Wild North America 1846

After chewing a big piece of fat from the United States, Richard let the Yankees go for the time being. He couldn't catch a sheep when he was trying to pull the wool, so it was time to change his target.

After the signing of the "Ottawa Contract", the heavy military groups stationed on the Colorado Plateau implemented new blood replacement. More than 20,000 Chinese recruits who took trains to the plateau have gradually become the main force of the cavalry corps and musketeers corps.

Except for a few outstanding officers and soldiers who were awarded meritorious service and were awarded noble titles, the nearly 6,000 white servants from the 1st Regiment of Denver Fusiliers to the 8th Regiment of Denver Fusiliers were all retired, granted legal citizenship of the empire, and given 60

As a reward for his acre of meritorious fields, he can go home, marry a wife, have children, and make a stable living.

These retired soldiers of the white servant army have a bloody feud with the Yankees. They are more loyal and stubborn than the Chinese retired soldiers. They cling to the thigh of the kingdom and do not relax. Perhaps this is their only way to survive.

There are also a large number of retired soldiers in the Plateau Motorized Cavalry Corps and the Northern Front Cavalry Corps. Based on the principle of local resettlement, most of them are arranged in the six northwest states.

Most of the newly granted nobles and fiefs of the kingdom are located in the six northwest states, with a few located in Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Northern Province (formerly Washington State), and Iowa.

, there is not a single aristocratic fiefdom in the seven provinces of Arizona and New Mexico, it is completely blank.

Richard himself is the Grand Duke of California. This top aristocratic title is just like the Prince of Wales in the UK. From now on, he will be the title of the royal prince of the Tang Dynasty and be passed down from generation to generation.

Naturally, the territory within California cannot be enfeoffed and can only be owned by the royal family.

In the study

Richard put his hands behind his back with a leisurely expression, his eyes swept across the vast territory of the Tang Kingdom, and then looked at the fertile black land plains in the middle of the United States, as well as the southern Texas, Monte

Leizhou, Tijuana, smacked its lips with a little regret.

They are all good places!

It's a pity that it has been difficult to start in the past ten years. We have to wait until the American Civil War breaks out. Then we must unite the forces of the southern slave states and have a good fight with the Yankees.

The strategic purpose is simple;

That means the American South must be divided and bite off a big piece of fat...

Now, don't be in a hurry.

Richard's eyes left the North American continent and entered the Pacific Ocean. He lingered on the Hawaiian Islands for a while, then turned to Midway Island, and continued to look ahead, to the Aleutian Islands and Fuso Islands, and of course the coveted Alaska Peninsula.

Not to mention anything else, Richard already regards Alaska, a vast expanse of extremely cold land covered with ice and snow, as his own. As long as he buys this icy land with an area of ​​more than 1.718 million square kilometers, it will become the territory of the Tang Kingdom.

It will overtake the United States and become the second largest country in the Americas, second only to Brazil.

Since 1848

The ocean shipping industry of the Tang Dynasty has made great progress. More than a dozen companies have emerged involved in ocean shipping. The number of iron ships over 1,000 tons has reached 86, and it is still growing rapidly at a rate of doubling every year.

these few months

The Kingdom's largest Pacific Shipping Company has successively received seven imported large-tonnage ships, some made in Britain, Prussia and France, with displacements ranging from 4,500 tons to 6,800 tons. They are the main ships that can be used for passenger and cargo transportation on the North Pacific route.

Further enhancing the company's transportation capabilities.

Private shipping companies, dominated by Chinese capital, are also constantly investing heavily in building large transoceanic ships, which have met the huge transportation needs of people and materials on the North Pacific Golden Route, and are taking a share of the current immigration boom.

Richard's eyes swept across the map, and finally he tapped Midway Island and Hawaii with his fingers. These two places must be included as soon as possible as a transfer station on the trans-Pacific Northern Route, providing coal, fresh water, and vegetables.

and other necessary logistical services.

Midway Island is located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 1,200 nautical miles northwest of Honolulu. It belongs to the Polynesian Islands. Now it is just a deserted island that no one cares about. You can just send a ship to occupy it without any trouble.

Midway Island is a coral atoll with a geographical location of 28°12'25"n, longitude 177°22'34", and a circumference of 24 kilometers. It has a land area of ​​5 square kilometers and consists of Sand Island, East Island and Spit Island.

, has a subtropical climate.

In the original history, it was first discovered and occupied by the United States in 1867. Now there is nothing to do with the Yankees. It must have been under the control of the Tang Kingdom.

The situation in the Hawaiian Islands was a little more troublesome. At the end of the 18th century, Hawaiian chief Kamehameha conquered other islands with cannons, established the Hawaiian dynasty, and became King Kamehameha I.

The Kingdom of Hawaii began to break up after the death of King Kamehame I, with part of it ruled by his beloved wife, Queen Kayahumanu.

Queen Kayahumanu was a strong figure like Wu Zetian, who led the indigenous islanders to familiarize themselves with advanced Western civilization, and tried her best to get rid of the bad habits of wearing animal skins and exposing breasts. She was a relatively enlightened queen.

Oahu, the third largest island in Hawaii, is owned by the Spanish, but the Spanish did not invest much energy in operating Oahu and did not pay much attention to this island.

Richard planned to use a two-pronged approach to capture Hawaii Island in one fell swoop, making it the 15th province of the Tang Kingdom.

Just deal with the indigenous queen directly, send 500 fully armed soldiers to the island, and everything will be fine.

As for Oahu, which was occupied by the Spanish, they adopted a squeeze-out approach and vigorously introduced Chinese immigrants there, gradually reducing the privileges of the Spanish until they were finally squeezed out.

If that doesn't work, you can just spend one to two hundred thousand dollars to buy it, and you'll save yourself the hassle.

The Tang Kingdom was still willing to spend this little money.

After all are captured, Midway Island and the Hawaiian Islands will become two large transfer stations on the North Pacific golden immigration route, and safe harbors for immigrant ships to berth.

With these two berthing ports, it will greatly improve the survival rate of immigrants on the North Pacific route and provide stable and reliable fresh water and fresh food supplies for ships, which is of great significance.

The top priority of the Tang Dynasty government today is immigration, providing a stable and reliable support port for the North Pacific immigration route. From a large perspective, it is related to the strategic issues of the Kingdom's long-term development, and from a small perspective, it is related to the lives, health and safety of immigrants. It is an important task.

Real virtue policy.

Today's ocean immigrants have a high mortality rate, partly because the cramped space on board ships is harsh and disease-ridden.

Secondly, because there was no reliable supply of fresh water and fresh food, during the long voyage of more than a month, the crew and passengers had to eat some spoiled food, which caused a lot of diarrhea and severe dehydration, leading to death.

Midway Island is located in the heart of the Pacific Ocean. It is 4,100 kilometers from the Fuso Islands to the west and takes 9 to 10 days to sail. It is 1,850 kilometers from Honolulu, the capital of the Hawaiian Islands, to the east, and 3,219 kilometers from the west coast of North America.

Such a geographical location allows ocean-going immigration ships departing from the Jiaodong Peninsula to dock at Midway Island after 11 to 12 days of sailing. Passengers who become ill during the journey can disembark here and receive good recuperation and treatment without dying on the way.

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After adding coal, fresh water and fresh fruits and vegetables, the immigration ship set sail again. After more than 4 days of travel, it would reach the Hawaiian Islands, where it could dock again. After a short rest, it set sail again and headed for cities on the Pacific east coast of the Tang Kingdom.

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Not only is such a journey much easier than before, but ocean-going immigration ships can be replenished midway, allowing them to carry less coal, fresh water and food, which can be used to load more immigrants and cargo, reducing the passenger casualty rate and directly improving

Shipping income.

After thinking for a moment, Richard quickly made up his mind that this must be done as soon as possible.

"Come here, summon the commander of the fleet, Lieutenant Colonel Pan Hengchen, to the palace immediately."

"The humble minister obeys the decree."

more than an hour later

Lieutenant Colonel Pan Hengchen, the commander of the Tang Dynasty fleet in full military uniform, hurriedly arrived on horseback. He was a dark-faced man in his 30s and a native of Mawei, Fujian Province. He had been boating on the sea with his family since he was a child, and made a living by smuggling people across the sea.

Because his family was well-off, Lieutenant Colonel Pan Hengchen received a good education since he was a child. He was good at reading and writing, and could also speak some English and Dutch. He was an astute and enterprising seafarer.

He rose to prominence in the newly established navy of the Tang Kingdom and was appreciated by Richard, allowing him to assume important responsibilities.

Since the navy of the Tang Dynasty had not made any meritorious service, it was absent from the nobility entrustment ceremony. None of the more than 1,360 people in the navy received a noble title, which was a big regret.

Today, the Navy of the Kingdom of the Tang Dynasty has a total of 7 old sailing battleships donated by the United Kingdom. Two third-class sailing battleships exceeding 1,000 tons are the "Wang Quan" and the "Dignity". The "Wang Quan" is the seat of Lieutenant Colonel Pan Hengchen.

The remaining five ships are ketch frigates of 260 tons to 350 tons, and a dozen whistle ships of about 10 tons. This is the entire naval equipment.

"Your Majesty, Pan Hengchen of the Navy has the courage to pay an audience and ask for your Majesty's instructions."

"Oh, Hengchen is here."

At this moment, Richard was sitting behind the imperial court reviewing the report. After hearing this, he raised his head and said hello with a warm expression.

Lieutenant Colonel Pan Hengchen was excited. Although he was the commander of the navy, he was only a lieutenant colonel. Moreover, he had not accomplished anything. In the past two years, he had only seen His Majesty three or four times. Compared with the army, it felt like nothing.

He was a head shorter and seemed to be left out.

His Majesty's cordial greetings melted into the cold heart like a warm current, making Lieutenant Colonel Pan Hengchen couldn't help but get excited. He raised his hands in a standard military salute, his eyes filled with eagerness.

"The Navy is always at your Majesty's call, please give me your instructions."