Wild North America 1846

Chapter 231 The King's Gift

Nov. 1855, 3

Los Angeles

As the primary city where Chinese immigrants landed in North America and the terminal of the trans-North Pacific immigration route, it has developed rapidly over the years and has become a dazzling leading city in the southern part of the Tang Kingdom, ranking among the metropolises.

According to the statistics at the end of the previous year;
The population of Los Angeles and its surrounding towns increased from 1851 in 59.6 to 1854 at the end of 73.4, second only to Chang'an (San Francisco, San Francisco), the capital city with a population of over one million, and the second largest city in the country.

Comparison
Taoyuan City, which was the largest city in the country in the early years, developed relatively slowly. From a population of 1851 at the end of 37.6 to a population of 1854 at the end of 45.31, the pace of development was significantly behind the top two cities, ranking third in the country.

Chang’an City, the imperial capital of the Tang Kingdom, grew rapidly from a population of 1851 at the end of 67 to 1854 at the end of 102.21. In addition to the rapid development of industry and commerce, the costly construction of the Daming Palace also brought strong development momentum to this imperial capital. The resources and talents from all over the country have gathered together to create this bright pearl on the Pacific coast.

Only from the market point of view

The city of Los Angeles is prosperous and prosperous, with wide and clean streets, lush street trees and flowers adorning this beautiful seaside city, high-rise buildings, bustling people and shops along the streets are no less prosperous than Chang'an City.

This is because Los Angeles has a large floating population, and it is the Pacific terminus of the Great Western Railway, and a trade and export hub city in the central and eastern provinces, which inherently occupies a geographical advantage.

Los Angeles is close to the coast of San Pedro Bay and Santa Monica Bay on the east side of the vast Pacific Ocean, backed by the majestic San Antonio Mountain, located in an open basin surrounded by mountains on three sides and facing the sea on one side. The area of ​​the open basin is thousands of square meters kilometer.

Here is a typical maritime climate, the sun is shining, the seasons are like spring, and the climate is mild and pleasant. Even at the end of February, when the winter is about to pass, here is full of spring, with the highest temperature reaching more than 2 degrees.

Los Angeles Palace

Li Cha couldn't stand his loneliness, so he took the queen, concubines and young princes and princesses to the mild climate of the Los Angeles palace for vacation two months earlier.

Compared with Chang'an City, which has a cold winter climate, it can be said to be a "Spring City" or "City of Angels".

this day

Due to the latest intelligence received from Europe, on March 1855, 3, Tsar Nicholas I died suddenly. This news shocked Europe and would have a decisive impact on the current Crimean War. Therefore, an imperial meeting was urgently held to deal with it.

All the civil and military ministers who participated in the imperial meeting were beaming, especially Lieutenant General Dai Changfu, chief of staff of the army, with a smile on almost every brow.

He did have reason to be proud. The Expeditionary Force of the Kingdom of Tang Dynasty descended from heaven in the Battle of Crimea, defeated the heavy Russian army group entrenched in Sevastopol in one fell swoop, broke the stalemate situation on the battlefield, and The brilliant record shocked Europe and was known as the "Oriental Steam Hammer".

This is a very high evaluation by the European military circles. Compared with the title of "European Steam Roller" won by the Tsarist Russian army after defeating Napoleon's French army, the "Oriental Steam Hammer" contains the ability to break through any solid defense and crush the Russian steel fortress to slag. Praise, it can be said to become famous in one battle.

Lord Raglan of the United Kingdom is writing to the cabinet, requesting that the British Empire Foreign Legion be formed on the basis of the mercenary corps of the 5th to 9th Divisions of the Expeditionary Force, and follow the footsteps of the British Empire to colonize the world.

The British army suffered heavy losses in the Battle of the Chenaya River. If the main force of the French army did not desperately rescue them, the entire army would have been almost wiped out, and the overall strength would have been greatly reduced.

Therefore, they took aim at the 5th to 9th Divisions of the Expeditionary Army, which had excellent combat effectiveness.

When people are unlucky, drinking cold water will make their teeth clogged. If you walk too much at night, you will always encounter ghosts.

The British did all kinds of bad things, and as a result, they got their retribution in the big battle of Sevastopol.

In the opinion of Prince Menshikov, the commander-in-chief of Tsarist Russia;
The British army has not experienced any major battles since the Napoleonic Wars. The army's training organization is poor, its officers are weak, and its combat effectiveness is weaker than that of a world-class army like France.

Therefore, the previous campaigns launched by the Russian army focused on attacking the British army and supplemented by flanking the French army.

mortal is
After the expeditionary force of the Tang Dynasty passed through the snow-ravaged western mountainous area, the magical soldiers descended from heaven and dealt a fatal blow to the second-line army of Tsarist Russia. Prince Menshikov, the commander-in-chief of Tsarist Russia, jumped over the wall in a desperate situation facing the annihilation of the entire army, and commanded the remaining 7 Tsarist Russians. The army launched a large-scale desperate breakout, and the main target of the attack chose the British army again.

In the battle, Lord Raglan of England drove all the British soldiers who could hold guns to the battlefield, and managed to gather 2.2 soldiers.

As a result, they ran into the main force of the Tsarist Russian breakout who had fled. After the intensive bullet rain inflicted heavy damage on the Tsarist Russian army, the desperate Russian army and the main force of the British army collided with each other heavily, and launched an extremely tragic hand-to-hand combat.

If the main force of the illegal army tried their best to rescue them, the 2.2 British troops would be wiped out.

Inventory after the battle;
The 2.2 British troops lost more than 8%, 1.37 were killed on the spot, and more than 5300 were injured. After the bloody battle, only 3000 people were not injured. It can be said that they were completely destroyed.

After the war, the British wounded and sick flooded the barracks, wailing everywhere. Under the huge blow, Lord Raglan's hair turned gray overnight, and he fell ill immediately. So far, he has not been able to get out of bed.

Judging by the serious condition of the illness, it is estimated that it will be difficult to survive.

More than 9 French troops lost 1.431%, with a total of more than [-] casualties, still maintaining considerable combat effectiveness.

The more than 2 Ottoman army lost 4215 people, and the 1.5 Sardinian army lost hundreds of people, all within an acceptable range.

The 6.23 Datang Kingdom Expeditionary Force lost 1.03 people. Except for the loss of more than 2200 people when they crossed the western mountainous area, the remaining main loss was when they attacked the urban area of ​​Sevastopol and encountered tenacious resistance from the 1.3 Russian troops in the city. There are nearly 7720 people, and the rest are sporadic losses in multiple battles.

The heavy casualties inspired the ferocity of the expeditionary force. After breaking through the solid defensive positions of the Russian army and entering the urban area of ​​Sevastopol, they bloodbathed the city.

According to incomplete statistics
The urban area of ​​Sevastopol used to have more than 10 residents. After the unprecedented catastrophe, the remaining residents were less than 3.2. The city was full of dead bodies, like hell.

Regarding what happened here, the mainstream European newspapers wisely kept silent, and the public opinion circles in Paris and London called it "the personnel who assisted the Russian army in fighting were punished as they should."

The Russian newspaper pointed out angrily: "This is a heinous crime committed by the devil army in the east. They burned, killed and looted inhumanely, and completely destroyed the beautiful city of Sevastopol..."

Post-incident investigation
The opinion issued by the Army Staff Headquarters of the Kingdom of the Tang Dynasty proves that the 1st to 4th Divisions of the Expeditionary Force did not participate in the crimes committed by mercenaries and some British and French soldiers from the 5th and 9th Divisions. Nothing to do.

Because the Allied Command tacitly allowed the soldiers to loot Russian towns, so as to encourage the soldiers' fighting enthusiasm and vent the pressure after the fierce battle.

Once out of control, it is easy to cause a tragedy that no one wants to see.

The final punishment decided to reprimand some senior officers, but there were many who should be promoted. The commanders of the 4st to [-]th Divisions of the Expeditionary Army were generally promoted from colonels to the rank of brigadier generals and awarded a first-class medal for bravery.

The commanders of the 6th to 9th divisions were promoted from lieutenant colonel to colonel and awarded the second-class medal for bravery.

Lieutenant Colonel Fan Pengfei, commander of the 5th Division who performed outstandingly, was promoted to Brigadier General by leapfrogging his rank.

last word

The 5th Division is the most vicious in the urban area of ​​Sevastopol, but this seems to be ignored by everyone.

At the imperial meeting

King Li Chagao sat on the throne, and the civil and military ministers sat on the left and right. When they needed to speak, they stood up and walked to the middle to salute, and then they could speak freely.

The atmosphere of the discussion at the meeting was relaxed and heated. After all, the sudden death of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia was a good thing for the coalition forces, and it may usher in an opportunity for peace.

After the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Sevastopol, the Russian army was in decline on the Danube, the Balkans, and the Caucasus battlefield. Coupled with the sudden death of His Majesty the Tsar, the entire logistics and military deployment were all messed up. Losing the war is a high probability event .

It is impossible for Datang Kingdom to get an enclave in Europe, but it won the friendship of Britain, France, Sardinia and Ottoman Empire, which will greatly benefit Datang Kingdom's foreign trade and diplomacy in the future, and the benefits are self-evident Metaphor.

After all, they were allies who had fought side by side, and the Datang Kingdom had demonstrated its strong strength, which was generally recognized by the European powers, and its tone of voice was three points higher.

These days, you don't have the strength to speak hard.

Although he didn't get any direct benefits in Europe, Li Cha had already set his sights on his gift, which was the island of New Guinea located north of Australia.

New Guinea is the largest island in the Pacific Ocean and the second largest island in the world, with a total area of ​​78 square kilometers. It is currently in a state of inaccessible and unclaimed.

"Show Your Majesty;
The expedition ship sent by the Royal Pacific Shipping Company will announce to the world in the name of first discovering and occupying the island of New Guinea.

Afterwards, the Royal Pacific Shipping Company will dedicate this island to the royal family of the Tang Dynasty, and respectfully ask His Majesty to take it into his pocket.

In the third step, the Army Staff Headquarters will join other departments to form an island expedition team to conduct a detailed investigation of the island's resource and hydrological conditions.

In the final step, the royal government will take the island of New Guinea as the exclusive jurisdiction of the royal family and organize Chinese immigrants for systematic development.

Is it feasible, Your Majesty please give instructions? "

"Well, let's implement it accordingly." Li Cha nodded with a smile that could not be concealed from the corner of his mouth, and agreed simply.

Now this timing is very ingenious. The British are asking for the Kingdom of Tang. France, the Kingdom of Sardinia, and the Ottoman Empire are all allies in the same trench. The Kingdom of Prussia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire are beyond their reach. remote island.

This king's gift, Richard is going to decide.

(End of this chapter)