"Your Excellency, Foreign Minister, the battleship Nanhua Chang'an has entered the Red Sea. Why is this?" Cyril knocked on the table and looked at Lin Anmin.

On May 12, the Chang'an of the South China Navy left Arabia after replenishing supplies in Arabia, entered the Red Sea all the way, and submitted an application to pass through the Suez Canal.

The Suez Canal Authority is jointly controlled by Britain and France. When it saw an "unfamiliar" warship trying to pass through the canal, it threw the blame on it without thinking, and made it all the way to London and Paris.

"There have been a large number of pirates raging around Haifa Port recently, and even His Majesty the Emperor of our country has heard about their rampant behavior.

In order to protect Nanhua's interests, our duty requires us to take immediate action." When Lin Anmin said this, his face was filled with divine brilliance.

"Battleships shouldn't be needed to destroy pirates, right?" Cyril didn't talk too much to Lin Anmin.

In fact, if it was just about turning over pirates, Britain would not care so much, and would even support Nan Hua's actions. The British Empire also hates pirates - because no one understands pirates better than them.

But what could have been solved by sending a few cruisers or even destroyers, Nanhua instead sent battleships.

This practice is like hunting whales and dolphins and dumping nuclear wastewater into the sea, but claiming that these practices are completely in line with the laws of nature and completely harmless.

Not a single punctuation mark can be trusted.

Nan Hua had no other ideas, and Britain didn't believe it.

"This is a deterrent, a deterrent to pirates. To be honest, I am very disappointed with the situation around Haifa. The navies of the surrounding countries did not perform their duties well and could only let us go." Lin Anmin looked distressed, letting

Cyril hesitated.

Of course, the hesitation is not about the relationship between battleships and pirates, but what Lin Anmin calls "nearby countries".

"Is it Osman?" Cyril imagined a big drama in his mind.

Haifa is currently an important port for oil exports in the South China Arab region. An oil pipeline directly connects the South China Arabia region to the Haifa Port, and transport tankers directly load cargo here.

The oil trade brought a lot of opportunities, which made Haifa Port prosperous again and became the most prosperous port within hundreds of kilometers around it.

Under such circumstances, it is not surprising that the Ottomans, who were unwilling to accept Nanhua's possession of Haifa and whose military strength had been unprecedentedly strengthened, made some small moves at this time.

Lin Anmin picked up the tea cup and drank the tea silently without saying anything.

I didn't say anything, you said it all yourself! - The villain in Lin Anmin yelled.

"Are you ready to start a war again?" Cyril's face didn't look good.

Based on his views on the Ottomans, he thinks it is really possible for the Ottomans to do these things - Christians look at pagans...

"No, no, no, if the Ottomans don't take the initiative to provoke, Nanhua has no intention of going to war, even against the Ottoman Empire." Lin Anmin said quickly.

This time Nan Hua's identity is - a foreign aid invited by Italy, and his main task is to make soy sauce.

Silence fell in the room.

"Cyril, why hasn't the Changan's application to pass through the Suez Canal been approved yet?" Lin Anmin thought for a while and broke the tranquility.

Cyril had already simulated the specific plot of the Nanhua War against the Ottomans in his mind, but was interrupted by Lin Anmin.

"Ahem! London has reservations about South China's battleships entering the Mediterranean. This may lead to European rejection of South China.

In fact, if it is just about destroying pirates, cruisers are completely sufficient, but if they are not enough, Britain is happy to join the battle to eliminate pirates."

Cyril wiped the thought of South China from fighting the Ottomans from his mind. Now was not the time for the two countries to go to war.

Otherwise, the Balkans will not be peaceful again. Once they feel that the Balkans have an opportunity, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Russian Empire will definitely not be peaceful. Britain is not ready yet and cannot go to war for the time being.

"We just sent a battleship to dock for a few days, replenish supplies, fire a few pretentious shots, and then let her withdraw." Lin Anmin still refused to let go.

"Then I can only refuse your navy's application to pass through the Suez Canal." Cyril said stiffly.

Some things are like derailment, there are only zero times and countless times. This time I agreed to the Nanhua battleship to enter the Mediterranean. What about the next time? What about the next time?

After a few more visits, will the Nanhua battleship be able to be stationed in Haifa? Anyway, Nanhua has built a small naval base somewhere, and it can be expanded.

Will the Mediterranean Sea be even more chaotic by then?

Huh? Thinking about it this way, it’s not impossible! Isn’t creating chaos the British national policy?

"Then what about another way? The battleship Chang'an is only heading to Europe for a friendly visit to friendly countries. During this period, it should be okay to stop in Haifa for supplies, right?" Lin Anmin's face was full of dissatisfaction.

"Visit?" Cyril narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, the shortest way to visit London is via the Mediterranean Sea." Lin Anmin nodded.

"Okay, but Your Excellency, Foreign Secretary, next time, please contact me first and discuss the arrangements for the visit before sending out a visiting team. How about that?" Cyril tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

"Of course, this time it was just that the telegraph machine was broken and could not be discovered in time, so a diplomatic mistake occurred. Fortunately, with the efforts of the ambassador, there was no misunderstanding between Britain and Nanhua." Lin Anmin showed a wry smile on his face.

"Okay, I will report to London. I believe the Changan will be able to enter the Mediterranean soon. By the way, when is the Changan planning to visit the UK?" Cyril asked as if he didn't care.

This was Cyril's test and pressure, requiring the Chang'an not to stay too long in the Mediterranean.

"In mid-July, the Chang'an will stay in Haifa for a month to carry out necessary maintenance and painting, and then enter the UK with a clean and tidy appearance." Lin Anmin said.

After all, the Chang'an will stay in the Mediterranean for a little more than a month, which is neither too short nor too long.

"Speaking of which, British warships have never visited Haifa Port. Let's take this opportunity to go together. We can also take the Chang'an back to London with us." Cyril nodded.

"That's the best..." Lin Anmin hesitated before agreeing.

…

"In this way, the British will think that we are here to intimidate the Ottomans." Liu Yiming nodded and said after listening to Lin Anmin's retelling of the incident.

"The British will put most of their energy in the Mediterranean on us, which really gives the Italians an advantage." Lin Anmin sounded a little unhappy.

It's the kind of discomfort that makes people take advantage of you.

"Send a telegram to the Italians so they can start taking action." Liu Yiming said nonchalantly.

Italy is considered a poor man, at least Nanhua can't squeeze much money out of him, so he can't directly ask for money, right? So what should other people think of Nanhua?

Although diplomacy is a naked distribution of interests, it is not naked to this extent.

…

On May 16, the battleship Chang'an of the Imperial Navy of South China passed through the Suez Canal and entered the Mediterranean Sea.

As soon as it entered the Mediterranean, the South China Navy received unimaginable "courtesy" from other countries.

Three old battleships of the British Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet, two old battleships of the French Navy, an armored cruiser, and a large number of small ships from both countries met the South China Navy at the entrance of the canal.

After some complicated naval etiquette, at the "invitation" of the South China Navy, a total of hundreds of warships from Britain, France and South China sailed toward Haifa Port.

Regardless of whether Haifa Port can accommodate it, Britain and France announced that they would pay a half-month visit to Haifa Port.

In the next half month, these ships were anchored outside the port. Several small warships came in every day to replace them. The sailors on other ships could only stare at the land not far away in a daze.

…

May 20th, Royal Palace of Italy.

"Nanhua has fulfilled their promise. The attention of Britain and France has been partially attracted, and now they can't care about us." Emanuele III looked at the telegram happily.

"The British Mediterranean Fleet has detached half of its warships, and France has also sent a large fleet. They will not withdraw easily. The time is ripe, Your Majesty!" Prime Minister Luigi also said happily.

This is really good news, isn't it? It was his predecessor's hesitation on this matter that made him so disgusted by Emanuele III that he stepped down in March.

"Order the army to start attacking! Let the navy and artillery not be stingy. We must rush ashore as soon as possible. Once we capture a port, we will immediately organize civilian ships to quickly transfer supplies." Emanuele felt proud.

Italy can be considered a second-rate power, but it does not have the land to match it. Even Belgium has a huge colony.

"Italy will obey your will, Your Majesty." Luigi put one hand on his chest and bowed slightly.

…

At 9 a.m. on May 21, an Italian naval fleet of more than 40 battleships, led by six old battleships, arrived off the coast of Libya.

Within one day, the Italians launched artillery bombardments on four cities on the northwest coast of Libya: Tripoli, Zuwara, Homs, and Misrata.

The navy was not stingy with artillery shells, and the ammunition supply ships accompanying the fleet were all emptied, but the effects were worth the cost.

Take Tripoli as an example.

There is a garrison division in Tripoli with more than 7,000 people, but this division belongs to the local army adapted from the old army, just like the patrol camp of the Qing Empire, and is mainly local people.

Because the defenders were unprepared, many of the defenders were resting in the barracks when the bombardment came. The bombardment lasted for two hours, and 1,500 defenders died and almost twice as many were injured.

The first batch of landing troops sent by the Italians captured the dock at the cost of only 700 casualties, and subsequent troops followed up quickly.

(The first batch is 1,500 people.)

The battle lasted until four o'clock in the afternoon. A total of 20,000 Italians landed and completely controlled the city's important buildings and traffic arteries, "declaring victory."

The next day, before Britain and France could react, the Italian navy bombarded Benghazi again and sent 30,000 land troops ashore within one day.

That is to say, the distance between here and Sicily is only 600 kilometers at most. If a zero is added to this number, Italy will be overwhelmed with supplies of only 20,000 people.

On the afternoon of May 22, the British and French ambassadors questioned the Italian Foreign Minister and demanded that Italy immediately stop the war and withdraw its troops.

At this time, the role of supporters came into play. Ambassador Nanhua stood up slowly and coughed twice.

"I think we need to figure this out first. Don't be so angry. We are all civilized people. Let's sit down and have a chat..."
Chapter completed!