In the conference room of the flagship Guiyang outside Tangier Port, the three big bosses sent by the Chu Empire to Europe, namely the European Governor Lieutenant General Liu Yongxin, the co-organizer Lieutenant General Bo Jian'an, and the co-organizer Dai Yu, quickly agreed on a plan to take over the project. Action plan down.
The first step is to ratify the Lisbon Treaty signed with Portugal on behalf of the 'European Expeditionary Force', and then send the text of the treaty to the mainland via a communication ship as soon as possible for archiving and final royal approval.
However, the final imperial approval was just a formality. In fact, as Liu Yongxin, the governor of European military and vassal affairs, his own power was enough to approve and make the contract effective.
As a governor, he was technically an imperial envoy, and could make final decisions on European affairs on behalf of the emperor.
Therefore, although there is still an imperial approval process, in fact, after Liu Yongxin signed and stamped the governor's seal, the treaty became legally binding and began to enter the implementation process.
However, the scope of the treaty is relatively broad. In addition to the matters on the European side that can be directly accepted by the European Expeditionary Force, it is also necessary to notify the domestic side and send people to take over Portugal's Brazilian colony in South America.
Nowadays, the Brazilian colony in the hands of the Portuguese has a very large area and is relatively mature in development. If this time they had not directly attacked Lisbon and encountered internal instability among the Portuguese, and they were fighting for power internally, the Portuguese would probably still be in trouble. I won't give up on transferring this colony easily.
After taking over the Portuguese colony, the Chu Empire also opened up a new frontier in South America.
The Brazilian region in South America is also a good place with fertile land, and it is also very suitable for developing rubber plantations. Some bold businessmen from Chu State have gone to the Brazilian area controlled by the Portuguese to open rubber plantations before.
With the advancement of industrialization and the maturity of rubber vulcanization technology, various industrial products made of natural rubber have gradually entered all walks of life. Not to mention some small and fragmented applications, but in carriages (solid tires wrapped with rubber), waterproof equipment In these two major industries, the demand for rubber is very large every year.
Due to industrial needs, the Chu Empire is now opening up rubber plantations all over the world. A large number of rubber plantations have popped up in many places in the south.
The demand for economic crops like rubber in the Chu Empire is increasing year by year, and it is naturally a good thing to now have a place in Brazil suitable for growing rubber.
However, the delivery of the colony in Brazil is not suitable for the European Expeditionary Force to handle directly. It requires arrangements from the top of the empire. Based on Brazil’s geographical location and huge area, it is very likely that the empire will directly establish a South American governor in Brazil. Jurisdiction, responsible for managing local colonial affairs and nearby vassal affairs.
On the contrary, the European Expeditionary Force can directly send people to take over several archipelagos deep in the Atlantic Ocean in the Lisbon Treaty.
Among them are the Azores and Madeira.
There is a port in the Azores Islands, called Port of Heroes. This place is located exactly at the midway point from the Americas to Europe. It is a very suitable transit supply port between southern Europe and the Americas.
The Portuguese valued this port very much before. It was an important transit and supply port for their control of the American colonies.
It's a pity that now they don't even have the American colony of Brazil. The Azores Islands, which were born for overseas colonies, are naturally not that important to the Portuguese.
Of course...even if the Portuguese wanted to keep it, the Chu people wouldn't let them.
At that time, the Chu army had reached the city of Lisbon. If Lisbon was not to be turned into ruins, a large number of domestic dignitaries were killed and injured, and the country was completely destroyed and the family was completely destroyed, these overseas colonies must be handed over.
Now that the treaty is signed, the European Expeditionary Force will send a fleet and, by the way, official representatives of the Portuguese to take over these two archipelagoes and some other islands in the Atlantic Ocean.
But these are small things and nothing urgent. You can take your time later.
The top priority now is to open more European markets as soon as possible.
"Now in the Port of Cape Town in South Africa, all kinds of goods are piled up, but they are all waiting to enter the European market!"
"Our actions here have lagged behind. If we continue to delay, many goods will become moldy, and many businesses will have operating difficulties due to excessive backlogs of goods!"
"There are millions of workers and farmers in all walks of life in the country waiting for us to open new orders for them!"
"Gentlemen, our task is very heavy!"
Co-organizer Dai Yu didn't talk about the military, and he didn't understand it, but he knew that goods worth tens of millions of dollars were piled up in the port of Cape Town waiting to be processed, and all walks of life in the country were waiting for their good news.
This is not just an issue about the operational safety of dozens of import and export trading companies, but also about a large number of domestic suppliers and even farmers.
Every import and export trading company here has a large number of suppliers behind it, providing jobs for tens of thousands of workers.
Behind every tea company are tens of thousands of tea farmers.
Behind every silk trading company are tens of thousands of silkworm farmers.
People from all walks of life have spent real money to open up trade routes, especially those in the Tea Association, who attach great importance to the European market. This time, in addition to regular soldiers and officials, there are also a group of people in the European Expeditionary Force. Business representatives from all walks of life.
These business representatives said they were here to inspect the business environment...but in fact they were here to urge official action.
People have to make sure that money is spent and results are achieved.
Naturally, these business representatives would not go to the military. It would be useless if they did. The military generals would ignore them.
But they will find Dai Yu, the top civilian representative in the European Expeditionary Force, to put pressure on Dai Yu to ensure their investment returns.
Now the European Trade Free Plan has been launched for half a year, but it has been in West Africa in the early stage... Although there are many indigenous people in that poor place in West Africa, how much purchasing power does it have?
Not even a few glass balls can be sold!
Although it has opened up a small market in Morocco. It signed a market opening agreement with the Kingdom of Morocco some time ago and gained a small market. However, the population in Morocco is too small and the market is also small.
Even the Portuguese market is too small in their opinion. This small population... is far from enough to fill the appetite of domestic industry and commerce.
They need the markets of large European countries with larger populations and better economic conditions, such as France, Spain, England, the Holy Roman Empire, Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania, Russia, and so on.
However, these markets with large populations have not yet been opened up.
The European Expeditionary Force has a long way to go!
Regarding Dai Yu's statement, Liu Yongxin, as the governor of the expeditionary force, also nodded slightly. As the governor of European affairs, he naturally knew his mission very well.
The purpose of coming to Europe is not to expand the territory. It is a good thing to be able to get some colonies, but that is incidental - opening up the local market in Europe is the more important thing.
For the European market, various domestic industries are eager to see it.
Their task of opening up markets in Europe this time is also taken very seriously in the country. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a matter of concern to all people!
He immediately said: "Now that we have established a firm foothold in Tangier and captured the Portuguese, it is time to take action against Spain."
"From a military point of view, Spain is closer to Tangier. Our fleet can land on the other side across dozens of kilometers, and Spain's trade port on the Atlantic coast, Cadiz, is also nearby. We can send a fleet to land and seize it. Using this port as a foothold and outpost, we can advance deep into Spain, and finally defeat the main Spanish army in one or several battles, and finally force them to sit at the negotiating table and sign the agreement we have prepared for him. !”
Speaking of this, he smiled slightly: "By the way, we can also follow the example of the Portuguese and bring over the Spanish colonies in the Americas, so that most of the entire North and South America can be included!"
"Previously, our expedition team discovered saltpeter mines in South America controlled by the Spanish. Now our domestic demand for saltpeter mines is very large. Even though there are many regions that supply them, there is a serious shortage. This is also an important reason why ammunition is expensive. It is really Saltpeter is in short supply and expensive.”
"If we can capture this part of South America controlled by the Spanish, then the supply of saltpeter will be safe!"
"In addition, through continuous transportation, the main force of the 53rd Division of the 27th Army of the Army has arrived in Tangier, and the Indian 3rd Division has also arrived. The 53rd Division is the main force, and the Indian 3rd Division is the auxiliary. It has landed in Spain. It shouldn’t be a big problem to fight a few battles!”
As he spoke, Lieutenant General Liu Yongxin looked at the Army representative standing aside, Lieutenant General Bo Jianan, commander of the 27th Army.
Army Lieutenant General Bo Jian'an immediately said: "Landing and fighting deep into the hinterland of the empire is the task of our army. Naturally, there is no problem. However, the material preparation is still not appropriate. Although the 53rd Artillery Regiment has already arrived at Tangier Port , but the draft horses accompanying the team and the large amount of ammunition attached to them are still floating on the sea, and it is estimated that it will take five days to arrive!"
"In addition, this time we came here and did not bring large-caliber field artillery. Of course, we have naval heavy artillery to cover the coastal areas, but if we go deep into the inland to siege cities, we lack large-caliber siege artillery, and I am afraid it will be too powerful!"
Hearing what Bo Jian'an said, Liu Yongxin frowned slightly and immediately said: "This time we arrived in Europe, the heavy artillery was arranged by the Guards. Now I'm afraid it will take a month for the Guards to arrive. We can't wait here doing nothing. A month for them, right?”
To be honest, he was very dissatisfied with the slow movement of the Guards. It had been so long and they still hadn't come over yet. It was fine if the people couldn't come over, but the heavy artillery had to be arranged first.
When the arrangements were made before the expedition, when all parties discussed the dispatch of troops, it was already finalized. This time the European field heavy artillery force was provided by the Guards. The Guards specially transferred a unit from the mainland with the latest rear equipment. The heavy artillery battalion of rifled guns is equipped with eighteen Type 34 120mm light howitzers.
This kind of artillery is a heavy artillery currently equipped on a large scale in the three armies of the Dachu Empire. Although the short barrel results in a relatively short range, it is light in weight, large in caliber and powerful, so it is greatly favored by the military.
Although the marching weight of this thing is more than two tons, compared with the more than five tons of a conventional 120mm howitzer, it is already very light. This kind of artillery is rare in areas with complex terrain and inconvenient transportation. Heavy artillery mobile with the army.
As for traffic conditions, even in many places in China, they are not that good... Many places have gravel roads and dirt roads. Only in a few economically developed areas, there are cement roads connecting urban areas.
Therefore, even in China, the maneuvering of heavy artillery is very troublesome once it leaves the railway.
Because the Type 34 120mm light howitzer is light enough and powerful, the Army, Marine Corps, Guards, and armed tax police are all equipped with this kind of artillery, and the scale of equipment far exceeds conventional 120mm howitzer.
In overseas areas, this kind of artillery is basically the most powerful heavy artillery available to ground combat troops.
However, because this thing is so easy to use, the order was divided among four companies... so it was in very short supply. The Army only had one battalion in India before, and half a battalion in Africa.
As for Nanyang and the mainland, although there are more, the country has always deployed its most elite troops in the hinterland of the mainland to guard against various so-called potential rebellion threats. How can it be possible to mobilize the elite artillery forces from the hinterland of the mainland and then send them to Europe? Go fight the natives in a remote place where nothing matters!
According to the thinking of the local high-ranking officials, they are just a few uncivilized overseas natives. They can just send second-line troops there and it will be done. They also use first-line combat readiness first-class divisions... What a joke.
The most elite first-class combat readiness divisions of the Great Chu Empire Army train hard day and night and maintain combat readiness all year round. They are used to guard against rebellions by the Guards and the Navy, not to deal with the natives.
Therefore, the Army cannot provide advanced heavy rifled artillery units... As for the Guards, they do not lack such advanced artillery.
Regardless of the small number of Guardsmen, all kinds of military equipment in the Dachu Empire basically give priority to meeting the needs of the Guards... Of course, the unit prices given by others are also high, and the domestic defense industry also treats wealthy Guardsmen He was served like an uncle, all priorities were met, and those in the navy and army who were busy with their duties had to move to the back.
In addition, when the Guards go overseas, they basically grab the credit. Many times they are happy to serve as artillery in the back and let the Army serve as infantry cannon fodder in the front...
So after discussion, it was decided to let the Guards send out this heavy artillery battalion.
These are the results that were finalized after the high-level discussions between the Army and the Guards... It's just that the Guards people like to take credit without giving credit, and they are not willing to be the first to go up and do the hard work.
Especially the hard work of landing in the early stage and opening outposts is considered hard work by the Guards, and it is not easy to get credit.
They are more inclined to let the army work hard at the front to gain a foothold. They follow up from behind and invest the elite forces of the Guards in large-scale decisive battles. They decide the outcome in one battle and directly eat the fattest meat in one bite. Down!
To put it simply, they don’t want to do chores and just want to fight large-scale decisive battles where they can easily gain military exploits!
The elders of the Guards were unwilling to do odd jobs, and even used the excuse of incomplete training to stay in South Africa for several months before setting off.
The purpose is to avoid West Africa and a series of trivial wars like doing chores after arriving in Europe.
However, if the European Expeditionary Force wants to launch a large-scale, deep-inland battle, it will have to wait for the arrival of the Guards.
Bo Jian'an, as a representative of the Army, was naturally dissatisfied with this.
As a representative of the navy, Liu Yongxin was also a little unhappy.
He doesn't care about the dispute between the army and the Guards... Anyway, it has nothing to do with their navy. You can do whatever you like.
However, the dispute between the Guards and the Army will not affect the European operations.
Liu Yongxin immediately said: "Since the heavy artillery battalion of the Guards has not arrived yet, then we will fight along the coast. We will first organize troops to land in Cadiz, then clear out several other ports along the coast, and then weaken the enemy's strength through several field battles!"
"In this way, a month is almost gone. When the heavy artillery battalion of the Guards arrives, we will go deep into the interior of Spain to capture the city and hit Madrid in one go!"
"As for the issue of fire support in coastal ports such as Cadiz, the army can rest assured to leave it to our navy!"
Liu Yongxin, the governor and the boss of the navy, said so. Even if Bo Jianan was dissatisfied, he could only accept it.
But after the meeting ended, he found the commander of the 53rd Division, Major General Ding Zhengqing, and gave him the advice: Those people in the Guards were procrastinating and didn't want to do chores. They just wanted to open their mouths and eat peaches. !
However, their heavy artillery battalions are needed for major offensive operations, but not for ordinary field operations and offensive and defensive operations. Our own 75mm artillery is enough.
After landing, we don't wait at the beach, but go in first. It is best to create opportunities to fight one or two large-scale field battles. Through field battles, we can annihilate the enemy's effective forces on a large scale, and then let the Guards besiege the strongholds in Madrid. city.
The Guards want to pick peaches... Well, let's eat the peach flesh first and leave the peach core for them.
Your 53rd Division must prepare in advance. The artillery, logistics troops, mules and horses, as well as the cavalry troops must be well prepared.
In particular, the cavalry unit must not lose its guard.
Ding Zhengqing naturally accepted it with a face. He, Bo Jianan, wanted to squeeze out the Guards, and he, Ding Zhengqing, was also very unhappy with the Guards... Besides, he also needed to take the credit!
Otherwise, why would you come all the way to this crappy place in Europe... It's not just to write down a strong mark on your military merit list and lay the foundation for further promotion in the future.
Whether it is a conflict between the army and the Guards or a dispute over merit, he, Ding Zhengqing, will not give in easily... Now that his immediate boss has given him clear instructions, he will not care about his actions after landing. Taking care of too many things.
The army and navy at the front had a discussion and immediately abandoned the Guards and launched an attack on the coastal areas of Spain. The 27th Army within the army had already decided on its own that after the landing was successful, it would be possible to capture Cadiz. After arriving at the supply base, they didn't wait for the Guards to advance directly inland. They had to eat the fat first.
Under such circumstances, in late August, the European Expeditionary Force of the Chu Empire officially sent an envoy to Cadiz and submitted a formal ultimatum document to Spain.
Spain was required to make compensation for the Tangier defenders' unauthorized attack on the Chu army, which resulted in the Chu army being forced to fight back and land, including paying tribute, ceding American colonies, and ceding all Atlantic coastal territories including Cadiz, the Strait of Gibraltar and the peninsula, etc. .
At the same time, a compensation of 30 million Chu Yuan will be paid, the market will be fully opened, and tariffs will be limited.
The armies of the Da Chu Empire could travel freely and be stationed on Spanish soil, among other conditions.
The King of Spain accepts the canonization of the Empire, and at the same time accepts the supervision of officials sent by the Empire to lead internal affairs, military affairs, diplomacy, etc. Without the permission of the Empire, Spain cannot sign treaties of any nature with other countries.
The conditions in this ultimatum are naturally extremely harsh. If Spain accepts it, it will be no different from the country's subjugation.
Not to mention, the people from the Vassal Affairs Department of the Da Chu Empire just found a protectorate treaty, simply changed it, and submitted it to Spain...
Why is it so hasty...because I didn't expect the Spaniards to agree.
Besides, this can send an ultimatum to the Spaniards and inform them of the formal negotiation conditions. This is already a sign that the officials of the Dachu Empire's Domain Affairs Department attach great importance to the Spaniards.
In Portugal before, the people from the imperial vassal affairs department didn't even give them an ultimatum and went straight to the door.
This time, I also gave the Spanish an ultimatum letter of credence, which was considered to give the Spanish face...
It's just that this ultimatum is only for three days.
In these three days, after the Spaniards received the credentials at the port of Cadiz, it was just enough for them to hurry up and deliver the credentials all the way to Madrid.
It will take a day or two for Madrid to respond, whether it is an agreement or a rejection, and it will also take a few days for the reply to be sent to Cadiz.
Adding it all up, no matter how short it is, seven or eight days will be enough.
However, the people from the Da Chu Empire's Vassal Affairs Department only gave the Spaniards three days... As for why it was three days, it was naturally because the troops had already begun to board the ships and leave the port. In about three days, the empire's expedition fleet would be able to arrive. Outside the port of Cadiz!
If more time is given, it will affect the Chu army's official launch of a large-scale attack on Cadiz.
Therefore, the Domain Affairs Department came up with a seemingly useless ultimatum, and set up a three-day response time in the ultimatum.
In this regard, because the Spanish country's strength was not bad, and the trade relations between the two sides were not bad when they were in America, the officials of the Domain Affairs Department gave them a face.
In other countries, like the Portuguese, they wouldn't give you three days... No, they didn't even bother to send you an ultimatum.
After the army was ready, they went straight to the door and declared war.
You said this was an undeclared war... but it was true!
But how normal is this? Our Chu Empire basically fights undeclared wars against the natives...
After all, if you fight with most of the indigenous people and declare war in a serious manner, then your brain will be burned out... Give them a declaration of war, and they can't understand it!
Even the Spaniards who had a lot of contact with the Chu people and had Chinese translations, when they received the ultimatum written in Chinese with gorgeous words, even if it was a classical Chinese ultimatum that most Chu people could not understand, they were stunned. Damn it!
Their Chinese translator knew that this was an ultimatum, but he couldn't understand what was specifically written on it... Forget about him, most Chu people couldn't understand it themselves.
This kind of classical Chinese national document is so obscure and difficult to understand that you have no outstanding writing skills and cannot be understood at all... If you can easily understand it, wouldn't it mean that the officials of the Ministry of Ethnic Affairs are very ignorant?
Not to mention that the Spanish side was stunned at the beginning because of the ultimatum, and was extremely panicked at the end.
Let's say that three days later, the expedition fleet of the Great Chu Empire appeared outside the port of Gasdi on time.
Therefore, the scale of this landing far exceeded the scale of the landing against the Portuguese, and the Spanish defense power in Cadiz also far exceeded the Portuguese defense power in Lisbon.
Therefore, Lieutenant General Liu Yongxin, the navy boss, personally led the fleet. It was also very rare for all four battleships in the fleet to go into battle, preparing to carry out a devastating blow to the coastal defense forces in Cadiz Port to cover the army's landing and subsequent operations. Siege the city.
(End of chapter)
