The British had not been having an easy time lately. First, Spain had caught fire right on their doorstep, and just when they had finally found a way to respond, the French had flipped the table.
After that, they joined forces with France and tried to play the hidden sixth man, only for the Austrians to give them no face at all and shut Britain's fleet directly outside the door.
They had originally planned to form a superiority in forces and then deliver a decisive blow to the Austrian Imperial Navy at the critical moment, but now they had been split into two parts, inside and outside.
Some people would surely think of coordinating from within and without, but the sea was not land, and the state of communications in the nineteenth century did not allow the British to carry out such a high-difficulty operation.
The British navy inside the Mediterranean could only tremble helplessly in isolation, and as relations between the two countries grew tense, they were also being watched at all times by the Austrian Imperial Navy.
At this moment, the British Mediterranean Fleet was the group of people who least wanted war to break out between the two countries. After all, they were right under the Austrian Empire's eyelids and would definitely be the first to suffer.
William Simmons was helpless as well. Though he was not cowardly, he did not want to throw his life away either.
The Austrian fleet blockading the Strait of Gibraltar was clearly stronger than the fleet Simmons commanded. The only method he could think of was to request aid from home.
But at this moment, Britain had too many interests and relationships that needed to be maintained, and was unwilling to stake all its chips on this war.
On the other