Just like the French Navy has always considered the British Royal Navy its hypothetical enemy, the British Royal Navy has always regarded the French Navy as its rival.

Therefore, General Winter was very familiar with the relationship between the Minister of the Navy and the Brest Fleet.

In principle, the French Navy is commanded by the Minister of the Navy.

But the special terrain of France divides the navy into the Brest Fleet focusing on the Atlantic Ocean in the north and the Toulon Fleet focusing on the Mediterranean in the south.

When the Minister of the Navy first took office, there weren't many issues, but in recent years the Minister increasingly felt that the French Navy had little hope of catching up with the British Royal Navy. He believed that rather than wasting funds and materials on the Brest Fleet, it would be better to concentrate on developing the Toulon Fleet.

The Minister of the Navy once said in parliament:

"It is obvious that no matter how hard we strive at the Brest Shipyard, it is difficult to achieve success because the powerful British Royal Navy is right across from us."

"But if we invest funds and resources into the Toulon Shipyard, we can easily control the entire Mediterranean."

"Even the British Royal Fleet would find it difficult to intervene, so why not?"

The Minister meant that, if necessary, the French Navy could blockade the Gibraltar Strait, and even the British Royal Navy would find it difficult to pass through, making the French Fleet the strongest in the localized Mediterranean area.

(The image above shows the Gibraltar Strait, which at its narrowest point is only 13 kilometers wide)

For this reason, the Minister of the Navy began to tilt funds and resources towards the Toulon Shipyard, even planning to cancel the Brest Military Port and relocate it entirely to Toulon.

This met with resentment and resistance from the Brest Military Port and Shipyard, resulting in the French Navy splitting into the Brest Faction and the Toulon Faction.

Currently, the Brest Faction is actually commanded by Vice Admiral Gephardt and the owner of the shipyard, Wells.

And Shire was the one who made the once-declining Brest Shipyard rise again.

It was he who brought the Brest Shipyard, nearly disappearing from public view, back into the global spotlight, even becoming a major force capable of controlling materials and determining the outcome of wars.

"You know why, Shire." General Winter picked up his coffee, leaned back in his chair, and crossed his legs.

He used "Shire" instead of "General."

After taking a sip of coffee, General Winter continued, "We want more than just cooperation; we want a plan, a plan that will keep the Germans locked in the North Sea and unable to attack our supply lines."

Shire replied expressionlessly, "You have done very well; the Germans are indeed trapped in their ports, unable to move."

"That's because we can decipher their codes." General Winter frowned, "We all know the situation will change."

This was another "attack over defense," the navy's "attack over defense."

The British Royal Navy is the defending side, which naturally requires more troops.

But even if the Royal Navy's strength is nearly double that of the German Navy, it is still full of flaws and hard to manage both ends.

"It will change." Shire appeared composed, "The French Navy's participation will compensate for the shortcomings of the Third Fleet. We have nothing to worry about."

General Winter shook his head and sighed, "Yesterday, the German fleet raided part of my Third Fleet. At that time, our warships were even more numerous than the Germans, but we still paid the price of three damaged and two sunk while only injuring two of theirs."

Then he added, "You know the reason."

Shire indeed knew the reason.

The Third Fleet stationed in the narrow English Channel had difficulty deploying its forces, and more importantly, many places in the channel were mined, which, while preventing the German Navy from passing through, further impeded the Third Fleet's mobility.

The German Navy, however, launched attacks from outside the channel, easily forming a perfect "T" formation against the British fleet.

(Note: In naval battles, it is important to use speed to form a "T" position against the enemy, with one's own ships forming the horizontal line of the "T" and the enemy's ships forming the vertical line, so that all of one's ships can fire simultaneously without obstruction, while only a few enemy ships can fire)

"This is not something that the number of warships can compensate for." General Winter said, "Even if the French Navy joins in, it will be cruising in the North Sea as the Fourth Fleet, not crowding into the channel."

Shire laughed, "But that's still not enough, is it?"

General Winter helplessly nodded.

The North Sea is 965 kilometers long and 643 kilometers wide; the German Navy could attack at any point, so how could adding another French Fleet be enough?

The only solution to this problem was to decipher the Germans' codes.

But that was now long gone.

"The German Navy holds the initiative, Shire." General Winter said dejectedly, "They use submarines to gather intelligence, identify our weaknesses, and then concentrate their fleet to attack these weaknesses. We are powerless to resist."

"Perhaps we have another way." Shire replied calmly.

"What?" General Winter looked up at Shire. "He's not thinking of transferring the French Toulon Fleet, is he?"

But Shire's answer was unexpected.

"Intelligence, General." Shire answered, "To grasp the movements of the enemy fleet, only then can we regain the initiative."

"But," General Winter said in bewilderment, "the Germans have already changed their codes, we can no longer obtain accurate intelligence in time..."

"There are many ways to obtain intelligence." Shire interrupted General Winter's words.

"You mean..."

"A few months ago, you purchased Caproni Bombers from me." Shire looked up at General Winter, "Their role is not just for bombing."

General Winter was stunned, then his eyes lit up, "You mean to use Caproni Bombers for reconnaissance missions?"

Shire nodded, "With a total range of 600 kilometers, if it's not carrying bombs and equipped with two auxiliary fuel tanks, its range could reach 1000 kilometers. This would allow it to take off from Britain, reach the German Helgoland Bay, and return."

Then Shire added, "Besides, its speed is higher than German seaplanes and comparable to their most advanced fighters, making it the safest reconnaissance aircraft. I don't understand why you haven't utilized it?"

(Note: The German Fokker E2, used at the time, had a top speed of 140 kilometers per hour, while the British version of the Caproni engine remained at 137 kilometers per hour)

General Winter's deeply furrowed brows completely relaxed, and after considering for a while, he stood up with a "whoosh" and exclaimed:

"You are right, Shire, what a great idea!"

"Unbelievable, we never thought of doing this."

"God, we always regarded it as army equipment and never considered using it at sea. We always used seaplanes out of habit!"