The sun never sets.

There is Lushun! "

The two quarreled until their faces turned red, but soon Joseph Joffre came to his senses. He laughed a few times and said, "What are we quarreling about? It's such a beautiful night. Let's drink good wine and enjoy life!"

He stretched out his hand and pinched the buttocks of the waitress in the tavern, which caused a burst of coquettishness. Joseph Joffre laughed, took out the francs and slapped them on the table, "You drink slowly, I'm going upstairs first!"

After that, Joffre took the maid to the second floor. The French are all very romantic. If they see someone they like, they can have sex anytime. He is not young anymore. His years of military career have kept him strong. He is rich and capable, so he is very popular among the girls here.

In order to regain the lost colonies, the French spent a lot of money. The parliament led by the newly elected Prime Minister Maurice Rouvier approved a war budget of 6000 million francs, dispatched more than elite troops from the mainland to French Indochina, and recruited more than people from the colonies. Together with the local troops, it was said to be an army of . In addition, France also mobilized more than warships, ready to flatten the Chinese navy in one fell swoop. However, among these warships, there was no cutting-edge warship recently developed by France - the Danton-class pre-dreadnought battleship. The warship had just started construction and would not be launched until next year or the year after.

Yes, that's right, the latest battleship developed by the French is the "pre-dreadnought", or "quasi-dreadnought". While the Germans and the British were building dreadnoughts, the French were still slowly building "pre-dreadnought" battleships.

Why is this happening? Simple: no money.

Because they had no money, they could not keep up with the naval competition. Because they had no money, the French could not bear to lose half of French Indochina. Because they had no money, the French wanted to fight a limited war in Southeast Asia. The French government did not want to fight a protracted full-scale war.

Moreover, at this time, few people in Europe knew what a protracted total war was. In the past few hundred years, Europe had hardly had a few days of peace. Everyone was used to the short and fast rhythm of battles. The victorious side would not kill all the people, and the losing side did not have to worry about the death of the whole family. After fighting, the ruling class was still the same people, but they lost or gained local interests. Situations like the Seven Years' War or the Hundred Years' War were rare. Even those long wars were not fought from beginning to end, but were divided into many battles. After each battle, there was a long rest period, which could not be compared with the intensity and strength of modern wars.

With the arrival of the French army and navy, the French colonies became bolder. They sent armed personnel to constantly create trouble on the border and fired artillery shells into the areas controlled by the Vietnamese Autonomous Government, intending to use this method to create an excuse for war.

The French were ready for war, and so was the Central People's Government. The [Guards] had been deployed to Guangxi. The jungles of Vietnam were not suitable for large-scale combat, but in some places, cavalry could still play a role, so two thousand [Mongol Iron Cavalry] were also incorporated into the Southern Army Group. In addition, the newly formed [Yulin Army] also joined the battle sequence of the Southern Army Group.

[Yulin Army]: Special troops, upper limit 10000 people, morale +10%, firepower +10%, mobility +10%,

After liberating the whole of China, you can choose one more special type of soldier. Most of the special types that can be selected are cavalry, which can increase the impact by 10%. If it was in the era of cold weapons, you would definitely choose cavalry with strong impact, but the times have changed, so you should choose firepower. And Lin Yongchang likes the name [Yulin Army] very much, so he chose it.

The [Guards], [Yulin Army], and [Mongol Cavalry], with the Night Assault Group: 6949, 36135 and many elite soldiers and generals, the Southern Army Group has three armies and eight divisions, more than 100,000 troops, a total of more than 400 barreled artillery, 3,500 mortars, and 3,000 heavy machine guns. The People's Army abolished the organization of the corps, and the number of troops in one direction was reduced, but the firepower was strengthened. The number of mortars and heavy machine guns equipped in the [Guards] and [Yulin Army] is one-third to one-half more than that of ordinary troops, and the attack and defense capabilities have been greatly enhanced, and the requirements for logistical supplies have also increased a lot.

The railway department mobilized more than 200,000 people to repair a railway from Guangzhou to Guangning, but the railway has not been completed yet and has only been built to Qinzhou. Going west, the army can only rely on large animals such as cattle, horses, and mules to transport ammunition and food. In order to ensure the logistical supply of the Southern Army Group, the Military Commission allocated more than 30,000 large animals to the Southern Army Group and mobilized more than 300,000 militiamen and logistics transport teams.

During the war in Northeast China, the ratio between the People's Army's combat troops and logistics support troops was about 1:2. The front line often reported that there was not enough food and ammunition, and sometimes some things that the front-line troops did not need were transported there. When the th Division was fighting outside Busan, it was in urgent need of quilts and cotton clothes. As a result, the logistics department sent a large number of straw hats and cloth shoes, as well as hundreds of boxes of Russian artillery shells, which were not compatible with the th Division's German artillery.

Later, the Central Military Commission sent more than a dozen mathematics experts to Shenyang, and then gradually sorted out the logistics. Before the war started, many experts were transferred to Guangzhou early in the morning to optimize the logistics of the entire group army to avoid the previous chaotic situation.

Chapter 405: Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn You

"beep--

"

The whistle blew long, and the huge warship with the "Fleet Flag" and "Hammer and Sickle Flag" slowly sailed out of Keelung Port and joined the formation of the Combined Fleet. Akiyama Saneyuki stood on the deck of the battleship "Izumo" and saluted the troops and people who were seeing him off on the shore. Hojo Yaji stood half a meter behind Akiyama Saneyuki to the left and shouted loudly: "Salute!"

The sailors and officers lined up neatly on the side of the ship saluted together, their movements were neat and uniform, and a "swish" sound was made. On the dock, the military band played the "March of the Warships" to send off the powerful Chinese and Japanese fleets. Everyone on the dock was shocked by these mountain-like warships. Few people knew clearly that these warships were outdated. But this was not a big problem. Their opponent, the French fleet, was also full of products of the pre-dreadnought era.

Liu Yongfu stood on the dock and looked at the warships going away. He said to Jian Dashi beside him: "The Japanese combined fleet may not be able to stop the French warships. We must be prepared for the French invasion!"

Seeing those large Japanese warships, Liu Yongfu had mixed emotions. During the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, he was ordered to garrison Taiwan. After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the previous government ceded Taiwan to Japan, but Liu Yongfu did not withdraw, but stayed in Taiwan to continue fighting the Japanese army. Jian Dashi also raised a troop to fight the Japanese at that time. Unexpectedly, ten years later, the former mortal enemies would now join hands to fight the French.

Liu Yongfu not only fought the Japanese in Taiwan, but also the French in Vietnam. After the Black Flag Army retreated to Vietnam, they fought with the French many times and killed the French commander Li Weiye on the battlefield. Liu Yongfu became famous in the south. The last time the People's Army fought in Vietnam, Liu Yongfu wanted to lead troops to fight the French again, but was rejected by the central government. This time the French sent reinforcements to French Indochina, and seeing that the war was about to break out again, Liu Yongfu wrote to the Central Military Commission again, wanting to take a troop to Vietnam, but was still rejected.

The Black Flag Army fought well in those days, and Liu Yongfu was also a brave and skilled general, but he is about to turn sixty, and the war experience of those years is not suitable for modern warfare. He should continue to be the governor of Taiwan. He and Jian Dashi have fought side by side before, and they are still partners this time. If the Sino-Japanese fleet is defeated and the French army lands in Taiwan, it will depend on them to continue to lead the Taiwanese people to fight against the invaders.

Liu Yongfu felt mixed emotions, while Jian Dashi was filled with hatred for the Japanese. A few years ago, he led his men to fight the Japanese army, but in the blink of an eye, the Japanese army became an ally. The world changed too fast, and he had not yet been able to fully adapt. Although Japan turned left, in Jian Dashi's view, the Japanese were still Japanese, even if they changed their skin.

"We should not only be on guard against the French," Jian Dashi never concealed his hatred for Japan, "but also be wary of the Japanese!"

Liu Yongfu nodded, then shook his head, "Don't cause trouble for the central government!"

The French provoked trouble on the border and wanted to create an excuse for war. The Chinese first protested, then warned, and warned seriously, "Don't say I didn't warn you." Then it was time to declare war. Since the French want war, let's give them war. At 1905 a.m. on May 5, 7, the Chinese ambassador to France handed over a declaration of war to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Japanese ambassador also handed the declaration of war to the French at the same time. Half an hour later, the Chinese and Japanese fleets bombarded Da Nang, sinking a French destroyer and three gunboats, and damaging several other warships, opening the prelude to the war.

However, at 11 o'clock in Paris, the French did not know that they were about to be "attacked". After receiving the declaration of war from the Chinese and Japanese ambassadors, the French diplomats were in disbelief at first. After confirming that this was not a belated April Fool's Day gift, the French shrugged and said they understood, "So from now on, we are in a state of war. I will treat you to coffee in three months."

Although they were beaten badly by the Chinese in the Gengzi Year, they were surrounded by ten times more Chinese. Last year, only the French colonial army was defeated. As we all know, the colonial troops have little combat effectiveness and cannot be compared with the real French elite. After so many years of development, the French army is equipped with more Maxim heavy machine guns and 75mm rapid-fire cannons, and has also recruited many guides. They think they can easily defeat the Chinese, and have even prepared to occupy Guangzhou and establish a puppet regime in southern China.

As for whether they can't win? How is that possible? "Miss 75" is definitely the most advanced rapid-fire gun, and it is very maneuverable, and it can perform well in the jungles of Vietnam. The number of the army is a bit small, but don't we still have the navy? As long as the navies of China and Japan are destroyed, the French army will have control of the sea and can land on any coastline in China at will, and victory will be a piece of cake. There is no Battle of Tsushima in this world, and the Japanese Combined Fleet is not taken seriously by the French. The Chinese Navy is even worse, and it doesn't even have a battleship. With such a huge gap in strength, if you frame it, you can win by attacking it!

At 2 p.m., Paris received the news that Da Nang had been attacked. The French still did not take it seriously, thinking that East Asians only knew how to attack by surprise. However, "you cannot win by relying on surprise attacks!"

In order to quickly and thoroughly destroy the French Far East Fleet, Akiyama Saneyuki formulated a huge and complex battle plan. He called his battle plan "Seven-Stage Operation", which is based on the

The main warships of both sides prepared a total of seven attacks from the moment they met and started fighting along Vietnam's long coastline, from the Kunlun Islands to Hainan Island.

After seeing the battle plan proposed by Akiyama Saneyuki, Lin Yongchang had a strong sense of déjà vu. The Japanese battle plans are always very complicated, and this is the case now, and it was also the case in the original time and space. From the Battle of Tsushima to the Battle of Midway, the Japanese Combined Fleet always liked to make the battle plans extremely complicated. The plan was so detailed that if the enemy could follow the plan completely, it would be able to maximize its own advantages. But what if there was an accident with the plan?

During the Battle of Midway, the Japanese naval aviation actually fought well, and the overall strength of the Combined Fleet also exceeded that of the US Navy. However, because the command was too complicated, there were too many operations that were taken for granted, and the code was cracked by mold, which eventually led to the disastrous defeat of the Combined Fleet. In the eyes of Marshal Lin, naval battles should not be so complicated, and the enemy fleet should be defeated in a fair and square manner.

However, Lin Yongchang had only commanded army operations and had never fought in naval battles, so he only made suggestions to Akiyama Saneyuki's battle plan and did not interfere. When the suggestion was rejected, he could only let it go. No matter what you do, don't let laymen guide experts. Marshal Lin has done a lot of research on army operations, but not so much on naval battles. He knows a lot about naval equipment. At this stage, it is more horsepower, thicker armor, and thicker gun barrels. In another twenty years, battleships will be replaced with more aircraft carriers, better radars, better naval fighters and naval bombers, and air defense will be equipped with proximity fuses.

While other people and other countries had to slowly grope their way forward in confusion, Marshal Lin had already seen the correct answer.

Chapter 406 Cat

When Wang Changhao saw the news of the "Sino-French War" in the newspaper, he immediately applied to the Academic Affairs Office to return to the battleship to fight, but his application was rejected. The young man who had lost weight again in the National University of Defense Technology was not discouraged and wrote another application, stating that he was the best boiler chief...ah, the best chief engineer! With him on the battleship, the power of the battleship can be more effectively exerted.

The school rejected his application again. In order to allow him to study in school with peace of mind, Director Huang of the Academic Affairs Office had a special talk with him.

"Student Wang, I have read your application. It is very well written and touching. It shows that you are already a qualified member of the People's Party."

Director Huang smiled kindly, "But fighting is not the only way to contribute to the country. Do you know what China lacks the most right now?"

Wang Changhao spoke bluntly, "Super Dreadnought Battleship!"

Director Huang was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said, "We don't have battleships, but what China lacks most now is not battleships or weapons and equipment, but scientists and engineers! You have great talent, and the teachers in the school have seen it. In the future, you can go a long way in scientific research, which many people cannot do! For the sake of the country and the people, you can't waste your talent!"

The People's Government has an Army University and a Qingdao Naval Academy, but no Naval University. Instead, it built a National University of Defense Technology, which specializes in various advanced theoretical research, including nuclear physics, aerodynamics, fluid mechanics, etc., as well as the application of various technologies. Marshal Lin had all kinds of technology, but due to the lack of engineers, many things could not be made. For example, the "steam turbine" used on battleships cannot be manufactured in China now. The technology was sold to Germany, and then the finished product was purchased from the Germans.

After the end of the Liberation War, the focus of the country shifted from war to economic construction, which required a large number of high-quality talents. Therefore, each university was given a target, requiring them to discover and cultivate talents in science and engineering in an eclectic manner. Every good seedling had to be prepared by the Ministry of National Defense and the Development and Reform Commission. Wang Changhao not only had a talent for hands-on work, but also learned various theories very quickly. He wrote two influential papers within less than a year of enrollment, which can even be said to be unique in the National University of Defense Technology. Talents like this are naturally on the key protection list. The State Planning Commission, the Ministry of National Defense, the Development and Reform Commission and other departments have been keeping an eye on him for a long time. How could they let him go back to the navy to fight?

If they died in battle, it would be a pity, but it was not wrong to sacrifice for the country. The only thing was that they were assassinated by people from other countries. Lin Yongchang had often heard about scientists from Middle Eastern countries being assassinated. Israelis and Americans had no bottom line, and the British were the same. Other countries might also do some small tricks secretly, and this was something that had to be guarded against.

The National Security Bureau and the General Staff both found that the British had sent more spies to China. Lin Yongchang also obtained more accurate data from [The Sun Never Sets on the Celestial Empire], which showed that the number of foreign spies had increased by 37%. However, [The Sun Never Sets on the Celestial Empire] only showed the proportion of spies, and could not directly show who the spies were. He could only ask the National Security Bureau, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the General Staff and other departments to carry out cleanup operations again and again, and to protect important targets and suspicious people.

"But," Wang Changhao twisted his body in his chair, "what about Ah Huang?"

Director Huang was stunned again, "Ah Huang?"

"It's the orange cat on the Xiaguang. It's very timid. What will it do if I don't go back?"

"...........", Director Huang thought

There are some rumors that all the great scientists are weird? Or if you don't have some quirks, you can't become a great scientist? He thought about it and interrupted Wang Changhao with a wave of his hand, "I can have someone send a cat over! Then you can live with the cat in the school... By the way, there are often fish in the school cafeteria!"

"Ah? Is this okay?"

"Why not?" Director Huang had just had a flash of inspiration, and now he was more and more impressed with himself for being able to come up with such a solution. "Just focus on your studies and research. The oil you've been researching recently..."

"Gasoline engine!" Speaking of this, Wang Changhao immediately became energetic. "We have already achieved a two-stroke reciprocating gasoline engine, and are now researching a four-stroke. If we can reduce the mass by one third, maybe we can make the glider fly by itself..."

"Yes, that's it!"

Director Huang acted like he knew a lot, but he didn't. He was at a loss when it came to things like power, connecting rods, and gears. He might be able to put together parts according to the blueprint, but he couldn't do research or improvement. He didn't understand aerodynamics, but that didn't stop him from pretending to be very knowledgeable about these things.

"Look, if you leave, will these studies have to stop? Student Wang Changhao, the country needs you!"

"Well, if that's the case... can we really bring Ah Huang over? Ah, then... then I'll stay..."

After sending Wang Changhao out, Director Huang closed the door, sat back in his chair, and prepared to write a report. Applying to transfer a cat to Taiyuan? He scratched his head and suddenly felt guilty. Wouldn't this be too ridiculous? He scratched his head again. Who cares? Just write it!

I quickly finished writing the report, signed my name, stuffed it into an envelope, sealed it, and put it in the mailbox. Every two or three days, a postman would come to pick up the new report and send it to the corresponding place.

The letter was first sent to the National Security Bureau for inspection, and then to the Navy Department. The Navy Department was surprised at first, but after understanding the cause and effect of the matter, they agreed to transfer "Ah Huang" to the National University of Defense Technology, but at the same time stated that "Ah Huang" would no longer be paid. On the Xiaguang, Ah Huang was also a regular employee, and received a salary of 20 yuan per month. The Navy Department then sent the original letter and their opinions to Lushun, and then transferred it from Lushun to Qingdao. After waiting for another month, the reply letter was sent to the National University of Defense Technology after inspection.

In the reply, the East China Sea Fleet Command said that they were willing to transfer Ah Huang to the National University of Defense Technology, but they could not do it now because the "Xiaguang" and "Shuguang" were fighting the French in the South China Sea. They also said that the fleet did not have extra funds to send Ah Huang to Taiyuan. If the National University of Defense Technology was eager to have Ah Huang work in a new position, they could send someone to XX or XX, where the Xiaguang might dock.

"XX" and "XX" were blacked out with black ink. After checking the letter, the staff of the Ministry of Internal Affairs believed that it might leak military secrets, so they blacked out the key and sensitive words.

Chapter 407: Bombardment

In 1905, the most eye-catching thing in the world was the naval arms race between the major powers, and the war between France and the East Asian Alliance also attracted attention. China is a traditional power in the Far East. It had previously declined, but now that it has shown signs of revival, it has immediately regained regional hegemony in East Asia and has a large number of younger brothers under it. Japan, Mongolia, Korea, Ryukyu, the Grand Duchy of Siberia, and the Vietnamese Autonomous Government all followed China in declaring war on France.

The French government did not pull out all its African allies to form a coalition, because there was no need for that. France's colonies in Africa were directly controlled by the French government, and it could mobilize troops and collect taxes whenever it wanted, which was much more convenient than the East Asian Alliance.

Many countries expressed their concern about the war between China and France. The British government provided a lot of help to France, opening up British ports around the world, especially in Southeast Asia, for the French fleet and transport ships to use. The Americans also took the war between China and France very seriously. The Philippines is in Southeast Asia. If the French won, it would be fine. But if the Chinese won, would the wave of national independence spread to the Philippines?

MacArthur spent a lot of effort in the Philippines, spending more than three years to suppress the resistance of the locals. If the Filipinos rise up again... the US military can still suppress it, but it will cost a lot more money.

Apart from Britain and the United States, the country most concerned about the Sino-French War was Germany. After establishing the Second German Empire and experiencing several decades of development, Germany could no longer tolerate the pain of having no colonies. Choosing capitalism meant choosing an economic crisis every ten years. The faster Germany developed, the more it suffered in the economic crisis.

Britain has colonies all over the world and can pass on the crisis to the natives of the colonies. France does not have as many colonies as Britain, but it also almost regards Africa as its own backyard. After moving closer to Britain, the security of France's colonies was guaranteed, and it was able to get out of the economic crisis more quickly. The United States has a vast territory and South America to supplement its blood, but even so, it was forced to embark on the road of foreign wars, overturning the old powers.

Spain seized Cuba and the Philippines.

What about Germany? Apart from a few broken islands in the Pacific Ocean, it has almost no decent colonies. When the current German Chancellor Pirov was the Foreign Minister, he openly declared: Let other nations divide the land and the sea, but the time when we Germans were only satisfied with the blue sky is over. We also want the land under the sun.

But almost all the land under the sun had been divided up. If Germany wanted to acquire colonies, it could only snatch them from other countries. Germany could not turn left, so it had to destroy the entire Junker class first. The only way left was to expand its military and prepare for war. The army had to deal with France and Russia at the same time, and the navy had to overwhelm the British Royal Navy's home fleet. Although it seemed difficult, if it succeeded, it could become the new overlord. So it was worth a try.

After hearing that the French were sending troops to the Far East, Kaiser Wilhelm II immediately sent a note to the Chinese ambassador to Germany, expressing his willingness to give the Chinese government another low-interest loan and to sell a completed "dreadnought" to China at a very low price. The People's Government was very tempted by this, but after careful consideration, it rejected Wilhelm II's good intentions. Because the British government had said that if Germany sold dreadnoughts to China, Britain would have to sell several of its latest battleships to the French.

Although the Germans built the dreadnought first, the British had more shipyards and built ships faster. The German Navy now only has two dreadnoughts, and the third is still on the slipway, while the British already have three dreadnoughts. The 280mm caliber naval guns used on the German dreadnoughts are not as good as the British 305mm 45-caliber cannons. In order to suppress the German dreadnoughts, the British deliberately installed larger caliber battleship main guns. The third dreadnought that Germany is building is going to be equipped with a 305mm caliber main gun, but the British are developing a 13.5-inch caliber main gun.

The main reason why the German government did not install 305mm caliber guns at the beginning, in addition to technical reasons, was that they had no money. The US Navy had no money, so it only had some outdated warships. It only started a new round of shipbuilding plans after Theodore Roosevelt came to power. The German Navy did not have enough money, so it could only make do with 280 main guns. The British were much more generous than the Germans, and directly installed 305mm main guns, followed by 343mm caliber, and the 15-inch 381mm giant guns were also under consideration.

Alas, compared with the British, the German navy is really far behind. Not only are their naval tactics and shipbuilding technology inferior, but they are also not as willing to spend money as the British. It is better not to compete with the British in the navy, and to focus on strengthening the army. If Lin Yongchang were William II, he would definitely cut all the plans for the Grand Fleet and invest all the saved resources in the army. In three or four years, he would build four or five hundred Zeppelins and thousands of tanks, and then flatten France in one wave.

Because of the fear of British battleships, the People's Government had to give up the plan to buy dreadnoughts from Germany. But it didn't matter too much, the People's Army's strengths were in the army, as long as the French army was defeated on land, even if the French had a naval advantage, it would be useless.

After declaring war on France, the People's Army immediately launched an attack on the enemy. The heavy howitzers deployed to the front line launched a fierce bombardment on the French positions, barracks, docks, warehouses and other important places. The four 280mm giant howitzers also roared, and the shells weighing more than 280 kilograms fell on the ground and exploded, turning the area within a hundred meters into scorched earth. In the following battle, the mm giant howitzers would no longer play any role. The mission was completed by firing the hundreds of large shells transported as quickly as possible.

Hundreds of heavy shells fell on the French positions, blasting the trenches built by the French to pieces. The ground trembled in the explosions, and the soil kept rushing up more than ten meters into the air, as if it was boiling.

The main force of the French army was deployed on a front of several hundred miles from Bac Ninh to Haiphong. Although trenches were dug, the troops were deployed in an offensive posture. After being suddenly bombarded, the front-line troops suffered heavy casualties, a large number of personnel were killed and wounded, and many technical weapons were destroyed on the battlefield before they could be used. Half an hour later, the People's Army's artillery fire extended to the depths, and the infantry brought heavy machine guns and mortars to deal with the French troops who had lost a lot of organization and morale due to the bombing. Amid the continuous explosions, the gunfire gradually became denser.

Chapter 408 Downing Street

"The first actions of the Boxer patriots showed that their plan of activity was, on the one hand, to exterminate the Christians of their country and to eradicate Christianity, thereby freeing China from the corrupting influence of a foreign religion (as they saw it), and, on the other hand, to frighten the foreigners, not to hurt or kill them, but to frighten them out of China, thereby freeing China from foreign bullying, poisoning, and insults. These objects will be remembered and carried forward by the sons and grandsons of today's voluntary participants, and in nine cases out of ten they will be achieved by them with other weapons."

"Many have talked a great deal about partition as the best solution... because the Chinese are thought to be easy to rule... but this is not the case... Whatever part of China is cut off must be ruled by force. In this way, the larger the territory cut off, the more troops will be required to govern it, and the more certain it is that unrest and rebellion will occur. If China is divided, the whole country will unite to oppose participating in the division.

"The few foreign rulers who are now under the rule of the state ... will sooner or later lead to sudden rebellions in various places, demonstrating the existence and strength of national sentiment. Is this worthwhile? From the simple reason of gain and loss, such a solution should be condemned."

——Robert Herd, These Come from Qin: Collection of Essays on Chinese Issues

Robert Hart was a British who once controlled China's customs and the General Commissioner of Taxation. He had come to China fifty years ago and witnessed the Second Opium War, the rise and fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Small Knife Society Uprising and the Boxer Uprising. He saw the Chinese rise up in rebellion again and again, each time with greater momentum than the last. This resistance reached its peak during the Boxer Rebellion. Hart wrote a report to Downing Street at the time, in which he said, "So far, the Chinese have not shined as soldiers; but there are brave men among them, and their number will increase. ... Foreign orders must stop one day, and foreigners must leave China one day, and the current attention to this episode is today's hint of the future."

"This movement does not bode well for the rest of the world, but China will have the right to act, and China will carry out its national plan!"

Hart included these words in his own book, "Negotiations may make the Chinese government promise not to approve or even take strong action against these patriots, but...will all kinds of punitive measures be useful? Is there not a power like the phoenix in the blood of martyrs?...Can military demonstrations continue until all existing and potential militia members are killed? But how can the 400 million people of China be wiped out?...One day the rope will be cut, the cork will fly out of the bottle, and the suppressors will ponder its speed and momentum in a daze, but they will never think of a solution."

In These from the Qin: Essays on the Chinese Problem, Robert Hart made his prediction: "Twenty million or more militiamen, armed, drilled, trained, and inspired by patriotic, even if misunderstood, motives, will make it impossible for foreigners to live in China, and will take back from foreigners everything they have taken from China."

"Today's episode is not without significance. It is the prelude to a century of change and the main theme of the future history of the Far East. China in the year 2000 will be very different from China in 1900!"

After the Boxer Rebellion, Robert Hurd felt the Chinese people's increasingly strong spirit of resistance. He believed that China would burst out with great power in the future and completely change the situation in the Far East. This was true, but he thought that would happen decades later. However, things developed faster and more violently than he imagined. Marshal Lin emerged, and the People's Party and the People's Army led the Boxer Rebellion, driving this raging force to burn the previous dynasty to ashes, then expelled the Russians from Chinese territory, and regained sovereignty over Korea.

Jordan hoped that the British Empire would send 200,000 troops to the Far East to stabilize the situation, but Robert Hart thought it was futile. Even though the Chinese had already indicated that they would take back the customs, he firmly opposed the British Empire falling into the quagmire of the Far East. Hart's opinion played a great role in Downing Street's judgment. Prime Minister Balfour therefore rejected Jordan's suggestion and chose to withdraw from China, retaining only Hong Kong as a base.

Although he had gained the trust of Downing Street, Robert Hurd was not very happy about it. He had been in China for more than 3420 years and his understanding of Chinese history and culture was even better than that of % of Chinese people, but he was a British after all. When he first arrived in China, Hurd's main task was to learn Chinese. For general translators, it was enough to be familiar with basic grammar and successfully translate the texts needed for diplomacy, but Hurd became interested in the difficult Chinese classics. Through his Chinese teacher, he spent coins to buy books such as "The Book of Changes", "Mencius", "The Book of Songs", "The Great Learning", and "The Doctrine of the Mean", and quickly understood their meanings. As his Chinese proficiency improved, he began to read literary masterpieces such as "A Dream of Red Mansions". Even in the official moral teachings such as "The Sacred Edict", he could spend two hours on one page to figure out the meaning of all the words.

After the Sino-French War broke out again, Robert Hart wrote another letter to the British Embassy in China. In the letter, Hart pointed out that the French would suffer the biggest defeat since the Franco-Prussian War, and the Chinese would regain more sovereignty because of this victory. The era of the British government's control over China's customs was about to end completely, and the existence of the Inspector General of Customs had entered the countdown.

Jordan did not like Robert Hurd. He always thought that Hurd overestimated the power of the Chinese and would appear pessimistic. But the fact proved that Robert Hurd was right. No matter how much he disliked Hurd, he had to pass on his opinion to Downing Street. Jordan had to do this because Hurd had a way to write directly to Prime Minister Balfour. Now Robert Hurd was willing to pass it on through the embassy in China, which was a respectable move. If Jordan did not respect respect, some disgraceful things would happen in the future.

Downing Street took the opinion of Hurd, a China expert, seriously, but it was useless to take it seriously. Britain must maintain its absolute advantage in the navy. Didn’t the elites in the British Empire’s cabinet know that the British Army was not strong enough?

They knew, but due to the combined effects of historical reasons (the Glorious Revolution) and practical reasons (no money), the British Empire could only continue to favor a naval policy. China in the Far East might become a threat, but the biggest threat at the moment was the increasingly powerful Germany.

Germany is not only strengthening its navy, but also making diplomatic efforts. Not long ago, Kaiser Wilhelm II proposed to re-alliance with Russia. Because of the chaos in Russia, Tsar Nicholas II was very tempted, and this was something that Britain could never tolerate. If Germany and Russia re-allied, France would face the world's first army alone, which was too dangerous, and the balance of power in Europe might be broken. The British government tried its best and finally stopped Germany and Russia from trying to get closer to each other.

The situation in Europe was so tense that Britain could not afford to invest more energy in Asia. Soon, the British would find that the situation in Europe could become even more tense.

Chapter 409 Complaint

“I hate the weather here!”

Yang Yuting took off his bamboo hat, wiped the rain off his face, and complained again: "And there are...snakes here!"

With a flash of the knife, the poisonous snake hanging from the tree was cut into two pieces. But the snake's vitality was extremely tenacious. Even after being cut into two pieces, the snake head still bit towards Yang Yuting. He saw the movement of the snake head, but it was too late to react. Just as he was about to be bitten, a bayonet flew over and nailed the snake head to the ground.

Yang Yuting was still frightened. He stepped on the muddy water and took two steps to the side. Then he turned around and said to the man next to him, "Thank you very much!"

Night Raid Group: ⑥九④⑨,三⑥一３５ Guo Xing smiled naively and said, "We are all comrades, and comrades should help each other. You don't have to thank me, Captain."

“I’ve never seen such a terrible place!”

Yang Yuting, carrying a rifle and two ammunition belts, trudged through the mud in the jungle. He could not help complaining before he had gone far. After the Korean War, he found a way to transfer from the field army to Taiyuan, but soon he figured out Chairman Lin's preferences. It was useless to be clever like Wang Zhaoming. Chairman Lin promoted capable comrades, either with expertise in agriculture and industry, or skilled commanders and brave soldiers. Yang Yuting joined the People's Party a little late and missed the era of the People's Party's rapid expansion. He could not have joined earlier because he was studying at the Japanese Military Academy when the People's Party started the uprising.