Chapter 82: Giant Ship Sails West — The Shock of Suez

On the morning of the seventh day, the pier was crowded with people again.

This time there were no cheers; it was far quieter. The people watched in silence as the officers and soldiers of the Restoration Ship lined up to board, watching Wang Wenwu lead his team — thirty-two people, carrying identical black briefcases, wearing dark gray Zhongshan suits or naval uniforms.

Chen Feng stood beside the gangway and handed Wang Wenwu a sealed document pouch.

"There are three documents inside." He kept his voice very low, so only the two of them could hear. "The red cover contains the public terms for the Yingguo people. The blue cover is our bottom line. The white cover... is something that can be 'accidentally' leaked for them to see if the Yingguo people make things difficult."

Wang Wenwu took it; it felt heavy in his hand. "What's in the white cover?"

"Partial design sketches of a simplified version of the 'Restoration-class.'" A faint smile touched the corner of Chen Feng's mouth. "Performance thirty percent stronger than the 'Dreadnought,' thirty percent weaker than our full version. If Fisher sees it, he won't be able to sleep."

"Understood."

"Remember," Chen Feng looked at him, "we're not going to beg for recognition. We're going to tell them: this card table now has our seat. If they won't let us sit, we'll bring our own chair and sit down."

Wang Wenwu nodded and turned to step onto the gangway.

Halfway up, he looked back. "Young Master, what if the talks fall apart?"

Chen Feng stood on the pier, the city of three hundred thousand people behind him. The power plant's chimneys were smoking, the muffled sound of forging hammers drifted from the steel mill, and farther away, the desert was being conquered inch by inch by the railway.

"Then come back," he said. "We have plenty of time. They can't afford to wait us out."

The whistle sounded.

Li Te stood on the bridge, speaking into the voice tube: "All hands attention, prepare to get underway. Engine room, preheat propulsion. Navigation department, check the route. All departments report readiness."

Voices echoed back from the lower deck compartments, level by level:

"Engine room ready! Four steam turbines on standby, fuel boiler pressure normal!"

"Navigation department ready! Route planned, via Colombo, Aden, Suez to the Mediterranean!"

"Gunnery department ready! Main Gun ammunition at one-third base load, secondary guns fully loaded!"

"Communications department ready! All radio frequencies clear!"

Li Te looked at the figure on the pier growing smaller and smaller, and raised his hand in a salute.

Then he turned around. "Cast off. Get underway."

On the fourth day after leaving port, the Restoration Ship sailed into the deep Indian Ocean.

Wang Wenwu convened the first voyage meeting in the officers' dining room. Thirty-two people crowded around the long table; the sea beyond the portholes was a blue so dark it was almost black.

"This is the European intelligence summary we've obtained." Wang Wenwu pushed a stack of documents forward. "Everyone must memorize it thoroughly. The Yingguo section is especially important — who favors peace, who favors war, who wants to court us, who wants to suppress us."

A young diplomat raised his hand. "Minister Wang, will the Yingguo people really sit down to talk? They lost face in Java."

"Precisely because they lost face that they must talk." Wang Wenwu tapped the table. "In three hundred years of the British Empire, what they're best at isn't fighting — it's calculating. When the cost of war exceeds that of negotiation, they'll negotiate."

He opened the Yingguo section of the file:

"Prime Minister Campbell-Bannerman, Liberal Party, inclined toward peaceful resolution of colonial disputes, but under pressure from radical elements within the party. Foreign Secretary Lord Lansdowne, old aristocracy, the real power-holder, pragmatic but arrogant. First Sea Lord Fisher — this man requires special attention."

Everyone looked up.

"Fisher comes from a technical bureaucratic background; in his eyes there is only naval superiority. He pushed the 'Dreadnought' program, and now that our 'Restoration Ship' has crushed it, he has only two possible reactions: either desperately try to catch up, or find a way to acquire the technology." Wang Wenwu paused. "From the intelligence, he's chosen the latter."

"Will he demand technology transfer?"

"More than that." Wang Wenwu closed the file. "He might propose cooperative shipbuilding, even joint design. Remember our bottom line: core secrets are off the table, but we can sell finished products, or... sell last-generation technology."

The meeting lasted three hours.

When it ended, Li Te came down from the bridge and ran right into the crowd dispersing from the meeting.

"Finished talking?" he asked Wang Wenwu.

"Just the beginning." Wang Wenwu rubbed the bridge of his nose. "The waters of Europe are much deeper than the Indian Ocean."

The two walked to the porthole. Outside, two fleets were running parallel in the distance — three Yingguo cruisers, flying the flags of the Far East Fleet.

"They've been following us the whole way." Li Te said. "They picked us up as soon as we left the Indian Ocean, keeping a Distance of ten nautical miles — neither closing nor falling behind."

"Surveillance?"

"Also learning." Li Te pointed at one of them. "Look at the observation post on its bridge — the telescope is trained on us the whole time. They're recording speed, turning radius, smokestack emissions — every detail they can see."

"Let them look." Wang Wenwu said. "Only after looking will they know how big the gap is."

Just then, a communications runner came over. "Captain, the Yingguo fleet has sent a light signal."

"What does it say?"

"Inquiring about our speed and destination."

Li Te and Wang Wenwu exchanged a glance.

"Reply to them." Li Te said. "Speed 18 knots, destination London. Also ask whether they need us to slow down and wait."

The communications runner froze for a moment, then understood, suppressing a laugh. "Yes!"

The signal lamp clicked away. A few minutes later, the reply came.

The communications runner translated. "Yingguo ships reply: No need to slow down, we can keep up. And wishing you a pleasant voyage."

"Pleasant?" Li Te laughed. "Then let them follow."

He turned to the voice tube and ordered: "Engine room, increase speed to 22 knots. Bring it up gradually, don't make it too obvious."

"Yes!"

The hull of the Restoration Ship trembled slightly, the speed gauge's needle beginning to move right. The smoke from the funnel grew even thinner — this was the advantage of fuel boilers: high thermal efficiency, complete combustion.

In the distance, the Yingguo cruisers' funnels suddenly belched thick black smoke.

They were desperately trying to catch up.

The stop at Colombo lasted twenty-four hours.

The Yingguo Governor of Djibouti came to the pier in person — not to welcome, but to stand guard. The harbor area was cleared of all other vessels, and on shore, an armed soldier stood every ten meters.

"Mr. Wang, under colonial security regulations, your vessel may only take on fresh water and may not conduct any other activities." The governor was a stout man in his fifties, wearing a white tropical uniform, drenched in sweat. "Personnel may not go ashore without special permission."

Wang Wenwu stood at the top of the gangway, looking down at him. "Your Excellency the Governor, we are only passing through."

"That's good." The governor wiped his sweat. "Additionally, some... local Chinese have gathered outside the port. I've already ordered the police to disperse them, but for safety's sake, I advise your side not to make contact with them."

Wang Wenwu looked in the direction he was pointing.

Outside the port fence, a dense mass of people. Their faces were indistinguishable, but many handcrafted yellow dragon flags could be seen waving. Police formed a human wall to hold them back, and shoving broke out from time to time.

"They've come to welcome us," Wang Wenwu said.

"Perhaps, but gathering violates the Colonial Assembly Act." The Governor's tone hardened. "Please understand—we must maintain order."