After receiving the telegram from the Military Commission, the Far East Indian Ocean Fleet immediately dispatched an escort fleet consisting of more than 10 sailing ships and improved sailing ships to join forces with the French fleet to escort it.

A grand welcoming ceremony was held for the French fleet in Colombo, and the enthusiasm of the Far East also made François and his party breathe a sigh of relief, at least judging from the current attitude of the Far East, they still reacted more positively to the olive branch thrown by France.

The French fleet was repaired in Colombo for a few days, and was warmly received by the Far Eastern Ceylon Management Committee and the Indian Ocean Fleet.

After leaving Colombo, the French fleet sailed all the way into the Strait of Malacca and into the islands of Southeast Asia, and the Far East Indian Ocean Fleet returned to Colombo after its escort mission.

The Far South-East Fleet took over the task of escorting the French fleet, and the escorting fleet departed every time the fleet traveled, but immediately warships arrived from all directions to participate in the escort mission.

Every time the convoy was handed over, as soon as the fleet in front had left, the fleet from the Far East gathered to form a new convoy, and the cooperation of the various fleets was seamless, which made the officers and men of the French fleet feel incredible.

The navy of this era did not have effective means of communication, and even if the fleet conveyed information, it could only rely on flags and other means within visual range.

If you want to meet on the sea, you have to rely on luck, sometimes even if the fleet has made an appointment with the port before departure, but finally arrives at the agreed port, and the whole fleet is gathered, it can even take several months.

However, the warships of the Far East also converged from all directions, and each time they arrived in time. It's kind of weird. If a warship in this era wants to do this, it is not something that can be done by being well-trained, but more by luck.

Captain François and Cesar stood on the deck, looking at the Far Eastern convoy on either side of the fleet. François turned his head and said to Captain César, "César, I am the Army. It is impossible to make an objective assessment of the Far Eastern Navy. You are an old sailor, what do you say about the Far Eastern Navy? ”

Captain Cesar shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Sir, I don't know where to start, I can only say it's incredible." In the past few days, I have observed the warships of the Far East, and although there are some small patrol ships that are more different, the rest of the main warships are not much different from the European sail ships. But their ships are faster and more agile than ours.

And we also found that they were several times faster than we could and needed more than half as many sailors as we did. If there is a naval battle between our fleet and the Far Eastern Fleet, it should not end very well. Although their cannon windows are closed. It is impossible to see the configuration of the guns in their gun compartments, but I don't think their firepower will be too weak.

What I couldn't understand even more was the ability of their warships to assemble at sea. I don't know if you have noticed, since entering the South Seas, the convoy in the Far East has been constantly changing, and they have been able to meet in time every time. That's what I've been figuring out all along. If our fleet encounters a storm, it is likely that the fleet will not be able to assemble and even finally reach its destination.

But how did the Far East do it, I think they should have a unique approach. It can quickly and accurately assemble warships, such a fast and accurate assembly method in the Far East. It can be regarded as a revolution in naval warfare, and with this means, the Far East will always occupy the initiative on the battlefield in future naval warfare. ”

François listened to Captain Cesar's words, and also frowned and said: "I understand what you mean, the Far East Navy has such a strong ability to assemble at sea, if it is in a naval battle." They will be invincible. No wonder so many British royal pirates and tough Dutchmen were defeated at their hands. ”

"Sir, there are also a lot of warships in the Far East, and the tonnage is not small. I roughly counted the sail warships that kept appearing to escort us, there were nearly 100, and this is not counting the large number of Oriental junk ships I saw along the way, which are said to be all belonging to the Oriental pirates of the Far East. Although the king is also vigorously developing the kingdom's navy, my advice is to try not to clash with the Far East at sea. ”

Captain Cesar let out a heavy sigh as he said this. Then he continued: "I estimate that this is not yet the main fleet of the Far East, and what we are seeing now may only be the tip of the iceberg of the sea power of the Far East. In the future, they will eventually replace the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain as the world's maritime hegemon. ”

François sighed, not at all exaggerating Captain César's words. Although he was an army general, he still knew the most basic naval knowledge, and the reason why he asked Captain Cesar was to figure out the judgment of Guò, an old sailor who had served in the kingdom's navy for decades, to confirm his thoughts.

It seems that in the future, the kingdom will really maintain good relations with the Far East and try its best to form an alliance with the Far East. If the Far East wants to dominate the world's oceans, it will inevitably need the friendship of a European power like France.

Suddenly, the sailor standing on the mast shouted: "Captain, the fleet is found ahead, and there are many battleships that cannot be determined. ”

François and Captain Cesar hurried to the bow of the ship, picked up a single telescope, and looked out into the sea in the distance. On the sea level ahead, the dense shadows of sails suddenly came into their eyes, and the Second Fleet of the Far East Admiralty in Luzon had sailed out of Manila Bay to meet the formation of a huge fleet in the waters west of Luzon, and warmly welcomed the French merchant fleet.

Nearly 100 warships, composed of the Second Main Fleet of the Far East and the Luzon Coastal Garrison, lined up in a neat formation on the sea, and countless officers and men of the Far East stood in a neat formation on the deck, waiting for the arrival of the French fleet.

The officers and men of the French fleet were also blindsided, but fortunately, Captain François and Captain César reacted, and they hurriedly asked the officers and sailors of the fleet to clean up and stand on both sides of the ship. The French nobles and noblewomen on the ship also came to the deck in full costume, and the atmosphere was quite like that.

More than a dozen sailing ships of the French fleet slowly passed by the Far Eastern warships, and the sailors and nobles on board suddenly felt a solemn aura rushing towards them. More than 100 warships of the welcome fleet in the Far East on the opposite side were silent, and all the officers and men were dressed in ceremonial dresses and lined up in a neat queue in a standard military posture, looking extremely solemn. (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you for touching your head, Discharming, niuniudog, the declining boy, and the monthly pass support that is annoying to lose your name. Thanks jjhk2006 for the tip.