King Qian Mingyi of Shu waited for the ministers to digest the news and express their attitude.
He said decisively: "We in Shu must not miss this opportunity.
We, the monarchs and ministers, do not stay in the empire to enjoy the blessings, but come to the wilderness to develop this business, just to build a strong country from scratch.
Let us monarchs and ministers leave their names in history and gain wealth for our families.
The king has made up his mind, and we, the Shu Kingdom, will never give in to the Hongshanling Iron Mine.
If Rui doesn't accept this and they want to fight, then they will fight.
Emperor Su He often said that if you hit with one punch, you can avoid hundreds of punches.
If you give in, you won't gain respect from your enemies."
King Qian Mingyi of Shu expressed his attitude, and Governor He Feng was the first to express his attitude: "Respect the king's order, the Shu army can fight and dare to fight."
Prime Minister Li Jiu then expressed his position on behalf of the civilian officials: "The king has already taken a loan from the empire, so there is no need to worry about the lack of military funds, which will lead to the defeat of the front line.
The minister will lead the cabinet to fully support the Metropolitan Governor's war effort."
King Shu Qian Mingyi pointed to the sand table in front of him and began to assign tasks to everyone.
"The Kingdom of Shu will purchase a large amount of weapons and ammunition, as well as various weapon accessories.
Our country of Shu does not have the strength to produce weapons and ammunition, but it is still no problem to be an assembly factory.
There is a huge price difference between finished weapons and loose weapon parts.
Our country of Shu is not rich to begin with, so we need to spend our money sparingly.
Our country's industrial strength is somewhat weak, but in the field of military product processing, we must catch up.
Prime Minister Li Jiu is responsible for this matter. I don’t want to hear about the difficulties, I just want to see the final result.”
King Qian Mingyi of Shu knew that even if it was just the processing of supplied materials, this relatively elementary industry would have certain difficulties for Shu.
Before the Shu Kingdom, industry was very fragile. Without the existence of industrial companies, it would not be able to support enough workers.
Nowadays, when building a new factory, it is necessary to train enough workers, which is extremely difficult.
But it was precisely because the matter was difficult that King Qian Mingyi of Shu trusted Prime Minister Li Jiu to accomplish the matter, which was why he valued him.
Prime Minister Li Jiu stood up straight and said in a serious tone: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will definitely be able to complete the task."
Of course he knew what King Shu Qian Mingyi meant. It was an urgent moment and he had to accomplish this regardless of the cost.
King Qian Mingyi of Shu continued to give instructions: "Our industry in Shu is not strong, and the weapons and equipment of the Shu army are not much different from those of Rui, but there are still some gaps.
This gap does not create a generational difference, unlike using swords and spears to fight muskets and artillery.
But we must face the gap. This is a loan from the empire, and most of it is to purchase weapons from the empire.
I am relatively unfamiliar with current weapons. I will leave it to the Grand Governor He Feng to purchase weapons from the empire.
Our goal is to make up for the generation gap in weapons between the two countries. The casualties in combat between the two armies must not be too large due to weapons."
Governor He Feng was very excited when he heard this order.
He holds 20 million taels of silver coins in his hand, which is enough to replace all the weapons and equipment of the Shu army several times as long as he doesn't buy something as big as a battleship.
The Grand Governor He Feng saluted with a standard military salute and said in a loud voice: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will definitely purchase the empire's most advanced weapons.
Basic weapons such as firearms, grenades, and mines.
Even if our country of Shu cannot produce industrially, we can still produce it with crude equipment, and there is not much difference in performance.
For these weapons, you only need to purchase the ones with the cheapest price and the most stable performance.
In today's war, ammunition consumption is extremely large, and we need to stockpile a large amount of ammunition.
Even if our country cannot use them, after the European War begins, these ammunitions can be resold to other countries."
Governor He Feng did not say anything, it is better for money to be used to purchase ammunition than to fall into the hands of the enemy.
If the Shu Kingdom can continue to exist, the ammunition purchased will not be lost.
If the Shu Kingdom is defeated, it will have a large amount of ammunition, which can also reduce the casualties of soldiers on the front line.
Governor He Feng continued: "Light weapons used by individual soldiers do not require very good weapons.
But artillery and tanks, heavy weapons that can dominate the battlefield, must purchase the most advanced weapons from the empire."
Governor He Feng expressed his thoughts on purchasing imperial weapons.
King Qian Mingyi of Shu gave him the matter of purchasing weapons and asked him to make his own decision.
But it's impossible for him to decide everything by himself.
When King Qian Mingyi of Shu heard what the Governor He Feng said, he nodded and said: "Your Governor knows more about weapons, so I will do as you say."
After saying this, he continued to issue orders: "The mobilization of domestic troops will be handed over to Chief of General Staff Zhao Zhifang.
Try to complete the deployment of troops without being alerted by Switzerland.
If the military wants to build a complete defensive position in Hongshanling, it must defend the Hongshanling Iron Mine."
Qian Mingyi, the king of Shu, handed over the mobilization of the domestic army to his absolute confidant, Chief of General Staff Zhao Zhifang.
This army mobilization involves almost all the armies of the Shu Kingdom and must be carried out under his overall control.
Chief of General Staff Zhao Zhifang heard that King Qian Mingyi of Shu had given him this task.
He said excitedly: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will definitely do a good job in mobilizing troops and build a good southern border defense line.
Let this line of defense become a real meat grinder.
Since ancient times, defensive operations have been easier than offensive operations.
As long as there are sufficient artillery and the Swiss country dares to attack the defense line, then there will be no way for them to come back."
King Qian Mingyi of Shu nodded with satisfaction and continued to arrange tasks for the ministers.
Let the Shu Kingdom operate at high speed for the possible outbreak of war.
King Qian Mingyi of Shu arranged all the affairs and said: "I will personally supervise the matters related to the Hongshanling Iron Mine.
We, the Shu Kingdom, have taken precautions and prepared for war in advance.
King Rui chooses to live in peace, and I am not a war maniac.
King Rui covets the iron mines of our Kingdom of Shu, so let’s see the truth on the battlefield.”
After King Qian Mingyi of Shu said these words, the meeting ended.
The senior officials of the Shu Kingdom began to follow the instructions of the King of Shu, Qian Mingyi, to promote the high-speed operation of various yamen in the Shu Kingdom.
These operations are conducted entirely under a high degree of secrecy.
Except for ministers who can participate in national decision-making, other officials just follow instructions. They have no idea what is happening?
But Shu's actions were so big that it was impossible to completely conceal them.
Spies from various countries noticed the unusual behavior of Shu, and they paid close attention to it.
…
September 30, 4362 (1665 AD).
As time slowly passes, the situation in Europe becomes increasingly tense.
On August 15th, the Lantern Festival, the Hamo Railway, which the empire had worked so hard to build, was officially opened to traffic.
After the railway from Harbin to Mo Shifu is opened to traffic, it will become easier to transport the empire's supplies to Europe.
Especially trains from Hanzhong Prefecture of the Empire can reach Europe within ten days, which is much faster than sea transportation.
Hanzhong Mansion is one of the most important military industrial bases in the empire.
The situation in European countries was tense, and they placed orders one after another.
At this time, speed is more important.
If you try to get cheaper freight, the goods will not arrive at the destination before the war.
The losses caused by the war will far exceed the freight losses.
Officials from various countries were closely watching the train carrying arms in Hanzhong Prefecture.
When they discovered that Shu had purchased a large amount of arms, they immediately passed the news back home.
European countries were very interested in the changes that had taken place in Shu, and the spies in various countries became more active.
At Yaoyangfu Railway Station in the northernmost part of Shu Kingdom, two businessmen who purchased wheat were learning about the market price of wheat in a tavern near the railway station.
"Brother Lin, our country has a bumper wheat harvest this year, but the price is still not high.
Excluding the labor costs of pesticides and seeds, growing wheat is not profitable at all.”
"Brother Li, I heard that the Empire has made a breakthrough in fertilizer technology.
A large amount of fertilizer was applied to the imperial land, and wheat, rice, and corn were harvested.
In some barren lands, a large amount of cassava is grown.
The output of detoxified cassava starch is very impressive, which has impacted the grain market.
It’s not profitable to grow food now, so we have to find other ways to make a living.”
They seemed to be talking about purchasing wheat.
Their fingers tapped on the table casually.
The two of them didn't pay attention to what they said, but focused on each other's fingers.
They were using telegraph codes to exchange information with each other.
Both of them were spies sent by Switzerland.
Neighboring countries have made big moves, and Rui will definitely increase its testing of Shu.
[Hutu, are you sure the information is accurate? 】
[From the channels I have, this information has been verified.
The Kingdom of Shu purchased fifty heavy cavalry chariots from the empire.
These heavy tanks have arrived in Shu and are undergoing secret training in Yaoyang Mansion.
My people have already penetrated into the training base and seen with their own eyes the latest heavy tanks put into use by the empire.】
[Hutu, your information is very important.
Continue to inquire about the information about Shu. I will contact you again in seven days.】
…
In the palace of King Rui, King Su Lei of Rui looked at the information sent back from the Kingdom of Shu.
He said with some confusion: "What is Shu doing? Do they want to go to war with Rui?
How dare Shu country dare? Why should it dare?"
Chief of General Staff Lu Qianjin reported with the intelligence report in his hand: "Your Majesty, the Military Intelligence Bureau of the Metropolitan Governor's Office is urgently collecting intelligence on Shu during this period.
We have informants at the top of the Shu Kingdom, and combined with the information collected by front-line intelligence personnel.
The Intelligence Bureau summarized the relevant information and reached the following conclusions.
The Kingdom of Shu is preparing for war. This is an unmistakable phenomenon.
The Shu Kingdom is not engaging in an arms race, but is fully mobilizing and preparing for war.
The Governor's Office of the Shu Kingdom has completed the recall of veterans and strengthened the training of militiamen in various places.
Shu didn't know how to get a lot of money from the empire, so they purchased a lot of weapons from the empire.
The Empire's Northern Railway was opened to traffic, making rail transportation more convenient.
Our strategy of containing Shu through important waterways has failed.
The goal of Shu's war preparations is obviously against our country.
We must prepare early to guard against possible attacks from Shu."
Cabinet Prime Minister Yu Tianfang heard Chief of General Staff Lu Qianjin say this.
He snorted softly and said: "Chief of Staff Lu's judgment is correct, Shu really dares to attack us.
Shu is just an agricultural country, and they dare to attack our industrial country.
Then our hard work to develop industry is not in vain!"
Prime Minister Yu Tianfang's impression of Shu is still that it is an agricultural country where Shui is dumping goods.
He frowned and asked: "If I remember correctly, Shu's industrial strength is very weak, almost last among European countries.
The quality of the steel they produce is so poor that no one wants it for making hoes.
The industry is completely incompetent, and artillery cannot be manufactured independently, let alone ammunition with higher technical requirements."
Chief of General Staff Lu Qianjin explained helplessly: "Prime Minister Yu, I just said that.
The Shu Kingdom purchased a large amount of military supplies from the empire.
These military supplies, according to preliminary inference, are enough to arm the Shu army.
The industrial capacity of Shu is indeed not good, according to the information provided by our informants.
The current industrial level of Shu has still not improved.
But they have money and can buy supplies from the empire.
After the opening of the Imperial Northern Railway, a large number of trains continued to run from the Empire to Europe.
The empire's previous weak industrial strength in Europe was unable to provide sufficient weapons and ammunition for various countries.
But with the opening of the railway, the empire's weapons and ammunition will cover all European countries.
We simply have no ability to prevent other countries from purchasing supplies from the empire."
Yu Tianfang thought he heard it wrong before, but heard the introduction again from Chief of General Staff Lu Qianjin.
He blurted out: "How can Shu be so rich? It's impossible!
The Kingdom of Shu really has money. Even if they spend money on it, they can still build up the weak industries of the Kingdom of Shu.
This is the more cost-effective option.
Purchasing supplies from the empire, even if you have a gold mine in your hand, cannot afford such squandering."
Su Lei, King Rui, said with envy: "Maybe Shu just discovered a gold mine, otherwise they wouldn't have so much money to arm their army.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! No matter what the reason is, Shu got this money.
It is a fact that Shu is preparing for war against our country.
Our country must adjust its strategy in advance to deal with the threat posed by Shu."
The Grand Governor Qi Kuohai said happily: "Your Majesty, I suggest that the chariots be transferred from the southern front to the northern front.
Compared with the threat from Chu, the threat from Shu is greater.
We can completely predict what Chu wants to do.
We simply cannot predict what Shu wants to do.
All the preparations made by Chu State were to deal with future wars.
But they have not yet determined who is the enemy and who is the friend, and they will never leave the battlefield easily.
However, the Shu Kingdom has already expressed too much to our country in advance.
Our informant who has infiltrated the top management of the Shu Kingdom has provided information that the Shu Kingdom is building permanent fortifications in the Hongshanling area that is disputed between the two countries.
This approach has broken the tacit agreement between the two countries to deploy troops in areas no longer in dispute.
I can also guess a little bit about Shu's thoughts.
They want to take advantage of the chaos and when our country has no time to take care of other things, to completely annex the Hongshanling area and create an established fact.
The Hongshanling area is not important, but we must not give in.
Concession shows that our country is strong abroad and China is capable.
Countries that have no goals in the first place will treat us as a weakling and a training ground for their troops."
Rui Wang Sulei was also a vigorous and resolute person.
He directly issued an order: "Since Shu is hostile to our country, we don't have to be polite anymore.
The Governor's Office gave the highest priority to the plan to attack Shu.
We in Switzerland have never been afraid of war. From now on, we will enter a state of war.
All yamen are fully cooperating with the Governor's Office."
King Sulei of Rui was stimulated by the changes in Shu and chose to adjust Rui's strategy and regard Shu as its number one enemy.
The unwillingness to prepare for war between the two countries, Ruishi and Shu, directly made the major vassal states in Europe nervous.
