Chen Pengnian nodded, but he didn't say anything, the Spanish military camp in the southern suburbs outside the city is indeed stationed with one or two thousand people at any time, not only as hostages, but also as a means to exploit the Spaniards.

Seeing that Chen Pengnian was silent, everyone knew that he had no objection to Angel's proposal, and Fu Han, who was in a hurry to set off, paused slightly, and said: "That being the case, the navy can be divided into two parts, and the first part of the army can be set off for South Africa, capture the Cape Peninsula, and clear the obstacles for the army and the merchant fleet." ”

Division? Liu Zhisheng couldn't help frowning slightly, the fleet for the conquest of Africa is not huge, there are only more than 30 warships, of which half are auxiliary ships, and most of the naval non-commissioned officers accompanying the ships are new recruits, if they divide the troops rashly, once they meet the British and Dutch fleets, there will inevitably be losses, and he doesn't want too big losses.

Since he became the director of the Guangzhou Naval Academy, he heard that Zhenwu had plans to conquer Africa, and that he might be in command of the army, he inquired about the situation in Africa through various channels, and he knew far better than Zhenwu about the situation in South Africa and West Africa, and the problem in South Africa was not big, only a small number of Dutch people occupied the Cape Peninsula, and there were not many Dutch immigrants in the interior, so it was easy to conquer South Africa.

But West Africa is not so easy, West Africa is not only rich in gold, slave trade, ivory trade and pepper trade are extremely active, Gold Coast, Ivory Coast, Slave Coast, Pepper Coast and other place names, are famous in Europe, in addition to the Netherlands, Britain, France, Portugal are quite active in West Africa, Gold Coast, Slave Coast, Ivory Coast are fortresses, merchant stations are dense, a few miles apart, is a fortress, coastal waters, the size of the fleet of robbing merchant ships is not small.

He was not very worried about the coastal forts. With a long-range and accurate artillery musket. It was easy to conquer improvised fortresses, but he was worried that the pirate-like fleets harassed and robbed the merchant fleets of the Qing Dynasty and threatened their supplies, and they were not as familiar with the waters of the Gulf of West Africa as the European navies.

Regarding Fuhan's eagerness to set off, Liu Zhisheng also knew in his heart that the two of them were full of men and began to compete all the way from the Shanghai Naval Academy. But it is no matter up and down, every time he is promoted, it is synchronous, and he mainly attacks South Africa, and his achievements are naturally not as good as those in West Africa, and he feels a little lost. It's also human nature.

After pondering for a moment, Liu Zhisheng spoke: "It is also a good way to divide the army, which can save time, but I suggest that the majority of the navy go first, capture the Cape Peninsula first, and then wait for the later merchant fleet in the port of Cape Town, and then go north after converging." There are too many European warships in West Africa. The merchant fleet did not have enough warships to escort it. I can't rest assured. ”

Capture the Cape Peninsula first? Fu Han's eyes couldn't help but light up, Liu Zhisheng meant by this after conquering the Cape Peninsula. All the warships of the Navy went to West Africa? This kid is really open-minded, and he immediately said: "This proposal is very good, as the so-called lion fights rabbits, and also do his best, the troops are divided into two ways, it is really suspected of underestimating the enemy, most of the navy will go first, leave a small fleet to guard the merchant fleet behind, and then go north after the convergence in Cape Town, it is really a combination of both." ”

Seeing that the two of them agreed on the same opinion, Yin Qi and Chen Pengnian naturally had nothing to say, but Liu Zhisheng continued: "There are more than 30,000 people in the navy and the new guard army and the accompanying personnel in Africa, and the situation in West Africa is complicated, the more adequate the logistics supply is, the better, and the subsequent merchant ships must all be loaded with all kinds of supplies. ”

Yin Qi and other brothers are divided into West Africa, only the private soldiers of their brothers went to West Africa with the army this time there are more than 6,000 people, Liu Zhisheng attaches so much importance to logistics, he naturally agrees, and immediately chuckled: "Don't worry, all the merchant ships that come to Karopa, this king will let them load all kinds of supplies, and you will list the list." ”

"The last general thanked the prince first." Liu Zhisheng bowed and said.

"You're welcome." Yin Yi smiled slightly, and said to Angel: "Most of the navy will set sail in three days, you go back to arrange it first." ”

Knowing that they still had military affairs to discuss, Angel hurriedly bowed and withdrew. When he exited the room, Yin Yi swept a glance at everyone, and said solemnly: "When His Majesty the King resigned, the emperor prudently explained that the conquest of West Africa is of great significance, not only can greatly support the navy stationed in Europe, but also is very important to the division of South America, the gold of Africa, and the slaves are urgently needed by the Qing Dynasty at the moment.

On the other hand, the conquest of South Africa can not be a little slack, the Cape Peninsula is the only way for the Qing Dynasty to Europe, the control of the Cape Peninsula is not only conducive to the supply of midway, but also conducive to the control of this route, furthermore, the king may as well tell the emperor bluntly, the emperor attaches great importance to South Africa, this expedition to South Africa of 5,000 soldiers and horses, but is the vanguard, the successor will send heavy troops to conquer in a big way. ”

Speaking of this, he glanced at Fu Han before continuing: "South Africa is a fact that the emperor has clearly stated that it will not be divided into princes and nobles, but will be included in the territory of the Qing Dynasty, so don't be careless. ”

Hearing this, Fu Han's heart couldn't help but tighten, the emperor attaches so much importance to South Africa? Why is that? For the Qing Dynasty, South Africa was just an enclave, so why did Zhenwu attach so much importance to it? This kind of military affairs, the tenth master will never dare to open his mouth, let alone pretend to be the emperor's mouth, it seems that South Africa is a big article, this expedition must not be ignored, thinking of this, he hurriedly bowed down and said: "The last general will not dare to live up to the emperor's trust." ”

Liu Zhisheng was also very surprised in his heart, why did Zhenwu attach so much importance to South Africa? It is said that South Africa is far less valuable than West Africa, and it is incomparable in terms of geography and economy, and he did not dare to think too much, so he hurriedly followed: "The words of heaven are earnestly admonished, and the last general must be remembered in his heart, and he must be cautious everywhere, live up to the holy hopes, and compete for full success." ”

Seeing the solemn expressions of the two, Yin Qi couldn't help but smile slightly, and said: "Naval battle, this king doesn't understand, don't dare to interject indiscriminately, since the six thousand men and horses under this king and the eight brothers, the ninth brother, the thirteenth brother and other brothers are on an expedition with the navy, they have full authority to obey the dispatch of the navy, and there is no need to have any scruples. The navy is the foundation of the expedition, and cannon fodder is needed, although let them go first, this king and several brothers can afford to lose. ”

Seeing that Yin Qi was so well aware of the righteousness, Liu Zhisheng hurriedly bowed down and said: "The prince is righteous, and the general will be grateful." ”

"Don't be polite here, let's get busy." Yin Qi said with a smile.

Everyone hurriedly got up and saluted and withdrew from the second hall, and when they arrived at the road, Liu Zhisheng glanced sideways at Fu Han, who was side by side with him, and chuckled: "Now your heart is comfortable?" ”

Seeing the two of them talking, the following generals deliberately slowed down and widened the distance, Fu Han looked back, then turned his head and glared at him, and said, "We are also dignified seven-foot men, so we are as unbearable as you think?" ”

"Well, it's our small-bellied chicken intestines." Liu Zhisheng smiled disapprerovingly, paused slightly, and then continued: "However, since the emperor attaches so much importance to South Africa, it is impossible to say that the New Guard Army and the Marine Corps will vigorously lean towards South Africa." ”

"Don't mind." Fu Han hurriedly refused: "Although the emperor values South Africa, the top priority is still West Africa, and you must not put the cart before the horse, just according to what you said, first capture the Cape Peninsula, leave a thousand people to defend the danger, the army will go all out to occupy West Africa, solve West Africa, turn around and go south, anyway, it's not far away, you shouldn't be afraid of my share, right?" ”

"I'm really afraid that you will rob me of my achievements." Liu Zhisheng chuckled.

Fu Han listened to it, then came back to his senses, and said with a slight smile: "Dare to love your kid again?" Don't hide it, pour it out and listen to it. ”

Liu Zhisheng restrained his smile and said, "You haven't thought about it, why does the emperor attach so much importance to South Africa?" ”

"I'm wondering about this." Fu Han frowned and said: "The emperor has always had a unique vision, West Africa is such a rich land, and it is still divided, why does he alone return South Africa to the imperial court?" ”

Liu Zhisheng glanced at it and said softly: "What does the emperor lack most now?" ”

Fu Han's eyes rolled and said, "What is missing?" Of course, there is a shortage of silver. As soon as the words came out, he reacted and said in surprise: "There are silver mines in South Africa? It's unlikely, I haven't heard from Western missionaries. ”

"Not many people know." Liu Zhisheng lowered his voice and said: "The emperor can be said to be unprofitable, and he sent a heavy army to conquer the barren land of South Africa, how can it not be weird?" I haven't heard of silver in Africa, but West Africa is quite famous for its gold. ”

"You mean there are gold mines in South Africa?" Fuhan's eyes widened and he exclaimed softly.

"Eight or nine is not far from ten." Liu Zhisheng said in a deep voice: "For the Dutch in South Africa, make less killing, rush to the beach and sell to the Netherlands." ”

"Why?" Fu Han asked puzzled.

"What else?" Liu Zhisheng glanced at him dissatisfiedly, and said: "Britain, the Netherlands, and Portugal are now allies, and the purpose of conquering the European navy is to provoke war in Europe. Besides, our navy is now in a period of rapid growth, and it is really not appropriate to fight with several European maritime powers at this time. ”

"Won't the invasion of West Africa cause the British, Dutch and Portuguese to target us?" Fuhan was puzzled.

"Naturally not." Liu Zhisheng said firmly: "West Africa is a treasure land, Britain, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain everyone wants to intervene, it is not okay to eat alone, we have to pull Spain and France in, on strength, on population, on merchant ships, France and Spain together are not our opponents, sharing their benefits, not only is conducive to provoking war in Europe, we can also avoid becoming the target of public criticism." ”

"Huh." Fu Han chuckled and said, "The emperor sent your kid to West Africa, and he really knows people well." (To be continued.) )