On September 21, 1702, the night in the Port of Ceuta was quiet, and two "Star"-class light cruisers were quietly anchored in the harbor. The lights on the ship were shining, staring into the distance like eyes in the darkness.

Unfortunately, because it does not have steam power, the lights lit on the ship are not bright gas lamps, but windproof kerosene lamps for navigation produced by Guangming Lamp Factory. This is the real kerosene, that is, the fuel obtained through coal liquefaction technology, with complex composition. Because often seven or eight tons of coal can liquefy one ton of oil, and the equipment manufacturing cost is high and the production cost is high, making kerosene a fuel very expensive. Even for a wealthy navy, there are quota restrictions when using it. Of course, the reason is that the output is low.

Of course, people from the East Coast are also looking for other alternative liquid fuels, such as oil. According to the latest news, an expert group composed of the Ministry of Geology has confirmed that after years of investigation, exploration and sampling, it is confirmed that there are liquid fuels with abundant reserves in Dingnan County, which they call them "oil". They have dug wells in some shallow places to obtain some oil samples. After repeated analysis, they believe that their chemical composition is complex, but they have great value.

To this end, they began to cooperate with relevant domestic departments, especially the three major heavy industrial manufacturing consortiums and engineering technology research institutes of Tieling, Ping'an and Heishan, to prepare to design and customize a set of special drilling equipment, and start to further explore and research.

It is conceivable that when their work has made certain progress and domestic oil-related industries begin to sprout, this liquid fuel will slowly enter the market and gradually replace the function of kerosene. After all, compared to naturally liquid oil, the kerosene obtained after coal liquefaction is too expensive, so the Navy originally wanted to design a marine steam engine using kerosene as fuel, but in the end they had to give up because of the price. Well, they have tried to turn to oil.

In short, in a word, the power system using liquid fuel, steam turbines and other power systems have much higher efficiency than coal. Moreover, the combustion calorific value is high and the storage space is small (which means more endurance), and the advantages are still very obvious. In the future, the use of liquid fuel is a general trend and no one can stop it.

"Battery Commander, this is information transferred from Amsterdam and London." In a lounge at Port Ceuta Pier, Zhou Yafu, wearing a military uniform, was writing at his desk.

He has recently formulated a combat plan to attack Gibraltar Bay. The staff members have made several versions before, but he is not satisfied. It happened that the British might attack this place recently, so he simply took it over and wrote a copy by himself, of course it was just a skeleton. The specific content still needs to be filled in by the staff members, which is exactly what they are good at.

"The war in the South Netherlands is in a stalemate..." Zhou Yafu took a sip of strong tea, took the information and said with emotion.

It is said that since Churchill, Earl of Marbal, left, the local British army was under the command of Prince Eugen, but the paddling was a bit serious. In addition, Austria was invaded by Turks, and the morale of the army was shaken. The Austrian army was debilitated and the French army led by Duke Vandom was unable to expel the French army led by Duke Vandom from the South Netherlands.

At this time, King Louis XIV of France was also planning a big plan, which was to send elite main forces across the southern part of Germany, joining the troops of his ally Duke of Bavaria, and directly into Vienna, destroying the enemy's core in one fell swoop.

This is definitely an amazing and bold plan. If the results of the war are perfect, the German Emperor Leopold will probably end the war. In that way, France's hegemony will be indestructible in the future, and everyone will crawl at the feet of Louis XIV and praise him.

In fact, this plan almost succeeded in history. At that time, Austria was fighting on both sides, with empty troops. The French made this breakthrough in the middle and really hit seven inches. Leopold was panicked and fled Vienna for the second time in his life (the first time was when the Turks came), and was in panic all day long. Later, Prince Eugen rushed from the Netherlands to Blenheim at an incredible marching speed, intercepted the French team, and won the battle, which allowed Leopold, who was covered in dust, to return to Viana's palace.

In this time and space of the East Coast people, Austria is also empty, and may even be even more empty than in history. Louis XIV set this plan, and if it was done properly, it should be able to achieve great results. But it is unlikely to catch Leopold, because this man was too capable of running away, and it would be almost impossible to catch him.

Of course, if you want to realize this plan, the French still have to clear the obstacles that blocked them. At present, the bridgehead Fort Philip has been conquered by the French army (with great casualties), the Principality of Lorraine has also occupied it, and Savoy in the south surrendered to Paris, and his worries have been lifted. Now, it is time for the army to advance eastward, cross the Rhine, and go straight to Vienna.

Louis XIV predicted that after his army entered the territory of the German princes and showed his bravery, more German monarchs would surrender, which was very important. Austria's energy was never limited to that principality! To defeat Leopold, it must first cut off his wings so that the German princes no longer support him in soldiers, materials and food, and no longer respond to him politically and diplomatically, so that things would be much easier.

Therefore, he had made up his mind to put heavy troops in the Rhine River Basin to fight a beautiful battle and annihilate the German coalition forces standing here. Then he chose some elite troops, not much, 40,000 to 50,000 people were enough. After all, they also had the assistance of the army of the Principal of Bavaria, and the supply of materials could also be supported to a considerable extent, and the possibility of success was quite considerable.

It is worth mentioning that Louis XIV's envoy had just arrived in Milan a while ago and tried his best to win over the Northern Italian Federation to their side. He seemed to have no mind at all about the attack on the Principality of Savoy. Milan also knew the French's thoughts, which was nothing more than asking them to send troops north and restrain Austria's energy.

Louis XIV's envoy made it clear that France had no ambitions for Italy (Is this true?), while Austria was salivating about Northern Italy (This is the truth...), and always wanted to go south to invade. Since the Austrians could go south, the Italians could go north (the real enemy could go too...), and cooperated with the French and Bavarian army to eliminate the evil core of Austria. At that time, France would fully support some reasonable territorial appeals made by the Northern Italy Federation against Austria, and the whole of Europe would be peaceful for generations.

The Italians could only laugh at this. They sent troops to the north to attack Austria. This cliff was used as a gun for France. Not to mention it, once Austria is destroyed by France, will France not have any ideas about Italy? The tigers in Vienna want to eat people, and the tigers in Paris don’t eat people? No one with a normal IQ will agree with France’s request. What’s more, the ideal of the Northern Italian Federation is to achieve the unification of the Italian nation. Spain will be their main enemy in the short term, which is destined to not pee in the same pot as France. So, bye bye, France, I want to fight Naples and Sicily!

"Well, the South Netherlands is in a stalemate. Britain, the Netherlands and the Austrians may open up a second battlefield to seek breakthroughs. The French may also open up a second battlefield to seek breakthroughs. Where will this be?" Lieutenant Colonel Zhou Yafu thought carefully: "The direction of the French is actually easy to guess, and it is almost clear. At present, their main force is gathering in the area of ​​Fort Philip, and a large amount of supplies are also gathering there. It is definitely necessary to launch an offensive battle of more than 100,000 people in the Rhine River Basin. The Anti-French Alliance is not easy to guess. It is possible to gather troops in the Rhine River Basin and find another way. The Iron Mansion on the Iron Mansion is in the Rhine River Basin.

Warn that the British and Dutch navy may have to launch a large-scale maritime battle or a landing battle. The former is easy to say, but the latter is troublesome. The sea landing battle is definitely not in France, which will only give the French army heads, so if nothing unexpected happens, it will be in Spain. The two most suitable places for landing in Spain are Cadiz, Spain's largest trading port, and the other is Gibraltar Bay with excellent conditions. The former is crucial to Spain and will definitely deploy heavy troops, while the latter's defense will be much empty. Grandma, the British are trying to seize food from the tiger's mouth!"

Lieutenant Colonel Zhou Yafu slapped the table suddenly and stood up with some annoyance. The night outside the window was quiet, but his heart was extremely restless. Once Gibraltar Bay was occupied by the British, the people on the East Coast would be embarrassed. At that time, should they directly tear their faces and seize them by force, or take them down through diplomatic means? It seems that no matter which choice is, they are passive, embarrassed, and they will be laughed at by the army! This is absolutely unacceptable!

So, sending naval warships to cruise around the Strait of Gibraltar to "guard the door" for Spain? That's too funny! And sending troops to occupy it directly? Let's not talk about whether the time is right now, just one of them, the thousand-man from the land war camp, may not be enough! Another land war camp is in Cape Verde, preparing for the occupation of the Canary Islands, and cannot move lightly. What should we do?

Through the Joint General Staff Headquarters or a plenipotentiary, ordering the Army to send a mixed regiment of troops to cooperate? This is really hard to say. Zhou Yafu "rebels" from the Army, and he doesn't want people to look down on it.

So, for the sake of the present, there is only military adventure? If a land war camp suddenly attacks, the ridiculous defensive force that has always been Brotartar can be directly occupied. But the problem is that the matter will not end there. In fact, if the Spanish mobilize a large army to recover the lost territory, there is no need to be too many. Ten or 20,000 people will be overwhelmed, and they will not be able to bear it and in the end they will still have to ask for help.

Of course, there is another good way, that is, to put the Spanish kingdom into war, and the troops are short of troops and unable to rescue Gibraltar. To achieve this effect, it is nothing more than to send the British Navy and Army to attack Spain and attract its Spanish troops. In addition, to let the Northern Italian Federation launch as soon as possible to attack Spanish Naples and Sicily is also a good way. The Spanish cannot sit idly by and watch these two places fall, right? That would be a huge blow to the prestige of the new King Philip V, and he would not be able to bear this price.

So, that's it? While through relations, the Portuguese said that the British and Dutch coalition forces could use the route to invade Spain (historically, Portugal joined the anti-French alliance in the war), and the Northern Italians launched a war of unity? It seems that it is a bit feasible and it is not difficult to operate, but this first requires the approval of the envoy Sheng Dehong.
Chapter completed!