I want to be emperor

Chapter 881 The Expedition of the Peoples
In the conference room of the flagship Guiyang outside the port of Tangier, the three bigwigs sent by the Great Chu Empire to the European region, namely Lieutenant General Liu Yongxin, the Governor of Europe, Lieutenant General Bo Jian'an, and Dai Yu, the co-organizer, quickly agreed to take over down the action plan.

The first is to approve the Lisbon Treaty signed with Portugal on behalf of the "European Expeditionary Force", and then send the text of the treaty to the mainland for archiving via the communication ship as soon as possible, and finally approve it.

However, the final imperial approval was just a process. In fact, as the governor of Europe, Liu Yongxin, who was in charge of European military and political affairs and other affairs, his own power was enough to approve and make the contract come into effect.

He, the governor, is strictly speaking an imperial envoy, who can make final decisions on European-related matters on behalf of the emperor.

Therefore, although there is still a process of imperial approval, in fact, after Liu Yongxin signed and affixed the governor's seal, the treaty has legal effect and began to enter the process of implementation.

It's just that the scope of the treaty is relatively broad. In addition to the affairs on the European side that can be directly accepted by the European Expeditionary Force, it also needs to be notified to the domestic side and send people to take over Portugal's Brazilian colony in South America.

Today, the Brazilian colony in the hands of the Portuguese has a very large area and relatively mature development. If it hadn’t hit Lisbon directly this time, and the Portuguese were unstable internally. Will not give up transferring this colony easily.

After taking down the Portuguese colony, the Great Chu Empire opened up the situation in South America.

The Brazilian region of South America can also be regarded as a good place with fertile land, and at the same time it is very suitable for developing rubber plantations. Before that, some courageous businessmen from Chu State went to the Brazilian region controlled by the Portuguese to open up rubber plantations.

With the advancement of industrialization and the maturity of rubber vulcanization technology, various industrial products made of natural rubber have gradually entered all walks of life, not to mention some small applications, but in carriages (solid tires wrapped in rubber), waterproof appliances In these two major industries, the annual demand for rubber is very large.

Because of industrial needs, the Great Chu Empire is now developing rubber plantations all over the world, and a lot of rubber plantations have popped up in many places in the south.

The demand for economic crops such as rubber in the Great Chu Empire is increasing year by year, and now it is a good thing to obtain a place suitable for growing rubber in Brazil.

However, the delivery of the Brazilian colony is not suitable for the European Expeditionary Force to deal with directly. It needs to be arranged by the high-level empire. Judging from Brazil's geographical location and huge area, the empire is likely to directly set up a South American governor in Brazil. Jurisdiction, responsible for managing local colonial affairs and nearby feudal affairs.

On the contrary, the European Expeditionary Force can directly send people to take over the several islands in the deep Atlantic Ocean in the Treaty of Lisbon.

Among them are the Azores and Madeira.

Among them, there is a port in the Azores Islands, called the Hero Port, which is just located at the middle point from America to Europe, and it is a very suitable transit and supply port between Southern Europe and America.

The Portuguese valued this port very much before, and it was an important transit supply port for them to control the American colonies.

It's a pity that now they don't even have the American colony of Brazil, and the Azores, which were born for overseas colonies, are naturally not that important to the Portuguese.

Of course... Even if the Portuguese want to keep it, the Chu people will not let it.

At that time, the Chu army had reached the city of Lisbon. If Lisbon was not to be turned into ruins, a large number of domestic dignitaries were killed and injured, and the country was completely destroyed, these overseas colonies had to be handed over.

Now that the treaty is signed, the European Expeditionary Force will send a fleet, and by the way, bring the official representatives of the Portuguese to take over these two archipelagoes and some other Atlantic islands.

But these are small things, and they are not urgent, and you can take your time later.

The top priority now is to open up more European markets as soon as possible.

"Nowadays, in Cape Town port on the South African side, all kinds of goods are piled up like mountains, but they are all waiting to enter the European market!"

"Our actions here are already lagging behind. If we continue to delay, many goods will be moldy, and many businesses will also have difficulties in operating due to the backlog of goods!"

"There are hundreds of millions of workers in all walks of life in the country, and farmers are all waiting for us to open new orders for them!"

"My lords, our mission is heavy!"

The co-organizer Dai Yu doesn't talk about military affairs, and he doesn't understand, but he knows that the goods worth tens of millions of Chu Yuan are piled up in the port of Cape Town, but they are waiting to be processed, and all walks of life in the country are waiting for their good news.

This is not about the safety of dozens of import and export trading companies in the district, but more about a large number of domestic suppliers and even farmers.

Every import and export trading company here has a lot of suppliers behind it, and tens of thousands of workers' jobs are at every turn.

Behind every tea company are tens of thousands of tea farmers.

Behind every silk trading company are tens of thousands of silkworm farmers.

People from all walks of life have used real money to open up business routes, especially those in the Tea Association, who attach great importance to the European market. This time in the European Expeditionary Force, apart from regular soldiers and officials, there are also a group of Business representatives from all walks of life.

These business representatives said that they were here to inspect the business environment...but in fact they followed to urge official action.

People have to make sure that the money is spent and that results are achieved.

Naturally, these business representatives would not go to the military, and it would be useless if they did. The generals in the military just ignored them.

But they will find Dai Yu, the top civilian representative in the European Expeditionary Force, to put pressure on Dai Yu to ensure their investment returns.

Now the European Free Trade Plan has been launched for half a year, but it has been going around in West Africa in the early stage... Although there are many indigenous people in that place in West Africa, how much purchasing power can they have?

Can't even sell a few glass balls!
Although a small market has been opened up in Morocco, a market opening agreement was signed with the Kingdom of Morocco a while ago, and a small market was obtained, but the population of Morocco is too small, and the market is also small.

Even the Portuguese market is too small in their opinion, with such a small population... far from being able to satisfy the appetite of domestic industry and commerce.

They need the markets of major European countries with larger populations and better economic conditions, such as France, Spain, England, the Holy Roman Empire, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, the United Kingdom of Lithuania, Russia, and so on.

And these populous markets have yet to be tapped.

The European Expeditionary Force has a long way to go!

Regarding Dai Yu's statement, Liu Yongxin, the governor of the expeditionary force, also nodded slightly. As the governor of European affairs, he naturally knew his mission very well.

I didn't come to Europe to expand the territory. It's a good thing to be able to get some colonies, but that's all incidental-opening up the local European market is a more important thing.

For the European market, various domestic industries are waiting to see through.

Their task of opening up the European market this time is also very important in China, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is the responsibility of Wanmin!
Immediately said: "Now that we have gained a firm foothold in Tangier and won the Portuguese, it is time to attack Spain."

"From a military point of view, Spain is closer to Tangier. Our fleet can land on the other side within tens of kilometers, and Cadiz, Spain's trading port on the Atlantic coast, is also nearby. Send a fleet to land and seize it. With this port as a foothold and outpost, we can advance deep into Spain, and finally defeat the main Spanish army through one or several battles, and finally force them to sit at the negotiating table and sign the agreement we prepared for him. !"

Speaking of this, he smiled slightly: "By the way, we can also follow the example of the Portuguese and take the Spanish colonies in America, so that most of the entire North and South America can be included in the bag!"

"Our expedition team discovered saltpeter mines in South America controlled by the Spaniards before. Now our domestic demand for saltpeter mines is very large. Even though there are many regions, the supply is seriously insufficient. This is also an important reason for the expensive ammunition. Saltpeter is in short supply and expensive."

"If this part of South America controlled by the Spaniards can be taken, then the supply of saltpeter will be safe!"

"In addition, through our continuous transportation, the main force of the 27rd Division of the 53th Army of the Army has arrived in Tangier, and the [-]rd Indian Division has also arrived. With the [-]rd Division as the main force and the [-]rd Indian Division as a supplement, it should not be a problem to land in Spain for a few battles. What a big problem!"

As he spoke, Vice Admiral Liu Yongxin looked at the Army representative, Lieutenant General Bo Jian'an, commander of the 27th Army.

Lieutenant General Bo Jian'an immediately said: "Landing and fighting in the hinterland of the empire is the mission of our army. Naturally, there is no problem, but the preparation of materials is still not proper. Although the 53rd Artillery Regiment has arrived at the port of Tangier, The team's draft horse and a large amount of ammunition attached to it are still floating in the sea, and it may take five days to arrive!"

"Besides, we came here this time without carrying large-caliber field artillery. Of course, we have naval heavy artillery to cover the coastal areas, but if we go deep into the inland siege, we lack large-caliber siege heavy artillery. I'm afraid we won't be able to do it!"

Hearing what Bo Jianan said, Liu Yongxin frowned slightly, and immediately said: "This time when we arrived in Europe, the heavy artillery was arranged by the Guards. Now the Guards may not be able to arrive until a month later. We can't just sit here and wait." Are they a month?"

To be honest, he was very dissatisfied with the slow movement of the guards. It had been a long time and they hadn't come here. It was fine if they couldn't come, but the heavy artillery had to be arranged first.

When the arrangement was made before the expedition, when all parties discussed the dispatch of troops, it had already been finalized. This time, the European field heavy artillery unit was provided by the Guards. The heavy artillery battalion of rifled guns is equipped with eighteen 34-year-type 120mm light howitzers.

This kind of artillery is currently a heavy artillery equipped on a large scale in the three armies of the Great Chu Empire. Although the short barrel leads to a relatively short range, it is light in weight, large in diameter and powerful, so it is greatly favored by the military.

Although the marching weight of this thing is more than two tons, compared with the five tons of the conventional 120mm howitzer, it is already considered very light. It is rare for this kind of artillery to be able to maneuver with the army in areas with complex terrain and inconvenient transportation. heavy artillery.

As for the traffic conditions, even in many places in China, they are not very good... Many places also have gravel roads and dirt roads. Only in a few economically developed areas will there be cement roads connecting urban areas.

So even in China, the maneuvering of heavy artillery is very troublesome once it leaves the railway.

Because the 34-year 120mm light howitzer is light enough and powerful enough, the Army, Marine Corps, Guards, and Armed Tax Police are all equipped with this kind of artillery, and the scale of equipment far exceeds that of conventional 120mm howitzers.

In overseas areas, this kind of artillery is basically the most powerful heavy artillery available to ground combat troops.

But because this thing is so easy to use, the order is divided among four companies... so it is very scarce. The army only had such a battalion in India before, and half a battalion in Africa.

As for Nanyang and the mainland, although there are more, the country has always deployed the most elite troops in the hinterland of the mainland to guard against various so-called potential rebellion threats. How could it be possible to deploy the elite artillery forces in the hinterland of the mainland and then dispatch them to Europe? Go fight the natives in a remote place where the birds don't shit!
According to the thinking of those high-ranking local officials, isn’t it just a few uncivilized overseas aborigines, just send the second-line troops there casually, and it’s over, and use the first-line combat readiness and first-class divisions... What a joke.

The most elite first-class combat readiness division of the Great Chu Empire Army trained hard day and night, and maintained a state of combat readiness all year round. It was used to guard against the rebellion of the guards and navy, not to deal with the natives.

So the army can't get advanced heavy rifled artillery units... As for the guards, they don't lack such advanced artillery.

Regardless of the small number of guards, all kinds of military equipment in the Great Chu Empire basically give priority to meeting the needs of the guards... Of course, the unit price given by others is also high, and the domestic defense industry also uses the rich guards Serving like an uncle, all kinds of priorities are met, and the navy and army have to go to the back row.

In addition, when the guards go overseas, they basically take credit for their contributions. Many times, they are happy to serve as artillery in the back and let the army serve as cannon fodder for infantry in the front...

So after discussion, it was decided to let the Guards out of the heavy artillery battalion.

These were all the results of discussions between the high-level army and the guards... It's just that the guards like to give credit, and they don't want to be the first to go up to do hard work.

Especially the hard work of landing in the early stage and opening up outposts is hard work in the eyes of the Guards, and it is not easy to get credit.

They are more inclined to let the army gain a foothold after working hard at the front, and they will follow up and invest in the elite forces of the Guards during large-scale decisive battles. Down!
To put it simply, I don't want to do chores, I just want to fight large-scale decisive battles where it is easy to gain combat achievements!

The men of the guards were unwilling to do chores, and even used the excuse of incomplete training to stay in South Africa for a few months before setting off.

The purpose is to avoid West Africa and a series of trivial wars after arriving in Europe.

It's just that, if the European Expeditionary Force wants to launch a large-scale, deep-inland battle, they have to wait for the Guards to arrive.

Bo Jianan, as a representative of the army, was naturally very dissatisfied with this.

And Liu Yongxin, who is a representative of the navy, is also a little upset.

He doesn't care about the dispute between the Army and the Guards... Anyway, it has nothing to do with their navy, what do you like.

However, the dispute between the Guards and the Army will not work if it affects European operations.

Immediately Liu Yongxin said: "Since the heavy artillery battalion of the Guards hasn't arrived yet, let's fight along the coast. First organize our troops to land in Cadiz, then clear the other coastal ports, and then weaken the enemy's strength through several field battles!"

"In this way, it will take almost a month. When the heavy artillery battalion of the Guards arrives, we will go deep into the interior of Spain to attack the city and attack Madrid in one go!"

"As for the fire support of coastal ports such as Cadiz, the army can rest assured that it will be handed over to our navy!"

Liu Yongxin, the governor and also the boss of the navy, said so. Even if Bo Jianan was dissatisfied, he could only admit it.

But after the meeting was over, he found Major General Ding Zhengqing, the commander of the 53rd Division, and taught him the tips face to face: the guards were procrastinating, they didn't want to do chores, they just wanted to eat peaches as soon as they opened their mouths!

However, their heavy artillery battalion is needed for major offensive operations, but not for ordinary field operations and offensive and defensive warfare. Our own 75mm artillery is enough.

After landing, we don't wait by the seaside, we go in first, it is best to create an opportunity to fight one or two large-scale field battles, and wipe out the enemy's vital forces on a large scale through field battles, and then let the Guards besiege those strong points in Madrid city.

Their guards want to pick peaches... Well, let's eat the peach meat first and leave a peach pit for them.

Your 53rd Division must make preparations in advance, and the mules and horses of the artillery and logistics units, as well as the cavalry units, must be prepared.

Especially the cavalry unit cannot lose the chain.

Ding Zhengqing naturally accepted it with a full face. He Bo Jianan wanted to squeeze out the guards, and Ding Zhengqing was also very unhappy with the guards... Besides, he also needs to take credit for it!

Otherwise, why did you come all the way to this crappy place in Europe... Isn't it to make a strong mark on the military merit book and lay the foundation for further promotion in the future.

Whether it's the conflict between the Army and the Guards, or the dispute over credit, he, Ding Zhengqing, will not give in easily... Now that his immediate superior has given him clear instructions, he won't care if he takes action after landing Taking care of too many things.

The army and navy at the front had a discussion, and immediately dropped the guards to launch an attack on the Spanish coast, and the 27th army within the army had already decided on its own, and when the landing was successful, Cadiz would be supplied. After the base, don't wait for the guards to advance directly inland, eat the fat first.

Under such circumstances, in late August, the European Expeditionary Force of the Great Chu Empire officially sent envoys to Cadiz to submit a formal ultimatum to Spain.

Require Spain to make compensation for the Tangier defenders attacking the Chu army without authorization, which resulted in the Chu army being forced to fight back and land, including paying tribute, ceding the American colonies, ceding all Atlantic coastal territories including Cadiz, the Strait of Gibraltar, and the peninsula. .

At the same time, 3000 million Chu Yuan will be paid in compensation, the market will be fully opened, and tariffs will be limited.

There are a lot of conditions such as the free passage of the troops of the Great Chu Empire and the garrison of the Spanish territory.

The King of Spain accepts the canonization of the empire, and at the same time accepts the supervision of officials sent by the empire to dominate internal affairs, military affairs, diplomacy, etc. Without the permission of the empire, Spain is not allowed to sign treaties of any nature with other countries.

The conditions in this ultimatum are naturally extremely harsh. If Spain accepts it, it will be no different from subjugation.

Not to mention, the people of the Great Chu Empire's Feudal Affairs Department just randomly found a protectorate treaty and simply changed it, and then handed it over to Spain...

Why are you so hasty... because I never expected the Spaniards to agree.

Besides, this can send the Spaniards an ultimatum of credentials and inform the formal negotiation conditions. This is already the officials of the Great Chu Empire's Department of Affairs attaches great importance to the Spaniards.

In Portugal before, the Imperial Feudal Affairs Secretary didn't even give them an ultimatum, and went straight to the door.

This time, he also gave the Spaniards an ultimatum of credentials, which is regarded as giving the Spaniards face...

It's just that the time for this ultimatum is only three days.

In just these three days, after the Spaniards received the credentials at the port of Cadiz, it was just enough for them to hurry up and send the credentials all the way to Madrid.

As for Madrid's response, no matter whether it is to agree or reject, it will take a day or two, and then it will take a few days to send the reply to Cadiz.

Adding up the front and back, at least seven or eight days are enough.

However, the people of the Great Chu Empire's Fan Affairs Department only gave the Spaniards three days... As for why it is three days, it is naturally because the troops have already started to board and leave the port. After about three days, the empire's expeditionary fleet will be able to arrive. Outside the port of Cadiz!

If there is more time, it will affect the Chu army's official launch of a large-scale attack on Cadiz.

Therefore, the Department of Feudal Affairs came up with a seemingly useless ultimatum, and set a three-day response time in the ultimatum.

In this regard, it still depends on the strength of the Spaniard's country, and because the trade relationship between the two sides was not bad when they were in America before, the officials of the Department of Feudal Affairs gave them a face.

This is replaced by other countries, such as the Portuguese, who don’t give you three days... no, I don’t even bother to send you an ultimatum.

When the army is ready, it goes straight to the door and declares a fart war.

You say this is an undeclared war...it really is!

But how normal is this? My Great Chu Empire basically fights against the natives without declaring wars...

After all, fighting with most of the natives is a formal declaration of war. Isn't that brain burnt... Give them a declaration of war, and they can't understand it!
Rao is a Spaniard who has a lot of contact with Chu people and also has Chinese translations. When they received an ultimatum written in Chinese, with gorgeous rhetoric, even if it was an ultimatum in classical Chinese that most of the Chu people could not understand, they were still stunned. Forced!

Their Chinese translator knew that this was an ultimatum, but he couldn't understand what was written on it...Let's not talk about him, the vast majority of Chu people couldn't understand it themselves.

This kind of classical Chinese national book is so obscure and difficult to understand. If you don't have any outstanding writing skills, you can't understand it at all... If you can easily understand it, wouldn't the officials of the Ministry of Rites and Education look very ignorant?

Not to mention that Spain was stunned at the beginning because of an ultimatum, and finally panicked.

Let's say three days later, the expedition fleet of the Great Chu Empire appeared outside the port of Gasdi on time.

Therefore, the scale of the landing this time far exceeds the scale of the landing against the Portuguese, and the Spanish defense force in Cadiz also far exceeds the Portuguese defense force in Lisbon.

Therefore, Lieutenant General Liu Yongxin, the naval leader, led the fleet in person, and it is very rare that all four battleships in the fleet went to battle, preparing to carry out a devastating blow to the coastal defense forces in the port of Cadiz to cover the landing of the army and the follow-up Siege.

(End of this chapter)