Ask Russia for information on the latest British and French ironclad ships? Yan Yangtian hesitated, Russia has repeatedly proposed to exchange or buy torpedoes, rapid-fire guns, machine guns and other technologies, Yuan Qi has found all kinds of reasons to prevaricate, how can he open his mouth to Russia now? Even if the Russians had relevant information on hand, they would not give it to them.

After hesitating, he said very tactfully: "It is still difficult for our country to spy on the intelligence of the British and French ironclad ships, let alone Russia, why not ask the United States?" ”

"The United States has been massively reducing its navy over the years, what useful intelligence can it provide?" Yi Zhizhi seemed to know what to see, and said unhurriedly: "In the whole of Europe, no country hopes that Germany will become stronger and stronger, and France and Russia are especially reluctant, because of the common enemy, France and Russia have been relatively close in recent years, and if the Russians have information at hand, they will definitely not be stingy with ......." ”

In fact, to inquire about intelligence from the Russians, he also had the mentality of giving it a try, and did not have much hope, over the years, the sense of secrecy in European countries has gradually increased, and the secrecy measures in the military industry have been repeatedly upgraded, and it has been difficult to spy on useful information.

Report ——。

"Come in."

A staff officer came in quickly, saluted, and handed over a telegram that read: "Maputo urgent telegram. ”

Maputo emergency again? Yi Zhizu took the telegram and glanced at it a few times, a smile appeared on his face, and then he handed it to Yan Yangtian and said in a rambling voice: "Newborn calves are not afraid of tigers. ”

The telegram was naturally sent by Yi Zhengxing, and it was a battle plan, which planned to divide the Transvaal Wehrmacht and destroy the railroad built by the British in the Cape Colony, so as to delay the march of the Franco-Austrian-Italian forces, and at the same time, to send troops from all over the country to Standton to meet the German army.

After reading the telegram, Yan Yangtian pondered for a moment before he spoke: "Standton has a railway connecting Johannesburg and Maputo, which can be called the Transvaal transportation hub, and it is not far from Durban.

At present, our troops in South Africa are less than 30,000, the garrisons in Maputo and Johannesburg cannot be fully mobilized, and the number of troops that can be assembled is only 20,000, and the Transvaal Defence Force is no more than three brigades, and it is necessary to attack the railway line and divide the garrison, so it is impossible to draw up excess troops.

The German army is 40,000, and the combat strength is not weak, 20,000 to 40,000, the difference in strength is huge, although it is a defensive city, but Standton is not a strong city, and the terrain is flat, there is nothing to rely on, it is easy to attack and difficult to defend the ....... ”

"Worried about too many casualties?"

Yan Yangtian nodded, his tone was a little low, "Germany, France, Austria and Italy jointly sent troops to South Africa, and the plan must be a quick victory and capture Johannesburg in one fell swoop, so as to shake the domestic confidence in Yuanqi and exacerbate the financial crisis in our country."

40,000 German troops risked landing from Durban, and the front of the troops was directed at Stedton, which must have relied on full confidence, and the battle of Sanderton was afraid that it would be a vicious battle! ”

Yi Zhizhi smoked a cigarette and did not say a word, he never underestimated the combat strength of the German Army, the War of German Unification has proved that the German Army is the first army in Europe, and he is also not confident in the case of a double difference in strength.

After a long pause, he asked, "Is there any better way?" ”

"The decree to stop the exchange of banknotes for silver has been announced to the world, and there is no risk of a run on Yuanqi at present, even if Johannesburg changes hands for a while, it will not have much impact on Yuanqi." Yan Yangtian spoke very slowly, "In the first battle of South Africa, the decisive victory or defeat is the naval battle, and when the main fleet of our navy arrives in South Africa and blocks the sea surface of South Africa, the war situation is already doomed."

The students assumed that there was no need to fight hard, and there was no need to defend Steadeton, as long as the railroad was destroyed, Stedton would lose its strategic significance. After that, it was entirely possible to use guerrilla warfare to slow down the German advance, so as to minimize casualties. ”

"If this is the case, it will inevitably make European countries look down on it, and the situation in South Africa will inevitably be repeated." Yi Zhizu said in a deep voice: "Now it is the transition stage of European countries from the silver standard to the gold standard, the demand for gold in European countries has increased greatly, the Transvaal gold mine has large reserves and high output, accounting for three percent of the world's total gold production, European countries are all salivating, whether it is a naval war or a land war, our country needs to stand up, otherwise it is difficult to dominate for a long time."

In this battle, I not only hope to continue to teach Britain and France a lesson in the naval battle, but also hope that the land battle can = defeat the German army, which is known as the 'first army in Europe', so that in the climax of the partition of Africa set off by the European powers later, no one will come to fight South Africa again! ”

Yan Yangtian naturally knew the importance of the Transvaal Gold Mine to the Qing Dynasty, since the other party had the intention of establishing a threat and deterrence, he was not easy to refute, and he groaned before he said: "If you don't think about winning, you should think about defeat first." The students secretly thought that they had to tell that if they couldn't violate it, they had to save their strength and blow up the railroad and retreat. ”

"Hmm. If you don't think about winning, you should lose first. Yi Zhizu bowed slightly, "Just tell me, greed for merit is also a taboo for soldiers." ”

Unexpectedly, the Russians replied quickly, only a day later, the Russians gave a reply, Britain and France have been actively developing armored cruisers in recent years, with strong endurance, fast speed, and powerful firepower, and clearly pointed out that Britain has developed rapid-fire guns, and the naval guns equipped with newly built cruisers are rapid-fire guns.

It turned out that rapid-fire guns had been developed, so it is no wonder that they had no fear and provoked a new round of war in South Africa. Yi Zhishu put down the telegram, smoked silently, and was silent for a long time, the impact of rapid-fire guns on the war on sea and land is undoubtedly huge, and it is no wonder that England is ready to move again.

Yan Yangtian is full of worries, he knows very well, in the final analysis, the most important weapon in the ironclad duel is the naval gun, the torpedo can only be second, in the case of both ironclad ships are equipped with rapid-fire guns, the British army can completely open the distance for artillery bombardment, in this case, the torpedo is almost useless, after all, the range of the torpedo is far from the range of the naval gun.

After a while, he broke the silence and said tentatively: "Won't my country's ironclad ships be stagnant in the past few years?" ”

"Don't worry." Yi Zhizu comforted him and said: "We not only have the advantage of torpedoes, but also the advantage of troops, and this battle is still a sure victory." ”

Yan Yangtian said: "There is still a big gap between China's industrial strength and England, once the ironclad ships are equal in combat power, it will be difficult for the navy to maintain superiority, once our country loses its naval superiority, South Africa, the Persian Gulf and even the two provinces of Nanyang may become the target of England ...... competition." ”

"Yes, I know the long term." Yi Zhizu approved, and said slowly: "Since the rise of Yuanqi, the reason why my country's foreign wars have been able to win successive battles is largely because of the maintenance of weapon superiority.

Our overseas territories, such as South Africa, the Persian Gulf, the two provinces of the South Seas and even Alaska, contain staggering wealth, and the loss of any one of them is an unbearable loss.

In order to maintain many overseas territories and interests, it is necessary to build a strong navy, and it is necessary to maintain a huge superiority in terms of troops and weapons; industrial strength is very important, scientific and technological strength is even more important, and advanced weapons are built on strong scientific and technological strength.

Now that the budget and expenditure of military spending are gradually becoming independent, Yuanqi will also gradually hand over the part of weapons research and development, and no matter what the circumstances in the future, we must remember that at least 10% of military spending should be invested in weapons research and development. ”

Yan Yangtian bowed slightly, and said solemnly: "Students must remember the principal's teachings. ”

"England has developed rapid-fire guns, and Germany should not lag behind." Yi Zhisuff instructed: "Call Yi Zhengxing and Feng Zicai and tell them that the Germans are very likely to have rapid-fire guns." ”

Yan Yangtian said worriedly: "If the Germans have rapid-fire guns, Standton ........" ”

Yi Zhizu waved his hand to interrupt him, "In the case of equal weapons, it is more conducive to distinguishing the combat strength of the two armies. ”

Standton, Transvaal, South Africa.

Originally one of the most important towns in the Transvaal, Standton quickly developed into an important coal base in the Transvaal after the discovery of coal mines, and the construction of a railway connecting Johannesburg and Maputo was due to the great demand for coal in both places.

With the connection of the railroad, Steadeton's military status was rapidly elevated, becoming the most important military town in the southwest of the Transvaal, not only because of its transportation hub, but also because of its proximity to Redy Smith.

In recent years, the British have extended the railway from the port of Durban to Redy Smith, in short, the German army to get from Redy Smith to Johannesburg, the capture of Standton is the best route, and it must also be captured, otherwise there is a fear of the enemy.

On the southern outskirts of Stedton, countless soldiers in camouflage uniforms and shirtless black artefacts sweated like rain under the hot sun, racing against time to build defensive positions, and a hot scene was seen from afar.

Yi Zhengxing's gaze crossed the position and cast it into the distance, the wasteland of Yima Pingchuan is very desolate, the vegetation is very sparse, there are few trees, not even the grass is in patches, clusters and clusters, many places are simply sandy, and occasionally a few small slopes are also very far away, Feng Zicai is right, Standton can't provide any shelter at all, it is an easy place to attack and difficult to defend.

For the terrain, Yi Zhengxing didn't care too much, he was just waiting for work, and built a position, the most important thing is to occupy the advantage of weapons, such a flat and unobstructed terrain, more suitable for the powerful firepower advantage of artillery and machine guns.

Retracting his gaze, he said with some uncertainty: "Knowing that Standton is a hard bone, the Germans will still attack?" ”

"From Rainy Smith, all the way is a wasteland, hundreds of miles without people, the German army is mainly infantry, such a long march, logistics supply is very difficult, even if you know that it is a hard bone, the German army has to fight." Feng Zicai's tone was very firm, "Besides, being able to find our main force for a decisive battle should also be the dream of the German army, fighting guerrillas in this wasteland, the German army can't afford to drag it out!" ”

As the two were talking, they came at a gallop and reported loudly in front of them: "The report ——, call from Shanghai." ”

After taking the telegram and looking at it, Yi Zhengxing's expression was a little solemn, and he casually transferred the telegram to Feng Zicai, and after a few quick glances, Feng Zicai said in a relaxed tone: "Even if the German army is equipped with rapid-fire guns, the number is limited. ”

This is also true, their artillery is transported by rail, the German army is a long march, and the artillery that can be carried is bound to be limited, and there is really nothing to worry about.

Another horse came galloping, "Report——, from John's Burgh." ”

Listening to the call from Johannesburg, Feng Zicai took the telegram first, glanced at it twice, and said, "Johannesburg called, asking if you need to evacuate in advance?" ”

Hearing this, Yi Zhengxing hesitated a little, with the increasing scale of gold mining, Johannesburg's development is also extremely rapid, in less than ten years, it has developed into a city with a population of more than 100,000, once it is evacuated, it will take more than a day or two, according to his plan, it is naturally impossible for the four-nation alliance to threaten Johannesburg, but what if there is an accident?

After a long silence, he asked, "Are you sure the Boers were able to sabotage the Kimberley-Maflotin railway?" ”

"Your Highness, rest assured." Feng Zicai's tone was very relaxed, "The Boers are good at riding, have strong mobility ability, and are good at guerrilla warfare, and the Transvaal has a huge amount of explosives because of the mining reasons, and it is easy for the Boers to blow up the British railway." ”

Yi Zhengxing said tentatively: "Since this is the case, there is no need to withdraw?" ”

"You don't have to, and you can't afford to withdraw." Feng Zicai said slowly: "The war will last for several months, and if all the mines are shut down, the losses will be too great, and the current gold mining has now gone tens or hundreds of meters deep into the ground, once the work is completely stopped, the mine will be completely flooded by water, and it will take a short time to resume production ........." ”

"Call back, don't withdraw. All mines do not stop production. Yi Zhengxing said in a deep voice, although he knew that this decision was extremely risky and would bring huge pressure, he did not think much about it, the shutdown of the Transvaal gold mine for half a year or a year also meant an unimaginable huge risk for Yuan Qi, who was now on the cusp.

Feng Zicai was relieved: "Your Highness, rest assured, in half a month, reinforcements will arrive, and there is no risk ........" Seeing that a dark cloud was drifting quickly, he hurriedly reminded: "It's about to rain, Your Highness should go back to the city to take shelter from the rain." ”

The heavy rain in South Africa in summer is very violent, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a violent storm, Yi Zhengxing has seen it, and he is not hypocritical at the moment, he turned around and walked away, a few steps, he looked back at the trench being built, and said worriedly: "If it rains heavily during the war, won't the trench be seriously waterlogged?" ”

"Your Highness don't have to worry." Feng Zicai said with a smile: "The trench has a drainage ditch, and there will be no water accumulation. ”