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On the evening of December 26, 1861, the anxious Miles actually took the Swift torpedo boat to Dagukou, Lin Haijiang, who was standing on the bridge, saw Miles's panicked expression and accidentally slipped when boarding the ship, Lin Haijiang's heart also chuckled, Lin Haijiang knew very well that Miles was a very steady guy, and his courage was not exaggerated, what could make him so panicked? Even the Swift torpedo boats, which are still being developed and powered by steam turbines, have been used?

In Lin Haijiang's memory, the only people who could use such secret equipment in the empire besides himself were Wang Faren, the head of the Intelligence Department, and Li Haibo, the deputy director of the Navy Department, which of the two was it?

Lin Haijiang had just stepped out of the bridge, and he was shocked to find that Wang Faren and Li Haibo had also come with the ship and were climbing the spiral ladder! Something big must be wrong!

The calm Lin Haijiang looked at the panting Miles in the war room of the Zhenyuan and said, "Mr. Mai, don't worry, drink a cup of tea first!" ”

After a cup of warm and moderate tea, Miles said eagerly: "Your Excellency, three days ago, I learned from the First Secretariat of the Governor's Office that Britain had concluded an alliance with the Seven Nations on December 1, 1861, and had decided to crusade against the Chinese Empire. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info"

Lin Haijiang took a look at Wang Faren when Miles handed over the dossier, and Wang Faren was very embarrassed and said: "Führer! Incompetent, the European blockade is very tight, and the means of transmitting information are too simple, even if our intelligence services over there get information, they will no longer be able to transmit it back in an effective time. ”

Lin Haijiang nodded and said, "I'm not blaming your intelligence headquarters, I want to ask for your opinion, how much is the real surname of this intelligence?" ”

Wang Faren hesitated for a moment and said: "According to the analysis of the International Strategic Research Office, it is entirely possible for Britain to lead the conclusion of this treaty, because our expansion in Southeast Asia has affected Britain's fundamental interests in Southeast Asia, and our actions in the Indochina Peninsula have put Britain's India in jeopardy, and we are Prussia's only ally in the East, so to sum up, it is very normal for Britain to initiate the signing of the eight-nation treaty in an attempt to strangle us with overwhelming military superiority." ”

Lin Haijiang smiled slightly, shook the dossier given by Miles, and said, "Good guy! Eight-Nation Alliance! ”

Lin Haijiang knew that the seven European countries must have almost hidden the Qing court in the valley Although Lin Haijiang was relaxed on the surface, talking and laughing, his hands were unusually heavy and slowly flipping through the dossier, Great Britain said that the Empire of the Immortal, the French Third Republic, the Kingdom of Spain, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Italy, the Kingdom of Portugal, the Russian Empire, the Qing Empire, the name of each country is a kind of pressure for Lin Haijiang, except for the Kingdom of Italy, it can be said that they all have a grudge with the Chinese Empire.

Lin Haijiang is a little helpless about this, there is only one Prussia as a friend, but the enemy is almost all over the world? Lin Haijiang found that the country's diplomacy was sometimes as delicate as interpersonal relations, and it seemed that the international diplomacy of the Chinese Empire was the same as Lin Haijiang's own life, with few friends and a lot of enemies, and he could be regarded as a failure enough. Maybe that's the result of recklessness, right?

Lin Haijiang also knows that many times international foreign policy is not solved by shouting and killing with blood, so it can only be a matter of time before it dies, and many times he is too addicted to it, but the country's diplomacy is completely passive, according to the law of physical equilibrium, it seems that it is time to repay.

When Lin Haijiang turned to the seven European countries and dispatched a total of 578 naval ships, including 52 ironclad ships and 279,000 army troops, his hands trembled slightly, but the coalition admiral below was an old acquaintance who was absolutely unexpected by Lin Haijiang. Earl William, former commander of the First Squadron of the Royal Navy, was the commander of the First Fleet of the Royal Navy. William was so angry that he was almost captured, but Lin Haijiang was also very clear about the luck and the unequal strength of the two sides in that battle.

This time, the seven European countries actually sent a huge fleet of 578 naval ships? This can be said to be the largest expedition of European armies since the Crusades, and its scale is even far greater than that of the Crusades, Lin Haijiang knows that there are as many as 52 armored protection cruisers among the 578 ships, and on top of these 52 ships, I am afraid that the seven ships of the Qing court will be added, a total of 59 ships.

The Imperial Navy is inferior to the Allied Navy in terms of quantity, but Lin Haijiang is still very confident in the tonnage of ships, the caliber of artillery, and the quality of construction of speed, after all, the Allied Forces are composed of eight countries, and the tonnage, speed, artillery caliber, and personnel training quality of their warships are different, although these differences are not obvious, but once they are engaged, these differences will become very huge, and the only problem is James. William, this guy, James. William can be said to be a young and experienced admiral in the British Royal Navy, and he has also had the experience of fighting with him a second time. William is a monster hidden in a thick fog, ready to devour his opponents at any time. William is indeed an enemy to worry about!

Because the coalition fleet has been from Europe, the operation at Dagukou has completely lost its role and significance, and the enemy on land will also change from the Qing army to the Russians, and on land the empire will use five corps with the corps directly under the command for strategic defense, and the main military strength of the empire should be used in the direction of Southeast Asia, crushing or annihilating the maritime mobile forces of the coalition army, and winning the strategic initiative in one fell swoop!

On December 30, 1861, the scouts of the Qing army were carefully searching for people to go to the Dagukou Fort in Taikong, and the Tianjin Acropolis was also a mess, and the rebellion of the Beiyang New Army left behind to join the enemy had a great shock to the imperial court, although these recruits had only been in the army for less than three months, but they were in the name of the Beiyang New Army after all.

There was silence and there was nothing outside the mouth of Dagu, where goose feathers and heavy snow were falling, and it seemed that the Lin rebel bandit army had really retreated? The Qing army, who had palpitations, did not dare to stay, because the Lin rebel bandit army still became a heavenly soldier who came and went without a trace in their eyes, and maybe next time they would appear in front of them in the blink of an eye.

After returning to Guangzhou, Lin Haijiang, who had made a fortune in the Beiyang of the Zeng Domain, immediately convened a large-scale strategic military conference, which was attended by all the captains of the main fleet of the Imperial Navy, in addition to the military and political chiefs of various provinces.

The atmosphere of the meeting seemed a little depressing, after all, it was the great enemy, and the seven European countries plus the Qing court, a total of eight countries, sent a total of 578 naval ships, including 52 ironclad ships, and 279,000 army troops, which was no longer a test for the Chinese Empire, but at the critical juncture of life and death!

Zhang Yunji and Hu Weimin, the main officials in charge of the administration of the province, all had expressionless faces, and they had been busy with basic economic construction, and they all had an indescribable disgust for war, especially this kind of war that was imposed on them.

After receiving Lin Haijiang's signal, Li Anmin got up and glanced at Li Haibo, who was sitting, and then said loudly: "The empire is facing the critical moment of life and death in the invasion of European powers, the head of the empire is determined to live and die with all the soldiers and people, and personally lead the fleet to the provinces of Southeast Asia to fight a decisive battle with the enemy at sea. The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Brigades of the Marine Corps, as well as the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Columns of Strategic Reserve Supplements, and all of the Imperial Artillery Corps, were to defend themselves on the front line of Changsha, Nanchang, Jiujiang, Anqing, Hangzhou, Changzhou, and Shanghai, and to keep the enemy out of the country. ”

After Li Anmin sat down, Vice Admiralty Li Haijun stood up and opened the file and said: "The fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth brigades of the Marine Corps will begin to set up secret bases in overseas provinces with companies and platoons as units, and reserve ammunition and materials. In addition, the 1st Marine Corps Teaching Brigade cooperated with the 3rd Detachment to recover Singapore, and used Singapore as a guerrilla base, and the 2nd Marine Corps Teaching Brigade to recover Hong Kong! ”

After Lin Haijiang saw that the deputy chief of staff and the vice minister of the Navy had all read out the strategic main policy, he took a deep breath and came to the big map in front of the stage and said: "This is the biggest crisis after the establishment of the empire, if we fail, the entire Chinese nation, and even China will fall into the abyss of no return, maybe decades or even hundreds of years of war, even if the Qing court is overthrown, followed by the warlord melee, we will be abandoned by the pace of the era of great development of the world. The world's limited non-renewable resources will be ruthlessly divided, and our descendants will survive in a small living space, which is the last thing we want to see! So today we must fight to survive! For the sake of the Chinese nation, which is destined to shed your blood today, I hereby appoint Zhan Yang as the commander of the corps directly under the Imperial Command, remove him from the post of captain of the Zhenyuan ship, and promote him to the rank of rear admiral, and I will take over as the commander of the Zhenyuan ship and the commander-in-chief of the imperial naval fleet. ”

Lin Haijiang's words made everyone present stunned as if they were struck by lightning, Zhanyang, the new generation of generals, was born in this situation, and the legion directly under the Command Department was no longer an empty corps with less than three brigades when attacking Changsha, but a real behemoth of the full six divisions and twelve brigades plus the armed gendarmerie special forces directly under it, this position of corps commander who has been vacant has always been regarded as the position of the second person in the empire, that is to say, according to the imperial constitution, once the head of state is unable to perform his duties, The commander of the corps directly under the High Command will perform the duties of the Führer on his behalf.

Is the Führer on the verge of supporting the orphans? It seems that the empire is really preparing to fight a bloody war with foreign invaders to the end, and at this moment all selfishness and personal fame and fortune are put aside.

The commanders and captains of the regiments designated their own agents after they died in battle, and the venue was suddenly shrouded in a tragic atmosphere, and the officers and men of the three armies could be described as generous to death! Lin Haijiang was extremely moved by the scene in front of him, but he was also puzzled, why did the Chinese nation always face the invasion of foreign enemies and reach the critical juncture of life and death before they could really put aside their prejudices and unite as one?

Lin Haijiang saw that all the participants were excited, and nodded with satisfaction: "It is true that it is a big crisis, but this is also a big challenge and a big opportunity, why do the British want to pull a group of Dutch, Spanish, and Portuguese defeated by our men?" ”

Lin Haijiang saw that everyone was puzzled, and said with a slight smile: "The reason is very simple, that is, the British are simply not capable of crossing the ocean to fight a protracted strategic Armageddon with us, or that Britain is unwilling to fight a national war with us with national fortunes, so the British have pulled in a bunch of vulnerable so-called accomplices, you can all see what kind of goods are here, except for our defeated generals or defeated generals, the Russian Empire that looks extremely strong, They were beaten by the British and the French in the Crimean War, and until now they could only arm the peasants as an army, which was almost the same as the Taiping Army, nothing more than advanced weapons, and the French that? Even Napoleon III, the emperor of the Third Reich in France, was besieged by Prussia in the small town of Sedan, and they still wanted to touch the East? It's just wishful thinking, let alone placed in the Qing court, the European powers pulled the Qing court to find a master who can pay for their military expenses, the only one in the Eight-Nation Coalition that we haven't dealt with is the Kingdom of Italy, do you know what their country's specialty food is? ”

Li Anmin, who was standing next to Lin Haijiang, thought for a moment and hesitated: "It seems to be a kind of noodle?" What is the pasta thing called? It's just mixed up. ”

Lin Haijiang nodded and continued: "Yes! It's this kind of pasta, their national will and army are like their food, very noodles and noodles! ”

Ha ha! Hahaha! The people present, whether they understood it or not, grinned out loud! The previously oppressive atmosphere was suddenly swept away.

Lin Haijiang saw that the atmosphere was lively, so he took out the declaration of war of all nations that had been prepared in advance and solemnly handed it to Zhang Yunji's hands, Zhang Yunji's hands trembled slightly when he took the document, the weight of which can be imagined, the eyes of the officers and administrative officials present were all focused on this document, because all the people knew very well that once this declaration of war was officially announced, then the battle between the empire and the coalition was a life-and-death battle, and there was no possibility of alleviation.

Zhang Yunji slowly opened the declaration of war of all countries, and said in a slightly trembling voice with some excitement: "The Command of the Chinese Empire, the order of the head of state, the seven countries of Western Europe forcibly interfered in the internal affairs of our country and colluded with the perverse Qing court, the Qing court disregarded the overall interests of all ethnic groups and countries in China, and wantonly fished with the European powers to flesh our people, and all my descendants of Yan and Huang cannot sit idly by, for the prosperity of the nation, for the unity of the country, I, Lin Haijiang, am determined to lead the entire military and political forces of the Chinese Empire, and fight to the death against the invaders. In order to defend the blood of the nation, invigorate the spirit of the nation, there is no need for the same certificate of heaven and earth, and I should rise up and fight to meet the enemy! Now the Chinese Empire officially declared war on the seven European countries, the Great Britain Empire, the French Third Republic, the Kingdom of Spain, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Italy, the Kingdom of Portugal, and the Russian Empire. ”

Lin Haijiang's self-drafted declaration of war made Zhang Yunji read it with some enthusiasm, especially the last sentence Only by killing them all, they didn't dare to come again! made Zhang Yunji suddenly have a long-lost pride!

Lin Haijiang looked at the hundreds of military and political dignitaries of the Chinese Empire present and said: "If the empire can experience this rebirth, then it is also destined that the empire will unify China and live in the world!" Our defeat of the Eight-Nation Coalition is equivalent to defeating the entire European world, since the Industrial Revolution, Europe has become the center of the world with science and technology, and they have brought only bloody plunder to the world as civilized people! Today, we are going to be the warriors who cut off their greedy hands! ”

Long live the Chinese Empire! Long live the Führer! The military and political dignitaries present cheered one after another, as if they were celebrating the victory.

The entire Chinese empire was fully functioning under the propaganda of the powerful propaganda machine, the invasion of the Eight-Nation Alliance and the great announcement of the empire's strategy of rejecting the enemy from the country, it can be said that the people's hearts and minds were greatly inspired, as the so-called those who won the hearts of the people won the world, the empire's factories worked overtime in three shifts almost 24 hours a day, the overtime workers voluntarily donated all their overtime pay and wages, the parades of school students rose and fell with each other, and the number of people who signed up to join the army almost reached an unprecedented peak. What is surprising is that the enthusiasm of the people in the newly recovered province is extremely high, and the common people who have cut off the pig's tail and straightened their waists do not want to live the kind of bullying that they used to have and do not continue to eat.

The scenes of mothers sending their children and wives sending off their husbands appeared in various villages, and the honorary plaques and welfare of military families were issued, so that the enlisted soldiers really had no worries, and the military and people's hearts of the entire Chinese Empire were highly concentrated.

(To be continued)