The court deliberated for a while

The ministers agreed that foreign minister Lee Si-hyun would lead negotiations with the Entente countries to reach a deal on a package of matters such as labor, ship charters, including the import of weapons such as aircraft and tanks, and immigration arrangements (European women and children who had fled).

Congress will introduce the Lend-Lease Act in due course to give the green light to the deal.

The core content is the exchange of islands for ships, mainly based on the Royal Navy's need for Atlantic islands, such as the Azores belonging to Portugal, the Canary Islands belonging to Spain, Wallis and Futuna by the French, St. Helena by the British, etc., and some islands in the Pacific Ocean or Central America, but the value is greatly reduced.

The Ocean Empire is not either of the warring parties, and it is natural that so many things will be exchanged at an equal price, and with the shyness of the Entente countries now, there is a high probability that they will not be able to come up with the money.

That's why the government has come up with such a proper plan to solve the immediate needs of the Entente countries.

Although Germany did not attack the merchant ships of neutral countries, it showed no mercy to the merchant ships of the Allied countries, and the North Sea area with the British Isles as the core was a place where German submarine activities were rampant, and news of the sinking of merchant ships continued to come out.

From tens of thousands of tons per month in the early days of the war to tens of thousands of tons of merchant ships per month today, the losses of the merchant fleets belonging to the Entente countries have become greater and greater, and the cumulative loss has been more than 1.4 million tons of merchant ships, which is why they urgently need escort ships, especially the 4,500-ton Brave-class cruisers are the most popular.

Because although this class of ships is old, but the tonnage is appropriate, and the shortcomings of the speed is not fast enough to accompany the escort of the merchant fleet, and the range is long enough, and the price is low enough.

The Royal Navy had a total of 37 Valiant-class cruisers, all of which the Entente wanted.

In addition, there are 36 6,500-ton "Katsuki"-class cruisers and more than 90 2,300-ton destroyers, all of which are escort boats urgently needed by the Entente countries, which will greatly enhance the security of Atlantic trade.

Build new ships, the Entente can't wait.

On the contrary, the Entente countries were not interested in the capital ships of the Royal Navy, because these ships were too big, too expensive, and the operating costs were also high, and when the Entente firmly controlled the sea power, the need was not urgent, and few people were willing to pay this unjust money.

Perhaps Portugal would have asked for one or two ships to keep their overseas colonies safe.

Take stock of a few important islands in the Atlantic Ocean

The first is the Azores, which belongs to Portugal. Located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, it is made up of nine main islands, about 1,450 kilometers off the coast of Portugal, and it takes about three days for cargo ships to travel from the Portuguese capital Lisbon to the Azores.

Discovered by Portuguese navigators in the 15th century, the Azores archipelago has long been an important supply point for the Atlantic route, and for three hundred years controlled most of Europe's trade with Africa, Asia and the Americas.

Owned the island. It can achieve complete coverage of the central Atlantic route, and the island has relatively complete dock facilities and towns, and a naval base is set up here, and warships can carry out close escort for the merchant fleet to Europe.

Due to the abundance of geothermal heat, there are many hot spring lakes, and the use of geothermal heat is a must, mixing rice, sausages and vegetables into a wooden barrel with holes around it, and steaming it in a steam tank for several hours on end.

As a member of the Entente, Portugal's merchant fleet and naval ships were repeatedly attacked by German submarines, and suffered great losses, so it was objectively possible to conclude a deal.

In order to facilitate the Entente's much-needed need for war materials, as long as Britain and France and other countries promised to compensate them after the war, Portugal was very likely to agree.

As an old colonial power, Britain, France and other countries have a lot of good things in their pockets, not to mention that as long as they win the war, they can cut a piece of meat from the Ottoman or Austro-Hungarian Empire, which is enough for Portugal to eat a round belly.

It's just a small island, but what is it worth?

This is followed by the Canary Islands, which belong to Spain, which is slightly more difficult. Because Spain was a neutral country, his territory should not be encroached upon by both sides of the war.

Located in the Atlantic Ocean, off the west coast of Africa, the Canary Islands are an autonomous region of Spain located more than 1,000 kilometers from the Spanish mainland.

There are 7 large islands and several small islands, divided into two island groups, east and west. east

The group includes Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and six smaller islands, while the western group includes Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Palma, La Gomera and Ferro (also known as Hierro).

In 1404, the French explorer Betancourt, with the support of King Henry III of Spain, captured the islands of Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Ferro. In 1420, Portuguese troops occupied the island of La Gomera. In 1479, the Treaty of Alcasova transferred sovereignty over the islands to Spain.

This is the most beautiful island in the Atlantic, with an unbeatable scenery that is like paradise.

Decades later, tourism boomed, and the Canary Islands attract 15 million tourists a year, making it a world-class tourist destination. Comparable to the Caribbean.

The writer Sanmao and her husband, Jose, settled on the island of Gran Canaria. She and José chose a home away from the city, on a hillside not far from the island's valley, where they spent the most romantic time of their lives.

The third option is Wallis and Futuna for the French, which European countries have been fighting for. In the end, the French were victorious, occupying Wallis and Futuna in 1887 and 1888 respectively, which were French colonies.

Traditional culture prevails on Wallis and Futuna, with indigenous houses built on clay platforms covered with coral flakes, palm fronded roofs, and reeds and lattice windows.

The island's volcanic scenery and tropical island scenery are different from those of Europe, attracting many Europeans who come to vacation, and the island's Lalao Lalao Lake is the world's most perfect round volcanic lake, and the British Admiral Winston Churchill once took a cruise ship to visit here and painted on the shores of Lalao Lalao Lake, calling it "the closest place to the Garden of Eden".

Dutch Aruba is an island in the Caribbean and a colony of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and its location is much less than that of the aforementioned islands.

Aruba was discovered and possessed by Spain in 1499, seized by the Dutch in 1636 and occupied by the Dutch West India Company, briefly ruled by the British during the Napoleonic Wars, and returned to the Netherlands in 1816.

Aruba is famous for its 10 kilometers of continuous white sand beaches and seaside holiday homes, and is also known as the "turquoise coast", but it is far worse as a naval base, neither as good as Guantanamo in Central America nor as good as Panama.

Then there's the British island of St. Helena, famous for the exile of the French Emperor Napoleon, not far from Guinea in West Africa, which can be easily reached by offshore ships.

The island was a port of call on the European sea route with the East Indies and was owned by the British East India Company. The island was briefly occupied by the Dutch in 1673, but was soon recaptured by the British as part of the East India Company.

After the opening of the Suez Canal, the importance of the island dropped dramatically and gradually became unpopular.

As a result, two or three of the five Atlantic islands were to be acquired as part of a complete network of Royal Navy world bases, as well as islands in Central America and the Pacific. For example, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which exit from the northwest end of the Strait of Malacca, are all possible options.

As the empire with the largest number of islands in the world, the Ocean Empire has nearly 30,000 islands spread across the six continents of the world.

Now that the war in Europe is raging, it is also the best time to make a deal.

After the matter was agreed, the ministers discussed several important matters in the country, and after reaching an agreement, the Holy Lord made a decision and put it into action.

The court discussion came to an end, and the ministers said goodbye to the saint, and left the East Pole Hall all the way, came to the palace to take the crown car that had been waiting here, and soon dispersed.

The metropolis of the Red River Valley in March is sunny and warm.

The imperial city with Daming Palace as the core, is located in a lush forest, the three main halls of the magnificent are located at the foot of the mountain, the inner courtyard of the palace follows the mountain into the deep valley, the highest position of the Lingxiao Pavilion stands on the top of the hill, the eaves and arches, it is magnificent.

The ancient trees here are towering to the sky, and the sun is full of sprouts.

The entire Imperial City and its surroundings are the largest forest areas in the metropolis of the Red River Valley, with many noble mansions built between the trees, the white walls and tiles, the palaces, and the people who can live in this area, all of them are either rich or expensive.

The residence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Li Sixian is also here, he is the royal secretary of the "benevolence, righteousness and loyalty", he worked beside the saint more than 20 years ago, and later was released as the deputy director of the Secretariat, successively served as the governor of Luzon, the director of the Imperial Science and Technology Commission, the vice minister of industry, and the vice minister of foreign affairs.

The car drove into the courtyard from the gatehouse, and the housekeeper of the inner government had already stepped forward to open the car door attentively.

Li Sixian got out of the car and looked a little tired, and handed the briefcase to his eldest son Li Jia, who greeted him, and explained; "Put the briefcase in the study, let people make a pot of tea, oh, a few snacks, I'm still a little hungry."

"Father, why don't you eat a little earlier?"

"It's not necessary for the time being, I'm going to take care of today's court affairs, don't bother me."

"Yes, father."

Li Jia followed his father to the study in an orderly manner, and when he was about to reach the door of the study, Li Sixian suddenly stopped, turned around and looked at his son thoughtfully and said; "I heard your mother say, what kind of film company have you started with someone else recently, what is going on?"

"Back to my father, it's true, and the child hasn't had time to report it to you," Li Jia admitted honestly, his eyes a little cringe, and his father's face was a little cringe.

Li Sixian couldn't see any expression on his face, stared at his eldest son, who was nearly 30 years old, and said in a deep voice; "Come to the study."

After speaking, he went straight to the study.