"Tell me this, is it because my life has come to an end?" Thomas believed Li Junwei's words, because it would not be surprising that nothing did King Yu he knew.

Li Junwei shook his head: "No, my plan is out of your mouth, no one will believe it. Your former colleagues will only think that you are jealous of Stockton and take revenge on Stockton."

"Then why do you still tell me? You didn't say anything, or simply didn't save me and let me die on the street. Isn't it just that there was nothing?" Thomas said.

Li Junwei said sincerely: "I tell you these for two reasons. First, you are my friend. Although we are not sincere friends, except for the few who were together as children, what kind of sincere friends do I have? I am worried that you will not be able to stand the blow and commit suicide.

Second, try it.”

"What to test?"

Li Junwei said: "Try to see if you are a patriot. Obviously, you are not. I just said that you would declare war on Britain, but you believed it but did not react violently. Obviously you didn't care much. This shows that you are really just a businessman."

After hearing this, Thomas sighed helplessly: "Your Highness, patriotism is a good quality in your kingdom. You prove that I am not a patriot, wouldn't it disappoint you?"

"No, I said, we are not sincere friends, and I have no plan to make you my true friends. Your moral qualities are not that important to me. I am not a noble person, and I have no moral integrity." Li Junwei shrugged and said.

Thomas nodded slightly and asked, "Your Highness, can I still follow you?"

"Why? I'm going to set out for the Caribbean tomorrow. You're seriously injured now. Stockton is an excellent licking dog, and he is also useful to me. You are easily discovered by him." Li Junwei said.

Thomas said: "You can arrange for me to be on another boat. As for the reason, I am not an important friend of you, but after Stockton has no value, you still need someone like me. Instead of changing a new person, let me continue to take on this role. At least, you have already tried to show that I am not a patriot."

"Okay, I'll arrange you on Horayshaun's pirate ship." Li Junwei said.

On February 24, 27th, the Empire Expeditionary Fleet set sail from El Salvador, a Brazilian colony in Portugal. The reason for sailing here was that it was a regular exercise with the Brazilian colonial ships, and the fleet was divided into the Expeditionary Fleet, the Second Fleet and the Horeshaun Fleet.

The First Expedition Fleet included six Yuan-class ships: Zhiyuan, Weiyuan, Jingyuan, Suiyuan, Zhenyuan and Fuyuan. Four American-class warships from the local and Nanyang joined. These four heavy patrols also had the ability to transform into battleships, but their defense power had decreased and their construction cost was relatively cheap. They were all new naval forces. The American-class was named after the mountains and rivers of the Americas. The four were the Huntongjiang, the Daliao River, the Taibai Mountain and the Daxianbei Mountain.

The second fleet is centered on the 32-aircraft cruiser. Compared with the Yuanzi class and the American class's displacement of 1,400 tons, the second fleet's horse-class heavy cruiser has only about 1,000 tons, but it enhances self-sustainment and ocean-going navigation capabilities. This fleet has eight warships, all named after the horses in the history of the empire: Chitu (Lu Bu), Lu (Liu Bei), Wu Zhi (Xiang Yu), Jue Ying (Cao Cao), Jade Lion (Zhao Yun, full name Zhaoye Jade Lion), Salu Zi (one of the six horses of Li Shimin Zhaoling), Zhui Feng (one of the seven horses of the First Emperor), Jue Chen (one of the nine Yi of Emperor Wen of Han).

Horayshaun's fleet consisted of three cruise ships and six schooners, of which vary in size. Except for Horayshaun's headquarters, the rest were ships with privateers. For those who were willing to accept command, Horayshaun was incorporated into his own fleet. When he arrived in the Caribbean, the fleet found many pirates and expanded again.

In the combat room of the flagship Zhiyuan, the staff opened a huge chart, which was created by the Navigation Bureau of the Ministry of Overseas Affairs, integrating information from all countries and parties. The deadline in the upper right corner is November of the 26th year of the Empire.

In and around the Caribbean Sea, there are colonies of many countries. Spain naturally occupies the largest and best colonies. Almost all Central and South America are in their hands. The Dutch occupied several islands around the leeward islands and the South American continent. They owned a colony called Suriname in South America, while the French occupied the west of Haiti (later the Republic of Haiti) and several nearby islands.

Although the French did not colonize here for a long time, they had a domineering king, so Haiti was the richest and safest place in the local area. Even pirates knew not to provoke the French. Pirates always bully the weak and fear the strong. They knew that plundering colonies and merchant ships from other countries would be punished when they were caught. If they angered the French, the Sun King would organize a fleet in the local area to burn the pirates' nests.

The British occupied Jamaica, but this place was more like a gathering place of pirates, and it was also the last dark and harsh place in the second half of the 17th century. In addition, there were Danish colonies, but they were very small. Of course, the Caribbean was very complex. Many times, Europeans came to build a colony, and people died before they became famous or were forced to give up. Therefore, it is not ruled out that there were colonies of other countries on those scattered islands.

In addition to these countries, there are also the Bahamas Islands in the Caribbean, among which Nassau is the most famous. The pirates here are different from the pirates gathered in Jamaica. The pirates in Jamaica are actually official pirates holding privateer certificates. In addition to looting enemy ships and colonies in the war years, they usually make a living by trade and plantations. The pirates in Panama are completely different. They are completely free and not subject to any country's control, and they basically will not accept privateer certificates. However, once a war occurs, they will take advantage of the situation. The highest institution there is the Captains' Conference. From a political perspective, Panama is definitely the most free and democratic place in the world.

Zhao Longcheng marked out the colonies and important ports of various countries, and introduced the key ones to Li Junwei, saying: "Envoyees from the East India Company of various countries are waiting now. Where is our first stop?"

Rumors that King Yu wanted to sell the Spanish colonies have spread throughout Europe, and almost all countries are interested in it, and everyone's reactions are different. They are asking East India companies or other colonial companies of various countries to negotiate and discuss. Most countries are now a member of the Grand Alliance, just like Spain, and it is difficult to directly divide up the important Spanish colonies overseas. So if the colonial companies come forward to buy them, they can be free from political constraints. This is why the parliaments or kings of various countries have given the colonial companies diplomatic, army and other authority to have national functions.

There is only one country that is France. This is because the French king Louis XIV is the absolute monarch, the strongest country in Europe, and this man is extremely arrogant. Even if the envoy sent by the empire to Europe discussed the alliance with him, Louis XIV still looked like he was ignoring. He is now facing a one-on-one challenge to the whole of Europe, but he thinks he will win. It is still at the suggestion of his favorite ministers around him that he authorized the French East India Company to contact King Yu, but offered the lowest price.

These representatives are following around the Expeditionary Fleet at this moment. Every time the fleet stops to replenish supplies, they will ask for Li Junwei, but except for the Earl of Stockton, Li Junwei did not let anyone board the flagship.

Li Junwei looked at Li Su, who said, "When I was in the port of St. Louis (Brazil Colony), I had already met them and told you what you meant. Except for the French, everyone accepted your opinion."

Zhao Longcheng asked: "What's the opinion?"

Li Junwei said: "These people surrounded us, but actually wanted to buy the Spanish colonies we had. So I asked Li Su to tell them that there are two problems. These colonies do not belong to the empire legally, and can only be sold after the empire and Spain pass a treaty. Second, the war has not ended, and the money of each country is limited. The empire will conquer the Caribbean area next, and perhaps it will capture the colonies that each country needs more."

Li Su nodded: "Yes, after I told them what the prince meant, these people chose to wait."

"What about the French?" Zhao Longcheng just heard that the French were the only ones.

Li Su said: "The French wanted to unite with the expeditionary fleet and attack the Spanish colonies together. Of course, they sought to form an alliance with the empire so that they could attack any colony in the Caribbean except France."

"Does the fleet have to wait for the political problems to be resolved before fighting?" Zhao Longcheng asked on his own initiative. War is for political issues. He is very clear about this. And if we don't even separate the enemy and us, then what else can we talk about victory?

Li Junwei shook his head: "No, I mean, your Expeditionary Fleet Commander Zhao Longcheng came forward and divided the fleet into several small fleets to enter the colonies of all parties in the Caribbean, expressing friendship with all countries."

"If we allied with France during this period, the scattered fleet would be in a very unfavorable situation." Zhao Longcheng took the initiative to remind.

Li Junwei waved his hand and explained: "You don't have to worry, even if you form an alliance, it will be after the end of the Caribbean War rather than now. Our enemy is the Spanish, and the first combat target is Havana, Cuba. General Zhao, the so-called victory in the flag is to achieve great results in the first battle, and the most valuable thing in the Caribbean is the Spanish fleet gathered in Havana."

Zhao Longcheng suddenly realized that at the end of March every year, a large fleet would be loaded with goods and gold and silver produced in the Americas, and would go to Spain. The value of gold and silver carried by each time would not be less than eight million taels of silver. Of course, a small part of the king was given to the king, most of which belonged to the great merchants and nobles. Although the Spanish had two fleets to come to America in March, April and July and August each year, they would gather in Havana and return at the end of March of the following year. The fleet had a size of seventy or eighty ships, and more than one hundred ships, which was very rich.

This year, the fleet will be even more wealthy because of the war launched by the empire against the Spanish colonies. Many rich people fled from Peru, and many rich people in the Governor of New Spain also felt that the disaster was coming and they wanted to bring their belongings to hide. Not to mention anything else, there were many more pirates active on the routes from Havana to various colonies.

Li Junwei's arrangement is very suitable for dealing with this large fleet of return ships. If the expeditionary fleet gathers in one place, it will be easily controlled by the Spanish. The Spanish will choose the opportunity to sail. The expeditionary fleet will look for a large fleet in the vast sea. The opportunity is slim and it cannot be wiped out completely. Now, the fleet is scattered, and the Spanish are unable to figure out the strength of the expeditionary fleet for a while, and the ports of the countries where the fleets are located are also on the main routes. In this way, only a few ships are needed to monitor Havana, which is enough to rush forward and achieve results when it leaves.

Of course, according to Zhao Longcheng's understanding of the Spaniards, after learning that the expeditionary fleet has arrived and the situation is unknown, the Spanish will most likely not let the large fleet return to set off. After rest and recuperation, the expeditionary fleet can rush straight to Havana, block all the ships in the port, and wait for the land combat forces to arrive and then catch the turtle in a jar.

Zhao Longcheng was worried about a change, so he simply asked the irrelevant person to retreat and asked a core question directly: "Prince, the strategic plan you gave to Shen Jing said that after arriving in the Caribbean, you will form an alliance with France depending on the situation. Can you tell the Huzheng, what is the specific situation or what time?"

Li Junwei asked back: "What do General Zhao think?"

"I think it's better to seize Panama after I seize Panama. This situation is all in our hands, so we can easily take the initiative." Zhao Longcheng expressed his opinion.

Li Junwei just nodded, but did not give any comments. Instead, he looked at Li Su, and Li Su's eyes were full of enthusiasm: "I don't think it's necessary that early. The Spanish are too rich, and we can completely defeat the New Spain Governor's District. Although there are fewer gold and silver mines here,... it is definitely not a problem to grab him 20 to 30 million taels, so we...."

"Okay, stop talking, you are becoming more and more like a robber." Li Junwei asked Li Su to shut up and then said, "You have to force the empire to be enemies with the entire Europe."

Although the American colonies belong to Spain, everyone can make a fortune. If the empire also captures the New Spain Governor's District, it will give people a feeling of dominating America. Did Europeans make money in the imperial colonies? At least there are much less than the Spanish colonies! This is to become a public enemy. Unless the empire really wants to sell large pieces of American colonies to various countries, it will not be beneficial to the empire.

Seeing Zhao Longcheng's desire for knowledge, Li Junwei smiled: "Actually, that so-called strategic plan is a cheating emperor, and he can't be taken seriously."
Chapter completed!