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Chapter 1638 Eight-Nation Allied Forces
"In addition to the Venetians, the fleets of the Papal States, Sicily, and Genoa are also approaching Malta. They also want to use the power of the alliance to completely defeat the Ottoman Empire and disintegrate the pressure brought by the Ottoman Empire."

Nelson, who was in charge of coordinating the coalition fleet this time, contacted the Venetian ambassador who had arrived in Malta ahead of schedule, and reported to Chu Yun the situation of the assembly.

"Venice, Malta, the Papal States, Sicily, Genoa, England, Portugal, plus our Great China, a total of eight forces, isn't this the Eight-Nation Alliance..."

Chu Yun thought about it carefully, did he become the person leading the Eight-Nation Allied Forces?
Although Sicily, Portugal, and Genoa do not have much combat effectiveness, they have also sent manpower to serve as logistics, but it cannot be said that they have no contribution.

"The Venetians told us that their forces were limited, that their few infantry were trapped between Egypt and Crete. They had no infantry to help us until Crete was relieved, but they had a large number of galleys. And armed galleons, many ships have a shallow draft and are suitable for landing operations." Nelson told Chu Yun another important information.

"Although the Venetian merchants are very smart and aggressive, their local population is too small to send out infantry."

Chu Yun couldn't help shaking his head. The Venetian could have had a more glorious history, but it is just a city-state in Italy after all.

Chu Yun doesn't need to worry about China's population problem. The local population is very abundant, unlike Venice, which wants to annex more territories but does not have enough population.

The advantage of being an alliance with the Venetians is naturally that you don't have to worry about them developing, their native population is too small, even if there are many colonies, these colonies will eventually become independent.

"This expedition is ultimately led by the navy. The army only needs to find a way to capture the fort and Constantinople, while our navy needs to defeat the Ottoman fleet, maintain the supply line, and break through the Dardanelles." Nelson said.

"Our fleet should be able to do it?" Chu Yun asked.

"No problem at all." Nelson was full of confidence.

If there are 5 steam ironclad ships that can't defeat the Ottoman fleet, then he, the Minister of the Navy, doesn't have to do it.

The island of Malta once again became the headquarters of the anti-Ottoman alliance. The four-nation coalition forces of Venice, the Papal State, Genoa, and Sicily arrived in Malta one after another, making the number of troops and ships here reach an astonishing scale. The alliance's six-nation coalition has much more troops.

Especially the ships of the Eight-Power Allied Forces, there are more than 100 warships alone, not including the endless transport ships and small boats moored in the port!
"The force here may exceed 5." Zheng Chenggong stood on the parapet of Valletta's bastion and silently counted the medium and large ships in the harbor. The number was astonishing.

There are 90 ships in the Chinese and English fleets plus transport ships, and there are also 90 ships in Venice, the Papal States, Sicily, and Genoa, plus the warships of the Hospital Knights, the number of ships exceeds 200...

"There has never been such a large-scale battle in the Mediterranean. This time, apart from Spain and France, other kingdoms may have participated in this war." Hannah sat on the city wall with her feet hanging in the air nearly ten meters high, but she seemed Not scared at all.

"I thought we had a chance to make a contribution in this Mediterranean war, but there are too many ships now, and it may not be our turn to fight with the 'Zheng He'."

Zheng Chenggong was in a complicated mood. Of course, the more ships the coalition had, the better. However, the number of more than 200 ships was too much. Maybe the Ottoman fleet was not enough for them to carve up.

As officers and soldiers of the Admiralty who are difficult to promote, they will not let go of any opportunity to do meritorious service, and this Mediterranean war is the best opportunity to do meritorious service.

"I used to think that except for the Mediterranean Sea, it was the mainland, and I didn't expect the world to be so big. It's good to be able to do meritorious service, but it's also good to be able to live, and to travel around." Hannah is not as obsessed with becoming an admiral as Zheng Chenggong is. .

"I heard that your elder brother wants to marry the nobles of the Papal Kingdom and Sicily after they arrive? He didn't make it difficult for you to marry with any family?" Zheng Chenggong asked tentatively.

"The nobles of the Papal States and Sicily have the right to own land, while the merchants of Venice and Genoa have money and ships. In fact, they are all okay." Hannah said indifferently.

"..." Zheng Chenggong looked at the sea area where the ships gathered, not knowing what to say.

"However, until I am approved to serve in the Fourth Fleet, I will not consider these nobles and businessmen for the time being," Hannah said.

"Have you ever had someone you liked before?" Zheng Chenggong asked.

"There is one. He took me to the east, so I would join the naval lecture hall. But he already has a wife. Even if he didn't, it's just my wishful thinking." Hannah said.

"Li Jinde?" Zheng Chenggong knew this lucky businessman.

Although Li Jinde is not an official person, but because of a series of incidents, he has a relatively close relationship with Chu Yun. He has a huge influence as a private businessman, and now Li Jinde can be said to be very rich. Recently, he was in Tianjin Weihe A rubber factory was set up in Beijing.

Li Jinde is already half of Zheng Chenggong's elder generation, and his influence is far greater than that of Zheng Chenggong now.If Li Jinde went to visit Chu Yun, Chu Yun would most likely meet him, but Zheng Chenggong only his father, Zheng Zhilong, could have such treatment.

"Yeah." Hannah couldn't deny it.

"Captain, deputy captain, the Interim Command of the Navy has summoned you to go to St. John's Cathedral to discuss deployment."

The crew of Zheng He saw Zheng Chenggong and Hannah sitting on the wall of the bastion from a distance, waving to them from below.

"The war is about to start, I'll take you to St. John's Cathedral," Hannah said.

St. John's Cathedral is a church established by the Knights of the Hospital. At this time, it was regarded as the temporary headquarters of the Anti-Ottoman Alliance, and officers of the Eight-Power Allied Forces gathered together.

Zheng Chenggong and Hannah came to St. John's Cathedral. There were one or two hundred captains, deputy captains, and infantry officers and artillery officers. Zheng Chenggong found that he was under twenty, and he was one of the youngest among them.

The deployment of St. John's Cathedral was not as serious as Zheng Chenggong imagined. Instead, it was carried out in the form of a small banquet. Except for a core group of people who were discussing in the church, everyone else had afternoon tea outside.

(End of this chapter)