Hidden Dragon in Qing Dynasty

Just as the war was about to break out in all four corners of the continental Europe, in the distant Indian Ocean, a strong fleet was practicing firing their cannons in a T-shaped formation.

"Zuo Manduo... Starboard Camp... "In a single word, shoot..." On the dark blue sea, ten Sail battleship were lined up in a row. The bow of their ships pierced through the seawater to draw the white wave, and the entire starboard side of the fleet suddenly exploded with a blinding red light.

In the distance, the target boat that was filled with empty barrels received a rain of lead bullets. In order to increase the effect of the rain, some of the barrels were even mixed with flammable black gunpowder.

"Cleaning up the bore … Prepare for Secondary Shot... "Change the sail …" After the artillery barrage, the battleships were filled with the sounds of officers' orders. The flags of the different battleships were furiously waving their flags as they communicated with each other. Sailor pulled on the thick and heavy ropes, and the sail started to adjust.

In the middle of the formation formed by the ten battleships, a tall sail battleship cannon opened wide, looking into the distance from the side like a deep sea demon's eyeball.

This fleet was the quintessence of the France's naval power in Asia. Their sole purpose in existing was to protect the Bay of Bengal, which belonged to the emperor.

At that time, India was still in the stage of divided and colonized by the English and French. Although Britain had gained the upper hand in the Indian war by relying on the navy and strong industrial powers, due to the cooperation between the Crimean War and the invasion of the Beijing, the relationship between the two countries was still very close.

Napoleon III's envoy, the most trusted Guard Captain Molière Knight was standing on the deck of the flagship Glory, holding onto the exquisite brass telescope, his face was incomparably gloomy.

Standing beside him was the commander of the fleet, Major General Bruce of the Glory s. Don't look at the haughty chins of the main general that could dry clothes on a normal day. However, in front of Assistant Guard Captain Molière, whose rank was far lower than his, he became extremely cautious and did not even dare to breathe loudly.

Since the ancient times, the servants of the Prime Minister were already at the seventh rank, not to mention the Emperor's most trusted head guard. Furthermore, Molière was the Eastern envoy who had personally acknowledged his fate, and had specially given this loyal knight the authority to transfer troops throughout Asia. With such an identity, how could he not be intimidated by these colonial armies?

"His Excellency the Special Envoy, could it be that our outstanding naval training isn't good enough? Although I admit that he is a little weaker than the British Navy, but against those Asian barbarians, we are still invincible … "

Molière smiled lightly, "Major General, please just call me Molière. There is no need to use such a honorific to refer to me … "I know that under your leadership, the brave colonial army will be reliable, but I still feel a bit uneasy …"

"Is our training really in place? Are we really ready? When we were bombarding them just now, I could clearly feel that when the whole fleet was being bombarded by Zuo Manduo, all the ships were in disharmony. Flag man or helmsman? "Is there a problem with the weight of the ship …"

Major General Bruce never thought that this special envoy actually had such skills. He was definitely not some thick-headed politician like Paris, the Emperor's trust in him was absolutely reasonable.

Molière unceremoniously pointed out the various weak points of the mixed fleet, especially the problem of coordination between the various ships. Although his words were spoken with honorifics, even an idiot with a sharp tone could hear him clearly.

"The actual combat, our navy needs combat, the colonization of Asia has not allowed us to fight evenly with our rivals." The actual combat, our navy needs combat, the colonization of Asia has never allowed us to fight evenly with our rivals.

Molière had a smile on his face, and although he spoke respectfully, he did not leave any face for Molière, so speaking to the General of the Navy that he did not dare to refute a single word.

However, even if he did not say it out loud, it did not mean that General Bruce would not secretly curse him in his heart. Damn you politicians from Paris, how would you know the difficulties of the colonies? The Emperor lived in the Versailles and only knew how to make the colonies send endless amounts of gold and all sorts of supplies.

When nothing happens, just because the colonies are barbarians and don't require too much firepower as a reason to keep deducting military expenditures, and when we have to put our lives on the line, you guys will never mention about deducting money. Instead, you only know how to choose bones from eggs.

You want me to train? Okay, where's the military spending? Who would be able to pay for the gunpowder fired by the cannons? And where would he get the spent artillery from? Do we still have to squeeze out the natives? What property do they have now but wild vegetables?

However, even if he cursed silently, General Bruce still did not dare to challenge the dignity of the envoy. He could only smile apologetically and say, "You are right, you did point out our problem right from the start … "However, what we have to deal with this time is merely a small Ryukyu, a small island nation on the sea that is even inferior to the backward Qing dynasty. There is absolutely no problem with our current combat power …"

"I know, I know where your confidence comes from, but I just have an indescribable worry …" "That Asian is really too unlike an Asian …" Molière said faintly.

Just at this moment, the lookout hand on the mast suddenly shouted loudly, "Northwest … Unknown Ship Found... Look clearly … It's a Arabian Triangle Sailboat, a cargo ship … "

Before he finished speaking, Molière looked towards the northwest through the binoculars. Gradually, a sinister smile appeared on his lips: "My General, can you tell me what kind of ship this is?"

Bruce didn't understand why the envoy would use such a tone to speak, but when he saw the sailboat in the telescope, he couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh, this is a Arabian Triangle Sailboat. It has a displacement capacity of around 40 tons, and is a small cargo ship … This kind of cargo ship was very common in the Indian Ocean, Chinese tea leaves, porcelain, Indian cotton, curry, and various precious stones of the Sri Lanka … and it's these small sailboats that support the Indian Ocean trade network... "

Just as General Bruce was showing off his knowledge, Molière cut him off with a sinister smile: "No, no, no …. Isn't this a pirate ship? You better look carefully, or do you think that this is not a pirate ship? "

General Bruce's heart skipped a beat at that time, he already understood what the His Excellency the Special Envoy meant.

At this time, the lookout hand above them shouted again, "Northwest ship, send the flag language …" They offer their condolences to the invincible French navy and are willing to give us twenty barrels of wine and some spices as gifts... "

"Damn you bastard, you know the envoy is around, yet you still dare to translate such a standard language, isn't this telling the envoy that we normally charge a toll for nothing? 'This is bad, I'll double the value of the gifts I prepared for the envoy later … '

"Heh heh, sure enough, we are pirates." Heh heh, sure enough, pirates. My great admiral, don't you feel that your dignity has been challenged? "

Just as he finished speaking his strange words, General Bruce no longer hesitated, he roared out an order and spit out a distance of half a meter.

"The entire fleet will open in a T-shaped formation, the Left side cannon is ready, ready to fire at the same time … We, we are going to sink this pirate ship! "

"What?" With a boom, all the other officers and sailors on the deck were stunned. Was the general crazy today? It was obviously an ordinary merchant ship, why did he have to fire his cannon? Furthermore, he had already approached them without any precautions. This meant that he was here to deliver wine and spices to everyone. How could he possibly fire?

The people looked at the general with puzzled eyes, and the general clearly felt his face turn red. He shouted in a louder voice, "Do you dare to question my judgment in the execution of my orders?" I am the commander in chief of the fleet! "

The flagman started to issue orders to the other warships. Soon, all the warships adjusted their positions, and the cannon on the starboard side was opened, revealing a densely packed black hole like a Siren's eye.

The cargo ship from the northwest could clearly feel the strange atmosphere. A group of people on the deck were moving about, and along the sea breeze, strange cries that they didn't understand could be heard.

"What about these Frenchmen? Why show us the cannon? Do they think they don't have enough presents? Hurry up and send out the message, our gifts have tripled, and we have even given you a large bag of the highest quality Sri Lanka Gems … "(TL Note: OMG/OMG/OMG/OMG/OMG/OMG/OMG/OMG/OMG/OMG/OMG/OMG/)

Molière looked at the merchant ships in the distance with a gloomy face, and said faintly: "Poor weak races, you may never know why I want to kill you, but the answer is actually very simple, I just need some blood and life to train my troops, in the future war, I cannot lose."

The envoy's voice was so soft that only Bruce could hear him. At this time, the general's heart was filled with fear, he finally knew that this smiling, honorable young man who loved to speak words was pretending to be friendly. His heart was even more cruel than the politicians in Paris.

"Each ship, prepare to fire …" God bless the France, let us punish these pirates … "Fire!"

Not long after, a burst of wind suddenly blew in the ocean, causing all the battleship's hull to tremble. Orange flames rushed out crazily from the starboard side, billowing white smoke into the sea.

The evil spirits of hell began to howl, and a torrential rain of lead bullets covered the entire area of the ocean where the merchant ship was located. The Arabian triangleboat wasn't even able to struggle in the slightest before it was instantly torn to pieces.

Bruce lowered the binoculars with trembling hands, then stood behind the envoy and respectfully saluted him: "His Excellency the Special Envoy, the pirates have been killed, please give me your instructions!"

"Hehehe …" "Beautifully done, let's set sail. I don't wish to see a pirate ship on the way to the ancient empire to the east. I think you understand what I mean …"

"As per your orders, along the way, you will witness the heroic actions of the French navy against the pirates countless times. By the time we see the Naha Harbor's mouth, all of the shortcomings that I have been worrying about should have been made up!"

"Very good, now let's go full sail forward, we will have a great match in speed, I hope you won't disappoint me!" With Molière's smile, the ten French battleship started to sail towards the east.