Now that there is a clamor within the empire and the Royal Navy for the occupation of Sumatra, some well-known professors from the history departments of the University of the Red River Valley and the Imperial University have quoted scriptures from the vast history books about the lost land of the Ming Empire.

The Ocean Empire claims to be the descendants of the ancient Yan and Huang dynasties, and the descendants of the Han and Tang dynasties, which is naturally the continuation of the Han regime of the Ming Dynasty, and should inherit this rich historical legacy.

The Royal Navy said it even more blatantly; It is to occupy this island, hold the sea route of Malacca, and make the Indian Ocean Fleet more worthy of its name.

Inevitably, this remark reached the ears of the Governor-General's Office of the Dutch East Indies, provoking diplomatic protests from the other side.

What's that...... The Dutch have been in this beautiful archipelago since ancient times, and the Dutch have lived here for generations.

The Imperial Foreign Office responded with an understatement;

We have seen some of the academic discussions among the people that have caused some discomfort in our neighbouring countries, and we can only regret this.

The Ocean Empire is a country governed by the rule of law that respects history and freedom of speech, and is an important constructive force for a peaceful and prosperous environment in the Western Pacific......

Enter the 20th century

The characteristics of bullying in international relations are even more obvious, not to mention the tiny Netherlands, and even the Qing Empire, with a population of 450 million, has been reduced to the belly of a fish, and the world powers have become more restless and aggressive in order to seize territory.

In the public opinion of the Ocean Empire

There are calls for sending troops to Sumatra, for occupying Java, for expanding into the Indochina Peninsula, and for Central and South America, calling for opening up a broader living space.

Needless to say

In the slightly impetuous mainstream public opinion of today's Ocean Empire, it reveals an aggressive edge, faintly in line with today's saints, and reflects His Majesty's tendency in a certain aspect.

Li Siyuan pondered this question;

I agree with the current national policy and feel that it is better to be still than to be still.

In 1898, the empire had just launched a large-scale war in the West and pocketed the Luzon Islands, and now it has only been six years since the archipelago of more than 7,000 islands has been digested.

If it is really digested, it will take 1~2 cycles of 6 years.

Looking around, there was no better target, and now we could not cling to the Dutch East Indies for a wool, which would seriously deteriorate relations with the British Empire, from détente to antagonism.

More than 70% of the foreign trade share of the Ocean Empire is based on the British trade circle, which is the fundamental interests of the empire.

Of course, with the restless character of today's saints, he would never do nothing.

Many of the mainland immigrants who have moved to various parts of Nanyang are outstanding graduates from the Young Eagle School, and they have formed a non-governmental organization that supports each other in the name of Hongmen or a certain party.

First, it is conducive to gaining a foothold in the local area, second, it is conducive to economic and trade exchanges and tandem, and third, it can improve the confidence of bargaining with the local colonial government.

As Li Siyuan, he knows many secrets that ordinary people can't know, and behind these party organizations, there are inextricable dark lines of the political intelligence bureau.

This is the case in the British Straits Settlements, in Siam, in Indochina, in Britain and Burma, and naturally in New Zealand.

The war on the island of Sumatra has been going on for more than 30 years, and in recent years there has been a tendency to go over and over the scenes, which has made the Dutch anxious.

Beneath the calm surface of the sea is a rough undercurrent.

In the current situation

After entering September, the "Liaoyang Campaign" broke out, and the Fuso Army launched a large-scale attack on a 75-kilometer wide front of the Russian army's defensive line, and the front line was turned into a pot of porridge.

Due to the continuous defeat on the battlefield ahead, the domestic situation in Tsarist Russia was grim, and the people's livelihood under the high-pressure rule was difficult and the contradictions were acute, which constantly detonated the uprisings of urban workers and serfs, and then was brutally suppressed by the local Russian army.

Under the encouragement of well-intentioned people, the entire Tsarist Russian society is now like a soup pot about to boil, which makes the ruling class feel great pressure.

Tsar Nicholas II strictly ordered the Russian army to win a major military victory in the Liaoyang region, and after a long period of preparation, the Russian army has a large number of war materials, abundant troops, and relatively favorable conditions.

The commander of the Russian army, Kuropatkin, threatened to "rather die than retreat from Liaoyang", and he decided to rely on the forward fortifications to resist and exhaust the attacking Japanese army, and then turn to a counterattack.

That is to say, the Russian army, which has superior forces and firepower, adopts a passive waiting approach, giving the initiative to the enemy from the very beginning.

The unprecedentedly bloody "Liaoyang Campaign" broke out in an all-round way, and it is still in the midst of a fierce battle......

Since the beginning of this year

The British invaded Tibet and forced the signing of the Tibet Treaty by force.

In the face of the hideous face of the Western powers, the stinging Shenzhou Continent gradually woke up, and various civil organizations emerged in the northern continent one after another, such as the Alliance led by Sun Wen, the Huaxing Society led by Huang Xing, and the Guangfu Society established by enlightened political figures, which sprung up like mushrooms after a rain.

Historical figures who left a strong mark during the Republic of China period appeared one after another, deducing a landscape before the replacement of generations.

Since the 27th year of Guangxu (1901), the Qing court decided to implement a standing army system throughout the country. Yuan Shikai, the governor of Zhili and minister of Beiyang, on the basis of the Wuwei Right Army under his jurisdiction, organized and trained the two towns of the Beiyang Standing Army, together with the Wuwei Right Army, the vanguard of the Wuwei Right Army, and the Ziqiang Army, and expanded the organization.

By the 31st year of Guangxu (1904), a total of five towns were trained, plus the Beijing Banner Standing Army (later known as the first town of Beiyang) organized and trained by Yuan Shikai, which was the prototype of the modern army, collectively known as the "Six Towns of Beiyang".

The first town was under the control of the Manchu Tie Liang, and the other five towns were all under the command of Yuan Shikai's trusted generals, and the basic force of the Beiyang warlord group was formed since then.

Li Siyuan stood in front of the world map and imagined, and his move was to imitate his father's habitual actions.

With more than ten years of experience in navigating the world, Li Siyuan has a strategic vision that is difficult for ordinary people to achieve, and can distinguish priorities and find the key points of contradictions.

For Li Siyuan, the most critical question at present is who will be the victor of the Russo-Japanese War?

How to deal with the post-war situation?

If Russia wins, then while Russia has a huge land army in the Far East, the Tsarist Navy also has a huge naval force composed of the Pacific Fleet and the Second Pacific Fleet, which will form a suppressive situation in the Far East and will inevitably change the regional strategic pattern.

In response to this situation, Britain and the Ocean Empire had a tacit understanding;

If it is not possible, the Royal Navy of the Ocean Empire will have to roll up its sleeves and go into battle, trying to defeat and annihilate the naval power of Tsarist Russia, and restore the original power structure of the Far East to avoid imbalance.

From this point of view, the Tsarist Navy was doomed.

Neither Britain, Fuso, nor the United States wanted to see the Russian naval power rampant in the Far East, eroding the original balance of territory.

This major strategic issue should be considered by his father, but Li Siyuan, as the prince of a country, should also be considered for the throne, which is originally a major responsibility that he cannot shirk, and maybe his father will also be admitted to the school.

If Fuso wins, then the West Pacific region will form a pattern of two powers side by side, changing the original regional situation of one strong and one weak, and the interests are intertwined, and the situation will become more and more complex.

The Fusang country in the "Anglo-Japanese Alliance" cannot be blindly suppressed.

Li Siyuan hoped that both Japan and Russia would lose, and this would be the most favorable situation for the Ocean Empire, and that the victory of Tsarist Russia would be acceptable, and at that time, the Imperial Navy would have a place to use and come forward to clean up the mess.

In the worst-case scenario, Fuso won, and given the Anglo-Japanese alliance, the Ocean Empire may have to coexist with the rapidly rising Fuso Navy for a long time.

This must be the situation that Britain wants to see the most, and the situation that the Ocean Empire least wants to see.

Li Siyuan has some documents on his desk, some of which are circulars, some of which are summaries of confidential information, some of which are briefings on people's livelihood and politics, and some are summaries of newspaper articles, major events in culture, education, and people's livelihood science and technology.

This is absolutely not seen in the study of other adult princes, and many of them belong to the top secret documents with a very high level of secrecy.

He is basically an idler now, and he will not have the opportunity to go to sea for at least the next six months.

Therefore, I can only bear to flip through these documents.

Most of these documents do not require instructions, many of them are incidents that have already been handled, and are in the nature of high-level notifications, and the relevant agencies will regularly deliver and recall the last batch of documents.

The documents approved by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will be forwarded to various departments for implementation.

Early February 1904

When a Muslim tribe rebelled in Mogadishu in Somali Prefecture, the local garrison dispatched a cavalry team of 370 people to suppress it, annihilating more than 2,000 militants and arresting nearly 10,000 black natives suspected of rebellion, thus effectively safeguarding the territorial integrity of the overseas states.

On 5 March, the last group of Humen mercenaries returned to Somali after completing their follow-up South African security contracts.

On April 11,

The test flight of the new biplane "Chuanyunyan" at the Toubaolang secret base was successful, with a speed of 233 kilometers per hour, a weight of 85 kilograms, and a world-leading performance.

April 28th

The 2nd International Tesla Awards Presentation Ceremony was held at the Royal Opera House of the Red River Valley, hosted by the Royal Academy of Sciences, and the prestigious Professor Tesla personally presided over the award ceremony.

……

July 9th

According to high-level intelligence from Fuso, the Japanese Combined Fleet will further increase the intensity and level of artillery training and will consume a huge amount of ammunition in order to achieve the effect of "every shot must hit," and this will be done at all costs.

For this reason, the Admiralty issued a large ammunition order to the United Kingdom, involving 305 mm heavy armor-piercing shells, high-explosive shells, 234 mm caliber armor-piercing shells and steam torpedoes, which it is not currently able to produce, with a total amount of 2.35 million pounds, requiring delivery in four and a half months.

……

On September 10, 1904, the third and fourth ships of the five "Borodino-class" battleships of Tsarist Russia ~ "Duke Suvorov" and "Eagle" were completed and put into service, and then joined the Second Pacific Fleet that was about to go to the Far East.

At this point, the main force of the Second Pacific Fleet of Tsarist Russia is basically in place, and it is about to start intensive training before the voyage, and it is expected to sail on a certain day in October.

Li Siyuan did not care much about the affairs of society and people's livelihood, and he just looked at it and put it aside.

With an annual investment of two or three million gold oceans, plus the social funds attracted by these princes using their influence, the money given by the palace maidens, and the relevant departments also specially escorted tens of thousands of indigenous slave laborers to participate in the construction, coupled with the arrival of open Chinese immigrants one after another, the construction of these two small islands is not a matter at all, what is it worth showing off?

If you can't build it like this, it's waste.

Li Siyuan saw it quickly, his expression seemed careless, he flipped through the previous document and put it aside, and picked up another thin top-secret report in his hand.

As soon as his eyes were met, suddenly his eyes were fixed on it, and he stood up in shock.

On September 17, 1904, under the auspices of Professor Tesla, the radio project team of the base successfully developed the "Navy Radio Range Finder", which is a major scientific and technological invention of pioneering significance, which is the first in the world.

Li Siyuan's hand holding the thin paper trembled a little, and his heart was boiling like a river and a sea, as an outstanding admiral, he knew too well the importance of the information recorded on the thin piece of paper in his hand.

Is this more than a groundbreaking major scientific and technological invention?

The importance of this is a scientific achievement that has the significance of disrupting the current world pattern, and its importance cannot be overemphasized.

With him, naval guns can be fired more accurately, which means an undoubted advantage in the battle for supremacy at sea.

In the 28 years since the development of the Royal Navy, it has the ability to wrestle with the world's top naval powers, and if the strength of the fleet is not much different, it is very confident that it can win.

This is based on the confidence of victory that has been built up over time, as well as the high standard of training.

Li Siyuan spared no expense in honing his gunner's skills for the Fuso Combined Fleet, so as to achieve "every shot must hit" as if choking in his throat, and he felt the threat of reality, especially the four words "every shot must hit", which was particularly dazzling.

It's not that the Japanese soldiers can really reach such a high level, it's just pure bragging, and Amakasu can't do it.

Rather, it is said that the unified understanding of the top brass of the Fuso Navy is extremely correct, and it coincides with the Royal Navy's Pacific Fleet in this regard, putting the main gun firing training in the first place, striving for excellence, and embodying the spirit of the oil seller.

Without it, only familiar hands.

Playing against such a naval fleet with accurate shooting skills is an invisible and enormous pressure for any admiral.

305-mm armor-piercing shells are not easy to bear, especially for cruisers and destroyers, which must be faced with a fearless spirit of sacrifice, and cannot look ahead and backwards.

The royal navy was prevalent in the aristocratic spirit, and it was for this reason that knightly bravery and sacrifice were promoted. Out of loyalty to the Empire and steadfastness in knightly faith, the spirit of sacrifice of naval officers and men was far stronger than that of the army.

In the rough sea, against a strong enemy, you can only rely on your comrades-in-arms and the steel giant ship you control, and leave life and death to God to decide.

The core of the more than 900 officers and men on the battleship "Three Marinda" is the crew members of the three 305 twin-mounted turrets, with a total of less than 70 people, and the deterrent power of the entire battleship mainly depends on their output.

What does it mean to have advanced "radio rangefinder" technology, coupled with the long range of a 44x caliber twin 305mm gun, and a faster speed of up to 22 knots?

Come to think of it

Li Siyuan couldn't stop trembling with excitement, and his heart was filled with great joy, with this groundbreaking technology, the Royal Navy fleet could "fly kites" from the opponent's range and crush the Fusang people into slag.

He couldn't sit still any longer, and sat down to sign his opinion on this top-secret circular;

In my capacity as an admiral, I would like to ask that the battleship "Samarinda" take the lead in testing and equipping the "navy radio rangefinder", and that our ship will fully cooperate with the scientific and technological experimenters to facilitate the equipping of the Royal Navy fleet with this revolutionary and advanced science and technology as soon as possible.

He solemnly signed his name at the end; Captain, Li Siyuan.