Dominate the Country

It is impossible to reverse the titles of the Chrysanthemum Family and the Tokugawa Family. When the Chrysanthemum Family gave up the title of "Emperor", they finalized the title of the King of Japan. And the Tokugawa Family did not have such an intention. If they really wanted to toss the Chrysanthemum Family on this point, they would not want the "King of Japan", but would set their eyes on the "King of Yamato"!

And Chen Han's support for the Tokugawa Shogunate is already great enough. Two Japans and two kings. The Chrysanthemum Family is no longer the Emperor, who dares to say that the King of Japan must be greater than the King of Japan?

Chen Han not only created two relatively equal Japans in terms of land, but also created two equal kings in terms of titles...

Although Sakai Tadashibu is a pro-China person, he is not a pro-China person. Facing those people in the "pro-China" group who bow to China, he is also very disgusted; however, Sakai Tadashibu's brain is very rational, knowing that today's Japan can only seek greater benefits by sticking closely to China and relying on China.

Japan's geographical location determines that they must be China's younger brother and must be China's vanguard. This is the rational choice.

"Sir, this is the dinner invitation sent by the Bank of China..."

"Hello, great!"

Sakai Tadashi's frowning brows relaxed. The Bank of China is the god of wealth of the Chinese Empire. Japan wants to go to war against the Falkland Islands, and military expenses still have to rely on support from China.

Especially for many Chinese banks, whether public or private, the Bank of China is a mountain hanging over their heads. And these banks themselves involve all aspects and are very needed by the shogunate. For example, how many of China's large shipping companies have not been invested by these banks?

In fact, the Japanese are not worrying too much. The Merina Kingdom on the island of Madagascar, like the Abyssinian Empire, has been flirting with Europeans for many days. It's just that the Merina Kingdom is not a monotheistic country like the Abyssinian Empire, so it has some inherent deficiencies. However, under the threat of the Japanese, the bottom line of the Merina Kingdom retreated again and again, and the Europeans did need to establish a piece of land and a transit station in the Falkland Islands to maintain the connection between the South Pacific and Europe.

But they also had to consider China's reaction. Madagascar is the territory of the Japanese, China's younger brother, and it is the land promised by China to Japan. If the Europeans come to interfere, they will cross the line. You must know that the Falkland Islands are in the east of Africa, not the west.

According to the invisible tacit understanding between the East and the West, East Africa belongs to China, and the European territory is in West Africa.

In the autumn and winter season, the north has already been snowing and flying, but in the north and south, it is still midsummer. The temperature in South Africa is neither cold nor hot, more than ten degrees or early twenty degrees, which is comfortable.

It's just that in the vast ocean, whether it is the European ships, or the ships of Chen Han and Japan, the atmosphere is not ordinary tense. The news from South Africa has not yet reached Nanjing and Edo, and no one on either side knows that European ships have begun to cross Cape Town, cross the Cape of Good Hope, and move towards the eastern waters.

Chen Han and Japanese ships are doing their best to intercept and track Europeans. How many of the latter's ships are going to the Falkland Islands and how many are going to New Zealand? Even if one ship is missed, it will cause a lot of trouble for the Japanese.

Moreover, the black Shuli in West Africa have been stirring recently, which will cause a lot of trouble for Chen Han.

In Tanzania, the Black Kingdom to be established has already prepared for war. Regardless of whether the Abyssinian Empire will really attack the Black Kingdom, the latter must be careful and alert.

John Pompeii Nyerere, who has gone through untold hardships to ascend to the throne of king, does not want to capsize in the gutter. As a veteran on the battlefield, he will not take the Abyssinian Empire lightly.

The reason why this guy can step by step to his current position is all due to his caution.

The battle for the throne of the Black Kingdom is like an enhanced version of the Kowloon War. In the first three years after the dust settled, Nyerere had never topped the standings, and even rarely appeared in the top three.

But those black people who had sat on the top of the list early on stumbled one by one. They became the target of public criticism and not only had to face the enemy's open guns, but also had to be careful to guard against the hidden arrows from their own people. Those who were unlucky fell directly, and those who were lucky were also seriously injured. On the contrary, Nyerere, who had been hiding his true colors for a long time, finally won the throne of the Black Kingdom with a greater advantage.

Nyerere is now too distracted to think about his previous calculations. He was thinking about how to ask China for a Chinese surname, just like the Huns were given the surname Liu by Liu Han and the Turks were given the surname Li by Li Tang. Nyerere felt that he also had to have a surname of "Chen" given by the emperor, so that the throne under his buttocks could sit more firmly.

But now Nyerere's heart is all on Abyssinia in the north...

...

In the middle of the tenth month of the lunar calendar, on the west side of the South Indian Ocean.

Two small motor sailing ships are still wandering like ghosts in the waters east of Mauritius. Yesterday, a fourth-class sailing warship just delivered a batch of supplies and ammunition from the Falkland Islands, and took away a batch of patients and prisoners.

Mauritius is located 800 kilometers east of Madagascar Island. It is a volcanic island country surrounded by coral reefs. The island has a variety of landforms. The coastal area is a narrow plain, the central part is a plateau mountain, and there are many mountain ranges and isolated peaks. The entire country consists of Mauritius Island and other small archipelagos. It is a territory controlled by Europeans a long time ago.

Mauritius and Reunion, 200 kilometers away, can be said to be the two most important bases for Europeans in the South Indian Ocean.

There are not many islands in the Indian Ocean, let alone the South Indian Ocean, which is more empty than the North Indian Ocean.

These two small motor sailboats are specifically used to monitor Mauritius Island. There are also two surveillance ships on Reunion Island. The four ships are considered fixed points.

After maintaining a certain distance from the island, they keep circling around the island. They only need to reach a fixed sea area at a fixed time to receive supplies, just like not long ago.

However, this place is far away from Africa and far away from Chen Han’s naval base. These two ships must be careful and cautious no matter whether it is day or night. If they are hit by large European warships, the other party only needs to replace the Union Jack with the Spanish or Portuguese flag, or even the American Stars and Stripes, and then it will be fun.

Even if one of the two ships escapes, the situation will be bad at a glance. Because Chen Han has no evidence at all, and he has no evidence.

At this time, the Jingyang had raised the main sail, but the steam engine was still turned off, and the whole ship was drifting at a speed of 4 knots. The Laiyang, which was one level larger than the Jingyang, was patrolling in the sea area southeast of the Jingyang. Both ships were bored and waiting for work. Except for the lookouts on their masts!

Of course, hunters and prey are not so absolute. The Jingyang and Laiyang will certainly be hunted as prey by large sailing warships, and they can also hunt small European ships at the same time, whether they are warships or merchant ships.

The lookout of the Jingyang found a tall mast in the northwest sea area, followed by the second, the third...

"A three-masted sailing ship was found in the northwest! Flying the French flag! Speed ​​5 knots!" The lookout pulled the alarm bell hard.

The captain of the ship who received the report immediately ordered the steam engine to start and raised the orange warning flag at the same time. At this time, the Laiyang also found the ship and immediately turned left to approach the Jingyang to form a double-ship formation.

"Report, that ship has raised a signal flag!"

The second report from the lookout followed, and the captain on the Jingyang pursed his lips, "Damn it, I dare to guarantee that there must be more than one ship on the opposite side!"

The first mate had already run up to the poop at this time, holding a telescope and observing carefully. At this time, the weather on the sea was clear and the visibility was extremely high. He saw the actions of the French at a glance. Perhaps the people on that ship were not French.

"The other party must be gathering accomplices! Is the engine started?"

But even if the steam engine is started, it will take some time to warm up. But the Jingyang and Laiyang are not afraid, because as long as you are alert and keep a safe distance from potential enemy ships at all times, the motor sailing ship can run at a high speed of 12 knots in an hour. This small motor sailing ship is faster than a large motor sailing ship!

Three-masted sailing ships are generally large ships of more than 1,000 tons. If they are warships, they are third-class battleships, and if they are merchant ships, they are first-class large ships. If it is the latter, after encountering the Jingyang and Laiyang, few people would not turn around and leave. Of course, if there is a frigate following, it is another matter. But now the first reaction of this large ship after seeing the Jingyang was to raise a signal flag. This abnormal behavior can't help but make people mutter.

"Another three-masted sailing ship appeared in the northwest! Repeat, a new three-masted sailing ship appeared in the northwest!" The diligent lookout shouted loudly on the mast, and the crazy alarm bells were clearly heard by everyone on the deck.

The captain's face became more serious, and his bad premonition became stronger. His intuition told him that the ship opposite was the enemy, and the reason why the enemy came today was not to accompany the Jingyang and Laiyang in circles. They must have restrictive means. The captain turned his head and looked in the direction of the Laiyang, his heart pounding.

"Haha, there are really other ships." On the Laiyang, the bearded captain also shouted, and the sudden change made him a little excited and nervous.

The officers and soldiers on the two motor sailing ships did not think that the danger was too great, because when the motor sailing ships were running at full speed, they were not something that the sailing ships could catch up with. As long as the Jingyang and Laiyang did not wave, the danger could be said to be very small. Can they escape if they cannot defeat them? The Europeans could not keep them either.

Now the most important thing for the two ships is to speed up, speed up a little bit, and increase the speed to the maximum.

The Jingyang sent a signal to the Laiyang to retreat. But it did not retreat to the southeast, but to the east. Anyway, the distance between the Jingyang and the ships behind was more than 6 nautical miles, and the Laiyang was even closer to 8 nautical miles. When the Jingyang was caught up, the speed of the Jingyang would also be increased to the maximum.

Two ships appeared in the northwest again, one of which was still a three-masted sailing ship. The situation has become more and more obvious. This is definitely a fleet put together by Europeans, and it is definitely a fleet that has always been ill-intentioned.

Chen Han would not sit idly by while watching a fleet of three three-masted sailing ships and a brig pass through the "defense zone". These were three level three sailing battleships and a level five cruiser. Such strength was enough to challenge Chen Han's garrison fleet in South Africa.

Therefore, such a fleet must have been put together by the Europeans after they secretly crossed the Cape of Good Hope and the Falkland Islands. And the Europeans must have had bad intentions in putting together such a fleet.

Although the four sailing warships in the rear were still flying the French flag, would it be difficult to change the flag? The four warships were all fully sailed and rushed towards the Jingyang.

"Pay attention to searching the surrounding waters..." Intuition told the captain [Jingyang] that the Europeans' calculations would not be so easy, and perhaps there were already European warships waiting in front of them.

...

Enli Brad held a monocular telescope to observe the two ships that were fluctuating on the sea in front. They had been on the sea for a long time and finally found this group of Chinese.

The enemy was indeed very small. According to Brad's estimation, these two small motor sailing ships were at most 500 to 600 tons.

However, these are not the main points. The main point is that the combat effectiveness of these two ships is definitely not as good as the fleet with three third-level sailing battleships as the main force, which is enough.

Brad was not worried when he saw the two Chinese motor sailing ships sailing away. Although the other party was not heading southeast, he believed in Edgar's ability. There are also naval experts among the French.

"All ships keep in formation. Continue to approach China." Brad did not immediately order the flag to be changed. It was too early to do so. There was still five nautical miles between the two sides.

In the vast South Indian Ocean, a fierce encirclement and pursuit battle began. It was so fast that people did not have time to prepare themselves mentally.

The situation in the South Indian Ocean was so critical that if the Japanese really wanted to go to war with the Kingdom of Merina, the news would not make the European leaders think that it was Japan's "invasion". They would think it was China's counterattack!

The current world situation is so chaotic.

The American battlefield and the Russian battlefield are the two main battlefields, and the Indian battlefield, the African battlefield, and the military confrontation between the Ottoman Empire and Austria are the three secondary battlefields. Although the final confrontation between the two Austrians was really just a confrontation, the African battlefield is likely to turn from a military confrontation to a military conflict...

In other places, it is like the life of ordinary citizens in the great era, and it will not enter the eyes of those high-level officials at all.

Just like this naval battle in the South Indian Ocean.

In Europe, there were countless voices calling for reinforcements to America. Three third-level sailing battleships, other fourth-level sailing battleships and cruisers, etc., were not counted. It was better to use them to reinforce America than to play tricks with the Chinese in the South Indian Ocean.

Even Chen Ming ignored the alarm from South Africa after receiving it. The purpose of this alarm was more to let the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan officially announce the attack on the Merina Kingdom, that's all.

In the Qianqing Palace, Chen Ming was already listening to the people below reporting on the abdication ceremony on the first day of the first lunar month.