Late May 1909

In the cold season of the southern hemisphere, Fuso Prime Minister Katsura Taro and his entourage paid an official state visit to the Ocean Empire, and his itinerary from Tokyo to Manila, Tianshu (Shangri-La Island), Qingdao, lasted more than 20 days to arrive in the Red River Valley metropolitan area, during which he held comprehensive friendly talks with the cabinet ministers headed by the Imperial Prime Minister Count Fan Zhongzhai (newly promoted), and committed to developing long-term good-neighborly and friendly relations between the two countries.

One day in early June

Daming Palace

It coincided with the monthly court meeting, a hundred officials met with him, and the Prime Minister of Fuso led a delegation to Hajj His Majesty, and Emperor Li Fushou held a banquet in the main hall to entertain and reach a consensus on good-neighborliness and friendship, reciprocal trade, cultural exchanges, personnel exchanges and other matters between the two countries.

After the court meeting, the Holy Lord Li Fushou left the Prime Minister Fan Zhongzhai alone to summon him.

"If you have nothing to do, go to the Three Treasures Palace, let's say, what are those Japanese slaves thinking?" Li Fushou waved his hand with a warm expression and asked Prime Minister Fan Zhongzhai to sit down and talk.

Prime Minister Fan Zhongzhai bowed and thanked him, then sat down and replied with a smile;

"Back to Your Majesty's words, I really can't hide anything from the Holy Lord, Katsura Taro does have a request for the Empire.

So-called; If you are courteous to others, you will ask for something.

Katsura Taro is a proud disciple of the veteran of Fusang County, the successor of the mantle, and he practices the **** expansion policy of Yama County Youpeng, which is not a good bird in the first place.

During his tenure as Minister of War and the first Prime Minister, he supported and launched the invasion of Korea, launched the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, and took the expansion of the living space of the Yamato nation as his own responsibility, advocated imperialism, and was a representative of the hardliners in the political arena of Fuso.

He and Xiyuan Temple Gongwang formed a pattern of taking turns in the political arena, and successively took charge of the Fuso cabinet, and they were one of the most influential figures in East Asian politics.

After the Russo-Japanese War

The people of Fuso have spent all their efforts to eat milk, won the war but lost their blood, and still owe more than 2 billion yuan in huge debts that have not been repaid, and although the economy has developed rapidly after the war, the Fuso government has been overwhelmed by the huge amount of interest every year.

Therefore, the Katsura Taro cabinet had no choice but to put its mind on the high military spending of the army and navy, and continued to reduce military expenditures, of which the navy was the majority, which caused the Fuso Navy to complain, and the combined fleet had no fuel costs for more than half a year to go to sea for training.

It's not ...... Seeing the Imperial Expeditionary Force galloping across North America, invincible, the saliva of these Japanese slaves was three feet long, and they were thinking that they could scrape a lot of oil and water.

Prime Minister Katsura Taro said privately;

Any task of overcoming difficulties can be handed over to the 3rd Division of Fusang State, and it is guaranteed to unconditionally obey the orders of the General Headquarters of the Expeditionary Force, gnaw the hardest bones, fight the most difficult battles, and never be afraid of bloodshed and sacrifice.

They have prepared 7,000 reserve soldiers for the 3rd Division on their homeland, which can replenish the combat strength of the front at any time, all of them are retired veterans of the existing regular divisions and regiments, if not enough.

The appeal is also very simple;

Of the 2.7 billion yen debt that Fuso owes today, it owes 1.1 billion yen to the United Kingdom, it owes us 820 million yen, it owes 587 million yen to the people of the United States, and it owes other countries. If you add the interest arrears for most of the year, then the debt to the people of the United States is almost 600 million or a little more.

The intention of the Katsura Taro government was whether the debt of more than 600 million yen could be reduced after the war, even if only partially.

In addition, the country is very rich, and it is hoped that the headquarters of the expeditionary force can be more lenient in management, so that the Japanese troops can capture more. ”

"That's all?"

"Katsura Taro couldn't figure out what we meant, so his expression was extremely humble, and he looked like he wanted to say goodbye, so I didn't ask in detail."

"Oh......"

Li Fushou replied casually, and his slender fingers gently tapped the desk, calculating;

Over the years, the Japanese slaves have been made a little ruthless by themselves, and their national strength is far less than the peak of the same period in history.

Over the years, a total of three shots have been made, all of which have dealt heavy blows to Fuso.

The first time was in early 1886, when the "Bombardment of Nagasaki Incident" broke out, forcing Fuso to formulate the "Nagasaki Seventeen Articles" that humiliated the country, established a concession, and used Fuso and Korea as a dumping ground for goods, and made a lot of money.

In that battle, several major ironclad ships that Fuso had painstakingly developed for more than 10 years were sunk and severely damaged, and the achievements of many years of naval development were burned.

In 1885, the 3,600-ton Naniwa and Takachiho fast cruisers were captured and began their service in the Imperial Navy.

It's a pity that these two cutting-edge warships have only served in Fuso for a few months, have served in the Imperial Navy for more than 23 years, and are still contributing the rest of their lives to the African fleet.

The second time was after the First Sino-Japanese War, the Battle of Makiko sank most of the main force of the Combined Fleet, forcibly divided 35 million taels of silver after the First Sino-Japanese War, and intervened with Russia and France to return to Taiwan, causing the Fuso Kingdom to lose Taiwan and Penghu, and abandon the Ryukyu Kingdom that had been invaded.

The third time was in the Russo-Japanese War, through disguised support for Tsarist Russian materials, this bloody war was fought longer, the losses were greater, and the sinking was deeper.

Originally historical

After the Russo-Japanese War, Fuso owed a huge war debt of more than 1 billion yen, and now that figure has skyrocketed to 2.7 billion yen, an increase of two and a half times.

As a direct result, Fuso's finances almost collapsed, and it defaulted on its debts for many years, and it was unable to repay the huge interest of more than 100 million yen a year, let alone the principal of the debt.

The battle in North America gave the Fuso people a chance to breathe.

Although Li Fushou doesn't sympathize with these little devils of the Japanese country at all, considering the blind pressure, in fact, there is no half benefit, forcing the little devils to default on their debts directly, anyway, barefoot is not afraid to wear shoes, what can you do with him?

How did the mustache come to power after the First World War, isn't that it?

The noose around the neck is loosened, at least so that the little devil has the ability to earn money to pay off his debts.

Come to think of it

Li Fushou gently bowed his head in agreement; "It can be seen from the Russo-Japanese War that the Fuso people are humble and polite, but in fact, the wolf is ambitious, an out-and-out ruthless character, and has always had a strong desire for expansion in Korea and the Manchurian region.

The British thought they could control the Japanese slaves, but that was just an illusion.

When the Japanese slaves are full-fledged and it is difficult to guarantee that they will not bite back, you have to keep in mind for me that the Japanese slaves are a white-eyed wolf that cannot be raised, and they will be rampant.

Katsura Taro's request can be responded to appropriately in good faith, but we can't take care of this thing, after all, it is a collective action of more than a dozen countries, and you want to forgive so many debts at once, what about others?

As soon as you open your mouth, it is hundreds of millions, and all this real money is blown by the wind?

So you have to have a degree, and you have to control this yourself. ”

"Wechen understands, the expeditionary force is ......," Prime Minister Fan Zhongzhai asked.

"You convey my meaning to Marshal Li, he will master the proportions, and burn down the ruthless role of 100,000 American troops in Salt Lake City, the 3rd Division will be played in his hands every minute, and if you want to shine in North America, you can only dream of it, and the glory must belong to the expeditionary force."

After listening to the words of the saint today, Fan Zhongzhai couldn't help but shake his head with a smile and said; "Your Majesty, you see...... I'm also salty and don't worry about eating radishes, which makes you laugh. ”

"Zhong Zhai, you and I have been together for many years, and our friendship is deep, how can we talk about laughing?"

The light words stirred Fan Zhongzhai's inner emotions to stir, and he was moved to tears for a while, and said in a choked voice; "Wechen has been fortunate to follow His Majesty for more than 30 years, personally experienced and participated in the creation of a great empire, and is fortunate to be entrusted by His Majesty, and he has no regrets in this life and death."

"Have you been so many years?" Li Fushou also lost his mind for a while.

Time flies

It has been 33 years since he first set foot on the Brisbane docks in 1876, and he has grown from a 16-year-old young man to a wealthy generation of emperors.

"Your Majesty has been in Australia for 33 years, and the time of one-third of Jiazi has been vicissitudes, and the empire stands proudly in the western Pacific Ocean, dominating tens of thousands of miles from east to west, tens of thousands of miles from north to south. Fan Zhongzhai bowed his head and bowed again.

"Zhongzhai, please, don't be polite." Li Fushou stretched out his hand and helped him for a while, and quickly came back to his senses from his emotion.

Counting the life

It is the two great achievements of the First World War to quell the dispute between the north and the south of Australia and the current war in North America, which he is most proud of from the bottom of his heart.

The former is a battle for the founding of the country, and its importance is not to be mentioned, but there is a public opinion in history.

Now that the ongoing war in North America has ushered in the dawn of victory, after the all-round strangulation of the US naval forces, the advantage is obvious, and the overall situation is basically decided, and it is difficult to turn the tables.

Don't look at the fact that the people of the United States organize 100,000 militias at every turn, it seems amazing, but in front of the Ocean Empire Expeditionary Force with modern machinery and equipment, it is a plate of scattered sand, and no matter how many people are piled up, it is useless.

Now is no longer the era of the tactics of piling up crowds, and the mechanized corps represented by tanks and automobiles are showing their fierce faces, especially in the central and eastern Great Plains of the United States, where they can carry out a wide range of in-depth penetration, detours, and thousands of miles of advances, and strike hard at the soft defensive belly of the US army.

Isn't that head watt?

The reason why it has not been moved now is to give the people of the United States time to constantly strengthen the defense line, accumulate troops, and destroy it in a battle when confidence is bursting, so that the wound is the deepest, the blow is the heaviest, and the collapse is the fastest.

The prolonged delay was not a good thing for the expeditionary force.

In Li Fushou's heart;

The best plan is to fight the war in North America at the end of 1909 or the first half of 1910, and not to drag it out for too long, because it is easy for the veteran soldiers of the division to get tired and lose their offensive sharpness.

As long as he succeeded in winning the North American War, he basically laid a vast territory for the empire to radiate to the five continents, and Li Fushou's goal was to take the land of the four states of the Northern Federation and merge them into the empire's territory by paying for it.

Because the way to redeem the money is the most uncontroversial, this set of rice people play the most slippery, and now the ocean empire has appeared, in the early 20th century, this last chance to change the world map, a big vote.

Originally, he only considered Oregon and Washington on the Pacific coast, and these two states should be taken down anyway, and then support the independence of the Republic of California, so that the United States will completely lose the ports on the eastern Pacific coast, no longer have the benefits of two oceans, and turn the vast Pacific Ocean into an imperial inland lake, and gallop at will.

But the Royal Navy was particularly effective, the Royal Army performed equally well, and the war went surprisingly well, which made Li Fushou's greed a little bigger.

Of the seven North American states west of the Rocky Mountains, the Northern Confederacy includes Oregon, Washington, Iowa, and Utah, a total of four states, which is much larger than originally planned for the Ocean Empire.

The Republic of California hopes to annex Nevada, which will greatly enhance the depth and territory of the Republic of California, and is expected to grow into a North American regional power.

This wish was initially approved by Li Fushou, and the rest was to transfer some defense affairs, which were very simple to operate.

Of the seven states west of the Rocky Mountains, only Arizona is still out on the line.

Strictly speaking

There is no administrative division of Arizona, which is part of New Mexico, which would not be able to be divided into the 48th state of the U.S. Union until 1912.

Li Fushou followed the habit of his previous life and regarded it as a separate state.

From a defensive point of view;

The Rocky Mountains are a natural geographical dividing line that stretches from north to south across the North American continent, and as long as it controls the desert Gobi Pass between Salt Lake City and Arizona in the south, the United States cannot pose a threat to the Republic of California and the Northern Union.

Today, there is nothing in the Arizona area, and Phoenix is just a small town with a population of 10,000, which is already the largest city in the entire region, and it is a reservation of Indian traditions, and the Republic of California has little interest in the area.

The Arizona region is described as dry air, cold mountains, as if there is no end of the world in sight.

The high and low straight roads, the red rocky highlands where no grass grows, and the dusty weeds in the desert give birth, presenting a desolate scene from the Gobi.

Even if you travel together, the destination is far away, the miles are endless, and the deeper you go, the more lonely you feel

It's a lonely place, uninhabited for hundreds of miles.

Arizona was inhabited by the Hopi, Papago, Pima, Apache, and Navajo Indians in its early days, and in 1540 a Spanish expedition arrived in search of the legendary Seven Golden Cities.

In 1776, the Spaniards established a settlement in Tucson.

After the independence of Mexico, the New Mexico region including Arizona was established in 1824, and after the Mexican-American War in 1848, it belonged to the United States, and now there are more than 200,000 Indians living in this vast land, which is the only area in the entire United States where there are more Indians than whites.

Li Fushou in the area doesn't want it from the bottom of his heart, why?

If you want the Arizona region, then the geographical situation is equivalent to holding the Republic of California around your chest, and you will inevitably have to hoard quite strong troops in the Arizona region and Salt Lake City to fight against the hostility of the people after the war.

This greatly increased the military burden of the empire, which was equivalent to carrying the homeland security of the Republic of California completely on its shoulders, standing on the front line of the military confrontation with the United States, and moving forward with a heavy burden.

It can be seen from Argentina's post-war arrangements and the deployment of Panama that Li Fushou likes to put Chile in front of the gun, rather than standing on the front line of confrontation.

The Republic of California is not stupid either, and he does not want the Arizona region either.

There aren't many options right now, either to make New Mexico independent, or Texas, which has just declared independence, right next to New Mexico, which is also a potential option.

To be honest, the Ocean Empire is now overwhelmed, and it really doesn't have the energy to take care of such a large territory.