Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 513: Shocking Departure Ceremony

The ancients said that a war should be justified, which meant to tell the world the justice of launching a war. Internally, it means to tell the soldiers why they are fighting.

Generally, manifestos are read out at the ceremony. The more famous ones in history include Chen Lin's manifesto scolding Cao Cao and Luo Binwang's manifesto scolding Wu Zetian.

Jia Lian strongly suspected that the brothers' manifestos became famous simply because they were both unlucky and losers, which added a touch of tragedy to the writings, and that's why they were remembered.

Of course, it is not ruled out that later generations do not have a high opinion of Cao Cao and Wu Zetian. If someone scolds these two, later generations will naturally write about them in great detail.

The later generations' evaluation of Cao Cao is that he was a Han Dynasty Prime Minister but a Han Dynasty traitor. This evaluation is based on morality. A certain modern scholar highly praised Cao Cao and even went so far as to discredit Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang.

When I look at historical figures from an ordinary person's perspective, I certainly cannot like a person like Cao Cao who massacres cities at will.

As for Liu Bei, in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, even if his benevolence and righteousness were fake, he had been pretending all his life. Isn't the reason why the Romance of the Three Kingdoms can be widely circulated because its values ​​are in line with the simple emotions of the world?
The most direct reason why Wu Zetian was disliked by later generations was because she was a woman. Everything else is secondary and will not be elaborated here.

"Your Highness, the ceremony must be held. Not only that, but we must also invite foreigners to watch. And we must inform them in a letter that the majesty of the Great Zhou cannot be violated!"

Jia Lian patiently told Li Yuan that this did not satisfy him, because Li Yuan really wanted to know the specific time of the expedition and many details, and he had the right to know.

"Sir, I am the Inspector of Nanyang. It is unacceptable that I don't know any specific details." Li Yuan's tone became a little serious. Jia Lian understood. He looked at his expressionless face and nodded to show that he understood.

Then he walked into a room with a sign "War Room" on the door, and only then did Li Yuan realize that there was such a place in the Governor's Office.

The walls on all four sides are covered with maps, all of which are maps of various places in Southeast Asia. In the center is a huge platform, and on the platform is a huge sand table.

Everyone in the room was very quiet and looked very busy, coming in and out, occasionally talking in low voices.

After following Jia Lian in, Li Yuan discovered that staff members kept bringing documents and asking Jia Lian to sign.

"Your Highness, please look. This is the target of this operation. It's the Spanish lair in Borneo, Manila." Jia Lian pointed at the sand table and asked Li Yuan to look at it slowly. It didn't matter whether he understood it or not.

Li Yuan looked at it for a while, pointed at several model warships on the sand table and asked, "Master Jia, what is the purpose of these three fleets?"

Jia Lian didn't answer in a hurry. Instead, he dealt with a document in front of him first, then walked over slowly and said, "The three squadrons set out in advance for the purpose of blocking the news. On the day of the expedition ceremony, I will order Qi Yun's subordinates to surround Macau and block the port. No ship will be allowed to leave within ten days to prevent the news from leaking out. At the same time, the Fujian and Zhejiang naval forces will make a big fanfare in Dayuan to confuse the enemy. The specific combat plan is to create a false impression that our main fleet will set out from Dayuan and head south, so as to lure the enemy's main fleet out of the port to block it and then annihilate it at sea. This is the most ideal result."

Li Yuan really didn't understand. He looked up at Jia Lian in confusion: "Is there a different result?"

Jia Lian smiled and said, "This is a naval battle. It is very difficult to transmit information in the vast ocean. Apart from other things, searching for the enemy fleet requires a lot of luck. It is not uncommon for two fleets to cross each other in the same sea area and fail to find each other. Therefore, the plan is the plan, and the emphasis is on being flexible when executing it. The General Staff has deduced and judged many times that the direction of the battle is most likely to be an encounter between the main force of the enemy fleet and Manila Bay. After a fierce battle, the enemy will be exhausted and flee back to the port, relying on the protection of the coastal defense artillery."

Li Yuan has a special identity, so Jia Lian has to answer all his questions.

"How to block the news in the vast ocean?" Li Yuan asked another question.

Jia Lian smiled and said, "Of course, we blocked the port in advance. The first squadron went to Dayuan to block the local port and create confusion. Your Highness, please take your time to read it. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I will take care of other things first."

Li Yuan nodded and continued to exercise his observation rights in the operations room.

When Li Yuan left in the evening, Jia Lian specifically instructed him not to tell anyone what he had seen or heard.

Li Yuan, who knew that the matter was of great importance, said that it was no problem. He felt that he had gained a lot from his career as an observer. The launch of a campaign was not as simple as it was written in the book. Jia Lian had been preparing for almost two years just for the intelligence gathering. He also arranged to recruit a group of pirates in advance, gave them the status of deputy envoys to the South Seas, and ordered them to go to Borneo as expatriates to meet them.

From the perspective of intelligence, because of the relative closedness of information, Westerners were restricted to a very small range and it was difficult to obtain much intelligence. And because of the need for trade, it was difficult for the Spanish and Dutch ports to keep secrets.

In connection with the recent crackdown on smuggling, Li Yuan came to the conclusion that the Western ships parked offshore should be driven to the ports of Macau or Guangzhou. Some private ports in the surrounding waters were also cracked down one after another for the same purpose: to block the news once the war broke out.

It turned out that the early preparations for the battle had already begun, but he was still kept in the dark.

Li Yuan was a little dissatisfied with this, but he didn't think too much about it. He also knew the importance of keeping secrets. Otherwise, Jia Lian wouldn't have emphasized it again and again.

Li Yuan was still very well-behaved and did not interfere in anything concerning Jia Lian. His attitude was just: I want to know what you are doing.

There is nothing wrong with this, and the scale is well controlled.

On the first day of June, early in the morning, the Governor of Macau, Dio, received a notice from the Great Zhou, asking him to go to Guangzhou immediately to participate in the Nanyang Navy's expedition ceremony, and requiring Macau to block the port and prohibit all ships from entering or leaving. Dio was very dissatisfied with the notice. When he wanted to call his subordinates in to discuss whether to cooperate, he heard the sound of artillery from the port.

Rumble!
"What's going on? Who's firing?" Dio asked angrily. Anyone who is looking for trouble at this critical moment should be hanged. You can just leave after firing the cannon, but Macau Port cannot be moved.

While changing clothes and waiting for news, the sound of artillery fire from the port continued. Dio hurried to the top floor of the church and looked through a telescope, only to find that three Great Zhou warships were besieging a merchant ship that was about to leave. "Damn it, are they going to attack us? Why is there no movement on land?"

More than an hour later, Dio learned that the three warships of the Nanyang Navy were blocking the sea outside the port, and any ship that wanted to leave would be persuaded to return. Previously, a Portuguese merchant ship ignored the advice and forced to go out to sea, and was besieged by three warships. Now it has hoisted the white flag and surrendered. Dio knew the seriousness of the matter and immediately ordered the port to be blocked. No ship was allowed to leave, otherwise the artillery would open fire and sink it directly.

Although it would be faster to go to Guangzhou by land, Dio did not have the relevant authority, so he could only take a small boat by water. When he arrived in Guangzhou, it was almost dark.

After landing, he stayed in an inn and met with merchants from Britain, France and other countries, where he obtained more information.

At the same time, I also saw a letter of appeal to Western countries. The general idea was that since ancient times, all the countries in Nanyang (Southeast Asia) were vassal states of the Central Plains. For 200 years, the Western and Dutch colonists occupied them illegally. Now it is time to return them and settle accounts.

The manifesto quoted a lot of historical data. According to historical records, as early as 1,800 years ago, navigators from the Central Plains arrived in the South China Sea, which has always been the traditional fishing ground for coastal fishermen. A thousand years ago, because the land routes in the Western Regions were blocked, Arab merchants arrived by sea, and the Central Plains Dynasty opened the Maritime Silk Road. Two hundred years ago, three hundred years ago, Zheng He sailed to the West to claim sovereignty. Therefore, the Western colonists took advantage of the Central Plains Dynasty's distraction to occupy the South China Sea, which the Great Zhou Empire could never accept.

In the final stage, it was emphasized that the Great Zhou Empire loved peace and was willing to sign friendly treaties with friendly countries, but it would definitely strike hard at unfriendly countries. The majesty of the Great Zhou was inviolable.

From a Western perspective, this manifesto is just bandit logic. When the Spanish and Dutch dominated the sea, what did your Central Plains Empire have to do with it? People have been colonizing Southeast Asia for 200 years, and you are only now saying it has been since ancient times? What were you doing before?

But I only thought so in my heart and didn't dare say it out loud. I would rather die than let my fellow Taoist die. It is the same here.

Of course, if the Spanish and Dutch won, they wouldn't mind secretly providing some help, such as buying a few warships, replenishing some military supplies, etc. If the Great Zhou lost miserably, they wouldn't mind coming to Guangzhou together to have a good talk with Jia Lian, the bastard, about how to expand the scope of free trade.

Now the result has not come out yet, I can only think secretly in my heart. Judging from the comparison of strength, Spain and the Netherlands have no chance of winning. Didn’t you see that the two strongest countries in Europe signed a friendly treaty with the Great Zhou Empire?

Even the maritime overlord Britain was scared, so you can imagine how strong the Great Zhou was.

Objectively speaking, Britain is now deeply trapped in North America, while India has not yet been completely conquered, Queen Victoria is nowhere to be seen, and Britain's strength has not yet reached its peak.

It was not until India was controlled and the door to the Qing Dynasty was opened that Britain's national strength reached its peak. Of course, that was the case, and the Boers soon tore off the fig leaf from the British face.

Of course, this is all a story for the future. It is still unclear whether the British still have the opportunity to become the world hegemon in this time and space.

After meeting the British and French personnel in Guangzhou, Dio obtained enough information and acted very well, waiting calmly for the call from the governor's office.

How should I put it? In the past two years, the army of the Great Zhou Empire has been performing a lot of drama around Macau. There are always sounds of gunfire, which is very scary.

As for the Portuguese merchant ship that was captured after surrendering and towed back as a trophy, Dio, as the governor, could only let it fend for itself. Now Dio was in a difficult situation and could not save himself.

The next morning, before dawn, the notice arrived. Everyone obeyed the arrangements and boarded the bus to watch the departure ceremony.

The carriages were driving on the cement roads, and the local personnel of various countries had long been numb. In terms of the level of urban construction, London is a rural town, and Paris is a combination of urban and rural areas.

Guangzhou was just a border city of the Great Zhou Empire. Most people had never seen what the capital was like. Only the local British and French business leaders had been to the capital with a tour group. Everyone just listened to the two bragging in the carriage about how glorious the capital of the Great Zhou Empire was and how magnificent and solemn the Forbidden City was. Especially those who had seen the etiquette of the Great Zhou reception and the guard of honor would brag even more about the invincible army on land.

The Westerners present all believed this kind of bragging. They had no choice but to believe it. They opened the window and looked out. They saw guards standing solemnly on both sides of the road, one every ten steps, holding rifles with bayonets on them, standing like pine trees.

After getting off the car, they saw the tall rostrum and the officers and soldiers lined up neatly below the stage who had arrived first, and the Westerners were whispering.

The reception staff led them to a special observation area, and then the big shots came in. The translator explained who came. There was a prince who was one of the heirs to the throne, the acting governor-general of Guangdong and Guangxi, and the governor of Guangdong, Mr. Jia, everyone knew him.

There were actually not many people at the scene, only about three thousand people, including the First Battalion of the First Regiment of the Nanyang Army and a part of the Navy.

Jia Lian went on stage and read the "Letter to Western Countries and to Punish the Disloyalty of Nanyang". This manifesto added some information. The foreigners did not quite understand what "All under heaven is the king's land, and all the people are the king's subjects" meant, and they did not understand the territory of the Central Plains Empire. There was no fixed border line in the past few thousand years. Whether a region is actually controlled, or is a vassal, it depends on the strength of the empire.

The general meaning is that the Zhou Empire is the boss of this area. It entered and established colonies without our permission. We didn't take care of it before because of other reasons. Now we have to take it back. The Western and Dutch countries did not respect the Great Zhou Empire. The emperor was very angry and the consequences were serious.

The observation area also had a view of the military port, and everyone saw the Great Zhou Empire's second-tier battleships, a total of four ships, leaving the port one after another. This meant that the Great Zhou Empire's main fleet had set off.

Finally, there was the military parade. To the rhythm of drums, the soldiers of the First Regiment lined up neatly and marched past the rostrum, which completely frightened these Westerners.

Where have they seen this? Not only have they not seen it, but Li Yuan, who was also on the rostrum, had not seen it either.

The orderly footsteps, like huge drumsticks, beat on the heart again and again, making people's scalps numb. The cold gleam of bayonets, the orderly movements, and the murderous shouts.

All the queues were the same, and they eventually walked out of the parade site, headed towards the dock in the distance, and boarded the ship directly to go into battle.

All the Westerners who were watching on site had the same idea after experiencing a thrilling military parade: the Zhou Empire was invincible on this land.

(End of this chapter)