Realm of Power

The sky is cloudless in May, which is the most peaceful season on the ocean.

The coastline is sparkling and calm. In people's eyes, the sea level is as calm as spread out soft woolen satin, or like condensed jasper, without any flaws. The turquoise water reflects the blue sky and white clouds, making it appear more transparent and profound. , the distant sunshine shyly shines through the clouds, looking particularly soft. It shines gently on the calm sea, dyeing the surface of the sea with a light golden yellow.

"After sailing through the Barro coastline in Central Europe, how long will it take to reach Feishan Sea Area?"

Imperial Minister of State Hu Keqili, wearing a straight black army uniform, stood on the bow of the Dragon-class battleship, looking at the fish in the sea happily chasing the sun, the swimming and leaping figures, and the fast sailing battleship. On the side of the advancing warship, shallow and looming water lines were drawn. He turned around and asked Admiral Kasoya of the 19th Squadron of the Imperial Navy behind him.

Although the Imperial Navy and the Army are two systems, Hu Keqili, the Imperial Minister of State, is mainly responsible for Army affairs. If other Army ministers come to the Navy's battleships, the Navy admirals who were kicked out of the Army will not be considered. I won’t be sarcastic or look too good on him, but it’s the Imperial Minister of State Hu Keqili who is here. It's another thing. Hu Keqili is not only the Imperial Minister of Affairs, but also the commander of the Imperial Central Army. Two-thirds of these naval admirals who have traveled all over the world and established the invincible reputation of the Imperial Navy are He came from the Central Military System of the Empire. The naval admiral of the 19th Squadron in front of him, Kasoya, was from the Central Military Forces.

"Replying to your lord, if the wind direction is correct and nothing is encountered on the way, we should be able to reach Feishan Sea within three or two days, but it is May now, and May is also called the moon of light by us sailors, because the weather has begun to become violent. When it’s hot, there’s often the possibility of encountering a storm!” the 19th Squadron mentioned! Dukasoya answered respectfully, but with a strong sense of pride in his tone. Every Central Military officer who was assigned to the navy was holding back their breath. They thought they had been abandoned by the army. Throwing them out into the vast ocean would be like fending for themselves.

"Two days? It took six days to get from Imperial Sea City to Lisbon." "It took four days to get here from Lisbon. If you include the two days to reach Feishan Sea Area, that is to say, if everything goes well, from Feishan to here From the area to the Imperial Capital Ocean City, it can be completed within fifteen days, is that what you mean?"

Hu Keqili's eyes were bright and he looked a little emotional. This speed was really too fast. He was the Minister of Military Affairs, so he naturally knew that it would take about fifteen days to go from Imperial Sea City to Lisbonto by land. Not to mention that the time it takes to transfer to Central Europe's Barro and finally reach the Feishan area is less than a month, which is almost impossible, while the sea route only takes fifteen days. As one of the executors of the empire's grand strategy of opening up the inland sea, Hu Keqili had to admit that he had objections to the emperor's desperate approach to open up the inland sea. The inland sea was so unfamiliar to the empire at the time that no one knew about it. What would it bring to the empire after opening the inland sea? However, the emperor persisted and opened the inland sea with an iron fist. This subsequently triggered a war between the empire and the Gangfei Empire, and triggered a series of tragic conquests of the inland sea by the imperial navy. In the end, the empire completely conquered the inland sea. Become the inner sea of ​​the empire

The value of the inland sea is also fully reflected at this moment

The huge advantages in maritime transportation can be said to have thrown land transportation out of the way. Almost all important areas of the empire are on the maritime transportation line. The carrying capacity of a large maritime merchant ship can be compared to the total carrying capacity of a hundred carriages. quantity, and the manpower and cost required, But it may only be equipped with ten carriages, and the inland sea itself has more than 2,000 miles of coastline and more than ten countries, which provided huge impetus for the empire's maritime development in the following years and provided huge opportunities for the empire to conquer the Barro region of Northern Europe. financial and material support.

I have to admit that the speed of maritime transportation is indeed far behind the speed of the Empire's land routes. The so-called benefits spur technological improvements, which is particularly obvious in the Empire's maritime transportation. The Empire's ship construction technology was still pursuing the goal during the Ikadiva era. The thing is that the load capacity is large enough, and the speed requirements are not large, so Because the coastline is only that long, but as the empire gradually unified the entire Nordic Barrow continent, it even included the entire inland sea coast of more than 2,000 miles from east to west into the empire's control area. If the circulation of goods can be completed in the shortest time, it will be more important for ships. Speed ​​requirements have begun to become the mainstream requirements of chambers of commerce.

While the Imperial Navy is still focusing its research on how to build a huge Dragon-class main battleship, private ship associations have begun to improve existing ships on their own, absorbing northern Gaul on the basis of the original Imperial shipbuilding technology. and South Africa's shipbuilding technology, proposed a sailing speedboat concept that can greatly increase sailing speed.

With the surrender of the Strantean Sea Kingdom to the Empire, the ship improvement technology of the Stranded Sea Kingdom for decades has naturally flowed into the private shipbuilding industry of the Empire. In terms of naval warships, the technology of the Strantese Navy is equivalent to that of the Empire. , but in terms of civilian ships, the Strand Sea Kingdom, known as the overlord of the inland sea, far surpasses the Empire.

Last winter, the first fast sail transport ship was launched in Lisbon. This ship is the crystallization of the highest shipbuilding technology in several regions.

It completely abandoned the wide and thick hull structure used by the original merchant ships, adopted a triangular bottom, adopted cabin partitions, and adopted an extremely powerful three-masted sail. As soon as this new type of ship was put into use, it immediately gained favor from major shipping chambers of commerce. , the carrying capacity of this kind of fast ship is less than one-third of that of ordinary merchant ships, but it is superior in speed. Fast. In the past, it took fifteen days for a transport ship to travel from the Imperial Sea City to the Jersey shore of Barrowfield in southern Europe. However, this kind of sailing ship takes eight days, which is almost half the original time. For those who need to seize business opportunities at all times, it is necessary to For shipping merchants who transport goods to the city with the highest price in the shortest time to sell them, speed means everything.

Just like now, a merchant fleet passing by the side of the squadron is two such sailing clippers. Compared with it, even the speed of the Imperial Dragon Teeth battleship is quickly left behind. Looking at The figures of these commercial clippers and the faces of the Imperial sailors on the deck are very strange. These merchant ships, which once feared the Imperial Navy like gods, no longer have any fear of the Imperial Navy at this moment, and even have basic basic skills. There is a lack of respect. This is mainly because the Imperial Navy's thunderous and intimidating power has weakened with the advent of peace. Without the threat, even pirates have been knocked down one by one by the boring Imperial Navy as training targets for new sailors. , the merchant fleet no longer needs escort in the inland sea, coupled with the psychological advantages brought by extremely fast speed, there is even a phenomenon of sailors on merchant ships whistling at the naval fleet.

"Don't these damn businessmen know any respect? What's going on by sailing past the navy ship so arrogantly?" On the watchtower high up on the Dragon Tooth battleship, a navy watchman put down a high-power telescope and looked in his eyes. Looking angrily at the merchant fleet going away, the inland sea has been empty for a long time since the Strand navy surrendered. There had been a great war, and this had to make the Imperial Navy sailors who were accustomed to the sulfur smoke and thunderbolt fire nostalgic. They missed the densely packed masts when the naval fleet moved in, towering into the clouds, like sharp swords piercing the sky, which made people feel nostalgic. I can't help but feel my hair tingling, nostalgic for the years when hundreds of ships were fighting in the smoke.

"The Imperial Navy is dying!"

Even figures like the Imperial Navy Minister Dostronkai described it this way in a report submitted to the Imperial Emperor. A powerful naval fleet without enemies is sad, but at present the entire Obaro Inland Sea area is under the control of the Empire. Under this situation, the Imperial Navy wants to find an opponent, which is not easy! The only place where the Imperial Navy is still fighting is in the distant waters of southern China and Bibia. It is really too far there. Even if the Empire opens up a waterway into the southwest of China and Bibia, starting from the Empire and arriving in China It will also take more than two months to reach the South China Sea, and this is still Only the smaller Dragon Tooth battleship can be used. If the Dragon-class battleship wants to pass, the only way is to disassemble it as a whole and then assemble it after arrival. Not to mention it is time-consuming and laborious, and it is still unclear whether it can be launched into the sea within three months. It’s hard to say that after barely transporting three dragon-class battleships, the emperor ordered the plan to be stopped.

"There is no need to envy those people. When the latest model of the Dragon Tooth Clippers comes out, it should be faster than the caravan clippers that just passed by. Moreover, the Navy Ministry will also relax the restrictions on the Central Asian Squadron and will agree to at least "Five thousand Imperial Navy personnel transferred to the Central and Southern Squadron." Hu Keqili reached out and patted the squadron map Kasoya's shoulder. The news revealed made Kasoya's body shake slightly.

"Five thousand people!"

"That's right, at least five thousand people." Hu Keqili looked at the outline of the coastline in the distance and nodded silently in his heart.

The construction of the Imperial Navy fleet at this time is no longer the chaotic period in which various models were installed for combat readiness. Instead, it is a very strict classification. The first-class sailing dragon's tooth ship is generally used as the main force of fleet operations. The Thor deck has sixty Thor doors and a capacity of 300 people. It is the most perfect combination of firepower, speed, and cost. It is the most powerful weapon in naval battles. Intermediate force; second-class sailing dragon tooth battleship. This class of warship has only one gun deck, thirty Thor guns, and a crew of about 200 people. This class of ship has weak firepower and does not participate in fleet decisive battles. It is mainly used for cruise and is the main force. The ship serves as an observation ship, and the latest improved version of the Dragon Tooth battleship proposed by Navy Minister Dustrunke is this kind of similar sailing clipper.

Because the load capacity is not enough, only the four-door Thor is equipped, but it has an absolute advantage in speed. This light and fast naval dragon tooth battleship is obviously specially designed for the empire to fight in the southern waters of Central and South Africa. Smaller footprints and faster speeds naturally bring about cheaper costs. Currently, the Imperial Navy The biggest reason for the inability to expand the results in the southern waters of Central Europe is the huge gap between the number of warships and the Aden Navy. Even if the Imperial Navy achieved a situational victory, in general, the Aden Navy still firmly controls the southern part of Central Europe. As for the control of the sea, the Aden Navy’s transport fleet is still continuously traveling in this sea area.

The emperor has already started to make plans. After gaining the hegemony of South Europe and integrating the unstable situation in Central Europe, the empire can now fully withdraw its hands and have a good talk with the Aden people who are wreaking havoc in Central Asia! Even the imperial minister of state left the imperial capital of Dahai City in the name of checking the garrison troops in the Feishan Governor's Office area. His real destination is not the Feishan area at all, but Istan opposite the Feishan area. He will eventually join the imperial army that entered the northern part of Eero from the battlefield of the Order. In name, it is to suppress the siege of the former capital of Eero by the princes in the south of Eero, but in fact, it is to find a reason for the empire to mobilize heavy troops in the north of Eero!

The imperial minister of state Hu Keqili will not stay in the Feishan area at all!