Wild North America 1846

Mid-May 1868

The reorganized shogunate army rushed aggressively towards the territory of the southwestern feudal vassals, intending to pull out Satsuma, Changzhou, Hizen, and Tosa in one fell swoop.

The southwestern powers are not soft persimmons. Facing the opportunity of life and death, they mobilized the whole people. Relying on the weapons and equipment provided by the British emergency support, they vowed to deal with the shogunate army to the end. The unprecedented tragic see-saw stage of the Fuso Civil War began...

South American War
From the offensive and defensive operations from June to August in 1868, the coalition forces mainly drove the attached servant troops to confront the Brazilian Empire army, supplemented by sharp artillery fire, patiently consuming the strength of the Brazilian Empire.

In addition to the garrisons in Paraguay and Uruguay, among the 7.7 troops of the coalition forces, the servant army alone accounts for 4.8, which is the absolute main force.

In addition, there are more than 2.6 Chinese volunteer militia divisions and a total of more than 4230 troops from Uruguay and Paraguay. With such military strength, this year's winter (June to August is the coldest season in South America) was launched. .

For the war against the Brazilian Empire, the Andean Governor's Palace has already made sufficient preparations. It does not pursue a quick victory on the battlefield. It is unlikely that the Brazilian Empire with such a large area and population will be so large.

The Andean Viceroy's response is the "onion-peeling strategy";
That is to consume the strength of the Brazilian Empire through continuous military strikes, attack the prestige of the Lopez II dynasty, arouse the existing sharp contradictions in Brazil, and peel off the power of the Portuguese upper-class nobles and white manor owners who maintained their rule layer by layer. Ultimate victory.

The Andean Governor's Office has already learned that the Brazilian Empire has borrowed large war loans in Europe, especially in France.This move is tantamount to drinking poison to quench thirst, and it will definitely intensify its domestic conflicts.

The more borrowed, the greater the risk of accumulation.

For a country whose economic base is entirely agricultural, borrowing is easy for a while, but repayment is nowhere in sight.

The loan sharks in France are not easy to deal with. Even if Brazil can temporarily overcome the immediate difficulties, the pressure of debt repayment accumulated after the war may very well lead to the collapse of the Brazilian Empire.

On the battlefield

After several months of depletion of troops, the number of coalition troops did not decrease but increased. By August, it was close to 8. The source of the increased troops was mainly the captured Brazilians.

As the harvest season of winter wheat approached, the coalition forces withdrew again.

The coalition forces abandoned the province of Mato Grosso do Sul, which had been occupied for half a year, and withdrew most of their troops into the province of Paraná, which is located in the east of Paraguay, north of Uruguay, and close to the Atlantic Ocean. The ability to supply materials is the most important aspect of the coalition forces.

A large amount of grain and agricultural and pastoral products from the livestock production area in the south of the Andean Governor's Mansion can easily arrive at Saidio Port by sea, and replenish the food and grass needed by the expeditionary army nearby, which greatly saves manpower and material resources and is conducive to long-term persistence.

After several months of bloody battles, the 34 troops of the Brazilian Empire dropped by nearly one-third, and its weak logistics force could not support a large-scale counterattack. The troops tacitly disengaged and returned to Sao Paulo Province to lick their wounds silently.

this stage
The Royal Army did not send additional troops to South America. On the contrary, the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire performed more brilliantly. Based on the port of Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, the "Storm", "Shanfeng" and "Storm", The steam armored fleet composed of the "Cold Wind" armored cruiser attacked frequently, destroying and capturing 63 Brazilian combat ships and more than 110 cargo ships.

Through effective combat, the maritime combat forces remaining in the Parana River, Paraguay River and inland lake areas of the Brazilian Empire were basically cleaned up, and the inland trade routes were opened and controlled.

Besides
The Royal Navy formed a steam armored battle formation, actively looking for ports along the coast of Brazil, attacking Brazilian warships and merchant ships with sails, and blocking sea transportation in important cities.

The fleet tracked as far north as the waters around Rio de Janeiro, and bombarded the port of Rio de Janeiro, which caused unprecedented panic in this South American metropolis.

With the strength of the Royal Navy of the Tang Empire, bullying the Brazilian Empire would be like pinching snails with three fingers... It's really safe.

Early September
With the arrival of more than 10 1400-ton steam armored frigates led by the "Gully", "Evil Wind", "Bitter Wind", and "Hailstorm" to the Port of Saidio, the strangulation of the Brazilian Empire's maritime transportation line was further strengthened.It is entirely foreseeable that the hard life of the Brazilians will be even more difficult.

End of 1868
The international event that shocked the whole world was that the Suez Canal was officially opened to navigation on November 1868, 11 after more than ten years of arduous excavation. This major project, which is enough to be recorded in history, cost up to 17 million pounds, more than twice the original budget .

Since then
The long voyage from Europe to Asia has been shortened by more than 1 kilometers. The official opening of the Suez Canal will greatly promote trade and economic ties between Eurasia and facilitate the colonization of the Indian subcontinent and the Indochina Peninsula by European powers. Importance more and more prominent.

The British are not profitable but have an early temperament. After the official opening of the Suez Canal, London quickly realized the important strategic significance of this sea throat channel, and began to fight for control of the canal.

Britain's original plan to build a railway was ultimately aborted.

In the Suez Canal Company, France holds 52% of the shares. During Emperor Richard's visit to France, the Datang Empire expressed to Napoleon III its willingness to take a stake in the Canal Company, and immediately received a warm response from the French.

At that time, the Suez Canal Company was in a huge financial crisis due to serious project budget overruns. The French Parliament had serious disagreements over the use of financial funds to subsidize the Suez Canal Company, with the majority opposing opinions, and it was urgent to introduce a powerful investor.

hit it off

Under the needlework of France, Datang Empire purchased 420% of the shares held by Egypt at a low price of 44 million pounds, and then injected 280 million pounds into the Canal Company in the form of loans, which greatly eased the financial crisis of the Suez Canal Company. Contributed to the successful completion of this century project.

That is
The two countries, France and Tang, occupy 96% of the shares of the Suez Canal Company. If the British want to make a move, they must grab food from these two companies.

The international diplomatic situation at the end of 1868 revolved around Britain, France, and Tang Dynasty...

Nov. 1868, 12

The three countries held a closed-door meeting in Paris. The talks lasted for three days and finally broke up. The focus of the disagreement was not illegal. The trick of exchanging benefits.

Both France and Tang Dynasty are colonial powers in the world, and they have a wide range of geographical interests in the world, such as maintaining the basic policy appeal of "America is America for Americans", maintaining the stability of transatlantic trade routes, and maintaining the situation in Northeast Asia. The stability of the country, the maintenance of the Datang Empire's preferential tax access to the pound trade circle, etc., all belong to the category of geostrategic interests.

The same is true of the French Empire. At least the colonization of the Indochina Peninsula requires the cooperation of the British. French merchant ships and warships traveling to and from Eurasia must always be replenished at British colonial ports. This is unavoidable.

The problem is that the British guy's calculations are too sophisticated. As world powers, France and Tang Dynasty also have tempers, so they don't accept this at all.

It is no problem to get the shares of the Suez Canal. Both France and Tang Dynasty can sell some of the rights, but they must be paid with real money in pounds. Talking about the exchange of interests is not acceptable.

After private communication between France and Tang, they determined a unified position towards the British;

That is to say, based on the project cost of 1860 million pounds, a premium of not less than [-]% will be transferred to each of the shares, and finally ensure that the French Empire will occupy the largest shareholder and the Datang Empire will occupy the second largest shareholder.

To be honest
Even if the premium is 5%, it is a loss. The French have worked hard on the Suez project for 10 years, and more than 12 Egyptian laborers died. It can be said that after all the hard work, this century project was finally completed and officially opened to navigation. That is to say, you can see the money back.

At this time, the United Kingdom made a horizontal move, can France not be aggrieved?

But after thinking about it, both France and Tang had to make concessions.

One reason is that the United Kingdom has already occupied Egypt by force, and has the ability to send troops to the Suez Canal area at any time. If you can't get something on the negotiating table, just grab it!

Do not overestimate the moral bottom line of the Anglo-Saxons. The French and the British have loved and killed each other for hundreds of years, and this is all too clear.

The British started out as pirates. When they were not as strong as others, they robbed Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch cargo ships wantonly, and even issued a "quasi-plunder certificate" shamelessly, openly supporting this piracy that trampled on the bottom line of morality.

There is no moral burden on Britain to seize the Suez Canal by force.

The second and most important point.

That is, if you want to make a profit after the official opening of the Suez Canal, it is really impossible to leave the British.

Well known
Today, the largest shipping country in the world is the Tang Empire, and its main routes are transatlantic and Pacific routes. The fleet dominated by steam freighters accounts for almost [-]% of the Atlantic route, and regular freighter flights are all over European countries, right? An uncompromising maritime power.

The second largest shipping country in the world is the British Empire. Its main route is the Eurasian route, that is, it goes south from the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean, goes all the way south along the African coastline to Johannesburg, South Africa, goes around the Cape of Good Hope, enters the Indian Ocean, and finally arrives at the Indian subcontinent, the British Channel Governor’s Palace or East Asia.

On this Eurasian route, there are more than a dozen British colonies scattered, and a huge number of warships and cargo ships pass by every year. It is the largest possible customer of the Suez Canal in the future, none of them.

The number of cargo ships of the Datang Empire on this route is extremely small and can be completely ignored.

When British merchant ships or warships pass through the Suez Canal, they refuse to pay, and they are arrogant and uncooperative. What can you do with him?

Therefore

After much deliberation, France and Tang had no choice but to hold their noses and agree to the British's intrusion, but it is definitely not possible to exchange benefits, and they must buy with pounds.

Imperial Capital Chang'an
Emperor Li Cha read the meeting minutes of the closed-door meeting of the three kingdoms in Paris a few days ago, couldn't help laughing out loud, then shook his head helplessly and said, "Liu Aiqing, I don't think any of the things you agreed on will work. The British are the ones who don't take advantage of it enough.

Now that he is eyeing the Suez Canal, how can he be willing to be a minority shareholder who has little say?

The temper of the British is that even if they occupy 1% of the shares, the tone of speech must be as domineering and arrogant as the controlling shareholder. If they fail to achieve their goals, they will tear up the cooperation agreement and simply turn the table.

As for the 50% premium, that is even more empty talk.

If the British negotiators return to London with this meeting minutes, the group of members of the parliament who are afraid that the British members of the world will overthrow the sky and pass the resolution to send troops to the Suez Canal smoothly, which is tantamount to asking for trouble.

The hooligans in London have always been like this. How can the French remember to eat but not fight? "