It's June, it's already early summer, and it's the most beautiful time of the year for the Summer Palace.
Dong Shuheng was walking alone by the waterside pavilion.
He has been staying in Xinjing City for the past six months.
News coming from Canada is that the general election in America has entered the final stage.
The results will be available by the end of this year.
In the first half of the year, Dong Shuheng rarely personally asked about Jiahua's affairs.
It is no longer so easy for the Renaissance Army to immigrate abroad.
Dong Shuheng could only go into battle on his own to promote immigration and replenish the population of Canada and Donghua as much as possible.
Other places are fine, but these two places are in urgent need of replenishing the population, otherwise a lot of the acquired land will be occupied by others.
The Donghua Empire just experienced a great war, although it was a victory.
But its own losses were also very great. Not only did it lose precious people, but the economic losses were also very serious.
Many factories have reduced production due to the massive deployment of militiamen.
Agricultural and animal husbandry production has also been greatly affected.
This war is only a staged victory.
The two sides have not ceased fighting yet.
There is news that Great Britain will send 50,000 troops to the South Amelia region to coordinate operations. Even the Spanish sent tens of thousands of troops this time.
The main force of the Donghua Army is still confronting the Grenada Alliance troops in Ecuador and the coastal areas west of the Colombian Andes Mountains. There are still sporadic exchanges of fire between the two sides.
Dong Shuheng would not directly send troops to the Donghua Empire to participate in the war, as that would be too costly. Even if he agreed, those at the top would not agree.
He can only think of ways to transport as many people as possible.
There is also the need to support them financially.
In Dong Shuheng's eyes, Jiahua is more important. He knows how big the scale of the upcoming war will be.
With the little strength that Jiahua has now, we will have no choice but to play catch-up when the time comes.
The Renaissance Army's advantage in weapons has become smaller and smaller.
European countries now have smokeless gunpowder, and with their industrial base, various weapons will soon spring up like mushrooms after a rain.
Smokeless gunpowder is a watershed in the history of modern military industry development.
"President!" Wei Yuxiang's voice came from afar.
The troublemaker is here again.
"Yuxiang, what's wrong?" Dong Shuheng asked.
"It's nothing too important. I see you taking a walk here. I have some news to report to you."
"Heh, let's talk while walking."
"Oh, Yuxiang, I have settled here for four or five years, and I am still unfamiliar with many places in the summer palace."
"That's because you are too busy and have no time to care about the scenery around you."
"Okay, let's get down to business, I won't complain to you anymore."
"That's right, it's news from southern India."
"The Holy Kingdom has occupied a large amount of land on the eastern coast. Their armies have been marching westward along the channel connecting Calcutta and Bombay."
"Oh, where did they hit? Shi Dakai and Chen Yucheng are both good at leading troops. They marched very quickly."
"They encountered a tenacious resistance from the Great Army in Nagpur in the middle. Their own logistical supplies could not keep up, so they stopped." Wei Yuxiang said.
"Won't Queen Jhansi seize such a good opportunity?"
"The Jhanxi army occupied Vadodara on the western coast, but it was recaptured by the Da'an army a week later. Before they retreated, they moved away the population and wealth there. Also, reinforcements from the Ying army arrived
."
"Haha, the people of Zhanxi have also learned how to support war with war. This is not bad." Dong Shuheng said with a smile.
"What do you say on the island of Ceylon?"
"The legion going south reported that the 50,000 troops who originally entered Ceylon were stationed in place and were repairing the defense facilities in Cologne. The legion hoped to send a group of troops to garrison there, which would reduce the supply pressure on the garrison and provide some backup.
manpower."
In this regard, Dong Shuheng has already been prepared.
The Tamils had given the entire island of Ceylon to the Baath Army.
Dong Shuheng planned to control this island as a direct territory.
This is a very important strategic location now and in the future.
Military settlements, civilian settlements, and immigration should be established step by step.
Now the place can only be managed in a military manner for the time being, because the Great Empire's counterattack is about to begin.
Dong Shuheng already knew that the Great Empire had entered a wartime state.
This old empire has a solid foundation. Now that it is unleashing all its power, Dong Shuheng must deal with it with all his energy.
"How's it going at the Singapore Port?"
"Oh, the garrison at the port offered to negotiate again, but they also put forward conditions. The army marching south said that the other side had run out of ammunition and food, and would only accept their unconditional surrender."
"You go and notify the military department and ask them to contact Yang Bingchun to solve the problem in Singapore as soon as possible. We don't have much time. The combined fleet must seize the time to repair and maintain. Then rush to Ceylon to garrison."
Dong Shuheng didn't know when Dayang's fleet would be formed.
But half a year has passed.
Dayang's first batch of reinforcements have arrived in Bombay.
Otherwise, where would they have the strength to stop the Holy Army?
The Ba'ath Army's power in Europe and Africa is very weak.
There is no way to effectively monitor the Dagu Army.
"Yuxiang, tell Ji Mingshan that the comrades at the European Station must get information about the Dayang Navy no matter what."
"Yes, President, I understand."
The two of them walked and talked, and before they knew it, more than an hour had passed.
Dong Shuheng's calves began to feel sore.
"President, please take a rest. You will have a joint meeting of the cabinet and the military department in the evening," Wei Yuxiang reminded.
"Yes, I almost forgot about it. Just a few things you mentioned can be discussed at night. The most critical time is next!"
Dong Shuheng sighed.
The Renaissance Army was caught off guard before, as both the Straits Settlements and the Indian Colonies were too far away from their homeland.
The Yin army was unable to react for a while, and because they lost control of the sea, the review army was caught off guard.
"President, there is one more small matter. The small Japanese fleet in the South China Sea that has been scurrying around to commit crimes has been eliminated."
"Huh, we finally caught them. How did you catch them?"
"This time, our fishing boat discovered them, then notified the offshore fleet to dispatch two frigates, and three torpedo boats joined forces to kill them."
"Our fishermen are all good. This time we must commend them grandly and publicize them vigorously. Let your Publicity Department be responsible for this matter."
There are a total of six offices in the Attendant's Room, which generally correspond to relevant ministries.
But sometimes I will also handle some tasks assigned by Dong Shuheng.
"Yes, President, I'll go back and make arrangements."
After seeing off Wei Yuxiang, Dong Shuheng walked towards Xiaobailou, where his family usually ate.
As soon as I arrived outside the building, I heard the crying of children. The older children were all six or seven years old, a time when even dogs disliked them.
However, Dong Shuheng's wives are all career-oriented.
Huier is the only one who takes care of the housework. The usual management of several children falls on her head.
As soon as he entered the house, Dong Shuheng saw the third child, Dong Fu, crying loudly.
The second brother Dong Xia on the side raised his head, his eyes were also red.
Hui'er, holding her daughter in her arms, was teaching these two men a lesson.
"what happened?"
Dong Shuheng knew that he couldn't get anything out of Dong Xing who was crying.
"Husband, you're back. Xia'er dismantled one of Fu'er's toys, and the two of them had a fight. I can't control these older ones. I'll just let them live in the school from now on."
"No, no, I don't want to live in school, I want to live at home."
As soon as Hui'er said this, the two children stopped working and forgot about the conflict just now.
"Okay, stop arguing. Why are you crying when you have something to say? Our family is reasonable. And you two are men. I don't want to see you crying again. There are so many younger brothers and sisters in the family. You two
A second brother and a third brother should set good examples."
"Xia'er, why did you dismantle your brother's toys?"
"Dad, I want to see what it's like inside?"
"Then why don't you help your brother reinstall it?"
Dong Xia finally lowered his head and said frustratedly: "I can't pretend."
"You can take it apart, why can't you turn it around?"
Dong Shuheng knows that children are all curious. If you blindly prevent him from doing this or that, it will only kill his talent.
But children also have a fear of difficulties. Sometimes it is not their parents who stifle their interest, but the difficulties.
"I don't know, I can't pretend to be good."
Dong Shuheng turned to Dong Fu and said: "If the second brother can help you repair it, can Fu'er forgive the second brother?"
Dong Fu raised his big red eyes from crying and looked at Dong Shuheng and nodded.
Seeing Dong Shuheng dealing with the conflict between his two sons, Huier finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Go back to the room and see some little kids.
"Xia'er, show your things to daddy," Dong Shuheng said.
Dong Xia spread his little hand, and it turned out to be a frog with a clockwork in it.
Dong Shuheng also played with toys like this when he was a child.
In this era, this is still a relatively high-end toy.
Dong Shuheng patiently accompanied Dong Xia to find the problem, and then reinstalled the little frog.
As the little frog jumped up again on the ground.
The brothers also reconciled.
The best teacher is interest. The best tutor is companionship.
Finally, dinner was served, and Dong Shuheng took the children to the restaurant.
Half of the dining table is filled with child seats.
The children of the Dong family must be put on the table to eat after they are weaned.
The dinner table was also the happiest time for the old lady, with eight grandchildren and a prosperous family.
…
The distance to the office building after dinner is Dong Shuheng's post-dinner walk time.
He was the last one to arrive in the conference room.
Hearing the noisy voices in the conference room, Dong Shuheng knew that the people inside were not idle and must have been exchanging opinions before he arrived.
"President, our military expenditure this time has been nearly five million yuan. But this war has only occupied a small island so far, which is not cost-effective. Why don't we colonize the Indian subcontinent and the Great Empire?
I benefit a lot from it every year." Zuo Jigao spoke.
In normal meetings, the person who challenged Dong Shuheng the most was Premier Zuo.
Dong Shuheng knew that they all wanted to ask this question.
"I really should explain this to everyone. Why not colonize the Indian subcontinent yourself, but support the local forces?"
"First, the Indian subcontinent has been managed by the Great Empire for hundreds of years, and it is not so easy to win. Now we occupy the island of Ceylon. This island is high in the middle and low on the sides, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. We only need to deploy tens of thousands of land troops
, reserve enough supplies, and cooperate with a certain number of naval forces to control this place, and controlling this place is equivalent to controlling the entire East Indian Ocean."
"On the mainland, western India is still in the hands of the Great Empire, and they are constantly transferring personnel and supplies here from the Red Sea. If we control the mainland, how much troops and military expenditures will we need."
"I know that everyone thinks that Shi Dakai got a better deal this time and got so much land for free."
Zuo Jigao added: "Yes, although the Holy Kingdom was also founded by the Chinese, they have always been distant from us. After all, there are still old enemies between the two sides. The Holy Army is not well-trained."
"Lao Zuo, you are right. The Holy Army and we are indeed not of the same mind. Now behind closed doors, I tell everyone that even those small Chinese countries in Southeast Asia may oppose us in the future."
"But they won't do it now, because our Renaissance Army is very powerful. If we want to unite people's hearts and remain the patriarch of the Chinese nation, we have to stay strong. We must remember this in every cabinet in the future."
Dong Shuheng's words made everyone fall into deep thought.
"I will continue the question just now. We let the Holy Army occupy such a large territory this time because they are the most powerful among the several forces in the subcontinent. By then, they will also be the main targets of the Dayang Army, so are they?
After making this profit, there are other things to say.”
"Second point, does our Renaissance Army need that territory? Or is the cost of occupying it proportional to the benefits?"
"Let's first take a look at what's there. The most valuable things in the Indian subcontinent are arable land and population. Neither of these are in short supply for us. We still have a lot of arable land in our hands that has not been developed. Who in the world can match the population?
How do we compare to population?”
"But if we want to occupy it, we must deploy a large number of troops for defense, which is not cost-effective."
"Third, what is the purpose of our expedition? It is not land, but sea power."
"I would like to warn everyone here that our Renaissance Army will not occupy too much land in the future. In the future, we will only control those strategic locations on the sea."
"Look at the map. We now control the island of Ceylon. Who will dare to oppose the Renaissance Army along the entire Bay of Bengal coast in the future?"
Everyone followed Dong Shuheng's guidance and looked at the map.
"Let's look at the big islands of Australia and New Zealand. How will the ships from Australia go there in the future? The routes to there are all under our control."
"Sooner or later, these two places will also be ours. It can be said that the land we control now will be somewhat surplus, and there will be no time to develop it."
Everyone looked at it, and it was indeed true. If they only controlled the Malacca Strait, the Dayang people's fleet could still bypass the south of Sumatra Island.
But now that even the island of Ceylon is in the hands of the Renaissance Army, where can the warships of the Dayang people go to supply supplies?
It starts from the south of the Island of Ceylon. As we all know, the southern hemisphere, that is, the southern part of the Indian Ocean, not only has no islands, but also has a harsh climate. It is called the death route by navigators.