Australian Storm 1876

  Chapter 646 Three Hard Bones

In the years of warfare, every day is a baptism of blood and fire, every minute and every second is suffering. It is this cruel environment of war that makes people quickly transformed, from simple peasants and simple workers to qualified fighters. .

  After half a month

  The progress of the **** battle in Melbourne was not unexpected, and it seemed difficult and far away without end.

  This originally beautiful city has been devastated by wars, and less than half of the buildings can still stand intact. The city is full of traces of **** wars. The scorched beams stand abruptly, and there are rubbles everywhere.

  This scene of war is in sharp contrast with the intact urban architecture in West Melbourne across the river, with heaven on one side and **** on the other, showing the cruelty of war.

In half a month of fighting street by street, the Northern Army paid 47,700 casualties (more than half of the white captives lost more than 26,000, and the Chinese soldiers lost 21,700), annihilating more than 53,000 enemy troops. Occupying nearly half of the city on the east bank of the Yarra River, compressing the enemy in the southeastern part of Melbourne, preparing to encircle and annihilate it in one fell swoop.

  The fierce and non-stop gunfire continued for more than half a month, and suddenly stopped completely on this day.

  Both sides know that the short silence means that a more violent storm is about to strike, and both are actively preparing for this.

During this period

  The total number of reinforcements that have successively arrived at the front line of Melbourne in the south has exceeded 126,000. After the B Corps suffered heavy losses, its strength rose instead of falling, and its total strength quickly expanded to more than 253,000. (Including 24,000 white captive soldiers. After the **** battle, they were given equal treatment to the Chinese soldiers. They were reorganized into four divisions and undergoing large-scale repairs.) They are capable of delivering a fatal blow to the recalcitrant Federal Army.

  Overview of the entire North-South war

  The **** battle in Sydney finally ended after two months and six days of repeated seesaws. A total of more than 97,000 enemy troops were killed and wounded, of which less than 8,800 were captured, and the rest were completely wiped out.

  The war caused extremely serious damage to the metropolis of Sydney. More than 80% of the buildings were destroyed in the war. Only a few strong cathedrals, state councils, libraries and other buildings survived.

In the flames of fire and bullets, civilians were greatly injured. There were countless deaths due to various causes. Only about 36,000 young white women and a small number of children were accommodated, and the rest were buried in the rubble of the city. inside.

  Now, Melbourne is repeating this tragedy.

The number of young white women and a small number of children rescued every day from the new battlefield on the east bank of the Yarra River is not many. So far, it can only be more than 40,000, which is in line with the total population of 470,000 in the region (minus Compared with the population figures in the West Melbourne area, it is less than 1/10.

  No one can tell exactly how many urban residents have been harmed in the war. The two sides are now killing with red eyes, and they are almost unscrupulously killing themselves. Who cares about innocent urban civilians?

  For the offensive Ocean Kingdom army, it is impossible to distinguish between soldiers and civilians of the Confederate Army. This is because the Confederate Army has recruited too many militiamen to participate in the battle, all wearing a variety of clothes. How can they be distinguished?

  The easiest way is to kill it with one shot, regardless of whether the white man on the opposite side is 12 or 55 years old.

  As for women, check whether the fingers have discoloration caused by gunfire smoke, the elbows and knees are abraded, and whether the fingers have rubbed calluses? Is the shoulder bruised and swollen? Are there any gunshot wounds on the body?

  If one meets the conditions, he will be dragged out and shot.

  In this brutal Melbourne city **** battle, the Southern Federal Army has many armed female soldiers. Many soldiers fell under their guns. This kind of unforgettable blood feud cannot be wiped out by gender.

  There was a mistake, but I didn’t let it go.

  Whether we can finally set foot on the stone bridge far away from war depends on many factors.

Some Chinese commanders simply think that some old white women are sloppy, ugly or unpleasant, so they refuse their request to enter the West Bank and allow them to suffer in the purgatory of the East Bank War. The rejected women may live. But tonight, it is possible to starve to death by a certain pile of rubble, without sympathy and pity, life and death are only between the thoughts of the Chinese commander.

  As for white children...cough cough...fate is not optimistic.

  The battle is fought for this kind of sake, and some sections are left unanswered.

  Virgin Mary Church

The bright sun shines from the side of the stone corridor, the breeze is slow, if not for bursts of strong gunpowder smoke and **** smell from time to time, if not for the visible gun pits and dense bullet marks on the walls, this place should be Yunjuan Tianshu , Years and quiet days.

  Li Fushou looked tall and majestic in the uniform of a marshal. In this quiet place, he was having afternoon tea with the generals. The surrounding stars were shining and the king was in the middle. The atmosphere was warm and harmonious.

The high-level army of the Ocean Kingdom has just entered a large-scale general award. The army’s chief of staff Konrad Adenauer, the deputy chief of staff Wei Chi Shouzhuo, and Mo Rufeng have all awarded the army the rank of general. All merits are promoted.

Liu Shan, deputy commander of the A Corps and commander of the 2nd Kalimantan Division, promoted to lieutenant general, Li Baihu, deputy commander of the Corps and 1st Kalimantan division commander, promoted to lieutenant general, Tiger Cavalry division commander Schwartz-Kopf promoted to major general, and Leopard Cavalry division commander Zhou Dahui promoted to major general , Qingdao division commander Qi Feng was promoted to brigadier general, Burns division commander Hu Zhengzhong was promoted to brigadier general, West Xiangzhou division commander Zhao Jiaxiong was promoted to brigadier general, Zhuque division commander Liu Ahu was promoted to brigadier general.

B Corps Deputy Commander and Dragoon Division Commander Nan Huaiyu was promoted to Lieutenant General, Corps Deputy Commander and Brisbane Division Commander Huo Xiaohu was promoted to Lieutenant General, Wolf Cavalry Division Commander Hu Tiesheng was promoted to Major General, Red Division Commander Li Shuanzhu was promoted to Major General, Shangri-La Division Commander Fritz was promoted to Major General , Songjiang division commander Li Baihu was promoted to major general, Beilun division commander Li Yuan (formerly known as Li Siyuan, renamed to avoid the taboo of His Royal Highness) was promoted to brigadier general, Wisconsin division commander Li Qinglong was promoted to brigadier general, East Xiangzhou division commander Li Siyi was promoted to brigadier general, Baihu division commander Gu Haikang (formerly Cairns City) Long) Promoted to Brigadier General.

  In addition, there are also promotion of mobile corps and naval officers, so I won’t repeat them here.

Ocean Kingdoms mostly follow Western court etiquette and act falsely and bow down. The monarchs and ministers are more equal. Therefore, Li Fushou sat at the head, surrounded by dozens of generals and had afternoon tea, just chatting in a salty and indifferent way. Tian, ​​it seems approachable.

  Chat for a while

  Li Fushou asked; "Has the white captive soldiers reached their limit?"

"Yes, your Majesty, all that are left now are loyal soldiers who have passed the test of war, swearing allegiance to the kingdom. Each of them is stained with the blood of the Southern Union soldiers. They can only follow us to the dark, loyal. The degree can guarantee that due to the **** siege for half a month, these white soldiers have almost reached their limit and urgently need to be repaired."

   "Well, Rufeng, you can figure it out. Anyway, all the power must be used together when you attack."

   "Please rest assured, your majesty. We are now fully armed and ready to divide all our forces into two echelons to attack in turn, always maintain a strong offensive momentum, and plan to completely take down the remnant enemy in three days and end this battle."

   "The force is enough, you can figure it out!" Li Fushou nodded lightly, glanced around the crowd, and all the generals straightened their waists, showing their heroic side.

   paused, Li Fushou continued;

"We are now facing three hard bones to solve. Sydney has finally chewed and swallowed it. Now there is a big bone in Melbourne that is stuck in the throat. It must be chewed and digested as soon as possible, because there is still a piece of Bala in front of us. Reiter, the mobile corps just watched them, temporarily unable to launch a full-scale offensive.

  The war has lasted for more than two months now, and it is time to end it as soon as possible.

  The day after tomorrow is Christmas, so set the day of the general offensive on this day. You will all be ready to go back and launch a ferocious Christmas offensive to completely solve the cruel enemy in Melbourne.

  They don’t have much ammunition now. The soldiers are probably seventy to eighty thousand people. Anyway, this is not accurate. After all the troops are exhausted, they conscript on the spot. The white man is a soldier with a gun.

  It’s not polite to fight until now. The mutual enmity is as deep as the sea. It seems that these scourges cannot be kept. My request is to wipe out them all. "

  Speaking of which

  Li Fushou glanced at the generals majesticly, and asked every word; "Can it be done?"

  All the generals stood up and replied in unison; "The ministers are pleased to obey orders and resolutely complete the task."

   "Okay, then go back to the army and prepare to go. By the way, you three will stay, I have something to explain." Li Fushou stood up and said.

   "Yes, Your Majesty." The generals replied in unison, then turned and left, and soon they went to Shikong.

  The afternoon tea that was originally gathered here has ended, leaving only three high-ranking military officials carrying the rank of general on their shoulders.

"Let's go, take a walk. After sitting for a long time, my legs are numb, just to move my legs and feet." Li Fushou went straight forward, Conrad Adenauer, Wei Chi, and Mo Rufeng followed along with each other. .

  Or Admiral Conrad Adenauer has a keen political sense, and he has some guesses in his heart, but he hesitated and still asked; "Your Majesty, the old minister took the liberty to ask the last sentence, is there a change in the international situation?"

Li Fushou nodded approvingly and replied; "You guessed it, Sir Grofont, Secretary of the Colony Department, sent a severely worded personal letter expressing his serious dissatisfaction with the current situation in Australia, and he is particularly concerned about the rumors of the killing of civilians by whites. London does not rule out the possibility of military intervention and requires us to restore the original borders as soon as possible, otherwise we will be severely sanctioned by the empire."

   "Oh... That's it, your Majesty, then we..."

   "He said his, let's do ours, and he sent a letter hoping to solve the Australian problem. Sir Grofonte is also old and confused. If he can bring world peace, then there won't be so many wars."

Li Fushou’s disdainful remarks caused the three generals to smile knowingly. Admiral Mo Rufeng considered for a while and said; "Your Majesty, Sir Grofont’s letter probably represents the official attitude of London. If there is a military change, then we really want to I took it seriously."

"The current impact is limited to the colony department. The Royal Navy Department has not yet received an action order. London is also a group of guys who want face and face, and will not do everything to prevent it from being unable to step down. As long as we completely eliminate it. With Melbourne’s stubborn enemy, it can claim to have won the war between the North and the South and completely cut off London’s desire for military intervention."

   "Your Majesty, there is also Ballarat this hard bone!" Admiral Yuchi Shouzhuo reminded him.

"Hahaha... Ballarat is an inland city. As long as the big legions surround and block the news, the white miners who arrogantly claim to give us a great taste will be dumbfounded. I want to see what they can bring. You can't eat gold ore if you eat it for a few months."

  Li Fushou's meaning, the other three understood instantly, and they all laughed heartily.

The British probably did not expect that the Free Federation of South Australia would lose so quickly. According to normal estimates, Sydney persisted for more than two months, but Melbourne would have to persist for half a year. Broken down?

  You must know that Sydney is also 250,000, and Melbourne has a population of 430,000 (the influx of refugees reached 670,000 in the later period), and there is no shortage of money, food, population, and arms. How could it be defeated so fast?

  Melbourne is one of the top metropolises in the Commonwealth of Nations and the mainland. It can rank fourth in terms of population size and wealth, lower than London, Leeds and Manchester, and higher than Birmingham. It is an out-and-out metropolis.

  According to the arrogant character of the British, it would never have been expected that the Chinese have such a strong fighting capacity and can swallow such a big and strong target in one bite.

  Once the news of the fall of Melbourne spreads, it is estimated that London will not have any intentions to intervene.

  There is not even a port in Australia. Where can troops come and land from thousands of miles?

  Even if troops are deployed from the Indian subcontinent, large-scale landing operations are carried out from such a long distance. For the second-rate British army in Europe, it is absolutely impossible to complete the fantasy, and the difficulty of the challenge is hell-level.

  From a military perspective, it does not have any credibility.

  Don’t look at London now that it has not formally stated its position on the Australian issue. It has an ambiguous attitude towards the new Ocean Kingdom. It neither agrees nor opposes it, and just drags it away. In fact, once the situation becomes clear, London’s attitude will become clear quickly.

  As an inland city, Ballarat will never have the international status of Melbourne. Although it is rich in gold, its reputation is not obvious and its influence is very limited.

  Perhaps most of the London politicians have never heard of the name of this city. Who cares about this small remote Australian place?

  As long as Melbourne is solved, it is equal to winning the Civil War.

  In terms of international recognition, the Kingdom of Oceans should be most grateful to France. France took the lead in recognizing the legal status of the Kingdom of Oceans and secretly used its international influence to promote recognition by other countries. This help is tangible and should be kept in mind.

  The reason for choosing France as the breakthrough point has historical origins.

  France and the United Kingdom have fallen in love and killed each other for more than 700 years. All written out is no less than Encyclopedia Britannica. The accumulation of blood and tears is higher than that of the Himalayas. Therefore, the French never give up the opportunity to weaken the British.

  This is extremely obvious in the American Revolutionary War.

As the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the French Emperor Louis XVI Vergene said: "A unique and unexpected good fortune for France. If Britain loses its North American colonies, then the British Empire will suffer immeasurable losses. Britain is Our natural enemy, an insatiable and unfaithful enemy, is its consistent policy to belittle France. Therefore, France’s responsibility is to seize every opportunity to weaken the power of Britain, and (the current priority) France secretly assists the rebels."

  In the early days of the American Revolution

The Continental Army led by Washington has never exceeded 30,000. The others are volunteer militias. The quality of the army, equipment, funds, and military experience of officers are all at an absolute disadvantage. The United Kingdom has a professional army of 95,000 in the North American colonies. , The combat effectiveness of the two is not a level at all.

  Without the selfless help from France, it would be difficult for the Americans to win this war of independence.

In the first year of the war, King Louis XVI of France allocated 1 million livres to aid the North American colonies through private companies with 300,000 guns, 100 tons of gunpowder, more than 300 cannons, and 200,000 sets of military uniforms. A large amount of advanced military equipment, as well as enough financial assistance to solve the urgent need.

  At the same time, France also acquiesced to the formation of a "volunteer army" by the Marquis de Lafayette to participate in the North American War of Independence in an unofficial capacity.

  The so-called livre, also known as the livre, is a unit of weight of currency, equivalent to a pound of silver, approximately equal to 12 ounces. 1 million livres was a huge sum of money at the time, and France really paid a lot of money in order to retaliate against Britain.

  Be aware that this is only the first aid.

When the 100th anniversary of the American independence approached, France generously presented the Statue of Liberty. Not only was it responsible for the construction, but it was also responsible for the installation. In addition to emphasizing the friendship formed by the blood of France and the United States, there is also the shackles of the United Kingdom. A layer of human intentions.

  As long as it makes the British feel unhappy, the French are willing to do it by posting money.

  On the 100th anniversary of the independence of the United States, the British just sent a low-level delegation indifferently. For the United States, London’s mentality is bound to be mixed, and of course not happy.

  It is precisely because France has such a glorious resume that Li Fushou’s first idea hit the French, instructing Tang Shaoyi to listen to the French attitude.

Four months ago, when diplomatic representative Tang Shaoyi first approached the French government’s senior leadership, he bluntly stated that once the Ocean Kingdom was established, he hoped that it would be recognized by the French government. The then French Prime Minister Pierre agreed with excitement and immediately opened the champagne. Celebrated, and took the initiative to lobby other European kingdoms.

  It can be seen how deeply the French hate London?

As for the arrival of His Royal Highness Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov, Tsarist Russian Crown Prince, it should be regarded as a surprise. Tsarist Russia became the second world power to recognize the legitimacy of the Ocean Kingdom. His Royal Highness was delighted. Decision made.

  The Russian Teddy Bear’s hatred for Britain is not weaker than that of the French, and even more direct and intense. The decision made by His Highness Nicholas was energized and appreciated by the Kremlin. From this, we can see that the joy of Tsarist Russia is beyond words.

  If you walk too much at night, you will always encounter ghosts.

Whether London is in the European chess game or the world chess game, it has really offended too many countries. The title of "European dung stick" is not for nothing. Even if it is just to disgust the British, many countries are willing to rush to recognize the ocean. Kingdom legitimacy.

This includes Germany, the Ottoman Empire, Italy, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the United States and other world powers. Now it’s the British Empire and the Manchu dynasty that have not recognized it. Oh... by the way, there is also the Fuso Kingdom, which is full of hatred for the Ocean Kingdom. A look of constipation.

  Unable to engage in it, and to admit it is not reconciled, it is really tangled!

  (End of this chapter)