Red Fort, Sky Tower

The fresh breeze containing the fragrance of the earth blew on his face, stirring the ends of Li Fushou's hair swaying up and down, and a complicated expression appeared on his young and resolute face, standing on the rooftop of Lingxiao Pavilion and looking into the distance.

Whenever he had a hard time to solve, he would climb to the top attic of Lingxiao Pavilion and spend half a day alone.

After receiving a joint secret telegram from the two commanders of the Cochin fleet, Li Fushou could feel the resolute meaning between the lines, the kind of desperate courage that sacrificed life and forgot death, and was willing to shed blood to forge the soul of the army, which was shocking and moving.

The determination of the fleet commander ignited Li Fushou's enthusiasm, and his heart was stirred like a tide, and he could not calm down for a long time.

The Royal Dutch Task Force is a veteran maritime hegemon, once boasting the glory of the seven seas, but now it is a bad ship, and there are still three nails in the rotten ship, which should not be humiliated.

The courage of Queensland's young fleet to rashly challenge such an old powerhouse is commendable, and the risks involved are self-evident.

The decisive battle at sea is not as simple as calculating the number of artillery and displacement on paper, and in the second half of the 19th century, France vigorously developed its navy, and the displacement of its fleet once exceeded that of the British Royal Navy.

No European power or admiral thought that the French navy was superior to the Royal Navy of the British Empire, and even if they were as proud as the Gallic rooster, the French themselves would not dare to say so, which was simply a fantasy.

Naval strength is not built, but fought.

The Red River Valley is now a big family, and Li Fushou's rash decision may affect the future of millions of immigrants, so he has to be cautious and cautious.

With Shangri-La Island as a springboard, it can escort to Luzon Island all the way to the north and ensure the safety of the strategically important Far East route.

To the northwest, it can radiate its influence to the island of Taiwan and Hong Kong, encompassing most of the South China Sea.

To the west, it could control the Banda Sea, threaten the Sulawesi and Kalimantan archipelagos, and extend its influence throughout the central East Indies.

To the southwest, the Sunda Islands and Java are threatened, and the geographical location is very important.

The Red River Valley's current sheer size can no longer be hidden in the bushes, and the recent ambiguous attitude of London has completely shattered Li Fushou's last trace of illusion.

It is better to rely on heaven and earth than on yourself, and the world still has to rely on strength to speak after all.

Li Fushou stood on the rooftop, let the cool breeze in the mountains blow, and after repeated consideration, he finally made up his mind and put the chips in his hand with a stud;

The vicissitudes of the sea show the true character of the hero, okay, then this has been done.

As soon as he made up his mind, Li Fushou's face looked a lot more relaxed.

Overlooking the magnificent urban area of the Red River Valley from the Lingxiao Pavilion, there are several towering buildings in the distance that are under intense construction, compared with most of the 3~4 storey buildings around, these tall buildings stand out from the crowd and are particularly eye-catching.

This is the best design work selected by the "Red River Valley Cup World Architectural Design Awards", which is written by a well-known artist in the industry, and has the opportunity to compete for the final award.

Among them is the famous French architect Villebeau Duque personally designed the building, who was hired by the French government in 1876 to design the Statue of Liberty for the 100th anniversary of the independence of the United States.

It was planned to be crated and shipped to the United States in 1885 to be installed on the base of the statue on Liberty Island in New York, where it became a symbol of the close friendship between France and the United States.

French architect Villeb Duque designed a fantasy castle for the Red River Valley, and he used his imagination to combine the romance of a French castle, the heaviness of an English castle and the rugged character of a German castle to build this fantasy castle on the highest mountain in the Red River Valley.

In addition, the famous French engineer Gustave Eiffel also participated in the design, and his design for the city of the Red River Valley is a large iron tower (Eiffel Tower), which symbolizes the city's high spirits.

(There is no Eiffel Tower in France now, and there will be no one in the future, and the Red River Valley has been cut off)

Due to the needs of development, the enterprises under the command of the Red River Valley need to build their corporate headquarters, and the Red River Valley City needs to see unforgettable landmark buildings, which jointly contributed to this grand event that gathers the painstaking works of the world's architectural masters.

In the face of the lofty honor of the world's best designers, in the face of huge bonuses, in the face of this grand carnival in the architectural design industry, famous architects from Europe, America and China gathered together, and countless wonderful architectural design blueprints came one after another, and there were very few who could deal with them indifferently.

Li Fushou looked at this city he had built with his own hands, and the pride in his heart spontaneously arose.

by the end of 1881;

The permanent population of Red River Valley has exceeded 721,100, far ahead of the 430,000 population of Melbourne, which ranks second.

Brisbane, with a permanent population of 378,100, is catching up with the city of Melbourne in rapid development, and is expected to surpass it by the end of 1882.

Neither the Red River Valley nor Brisbane can carry the entire migrant population, so most of the migrant population has to be dispersed to various towns, such as Suzaku City, the center of the wool textile industry, Qinglong City, the center of science and education, Songjiang Town in the central part of the country, and Beilun Town, a dazzling new star in the south......

Back to the Warm Pavilion

Li Fushou summoned Fan Zhongzhai, the head of the secretariat, to give an explanation in this way, demanding a high degree of secrecy, and Li Fushou personally drafted a top-secret order telegram sent to Li Jie, commander of the fleet stationed in Shangri-La, and immediately sent it out.

After the assignment was completed, the Earl began to deal with other matters.

Fan Zhongzhai received the order and came back, and sat for a long time with the door closed in the office on the first floor of Lingxiao Pavilion, feeling a splitting headache.

He is a capable official with rich experience in handling government affairs, and he is not ignorant of maritime transportation, so he knows what is the difficulty of this task assigned by the Earl?

That is, 10 Seagull 1 frigates departed from Jayapura and circled the entire East Indies south of the East Indies to meet the main fleet at the northwestern entrance to the Strait of Malacca.

In the whole process, there are three difficulties;

First, the exact time and place of rendezvous.

It can be completed by presetting geographical coordinates and presetting the meeting time of the two fleets, requiring the fleet commander to accurately control the voyage and control the time.

Second, the entire process of the operation must be carried out in a stealthy manner, without leaking any rumors, so as to achieve the suddenness of the battle.

This can be accomplished through the establishment of an auxiliary fleet, for example, all cargo ships that are unexpectedly encountered during the voyage are seized and escorted by the auxiliary fleet, and only after the start of the operation can they be allowed to leave, so as not to leak secrets.

Third, how is the replenishment at sea completed?

This is also the biggest difficulty that plagues Fan Zhongzhai, as far as he knows;

The range of the Seagull 1 is 2,200 kilometers, while the range of the entire covert operation is theoretically 8,700 kilometers, and the actual range is even longer, and it can only be reached after at least three sea replenishments.

The solution is not non-existent, there are ready-made experiences to follow.

When departing from Jayapura Harbor, it is possible to store as much coal as possible on the ship, not only in the coal bunkers, but also in the gaps between the steam boilers, semi-open main gun emplacements, the ship's aisles, and all available spaces. and use coking raw coal with the highest calorific value of combustion.

The side of the ship can be equipped with a wooden fence, and every effort is made to fill more raw coal, and the planks can be burned even if they are crushed.

The two strategies can extend the range of the ship to more than 5,000 kilometers at one time, reducing the number of replenishments on the way.

The benefits are obvious, but so are the disadvantages.

That is, all the warships could not open fire, were completely submerged in the coal heap and lost their combat capability.

The soldiers had to endure the filthy conditions of sleeping on the coal pile, because their cabins were also full of raw coal.

If the wind and waves at sea are stronger, the precious warship may sink directly after a wave.

This method is a common emergency measure used by naval powers such as Britain and France when sailing across the ocean, and although the officers and men will suffer a little, the effect is not bad.

This measure alone is not enough because of the long distance, and it is necessary to recharge coal and fresh water at sea.

The Seagull 1 corvette had a 280-ton coal bunker, which could never be done by manpower on the bumpy sea, and it was impossible to do it even if it was exhausted.

Fan Zhongzhai sat in the office for a long time, thinking that he had a splitting headache and had no choice.

Seeing that the sky was darkening, dusk was approaching

He stood up and made himself a cup of fragrant coffee, returned to the table with one hand and sat down, raised it and took a big sip, and immediately felt the warmth in his heart.

I accidentally caught a glimpse of a background investigation report of the personnel of the Deep Blue Alchemy Workshop, and suddenly came to my senses;

Wow, old Fan, can you be more stupid?

There are so many technical experts in the Deep Blue Alchemy Workshop who don't ask for help, and they are here alone, how big a hole should this brain be!

That's it

Fan Zhongzhai immediately became excited, grabbed his briefcase and rushed out of the office, got into his carriage outside the Red Fort Gate, and quickly headed towards the direction of the Deep Blue Alchemy Workshop......

In a barracks on the outskirts of Batavia

The barracks were built on the banks of the clear Red Creek, a symbolic place that was named after the bloody red color of the blood-red water that the Ba Cheng garrison had massacre of expatriates.

The first batch of local reinforcements from Amsterdam, more than 680 people, arrived in mid-October on a German transoceanic cruise ship, and since then two batches of reinforcements, totaling nearly 2,000 people, have been placed in suburban barracks.

In the barracks, rows of neat white tents were lined up, and the soldiers marched in a neat line under the command of the officer, and the steel guns on their shoulders were like a forest, exuding a chilling killing intent.

The Governor-General, Sir Frederick S. Jacob, accompanied by Lieutenant General Keitel, inspected the suburban barracks and expressed satisfaction with what he saw.

"I feel very good, Mr. Lieutenant General Keitel, that these great lads from the country are capable of defeating any enemy, they are natural predators, and they have come here to fulfill the sacred mission of conquest, and they will surely make the arrogant Earl of Queensland suffer greatly, I have no doubt about that."

"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Governor."

"Mr. Lieutenant General, is your army ready to attack?"

"Always ready to help, Mr. Governor."

"Wonderful, tomorrow is Christmas, and the Governor's Palace has a big Christmas carnival for the officers of the Royal Army, and I hope everyone can have a good time." Sir Frederick S. Jacob, the Governor, walked to the front and stopped, looking at the queue of soldiers who were training in gun handling, and suddenly changed his words and said; "After Christmas, I hope to be ready within three days, no less than the 29th at the latest, to join the rest of the troops at the port of Surabaya and land on Shangri-La Island, can the troops do it?"

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