Attacking islands in the Pacific is much simpler than Liu Dahai imagined.
This made Commander Liu, who was ready to show off his power, extremely disappointed.
The role of remote islands in this era was to provide food and water supplies to large sailing ships, and even to maintain the ships.
Its status is far from as high as that of later generations.
When steamships became popular, the role of these midway supply ports became prominent.
The farther the ship's cruising range, the more coal it must carry.
Accordingly, the carrying space on the ship will be occupied by coal as fuel.
Then if there is a relay port, the ship does not need to carry so much coal. The space saved can carry more cargo, which can generate huge economic value.
If time is pushed back further, when the airplane is born, airports can be built on these islands to serve as important transit points for long-distance flights.
Dong Shuheng knew very well that after the emergence of later aircraft, the flight radius of the aircraft was the distance of defense.
That's when the island's defensive value will truly come to the fore.
Therefore, now that others are not so concerned about these islands hanging in the ocean, Dong Shuheng must step up his efforts to occupy this place and capture them first.
The Nanyang Navy's process of occupying Guam is very good. It can almost be described as a bloody battle.
When they saw such a large fleet coming from the sea, the defenders on the island were ready to surrender.
A surprise attack by the Renaissance Army lurking in the port just helped these people make the final decision to surrender.
As for the two wooden sail frigates, they can be easily dealt with by just two light cruisers.
Shopkeeper Wu did not expect that the Chinese would become the masters of Guam so quickly, it was like a dream, and he himself would become one of the heroes in the liberation of Guam.
"Representative Zhang, what if the Spanish in Manila come to take revenge?" Although he was a bit ambitious, shopkeeper Wu still asked about his worries.
"Haha, Old Wu, you are too worried. Manila has probably become the territory of our Renaissance Army one step ahead of schedule. Where did they come from to take revenge?"
"Unless they send people from the mainland, but that will be a long time later. Don't worry, they have no chance." Representative Zhang said with a smile.
After the Baath Army ordered Guam, they immediately upgraded the coastal defenses at Agana Port with new coastal defense guns carried on supply ships.
As for the labor force for transformation, of course they were the captive Spaniards.
Lao Zhang moved into the original Spanish Governor's Palace. The three-story castle-like building was tall and majestic, which made Lao Zhang feel that his office area was a bit oversized.
When the staff is fully staffed later, it is better to turn this place into a school. Otherwise, when people from China come to inspect in the future, they will definitely refer to their own copy.
Lao Zhang thought in his heart that he could enjoy it here for the time being.
This building was just built by the Spaniards. Even the Spanish governor had not yet moved in and it became the office building of the Renaissance Army.
"This is Lightning Mountain. It is the highest mountain on Guam. We can build a permanent fortification on the top of the mountain. In case a large group of enemies attacks, we can temporarily retreat to the fortress on the mountain."
In a spacious conference room, Lao Zhang was discussing the Guam construction plan with his new team.
Now that the fleet has left, they will continue to sail eastward to capture new islands and push the front all the way to South America.
Lao Zhang took some remaining troops to clarify the situation on the island and began intense construction work.
The construction of military defense facilities is naturally a top priority.
It is impossible for the Renaissance Army to station too many troops on such an outlying island for a long time. The current army is not capable of rapid long-distance delivery.
Therefore, if you want to hold on to this place with limited troops, you need to build more fortifications.
The fort in the port is the first line of defense, and the fortress on Lightning Mountain is the last place of defense.
Lao Zhang's setup on Guam has made great contributions in the future.
In particular, the permanent fortifications set up on Lightning Mountain caused the enemies who attacked Guam to suffer a lot.
"The number of natives on the island is now less than 10,000, and the number of Chinese is more than 4,000. So we don't need to worry about these natives. This time we have taken over many Spanish plantations, and these places can
Resettlement of hundreds of thousands of immigrants.”
"After these immigrants arrive, we will promote Chinese education on the island and let the locals also participate in the studies. I believe we will assimilate them soon," Lao Zhang said.
Lao Zhang was transferred from Nanyang and has rich experience in developing tropical areas and managing native people.
"Well, Director Zhang, your plan is very comprehensive. I think there is no problem." Shopkeeper Wu has now become the island's manager.
As a native of Guam, Shopkeeper Wu’s words still carry a lot of weight.
He is the only Guam pass in the current Guam management team.
Let's not talk about the things on the island. With the manpower and material resources of the Renaissance Army, major changes will happen here soon.
Filling the controlled land with their own people is the biggest difference between the Renaissance Army and those European colonists.
Those colonists only wanted to obtain economic benefits, while Dong Shuheng hoped to turn these lands into a place for Chinese people to survive.
Dong Shuheng has plenty of people. China's population base and growth rate can easily fill these islands.
Moreover, Dong Shuheng will also include some residents from Japan and the Korean Peninsula among the immigrants.
Of course, he will strictly control the number of these ethnic groups.
This number must ensure that they can be assimilated under the Chinese education system.
This kind of assimilation is actually a kind of cultural assimilation. Because they are both East Asians, there is almost no difference between them.
As for some being taller and others being shorter, it is actually caused by eating habits and living environment.
Back in the new capital, in the presidential office in the Summer Palace, Dong Shuheng was holding in his hand a secret agreement signed with Tsarist Russia.
This was passed back from Tsarist Russia by Guo Songtao.
This agreement has no practical significance yet. It is just a letter of intent signed by both parties before the Paris negotiations.
According to this agreement, the two sides decided to cease fire on the current part of the actual line of control.
The Renaissance Army returned Tomsk and other cities in the upper reaches of the Ob River. This was an interest that Dong Shuheng had prepared to transfer before.
However, Dong Shuheng did not expect that Guo Songtao would exchange the upper reaches of the Ob River for a piece of land for the Fuxing Army.
By the way, it’s the Juneau area I mentioned last time.
Just like what Bismarck said to Wang Tao before, Tsarist Russia had long been ready to give up that place.
If China could take over that area, Tsarist Russia would be happy to give it to him.
Because this will put the Renaissance Army into direct confrontation with the British in North America.
But they didn't know that Dong Shuheng had already laid out his plans in America. Not to mention South America, but also the California region of North America, the power of the Chinese had expanded to a terrifying level.
Therefore, even if the Juneau region is not taken over, the Renaissance Army will sooner or later develop its power into North America.
Then the negative impact of taking over the Juneau region on the Renaissance Army can be ignored.
But the benefits are very obvious. First, the Renaissance Army completely controls the Gulf of Alaska area.
From now on, no one in the North Pacific can compete with the Renaissance Army. With the blessing of the ports along the coast.
The Baath Army's control over the Pacific will grow exponentially.
Secondly, the acquisition of the Juneau region also created conditions for the Renaissance Army to penetrate into northern Canada.
Although the British controlled all of Canada, they did not immigrate that many people.
This allowed the Chinese to penetrate into these places to open up wasteland and farm.
At the same time, it also created conditions for Dong Shuheng to join North America.
Interfering with and dismembering North America has always been Dong Shuheng's established plan. Dong Shuheng just doesn't like the "Chosen Country".
This is also to eliminate a potential opponent of China in the future.
What kind of "Chosen Country"? Isn't it because there are no enemies around him? Canada is the destiny of the younger brother, and Mexico in the south is the Adou who cannot be supported.
Therefore, he is the only one in North America. When others fight, he can always happily take advantage there.
With such an environment, the Chinese would be able to rise in just a few decades, not just a few hundred years.
Now Dong Shuheng wants to cause chaos in North America and divide it into several countries. There will never be only one powerful country here in the future.
The Alaska region, subject to the limitations of the natural environment, can be managed as an enclave of China.
But if California is dominated by the Chinese in the future, it will definitely become an independent Chinese country in the end.
Dong Shuheng is full of expectations for this Chinese country. It is like a work that he has invested a lot of energy in creating.
He hoped that the entry of this Chinese force in the western part of North America would break the fate of the "Chosen Nation".
Of course, the negotiations between Guo Songtao and the Tsarist Russians were not limited to this. They also included the withdrawal of troops from southern Ukraine.
The Russians even proposed to continue trading with the Baath Army.
Even if both sides only have a temporary ceasefire, there is no problem if they want to trade. In the process of trade with Tsarist Russia, China itself is in a favorable position.
Tsarist Russia hoped to break the blockade imposed on them by Britain and France through trade with China.
At the same time, we also hope to improve domestic people's livelihood and resolve conflicts between various classes through trade.
For this reason, Dong Shuheng also specially designated several ports for trade between the two sides. These include Tomsk, Amukha, and two new cities in the Balkash Lake area.
The Tsarist Russians are willing to cease fire, but they also have to exchange a condition with China, that is, they hope that during the negotiations in Paris, China will not fully stand on the British and French positions on the Black Sea issue, and will give Tsarist Russia certain support.
This is no loss to China at all, and naturally there is no problem.
In this war with Tsarist Russia, the Renaissance Army was completely fooling around on the Western Front.
At the beginning, a field hospital was established, which generated a wave of goodwill among Western armies and newspapers.
Later, he took the lead in forming a team to go to the rear of Tsarist Russia to clear grass and valleys. This not only further weakened Tsarist Russia's strength, but also intensified the serf uprising within Tsarist Russia.
At the same time, the military expenses for this troop dispatch were earned back.
We fought three wars on the Eastern Front in three years. We seized all the Chinese territory that Tsarist Russia had invaded in the north over the past few hundred years.
Being able to achieve this level, Dong Shuheng could hold his chest and say: "I am worthy of my ancestors."