Wild North America 1846

Chapter 605 Preparations

Author: Portuguese toothless

After the small disturbance, the teahouse returned to calm.

Afterwards, Lei Fengyun did ask someone to inquire about it. This is the general style of powerful people in places: make a decision and then act. You don't rush to fight or kill, you always want to explore the opponent's background.

If it is a bluff, then you must regain the lost face.

Who knew that this inquiry would stir up a hornet's nest, and a group of strong plainclothes officers came to Lei's Mansion overnight. After showing their Imperial Security Bureau ID cards, they took away everyone from Lei's Mansion.

Let alone inquiring about the whereabouts of the Holy One, what exactly do you want to do?

It is said that the teahouse closed on the second day, and the teahouse owner was missing...

It sounds like a huge disaster, but in front of the supreme imperial power, one must be deeply in awe and not tolerate the slightest violation.

Cologne suburbs

The military formations were tightly lined up, the cannons were rumbling, and 26,200 officers and soldiers from overseas military regions were conducting military drills. The cavalry, artillery, and infantry all went into battle. The scene was quite grand.

The 1st Marine Division of the Royal Marines stationed in Panama was also among them. This was a joint exercise between the Imperial Army and the Navy, and almost everyone showed up.

A temporary viewing platform was set up on the hill, with battle flags fluttering in the wind. More than a hundred senior generals and His Majesty's entourage gathered together to watch the military drills with serious expressions.

Since the end of the North American War in 1861, the empire has not experienced a large-scale war for 12 years. However, the group of generals with rich combat experience are still there, and the martial spirit has endured.

The troops they have repeatedly tempered in their hands are well-trained and have high morale. They have performed at a very high level in joint exercises and have received high evaluations.

Emperor Richard sat high up in the center of the current battle stage, wearing the straight military uniform of the Imperial Army and Navy Grand Marshal. From time to time he picked up a telescope to carefully observe the performance of both sides during the exercise, but did not comment for a long time.

From the scene

The sound of artillery and gunfire rang out intertwinedly, and the soldiers lined up in order to attack, showing one wave of attack after another.

The battle was orderly, showing a very high level of training, and the performance was commendable.

Whether an army is strong or a parallel one, highly experienced officers can tell at a glance during a drill.

Richard was a typical horse-horse emperor who expanded his territory and had rich experience in leading armies. Of course, it can be seen that the troops in the overseas military regions are indeed well trained, but there is still a long way to go before the world's strongest military.

What is missing is the murderous spirit that would leave me alone, and the steel-like toughness in the bones of a soldier.

The Tang Empire adopted a military system that combined compulsory military service and professional military service. Ordinary soldiers were compulsory for four years, but the professional sergeant system was retained and used as the backbone of the army.

As long as a division has a complete framework of officers and professional sergeants and a large number of conscripts are added during wartime, it can form a fully manned infantry division with considerable combat effectiveness.

in peacetime

Only the field ace division and the Class A division are fully established. The Class B and Class C divisions are both understaffed and are the so-called "frame divisions."

"Fan Aiqing, I see that the training of the troops in the overseas military regions is acceptable, and their morale is quite good, but they lack the bloody courage to fight on the battlefield." Emperor Richard put down the telescope in his hand, pondered for a moment and continued; "The army has been at peace for a long time, and the new recruits are at ease.

Training and living in such an environment, I have lost that invincible and brave spirit!"

"Your Majesty's eyes are as bright as a torch, and the humble ministers are ashamed." General Fan Pengju, who was the deputy chief of staff of the Royal Army at the time, looked embarrassed, stood at attention, raised his hands in a military salute, and explained in a low voice;

"The troops in the Southern Military Region are indeed lagging behind the Northern Army. The military has already noticed this situation and has issued a comprehensive analysis report on this.

The environment in the south is more comfortable, and the soldiers recruited every year by the southern provinces are also gentler in character and more obedient, and are far less brave and aggressive than those in the north.

If such an army is trained without being tempered by war and letting the little brats see blood, it will be difficult for them to grow into a strong army.

Compared with Europe's first-class powerful armies, it has more than enough defense but not enough offense."

"Well... being able to honestly face up to gaps and shortcomings is a noble virtue that a military noble should possess." Emperor Richard nodded slightly to express understanding.

Think for a moment

Emperor Richard continued;

"In view of the development of the current world situation, the empire has made the strategic decision to go south to conquer Colombia, and various war preparations are being advanced in an orderly manner.

Fan Aiqing must have been fully aware of the combat plan submitted by the military department. How are the preparations for the overseas military regions now? At what stage are they progressing?"

When the Holy Emperor inquired, General Fan Pengju did not dare to neglect and quickly raised his hands to perform a military salute report;

“Start your majesty;

In this war of conquest against Colombia, the Royal Army General Staff Headquarters, based on the actual situation, made repeated studies and judgments and planned to send 60,000 mules and horses to conquer the country in one fell swoop.

With a population of nearly 6 million, Colombia is the most populous country in South America, second only to Brazil.

Its domestic politics are chaotic, corrupt, warlords in various places are fighting endlessly, and the country is fragmented.

Although there are statistically nearly 300,000 troops, most of them are backward in equipment. Less than half of the troops are equipped with smoothbore muskets. Most of them are tribal armed forces with swords and spears, and their combat effectiveness is not worth mentioning.

Such a situation is conducive to the imperial army to win over one faction, attack and divide another faction, and implement strategies to defeat each faction.

According to Weichen's experience in the army for many years, the indigenous Indian tribes are full of internal conflicts, and it is difficult to unite them into a unified force despite their large numbers.

The centuries-long history of being colonized by the Spanish gave them a sense of dependence on being ruled, making them easy to obey and lacking the bloody spirit of the nomadic Indians to fight to the death.

After clarifying the situation in the country, Wei Chen secretly believed that there was a good chance of winning this war, and even if there were twists and turns, it would not affect the overall situation.

In order to prepare for the war, the Royal Army General Staff Headquarters plans to transfer some troops from six field divisions from various military regions to join the Southern Expedition Corps, which is expected to arrive in Panama from June to July.

The southern expedition is expected to be launched in mid-September. The army will cross the border between the two countries and move southward to Medellin, the important town in Colombia.

After occupying Medellin, with the smooth road conditions in the area, the southern expedition army will be divided into three.

The main force of 28,000 troops in the center continued to attack southward, targeting Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, and won the battle.

The 13,000-man mobile corps on the southern route marched directly to Cali, captured towns along the way and wiped out the rebel armed forces. The goal was to capture the important southern town of Cali. After completing the mission, it entered the rest stage.

The 20,000-man North Road Mobile Corps headed north along the road, aiming directly at North Cartagena, 360 kilometers away.

With the powerful running capabilities and combat effectiveness of our mules and horses, it is expected that it will take 2 to 3 months to basically occupy most of the towns in Colombia and achieve military occupation of the country.

Currently, according to the overseas military region's troop and material deployment plan, all work is being advanced in an orderly manner and preparations are in full swing, so as not to delay the army's southern expedition."

"Hmm... that's right. You have to personally supervise this matter. Make sure nothing goes wrong, otherwise I will ask questions." Emperor Richard ordered.

General Fan Pengju stood at attention in a military posture with his feet "clacking", and replied with a solemn expression: "Your Majesty, please rest assured. If you lend me another hundred courages, I will not delay the empire's expansion and colonization plan. I dare you to do this with this project?"

If you offer a guarantee, you must be well prepared."

Emperor Richard nodded with satisfaction, and then turned his attention to the fierce military drills in the distance. The sound of gunfire and shouts of killing could not be heard, and there was a solemn atmosphere in the world.

When the time came to August 1873, the depressed atmosphere of the international economic crisis spread throughout Europe and the United States, and various countries introduced bills one after another to raise trade protection barriers to protect domestic economic industries.

This beggar-thy-neighbor approach has greatly harmed the booming global free trade and set the clock back on history.

Being in this situation, the Tang Empire was naturally unable to escape.

The major industries that were booming in the past year are like a bucket of cold water poured on their pockets. They are in turmoil in the rapidly changing economic environment, and it has become increasingly difficult to maintain them.

at this time

Large orders from the Department of the Army came like a snowflake, making many struggling manufacturers feel like they had grasped a life-saving straw and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Many of the orders here are used to replenish strategic inventories. In order to prepare for the southern invasion war, many strategic reserve warehouses in the empire have opened their doors.

Hundreds of railway trains were sent to the south, loaded with soldiers, mules, horses, tents and various war supplies. Panama Province was filled with a solemn atmosphere before the war, and the troops arriving one after another were also undergoing intense training.

The military department's orders are mainly for replenishing inventory, and food products are mainly for fresh production. This move has revitalized a large number of enterprises.

After two consecutive years of strong international demand, there is a backlog of orders, which has led many manufacturers to borrow heavily to expand production in an attempt to make a fortune while taking advantage of the market boom.

who would have thought

After 1873, the international situation took a turn for the worse. Mainland countries represented by France raised tariffs one after another in order to protect and restore the development of domestic industries, thus forming a "late spring cold" that went against free trade.

The original international demand quickly disappeared. For many international orders, European customers were unwilling to take delivery of the goods rather than losing their deposits.

This is because the sudden rise in high international tariffs has made the original transaction unprofitable and even faced a large loss.

Therefore, many European traders have canceled orders or regretted and refused to fulfill the contract.

This has made it difficult for domestic manufacturers who have increased their efforts in production to cry without tears when looking at the mountains of goods in the country. The consequences of blind expansion are becoming increasingly apparent.

With large debts and a mountain of finished products, some weaker manufacturers have gone bankrupt, while some medium and large manufacturers are gritting their teeth and persisting, hoping for a reversal.

In this difficult time, the order from the Imperial Military Department is like the water of life that quenches hunger and thirst, and it appears just in time.

In times of international economic crisis, launching a colonial war to expand demand is a good way to create demand.