The moment the Duke of Wellington hung up the phone, who was still furious just now, his expression had completely calmed down, and there was even a relaxed smile on the corner of his mouth.
He is currently sitting at the head of a long table in the conference room of No. 10 Downing Street, surrounded by his cabinet ministers on both sides. The British Prime Minister looked at these solemn-looking imperial ministers, smiled and said: "Gentlemen, I think we have won the first battle to defend the Indian Empire!"
As he said this, he glanced at Lord Nelson, the First Sea Lord, and said, "Horatio, our fleet won't become a target for the Chinese after dark, right?"
"No, it won't." Earl Nelson said with certainty. "Vice Admiral Codrington is an experienced naval admiral. He will definitely lead the fleet to withdraw to Goa Port after dark. And avoid confrontation with the Ming Dynasty Navy. Conducting night battles is also one of the rules of engagement of the Indian Grand Fleet.”
Now Ming Dynasty has publicly displayed its own radio station, and even sold a batch to the Rakshasa Kingdom. Of course the British knew about it and formulated countermeasures. The first is to speed up the mass production of its own radio stations and strive to equip the troops as soon as possible; the second is to prohibit the navy from engaging in night battles with the Ming Navy, which has the advantage of night communications.
The main force of the Indian fleet, which is confronting the Ming army formation off the coast of Goa, will withdraw to the nearby port of Goa after dark to avoid a night battle.
Therefore, the night battle planned by Zhuge Weidao cannot be fought. After all, his opponent is a military god-level figure like Earl Nelson!
"Very good!" Duke Wellington smiled, "As long as there is no night battle, the battle loss ratio in our first official confrontation with the Chinese will be 1:3. We lost one armored cruiser and they lost three armored cruisers. . And they gave up landing in India after the war and instead occupied the Persian Gulf, which was on the edge of the Turkish Empire. So, we have the upper hand for the time being!"
"Seize the Persian Gulf?" Earl Nelson was stunned. "Prime Minister, is this what Zhuge Weijiu said on the phone?"
"Yes!" Duke Wellington nodded, "That's what he said. He said that Ming's goal was not India, and Ming also recognized Emperor William's rule in India as legal, but Ming wanted to occupy the Persian Gulf and Malaysia. Come to the peninsula.”
"But what is there in the Persian Gulf?" Earl Nelson was puzzled. "If they want to cut off the traffic between India and the Suez Canal, using the Persian Gulf as a base is too far. From the pirate beach in the Persian Gulf to the exit of the Gulf of Aden, It’s more than a thousand nautical miles, how inconvenient is it to get back and forth? And it’s also very dangerous. Wouldn’t it be better for them to directly capture the ports of Djibouti or Aden?”
The Duke of Wellington thought for a while and said: "This shows that they have no intention of cutting off maritime traffic. The Persian Gulf should be just a bargaining chip for trading. Their real target should be the Malay Peninsula. After seizing the Malay Peninsula, they will The Persian Gulf in exchange for our recognition of their occupation of the Malay Peninsula.”
He glanced at Foreign Secretary Robert Peel.
Robert Peel nodded and said: "Mr. Prime Minister, according to the Ming Empire's consistent behavior, they should adopt the strategy of slicing sausages and advancing two and retreating one."
The Ming Empire's tactics, which Europeans call "salami slicing" and "advance two, retreat one", have been used for more than a hundred years, so that Oxford, Cambridge, Sandhurst Royal Military Academy and Dartmouth Royal The Naval Academy has special courses to explain the foreign policy characteristics of the Ming Empire.
The Duke of Wellington said in an unusually firm tone: "But this time they will not succeed because we started preparing for the defense of Temasek Fortress 100 years ago! After 100 years of continuous construction, Temasek Fortress has become the world's largest The strongest island fortress, with tens of thousands of the most elite British-Indian coalition troops stationed all year round, it is also equipped with more than 300 artillery pieces of various types, including 54 of the latest one-pound anti-airship guns! We are deployed on Temasek Island The firepower of the 13.5-inch cannon is enough to cover the entire sea area between Temasek Island and Batam Island!
In addition, various defensive measures taken by Hugh Gough Pasha in Adrianople have also been used on Temasek Island. If the Ming Dynasty wanted to storm Temasek Island, they would suffer greater losses than the Rakshasa army trapped in Adrianople! "
Temasek is Singapore. In this timeline, Temasek opened its port much earlier. Around 1660, King Zhuge Wu Zhong took back Macau and became a retreat for the Portuguese in Macau. At that time, the Dutch, who controlled the Strait of Malacca, saw that the Portuguese had taken root in Temasek Island, so they united with the Sultanate of Johor to attack. The Portuguese asked the British East India Company for help, which triggered the Malacca War. The result of the Malacca War was that it became the master of Temasek Island and Malacca City and gained control of the Strait.
The Ming Dynasty "accepted" the annexation of the King of Johor and claimed sovereignty over the Malay Peninsula but also stated that it could "set aside disputes and develop jointly"!
Although the British did not recognize the Ming Dynasty's sovereignty over the Malay Peninsula, they agreed to the principle of "shelving disputes and joint development" proposed by the Ming Dynasty, allowing Ming Dynasty businessmen to purchase in the entire Malay Peninsula area except Temasek Island and Malacca City. land, to open plantations and mines. However, these Ming merchants must pay taxes to the British Channel Governor's Office on Temasek Island and accept management.
Of course, the British also knew that the Ming Empire was coveting the Strait of Malacca, so from that time on, they began to build Temasek Fortress!
The Duke of Wellington continued: "Now, the Ming Navy is frustrated in the Indian Ocean and cannot land in India, so it has to turn to the Persian Gulf. And in the direction of Malacca, they are destined to be unable to capture Temasek Island soon. And unable to capture Temasek Island, Malacca The transportation line in the strait will not be smooth. Therefore, the Ming army and navy entering the Persian Gulf will become alone!" As he said, his voice suddenly became louder, "Gentlemen, this is our victory, and it is also the victory of the Indian Empire! We should let the whole world see our victory! And we must make full use of this victory to create the most favorable European situation for the British Empire!"
He looked at Robert Peel and Viscount Palmerston. These two people are Duke Wellington's most powerful allies in the cabinet and parliament, and they are also very intelligent people, so they must have understood what Duke Wellington was thinking.
"Prime Minister," Robert Peel said, "it is time for Mahmud II to recognize the independence of Greece. The Persian Gulf is theoretically the territory of the Ottoman Empire. Once the Ming Empire seizes the Persian Gulf, it can be regarded as a threat to the Ottoman Empire. Invasion. Moreover, the Persian Gulf is very close to the Holy City, which gave Mahmud II an excuse to abandon Greece. And once he abandons Greece, then we, France, Austria, and Prussia will have reason to cease war with the Ottoman Empire!
The Greeks also have to accept it, because their financial expenses are completely dependent on the support of our country, France and Germany's banks, and many of their people have died! "
Viscount Palmerston had a gloating smile on his face, "Haha, once Greece withdraws, how can Nicholas I maintain the war? Even if his Rakshasa army still has the strength to capture Adrianople, he will be isolated throughout Europe. And it is unprecedentedly isolated! If the Ming Dynasty stands with the Rakshasa, but cannot quickly capture the Temasek Fortress and effectively threaten India, then they will become as incompetent and ridiculous as the Rakshasa!"
After receiving a batch of heavy artillery and ammunition provided by the Ming Dynasty, receiving a large number of domestic reinforcements, adjusting tactics, and strengthening soil work, Nicholas I's army fought from mid-September to October 1829. Good progress has been made in the first half of the month. Now we have surrounded Adrianople on three sides, and are about to cut off the connection between this fortress and Constantinople.
But Viscount Palmerston was right. Some progress in the military could not change the isolation trend of Nicholas I and the Rakshasa Kingdom in international politics. When the prestige of Rakshasa is gone, all that is left is to be hated. He is so greedy for land!
(End of chapter)
