Although the Empire had great ambitions for the Dutch East Indies, it had to have a justifiable excuse for attacking the Dutch East Indies. What better excuse to use than to protect the local Chinese?

There were hundreds of thousands of Chinese in the Dutch East Indies. As long as they are united, they can arm tens of thousands of people or more. Coupled with the weapons and equipment supported by the Empire, not to mention dealing with those colonists and natives who oppressed them, even in the face of the army of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, they have the power to fight. Moreover, after the outbreak of a large-scale war, the empire has an excuse to intervene in full. Even if the Kingdom of the Netherlands had close relations with Britain and Germany, Britain and Germany would probably have no choice but to back down when the Empire had already taken a firm position. As for the interests of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, no one cares at all.

Wu Haoxuan's words made several Chinese leaders in the Dutch East Indies fall into deep thought. Let them report directly to the Dutch colonial authorities, they don't have the guts to do so. The Chinese are notoriously good-tempered, and they are used to being obedient, even if they are oppressed, as long as they can survive, they will not choose violent resistance.

"The Chinese already had almost control over the economy of the Dutch East Indies. The Dutch colonial authorities will never sit idly by and watch this. Therefore, this is also the reason why the Dutch colonial authorities have repeatedly provoked conflicts between the Chinese and the local aborigines, and wantonly slaughtered the Chinese and embezzled the property of the Chinese. As long as there was a large-scale war in the Netherlands, the empire would have a reason to send troops to the Dutch East Indies and take the Dutch East Indies from the Dutch. At that time, the Dutch East Indies would become a territory directly under the Empire, and the Chinese would become the ruling class, and they would no longer be oppressed and treated unfairly. Wu Haoxuan continued.

Wu Haoxuan's description of the beautiful picture of the empire after taking control of the Dutch East Indies made several Chinese leaders look forward to it. The process of Chinese people working hard in Nanyang is undoubtedly extremely difficult. Dutch and local indigenous. Every once in a while, a large-scale anti-Chinese campaign will be launched, massacring a large number of Chinese, raping their wives and daughters, and robbing them of their property. This makes the local Chinese want to be able to get out of such a predicament. Now it seems that the only one who can save them is the Empire.

"Couldn't the empire send troops directly to attack the Dutch East Indies? The Netherlands is now nothing more than a small European country. The national power is far inferior to the empire, and it is even more distant from the empire. Even if the empire seized the Dutch East Indies, the Dutch would have nothing to do with the empire. Zhao Ziqian said.

In their opinion, the empire has now become the hegemon of the Far East, and even the British Empire, the world's largest power, has to give the empire some face. With such a strong strength, the empire could easily snatch the Dutch East Indies. Just like when the Dutch relied on their military strength to directly destroy large and small countries such as the Lanfang Kingdom established by the Chinese in Nanyang.

"Lao Zhao, that's not what I said. The Netherlands is a small country, but they are inextricably linked to the rest of Europe. In particular, the United Kingdom and Germany. Both have close ties with the Netherlands. When His Majesty visited Britain some time ago, the British also warned the Empire not to expand into the South Seas and maintain the power structure of the South Seas. If we rush to the South Seas without a suitable reason, we will inevitably be angered by Britain and Germany, and even directly intervene. Although the empire is now powerful, it is far from being able to compete with a powerful country like Britain and Germany. So. We need a good reason. Lieutenant General Chen Xudong said.

Several of the Chinese leaders nodded, and they could understand. Although the current empire can be called a world-class power. But. Compared with powerful countries like Britain and Germany, the gap is not ordinarily large. Although the Netherlands was a small country, they had close relations with Britain and Germany, which made the empire a bit of a mouse.

"Your Majesty, if we fight with the Dutch, the Empire will definitely send troops to help us. And turn the entire East Indies into the domain of the empire? Guo Shunyi asked. This can't help but be careless, after all, they have to take all their lives?

"I promise! As long as you act according to the plan drawn up by the Empire. Then, once the war begins, the empire will send troops to the Dutch East Indies as soon as possible. Wu Haoxuan said solemnly.

Several Chinese leaders looked at each other, and they all saw a hint of determination in their eyes. Since they all nodded again and again.

"Your Majesty, we believe in the Empire. Over the years, we have suffered a lot in the South Seas, and we can't wait to return to the embrace of the Empire. Even if it is to pay for it, it will not hesitate. Chen Mingde said.

"Good. With your support, I am confident that our project will be successful. Wu Haoxuan was full of confidence in snatching the East Indies from the Dutch.

Lieutenant General Chen Xudong left with a few Chinese leaders, and the Military Intelligence Bureau will send a special person to contact them. These Chinese had great influence in the Dutch East Indies. The Chinese owned a large number of rubber plantations, mines, and so on in the Dutch East Indies. With the cooperation of the navy, the Empire* Military Intelligence Bureau secretly sent a large number of weapons and equipment to these Chinese, so that the Chinese secretly established a strong armed force in the Dutch East Indies. The Dutch colonial authorities would never tolerate these Chinese being heavily armed. They will definitely try to suppress these Chinese in every possible way. Once the Chinese resisted, large-scale battles would break out. At that time, the empire could send troops to the Dutch East Indies in the name of protecting the diaspora. The Dutch are only a small country, and even if they exert all their national strength, they are definitely no match for the Empire. The empire could have taken over the entire Dutch East Indies in one fell swoop. Even if Britain and Germany were opposed, as long as the Reich was determined, they could not do it.

On September 22, Emperor Wu Haoxuan convened a pre-imperial meeting to discuss the Empire's plans to expand to the South Seas.

"Your Majesty, Ladies and Gentlemen. Several of the major Chinese families in the Dutch East Indies have agreed to cooperate with our plan. From now on, we will arm them with all our strength and build a strong armed force for them. When they had a strong armed force, it was time for war to break out in the Dutch East Indies. At that time, the empire will send troops to the Dutch East Indies in the name of protecting overseas people, and swallow the entire Dutch East Indies. Lieutenant General Chen Xudong said.

"The Imperial Navy is ready. The Nanyang Fleet will cooperate with the Military Intelligence Bureau to deliver weapons and equipment to the Chinese in the Dutch East Indies. And as soon as the war broke out, he rushed to Nanyang to provide support to the local Chinese. In addition, the main force of the Pacific Fleet of the Imperial Navy will also move to the South Seas after the outbreak of war to exert pressure on Britain and France. Admiral Sa Zhenbing said.

"So, should the attack on the Dutch East Indies be undertaken by the Army or by the Marines?" Wu Haoxuan asked.

Although the Dutch did not have much army in the East Indies colonies, at best they had an army of more than 10,000 men and an indigenous police and security force of tens of thousands. But even so, it was not something that the Chinese hastily organized to deal with could deal with. When the time comes, the empire will have to send troops.

"Your Majesty, against the Dutch army in the Dutch East Indies, we only need to use one infantry division. Leave it to our army, and we will definitely be able to occupy the entire Dutch East Indies. War Minister Marshal Zhao Xifu said immediately.

As the empire entered the high-speed construction phase, there were fewer and fewer wars. The Imperial Army and Navy also had a hard time catching wars. Now that it is difficult to deal with the Dutch, the navy has sent a fleet, and the army is naturally not far behind.

"Your Majesty, the Marines have not experienced a decent war since they were formed. The minister suggested that the attack on the Dutch East Indies should be left to the marines. It can also be regarded as a test of the combat strength of the Marine Corps. Marshal Sa Zhenbing said.

Imperial Marines, undergoing expansion. Now that the formation of two Marine Divisions has been completed, the Admiralty plans to expand the Marine Division to five divisions in three years. In this case, once it is necessary to launch a landing operation, there is no need for the army to intervene, and the navy will directly complete it. Of course, if it is a large-scale war, the army will still need to help. However, the navy can seize the landing ground and provide greater convenience for the landing operations of the army.

Wu Haoxuan hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Then, this battle will be handed over to the marines." The Dutch were not a big enemy, and the marines were enough to deal with. ”

"Yes, Your Majesty." Marshal Sa Zhenbing said immediately.

"Your Majesty, whether we can attack the Dutch East Indies or not, the Kingdom of the Netherlands is not the key. The most important thing is to see the attitude of the British and Germans. The Germans wanted us to join the Allies. They shouldn't be pushing us too hard. Only the British, who have been trying to contain the development of the empire. The Empire's expansion into the South Seas undoubtedly threatened the interests of the British. They certainly won't let the empire get their way. Prime Minister Yang Du said.

"The British are now too busy dealing with the Germans to send too many troops to the Far East. They don't want to tear their faces with the Empire at this juncture. So, at most, they are sending some intimidation to the Empire. As long as the Empire was firm, the British had no choice but to comply with the Empire's wishes. In any case, they were sacrificing only the interests of the Dutch. Wu Haoxuan said very firmly. Historically, before the outbreak of World War II, didn't the British also repeatedly sacrifice the interests of small countries to satisfy the Germans? (To be continued.) )

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