On September 16, 1703, almost a month had passed since Florida's independence, and the situation suddenly became tense on the Caribbean route from Villacruz to Havana.

Since Pensacola and other cities expelled local Spanish officials through peaceful means, the people passed the news one after another after returning to New Mexico. Gonzalez was shocked and decided to suppress Florida. Therefore, he quickly ordered Mexico City, Guadalajara, El Salvador, Panama City, Havana, and other prosecutorial court areas and the jurisdictions of generals such as Texas, California, and Colorado to prepare for war, hoard supplies, and summon troops. In addition, the Wind Fleet also received an order that all warships were not allowed to leave their home port, Havana, and to wait for the Governor's orders at any time.

To this end, Governor Gonzalez sent donations to wealthy families in his entire jurisdiction, and at the same time intercepted a batch of taxes, raised a total of more than four million pesos to serve as combat expenses, and tried to regain Florida at all costs and executed the local rebels.

It is worth mentioning that the Governor did not mention the execution of the local "foreign interferers", and perhaps it was a bit jealous. The East Coast people are so powerful in the Caribbean, the highest in all countries. Governor Gonzalez does not want to make things too big. He has ordered the senior officers under his command that if any official East Coast personnel are captured in Florida in the future, all gifts will be given out. The East Coast merchants living there must also verify them one by one. Many of them must have close ties with the official. If it is true, the same gifts will be given out and even a fine can be made.

After the order of the Governor, although the war machines in various areas under his jurisdiction were rusted, they slowly started to move. The soldiers received a owed wage and began to gather at the port, and all kinds of materials were also transported. The Windward Fleet received a one-time allocation of 1.5 million pesos to repair ships and purchase various materials to maximize their effectiveness. The Governor was born as a naval general. He knew very well how ridiculous those bastards were during the peace period. It was considered good if they didn't sell the cannons on the ship. There were a lot of problems with the warships. The Havana Shipyard even refused to provide maintenance services for them because they owe too much debts, and they solved them together this time.

As the Spaniards moved, as an old opponent who had been staring at them for many years and had no choice but to greedy for others, the omnipresent spies on the East Coast immediately got the news. Because the Spaniards strictly investigated the port ships, they risked their lives to pass the news to Texas, and then sent the Clippers to the naval base in the Bahamas, allowing the East Coast Navy to obtain extremely precious information.

The First Fleet Caribbean Squadron attached great importance to it. They immediately mobilized the Bahamas' power (two guard gunboats, four light cruisers, and one supply ship). At the same time, they sent a liaison ship to Huaiyuan Island, leaving the armored warship "Daming" that was about to leave the port for Europe, and then recruited several warships to form a temporary formation with the seven ships that had already set out to carry out missions to the Cuba Island area.

A while ago, the Ministry had already issued official documents, which made it very clear that the Caribbean Squadron would escort the National Intelligence Agency's operations in Florida (it was not known that the operation had been successful when the document was issued). If necessary, the fleet could be organized to block the waters around the peninsula in the name of exercises, and any ship in any country (except for its own ships) was prohibited from traveling to Florida.

The Navy had long wanted to do something big, and after getting the news, they all asked for battle like a chicken blood. The commander had a headache and could not send them all out. So in the end, they could only decide the battleship based on the sorting of the scores during daily training. This is extremely fair, and no one can say anything. Who made your usual grades not as good as others? What? During that exercise and assessment, you were unlucky and encountered a swell. The ship's center of gravity was unstable and they were not sure about it? I don't care, I only look at the grades, and I can't blame others for my poor life.

The warships from the Bahamas have arrived in the pre-determined waters, with a total of six combat ships and a logistics auxiliary ship. The commander who led the team was extremely brave. He asked four sail-powered light cruisers to patrol off the coast of Cuba, watch the port of Havana, and wait for the arrival of subsequent reinforcements. He himself took three steam-powered ships to Port Viagras (the largest port in the Governor of New Spain) to monitor the movements of the enemy. After all, warships cannot drive ashore, and the final resignation of the army will be relied on the army to attack Florida. The Port Viagras is the most likely starting point. After watching here, he basically grasped the Spanish's movements. No matter what decisions make in the future, he can get the news as quickly as possible.

These ships of the Navy have been near the coast of Veracruz for several days. According to their information, Veracruz showed no signs of a large-scale departure from the port in Veracruz, but there were more ships heading towards Cuba sporadically than before, and it seemed that they were full of water and were very deep. It was estimated that they were transporting supplies. They did not get authorization and did not know whether they should intercept these merchant ships. There seemed to be no reason, so they were all let go.

In addition, there are also many small sailboats near the coast entering Veracruz from other places. Because the distance is far, it is impossible to see what is being shipped on the ship, but according to the limited observations, there are everything! There are obviously cargo, some ships (were shipped on the deck sun was discovered...), and even a lot of wood and masts were transported, which is enough to make people analyze many things: this is transporting supplies and personnel from other areas to Veracruz! The personnel must be soldiers, and the supplies are also prepared for war. The wood and masts can be renovated. This is all alive, and the Spanish are preparing for war!

To be honest, after seeing this situation, the East Coast people were still a little amazed at their courage. What kind of stimulation did these guys get? So they insisted on attacking the rebels in Florida? Are they crazy?

Of course, the East Coast people stand and speak without any pain. Put yourself in the shoes of the Spanish Kingdom, the current situation is not good. Italian territory has fallen one after another, and the South Dutch has also been occupied by the anti-French coalition forces. Not to mention that the East Coast people openly slapped them in the face and refused to leave in Gibraltar and chased false pirates. Now the bastards in Florida actually want to rebel and become independent. How can they bear this? Besides, the Governor of New Spain is directly responsible. He has been in office for less than two years and does not want to lose his post because of this. The new King Philip V has always wanted to arrange positions for his own people around him.

Therefore, the rebels in Florida must die! They cannot set bad examples for those who are ready to move elsewhere! If they cannot be pressed down, what should Cuba do to be independent? What should New Granada do to be independent? More serious, what should Catalonia do to be independent? Therefore, this matter has never been a simple military issue, but a political issue. We must respond, be strict, be harsh, and deal with these guys quickly to serve as a warning!

The militants of the East Coast Navy did not think about the problem from this perspective, and of course they would not understand the Spaniards' mood. However, this does not prevent them from watching the situation step by step with a happy mood. Peace will only greatly reduce the value of their soldiers. Only war can bring them wealth, honor and status. So, the Spaniards should prepare, and we are also preparing to see where the situation will eventually go!

On September 22, seven more warships arrived outside the port of Havana. They contacted the light cruiser cruising nearby. After learning the specific situation, they decided to go collectively to the waters west of Cuba Island, meet with the two guard gunboats, and then make plans.

It is worth mentioning that the armored warship "Daming" did not come together because the commander of the ship believed that the last order he received was to go to the Cape Verde Islands, rather than staying in the Caribbean Sea. At present, the base of the Waiyuan Island is conducting persuasion and is preparing to use the command of the war and force them to obey the order. I believe that in a few days, this intimidating warship will sail to this sea area.

In addition, the Caribbean squadron has made up their minds this time. If the Spaniards insist on their own and really decide to send troops to Florida to suppress, then they have no choice but to use force to stop it. As for a series of follow-up problems that may be caused by this, the government (professional) government is not afraid, and there is a complete plan. Just follow it and implement it. Can it be broken through the sky?

The superiors have made it clear that they do not intend to escalate the situation for the time being, but just use force to deter the Spaniards. But if the Spaniards are ignorant and insist on going to Florida to suppress, then the Navy must intervene decisively, and resort to force is one of the options. The meaning is actually very straightforward, just fight!

On September 27, after a few days of delay, the Daming iron-armed warship arrived as scheduled and arrived at the pre-determined waters. So far, the number of warships gathered by the East Coast people has reached fifteen, namely one iron-armed ship, four guard gunboats, seven light cruisers, one water supply ship, one ammunition supply ship, and one coal transport ship. It is already very powerful. Even if the iron-armed warships that are not obviously destroying the rules of the game, as far as the remaining dozen ships are concerned, they have surpassed the Spanish windward fleet. The time for the decisive battle is ripe. It depends on the Spanish's next move now.

On October 3, a light cruiser was cruising outside, and it was found that a medium-sized Spanish fleet was sailing on the sea, including several troop carriers. The people on the east coast who received the news immediately took action, the entire fleet gathered, estimated the speed and course of the other party, and rushed forward.
Chapter completed!