Master Yuan, start!

To help China or not?

On one side are the interests of the Indian colonies, and on the other side are the interests of China's Yangtze River Basin.

If China wins, its interests in the Yangtze River Basin will most likely be preserved, but India's interests cannot be guaranteed.

If Russia wins, India's interests will definitely be preserved, but Britain's colonial interests in China will be damaged.

Will helping China definitely expand Britain’s overseas colonial interests?

Robert didn't dare to gamble.

The French helped the United States win the War of Independence, but now they are still arguing fiercely over the construction of the Panama Canal.

If the interests of the Indian colonies are inevitably damaged, they must be compensated from other places.

But looking around, almost the whole world has been divided up, and Britain can no longer find a place as "rich" as India.

Not to mention, the African colonies that had already been incorporated into the rule were also facing the threat of war.

After the last Boer War, the descendants of the Dutch in South Africa became quite well behaved, but as time went on, they began to stir again.

South Africa's gold mines and diamonds are rarer and more important to the British Empire than India's cotton.

If we focus our energy on colonies in the Far East, what will we do if problems arise in South Africa?

The army is not Great Britain's strong point.

The French colony of Madagascar is right next to South Africa. If they suffer losses together with Russia in the Far East, they will inevitably cause trouble in Africa.

Germany was also dishonest and secretly supplied a lot of weapons and equipment to the Boers through German South-West Africa.

Compared with the disputes in the border areas of the Indian colony, Robert attached more importance to the interests of South Africa.

No, it should be said that he has a global perspective and does not limit his vision to the small area of ​​South Asia.

The British Empire's colonies on seven continents and four oceans are all on my shoulders!

Robert frowned when he thought of the responsibilities he had to bear, and he was unable to make a decision in a short time.

India is important, and so is South Africa.

If South Africa focuses its strength on the Far East, it will face a crisis.

The Ministers of the Colonial Office, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry of the Navy also fell silent when they saw this.

"Your Excellency, the Prime Minister, the latest telegram from Sir Claude MacDonald, the Minister to China!"

Just as everyone in the cabinet was lost in thought, the cabinet secretary knocked on the door twice and handed over the latest intelligence from the Far East.

Seeing Prime Minister Robert's eyes looking at the telegram and his brows gradually relaxing, the others couldn't help but become curious.

"Prime Minister, what's the news?"

"Gentlemen, I think it is time to sign a friendly agreement with China."

Putting down the telegram, Robert smiled.

"A friendly agreement?"

"Who is it for?"

Robert stood up, straightened his dress, and walked out of the meeting room leisurely with the help of a cane.

"Of course, it is not directed against any third party. It is a pure and unparalleled friendly agreement."

Seeing the Prime Minister walking away, everyone hurriedly picked up the telegram.

It said, "The Chinese Battalion has been formed and is ready to go to South Africa. We hope that the Prime Minister will coordinate the reception of the Cape Colony!"

Huh? Are the Chinese going to help Great Britain fight the Boers?

The ministers of the Admiralty, Colonial Office, and Commerce Office never imagined that the predicament of the South African colony could be resolved in this way.

Chapter 321 I Bet Russia Can’t Come Out

While the European continent was shrouded in dark clouds and politicians from various countries were scheming against each other, Yuan Shikai left Beijing and arrived in Weihai with the South China Sea Fleet that had come from afar.

Weihai is located in the eastern part of Shandong Province, at the junction of the Bohai Sea and the northern Yellow Sea. It is considered to be a key maritime hub that controls the Bohai Strait and protects the capital.

More than 10 years ago, this was the home port of the former "Beiyang Fleet".

Li Hongzhang chose this place as his home port not because of the port conditions.

After all, when it comes to the quality of the port, Qingdao's Jiaozhou Bay, with its "small mouth and big belly", is far ahead of Weihai.

However, Qingdao is located at the southern tip of the Shandong Peninsula. Li Hongzhang believed that "it is located in a remote corner of the sea...if something happens, such as enemy ships sailing north from the Black Sea and the Yellow Sea, Jiaozhou Bay will not be aware of it."

Therefore, Weihai was able to become the home port of the Beiyang Fleet entirely due to the importance of its "land location".

Fortunately, Weihai’s hydrological conditions are not bad.

Compared with Lushun in the north and Yantai in the west, Weihai is still the most suitable one to be a warship home port due to the existence of Liugong Island.

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Battle of Weihaiwei, location of the artillery batteries

Liugong Island not only shields Weihai Port from the huge waves coming from the ocean, but also makes the installation of "sea artillery" a reality.

Liugong Island is dozens of miles away from Weihai Port, and the artillery batteries set up here can be called offshore artillery batteries.

The Liugong Island Fort and the Weihai Yanwu An Fort, one in the north and one in the south, completely covered the Weihai Port in artillery fire.

This means that if the enemy attacks from the sea, they will face bombardment from the artillery batteries on the southern coastline.

If the enemy attacks from land, they will have to face cannons fired from Liugong Island in the north.

In addition, our own warships can provide support from the sea. It can be said that with the existence of Liugong Island, Weihai Port is almost impossible to fall.

The current naval force under the Republic is called the "Beiyang Fleet" and its home port is Incheon, North Korea.

When Duan Qirui went north to the capital, at the request of Yuan Shikai, he sent a detachment to control Weihaiwei, intending to repair the port facilities there.

Incheon Port can only be used temporarily after all, so Weihai is more suitable to be used as the home port of the Republic’s Northern Navy in the future.

...

"Mr. President, this Weihai Port is truly the most easily defended and difficult to attack fortress in the world."

Ding Ruchang stood on the top of Weihai Nanbang Mountain, overlooking the entire port, and was inspired.

He was not complimenting Yuan Shikai, but he really felt that Weihaiwei Port would be difficult for the enemy to capture.

Ever since he followed Li Hongzhang south, he has missed the Weihai naval port all the time.

Although Guangdong has many excellent ports, most of them are only suitable for civilian use, and there are very few military ports near Guangzhou that can compare with Weihai.

Leizhou, Qinzhou and Lianzhou, which are closer to Annan, do have ports that can be used as military ports, but those places are both too far away and too close.

It is far from Guangzhou, but close to Annan, the French capital.

It is not safe to place the South China Sea Fleet there.

Therefore, the home port of the South China Sea Fleet has not yet been determined, and it is only stationed in Bao'an County, which is closer to Hong Kong.

There is a large harbor with a deep draft, which can serve as a temporary military port.

In his opinion, Weihaiwei was covered by artillery fire on almost all sides, east, west, south and north. If it could still be lost, how powerful would the enemy be?

"Ambassador Ding, since ancient times, there has been no city that has not been destroyed, and no country that has not been destroyed. How can Weihai Port not be captured?"

Yuan Xiangcheng, also standing on the top of Nanbang Mountain, heard Ding Ruchang's words and deliberately reminded him, "The strength of mountains and rivers lies in virtue, not in danger. If you only emphasize the advantages of the terrain, you will probably fall behind."

Yuan Xiangcheng looked at Ding Ruchang's profile, a trace of pity appearing on his face.

Ding Ruchang is not a time traveler, so he doesn't know what happened in Weihai in the parallel universe.

Ding Ruchang in this time and space may be able to live a peaceful life until he dies, but in history, Weihai Port is the burial place of Ding Ruchang.

In the original time and space, the Japanese army launched multiple attacks during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. On the one hand, they ambushed the Beiyang Fleet in the Yellow Sea; on the other hand, they attacked the Qing army led by Ye Zhichao in Korea; on the other hand, they landed in Shandong and attempted to launch a surprise attack on Weihai Port.

Among these three major battlefields, the Japanese believed that the naval battle had the highest chance of winning. Due to their excellent intelligence gathering capabilities, they had long since figured out the details of the Beiyang Fleet.

In addition, they were well-rested, so both the commander of the front-line warships and the emperor in the rear headquarters felt that the chances of winning were extremely high.

The Japanese believed that the battle with the lowest chance of success was undoubtedly the surprise attack on Weihaiwei.

However, they did not expect that the Battle of Weihaiwei would be the one won the fastest.

After landing in Rongcheng, Shandong, the Japanese army advanced into Weihai along Zhifu Avenue, which runs from Yangtingji to Hushan, Wenquantang, Qiaotouji, and Buliuji.

Along the way, we didn't encounter any resistance at all.

The county towns along the route closed their gates tightly and dared not put up any obstructions.

From the day the Japanese army landed until the fall of the Weihai Nanbang Fort, a total of 6 days passed.

It took the Japanese five days to complete the journey.

In other words, the southern part of Weihai fell in less than a day.

The Japanese are not some alien armed force, how could they take down the Weihai Nan Gang artillery in one day?

The reason was that the pincer attack from the north and south that Ding Ruchang had expected did not work at all.

People are the root of everything.

The Qing army was filled with fear of death and greed for life. As soon as the commander Liu Chaopei saw the Japanese, he ordered them to abandon the Nanbang artillery position and flee to the north bank.

Later, they fled from the north bank to Liugong Island, giving up the Weihaiwei defense line.

Ding Ruchang sat comfortably on the Dingyuan, thinking that Weihaiwei's defense was solid, but in fact it collapsed at the first touch.

When the situation was hopeless, he ordered all the ships to sink, but no one responded; he asked all the ships to brave the artillery fire, but no one obeyed.

Finally, seeing that there was no hope of reinforcements and his subordinates were disobedient, he committed suicide in despair by taking poison.

Ding Ruchang firmly believed that external factors such as weapons and geographical advantages were the key to victory in war, but he ignored the hearts of the people and ultimately paid the price with his life.

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However, in this time and space, he has not yet reached the end of his rope, so when he saw the Weihai Naval Port where the artillery was being installed, he still insisted on his "weapons win the day" theory.

After Ding Ruchang sighed, he said with some melancholy: "Mr. President, when I was leading the South China Sea Fleet on a cruise, I once visited the Russian naval port of Vladivostok.

Vladivostok is an extension of the peninsula, and its defensive capabilities are no less than Liugong Island."

He was from Hefei, a fellow villager of Li Hongzhang, but he himself came from the Taiping Army, and he and Li Hongzhang were related later in life, so he was not as disgusted with Yuan Shikai as other people in the Huai faction.