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Text Chapter 1015 The Wild Mediterranean

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    "Am I dazzled? Or is that flag not what I thought it meant?"

    Li Keming put down the telescope, blinked and muttered to his adjutant Hu Yingjie.  About four hundred meters away from the side of the Lin Liang, a two-masted schooner was traveling side by side. The cross flag that had been hung high on the top of the mainmast had just fallen, and another flag was slowly rising.

    "If Admiral Gonzalez is right, the Governor should not be dazzled, and the meaning of that flag is also what the Governor thought it meant."

    Hu Hanshan's youngest son, Hu Yingjie, a naval cavalryman in his early twenties, answered in a tone that was close to a whisper. He could clearly see without using a telescope that on the schooner, which was two or three times smaller than the Lin Liang, there was a  The black flag was raised to the top and fluttering in the wind.

    "Happy RogerGod, a pirate! A living pirate!"

    The other crew members screamed excitedly, as if they had seen some exotic animals.  Under the white skull on a black background is a pair of crossed scimitars, the most standard pirate flag. The nickname of this flag is "Jolly Roger".

    "There are indeed many pirates on the southern coast of the Mediterranean, but no one told us that the pirates would be so rampant that they would regard us as objects of robbery. At least the people of Algiers do not have this attitude towards us. Yingjie, what do you say?"

    Looking at the pirate ship, no, it was actually an armed merchant ship. The gun doors were opening, revealing a long row of black gun muzzles. Li Keming felt incredible.

    The Lin Liang is currently located 140 kilometers southwest of Cagliari, a port in Sardinia, in the Mediterranean Sea. It is not acting alone.  The fast battleship Liang Deguang led four other ironclad steam cruisers in the northeast direction.

    In accordance with the "Interim Treaty on Naval Cooperation" signed between Britain and China, Li Keming's armored steam fleet entered the Mediterranean Sea and assumed the responsibility of disrupting France's maritime transportation lines.  At the same time, the mission is to put pressure on the Kingdom of Sardinia.

    The "Interim Treaty on Naval Cooperation" is a compromise between Britain and China, which each have their own demands. Britain does not want the British and Chinese navies to continue operating in the European waters north of Lisbon, but it has the mentality of taking advantage of it.  I also hope that this fleet will contribute to this war, and the Mediterranean is the most suitable place.  The British and Chinese fleets can contain the French navy in the Mediterranean and attack France's important ally: the Kingdom of Sardinia.

    Yinghua also has a strong interest in the Mediterranean. After the planned Suez Canal is completed, the east-west shipping route will be transferred here, and certain preparations need to be made for this.  In addition to mastering the hydrology and port information of the route, understanding the layout of Ottoman Turkey's power in the Mediterranean, and trying to find a suitable foothold.  Gaining another ally in the Mediterranean is also very important.

    Although the Kingdom of Sardinia is an ally of France, it seems to be at odds with Austria and has an ambiguous stance in this war.  Although the Suez Canal is still only on paper, it does not prevent Yinghua from using both diplomatic and military measures to start a separate game with the Kingdom of Sardinia.

    Therefore, Li Keming took half of the fleet to Sardinia, preparing to "visit" Kalilia first and then wait for the response of the Kingdom of Sardinia.  Decide on next steps.

    As for why they only brought half the fleet, this was due to the "friendship" of the British. Although they sold coal to the British fleet, they spared no effort to make the coal wet.  Li Keming did not want to sit around and bask in the sun in Lisbon.  After sorting out some dry coal, they set out on the road with half of the fleet.

    As the fleet approached Cagliari, Li Keming did not relax his vigilance and led the fastest flagship to patrol the rear waters. When turning at half sail, he encountered a schooner merchant ship flying a cross flag.  According to the maritime practice in the Mediterranean, flying the cross flag means belonging to the Europa camp. Although the British and Chinese fleets fly the twin dragon national flags and the flying dragon flying rain naval flag, in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, they also fly the cross flag.

    This merchant ship, which seemed to be a neutral country even if it was not an ally, seemed to be going to Cagliari. Unexpectedly, this guy suddenly accelerated with full sail, grabbed a position alongside the Lin Liang, and rose  Jolly Roger¡­

    ¡°Every stronghold on the southern coast of the Mediterranean is a pirate den, and Li Keming knows this very well.  From Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli to Benghazi, these strongholds were nominally ruled by the Ottoman Turks, but the actual power was vested in the local rulers with the title of "Pasha".  The territories under the jurisdiction of the pashas were poor in resources, but the people were tough and skilled in navigation, so they developed a pirate economy.  As early as more than 200 years ago, Europeans called them "North African pirates" and listed them as a terrifying enemy.

    Why did Portugal, Spain and later the Netherlands, Britain and France start a sea craze?  One of the reasons is that Ottoman Turkey blocked the Silk Road. The so-called "blocking" was not only reflected on land, but also on sea.  The risk of pirate routes in North Africa increased dramatically, which led to the development of the Cape of Good Hope sea route.

    &nb??Mediterranean Sea, Li Keming's heart is full of passion.

    Hu Yingjie said: "Then, we should first find a new pasha for Alexandria, no, Holy Port. That Abdullah has local blood, I think he is very suitable."

    Li Keming nodded: "As long as he is ambitious and dares to sit in that position, even if he has no ability, we can help him sit up!"

    Nine years later, when Abdullah, as the agent of the British and Chinese, took the position of pasha in Alexandria, what was on his mind was not the kindness of Li Keming, but his boss, the British and Chinese navy in the Red Sea.  Fleet Commander Hu Yingjie grinned.

    "At first I thought they were dead, then I thought they were alive, but when General Hu smiled, his dazzling white teeth overturned my idea. How could living people on the sea have such white teeth?  "

    When Abdullah told his large group of wives and concubines about his glorious history of surrendering to Yinghua, he revealed his deepest feelings.

    "The criminals caught yesterday? Kill! Kill them all. Hang their heads on the city gate so that everyone can see that North African pirates have become history. Who dares to lay a finger on a merchant ship again? No! Just spit on him and he will be killed.  Gotta die!¡±

    Then he gave instructions to the officials who came to ask for instructions. As Yinghua's agent in the Holy Port, the value of his existence was to absorb North African pirates into the trading system of the Red Sea Silk Road and insist on making a living by piracy.  Those strongholds and those pashas were the enemies of him and the fleet led by Hu Yingjie.

    Nine years later, in 1770 AD, this was the background of the North African War fought by Britain and China in the Mediterranean.

    At this time, Li Keming had no plan to declare war on the entire North African pirates. He only thought about how to capture Alexander.  With this new plan, his fleet no longer lingers in Sardinia. The officers and soldiers of the fleet, including Hu Yingjie, embarked on the journey with seven points of enthusiasm and three points of despair.  The port of Kalyria was crowded with girls with mown hair, brown hair, and even red hair, bidding tearful farewell to their Seris lovers.

    The fleet sailed through Tunisia, and now no more blind pirate ships approached. However, when the fleet sailed past Sicily and approached the island of Malta, the cruiser that opened the way was surprised to find that a well-equipped three-masted sailing ship was sailing towards them.  A black flag depicting a man dancing with a skeleton was hoisted up the mainmast

    Although the Maltese pirates are not as famous as the North African pirates, they are not as skilled in hand-to-hand combat as the North African pirates.  But they are backed by the Knights of Malta, are better at gunnery, and are used to subduing their prey with superb boat handling skills.

    As the self-proclaimed guardians of the Christian world, Maltese pirates and North African pirates have loved and killed each other for more than two hundred years.  Of course, the two sides rarely meet, and even if they do, based on "professional ethics", fighting is unlikely to break out.  The prey of the North African pirates was only the merchant ships of the Christian world, and the prey of the Maltese pirates was only the Ottoman merchant ships.  But occasionally when they are extremely hungry, or when they feel that the prey is unlikely to be a merchant ship from their own camp, they will attack without mercy.

    "The red flag is raised"

    "Fire!"
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