In the evening, in the Chang'an Imperial Palace, dozens of officials from various departments and generals left behind in the army quickly rushed to the Chang'an Palace after being notified.

"The people of the United States have just sent a diplomatic protest to the Imperial Court, and they demand that the Imperial Court immediately cease its acts of war in Paraguay and, within half a month, withdraw its troops from Paraguay. If the court did not do what they wanted, the United States threatened to send the Atlantic Fleet and Army units to support the Paraguayan army. ”

Li Mingyuan briefly explained the content of the protest, and then said solemnly: "It is not once or twice that the United States have threatened the Imperial Court, but this situation is more serious than before, because according to the intelligence analysis obtained by the Ministry of Intelligence, not only did the United States dispatch a fleet consisting of a second-class battleship, five large cruisers, and fourteen supply ships of various types to the Caribbean Sea two days ago, but the diplomats of the United States are also in tandem with the high-ranking officials of the Republic of Brazil. The intention was to persuade the Republic of Brazil to agree to give them the authority to establish a military base in the Republic of Brazil.

The United States' dispatch of naval fleets meant more deterrence than practicality, and had limited influence on the military operations of the Imperial Army in Paraguay, but the activities of the United States' diplomats in contact with the Republic of Brazil with the intention of establishing military bases were a greater and more serious threat to the future of the Imperial Court!

The United States is located in North America, a long way from the Empire, and if the United States launches a war of containment against the Empire because of the Empire's expansion in South America for some time to come, then the only measure they can take is to go on a long expedition and cross a distance of more than 10,000 kilometers to transport their troops to the south of South America and fight a decisive battle with the Imperial army on land.

If the supply route extends from the continental United States to southern South America, it will be difficult for the United States to accept the staggering attrition of a war that may last for a year or even more than a year, given the organizational capacity and capacity of the United States.

And if the United States succeeds in convincing the Imperial Court of the Republic of Brazil and resolving the interference of the British to establish a military base along the coast of the Republic of Brazil, then the starting point of their supply route, although it will not stretch from North America to South America all at once, a well-equipped and large-scale military base can provide a stable foothold for the expeditionary force, and can greatly reduce the need for logistical supplies for the expeditionary force.

Thus, from this analysis, the United States' plan to establish a permanent military base in the Republic of Brazil was far more threatening to the imperial court than the direct intervention of a fleet.

Therefore, for the sake of the future development strategy and security of the Empire, regardless of the attitude of the British side, the Imperial Court must take strong measures to resolutely thwart the attempts of the United States to establish a military base in the territory of the Republic of Brazil!

”

"Counting the militia and the state federation forces, the standing army strength of the United States is about 100,000 men, and the naval strength is slightly stronger than the army, with 2 second-class battleships, 12 cruisers of various types, 7 coastal defense warships, and the tonnage of the main armored warship is 55,000 tons, and the total tonnage of the main warship is 1.5 times that of the Imperial Navy.

If they make up their minds to go to war with the Empire, the situation will be more favorable to the Empire in terms of the combined strength of the army and navy that the United States and the Empire currently have, rather than waiting until ten or twenty years from now to start a war.

The intelligence of the United States in terms of the number of land forces, the tonnage of the main warships of the Navy, and the combat performance has always been the focus of the intelligence department of the Han State.

Liu Jiazhao, the new chief of military intelligence, was more inclined to take advantage of this incident and directly start a war with the United States.

"It would not be in the detriment of the United States to go to war now, they would not have been unable to understand the situation, otherwise they would not have bluffed and used the war in Paraguay to divert the attention of Britain and the Empire, and on the other hand they were secretly in contact with the high levels of the Brazilian Republic. The calculation was to create a fait accompli first, and then force the Empire and Great Britain to accept the existence of the military power of the United States in the territory of the Republic of Brazil. ”

Luo Linshan, the chief of the War Department, followed Liu Jiazhao's words and speculated: "It is very unlikely that the United States will directly intervene in the Paraguayan war now, and even if they want to take advantage of the temporary inseparability between the empire and Britain to seek benefits, they will not choose the most risky way of direct war with the empire."

You may have heard some news and rumors that the backers of the indigenous insurrectionary forces on the island of Cuba were the imperial court of the United States, and if the United States really intended to use force to gain benefits, then the islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico, which were close to the North American mainland and were very rich in natural resources, should be the first targets they targeted. ”

"But Spain has the support of Britain and France behind it, and Britain, France, Italy and other European countries have no small economic interests in the Cuban archipelago, do the people of the United States really dare to seize the colonies in the hands of the Kingdom of Spain without giving face to the British?"

Foreign Minister Tang Jingsong said uncertainly.

"Whether or not the United States dare to take the island of Cuba depends on their inferences and analysis of the foreign policy of the British court, and if the British again back down and acquiesce in the fact that they have established military bases in South America, then the United States, who have received a positive response, are likely to put aside the last of their scruples and casually find an excuse to declare war on Spain."

In this way, the true intentions of the United States in intervening in the Paraguayan war were well hidden, and their targets were not only the imperial court, but also England, Spain, and other countries.

"There's a good chance that it's possible."

Luo Linshan nodded and continued: "The people of the United States are familiar with the rules of the international diplomatic game of the West, and at the same time, under the guise of maintaining peace in the Americas, therefore, in the diplomatic game involving South America, the Imperial Court and Britain are inherently at a disadvantage. (Britain played the role of a foreign colonist, and the Han Kingdom started with wars, and compared with the British and Han countries, the image of the United States in South America was better.)

Although the theory of imperial expansion in South America is somewhat untenable, it is only a matter of face, a reasonable excuse for expansion is no different from a fabricated excuse, and the decisive factor in determining which side of the truth is in the hands of the country is the strength of the country.

However, apart from the disturbance of the international situation in South America by the United States, my greatest concern is that they have reached closer military cooperation with the Republic of Brazil. ”

After listening to the opinions of Luo Linshan and other army generals, Chen Sen expounded his views on behalf of the navy: "Although the Imperial Navy is not sure of defeating the opponent in a head-on decisive battle with the United States Atlantic Fleet alone, it also has the ability to block the United States fleet from the territorial waters of the Empire by relying on various military bases and port batteries along the coast of the empire.

If, however, the Atlantic Fleet of the United States merged with the Fleet of the Republic of Brazil, and they dispatched the main forces of the Atlantic Fleet to base themselves in the ports off the coast of Brazil, the Imperial Navy would face a great challenge in the face of the combined maritime forces consisting of the Atlantic Fleet of the United States and the Navy of the Republic of Brazil. ”

"The Navy of the Republic of Brazil is no small threat to the Imperial Navy."

Chen Sen's words just now attracted Li Mingyuan's attention,

The navy is a vital military force of the world's great powers, and then specifically to the South American Han State.

If the Han mainland is surrounded by the sea on three sides and its geographical location is relatively remote, if it loses its sea control and the local foreign trade and transportation channels are blocked by the navy of the United States and the Republic of Brazil, then even if the basic life of the local people of the Han State can be maintained, the industrial development that Li Mingyuan has high hopes for will also suffer a devastating blow.

Without foreign exchanges, there was no access to industrial technology that kept pace with the times, and the immature education system and relatively small population market of the Han Kingdom alone did not have the conditions to complete industrialization.

Based on geographical concerns, Li Mingyuan did not make up his mind to do so, even though he knew that it would not be difficult for the Han army to eliminate the army of the Republic of Brazil and occupy millions of square kilometers of land in the Republic of Brazil.

And now, perhaps the existence of the Army of the Republic of Brazil cannot threaten the national security of the Han State, but the warships of the Republic of Brazil docked at the military port have become a nail stuck in front of the Han State, which makes Li Mingyuan feel very uncomfortable.

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