sovbooks Chapter 46 Who to Fight Next?
Chapter 46 Who to Fight Next?
On the first day of the second month of the first year of Hanchang (1835), the imperial conference of the heads, secretaries and grand secretaries of the various ministries, prefectures, temples and academies of the central court of the Great Han Dynasty was held again in the Wuying Hall.
After the eunuch announced the start of the meeting, Wang Yong, the naval commander and Duke of Cao, was the first to step forward:
"Your Majesty, the first batch of two thousand couples of American settlers have completed all their training."
"The Beiyang Fleet and transport ships responsible for escorting the convoy are also ready and can depart at any time."
"The fleet plans to first sail south around the Korean Peninsula and stop in Vladivostok for rest and resupply."
"Then it sailed eastward into the Pacific Ocean between Sakhalin Island and Ezo Island (Hokkaido), heading towards the northwest coast of North America."
"The entire journey is expected to take sixty to eighty days."
"After the Beiyang Fleet and transport ships deliver the militia to the northwest coast of North America, a small fleet will be stationed in North America."
"Serving as a transport vessel for the pioneering militia, it was also responsible for surveying the hydrological and terrestrial environment of the northwestern region of North America."
"The main fleet and transport ships will sail south to Mexico, trade with the Mexicans, and then return west."
"We will travel through the Hawaiian Islands and return to Taiwan in eighty to one hundred days."
Liu Yulong already knew these general plans:
"Now that everything is ready, let's choose a suitable time based on the wind direction and sea conditions and set sail as soon as possible."
Wang Yong bowed and accepted.
"I obey your decree."
Liu Yulong requested to be arranged to immigrate to North America in early summer last year.
Liu Yulong initially said, "With a thousand militiamen, we can gain a foothold."
For the Northwest Coast of North America at that time, a thousand militiamen would be a formidable force.
In the Seattle and Vancouver areas of later generations, it's now considered a big deal if any of the various factions could even muster a thousand militiamen, let alone a thousand.
These were usually small groups of fur traders and explorers.
Even for new immigrants aiming to settle down, each group usually consists of only one or two hundred people.
That place was far too far from the heart of European society.
Even Americans and Canadians on the east coast of North America need two or three months to cross the wilderness inside the North American continent to reach the coast on the other side of the continent.
At this point, they hadn't even fully explored the so-called Oregon Trail.
The arrival of a thousand Han militia members, while not enough to simply and brutally overwhelm the entire area, meant that no force could provoke or confront them.
Ensuring the safety of immigrants is more than sufficient.
The final military order issued by the Military Command was to "organize one thousand militia households to go to North America for reclamation and settlement."
The military advisors and generals of the Governor's Office were quite worried after receiving the military order.
They believed that if there were only a thousand people, and the key point was that they were not regular soldiers but just second-generation young militiamen, and they had to go to places tens of thousands of miles away, it would take half a year for a round trip.
What if something happens to the immigrants overseas? How can a mere thousand militiamen handle it?
The military's so-called "coping" usually involves a simple and brutal approach of overwhelming all other groups.
Therefore, the officers of the Central Military Command and the Naval Command, while selecting strong and clever second-generation militiamen from Hebei and Shandong according to the plan, suggested to Liu Yulong that the size of the first batch of militiamen be increased.
Liu Yulong's mention of the number of immigrants was just a casual remark. He instructed that if the navy's transport capacity could support it, then a larger number of immigrants in the first batch would be more secure, and the subsequent development and construction could proceed more quickly.
After receiving further instructions, the Military Governor's Office, the Central Military Governor's Office, and the Naval Governor's Office re-coordinated and ultimately increased the number of the first batch of immigrants to two thousand households.
At the same time, they will not be sent away directly.
They first assembled in a military camp in Tianjin and underwent comprehensive military training for more than half a year, following the standards of local garrisons in the Han Dynasty. They were also equipped with a full set of regular army equipment.
It wasn't until after the beginning of this year that preparations were made for the Beiyang Fleet to transport them to the west coast of North America.
In Liu Yulong's view, this group of people went to the Northwest of North America to fish with explosives.
In addition, to ensure he understood the specifics of the operation, Liu Yulong also transferred a group of junior officers and two hundred veterans from the Imperial Guard to serve as junior officers in this militia.
Zhang Lexing's cousin, Zhang Zongyu, who was originally a company commander in the Imperial Guard, was also transferred to the militia as a commander of a thousand men.
After receiving the order, Wang Yong went back to sit down.
Military Advisor Li Shaohong immediately stepped forward to offer his advice:
"Your Majesty, the Military Advisory Office needs to clarify that the planned route of the Beiyang Fleet to the northwest coast of North America is not the best route from the Han mainland across the Pacific Ocean to North America."
"The ocean outside Vladivostok Port freezes for about three months every winter, and the ocean currents near the mainland in the Vladivostok Sea flow from north to south."
"It would not be convenient for the fleet to travel north from the southern tip of Whale Island to this location for rest and recuperation."
"There are two best routes. One is still to go through the Whale Sea, but instead of going to Vladivostok on the mainland side, go directly to Ezo Island and sail eastward through the strait between Ezo and Honshu, Japan."
"The second option is to sail eastward through the East China Sea, directly to the south side of Kyushu Island in Japan, and then sail northeastward from the southeast side of the Japanese archipelago, turning eastward in the northeast of Honshu Island in Japan."
"If the entire journey follows the optimal route, the round trip can be completed in about five months, which means that you can travel to and from the Northwest Coast of North America twice a year."
"The Military Council believes that if the Great Han wants to expand along the west coast of North America in the long term, it should control the Japanese archipelago, or at least Ezo and Kyushu."
Liu Yulong knew the other party was right, and he also had a plan to deal with Japan:
"What the soldier said is true. Obtaining a supply point in the Japanese archipelago would indeed be beneficial for controlling the North American shipping lanes."
"However, the Japanese archipelago is mountainous with limited plains, and has a large population, probably over 20 million."
"Japan's land resources have been exhausted, meaning it has reached the maximum population that the land can support."
"The Han dynasty could not acquire any useful land by directly conquering Japan."
"Such a large population would make war extremely difficult."
"In other words, both occupying Japan and purging the Japanese were extremely difficult tasks."
"The timing is not yet right, meaning it cannot be accomplished at a low cost."
"The Han Dynasty needs more powerful weapons and faster transport ships."
"The Military Advisory Office can develop strategic plans for these objectives."
"When the time is ripe to conquer Japan, I will personally arrange the relevant military operations."
Li Shaohong, who had just joined the army, thought Liu Yulong's words made sense, but he also felt that Liu Yulong was trying to shirk responsibility.
Slightly reluctant, I bowed and accepted the order, while continuing to offer other suggestions:
"Your Majesty's decision is sound and the war should indeed be planned in advance."
"As per His Majesty's instructions, a militia guard was organized from each of the three provinces of Jiangxi, Hunan, and Sichuan last year."
"A total of 30,000 people successively crossed Yunnan and settled in the northern part of Ava, the capital of Myanmar, to cultivate land and build a city."
"According to the reports sent back from the front lines, although the King of Burma accepted the imperial decree, he was clearly quite wary of the imperial militia stationed in the fields."
"The Burmese king quickly arranged for the Burmese army to patrol and guard the perimeter of the militia settlements, and soon began to expand his army."
"Barbarians have always feared power but not appreciated virtue. If the militia and the Burmese clash in the future, the Burmese king may take the opportunity to attack the militia's military settlements."
"I believe that the court should strike first and send a large army to pacify Burma."
Liu Yulong did not allow an immediate attack on Japan, so the military council immediately proposed to conquer Burma.
After considering it for a moment, Liu Yulong felt that it was not appropriate to launch a campaign against Burma at this time:
"Burma is different from Luzon. Luzon was a remote Spanish colony with only three thousand regular troops."
"The natives of Luzon are extremely primitive, and they do not have a proper government or court."
"Burma is not a colony. The indigenous people have long since formed a mature court system. The king has even basically controlled the local chieftains and is able to mobilize the power of the whole country."
"Burma should have had a population of five million at this time, and the king was able to quickly organize an army of over 100,000."
"When the Great Han attacks Luzon, as long as we defeat the main force of several thousand Spanish troops and occupy Manila, the most crucial city in the archipelago, the rest will be just about sailing and seizing land."
"But if we attack Myanmar, we will have to completely destroy a country, which is a completely different level of difficulty."
"At the same time, before the Han Dynasty occupied Malacca, or before there were enough militia garrisons in Burma, it was too difficult to transport soldiers and supplies by land through Yunnan."
"Unable to quickly send enough soldiers over, we cannot gain an overwhelming advantage over the Burmese king's army."
"The imperial court is finding it difficult to conquer Burma quickly, and the losses from continuous warfare are hard to control."
"Starting a war prematurely without proper preparation will prolong the war and make it difficult to win. It is better to maintain the status quo for the time being and continue to build militia garrisons."
"After forming a militia organization of more than 100,000 people in Myanmar, adapting to the local climate and being able to be self-sufficient in food, and after the imperial army has completed this round of upgrades, we will formally launch a full-scale invasion of Myanmar."
"Moreover, since the Burmese king has nominally cooperated, the court should not launch a campaign against him without a valid reason."
"This year, we will send another 30,000 militiamen south to cultivate the land, and transfer a main force division from Guangxi to be responsible for garrisoning and guarding. If there is any unusual activity in the Burmese royal court, we will launch a surprise attack on the capital and take control of the Burmese king."
Li Shaohong still felt that Liu Yulong's words made sense, and while accepting the order again, he asked Liu Yulong more directly for his opinion:
"Your Majesty's words are wise and prudent. We humbly request Your Majesty's instructions regarding this year's war."
Upon hearing this, Liu Yulong couldn't help but shake his head and sigh inwardly. What he meant was:
Who should we fight this year? Please point out a target.
In these people's mindset, it's only natural to find another target to fight this year.
The problem lies in the choice of target, not in whether or not to fight.
The attack on Luzon last year was last year's event; there should be war objectives for this year as well.
Liu Yulong pondered for a moment:
"Vietnam and North Korea are relatively compliant, so it is not advisable to launch a military campaign against them."
"Borneo, let's start from Borneo in the next few years and gradually clean up the Dutch."
"Then we can focus on dealing with the Britons."