Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 675 Global Strategy
When it comes to bloodlines, Europe is truly the best!

Intermarriages between royal families often result in close relatives. During World War I, the kings of Germany and Great Britain were uncle and nephew.

Hemophilia was almost a common disease in the royal family, all for the sake of so-called pure blood.

The same applies within the Rothschild family; it's normal for uncles to marry their nieces.

Talking about race and lineage is nothing new in Europe.

The five prominent families and seven powerful clans during the Northern and Southern Dynasties and the Sui Dynasty also favored this kind of endogamy. This represents an early version of the practice.

By the Tang Dynasty, this approach had become unsustainable, so they turned to recruiting talent from outside the region through marriage alliances.

In terms of version, it is definitely more than a thousand years ahead of the current squid.

Even so, this kind of complacent approach cannot last long. After they monopolized all the resources, a failed candidate named Huang Chao stepped forward, holding a knife in one hand and pointing at Chang'an City with the other, saying, "It seems easy to take it in." Indeed, a failed candidate is the most terrifying person in the world.

Europeans are very susceptible to theories of race and bloodline, and when they couldn't work with humans anymore, they turned to animals.

From an evolutionary perspective, East Asians are indeed more evolved. Chinese people have even evolved a fighting gene, though it's not usually very dominant.

It bursts forth once it enters combat mode, making it ideal for mass production of troops. After the war ends, the proportion of stress-related incidents is also much lower.

The "Golden Race" theory is not actually well-received by the authorities; it was initially promoted by some unscrupulous tabloids.

But the newspapers sold so well, and Europe at that time genuinely admired China. Powers like England and France behaved themselves in the Zhou Empire, the Spanish were even beaten and made to behave, and the Dutch simply left without a fight. Against this backdrop, this doctrine spread because small newspapers sold so well, and larger newspapers, for the sake of sales, disregarded the potential negative impact and joined in the promotion.

Therefore, Western media are the most unscrupulous group in manipulating public opinion. The founder of the Pulitzer Prize made his fortune in pornography in his early days.

After centuries of dominance, the Western media practices were introduced, and the root of all the strange and bizarre things we see on the internet today lies here.

The performance of the Turkish army in the Seventh Russo-Turkish War shocked not only the two sides but also the European countries.

Britain and France, with their relatively complete industrial systems, were both working hard to develop mass production technology for rifled guns. The Ottomans couldn't do it themselves, and their attempts to import the technology were rejected, so they simply started buying everything they could.

Ibrahim was summoned again, but faced with Ottoman Pasha's demands, he stated that he could not comply, especially given that the Zhou Empire's advisory group had already withdrawn its troops and was preparing to leave.

In the end, Ibrahim could not resist Pasha's demands and personally went to the embassy to plead with the advisory group not to leave, offering them a substantial salary.

The embassy dared not agree and said they would stay for the time being, and send someone back to request instructions from home before deciding whether to stay.

The Turkish army could only continue to rely on French military advisors for guidance in combat, but the consumption of revolver bullets could not be replenished. They could only send people to the Zhou Empire with plenty of real money to purchase weapons and ammunition.

At the same time, Osman Pasha also made a request: he hoped to marry a princess of the Zhou Empire.

Before the Ottomans even set off, the five nations of Britain, France, Austria, Prussia, and Russia had already taken the lead, the root of which lay in the so-called theory of the golden race.

All five families sent delegations, all with the same goal: to form a marriage alliance!
It doesn't matter if it's a man or a woman, as long as it's a marriage alliance.

According to European tradition, women also have the right to inherit the throne.

Don't mistake this for some kind of advanced technology; it's simply a product of outdated biological methods leading to a low male population.

While the ships of various foreign missions were still adrift at sea, the Russian mission had already entered the territory of the Prince of Xining.

It wasn't that the Russian delegation didn't want to take the sea route, but rather that it would be a long detour, so taking the land route was preferable.

The Tsar selected several young noblewomen to accompany the delegation. It would be best if they could catch the Emperor's eye, but if not, they would try to arrange marriages with nobles of the Zhou Empire.

For this mysterious country, having more channels to obtain information is always a good thing.

The battlefield is the most fundamental place to test a country's strength. European countries did not attribute the performance of the Ottoman Turkish army to the French army, after all, the French army had only been there for a few days.
The improvement of the Tu army's combat effectiveness was entirely due to the military equipment of the Zhou Empire and the guidance of its military advisors.

French military advisors also learned a great deal of new knowledge during their exchanges with the Turkish army.

For example, when Zhou's military advisors taught Turkish officers, they emphasized some basic military principles. In particular, a copy of "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu greatly impressed the French military advisors after they read the translation.

This is a military treatise from two thousand years ago.

Of course, the interpretation of Sun Tzu's Art of War depends on the reader. For those without strategic vision, reading it is essentially the same as not reading it at all.

The advisors of the Zhou Empire, also seeking to save trouble, taught in a perfunctory manner, and whether or not one could comprehend the material depended on the individual.

However, French military advisors could learn the most basic methods of military training.

By focusing on details of daily life, soldiers are trained to obey discipline and orders, as well as to cooperate with each other.

At the request of the French military advisors, the Ottoman side made some communications, facilitating several face-to-face exchanges between the advisors of the Zhou Empire and the French military advisors.

The officers of the Zhou Empire strictly adhered to the principle of non-interference in Europe; business exchanges were permissible, but getting them involved was out of the question.

This approach left the anti-French alliance both pleased and frustrated. They were pleased because the absence of Zhou's military advisors during the war undoubtedly reduced the Turkish army's combat effectiveness. However, they were frustrated because acquiring Zhou's equipment on a large scale was virtually impossible. Currently, the only equipment the Zhou Empire could officially procure was revolvers, which were not only exorbitantly priced, but ammunition prices were even more outrageous, with the price of paper-cased bullets increasing fivefold from copper-cased bullets.

Upon learning that Lavoisier was studying in the Zhou Empire and had gained its trust and favor, some European scientists packed their bags, wanting to visit Europe's greatest physicist and learn from him.

There were quite a few such people, mostly young and energetic scientists who bought a ship ticket and embarked on a journey to the East without a second thought.

In 1811, Kutuzov, with his forces reduced by half, defeated the Ottoman army in two battles and forced them to surrender. This broke the stalemate between the two armies. Ottoman Pasha, exhausted and frustrated, fell ill and died before 1812.

Kutuzov seized this opportunity to engage in diplomatic maneuvering. After the new Ottoman pasha ascended to the throne, in order to secure his position, he agreed to peace talks with Tsarist Russia despite strong opposition from France. Tsarist Russia paid the price of Moldova in exchange for Bessarabia, and simultaneously received promises from the new Ottoman pasha. In May 1812, the two sides signed a ceasefire agreement.

From then on, Napoleon lost Türkiye as an ally, allowing Tsarist Russia to focus all its efforts on dealing with the French army.

Without prior notice, the Ottoman Empire and Tsarist Russia ceased hostilities, disrupting Jia Lian's strategy of containing Russia. After expressing their dissatisfaction, the Zhou Empire's advisory group decided to return collectively.

When the battle report was sent to the capital by the advisory group, it was already May of the following year. Jia Lian was greatly frustrated upon seeing the report, feeling that the Ottoman Turks were truly hopeless.

Holding the battle report, Jia Lian met with Li Yuan and, after explaining in detail the importance of the European strategy, proposed a plan to strengthen support for the Prince of Xining.

The reason is simple: Tsarist Russia is inherently aggressive. If the Ottoman Empire cannot play a restraining role, then let the Prince of Xining take the initiative to attack, so that it cannot focus all its efforts on dealing with the French army.

Secondly, it was necessary to monitor the obedience of the Prince of Xining and to dispatch an elite force to his fiefdom to assist him in battle while also testing the quality of the army.

Li Yuan did not immediately agree to Jia Lian's proposal, needing time to consider it. At the regular meeting on the first day of June, Li Yuan presented Jia Lian's proposal to the cabinet for discussion.

This move once again showed Jia Lian that Li Yuan was becoming increasingly politically mature as an emperor.

Jia Lian's proposal was strongly opposed by Yue Qi, whose view was clear: the urgent task was not external threats, but to accelerate the improvement of internal military reforms.

At the same time, Yue Qi also emphasized that in the past few years, the court had focused its efforts on supporting the new Chinese colonies, investing a lot of money, but the returns were disproportionate.

It would be better to use the energy and money spent on supporting the fiefdom of the Prince of Xining in the country.

Secondly, the fiefdom of the Prince of Xining is far away and the roads are treacherous, making large-scale military operations difficult. Such operations would be extremely costly with little reward, and Yue Qi hoped that the cabinet members would consider this issue.

Li Yuan gestured for Jia Lian to answer Yue Qi's question.

Jia Lian calmly stated that the essence of the Western Regions strategy is a global strategy, and that the greatest enemies of the Central Plains dynasties in the past all came from the northwest.

Currently, there are no powerful enemies in the northwest, and it seems there are no external threats in the short term. However, one cannot look at the present but must look to the future. It is crucial to recognize that Tsarist Russia has a vast territory and enormous military potential. In the future, the only threat to the Zhou Empire in the northwest will inevitably be Tsarist Russia. Rather than living a peaceful life now, it is better to plan ahead, not necessarily to eliminate the threat, but to weaken the potential threat.

This move is not for the present, but for the benefit of future generations.

Facing retirement, Lin Ruhai stood up to support Jia Lian's proposal and emphasized that Tsarist Russia had a history of aggression, but abandoned its strategy of continuing eastward expansion after being hit by the current dynasty.

Li Qing chose to abstain. He knew that Lin Ruhai's actions were because his term was up and he had to step down, so he supported Jia Lian in exchange for benefits.

He also knew that if he opposed it now, his subsequent attempt to succeed Lin Ruhai would be opposed by more than half of the cabinet members.

Driven by his obsession with becoming the Grand Secretary, Li Qing chose to remain silent and gave up his opposition.

Fang Song then expressed his support for Jia Lian's proposal, believing that the global strategy formulated by the Zhou Empire during the reign of the late emperor should be carried forward and developed under His Majesty's leadership.

Furthermore, Fang Song believed that Jia Lian's proposal to send an elite force, rather than a large-scale invasion of the former Anxi territory, would not result in significant losses.

After the cabinet ministers fully expressed their opinions, Li Yuan adopted Jia Lian's proposal and agreed to send a small elite force to Anxi, with a new army to be sent every three years on rotation.

This decision is somewhat like a rotational war, using Tsarist Russia as a training ground.

At the same time, Li Yuan also asked Yue Qi to come up with a military reform plan that would satisfy everyone as soon as possible, instead of just making minor adjustments to the old model.

Ultimately, the emperor and the cabinet unanimously approved the decision to send troops to Anxi, dispatching a cavalry unit to Anxi, along with a vice minister of the Ministry of War and several officers to conduct a comprehensive survey of Anxi.

Helpless, Yue Qi thought about it all night after returning home. The next day, instead of taking a break, he went to the Jia family mansion early in the morning to ask to see Jia Lian.

This move surprised Jia Lian, who still invited him to his study for a face-to-face talk.

After exchanging pleasantries, Yue Qi explained his purpose: "Putting aside past conflicts of interest, I have come here specifically to ask for your advice on how to carry out military reforms and how to satisfy His Majesty."

Jia Lian didn't mince words and bluntly told Yue Qi: "The old military system was based on the past situation and military equipment. The current situation is that the Zhou Empire is facing competition from global powers, and military reform must be closely aligned with this new situation. We must reform the military with the mindset of being ready to fight a major war with European powers at any time and win the war, rather than making minor adjustments on the old basis."

Jia Lian didn't specify how to change it, but told Yue Qi to go back and think about it himself. He emphasized that one should not underestimate the intelligence of the ancients, which was Jia Lian's most profound realization.

At present, the court faces another major issue: Lin Ruhai's term of office has expired, and he has overstayed his term as Grand Secretary. Officials have impeached him countless times, forcing Lin Ruhai to resign.

In the distant Xinhua colony, Zhu Laosan of Kaiyuan Prefecture, after a small-scale ambush, intimidated the Mountain Eagle Tribe.

This led the leader of the Mountain Eagle Tribe to abandon the idea of ​​resolving the dispute by force and instead send envoys to negotiate, also wanting to take the opportunity to find out what his opponent was really like.

It was only when the envoy arrived in Kaiyuan Prefecture that he discovered a huge disparity between the two sides in terms of population and territory, not to mention that he was being unilaterally outmatched in terms of military equipment.

In other words, these people who came from across the sea were relatively mild-mannered. Unlike the white people, they did not launch an attack and wipe out the tribe.

As a result of the negotiations, the Mountain Eagle Tribe agreed to retreat ten days' journey, with Kaiyuan Prefecture providing them with winter food and sending people to teach them farming the following year. Kaiyuan Prefecture assured them that it would not launch an attack unless the Mountain Eagle Tribe initiated one. The debt for winter food could be repaid in various flexible ways.

How flexible are they? They can choose to help repair roads in winter, go down into the mine to dig coal, or work on water conservancy projects. They can repay their debts little by little after learning to farm.

In order to enable the Mountain Eagle Tribe to defend itself, Kaiyuan Prefecture agreed to provide the Mountain Eagle Tribe with a certain amount of weapons and equipment.

If the previous conditions were not enough to impress the Mountain Eagle Tribe, the last one deeply shocked the tribal leaders.

They even provided weapons and extended the repayment period. Isn't this more generous than before, when we took weapons from the white-skinned tribes on the east side of the mountains and had to help them fight other tribes?
You should know that after they helped the white people defeat other tribes, they were betrayed by the white people.

(End of this chapter)