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The smoke from the pipe slowly dissipated in front of the top hat, this new novelty was a trendy thing even in the kingdom's capital, and the monoculars in this office looked a bit nondescript, but Gordon didn't care what outsiders thought, here in Niamey, he had the final say, let alone look at the sea, and no one dared to gossip with a telescope to spy on the sailors and the black ladies who greeted the docks. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

Gordon looked out through the open window in front of him, flocks of seagulls swirling around the mast on the edge of the harbor pier, the sails were dotted and falling, the harbor was so beautiful at sunset, the two warships were about to enter the harbor, the navigator on the pilot boat was waving a small flag and directing the huge warship to enter the harbor channel, seeing that the navigator's face flushed with anger seemed to be cursing the sailors on the deck of the warship, and the sailors were laughing happily, and the naval officer in the second suit leaned on the edge of the mast with his arms crossed, and a dirty coat on his shoulder, as if he was watching the excitement。

The mast swayed obliquely, the heavy muzzle had been covered with a moisture-proof gun jacket, the officer on duty was carefully inspecting every corner of the deck, the diamond-shaped sign on his arm proved his special status, and after leaving the ship, no one had to board the ship without the approval of the officer on duty. Groups of sailors are eager to get ashore, whiskey, dega, beer, barbecue, steak, delicious wine and domestic delicacies are attracting the stomachs of sailors and crews, and Niamey, the brightest jewel in the western part of the New World, is shining in the setting sun.

Nodding his head back from the binoculars, the scene in front of him gave Gordon a sense of pride, the kingdom's army still maintained a fairly high standard and could cope with any war, whether at sea or on land, but not everyone in the country seemed to agree with him.

"Lieutenant Colonel Cartwright, your soldiers have behaved well, and I admire them. Gordon casually lowered his pipe, and the golden bronze eagle stood out on the oak top.

"Your Excellency, you have been rewarded for the fact that every soldier of the kingdom is equally brave and skillful, and not only my soldiers. Lieutenant Colonel Cartwright, dressed in military uniform, had a beautiful cockscomb-shaped boat-shaped cap adorned with decorative chains, snow-white tapered trousers made his slightly bloated figure look incongruous, and an ornate bayonet sword hung from his waist, and his bright red military jacket looked a little too bright.

"Then why doesn't the kingdom agree to deal with the two thorns in our hearts, we have 25,000 valiant soldiers in Niamey, 30,000 in Dar Beida, and 15,000 in Hoodma, and that's just our army soldiers, not counting our navy and marines, what is the kingdom waiting for?" Gordon shouted with some dissatisfaction, he is not a person who likes to hide his emotions, even in front of his subordinates, Cartwright is not his direct subordinate, he is a lieutenant colonel, directly under the Kingdom War Department, leading the 20,000 Leeds army stationed within a radius of two hundred miles from Niamey, but here, he must obey the orders of Governor Gordon.

"Your Excellency the Governor, I think the kingdom should have its ideas, these two colonies of the Tang Dynasty have in fact been completely divided and surrounded by us, and they can no longer be expanded, how much effect can the surrounding dozens of miles be? In addition to being able to serve as a supply port for ships, I really don't see how much effect there is, their garrison there is no more than 10,000 people in total, we have to destroy them as easily, we can do it at any time, the question is whether it is necessary? If it is really necessary, when is it more appropriate to act?" Cartwright had apparently adapted to the somewhat irascible Governor, who could not be completely at the mercy of the Governor as Army Commander of Niamey, and he needed to give him better advice.

"Do you think it's unnecessary to pull those two nails out now?" asked Gordon dissatisfied.

"Well, I think so, if we had that energy, maybe it would be more rewarding to focus on something else. Cartwright shrugged.

"You're saying we should continue to go deeper into the interior?" Gordon frowned, as the Governor, of course, he wanted the area of control to expand indefinitely, but there were too many unknown dangers in the interior of the New World, malaria, swamps, crocodiles, pythons, piranhas, poisonous bees, poisonous ants, these unheard-of dangers could take the lives of soldiers at any time, not to mention the hostile indigenous indigenous people, Gordon had been hesitant on this issue.

"Yes, Your Excellency the Governor, we should move on, I heard that the Famini have moved south from the north into the hinterland of the continent, I don't think we should be left behind, the Tang people claim that they have claimed to have lordship over the inland Great Lakes region, and have provided the diplomatic department with evidence of their rule in that area, this is not good news, our expedition has not even found out where the Great Lakes region is, but the Tang people are already exercising their rule, what does this mean?" Cartwright was a little excited at the mention of this question, and the speed of his speech became much faster.

"It is true that the Tang people are ahead of us and the Famini in their exploration of the interior, but unfortunately the Barozzians, who were the first to explore the New World, seem to have turned their interest entirely to the islands of the sea, and they seem to be content with the status quo in the New World. Gordon shook his head regretfully, the Barozzians have begun to decline, if the hinterland of the continent falls into the hands of the Barozians, maybe it will be much easier for the kingdom to take back that land, but the Tang people, this ancient people from the East, heard that their emperor once studied in Heidelberg, and now he has completed the unification of almost the entire Eastern Continent, and has also occupied the entire central and northern parts of the Central Continent, it feels terrifying to think about it, even those arrogant and rude nomads on the Tengger steppe are willing to prostrate at his feet, which Gordon has to admire。

"Your Excellency the Governor, the Famini have arrived in that fabled Great Lakes region, and even clashed with the Tang, and now that the diplomatic departments of the two countries are negotiating, I think we should also speed up the progress of entering, we can't wait any longer, maybe this is an opportunity, the Famini may need our help, if we can join forces with the Famini on this issue, our chances will be much greater. Cartwright spoke in a subtle way, but the meaning was obvious.

"Are you saying that the kingdom can join forces with the Famini in the heart of the continent to deal with the Tang?" Gordon's eyes lit up.

"Well, that's right, the Great Lakes region is just a new land without an owner, and the Tang people can't declare it to belong to them just because they entered first, it should belong to all of us, and at most their share can be larger. Our diplomatic department should not admit their unreasonable demands, but if the Tang rule there is indeed solid, we can also ask them to make some compromises elsewhere, such as some areas further south, or even the two nails you mentioned. Lieutenant Colonel Cartwright laughed.

"Well, that's a bit of a suggestion, I'm not interested in the interior further south, but if I can pull those two nails out, I'd be willing to work with the Famini for a while. Gordon's spirits were suddenly excited, the Famini are also enemies of the kingdom, but enemies are also divided into occasions, and here, enemies can also cooperate.

"Your Excellency the Governor, if we want to cooperate with the Famini, we must first find a way to the Great Lakes, otherwise it will be difficult for the people in the diplomatic service to bring the Tang to their knees with their mouths, and we must prove to them that we also have a presence in the Great Lakes, and as for your interest, I think the southern interior may be more useful in the future, but it is up to you. Cartwright also knew that although he had a different opinion from the other party, the other party was a rather stubborn man, and Governor Gordon was a retired officer from the navy, and his thinking was always stuck in the navy, always thinking that the coastline was the most important, and the inland was full of ignorance, rudeness, and danger, and it was not worth the risk of the king's [***] people.

Sure enough, Gordon ignored Cartwright's suggestion, but working with the Famini was something he was willing to do, and Cartwright had already expected it.

While the governor and army commander of the Kingdom of Leeds in Niamey were arguing about cooperation with the Famini, the diplomatic attaché of the Tang Kingdom in the central part of the New World was also courteously negotiating with the Famini diplomatic envoy.

"Mr. Mauser, I have listed many facts for you that are enough to prove that the rule of our Tang Empire in this region has long existed, the indigenous people of this region have already obtained the citizenship of our Tang Empire's overseas territories, and you have also seen the legal identity certificates they hold, they are hired workers of the plantations of the Tang Dynasty merchants in this area, and our Tang Dynasty has implemented effective management here as early as a year ago, isn't all this enough to prove it?"

The diplomatic attaché of the Tang Empire is very young, and the diplomatic department of the empire has always been monopolized by graduates from the Imperial University and Northwest University, although Wang Yi is a traditional scholar from the interior of the empire, but he is unusually open in this regard, after a group of diplomatic officials take up other administrative positions, he will recruit graduates of the Imperial University and Northwest University, and personally train these students in rotation, so that they can familiarize themselves with diplomatic business as soon as possible, and at the same time boldly push these young people in their early twenties to important positions.

(To be continued)