Outside the sea of ​​Malacca

Jan Kok Burkhoff, commander of the Dutch East Indies Naval Task Force, stood on the cruiser bridge of the "Seven Provinces", and looked at the sailing cargo ships and iron ships sailing on the sea through the porthole glass. His heart was like this stuffy and small cockpit, full of extreme irritability.

He led most of the Dutch East Indies that could sail, and he had been waiting near the Malacca waters for nearly a month and a half. Due to the information transmission of competitions in today's era, there was still no news about the "Albatross" and "Flamingo", and no trace was seen.

The Strait of Malacca is so wide, can it still fly into the sky?

The Malacca Strait, which is more than 800 kilometers long, is trumpet-shaped, and the narrowest point is only 65 kilometers. In the past month, the task force has cruised at least 8 warships every day, setting up a tight net and waiting for the bait. Even a fly cannot fly over and is definitely impossible to escape.

It seems impossible to detour

Because starting from the southernmost port of Cochin, India, and detouring the Indian Ocean south of the Strait of Malacca to the westernmost Pas, you must pass Batavia (Jakarta) in the middle. If you do not stop the route, the journey is extremely long, with a range of more than 4,500 miles, almost close to 7,000 kilometers, which is far beyond the extreme voyage capabilities of the Albatross and the Flamingo.

If the destination port is Jayapra, it will be an additional 620 miles of flight, unless there is a supply cargo coal ship that is accompanying you all the way.

The question is, where are these abominable opponents?

Looking at the endless vast sea, with white sails on the sea surface, Lieutenant General Yang Cork Burkhoff was almost vomiting, and rubbed the corners of his sore eyes and said;

"God! I curse these abominable Australians, on which day do they want to play this cat and mouse game?"

"Mr. Commander, I may have guessed it."

"Mr. Captain Van Basten, I'm very interested in hearing your opinions, and hopefully it's not a frustrating news."

"There are exquisite afternoon teas on the ship kitchen. Master Commander, we can sit down and discuss this issue slowly. Black tea with honey will make people feel better."

"Well, I do need a drink."

Lieutenant General Jan Kok Burhoff, accompanied by Captain Van Basten, the cruiser of the Seven Provinces, left the bow driving tower and arrived at the semi-open platform at the stern of the cruiser.

It is located between the main gun room of the ship and the main sail of the rear mast. There is a sunshade above the head, and a small round table covered with white tablecloth is placed below. The small round table is decorated with exquisite refreshments, biscuits and fruits, as well as classical porcelain cups and porcelain Gu dedicated to afternoon tea.

The guards hung squarely stacked white towels on their arms as waiters. There were only two chairs next to the small round table, which was obviously a very small afternoon tea.

"What a great Captain, these handmade cookies look delicious. Can I try them first?"

"Please enjoy it."

"Thanks!"

Lieutenant General Young Cork Bourhoff picked up a cookie and put it in his mouth and chewed it slowly, enjoying the sweet and crispy taste, and couldn't help but exclaim, "It's really good, it would be better if you add dried French cheese."

"It is actually right in front of you, Lord Commander." Colonel Van Basten reached out and uncovered the cover of the classical porcelain cup, which contained the famous French dry cheese.

In this hot weather with direct sunlight, the French dry cheese appears irregular semicircular piece by piece, obviously it was just cut with a dining knife, and it was still a bit of cool air.

Lieutenant General Young Cork Burhoff's eyes couldn't help but condense and exclaimed from the heart, "Oh Swiga! Praise God, in this hot climate that makes people crazy, you can taste the precious cold dry cheese. This is the taste of happiness."

He picked up two slices of cookies, put a small piece of iced dry cheese in the middle and put it in his mouth, enjoying this long-lost wonderful taste, and a hint of emotion suddenly arose in his heart.

As a common food on European dining tables, although dry French cheese is rare in the Nanyang region, it cannot be said to be "precious".

The key to the reason why Lieutenant General Young Cork Bourhoff said this is that he is "icing". It is particularly rare in this era without refrigerators. It is a luxury that only a very small number of upper classes can enjoy.

In Batavia (Jakarta)

Every year as December approaches, a special three-masted sailboat sails from Fusang Kagoshima to make large ice cubes as pure as diamonds from the frozen lake.

After the ice was loaded into the cabin, it was wrapped in thick quilt layer after layer, and then transported it back to Batavia thousands of miles and stored in a cool ice cellar.

The countless labor costs were spent during this period to meet the demands of the Governor's Office and the upper class of the Netherlands for high-quality ice.

Being able to taste iced French dry cheese on the cruiser "Seven Provinces" instead of the soft and soft cheese puree in high temperature environments is enough to be regarded as the word "precious".

Lieutenant General Jan Coke Burhoff's appetite was fully satisfied by French cuisine and he let out a moan of almost sighing. "Oh... Praise God, it is this long-lost wonderful taste that makes me feel like I have returned to my home in the Netherlands. At this time, the white snow has fallen in Northern Europe. We can sit in the corridor and taste the strong salted herring. The extremely tender taste is really remembered forever!"

This feeling

Just like the old Beijing who had been away from home for a long time, I drank the bean juice I had longed for, and the Henan fellow villagers who were working hard to drink Hu La Tang, which aroused the deep longing for their hometown in my heart.

"Then you should try this more. This is the most authentic salmon roe from the Kamchatka Peninsula, which is also cold." Colonel Van Basten unveiled another exquisite porcelain cup, inside which are salmon roe carved like black jade, exuding a hint of cool air.

This is an absolute delicacy. Salmon roe is already precious enough, not to mention it is still cold. The soft and sweet feeling of eating in the mouth is unmatched by soft fish roe.

Lieutenant General Young Cork Burhoff was so surprised that he couldn't help but pick up a small silver spoon and tasted it; "Oh, there are so many surprises. Is it Christmas today?"

"It is very honored that you can like it, Commander." Colonel Van Basten maintained a rigorous gentlemanly demeanor, with a slight smile on his face, and in fact he was already filled with joy.

He was already tired of this hot ghost place all year round, and also tired of the old "Seven Provinces" cruiser. Its cabin was stuffy, narrow and dirty. Every time he sailed, he was covered in sticky sweat, accompanied by a strong stinky smell.

As long as he can win the favor of the commander and one day he can be transferred back to the local fleet for service, this is Captain Van Basten's greatest wish.

Sitting under the pergola, the two senior fleet officials chatted with laughter and enjoyed this sumptuous afternoon tea.

From here, you can see the half-open steel cannon room of the ship. Two German 239mm breech main guns that have just been replaced are placed in the front of the left and the back of the right. Plus a German 239mm breech main gun on the bow. The ship has three main guns in total, and the main gun firepower is one and a half times that of the Seagull Type 2 patrol ship.

The Seagull Type 2 Ocean Frigate also uses this model's main gun. The technical performance of the two is completely consistent, and there is no difference.

The Albatross and Flamingo, who returned from the voyage, were blocked in the narrow Strait of Malacca and besieged by the Dutch Royal Task Force, which was undoubtedly a complete disaster.

The "Seven Provinces" are cruisers with a displacement of 2,760 tons, 57.68 meters long, 13.85 meters wide, 5.4 meters draft, and the power configuration is two horizontal steam engines, 4 large boilers, and a speed of 13 knots.

This is a three-mass steam iron armored warship, belonging to the harness gun room iron armored warship series. It was completed and put into service in 1860. It has a crew member of 192 people and has been in service for 21 years.

In today's era

If we put aside the powerful sailing powers of Britain, France and Germany, the "Seven Provinces" are also one of the most powerful cruisers in the vast Nanyang area, which is enough to intimidate surrounding countries, so they were modified as soon as possible.

The huge black muzzle on the battleship brought full confidence to Lieutenant General Jan Cork Burhoff, and his Nordic beards curled up happily on his lips and said proudly;

"This is a steam iron armored ship that is awe-inspiring. Although the ship is old, its bones are hard enough. The most important thing is to have 192 of the best Royal Navy officers and soldiers in the world. If you control this ship like an arm, you will surely make any invading enemy bleeding. You will suffer enough trouble. Hahahaha..."

"As you wish, Commander, the Seventh Province is indeed a strong man that cannot be ignored in the waters of Malacca." Colonel Van Basten also had the capital to be proud. He took a sip of tea leisurely and suddenly changed his tone. "We are indeed confident of intercepting the two new ships of the other party, but the biggest problem is that if Queensland joins the two new ships to pass the level together, it will cause us great trouble."

Speaking of this, he said helplessly, "After all, we have been here for a long time. This is a strait where merchant ships gather, and the combat intention can no longer be concealed."

Lieutenant General Young Cork Burhoff asked, "You mean..."

Colonel Van Basten replied, "Yes, Commander, the two new ships of the Albatross Flamingo have been staying in the Port of Cochin in the central Indian Ocean for a long time. It has been a month since we counted on our fingers.

The intention is already very obvious, just to wait for the arrival of the two subsequent new ships to pass the level together.

For Queensland, the only thing worthy of being vigilant is the Seven Provinces. Even if the other sailing warships and ironclad ships are equipped with new guns, they are all caliber artillery below 150 mm, and it is difficult to pose a fatal threat to them.

Latest news shows

The two subsequent Seagull II cruisers have left the German shipyard and entered the Mediterranean. They will soon go to the Indian transit port through the Suez Canal to meet with the two new ships that arrived together earlier.

As a result, our powerful "Iowestine" is still undergoing mid-term modification at the German shipyard, and a large gap has appeared in the strength of the Royal Task Force, which is a good time to make an assault pass.

If what is expected is good, these four new ships will conduct a series of drills off the coast of India's Kochi Port, familiar with the cooperation between them, and the time will be about one month to 40 days."
Chapter completed!