Native Australia

Daming Palace, East Pole Palace

"What...... Why is the Bosnian crisis getting worse again? Li Fushou asked in surprise.

This coincided with the twice-weekly Hajj pilgrimage, and the emperor convened a group of ministers to the court.

This question is suitable for Foreign Minister Tang Shaoyi to answer, and he should not stand up and bow his hand, and replied;

"Your Majesty;

Since the outbreak of the Bosnian crisis in September last year, the situation has been repeated in the period of repeated diplomatic mediation by European countries, and the situation has always danced on the brink of war, and the situation is full of dangers.

At the beginning of 1909

The Serbian government lodged the strongest protest against Austria-Hungary and began a military mobilization, while at the same time appealing to Russia for help, which also sent large armies to the border for military deterrence.

Austria-Hungary relied on Germany's support to take a very tough attitude, refused to convene an international conference, refused international mediation, and amassed troops on the Austro-Serbian border to threaten it.

The two sides were tense and at one point on the brink of war.

In February 1909, the pro-German Ottoman Young Turk government, with the support of Germany, signed an agreement with Austria-Hungary to relinquish the nominal suzerainty of Poland and Herzegovina at a cost of £2.5 million.

The signing of the agreement made Germany and Austria-Hungary even more tough on Russia.

In March, Germany sent a threatening note to Russia:

Russia was asked to urge Serbia to recognize the fait accompli of the annexation of the two provinces by Austria-Hungary, and that if Russia continued to support Serbia, Germany and Austria would fight against Russia.

This is no longer a threat of war, but a naked declaration of war.

Russia was forced to make concessions due to the situation's internal and external difficulties, and put pressure on Serbia to abandon its mobilization for the anti-Austrian war and to stop all anti-Austrian actions.

On 22 March, the Cypriot government was forced to announce the cancellation of the protests, and a crisis that had almost led to war had subsided.

Soon after, however, Tsarist Russia learned that Britain, France, Germany, and other countries, together with Italy and Austria-Hungary, had tried to mediate between the two sides of the "Wool War" in an international manner, and had never informed the Tsarist side from beginning to end.

Nicholas II was furious at this;

He felt that Britain and France did not attach importance to Tsarist Russia as an ally at all, and that they were simply treating Tsarist Russia as a toilet, taking it when it was needed and discarding it when it was not needed, and it was simply unbearable.

As a result, the Bosnian crisis, which had been calming down, worsened again, and the Russian army had entered Serbia on a large scale, which greatly encouraged Serbia's confidence in trying to solve national unity by war, and the situation in Europe tended to deteriorate again.

Had it not been for a miracle, a Balkan war would have been inevitable.

The Bosnian crisis further deepened the contradictions between Tsarist Russia and Germany, Austria, and Serbia and Austria, and exacerbated the internal contradictions within the Entente countries, and Tsarist Russia threatened to withdraw from the Anglo-Russian alliance and the Franco-Russian alliance, leaving Britain and France alone to face the pressure of the German, Italian, and Austrian Triple Alliance.

At present, high-level British and French delegations are urgently traveling to St. Petersburg to try to repair relations between the allies. ”

Foreign Minister Tang Zhaoyi's answer was clear, and even other ministers who did not understand foreign affairs could understand the cause and effect of the past and gain insight into grievances.

"Dog eats dog, a mouthful of hair."

Li Fushou frowned, and with a wave of his hand, he defined the Bosnian crisis, which was simple and rude, and very vivid.

The Balkan crisis involved the vital interests of the European powers, and also involved a lot of their energy, and in order to deal with the military threat of Tsarist Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary also began to make military movements, forcing France to make military adjustments to deal with it.

If Tsarist Russia makes such a fuss, the Bosnian crisis will not be resolved in a short time.

This greatly involved their attention to the "Wool Wars", and bought more time for the Ocean Empire, which is a great thing from this point of view.

Li Fushou touched his chin and thought about it: Can you give strong support to Tsarist Russia in this matter?

After thinking about it, he felt that it was not appropriate to act rashly.

Even the military support in the secret will arouse a high degree of vigilance in Britain and France, and touch their sensitive nerves, and it is better not to play with fire in this matter, lest the British jump over the wall in a hurry.

Come to think of it

He smacked his mouth regretfully and muttered; "It's a pity, now is the time when the Tsarist Russian woolly bear needs support the most, but I can't intervene, which is a pity."

Obedient and listening

Prime Minister Fan Zhongzhai smiled bitterly when he heard this, and stepped forward to salute; "Your Majesty, the most important goal of the current empire is to win the wool war, and it is not appropriate to make extraneous branches.

Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Austria and other world powers did not intervene in the wool war, which was the greatest support for the empire, and it was best to maintain the current situation.

Wechen thought; We should reciprocate by supporting a peaceful resolution of the Bosnian crisis. ”

"What Aiqing said is very true, I just feel a little regretful." Li Fushou shook his head, not wanting to think about the things in Europe anymore, looked at Mo Rufeng, Minister of War, and asked; "How is the war on the North American front being prepared?"

Mo Rufeng stepped forward and returned the salute;

"Returning to Your Majesty;

The Republic of California became officially independent on March 15, and the Empire, together with the Kingdom of the Ryukyus, Vietnam, Lanfang, Chile, and Uruguay, took the lead in recognizing and establishing further diplomatic relations.

By His Majesty's will

The Battle of Rocky Hill was scheduled to begin on April 3, with both the army and navy working together to surprise the new U.S. President Woodrow Wilson.

At present, the various units involved in the Battle of Rocky Mountain are advancing one after another, arriving at the front line in Nevada one after another, and confronting the American army from afar.

The Panamanian troops have arrived at the ports on the Atlantic side, and are carrying out large-scale loading of materials and military equipment, which is expected to be completed within 5~6 days, and then arrange for the troops to board the ship in an orderly manner and go to the east coast of North America under the escort of the naval formation.

At this point, the War Office and the Admiralty are working closely together to ensure that this gift is delivered on April 3. ”

"Hmm...... Very good" Li Fushou did not hesitate to praise.

The Royal Army Expeditionary Force fought very well in the North American theater, the Northern Army blitzed Seattle, the Southern Army encircled and annihilated the enemy in Los Angeles in one fell swoop, and other battles were remarkable, and the most brilliant was the Battle of San Francisco.

The North American Expeditionary Force was divided into two corps, the North Army, including the Royal Army's Armored Honor Division 1, after landing on Eugene Beach, destroyed the city all the way, invincible, invincible, and swept through the Pacific coast of Oregon and Washington in only six and a half days, and shocked the world in World War I.

After more than ten days of separation, the Southern Army led its army northward in the San Francisco Metropolitan Area north of Los Angeles and completely controlled the situation in California after successively defeating and annihilating the invading enemies of Santa Barbara and Los Angeles.

At this time, the commander of the Army in San Francisco was President Roosevelt's friend and former Secretary of State Rohn, who returned to Pittsburgh after his resignation to form an infantry division and lead it to the San Francisco front.

Because former Secretary of State Rune was a senior army general before entering politics, he naturally became the commander-in-chief of the U.S. forces in San Francisco, and with the rank of lieutenant general, Rune commanded a total of 230,000 troops and militia gathered in the San Francisco area, and built a deep defense line dominated by trenches and barbed wire, known as the "Rune Line".

The "Rune Line" took the reinforced concrete fortress as the fulcrum of firepower, built with the help of bridges, roads, lakes and other terrain, dug as many as 240 kilometers of trenches, more than 3,300 kilometers of barbed wire, and the defense front was up to 77 kilometers wide, criss-crossed, and hoarded heavy troops for defense, which was a hard nut to bite.

In just half a month, the "Rune Line" was initially built, and it can be seen that Lieutenant General Rune is a talented person with real materials, who can govern the army when he gets on the horse and govern the country when he gets off the horse.

The main force of the Southern Corps, led by the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force, General Li Xuanzhu, went north, but was blocked by the Levin defensive line, and fierce fighting broke out between the two sides in the area for several days.

When the expeditionary force is attacking

Generally, the California Independence Army will be used as the lead attack, and after detecting the firepower configuration of the US army, it will immediately suppress the army fire and accompany the Royal Army armored attack to break through the position in one fell swoop.

The U.S. Army counterattacked on the spot after losing its position, taking advantage of the great depth of the "Rune Line" to delay the enemy, and then investing a steady stream of troops to reduce the offensive spirit of the Imperial Expeditionary Force, and squeezing the enemy out of the position after paying a heavy price.

The two sides went back and forth, killing flesh and blood, and the situation was once very fierce, causing nearly 6,000 casualties of the US military every day.

On the other hand, the attacking Imperial Expeditionary Force, with a casualty rate of less than 1/10 of that of the United States, showed skillful combat skills, fierce fighting, dense firepower, and a very sharp attack momentum.

The California Independence Army (CAA) that coordinated the offensive suffered much more casualties, with more than 1,000 casualties per day.

Such heavy casualties of the U.S. military were completely expected by Lieutenant General Rune, and they were also within the capacity of the United States.

The brave and ruthless rice cowboy has enough blood, enough courage to dare to fight in the face of a strong enemy, but he has not undergone systematic military training, and often suffers a large number of kills and injuries after breaking through the position, and can push the enemy out with the tactics of crowds.

As a result, the casualty rate must remain high.

After the Battle of San Francisco began, a steady stream of reinforcements arrived from the central and western parts of the country, exceeding the size of one division a day, and after eight days of fierce fighting between the two sides, the strength of the "Rune Line" increased instead of decreasing, reaching the scale of nearly 260,000 men, further consolidating the defensive line.

It seems that the most dangerous time has passed.

Lieutenant General Rune never expected that the response of the American army was already in the plan of the expeditionary force.

The Southern Army led by General Li Xuanzhu was not unable to break through the "Rune Line", but it was unwilling to increase the investment of follow-up forces, resulting in the offensive often ending in failure, which had a deeper intention.

On the one hand, the expeditionary force was using the "Rune Line" to sharpen its knives and test various offensive tactics. On the one hand, it firmly attracted the main force of the US military like a magnet, forcing it to continuously increase its investment in the San Francisco front line and consume the strength of the US army. On the one hand, it has already activated its rear hand and is ready to deal a fatal blow to the US military.

The main force of the Northern Corps in Seattle mobilized in the name of military exercises, mobilized thousands of miles through the developed railway lines in North America, and raided Sacramento, which was weakly defended north of San Francisco, and then immediately launched an armored mobile attack, taking advantage of the developed highway lines in the San Francisco metropolitan area, and marched 221 kilometers in nine hours, giving the "Rune Line" a severe knife from behind.

The "Rune Line" was completely shattered like an egg sandwiched between two sledgehammers, and the 260,000-strong army was wiped out in one day.

Since then, the Americans have been cast a deep psychological shadow by the expeditionary force, which cannot be completely erased after a hundred years.

This battle was also the battle of the Royal Army, which has since been recognized by the world powers as the top army with strong combat effectiveness, not inferior to the German Army, and proudly stepped onto the altar.

Li Fushou is very satisfied with the progress of the Royal Army, after decades of tempering and development, the Royal Army and Navy have now produced a large number of commanders and talents, shining like stars, showing a glorious era that the rising dynasty should have, which makes him very gratified.

The upcoming Battle of Rocky Hill is not an enlarged version of the Battle of San Francisco?

Li Fushou was very relieved about the combat effectiveness of the Imperial Expeditionary Force and the command ability of the generals in front, and the current situation was very good, which made the atmosphere in the East Pole Hall very relaxed.

Talking about the current situation in Europe, Li Fushou said with a smile;

"Nikolai is making such a fuss, and it is estimated that the Bosnian crisis will not be resolved in a short time, which will give us more time to solve the North American problem, which is really good news.

But we can't stop our pace, we must always maintain a sense of urgency, be able to complete the time node in advance, try to complete it in advance, and firmly control the initiative in our own hands.

To see

Once it landed on the east coast of North America, it would inevitably cause a shock in Europe and even the world, and the work that the diplomatic department had been laying down for a long time came in handy.

We can't eat this big fat meat in the United States, sharing is the king, anyway, the wool is out of the sheep, as long as it can eliminate the European pressure of dismembering North America, complete the strategic planning intention, and pay some benefits is completely acceptable.

The diplomatic department should follow up in a timely manner to convey the goodwill of the empire to the European powers and welcome them to join in.

In this regard, it is possible to use the always greedy Japan and Russia to dispel the last concerns of the European powers, but in fact, it is a bit of a shame and a cloud in the face of real interests. ”

"Respectfully receive the holy message, Weichen does not dare to slack off, this is the top priority of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at present, it has been arranged, and the ambassadors of the host countries are ready, waiting for the sky to fall apart on April 3." Foreign Minister Tang Zhaoyi replied respectfully.

"Do the work a little bit more detailed, remember."

"The minister obeys the order, and he will not dare to live up to His Majesty's high hopes."

"Hmm......" After Li Fushou explained, he turned his head and said to the Minister of the Admiralty; Hit the East Coast, and your Admiralty will not be interested in the 13 battleships that the Yankees are building? ”

"Your Majesty, the U.S. Navy warships are different from the imperial standards, the design concept is outdated, although it is a newly built warship, but it has lagged behind the trend of "full-caliber heavy artillery" in the world today, and it can be used as a heavy patrol if it is changed.

But the slow pace of these new ships is also too occupied, and there is not much interest on the part of the Admiralty.

Admiral Zhang Daoru intends to include the two battleships that have been completed at the Hampton anchorage to form an Atlantic Fleet with the other five captured American battleships, which can also be unified in terms of logistics and ammunition supply. ”

"You guys, all your mouths are raised." Li Fushou said jokingly, which caused a burst of laughter among the ministers in the hall.

Isn't it?

The 13 battleships that the people of the United States worked hard to build have not yet left the factory, and they have been disliked by the Imperial Royal Navy, how can this be reasonable?