Roughly calculated

A disabled soldier can buy 20 acres of land at a reduced price of three pounds, which costs about £60, and the average of 26.3 acres of merit can be used to make full use of all the preferential policies, which translates to almost 278 acres of land, a small ranch or plantation in the real right.

The kingdom did not suffer a loss, because the land was obtained for nothing, and a large amount of cash in the hands of the soldiers could be recovered, which in turn was redistributed in the name of preferential loans, which could not only make money, but also receive a stable land tax.

Why not prosper society, increase output, restore social stability and order, and thus embark on a path of healthy development?

27,900 disabled soldiers, calculated according to 46.3 acres of land per capita, that is, less than 1.3 million acres of land, almost 5,220 square kilometers, which is a small kiss for New South Wales, which covers an area of more than 800,000 square kilometers, can be placed around Sydney City and more than enough.

The Sydney area alone (excluding the Beilun area) covers an area of more than 8,300 square kilometers, and if the Kongsby Plateau is included, the area reaches 12,300 square kilometers, which can accommodate 60,000 soldiers.

Of course, it's not possible to settle all of them in the Sydney area. Basically, it is based on the Sydney-Wollongong-Newcastle line, and the Snow Mountain Town-Panshi Town-Canberra line, a total of two north-south resettlement routes, and orderly resettlement is implemented.

Li Fushou was satisfied with the relevant situation, and after asking a few questions, he motioned Duan Qirui to continue.

Encouraged Duan Qirui's spirits perked up, he cleared his throat and continued;

"Since about 5:00 p.m. on December 26, 1890, in the Melbourne bloody battle, the killing of the head of the puppet government Jeff Bridges, Morgan McLaughrie, the former Governor of New South Wales Stevens, the former Speaker of the Victorian Parliament Henry, conservative heavyweights McKellan and McGinnis Peters and other ultra-conservative leaders, and the killing of the commander-in-chief of the Southern Army, General Gavin Williamson and other military and political leaders, ended in a complete victory.

Yes

Melbourne's urban population dropped sharply from 673,000 before the war to 238,500 (excluding 24,000 white prisoners), with 74.5% of white young women and children, and less than 54,000 young and middle-aged men, of whom 37,000 were convicted and needed to serve 5~20 years of hard labor to atone for their crimes.

Most of the remaining soldiers of the 17th and 12th Divisions of the battlefield uprising, who have proven to be trustworthy after the test of bloody battles, can enjoy the same treatment as Chinese soldiers.

After the war, the B Corps has started the work of relocating disabled soldiers, and a total of 33,900 disabled soldiers need to be resettled, including 17,600 whites, mainly in agricultural and pastoral towns in northern Victoria, and 16,300 Chinese disabled soldiers, mainly in the surrounding areas of Melbourne.

Because Victoria is an extremely wealthy state, the B Corps has captured a lot of money, with the average income of retired disabled soldiers reaching 87 pounds 4 shillings and 7 pence, and 22.3 acres of merit land per capita, as well as a preferential land purchase policy of 20 acres.

With enough concessional loan funds, these retired soldiers can buy more than 60 acres of land, which translates to almost 360 acres, which is enough for anything.

The B Corps also implemented the "one-to-one pairing" policy of the A Corps, encouraging young white women to form families with disabled soldiers and quickly stabilize Melbourne's local society.

At present, the policy appears to be very popular, with the participation of white women, and the coercion is rare after being reviewed by a steering team dispatched by the Secretariat.

Under the condition of stabilizing the situation in Melbourne, the B Corps marched westward to join up with the Mobile Corps, forming a heavy group with a total strength of 271,000 (minus 33,900 disabled retired soldiers, minus three infantry divisions stationed in Melbourne and surrounding areas), forming an ironclad strategic situation against Ballarat.

This brings us to the issue of Block 3, the ongoing Battle of Ballarat Strangulation.

as everyone knows

Ballarat is Victoria's most important gold mining region, with more than 170 gold fields in the mountains, a concentration of resources, and a concentration of white English, Scottish and Irish people, with only a small number of Germans and French, and a place where white conservative extremists are rampant.

The local white people had an extremely bad attitude towards Chinese laborers, and they were extremely xenophobic, and anyone from other regions was not welcome.

It is reported that no less than 46,000 Chinese laborers were brutally enslaved in the gold mines in the area, completely deprived of personal freedom, deprived of property rights, eating food inferior to pigs and dogs, and doing inhuman manual work.

In the gold fields of the region, no less than 1,000 Chinese laborers are enslaved to death every year, wrapped in broken mats and thrown into the mountains, to be eaten by wild beasts, a place of darkness and sin, which should be completely eliminated.

By His Majesty's decree;

Corps B and Corps A formed an ironclad encirclement around the area, laying out up to 7,600 kilometers of barbed wire, dense guards and forts, and cordoning everyone in it, not even a rabbit could escape.

Since Ballarat is located in a mountainous area, and a forced attack may cause heavy casualties, the main focus is on strangulation and siege, blocking all passages in and out of the mountainous area, and cutting off the supply of daily necessities.

The strangulation battle from the iron wall caused great panic among the defenders in the Ballarat area, and they tried to make several breakthroughs, but we were all beaten back head-on, leaving only more than 3,700 corpses and a large number of guns and equipment.

Investigation learned;

Ballarat is a mining city with no food or animal husbandry output, and even the hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep driven into the city by displaced people, as well as some grain reserves, are not enough to sustain the region for 70 days.

So within three months, the Ballarat region will fall.

It has been 32 days since the arrival of the Mobile Corps and the lockdown began, and more than half of the food in the Ballarat area has been consumed, and there may be dogs jumping over the wall in the near future.

Our scouts have observed that the white army in the area is recruiting Chinese miners to be sent to the battlefield as cannon fodder, and this is the latest trend, and the generals of the B Corps and the Mobile Corps are urgently studying countermeasures to try to crack the enemy's vicious plan. ”

Speaking of which

Colonel Duan Qirui frowned when he saw Li Fushou, and immediately closed his mouth carefully, and the Immortal Palace fell into silence.

The commander of the Ballarat garrison was Lieutenant General Julian Smith, who had had enough of the hardships in Snowy Mountains, and his army had been reorganized after fleeing back to Sydney, and had fought well in the defensive battles.

Although the total annihilation of the army was still in the end, Lieutenant General Julian Smith had already left the land of death ahead of schedule, and was ordered to organize Ballarat to fight to the death against the northern army, shouting the slogan; "Recreate a Sydney", "Ballarat is the grave of the Oriental, and the yellow-skinned monkey will be bleeding here." ”

Well, you can't stop an arrogant person from slamming the sky, the earth, and the air.

In the way of others, they will also govern themselves.

Lieutenant General Julian Smith's trick was quite disgusting, and Duan Qirui would rather he draw inspiration from the Mongols driving the people to attack the city than admit that he learned it from himself, which is really ...... It's so fucked up!

The mountainous terrain of Ballarat is very unfavorable for the attack, and in the case of sufficient enemy ammunition, the side that takes the initiative to attack is bound to suffer heavy losses, and the defending side occupies the favorable terrain, and whoever attacks first is unlucky.

The superiority of artillery fire of the northern army was very limited and could not be fully developed in mountainous terrain.

Li Fushou, as the leader of the Chinese and the head of a country, could not watch the 46,000 Chinese miners become cannon fodder and be sacrificed so worthlessly.

Once the Chinese miners had the blood of their compatriots on their hands, it was a big problem how to deal with them after the war.

"In response to this matter, what countermeasures do the generals of the forward corps have?"

Duan Qirui replied respectfully; "Your Majesty, because there are four roads into the mountain, some generals suggested that there should be multiple feints, focusing on choosing one way to attack the mountain, and this plan was supported by many people.

A small number of generals believed that they should stick to the established battle plan unswervingly, that almost all of Ballarat were soldiers, and that the corps did not have an absolute advantage in terms of numbers alone, and that they should be cautious in dealing with this battle and not lose their proportions.

Everyone should bear the price for their choices, Queensland has been developing for 15 years, providing countless development opportunities for the Chinese, and there are still a steady stream of people going to Ballarat to pan for gold, and they can't be persuaded to do so.

As relations between the North and the South deteriorated, the Chinese miners still had the opportunity to flee Ballarat, but they did not.

The military will try to free the Chinese miners, but not at the expense of victory. ”

Duan Qirui's words made Li Fushou fall into deep thought, how to choose is really a big problem.

The owners of the Ballarat gold mine brutally exploited the Chinese miners, ate poorly, worked in a bad environment, and caused many people to die in mining accidents because of the substandard safety, and the Chinese miners would be robbed of their savings and even killed as a result.

But the Chinese miners did not have the opportunity to flee the area, and many still chose to stay, just for the illusory dream of making a fortune.

In any case, there are difficult problems that must be solved.

Slender fingers gently tapped on the tabletop, Li Fushou pondered for a long time and suddenly asked; "Qirui, how did you drive the white captives in the first place?"

Hearing this question, Duan Qirui's expression was stunned, and then he replied;

"Your Majesty, Wei Chen has used some vicious methods.

Shillings were ordered to expose each other, singled out some officers and bad elements with blood debts on their hands, and let the soldiers who actively expose them be executed in front of everyone, blocking the back road of these soldiers to turn against the water.

Then, these soldiers were appointed rank and file officers, leading others into battle.

In order to prevent these white captives from breaking out, each person was usually issued only one gun and no bullets.

Ten rounds of ammunition were given to each person during the battle, and all the ...... were collected after the battle."

"By the way, this is the crux of the problem." Li Fushou suddenly slapped the table, this movement startled Duan Qirui, but he immediately reacted as soon as his eyes rolled and blurted out; "Your Majesty, what do you mean ......"

"Well, that's right, it seems that you have also thought of it, the key to the problem is the bullet."

"Yes...... How do we get bullets in? ”

"Hehehe...... Your military is not professional in this regard, but you have professional people to do this. Li Fushou's mood now looks quite good, and he happily cocked Erlang's legs and commanded;" You go and inform the director of political intelligence to come quickly, and then go down and think about it, if the plan is really successful, how to achieve a greater victory in foreign cooperation, and make a good article. ”

"Your Majesty is wise and martial, and Weichen is ashamed to be ashamed, and he will do his best to think it through." Duan Qirui stood up and bowed, and then left in a hurry.

The military situation on the front line is like fire, and there can be no delay for a moment.