Great Qing Dynasty talker

The training ground was filled with smoke and the sound of gunfire.

Li Yu put down the telescope and pointed at a group of guys in Wu army uniforms who were standing there like dumbfounded chickens.

He frowned and asked:

"Who are those people?"

"Your Majesty, this is an outstanding officer of the vassal army recommended by the 4th Nanyang Army Corps. He is undergoing a short training at the NCO School."

Li Yu hesitated to speak.

What does excellence mean in the eyes of the 4th Legion? The ability to make money? Or the ability to take bullets?
"Call him here, I will see him."

After a while, a group of frightened Annamites, Fuso people and Siamese people came over and knelt down.

Shouting:

"Long live."

……

Li Yu asked a few questions through the translator about what battles these people had participated in, and he had an idea of ​​what was going on.

Tasteless~
A group of "all-terrain artificial intelligence load-carrying mules".

Now,

The countries in Southeast Asia are generally peaceful, but the situation is not peaceful at the grassroots.

Small gangs of bandits were rampant among the people, and tribal barbarians were everywhere.

It’s not that the Nanyang monarchs were disloyal to their superior countries, but that their ability to control the people below was indeed very limited.

Fortunately, the 4th Army Corps suppressed the pirates by force, and the pirates who had been rampant in the four major rivers of Indochina Peninsula for hundreds of years have now disappeared. However, there are still countless native pirates squatting in the deep woods and bushes.

……

E.g,

According to an officer who was present:

2 years ago~
On the border between the Kingdom of Siam and the Kingdom of Chiang Mai, a fierce tribe suddenly appeared, killed dozens of immigrants from the nearby Wu Kingdom, and ambushed the Siamese soldiers who were coming to suppress them.

Seeing that they could no longer escape, the 4th Legion stationed in Dacheng resolutely dispatched troops to uphold justice.

Join forces with the Siamese government and send troops during the dry season.

Go deep into the land, firepower is king.

This outstanding Annan officer was one of the "all-terrain artificial intelligence mules" at the time. He carried guns, ammunition, and chain bullets for the soldiers, and crossed mountains and rivers with a weight of 70 kilograms.

The 4th Army cannot live without firepower, just like a fish cannot live without water.

The Intelligence Agency also cooperated to bribe several nearby tribes.

Under the double blow of money and gunpowder, more than 2000 fresh heads of rebellious tribesmen, women, young and old were found scattered along the banks of the Chao Phraya River.

All tribal leaders within a radius of 200 miles were invited to watch the ceremony.

……

However, this reminded Li Yu.

The construction of a huge army of servants is now on the agenda.

"deliver an imperial order."

"The original Nanyang Servant Corps remains unchanged."

"Order Tokugawa Ieharu, Yi San, Li Weiqi, and Zheng Xin to cooperate with us to form a local army to fight abroad. I will provide all the uniforms, weapons, and military pay. All protectorates must provide personnel."

"Notify the Army Training Department to dispatch personnel to various countries for on-site training. Once one group is trained, another group will be deployed."

The guards put their combat boots together.

salute:

"As ordered."

……

Once the Empire officially intervenes in the Black Sea War, the entire world pattern will change.

The existing military strength is obviously insufficient, and a new round of military expansion is imminent.

After returning to the palace, Li Yu wrote a letter.

"Within six months, recruit 50 independent infantry regiments and 5000 skilled sailors along the coast of Fujian and Guangdong."

"Disband the two dispatched legions of the Empire. Those who are willing to continue to serve will be assigned to the vassal legions as company and platoon-level officers. Those who do not want to serve will follow their personal wishes and receive a severance pay to settle in the colonies or protectorates."

This way.

The Imperial Army will have 100 independent infantry regiments and 12 field corps, with a total strength of 50.

The Imperial Navy will have 10 sailors and 500 warships over 300 tons.

……

If you have money, you have soldiers.

Officers are readily available.

As early as 5 years ago~
The empire opened branches of the Army Officer School in Xi'an, Kunming, Guangzhou, Wuchang, Anqing, and Yanjing, and branches of the Naval Officer School in Guangzhou, Cam Ranh Bay, and Batavia.

The origins of army and navy cadets are quite different.

Most army cadets come from ordinary farming families, while most naval cadets come from wealthy families.

Such a layout is not only based on the differences between the military services.

There are also some checks and balances.

Even if people from different backgrounds become colleagues, it is difficult for them to get along with each other because there is a natural gap between them.

……

All arrangements are completed.

Li Yu sighed: If there were no war in the world, how much money would be saved?

But it's obviously impossible.

Just like I hope that all the subjects of the empire are loyal and upright, that is impossible.

In these two years~
The original voices of "opposing industrialization and overseas colonization" gradually became weaker.

The answer lies in the colonies.

All civil and military officials benefited from it, and made huge profits.

Beware of the impact within the empire.

It doesn’t matter if you eat in an ugly manner outside, because the emperor can’t see it anyway.

if we assume:
The total amount of Nanyang wealth is 10 taels.

Then, the empire got 3 taels, the immigrants got 1 tael, the imperial officials and businessmen got 1 tael, the monarchs of each country got 1 tael, the local nobles got 2 taels, and the rest of the people got 2 taels.

……

Although Li Yu did not witness it with his own eyes, he could roughly guess what these people did outside.

He predicted that with the combination of various factors, collective armed resistance by the indigenous people in the Nanyang region would break out sooner or later.

It doesn't matter.

Just remind the Intelligence Agency to pay close attention.

At that time, the imperial garrison only needs to guard key hubs and key waterways, and protect immigrants. They don't need to worry about anything else, and can even sell a batch of arms to local nobles.

The population density in Nanyang is suspected to be too high.

Have a fight.

Maybe it's a good thing.

What is supposed to come will come.

I remember Malthus once said: You have to choose between traps and war.
……

As the Empire began mass-producing breech-loading cannons, a new problem emerged.

What should be done with the tens of thousands of muzzle-loading cannons?
It would be a waste to melt it.

Better sell it~
Of course, ordinary forces cannot afford cannons. Not only are they expensive, but they also require technical troops.

Illiterate people can use muskets.

Illiterate people certainly cannot use artillery.

The target was ready-made and sold to Ottomans.

……

But the problem of update arises again.

There is not enough shipping capacity and not enough seagoing vessels.

In Southeast Asia, dozens of shipyards of all sizes under the empire were working at full capacity, frantically building ships based on the technical drawings issued by the Ministry of Industry.

Measure the timber from the South Seas and build the empire's fleet.

Three-masted sailing ships, single-masted fast sailing ships, steam paddle steamers, a combination of Chinese and Western power, all launched at the same time. There was even a single-masted steam paddle steamer, a hybrid of sail and steam, with iron ribs and wooden hulls, 1500 tons, a maximum speed of 4 knots, dedicated to cargo transportation.

Wu Ting worked desperately to build ships, and the Saxons saw it all.

London newspapers ask:
"An ancient and time-honored land-based empire actually has a seafaring gene in its genes?"

……

In fact, this is a misunderstanding based on cultural differences between both parties.

The Wu State had no navigation genes at all, only the genes of "getting ahead" and "making a living", or the "pragmatism gene".

To elaborate, it is:

We don't love anything, we just want to live a better life.

We have the sea-going ship technology of less than a thousand tons taught by the Saxons, the high-quality timber from Southeast Asia, the technological accumulation of the past decade, countless diligent and studious craftsmen, and thousands of years of civilization foundation.

And there is the guidance of the wise and great Emperor Wu.

What is mass shipbuilding?
……

Generally speaking, naval strength is based on 4 points:
Shipbuilding capabilities, sailor quality, combat experience, and dock logistics.

The first point has been basically solved. We can’t build first- and second-level large ships, but third-level ships and below are not a problem.

The second point is to recruit fishermen from Fujian, Guangdong and southern Zhejiang, as well as civilian merchant ship sailors.

The third point is the frequent suppression of pirates in the South Seas! Pirate ships are surrounded and suppressed at sea, and pirate nests are destroyed on land.

Fourth, the empire’s military ports are spread all over Southeast Asia (Cam Ranh Bay, Phu Quoc Island, Yangon, Ayutthaya, Batavia, Pontianak)
Finally, there is a very crucial point.

The empire is in its ascendant period, and the navy from top to bottom is very eager to achieve success.

Especially those rich young men who graduated from the NCO Academy and served as technical officers on various ships. Their hearts were filled with enthusiasm for war and the desire to join the nobility as soon as possible.

……

Amsterdam, Netherlands.

A diplomatic meeting of low profile but high confidentiality level is being held.

inside the house,

Diplomatic envoys from seven countries were drinking tea and smoking.

The dull atmosphere is full of temptations~
From morning till night, we discussed it repeatedly.

There are two topics.

1. How to deal with Wu Ting’s tea dumping with the least impact on Europe.

2. How to divide the Ottoman Empire.

London is the initiator of this meeting, and his troublemaker character remains the same as always.

……

Viscount Staunton was the organizer of this meeting and was drinking tea leisurely.

The Frankish envoy asked:
"Your Excellency, why do we all drink black tea, but you drink green tea?"

"Drinking green tea is to better understand our opponents."

The Prussian envoy who was silently adding sugar to his drink rolled his eyes. "Pah, it's just a pile of broken leaves. Do you feel superior after drinking it? Why are you pretending to be so high and mighty?"

Staunton put down his tea bowl and said with a smile:

"Gentlemen, there is a saying in the East: Brothers quarrel within the walls, but defend against external humiliation."

"If we continue to fight, the crown of world hegemony will undoubtedly return to the Wu Kingdom. The 300 years of maritime exploration and colonial history of Europeans have ultimately served others well."

……

The Rakshasa envoy quickly said in French:
"Yes."

"We should grow our own tea and make our own porcelain, and not let the barbarians take away the money."

Staunton glanced at the guy.

I thought to myself, what you said is quite shocking.

London's plan to secretly grow tea in Assam is being implemented. It is top secret and no more than 10 people in London know about it.

The Frankish envoy burst into laughter.

His punchline is "barbarians".

There is always something funny about a barbarian saying "barbarian".

He praised maliciously:

"Your Excellency's French is authentic."

The Rakshasa envoy's face turned red, but he remained unmoved.

Our noble Rakshasa spoke French and ate French food even in St. Petersburg.

Whatever is popular in Paris, is also popular in St. Petersburg. If Parisians were not crazy about Wu products, we would not follow suit.
……

The Rakshasa envoy stood up and pointed at the map:

"Gentlemen, from a military perspective, the Wu Kingdom has posed a huge threat to us."

The Frankish envoy sneered:
"To correct it, it is a huge threat to you Rakshasas."

"When the lips and teeth are gone, they are in danger! The Wu army has already controlled Tyumen and Novosibirsk. Their hands have already reached west of the Ural Mountains. They have also sold a large number of weapons to the Ottoman Empire. If our army is defeated, how can you guarantee that Wu will not continue to advance westward? How can you guarantee that Wu will not sell weapons to your colonies?"

Everyone was depressed.

The house was filled with smoke.

……

Viscount Staunton seized the opportunity and pointed out the key point again:

"Okay, everyone. Let's think about how to target their tea with legal and reasonable means. We will lose some tariffs, but I think it's acceptable."

"Your Excellency means that we should try to play the game within the framework?"

"Yes, for now. The three major treaties are still worth maintaining. We don't want the Nanyang colonies to be attacked by the Wu Kingdom."

Everyone's heart sank instantly.

Nanyang is far away from the mainland and has few troops stationed there.

No matter how powerful a person is, he would not think that he would have any chance of winning if he went to war with Wu's army.

The Wu State was a traditional land power with a navy. They could dispatch hundreds of thousands of ground troops to Southeast Asia at any time.

……

Everyone shook their heads and sighed for a moment.

Staunton summed it up:
“We should try to keep the commercial game with Wu within the framework.”

"There is no need to be polite to the Ottomans. We should destroy them by force and divide their territory."

Staunton stood up, seized a red pencil and began to work on the map.

"Everyone, please look~"

"Our country's arrangement for the division of Ottoman territory is as follows: the Crimean Peninsula will go to St. Petersburg, the area east of the Black Sea will go to Berlin, the Macedonian area west of the Black Sea will go to Vienna, Asia Minor will go to London, the area south of the Mediterranean will go to Madrid, and the Balkans will go to Paris. The six of us will each take out the equivalent of 6 pounds from the spoils of war as compensation to Amsterdam."

The Frankish envoy pointed to the blank space in the middle of the map:
"What about Constantinople?"

"Leave it to the Sultan to grow on its own. Gentlemen, we should be civilized and not kill them all."

hahaha~
For the first time, a loud laugh broke out in the room.

……

Staunton put down his pencil, put his hand on the table, and asked with a smile:

"Well, gentlemen, who's for and who's against?"

After a moment's hesitation, six hands were raised in the room.

Staunton was the first to applaud, and then everyone followed suit and applauded for the cooperation.

Half an hour later, the Treaty of Amsterdam was signed.

Everyone signed on it solemnly.

This treaty can be simply interpreted as war and peace, launching a war offensive against the Ottoman Empire and a peace offensive against the Wu Kingdom.

Staunton felt relieved. The plan had been brewing for a year and finally succeeded today.

With this achievement, he will be able to form a cabinet and become one of the top nobles in the future.

……

The reason for changing the previous strategy and taking such harsh measures against the Ottoman Empire was based on two points.

First, Luosha was expanding rapidly, and needed to support Osman to contain Luosha. Now Luosha was interrupted by Wu Jun, lost control of Siberia, and even the order in the area west of the Ural Mountains was challenged.

Second, the Ottoman Empire and the Wu Kingdom were too close. The Wu Emperor might use the Ottoman Empire as a springboard to intervene in European affairs, which was a huge threat.

Third, the economic losses caused by the snipe of Wu's tea by various countries need to be compensated. Dividing the Ottoman Empire and obtaining its wealth can support the long-term strategy against Wu.

Fourth, London judged that in the long run, war with Wu was inevitable. Try to attract as many allies as possible and take the blame. (End of this chapter)