Expedition to Europe

In early May, the fleet passed through the Chagos Archipelago.

That's right, the original fleet reached the Chagos Archipelago, and the fleet had been upgraded to a fleet.

In addition to the original warships, cruise ships, and supply ships, along the way, there were constantly cruise ships and cargo ships from Lan Fang joining. Even if they stopped to board for a day or two, the captains unanimously decided to wait for the "Black Swan" Royal Cruise Ship to return to Lan Fang together.

So the size of the fleet became larger and larger. When passing through the Chagos Archipelago, the fleet already had more than 60 ships.

All of them were ships with ocean-going capabilities.

Some of these ships were obtained from the then Crown Prince William, now William III, during the World War, some were purchased by Qin Zhiyuan in the past two years, and some were purchased by Huang Bohan and Huang Jinsheng.

Huang Bohan and Huang Jinsheng already had a shipping company, but due to the restrictions of the Dutch colonial government at the time, the shipping company had not developed much.

After the establishment of Lan Fang, Qin Zhiyuan encouraged the development of national capitalism. "Jianyuan Shipping" in Huang Bohan's hands and "Huangji Shipping" in Huang Jinsheng's hands finally got rid of the shackles and made great progress.

At present, Lan Fang has three shipping companies in a tripartite situation. In addition to "Jianyuan Shipping" and "Huangji Shipping", the last one is "Deep Blue Ocean Group" founded by Qin Zhiyuan.

"Deep Blue Ocean Group" is a behemoth integrating production, trade, transportation and logistics. It currently has 7 branches or bases in Corsica, Lan Fang and Chagos Archipelago, and almost integrates all the commercial institutions in Qin Zhiyuan's hands, including the penicillin factory.

"Deep Blue Ocean Group" is also the most profitable industry in Qin Zhiyuan's hands, even surpassing United Petroleum, providing Qin Zhiyuan with the greatest help.

In the fleet that Qin Zhiyuan returned to Lan Fang, there were 17 cruise ships and cargo ships belonging to "Deep Blue Ocean Group".

Needless to say, the cruise ship was carrying German engineers and technicians going to Lan Fang, and the cargo was transporting various machines dismantled from German factories and materials purchased from various ports in France and the United Kingdom.

Lan Fang's current foundation is still extremely weak, and it cannot even be self-sufficient in food. Before Lan Fang's land can grow enough food for Lan Fang people to eat, Lan Fang needs to purchase a large amount from Europe and the United States.

The materials purchased by Lan Fang are not limited to wheat and soybeans, but also various meat products and dairy products, and even various light industrial products.

As long as Lan Fang cannot produce it at present, Qin Zhiyuan will choose to buy it, which also reduces the vigilance of European and American powers against Lan Fang to the greatest extent.

Think about it, how much of a threat can a country that can't even produce towels by itself cause?

This is a big question mark.

Qin Zhiyuan wants this result.

At the southernmost tip of the Chagos Archipelago, there is an island that now belongs to Qin Zhiyuan privately. In later generations, this island has a world-famous name-Diego Garcia. But at this time, it is called "Moon Bay".

Yes, a very vivid name.

"Moon Bay" is like a bright moon, with a narrow and long land in an irregular circle, and a lagoon 24 kilometers long and 6.4 kilometers wide in the middle.

This is a natural harbor, and even battleships can be moored. There will be no problem with docking aircraft carriers in the future.

In another time and space, the Americans rented this place, and it became one of the relay stations for the United States' global communications and the largest military base of the United States in the Indian Ocean.

In this time and space, this place belongs to Qin Zhiyuan, but it is Qin Zhiyuan's private island, and it is not even under the jurisdiction of the Lan Fang government, although it is nominally Lan Fang's territory.

At present, there are about a thousand Chinese living in Moon Bay. These Chinese work from sunrise to sunset and make a living by fishing and picking fruits from fruit trees on the island.

Of course, where there are Chinese, even deserts can grow fruits. Now Moon Bay has reclaimed a large piece of land, which is full of various vegetables, providing rich vitamins for the residents of the island.

Similarly, these vegetables can also be provided to the Lan Fang ships coming and going.

Almost all Lan Fang ships need to add coal, water, and even oil when passing through here. Therefore, the port of Moon Bay has been expanding. About 3,000 Africans from Madagascar work here.

Since he was passing by his private island, Qin Zhiyuan had to stop for a while.

Although Moon Bay is small, there are also garrisons. There is a Marine Corps of about one company stationed here. They are from the Royal First Brigade, which is also Qin Zhiyuan's personal guard.

With the loud sound of military trumpets and grand military music, Qin Zhiyuan helped Julie step down the gangway.

Julie is now five months pregnant, but it is amazing that she doesn't show her pregnancy.

Of course, this is also because Julie is good at dressing. Choosing the right clothes can conceal certain physical characteristics, and Julie is very good at this.

Qin Zhiyuan did not dare to be careless about his unborn son. He carefully supported Julie's arm until he stood on solid ground.

"The Moon Bay garrison, the commander of the 2nd Company, 7th Battalion, 1st Marine Brigade, Sheng Kaide, and all the officers and soldiers salute His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen. Please give your instructions!" Sheng Kaide, dressed in his best clothes, stretched out his voice and welcomed Qin Zhiyuan in the loudest voice for finally setting foot on the land that belonged to him.

The organization of the Marine Corps is different from that of the Army. The largest organization of the Marine Corps is the brigade. There is no regiment under the brigade, but it directly governs 12 battalions. Each battalion has four companies of 180 people, and the brigade has more than 11,000 officers and soldiers.

This is the first time that Qin Zhiyuan has set foot on the land belonging to Lan Fang, which has great symbolic significance. The Daily News sent a news reporting team to wait in Moon Bay early, and the military also sent a military band to welcome the king's return.

At the moment when Qin Zhiyuan stepped onto the dock, at least 20 flashes lit up from different angles, recording this memorable moment from all angles. These photos will appear on the front page of the newspaper in the future, and will also enter various museums and become part of the history of Lan Fang.

There are only 180 garrisons on Moon Bay. Although the number is small, the soldiers still formed a neat queue and asked their king to review their army.

Qin Zhiyuan, who was also in military uniform, returned the salute, and Julie squatted slightly and returned a court salute.

"Thank you for your hard work!" Qin Zhiyuan held Sheng Kaide's hand tightly and expressed his gratitude sincerely.

"Your Majesty, you are too kind..." Sheng Kaide was excited, with tears in his eyes.

"Compared to the title of 'Your Majesty', I still like you to call me 'Leader of the Legion'." Qin Zhiyuan said seriously.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Sheng Kaide's voice was a little trembling, but full of joy and happiness.

Yes, the position of the lofty "Your Majesty" in the hearts of the soldiers is in no way comparable to that of the "Leader of the Legion" who once shared life and death with them. This is not just a question of title, but a question of distance and relationship.

The original text is available at Liu # 9 @Shu/Bar!

Right at the dock, 180 soldiers have lined up in a neat queue. Some of them are strong and some are lean, and their heights are not uniform. If you look at their appearance, they are definitely not as neat as the selected honor guard.

But they all held their heads high, their eyes full of determination and enthusiasm, and greeted Qin Zhiyuan's arrival with the most energetic spirit and the most vigorous fighting will.

This was even the first time many soldiers saw Qin Zhiyuan, and this will eventually become a memory engraved in their lives.

In front of the soldiers' queue, a red carpet had been laid. This was the "Imperial Road" set up by Moon Bay to welcome Qin Zhiyuan's inspection.

Just as Qin Zhiyuan stepped on the red carpet, Julie also habitually wanted to follow him, but was gently pulled by Foch behind him.

Julie realized it later.

This is the glory of Qin Zhiyuan, and only belongs to Qin Zhiyuan.

The queue of 180 soldiers, even if Qin Zhiyuan deliberately slowed down, only took three minutes to complete the inspection.

Qin Zhiyuan tried his best to let every soldier who looked straight ahead have the opportunity to make eye contact with him, and tried his best to let every soldier feel that their legion commander had shared a second with them.

Even if it was only one second, it was enough.

After the inspection, Qin Zhiyuan, Julie and Foch, accompanied by Sheng Kaide, inspected the port equipment, troop camps, and various living facilities in Moon Bay. They even picked some seasonal fruits and vegetables in the vegetable garden, simply rinsed them, and ate them directly.

Ignoring Gaspard's obstruction.

In the afternoon, the "Black Swan" Royal Cruise Ship continued to move towards Lan Fang.

In the living room of the master suite where Qin Zhiyuan and Julie lived, Foch expressed his regret for Moon Bay: "It looks good here, located in the center of the Indian Ocean, but it's a pity that it's not very useful now."

Moon Bay is 2,000 kilometers away from India, 3,000 kilometers away from the Strait of Malacca, 3,300 kilometers away from the Gulf of Aden, 3,500 kilometers away from the African continent, 4,500 kilometers away from the Persian Gulf, and 5,000 kilometers away from Perth, Australia.

It seems that the distance to the continent in all directions is not far, but if compared with warships, this distance is a bit too close, and compared with airplanes, this distance is a bit too far.

"You will know later, when the next generation of bombers appears." Qin Zhiyuan did not hide it from Foch.

"Next generation bomber? Can the range exceed 2,000 kilometers?" Foch did not know the truth.

This is also the consensus of many military experts on airplanes at this time. Bombers have a role to a certain extent, but they cannot play a decisive role.

Although Foch has stood at the top of the world's military field, Foch also has his own limitations. Foch's prediction of the prospects of bombers is not much better than that of Hegge, who is extremely opposed to technological progress.

"Ferdinand, if I say that one day the range of bombers can exceed 20,000 kilometers, do you believe it?" Qin Zhiyuan decided to launch a satellite.

"20,000 kilometers? God, are you crazy again?" Foch's reaction did not surprise Qin Zhiyuan at all.

Crazy...

This is not enough to describe the speed of technological progress. If you look at the 21st century from the beginning of the 20th century, it is not crazy, but a myth!