Wild North America 1846

Chapter 615 Final decision

Author: Portuguese toothless

Chapter 615 Final decision

The Battle of Tumaco Port lasted about five days before it came to an end. It was a counterattack involving foreign countries on an astonishing scale. The 3rd garrison regiment paid a heavy price of thousands of casualties before barely holding on to the port.

Emergency reinforcements arrived at the port of Tumaco by ship. The imperial army came from Panama Province and was part of the Central Plains Division of the Southern Army. There were two infantry regiments and an artillery battalion with a total of more than 7,000 officers and soldiers. They carried 18 6-pound field guns.

Cannons and a large supply of ammunition.

When the urgent military information that Tumaco was besieged by a large organized group of thugs was reported to the division headquarters in Cali, the 1st Royal Mexican Field Division felt that something was unusual and immediately reported it to all levels.

The relevant urgent military information was finally submitted to the case of General Mai Xiaozu, Duke of Pingnan, who was inspecting Medellin. General Mai Xiaozu, with his rich war experience, smelled a strong atmosphere of conspiracy.

After occupying the entire territory of Colombia, and after months of sweeps and sweeps, today's Colombian rebels have hid in the jungle to escape attack. There are very few single teams with more than a thousand people.

How could a rebel force numbering over 10,000 people suddenly appear?

Do you really think the jungle is a very nurturing place?

Tropical jungles are extremely dangerous, with venomous snakes and insects everywhere, making it difficult to ensure clean water and causing large-scale tropical malaria and severe diarrhea, both of which are life-threatening risks.

There may be some wild fruits and animals in the tropical jungle, but it is impossible to support a team of more than a thousand people. Only three to four hundred people can support the sky.

So, there must be something fishy in this.

After General Mai Xiaozu clarified his thoughts, he immediately ordered the Panamanian garrison to send an emergency reinforcement force through China Unicom's long-distance telegraph line.

The Central Plains Division stationed on the outskirts of Panama City took action immediately after receiving the emergency reinforcement order. They assembled and boarded the ship in the afternoon of the previous day. On the afternoon of the second day, they arrived at the port of Tumaco, 520 kilometers away, and rescued the destruction of the third regiment.

danger; danger;

Take a break after logging in

The reinforcements began to counterattack at dawn on the third day. After a day and a half of bloody battles in the city, more than 10,000 enemies were killed, the thugs were driven out of the city, and then a cover-up and killing was launched...

An inventory of the entire Battle of Tumaco;

The Imperial Army suffered 3,417 casualties, including 1,300 Colombian civilian casualties, 677 armed citizen casualties, and more than 1,420 Imperial Army officers and soldiers. They suffered unprecedented heavy losses since the war began.

The rebels suffered approximately 33,000 casualties, and another 21,600 were captured, including retired French Major General Monty-François and many important officials from Peru and Ecuador. The truth of the entire incident gradually emerged.

According to prisoner confessions;

French Major General Monty-François is a military adviser hired by the Peruvian government. These advanced Chacepo rifles are part of the legal arms ordered by Peru and are given priority to equip the elite troops of the Peruvian military.

In this large-scale counterattack, Peru sent more than 4,800 people and Ecuador sent more than 2,100 people, wearing civilian clothes and attacking among the mobs.

After more than a month of preparations, we contacted more than 10 rebel armed forces scattered in the jungle, assembled about 3,800 to 4,000 local armed forces, and attracted a large number of civilians along the way, eventually forming a huge momentum.

The initiators were General Juan Varela, a hard-line figure in the Peruvian military, and General Daniel Morat of Ecuador. These two people have a common characteristic;

They are all descendants of Spanish whites born in the New World. They are all large farmers. They hold a hard stance because they fear the invasion of the Tang Empire and oppose all efforts to promote a unified market in South America.

Since the stakes are high

It was beyond the scope of what the Southern Army could handle. After the Battle of Tumaco, the Southern Army formed a detailed report and submitted it to the imperial government, which finally landed on the desk of His Majesty the Emperor...

Chang'an, the imperial capital

Daming Palace

"What is the opinion of the Ministry of War?" Emperor Richard asked in a calm tone with no expression on his face.

Marshal Dai Changfu, Chief of Staff of the Royal Army, General Harry Fletcher, Deputy Chief of Staff, General Chen Chuan, General Tian Mantun, and General Fan Pengju were all present, sitting upright on one side of the general, and on the other side was

Prime Minister Dong Jie and other senior cabinet ministers.

After hearing His Majesty's inquiry, Marshal Dai Changfu, who was sitting in the first place among the generals, quickly stood up, raised his hands and performed a standard military salute;

“In reply to His Majesty’s words;

The Royal Army has made all preparations, always listens to His Majesty's call, has the ability to cope with any possible situation, and win the final victory.

Our Royal Army can recruit people who can fight, and can win in battle. It will make the country more powerful in foreign lands and safeguard the supreme glory of the empire."

"Well, I'm very relieved." Emperor Richard was quite satisfied with the answer of the Ministry of War, and nodded and asked Marshal Dai Changfu to sit down.

The options on the table are already obvious;

In order to maintain the dignity of the empire, an escalation of war is inevitable.

The only difference is... to what extent do you extend the war?

Is it limited to Ecuador or includes Peru and Ecuador? Otherwise, the war will affect all three countries of Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, forming the second South American War in a broad sense.

Emperor Richard turned around and asked, "Has the government reached a consensus?"

In the development of the Tang Empire's political circles for several decades after the founding of the country, a very unique political ecology was indeed formed, which was famous for its efficiency, integrity and aggressiveness.

Bismarck, the iron-blooded Prime Minister of the German Empire, once commented on this: "This is a group of politicians with great charisma. They are loyal and passionate. They often mention the glorious conquest history of their ancestors thousands of years ago and want to replicate this success..."

Adolphe Thiers, President of the French Third Reich, also spoke highly of the Tang Imperial Government, saying that it was "the most capable subordinate of His Majesty the Emperor of the East, conscientious and efficient in completing many arduous tasks. In comparison, Napoleon III

The emperor always gave in in disputes with his courtiers to win more support..."

The official administration of the Tang Empire can be said to be a breath of fresh air among the world's great powers. Having ideals, ambitions, responsibility, and being able to do things are the most conspicuous labels, and they have received extremely high praise from around the world.

Prime Minister Count Dong Jie stood up with a respectful expression, bowed his hands and replied;

“Start your majesty;

After the Colombia incident, two opinions formed within the government: the conservative faction and the radical faction. Among them;

The conservative faction believes that the policy of colonial expansion should be steadily promoted, and they cannot eat hot tofu in a hurry.

At present, the primary goal of the Colonial Office is still to digest the residential areas of New Columbia. It is not appropriate to expand the attack area excessively and lengthen the front line to avoid serious digestive reactions.

At best, the war will be extended to Ecuador.

This also follows the empire's consistent policy of stable expansion, pursuing a divide-and-conquer strategy of pulling in one faction, fighting another, and isolating another, with a focus on steady advancement.

The radicals believe that the sacred dignity of the empire should not be taken lightly, and that all South American countries involved in it should be punished as one and punished, and the issue of the South American unified market should be solved once and for all.

The War Department, the Colonial Department and the Foreign Office mainly held this position, while the Ministry of Finance, the Department of Transport and other cabinet ministers held different opposing views, and the two sides were at loggerheads.

Which one is better or worse should be determined by the Holy Judgment, and all ministers should abide by it without fail."

After hearing this answer, Emperor Richard raised his eyebrows, his expression turned stern and he looked at Prime Minister Dong Jie, and asked in a low voice, "In your opinion, where should I go?"

"this……"

The power of an emperor can be seen in silence. With an understatement, Prime Minister Dong Jie was forced into a position from which he could no longer retreat, with dissatisfaction hidden in his tone.

If the cabinet can't come up with a unified opinion, then what's the use of you?

Under the emperor's gaze, Prime Minister Dong Jie immediately broke out in a cold sweat on his spine. After saluting again, he bent even deeper and said, "Your Majesty, please give me a speech.

Wei Chen secretly believes that prudence should be the first priority.

The first step is to launch an army to accuse Ecuador. It is not appropriate to expand the scope of the attack excessively. This will be detrimental to the empire’s financial expenditure and international outlook, and will also greatly increase the risk.

Wouldn't it be better to figure it out slowly?"

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Ministry of Finance seconded the proposal."

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce seconded the proposal."

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Communications seconded the proposal."

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health second the proposal."

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of the Interior seconded the proposal."

…

After the Prime Minister gave his answer, a large number of cabinet ministers stood up and expressed their support. It seems that the majority of the cabinet is conservative.

This represents the opinion of a large number of nobles and courtiers, who are not opposed to direct expansion, but belong to the moderate colonial expansionist group or the stable colonial expansionist group.

Since the founding of the empire, the almost non-stop colonial expansion in the past 28 years has invested a considerable amount of financial resources in new colonial areas every year, consuming a lot of government financial resources.

Nowadays, the financial support of the Viceroyalty of the Andes, Texas Province, and Beihai Province is receding, and they have received positive feedback, generating a steady stream of revenue.

However, the new colonial area of ​​Yunnan Province and the new colonial area of ​​Colombia immediately came forward. These are places that require large financial investment. Coupled with the continued military operations of the Southern Corps, it is a foregone conclusion that there will be a large deficit in fiscal expenditure this year.

If you then rashly expand military strikes against Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, do you really think that launching a war is free of money?

Even if the imperial treasury has a huge income, it can't afford such a large amount of expenditure?

Traditional Han courtiers have a simple concept of "living within their means", which is just like living at home, and they are unwilling to borrow money to survive.

The courtiers were not opposed to colonial expansion, but wanted to proceed more steadily. After digesting the early colonial achievements, they planned the next expansion goal.

This is exactly the policy that Emperor Richard has always implemented, and it has now become the consensus of the entire court.

From a certain perspective, the courtiers are all loyal believers of His Majesty the Emperor and are practicing His Majesty's theory of colonial expansion, which is correct.

Emperor Richard saw that a group of military leaders, the Colonial Secretary Viscount Yao Guangyi, the Foreign Minister Luo Fengxian and others who supported the radical plan were ready to make a move, so he waved his hands calmly, telling them to calm down.

Then he asked calmly: "Dong Aiqing, the statistics of the empire's overall economic performance in 1873 have been released. How much is the growth?"

Prime Minister Dong Jie did not dare to neglect, and after saluting respectfully, he replied: "To answer your Majesty's question, compared with the 11.2% rapid growth of the national economy in the previous year, the large-scale economic crisis that originated in Europe in 1873 severely impacted the imperial economy.

Year-end statistics show that economic growth fell back to 3.45% in 1873, a cliff-like decline compared with the previous year.

However, compared with the great powers in the world that are in recession, the economic performance of the Datang Empire can be said to be outstanding. It has still recorded stable growth despite the storm of the global economic crisis, which is really commendable.

This also reflects the extremely strong resilience of the empire’s economy. I would like to congratulate Your Majesty and congratulate the Tang Empire!”

"So according to economic statistics, how much social demand did the start of the Colombian War stimulate?"

"Well... I would like to inform Your Majesty that the Ministry of Finance and the Imperial Statistics Office have indeed made a careful assessment. The impact of launching the Colombian War on social demand in 1873 should be about 30%."

"In other words, the war has stimulated demand and made a positive contribution that cannot be ignored to prevent the empire's overall economy from falling into a deeper quagmire?"

"Your Majesty, this is the consensus of the cabinet ministers. The Colombian War has indeed boosted the overall social demand and is one of the main factors in getting rid of the economic crisis."

"But the force driving social demand is relatively weak, accounting for only about 30%?"

"Your Majesty, it is indeed true."

"Um……"

Emperor Richard responded, looking around at all the ministers of His Highness, and said unhurriedly;

"Everything must be adapted to local conditions and the times, and we must not stick to routines. You, my dear friends, have committed the error of empiricism.

If it is normal, prudent action should be the appropriate policy.

But what is the current situation?

The global economic crisis has intensified into its second year. Instead of reducing tariff protectionism in various countries, it has intensified its efforts. It is already foreseeable that the overall scale of international trade will shrink further.

Under such circumstances, only vigorously promoting domestic demand growth is the only way to avoid the overall economy falling into the abyss of recession.

Don't be afraid of large-scale borrowing. Money can only produce value when it is spent. If it is piled up at home, it will only become moldy.

As long as the national economy is back on track, the effort will be worth it.

What is particularly valuable is that

Idiots like Peru and Ecuador have given them the excuse to start a war. How can they ignore their good intentions?

Maybe when these South American countries come to their senses and regain their sense, they will never dare to offend the majesty of the empire again. They are so cautious in everything they do that you can't find a single fault even if you want to.

How could we let such a wonderful opportunity go to waste?

Only the government, concerned about the international spectacle, took out the prisoners in Tumaco and gave them wide coverage by the imperial and European media, including the French general, as well as decent figures in Peru and Ecuador.

Let the world's public opinion see that these people and the countries they represent have openly provoked the empire.

The Tang Empire only made a counterattack and gave you time to prepare public opinion, which should be almost a month.

a month later

The Tang Empire, together with Paraguay, Uruguay and other countries, openly declared war on Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, simply making the scene bigger and more lively, and completely solving all the hidden dangers of the South American unified market."

"Your Majesty is wise, and I will obey the Holy Orders."

"In addition, war bonds totaling 200 million yuan will be issued to the people of the Tang Dynasty. The interest rate is set at 4.2% for a period of five years. The royal fund subscribes for 20%. If you have extra money, use it to buy some. Take care of this."

"Your Majesty is wise and all ministers will obey you." All the ministers replied in unison.

(End of chapter)