Zai Chun was really wronged. He couldn't figure it out. The Qing Dynasty had a land of more than 10 million square kilometers and a population of more than 500 million.
For such a huge empire, at this juncture, it actually has no soldiers, no food, and no pay. Its eyes are dark, its hands are empty, and the capital can only fight with tens of thousands of people!
Didn't the text of the play say that if the capital is in trouble, the soldiers and horses of the King Qin from all over the world will rush to save the emperor from danger?
Why didn't the things in the drama work well for him, Zai Chun?
"Why? What happened to the Qing Dynasty? How come such a big country doesn't even have any soldiers?"
No one who was doing it could answer Zai Chun's question. The only person who could answer was still eating, drinking and having fun in the Indian Ocean!
The place where Xiao Letian is staying is six time zones away from the capital, which is a six-hour difference. It is four o'clock in the morning here at Zaichun, so the midnight snack has just started here at Xiao Letian!
Music, fine wine, hors d'oeuvres, tropical fruits, dances with a strong Indian Ocean style, and even drummers from the African continent!
Today is a good day for Xiao Letian to entertain his men. All the officers and meritorious sailors on the heavy cruiser Monsoon, more than 100 ships, and the leaders of the Mauritian Chinese immigrants are here.
These people were so excited that tears filled their eyes when the head of state entertained them. Many older immigrants still used the old etiquette and kowtowed when they saw the head of state. The naval officers and soldiers around them hurriedly helped them one by one!
At the height of the banquet, Xiao Letian dropped big news. The head of state publicly announced that he would build a naval ocean-going training camp in Mauritius!
This news immediately ignited the fire in the hearts of the people present, and the atmosphere suddenly exploded!
Mauritius is the land that Xiao Letian bought from the Queen of England. Its geographical location is very sensitive. The top brass of the navy know that this is an important node in the entire naval supply chain that Xiao Letian has built in the Indian Ocean!
These islands in the southern Indian Ocean are not on the British golden route, so they will not affect the British commercial interests. It stands to reason that the British should not be wary.
But Britain is a country that attaches great importance to sea power, and it is very sensitive to matters on the sea!
Those islands that are not in the golden waterway or are not in important locations are not willing to be controlled by the Chinese. This is purely a defensive mentality.
Xiao Letian finally bought some southern Indian Ocean islands from the British, but the British had conditions and did not allow these islands to be militarized. If you Chinese are militarized, the British will definitely intervene!
But how could Xiao Letian not be militarized? These islands are supply chains, and the ultimate strategic purpose is to control the mining areas of Western Australia!
The area in Western Australia facing the Indian Ocean now has a large number of Chinese immigrants. No mineral deposits have been discovered here yet. Europeans have no idea that this land contains the highest-quality and most productive iron ore area in the world.
Not only iron ore, but also gold mines, diamond mines, copper mines...many important resources for the development of Chinese industry are hidden here!
Xiao Letian knew it but did not dare to announce it to the outside world. He could only use the excuse of the disaster victims to immigrate to open up wasteland and fish, and spent money to buy the land here from the European colonists.
Xiao Letian knows very well that once he announces the news about the super iron ore area in Western Australia, Britain will definitely turn its back and regret it!
That was the moment when armies met. In order to face the future game, we had to build our own supply chain in the Indian Ocean at this moment.
Let the navy defend the enemy outside the country, and at least break the big gateway of the Strait of Malacca!
The top brass of the navy know about this plan, but they cannot let the common people know about it. Xiao Letian invited these immigrant elders and elites to come today just to fight against the autumn wind.
"Fellows! As we all know, in today's world without the protection of a strong navy, we will definitely be bullied. The two Opium Wars are precedents!"
"Feel it for yourselves. We are just a cruiser named Monsoon, docked at the dock. Look at the expressions of the natives and foreign devils looking at us Chinese!"
"When the foreign devils bought your fried rice before, did you say thank you? Therefore, if the nation wants to stand up and not become slaves, it must be protected by a strong army!"
"But... before we purchased Mauritius, the British prohibited us from militarizing it, so I can only announce to the outside world that this is a naval training center in the Indian Ocean!"
"It is an ocean training camp, training the operation of some sail warships, training sailors, and conducting climate and hydrological research on the Indian Ocean..."
"If you want to play a marginal game, the British can't say anything. They have to announce to the outside world that this is a non-military training base..."
"It's up to you... This training base can only be proposed by you, and you can raise funds. No matter what, we must make it happen as requested by the people!"
"I know that you have just become more prosperous in business these years, so it is not appropriate for you to spend money for free... So you go ahead and deceive the British, and then our Navy Department will secretly reimburse you..."
The Chinese immigrants present were in an uproar. The elder Mr. Su stood up tremblingly, tears streaming down his face, "Head of State... I have been in Malaysia and the Philippines. I know what it is like for foreign devils to bully us Chinese!" "
"When the knife comes, you can't buy your life with money..."
"You can't be a borrowed word from the head of state... The head of state needs to build a training camp and a dock. We have paid for all the funds!"
"The Chinese in Mauritius can accomplish this even if they lose all their money... We don't have enough money, so all the Chinese communities in Southeast Asia come together to help the head of state!"
"Building a navy, a century-old good thing that will not be bullied, must be done... The old man's family still has a sum of money to build ancestral tombs, 160,000 silver dollars, all of which have been donated, all of them have been donated..."
"We, the Liu family, can't just watch in vain and pledge a donation of 150,000 silver dollars..."
"Our Luo family has pledged a donation of 120,000 yuan..."
A cocktail party actually turned into a donation party. Sissi was dumbfounded on the sidelines. Europe had never seen such support for the king.
Just by looking at these Chinese families in Mauritius, they have already donated over one million silver dollars!
The total investment in the naval training camp in Mauritius was only more than three million silver dollars. In just half an hour, one third of it was all raised!
Xiao Letian didn't say anything. He personally went over to toast anyone who called out the donation figure. The patriarchs of those families were flattered, and some even knelt down.
Xiao Letian quickly helped the old man up, "Don't kneel, don't kneel...Kneel down to the ancestors of heaven and earth, don't kneel to me..."
"If you trust me, you will send the best children in your family to the naval training camp... Our navy opens its doors to accept your most talented young people!"
"This is not my training camp, it's yours too!"
