In the dim morning light, Desai stood beside the railings of the rear deck of the flagship "King", and he watched the sea rise and fall. The sky, horizon, waves, beaches, rocks, breakwaters and Barcelona were everywhere. This scenery was familiar and unfamiliar to him, because he had never been sure of when he would return to this hot land he had fought for.

Not far away, Catalan warships or transport ships followed by the "King" flagship where the Regent was, and they raised their flags to pay tribute, with the sound of cannons ringing. At the same time, the military band on the deck of the "King" also played a majestic and exciting naval march - "Our journey is the sea of ​​stars."

Like the Marine of the Guards, this exclusive naval music also comes from the "creation" of the Regent. Its melody is that the time traveler plagiarized the naval marches of a relatively familiar island country, but did not write the lyrics, and was only named "Our journey is the sea of ​​stars."

In October last year, in accordance with the order of the Regent, the United Kingdom of Catalonia (Mediterranean Fleet) was officially established. At the same time, Prince Desai gave all naval officers a command that only when they win a great victory against the Russian Navy can they obtain all the songs of the military music and the honorable name of the "Royal Navy".

Eight months later, this new Mediterranean fleet now has more than 50 warships of all sizes, including 12 battleships, 27 cruise ships, and several small gun ships. Of course, the most eye-catching thing in the entire fleet is naturally the flagship "King" that the Regent rides. Even according to the standards of the arrogant British, it is a top-notch large battleship.

In 1809, this "King" was called the "Victor", which belonged to the combat sequence of the British Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet. It was the trophy seized by General Nelson and his comrades in the Battle of Trafalgar. However, British naval officers did not like this huge ship, but used it as a large patrol ship.

The reason is superstitious and absurd. It is said that this battleship, renamed "Victor", has been cursed by the victims of the Battle of Trafalgar. In the past five years, not only have the artillery decks repeatedly bombed, but nearly 100 excellent British gunners have been lost in succession. A heroic captain who had participated in the Battle of Trafalgar was also killed by a sudden fallen mast.

When the "Victor" stranded on the reef group along the Hruna coast, the British Mediterranean Fleet took the opportunity to get rid of this big baggage. Commander General Cusbert Collingwood refused to buy back the original Spanish warship that was accidentally captured by the soldiers of the Desai Brigade at that time. However, after the warship that Desai was willing to invest in, the "Victor" had been renovated and turned into the "Fortune". According to the agreement reached with the British, the "Fortune" was only used as an armed transport ship in the Mediterranean.

After the signing of the "Knock Creek Secret Agreement", with the joint efforts of the British Portsmouth ship engineers and Barcelona craftsmen, the battleship "King" that was restored, under the second-largest scale of repairs, renovated the sail mast and the control rudder, especially at the bow of the ship, which is more wind-eating, the copper-skin protective shell at the bottom of the ship was also extended to the gun door...

This legendary giant ship built by the Spanish in 1769, using Havana, which uses the best Cuban wood as raw material, has a "glorious service history" for 42 years, revitalized its former vitality. At least in appearance.

The powerful and powerful huge ribs of the King made it enough to support the four-story (cannon) deck. When it was initially built in 1769, one hundred and sixteen gun holes were opened; when it was expanded and modified in 1796, one hundred and thirty gun holes were opened; by 1805, on the eve of the Battle of Trafalgar, the Spaniards reassembled it, with a total of 140 guns, including cannons and short-tube guns; but by 1811, the King battleship only retained 90 British-made iron cannons.

One of the main reasons is that the Catalan Navy must strictly comply with the agreement reached with the British Mediterranean Fleet: the former shall not deploy large battleships with more than 92 artillery numbers on the sea surface of the Mediterranean, and the absolute number of battleships shall not exceed 12, so as not to threaten the British Mediterranean Fleet;

Secondly, Desai and his naval officers accepted the advice of the ordnance engineer of the Hruna ship, preparing to leave some of the gun holes to wait until they return to Poland before reloading. They intended to leave the newly developed 30-pound and 64-pound rear-loaded rifled guns for use in actual combat, in order to test the real performance of this powerful gun with a range of more than 5 kilometers;

In addition, since the bottom of the hull and the sides of the gun door are covered with copper or iron sheets, while improving the self-protection ability of the "King", it also increases the waterline of the warship, which will greatly reduce the ship speed. To avoid this, not only did the number of artillery on the warship be reduced by 60, but the lighter British iron cannon was also used to replace the original bronze cannon.

...

When the "King" was re-used as the flagship of the fleet, the cabin, which was originally a carrier and material, was also improved, and was divided into various cabin partitions, including the gun decks used by more than 500 officers, sailors, gunners, marines, doctors, kids, etc., the crew's lower decks, grain storage compartments, officer room cabins, kitchens, infirms and other service offices.

The entire United Kingdom of Catalonia had about 15,000 naval officers and soldiers, as well as more than 2,000 marines. The middle and lower-level officers and sailors were 4,000 French naval prisoners who escaped by chance in the massacre of Port Cadiz in southern Spain three years ago. There were also sailors recruited from Gruna, Barcelona, ​​Marseille, Toulon, Valencia, and even the Kingdom of Naples and Austria in the southern Italian Peninsula.

However, the presence of many warships, weapons, officers and sailors does not mean that the combat effectiveness of the Catalan Navy has also been established. Desai is very clear that this naval force, second only to Britain and France, is advocated by some newspapers in Barcelona as the third largest fleet in the Mediterranean, but in the eyes of the British Navy, it is just a toddler.

Lt. Col. James Bommay, the naval liaison officer of the British Mediterranean Fleet in Catalonia, said proudly in his letter to his colleagues in London: "Although I have to admit that Prince Desai's command ability in Catalan infantry, cavalry and artillery may exceed that of General Wellington. But above the sea, even if the development of the Imperial Navy stagnates for 50 years, a squadron of the British Mediterranean Fleet can sink or capture all the ships of the Catalan Navy within two weeks."

The arrogant words made by the British Navy Lieutenant Colonel are unpleasant, but they are a harsh fact. If we continue the history of later generations, in the next hundred years, the British Royal Navy, which is spread all over the world, will still be the most powerful navy in the world. Its existence is the strong cornerstone of Britain's global strategy, and it has always firmly grasped the maritime hegemony of the five oceans, and no one. It was not until the 20th century that it was threatened by the German Navy and the Japanese-British Navy, and was eventually replaced by the Americans.

Therefore, in the face of the arrogance of British naval officers, Desai would not feel too much humiliation about it. Instead, it prompted him to ask all the officers and soldiers of the Catalan Navy to learn from the British, take the British fleet as their teachers, and take the initiative to invite a large number of retired or active British officers to serve as instructors of the Catalan Navy.

The most eye-catching thing about this was that in addition to hiring the retired former commander of the British Mediterranean Fleet, Sir Nelson's close comrade-in-arms, General Collingwood, 61-year-old as general military officer of the Wang family's Navy, Lieutenant Colonel James Bomé, who was defeated continuously by the Desai army in the Third Portuguese War and was unable to escape, Lieutenant Colonel James Bomé, who was also on the list of invitations for the Regent.

Desai warned his naval commander: Since you want to learn, you must learn thoroughly. You must unconditionally abandon the traditions of the original Spanish Navy and the French Navy. In short, everything from artillery control, sailor training, logistics supply, flag-language signals... and finally to the use of strategies and tactics, etc., must strictly follow the British Navy's practice and habits.

In order to ensure the actual results of various trainings, Desai even ordered several British officers to directly serve as captains or acting captains of the Catalan Navy, of which Lieutenant Colonel Bomay was appointed the first captain of the flagship "King". It is no exaggeration to say that British officers from the Royal Navy have actually controlled nearly half of the 12 battleships.

Andrew Desay's approach naturally made London feel relieved. Soon, the British Parliament Cabinet agreed to the Catalan advance fleet consisting of two battleships, five cruise ships, and more than 10 transport and supply ships, through the British Empire's absolute territorial waters, the English Channel, and then went to the Baltic Sea thousands of miles away.

...

At 7 a.m., half an hour after all the ships left the Barcelona port, Lieutenant Colonel James Bomé, the captain of the King, handed over the command of the warship to his deputy, Lieutenant Colonel Monmann, and decided to go to the officers' deck to take a break and have some exquisite Eastern style snacks and delicious Brazilian coffee.

The so-called officer deck is the rear deck, which belongs to the activity venue of 56 naval officers in the fleet and is also the entire stern of the King. Under the system of clear hierarchy of warships in the 18th and 19th century, any ordinary sailor on the "King" will never be allowed to enter the rear deck or anywhere on the stern unless the superior summons or needs to perform certain special tasks, otherwise it will be in whip.

"My dear general, please come here." On the back deck, Desai, who was tasting cocoa tea, saw the British at first sight. He smiled and took the initiative to greet him, warmly invited Captain Bomai to have morning tea with him.

"Thank you, my respectful highness!" Lieutenant Colonel James Bommai replied reluctantly. After hesitating for a moment, he still bit the bullet and accepted Prince Desai's invitation and sat in front of his former enemy.

Since forming the advance fleet to Poland, Desai was too enthusiastic about Bomai. Not only did he not interfere with the absolute command of the captain, he would also constantly give the latter an official salary increase. First, he was awarded the rank of brigadier general to Lieutenant Colonel James Bomai, and then appointed him as the deputy commander of the advance fleet. As for the annual compensation of up to 4,500 pounds, second only to General Cusbert Collingwood, the former commander of the British Mediterranean Fleet. Of course, combat allowances and daily subsidies are also at the highest level.

All of this surprised Lieutenant Colonel James Bomai, who was tall, thin and slightly arrogant and unruly, was deeply surprised. While being vigilant, Lieutenant Colonel Bomai resolutely rejected the rank of brigade general, but agreed to serve as deputy commander of the advance fleet. On weekdays, General Bomai is accustomed to posing a rebellious and contemptuous face to his foreign colleagues around him. When the cold words and phrases were revealed at the corners of his mouth, they all showed the innate pride and confidence of the naval officers of the British Empire.

However, when Lieutenant Colonel Bomé faced Prince Desai, the deliberate persistence and sincere smile that could melt the Arctic glaciers for thousands of years made the arrogant and conceited British feel helpless, as if he had hit a heavy punch on the soft cotton. Because the invincible monarch of the United Kingdom of Catalonia was incompetent and did not care about the hostile gaze of the British naval officer.

In awkward and dullness, Bomai felt that today's morning tea seemed too long, and it was like living a day like a year. Finally, after a naval candidate came to pack the tableware, Bomai immediately stood up and said goodbye to Desai, but the latter called it.

"General Bomay!" Desai continued his appointment as the British Navy Lieutenant Colonel, and he continued: "Please guide my King to the waters near the Isle of Wight before passing through the English Channel."

"Why?" Bomai became alert again. It was more than 700 years since the French warships had never approached the British mainland.

Desai smiled and he whispered: "Just rush to a long-awaited political date. Please believe me, this may be a pretty good opportunity for you."

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