Although Aziz Pasha's visit to Beijing was fruitless, in October 1881, the Ottoman Empire still brazenly sent troops to the Balkan Empire, and the Macedonian Army Group drove straight into the Principality of Serbia and advanced towards Belgrade, the capital of Serbia

Major European countries condemned the military actions of the Ottoman Empire, and when the Chinese government issued a six-point statement on the situation in the Balkans, showing its tendency to sympathize with the independence demands of the Balkan peoples, the Principality of Serbia declared independence, and the Grand Duke of Serbia Milan. Obrenović IV was inaugurated as King of the Kingdom of Serbia

The Balkan Alliance, consisting of Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and the Principalities of Montenegro, then declared war on the Ottoman Turkish Empire

Around the same time, in southern Africa, the Boers declared independence and established the Transvaal Republic, and the British began to assemble on the border between the Transvaal and Orange, and then declared war on the newly formed Devasland Republic, and the Boer War officially began

The Ottoman Empire received little external support, the Balkan League was supported by European powers such as Bulgaria and Austria-Hungary, Germany, Serbia, and other countries with the support of Russia, in this war, the Ottoman Empire was defeated, Macedonia was occupied by Serbian and Greek forces, the Aegean islands were blockaded by the Balkan League, and in February, Albania, which had been ruled by Turkey for more than 400 years, declared independence

However, the successive victories of the Balkan League were clearly not in the interests of some European powers, such as Russia, which did not want Bulgarian troops to arrive in Istanbul, while Austria-Hungary and Germany, who considered Serbia and Greece to be close to the Entente, did not want them to dismember Turkish territory

In April 1882, an armistice was signed in Vienna between the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria, Serbia and other Balkan allies

Undoubtedly, the biggest beneficiary of the treaty was Bulgaria, the former hegemon of the Balkans, who regained most of the lost territory

The Ottoman Empire, on the other hand, lost almost all of its territory in Europe on paper, and in fact it had been difficult for the Empire to exercise effective control over these territories for the last two or three decades

Although the Vienna Peace Treaty gave the Balkan peoples their independence and freedom, the Balkan countries were not really satisfied with it, and after the loss of their common enemy, the contradictions between the Balkan countries gradually surfaced

Serbia lost its access to the Adriatic Sea and demanded reparations from Macedonia, Greece also wanted to expand its territory at the expense of Bulgaria, and Romania made territorial claims to Bulgaria on Dobroga

At a time when the situation in the Balkans is uncertain, the two great powers of Europe and Asia, Britain and China, are focused on southern Africa, and neither country has time to think about the Balkan war

Although the Boers had a population of only a few hundred thousand, they fought bravely and skillfully, winning several victories on all fronts, and the British lost more than 5,000 men in the first month of the war, which is known in the history of the British Army as the Dark January

The commander of the British army, Admiral Colley, resigned from his post as commander-in-chief of the British Expeditionary Force due to the resignation of the defeat

Then Lord Carpenter, the most famous general in the British Army, was appointed by British Prime Minister William Carpenter. Yurt. Gladstone was appointed commander-in-chief of the South African Expeditionary Force, and as a result of the defeat, belligerence rose among the British people, and Gladstone's cabinet's policy of carrying the war through to the end was supported

Lord Carpenter arrived in Cape Town in March, bringing with him the elite Liverpool Regiment of the Home Cardinals, troops from Australia, Ceylon, Canada, and cavalry detachments in India, and by early April, the British army in southern Africa had grown to 190,000 men, and it was clear that the British were determined to win the war at all costs

……

Dihua Spring Palace, in the southern suburbs of the city, is a fusion of Central Asian Turkic style palace group, and every spring Dihua will usher in the festival of the Northwest ethnic groups, the Great Emperor's Residence Day

Ye Zhao has adhered to the practice of stationing since the launch of the Central Asian War, and he will bring several concubines to Dihua every spring to live for a period of time, and it is the Dihua Palace, also known as the Spring Palace...,

This is the realization of this Ye Zhao is now preparing to move the location of the spring to the west of the empire's cities in Central Asia, such as Kokand City, that is, the city of Leining, which has a far-reaching impact on national integration, so that the various regions of the empire in Central Asia gradually become an indispensable part of China from the principles of law and customs

Ye Zhao has already put forward the idea of moving the location to the west, and it is expected that the trip will take place next year

This year's stationing in Dihua is very different from previous years, that is, the commanders of the Military Commission followed the emperor to come to Dihua secretly, and in the past half a month, Dihua has become the military center of the empire

The Privy Council of the Summer Palace was also opened for the first time, which is an oval concrete glazed tile building on the shore of the artificial lake of the Summer Palace, with a distinct modern style, integrated into the Oriental color, magnificent and modern, designed by Zhan Tianyou, the most outstanding young designer of the empire, who was just in his early twenties, was famous all over the world for designing gardens for the royal family

In the political hall is a grand venue, the wall lamp is magnificent, such as the Jin Chinese painting

On the right side of the long table sat epaulettes, and the silver imperial generals were Zhao Sanbao, Zheng Zewu, Lei Chong, Pei Tianqing, Ding Qimei, Liu Mingchuan and other current imperial authorities

On the left are Imperial Prime Minister Li Hongzhang, Speaker of the House of Representatives Zou Kaizhi, Imperial Vice Prime Minister Zhang Youcun and other imperial political heavyweights

Sitting in the main seat was naturally Ye Zhao

Looking at the civilian, military and military generals on both sides of the empire, Ye Zhao felt infinite emotion in his heart, and it has been nearly thirty years since the incident, and when he went to Shanghai to negotiate twenty-nine years ago, he could have thought of today

Today's agenda is the most difficult path to choose after the founding of the empire, the conference that determines the fortune of the empire, and the conference that affects the future of the whole world

The 6th and 13th armies had landed in Maputo and were ready to support the Boer military operations, including the Zhenhai and the Sky Survey, with a total of nine capital ships, 18 cruisers, 10 torpedo ships, and auxiliary ships already entering the African Straits...... Zhao Sanbao's deep and majestic voice reported the recent developments of the Imperial Army and Navy

The two armies that were sent to southern Africa were not the most elite corps of the empire, but most of the troops of the 13th Army stationed in the tropics all year round came from Southeast Asia and the South Seas, which were more suitable for the climate of southern Africa

The military mobilization order for the whole territory of the empire has been prepared, just waiting for His Majesty to sign it, Li Hongzhang will add on the side, with the development of the situation on the European continent, Li Hongzhang's position with the military is gradually becoming the same, who calls the small Hong Kong Island, no matter how to talk about it, he can't talk about it, and there is a fire in his heart

Ye Zhao waved his hand: This matter is slowly mobilized throughout the country, that is, the threat of naked war, although the wars between powerful countries today are imperial wars competing for interests, but in the future history books, we must always stand on the moral high ground, and we cannot leave in the history of the world that China started the war first, which is also responsible for future generations, of course, Li Hongzhang, Zhao Sanbao and others are impossible to realize these things now

Ye Zhao pondered for a moment and said: If the news of the transfer of the two group armies and the deployment of the African fleet is released, it is better to stay away from the war if it can be resolved peacefully

Everyone obeyed in unison, and although the emperor said that he would stay away from war, everyone knew in their hearts that a conflict with the British could break out at any time

After the humiliation of the two Opium Wars, we now finally have to face the world's first power, the huge and incomparable empire with colonies all over the world, if a war breaks out, it will be a collision of the strongest empires in the East and the West, a collision between the invincible Red Legion in the West and the invincible Emperor Yulin in the East, and a life-and-death contest between the world's first naval power and the thriving new warship corps in the East

Eventually, the deer will die in the hands of whom

……

In April 1882, the Chinese Government issued a statement on the affairs of Southern Africa, in which the Chinese Government pointed out that the war between Great Britain and the Transvaal Republic had seriously affected the peace in Southern Africa and the security situation in the Maputo Overseas Province of China, in view of the fact that the military force of the two corps of the Empire, totalling 100,000 men, had entered the Maputo Overseas Province, and that the armed forces had entered Southern Africa to resolve the humanitarian crisis in the region, and had come to safeguard the interests of the citizens of the Imperial Empire in the Maputo Overseas Province and the peace of Southern Africa...,

At the same time, in order to maintain the increasingly severe security situation, the second detachment of the Royal Navy of the Imperial Royal Navy and the Chinese Sea Fleet has gone to Africa to supplement the defense force of the African Strait Fleet

At the same time, the statement demanded that Britain cease its war of aggression against the Transvaal Republic, otherwise China, as the closest friend of the Transvaal Republic, would have to consider further action

In recent months, the British have been accusing the Chinese government of supporting the Boers through official channels, weapons and supplies, while the Times has criticized the incompetence and inability to respond to China's challenge by intercepting suspicious Chinese merchant ships and cutting off the Boers' channels of communication with the outside world

And the Chinese government's unequivocal announcement that the Imperial Regular Army's entry into Africa is tantamount to a bombshell exploding over London, and the news commentators who are clamoring for a tough line on China suddenly fall silent because they have to start thinking rationally about what the consequences of a war with China will be

Faced with the largest empire in Eurasia, the sane British will realize the severity of this possible war, and whether or not they can defeat the strongest opponent the British Empire has faced in half a century will also be a disaster for Britain

However, most British citizens have become militant because of the sense of imperial pride that has just experienced a dark January, and demonstrations against Chinese and Chinese goods have begun to break out in major cities such as London and Liverpool

At the same time, the English-language newspapers in Hong Kong were exclaiming that the Chinese could build a cruiser in 10 days, of course, the title was a lamentable exaggeration, saying that the total tonnage of ships that the empire could produce in a year was divided by the number of days, and by 1881 the annual output of the empire's shipyards had reached 160,000 tons

Since February, a large number of military orders have snowflaked into the various shipyards and arsenals of the empire, and the huge imperial industrial machine has been running at full speed for the first time, and the roar of machines in the various shipyards on the coast and river banks of the empire has been roaring day and night, as if it can be heard in Europe thousands of miles away, when the empire shows its unparalleled industrial and military potential for the first time, how can it not surprise and lament the British in Hong Kong (to be continued, if you like this work, you are welcome to come (.) Vote for recommendation, monthly pass, your support is my biggest motivation)