Wild North America 1846

Chapter 596 Building the Three Lakes Fortress System

Chapter 596 Building the Three Lakes Fortress System

Author: Portuguese toothless

"The Suez Canal must not become a weapon that threatens the empire. For these restless British guys, we must beat them when they need to be beaten, otherwise they will keep pushing forward and there will be no end." His Highness Tang Li Xin's expression no longer looked as calm as before.

Yun Dan said firmly.

The British have left and taken with them the dog-like Sir Mike Lillard. He will die miserably as an abandoned son. This is the tragic fate of the little man.

Taking advantage of the Suez Canal access issue to make things difficult for the Tang Empire to show London's dissatisfaction was definitely not a decision made by Sir Mike Lillard, but by a higher-level figure.

How could He De, the chairman of a small canal company, be so bold?

He was merely pushed to the forefront as an executor. After the blackmail failed, he was again treated as an abandoned son and allowed the Tang Empire to vent its anger.

To calm down the current unmanageable situation, this is something that both countries are well aware of.

Major General Fan Pengfei, deputy commander of the expeditionary force, nodded seriously. Standing next to him were Brigadier General Zheng Huaishan, Commander of the Royal Navy's Red Sea Fleet, Brigadier General Meng Hu, Commander of the 4th Royal Marine Division, and Colonel Pan Shouguo. They all nodded in agreement.

Said; "Those in humble positions understand that they will not give in on matters concerning the interests of the empire."

"Well, the British are used to bluffing, we won't do this." His Highness Tang Li Xin said with his hands behind his hands.

He walked a few steps in the room, then stopped and continued thoughtfully;

“Regarding the issue of barrier-free access to the Suez Canal, communicate with the French and Germans as soon as possible and bring them together to talk to the British.

Well...invite the Dutch and Spanish as well, and convene an international conference as soon as possible to finalize these matters to avoid unnecessary complications.

On the issue of the Suez Canal, our Tang Empire had head-on confrontations with Egypt, Britain and France. If this kind of matter is not handled properly, there will always be no end.

There must be international rules to restrain it. It is better to do it sooner than later. Inform the Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs to try its best to assist our expeditionary force in organizing this international conference. The sooner the better."

"I humbly obey my orders!" Colonel Pan Shouguo stood at attention with a "bah" and raised his hands in salute.

The generals looked at the young Prince with admiration in their eyes.

His Royal Highness Eleven is the top choice regardless of his talent and courage. It is not easy to stand out among the princes and win the respect of the generals with his outstanding ability.

Only His Highness Tang Li Xin knew in his heart;

The decision to block the Suez Canal was a major decision made by the emperor himself. How could he have any say in it?

Throughout the entire Tang Empire, only His Majesty the Holy Emperor had the courage to fight the British to the end.

The aura of glory that has gathered around him now is because His Majesty the Father disdains such trivial matters, so he acts in the name of the Eleventh Prince, making His Highness Tang Li Xin instantly famous at home and abroad.

in European media

His Royal Highness Tang Li Xin has been called "War Prince", "Cold Bloodthirsty" and "City Slaughter Prince" in the European media.

After the Suez Canal Incident, he was also known as the "Cold-Blooded Prince". He can be compared with the famous "Blood Prince" Prince Karl of the German Empire and is recognized as a new generation of extremely talented military commanders of various royal families.

Sometimes, these creepy nicknames aren't a bad thing.

Since this time

His Highness Tang Li Xin often felt bursts of warmth in his heart, which was the blazing care of the Holy Family. Even though he was thousands of miles away, he could still feel the love of his father's fists and licks.

Since the imperial army's expedition to Egypt, His Highness Tang Li Xin has received a greeting from his father almost every other month. Sometimes it is just a few words, but it breaks his guard in an instant.

Such as;

"My prince, I wish you could sleep well during the expedition, eat well, and be far away from the empire to fight in a foreign land thousands of miles away... Is everything going well?"

"You can act freely and do whatever you want, and I can still handle it."

"I have read the past events. From now on, such matters will be decided in one word. There is no need to report. I know everything!"

It was due to his father's full support that His Highness Tang Li Xin was able to flex his muscles without any scruples, carving out a situation in the Red Sea region and earning the title of "Cold-Blooded Prince".

His Highness Tang Li Xin asked everyone to sit down and then asked, "General Fan, what do you think of the current situation?"

Fan Pengfei replied with a hint of helplessness in his tone;

"Your Highness, only by being in Egypt, a strategically important place that travels from north to south, can you personally feel how complicated the political situation here is. It simply echoes that sentence;

The temple is small, the wind is strong, the water is shallow, and there are many tortoises.

All European countries, big and small, are involved here, even the Kingdom of Belgium and the Kingdom of Portugal are no exception. It is simply a situation where all the heroes are present.

Things would get into trouble every now and then, and it would be hard to calm down.

Garrisoning troops in Suez is equivalent to standing on the cusp of the storm, attracting the attention of world powers.

This is an extremely challenging task for the Royal Navy."

"Hahaha... This last sentence points to the core of the problem. Because of this, the Tang Empire needs to be firmly rooted here and show a strong military presence." His Highness Tang Li Xin took over the words,

After looking around at the generals, he continued speaking to himself;

“This is the choke point of the Eurasian route and has world-class strategic influence. Now that I have the opportunity to get involved here, I absolutely cannot let it go.

We are different from the British and French powers. They rely on their European homeland to easily project military power to Egypt and repeatedly compete for this hotly contested territory.

The nearest seaport of the Tang Empire, Houston, is still 8,000 kilometers away. It’s hard to save a fire from afar!

The new colonial area of ​​Yunzhong Province opened in the rear will become the most reliable logistics base for the troops stationed in the front, capable of providing strong military, economic and material support. Let us firmly take root in the city of Suez, and its importance is evident.

.

From the perspective of geographical environment

The city of Suez is surrounded by an empty Gobi desert, which is completely undefendable. The attacking troops can attack from all directions and can only respond passively.

At the beginning, the Egyptians gathered 35,000 defenders, but they were still quickly defeated by the sharp guns of our expeditionary force. This is the best proof.

After repeated arguments;

Only by building a solid fortress area relying on the city and three shallow and water-filled depressions on its periphery, namely Lake Manzara, Lake Timsah and the Great Bitter Lake, can the long-term military presence in the city of Suez be well guaranteed.

exist.

In view of this

The Expeditionary Force Headquarters will be officially reorganized into the "Red Navy District of the Royal Navy of the Tang Dynasty", which consists of four directly affiliated military units: the Suez City Garrison Command, the Yunzhong Province Garrison Command, the Red Sea Fleet and the Sanaa City Special Dispatch Team. This king will serve as

Commander-in-chief of the military region.

The Red Navy Zone will maintain its long-term presence in the Suez Canal Zone. To this end, it is preparing to build the "Three Lakes Fortress Defense Line". The specific plan has been approved by the Royal Naval Staff Headquarters.

Colonel Pan, please give a detailed introduction to the officers present."

Colonel Pan Shouguo stood up immediately after his name was called, raised his hands in a standard military salute, then picked up a slender command stick from the side and walked to the large map of Egypt that the attendant officer had just unfolded.

He cleared his throat and then said;

“Your Highness the Prince, distinguished officers;

The "Three Lakes Fortress Plan" is an urban fortress system approved by the Royal Navy Headquarters and independently organized and constructed by the Red Navy District. It aims to strengthen and improve the Suez City defense system to maintain the empire's long-term forward military presence and defend the empire's interests.

The plan will be constructed using Egypt's war reparations, with a construction period of 6 to 7 years, and will be divided into northern and southern parts and will be gradually completed.

Egypt's Ismail Pasha promised to provide 60,000 Egyptian laborers as part of the war compensation for the construction of the Three Lakes Fortress. This matter has been approved by His Highness the Prince.

The Three Lakes Fortress consists of two parts, one in the south and the other in the north. The northern part is mainly based on the geographical characteristics of Manzala Lake, Timsah Lake and the Great Bitter Lake. A relatively independent high fort is built to guard the water.

It is planned to build seven fortresses in the north, connected by ships, called the "Big Dipper Fortress Group".

Each fortress is stationed with a company to a battalion, equipped with artillery, heavy machine guns and other heavy firepower. During wartime, it can receive timely reinforcements from the main city's troops, and can also fight independently.

The seven fortresses are not only independent fortresses, but also form an organic whole. They protect the northern peripheral defense line of Suez City and have extremely strong defensive capabilities.

In the south is an empty Gobi Desert. Three highlands were selected according to geographical conditions to build heavy forts, which can carry out fire strikes on both the sea and the land.

With these three highland forts as the core, deep trenches, a 17.6-kilometer-long city wall and nine strongholds were built on the periphery, forming an expanded southern flank defense line.

This is the peripheral part of the Sanhu fortress system, with a total of two fortress positions, one in the south and one in the north. After completion, it will provide strong peripheral defense capabilities, enough to withstand several times of enemy attacks.

on the basis of

The city of Suez will be used as the inner defensive line..."

Colonel Pan Shouguo used his slender baton to draw a large circle around the perimeter of Suez City, tapped the tip of the baton on the map and said;

"From now on, the city's peripheral buildings will be constructed in accordance with requirements conducive to defense, including peripheral warehouses, barracks, racecourses and other civilian buildings.

It is required to use reinforced concrete materials, thicken the wall facing the exterior, and set up multiple shooting windows and muzzles. It can be used as a defensive fortress during wartime.

The buildings along the outer circle are mainly in the shape of "冂" and are spliced ​​into a semicircular inner circle defense line with the openings facing inward.

And within the city, a spacious semicircular ring road should be reserved to facilitate troop reinforcements and maneuvers during wartime, and to facilitate the smooth transportation of supplies, all of which are mainly conducive to combat.

After the entire Sanhu defense fortress system was completed, there were about 16,000 defense troops, with the 3rd Royal Marine Division as the main force, and more than 10,000 militiamen working together. It was enough to resist the massive attack of 100,000 troops and hold out for three to four weeks.

above time.

Such a long time is enough for reinforcements from Yunzhong Province to arrive at the front line one after another, dragging the war into a stalemate."

"Pah, pah, pah..."

This detailed introduction attracted warm applause.

The generals present were whispering to each other, and the atmosphere gradually became heated, with excitement on everyone's face.

In particular, Brigadier General Meng Hu, commander of the 4th Division, was very happy. He admired the defense system of Sanhu Fortress and applauded it with both hands.

My own family knows their own affairs.

The 4th Royal Marine Division is responsible for guarding the city of Suez, but this poor place is unobstructed. The enemy rushed into the city with a single charge, and there are no decent defensive facilities at all.

Either line up and fight in the wild, or defend the buildings in the city and fight every step of the way. There is no third option.

It's okay to deal with a weak army like Egypt, but if it's against the armies of powerful countries such as Britain and France, its weapons and equipment basically have no advantage. In the face of an absolutely superior force, the battle will be difficult to win.

In recent times, Britain has continued to send more troops to the Suez Canal and made various small moves to crowd out the French troops in Alexandria. There have been constant frictions between the two sides.

look at this scene

It is estimated that it will not be long before the French army will be squeezed out, and the only ones left will be the Tang Empire army on the other section of the canal.

For a military officer like Brigadier General Meng Hu who is responsible for defense, how could he not be worried?

Once the Sanhu Fortress defense system is put into construction, it will be a real reassurance that the enemy will no longer be worried about it.

With 60,000 Egyptian workers working together, it only takes one or two years for the fortress to take shape and begin to have certain defensive capabilities.

For example, the southern wing fortress group took the lead in digging a deep trench and filling it with seawater. It has excellent defensive capabilities and can prevent the enemy from directly rushing into the city of Suez.

Just a deep trench

With the garrison included, Brigadier General Meng Hu was confident that he could defend against an enemy twice his own size (note: referring to powerful European armies such as Britain, France, and Germany), and of course he was very happy.

His Highness Tang Li Xin saw the generals in a warm mood, and a faint smile appeared on his face unconsciously.

As the commander-in-chief of the Tang Empire's expeditionary force, he could feel the heavy pressure on his shoulders, making him unable to relax for a moment.

The competition between Britain and France over the Suez Canal has intensified, and British politicians have called on Downing Street to take relevant countermeasures. They have pointed out: "This point is extremely important, that is, the Queen's Government should once again take measures to adopt new measures on the canal issue.

Act to gain absolute control”.

The British Ambassador to Egypt, Stanford, told the British Foreign Office: "In order to make the navigation of the canal serve the UK, a British company should be established to control it."

British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire Volvo also pointed out to Parliament that "the British government should not oppose the canal itself, but should oppose the control of the French or Tang Dynasty behind the canal."

He repeatedly pointed out that the time has come for Britain to take control of the canal: "As long as Britain is in a superior position at sea, we will be in a better position than others to control the canal."

The British "Morning Post" once published an editorial saying: "The Suez Canal is the Dardanelles Strait and Gibraltar Strait that France created in Egypt and controlled by itself. Now Easterners are also stepping in. This is obviously not true.

It is in the interests of the UK”.

Whether France or the Tang Dynasty controlled the canal, it was "contrary to British interests" and "was a serious problem that could not be tolerated". "A cabinet meeting will be held in 1872 to discuss this issue."

"Datang's flagrant closure of the canal is a serious violation of British interests and cannot be ignored."

British Prime Minister Lord William Ewart Gladstone believed that "British control of the canal is in the best interest of Britain in maintaining the Eastern Road and the security of India."

He pointed out at the cabinet meeting: "You think about the extent to which the Suez Canal could be used to transfer soldiers and supplies to India during the war."

"Controlling the canal will double guarantee the smooth flow of routes between Britain and India. Britain's intention in the canal is to strengthen control."

"To ensure that no major power can close the canal to prevent British ships from passing through, this incident should not happen again. British influence in Egypt should be balanced with France and Tang Dynasty's influence in Egypt, and further, should dominate."

.

There are various signs that

Britain will continue to strengthen its presence in the Suez Canal Zone. On the one hand, it will try its best to squeeze out France, and on the other hand, it will covet Datang's military presence in the city of Suez.

With a neighbor who thinks about his yard all day long, building a yard wall for defense is an inevitable choice.

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