"Five hundred thousand?!" Zhu Cijiong was even more excited when he heard this, and he couldn't wait for the 500,000 troops of the European coalition army to kill Mumbai overnight and appear in front of them, so that he could kill happily.

I have to say, this guy is really a war maniac. Chongzhen's brows were suddenly twisted into Sichuan characters.

"Father, what's wrong with you?" Zhu Cijiong asked a little strangely,

"Isn't it just a bunch of local chickens and dogs? Two heavy machine guns are bursting, what's there to worry about? ”

"Jiong'er, don't be so arrogant." Chongzhen shook his head and said,

"The countries of Europe are still different from the khanates of Central Asia and the Mughal Empire, especially the Kingdom of France, which is still very powerful."

"Strong? How strong can it be? Zhu Cijiong said abruptly,

"Can you still be stronger than our Da Ming?" Chongzhen said: "It can't be compared with the Ming Dynasty, but it can't be underestimated with European countries, not to mention anything else, but the equipment ratio and accuracy of various firearms are by no means comparable to the khanates of Central Asia and the Mughal Empire." Chongzhen didn't say nonsense, although the Mughal Empire also had firearms troops, there were quite a few of them.

However, almost all of the Mughal Empire's firearms troops were mercenaries, all of whom were hired by Arab or European countries with a lot of money, and such an army obviously had no combat effectiveness at all, and once the momentum was not right, it would be scattered in an instant, as the results of the two battles of Peshawar and Lahore fully verified this.

But the armies of European countries still have some combat effectiveness. Especially not long after Europe had just finished the Thirty Years' War.

In the 30 years of war, a group of famous generals have been trained. Like France's Prince Condé, Dureny, Sweden's Karl X, Tolstensen and Wallenstein, but the latter two are most likely no longer alive.

But one thing must be admitted, after the Renaissance, the military strategy of Europe also advanced by leaps and bounds. All kinds of military theories, strategies and tactics are making rapid progress, and it is unfounded to say that Europe can erase the military art of China for thousands of years in a short period of time, but at least we should not treat European countries as foreign barbarians.

After a pause, Chongzhen said again: "And the Holy See has the ability to bridge the entire European world, which is really a bit unexpected, you must know that the Thirty Years' War in Europe has just ended, and it is difficult to bridge the rift between Catholic countries in a short time, but the Holy See can actually organize a coalition army." ”

"That can't help but make me worry about another, worse possibility."

"Father, what is the other possibility?" Zhu Cijiong asked confusedly. Chongzhen said: "In the past few years, the direction of the Ming Dynasty's use of troops, in addition to Korea, Wadao and Southeast Asian islands, is mainly Central Asia and Siberia, so compared with European countries, the pressure on Tsarist Russia and the Persian Savefa Empire, which is directly bordering our Ming Empire, seems to be greater. Zhu Cijiong reacted at this time: "Father is saying that Tsarist Russia and Persia will also send troops?" ”

"It's very likely." Chongzhen nodded,

"The European countries separated from the Ming Dynasty have organized a coalition army, and Tsarist Russia and the Saavifa Empire have realized the strength of our Ming Dynasty, and it is absolutely impossible to turn a blind eye."

"That's great, it's wonderful!" Zhu Cijiong slammed the knot,

"Let them come, the more the better, it's better to organize an army of millions, hahaha."

"Boy, don't be too crazy." Chongzhen couldn't help but remind his son.

"Your 1st Cavalry Corps now has only two divisions, and its ammunition reserves are also insufficient." Zhu Cijiong smiled and said, "Father, didn't you just say that you want to add five divisions to the 1st and 2nd Cavalry Corps?" As for the ammunition reserves, they can be replenished. ”

"What you said is quite light, and you can send personnel and materials over with a touch of your mouth?" Chongzhen said angrily: "Do you know that there are tens of thousands of miles from Jiangnan to Central Asia? ”

"What are you afraid of for tens of thousands of miles?" Zhu Cijiong smiled,

"The railway from Xi'an to Yinli is open to traffic, right?" The railway from Xi'an to Yinli was established at the beginning of the previous year, and it has been repaired for three whole years now, and it is said that more than one million laborers from Wadao, North Korea, and Southeast Asia have died.

"How do you know?"

"Hehe, big brother told me."

"That's right, the Yunxi Line is almost complete." Chongzhen said: "However, even if the Yunxi Line is through, the situation is not optimistic, because the Central Asia-Pacific region is large, nearly three thousand miles from Yinli to Samarkand, and most of them are difficult mountain roads, and the Gobi Gorge in the middle of the transport team is easy to be ambushed, so the situation is not as optimistic as you imagined." ”

"Father, it's not that complicated." Zhu Cijiong was a little unimpressed.

"It's a big deal that Erchen personally returned to Yin Li with a cavalry division to escort him, and he didn't need too much for supplies, or like before, there were almost as many ammunition as before."

"Not enough." Chongzhen shook his head and said,

"Against several khanates in Central Asia and the Mughal Empire, it is indeed enough to carry ten bases of ammunition, but against the coalition forces of the Western world, ten bases of ammunition is definitely not enough, and if Tsarist Russia and the Sawifa Empire in the south also participate in the war, twenty bases of ammunition may not be enough."

"Twenty bases of ammunition may not be enough?" Zhu Cijiong was a little unconvinced,

"Father, no."

"What not." Chongzhen Dao,

"Grandpa Tai said that strategically we must despise the enemy, but tactically we must pay attention to the enemy, yes, our Ming army has an absolute advantage in weapons and equipment, but the enemy is not stupid, they will definitely make changes after suffering a loss, especially in tactics will definitely improve, do you think the European coalition and the armies of Tsarist Russia and the Sawifa Empire will always adopt the same tactics?"

"Strategically to despise the enemy, tactically to value the enemy?" Zhu Cijiong said,

"Father, did Emperor Taizu Gao say this? Why is there no Emperor Ming in the ancestral training? Jiang Tianyi and the others were also confused, they hadn't heard of it.

"Eh, don't dwell on that." Chongzhen waved his hand and said,

"In short, you must not be careless, this war is unlike any previous war, it may last for 30 years or more, so we must be prepared, both in terms of manpower, material resources and strategy." Chongzhen repeatedly emphasized that he should not be careless, and Zhu Cijiong finally became calm.

Other high-ranking generals such as Jiang Tianyi, Li Yan, and Wang Fuzhi have become more serious than ever, and these high-ranking generals still maintain their original habits, and they will believe whatever Chongzhen says.

At that moment, Jiang Tianyi asked, "Holy Lord, how should I prepare?" Chongzhen groaned and said: "First of all, it is to prepare manpower, and leave 100,000 town soldiers for each of the six towns of Beizhi, Nanzhi, Huguang, Yunnan, Sichuan and Shaanxi to maintain public order in their own towns. ”

"Then let the Internal Affairs Office send twenty base ammunition of eight cavalry divisions to Yin Li as soon as possible, and at the same time send spare weapons and equipment for four cavalry divisions, in addition to military uniforms and uniforms and military rations, we must also prepare in advance."

"Also, it is in Yin Li to set up the former enemy headquarters, and I will personally sit in Yin Li to coordinate the overall situation." After a pause, Chongzhen said: "In addition to manpower and material resources, we must also make a strong response at the strategic level, we must not be passively beaten, and we must fight back from an angle that the enemy can't imagine." Zhu Cijiong, Jiang Tianyi and others looked at each other: "Fight back from an angle that the enemy can't think of?" ”

"That's right, from an angle that the enemy can't think of." Chongzhen Dao,

"Specifically, by sea." Compared with the army's machine guns and breech guns, the navy's steam ironclad ships actually have more obvious advantages.

Moreover, the advantages of sea transportation are not comparable to land transportation, the Zhou Yu-class cruiser of the Ming Navy can travel 10,000 miles with a coal addition, and the Zheng He-class cruiser can drive 20,000 miles with a coal addition.

Of course, this is a one-way trip, so the combat radius has to be halved. According to Casper's estimates, from Mumbai through the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa and then through the Strait of Gibraltar to Rome, the total mileage is about more than 40,000 miles, regardless of the premise of the return trip, the Zheng He class of the Ming Navy can reach Rome with two times of coal, and the Zheng He class can also reach Rome with four times of coal, and the time will not exceed two months.

Therefore, as long as four colonial strongholds are built along the way, the Ming Navy can directly attack the Roman city where the Holy See is located, so that the entire Western world will inevitably shake, and the Second Crusade will be stopped.

Chongzhen took a pen and drew five circles on the map. Then he said: "Madagascar, South Africa, Cameroon, Senegal and Morocco, the navy should establish bases in these five regions as soon as possible, and then let the Nanyang and Indian companies reserve enough coal in these five bases as soon as possible, and of course, before establishing these five bases, it is necessary to clear the bases of European countries." "The Daming Navy now has absolute superiority, and the Air Force has matured.

Therefore, it is not difficult to clear the colonial strongholds of European countries along this shipping route. It's a bit difficult to transport and store enough coal for the three fleets to get to these bases.

After thinking about it, Chongzhen said again: "Otherwise, let the Academy of Sciences send several geological exploration teams to explore near various colonial strongholds to see if you can find high-quality coal mines?" The Ming Dynasty's overseas territories were not allowed to develop industry, but mining was essential, and coal mining could be done first. Hearing this, Zhu Cijiong and Jiang Tianyi and other senior generals finally understood Chongzhen's intentions.

"Father, are you going to smash the Yellow Dragon?" Zhu Cijiong said excitedly,

"No, it's going straight to Rome!"