"Commander-in-chief, I really didn't expect things to turn out like this," Li Xin said. He didn't look as excited as he had in the first few months. Li Xin couldn't be blamed. China's sudden popularity in Europe was completely beyond the imagination of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It wasn't just shock, it was horror.
Of course, after slowly adapting to the situation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also reflected. Everyone originally thought that the foreign devils were irrational people, but now the Ministry of Foreign Affairs understood that the ruling class and intellectual class of the foreign devils were actually quite rational. They were excited, anxious, confused, and exploring. In general, they were very normal people.
If one had to find out who was abnormal, then the initiator of this matter, Vézé, was the abnormal person. An individual's wisdom was ahead of the country, ahead of the world. It was abnormal that Europe could have such a huge reaction with just a few tricks.
Li Xin didn't dare to discuss this issue with Vézé. He wouldn't say "Commander-in-chief, I think you're abnormal!" to Vézé's face. Even if he was beaten to death, Li Xin wouldn't say such a thing. The issue raised by Li Xin was Britain's tough move against China.
Even the British Parliament couldn't throw out a public resolution that said, "I'm worried about the rise of China, so I want to beat China hard." The tough move against China was concrete action. As for the resolution, it had to be fully packaged. The reason for Britain's packaging this time was to "stabilize the situation in the Far East."
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs understood the murderous intent contained in these words. The only way to stabilize the situation in the Far East was to make China listen to Britain. Would China listen? Of course not. Since China refused to agree, the remaining options were extremely limited, and there was only one option left.
Because of the war more than half a year ago, France certainly wouldn't be friendly to China, let alone Russia. Even if Austria-Hungary didn't have any conflict with China, there was no friendship between them and China. It was also impossible for Germany to speak up for China. Britain was now in frequent contact with these countries, and after the British resolution to "stabilize the situation in the Far East", Russia and France expressed their full approval in June 1874. Austria-Hungary and Germany, on the other hand, said some nonsense about wanting peace. The United States did not say anything. The United Kingdom was giving the United States a lot of pressure. The United Kingdom had strengthened its power in the Far East, and the United States was under even more pressure.
The major industrialized nations of the world had made their stand, and Britain was free to act. Vézé was well aware of this. He smiled at Li Xin and said, "Don't worry, the people from the Ministry of Commerce won't do anything to you."
Li Xin heaved a sigh of relief after hearing Vézé's words. Once the war started, China's foreign trade would basically cease. With the development and production of several large silver mines in the world, the price of silver had plummeted in the past two years. China had used its huge surplus with the UK to buy silver, which was a huge sum of money. Once the war begins, this benefit will be cut short. Although the Ministry of Commerce had a good relationship with Li Xin, personal relations could not compare to the interests of the Ministry of Commerce. Even if it was just a formality, the Ministry of Commerce had to criticize the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for not doing its job properly, and the ambassador to Britain's careless speech caused the Ministry of Commerce to be in trouble. As long as Vézé came out and made a stand, all the criticism would immediately stop.
The British really came at the right time, and the first five-year plan had just ended. Vézé had originally been worried about how to convince everyone, but now he was not worried anymore. The military action of the British would be the best to convince the central government. The second five-year plan could probably be summed up in two slogans: "Expand" and "Everything is to win the war".
After seeing off Li Xin, Vézé held a meeting of the Military Commission. The members of the Military Commission already knew the attitude of the British, and the most common comment was, "Are we really going to fight this time?"
Seven or eight years ago, Vézé had proposed a plan to attack the British. Some of these plans were not implemented at all, and some of them were implemented in the first half, but the second half was not implemented because of the political situation. When it looked like a real war was about to start, it became the British taking the initiative to attack. China was not simply passively beaten, but the attacking force was no longer the navy, but the army.
In 1858, the French and Spanish navies jointly attacked Yan Gang. Two years later, the French colonists captured Gia Dinh, Dinh Hsiang, Biên Hòa, and Vinh Long in the eastern part of Jiaozhina (southern Vietnam). In 1862, the Vietnamese emperor Nguyễn Chao Đức signed the Treaty of Saigon with France. According to the treaty, Vietnam ceded Saigon, Biên Hòa, Gia Dinh, Dinh Hsiang, and Kon Cần Island to France, and paid 20 million francs as compensation for the war. In 1863, the French colonists occupied Cambodia, making Cambodia a protectorate of France. In 1867, the French colonists occupied Vinh Long, An Jiang, and Hà Tiên provinces in the eastern part of Jiaozhina. By 1868, the French colonists had seized the entire southern part of Vietnam.
As early as 1865, China began to advance into Laos, sending a mixed team of doctors and soldiers to advance from the countryside. The Laotian locals quickly accepted these new masters who were basically no different from their language.
In 1873, China solved the French army in the north who tried to open up the Red River transportation line, and then began to operate. During the Spring Festival of 1874, the King of Laos, like the King of Ryukyu, "went to the capital for an audience." What followed was a very traditional show of proclaiming allegiance, and Laos became a province of China. The local leaders were temporarily given some official positions, and everyone was happy except for the King.
China did not solve the problem of Laos alone. Starting in September 1873, the Liberation Army built roads and communication lines through Yunnan and Laos while going deep into Burma. At this time, the British had begun to invade Burma and fought two wars. In such a dangerous world, Laos had returned to the safe and warm embrace of the motherland, and no longer had to worry about being invaded by France. Laos was safe, and the motherland would not watch Burma, a wanderer, be engulfed in the stormy waves set off by the colonialists.
Vézé had very few methods to deal with the British, one of the most reliable was to fight the British on land and approach India. This was not only a way to take advantage of the advantages, but also the best way to liberate Tibet. The most convenient way to go to Tibet was not through Sichuan-Tibet, but through India. Since they would definitely fall out with each other, it was best to solve more problems through war.
Lei Hu asked a question, "How long will this war last? Five years? "
"I think it will be four or five years," Vézé replied. Without four or five years, it was impossible to determine the outcome of this war. At least, four or five years would have a limited impact on China's economy. As long as the navy did not collapse, it was really impossible for the army to have any earth-shattering failure. Letting the British maintain a war for four or five years would put a lot of economic pressure on them.
"Should we go to war with the British? I saw the intelligence from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the French don't seem to have any plans for war for the time being. But they will definitely find a way to cut off our Siamese route. "Commander Lin Jiajun raised his concerns.
"As long as the British make a move against us, we will make a move against the French." Vézé laughed. "Anyway, the heroic French have all died for the country. When the time comes, it will be up to us to decide whether to make a move or not."
The members of the Military Commission couldn't help but laugh. The war had not yet begun, and Vézé had already decided the fate of the French in southern Vietnam … No, it should be said that China had already decided the fate of the French in China's new territory in the Siamese Gulf. Ten years ago, China tried to join forces with Vietnam against France. China's demand was that Vietnam cede the northern Jiaozhi county to China. But the Vietnamese court feared China more than France. They actually played a small trick and leaked China's intelligence to France, hoping to exchange for France's support.
In this era where the big powers had the real right to speak, France not only did not cooperate with Vietnam, but also negotiated with China on the division of Vietnam. In the end, in the Sino-French secret agreement, China agreed to France's occupation of southern Vietnam, France guaranteed the safety of China's Siamese and Vietnam's rice routes. China did not get the land, but only the actual control of the Hongji area.
At that time, the upper echelons of the Liberation Army thought that the Military Governor Vaize had taken advantage of France. But the Navy was not strong, and the Liberation Army was used to fighting prepared battles. No one dared to really take the risk of a war that was out of control.
Now, the Liberation Army's view was different. The French had opened up territory in southern Vietnam, annexed Cambodia, and signed treaties with neighboring countries. Now that France had become a big fat sheep step by step, if China did not eat up this fat sheep, it would be unfair to itself. The Central Military Commission had fully understood why "composure" was a true virtue.
The specific work of the battle in Burma did not need Vézé's command. The General Staff Department would make the corresponding plan. All the Military Commission needed to do was to reach a consensus.
After the Military Commission meeting, Vézé went to inspect the Nanjing shipyards, Shanghai shipyards, and Wuhan shipyards. After the launch of the newest battleship, there were far more problems than expected. There were major problems with the power system and weapon system. Vézé did not want to blame anyone. The construction of this battleship was actually planned to start in 1874. At that time, the Navy finally agreed to use this battleship as a test ship. It was inevitable that there would be problems now.
The third cruiser, the Qingdao, was officially taken over. Qingdao had undertaken a lot of experimental work. After two consecutive major repairs, the Navy finally decided to scrap the ship. The 200mm cannon was indeed powerful, but the 200mm cannon also caused great damage to the Qingdao. In addition to the damage caused by the various experiments, it was more cost-effective to repair the Qingdao to a level suitable for combat than to build a new battleship. Not only the Qingdao, but the first three cruisers also encountered the same problem.
Based on the large amount of data from the five experimental battleships, the cruiser had been finalized. The displacement reached 4,400 tons. The hull was riveted with 3,000 tons of homogeneous steel ribs pressed by a hydraulic press, and the hull was riveted with 1,500 tons of homogeneous "boiler steel" pressed by a hydraulic press. It was fully waterline armor, and the key protection parts were 350mm composite steel armor. The original eight boilers became six boilers, and the boiler's steam pipes were at least 50% thicker than the previous boilers. The two triple-expansion steam engines drove two propellers that could run up to 18 knots. It must be noted that the propellers also needed the help of a 3,000-ton hydraulic press.
With such armor and power, the cruiser's cannon looked very shabby. Vézé deliberated for a long time between the 125 and 120 cannons. In the end, he chose the 120 cannon with a smaller caliber.
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