"Let the French retreat? That's not bad. On the one hand, the French could not reach Indochina, and there was no way to recapture it. On the other hand, we don't have to go to war with the French. Wu Haoxuan nodded, more inclined to this method.

"Your Majesty, we can have the Nanyang Fleet send warships to block the Strait of Malacca, as well as other important waterways, to prevent the French from entering the South China Sea. In this case, they have no choice. At the same time, we were able to show our attitude to the French. We refused to allow them to go to Indochina. When the time comes, the French will inevitably weigh it up. If we insist on going our own way and continue to the Indochina colony, we will risk going to war. I am sure that the French will make the right choice when the time comes. Marshal Jiang Baili said.

"The Strait of Malacca is a major communication route between the east and the west, and we are blocking it, so I'm afraid it's not good." Prime Minister Yang Du said. After all, although the relations between the Chinese empire and the Western world are not very good. However, the economic and trade exchanges between the two sides are still very close.

"We can do acting in the western part of the Straits of Malacca, blockade there. However, for the merchant ships of other countries, we can let them go. Only the French warships, transports and merchant ships were blockaded. That way, the French will know that we are targeting them. When the time comes, they will retreat. Admiral Sa Zhenbing said.

"Well, well, let's go ahead with this plan. It was necessary to prevent French reinforcements from going to the Indochina colony. If they want to break through, they really have to kill them. Wu Haoxuan said.

Even if it was a war with France, the empire would have to take the colony of French Indochina. Of course, the Empire should also try to avoid such a situation as much as possible. If you can avoid war, it will undoubtedly be the best. But there is really no way, then it is no wonder that the empire. Of course, the impact of a war with the French is far less than that of a war with countries such as Britain and the United States. Although the French have the name of a world-class power, they have long since lost their name. In addition, Wu Haoxuan also believed that the French would not dare to go to war with the Empire. Once the war began, the French would have no chance of winning.

"Your Majesty, I remember that in the hands of the Indochinese Resistance Army, there were more than 40,000 French prisoners of war. We can make a fuss about those prisoners of war. If the French wanted to redeem the prisoners of war, they had to not only recognize the independence of the French Indochina colony, but also pay a large ransom to the French Indochina colony. The French Indochina colonies also needed a lot of money to establish themselves independently. Being able to extort a little from the French, the Reich can also give a little less. Foreign Minister Tang Shaoyi said.

"Well, that's right, those tens of thousands of French prisoners of war should indeed be put to good use. Leave this matter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Wu Haoxuan said.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Tang Shaoyi nodded. The Imperial Foreign Office did these things with complete ease.

As time passes, a round of fierce conflict, or even war, may break out between China and France over the issue of the Indochina colony. As a result, the attention of the world was focused on the Indochina colonies. This was especially true when the reinforcements sent by France were about to arrive. In addition, the main force of the Nanyang Fleet of the Imperial Chinese Navy began to assemble in Singapore, which also attracted the attention of various countries. Some even claimed that the Chinese Empire was gathering its navy and preparing to wipe out the reinforcements sent by France in one fell swoop. This made the French government even more nervous, for fear that the Chinese Empire would really do this.

The French government issued a statement that France is a peace-loving country. However, France will never allow its own interests to be violated. If the reinforcements sent by France are attacked, France will fight the enemy to the end at all costs.

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs also became active, and the British and Americans successively expressed their support for the French. Of course, both the British and the Americans watched the excitement, and at most they paid lip service to the French. If they were to send troops to support the French, they would never do it. Because, undoubtedly, it would mean that in the event of a war with the Chinese Empire, they would be drawn into the war.

On May 10, 4630 A.D., the Imperial Chinese Admiralty announced that the Chinese Navy would conduct a large-scale exercise in the northwest of the Strait of Malacca. Please take a detour to passing merchant ships. Once they enter the exercise area of the Chinese Navy and are accidentally injured by the Chinese Navy, they will bear all the consequences.

After the Chinese Navy issued this announcement, it immediately caused an uproar around the world. Everyone is not stupid, and they all know that the Chinese Empire is obviously targeting the French in doing this. The French wanted to send reinforcements to the Indochina colony, but the Chinese Empire directly blocked the road, so that the French could not go at all.

Of course, this practice of the Chinese Empire aroused strong opposition from Britain and the United States and other countries. Both Britain and the United States have called on the Empire of China to abandon the Strait of Malacca, an important shipping lane, where the Imperial Chinese Navy conducts exercises that would hinder normal trade and commerce.

However, the Chinese Empire responded. The exercise was aimed at pirates operating in the Strait of Malacca. The Strait of Malacca is thousands of kilometers long, and it is home to many pirates who make a living by plundering passing merchant ships, which seriously affects the safety of this waterway. The Chinese Navy has also organized several crackdowns against these pirates. It's just that when the Imperial Navy cleared up, those pirates fell silent. As soon as the Imperial Navy left, they immediately revived, like weeds, unable to cut down the roots at all.

In addition, those pirates were also smart people, and they knew that the Chinese Empire was the overlord of this sea. If they provoke the Chinese, once the Chinese Navy recognizes the truth, they will have only a dead end. Therefore, these pirates often do not provoke the merchant ships of the Chinese Empire or even the vassal states of the Chinese Empire, and specifically use the merchant ships of Western countries. In this way, the navy of the Chinese Empire was embarrassed to eliminate these pirates. This even made Western countries tease, those pirates in the Strait of Malacca, were simply supported by the Chinese Empire. It's just that they don't have evidence of this, and the Chinese Empire will never admit it.

The Chinese Empire used anti-piracy exercises as an excuse to blockade the Strait of Malacca, an excuse that made it impossible for other countries to oppose it. Only the French government expressed strong opposition, insisting that the Chinese Empire was doing this against France. They demanded that the passage of French* warships and merchant ships through the Strait of Malacca not be obstructed. However, the Chinese Empire simply ignored them.

In the western part of the Straits of Malacca, a large fleet of ships has been sailing on the sea. In the middle part are hundreds of French merchant ships, on which 100,000 French troops and their equipment are transported. Outside these merchant ships were warships of the French Navy. There are dozens of these warships. The most striking are, undoubtedly, five battleships. The five battleships included two 'Lyon-class' battleships and three 'Normandy-class' battleships. Although the French Navy now has a total of sixteen battleships, the French Navy still only sent five, if nothing else, they are worried that they will send too many capital ships to the East, and once they are solved by the Chinese Navy, the losses will be great.

On the battleship 'Lyon', the flagship of the French, the French Admiral Tasiny and the French Army Admiral Alphonse were talking on the bridge. However, the faces of the two were already very ugly.

"General Tacini, has it been confirmed? Did the Chinese block the Strait of Malacca? Admiral Alphonse asked.

"Well, the warship I sent to investigate has returned. The Chinese did block the Strait of Malacca. The main forces of the Nanyang Fleet of the Chinese Navy have already assembled there. They assembled eight battleships, as well as a large number of heavy cruisers, light cruisers, and destroyers. The channel has been completely blocked. Every ship that passes through there has to be inspected by the Chinese Navy before it can pass. French merchant ships were even harassed. It is certain that if we want to pass through the Strait of Malacca, we will definitely be intercepted by the Chinese. Admiral Tacini said with a dark face.

"Damn the yellow-skinned monkeys, they're clearly targeting us on purpose. They also keep saying that they do not support the Indochinese Resistance Army, isn't this just support for those rebel forces? Admiral Alphonse said angrily.

"The Chinese must do this, what can we do? You can't really break in. If you break in, let's not talk about whether you can beat the Chinese. Even if we can break through the blockade of the Chinese, we may not be able to reach the Indochina colony. In addition, if war breaks out with the Chinese, we will pay a greater price. Admiral Tasini said.

"Is there a way if we take a detour?" Admiral Alphonse was a little unwilling.

Admiral Tasini shook his head: "If the Chinese can blockade the Strait of Malacca, they can block other straits." Let's not forget that the whole of Nanyang is under the control of the Chinese. They can stop us at will. ”

"Damn yellow-skinned monkeys, they really deserve to go to hell!" Admiral Alphonse cursed fiercely.

"It seems that we have no choice but to ask for instructions from home now. Let's see how the country decides. Admiral Tasini said.

Admiral Alphonse nodded, there is no way to do this, and it can only be decided by the country what to do next? In the face of the blockade of the shipping lanes by the Chinese Empire, there are indeed not many countermeasures that the French can come up with. (To be continued.) )