Australian Storm 1876

  Chapter 416 Visit

The patrol boat quickly got onto the side of the light cruiser, and three officers came up along the rope ladder laid down on the ship. These were three officers in army uniforms, all with typical Eastern faces, one lieutenant and two ensigns. .

"Hello, officers of the French Navy, I am Lieutenant Huácai, an officer of the Queensland National Guard of the Greater Hanesh Island. These are my two deputies. Your ship has entered the waters of our defense zone. If it passes harmlessly, please Don’t stay here too much to avoid misjudgment."

  Queensland National Guard?

  The sea area of ​​our defense zone?

  Hu Acai speaks English, and every French officer can understand it individually, but when they are together, they are trapped, and I feel a little puzzled like a myth.

   Colonel Payette was the first to react, blinking his light blue eyes twice, and asked with some confusion; "Where is Queensland?"

   "Oh, we belong to the Australian Dominion of Queensland."

Colonel Payette suddenly realized, and nodded and said; "Yeah, I understand now, but I feel more puzzled. Australia is still in the southeast of the East Indies. From the westernmost part of Australia to the nearest African land, Madagascar, there is also 6000. It's more than a kilometer, about 8,000 kilometers from South Africa, and at least 12,000 kilometers from here. What I want to ask is...what are you doing here?"

   "It's very simple, colonize Africa!" Hu Acai replied confidently.

   "You...Queenslanders want to colonize Africa, isn't it an April Fool's Day joke?"

"What's so strange about this. Queensland is also the territory under the rule of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. We have just defeated the Dutch in the war. Since the little Holland can travel thousands of miles to the East Indies to colonize the East Indies, why do we? Can’t colonize Africa?"

Uh……

   Colonel Payette was blocked and speechless. This is a misunderstanding of arrogant Europeans. I never thought that Asians would also go to Africa to join in the fun. By the way, it is Queensland, the territory of the Queen of England.

He doesn’t know how deep the water is here and what the specific conditions are, so he is not eager to express his opinion. He thought about it and said; “In view of the sensitivity of this region, it is the only place through which the ocean trade route connecting Europe and the Far East passes. I hope you can come with me to the Suez Canal Authority to explain this clearly. Please rest assured, we will treat each other with courtesy."

  "Sorry, Mr. Colonel, I am afraid I have to refuse your invitation, because my task is to guard the Greater Hanish Island, and I am not obliged to give you any explanation."

   "It's probably not your lieutenant's. No one can refuse the invitation from France." Colonel Payette said threateningly.

   "Does this also include the British Empire?"

   "Uh... we are not malicious." This question is not easy to answer. Colonel Payette said to him, deliberately turning the topic off.

"Huh...Is there any malice? You don't count. There are not 20 or 15 Dutch whites I personally slaughtered. Don't perform such threatening tricks in front of me. It is ridiculous and weak." The officers who have experienced **** battles have their own unrelenting energy. The eyes are full of strong murderousness, and they point back without showing any weakness. "My soldier's muzzle is at you. I don't care about France." Anyone who dares to make trouble on this site is regarded as a provocation, and is responsible for any serious consequences. It is not unpredictable."

  This kind of strong momentum made the French officer stagnant. Hu Acai sneered and waved his hand and said; "Let’s go, let me see who dares to stop us and shoot directly."

  The group of three swaggered back to the side of the ship, followed the rope ladder and returned to the mosquito-class patrol boat of more than 300 tons. No French officer on the scene dared to stop it, keeping a strange silence.

   Colonel Payette reacted and walked quickly to the ship’s gunwale and asked loudly; "Mr. Lieutenant, I can’t clearly determine whether you have the right to occupy this place or whether it contains bad intentions. I need more information."

  "Don’t be affectionate, Mr. Colonel, you don’t count, leave this sea area as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary conflict."

   "Please wait a minute, maybe I don't have such rights, but Paris definitely does. You don't want to see conflicts due to misjudgments, we just need to know more about it."

  "Then you can write to Queensland. I am just a soldier and I am not obligated to answer for you."

   "Oh, my God, I don't even know where Queensland is?" Colonel Payette looked mad. .

  "Then you can also go to Downing Street to find the answer. If they are willing to take care of the French, it is none of my business. What you have to do now is to leave as soon as possible and don't mess with me here."

Hu Acai waved backwards domineeringly, and the speedboat left with black smoke "abruptly". The thermal efficiency of diesel engines in this era was low. The black smoke coming out of the chimney was overwhelming, and there were even oil stars that burned incompletely. Splashed out.

  The black smoke fluttered with the wind and spread onto the surface of the light cruiser.

There was a scream from the French officers behind them. After the black smoke passed, their white navy uniforms were sprinkled with a layer of black oil stars, which were very ugly. A greasy black ash was just a touch of their hands. His uniform is over.

   Colonel Payette stood on the deck with a look of misfortune, except that he learned that the National Guard from Queensland occupied the Great Hanish Island, which belonged to the dominion of Her Majesty the Queen of England. He did not know any other information.

  What the **** is the National Guard?

  Why did they occupy the Mande Strait and rush to Hanish Island?

   is said to have colonized Africa, but whose idea was this?

  Does Downing Street know whether it is part of the British colonial strategy in Africa?

  If you send an inquiry, will Queenslanders answer directly?

   Colonel Payette knew that Downing Street would definitely not ignore enquiries from Paris. Even if an official diplomatic letter was issued, it would sink into the ocean. There was a deserted island. Who was so idle, so I could investigate it for you?

  Those bureaucrats are better to do more than less. This is a trivial matter. Is London obliged to respond to Paris?

  Will Paris find it boring?

  I am afraid that this kind of thing will eventually disappear. Wan Li sent an official letter to inquire about Queensland. Even if Queensland responds in the first time, it will take two months. If there are several exchanges of official letters, then the year will pass unconsciously.

  This is still the best situation. If Queensland ignores the Suez Canal Authority, there is really no way.

  Everyone is a colonist, why do you care about my business? What a big joke, is Africa your French family?

  The French light cruiser made a circle, and finally left helplessly, leaving a long snow-white track slowly drifting away.

  Related situation

The second company of the garrison on Greater Hanish Island quickly reported it, which attracted the attention of Lei Xiaopeng, the captain of the expeditionary task force. He sighed and said; "Hey, what should come is still coming..."

  A few days later

  A light cruiser flying the French tricolor flag finally found the town of Xi’an along the coast of Djibouti. It sent a signal to enter the port from a distance, but did not force it in. It seemed to understand the rules.

  (End of this chapter)