In the summer palace, Dong Shuheng was also summarizing his work during the year.
Although plans had been made to push back the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the time was indeed much ahead of schedule.
There were many things that were not prepared. At the same time, the Fuxing Army ate too fast and suffered from indigestion.
The current policy of appeasement towards the UK is to prevent the situation from deteriorating and to avoid another major national war.
Now the Renaissance Army needs a relatively stable diplomatic environment.
This war against the Spaniards also had elements of being forced. If the Spaniards had not made such a drastic move, the Renaissance Army would not have launched a large-scale attack on Luzon at this time.
But the good news is that the strategic goals of the Renaissance Army have basically been achieved.
And the losses suffered by the troops were very small.
If the losses of troops are large, the cost of war will increase significantly.
"Yu Xiang, help me make an appointment with Mr. Bao Ling. I want to talk to him about Luzon."
Regarding the Luzon issue, Dong Shuheng decided to talk to the British Minister.
He mainly wants to find out where the British people's bottom line is?
Dong Shuheng did not want the war with Spain to lead to confrontation with the entire Europe.
This time Dong Shuheng was even prepared to bring the Prussians with him, because the Prussians had always helped him in European affairs.
At that time, it would be impossible to transfer some of the interests to Prussia and the United Kingdom, since they would all belong to Spain anyway.
But Dong Shuheng, an island in the Pacific, is still prepared to take part of it, at least to ensure the safety of the route from China to South America.
Now Dong Shutong's development in Peru has basically entered a period of expansion. With the increase in the controlled population, Dong Shutong now urgently needs to expand his territory.
At that time, the interests of white people living in coastal cities west of the Andes will definitely be touched.
Conflicts between them and the Peruvian government may soon erupt.
At that time, it might not just be a conflict with the Peruvian government.
Although the small South American countries that were originally Spanish colonies had many conflicts with each other.
But once they encounter such an external enemy, they will still unite together.
Because although these countries are all republics, they are actually oligarchies.
Local large landowners, large estate owners, monopoly bureaucratic capitalists and Catholic religious figures formed a vested interest group.
These people monopolize the political power of various countries in South America.
The Indian and Chinese forces that Dong Shutong gathered were incompatible with these people.
The Chinese had just obtained citizenship in Peru, and the Indians were the targets of suppression. Both groups were excluded by the white class.
It is impossible for Dong Shutong's forces to be allowed to enter the ruling class locally.
At present, Dong Shutong and others are only developing in the Indian living area.
But as Dong Shutong integrated all the Indians, the power of the Chinese increased rapidly.
It is impossible for the Peruvian government not to set its sights here.
At that time, it was time for the war to begin.
Dong Shuheng knew very well how much fighting power his brother had in his hands.
Except for the unclear Indian forces, which Dong Shutong used Hu Ning's tribe and Chinese soldiers to unite through war or other means in the past two years.
In the past two years, Dong Shuheng has sent over 50,000 militiamen and officers.
These 50,000 people are all armed. Although their combat effectiveness may not be as good as that of the regular army of the Renaissance Army.
But once organized, none of those small South American countries are opponents.
Dong Shuheng naturally hopes that his brother will delay it and not start it so early.
It would be best to wait until the conflicts between the north and the south in North America are aroused. By then the entire America will be in chaos, and what happened in Peru will not be so noticeable.
Because the problems in South America are not that simple.
The British, French and Americans are all staring there!
If a Chinese country emerges now, there is no guarantee that these countries will not unite to strangle it.
At that time, we will face a joint attack by those countries in South America, coupled with the blockade by Britain, France and the United States.
Even Dong Shuheng couldn't help them.
The main purpose of Dong Shuheng's current war with the Spanish is to take over the Southern Ocean routes controlled by the Spanish.
On the Pacific Ocean at 10 degrees north latitude, the Pacific countercurrent from west to east flows from southern Luzon to the Panama region in central America.
In spring and winter, the Renaissance Army usually takes this route. Then when turning back, it takes the equatorial warm current from west to east.
In summer and autumn, when there are many storms in the Pacific, the Renaissance Army's fleets to the Americas usually follow the clockwise North Pacific warm current flowing along the Sakhalin Islands, Kuril Islands, and Aleutian Islands to the Americas.
This route is easier to walk in summer and autumn. In winter and spring, there will be some ice floes here, which poses certain dangers.
Guam is on the countercurrent route of the Pacific Ocean.
There are important islands on the round trip route.
Dong Shuheng is very clear about the importance of these islands in the future.
In later generations, important islands in the ocean were called unsinkable aircraft carriers.
Many countries currently do not pay attention to some relatively remote islands. In their view, commercial value is more important than territory.
This is a great opportunity to grab some ground.
There has been no news from the southwest for a long time.
At this time Wei Yuxiang, who had just left, came back again.
"President, there is the latest news from the southwest," Wei Yuxiang said.
"Read it to me." Dong Shuheng was doing something at hand. He turned his head and said to Wei Yuxiang. Then Dong Shuheng turned around and continued to do his thing.
"The Southwest Military Region reported that the Taiping Holy Army defeated the right-wing offensive force of the British-Indian colony in the Imphal area, successfully stabilized control of the Manipur area, and even counterattacked to the outskirts of Chittagong." Wei Yuxiang read.
.
"Do you have any detailed information about the battle?" Dong Shuheng asked.
"Yes, President, the battle process was recorded and reported by our officer corps."
"On December 7, the British-Indian army organized 12,000 Bengali infantry and 3,000 British troops to invade the Manipur region from Agartala northwestward."
"The Taiping Holy Army took the initiative to evacuate its outer strongholds and destroyed the only road from Agartala to Imphal."
"This resulted in a serious disconnect between the British and Indian infantry and their artillery. The British and Indian troops had to leave enough troops to protect the artillery and slowly advance."
"On December 12, the British-Indian army advanced to a valley 50 kilometers southwest of Imphal. Its leading force of 3,000 people was ambushed by 5,000 Taiping troops because of their rash advance. They suffered heavy casualties. When the follow-up troops arrived to support them,
, the Taiping Army has retreated."
"In this direction, in addition to the elites of the White Tiger Brigade, there is also a brigade sent by Shi Dakai to support us. The total strength has reached more than 10,000 people."
"On December 14, the British army arrived at Imphal City, and the British army began to drive those Bengali soldiers to storm the fort."
"Because the Taiping Holy Army had to fortify the walls and clear the country, all the supplies of the British and Indian troops had to be transported from the rear. The White Tiger Brigade of the Taiping Holy Army had been hiding outside the city, looking for fighters. In Imphal, only Shi Dakai's new brigade was defending the British.
military."
"The White Tiger Brigade used the mountainous terrain and dense woods in the Imphal area as cover to successfully sneak attack the British artillery through night battles, killing more than 1,000 British troops and about 2,000 Bangladeshi soldiers."
"Subsequently, the White Tiger Brigade continued to lurk to the southwest, ambushed the supply team of the British and Indian troops, and at the same time annihilated more than a thousand enemy troops again."
"At this time, the main force of the British and Indian troops was engaged in a difficult offensive and defensive battle in the Imphal Fortress. Just when they were exhausted and waiting for the artillery to arrive, what they waited for was the bad news that the artillery had been wiped out. Suddenly the British
The morale of the Indian army is depleted."
"The officer requested the commander to order a retreat, and the soldiers below had no intention of fighting anymore."
"But just as they were retreating, the White Tiger Brigade, which had been fighting in the rear for a long time, jumped out again to block the retreat of the British and Indian troops. The British and Indian troops were blocked on the narrow mountain road southwest of Imphal and could not advance or retreat."
"The Taiping troops who were originally guarding the city took the initiative to attack and blocked their rear. The Taiping's equipment was the same as that of the British soldiers, but it was far stronger than the flintlocks equipped by the Bengal soldiers. It had an advantage in the battle without the artillery.
Blessings, the British and Indian troops are no match for the Taiping Army."
"On December 17, with only 5,000 British and Indian troops remaining after running out of ammunition and food, they surrendered to the Taiping Army."
"The Taiping Army won the final victory on the Eastern Front."
…
Dong Shuheng had underestimated the Taiping Army's combat power before.
I originally thought that even if they were sold to the Taiping Army rifled guns, they would have to slowly adapt to it for a while.
But I didn't expect the Taiping soldiers to be so adaptable to weapons.
Dong Shuheng naturally didn't know that the soldiers of the Taiping Army practiced their marksmanship directly by shooting with real people.
After Shi Dakai entered the Assam region, it didn't mean that everything would be fine if he drove away the British and Indian troops.
There are also many local leaders supported by the British, and these people have some power in their hands.
The local British and Indian troops were wiped out too quickly. These people suddenly lost their backing and were frightened. Under the instigation of some ambitious local leaders, they openly resisted the Taiping Army and killed the officials sent by the Taiping Army.
In anger, Shi Dakai sent a large army to encircle and suppress these native leaders. Shi Dakai issued a death order, and all the leaders who participated in the rebellion were executed.
It was this thunderbolt method that quickly made the local people submit.
All those who had different intentions were executed, and the remaining people decisively threw themselves into the arms of the Taiping Holy Army under the Taiping Army's pro-people policy, both hard and soft.
During the process of suppressing bandits, the soldiers of the Taiping Holy Army matured rapidly. Of course, this only refers to the new recruits.
As for those veterans, the veterans of the Taiping Holy Army have all experienced hundreds of battles, not to mention their ability to adapt to weapons. They are the ones who feed them.
"Well, it's not bad. This White Tiger Brigade is not bad. The commander uses mobile warfare very skillfully." Dong Shuheng praised.
"How is the situation on the Western Front?" Dong Shuheng asked next. Those on the Western Front along the river are the main force of the British army, because the British army can go up along the waterway.
"The enemy forces on the Western Front launched later. On December 10, a total of 15,000 British and Indian troops sailed upstream under the cover of five steam frigates."
"However, the fleet was severely attacked by the Taiping Army's fortresses along the river."
"During the exchange of fire, a British naval frigate was sunk. The British and Indian troops had to land early, bypass the fortress, and directly attack the city of Guwahati."
"Chen Yucheng, who commanded the West Route operations, organized 30,000 troops to directly line up in the city to meet the enemy."
"The Taiping Army relied on the artillery on the city wall to engage in exchanges with the enemy's artillery. The front-loading steel cannon purchased from the Renaissance Army did not fail in the exchange of fire with the British artillery. Moreover, the Taiping Army's artillery was placed on the city wall and was at a higher height.
, has certain advantages.”
"Seeing that the artillery could not take advantage, the British commander commanded the infantry to press forward in a line formation. Chen Yucheng's side also formed a line formation."
"However, the Taiping Army was more numerous and equipped with rifled rifles. On the British side, only the British army used rifled rifles, and the Indian infantry still used flintlock rifles. In this way, although the Taiping Army was not as effective as the British Army in using it, they still won the victory in the end.
war."
…
The British army's first counterattack against the Taiping Army ended in failure. This made Dong Shuheng very happy.
Now he felt more confident when talking to the British.
Do the British, whose backyard is on fire, still have the energy to interfere in Luzon's affairs?
"Yu Xiang, in this case, you should draft an order to Li Shaoquan in Burma and tell him that the Taiping Army in the northwest is fighting very well. The strength of the British army has been greatly damaged. The Burmese side can start moving."
At this time, Li Shaoquan had been in Myanmar for more than a month.
It seems that he has done nothing in Myanmar for more than a month.
Every day I go in and out of the mansions of various dignitaries and make friends with all kinds of people.
Because of his identity, many people are willing to curry favor with him.
In order to avoid being suspected, Li Hongzhang was not particularly close to Galloya on the surface.
But in fact, the two of them did a lot of things in this month.
A batch of weapons brought from the Shan State Plateau were secretly deployed to an army loyal to Garoya.
And this army is one of the troops stationed in the royal capital of Mandalay.
Since King Manthung succeeded his brother to the throne, he only cared about enjoying himself in the palace and paid little attention to the proposals put forward by the courtiers to regain Yangon.
The nobles in the palace have long had enough of King Mantong's negative and destructive behavior.
On the evening of December 10, a palace coup occurred in the Myanmar Royal Palace in Mandalay.
Finally, the royal city garrison led by the second prince Galloya invaded the palace.
The old king Mantong was placed under house arrest by Galaya.
The next day, Galloya convened a meeting with the palace ministers of Mandalay.
Galloya announced that the old king was unwell and was ready to abdicate. Under the leadership of some people, the palace ministers unanimously advised Galloya to ascend the throne.
After repeated refusals, Galloya finally agreed to ascend the throne. Li Shanquan, on behalf of China, canonized him as the king of Myanmar.
Everything is moving forward according to the prepared plan.
But something unexpected happened the next day. The third prince, who had been keeping a low profile before, suddenly launched a rebellion.
However, he was immediately suppressed by Galloja's men and fled to the British.
Now war with the British became even more imminent.
This was the time when the British garrison in Lower Burma was at its weakest. And now Calcutta could not send reinforcements at all.
They are still attacking the Taiping Army in the north with all their strength.
Galloya did not directly send troops, but first signed a "vassal treaty" with China.
Through this treaty, Myanmar formally established the vassal state relationship and finalized the conditions previously negotiated by the two parties.
Dong Shuheng got what he wanted. Galloya got his throne. The most important thing is that Burma began to fight back against the British army.