest battle plan. In terms of command style, he liked the feeling of making the enemy's troops dance to his command through flexible maneuvering and strategic deception.

"Xu Jun, did His Highness really come up with this battle plan himself?" Qiu Shan asked. In fact, even now, Qiu Shan found it hard to believe that such a battle plan could have been proposed by Li Che, a complete "outsider".

What was going through His Highness's mind? How could he come up with such a battle plan that, at first glance, seems far-fetched, but upon closer inspection, is logically consistent?

Of course, Li Che wouldn't say that he got his inspiration from Operation Thunder-Cerbrus. It could be said that the entire operation plan was a localized version of Operation Thunder-Cerbrus, both of which involved transferring important naval forces under the noses of the enemy's heavy forces.

Of course, there are still many differences between the two. First of all, the Leitanian Navy in Operation Thunder-Thurbrus received strong air support from the Grand Duke Meyer. At sea, the Shane sisters were high-speed ships capable of reaching 30 knots, which was faster than most of the large capital ships in the Royal Navy at the time.

However, the biggest problem for the Ming fleet in Surabaya Harbor was probably its speed. A speed of 20 knots was quite dangerous. If the United States of Colombia could react in time, the enemy fleet might turn around and launch a counterattack. Given the condition of the fleet in Surabaya Harbor, if the enemy fleet caught up with them at sea, the outcome would likely be very bad.

Therefore, the strategic deception phase at the very beginning of the entire operation plan is extremely important. The deception fleet must find a way to move the 39th Fleet in such a way that even if they react, they will not have time to catch up.

"Of course, it was His Highness's own idea. If I were to help His Highness formulate the battle plan, it would probably be a completely different story..." Xu Yueming said somewhat dismissively.

"Oh?" Hearing this, Akiyama became interested: "Then may I ask, Mr. Xu, if you were to formulate the battle plan, how would you arrange it?"

"If we use the Three Kingdoms as an analogy..." Xu Yueming had just opened his mouth when Qiushan couldn't help but want to ask directly why their battle plans were always linked to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Isn't this book just a historical novel? Why does it seem like you're all using it as a military textbook for East Asia?

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At this very moment, Li Che, who was being discussed by Xu Yueming and Qiushan, was holding a fresh intelligence report delivered by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. It was a very valuable report related to the situation in Europe. Behind him, Tokugawa Akiko was quietly massaging Li Che's temples. The little princess of the shogunate now looked completely like a maid.

After the Battle of Motoyama Port, not only Tokugawa Akiko, but the entire Tokugawa shogunate that had fled there felt as if the clouds had parted to reveal the moon.

Originally, this was just a suggestion from someone within the Tokugawa Shogunate, to learn from the Habsburgs in the West and use this method to get closer to Prince Jin. However, it now seems that even the Crown Prince himself is a pleasant surprise for the Tokugawa Shogunate.

The Prince of Jin is the current powerful figure, while this grandson represents the future powerful figure. Although the current Tokugawa Shogunate has not yet gained any direct benefits from this, at least the current Shogun, after so long in exile, feels for the first time that he may really have a chance to return to Japan.

Chapter Ninety-Three: I Prefer Warships and Giant Cannons to Beautiful Women 1

Although the Jinyiwei's performance in this world war was somewhat unworthy of its reputation as the world's earliest intelligence agency, it was not the "incompetent Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics" or "unified military intelligence group." Before this, it was possible that its main focus was not on the European part, so it was able to be "sneaked" by the British in the intelligence war (sounding like Little John Khan). Now that it has focused its attention on its intelligence network, it is still relatively well-informed.

The most important of these is probably the allocation of the Leitania High Seas Fleet.

Just like in the other timeline he had traveled to, the Leitanian High Seas Fleet was seized according to the armistice agreement. On November 21, 918, 74 Leitanian warships, escorted by the Allied fleet, entered Scapa Flow. All cannons had been deactivated, the number of sailors was reduced to a minimum, and the fuel they carried was barely enough to keep the fleet from leaving the waters around the Orkney Islands.

These Leitanian high seas fleet warships that sailed into Scapa Flow would be divided among the victorious powers as part of the Leitanian war reparations. In another world, negotiations to draft the Treaty of Versailles were not going well. The Leitanians believed they had not lost the war and saw the peace talks as their last chance to fight for their rights. However, Britain did not think so.

Finally, the British government issued an ultimatum to the Leitanian government: either accept everything by noon on June 21st, or face war again. The Leitanians decided to submit, but needed two days for "decent preparations." However, no one kept the latest developments in the negotiations informed of the fleet commander, von Ruth, in Scapa Flow. Seeing reports in the local British newspapers about the "near collapse of armistice negotiations" and the "possibility of a return to military hostilities," the Leitanian officers believed that negotiations had broken down, hostilities had resumed, and the only chance to prevent their fleet from falling into enemy hands was to scuttle it before the enemy acted, thus preventing their own warships from turning against their homeland.

On June 21, 919, the British Fleet departed Scapa Flow for training. At 10:30, all Leitanian warships received a pre-arranged signal—the rainbow—from the flagship cruiser HMS Emden. Officers ordered the raising of the prohibited fleet ensign, battle flag, and Z signal flag, and the opening of sea valves and watertight hatches. Thus, the once-renowned Leitanian High Seas Fleet completely disappeared from the stage of history.

In this current timeline, Li Che is unsure whether Operation Rainbow will continue, as Operation Rainbow in the other timeline largely stemmed from information asymmetry between the two sides. However, the timeline for Operation Rainbow in the other timeline has not yet arrived. The main fleet of the Leitanian High Seas Fleet is currently anchored in Scapa Flow, and the Leitanian High Seas Fleet in this world possesses ships with greater combat power than the Leitanian High Seas Fleet in the other world.

Not only were the completed ships the Mackensen and York added, but compared to the fact that only a few Bavarian-class battleships equipped with 380mm guns in history could be considered super-dreadnoughts, King Kaiser and Derfflinger in this timeline were both true super-dreadnoughts, equipped with the same 330mm guns as the Ming Dynasty Royal Navy, the only difference being that the shells used by the Leitanian High Seas Fleet were lighter and had a higher muzzle velocity.

However, these were, after all, the cream of the crop from decades of building up the world's second-largest navy, and the result of more than a decade of large-scale construction. These warships were coveted by many countries, including Gaul, Syracuse, and now the Federation of Colombia.

The Gauls and Syracuses are simply doing so because their national strength has lagged behind other top-tier nations in recent years. Not only is their investment in the navy limited, but they have also fallen behind the world's leading technological development trends. Under such circumstances, if they could acquire some of the Leitanian High Seas Fleet's warships, they could greatly enhance their naval strength.

The allure of the battlecruisers in the Leitanian High Seas Fleet was undeniable for Gaul and Syracuse, two countries lacking any high-speed ships. Gaul, in particular, was limited by the length of its shipyards, which meant that even with money, they couldn't build battlecruisers—they simply didn't have long enough dry docks.

However, compared to Gaul and Syracuse, the Colombian Federation now covets these warships even more. After all, if it can acquire the warships of the Letania High Seas Fleet, it can make up for the losses that the Colombian Federation has suffered in the past few years by losing all of its battlecruisers. On the other hand, it can also quickly widen the gap in naval size between the two countries and change the current situation where the two sides are evenly matched.

The United States of Colombia might even have harbored the idea of ​​using the ships of the Leitania High Seas Fleet they acquired to simulate the warships of the Ming Dynasty's Royal Navy. After all, the Ming and Germany had a great deal of technological exchange before, from large-caliber cannons to armor steel. Theoretically, the United States of Colombia's navy could indeed learn from this.

This intelligence is crucial and also very tricky, because after thinking about it for a long time, Li Che realized that he currently has no means to effectively intervene in this matter.

The only suspense now is whether the Britons are willing to hand over these ships and distribute them now. Li Che is well aware that the relationship between Britain and the Federation is not yet so harmonious. The two sides have not yet reached the level of a symbiotic father-son relationship in later generations... sorry, this is the relationship between the United States and Israel, not the harmonious father-son relationship of later generations.

For the British, any navy that is second in the world is a potential enemy of the Royal Navy of Victoria. When the Leitanian High Seas Fleet was the second in the world, the Leitanians were the biggest hypothetical enemy. When the Federal Navy was the second in the world, the Federal Navy naturally became one of the important hypothetical enemies of the Royal Navy.

The current Victorian Empire is not ready to relinquish its position as the world's superpower, so anyone who tries to challenge this throne, whether a current ally or a former rebel, will be tripped up by the Britons.

Li Che felt that the Britons would likely use delaying tactics to deal with the Federation's demands, but ultimately, all hopes couldn't be placed on the Britons. Therefore, he was well aware that the next phase of the Navy's operations was imminent. However, regardless of the circumstances, the Navy's operation this time depended on two factors. The first was naturally the ships undergoing conversion in the port—a total of eight requisitioned merchant ships, which were currently being transformed into battleships.

In Li Che's view, this felt like FLJ dressing up in armor to cosplay as a female general. From a distance, the armor might be intimidating, but once you get closer and see the plastic cosplay props clearly, this kind of female general cosplay, apart from increasing attack speed, could not possibly play any role in a real battle.

Fortunately, in addition to these cosplay battleships, real sea behemoths are also operating alongside them. The Navy has stated that in addition to the four currently combat-capable dreadnoughts and super-dreadnoughts, it is expected that one or two more capital ships will be able to restore their combat capability in the next two weeks.

These real behemoths will be mixed with those disguised battleships to form a fleet, using real large-caliber naval guns to conceal the identities of the disguised battleships, in order to achieve the purpose of strategic deception.

Besides waiting for the equipment, there is another very important point, which is waiting for the weather.

In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, both Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang were waiting for the east wind before the Battle of Red Cliffs. Historical records from the east show that many battles seemed to hinge on the element of wind in determining victory or defeat.