Seven Seas Beacon Fire

Li Che nodded. He understood Sa Dingming's current predicament. It was like what Li Yunlong said when he asked Political Commissar Zhao for prisoners to replenish the troops in the TV series "Bright Sword". Who would be willing to do this if they were not forced to?

"Your Highness, rest assured, I have spoken with them. The officers of the Yanping Navy have all expressed that they will prioritize the overall situation and will absolutely not disobey orders on the battlefield." Sa Dingming sighed, "They only made one request: if there is an opportunity to launch a lightning strike against the Colombian army, please give them that chance. These men are all determined to die on the battlefield."

Li Che was silent for a moment after hearing this, then slowly shook his head: "But victory in war can only be achieved by surviving and letting the enemy die. I hope their commander can really keep a clear head."

That being said, Li Che also understood that if he had experienced the same ordeal as them, his mental state might not be as good as theirs.

When will the fleet be deployed?

“This week,” Sa Dingming said. “His Majesty is on his way from the south, presumably to personally see him off at the port.”

Li Che was somewhat surprised after hearing what Sa Dingming said next.

"Grandpa's coming over? When did he become interested in the navy?"

In Li Che's memory, although he had ruined the old man's personal expedition, the old man clearly had no intention of returning to the Forbidden City. Li Zongdi had spent his whole life as an eagle soaring on the frontier, and he was destined never to like the palace walls of the Forbidden City.

So although the old man canceled the plan to personally lead the expedition, he has been personally in charge of training troops along the southeast coast. Now, the Tang army is sending which troops to the island and how many troops to send, and even the strategic operational plans there are basically all made by the old man, mainly through remote control.

how?

Are you tired of playing Heart of Steel in Southeast Asia and want to come to Songjiang Prefecture to experience World of Warships?

“His Majesty is probably not interested in us naval personnel,” Sa Dingming chuckled. “His Majesty is more interested in anything that can cause trouble for that Pershing.”

"Pershing..." Li Che muttered to himself, referring to the famous Federation general from another world. Now that the situation in his own world had developed to this point, he didn't know if Pershing still had a chance.

From another perspective, while Pershing didn't demonstrate any particularly outstanding or exceptional abilities in specific combat command, this Federation Grand General certainly possessed unique organizational skills—it seems most Federation Army generals are like this: while their combat command abilities may not be first-rate, they often excel in other areas, some excelling in politics, others in Hollywood…

"Your Highness, how do you think Pershing and McGiffin will respond?"

"I can't say for sure about McGiffin." Li Che thought to himself that the historical McGiffin died so young, and his personal experiences were completely different from the McGiffin of this timeline, so he simply couldn't make a judgment about the McGiffin of this timeline. However, Pershing...

"But I think Pershing is definitely not the kind of person who is willing to accept the status quo. He would choose to take a gamble if there is even the slightest chance."

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Pan Xing's cough is getting worse and worse. His health has deteriorated rapidly in just a few days, just like the old saying in the East: "Illness comes like a landslide, but recovery is like pulling silk."

At this very moment, the commander of the Federal Army Expeditionary Force was in his own residence, with a dim kerosene lamp lit, hunched over and writing something on the table.

His body temperature has now exceeded 39 degrees Celsius. In the current environment of just over 20 degrees Celsius, Pan Xing feels as if his body is in an ice cellar. He is unsure whether his body temperature will rise further or whether he will be able to remain conscious.

So while he was still able to remain lucid, he decided to write such a letter and then have it sent to Washington in secret.

"...I make no excuses for the wrong decisions I made in the past. The victory in Yingzhou made the army high command, including myself, lose their heads. We are not satisfied with this part of the edge of the World Island, we want to bring the entire edge of the World Island into the United States' sphere of influence."

We were almost there. The seemingly powerful empire in the East had too many problems. Their emperor, like the German peacock of Letania, was not a competent leader. After his death, we almost took the scepter of victory from this chaotic empire.

But Li Zongdi stepped forward at this time. In the most chaotic moment of this ancient country in the East, this person stood up and took charge of the overall situation. I never thought that one person could change the fate of an entire country so quickly. The last person who gave me a similar feeling was Napoleon the Great.

I don’t know if Li Zongdi will become the Napoleon of the East, but I am very clear that our situation has deteriorated to this point almost entirely because of him. He has a loyal army that is powerful and efficient, unlike the corrupt Ming Empire army. He also has a group of political forces willing to support him, which provides him with a large number of talented people.

He doesn’t seem to have done much, but in fact he is the central link between the factions in this ancient country that are most likely to save it. I don’t think the emergence of a figure like him was inevitable for this ancient country.

Over the past year, I have learned in detail about the past of this emperor through various channels. I believe it was all a coincidence that he used the reputation and prestige of his ancestors' Shangjin Prince's Mansion as collateral and the future of the country as bonds in an attempt to gradually change the country.

There are many people like him in the history of this ancient country in the East. In the history of this ancient country, there have always been some elites who are willing to go against the tide for the future of the country. From a personal point of view, I admire such people. But from the perspective of the United States, if we can solve the problem of this person, we can almost solve the problem of this country.

There was once a general in the East named Yue who almost defeated their powerful northern enemy, recaptured their lost capital, and revived their country. But when this general died, all his efforts came to naught.

During the Ming Dynasty, there was a prime minister named Zhang who carried out reforms during the early Ming Dynasty. His reforms extended the empire's life for several decades, but after his death, everything he had was investigated and punished.

Regardless of the final outcome of the battle on Borneo, the absence of Li Zongdi was extremely important to the United States.

Chapter 189 Intrigue and Overt Schemes (2)

“I admire General Pershing’s dedication to commanding and fighting on the front lines despite being ill and having a fever. But I really doubt his mental state when he wrote this letter to me. Are you sure he was sober when he wrote it?”

President Wilson could hardly believe that such a hard-won telegram was actually from Pershing, the commander of the Colombian Federal Expeditionary Force and Secretary of the Army, who suggested that President Wilson find a way to send federal intelligence agencies to assassinate the Tang Emperor in the East.

What's he kidding?

Is this what a normal country, a normal government, and a normal president should do?

When did the Federation of Colombia ever do something so shameless? Even President Wilson couldn't imagine what kind of country the Federation of Colombia would become if it set such a precedent.

Does he secretly assassinate heads of state of other countries everywhere?

Wouldn't that make us an international rogue and scoundrel? We'd be despised by the whole world.

President Wilson found this morally unacceptable, even though Pershing argued in his letter that given the current state of affairs at the University of Tokyo, eliminating Li Zongdi would plunge the country back into chaos.

Even if Li Zongdi's son can accept his political legacy, the new dynasty will still be built on the foundation of the Ming Dynasty, which lasted for 600 years. There are countless remnants of the old regime who have temporarily gone into hiding within the country. If Li Zongdi dies, these people are very likely to rise up and launch a counterattack. Regardless of whether they succeed or not, the Federation of Colombia will be the ultimate winner.

President Wilson could tell that Pershing valued the letter highly, as its contents absolutely could not be leaked. Therefore, Pershing did not send a telegram from headquarters. He did not believe that the Colombian military's radio communications were currently encrypted. Although there was no evidence that the enemy had broken the Colombian military's codes, Pershing knew very well that when planning such a thing, there was no possibility of any information being leaked. Otherwise, no one knew what the consequences would be.

So the letter was taken to Japan by a destroyer, and then sent to Washington using a never-used codebook kept by the federal embassy in Japan via a wired telegraph buried on the seabed of the Pacific Ocean.

All this effort was for the sake of absolute secrecy.

"General Pershing did this so that the United States could..." The Secretary of State wanted to say a few more words in Pershing's defense, but it was clear that President Wilson was not so easily fooled.

"Stop mentioning the United States. We're in the advanced 20th century now. The news of our army's shark-hunting operations in Borneo can no longer be covered up. That's embarrassing enough for the United States. If other countries were to find out that our government is still trying to organize the Dark Sharks, then the Federation of Colombia would have no honor left!"

From President Wilson's words, one can sense his disappointment with the Union Army. First, there was the shark killing in Borneo. Of course, the military initially kept this a secret from the country. Later, as the matter was exposed, Washington could only deny the University of Tokyo's accusations while trying to get the frontline troops to clear the evidence. Even blatantly lying is unacceptable in this day and age.

I just don't know if His Excellency the President meant that when he said "it's already shameful enough," he meant that killing sharks is shameful in itself, or that being discovered killing sharks is shameful... or that not killing all the sharks is shameful?

Compared to shark slaughter, it is clear that in His Excellency the President's mind, shark stinging is far more shameful. And this is, in fact, the common understanding of the vast majority of elites in the East and West during this era. The reason is simple: shark slaughter kills civilians, while shark stinging often targets elites.

In most countries of the world, the elite class would rather have reproductive isolation from the common people at the bottom, so how could they truly empathize with the shark killing of ordinary people?

"Your Excellency, I think General Pershing's suggestion needs to be carefully considered... Please let me finish speaking!" Seeing that the president was about to erupt, the Secretary of State quickly said, "I think that first of all, General Pershing's assessment of the current domestic political situation in the Tang Empire is quite accurate. For the time being, this country can be said to be held together by Li Zongdi. The most typical architectural structure in the East is the mortise and tenon structure. In this structure, sometimes even if you just remove a piece of wood, the entire structure will collapse immediately. Li Zongdi is that piece of wood."

If we could successfully sting him, I believe it would definitely be effective. However, I understand Your Excellency's concerns; such a task cannot be undertaken by us.

"Of course!" President Wilson sat down, flicking his sleeve. "Do you think carrying out a mission like this is as simple as stabbing the president of our United States? Pershing probably thinks the emperor of the East is just like our United States, doesn't he?"

President Wilson's somewhat self-deprecating remarks also revealed his personal speculation about why Pershing proposed to eliminate Li Zongdi—that the proportion of federal presidents who have been assassinated is quite high.

The earliest example is President Lincoln. Shortly after the end of the Union Civil War, John Wilkes Booth, a supporter of the Southern faction, shot Lincoln in the head, killing him and making him the first president to die from a dart.

The second president to die from a shark attack was James Abram Garfield, who was shot in the arm and lumbar spine at a train station.

Due to limited medical resources at the time, the doctor performed the surgery without sterilization, leading to an infection in Garfield's wound. Despite attempts to save him, President Garfield died two months later.

The third president to be assassinated by a shark was not far removed from their time—President McKinley was shot and stabbed by an anarchist, Leon Zolgoz, at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo. His condition initially improved after treatment, but the wound later became infected, and President McKinley died eight days later.

President Wilson felt that Pershing might be projecting his own experience onto others. Putting aside the question of whether the difficulty was the same, if you actually hired a ghostwriter to do this, the trouble afterward would be even greater.

Because this was truly a mission with no return, and because the secret of this matter absolutely could not be exposed, if the gunman could not escape after completing the mission (which was almost predictable), then the gunman would have to end his own life. President Wilson had heard that there were many different kinds of tortures in the East, and these tortures could definitely pry open the teeth of the toughest person in the world.

In other words, this must be a suicide squad member.

Everyone knows that since ancient times, the most difficult to find are those who are willing to die for their country. On the battlefield, there may be many soldiers who are willing to sacrifice themselves for their country, but on this hidden front, when the country will not acknowledge everything you have done, how many people are still willing to sacrifice themselves?

“Your Excellency, it is not appropriate for us to do this, but there are people who are suitable to do it.”

"Who?"

"The Kingdom of Kii." The Secretary of State's words were like a wake-up call, and President Wilson finally realized that the Federation of Colombia had now acquired the Kingdom of Kii.

Although geographical factors aside, Kii Kingdom is just a small country with a dense population, scarce resources, and weak industry, it has the samurai of Yingzhou.

President Wilson had heard many rumors about the samurai of Yingzhou, such as that these samurai were very good at self-slaughter and would often cut open their own bellies with a knife. This behavior sounded very barbaric, but in the current situation, wasn't it just right?

Moreover, if the assassination could be carried out by samurai from Yingzhou, people would not suspect the United States. After all, the East is surrounded by that great power, and all small countries actually face the same problem: how to maintain relations with this great power while avoiding being assimilated by it.

It can be said that in this war, the emperor of the Kii Kingdom, with the support of the so-called pro-imperial faction in the country, turned to the Federation. This may also be because some of the political elites in the country believed that the relationship between the Tokugawa Shogunate and the Ming Dynasty was too close. They did not want the Kii Kingdom to become a province of the East, so they adopted this method of forcibly severing ties and then clinging to the Federation.

“Your Excellency, I think we should give it a try,”

This time, President Wilson remained silent for a very long time.

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"Although I know that these two ships will not directly engage the enemy's capital ships in this operation, I am really curious to see when the Colombians see these two behemoths on the bridge. Will they say 'sons of the beach' or just 'WTF'?"

Li Che pointed to two warships that had already been prepared on the dock. These two new and powerful ships were naturally the Longyuan-class battleships, the first ship Longyuan and the second ship Longwu. He introduced the two ships to an old man next to him.

In this world, the number of warships that can be personally guided by the Crown Prince to introduce them to others can be counted on one hand. The naval soldiers standing guard in the distance couldn't help but straighten their chests.

Most of these people came from ordinary families. Although they had heard a lot about Li Zongdi's deeds on the radio, they had never seen Li Zongdi in person before. Although newspapers had published Li Zongdi's portrait or military uniform photos more than once, they were now basically certain that this plainly dressed old man was the current emperor, the former Prince of Jin.

For no other reason than that when these people arrived by carriage, this was driven by the Crown Prince himself.

"You're getting bolder and bolder these days. You didn't even consult your grandfather or your father before coming here to mobilize two of our largest warships?"

Although Li Zongdi said this, his expression clearly showed that he was not really going to blame his good grandson.

"I only came here with an idea to conduct an on-site investigation to see if it was feasible. All subsequent operational plans were formulated in accordance with the Navy Department's regulations and within reasonable limits." Li Che smiled and said with a hint of pride, "What I did was just getting on the train first and buying the ticket later, Grandpa."

"Alright, that's a good idea – get on the train first, then buy the ticket." Li Zongdi nodded. "Are you and Princess Yongning also planning to get on the train first, then buy the ticket?"

The old man's gaze was fixed on Li Che, which made Li Che feel a bit of pressure, but he quickly realized—what the hell am I under pressure? I haven't done anything yet!

"Zhu Miaoyun and I are completely innocent! Grandpa, don't slander me out of thin air!"

"Innocent?"

"Innocent!"

The old man looked his grandson up and down with a scrutinizing gaze, then his gaze gradually moved downwards. Under this scrutinizing gaze, Li Che finally couldn't hold back anymore: "Alright, I haven't had time to do anything yet. After all, it's wartime now, and I need to focus my main energy on the war effort."

"I don't have time to deal with the matter between Princess Yongning and you right now, and I don't care whether you and Princess Yongning are truly innocent or not. But I have only one request: before your important matter is officially settled, you must not cause any deaths!"

After giving his grandson a good talking-to, Li Zongdi turned his attention back to the two giant ships docked at the pier: "You told me all the battle plans in the car just now, but these warships look like small mountains. Whether leaving or entering the port, they don't seem like they can be concealed. How do you plan to deal with this?"

"Grandpa, from the outside, these two ships are still in the seaworthiness stage. We just need to pretend that these two ships are going for a sea trial."

Li Che was already thoroughly familiar with every aspect of the current plan, so dealing with his grandfather's test, a complete novice, was naturally a piece of cake.

"Moreover, the most crucial aspect of our entire operational plan has never been secrecy. The core of the entire plan lies in coercion. Even if they guess it, what can they do? As long as they haven't seen it with their own eyes, even if they clearly suspect there might be a problem, they will still have to bite the bullet and step on the landmine themselves."

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Chapter 190 The Flaws of Commando Tactics

"You know how to use your power to intimidate others, that's good. But tricks and schemes are just minor tricks. From now on, you should follow the right path."

Li Zongdi patted Li Che on the shoulder, and these words naturally carried a different meaning to those around them.

Although Li Zongdi immediately established Li Renchi as crown prince and Li Che as grandson after ascending the throne (the word "登ji" is a censored term, which is ridiculous), the succession of the dynasty seemed to have been settled.

However, Chinese people have always liked to compare with previous dynasties. Although the Li in Li Jinwangfu is not the same Li as the Li in the Li Tang dynasty, since you have this name, people will inevitably think of the bloody struggle for the throne in the early years of the Tang dynasty.

Moreover, even setting aside the Tang Dynasty, compared to the Ming Dynasty... it's hard not to think of the early Ming Dynasty. Although the succession to the throne was relatively stable in the later Ming Dynasty, the Jingnan Succession Law in the early Ming Dynasty was as infamous as the Xuanwu Gate Succession Law.

It seems the emperor is indeed very satisfied with his grandson.

This is a good thing.

After all, the country can't afford any more turmoil right now.

"Our optimistic situation at sea is largely due to the valiant efforts of our army comrades on the land battlefield. The more pressure we put on the Colombian forces holed up at the northernmost tip of the island, the narrower the options available to the Federal Navy." Li Che said, then asked Li Zongdi, "Grandpa has been commanding from across the sea for a while now. Can we put some more pressure on the Colombian forces on land?"

However, to Li Che's somewhat surprise, Li Zongdi slowly shook his head: "Warfare must proceed step by step. The collapse and retreat of the Colombian army's front line in the Battle of Dongdu was largely due to luck. Now the enemy has gained a foothold. If we want to make a breakthrough on the land battlefield, we need more time to concentrate more artillery, more large-caliber artillery, on the front line."

"Are there not enough artillery units at the front?" Li Che remembered that, according to the battle reports from the front, his side should have the advantage in artillery.

“We have an advantage in artillery at the front, but even that is not enough,” Li Zongdi said. “I’m even thinking of trying to get the tanks to the front, to let those metal boxes make a way out.”

"Grandpa is planning to use tanks?" Li Che immediately became interested. In his memory, the Ming Dynasty did produce some tanks in the last two years. Could it be that the Tang Dynasty was about to have its first opportunity to deploy armored forces in a war?

"tank?"

“Oh, when the Britons were strategically deceiving the Leitanians, didn’t they call this thing a water tank? I think the transliteration ‘tank’ is more appropriate than ‘war chariot’—it’s like traveling on a smooth road and defeating the enemy.” Li Che quickly explained, “The term ‘war chariot’ is too broad.”

"That's a novel idea, but those tin boxes probably won't be used on the battlefield."

"Could it be that the previous batch of semi-finished products hasn't been completed yet?"

Li Che still remembers that after they took over the national government, when they were taking stock of military supplies, they found many tank hulls in the factory. These tanks should be the trial production models of the former Ming Type II tank. However, the condition of these vehicles also reflects the chaos in all aspects of the late Ming Dynasty. These tanks are all hulls, and they have been parked in the factory for more than half a year without the turrets being built.

Surely these tanks don't even have turrets yet?

"It's done, but transporting tanks across the South China Sea to the island and then figuring out how to get them to the front lines is too costly. With that transport capacity, we might as well transport more large-caliber heavy artillery."

Li Che nodded and said, "Grandpa is right. With the support of large-caliber artillery and our elite assault teams on the front line, we can still break through the Colombian defenses. I believe our assault team tactics will definitely deliver another heavy blow to the Colombian defenses."

"You little rascal, although you're smart, you're really only good at theory. In your mouth, this assault team tactic is like it's invincible." Li Zongdi laughed and scolded, "If you were wearing an army uniform and working as a staff officer under me, I would definitely punish you by making you carry manure."

Li Che asked, somewhat puzzled, "But isn't assault tactics the most advanced infantry tactic in the world right now?"