July 12th

After arriving at Haiphong Port, the Vietnamese delegation returned aboard the cruiser "Kokang" and was accompanied by Count Zhu Wei, the diplomatic envoy of the Kingdom of Great Oceans, and Rear Admiral Li Xuanzhu of the Senior Military Observation Group.

The ceremony is scheduled to be held on July 20, and the delegation of the Ocean Kingdom is led by Queen Gu Liuyan herself, accompanied by the 17-year-old eldest prince Li Siyuan, the 16-year-old second prince Li Sihan, the 12-year-old seventh prince Li Sixuan and other princes to cheer for King Gu Zhiwen.

King Shangdian of the Kingdom of the Ryukyus and Queen Elizabeth attended the celebration with Viscount Van Ah Sang, Prime Minister of Lan Fangguo, Gu Yanchuan, Governor of Liangguang, Yama Yama Aritomo, representative of the Fuso Government, Prince Vasilagu, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Thailand, and representatives of other South Asian royal families, and guests from all over the world.

It is worth mentioning that the captured French Expeditionary Lieutenant General Léo Fernández was graciously reluctant, although he was reluctant, but as the highest official of the French delegation, he had to behave, and his heart was really mixed.

The U.S. delegation also participated in the celebration, looking at the smiling crowd with a strange look on their faces, and their hearts must not have been full of blessings.

The first time the new-stirring stick came out, it was declared a defeat.

When it comes to playing with intrigue and trickery, the British can throw the straightforward Citi people off the three streets, and they can't even eat a fart.

It took Citi more than 100 years to learn this kind of difficult diplomatic technique, and then it simply did not pay attention to the skills, forming a new hegemonic style.

In 1896, the 120th year of the founding of the United States, Citigroup expanded dramatically from 13 states on the East Coast to a superpower of nearly 9 million square kilometers.

After the end of the Civil War, Citi's domestic market was initially unified, and the Pacific Railroad connected the east and west coasts as a whole, and with the advantages of the two oceans, Citigroup effortlessly finally became the world's largest industrial country in 1894, surpassing the United Kingdom in steel production to rank first.

In 1896, Rockefeller, the oil magnate of Citigroup, announced his retirement, which was both the end of an old era and the beginning of a new era.

In 1892, under the leadership of the financial magnate Morgan, Edison General Electric Company merged with Tom Johnson Houston Electric Company, and General Electric Company was established.

In 1896, Ford successfully trial-produced a two-cylinder, air-cooled, four-horsepower car, and immediately began to organize and establish an automobile company.

Separated by the distant Pacific Ocean, at the beginning of 1896, the Australian Volkswagen Company was established, and at the end of June, the Australian Heavy Industry Co., Ltd., which was born out of the subordinate steam turbine machinery boiler factory of Hongshan Shipyard, was established, focusing on new ship power, new steam turbines and boilers.

On July 7, the Kingdom of Ocean promulgated the "Law on Encouraging Social Science and Technology Innovation", and the Parliament passed the "Kingdom Patent Bill" on the same day, which is committed to creating a good social environment that respects knowledge and talents, and builds the foundation for rejuvenating the country through science and education.

On July 20, the grand ceremony of Hanoi, the capital of the Kingdom of Viet et Nam and the coronation ceremony of the king's enthronement, was held, and the people in Hanoi cheered, and the grand occasion was unprecedented.

Bismarck, the retired chancellor of Germany, publicly commented on this; "It's really interesting, defeating the proud French, and a new Chinese country has emerged in South Asia, which makes me seem to see the shadow of a restless guy in Oceania, who is quietly changing the geopolitical pattern of South Asia."

Bismarck, the iron-blooded prime minister who single-handedly created the German Empire, has always been bitter and mean-spirited, and his evaluation of the Kingdom of Italy as "going to Africa with a mouthful of tooth decay and having a good appetite" has become a classic, and has been quoted and ridiculed by diplomats from various countries from time to time to ridicule the Italians.

As soon as this statement came out

It immediately caused various mainstream newspapers and periodicals in Europe to reprint it, and speculated that this restless guy was Li Fushou, the king of the Ocean Kingdom, and only he had the ability and means to change the geographical pattern.

A few days later, in an exclusive interview with the Brisbane Courier, Li Fushou gave a positive response to the remarks of former German Chancellor Bismarck;

"It is a sad and ridiculous thing for a culprit who once deeply hurt France to jump out and speak out openly for the French, trying to attract the attention of the world again through this kind of funny performance, and return to the center of the stage, this hand is inevitably too long."

The exchange of fire between the two sides directly attracted the anger of Kaiser Wilhelm II.

Although he single-handedly dismissed the iron-blooded prime minister Bismarck from his post and sent this highly decorated old man home to retire, it did not mean that he was willing to see being bullied, so he rolled up his sleeves and went to the end, saying publicly;

"This is an old man worthy of respect, who followed the emperor in the glory of the German Empire, and as a monarch of a small Pacific nation, he should maintain the necessary humility and respect for this."

The fighting method of the world's heavyweights has aroused the general interest of the Eurasian society, set off a wave of melon-eating craze, and has become the second major focus of the world today after the "South African Janssen Expedition" incident, attracting countless attention.

As a party to the incident, the French government could not sit still and publicly stated; "Anyone who tries to point fingers at this should understand that Indochina affairs are a French affair and Paris does not like to hear any noise, especially from the Germans."

The relationship between the British Empire and Germany has deteriorated greatly because of the "Janssen Expedition in South Africa".

London said; "As a regional power, Germans should be in awe of the British Empire's global dominance, not in place of Britain in global affairs.

The monarch of the small Pacific country, which he said, is 20 times the size of Germany, and the national power is second to none in the western Pacific region, and he is a member of the British Commonwealth that is planned to be established.

London regrets Kaiser Wilhelm I's rash statement, and hereby solemnly reminds you to be aware of your identity. ”

This statement really hit the bone, and the seven points of Kaiser Wilhelm II's anger smoked, raised his saber and cut his beloved British marshal's uniform into tatters, smashed many things in the court, and vented his evil anger.

Tsar Nicholas II, who was far away in St. Petersburg, was not willing to be lonely and made his position clear through public conversation;

"Lee was a wise monarch worthy of respect, and the Tsarist Empire looked forward to the development of further friendly relations with the Ocean Kingdom, and I myself regret the Kaiser's remarks, hoping that this is only a misunderstanding."

Castle of Dreams

Immortal Residence Hall

Li Fushou looked at Tsar Nicholas II's public position with disgust on his face, then threw the paper in his hand on the table and said to the new Prime Minister Fan Zhongzhai; "What kind of excitement is this stinky old hairy man making around, are you idle?"

The new prime minister, Pham Chung Jae, is full of red faces, and the party he leads is the Democratic Justice and Freedom Alliance, which split from the Zhi Gong Party, and is a moderate conservative faction, which won a majority of seats in the cabinet reshuffle in May this year and successfully came to power for five years.

Of course, His Majesty the King has the right to dissolve the Cabinet and call for early elections.

The Ocean Kingdom does not implement a universal suffrage system, but a voter representative system, that is, the voter representatives vote to elect the ruling party to form a cabinet, with the high prestige and huge influence of King Li Fushou, basically whoever is in power.

Now that the two parties of the Zhi Gong Party and the Democratic Liberal Alliance have taken turns to sit in the village in the Ocean Kingdom, it seems that the democratic process has taken a big leap forward, but it is actually a puppet toy left and right by King Li Fushou, and he will change one when he is tired of it.

Prime Minister Fan Zhongzhai stepped forward and said; "Tsarist Russia has always wanted to play a more active role in international affairs, and this can be seen as an attempt at effort, judging by the actions of Nicholas II, his ambition and greed are not inferior to those of his predecessors."

King Li Fushou felt the same way, and said with a light sigh; "Under the corrupt rule of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, surrounded by foreign powers, our suffering Chinese compatriots will always have to go through many calamities and hardships, when will it be a head!"

"Your Majesty, anyone with a little vision can see that there are not many days left in the Qing Dynasty, and the times are about to change."

"Yes, what Fan Aiqing said is reasonable, let's wait and see." Li Fushou shook his head, and there was nothing he could do about it, so he changed the topic and said; "The queen is preparing to marry the Yue Kingdom, what does the cabinet think?"

Fan Zhongzhai groaned and replied with a serious expression;

"Your Majesty;

Weichen thought that the queen's words were reasonable and deeply agreed.

The current monarch of the Kingdom of Thailand, Chulalongkorn-Rama V, has been in power for 30 years, and during his reign, he was determined to forge ahead, introduced Western learning to govern the country, established a new army, and skillfully maneuvered between the British and French powers to maintain the independent status of the Kingdom of Thailand.

But after all, the Kingdom of Thailand is a small barbarian country in South Asia, with poor etiquette and ethics, and its popular concept of marriage and funeral is too incredible, so it is not recommended that the second princess Shirley marry her.

The four queens married by Chulalongkorn-Rama V are all his half-sisters, and there have been 44 princes and 33 princesses so far.

My Ocean Kingdom was born in the Celestial Empire, although it has been baptized by Western learning, it still follows the ethics and morality of thousands of years in its bones, and the cabinet ministers do not like the unethical marriage customs of the Kingdom of Thailand, and agree with and support the marriage motion between the queen and the Yue Kingdom, and respectfully ask Your Majesty to be clear. ”

"Well, Princess Shirley is still young, let's discuss this matter later." Li Fushou said with a frown.

He didn't know that there was such a marriage custom in the Kingdom of Thailand, so who wouldn't have studied it?

After hearing this, I instinctively resisted.

At the beginning, the eldest princess Elizabeth married to the Ryukyu Kingdom at the age of 16, Li Fushou's heart was somewhat unbearable, but considering that the Ryukyu Kingdom Crown Prince Shangdian was too old, he would go directly to 30 if he didn't marry the queen, so he pinched his nose and agreed, and there was always a hidden regret in his heart.

Only by being in this high position did he know that many things could not be done by his own will, and for the sake of the long-term relationship between the two countries, he was forced to make compromises against his will due to the situation.

Now in the marriage of the second princess Shirley, it is much more calm to deal with.

Since the crown prince of Thailand is no longer considered, the hairy son-in-law is tentatively set to be the crown prince of Vietnam, Gu Tingqing, who is 18 years old this year, followed the third prince Li Siyuan to travel to Europe, and is now a guest in St. Petersburg, and how can he get the end of the year when he comes back.

Gu Zhiwen, the king of Yueguo, has a wife and three concubines, and two sons from the main house, the eldest prince is 18-year-old Gu Tingqing, and the second prince is 14-year-old Gu Tingxi.

Crown Prince Gu Tingqing and Princess Shirley are not in a hurry about their marriage, both of them are not very old, they can get engaged first, and then handle it in two years.

Letting go of this thought, Li Fushou talked to Prime Minister Fan Zhongzhai about some other matters, and then waved him away.

He walked to the remote place of the Xianju Palace, and took the elevator from here to the top floor, which was full of Hanmo and scholarly furnishings, every word and painting, every book and ink were all treasures and antiquities, and the value was amazing.

Li Fushou did not bother with these antiques, but walked to the large hand-drawn map, which is a world map drawn by the famous Venetian artist Antonor Canarle, using the ancient Italian parchment scroll technique, which is extremely valuable.

After the exploration of the Age of Discovery, Europeans in the 18th century had a deep understanding of world geography, and the scale of the world map drawn was close to that of the mechanism maps of later generations, but it was more detailed and vivid.

Li Fushou's gaze briefly lingered on the three northeastern provinces and the Korean Peninsula for a while, and then moved to the Indochina Peninsula below, and nodded with satisfaction after looking at it for a while.

Now the situation in the Indochina Peninsula is very good, and through this victorious battle of Hanoi, the newly born Yue Kingdom can be regarded as having a foothold.

The Indochina Peninsula has a situation that is beneficial to the Chinese world, and the Ryukyu Kingdom, the Yue Kingdom, the Lanfang Kingdom, and the Hawaiian Kingdom have now become a part of the Chinese world.

In the future, several Chinese kingdoms can be split in the Malaysian region, but now is not the time, and the secret scrambling will first immigrate and then talk about it, and slowly carry out power infiltration.

His gaze finally fell on the Luzon Islands, full of deep thought;

If the original trajectory of history had not changed, two years later Citi would have taken action against the Spaniards, seizing Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Luzon Islands in an attempt for further expansion.

In the international mediation carried out in Saigon, the Citi delegation has spoken openly and secretly against the Ocean Kingdom, which is full of sour flavor and has already exposed a face of envy.

Don't Citi people look down on the vast and fertile Australian continent?

Didn't you try to get your hands on the East Indies, which had extremely superior natural conditions?

Seeing Shangri-La Island become a world-class natural rubber plantation, a fertile land rich in tobacco, and the granary of the ocean kingdom, don't you blush?

Is it safe for the Ocean Kingdom to include the Hawaiian Islands in its pocket?

In addition, the Yue Kingdom relied on the secret help of the Ocean Kingdom, and now cut a large piece of meat in the Indochina Peninsula, and has since become a staunch follower of the Ocean Kingdom, which makes Citigroup feel particularly annoying.

Not long before that, the navy of the Great Ocean Kingdom completely annihilated the combined fleet of Fuso through the "Battle of Makiko" off the coast of the Ryukyus, which not only dealt a heavy blow to the ambition of Fuso, but also dealt a blow to Citigroup's policy attempt to intervene in the Far East by supporting Fuso's little devils.

Li Fushou can sensitively perceive the resentment on the east coast of the Pacific, which is a confrontation between national policies, and there is no concession or relaxation.

From a profit point of view; You have me, I don't.

Without the rise of the Ocean Kingdom in Australia, Citigroup's plan would not have been hindered and could have been successfully achieved.

This was because the core interests of the old colonial powers, such as Britain and France, were not in Central America and the Luzon Islands, and they had no intention of seeking justice for the Spaniards.

As a traditional Catholic country, the Spaniards have different languages, different religions, different races, and social customs from the Protestant countries of the European continent.

It's different now

The rise of the ocean kingdom in the South Pacific region, the Luzon Islands are not far from the north of the Sulawesi Islands, very close to Shangri-La Island, across the Sulu Sea and Borneo, between the two places is 2~3 days of sailing.

On the side of the couch, how can you allow others to sleep soundly?

From a geostrategic point of view, the Ocean Kingdom will not allow Citi to reach out to the Pacific Ocean, gain a stable and reliable foothold in South Asia, and expand its influence in the region to win support for future geopolitical strategies.

The geopolitical landscape of South Asia in 50, 70 or 100 years will begin from today's germination.

So, nip it in the bud.

Li Fushou's eyes searched back and forth on the islands of the Philippine archipelago, and he found that Mindanao in the south is very suitable for existing as an independent kingdom, or it can be divided into 2~3 kingdoms, and the central islands can also be divided into 1~2 kingdoms.

Now that he has ten sons, in addition to the crown prince Li Siyuan inheriting the Ocean Kingdom, he should also find some fiefs for other princes, and this Luzon Islands is good.

First of all, as an archipelago, it is geographically fragmented and has the innate conditions to become a separate kingdom.

Today, South Asia has not yet fostered the narrow nationalism of Europe, and the indigenous Malays are accustomed to being ruled by foreign ethnic groups, and there is a high probability that they will be divided and integrated by a strong Confucian culture.

The Ocean Kingdom has the experience of unifying Borneo, and now there is basically no Malay indigenous population in Borneo, there are Chinese immigrants everywhere, the schools teach Mandarin Zhengyin, the official languages are Chinese and English, and even the population of the indigenous reserves has shrunk sharply, and I am afraid that it will disappear completely in less than a decade.

Li Fushou held his chin with one hand and thought for a long time, and now there are two things that affect the expansion of the Ocean Kingdom, the first is that there is no excuse for war, and the second is the attitude of Britain against the continued expansion of the Ocean Kingdom.

It is not difficult to solve the first problem, mainly because the second problem cannot be bypassed.

Well......

Thinking about the fact that the operation in Indochina has just ended, and the beacon fire is about to be ignited in South Asia, the British will not agree, maybe it will be bad to intervene directly.

The only breakthrough was in Citi, and if the British wanted to gain their acquiescence, they had to get conclusive evidence of Citi's intention to do something to the Spaniards, so as to persuade the British to stand idly by.

If it really can't be done, just knock down Luzon and give it to the British, and the main island centered on Manila in the north will be handed away, and the Ocean Kingdom will only occupy the central islands and Mindanao in the south, and dismember the entire Philippine archipelago into three parts as a fief for the princes.

In this way, everyone is happy, and only Citigroup is hurt.

If he acted in this way, because it was for the benefit of the children of the royal family, he could only use the royal guard to fight this battle, instead of using the kingdom army, so as not to be criticized by the people.

Pinch your fingers and do the math

After paying off the loans of the Civil War over the years, with the rapid economic development of the Ocean Kingdom, the Royal Household Office has accumulated a rich deposit of nearly 30 million pounds, which is enough to fight this war.

The three fully staffed Praetorian Guard divisions dealt with the weak combat power of the Spaniards in the Luzon Islands, and basically pinched the snail with three fingers ~ nine out of ten.

In addition, the naval fleet must be used, so it is necessary to approve the construction plan of the battleships "Beilun" and "Tianquan".

By the end of the year

The lead ship of the Metropolis-class battleship, the Red River Valley, was completed and officially entered service, and will serve in the Borneo fleet.

Around July next year, the second ship "Brisbane" will also be officially commissioned and will serve in the Shangri-La fleet.

According to the plan

The third ship, "Matsue", is a completely new and powerful warship, the displacement of a single ship has been increased from 13,000 tons to 16,000 tons, the firepower is more powerful, the armor is thicker, the speed is faster, and the cost is also extremely expensive, the cost of a single ship has reached 1.27 million pounds, and it will be officially put into service at the beginning of the next year, and it will serve in the Borneo fleet as planned.

The fourth ship, the Melbourne, will be completed and commissioned by the end of the same year and will belong to the Shangri-La fleet.

Therefore, Li Fushou considered rebuilding the Borneo Fleet into the South Pacific Fleet, and the Far East Detachment stationed in the Ryukyu Islands also belonged to the South Pacific Fleet, and then put the No. 5 ship "Beilun" and the No. 6 ship "Tianquan" into the South China Sea Fleet.

So

The South Pacific Fleet will form four new Metropolis-class ironclad battleships, two "Blue Dragon" class heavy cruisers, and eight "Brave" class cruisers, second only to the British Royal Navy's Third Battlefleet in Calcutta, and second to none in the entire South Pacific region.

With such a strong naval fleet, even if the first battleship of the Fuso Kingdom, the "Shikishima", has been completed and returned to China, the remaining two will return one after another by the end of this year to join the Fuso Combined Fleet sequence, and the navy of the Ocean Kingdom is still stable.

I have to say that the construction strength of the British Royal Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is too strong, the battleship "Shikishima" with a displacement of 13,000 tons was launched in only 4 and a half months, and the perching was completed and delivered in 6 months, and the quality is still poor, so that people can't find fault.

The entire "Shikishima" series of three battleships took only a year and a half.

This is still an astonishing achievement on the basis of a large number of orders for the construction of the country's battleships, and if all the attention is put into the construction of the battleship "Shikishima", it will be launched and completed in two and a half months, and the speed is simply incredible.