Wild North America 1846

Chapter 575 Tricks
大唐远征舰队由23艘各型船只组成，其中真正的战舰只有4艘“狂风”级铁甲巡洋舰，满载排水量约5000余吨，装备了4门8英寸主舰炮（203毫米）和10门7英寸副炮（178毫米），经济航速10.5节。

There are also 12 refitted coal carriers, equipped with 4 to 5 seven-inch cannons, with a displacement of more than 5500 to 7600 tons, which can be used as armed civilian ships.

The remaining 7 ships are oil and water supply ships and cargo ships, carrying a large number of machinery and equipment, including tractors, sawmills, oil mills, rice mills, flour mills, feed processing plants, wool spinning mills, weaving factories and the construction of brick kilns and coal kilns. Building materials and other materials and equipment, thousands of tons of cement and steel bars, a large number of tents, pots and pans and other daily utensils, all kinds of preparations are very complete.

Looking at this appearance, it is a plan to take root for a long time.

The long fleet formed two long snake arrays running side by side, stretching for more than ten kilometers, riding the wind and waves to the south in the vast Pacific Ocean, and the scene was spectacular.

The first stop of the expedition fleet is the port of Panama in Central America.

Then, from Panama, follow the Pacific Rim all the way westward, and arrive at Donggang City, a paradise island, which is the second stop of the expedition fleet.

Flagship "Evil Wind" ironclad cruiser
Inside the tall and spacious conning tower
His Highness Tang-Li Xin, who led the army to the expedition, still had an excited look on his face. He was talking with his staff in a low voice, with an uncontrollable excitement in his voice. Which high-spirited young man does not have the dream of adventure?

"Brother Daqing, Egypt is one of the four ancient civilizations. The pyramids and the Sphinx in the long yellow sand are full of mysteries, and there are many famous historical sites. This time I finally have the opportunity to experience them."

"But Your Highness... I am afraid that our troops are not strong enough to capture Cairo City. If our troops approach Cairo City, there will be an uproar?"

"Hmph, it depends on whether this old thief, Ismail, is aware of current affairs? Otherwise, when our army arrives, everything will be destroyed. Don't blame me for being unpredictable!"

heard this
Liu Daqing looked at Colonel Pan Shouguo who was standing aside speechlessly, and saw that he was looking into the distance calmly, as if he could find interesting things on the blue sea under the blue sky and white clouds, and he didn't seem to want to participate in the slightest.

Liu Daqing could only bite the bullet and persuade; "His Royal Highness, this journey is long, and our expeditionary fleet goes deep alone. The word "stable" should be used as the main word, and it is not suitable to go deep into danger. We occupied the city of Suez as planned in the early stage. This is an expedition. Don’t change the plan that was agreed before, don’t change it!”

"Don't worry, Da Qing, I have my own countermeasures." His Highness Tang Li Xin responded confidently.

Before the expedition
He has done a lot of homework about Egypt, collected intelligence on Egypt's military, political, and economic aspects through various channels, and basically knows what he knows, so he can respond with confidence.

Egypt is now a province of the Ottoman Empire, but it is extremely independent.

Ismail Pasha was almost the uncrowned king of Egypt.Relying on the close relationship with the European powers such as Britain and France, he ignored the orders of the empire.

In the 19s, the Ottoman Empire also sent troops to crusade against this alienated frontier governor. However, they were defeated twice by the Egyptian army, which made the European powers see clearly the decadent nature of the Ottoman Empire, and intervened in the affairs of the Near East even more unscrupulously.

Said Pasha passed away in 1863, and the governor of Said was succeeded by Ismail, the eldest grandson of Muhammad Ali, who served as the governor of Egypt and has been passed down for more than 60 years.

Egypt still belongs to the Ottoman Empire in name. Under the interference of the Ottoman Empire, the descendants of Muhammad Ali can inherit the position of governor of Egypt, but the governor must be the oldest of Ali's living descendants, not the father.

Ismail Pasha of Egypt was a relatively enlightened ruler, obsessed with the prosperous culture, art and science of Europe, and opened the door to accept investment from countries such as Britain and France. This also led to the closure of traditional industries in Egypt, and the national industry was hit hard.

Today, Egypt has a Red Sea Fleet consisting of 12 army soldiers trained by Western instructors and 18 old sailing warships. In the Middle East, it can punch Sudan, kick Syria, Jordan and Nejd, and its strength ranks first in the Middle East .

But compared with the world powers, it has a lot of hips.

In order to support the expedition led by His Royal Highness Tang-Li Xin, the eleventh son of the emperor, the Tang Empire not only sent four powerful armored cruisers, but also equipped two full-staffed Royal Marine Divisions, with a total strength of more than 4 people.

Now these two Royal Marines are training in the suburbs of Xin'an, Paradise Island. It has been more than two months, and they are ready to go out at any time.

According to the expedition plan;

It will take about one and a half months to about 50 days for the expedition fleet to arrive at the third stop, New Xi'an City, where it will meet with the third and fourth Royal Marine Divisions that have already been prepared. The time is about mid-to-late November.

After a brief rest of more than ten days, the scale of the re-starting expeditionary fleet will more than double, accompanied by not only 3.2 expeditionary soldiers, but also more than [-] immigrants who participated in the development of Eritrea in the early stage. The lineup is unprecedentedly large.

Shortly thereafter
Subsequent immigrant fleets will also arrive at the new colony in the Red Sea one after another, transporting a total of no more than 2 Chinese immigrants to the East African continent, where they will build towns, factories and plantations, and start all preparations for the initial colonization.

When the situation stabilizes, the empire will introduce preferential policies to mobilize the Straits Settlements and Indochina Chinese to immigrate to Eritrea.

Nowadays, in Malaysia, Singapore, Penang, Vietnam, Myanmar and Thailand, there are an astonishing number of Chinese laborers and Chinese businessmen. There are as many as 10,000+ Chinese in Saigon, Vietnam alone, accounting for 1/3 of the population of Saigon, almost monopolizing Local commerce and port transportation.

In Chennai, India, there is also a Chinatown with a scale of nearly [-] people. Compared with the original history, the number of people is more active and the sense of presence is stronger.

In the Tang Empire

There are not many shipping companies operating the Eurasian route, which cannot be compared with the busy Atlantic route and the circum-American route, and the total transportation volume only accounts for a small fraction.

There are several cargo ship liners every month, mainly to transport tea, porcelain, silk, bristle, tung oil and other products rich in the mainland to Europe. On the return journey, they transport British-made machine-made cloth, German-made machinery and equipment, French-made foreign guns and artillery, and some European industrial products, as well as Southeast Asian spices, aluminum ingots, tin, rubber from Paradise Island, flour and canned fruit, these specialties were sent to the mainland.

The news of the expedition fleet's oath to set sail was quickly spread all over the world through newspaper media propaganda, and it also attracted the attention of the British.

Prime Minister's Residence, Downing Street, London.

early in the morning

Prime Minister Lord William Ewart Gladstone came to the office with brisk steps, and after nodding and greeting the staff, he pushed open the door of the office.

In the office, the Colonial Minister William Cecil, the Admiralty Lord George Stephen, and the Cabinet Secretary Robert Jr. were already waiting here. Seeing the Prime Minister push the door in, they all stood up and expressed their respects in a very gentlemanly manner. An Wenhou.

"Let's take it easy, gentlemen, sit down and talk about topics of interest first, and ask Miss Mary to make us a big pot of coffee. She is the best staff member in Downing Street, and the coffee she makes is fragrant and delicious." Prime Minister William said happily.

For more than half a year

Watching the French lose their dignity after being beaten by the Germans, and being beaten up in front of Datang, the British took the opportunity to extort a lot of good things. Prime Minister Lord William Ewart Gladstone has always been in a good mood.

Cabinet Secretary Robert Jr. spoke first;
"Honorable Prime Minister;

According to the latest news from France, the Thiers government has issued a total of 20 billion francs of government bonds with an interest rate of 5%. The private subscription is very active, and it is expected that all the bond issuance will be completed sometime in November.

to be frank

We were also surprised by this. Bismarck, the iron-blooded prime minister of the German Empire, also expressed his miscalculation in public.

he had expected;
It will take 20 years or even longer for France to pay off this huge amount of war compensation, while the German Empire can reasonably and legally occupy the northern provinces of France for 20 years. a sum.

All the expenses of the German occupation forces stationed in France were borne by the French, which saved a large amount of military expenditure invisibly.

Never expected that the French people are so rich?

Judging from this momentum of war bond subscription, the remaining 30 billion francs in war reparations do not seem to be a big problem? "

"If the United States of America had thought of this method earlier, it would not have been occupied by the military for more than ten years. Those American idiots with black fingernails seem to have not been very smart." Lord George Stephen said with a curl of his lips.

Colonial Minister William Cecil, who had been silent all this time, took the hot coffee from Mrs. Mary and said "Thank you" in a very gentlemanly manner.After he took a sip, he put the coffee cup on the table and said;

"My dear Lord George, I cannot agree with you.

The situation in the United States of America is different from that of France. After five years of the North American War, the value of the dollar has depreciated tens of thousands of times, and the financial reputation of the entire country has been completely bankrupt.

Everyone from capitalists to workers has been reduced to abject poverty. At the most exaggerated time, it took more than 10 US dollars to buy a loaf of bread.Tang yuan has become the most valuable hard currency, and a soldier of the Tang Dynasty can buy a 4-bedroom apartment in Manhattan, New York with one month's salary.

After the defeat, all debts and huge war reparations of the United States of America were denominated in Tang Yuan. Even if government bonds were issued, where could ordinary people get such a huge amount of Tang Yuan?

Unlike France, the Franco-Prussian War lasted only a short time, and the credit system of the franc did not collapse. The franc is still a reliable hard currency in the world.

The Prussians have always wanted to replicate Datang's success, but they obviously miscalculated.

But this may be a good thing for London. Based on the "Continental Balance Policy", we don't want an overly weak France to exist, which will not achieve the purpose of restricting the increasingly prosperous German nation-state.

Only when France and Germany are evenly matched do they need the British ally, and this is where our value lies. "

"That's great, I admire your vision very much." Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone took the lead in applauding, and the others followed suit.

Lord William Cecil stood up politely, stroked his chest as a gentleman, and responded, "I am very honored, Your Excellency the Prime Minister."

At this moment

The secretary Robert Jr. said solemnly; "Your Excellency, my lords, according to reliable sources from the upper echelons of the German Empire; Defeat the traditional enemy of France. At present, it is still in the consultation stage."

As soon as this word comes out

All eyes were on Prime Minister William, and Prime Minister William quickly calmed down, thought carefully for a while, and asked, "Is the news accurate?"

"The news comes from His Royal Highness Blood Prince Karl. Prime Minister Bismarck has consulted his opinion in private, as well as the possible political impact of the military action. There is nothing wrong with that."

"They must be stopped, and the German ambitions must be stopped." Prime Minister William slapped the table heavily, causing the coffee cups on the table to jingle and almost topple over.

But Prime Minister William did not notice these details at all, but continued categorically; "I will immediately warn Kaiser Wilhelm I through diplomatic channels, sternly and unmistakably stating the position of the British Empire; London will never allow the German Empire's military There is no doubt that the British Empire will take resolute intervention measures, including military means, if it insists on going its own way."

Cabinet Secretary Robert Jr. quickly recorded the Prime Minister's instructions, only to see Prime Minister William raised a finger and continued to sternly say; "Well, add another one... to warn Prime Minister Bismarck in a straightforward tone; the British Empire can The Germans can hold them up, but they can also make them fall hard. Don't challenge the majesty of the British Empire at any time, they can't afford that price."

"Obey, Your Excellency Prime Minister." Robert Jr. quickly recorded the order.

The Prime Minister's resolute and tough orders made the atmosphere of British pride in the office more intense, which is the strong self-confidence to dominate the world.

After the cabinet secretary Robert Jr. finished recording the order, he put down the pen in his hand, flipped through the document and continued; "One more thing, according to news reports from the other side of the Atlantic, the Datang Expeditionary Fleet to Conquer Egypt has already set off and is expected to arrive at Arriving in the Red Sea region at some point early next year, they've come for real this time."

"Oh, what's the specific situation?"

"The Emperor's Eleventh Son, His Royal Highness Tang-Li Xin, Duke of Colorado, is the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary fleet of the Datang Empire. The navy includes four 4-ton ironclad cruisers, 4980 armed coal carriers and some other ships. , a total of 12 ships." Looking at the document in his hand, Robert Jr. opened the next page and continued to introduce;

"The expedition fleet will join the infantry here on Paradise Island. The 3rd and 4th Divisions of the Royal Marines and more than [-] Chinese immigrants will join the expedition fleet and march towards the Middle East.

Relevant information shows that Datang is fully prepared this time, and may plan to open up new colonies.

The two divisions of the marine force have a total of more than 3.2 people. Each has a cavalry regiment and an artillery regiment under its jurisdiction. They are all reorganized from the original army field divisions, and their combat effectiveness is estimated to be at the second-rate level in Europe.

Such an expeditionary army will deal a fatal blow to the current Egypt. "

after the introduction
Walking towards the office, it fell into silence. Everyone present felt that the situation was rather tricky, and if it was not handled properly, it would cause big trouble.

Lord George Stephen, Secretary of the Admiralty, took a sip from his coffee cup, hesitated for a moment, and then said;
"I would like to remind the Prime Minister that it is very important to maintain the close and friendly relationship with Datang and maintain the existing port mutual assistance treaty, which will help the Royal Navy and the British commercial cargo ship global trade.

In fact, Datang has occupied a dominant position in the entire Americas, and its influence has expanded from North America, Central America to South America.On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, without the assistance of Datang, it is almost impossible for us to obtain supplies at any port, except Canada.

No matter whether it is the north or south of the United States, Brazil, Argentina or Venezuela in South America, no one wants to offend Datang.

The Egyptian issue should be handled with caution. In fact, this practice of setting up obstacles for Datang is completely unnecessary, and instead gives them an excuse to go to war.

Based on its own interests, the Royal Navy does not want to see bilateral relations deteriorate..."

Speaking of here
Lord George Stephen, the Minister of the Admiralty, seemed to want to explain the position of the Admiralty in detail, and after thinking about it, he shut his mouth tightly.

Prudence in words and deeds is equally effective in London politics. He neither wants to be seen as a military figure who speaks out for Datang, nor does he want to interfere with the prime minister's judgment and decision-making.

Colonial Minister William Cecil frowned tightly, sighed and said, "This was originally the Frenchman's idea. After Mr. Campbell, the British chairman of the Suez Canal Company, learned about it, he pushed it forward again." Put. The purpose is to obtain the shares of the canal held by Datang, and to create some obstacles. I didn’t expect the Orientals to directly turn the table.”

His soft sigh contained a lot of helplessness.

Datang learned the tricks and overbearing that were originally used by the British, French and Western powers, which made these old powers feel helpless.

In particular, the United Kingdom and Datang are allies, and secretly cooperating with the French to do bad things behind the scenes, it must not be brought to the surface, shame is hard to get into the sheath!

"How many troops have we kept in Egypt?" asked Prime Minister William.

Cabinet Secretary Robert Jr. hastily flipped through the information in his hand before replying; "We have a dissatisfied division in Alexandria, composed of the Scottish Highland Grenadiers and the Chelsea Musketeers, and we have a cavalry division in the Canal District. Together with other scattered garrisons, the total is about 2.82 people.

The French garrisoned 1.35 troops in Egypt, most of them located in Port Said, the canal area, with about two regiments of cavalry. "

The prime minister, Lord William Ewart Gladstone, had a headache after hearing the report. Now that the relationship between Britain and France is extremely bad, don’t mention it if you want to form a British-French coalition. You will definitely be sprayed back by the French.

The army has never been where the British are good at, and it has almost no deterrent effect on Datang.

That's what it means to make a fuss about nothing, so why bother?
(End of this chapter)