While Corps B was advancing all the way to the south, the southern extension of the coastal railway was also in full swing, and several backbone roads to the south were being built as supplementary measures for the north to strengthen control over the south.

In terms of importance, no one can compare to the second and third phases of the southern extension of the coastal railway.

The second phase of the proposed southern extension of the coastal railway, extending from the main railway line (Beilun Station) on the Kongsby Plateau to the south, which divides a railway branch line to connect Sydney, a railway branch line to connect Wollongong, and a railway branch line to connect Newcastle, the main railway line to the south through Snow Mountain Town, Rock Town, Canberra Town, and has reached Modo Town on the border line of Victoria, with a total length of 317 kilometers, two-thirds of which has been built, and the remaining more than 100 kilometers are being repaired day and night, and it is expected to be 8~It can be completely repaired in 9 months.

The third phase of the plan starts from the town of Modo and extends southward, arrives at Melbourne, the largest city in the south, and then turns to the northwest, just along the southern coastline of Australia, and ends in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, with a total distance of 789 kilometers.

At present, the Northern Ocean Kingdom has begun to dispatch elite troops and strong generals, accompanied by the B Corps to the south, to inspect the geographical conditions, and prepare for the third phase of the southern extension of the coastal railway, which is proposed to be started by the Chinese general, and the construction is tentatively scheduled to start in May 1891.

This is a strategic railway related to the rule of the Ocean Kingdom over the whole of Australia, not only the vanguard of Chinese forces advancing into the southern states, but also the spark of fire, where the railway will pass a steady stream of Chinese immigrants, rapidly changing the overall demographic structure.

This kind of good place with a pleasant climate and abundant water and grass cannot be found by ordinary Chinese immigrants.

a secret plan based on the Red Fort;

After the end of the Civil War, whether it was the A Corps, the B Corps or the Mobile Corps, in addition to the soldiers who returned to their hometowns were rewarded with meritorious fields, all those who were willing to stay in Australia were resettled in the southern states, mainly New South Wales and Victoria.

According to the forecast of the Emergency War Commission, after the Civil War, which lasted for several years, and the subsequent law and order war, no less than 350,000 military officers and soldiers would be discharged from active duty in batches.

More than ninety percent of these officers and men who have experienced the bloody tests of the Civil War will be resettled in the southern states as the backbone of the stable localities.

The vast majority of the noble fiefs that His Majesty the King is preparing to reward are also in the southern states, thus forming a group of Chinese upper-class groups dominated by military aristocrats, which is crucial to stabilizing the situation in the south.

Because the relationship between these nobles and the kingdom is one of glory and loss.

So-called; If the skin does not exist, the hair will be attached?

Based on the calculation of 350,000 retired officers and soldiers from active service, their family members plus farms have no less than 1.5 million ranch workers, about 1.5 million to 2 million.

Such a huge group of immigrants, coupled with the subsequent selection of Chinese immigrants, has the ability to completely change the population proportion structure of the southern state in just 3~4 years, so that the Chinese occupy the position of the mainstream ethnic group, and stabilize the ruling foundation of the Ocean Kingdom.

Among them

The third phase of the southern extension of the coastal railway will play a vital role, whether it is the transportation of goods from the north and the south, the reclamation of immigrants, the radiation of influence or the mobilization of troops, its importance is irreplaceable.

The 789-kilometer-long three-phase railway line will pass through a series of complex terrains such as the Kosciusco Mountains, the Granpian Mountains, the Murray River, and the Wimmera River, and is expected to run through the whole territory in 3~4 years with full investment.

The main obstacle in the construction is the excavation of tunnels and the erection of large bridges to connect Australia from north to south.

There are four phases of the coastal railway in the plan, that is, it will extend from Brisbane to the north, connecting Linyi, Qingdao, Cairns to Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory in the north, including the east coast of the entire Australian continent, forming a backbone transportation line from north to south that runs through the prosperous areas of the entire Australian continent.

The area passed along the railway line accounts for more than 90% of the entire Australian population and more than 98% of the economic output, making it a very strategic railway line.

With more than 2,300 kilometers of railway lines planned in the fourth phase, the investment is particularly huge, and there is no sign of official launch in the foreseeable five years, which can remain in the archives as a beautiful long-term plan.

When the B Corps was advancing all the way to the south, the A Corps, which had been resting for more than ten days, rereplenished its forces, and a total of 170,000 troops gathered under the city of Sydney (including 26,000 white prisoners), and officially began to launch a general attack on Sydney.

Behind Corps A, the 350,000 soldiers recruited in the third phase are arriving in Beilun by boat, no less than 100,000 by the end of December, and 80,000 soldiers will arrive one after another before January 1891, depending on the situation on the battlefield.

The reason for this caution is that Sydney is now a fortified city armed to the teeth, with no less than 80,000 white soldiers and many more militiamen.

At this time, Sydney has become a fortress city of the South Australian Free Commonwealth, from white teenagers over 12 years old to old people under 55 years old, all mobilized into an army, ready to cooperate with the army to defend the city to the death.

In the Sydney Garrison

There are the remnants of Williamson's Corps defeated in the Battle of Consby Highlands, the remnants of Victoria's Corps, the remnants of Smith's Corps that were bloodied in Snow Mountain Town, the city defense army that stayed in Sydney, and the white militia forces stranded here.

Morgan McTLowry, chairman of the NSW State Emergency Committee, has shouted the slogan of "fight to the end", and through the information channel of the Royal Navy's South Pacific Task Force in Sydney Harbour, he has frequently asked for help from the British mainland, with the idea of "waiting for change" in his heart.

In the eyes of these white ultra-conservative bigwigs;

No matter how bold the Chinese forces in the north are, they will not dare to ignore the majesty of the British Empire and act recklessly, if London intervenes to stop it, then there is still room for a slow turn in the current critical situation.

The premise of procrastination is "procrastination", so these white ultra-conservatives tried their best to spread rumors and smear the Chinese forces in the north, portray the Chinese as a cruel species more terrible than the devil, and incite Sydney residents to resist desperately.

For this battle

According to the worst-case calculation, in the case of the stubborn resistance of the defenders of Sydney City, the loss of taking Sydney City is about 5~60,000 people, and more than 30% may lose more.

In the big cities with many buildings, the artillery superiority of the northern army was greatly weakened, occupying every building and every street, and relying more on soldiers to charge into battle and fight with flesh and blood.

Therefore, an abundant supply of supplementary troops must be guaranteed.

In order to prepare for this battle, a large number of ammunition and military materials mobilized by the Red Fort from the strategic reserve continued to arrive at the front line, and Beilun City organized thousands of carriages to transport to the front line day and night, doing its best to ensure the needs of the battle.

The daily requirements for maintaining an army of 170,000 men are staggering, and the daily consumption of various supplies is as high as several hundred tons, not counting the three cavalry divisions stationed on the Consby Plateau.

Dawn on November 24, 1890

Thousands of artillery pieces roared in unison, and countless shells dragged the hot trail to the target, weaving a brilliant net of fire in the air, drowning the defenders' positions in front of them in a sea of fire.

The earth trembled, the flames of the explosion reddened half of the sky, and the battle for Sydney began.

The heavy shelling lasted for 20 minutes before coming to an abrupt end, and the soldiers of the brigade attacked with their guns in the sound of drums, and at the front line were the white prisoners, and behind them were the black muzzles of heavy machine guns, forcing them to move forward, not backward.

In the fortified fortresses, broken arms and trenches in the fortified forts, broken arms and trenches, countless white-faced white soldiers climbed up and opened heavy fire on the approaching white captives with their guns in hand.

The sound of dense volleys of gunfire and heavy machine-gun fire resounded throughout the battlefield, and the bloody and brutal siege battle began......

From the point of view of geographical conditions

Sydney has a natural defensive advantage, as a city bordering the bay, its east side is the vast Pacific Ocean, and the north side is separated by the bay and the Kongsby Plateau, and to enter Sydney, you must pass through the Cumberland Gorge.

Cumberland Gorge is an undulating hilly area, the Sydney defenders rely on many hills tens of meters high, with barbed wire, bunkers, trenches, deer barricades set up three lines of defense, hoarded heavy defense, after these three lines of defense is the city of Sydney.

Today, the city of Sydney is divided into fortified areas by strong walls and barricades, each of which is defended by a large number of armed militias, determined to resist to the end.

In the face of such a strong city, the casualties will definitely not be few.

In front of the Red Fort is such a hard bone, Li Fushou has already given the order to die; No matter what the cost, Sydney must be taken resolutely.

For the new ocean kingdom, the international environment of the world today is not friendly, and London has an ambiguous attitude towards the great changes that have taken place in Australia, a bit like a tiger squinting at it after eating and napping;

Even if you make trouble, what do I think can be done?

This has brought huge pressure to Li Fushou, if the tiger really shakes the fur on his body and stands up, it will be a bad dish!

Therefore, he wants to deal with his opponent as soon as possible, even if it is at a heavy cost.

At present, the overseas agencies of the Political Intelligence Department are closely monitoring the movements of the Royal Navy's South Sea Task Force in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Calcutta, India, Singapore, Hong Kong in the Far East, and Sydney Bay, especially the Third Battlefleet of the Royal Navy of the British Empire stationed in Calcutta, and are paying close attention to the movements of its main ironclad battleships.

Once London decides to intervene, the Royal Navy of the British Empire will inevitably be the first military force to arrive, which is enough to change the current situation in the region.

Just think about it

Several ironclad battleships were moored in Sydney Bay, and their 305 mm or more cannons had a range of enough to cover the Cumberland Gorge area, and once the powerful main guns were wielded, each cannon could reimburse more than a platoon of soldiers, and the aftermath of the explosion produced by the roaring cannon alone could shatter the internal organs of the soldiers lying on the ground.

If such an extreme situation really happens, then the two important cities of Sydney and Melbourne will definitely not be able to attack.

Therefore, London has the absolute power to change the situation in the region, and the key is whether he wants to do this, whether he is willing to do so, and whether there are enough interests to induce him to do so.

This is the real reason why Li Fushou is desperate to take over the two cities of Sydney and Melbourne, he can't afford to delay, and he can't delay, and if he drags on, it will change, causing the situation to slide out of control, and finally evolve into an uncontrollable ending.

At worst, it would be a war with the British Empire......