peacetime

Under the Royal Army of the Tang Empire, there are seven permanent command structures at the military region level, namely the Northern Military Region (stationed in Chicago), the Southern Military Region (stationed in Mexico City), the Central Military Region (stationed in Los Angeles), the Overseas Military Region (stationed in Panama), the General Headquarters of the Tang Empire in North America (stationed in New York), the Fortress and Territorial Defense Command, and the Andean Governor's Office Command.

These seven military region-level institutions are all permanent military institutions in peacetime, and the total strength of the military is maintained between 380,000 and 400,000, which fluctuates according to the different mission periods.

If it comes to wartime

The elite troops from the major military regions were transferred to form a field corps, and the temporary corps was given the number of the corps, which was abolished after the war, and the units under its command were rebuilt one after another.

Among them, the most powerful book strength is the Tang Empire General Headquarters in North America, with more than 200,000 troops stationed in the United States of America all year round, and an average of 4.2~45,000 demobilized soldiers per year.

The weakest on paper is the headquarters of the Andean Governor's Palace, which has only two field divisions and 5 garrison regiments, one of which is still the 2nd Royal Marine Division, which is only temporarily under the command of the Andean Governor's Palace.

After a brief stop of a few days in the city of Lagoon, and a programmatic decree on the development of the local economy, Emperor Richard and his entourage once again took the royal train through the province of Costa Rica without stopping and reached Panama, the southernmost province of the empire.

The province of Panama is the last province in the empire by area, with only two major cities at its narrowest point, just over 60 kilometers at its narrowest point.

One is the provincial capital, Panama City, on the Pacific side. It is a large city with a total population of more than 690,000 people and the largest city in the surrounding region of Central America.

One is the city of Colón on the Caribbean side, which is connected by a railway line about 78 kilometers long, known as the Panama Railway.

The railroad was the busiest commercial railroad in the entire empire, and it prospered by transporting countless quantities of goods to cities on the Pacific coast.

Exports are transported by rail from Panama to Cologne, where they are loaded onto scheduled freighter flights to Europe and arrive at the port of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom in about 17 days.

Imports also landed in Cologne, were transported by rail to Panama, and loaded onto cargo ships to major cities along the Pacific coast of the Empire.

In terms of bulk material transportation

The low cost of sea freight has a huge advantage, even if it is through the Panama land port, it is much cheaper than rail transportation.

From the prosperous metropolitan areas of the Pacific coast of the Tang Empire, there were four channels for exports to Europe, three of which were transported by rail.

The easiest way to head east is to reach New York or Richmond, from where it can be loaded onto a ship to Europe, which can be reached in as little as 12 days.

The disadvantage is that the cross-border transportation procedures are complicated, the transportation cost is high, and the timeliness is not strong because of the efficiency of the terminal and railway station.

On the contrary, it is often encountered in the loss of goods, damage, moisture and other reasons, which is quite troublesome to solve, but it is the most uneconomical and less used export channel.

The second is by rail north to Chicago or Detroit, where it is loaded onto ships across the Great Lakes into the Atlantic Ocean and finally to Europe.

This route takes about two weeks and is a priority for exporters in the north when shipping some of the higher-value goods.

The third option is to rail south to the Port of Houston, Texas, or the ports of the Gulf Coast, from where it will take about two weeks to ship to Europe.

Most of the frozen beef and fruit exports in the southern provinces adopt this method, which is closer and more convenient.

The fourth option is to pass through the land port of Panama by sea, and more than seventy percent of the bulk exports are by sea, and the railway transportation of one or two thousand kilometers is worth a lot of money, or it is cheaper to transport by sea.

Even after 76 kilometers of rail transshipment, it is much cheaper than long-distance rail transportation.

Cologne is a medium-sized city with a population of about 370,000, and its main industries are ocean cargo transit, rail transport services and warehousing services, with a wide range of warehouse areas.

More than 80% of the city's residents are engaged in a variety of warehousing and transportation services, and the economy is relatively wealthy after years of prosperous trade.

The Royal Army's Overseas Military District Command is located in Cologne, as is the Royal Navy's Caribbean Squadron and several important naval bases.

A few years later

The opening of the Nicaragua Canal, which connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, has had the greatest impact on the province's economy.

When the royal train arrived in Cologne, it was already the beginning of June 1873, and it was about to enter the hottest season of the year, and the daytime sun was quite hot, and the maximum temperature reached 26~27 degrees.

It has a typical oceanic island climate, with cool morning and evening breezes, and occasional rains that make the air even more humid.

The city of Colón is an ancient city with a history of more than 760 years, and there are still temple buildings and altars with the imprint of the Inca civilization, and more Catholic churches and Mediterranean-style buildings built by the Spaniards.

In the more than 20 years since the empire was founded, with economic prosperity and colonial expansion, this ancient city has also been revitalized, with high-rise buildings rising from the ground.

Now

It has become one of the beautiful port cities on the Caribbean coast, with coconut winds, blue sea and silver sand, presenting a romantic and beautiful scenery, which often makes people forget to return.

This is indeed a relaxed and livable city, and it is common to see officers and soldiers on leave in military uniforms on the streets, both the army and the navy, wandering in groups from street to alley, or hurrying through the streets with their girlfriends in their arms, leaving a string of envious glances behind them.

Most of the people on the city streets are Chinese-American with black hair and black eyes, and you can't tell who the Indians are from the language to the way they dress?

Panama was one of the first overseas provinces to integrate into the Tang Empire, and it has already formed a trend of advocating imperial fashion.

It is common to wear a light-colored loose Tang costume and a light-colored wide-brimmed cowboy hat here, and to communicate in Chinese with a slight accent, which is difficult to distinguish at first glance.

If you discern carefully, you can still appreciate the subtle differences.

The Tang people appeared more high-spirited and confident, revealing the pride and pride of the Celestial Empire.

If the British are arrogant and the French are self-confident, then the Tang Empire has also cultivated its own characteristics.

can always reveal a surging sense of superiority, subtle but not restrained.

in other words

It can always make others feel this sense of superiority from the culture and strength of the Celestial Empire, but it is not strong or straightforward, reflecting the golden mean of the Chinese nation.

The Holy Driver secretly arrived in the city of Cologne without much fanfare.

But sensitive clones are able to be spotted by citizens;

The city's more than 130 policemen were almost fully dispatched, and many military personnel on duty were on the road, but the number of officers and men on leave was suddenly much smaller.

This has made the always lively city bars, teahouses and green houses a lot of business, is there any big man here?

On a teahouse near the bay

I don't know when, Richard, who was dressed in disguise, came out again, sitting alone on a seat near the window drinking tea and watching the scenery, looking leisurely.

On the other tables in the teahouse, there sat General Liu Wu, dressed as a civilian, Liang Bojun, deputy director of the Secretariat, and several skilled Praetorian Guard officers, with vigilant eyes on guard.

His Majesty the Emperor now seems to be obsessed with private visits to micro-services, and when he is in the imperial capital Chang'an, he often disappears for a day or two or two or three days, and no one knows where he went?

Now that I am inspecting the provinces and localities, I have to come out and experience the fireworks in this market, and those who are energetic can't complain, just like young people.

Emperor Richard never pondered the thoughts of his subordinates, he leisurely sipped tea, and looked at the 8,600-ton ironclad giant ship "Zhenhai" quietly moored in the harbor, with a satisfied look in his eyes.

Thanks to the Empire's rich experience in building ocean-going ships and the world's top level of steam machinery manufacturing, the 8,600-ton "Zhenyang" class ironclad giant ship has maintained high reliability and maintenance since its commissioning, and has won the favor of the Royal Navy.

There are a total of three "Zhenyang" class ironclad ships, the first ship "Zhenyang" and the second ship "Zhenhai" have all been completed and put into service, and the third ship "Zhenjiang" is still in the outfitting stage and is expected to be delivered to the Royal Navy by the end of the year.

The No. 2 ship "Zhenhai" is the flagship of the Caribbean Fleet, and after it was officially put into service, it sailed 10,000 kilometers south to Cape Horn, the southernmost point of the world's land, and crossed the Strait of Magellan into the Atlantic Ocean, stopping at Storm City and Glory City along the way.

It was not until February of this year that it arrived at the port of Cologne, the base of the Caribbean detachment, and completed a total of about 23,500 kilometers of circumnavigation around the Americas from the port of Salem, where it departed.

This was followed by a blockade of the shipping lanes by the Caribbean Detachment between the end of February and May. The seizure of 10 French, Venezuelan, Colombian and Brazilian freighters in a row has basically blocked the routes of these South American countries to Europe, demonstrating absolute maritime dominance.

All this, it really deserves the title of "Zhenhai"!

In the entire Gulf of Mexico and the surrounding waters of Central and South America, the ironclad ship "Zhenhai" is invincible.

Wherever the muzzle of the guns pointed, all the little Calami had to be obediently called "Daddy", and the 305 mm twin main ship guns they were equipped with were so convincing that no warship in the whole of America could withstand a full blow.

The bright sunlight shone on the huge hull of the "Zhenhai", reflecting the icy luster of steel.

The fist-sized rivets were clearly visible, densely packed all over them, and the huge cannon muzzles were the best endorsement of the great power of the empire.

No matter how stubborn a person is, he will be persuaded by it.

Looking at this sea monster representing the world's top combat power in the steam age, the look of appreciation in Richard's eyes could not be concealed, and the more he looked at it, the more he liked it.

The Royal Navy's plan to develop a new class of 10,000-ton ironclads has been approved and officially named the Duke class, which is a top-of-the-line ironclad ship with a displacement of 11,000 tons.

Construction of the first ship, the Duke of Hawaii, will begin next year, with the first steel plate cut at the end of February 1874, and is expected to be outfitted in June 1875 and commissioned by the end of the year.

The No. 2 ship "Duke of Panama", the No. 3 ship "Duke of Alaska", the No. 4 ship "Duke of California", the No. 5 ship "Duke of Costa Rica", and the No. 6 ship "Duke of Colorado" will be built one after another in the next six years, basically one a year, and the construction work will continue until the beginning of 1880.

The construction and commissioning of this type of 10,000-ton ironclad ship, which represents the advanced level of the world's navy, is the first major decision made by Emperor Richard after breaking the shackles of his own thinking.

It is an indisputable fact that it is almost on par with the British Empire in terms of overall economic size, and may surpass it sometime next year or the year after.

Britain's precautionary psychology against Datang is becoming more and more serious, so there is no need to hide it, and speak directly with strength.

If the 8,600-ton ironclad ship is not loud enough, then these 6 10,000-ton ironclad ships must be deafening, which can make the British have more patience, more understanding, and more cooperation.

At this time

There was a commotion from below the teahouse, followed by the sound of shutting up the stairs, which attracted the attention of Emperor Richard.

has already said that the 2nd floor is chartered, why does the shopkeeper of the tea house still let people up?

The angry flame in Admiral Liu Wu's eyes lit with a "soar", and after a slight gesture, two Praetorian Guard officers disguised as civilians stood up and quickly blocked the staircase.

disturbed the holy driver, and no one could afford to bear the sin.

"Hey, who are you, how do you have the guts to block our Lei Gongzi's way?"

"If you don't understand the rules so much, it looks like you must be a foreigner, so hurry up and get out of the way. Our Lei Gongzi has always been a private seat on the 2nd floor to drink tea, don't force us to be rough! ”

"Wait a minute...... Stand down and don't mess around. A young man with a folding fan in his hand and a proud expression stood on the stairs, raised his hand to stop the armed entourage around him, and it seemed that it was the Lei Gongzi.

Lei Gongzi obviously has extraordinary eyesight, looked at the two strong men blocking the staircase with a grim expression, hesitated and said;

"The two brothers, in the port of Lower Cologne, are in the business of shipping and population, and there are no people in this city that I don't know.

Looking at the two of you, can you have a discussion......

The area on the second floor of this tea house is quite large, and Lei only asks for a private seat to entertain guests, and will never disturb the nobles, so please make it convenient.

Lei has been sailing with his father since he was a child, and he still has some eyesight.

If you are allowed, you should be rewarded. The tea on the 2nd floor is all inclusive, just a little careful. ”

There is a basis for these words, even if the nobles drink tea here for recreation, they are considered to have enough cards, and they probably don't mind.

Lei Fengyun saw the immovable master demeanor from the two people blocking the staircase, and there was a different kind of atmosphere, and he already had a guess in his heart.

This may be a certain nobleman who has just arrived in Cologne, and may be drinking tea with his family rolls, so he does not want to be disturbed.

But Lei Fengyun is a businessman, and the Lei family is also very dignified in the port of Cologne, so it is natural to have face when going out.

Isn't it embarrassing that half of this teahouse is blocked in the middle?

The matter has been blocked to this point, even if you go upstairs and sit and leave, you can save some face.

I didn't expect it

The two strong men blocking the staircase looked cold, lowered their voices, and scolded; "Where is so much nonsense, don't get out of here."

"If you still have a little bit of eyes, turn around and leave immediately, don't make trouble for your family, you can't afford such consequences."

I rub ......

Lei Fengyun's face was red and white for a while because of these two sentences, he had seen arrogant, but he had never seen such an arrogant person.

But he was not impulsive, and he raised his hand and pointed to the two strong men at the top of the stairs, and said; "Stranger, I admit that you are domineering enough, I hope you can have the capital to be domineering, and I will find out how capable you are."

Dropping two sentences of the scene, Lei Fengyun waved his hand very dryly; "Go, heroes don't suffer immediate losses."

This guy is really single, and he walks neatly and doesn't drag the mud and water at all.

Over there

Emperor Richard withdrew his gaze and looked out the window again with the corners of his mouth slightly curled.

I can't imagine that there is such a person in such a small place as the port of Cologne, whose vision, insight and conduct are all excellent, and this person is by no means mediocre.

After putting a simple label in his mind, Richard stopped paying attention.

This kind of small people at the bottom of society is not worth spending energy, and the imperial palace and government have brought together the elite talents of the Chinese nation. casually brought out a low-level secretary, all of whom are capable talents who are one in a million.