This settlement, developed entirely based on industry, has now become the home port of the First Navy Fleet of the East Coast Republic of China. The First Fleet is under the jurisdiction of five battleships, "August 10", "Eagle on the East Coast", "Beagle", "Maritime Literati" and "Red Trout". Since it is mainly stationed in the port of Zhenhaibao, it is also commonly known as the Northern Fleet; the "Common Market" battleship and the armed transport ship "Galicia Flying Fish" are organized into the Second Fleet. The home port is the Eastern Port, which regularly patrols the waters between the Eastern Port and later Maldonado south of Luochao, commonly known as the Southern Fleet.

After two consecutive years of privateer activities organized by the state, the Navy has now become much wider. Not only has the staff greatly expanded, but the ships are also built one by one. After the "Common Market" was put into service, the sailors and officers were not fully filled, and the Navy's plan to build the third battleship, the "Free Trade", was submitted again, as if afraid that the tens of thousands of dollars in his hand would not be spent.

Faced with such a plan that ignores reality, the Executive Committee will naturally not let it pass. That's not all. Under the instigation of Minister of Transportation Xiao Bailang, the Executive Committee also unanimously decided that the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Navy would jointly invest 100,000 yuan to build two flute-shaped ships to transport goods. The Ministry of Navy, who was hit by a slap, could not twist its arms and could only agree to the plan with hatred. Of course, the Ministry of Transportation might promise that once the war breaks out, the Nanhai Company's transport fleet will be requisitioned by the Navy for free, which slightly alleviates the resentment of the Navy.

On January 3, Zhenhaiboat Pier, all the first Navy fleet, and the Pasquire family's "Butterfly" three-masted sailboat, loaded with 600 tons of potatoes, 30,000 pieces of cotton and a batch of arms supplies, braved the drizzle, left the berth in turn and sailed into the vast Southern Atlantic Ocean. They will follow the route from Saint Vicente-Recife-Canary Islands-Bordeaux to France.

After the goods are handed over, the First Fleet will head to the Caribbean Sea for an annual "hunting operation". By July, they will return to Bordeaux to ship cotton and return to their home country.

When the First Fleet was voyage to the north, far away in Portsmouth, England, on the Old Continent, a large fleet was also making final preparations before the voyage.

Since several "disappearance" incidents in the Virginia area last year, King Charles I of England reiterated the 1336 doctrine issued by Edward III that merchant ships going to sea must gather at designated locations and reach a certain number before they can sail.

In this doctrine, it is stipulated that the British mainland is bounded by the River Thames, and the ships west are gathered in Portsmouth; the ships north are gathered near the Orwell River; and the ships near London are gathered at the mouth of the Thames. Before the ship sets, the king will send officials to carefully check the armed forces and supplies of each ship, and then order the captains of each ship in each fleet to select a temporary commander. Everyone in the fleet must obey the commander's command before returning. If someone does not obey the commander or leaves the team without authorization, he will be severely punished after returning.

At this time, sailing ships gathered in Portsmouth Harbor, and a large number of merchant ships, warships and privateers were mooring in order in their respective mooring areas, indicating the development of the British navigation industry. In a corner of the dock, a group of well-dressed decent people were surrounding and carrying out the last ceremony before departure.

"Then, Mr. Hampton, Mr. Hill, Mr. Sheldon, Mr. Morris..." An obese port official in England was reading the names of the owners or captains of each ship. After reading it, he glanced at everyone and said, "Are you willing to accept Mr. William Clifford as the interim commander of this long-distance fleet and promised to obey commands during the voyage, not change the route without authorization, and leave the fleet?"

"Yes, we will follow Mr. William Clifford until we arrive at our destination and obey any reasonable orders. We will not change the route or stop at any port without authorization unless the commander has ordered."

"So, can you ensure unity, protect each other, cooperate collectively, fight tenaciously, and never escape without authorization when encountering enemy attacks?"

"Yes, we promise to provide assistance to any ship that we travel with and fight together as pledges."

"So, are you willing to pay Mr. William Clifford a certain fee for this to compensate him for all his efforts?"

"Yes, we are willing to pay the Interim Commander one penny for every barrel of cargo on board to compensate for all efforts he has made during his voyage."

"So, Mr. William Clifford..." said the fat official, finally turning his head to look at William Clifford beside him and asked, "Are you willing to serve as the interim commander of this long-distance fleet and undertake tasks such as navigation, trade, command and combat?"

"Yes, I am willing to use my strength, knowledge and experience to provide shelter to any British ships traveling with me, and to direct them to voyages, trades and possible battles, and never escape without authorization, and vow to safeguard everyone's interests and the glory of England." William Clifford replied.

"Then, the pledge between the two sides is established." The fat official clapped his hands, then looked at everyone with a smile, and said, "Dear merchants, adventurers, and ship owners of East India Company, this long voyage to the New World will not delay you. I wish you a happy voyage!"

A group of people talked politely on the dock for a while, then returned to their own ships, and, under the arrangement of the interim commander, sailed out of Portsmouth Harbor one by one, and then formed a formation on the sea and sailed southward.

The New World is not peaceful now. Last year, many ships traveling to and from the Kingdom and Virginia disappeared, losing a lot of tobacco and money. At first, people thought it was unfortunate that they had sunk or had storms. However, when more and more ships were missing, people were convinced that these unfortunate ships might have encountered ships attacked by pirates or hostile countries.

The robbery and robbery of the pirates was how could the British bear tolerate it. While sending warships to cruise the waters near the New World, they ordered the strict implementation of the fleet system, that is, all ships leaving the port must sail in conjunction, and the number of ships in the fleet must not be less than 8, and those with insufficient numbers will not be allowed to leave the port.

This time, some merchant ships from the Merchant Adventurer Company and East India Company that went to the New World to trade gathered in Portsmouth Harbor. When the last ships arrived and the fleet owned ten sailboats, they were finally allowed to leave the port for a long voyage.

Their first stop is Virginia. (To be continued, please search for Piaotianyi, novels are better, updated and faster!
Chapter completed!