In early July 1854, the entire land of China had entered a hot summer. The wedding of the Imperial Crown Prince Longhua has ended, and the representatives of various countries have left the Chinese Empire one after another and returned to their respective countries. At the same time, the situation in the world is also very hot, just like the weather now. As all countries have stepped up their preparations for war, it seems that war is about to break out.

Imperial capital Huaxia City, Imperial Palace. In Long Yufei's study. An air conditioner is humming, blowing cold air into the room, making the room very cool. Being able to make an air conditioner has always been Long Yufei's wish, so that he will not be afraid of the hot summer.

With the completion of large-scale thermal power plants, the entire capital Huaxia City has begun to enter the era of electricity. At the same time, thermal power plants and hydropower stations are also being built in major cities across the country, and of course, because of the imminent impact of the war, the speed of such infrastructure construction is not fast.

Although the air conditioner uses freon, this is something that is extremely dangerous to the atmosphere. However, this is undoubtedly the simplest refrigerant. It is also the fastest thing that Long Yufei can think of. As for the impact on the environment, it can only be ignored for the time being.

In Long Yufei's study, Imperial Prime Minister Lin Zihao, Foreign Minister Wei Yuan, Chief of General Staff General Sun Hao, Minister of Operations Lieutenant General Liu Zhongming, Minister of Logistics and Equipment Lieutenant General Zhao Xingchuan, Chief of the Military Intelligence Bureau General Luo Hongtao, and two semi-retired Army Marshals Niu Meng and Army Marshal Zhao Yi all gathered here.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the situation is getting tense right now. The whole world. It's like a powder keg, one point will explode. I brought you here today to hear your opinions, how to make the empire win the greatest victory in this war at the lowest cost! Long Yufei said. Although, the current Chinese Empire is already very powerful, no worse than the British Empire, the world hegemon. At least in terms of military power. However, there is still a lot of ground for the empire to build, and it would be great if the war could be won at the lowest cost.

"陛xià. Since sooner or later this war will break out. So why don't we strike first? The strength of an empire. Give those guys a hard blow first. In this way, it will be even more beneficial for the subsequent war! Field Marshal Niu Meng said first. Born as a pirate, he attaches great importance to preserving his strength. As for whether provoking a war will be condemned by the whole world, this is not at all on his mind.

Long Yufei nodded. As a matter of fact. He thinks so, too. In his memory. During World War II, Germany preemptively launched the war, didn't it also cause heavy losses to all countries? Even the mighty Soviet Union. Heavy losses were also suffered under the German blitzkrieg. The entire anti-fascist alliance paid an extremely heavy price in order to win the war! If the Chinese Empire preemptively starts a war, then it will inevitably give the Chinese Empire a huge advantage. As for morality and the like, it's not very important. Anyway, as long as it is beneficial to the common people of the empire, the common people will definitely support it.

"Your Majesty, I agree with Marshal Niu Meng's opinion. Now, the empire has completed its preparations. Now the war is very beneficial to us! General Sun Hao, Chief of the General Staff, also said. At present, after secret mobilization, the size of the Imperial Army has been expanded to seventy infantry corps. These troops have all completed their training and are ready to go to the battlefield at any time.

"What about the others?" Long Yufei asked. He knew the attitude of these guys in the military, and they wished that the war would start sooner. It would be great if victory could be achieved with minimal casualties.

"Your Majesty, if we go to war now, should we discuss it with the other countries in the alliance? After all, this time it was a war between two military alliances. We need to negotiate with the other allies. Prime Minister Lin Zihao said. After all, this war was not a war between the Chinese Empire and a certain country, but a war between two alliances. When the time comes, once a war breaks out, it will be a worldwide war.

"Your Majesty, I don't think that's necessary. If you discuss it with your allies first, it will inevitably lead to a leak of news. When the time comes, if the empire wants to launch a surprise attack, it will not have much effect. Lieutenant General Liu Zhongming, Chief of Operations, said.

"If we start a war now, then, you choose to be there as the direction of the assault?" Long Yufei asked.

"Your Majesty, the General Staff believes that we should attack Russia first. Now the standing army of the Russians has a total of 1.5 million. Of these, one million is located in the West Siberian Plain and in the northwestern part of Central Asia. The remaining 500,000 were deployed in the border areas bordering the Ottoman Empire and in the western region. The domestic military strength is almost in a blank slate. If we can inflict heavy damage or even total annihilation of the Russian army in the West Siberian Plain and northwestern Central Asia, then no matter how many troops Russia mobilizes, it will not pose much threat to us. Arguably, Russia is the greatest threat to the empire on land. If this threat can be addressed, then the pressure on the Imperial Army will be much less. We will be able to move our surplus forces to other fronts. Chief of the General Staff, General Sun Hao, said.

"Knife the Russians first? Are you sure? Long Yufei asked. After all, Russia's territory is not small, in addition to the West Siberian Plain and the steppes of northwestern Central Asia, there are also large plains in the Ural Mountains and west of the Ural River. It may be okay to inflict a heavy blow on Russia, but if you want to destroy Russia, it will be almost impossible in a short period of time.

"Your Majesty, the 1st and 2nd armies of the Imperial Army are ready for battle. In addition, two of the eight newly formed armies of the empire have already been sent to the northwest. Use one to alert British India, and the other to fight in conjunction with the 1st and 2nd Armies. 3 group armies, more than 700,000 troops, if you launch a surprise attack, you can completely defeat the Russian army! Admiral Sun Hao said.

After the successive expansion of the Imperial Army, 8 army groups were reorganized. They were the 7th Army consisting of the 31st Infantry Corps to the 35th Infantry Corps, the 8th Army consisting of the 36th Infantry Corps to the 40th Infantry Corps, the 9th Army consisting of the 41st Infantry Corps to the 45th Infantry Corps, and the 10th Army consisting of the 46th Infantry Corps to the 50th Infantry Corps. The 11th Army from the 51st Infantry Corps to the 55th Infantry Corps, the 12th Army from the 56th Infantry Corps to the 60th Infantry Corps, the 13th Army from the 61st Infantry Corps to the 65th Infantry Corps, and the 14th Army from the 66th Infantry Corps to the 70th Infantry Corps.

Of course, these group armies formed later cannot be compared with those elite group armies before them in terms of combat strength.

"To wage a war of 700,000 people, do we have enough war materials stored on the front line?" Long Yufei asked. To fight against the Russians, the biggest constraint on the empire was logistical supplies.

"Your Majesty, for several years the empire has been transporting war materiel to the northwest and the plains of Western Siberia. So far, we have enough war materiel in our stockpiles to last more than a million troops for more than a year. And, once war broke out, all the railways from the empire to Central Asia and Western Siberia would be used to transport war supplies. This will further provide logistical support for the armies on the Imperial front. In addition, from the end of last year to the present, the major automobile factories of the empire have produced a total of 30,000 trucks. Of these, 20,000 vehicles will be allocated to the Russian battlefield, and Zhejiang will effectively guarantee the supply of the Empire* army on the Russian battlefield. Lieutenant General Zhao Xingchuan said.

Although, at present, the load of the truck, is only 1.5 tons. However, the capacity of 20,000 trucks is much more powerful than the use of mules and horses to transport them.

"Well, in that case, let's just do it!" Long Yufei nodded, since the generals were ready, then there was no need for him to object. All he needs is the end result.

"If we are going to start a war against Russia, then we must be prepared for several other battlefields!" Long Yufei admonished.

"Yes, Your Majesty! The General Staff planned to send an additional army group to North America. The remaining several army groups, 4 of which will be used in the war against India. The last remaining army group will be used as reserves. And, as soon as the war begins, the land forces of the Reich will begin to mobilize. And the two major fleets of the Imperial Navy will also plan to go to Europe to fight the British Navy! Admiral Sun Hao said. The 14 armies of the Imperial Army are completely sufficient for now. More troops were mobilized in order to replenish battle losses on the front line. As well as dealing with the big war in Europe. And the Imperial Navy had no enemies at all in the Pacific Ocean, and in the Indian Ocean, there was only a small fleet of the British.

"Your Majesty, in that case, then we only need an excuse to start a war." Foreign Minister Wei Yuan said. The so-called excuse is just an explanation to the people in the country. Of course, such an excuse is not difficult to find.

"Director Luo, as for this matter, let the Military Intelligence Bureau be in charge!" Long Yufei said. The MIA is already the largest intelligence agency in the Empire, with more than 10,000 intelligence personnel, and it is not difficult for the MIA to plan an incident and give the Empire an excuse to go to war.

"Yes, Your Majesty! Just give us a maximum of a week and you're good to go! Admiral Luo Hongtao said. (To be continued......)

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