"President, I understand what you mean. In the next few years, we will confront the Great Empire on the island of Ceylon. But we now have the ability to control the sea in western India. Why not go further?" the staff elder asked strictly.
.
The military is obviously more aggressive in combat.
While the navy of the Great Empire has not yet formed an army, wouldn't it be better to push the front further forward to expand the fruits of victory?
"Old Yan, I believe the navy can do this. But we only brought 50,000 land troops this time. We have to leave enough troops to garrison Ceylon. How many are left?"
"We drove the Dayang people out of the east coast, and we actually relied on the military strength of the Holy Kingdom and the Tamils. But there was no decent ally on the west coast to help us."
"Besides, the navy needs repairs and is unable to fight anymore. In the absence of the navy, we cannot continue the attack."
"Also, how do you think the current overall strength of the Great Empire compares with ours?"
Dong Shuheng looked at Zuo Jigao.
"Well, in terms of background, this country may even surpass us. They control the trade along the Atlantic and Indian Ocean coasts, and are not weaker than us economically, but our population and size exceed them, so overall we should be equally powerful.
." Zuo Jigao expressed his opinion.
"Lao Zuo is right. If there is a war between two countries of equal strength, the final thing to compete is resources. And the resources that can really be sent to the front line are closely related to the length of the supply line. Everyone should understand this truth."
"Our current distance to Ceylon is closer than that of the Great Empire. This is our advantage."
"Moreover, there are many benefits to leaving the territory on the west coast of India to the Indians. First of all, they want to keep the main force of the army there. If it were us, we would also have to solve the problems in the rear first."
"If we drive them out of the Indian subcontinent, then after the main force of their navy arrives, they will definitely focus their attack on the island of Ceylon."
"Right now, their army's top priority is to attack the colonial forces, which means they must give priority to attacking local forces such as the Holy Army and the Northern Alliance to consolidate the Bombay Governorate. And we only need to face their navy in Ceylon.
Already."
Everyone nodded, Dong Shuheng explained clearly that if you want to catch a big fish, you need to put enough bait.
What is left of the west coast of India is bait for the Indians.
Fighting in Ceylon is naturally not as good as Malacca, but if the Renaissance Army wants to completely cut off the connection between the Great Empire and the Australian mainland, it must occupy it.
Taken together, occupying and holding Ceylon Island is the best choice for the Renaissance Army at present.
"President, Great Britain has now entered a wartime state. I heard that they have converted many ordinary factories into arsenals and are recruiting troops on a large scale. Do we also need to increase the number of troops for the southward legion?" Peng Yulin, who had just been transferred back to the military department.
asked.
Now the army going south only has an army of 100,000 men, but the fleet has combined all the capital ships of the Renaissance Army.
After the Straits Settlements are occupied, some troops will definitely be left there for deployment.
Then the total force strength in India's direction appears to be too thin.
Even Peng Yulin felt a little guilty.
"Yes, with Da Ying's physique, if they don't do full mobilization, there is no way they can fight us. But I am not prepared to do such full mobilization."
"Doing this will have a great impact on our newly developed industry and commerce. They want to fight a full-scale war with us, but we have to fight a limited war with them."
"They want to use the whole country to fight back against the Indian region, so we will change offense into defense."
"They want to end the war quickly, so we will drag out the war in India."
"President, I think it is best for us to integrate the legions going south. Since the next battle will be fought in the Indian region, should we set up a separate theater to not only command our own troops, but also pull together several forces in the Indian subcontinent?
Come in and form a joint command."
"With this kind of unified command, each country on the subcontinent is now fighting independently, and the combat effectiveness it can exert is limited. I have estimated that the total strength of the five main forces there can be close to one million."
"If we can carry out joint operations, we can at least hold back the 500,000 troops of the Great Empire."
"Minister Peng, you talked about forming a joint command, but countries like Gorkha and the Kingdom of Myanmar are no longer on the front line. Will they be willing to send troops to fight?" Zuo Jigao reminded.
Several forces in the Indian subcontinent, except Gorkha, which is relatively close to the suzerain state, do not seem to be so obedient.
"Of course, they are all masters who don't let the hawk see the rabbit, so let's get a fat enough rabbit." Peng Yulin said with a smile.
"Where did the rabbit come from? Let's agree first that we can't produce this rabbit ourselves." Zuo Jigao said. He is now the Prime Minister of the Cabinet and is very protective of the assets of the Renaissance Army.
"Of course, this big rabbit is the Indian subcontinent. According to what the president said, we do not seek territorial interests in the Indian subcontinent. So it is only appropriate for us to act as an arbiter."
"What I mean is that we can set up a subcontinental post-war reconstruction committee. Only countries that join the subcontinental theater can get seats on this committee."
"We can give this committee the power to arbitrate the territorial division of the subcontinent. You must know that in addition to the land controlled by a few major forces, half of the entire subcontinent is in the hands of the people."
"We, the Renaissance Army, do not seek territory ourselves, so we are the best able to convince the public. When the time comes, the land will be allocated based on merit."
"Then the Kingdom of Burma and Gorkha have no motivation. Then give them the power to continue to obtain land. In this case, if they do not participate, they will completely lose the opportunity to strengthen themselves."
Peng Yulin's suggestion made everyone's eyes brighten, their minds suddenly opened up, and their hearts became brighter.
"Okay!" Dong Shuheng exclaimed.
"Xueqin's suggestion is good. As long as we send a general to the subcontinent, we can fully mobilize local resources."
"There is also this post-war reconstruction, which is also very valuable. Our Renaissance Army will have a big market for no reason. The Greater China Circle can also smoothly expand to the subcontinent."
"As long as we dispatch a small number of troops, we can firmly grasp the dominance of the war and the distribution of post-war benefits in our hands. There is a lot that can be done here."
"I think this proposal is feasible." Dong Shuheng was indeed persuaded that this matter should be done sooner rather than later.
"President, if this happens, I'm afraid General Yang alone won't be able to sustain it." Yan Shikun reminded.
Previously, Yang Bingchun served as the commander-in-chief of the Southward Army, commanding soldiers from the Renaissance Army.
But if a subcontinental theater is established, what needs to be considered is not military matters.
And Yang Bingchun has almost no political experience. It's okay to ask him to direct the war, but to ask him to coordinate so many forces will definitely drive him crazy.
"Indeed, it's not easy to coordinate with so many forces that have their own agendas."
"I think since Xue Qin proposed this plan, you should take the lead."
Dong Shuheng looked at Peng Yulin and said.
"President, Yu Lin is naturally obligated, but the war situation in the south has always been led by Commander Yang. If I intervene in the middle, I am suspected of stealing credit."
Peng Yulin said with some embarrassment.
"Hey, Xueqin, you are overthinking this. The Southward Army remains unchanged. Yang Bingchun continues to command the Southward Army. I plan to use Ceylon Island and the Strait area as his defense area. They are also part of the subcontinental theater."
"The subcontinental war zone is equivalent to setting up a new organization on top of the army going south. Yulin, you will be the commander of the war zone. I will transfer Li Shaoquan from Yunnan to be the secretary-general to assist you. He has stayed in the south for a long time, and has been with the Kingdom of Burma and the Taiping Holy Kingdom.
After all the dealings, I left the diplomacy and communication matters to him."
"In addition, Du Chaoqun in the Kingdom of Myanmar can serve as the chief of staff of the theater, and Yang Bingchun has the title of deputy commander of the theater, but he is not at the headquarters. I will let him transfer the headquarters to Ceylon Island. It is too important and must be
Someone needs to be in charge."
"After you get there, you can contact the local forces and ask them to send people to the headquarters to give them certain decision-making powers."
"Xueqin, you have to find ways to mobilize the enthusiasm of these forces. The most feared thing about multi-party cooperation is wrangling. People's armies are twisted into one."
"Yes, President, I understand. I will draw the pie for them and mobilize their enthusiasm." Peng Yulin said seriously.
He had already thought about this issue when he made this suggestion.
"The domestic side can allocate 50,000 army troops to you as troops directly under the headquarters. In addition, we can provide new weapons and equipment. As for the quantity, we should try to support as many as possible. You have to win over these scattered troops.
There must be some chips.”
At this time, Zuo Jigao interjected: "President, since it is a subcontinental war zone, why don't we bring Aiwuhan in. They have always wanted to take back the Peshawar area. Originally they were afraid of the Daling people, but now they have the subcontinent."
In war zones, it is said that numbers of people make people bolder, and they will definitely be tempted this time." After all, Zuo Jigao had spent a long time in the Western Regions.
If we follow the divisions of later generations, the British-Indian Viceroyalty of Peshawar should indeed be included in the subcontinent.
The Aiwuhan people once controlled this land and had their own outlet to the sea.
Later, this place was taken away by the Dagu, and Aiwuhan became a landlocked country.
In the past two years, the Renaissance Army has sent many people to infiltrate the local area and instigated some local tribal armed forces to plunder the Peshawar area, which has greatly weakened Dayang's local rule.
After listening to what Zuo Jigao said, Dong Shuheng also thought it was feasible. He didn't think of it just now and forgot about this corner.
In this case, the Renaissance Army will integrate the Holy Kingdom, the Kingdom of Burma, the Northern Alliance, the Southern Alliance, Gorkha, Aiwuhan and other forces to form a military alliance.
The total strength of this alliance is over one million, and they are fighting on the local territory. People from all over the world are coming from afar. How many troops do they need?
The Renaissance Army only needs a few generals, 50,000 troops, and some weapons and ammunition.
For Da Ying, this war really requires all their efforts.
But its impact on the Renaissance Army was not great.
For the Renaissance Army, which has nearly one million troops, these 150,000 troops are nothing at all.
Moreover, when fighting in the subcontinent, most of the food and grass supplies can be provided locally, which greatly reduces the pressure on logistics.
The most difficult thing is how to coordinate the interests of all parties and how to mobilize the enthusiasm of all parties.
Of course, there may be resistance to the establishment of this war zone. The people fighting on the front are the Holy Kingdom and the Northern Alliance. Are they willing to share their land with others?
Someone asked this question.
What if they think they can defeat the Great Army?
Dong Shuheng said: "We need an opportunity to establish this war zone. I think this opportunity will come soon, but we cannot leave the country too much time. Victory will reunite the loose colonial kingdoms.
Under the battle flag of our army.”
"So I decided to prepare and wait for the opportunity."
"Order the Southwest Military Region to dispatch six more divisions to assemble in Tengchong Mansion, ready to enter the subcontinent for combat at any time."
The Southwest Military Region does not have so many regular troops. However, the Renaissance Army has a large number of militiamen and retired personnel, as well as a large number of shadow troops.
The so-called shadow troops only have the airs of officers and no standing soldiers. The soldiers of these troops will only gather together during the annual militia training.
Furthermore, why troops are always drawn from the southwest and south is naturally because soldiers in the south can more easily adapt to the climate of the subcontinent.
The most feared thing about fighting in a foreign place is that the soldiers are not accustomed to the local environment, resulting in a large number of non-combat attrition.
During this overseas campaign, troops were drawn from the Southwest and Southern Military Regions twice in a row. The local standing armies were basically exhausted, and the military headquarters also drew militias from neighboring provinces to form standing armies to supplement them.
In fact, the Renaissance Army is equivalent to an increase of hundreds of thousands of standing troops at once.
"Lao Zuo, you telegraph Li Shaoquan and leave immediately for the Holy Kingdom, the Kingdom of Burma, Gorkha, the Northern Alliance, and the Southern Alliance to discuss with them the formation of a subcontinental theater and a post-war reconstruction committee."
"We need to explain the situation clearly to Li Shaoquan and let him know the importance of this matter."
"Yes, President, I understand." Zuo Jigao said.
This matter is very urgent, and Dong Shuheng is not allowed to delay it any longer. He plans to use today's meeting to make arrangements directly.
In fact, Dong Shuheng and the others have been discussing for more than two hours.
In the meantime, Du Ji came in and replenished the tea several times. Dong Shuheng knew that the discussion would be very late today, so he asked Du Ji to arrange a supper.
"Xueqin, please hand over your work and seize the time to head south. The six divisions directly under your control this time have a high proportion of recruits. In the past, you had to use the waiting period to strengthen training and sharpen your weapons before the battle. If you don't do it quickly, it will be a waste.
."
"I understand."
"Lao Zuo, please coordinate the supplies with the cabinet. Although we are not in wartime, the production capacity of the military industry must be raised to the highest level. We need to ship more of our inventory."
"In addition, the Ministry of Transport will also repair the road from Tengchong Prefecture to Dinsugia and establish a material reserve base in Yunnan."
Land transportation is more expensive than sea transportation, but sea transportation from the Baath Army to the Bay of Bengal requires a long detour.
Dong Shuheng still decided to take the land route. The Fuxing Army had already built a railway into Yunnan.
Materials from all over the place can be gathered there.
A strategic highway was built between Tengchong Prefecture and Shengjing of the Holy Kingdom.
After things arrive in Shengjing, they can be transported to various places downstream through the waterway of Yajiang River.
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