"Over the next two weeks, the navy must acclimate to the climate and environment here and swiftly restore its combat effectiveness. At the same time, this may be the East African Navy's first real combat experience since its founding, so everyone needs to take it seriously and treat it with utmost care."
The East African naval fleet, moored in the Zhuhai Trade Zone, began its acclimatization training there. Although East African waters were vast, this was its first time coming all the way to the Far East and carrying out a combat mission.
Training near Zhuhai was, in fact, highly unfamiliar to the East African Navy. Naturally, the Far East Empire, as the host, found it equally uncomfortable. However, given the Guangdong Navy's pitiful strength in the waters under its jurisdiction, it could only turn a blind eye.
Within the Far East naval establishment, there were four major fleets: the Beiyang, Nanyang, Fujian, and Guangdong fleets. The Beiyang Fleet was the most famous and, at the same time, the Far East Empire's favored son. This was easy enough to understand. The Beiyang Fleet was responsible for defending the entire northern coast, while the political center of the Far East Empire—the vital capital region—lay along the Bohai Sea. Given the Qing government's wariness toward the south, the Beiyang Fleet naturally received the greatest support.
The Nanyang Fleet was somewhat unworthy of its name. Of course, this only referred to the literal meaning. Though its name contained the words "Southern Seas," its bases were actually located along the Jiangsu and Zhejiang coasts. In Ernst's eyes, the Southern Seas of this era naturally referred to Southeast Asia and the waters around the East Indies.
The Nanyang Fleet's principal equipment was manufactured by the Jiangnan Arsenal and Fuzhou Shipyard, with a small portion purchased