Wild North America 1846

Chapter 547: Great things are happening in Central America

Author: Portuguese toothless

Chapter 547: Great things are happening in Central America

August 26, 1870

Chang'an, the imperial capital

Now is the hottest time of the year in Chang'an. The bright sun hangs high in the sky during the day, pouring abundant light and heat onto the earth.

Fortunately, the climate here is a typical temperate maritime climate. As long as the evening comes, the cool sea breeze from the Pacific passes through the bustling metropolis, taking away all the heat of the day, leaving only a cool and pleasant charming night.

Tai Chi Palace

Several brass fans were added to the palace. This type of fan is an exquisite steam engine structure, driven by steam power. The power comes from burning and heated kerosene lamps, and it only makes a subtle sound when running.

In front of each brass fan, there is a four-legged golden basin filled with large chunks of ice, emitting cold air carrying icy water vapor.

In this way, summer cooling equipment has been widely promoted in the East Palace and West Palace, the Prince's Palace and the Duke's Palace, and has become a favorite cooling equipment for the royal family and imperial nobles.

Emperor Richard was wearing a cool and thin wide-sleeved coat, sitting on the couch, holding the military intelligence report from Europe in his hand and reading it for a moment. A smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, he shook his head, and casually threw the confidential document in the small room.

On the square table.

He thought in his mind;

The trend of the Franco-Prussian War was the same as in the original history.

It seems that the rise of the Tang Empire in North America did not affect most of the historical processes in Europe and Asia. History followed a strong inertia and followed an established trajectory. The Franco-Prussian War is the most vivid example.

The situation in the Franco-Prussian War changed so quickly that it was beyond everyone's expectations, except for Emperor Richard of the Tang Dynasty, who was familiar with later generations.

On August 2, 1870, General Felix Douai's 7th Army of the French Chalon Corps crossed the border between the two countries and launched a probing attack on the Prussian defending army. After a slight contact, they withdrew.

just two days later

The Prussian army, with the 3rd Corps as the main force, launched a comprehensive counterattack with a 240,000-strong army. Through the Battle of Wissembourg and the Battle of Volta, the French Chalon Corps, which fought with overwhelming superiority, was caught off guard and retreated in succession, causing shock in Paris.

The weak rule of Napoleon III was as thin as paper and could be broken with just a poke.

After the news of the defeat reached Paris, the French government Émile Olivier immediately collapsed and was replaced by the old and feeble Charles Couzin Montauban to form a new transitional cabinet to preside over the current imminent war.

From the large-scale counterattack of the Prussian army on August 4 to the collapse of the French imperial government on August 12, the dramatic turmoil that occurred in just over a week put the French Empire controlled by Emperor Napoleon III into a precarious situation, revealing its weak nature.

At this critical moment, Emperor Napoleon III, who knew he had caused a big disaster, once again resorted to a foolish move.

Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, on August 12, Napoleon III handed over the command of the Rhine Army to Marshal Bazin on the pretext of being seriously ill.

This was undoubtedly a heavy blow to the confidence of the French army, which was in turmoil. The emperor actually left hundreds of thousands of French troops and fled. The bizarreness of this thing is simply jaw-dropping!

Less than a month ago, when Napoleon III personally took command of the expedition, it greatly boosted the morale of the French army. Now this act of naked betrayal of the entire French nation has doubly destroyed the confidence of the French army to fight to the end.

Fortunately, due to the information blockade, the officers and soldiers of the lower-level French army did not know that the great French emperor and commander-in-chief had escaped for the time being.

Under the pressing pressure of the Prussian army, the two sides broke out in two consecutive bloody battles at Maslatour on August 16 and Gravelot-Saint-Priva on August 18.

The French army performed very bravely in the battle, holding their position and fighting the Prussian army to the end. They successfully repelled the Prussian attack and caused heavy losses to the Prussian First Army and the Prussian Royal Guards.

After the war, the French Bazin Army retreated to the Metz Fortress. Relying on the solid defense of the fortress, it was heavily surrounded by 160,000 troops from the Prussian First and Second Army, a total of seven corps and three cavalry divisions.

If at this time

The French Bazin Army can resolutely break through the encirclement and retreat to join the Chalon Army led by Marshal MacMahon to form a heavily-armed group. The situation is much better.

Backed by Paris's continuous military support, it should be able to withstand Prussia's stormy attack and turn the war into a see-saw stage.

At this time, Paris had mobilized nearly 500,000 troops, which could provide strong support to the peripheral field regiments and reverse the difficult situation of the French army fighting more with less.

However, the Regent Queen Eugenie and the Imperial Prime Minister Charles Couzin Montauban, Count of Baliqiao, were worried that continued retreat would cause turmoil or revolution in Paris, and strictly ordered the Bazin Army to defend the Metz Fortress and not to take a step back.

Such a decision, based on political rather than military considerations, completely destroyed the last vestige of vitality of the French Bazin Army.

just a few days later

The Prussian army besieging the Metz Fortress increased from 160,000 to 247,000, almost completely surrounding the Metz Fortress. At this time, the news that the French Emperor Napoleon III had escaped from the battle spread among the middle and lower-level officers and soldiers, and the French officers and soldiers fought to the end.

The blow to morale was fatal.

at the same time

The French government made a mistake and ordered the Chalon Corps under Marshal MacMahon to go to the Metz Fortress for rescue. Such an order was tantamount to sending the Chalon Corps to die.

You know, after experiencing several bloody battles, the Xia Long Army only had less than 120,000 troops and 393 artillery pieces left, and was quite short of food and ammunition.

What he has to face is the main army of the Kingdom of Prussia. In the entire Sedan area, the main force of the Third Army of the Kingdom of Prussia plus the newly formed Fourth Army have a total strength of more than 300,000, with more than 1,270 new artillery pieces and elite soldiers.

Enough food.

Moreover, the Prussian army can mobilize the troops besieging the Metz Fortress at any time, concentrate several times the strength of the French army, and join in the annihilation battle against the Chalon Corps.

The smartest thing to do

The French Charon Corps that had retreated to Reims continued to retreat. After approaching the outer suburbs of Paris, it participated in the defense of Paris on the one hand, and on the other hand replenished and reorganized new forces on a large scale, forming a heavy force group that could compete with the Prussian army. The total strength exceeded

600,000 people.

Thus

The Prussian army will either go head-to-head with the Chalon Corps and engage in a war of attrition that will cause great losses to both sides. It is still unclear who will win and who will lose in a short period of time.

Either concentrate their forces to attack the Metz Fortress, which is undoubtedly a tough nut. Even if it is chewed off, half of the Prussian army's teeth will be broken, and the price of heavy casualties will be paid.

The French army relied on strong reinforcements from Paris and the southwestern provinces, and was not afraid to fight a protracted war of attrition with the Prussian army until one side could no longer hold out.

Unfortunately, these are all assumptions...

On August 22, 1870, a delegation led by Speaker Raul came to the headquarters of French Emperor Napoleon III and advised Emperor Napoleon III not to return to Paris. This would easily provoke a civil uprising in Paris and endanger the rule of the French Empire.

At the same time, McMahon should be ordered to march towards Metz to rescue the Bazin Army trapped in the Metz Fortress and reverse the current passive war situation.

Immediately afterwards, the Regency Council in Paris sent a telegram to Emperor Napoleon III:

"If Bazin is not supported, there will be extremely bad consequences for Paris. Faced with this situation, it is doubtful whether the capital can defend itself."

The greatest tragedy of the French Empire resulted from this...

At first, the emperor who did not understand military affairs rashly declared war out of anger and personally led the expedition. Then he saw that the situation was not going well and ran away with oil on his feet.

Immediately afterwards, a woman and an old man took over the regent meeting and began to command dozens of French troops to die. How could there be any reason to be invincible?

At this time, the dizzy Napoleon III had no idea, so he issued a death order to the Chalon Corps in Reims;

Marshal MacMahon was ordered to lead his army towards Metz, sending this field regiment on the road to complete destruction.

In the main hall

Richard clearly realized that the fall of France was inevitable. Even the British Empire would not be able to bear this nonsense!

Fortunately, the British Isles are separated from the European continent by a strait. As long as the British Royal Navy does not decline, no country in the world can threaten the security of the British Empire.

Compared with the United Kingdom, the geostrategic environment surrounding France is much worse.

Located on the European continent, France is surrounded by the rising Kingdom of Prussia, the ever-unwilling Tsarist Empire, the traditional Austrian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, the Kingdom of Italy that comes out to cause trouble from time to time, and the Kingdom of Spain, a traditional powerhouse in the Mediterranean, all of which will give France

Cause all kinds of trouble.

Richard didn't sympathize with the French at all, just like he didn't like the British.

Investigate its essence

Britain and France are all of the same kind, essentially bloodthirsty wolves.

After France recovers a little strength, it will colonize the world even more crazily, compensating for its own losses by plundering the flesh and blood of the colonies in order to restore its strength faster.

The franc colonial circle headed by France had high trade barriers. Just like the native France, it imposed high customs tariffs on agricultural and industrial products from the Tang Empire, which greatly hindered the expansion of European and global markets.

Therefore, the Tang Empire has been committed to establishing its own circle of friends of the Tang and Yuan Dynasties, which includes the United States of America, the Confederate States of America, and a series of countries in South America, as well as the Western Pacific countries such as Fuso, Ryukyu, and Lanfang.

Although Europe is currently in turmoil, the Tang Empire has no intention of intervening.

Richard was very well-informed. He knew that European countries including the United Kingdom, Austria, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, and Denmark were more or less fearful and wary of the Tang Kingdom, and their resistance was quite serious.

At this time, we cannot add fuel to the fire.

The Tang Empire should reflect its diplomatic tendency of focusing on trade and play the role of a harmless white rabbit, rather than using aggressive military means.

After all, Europe is the Europe of white Europeans and the traditional Christian world. Any attempt to encroach on or colonize Europe is an extremely foolish delusion that will be shattered in the face of cold reality.

In this world, no country can colonize Europe, which has a population of 350 million. It is neither realistic nor impossible.

It turns out that the United States of America was so powerful in history that it did not have an inch of territory in Europe (note; it was territory, not military bases), which explains the problem very much.

The resistance of Europeans to East Slavia has been clearly revealed in the history of modern European wars, forcing the Russian Empire to abandon its 200-year-old westward policy and turn its head towards the East...

Europeans were also wary of the United States of America. When the United States of America revealed its intention to purchase Greenland in 1867, it was ridiculed by all European countries.

Robert Walker, the former Secretary of the Treasury at the time, suggested to Secretary of State William Seward that by buying Iceland and Greenland, the power of the United States of America could reach Europe across the North Atlantic and escape the control of the Tang Empire to a certain extent.

This idea was rejected without hesitation by the Kingdom of Denmark. The Danes sneered: "Europe is already crowded enough to accommodate a rude American cowboy, not to mention he is not a good neighbor, but a debt-ridden pauper."

living in today's era

Richard could clearly feel the wary and distant gaze from the other side of the Atlantic, so in the long-term strategy of the Tang Empire, there was no attempt to get involved in Europe at all.

The Cuban Civil War has entered its third year. The Spanish are frantically suppressing the rebels on the island. After receiving stable military assistance, the rebels have become more radical than before in history, and the two sides have been fighting endlessly.

Due to years of war and brutal suppression by the Spaniards, the number of residents on the island of Cuba has dropped sharply from more than 1.5 million to less than 1.2 million. Among them, more than 200,000 Cuban women and children have been thrown into concentration camps and live in extreme conditions.

bad.

The Spanish colonists had always been brutal in their behavior. When suppressing local uprisings in Cuba, they showed no mercy to the killings of native white people in villages and towns, destroying villages and towns at every turn, leaving no one alive.

This is very good!

The civil war in this Central American island country continues. If the fighting continues for another five or six years, there won't be many people left. Naturally, it will fall into the hands of the empire.

By then, the Spanish colonists in Cuba and Puerto Rico in Central America and the Luzon Islands in Asia will be included in the empire's territory.

The 8,600-ton "Zhenyang" steam-iron armored battleship series currently being developed by the Tang Empire is a large-scale capital ship built to enhance its ocean-going combat capabilities. It is also preparing for colonial expansion and harvesting Spanish territory in a few years.

The climate in these places is warm and the land is fertile. It is easier to take over colonial rule. Why bother fighting for the barren and cold places in Europe?

Richard really doesn't think there's anything good about his European neighbors?

The best part is probably the territory occupied by the French, Italians and Spanish. It has more plains and plenty of sunshine. The land is relatively fertile and suitable for farming.

Others are much worse. For example, the Kingdom of Prussia and the German states have more mountains and less flat land, and the land is generally relatively barren. They have always been areas where food is grown and there is not enough food to eat. Now the food gap is getting bigger and bigger.

Belgium, the Netherlands and the three Nordic countries, all of which are bordering the sea, have worse environments than the last. As for Switzerland, a country of mountains and poor people, I really can’t see what’s so good about it?

In Switzerland, a poor place with remote mountains and remote areas, many people starve to death every year.

An ordinary peasant couple in a mountainous area would give birth to seven or eight children and half of them would starve to death. Therefore, Switzerland, like the German nation, has been the origin of traditional mercenaries since the Middle Ages.

When the children grow up, they have to go out and work hard, and they cannot afford to stay at home.

Tropical areas such as Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Luzon Islands are so good. If they are occupied and developed in the future, they are all the food of the Tang Empire.

sitting on the couch

Richard ate fruits with a leisurely look, his mind turned from thinking about the Spanish colonies to the Nicaragua Canal project in Central America, which was entering a construction boom...

With sufficient labor, the Nicaragua Canal project is now in full swing, progressing very quickly, and may be completed earlier than expected.

The winding canyon from the Pacific Ocean to Lake Nicaragua has undergone large-scale blasting operations, and the straightened river channel has basically shown a rough outline.

Under construction of canal project

It is inevitable that some labor camp workers were killed or injured, some due to rock slides, collapses or drownings, some due to epidemics, some due to overwork, and some due to strange construction site accidents...

In order to achieve results, the Canal Company inevitably overused hard labor. More than three years after construction started, tens of thousands of hard laborers have disappeared from the list.

The empire has a relatively tolerant attitude towards the canal company. Although it is a bit regrettable, this is a price that must be paid.

Today, when mechanization has not become widespread on a large scale, many dangerous jobs must be completed by manpower. With high-intensity work in a crude construction environment, attrition is inevitable.

Fortunately, after the South American War, a considerable number of black slaves were replenished and the labor force was quite sufficient.

While the Nicaragua Canal project is under construction, the railway project around Lake Nicaragua will be completed by the end of the year, adding another overland railway line connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, which is of great significance to promoting local economic development.

The plantations and pastures run by Chinese immigrants along the railway lines made it easy to transport agricultural products, whether going north to North America, south to South America, or exported to Europe.

The area is dominated by the development of cane sugar, fruit tree plantations and farms. The fruits grown can be made into canned fruits, which are popular both in the empire and in Europe.

Needless to say, sucrose was originally a bulk export material in the tropics. The demand in Europe and the Empire was very high, and we sold as much as we could.

Making full use of the abundant local water resources, Central American farms are areas where rice is concentrated. The rice produced here has plump grains and is soft, sweet and fragrant. It is a rice very popular among the native Chinese residents of the empire, and sales have always been very good.

After taking stock of the situation in Central America, Richard showed a satisfied look on his face.

At the beginning, due to years of war, the population of Central America was relatively completely liquidated.

Nowadays, this place has been basically Chinese-Chinese. Some Indian and native-born white women are mostly dependents of local Chinese-American families. Their children are studying in Chinese schools, and the Chinese culture is quite complete.

This is inseparable from the government's efforts to popularize Mandarin education over the years. The Ministry of Education has always been the bulk of government funding, accounting for more than 10% of government expenditures. Years of efforts have finally yielded fruitful results.

The Royal Household Office has been broadcasting large sums of money to support charity education every year. It has been unremitting for more than 20 years and has achieved the great situation it has today.

We still cannot relax our investment in education in the next few decades!

(End of chapter)