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Chapter 1363 Frequent Battle Reports
Hong Tao did see Ma Huateng's little tricks, and he didn't intend to interfere if Tan Mingbu didn't react. In any department, there can never be perfect harmony between superiors and subordinates, or between peers.

Even classmates find it difficult to maintain a calm mindset for long when faced with the temptation of power. Competition is inevitable; it would be abnormal not to compete at all. As long as it can be kept within reasonable limits, one should not interfere.

Ma Huateng is intelligent, possesses rich professional knowledge and work experience—these are all strengths. However, being overly clever, especially prone to resorting to petty tricks, is a weakness and needs some guidance. But that's all—guidance. Whether he can change is his own business; there's no need to force him to grow too quickly.

"Your Majesty, I believe the Spanish have neither the time nor the ability to send troops back to reinforce us, for two reasons."

First and foremost is time. Our navy's communication ships have undergone more than 20 years of continuous improvement, achieving the world's fastest speed, which ensures that battle information is transmitted back in a timely manner.

The Spanish sailing ships were too slow, and they lacked dedicated communication vessels, relying on cargo ships to relay messages. By the time they learned of the fall of Guarquilla, Lima and Panama City had likely already changed hands.

Losing these major ports meant losing most of the local population's supplies. Even if the Spanish wanted to come to their aid, they would not be able to find suitable landing points or sources of food, making logistical support extremely difficult.

Secondly, there's the issue of military strength. Spain was one of the initiators of this European coalition, and it's only logical and reasonable for it to commit its full resources. According to various sources, Spanish troops have been deployed to the Crimean Khanate and Jerusalem, and they will likely be present in the forces attacking Port-e-Entsram.

Therefore, the Spanish no longer had enough troops to send to the Americas. At best, they could temporarily recruit a small mercenary force to accompany merchant ships to the Viceroyalty of New Spain to strengthen its defenses. As for the Viceroyalty of Peru, Spain was willing but unable to do so.

Ma Huateng was quite the bachelor, and his skin was thick enough. Even though his little scheme was exposed to his superiors and the emperor, he remained calm and composed. He glanced at the two battle reports again as if nothing had happened, organized his thoughts slightly, and began to talk eloquently.

"Hmm, that's well said, basically consistent with the analysis when we formulated the plan. Let's put the Eastern Expeditionary Fleet on hold for now; with Du Wenhuan in charge, I'm quite at ease. Now, tell me about the prospects of Enbird Port, and what remedial measures the General Staff should take?"

As always, his reasoning was sound and well-founded. If this person could be more steady and honest, Hong Tao would definitely find a reason to promote him and make him a replacement for the astronaut and Tan Buming as soon as possible.

"Uh... Your Majesty, I have little contact with the situation in South Africa and am not very familiar with the facts, so I dare not speak presumptuously!" As a result, Ma Huateng immediately put his newfound knowledge into practice, becoming cautious in his words and actions. He adopted a very humble posture, preferring to admit his shortcomings in his work rather than offer any more advice.

"There are maps on the wall. Take a look for yourself. If you need more detailed information, just tell Wang Chengen. It's right to be cautious, but you also need to understand the situation clearly and be good at seizing opportunities. Now is the time for me to ask you to speak, and also to test your abilities. It's not a good time to hide your shortcomings."

"Any news from the astronauts in the southwest recently? The General Staff, including the Army Staff, shouldn't focus all their attention abroad. If we lose there, we can retreat. But if chaos breaks out on home soil, the impact will be much greater."

Hong Tao acknowledged Ma Huateng's learning ability, but noted that it still lacked in practical skills and required time and guidance from dedicated individuals, such as Wang Chengen.

However, this was just a minor incident; the next steps still needed to be made regardless of his suggestions. But before that, Tan Buming should be reminded not to forget the situation in the Southwest; compared to the five external war zones, the internal situation was the priority.

"There are no unusual movements at the moment. Your Majesty, rest assured, I have already transferred the first batch of two reserve guards, which have been mixed together, to Lanzhou under the guise of training. They have all been issued weapons and equipment and are ready to go to the plateau to support the Qinghai Military Command at any time. If they don't move, all is well; but once they do, it will be the day the problem is completely resolved!" Tan Buming fully understood the meaning of the emperor's words and fully supported them. The General Staff had planned about the issue of that area more than ten years ago, intending to find a pretext to send troops to wipe it out, and had prepared for the loss of three guards for this purpose.

In other words, they were willing to sacrifice nearly 2 elite troops to eliminate the country within a country! In the end, the emperor did not approve it, but only sent heavy troops to besiege it in Qinghai, the Western Regions, Sichuan and Yunnan, and banned all religious followers in the area, creating artificial isolation zones.

While this approach is quite effective, it is far more expensive than direct military action, requiring continuous investment every year. Moreover, the underlying risks are ever-present, and it's impossible to predict when they might erupt.

"Your Majesty, Commander Zhou has an urgent report to submit!" Before Hong Tao could make a decision, the honey badger outside the hall shouted again.

"Hey, what's going on today? They never come at all, but now they're showing up in droves! There must be news from the southwest or the western regions. Let them in!"

Commander Zhou refers to Zhou Jiaqing, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Since the express courier service was separated from the postal stations, it was no longer under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War and was entirely operated by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Logically, all military intelligence from various regions should have been transmitted through the express courier service.

However, in reality, only the army fighting on its homeland and in the surrounding areas uses this system. Once separated by the ocean, the transmission of intelligence is naturally handed over to the navy's communication ships, which send the information directly back to Dagu Port in one go.

At present, the only urgent reports that could be considered to be in line with the business of the express courier were those from the Western Regions and the Southwest. If they were ordinary reports, Zhou Jiaqing would not personally send them to the palace, but would first transfer them to the Office of Transmission for the formal procedures.

"Your Majesty, Ding Shunfa, Chief of Staff of the Army and Commander-in-Chief of the Western Regions Theater, has sent an urgent report!" As the chubby Zhou Jiaqing strode into the hall, the answer was revealed: it was indeed a battle report from the Western Regions.

"Read..." Since it's a battle report, and everyone present is a high-ranking official from the General Staff, there's no need for the emperor to read it first; let's listen together.

The battle report was written by Ding Shun himself. It was short and said that 14 days ago, a group of Kazakh herders encountered a large number of cavalry in the northern Caspian Sea. Taking advantage of the darkness, familiarity with the roads, and the strength of their horses, many of them escaped and returned to their camp. While moving their tribe, they also sent fast horses to warn the Khan of Turkestan.

According to the herders, they encountered at least tens of thousands of enemies, all on two horses, wearing wool cloaks and tall wool hats, and equipped with scimitars and muskets, similar in appearance to the cavalry of the tribes that originally belonged to the Golden Horde further east.

Since the Golden Horde was fragmented, the western ethnic groups and the eastward-moving Kazakhs had never interacted. Their sudden appearance within the Kazakh Khanate's sphere of influence, with a large number of people and full of weapons, was clearly not a friendly gesture.

Ding Shun currently doesn't know the exact number of this potential Khanate cavalry, where they come from, or where they are headed. However, while relaying the message back home, he also sent people to Bukhara and Tacheng to inform the local garrisons and Huang Taiji that everything is currently normal, and that any new information will be reported to the emperor promptly.

(End of this chapter)