Berlin, Germany.

"These days, the Chinese have suddenly bought a large number of machines for the production of guns, and Krupp, Mauser, Rheinmetall, Augsburg, and Nuremberg have all received large orders for local weapons, and the Chinese seem to be expanding their armed forces at all costs." German Industry Minister Gessel looked at Smarck Dow, the Chancellor of the German Empire.

Bismarck stood quietly in front of the window, and he was accustomed to admiring Berlin from this angle. "That's a good thing for us, isn't it? How big China is and how many of them there are, do you know? If the Chinese buy weapons from Germany in the process of building up their military strength, what kind of development will Germany's heavy industry go? You should tell the Count that they should be as good as possible about the quality of the weapons, which will be good for them to win the order. ”

Gesol said: "But the Chinese have too much appetite, and they want enough weapons and ammunition to equip four field divisions, so who are they going to war again?" ”

"The recent British offensive in Burma, and the clashes between China and the Russians, may have been to deal with the threat from both countries." Foreign Minister Gomez said.

Bismarck smiled slightly: "This requires detailed intelligence from the intelligence department, whether it is Britain or Russia, it is in our interests." ”

The pace of the war became more and more urgent, and the British expeditionary force in Burma had begun to suppress the rebels who had resisted, and some Tusi in the northern mountains and the Shan State Plateau had begun to surrender to the British. This forced Guan Xuqing to greatly accelerate the pace of arms expansion, and later it almost reached the point of brazenness. In addition to ordering a large amount of arms from the United States, Germany's arsenals are also working overtime to catch up with China's orders, and they have even pushed some orders to Austria and other countries with which they have better relations.

In Mongolia, Xinjiang and other places, there are often "military exercises" jointly staged by China and Russia near the border between China and Russia, which are used to confuse the world. It is also to make Britain more confident in attacking Burma, so that China's imports of weapons to the world are justified.

Even in such "military exercises", there is a large number of arms deals. Today, the Qing cavalry captured a Russian convoy, which was actually transporting the Mosen horse pistol sold to the Qing Dynasty. After transporting it back, the Russian ** team intercepted the grain transport team of the Qing Dynasty, and what was transported was actually silver to buy arms.

Because of the recent support from the United States, and even the sale of weapons to China at low prices, the new army is basically equipped with American weapons, and uses Li Yi guns with very little recoil. A large number of leased cargo ships unloaded their cargo at Dalian, Tianjin, Yantai, Shanghai, Ningbo, Fuzhou, Guangzhou and other ports.

China's aggressive purchase of weapons around the world, and its stockpiling of steel still alarmed the British. The British minister, Owen, once came forward to inquire about Li Hongzhang's attempt to expand on a large scale. However, Li Hongzhang was initially organized by the new army, and urgently needed a large number of weapons to expand national defense, and at this time, the war reports of Xinjiang and Mongolia were still transmitted back every now and then, and the British probably thought that China's target was Russia, so Owen also enthusiastically offered to help China buy a batch of British fire, so Li Hongzhang then pushed the boat to buy a batch of Makqin heavy machine guns in Britain, and the ancestor of this automatic weapon, the Qing Dynasty, could not produce it. As for the British Henry-Martini rifle, although the performance is good, but the price is too expensive, Li Hongzhang still respects it, and the Shandong Machinery Bureau and the Sichuan Machinery Bureau have been able to produce this rifle in large quantities, and the performance is not below the British style.

When Li Hongzhang reported these to Guan Xuqing, Guan Xuqing laughed happily. I don't know how it would feel when the British found out on the battlefield in Burma that the Qing army was using the Makqin heavy machine guns they had made against them.

"Hongzhang, hurry up and generate electricity, and use all available resources to quickly transport the munitions unloaded from the ports of Shanghai, Ningbo, Fuzhou, Guangzhou and other places to Yunnan. Let the major gun bureaus step up the production of grenades, and it is bound to reach 10 per capita of 250,000 troops on the front line before the start of the war, and 2 per person per day after the start of the war. ”

"Oh, Your Majesty. Will the new army be partially transferred north after it is fully equipped? The defenses of Xinjiang, Mongolia, and Northeast China are really in a vacuum. After all, the alliance with Russia is only temporary! Is it too much for 400,000 new troops to hit all in Yunnan? ”

"The New Army is all on standby in Yunnan, ready to fight in Burma as a reserve. The Qing Dynasty could not afford to drag on the war for a long time, so I wanted to let the new army enter Burma from Yunnan, and Zuo Zongtang's Southwest Army entered Burma from Vietnam. Guan Xuqing said his long-brewing plan.

"Your Majesty, the border between China and Myanmar is a lofty mountain. The new army entered Burma from the mountains, and I am afraid that it will not be able to carry heavy weapons. ”

"You don't have to worry about this, it's already been solved. It's just that I can't see the mortars equipped by the new army with my own eyes, and I believe that Zong Tang has already seen them in Yunnan. Guan Xuqing said slowly.

Li Hongzhang listened to it in the clouds, and he didn't know it. I saw Guan Xuqing continue: "Hongzhang, you have given me a decree to let Ding Shichang and Yan Fushuai "win forever", "undefeated", "ride the wind", "break the waves", "Weiyuan", "Zhenyuan", "Triumphant", "Juyin", "Nanji", "Nanxiang", "Yangfan" and all 28 gunboats of the Nanyang Naval Division are assembled in the Nansha Islands in southern Vietnam, ready to attack Singapore at any time. ”

"Wow."

The concealment of this war was very high, and the Qing Dynasty almost perfectly concealed his strategic intentions. Also, who would have thought that China and Russia, which have been clashing along the border for more than a year, would suddenly join hands and even conclude a military alliance treaty. In fact, after October, the conflict between the two countries on the border turned into an "exercise," and military newspapers were sent to the capital one by one, saying only how much was captured and how much was lost, but there were no casualties in sight.

Although the anti-British sentiment of the Burmese people was high, they could not resist the attack of the empire on which the sun never sets. After four months of resistance, they have gradually lost the ability to resist, and many ethnic forces have surrendered to the British. Seeing that the Anglo-Burmese War was coming to an end, the Qing Dynasty finally made a move at this time.

The four months of resistance of the Burmese people became valuable time for the Qing Dynasty to complete the equipment and train the 400,000 new troops. This time was exchanged for the blood of the Burmese people, Guan Xuqing said to himself, and also to the people who died in Myanmar, this blood debt must be recovered for you.

Just when the British minister Owen was still happily delivering the last batch of Makqin heavy machine guns ordered by the Qing Dynasty, the five 250,000 Southwest Group Army formed by Zuo Zongtang in Vietnam had already crossed Vietnam and quietly entered Burma. At the same time, Feng Zicai had already taken 50,000 horses from his headquarters as the front troops of the new army to cross the Sino-Burmese border from Ruili, Yunnan. The southwest fleet of the Daqingshui Division, which had assembled in the Nansha Islands, also quietly moved closer to Singapore......

A pre-war preparation that deceived the whole world will now be revealed. After tonight, the Qing Dynasty will formally declare war on Britain, and Russia will also launch simultaneous attacks on British-controlled colonies such as Turkey and Afghanistan in accordance with the Covenant, and start war against Britain.

The Great War is on the verge of breaking out......