Aspirations for Nation and Beauty Chapter 2: Iron Horse Glacier Section 53 Ocean Battle…

On August 31, 701 in the Gregorian calendar of the mainland, after three court discussions, the Seventh Trial Court of the Empire rejected the lawsuit of the representative of the Tobacco Industry Association on the grounds that the Empire has no legal basis to file a lawsuit against the administrative order of the administrative agency. The trial agency does not accept similar lawsuits, which is the beginning of a precedent. Before the promulgation of the "Imperial Administrative Procedure Law", a series of challenges and lawsuits against administrative agencies will come to an end.

Of course, this also contributed to the brewing and birth of the "Imperial Administrative Procedure Law" in a certain way, but the passage of this bill still needs a long way to go. At least for now, no one can accept personal and The phenomenon of civil forces overthrowing government orders, even in the form of a court ruling, and the overthrow in Xijiang is more like a special case and heresy. It is clearly said that it was because of the intervention of higher-level forces that James represented Northwest Bank compromise, and if it is to become a common phenomenon, there is not much feasibility. Even the most radical Minister of Justice Mollen has to admit that in the near future or even for a long time, individual or civil forces will pass laws. It is not realistic to overthrow the government's administrative orders by means, but this good start at least gives people some hope. As long as they follow this path, there will be a day when a new era of legal circles will be created again.

Although the case ended in the failure of the Tobacco Industry Association, it was the beginning of a modern era. In the words of later historians, it marked the beginning of the imperial business community as an independent and important political Strength begins to mature. And dare to step onto the political stage to protect their own rights and interests through legal means. After this lawsuit is over, some relevant representatives of the Imperial Senate and the Civic Chamber are planning to start drafting the draft of the "Imperial Administrative Procedure Law". From a certain perspective, it also promoted the legalization process in a disguised form.

Compared to the turmoil in the tobacco industry, the empire's handling of another monopoly material is calm. The salt industry is still listed as a monopoly as an important material related to the national economy and the people's livelihood. The entire empire is divided into counties, and the original method of purchasing monopoly rights is still followed, just to strengthen the control of the salt industry , the Ministry of Economic Development of the Empire adopted a system of paying high deposits to ensure that various salt merchants and salt industry practitioners would not operate in violation of regulations.

The shipbuilding industry of the empire was also a year of rapid development in 701. In addition to the integration of the Jiangnan Shipyard and the Southeast Shipyard in Yuhang in the mainland of the empire to become the main shipbuilding industry of the empire, the Dengzhou Shipyard in Dengzhou, Donghai County also began to emerge. , firmly among the three major shipyards in the empire.

If the Jiangnan Shipyard and the Southeast Shipyard rely more on the Jiangnan shipping industry that has flourished under the encouragement of imperial official orders and policies, then the Dengzhou Shipyard almost entirely relies on the development of the private shipping industry in the Yanyun area and the East China Sea area . In particular, after Luman took office as the governor of the East China Sea, he made it clear that the Governor of the East China Sea would support the development of the Dengzhou Shipyard. As the shipbuilding industry is underdeveloped in Yanyun area, the nearby Dengzhou shipyard is more chosen as the procurement base.

The boom in shipbuilding isn't just on the Atlantic coast. The Nanyang Shipyard invested and controlled by the empire in Nanhai County and the other shipyards established by the Nanhai Shipping Family have also gone through a series of operations, forming two major enterprises, the Nanyang Shipyard based in East Samoa and the Sanbao Shipyard based in Sanbao Port. pattern. In fact, the two shipyards were once controlled by the empire, but with the establishment of the empire and changes in economic views, the State Assets Management Department of the Imperial Finance Ministry also began to gradually reduce the shares of the two shipyards. Only a small token stake is retained at the end. However, the development of the two shipyards has not been affected by this, and the development momentum has become even more fierce, and they have aggressively entered the fiercely competitive Nanyang Alliance civil ship market. And stood firm.

As the southwestern region was brought under imperial management, Nanyang Shipyard and Sanbao Shipyard began to enter Nan’an and Western Samoa again, competing with the Sikkim Shipyard, which had previously dominated the market, and once triggered a brutal price war. After the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Commerce of the Empire intervened to coordinate, the three shipyards were considered to have regulated the market, and began to enter the market in the Western Peninsula and the Kingdom of West Orland.

In contrast, although the empire has now become a coastal state of the Baltic Sea and the Aegean Sea, due to historical reasons, there is basically no decent shipbuilding industry in the Indian region. The shipbuilding industry in the Meli area is not well developed. Although the shipping industry in Meli is very prosperous, most of the ships in this area come from shipbuilders in the south, the Kingdom of Jutland, Constantine, and the Western Continent. . However, when the two deep-water commercial ports under construction are turned into two huge construction sites, it also means that the empire will not forget that the coastline on this land still has its own long sea frontier. To defend this sea frontier, not only A strong naval power also requires strong shipbuilding capabilities and prosperous nautical trade to support it.

The prosperity of the empire's shipbuilding industry also led to the development of high-sea trade, especially in the South China Sea. Due to the long-term historical reasons and the psychological precipitation of merchants in Jiangnan, they prefer to conduct offshore trade with Milan and the other two countries of the Triple Alliance. The countries of the Nanyang Alliance are also the main trading partners of Jiangnan and even the East China Sea. The merchants were obviously more adventurous and innovative. They not only actively competed with the Jiangnan and East China Sea traders for the market of the Nanyang Alliance, but also actively stepped into the surrounding areas.

The surrender of the Southwest region made the traders in the South China Sea very happy. This also quickly integrated the market in the Southwest region and the South China Sea. Of course, they are not only satisfied with developing the internal market of the empire now. However, the encouraging export policy of the Ministry of Commerce of the Empire made them more willing to carry out re-export overseas, so that they could get more financial subsidies.

The merchants of Sikkim and Western Samoa soon joined their plans for foreign trade conquest. The countries along the Adria Bay have maintained long-term and stable trade relations, and the development of the shipping industry now makes them want to change the original situation that those countries and cities in the Western Continent took the initiative in trade, importing a large amount of glass products, While knitting, woolen cloth, handicrafts, olive oil, wine, rum, and silver, they are also actively seeking to sell more imperial goods.

Accompanied by the rapid development of shipping and foreign trade, another activity closely related to these two industries also flourished, that is, overseas exploration and colonization.

As early as the establishment of the empire, the empire promulgated a regulation to encourage and reward sailing and exploration, which also led to a wave of outward exploration and conquest in the empire, and the empire was affected by the Japanese forces in the Atlantic Ocean. More restrictions are based on a series of small ports established on the Mawen Islands to explore southeast, while in the Great Southern Ocean, people in the South China Sea area are more adventurous, especially in the empire and even in the nobility canonization policy. This enthusiasm is ignited when leaning towards the explorer, which is where Golden Crown Island was discovered.

Golden Crown Island played a vital role in the Southwest War. Without Golden Crown Island as a springboard and base, Liang Chongxin's landing plan would be a castle in the air. It is impossible for the army to drift on the sea for a few more days, and the risk would be great several times. The Imperial Navy tried its best to use Golden Crown Island as a military restricted area, but it was firmly opposed by Nanhai County.

Golden Crown Island has a large area and a unique location, so it can be built into an important commercial port, and because of its unique and beautiful scenery, coconut groves all over the island, criss-cross streams, and a large number of coral reefs around it form a natural circular breakwater. Excellent sheltered deep-water ports can be built in many places, and the beautiful environment is like a paradise. Nanhai County hopes to make it a tourist attraction, and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Empire also hopes to use it as a bridgehead for southward exploration. It is more convenient to rely on here to carry out exploration and colonization in the south.

The existence of the New World has been officially proved, and its area is still unusually large. So far, expeditions from various countries have not yet penetrated into the heart of this continent, and no one has figured out the shape and shape of the New World. What exactly exists on the mainland, but this does not affect the enthusiasm of the countries on the mainland to conquer.

There should be two types of indigenous people found in the New World so far. One is the sub-white race, whose characteristics are similar to the Indian race. They live in the northern and western coastal areas of the New World, while others The people are of black race. They should belong to the same race as the Mafei people in the southern part of the border between the Central and Western continents. Most of them live in the inland areas, but many expeditions still stay in the coastal areas, dense virgin forests, and boundless mountains. The desert, the swamp area that appears and disappears from time to time, and the hostility of the indigenous people all deter the explorers from the Raya continent and dare not go deep.

However, the great powers of Laya Continent, including the Tang Empire, have begun to establish a series of colonial points in the northern and western regions of the New World, and a new industry has also become popular and swept the entire Central and Western Continent. It's slave hunters.

Part 3 Sweeping Liuhe Chapter 2 Iron Horse Glacier Section 54 Colony (1)

In fact, slave hunting and slave trading are not new industries that originated in the New World. For hundreds of years, the northern nomads have continuously harassed and harassed farming nations and countries, plundered civilians and sold them as slaves. The current emperor of the Tang Empire is one of the The famous concubine Di Leina met His Majesty the Emperor only after she was robbed and slaved by the Chidi people in the north and sold to the Eastern Continent. However, the wave of slave trade became higher and higher, and it soon became the most profitable and promising industry in the New World. Almost all countries with colonial points in the New World were more or less involved. Involved in this industry, even officials of some countries openly defended and justified this activity, under the pretense of saving the barbaric indigenous peoples from ignorance and darkness.

There are two ways to hunt slaves, one is recruitment. Mercenaries formed slave hunting teams, hired local indigenous guides, attacked relatively weak indigenous tribes, and captured the young and middle-aged, the old and the weak, women and children of the entire tribe as slaves. This method required certain force and had certain risks, so it gradually tended to On a large scale, some mercenaries gradually began to grow in the New World. They updated their equipment and recruited personnel to expand their strength, and established their own liaison agencies in various colonial points in the New World, becoming professional slave hunting teams, and there were regular slave traders to buy them The prey is quite lucrative.

The other method obviously involved the shadows of the official forces of the Laya continent countries, and they provoked wars among various races and tribes in the New World. It is often given to tribal leaders and nobles with some fancy and worthless things, such as glass balls, metal knives and utensils, etc., to win the favor and "friendship" of the tribal leaders, and then make a request to buy slaves , and then provide new cash weapons and equipment to the tribes they support, and these equipment are offset by prisoners of war and civilians captured in the war.

This method is often more subtle and effective. The tribe under attack will often seek outside help out of revenge, and this provides an opportunity for those forces that manipulate secretly. The bigger the fight, the more cruel it became. A large number of indigenous people were captured as slaves, which also provided a sufficient source of slaves for these organizations and forces. These countries and forces can also take advantage of this opportunity to gradually extend their power to the interior of the New World. .

The brightly colored Jinpeng flag is flying on the pier of Sabana Port. Except for the buildings surrounding the port that are barely worth seeing, most of the other buildings in the entire port are low-level houses that are not popular in the hinterland of the empire. They are scattered around and among the passing pedestrians. Black people also make up a sizable proportion. Sabana Port is a port in name, but in fact it is more appropriate to describe it as a large fishing village or a small market town. Zhendian, with no more than 5,000 people, has only three streets, which are distributed in a Y shape on this protruding headland along the southern Latin Ocean coast. This is one of the three major colonial strongholds of the Tang Empire on the New World, and it is also the place where the Empire along the coastline of the New World Bridgehead to explore south.

Galyub, Mangadisha and Sabana constitute the Golden Triangle of the Tang Empire colonizing the New World, and Gaalyub is located in the northeast corner of the New World. It is only 220 kilometers away from West Shakula, the largest colonial stronghold of the Kingdom of Sioran, and Mangadisha was originally an island formed by a volcanic eruption, about 350 nautical miles away from Galeyub in the northwest. It is 370 nautical miles away from Sabana in the south. Although the area is only more than 300 square kilometers, the location is very good. Because it is surrounded by a series of coral reefs, some explorers and colonists from the Western Continent first arrived in this area. Later, I was confused by the dense coral reefs, thinking that this area was all coral reefs of little value, so I sailed back north. Later, the private explorers of the Southern Ocean of the Empire discovered the island from a large group of coral reefs, and drew a detailed sea map, and this became the first step of the Empire to the New World. In the local dialect of Nanyang, Mangadisha means the Pearl of Hope, and the empire also used the transliteration name, and simply named the first colonial stronghold of the empire Mangadisha.

Galyub is the empire's first colonial stronghold on the Western Continent. Although Mangadisha is the first stop on the imperial colonial road, it is still hundreds of nautical miles away from the New World. The land is still 160 nautical miles away, and Gaalyub has become the first colonial stronghold established by the empire on the land of the new continent. Galyub was the first colony on the land of the New World when the expedition team composed of officials and private merchants in Western Xinjiang at that time arrived. At that time, the expedition team did not dare to go deep into the land after landing in the New World, but could only slowly go north along the coastline. A week later, when they arrived at Sishakula, the colonial stronghold of the Kingdom of Sioran, they realized that this area had been listed as their sphere of influence by the Kingdom of Sioran. In desperation, the expedition team had no choice but to return and set up a real camp at the landing site. Land, and sent a message back to the mainland, and when the mainland received the news, it was the time when the empire was about to be established, many things were delayed, and the expedition activities came to a standstill, and the expedition team could only leave less than 30 people Staying at Galeyub, the rest returned to Eastern Samoa by boat to wait for the confirmation of the empire.

After the establishment of the empire, this news quickly attracted the attention of the empire's officials. Since all countries in the western continent began to infiltrate the new continent, Datang could not fall behind. The empire soon instructed Nanhai County to send a follow-up expedition team as soon as possible. However, the second expedition team formed by Nanhai County was wiped out by a storm during the expedition. It was not until three months later that the third expedition team successfully completed the expedition and the more than 30 explorers who stayed behind. At the time of the rendezvous, six of these expedition members died due to acclimatization and disease, and the rest were already in dire straits.

Fortunately, the scale of the expedition sent by the empire was much larger. The seven ships brought more than two hundred people, as well as a considerable amount of weapons and medicines, so the situation was quickly stabilized. The Xioran expedition team that penetrated in the direction expressed their attitude that this area is already under the control of the Datang Empire and belongs to the protection area of ​​the Datang Empire. Gaalyub got its name from the local indigenous name "Moon's Horn", which means that the moon rises here. from where.

At this time, the empire has already learned that, apart from West Orland and Jutland in the middle continent, the major powers in the western continent and some cities and city republics in the south that are close to the water have begun to set foot in the northern and western parts of the New World. In order to carry out comprehensive exploration and surveying of the region, and began to plan to form a joint expedition to explore the interior of the New World and beyond, this has aroused the great attention of the empire, and the intention of the Western Continent to exclude the Eastern Continent is self-evident. For example, if it is unable to gain a firm foothold in the New World in time, the empire, which is inherently geographically deficient, may be in a more disadvantaged position in the future possible division of the New World. Therefore, the Bureau of Surveying and Mapping of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Empire, The Imperial Commerce Department, the Imperial Naval Survey and Mapping Bureau, and the predecessor of the Naval Intelligence Bureau all began to form their own expeditionary forces and began to explore and colonize.

The Bureau of Surveying and Mapping of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Empire and the Ministry of Commerce of the Empire mainly cooperate with the private maritime exploration associations to provide personnel and financial support and encourage them to actively explore the eastern coastal areas of the New World, while the Bureau of Naval Surveying and Mapping and the Bureau of Naval Intelligence are based on the military point of view , with the participation of the Marine Corps, it was divided into multiple expeditionary forces to conduct surveillance along the New World in all directions, and even disguised as private businessmen bypassing the colonial points of the countries in the Western Mainland along the northern coast of the New World and marching towards the west coast of the New World, intending to seize The countries of the Western Continent completed a comprehensive survey and exploration of the New World before.

More than a year ago, the Surveying and Mapping Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Empire and the Ministry of Commerce were funding an expedition team from the Nautical Association of Nanhai County to advance southwest along Golden Crown Island. Because of a hurricane, the expedition had to be suspended and hid in a bay However, the crew who landed to check the terrain happened to meet the land expedition team members who set out from the Qalyub base and went south. Excited, this bay was named Angel after the Queen of the Empire by the expedition team members who celebrated their reunion. Bay, while Sabana is named after the transliteration of the local aborigines, but the original meaning is "pearl gathering place". This sea area is the main place where the local aborigines collect pearls.

After a year of construction and development, Sabana has become the base of the Tang Empire to expand southward in the New World. Sail south along the coast by boat in hopes of discovering more. Merchants with a keen sense of smell also set up shops and warehouses here one after another, buying local specialties such as rhino horn, ivory, pearls, agate, amber, emerald, gold sand, etc., and dumping cotton, glass, and ceramics to the local indigenous people. , Silk, ironware, metal ornaments, weapons and other daily necessities for daily life, reaping sky-high profits. But when making huge profits, merchants also have to take considerable risks. The long sea journey makes the voyage full of uncertainty, and there is no reliable and authoritative nautical chart. It still needs some luck, and the unpredictable climate in the Latin Ocean is also one of the main reasons why no shipping company has dared to operate fixed flights on this route so far.

Part Three Sweeping Liuhe Chapter Two Iron Horse Glacier Section Fifty-fifth Colony (2)

Although he was dressed in light casual clothes, the aggressive aura exuded from the middle-aged man standing in front of the window made it clear that he was more like a soldier, with bronze skin and white teeth, With a slightly upturned mustache and a sun-shading knight with rolled-up straw hat, no matter how you look at it, you look more like those wandering knights from the southern part of the Western Continent, but Huo Congrong is a real Imperial Navy officer, but he is now engaged in His work has been largely unrelated to authentic naval affairs. As an officer of the Marine Corps, he assumed the task of the Supreme Commander of the Navy stationed in Sabana, and a brigade of Marine Corps took on the task of The defense and other tasks of the entire Sabana area. In fact, the policy adopted by the imperial government in this area is more to support the exploration of civilian forces without too much intervention. The so-called 30-mile radius of the entire Sabana port In the "protection", he is the highest military and political officer representing the empire.

The man sitting across from Huo Congrong looked even more unrestrained, with a fit jungle adventure suit wrapped around his body, Erlang's legs were on the coffee table in front of him, and a pair of high-top breathable leather boots were on. The belt is half loose, and the thick and thick belt is tied around the waist. An extended dagger from Maine County is hung obliquely on the waist. What is tied with the belt is a belly-shaped waist bag. I don’t know what it contains. , also a curled straw hat was placed beside the seat, and a sharp machete was leaning on the side.

Beside this wild man is a middle-aged man smoking a pipe. The brownish-yellow eyes in the deep sunken eye sockets seem to be of Caucasian descent. Some old sailor jackets are washed white, and the tight waterproof pants look more like a down-and-out bosun.

"Master Huo, our expedition team has traveled westward for 160 kilometers, and finally found the legendary Lake Tanganyika. It is said that it is the largest freshwater lake discovered in this area so far. We looked, the lake stretches as far as the eye can see, and the waterfall I have never seen before, but the dry season is coming to an end, our team dare not go any further, we can relax again The map has been drawn, Master Huo , This has cost my subordinates more than three months of energy, hehe. What's the matter, what price do you think you can offer?" The wild man turned the bead string made of crocodile teeth in his hand, while asked with a grin.

"Hmph, Zhou Lao Er, what energy have you spent? You are not responsible for reconnaissance and mapping for the empire. Do you think I don't know what job you have taken this time? Your map is important for our navy Not very useful, is that Lake Tanganyika? Want to fool me? Is Lake Tanganyika only 160 kilometers away from Sabana? Can you find Lake Tanganyika within 200 kilometers? Joke !" Huo Congrong sat down and said calmly.

"Hee hee, Mr. Huo, you can't say that. You don't care what job I take, but this road is always explored by my people. I don't know if it is Lake Tanganyika. But after all, we have entered 160 kilometers to the west. No one can do this this year, right? As for our map, although it is a bit rough, we dare not compare it with your professional surveyors and mappers, but with our map Maps, your professional surveyors don’t need to fumble around like blind men at all, just follow the road we found out, and it can help you a lot, right?” the man surnamed Zhou said with a playful smile replied.

"Hmph, one hundred and sixty kilometers, I'm afraid it's only one hundred and thirty kilometers. Do you need to draw a map for the terrain within these thirty kilometers?" Huo Congrong retorted bluntly: "Second Zhou, I have to remind you, don't do those things that are too outrageous, although the legal effect of the empire can't reach here for the time being, but you can't sleep comfortably with too many debts."

"Hehe, Mr. Huo, you are a soldier, I am a mercenary, we have different ways of thinking, and the debt of life in my hands is at least a hundred. Am I still living well? Big bowls of drinking, big pieces of meat, what we eat is this bowl of blood-licking rice. I’m afraid I’m lucky that these natives fall into my hands. Seventy percent of them will have to recite Amitabha when they landed." The man surnamed Zhou grinned and said, "But you really misunderstood me this time, I don't work in the same way as before. , Didn’t I accept your teachings last time? Now we have to try our best to get closer to the identity of civilized people, right? This time, the more than one hundred slaves were not captured by me, but captives I bought in exchange for things. , Aren’t those tribes in the west just fighting hard these days? I just got a little more courageous and bought some on the spot.”

According to the laws prevailing in various countries, slave hunting within a radius of 10 kilometers of a declared colony is considered illegal, and Sabana is no exception. Prisoners of war are no longer restricted, so both slave traders and mercenaries use colonial points as their strongholds, but most of the real slave hunting and slave trading activities are carried out in the territories of various indigenous tribes.

Huo Congrong also knows that his words are not very binding on these mercenaries and businessmen whose eyes are only on gold coins. They will not come to violate the customary laws of the New World. What is it, there are many mercenaries here who can help you complete the **** work, and these slaves can be transported to Sabana in a day or two, and as long as they enter Sabana, these slaves will be legalized and become legal for merchants. Although Huo Congrong disliked it very much, even in the empire, the slave trade was still legal, and the power of the slave traders was still very large. Several proposals on the abolition of the slave trade None of them died, let alone in the colonies of the New World.

"Okay, I don't want to talk to you about this issue anymore, tell me, how much does your map cost?" Huo Congrong frowned, although the lake he discovered was not Lake Tanganyika, but according to him According to the news from the staff in the bar, the area is indeed very large, and there is a narrow waterway extending to the southwestern hinterland. According to the rumors of the indigenous people here, Lake Tanganyika does seem to have waterways with many surrounding lakes It is similar, I don’t know if the lake they discovered is the lake around Lake Tanganyika. If so, then this discovery is really valuable. The surveying team only needs to go along the waterway, and maybe they can find the legendary lake. Lake Tanganyika.

For this new continent, whether it is the Western Continent or the empire, there is no clear geographical concept. No country can figure out what the terrain is like, and most countries are still limited to within 30 kilometers of the colonial points they control. To be able to understand surveying and mapping within 50 kilometers of the stronghold, and more than 50 kilometers away, rely more on some non-standard hand-drawn maps and memories from various expeditions.

There are many reasons for restricting the expansion of the empire from west to south. This has led to the slow advancement of the empire's power in the New World. In addition to hostility and threats, mosquitoes, beasts and various diseases are huge enemies. Along the southern coastline, although the empire has also established some small supply points, it is still difficult to expand these small supply points into colonial points. There is a lack of active support from the people, and only rely on the official and semi-official forces of the empire. To maintain, this kind of colonial point is difficult to maintain for a long time. Therefore, the empire has always hoped to develop by attracting immigrants and businessmen to these colonial points, and at the same time adopt some peaceful methods to attract local indigenous tribes to gradually naturalize into the imperial civilization system. Diffuse, perhaps a gentler but more powerful form of penetration.

This idea is good, but it also encounters some difficulties. Both slave traders and mercenaries hope to use some drastic and illegal means to obtain more huge profits. Trust, so at this point the empire has been considering other means to restrain the behavior of these slave traders and mercenaries. However, ordinary legitimate merchants are unwilling to open up trade routes in these places because of the limited population and long distances of those supply points, which also limits the slow population growth of these supply points to some extent.

"Well, Mr. Huo, let's make a deal with one price, five thousand gold coins. To be honest, this map can be regarded as one of our relatively successful ones. We have marked the situation one kilometer around the line, and of course some important ones. With this map, I believe you can easily find that lake." When the man surnamed Zhou heard that Huo Congrong finally spoke, his eyes lit up and he opened his mouth to ask for a price.

Although five thousand gold coins is not a sky-high asking price, it is still a bit too high for Huo Congrong, especially since this guy is just an accessory for their slave trade with the inland, but think about it if This time I gave the other party this sweet taste, I am afraid that next time these guys will be more interested. For me now, it is my wish to have some capable people to help me complete the work that should be done by myself.

Part 3 Sweeping Liuhe Chapter 2 Iron Horse Glacier Section 56 Colony (3)

Of course, the mercenaries staying in Sabana are not limited to Zhou Laoer. In fact, the residents here in Sabana are from the empire. The number far exceeds that of merchants, and most of the aborigines living in Sabana are adjacent aborigines who have gradually recognized the existence of the Tang Empire here, and most of them exist because of the arrival of these mercenaries and expeditions , generally acting as guides, porters, porters and other roles, together with their family members, constitute the main component of the permanent residents of the entire Sabana area.

There are more than a dozen expedition teams operating in the area around Sabana. Most of them are private expedition organizations funded by the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Commerce of the Empire. They also accept funding from some private business groups. Simply, geographical discovery, expedition surveying and mapping, and finding business opportunities, the former two are more important; there are only a few semi-official expedition teams, usually the Naval Survey and Mapping Bureau and the Naval Intelligence Bureau take the lead in recruiting civilian expedition enthusiasts, and now it seems that the Army has also started Interested in this land, it is said that an expedition led by the Military Intelligence Bureau has been sent, but it seems that it is still on the sea route and has not yet arrived here. The main purpose of these military-controlled expeditions is military surveying and mapping, to find the best locations and routes for establishing supply points and colonial points, and to penetrate the empire's power into the New World as soon as possible.

Although the Sabana colony has been established for a year, the understanding of the surrounding area is not very detailed. The empire focuses more on developing and penetrating south along the coastline. Mountbatten, 120 kilometers south of Sabana, and Vitu, 250 kilometers away, have established supply points. The southernmost point, Assab, 350 kilometers away, is the current expedition of the empire. The farthest supply point established, and further south, there are only some maps brought back by the expedition team, many of which are limited to the surveying and mapping of the coastline, and the influence of the empire in these areas is still quite weak. Especially the situation in the inland areas is even more unfamiliar, and the work of appeasement of the local indigenous tribes has not really gone on the right track. After all, more than a year is too short, and the only way to open the situation is with some expeditions and this navy. Marine Corps, it's not enough.

This Zhou Er Er is more familiar with the inland situation west of Sabana, and he has a flexible mind and a ruthless wrist. Human Marines, but this is the armed force that ensures control of the entire Sabana and areas south of Sabana. In addition to stationing a squadron at each of the three supply points, there are only two squadrons of armed forces in Sabana. It is neither allowed nor possible for him to send this force in his hand to carry out armed expeditions. The mercenaries are much more formal than those mercenaries. This guy who once served in the former Tanghe Imperial City Guards was when his colleagues expected to be reorganized by the imperial army. However, he voluntarily asked to withdraw, gathered a large number of colleagues and subordinates, and soon became famous among the expedition teams and mercenaries in the New World. Gain a force of mercenaries second to none.

I saw that Huo Congrong didn't speak. Zhou Yuanfa was not in a hurry either, he had plenty of time and could afford to wait. There are more and more brothers under his command, and they all come to this New World to pan for gold with the hope of a family. If you can’t make a lot of money here after working for a few years, how can you be worthy of the family who are waiting hard at home, so ask for a higher price. That was helpless, Zuo Jin's money was also the land of an imperial official, so it was nothing.

"Second Zhou, five thousand gold coins is a little expensive. But it doesn't matter. I agree to pay on behalf of the navy. I also trust your map. I heard that some of your subordinates have been engaged in surveying and mapping, but it is an army operation. The surveying and mapping used is somewhat different from our requirements, I hope you can let your surveying and mapping personnel come to me for a short-term training, so that the future cooperation can be more perfect." Huo Congrong's words have deep meaning.

"Oh?" Zhou Yuanfa's eyes lit up and he turned around twice. The number of brothers in his hands was increasing day by day. Sabana alone now has more than two hundred brothers here. Staying here all day will consume a lot of money. , the cost of supplies here is high, and if you don’t want to find ways to increase your income, it’s not worth it. Act as a non-staff member of the Navy."

"Second Zhou, you also know that my side is currently short of manpower, and the empire's main energy is still on the exploration of the south, but as far as I know, there are broad prospects for development in the inland areas in the west. We must expand to the west, so I think if you can lead your people to help our Imperial Navy take the lead, the Imperial Navy will not hesitate to invest, or you can also be a non-staff member of our navy." Now that Huo Congrong has an idea, he will No longer cover up.

The strength of the empire in the New World is still far from enough. The main reasons are the difficulty of supply and avoiding the vigilance of the countries in the Western Continent. Most soldiers of the empire ate pasta and rice as their staple food, but in the New World they mainly ate a kind of corn and potatoes that had not been seen on the Laya continent. But it is still difficult to adapt as a long-term edible food. In order to avoid the oversensitivity of the countries in the Western Continent, the Empire also consciously restricted the entry of military forces. The Army has always hoped to show its strength in the New World, but it was rejected. The Central Committee of the Empire only agreed to station a limited number of marine troops in the colonies. , protect the interests of the empire in this region, and avoid stimulating the countries in the western continent.

Although the empire has maintained a restrained attitude in the intervention of armed forces, it also instructed that it should increase the exploration of supporting civilian forces and make full preparations for the entry of imperial forces when the time is right. Therefore, Huo Congrong hopes to pass Similar to Expeditions and . Non-governmental organizations such as mercenaries came to stand in front of the imperial government. And the expedition team is quite capable of exploring along the coastline, but they don't have so much energy to go deep into the inland, and secondly, entering the inland area is very easy to be attacked by the indigenous hostile forces in the inland area. Only Zhou Yuanfa Only an employing organization with considerable force will be able to do so.

"Well, Mr. Huo means that you are willing to hire us to help the Imperial Navy survey and map westward? Hey, Mr. Huo, the price of hiring us is not low. You should know that the inland area in the west is more dangerous than the coastal area. Many, my brothers may encounter accidents at any time, thirty or fifty people would not dare to take on this kind of task, and the inland investigation expedition team should have at least about one hundred people to barely keep themselves safe." Zhou Yuan made a strange sound in his throat. Laughter, like night owl chirping, but the excitement in the words couldn't be concealed.

"Well, you can also put it this way, you don't have to give me a blind eye on the price issue, you think I don't know that it has something to do with your second child in the inland area of ​​the west? I didn't let you plunder people and rob property, would you How risky is it? You can also bring some special products of the empire into the inland for trading, and the profits will be huge. Of course, the empire will not forget those who have contributed to the empire. You should know that the imperial navy can also provide corresponding material support. Of course, the final bonus price will be paid according to your achievements, as long as you follow the requirements of our Imperial Navy, the Imperial Navy will not begrudge this little money." Huo Congrong said carefully.

"Well, very good, as long as Mr. Huo said what he said, the surname Zhou can be trusted. Some of my brothers have been engaged in surveying and mapping. I will arrange for them to come to receive training immediately, and Mr. Huo will also come up with a plan for us to consider. As long as Zhou and the brothers can eat, everything is easy to talk about, I will bring the brothers and the map over this afternoon, I hope we can cooperate happily." Pulling back his legs at once, Zhou Yuanfa stood up in satisfaction and picked up the machete casually, "Master Huo, Mr. The inland area is quite wide. Praise, the empire's eyes should not be limited to the coast, it is also necessary to go west, and those guys in the western continent are also stepping up their actions. I heard that they are also starting to move from the north to the sea. South penetration, this is not good news, don't let those guys from the Western Continent take the lead, then it will be much more difficult for us to regain the lead in the future, I don't know if my words make sense?"

After sending Zhou Yuanfa away, Huo Congrong is still immersed in his thoughts. Zhou Yuanfa seems to have some insight. The countries in the Western Continent have also realized the aggressive posture of the Empire in the eastern part of the New Continent, and are beginning to increase their penetration into the interior of the New Continent. If the empire hadn’t controlled the long coastline from Galeyub to Assab in the east of the New World in advance, and the sea climate in this area was frequent and stormy, I’m afraid the expedition team of those guys from the Western Continent would also appear in Sabana South of the coast of the New World.

Huo Congrong is also a little worried. Those ambitious explorers in the Western Continent will not stop there. As long as the monsoon season is over, they will definitely continue their expeditions, just like the empire's expedition team has bypassed them. Just as they started looking for a suitable place to establish a colony in the control area along the coast of the South Storm Ocean in the west of the New World, they will not give up this effort. If the empire wants to ensure its absolute advantage in the east of the New World, it must increase its efforts to expand southward and westward. I hope that the imperial army's expedition team can bring some help to myself. Now is not the time to consider the competition between the navy and the army. The interests of the empire are above all else.

Part Three Sweeping Liuhe Chapter Two Iron Horse Glacier Section Fifty-seventh Discovery

"Master Huo, do you want these mercenaries to serve our navy? It seems that it is too early to explore the west. We are slightly insufficient in the south. If you really have energy, you might as well Let this group of people go to Assab and over there to help." The old sailor in old clothes kept spewing thick smoke from his nostrils, and he obviously didn't understand Huo Congrong's decision in this regard.

"Mr. Dress, these guys will not go to Assab. He is not familiar with the situation there, and this is the scope of his activities. Besides, Assab is still unable to provide them with enough Even supplying the official supplies of our empire is a bit difficult. There has been no supply ship coming from Mangadishu for almost a month, and I don’t know what went wrong. The supplies have been sent over, and it looks like it can last for a month. You probably don’t know how many people Zhou Lao Er has under him? He has nearly 300 people in Sabana, and it is said that there are nearly 200 people who will come to serve His old subordinates are already on their way from the empire to Mangadishu by boat, and when these two hundred people arrive in Sabana, this guy has more troops than I have in Sabana!" Huo Congrong smiled slightly, " Although he is a mercenary leader, he is quite cunning. As far as I know, he has secret contacts with the two larger tribal leaders in the inland west. It is rumored that he even married the daughter of a tribal leader, but no one dared to Ask him that question."

Perhaps because of customs, it is very common for Tang men to marry Indians and other Caucasians as wives and concubines. However, it is extremely rare to marry black people as wives and concubines. One reason is that although there are black people in the empire, they are quite rare, and most of them appear as slaves. Because of beauty, dark skin is not accepted by the public.

"Oh? This guy seems to have some skills. He can get along well with those natives." The guy who looks like an old sailor is also a member of the Imperial Navy, but he was officially incorporated when the Eastern Samoa Navy was merged into the Imperial Navy. He became a member of the Imperial Navy, and the establishment of the Naval Intelligence Bureau also absorbed him, becoming a member of the Navy to break new ground in the New World. Dreis is the captain of the naval exploration and mapping ship "Blue Castle". This is a medium-sized survey and mapping ship. It has patrolled between Sabana and Assab several times. It is one of the main detection forces of the South China Exploration and Expansion Land Navy.

"Well, this is also the main reason why I want this guy to serve as our front station. This guy has some mobility in the west, compared to our regular expedition surveying and mapping team. His methods are not so particular. Be more flexible." Huo Congrong nodded and said, "Besides, he doesn't need much support from us, at most it's just some supplies, and the south is certainly the key point of the empire. But sooner or later the empire will enter the west, instead of letting this Helping guys to engage in slave trading all day long is better than letting them work for the empire, as long as it works, I believe the empire will not care who did it."

"Well. That's right, the empire's power here is too weak now. If this situation continues, I'm afraid it will really be like the guy said just now, and those guys from the Western Continent will take the lead. We will be too passive in the future. Being able to use these guys can be regarded as making the best use of everything, and it can be regarded as a meritorious thing for them, at least it is much brighter than their doing those things." The old sailor After thinking for a while, he nodded in agreement with Huo Congrong's opinion.

"Mr. Dreis, how is your situation?" The entire extended reconnaissance effort south of the Inner Angel Bay, although Dreis was under direct leadership of the Office of Naval Intelligence and Mapping. However, due to the special circumstances of the colony, Huo Congrong also presided over the overall work of the entire southern part of the New World, so Dries also needed to report the recent progress to Huo Congrong.

"The situation in the early stage was not very good, and you also know that the weather in the early stage was too bad. The Blue Castle had to stay in the small harbor of Assab to avoid the wind, and the work was really carried out in the later stage, but this trip we have some Breakthrough, we started from Assab and sailed south along the coastline for nearly 400 kilometers. We found an island 120 miles away from the coastline of the mainland. The area of ​​the island is not large, about 200 square kilometers. But we have a surprising discovery on this island." When he said this, Dries' eyes began to sparkle, and a flush appeared on his face.

"Oh? What discovery?" Huo Congrong realized that there might be some big discovery. With Dries' calm personality, such a performance is considered an anomaly.

"This island is full of wild cloves, almost all over the mountains. My crew and I couldn't believe it, but it is true. I also brought back some plants and prepared to send them back to the empire for inspection. If it is true If they are all cloves, that island can be called Lilac Island." Dries took out two plants from the package beside him and handed them to Huo Congrong.

Huo Congrong was a little surprised, but an island covered with cloves is undoubtedly a huge discovery for the empire. Although it does not mean much to the navy itself, it is also a credit to the navy. I went over the plant and looked at it carefully, and then put it to my nose and sniffed it hard. It should be cloves.

"Mr. Dries, I have to congratulate you. This should be clove grass. If your discovery is true, I am afraid that the empire will occupy this island immediately even at the risk of irritating the countries of the Western Continent. , This is simply a natural cornucopia. You should know what spices mean to the empire and the Western Continent. Now that the empire controls most of the Meli area, almost all spice production is in the hands of the empire. The empire's demand for spices has been increasing The rapid increase cannot meet the needs at all, not to mention the growing shortage in the supply of the Western Continent, hehe, maybe you will be awarded a medal or even a noble status for this." Huo Congrong's tone was full of envy.

"Hehe, I have already had someone draw the sea chart of that island, I hope it can bring us a surprise for the empire." Dreis was also happy from ear to ear, being able to be canonized as a nobleman That is a dream that ordinary people can't achieve in their lifetime. Dries has never expected it, but he has also heard that the people who discovered the Golden Crown Island have been canonized as nobles. If he really has such good luck, he will be honored. .

"Well, this is a huge discovery. I have to report it back to the empire as soon as possible. Please show it to the higher authorities. In addition, some of our views also need to be reported to the higher authorities. Maybe the empire should really change its current strategy. Alright." Huo Congrong stood up and pondered, the discovery of Dingxiang Island might be able to prompt the empire to make this determination.

The empire’s colonial policy has always been vague. This cannot be blamed for the turmoil of the Imperial Council and the Privy Council. In fact, at the beginning, the empire always encouraged both the official and the private sector to fully participate in the expansion of the New World colonies. The expansion of the New World is already one step behind. The establishment of the Gaalyub colony once aroused the high vigilance of the countries in the Western Continent, especially after a marine division stationed in Gaalyub, it made the countries in the Western Continent start to pay attention. Starting from Datang, every move on this new continent will be up.

The subtle changes in the attitudes of the countries in the Western Continent have also made the Empire feel. Before the naval power can be projected to the distant New Continent at will, the Empire has to consider the attitudes of the countries in the Western Continent. After all, it is far away from their old nest It is much closer, and if the empire wants to compete with them there, it does not need to think about what the end will be.

Therefore, the empire contracted its official actions on the surface, which at least made the countries of the Western Continent a little relieved on the surface. But in fact, the empire's support for civilian forces has not decreased in the slightest, and even invested more. However, the expansion of the empire's exploration is not limited to the new continent. From the Mawen Islands to the south and southeast are important routes for the empire's exploration. And the New World is just one of the highlights of the expansion of the empire's exploration.

After arranging a large stack of documents and maps in his hands, Wufeng felt quite satisfied with the world in his own hands. The discovery of Dingxiang Island is a shocking geographical discovery, which means that it may be in the waters around Dingxiang Island. Or the possibility of growing spices is available on the mainland. Melly's spice planting has made Melly the richest place in the empire after Jiangnan County, and now the growing demand for spices in all parts of the mainland has doubled Melly's worth , especially the empire's demand has almost quadrupled, and the harsh requirements of spice planting for the hydrothermal climate have been a bottleneck that has plagued the expansion of spice production, and this bottleneck cannot be achieved by research or plant improvement. The way is to find land that is also suitable for growth. However, all parts of the Raya continent have been inhabited for a long time, and so far I have not heard of any place where qualified spice plants can grow.

But now the naval officer of Dres has found a bright road for the empire. Scholars from the Botanical Research Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources of the Empire have confirmed that it is an authentic lilac plant, both in terms of fragrance, color and effect. It's exactly the same as the cloves from Merry, which means something, Wufeng can't help but want to grin at the thought.

The third chapter sweeps Liuhe, the second chapter, the iron horse and ice river, the fifty-eighth, easy strategy

Whether it is Xiao Tang, Su Qin, Ling Tianfang, or Bo Jinchen, they are all very surprised by the sudden summoning of the emperor to enter the palace at this time. Unless there is an emergency in the palace at this time, there is nothing that cannot be reserved for tomorrow's court meeting Come up to discuss? If it is an important government matter, it can also be discussed in the afternoon. At this time, it is almost dark and the gates of the palace are about to be closed. Non-urgent business is not allowed to enter the imperial city.

Seeing the four people hurrying over, Wufeng also felt that he was a little too excited. As soon as he received the news, he hurriedly summoned the four people, and he didn't care about the time, but he waited for such a good thing. I really hope that someone can come to share with me. If I hold it in my heart alone, even if I am in a good mood, it will be discounted. It is better to be alone than to be happy. This is probably the reason.

"Your Majesty, what urgent matter happened?" Seeing that His Majesty didn't seem to be anxious, instead he was beaming. After the four of Xiao Tang looked at each other, it was Xiao Tang who asked the question first.

"Uh, no hurry, no hurry, there is nothing very urgent, but I have great news, I hope to share it with you." Wu Feng is also a little embarrassed, this kind of thing is urgent Entering the palace, I am afraid that everyone will guess that it is not a good thing, and now I say that, it is not so authentic.

Xiao Tang breathed a sigh of relief, although some complained that Wufeng made a big fuss, what kind of happy event is worth going into the night and recruiting important officials into the palace, isn't this a tossing of peace of mind? Wouldn't it be better to announce it at the Ming Dynasty meeting? It's just that Xiao Tang is helpless in this situation. I had no choice but to echo: "Is it a happy event? I don't know what happy event made His Majesty so excited?"

Wu Feng could also hear the dissatisfaction in Xiao Tang's words. At this time, he could only pretend that he could not understand the meaning behind the other's words, and said carelessly: "It's a good thing, it's a great thing, and this matter involves the national policy of the empire. Some adjustments, so I have to invite the ministers to enter the palace to discuss it first. This matter cannot be delayed, so I want to set the tone first, and discuss it at the court meeting tomorrow, and strive to implement it as soon as possible. Time is waiting , this incident may be a starting point for the prosperity of the empire."

"Oh?" Both Xiao Su and Ling Bo were whetted by Wu Feng's words, and it was hard for the four of them to figure out what would happen if it involved the adjustment of the empire's national policy. Any happy event can even adjust the national policy of the empire.

"I don't know what is worthy of His Majesty's words? Please make it clear, Your Majesty." Ling Tianfang couldn't help asking, if it involves the adjustment of the national policy, I don't know if it refers to the adjustment of the military policy. What new ideas does His Majesty the Emperor have?

"Look here, everyone. What is this? What is this?" Wufeng took a breath, put the lilac plant in his hand on the imperial case, and then unfolded the drawn sea chart, beckoning The four of them approached to watch.

Su Qin approached first and observed the lilac plant Wufeng put on the imperial case. After a long while, he said: "Your Majesty, this seems to be a spice plant, it should be clove, this is a kind of shrub, and the clove oil it produces is the most important spice."

"Yes. This is a spice, so where is this spice mainly produced?" Wufeng nodded and asked again.

Xiao Tang and Su Qin exchanged glances, wondering what kind of stimulation His Majesty the Emperor received today. He actually asked such a pediatric question, "Your Majesty, the main producing area of ​​cloves is naturally County Merry, and of course the South Merry area controlled by West Orland and Jutland is also produced."

"Then is this clove still produced in other places?" Wufeng continued to ask, ignoring the winks of the two.

"I don't seem to have heard of this. At present, spices are mainly produced in the Meli area. Although other places produce them, they are either of poor quality or too low in output. Commercialization is very difficult." Su Qin is very clear about this. , he is in charge of diplomacy, foreign trade and commerce, where the spices are produced can't trouble him.

"Well, well said, Tian Fang, Jin Chen, do you understand where is marked on that map?" Wu Feng turned his head and asked the second envoy of the Privy Council.

"Uh, Your Majesty, this seems to be the sea chart of the New World. Mangadisha and Sabana are marked here, which are the two major colonial points of the empire in the central and southern part of the New World. Assab is marked here. It should be the southernmost control point of the empire, and further south, it seems that the sphere of influence of the empire cannot be reached." Ling Tianfang has always been very concerned about the actions of the navy, and the New World is one of the main areas for naval activities. He is also well aware of the progress made.

"Well, yes, it seems that Tian Fang is very familiar with this area, let you take a look at this island that day, how far is it from Assab?" Wu Feng asked with a smile.

Ling Tian looked at the sea chart for a while before saying: "This island should be an island that was discovered not long ago. The information sent back from Sabana last time did not mark this island, but according to the surveying and mapping It is estimated that the ratio should be around 400 nautical miles. Why, why would His Majesty be interested in this island? However, there are not many coastal islands on the east coast of the New World. This island is located in a moderate location and is not far from the coastline of the mainland. Good relay station."

"No, Tian Fang, although the geographical location of this island is also very important, what I value more is its economic value." A cornucopia, everyone, I tell you that the lilac plant on the desk was found on this island, and I tell you that the news came back that the island is full of lilac plants, it can be said that there are lilacs everywhere , dear dears, think about it, if this island is developed, what kind of huge wealth will it bring to the empire?!"

What Wufeng said really surprised the four of them. If the island is really full of cloves, then the output can be imagined. The entire Laya continent has a great demand for cloves. The island is in the hands of the empire, and the continuous wealth will flow into the empire's coffers.

"Your Majesty, if this information is true, we really need to consider our current policies in the New World. Now that the powers in the Western Continent are stepping up their efforts to explore and expand the New World, the Empire initially considered The New World has gained a firm foothold. In order to avoid conflicts with the powers of the Western Continent in the New World, we deliberately restrained expansion and exploration scale. At that time, the New World had not found anything with development value. If this clove island really exists, then we will The policy has to be changed, otherwise, if these areas are taken first by the Western Continent powers, the empire will lose too much."

Su Qin's eyes sparkled, and the news came too timely. Spices are like soft gold for the empire and the entire continent, and the spices consumed in the mainland are increasing every year. After the empire took control of Merry County, it attracted the attention of all countries in the western continent. All countries demanded to continue to maintain the original Merry County. The amount of spices exported when the principality existed, but now the demand for spices in the empire is also increasing. This contradiction reflects that Su Qin, the deputy minister in charge of diplomacy, foreign trade and business, is also difficult. The relationship between the countries in the western continent needs to be maintained, and the empire Internal needs also need to be considered, and now the solution is in front of him, how can this not make Su Qin excited.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I also think that the empire's policies in the New World should be adjusted appropriately. Now the countries of the Western Continent control almost the entire northern and western parts of the New World. Our navy has just explored the western fringes of the New World. Establish a colony there, but it is too far from the mainland of our empire, even from Qalyub, and our armed forces in the New World are not enough to protect our interests there, so I thought it was not just the navy The Marine Corps needs to expand its garrison in the New World, and the Army and the Imperial Council should formally enter the New World to establish a military and administrative organization that is in line with the interests of the Empire to ensure that the interests of the Empire can be guaranteed and continue to expand.”

Bo Jinchen, who is good at observing words and expressions, has already seen the purpose of Wufeng calling the four people. The discovery of Spice Island forced the empire to consider the huge economic benefits and value of the New World. But now all of this has begun to be transformed into real benefits, and it is imperative to re-establish national policies. Economic benefits need military power to guarantee, and as economic value is discovered, the empire's civilian personnel will inevitably There may even be a large number of immigrants appearing in the New World, so whether it is from the perspective of administrative agencies or military departments, it is imminent to expand their presence in the New World.

Seeing that several important ministers supported the expansion of presence in the New World, Wufeng became more cautious: "My dear friends, the New World certainly has huge interests and values, but we need to consider that the Empire has more important things now. Enemy, it is not possible for us to focus on the New World for the time being. If our actions in the New World are too large and the countries of the Western Continent interfere, then we may be in a dilemma and retreat, which will cause the empire to suffer huge losses. Persistence may allow military operations to expand indefinitely, benefiting our enemies in the north and south, and we have to consider this.”

"Your Majesty, I don't think this problem is difficult to solve." Su Qin and Bo Jinchen almost spoke in unison. After they looked at each other and smiled, Bo Jinchen asked Su Qin to speak first.

Chapter 3 Sweeping Liuhe Chapter 2 Iron Horse Glacier Section 59 Gale Winds Will Rise

"Your Majesty, the countries in the Western Continent are not monolithic. In the final analysis, they were able to gather together to exert pressure on the Empire in the New Continent because they shared certain interests. But we all know that the powers of the Western Continent are intertwined. Vertically and horizontally, the relationship between all parties is complicated. There are hundreds of years of old enemies and feuds, as well as the marriage of the royal family. In this case, although the powers of the Western Continent have begun to turn their attention to the New World, their fundamental interests are still in the Western Continent. , in particular, the only ones who may shake their fundamentals are the enemies in the Western Continent, and the New Continent can at best be regarded as an overseas hunting ground for their interests.”

"Some losses in the hunting grounds of interests can be made up for, but once the foundation is shaken, it may endanger the survival of the country. In this regard, the empire has an inherent advantage. No country in the Eastern Continent can shake and challenge the absolute authority of the empire. Not to mention the Central Continent, so I think that the Empire only needs to selectively select one or two countries to form a strategic alliance on the issue of partitioning the New World, and it can completely suppress the intentions of the powers in the Western Continent, and the Empire can rest assured. Boldly expand their power in the New Continent, as long as the powers of the Western Continent cannot unite, they will not be able to pose a substantial threat to the interests of the empire in this land.”

Su Qin's words got to the bottom of it. The relationship between the powers of the Western Continent is still mutual hostility and distrust in essence. The conflict of fundamental interests on the Western Continent determines that their cooperation in the New Continent is also fragile. Yes, we just need to take more measures in diplomacy. It can completely dissolve their alliance, and even win some allies for the empire.

"Well, what Brother Su said makes sense. As long as we can crack the alliance of the Western Continent's powers, one or two countries will not be able to pose a threat to the empire's interests in the New World. We can even explicitly propose to expel those unfriendly share the benefits of the New World with allies." Ling Tian nodded approvingly.

"Brother Bo, this is my humble opinion, why don't you share your opinion." Su Qin smiled slightly, and extended his hand to signal Bo Jinchen to express his opinion.

"Well, Prime Minister Su has just talked about the feasibility of the Empire in the New World from a diplomatic point of view, and I also talked about the idea from a military point of view. In fact, the countries in the New World, including the Empire, control and The area discovered may be less than one-tenth of the land, and we have not even set foot in the vast inland and south-central areas. That is to say, the control and influence of various countries in the New World are still quite weak, and the New World is open to all countries to expand The territory is also quite vast. I think that the possibility of large-scale wars due to the competition for forces in the New World is very small, at least for a long time. The old enmity makes it almost impossible for them to turn their enemies into friends.”

"For the time being, the empire will not start a large-scale battle with the enemies in the north and south. It is just right to use this opportunity to expand its power to the New World. The Marine Division currently has only one division in the New World. In my opinion, Except for the three marine divisions that can be maintained in the eastern sea area, the rest of the marine divisions can be transferred to the new continent. The army can also send some advance troops to enter the new continent. Just do it, even if there is a real conflict. I think it is worth it, the only thing that needs to be considered is the logistics supply issue. The imperial soldiers are not very used to the coarse grains produced in the new continent. If the imperial army enters the new continent, the logistics issue will be It needs to face quite heavy pressure, especially when there is no fixed route from Sikkim Port to Mangadishu and Sabana.”

Bo Jinchen confessed his thoughts in one breath. It is obviously impossible for a large-scale military conflict to occur in the New World because of the sphere of influence. Neither the Western Continent nor the Empire are the masters there. It's just a group of conquerors similar to robbers. The real master has little ability to resist in the face of powerful outsiders. Now that the New World still has a vast expanse of land waiting to be conquered and explored by all parties, Bo Jinchen does not think that any party will be so unwise.

Everyone's words relieved Wufeng's worries. Wufeng didn't want to affect his planned war preparation strategy because of the entanglements in the New World. In his opinion, the New World is important, but he might as well take it easy and wait. It is not too late to fight for the New World after the Liberians and Machihans are completely resolved, but their own courtiers obviously do not agree with this point of view. They prefer to prepare for war on the premise of grasping the interests of the New World with one hand , even if it delays the progress of the war, it is worth it. Thinking about it now that the New World is beckoning to everyone with countless wealth and benefits, Wufeng is also a little moved. From the present, the population density of the New World is far less than that of the Laya Continent. The population density of the Empire has always been quite high. Some areas with fertile land are more prominent. Once a natural disaster occurs, it will trigger a large-scale migration of refugees and affect the turmoil of the empire. Wufeng has always hoped to have a more appropriate solution to this issue.

Now the vast New World seems to be a natural place for immigrants. The conditions in many areas here are very favorable, and the climate is roughly similar to that of the interior of the empire. crops, but as long as the soil quality is suitable for light and heat, a new granary for the empire can be built here.

On the second day of the court meeting, the quarrel over this issue still turned the entire court into a pot of boiling water. It is necessary to occupy Dingxiang Island and quickly develop it, and even quickly control the area around Dingxiang Island. Finding a large area suitable for the growth of other spices, these proposals were passed without objection. The debate mainly focused on the empire's full involvement in the New World at this time, and the main force of the Marine Corps and even the Army. The New Continent, which aroused the concerns of various ministers and some military officials. The long distance and stormy sea routes, coupled with the hostility of the Western Continent, made them worry that the empire might have to trap more power in the New Continent. In general, they are more inclined to appropriately increase the input of forces, but they must still exercise restraint in the entry of troops.

However, after His Majesty the Emperor made it clear that he supported the army entering the New World, these voices gradually fell silent. The introduction of Su Qin and Bo Jinchen was the main reason. No further discussion.

The entire port of Sikkim has become a huge military port, where three marine divisions boarded ships one after another. After a rest at Golden Crown Port, they will go to Mangadishu after a long sea journey of more than half a month. Preparations for entering the New World. Before they headed to the New World, the Empire officially announced the detailed sea charts from Sikkim to Mangadishu via Golden Crown Port, announcing that it would provide generous subsidies to shipping companies that opened this fixed route to encourage private shipping companies Operating this route quickly aroused the interest of ship merchants in Southwest China and Nanhai County.

Although this route needs to cross the distant Latin Ocean, if you want to be safe, you can start from Sikkim or Western Samoa, stop at Taungoo Port and Chennai Port in the Peninsula Alliance, and arrive at the Kingdom of Sioran in Latin The port of Aqaba, the largest port on the ocean, finally stops at Baidi Port, an important shipping hub of the Kingdom of Sioran on the Latin Ocean, and then goes south to Mangadishu. Although this route is far away, it takes more than a month , but it avoids the 20-day long sea journey from Golden Crown Port to Mangadishu. Disha lost a full week, and in this case, every day lost is a lot less risky.

So most shipping companies have chosen this route, and although the route from Golden Crown Port to Mangadishu has subsidies from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Commerce of the Empire, due to the high risk, there are only some large-scale shipping routes Only a few large ships of the company dare to take this route, but the imperial army can only take this route to Mangadishu and Sabana. After all, tens of thousands of troops have to pass through the Peninsula Alliance and West Oran. The kingdom's port, whichever country is unlikely to agree.

Cui Wenxiu squinted her eyes and looked at the mansion report. It seems that the empire is really planning to make some changes. The New World is really a good place. What is there? Slave or Spice? Or is it gold? No one knows, but now is not the time to think about this issue. What is in front of me is the Hansen Alliance, waiting, still waiting.

Cui Wenxiu found that her endurance ability is getting better and better. If a week fails, it will take two weeks. Are you willing to be insulted like this? Campbell II is a grand duke loved by the people of the principality, but also a strong character with a stubborn personality. The threat of force from the Augsburg Empire may not be able to scare him, but the guys from the Church of the Holy Spirit may become a variable. Wenxiu hoped that the Military Intelligence Agency and the Imperial National Security Agency would jointly take measures to eradicate the cause of this scourge, and hoped that they could give him a big gift.

Chapter 3 Sweeping Liuhe

As the special envoy of the Pope, Zigman does not think that enjoying this kind of treatment is beyond the standard. The premier Grammy Hotel in Brandenburg, the capital of the Augsburg Empire, has always been the official reception of the Augsburg Empire. The designated hotel for guests, Special Envoy Riegman likes the classical style here very much. When you open the window, you can overlook the view of the Spree River. If you push your eyes forward, you can see the imperial palace-Charlottenburg Palace. The Maximilian Square next to the Imperial Palace is the central square of Brandenburg City. The Bismarck Bridge spans the Spree River and connects the east and west parts of the city to form the Greater Brandenburg City.

The woman lying on the big fluffy bed was still sound asleep, and Zigman, who got up in his nightgown, couldn't help but yawned. These damned Augsburgers are too much, the negotiation has already begun After three rounds, still not much progress. Zigman didn't mind staying in the city of Brandenburg for a while longer. The Countess Cardin, who had been tossing herself in bed all night, was indeed a stunner. His ability was almost unable to subdue her, Rigman couldn't help but secretly sighed that his body might indeed be aging.

But this woman is indeed too charming. Thinking of her tender **** under her lace corset and her plump **** under her whalebone skirt, Zhigman couldn't help but feel a little hot all over her body, so she took a deep breath and tried to restrain herself Now is not the time for my own desires. If this continues, I am afraid that I will be sucked into a skeleton before I even complete the mission of the Pope.

Standing by the window for a breath of fresh air. The cold river wind made Rigman sober. The honor of the Franz family must be compensated. If Campbell continues to be so tough, I’m afraid he won’t be able to help much. Thinking of this, Rigman can’t help but Secretly curse Campbell's stubbornness and pedantry, if it doesn't like Her Royal Highness Princess Hearon. You can just leave her aside in the cold. Do you have to take the risk of offending the Augsburg Empire to dissolve this engagement?

Zigman couldn't understand, I wonder if there is another woman who has taken a fancy to the position of the Grand Duchess of the Duchy of Cologne, and Campbell doesn't know that he is so desperate to make such an unreasonable act because he fell under the skirt of that woman. A sensible move. You must know that the Franz family has a long history in the Western Continent. The royal family and nobles in almost every country on the continent have more or less ties to the Franz family. Campbell is so blatant with the Franz family. It is undoubtedly a provocation, but as far as I know, not all members of the Hansen League support his impulsive move, especially when the Hansen League is still in a state of tension with the Famini Empire. circumstances.

Now I heard that there are also some problems with the Famini Empire. There were some disputes with the Kingdom of Leeds, and the quarrel with the Hansen alliance was temporarily put aside, but this cannot be used as a boost for Campbell to provoke the Augsburg Empire, and the Augsburg Empire can do it against Hansen without any help. The alliance poses a huge threat to the move, now in this situation. Is it really suitable?

Standing by the window in a daze, Zhiman really felt a little headache. The Duchy of Augsburg should still respect the prestige of the Pope. Although his arrival was semi-public, Augsburg The Empire is still quite high in terms of reception specifications. From the first-class suite at the Grammys to a series of welcome receptions, Zigman was very satisfied, but the problem was that the requirements of the Augsburg Empire seemed a bit too high. And Campbell's temper is too stubborn. It seems that it is necessary for me to go to the Hansen League and find the masters of several important member states to remind them of the current situation and let them understand that this confrontation with the Augsburg Empire is likely to make The people of Augsburg lost their patience. Once the war broke out and there was no victory or defeat, it would be difficult to stop. They are the backing of Campbell and the Principality of Cologne. As long as they are persuaded, Campbell can easily solve the problem.

The Augsburg Empire itself also needs to remind them not to push forward, compromise is the only way to avoid war. Unless the people of Augsburg wanted to start a war, this was just an excuse. Thinking of this, Zigman couldn't help but tremble.

Tearing off the breast of his nightgown a little irritably, Zigman was pacing around the window. Seeing this situation, the Hansen League and the Augsburg Empire are both the Church of the Holy Spirit, and the Pope can exert great influence here. If there is no suitable excuse, the Augsburg people will not dare to start a war easily. But the Cologne side insists on sticking to a tough stance. This is creating conditions for the Augsburgers. No, the provocations of the Cologne people have to be stopped. Thinking of this, Zigman can't sit still, and he has to go to the Hansen League It is a pity that this stunner next to him will be left out in the cold after a few days of enjoying it, and the next time will not be known.

Seeing the woman on the bed lazily turning over in her sleep, her white thighs and half of her buttocks were exposed, and even the hair between the gaps could be seen faintly, Rigman's heart became hot again, Then seize the last time and enjoy it. I don't know if I can meet such a beauty in the Hansen League.

Soon there was a whisper on the bed, and Rigman seemed to be really comforting the beautiful woman beside him.

A flying tiger claw rested on the window sill without a sound. The slight sound was completely covered by the sound of violent movement on the bed. , he quietly set off a strange fragrance, and soon the bed was quiet. The black figure tiptoed close to the bedside, observed for a while to make sure that the other party had passed out, and then lifted the brocade quilt. Two naked bodies were still entangled in the bed. At the same time, it turned out to be a male subordinate and female superior, grinning and lightly pushing the female body lying on the man's body, turned over, the obscene scene made Hei Ying frown, and a silver needle was inserted without hindrance Above the man's head, the man's expression changed slightly in his sleep, and soon fell into silence again. After confirming the pulse, the black shadow put the woman's body on the horse again, and floated away.

The strange fragrance only lasted for a few minutes before dissipating in the ventilated room. The woman who woke up from the confusion still subconsciously continued the actions before she fell into a coma, but she soon realized that the situation was wrong, and there was a shrill scream. Jiao broke the quiet morning light of the hotel from the room.

On May 28, 701 in the continental calendar, Zhigeman, the special envoy of the Pope of the Holy Spirit, died strangely and suddenly in the Grammy Hotel in Brandenburg, the capital of the Augsburg Empire. According to the investigation of the Ministry of the Interior of Brandenburg According to the statement of Countess Cardin, who was in bed, Zigman once mentioned that Campbell's attitude was too stubborn. He will go to several other important countries in the Hansen Alliance to negotiate, so that the other countries will put pressure on the Duke of Campbell to withdraw the divorce agreement. The decision to abolish the heir, and then Zhigman's died suddenly. Although the internal affairs department did not investigate the cause of Zhigeman's death, the testimony of Countess Cardin is enough to prove that the Cologne people are the most suspicious, but Campbell still refuses to accept this request, and war will be inevitable.

At the same time, Grand Duke Campbell of Cologne also issued a statement accusing the Augsburgers of assassinating the special envoy of Zhigeman, trying to take the opportunity to arouse the Holy See's dissatisfaction with the Hansen League, to find excuses for himself to start a war, and to call The people of Cologne united, and the allied countries fulfilled the relevant provisions of the alliance treaty to resist possible foreign aggression.

On June 5, the 300,000 troops of the Augsburg Empire invaded the Principality of Cologne in two ways, and the Aohan War broke out in full swing.

Cui Wenxiu, who rarely drinks alcohol, is finally going to open a bottle of champagne for herself to celebrate. This is a special gold champagne from the Cannes Valley of the Famini Empire. . Let the tip of the tongue linger in the wine comfortably, the double pleasure makes Cui Wenxiu feel extremely good.

The Austrian-Han War finally broke out. In fact, Cui Wenxiu also knew that the Augsburg Empire had long wanted to teach some disobedient little brothers in the north. The Sen Alliance, but the alliance is an alliance after all, and lacks a strong unified regime. The people of Augsburg very much hope to let these little brothers know who is the real boss of the west coast of the Baltic Sea through a hearty battle. But the people of Augsburg needed an excuse, and the people of Cologne sent it. The Holy See is undoubtedly a nasty fly. In addition to joy, the cause of death is not important, even if he choked to death while eating, it must be a plot by the people of Cologne. It is perfect to have this reason.

Now it seems that it is time to think about what to do on your own side. The military mobilization has already been carried out in secret. In order to prevent the attention of the opponent, the scale of the mobilization is small but very frequent, which will make people look more like a routine This work will continue for a period of time. Although the southern area of ​​the Hansen Alliance has entered a state of war, the partners in the north are obviously still somewhat reluctant to participate in this possibly protracted war. Both the Famini Empire in the west and the Tang Dynasty in the east still have a certain degree of worry, but they cannot keep calm for long in the face of the roar of the Cologne people, otherwise they will face the barbarians in the north and the Famini Empire in the west next time. When provocative, they can only fight alone.

Chapter 3 Sweeping Liuhe Chapter 2 Iron Horse Glacier Section 61 The butcher's knife will be raised

Campbell II was about to collapse, and if it wasn't for the tough character he had cultivated for a long time, he would almost have gone crazy. The Western Front Army of the Augsburg Empire has penetrated deeply into the south of the Principality of Cologne, the important town of Mainz in the south of Cologne, where the Allied Southern Alliance fought the first official battle with the Augsburg Empire Army since the Aohan War. The huge disparity in military strength prevented the coalition forces of the southern countries of the alliance from resisting the offensive of the Augsburg Empire, which lasted only one day. Mainz fell, and more than 10,000 coalition soldiers became prisoners. More than 16,000 soldiers died in this battle.

The entire Principality of Cologne only has 35,000 regular troops and 20,000 reserve soldiers. Even if they are all mobilized, they will not exceed 50,000 troops. Fifteen thousand troops, troops, a total of only 110,000 troops, of which 70,000 were formed into the Southern Corps of the Alliance Standing Army.

Under the impact of the imposing Augsburg army, although the coalition forces also carried out resolute resistance, they were outnumbered, and the determination of Campbell II was not directly proportional to the commanding skills of Lüders, the commander of the southern corps of the standing army. However, the coach of the Augsburg Western Front Army is the famous general of the Augsburg Empire, Lonstein. He used 30,000 armored cavalry to forcibly force his troops from the infantry defense lines of the Duchy of Cologne and the Duchy of Kassel. The breakthrough led to the collapse of the entire front, and the coalition forces had to retreat to Bamberg, an important town in central Cologne, to prepare for a more tenacious resistance here.

Campbell hopes that the coalition forces can help him secure Bamberg here. Waiting until the reinforcements from the standing army of the central and northern regions and other member states, without the support of these member states, Campbell would not dare to challenge the Augsburg Empire even if he was arrogant. But the Augsburgers didn't seem to want to let Campbell take it easy for a long time. Less than two days after capturing Mainz, the Augsburg Eastern Army broke into the Principality of Dresden along the west coast of the Baltic Sea and captured Ike in one fell swoop. Lan Pass. This is the commanding heights in the southern part of Dresden. Seizing it is equivalent to controlling the southern part of the Duchy of Dresden. Looking north from here, the southern plain of Dresden is in front of you, and the plain of Dresden The central city of Dresden became the capital of the principality.

The people of Dresden gave up on the second wave of 25,000 reinforcements they had sent after they learned that the Ekland Pass had fallen. They needed to defend their capital, the Dresden Plain. There is no danger to defend, the Augsburgers can easily cross the Great Plains to the foot of the city of Dresden, if the Augsburgers capture the city of Dresden. Then they will die without a place to bury them.

The only remaining allies are Kassel and Ulm. They are both small countries with less than 30,000 troops. They have no extra troops to support Cologne. The danger they may face. The only hope now is the army of the Principality of Salzburg. Salzburg is the most powerful country in the south of the alliance, with a standing army of up to 140,000 people. One of the corps is the Union Standing Army that has been stationed in the north, and it seems to be stationed in the West Indian region now. If the Principality of Salzburg can send another corps to reinforce in time, maybe Bamberg has another hope, otherwise it will Only rely on them to defend the city of Cologne.

The envoys to Salzburg are already the third wave. But the army of the Principality of Salzburg still failed to appear in the eyes of the Cologne people who were eager to see through. Campbell was a little desperate, if the people of Salzburg were also afraid of the army of Augsburg. Then the Principality of Cologne is really hopeless.

On June 9, the first batch of 30,000 heavy infantry reinforcements from the Principality of Salzburg finally arrived at the city of Cologne. In the past, although they came very quickly, because they miscalculated that the special envoy of the Holy Spirit Cult, Zhigeman, would be able to settle the matter, and they seriously underestimated the war, so the mobilization of the standing army seemed much slower, and Now the southern countries have paid a heavy price for this.

On June 8, the Eastern Army of the Augsburg Empire captured Bamberg, and the people of Cologne lost the courage to continue to resist before the arrival of reinforcements. Having to evacuate their central town of Bamberg, the Augsburg army took the opportunity to occupy the key passage linking the Duchy of Cologne with the central plain of the Duchy of Dresden—the Willam Pass, which is the route from central Cologne to Germany. The important channel of Dresden, controlled here, can have both sides, looking eastward to the Dresden Plain and westward to suppress the Cologne Valley.

On June 9th, the Augsburg Army on the Western Front defeated the heroic resistance of the Knights of the Principality of Dresden in the middle of the Dresden Plain. It's meaningless, the Knights of the Principality of Dresden insisted on fighting the Imperial Army of Augsburg on the plain under the face of a force several times that of its own, and the result can be imagined.

On June 10th, the Augsburg Empire's Western Front Army captured Kaimunitz, located in the middle reaches of the Dresden River, realizing the strategy of the Augsburg Empire's original plan of advancing side by side and taking control of Willa At the Mushan Pass, the two armies from the east and the west can be easily connected. Cologne and Dresden, the two important barriers in the south of the alliance, have almost lost more than half. Augsburg has won the first stage of the battle, but at the same time The alliance's more than 200,000 standing troops have also been reinforced. The Augsburg Empire also realized that it is not so easy to defeat the alliance as easily as in the first stage, and it is extremely important to stabilize the current position.

Cui Wenxiu arrived at Blue Castle quietly in the dark. There was only one division of the imperial army stationed here, and the Hansen Alliance also had only 20,000 white stork regiments from Deferen stationed in Blue Castle. The imperial army is still secretly mobilizing, but I’m afraid it won’t be long before it is hidden. After learning that the Augsburg army has successfully captured Bamberg and Willam Pass in central Cologne, Cui Wenxiu knew that the time was ripe. As long as the army of the Fortress Empire controls these two places, the battle between the Allied Army and the Augsburg Empire will not end in a day or two, not to mention that even the south of Dresden has also fallen into the hands of the Augsburgers. , This occupation of the city will make the Hansen Alliance fall into a quagmire and cannot extricate itself.

"Is everything ready?" Cui Wenxiu blew on the tea leaves floating on the water, and asked with a smile. The governor of West Indian County in front of him is the number one young governor in the entire empire. He is only thirty-one years old. At the age of 20, he became the governor of West Indian Dean, which caused an uproar in the political circles of the empire at that time, but Cui Wenxiu believed that His Majesty's vision was able to place Mr. Link here, and His Majesty must have his own intentions.

"General Wenxiu, don't worry, everything is ready. Tomorrow, the chambers of commerce in several other provinces will jointly sign a letter requesting the Hansen Alliance to withdraw from Blue Fort and hand over the Mana Province to the single management of the empire. At the same time, the Mana Province Chamber of Commerce and the local The nobles will also take to the streets to demonstrate and demonstrate the will of the people. The two-party management has already made Mina deeply inconvenient, not to mention that the empire is now in full swing, and fools know who to follow to have a future." Link smiled and sat back firmly In the chair, "I wonder if the general is ready?"

"Link, are you questioning my ability, Cui Wenxiu?" Including a province, they are not qualified to dictate this land, and they will soon realize this, and if they don't, they may lose more."

"Hehe, General Wenxiu's prestige Link has been heard for a long time. Maybe Dexin's problem is not big, but what about Destin? As far as I know, most of the local people in Destin have converted to the Holy Spirit. Less than 30% of the people believe in the Niye Sect and the Roman Sect, and their recognition of the Principality of Hanover and the Hansen Alliance is much higher." Link was not overwhelmed by Cui Wenxiu's momentum, he needed to remind the other party, although he knew that the other party He should be more considerate than himself, but he has to do his duty.

"Well, this is actually the biggest problem and obstacle for our military operation this time. Now the Hansen League is stationed in the entire West Indian land and there is only one White Stork Corps with 70,000 people. Now the Hansen League is fighting with Augustus The Fort people are fighting fiercely, and it is impossible to spare extra troops to support West Indian, both in terms of possibility and time. The top answer is that the Principality of Hanover may send out their national defense forces outside the standing army of the alliance for reinforcements , but that little force can hardly pose a big threat to our superiority, but as you said, the people of Destin Province may join forces with the Hanoverians to prevent us from entering. Now that there is support from the public, we don’t have the right location and people, and the difficulty is much greater. If we really want to fight, there may be a possibility that Destin will be completely destroyed, so I have been hesitant.”

Cui Wenxiu licked his lips, with a hint of ferocity on his face, "But now that I've come this far, I don't intend to give up Destin, if those foolish people really want to put their faith and the rule of the state power In connection, I will not be stingy with the blade in my hand, blood and heads may wake up many people, faith cannot replace everything, and people need to understand more truths if they want to survive."

Part Three Sweeping Liuhe Chapter Two Iron Horse Glacier Section Sixty-second Battle of Unity (1)

"No, General Wenxiu, the province of Destin is very important to West Indian and the empire, if we can bring it into our hands in a more moderate way, then the role it can play in the future will be It’s indescribable, so I don’t quite agree with your point of view.” Although Link respects Cui Wenxiu, it doesn’t mean that he agrees with all of Cui Wenxiu’s views. In his opinion, Cui Wenxiu’s opinions are more from the military He ignored the problems that the local government that was about to take over the area would face in the future, so he had to remind the other party.

"Oh? Then tell me your opinion." Cui Wenxiu didn't have any prejudice or affection for this young governor, but he rarely encountered officials who could openly oppose his opinions. He wanted to see this very much. What is so special about this guy? Can he convince himself that he has absolute autonomy in the military, and even His Majesty the Emperor will not interfere with him. If this guy can't convince himself, he can only proceed according to his own intentions.

"Although most of the residents in the province of Destin have converted to the Holy Spirit religion, their ethnicity is still Yakuan, not to mention that about 30% of the residents still believe in the Niye religion and the Roman religion. To tell the truth, the general, I have already sent people to contact the forces in this area who believe in Romanism and Niye religion. They very much hope that the empire can take over the ruling power of this area. Also, the people who believe in the Holy Spirit religion in the province of Destin are not absolutely loyal to the Han Dynasty. The Forest Alliance and the Principality of Hanover, they are only in the same line of belief as the Western Continent, and they still have a considerable sense of identity with the Greater Indian region in terms of historical origin. Therefore, after I became the governor, I also sent people to the Destin area to carry out activities. Contacting some forces who are dissatisfied with the Duchy of Hanover's control of the Destin area has also achieved some results, so I think General Wenxiu can also do some activities in this regard first. If we can contact the pro-imperial forces in the Destin area. Maybe we The military operations will be much smoother." Link suggested with a smile.

"Oh?" Cui Wenxiu was very surprised. He didn't expect this guy to carry out this work as soon as he took office as the governor of West Indian Dean. Could it be that this guy knew that he would launch an attack on the Hansen League a long time ago? s plan? No, of course it's impossible. I haven't disclosed my intentions in this regard to anyone before, which means that this guy did it entirely by relying on his political sense. There is something extraordinary, "Governor Link, it seems that you have done a good job."

"Hehe, General Wenxiu. West Indian Dean is a whole. It is an area inhabited by a large tribe of Yakuans. Artificially dividing them is not a long-term solution, so I always thought that the empire should be at the right time. Recover this area and return the Yakuans to a complete settlement." Link had a sly smile on his face. "Now it seems that the conditions and timing are ripe."

"Well, Cui is not a violent, cruel and inhuman butcher. Even if it can be resolved peacefully, Cui is also unwilling to resort to force. Governor Link also makes sense. The Destin area must always be included in the empire. Jurisdiction. Leaving too strong a negative image in this area is not conducive to the future management of the empire. Since Governor Link can win over a group of pro-imperial forces, Cui is of course willing to cooperate with Governor Link’s soft measures. But the premise must be in Without affecting the progress of the army's attack, if these pro-imperial forces can't prove that they can bring some changes to Destin, then Cui can only use force to forcibly solve the problem."

Cui Wenxiu also agrees with Link's proposition that it would be great if the use of force can be avoided as little as possible, but it must not be used as an excuse to delay the development of the war. The Hansen League completely resolved the West Indian Dean issue before the winner was decided in the south. This was the bottom line Cui Wenxiu set for himself.

"Okay, then we will make a deal. The foundation of the Hansen Alliance in Lanbao and Dexin Province is very weak. General Wenxiu can follow your plan, and we will provide necessary supplies for General Wenxiu in Destin. I hope that General Wenxiu can succeed immediately." Link smiled with a hearty smile as if it could affect the emotions of other people around him, and even Cui Wenxiu felt much better.

Niasis, the deputy commander of the White Stork Corps, has been a little restless these two days. This is the second time he has personally led the guards to inspect the defense tonight. The White Stork Corps has always played the role of a firefighting team in the alliance's standing army. Whenever there is trouble, the White Stork Corps will arrive as quickly as possible. The 20,000 light cavalry has always been the most maneuverable in the White Stork Corps and even the entire Hansen Alliance. One of the troops, and now there is a Wanqi team stationed in the Blue Castle.

The weather in Blue Castle in June has become extremely hot. Even in the second half of the night, you can barely feel the coolness passing by. Niasis untied the heavy armor on his chest and wiped it. Sweat, salty sweat drenched the corners of his eyes, making his eyes blurred with tears. The dull air seemed to be about to go down, and black bats flitted across the street from time to time, giving people a very uncomfortable feeling.

"Arthur, did Tang Jun make any changes during the day today?" I don't know how many times I have asked this question, but as long as he opened his mouth, Niassis wanted to ask this question.

"Lord Niassis, this is the third time I've reported to you. We haven't noticed any changes in the Tang army in the Blue Fort, but now the Tang army controls the area around the east gate. It is said that they are arresting The two assassins who attempted to assassinate the governor of West Indian, so martial law was temporarily imposed, but they informed us of this decision before, and we have no reason to refuse, besides, they are conducting raids in the east and south districts they control , for our side, they just ask for assistance in the search." As the captain of ten thousand cavalry of the light cavalry, Arthur was also a little annoyed by the boss's third questioning, so he simply reported the whole incident in detail , to save him from asking over and over again.

"You mean that Tang Jun informed us about this matter? Did they inform us about the characteristics of the assassin, and did they have any other specific content?" Niasis also felt that he was a little suspicious today, but his intuition made him Dare not to take any doubts lightly. Since the White Stork Corps took over the defense of the Blue Castle, Niasis has not had a good night's sleep. Almost every now and then, the Tang army will report to his side that they are about to carry out a certain activity or Action, which will make one's side nervous for a long time, until the end of a certain activity, Niasis will not let go, but Tang Jun seems to have a certain preference for exercises and drills, and he never tires of them. There are always one or two such exercises in a month. The action made Niassis almost become nervous.

"It doesn't seem to be the case. This is the first time that this kind of assassination report has been reported, and they don't seem to have placed their hopes on us." Arthur replied with some hesitation. Whether or not there are any clues left, this seems a bit routine no matter how you look at it.

"Really? We were asked to assist in the search without even notifying the identity of the assassin. How can we assist? There seems to be something weird here. I think we may have to be more careful tonight. After returning, order the departments to rest half and prepare for battle. Niassis finally made up his mind that even if the soldiers were to stay up all night, the safety of Blue Castle must be ensured, especially now that the alliance is fighting fiercely with the Augsburg Empire, and it is necessary to be careful to prevent the Tang people from taking the opportunity to make trouble.

"Lord Niassis, do you suspect that Tang Jun wants to use this opportunity for us to launch a surprise attack?" Arthur seemed not to believe it.

"There are all kinds of possibilities, especially yesterday and today, those members of the chamber of commerce who were bribed by the Tang people marched and demonstrated at the junction of the East City South City and the West City North City. If these guys were not instigated by the Tang people, how would they dare? So arrogant and presumptuous? This is also my worry that the Tang army is the first to mobilize public opinion to prepare for conflicts and conflicts." This is what Niassis is most worried about. The Augsburg Empire has attracted the main forces of the alliance. If Tang Jun took this opportunity to launch an attack, and the consequences were really unimaginable, so he could only maintain restraint in the face of the provocation supported by Tang Jun.

Before Niassis finished speaking, a few gorgeous fireworks suddenly rose from the north, followed by a few muffled blasts of trumpets, and Niassis' heart tightened with cold hands and feet, and it was over. , This is the signal cannon for the mobilization of Tang Jun's army. At this time, Tang Jun suddenly uses this method to mobilize. Even a fool should imagine what Tang Jun wants to do.

Called almost at the top of his lungs, Niassis' eyes almost popped out and he roared in panic, "Arthur, hurry up and beat the drums, the Tang army will make a surprise attack! Your light cavalry immediately launched a counterattack to buy time for the infantry! "

At this moment, the two ranger regiments of the Tang Army had already crossed the border from Fahan Province and entered the southern part of Destin Province. The army of the Seventh Legion, Hu Yanqiu served as the commander-in-chief of the western front in the unified West Indian campaign, and was responsible for capturing the province of Destin and closing the gates of the entire West Indian. The Legion was finally able to rush into the Dexin Province from the west of Palme with pride. Ying Jianming's task was to capture the Dexin Province within three days, and to completely wipe out the White Stork Corps and the Destin Army with the Seventh Army on the Western Front. within the province.

Part Three Sweeping Liuhe Chapter Two Iron Horse Glacier Section Sixty-third The Battle of Unity (2)

Niasis’ decisiveness played a big role in the escape of the two ten thousand cavalry teams of the White Stork Corps. Arthur soon led his ten thousand cavalry team to carry out a resolute sniper battle in Blue Castle. Cui Wenxiu did not dare to let the rangers enter Blue Castle directly in order to prevent the Hansen Allied Forces from being vigilant. That would be too obvious. Rangers were never used for defense. Near the castle, even the White Stork Army will realize that the situation is wrong, not to mention that when the Hansen League is fighting fiercely with the Augsburg army in the south, this situation is even more sensitive.

Arthur's light cavalry did not play much role in Blue Castle. The First Division of the Imperial Seventh Army, which took the initiative to attack, quickly surrounded the 20,000th White Stork Corps, but the 10,000th The timely reinforcement of the cavalry still opened up a gap for the 20,000th team. The crazy impact of the 10,000th cavalry team of the White Stork Corps tore apart the encirclement of the 1st Division of the Seventh Army, allowing the 20,000th team to be able to Break free, but breaking free from the cage does not mean that you can escape. The follow-up of the 2nd Division of the Seventh Army soon surrounded the 20,000 troops who broke free from the cage. Only a small number of soldiers were able to escape, but when they After escaping from Blue Castle, they were considered to have escaped. Niasis almost immediately judged that Tang Jun's appetite was not limited to Blue Castle and Mina Province, but Dexin and even Destin Province might be interested. This is Tang Jun's goal.

On the way to Destin, Niasis got an unfortunate battle report. Dexin province fell! The retreat was the 20,000-strong White Stork Corps. Obviously, their vigilance was much higher than the 20,000 troops stationed in Blue Castle. When the Indian Army started to move, they judged the situation and acted quickly and faithfully. The province retreated in an all-round way. Facing a force five times its own, the fool knew what strategy to adopt. This frustrated Ying Jianming's attempt to outflank the opponent, and made Cui Wenxiu very dissatisfied with the slow action of the Indian Army. In fact, the speed of the Indian Legion is not slow, but it can only be said that they were too unlucky. A reconnaissance team of the White Stork Army, which was secretly engaged in smuggling activities, happened to be caught smuggling traders in the border area, and one of them escaped. Because the scouts were worried that they would not be able to communicate after returning, they had to make alarmist claims that they had discovered a large-scale assembly of the Tang army in the border area. As a result, all other comrades in arms were captured by the Tang army, but he escaped by chance.

This news, which was originally fictitious, suddenly attracted the attention of the White Stork Army stationed in Dexin Province. As a result, the scouts dispatched successively discovered that the Tang Army was indeed conducting a secret military build-up in Pamei Province. still far. However, there are no other targets around Pamei Province, except that the interior is the territory of the Luobei people in the north, and it is now also included in East Tengger County. Its target is self-evident.

Concentrate on the clues and you will soon find out, when the Indian Army just had time to step into the Dexin Province. The commander of the White Stork Army already knew from the scale of the Tang army's deployment that this battle was meaningless, and the result of the fight with five times the strength of his own side was no suspense. It is the wisest choice to retreat to Destin, who has a stronger foundation.

The rapid retreat of the White Stork Army in Mana Province and Dexin Province made Cui Wenxiu very angry. He did not expect the White Stork Army's troops in these two provinces to be so cunning. How dare they run all the way back to the province of Destin without asking for instructions and without making any stops when they found out that the situation was wrong. The speed is so fast that people wonder whether they have long intended to evacuate this unfamiliar area and return to their own. on the territory.

The failure of the White Stork Army to eliminate the provinces of Mana and Dexin quickly made the imperial army taste the bitter fruit. The more complicated terrain of Destin made the two Ranger regiments meet soon after the early progress was very smooth. It's time to block. The mountains in central Destin became a strangle formation composed of a combination of cavalry and infantry of the White Stork Army. The rangers of the Tang Army encountered the most tenacious challenge in this area. The white stork light cavalry with excellent quality took advantage of the support of the local people and continued to attack in and out of the valleys in the mountains and hills. The multi-level fortresses and outposts launched a counterattack against the Tang Army's Seventh Army, which followed. Although the Tang Army has an absolute advantage in numbers, it is still difficult for the Tang Army to face the strong attitude and flexible strategy of the White Stork Army. Every step forward will encounter considerable resistance.

The Indian army that occupied the Dexin Province was ordered by Cui Wenxiu to immediately advance westward and enter the Destin Province before it even had time to rest. Slightly flatter. The advance speed of the army should also be faster. The White Stork Army made full use of their light cavalry harassment tactics here. The Indian Army also paid a considerable price while advancing forcefully, until another Ranger regiment—Roby's After the Eighth Ranger Regiment arrived, the situation was reversed. At this time, the White Stork Army had completed its mission and successfully retreated back to Birja, the capital city in the northwest of Destin Province.

Niasis did not stabilize his mind until he brought more than 10,000 troops into the city of Birja. Although he lost more than 6,000 infantry, this is already a blessing in misfortune. The 10,000 cavalry team is still intact, and the 20,000-man team that retreated from Dexin Province is also intact. This makes Steven, the head of the White Stork Corps, very relieved. The main force of the White Stork Corps has not suffered much damage. There are three cavalry teams and more than 30,000 infantry soldiers. Behind them is the Eastern Province of the Principality of Hanover. It is said that the Principality of Hanover even intends to change the province of Destin to New Eastern Province. I don’t know if it is because of the sentiment towards other countries in the alliance. Considering the reasons for the psychological tolerance of the local people, the name change has been only verbal and has not been implemented.

Placing his hands on the walls of the castle, Steven stared at the distance to the southeast. Now he is not worried about anything. More than 60,000 troops are stationed in this strong city of Birja. Take this city away, even in the face of Tang Jun Steven, who is several times stronger than himself, can boast this kind of talk. Birja is obviously greatly influenced by the neighbors from the west, and the whole city is completely based on the neighbors from the west. The city is built in the form of a fortress, and the looped castle-like buildings constitute the mainstream of Birja City. Although the entire Birja City does not have the complete square walls of the people in the east, in Birja City, several huge castles use the walls of each other. In fact, they form an irregular city wall defense system. Many important buildings in Birja are located in the wall corridors between several large castles, while most of the buildings outside the city wall corridors are It is some temporary buildings or open-air markets.

"Steven, what are you worried about?" Niasis stood side by side with Steven with arms folded. The two have been partners for several years. One is from a small town in the south of the principality, and the other is from the capital in the north of the principality, but this does not affect the friendship between the two. Niassis has no prejudice against this general who was born in the capital's aristocratic family, although he also thinks that he is also competent. As the head of the legion, this does not affect his respect for the general.

"No, Niasis, there is nothing to worry about now. We have done better. It is unreasonable to ask our white stork army to defend three provinces. The number of Tang troops in front of us is too large. Now it is not us but the alliance that needs to make a decision. If they decide to have a showdown with the Tang people, then Birja is undoubtedly the best slaughterhouse. If the Tang army wants to take Birja, I will make them regret why they chose soldiers This profession. Of course, if the alliance does not plan to confront the Tang army at this time, and cannot use other methods to calm the Tang army, then I think it is more appropriate for us to withdraw from Birja, because it is meaningless to fight this kind of battle , without reinforcements, this city will always fall into the hands of the Tang army, five times our strength, I am not so arrogant, let alone the Tang army is not an Indian army."

Steven shrugged, elegantly took out the pipe and put it in his mouth. This is his habit, and he always likes the smell of tobacco when thinking about problems.

"Steven, I don't think so. Even if the alliance has no time to take care of it for the time being, the Hanoverians probably won't agree to let Birja fall into the hands of the Tang people. This is like putting their Eastern Province in the jaws of the Tang people." They will be unwilling to eat and sleep well, and they need Birja as a barrier." Niasis frowned, and the Hanoverians had already sent people to Birja City, although they did not express their intention clearly, but it was revealed in their words The meaning is self-evident.

"Hmph, we are the standing army of the alliance, not the cannon fodder of the Hanoverians. If they think Birja is very important to them, their First Legion and their Principality Knights can be pushed to the front line. If They really have the courage, I can consider helping them, if it is just lip service, then I will forgive me, without the support of the allied army, the White Stork Corps would not be able to withstand this A city." Steven didn't mind what the Hanoverians thought, the White Stork Army was a standing army of the Alliance, but they came from the Duchy of Delphien, and they didn't have much friendship with the Hanoverians.

Chapter 3 Sweeping Liuhe Chapter 2 Iron Horse Glacier Section 64 Fortified City

"I'm afraid it will be difficult for the main force of the standing army of the alliance to pay attention to this place. The people of Cologne have successfully dragged the main force of the standing army of the alliance into the quagmire. To be honest, the situation of the alliance is not very good now. Although the Famini Empire has reluctantly put aside the dispute with the alliance, it is because the Leeds and the Famini have conflicts. Fort and the alliance have fallen into a stalemate, I am afraid that the Famini will turn their wolf-like eyes to the east, and then I am afraid that we will be more troublesome.”

Niasis sighed softly. This is not a problem that he should be concerned about, but now facing the bad situation in Birja, the alliance obviously has no spare troops to reinforce here. The only hope is probably Hanover People, but can the strength of the Hanoverians counter the Tang army's attack? Niasis didn't have any confidence in his heart.

Isn't Steven like this? Birja is certainly important to the people of Hanover, but if they are asked to send the main reinforcements at this time, I am afraid they may not be willing to do it. Almost all the standing army has been transferred to the south. The Hanoverians should have about 100,000 troops at their disposal. Apart from the troops that must be left to defend the capital Bergen, one regiment is probably the limit. The problem lies in Hanover. Do people dare to devote this corps without reservation? Failure in this battle may affect the survival of the entire Principality of Hanover.

"Look, we can only do our best and obey the destiny. If the Allied Forces cannot come to help, then it depends on the attitude of the Hanoverians. If they can come up with a corps to help, I dare to make Birja the Tang Army's grave. If there is a symbolic support of 10,000 to 20,000 people, then I can only say sorry." Steven was full of unwillingness, and the Tang army was powerful. The White Stork Corps alone cannot compete, but if there is an additional Hannover Corps, with the strength of the fortified city of Birja and the light cavalry of the White Stork Corps, Steven would like to weigh the combat effectiveness of the Tang Army.

Cui Wenxiu did not expect that this White Stork Corps would be so difficult to deal with. Huyanqiu's Seventh Army Corps plus two Ranger Corps were firmly held back by the White Stork Corps in the middle of Destin Province, and their progress was slow. It took a full two weeks to clear the obstacles and pass through this section of the mountainous area, and they arrived in Birja even later than Ying Jianming's Indian Army, which made Hu Yanqiu feel rather dull.

Cui Wenxiu had seen the city defense structure of Birja long ago on the blueprints, but after actually arriving in Birja, Cui Wenxiu realized that his original idea was a bit too ideal. The towering castles in front of you and the interlaced fortress walls connect the castles one by one, and the fortress walls are not like those cities in the Eastern Continent, which are mostly built of adobe bricks. The fortress walls here are almost all made of rocks. Not to mention extremely hard and quite smooth, it is almost impossible for a catapult to break down this kind of city wall. Moreover, the chain of staggered bunker walls is also different from the square walls of the eastern mainland cities, forming multiple attack points, which can pose a great threat to the side that attacks the city walls. It is far from enough to win this battle. It was as simple as he had thought at the beginning. At this time, Cui Wenxiu understood why the White Stork Corps fled away and retreated here immediately after being attacked. This place is indeed a good place for sniping.

Both the Seventh Army Corps and the Indian Army Corps have arrived at the city of Birja. With the addition of three Ranger regiments, the strength of the Tang Army has quadrupled that of the opponent. But in this place, the rangers have basically lost their use. The steep Bakla Mountains in the south of Birja block the way, while to the north is the Stana Mountains in the Eastern Province of the Principality of Hanover. Influenced by Western architectural styles, Birja has become an experimental field for Western castle-style architecture on Indian land.

Cui Wenxiu, who had carefully inspected the geographical terrain, returned to the tent with a gloomy face. The early stage of this battle was not going smoothly. His own losses were not great. Except for some gains in Blue Castle, Tang Jun gained almost nothing in central Destin and Dexin Province, and even paid a certain price. Cui Wenxiu was undoubtedly unwilling to see such a war progress. Yes, even though Hu Yanqiu is an old friend, Cui Wenxiu still gave the Seventh Legion admonishing the speed of progress in a stern voice. The commanders of the two Ranger regiments were also scolded by Cui Wenxiu. This is a bad omen for the battlefield.

The atmosphere in the tent was somewhat depressing. Cui Wenxiu sat on top of it, silently watching the topographic map hanging in the tent. The reason is that the people here believe in the Holy Spirit, so that they are more emotionally inclined to their neighbors to the west. Every action of the imperial army can be quickly reflected in the hands of the white stork army. The Destin area is like stepping into a darkness full of hostility all around. Even the intelligence sent back by the scouts and the intelligence system has become vague, forcing the army to be cautious in every step of its actions.

"What's the matter, let's talk about it. The city of Birja is in front of us. How can we take it down? Everyone can talk about their opinions. I won't say much about the importance of Birja city. With it, we can ensure the stability of the entire West Indian region, and even threaten the Eastern Province of the Hanoverians. If we can’t take it, not only Destin, but Mina, Dexin and even Farhan may be harassed by the Hansen Alliance at any time. , so we are determined to win this city!" Cui Wenxiu glanced at the generals sitting under him like a torch, "But this city is not like those cities in our Eastern Continent, not only the shape and material of the walls are different, but also not what we usually see. It is not a plane form, but a criss-cross pattern, our original siege method may not be suitable, so we will carefully plan this battle.”

"Commander, the city of Birja is a polyhedron formed by connecting many castles. It is both offensive and defensive. In fact, it is more like a hedgehog covered with spikes. It is quite useful, and most of its walls are built with stone strips, so it is difficult for catapults to break them, and no matter which side you attack from, you will be easily attacked from other directions. If you can avoid attacking from the front Siege, my subordinates think it is the best." Ying Jianming first put forward his own opinion, after observing the city defense system of Birja City, he secretly gasped, this kind of city is not like the usual cities, it is pure A large fortress, if you insist on pulling out this nail, you don't know how much you will have to pay.

"Then what do you mean?" Cui Wenxiu asked coldly.

"This, my subordinates haven't figured it out yet, but Birja is not a grain-producing area. According to intelligence, because Gdansk, an important port city in the southwest of Hanover, is not far away, most of their food supplies are transported by sea from Gdansk. Come on, if we can cut off this route, and then resort to siege..." Gdansk is not far from the northern end of the Fahan Province, just in the coastal area at the end of the Barkla Mountains, and is also the important town in the southeast of Hanover and the second largest port.

"The Allied forces may not be able to reinforce Birja's army in a short period of time, but what about Hanover? If the Hanoverians respond, our siege will be meaningless. Their Eastern Province can continuously transport food by land Come on, even if we encircle Gdansk from the province of Fahan, it doesn't make much sense." Hu Yanqiu asked rhetorically.

Cui Wenxiu has already heard Ying Jianming's implication. This guy has a bigger appetite than himself, and he actually came up with such a way. It is undoubtedly a stupid way to go north from Fahan to besiege Gdansk. It is neither suitable nor big. There are 30,000 Hanoverians stationed in Gdansk, which is also a strong fortress, and it may not be easier than Birja to conquer it.

"Lord Huyan, what our regiment commander means is that we march from the north." Zhao Jianfeng couldn't help interjecting. If the means are taken down, a legion may not be able to retain half of the troops. It is best to avoid it, but according to their method, the war will expand infinitely.

"North?!" Hu Yanqiu was taken aback, and looked up to search on the map. If you want to bypass the Stanna Mountains, you have to go west from the Tengger Grassland area north of Dexin Province. But there is the Eastern Province of the Hanoverians. Is it going to go south from the Eastern Province of the Hanoverians? Then this war may turn into a full-scale war with the Hansen Alliance.

"Hmph, the battle has reached this point. We can't let the lives of our brothers fill Birja's bottomless pit. God knows how much it will cost if we attack it by force? If we want to solve it, we have to find another way , Detour from the Tengger Grassland is the best way. The rangers can cut off the reinforcement road of the Hanoverians first, and the infantry is following up one after another. Before the Hanoverians have reacted, this is the best opportunity. The Hanoverians Didn’t they always want to swallow Destin? Then we simply let their Eastern Province become the territory of the empire. At worst, we can force the Hansen League to withdraw from Birja, otherwise the Eastern Province will become the western county of the empire. No, saying Xixi County is too exaggerated, at most it is just a Xixi Prefecture!" Ying Jianming gritted his teeth.

The third chapter sweeps Liuhe, the second chapter, the iron horse and ice river, the sixty-fifth new army

This is a somewhat crazy plan. Ying Jianming also knows that although His Majesty the Emperor has agreed that the Central Continent theater can conduct selective operations, this is just to compete with the Hansen League for colonies. If you want to launch an attack on the Hansen League itself , this is a completely different matter.

Hu Yanqiu's face changed slightly. This strategy is good, but the time required is a bit too late. Once the Eastern Province of the Duchy of Hanover is invaded from the north, it means a full-scale declaration of war on the Hansen League. The Duchy of Hanover is One of the three pillars of the Hansen League, under such an attack, I am afraid that the alliance will immediately cease fire with the Augsburgers and turn the finger on the Empire. Cui Wenxiu who has been silent all this time.

Cui Wenxiu's face is also cloudy and uncertain. Many people can't accept Ying Jianming's huge jump in thinking, but for Cui Wenxiu, it suits his taste. If it is normal, Cui Wenxiu will immediately adopt this opinion. The troops will be deployed immediately, but this time he can't take it easy. Although the Hansen League is now fighting fiercely with the Augsburgers, once the Principality of Hanover is invaded, what exactly will it do? The reaction is still hard to say. Once the armistice army with the Augsburgs moves eastward, then the battle will not know what scale it will be.

I have also promised His Majesty the Emperor to limit the war to a certain range and avoid a full-scale war, and the invasion of the Principality of Hanover is likely to lead to a full-scale war, which may hold back the pace of the entire Middle Mainland battlefield . Cui Wenxiu is not absolutely sure that this battle will be resolved in a short period of time, especially because he cannot estimate how strong the fighting will of the Hansen allies is. Once the empire itself begins to enter a state of war and needs to draw troops from the Central Continent, That would probably bring a series of troubles, and Cui Wenxiu had to think deeply about this issue.

But now, do you want to retreat in despair like this? This is undoubtedly unacceptable. If Birja can't take it, it means that it is meaningless to attack Destin. The control of the two provinces, including Mina and Dexin, is still very unstable. In their own hands, for Cui Wenxiu, this war is a failure.

The big tent fell into silence. The generals at the first level of the legion knew the intention of His Majesty the Emperor in 701, and tried to maintain a stable situation, avoid large-scale wars, and lay a more abundant material foundation for the southern and northern expeditions in the coming year. Including the Central Continent Theater, although a certain degree of flexibility was given, it definitely did not include the provision of attacking the mainland of the Hansen League.

Decisions can only be made by the commander, but the commander still needs to obey the overall situation of the empire, which everyone knows. Making this decision may be provoking the authority of the empire, especially in the theater of the Central Continent, which is outside the empire and has hundreds of thousands of troops, this decision needs to be more cautious.

"It seems that we still have to take a risk. Hey, everyone knows my character. If you don't do it, you don't do it. If you want to do it, you do it big. Since the people of Hanover have a big appetite, then we will take it to the stomach. Poke a hole and let it open to the wind, Eastern Province is very important to Hanoverians, so they value Birja so much, but Birja is also important to us, so, sorry, it can only be eaten by Hanoverians It's a pity, so it's settled. The three ranger regiments immediately returned north from Dexin to the Tengger Grassland, and then circled back from the Tengger Grassland. Now is not the time for nomads to hunt south. The offensive and the containment of the Augsburg people, the Hanoverian troops in the north will not have many troops, and it happens to be a surprise attack from thousands of miles away. Well, let the Eleventh Army follow up. Lao Mu took over the gang of soldiers, and now they should also If it works, let’s start with the rapid march.”

When Cui Wenxiu looked up with a smile, everyone realized that the coach must have made a decision. When Cui Wenxiu's arrangement was presented, all the officials including Ying Jianming couldn't help but gasped. The Eleventh Army Corps of the Empire, which had just entered the province of Destin, also joined in. The mobilized force has exceeded 400,000. Isn't this a large-scale war? How does the empire explain it?

"General Hu Yanqiu, the three divisions of the Seventh Army immediately transferred to the province of Fahan, marched northward, entered the border area with Hanover, and assumed the posture of attacking Gdansk. It must be realistic and attract the attention of the Hanoverians. Focus on this side, Ying Jianming, you are in charge of Birja here, whether it is a feint attack or a reckless attack, in short, you must firmly attract the White Stork Corps, and if you don’t leave when it’s time to leave, I will let him I can’t go anymore.” Cui Wenxiu’s mood has completely calmed down at this time, and now that she has made up her mind, it’s time to consider how to resolve this battle more perfectly.

Muliger had a hard job to do. He quickly marched northward from the province of Destin along the eastern foot of the Barak Mountains. It is also impossible for the infantry to pass, so they have to go around. Fortunately, the Barak Mountains are flattened at the southern end of the Tengger Grassland, and they can barely cross from here.

After crossing and then advancing south along the western foot of the mountain range, you can enter the Eastern Province and Vezel Province of the Kingdom of Hanover. Vezel Province is also the northern barrier of Hanover. Not only is the main force of the Knights of the Principality stationed here, but also Hanover There is also a part of the First Corps stationed at the Altami Fortress at the junction of the Oriental Province and the Vezel Province, mainly to prevent the northern nomadic cavalry from breaking in from here. The central and northern parts of Wezère and Oriental Province used to be the best hunting grounds for the northern nomads. It was not until the Luobei people were recovered by the Tang Dynasty that this hunting activity gradually slowed down. Although the Altami Fortress is Hanover It is the most important fortress in the north, but if it wants to resist the large-scale nomadic cavalry invasion, it is obviously more than enough, and at most it is only a supporting point.

The three ranger regiments did not take the same route as Mulig's Imperial Eleventh Army Corps. Although the route at the eastern foot of the Barak Mountains is closer, the road is not suitable for large-scale cavalry operations. In order to go north from the flat valley between Destin and Dexin provinces to the Tengger Grassland, although the distance is a bit longer, the terrain is flat, there are mixed streams and valleys, and the water and grass along the road are abundant, so the cavalry can move much faster.

The Eleventh Legion of the Empire chose to advance along the shortest road at the eastern foot of the Barak Mountains. Most of the roads here are gentle slopes and hills, occasionally mixed with some valleys. For the cavalry, this is undoubtedly rough. , but it is not a big hindrance to the infantry, and it can even play a good concealment role.

Mu Lige stared coldly at the army in front of him that he had taken over for a while. The composition of this army came from all directions. The essence, the remnants of the original First and Second Legions of the Tanghe Empire, the remnants of the City Guard Legion of the Tanghe Empire, and the elite parts selected by several other legions, seem to be the best of all parties.

But in the words of Mulige, this is a bunch of rubbish, a bunch of stragglers who have completely lost their desire and will to fight, and have lost the most important soul of an army. Every army knows that The purpose of the existence of their own troops is willing to dedicate themselves to it, but what about this army? When Muliger took over the legion, he knew that His Majesty the Emperor really found a hot potato for himself to test his skills this time. He looked at groups of indifferent and numb soldiers, idle low-level officers and disgruntled mid-level and high-level officers. Officer, Mulige would rather choose a group of farmers to start from scratch, but what about this group of people? Released back will undoubtedly bring huge hidden dangers to local public security, and even lead to unimaginable catastrophe. It is good to restrain this group of people in the army, and it is good to be able to build a qualified army. The battlefields outside the mainland of the empire ~IndoMTL.com~ should also eliminate a hidden danger, which is probably the unspoken thoughts hidden in the emperor's heart.

However, Mulig quickly jumped out of this worry. These are a group of real soldiers, but they have lost their way. Years of training have given them the qualifications to be a real soldier. Now What I need is to cheer them up again and let them realize that the collapse of the Situ Dynasty was not due to war, let alone their responsibility. This is an internal matter of the Tang people. It is just a new dynasty replacing another decadent and declining regime. , as a soldier, he only needs to obey the new regime, fulfill the mission entrusted to them by history, to expand the territory and expand the land, and to live down the ages, to show the cultural and martial arts of the Tang people and let the civilization of the Tang people spread to the mainland. This is the true meaning of a soldier. destination.

After several months of training, Mulige quickly integrated into this army, and establishing the self-confidence and cohesion of this army is also the scene that Mulige is most proud of. He clearly told everyone that whether it is the first and second legions of the Tanghe Empire or the original city guards, as well as all armies with a glorious history, they are the pride of the Tang people. The heroic fighting in the battle of the Western Frontier Army is enough to prove their strength, but now that history has turned a new page, a dynasty has ended, and a new era has arrived, so as a man, we should face it bravely One scene, to practice the glory of being a real soldier. Jiangshan Meirenzhi Chapter 3 Sweeping Liuhe Chapter 2 Iron Horse Glacier Section 53 Marine Strategy