The British responded very quickly. Because the matter involved the Indian region, Prime Minister Temple could not help but ignore the matter.
If this matter is not handled well, his career as prime minister will be over.
As I have said before, India is the jewel in the Queen's crown.
You must know that although the British Empire is called an empire, it is because the Queen is also the Emperor of India.
Without India, Britain would be called a kingdom, not an empire.
In Europe, there is a big difference between empires and kingdoms.
For example, Prussia can only be called a kingdom now. After they unified Germany and defeated France, William I was crowned emperor in Paris. In Europe, emperor is more like a title.
Anyway, there must be no problems in India. Temple knows very well that hidden dangers in the Indian region must be eliminated no matter how high the price is.
There was no way that such a big thing as Britain's sending troops to India could be hidden.
Soon the news reached Paris. Ji Mingshan quickly encrypted the news and sent it to Turkey. Then the caravans there used fast horses to spread the news to the Western Regions through the Kingdom of Persia.
When we arrived in the Western Regions, there were telegraph lines that quickly spread the news to Dong Shuheng's desk.
This is a fast message transmission channel that has just been established by the Renaissance Army to connect Europe.
This channel can deliver information to the new capital in ten days at the fastest.
In the past, it would take nearly two months at the fastest for a message to be sent back from Europe.
Thanks to Liu Qingbei's visit to Turkey and the Kingdom of Persia, both countries have established diplomatic relations with China.
Chinese people were allowed to do business within the borders of the two countries, just like the Silk Road back then.
This trade route started from the Fergana Basin in the Western Region, passed through Central Asia and entered the Kingdom of Persia, and then entered Turkey through the Kingdom of Persia.
Of course, this trade route is of great value to both countries along the way. Otherwise, these two countries would not allow Chinese people to travel through their lands.
The Turks hope to purchase Chinese products, especially the ironclad ships built by the Chinese.
After the news of the Battle of Manila broke out, this small frigate of the First Fleet of the Renaissance Navy was finally exposed to the world.
In particular, its small tonnage means that this kind of warship is cheap to build. But its firepower is strong, which is the best choice for Turkey, which has just fought a war and is financially strapped.
Although the ironclads built by Britain and France were larger in tonnage and more powerful, their prices were also much higher.
Moreover, the armored ships of the Renaissance Army have been proven in actual combat.
The total tonnage of Turkey's fleet in the Black Sea region is now restricted, so it is perfect for them to choose this small ship.
The Persian Kingdom hopes to sell its carpets and other specialties to China, and they also hope to purchase Chinese silk and other commodities.
The Persians were originally middlemen on the Silk Road.
Of course, what the Persian Kingdom wanted most was the muskets of the Renaissance Army.
Aiwuhan purchased a large number of muskets from the Renaissance Army, and the strength of the army rose by more than one level.
Those Aiwuhan tribes who purchased the muskets of the Renaissance Army were even able to fight inextricably with the British and Indian troops in Peshawar.
This gave hope to the Persian Kingdom, which had been bullied by both the British and Tsarist Russia.
Not only did they purchase weapons, the Persian Kingdom even asked China to send officers to help them train a new type of army.
For Dong Shuheng, this was like giving him a pillow when he felt sleepy.
With this relationship, the Renaissance Army can officially influence Central Asia and West Asia.
However, Turkey is still only holding on to the British. It only has a limited cooperative relationship with the Baath Army. It is not as close as the Kingdom of Persia.
What surprised Dong Shuheng the most was that the Kingdom of Oman, a maritime power entrenched in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula and the coast of East Africa, had also established contact with the Renaissance Army.
The power of the Kingdom of Oman extended directly to the Persian Gulf. At its peak, its territory included all of present-day Oman, eastern Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, southwestern Iran, eastern Somalia, the coast of Kenya, the coast of Tanzania, northern Madagascar, and the Comoros Islands
, was the most powerful country on the Indian Ocean coast at that time,
They started by relying on short-distance shipping in the Indian Ocean. They have a large number of small sailing ships along the coast of the Indian Ocean.
The current king, Said the Great, is an accomplished monarch.
They also hope to purchase this small ironclad ship of the Renaissance Army.
In this way, Dong Shuheng got an order for more than a dozen warships at once.
He knew very well that in order for China's shipbuilding industry to develop rapidly, it was not just about building its own ships.
It would be best if the shipyard could receive more orders and train more skilled workers.
Jianghe-class frigates, the Renaissance Army will no longer build new ships for the time being. All slipways are used to complete orders.
Of course, this takeaway Jianghe class must be a castrated version. The steam engine of the fish itself is the secret of the Renaissance Army.
The takeaway version does not have torpedoes, and the steam engine is also an ordinary type.
In addition, Emperor Said also wanted to trade directly with China. It happened that China's goods could be transported to ports in western Persia, and then transported to the Indian Ocean coast through the Omani fleet.
Dong Shuheng attached great importance to his relationship with the Omani dynasty in order to avoid conflicts with the British.
The Renaissance Army has no way to directly send fleets to the coast of the Indian Ocean to carry out commercial activities. Now that there is this middleman, it is much better.
…
"The British are ready to take action this time." Dong Shuheng asked Wei Yuxiang to read out the contents of the intelligence to his subordinates.
"President, it seems that Shi Dakai is going to have to face a tough problem this time." Chief of General Staff Yan Shikun said.
"Who says it's not the case? Sometimes the British are as stubborn as bulls, and they have to push them even if they hit their heads and bleed. Moreover, the Indian region is very important to them."
"President, this time the British fleet has arrived in the South China Sea and our coastal areas. Do we need to take necessary measures?" the new Navy Minister asked.
"Don't worry, the British are just here to demonstrate and will not really start a war. However, necessary countermeasures must still be taken. After the British arrive, all the forts along the coast will enter the first level of combat readiness. The garrison troops in the coastal areas will also
To enter a state of combat readiness."
Now even though the fleet he has is far behind the British, Dong Shuheng is still not afraid of the British.
Because in the past two years, Dong Shuheng has established two lines of defense on China's maritime borders.
The first is the coastal defense force composed of fort facilities at ports along the coast and patrol gunboats offshore.
Although these gunboats are not large in tonnage, they are very fast and can be used for coastal patrol and warning tasks.
If the British wanted to land in the coastal areas of China like they did during the First Opium War, they would definitely pay a huge price.
The second line of defense is to establish a port defense circle based on Hainan Island, Taiwan Island, Ryukyu, Japan, Sakhalin Island, and the Aleutian Islands.
If the British forcefully break into the first line of defense and start a war, then the Renaissance Army's fleet can rely on this second line of defense to block them all inside.
"What do the Spanish say? Are they willing to negotiate?" Dong Shuheng asked the remaining staff in the foreign affairs department.
Because Minister Liu Qingbei is on an overseas trip, only the remaining staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are still there.
"Back to the president, there is no news from Spain. They seem to be in trouble. You know, the Spanish regime has been unstable over the years. There have been more than a dozen presidents in the hands of Isabella II.
government."
Dong Shuheng shook his head and smiled bitterly. This Spain is really weird. Shouldn't we deal with the foreign enemies first at this time? It's better for them to start fighting among themselves first.
"Okay, they don't care, we will still follow the established strategy and occupy the Spanish islands in the Pacific."
"In addition, we need to build some permanent fortifications as soon as possible on some large islands with important locations. Our fleet has no way to protect these islands for a long time. The domestic side will do the logistics work well, and the General Staff will coordinate the island defense forces."
"The Ministry of Commerce will send people to investigate the situation of these islands. Statistics of the development status of each island will be made and a detailed development plan will be formulated. Farms on the islands can be established first. These islands are too far away from the mainland. In terms of food supplies,
You have to be able to be self-sufficient.”
"In addition, let them build secret warehouses and reserve a certain amount of supplies. These outlying islands can easily be blocked by the enemy. They must persist for half a year when blocked by the enemy." Dong Shuheng ordered.
Dong Shuheng has high expectations for these islands.
He knew that if the Renaissance Army wanted to control the Pacific region in the future, it would have to firmly hold these islands in its hands.
Dong Shuheng made some arrangements for the people underground. He made detailed arrangements on how to deal with the arrival of the British fleet, how to deal with the war with Spain, and how to support Shida's headquarters.
Although the Spring Festival has passed, the weather is still cold. Zuo Zongtang had to stop most construction activities in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains in the Western Regions.
The people of the Western Regions finally got some rest after a busy year.
At the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, a leeward valley is where summer pasture is located. This pasture was allocated to a Kirgiz tribe.
Since the Kirgiz people of the Kokand Khanate surrendered to the Western Region Protectorate, these Kirgiz herdsmen began a great migration.
The Kirgiz people who originally lived in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains under early Manchu rule were moved to the eastern part of the Monan Mongolian grassland.
The area was previously swept away by the Renaissance Army's northward legions, and the population was brought to the east of Moon Lake.
Now the area has been divided into pastures by the Renaissance Army.
According to the unified plan, a circle of trees will be planted around these pastures as windbreaks, and these trees will be used as the dividing line between each pasture.
The pastures are state-owned, but many professional herdsmen must be there to graze them. The Han people are still more suitable for farming.
As a result, the Renaissance Army moved a large number of herdsmen from the Western Regions.
On the one hand, the appearance, culture and beliefs of these people from the Western Regions are very different from those of the Han people. Moving them to the state-owned farms in the hinterland for grazing is conducive to their control and assimilation.
On the other hand, more places can be vacated in the Western Regions so that Zuo Zongtang can arrange the population of Central Asia.
This is the largest population exchange event in history.
Use millions of Han Chinese to exchange the population of Central Asia.
Farms mainly composed of Han people were established near rivers in Central Asia. In order to make up for the lack of numbers, Dong Shuheng even added some immigrants from the Korean Peninsula and the mainland.
The Fergana Basin has always been a good planting industry center.
The cotton produced locally is of very high quality due to the long sunshine hours and is very popular among domestic cotton mills.
Now there are large state-owned farms there.
The development of the Chu River Basin has also made some progress.
As for the large number of alpine pastures vacated by the Kirgiz people after their migration, the Renaissance Army simply left them empty. The climate and environment there were too harsh anyway.
Dong Shuheng felt that it would be better to develop the area into a protected area in the future.
Leave some space for wild animals. Anyway, this is already the hinterland of the Renaissance Army, so there is no need to worry about someone taking advantage of the emptiness to occupy it.
As a result, the Tianshan Mountains and the Pamir Plateau south of Alashankou were almost no man's land except for a small number of troops stationed there.
Most of the local Kirgiz people moved eastward to places with better natural environments.
Some of them worked on farms and learned about planting, while others worked on ranches and continued their herding life.
Of course, this only refers to the old, weak, women and children in the tribe.
According to Zuo Jigao's original agreement with them, most of the young Kirgiz men became Rangers of the Renaissance Army.
Taking advantage of the truce with the Tsarist Russians this winter, Zuo Jigao began to prepare the three cavalry divisions in his hands.
In the future, the main battlefield with the Tsarist Russians will still be on the Kazakh grassland. Therefore, cavalry is particularly important.
Zuo Zongtang planned to rely on the occupied Tsarist Russian fortress line to build a defensive line with both offense and defense.
I have to say that Tsarist Russia’s strategy of building a fortress line was very useful.
It's just that Tsarist Russia has too few troops in the east.
The most correct approach is to use part of the infantry to hold on to the fort, and then use the cavalry to control the large grassland area around the fort.
Neither Tsarist Russia nor the Baath Army naively believed that the war between the two countries would really end like this.
Tsarist Russia has begun to use French loans to replace its own army.
Of course, this was not just about suppressing the domestic serf uprising. In fact, preparing for a future counterattack in the East was their purpose.
Alexander II was also a hero of his generation, and it was impossible for him to be willing to let Tsarist Russia decline like this.
Regardless of whether it is the West or the East, Tsarist Russia is not allowed to withdraw. Tsarist Russia is a double-headed eagle, so it must always be a double-headed eagle.
Dong Shuheng's original worry that Tsarist Russia would give up its expansion in the West was completely unnecessary.
Tsarist Russia knew that in the West, they had to wait for an opportunity.
From this peace talk, they have seen that the contradiction between Britain and France is expanding.
Prussia's ambitions in Central Europe are also growing. Now it is Tsarist Russia's turn to watch from the sidelines.
In the east, Tsarist Russia will accumulate enough strength before taking action against the Baath Army.