The Fourth Fleet had five sailing warships at the naval base of Lushunwei. The Navy Department placed the latest ironclad ship "General Fubo" to the Fourth Fleet, and there were many supply ships. In order to transport the Far West Expeditionary Force, which had a thousand officers and soldiers far away, the Navy Department organized three troop transport ships and two supply ships to the Fourth Fleet.

This time, the military ships heading to Europe reached a scale of more than a dozen.

In addition, there are twenty merchant ships from Western companies that are also preparing to sail.

The merchant ships of Western companies not only purchase goods in the local north, but also purchase Suzhou embroidery on the way to Jiangnan, and then go to Nanyang to purchase spices and other goods, and then ship them to London City to earn a high price difference.

The directors of the Western Company were extremely surprised to see that the fleet sent by the Navy was not as small as the complete Fourth Fleet ships.

The Fourth Fleet sent only five sailing gunships to escort their merchant fleet from London City, who thought they would escort them again to London City.

But in addition to these five sailing warships, there is also an additional steel monster from the sea to follow them to the city of London - the Iron Craft of General Fubo.

The General Fubo ironclad ship did not follow the fleet in Tianjin Wei, but joined the large fleet to Europe in the waters near the Lushun Wei. The General Fubo ironclad ship also brought two supply ships specifically for it.

After the merger of the Navy Fleet and the Western Company's ships formed a fleet of more than 30 large ocean-going ships.

"What kind of terrible monster is this? It's still emitting black smoke. It's as long as our two or three large ships? And the hull is full of steel. Isn't this the Oriental?" The Chinese merchants on the deck of the Western company's merchant ships were amazed as the General Fubo, which was like a steel fortress, sailed parallel to the merchant ship.

The 94-meter-long hull is unparalleled. The wooden sailboat is almost unable to reach such a length due to defects in material structure. With such an ironclad ship escorting, people from Western trading companies feel extremely at ease.

"It's not the Dongfang, this is a newly launched steamship. General Fubo was taken from General Fubo of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The Dongfang is even larger than General Fubo, but the Dongfang is not a warship. It has no structure specially designed for artillery, nor is it as thick as armor." The director who greeted the officers and soldiers of the Fourth Fleet in advance pointed to the armor layer that protected the side guns in the middle of General Fubo.

"This kind of ship must be very strong, and it is not easy to be sunk even when encountering storms on the sea. It is incredible that such a heavy ship can actually float on the sea." Many sailors and crew members were deeply surprised.

They never thought that ships using a large amount of metal could sail. In an intuitive impression, ships cast by steel would sink to the bottom of the sea the moment they were launched.

"The soldiers on General Fubo are really lucky. They can actually become crew members of the first iron armored ship. After General Fubo joined our Fourth Fleet, the three sail battleships of Wei, Shu and Wu were probably inferior. The hulls were all steel and special armored layers. They could sail smoothly without wind. How could ordinary artillery damage it?"

Not only the people on the merchant ship, but also the naval soldiers on the five sail warships of the Fourth Fleet were envious of the crew of the General Fubo ironclad ship.

When they returned from London, they found that the Admiralty had an unprecedented warship, and they were all giant cannons above 40 pounds.

Strong ships and sharp guns, such configurations are the pursuit of all naval soldiers, and they wish they could serve on the General Fubo.

"It seems they are all looking at us?"

On the ironclad ship of General Fubo, many naval soldiers saw the directors and employees of the Western Trading Company look curious and could not help but proudly raise their chests and look up.

They are eye-catching because of their status as soldiers of the Iron Crafts, and they also cherish their work as crew members on the Iron Crafts.

"What will the distant West look like?"

At this time, Li Dingguo, who was still witnessing the soldiers in the navy, was cleaning the deck and full of longing for the unknown West.

In the eyes of their group of trainee soldiers who were not yet twenty years old, this journey of voyage to the West was shouldering the glorious mission of the empire. The sacred sense of mission is often more effective than all gold, silver and treasures.

"This time I go to the West, the salary of all officers and soldiers will increase by 50%. It's such a beautiful job."

"The Admiralty Department increased our salary by 50% during our voyage to the West. I am afraid that there will be war when we go to the West."

"So what if war breaks out? Our ironclad ship will not be sunk. As long as it is still on this ironclad ship, we can be safe and sound."

There are also some veterans who have been on the battlefield who are not so easily moved by their sense of mission. They are more concerned about their salary and how to win the war and survive.

"The first time you go out to the far west, you must be so far away from the sea. You trainee soldiers must be mentally prepared." A naval lieutenant was patrolling on the deck and chatting with several trainee soldiers including Li Dingguo.

"What mental preparation?" asked Li Dingguo and other new recruits.

"With endless sailing, pirates will not attack such a huge fleet, but stranding, storms, diseases, and mental torture are all difficulties our navy needs to encounter. After arriving in the West, maybe we have to participate in local wars and be prepared for sacrifice." said the Navy Lieutenant.

"Sir, don't scare us. Didn't the other ships of the Fourth Fleet return successfully from the West?" asked a trainee soldier.

"That's because you haven't seen the list of sacrifices. A sea of ​​tens of thousands of miles will definitely be lost." said the Navy Lieutenant.

The Navy Lieutenant's words frightened several trainee soldiers who had never been to the battlefield.

However, Li Dingguo, who was once adopted by Zhang Xianzhong, has seen many life and death since he was a child. He was not scared, but his eyes were sharper: "The general died in hundreds of battles, and the hero returned for ten years. Since we have chosen to be a soldier, we must be prepared to die in battle! Whether it is the sea or the enemy, we will be conquered by our ironclad ships!"

The Navy lieutenant nodded with satisfaction: "The men in our Navy must have such momentum! This is the first time our General Fubo ironclad ship has embarked on the expedition. We should not be looked down upon by Westerners. Instead, we should establish our authority in front of them and make them afraid of us!"

"Yes!" Several naval trainee soldiers answered with their heads raised and their chests raised.

Although they didn't know whether the so-called war with the local kingdoms would break out when they arrived in the so-called West, their curiosity about the unknown world still gained the upper hand.
Chapter completed!