Xiao Letian, who was thousands of miles away, did not realize that Ryukyu, which he managed single-handedly, was now showing signs of secession and civil strife. The indigenous Ryukyu forces represented by Cai Hao, Jin Changsen and others had serious conflicts with foreign forces from the mainland such as Liang Kun and Fan Yan. differences.
After all, the Ryukyu natives are still short-sighted. They have only heard about the brutality of foreigners but have never seen it with their own eyes. In their subconscious, the French and British are no different from the earliest Japanese Shimadzu family. They are all a group of people who come here for profit. They are just bandits. As long as they do not overthrow the Ryukyu Kingdom, everyone can survive even if life is difficult.
The previous hundreds of years of Shimazu family rule have survived. Who cares about another master riding on top of their heads? As for the hope that Xiao Letian brings to everyone, just think of it as a dream.
However, the group Xiao Letian brought from the mainland and the Ryukyu natives had completely different ideas. Old shopkeeper Fan Jian had also seen the ruins of the Old Summer Palace in the capital, and his familiar friends and even the guys in the capital had also seen the British and French allied forces. of ferocity.
As for Liang Kun, he has no good impression of foreigners. During the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, he even fought with the foreign gun team led by the British Gordon. Countless brothers died at the hands of this British butcher, and the hatred was washed away by the water of the Three Rivers. Don't fall off.
The two Ryukyu factions were in a stalemate. One faction still had some illusions about the foreigners and always thought that peace would be achieved if fewer people died, while the other faction saw clearly the nature of the Western powers and knew that these hungry wolves There is absolutely no kindness in this. The so-called negotiation is a scam.
King Shangtai was so embarrassed to be caught in the middle. The young king really admired Xiao Letian and accepted 100% of the ideas Xiao Letian instilled. But after all, he grew up in Ryukyu. The opinions of the veterans who watched him grow up He couldn't help but listen.
More importantly, in the past few days of indiscriminate bombing, Ryukyu soldiers and civilians have died too many. This has exceeded the psychological endurance limit of the people of the small island country. It is so sad for a small country with only a few people. We cannot afford to fight a war of attrition.
The tangled King Shangtai finally agreed with Jin Changsen and the others and decided to meet Gong Cheng. At this point, the first half of Gong Banlun's poisonous plan came to a perfect end. The old traitor who understood human nature once again toyed with the country.
Xiao Letian was completely unaware of all this. In the era before telegraph lines around the world, the efficiency of information transmission was very low. Xiao Letian never imagined that Gong Banlun, a famous traitor in history, would get involved in Ryukyu. At this time, He still has the mind to give a small lesson to his officer corps in the Mediterranean.
"Brothers, have you seen it? The big island to the north is Crete. The legendary Minoan Labyrinth was built here... To the north of this island is Greece, the birthplace of European civilization... Going further To the north are the historically famous Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia..."
"This land is incredible. It is the origin of European civilization and the powder keg of Europe for thousands of years. There have been constant battles on this land since BC. Mediterranean civilization and Nordic civilization clashed here, and Asian civilization and European civilization. At the border here, different ideas and different cultures have created a splendid civilization, but they have also accumulated countless conflicts."
"Brothers, please remember this. From now on, you must keep your eyes on this place. The powder keg in the Balkans will never stop from ancient times. War is the mainstream here. Maybe one day we will be here. It will become the trigger for a world war..."
Xiao Letian no longer took the Portuguese merchant ship. The British fleet escorted him across the English Channel, and the Portuguese Navy also dispatched two small warships to escort him.
After the ship passed through the Strait of Gibraltar, the Italian Navy, which had been waiting here, took over the escort task. The new officers and soldiers have never forgotten the ship-changing ceremony in the Strait of Gibraltar. The scene shocked the whole of Europe.
Gibraltar is the transportation chokepoint from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean. There is a constant flow of ships here day and night. None of the captains and sailors thought what the Italian warship that had been parked in the middle of the strait for two days wanted to do.
When the ship-changing ceremony began, the three Italian frigates fired a 21-gun salute. The roaring explosions frightened the surrounding merchant ships and hurried to avoid them. They thought the Italians were going to play pirates.
In the end, these passing ships figured out that what the Italian Navy had been waiting for was the Eastern Prime Minister Xiao Letian and his officer corps, the Eastern Miracle Corps that shocked the whole of Europe.
"God, these are the Chinese soldiers who relied on their flesh and blood to resist the French cavalry."
"This is the Knights of the East who bravely saved the orphans in the Hamburg fire and won the praise of the church."
"They are the creators of the miracle of the Stone Bridge...the miracles they created are no less than those of the Three Hundred Warriors of Sparta BC. These are the Spartans of the East."
Leo's Oriental special topic really gave Xiao Letian and the others a lot of points. Thanks to the heavy-finance operation, a yellow whirlwind blew up across Europe. The public opinion circles unanimously praised Xiao Letian and his officer corps. The exaggerated tone made Xiao Letian, a shameless person, They were all ashamed.
Now, in addition to the pro-French emperor newspapers that are still making some sour questions, more than 80% of the remaining media have become Xiao Letian's voluntary propagandists.
Perhaps the French intelligence agency found some information about Sino-German funds bribing editors-in-chief of major newspapers, but in the face of surging public opinion, this tasteless attack was quickly forgotten by the people.
At that moment, the whistle suddenly sounded in the Strait of Gibraltar. The sound was so loud that it drowned out the roar of the salute. Except for the French ships, all the remaining ships blew their whistles to see Xiao Letian and the others off. There were people everywhere on the deck. Waving crowd.
The trip to the Mediterranean became Xiao Letian's glorious journey. Along the way, countless merchant ships and warships approached the Italian frigate, honking their whistles and firing cannon salutes to see Xiao Letian off together. I don't know where they came from. Where to get the news.
During the Austro-Prussian War, Italy and Prussia were staunch allies. One was responsible for fighting on the northern front and the other was responsible for the southern front. However, the Italians' bravery seemed to have been exhausted in the ancient Roman era. Italy at this time was no different from World War II. , allowing the Austrians to quickly suppress it.
In the end, the Austrians even transferred a large number of troops from the southern front to support the northern front, so the Italian Army did not fight a few decent battles.
Thanks to the extraordinary performance of the Prussian Army, Italy also enjoyed the fruits of victory. With a strong ally behind it, Italy's road to unification is destined to be much smoother.
Xiao Letian's contribution in the Battle of Sadova is obvious to all in Europe, which means that more than one Prussian owes Xiao Letian a favor, and the Italians also owe him a favor.
In order to repay this favor, Italy used a small amount of its naval force to escort Xiao Letian in the Mediterranean. Moreover, the Italians may have intentionally let off steam along the way, and countless ships came to see Xiao Letian off.
Look at the shrewdness of the Italians. The Prussians use real core national interests to return favors, while Italy returns favors with face. This business is so shrewd.
After the fleet sailed through Crete, it was not far from the Sinai Peninsula, the focus of this journey. When it reached Port Said, the security force behind it would be handed over to the Prussian and British intelligence agencies.
Just when Xiao Letian was explaining the long history and geopolitics of the Balkan Peninsula to his brothers, the Italian captain walked over with a solemn expression and whispered softly, "Your Majesty, Prime Minister, we can reach the port of Serbia in one day's journey." ...But according to the latest intelligence, the French increased their troops at the port three days ago, and we analyze that they may be going against you..."
"More troops, by how much." Xiao Letian asked nervously. He was completely desperate for Napoleon III's character.
"This is information provided by Prussia. It is estimated that there will be an additional three thousand troops."
"Three thousand." Xiao Letian rolled his eyes and shook his head with a smile, "Don't be nervous, this is His Majesty the French Emperor demonstrating to me. He is just trying to save his face. In addition, Xiang Zhuang's sword dance is the reason why he is increasing his troops this time. On the surface, they are coming for me, but on the inside, they are also meant to deal with the British, so don’t worry.”
Xiao Letian really guessed it right. Napoleon III's increase in troops was really not to deal with Xiao Letian. Although he hated Xiao Letian so much that it itched his teeth, governing a country does not rely on anger, but careful calculation.
In the Palace of Versailles, Napoleon III looked at the documents on the desk with a gloomy expression. There were a large number of diplomatic documents and a lot of intelligence summaries. Everything that happened in the entire empire and colonies could be reflected here.
In the huge hall of mirrors is the lonely figure of the emperor. Since Molière left, he has become even more lonely. He often sits alone in the hall of mirrors in a daze and mutters to himself. The attendants around him even secretly guessed that the emperor was. Not crazy.
"Haha... The US ambassador also jumped out. A small and weak country that has just ended its civil war actually dares to point fingers at France's foreign policy. Do you really think that you can dominate North America after we have a small setback in Mexico? You are a bunch of bastards..."
"Italian Navy escorted Xiao Letian, okay, okay, a weak country that has not achieved reunification has now jumped out. I really thought you could become strong by relying on Prussia. Damn it, don't forget that Germany is just a country now, and Prussia is only Just one of them, stupid pig..."
Napoleon III would curse every time he opened a piece of information that made him angry. Fortunately, there was no one else in the Hall of Mirrors. If word got out that the emperor of a country was cursing like a gangster, France's national image would drop a lot.
"What, damn Bismarck actually dared to protest against me, who does he think he is..." When Napoleon III opened another document, the words inside made him furious.
In that diplomatic protest, Bismarck strongly condemned France's crime of secretly supporting Austrian artillery and war funds. It also protested against the French navy's despicable act of attacking the Prime Minister of Ryukyu. A strongly worded protest finally even completely denied the war. The previous secret agreement.
"Shameless Bismarck, how dare you deny the previous secret agreement, how dare you deny me the territory of the Rhine River, how dare you deceive me, take revenge, France wants revenge..."
How could Napoleon III not be angry? Before the Austro-Prussian War, in order to seek France's neutrality, Bismarck had promised to cede part of the Rhine River territory to France after victory. Now that Prussia has won, the bearded man has no shame to go back on it. He actually treated the French Emperor like a clown.
"Enemies, they are all enemies. Why are there all enemies around me?" The emperor's angry roar sounded again in the Hall of Mirrors.
