After the small turmoil, the teahouse returned to calm.

Afterwards, Lei Fengyun did ask someone to inquire, which is the style of acting in ordinary places; Plan before you act. If you don't rush up, you have to fight and kill, you always have to explore the roots of the other party.

If it's a bluff, then you must regain the lost face.

Who knew that this inquiry could poke the hornet's nest, and a group of strong plainclothes operatives came to Lei Mansion overnight. After showing the documents of the Imperial Security Agency, he took all the people in the Lei Mansion away.

Not to mention asking about the whereabouts of the saint, what do you want to do?

It is said that the teahouse closed on the second day, and the shopkeeper of the teahouse was nowhere to be found......

It is really a flying disaster, but in the face of the supreme imperial power, we must be deeply in awe and not allow the slightest offense.

On the outskirts of Cologne

The 26,200 officers and men of the overseas military districts were holding military drills, and the cavalry, artillery, and infantry were all in battle, and the scene was quite grand.

The 1st Marine Division of the Royal Marines stationed in Panama was also among them, and it was a joint exercise between the Royal Army and Navy of the Imperial Empire, which almost came out of the nest.

A temporary viewing platform was set up on the hill, the battle flag hunting was fluttering in the wind, and more than 100 senior generals and His Majesty's entourage gathered together to watch the military drill with serious expressions.

Since the end of the North American War in 1861, the empire itself has not experienced a major war for 12 years. However, those generals and officers with rich combat experience are still there, and the martial spirit has endured for a long time.

The troops they have repeatedly tempered are well-trained and have high morale, and they have displayed a fairly high standard in the joint exercises, and have won high praise.

Emperor Richard sat on a high place in the middle of the current battle platform, wearing the uniform of the generalissimo of the Imperial Army and Navy, and from time to time picked up binoculars to carefully observe the performance of both sides of the exercise, and did not comment for a long time.

Judging by the scene

The sound of artillery and gunfire rang out intertwined, and the soldiers lined up to attack in a tight line, showing wave after wave of attack.

The battle was well organized, showed a fairly high level of training, and the performance was commendable.

Whether an army is strong or parallel can be seen at a glance by highly experienced officers in the exercise.

Richard is a typical emperor who opened up territory and expanded his territory, and he has rich experience in leading troops to fight, and of course he can see that the troops of overseas military regions are indeed well trained, but there is still a gap between them and the world's strongest army.

What is lacking is the murderous spirit that gives up oneself, the steely toughness in the bones of soldiers.

The Tang Empire adopted a military system that combined compulsory military service with professional military service. Ordinary soldiers are compulsory for four years, but the professional sergeant system is retained and used as the backbone of the army.

As long as a division has a complete framework of officers and professional non-commissioned officers, and a large number of conscripts are replenished in wartime, it can form an infantry division that is fully equipped and has combat effectiveness.

In peacetime

Only the field ace division and the first-class division are fully established, and the second-level division and the third-level division are not fully staffed, which is the so-called "framework division".

"Fan Aiqing, the training of the troops of the Overseas Military Region is acceptable, and the morale is quite good, but they lack the bloody courage to fight on the battlefield." Emperor Richard put down the telescope in his hand, groaned and continued; "The army has been peaceful for a long time, and the recruits have been training and living in a comfortable environment, and they have lost the invincible spirit of bravery!"

"Your Majesty's eyes are like torches, and Weichen is embarrassed." General Fan Pengju, then the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Royal Army, looked embarrassed, "snapped" and stood upright, raised his hand and gave a military salute and explained in a low voice;

"The troops of the Southern Military District are indeed inferior to the Northern Army, and the Military Department has long noticed this situation and has made a comprehensive analysis report on this.

The environment in the south is more comfortable, and the soldiers recruited by the southern provinces every year are also milder and more obedient, and the brave and ruthless people are far inferior to those in the north.

If such an army is not trained by war, it will be difficult for the cubs to grow into a strong army.

Compared with the first-class strong armies in Europe, the garrison is more than enough and the attack is insufficient. ”

"Hmm...... Being able to honestly face up to the gaps and deficiencies is the noble character that a military aristocrat should have. Emperor Richard bowed his head in understanding.

A little groaning

Emperor Richard continued;

"In view of the current situation in the world, the empire has made a strategic decision to conquer Colombia in the south, and various preparations for war are already progressing in an orderly manner.

Fan Aiqing must have known all the details of the battle plan submitted by the military department, but how are the preparations of the overseas military region now? Where are we? ”

The saint inquired, General Fan Pengju did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly raised his hand to make a military salute and reported;

"Your Majesty;

In this war of conquest against Colombia, the Royal Army General Staff Headquarters planned to send 60,000 mule-horse regiments to conquer the country in one fell swoop after repeated research and judgment according to the actual situation.

With a population of nearly 6 million, Colombia is the most populous country in all of South America, second only to Brazil.

The country's politics are chaotic, corrupt, and warlords are fighting endlessly, and the country is fragmented.

Although there are nearly 300,000 troops according to statistics, most of them are backwardly equipped, less than half of the armies are equipped with smoothbore muskets, and more are tribal armed forces with swords and spears, and their combat effectiveness is not worth mentioning.

Such a situation is conducive to the imperial army to win over the lure faction, attack and divide the faction, and implement the strategy of defeating each faction.

According to Weichen's experience in the army for many years, there are many contradictions within the indigenous Indian tribes, and it is difficult to twist them into a rope when there are many people.

The centuries-long history of being colonized by the Spaniards has given them a sense of dependence on being ruled, easy to obey, and lacking the bloody nature of the nomadic Indians to fight to the death.

Clarifying the situation in the country, Wei Chen thought that there was a good chance of winning this battle, and even if there were twists and turns, it would not affect the overall situation.

In order to prepare for the war, the Royal Army General Staff Headquarters plans to transfer part of the troops of six field divisions from various military regions to join the Yugoslav Expeditionary Corps, which is expected to arrive in Panama in June and July.

The southern expedition is expected to be launched in mid-September, and the army will cross the border between the two countries and move all the way south to Medellín, a major city in Colombia.

After the capture of Medellín, the southern expeditionary army would be divided into three due to the clear road conditions in the area.

The main army of 28,000 men in the center continued to attack southward, targeting Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, and won the battle.

The 13,000-strong mobile corps on the southern road directly took Cali, captured the towns along the way and cleared the rebels, with the goal of capturing the important southern town of Cali, and entering the stage of rest after completing the mission.

The 20,000-strong mobile corps of the North Road traveled north along the road, aiming for North Cartagena, 360 kilometers away.

With the strong running ability and combat effectiveness of our mule and horse corps, it is expected that it will take 2~3 months to basically occupy most of the cities and towns in Colombia and realize the military occupation of the country.

At present, according to the plan for the deployment of troops and materials in overseas military regions, all work is being carried out in an orderly manner, and preparations are in full swing, and the journey of the army's southern expedition will not be delayed. ”

"Hmm...... Yes, you have to personally supervise this matter, and you must not make any mistakes, otherwise I will ask. Emperor Richard instructed.

Fan Peng raised his feet and "snapped" in a military posture, and replied with an awe-inspiring expression; "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, if you lend Wei Chen another hundred guts, you will not dare to delay the empire's expansion and colonization plan. Weichen dares to guarantee the head of the item, and must be well prepared. ”

Emperor Richard nodded with satisfaction, and then turned his gaze to the fierce confrontation of the army drill in the distance, the sound of guns and shouts of killing was endless, and there was a solemn atmosphere in the heaven and earth.

In August 1873, the depressed atmosphere of the international economic crisis spread throughout Europe and the United States, and various countries introduced laws one after another to protect the domestic economy and industry.

This beggar-thy-neighbor approach has greatly hurt the booming global free trade and properly reversed history.

Being in it, the Tang Empire is naturally not immune.

The development of major industries that were booming in the previous year was like pouring cold water on the head, and it became more and more difficult to maintain them in the rapidly changing economic environment.

That's when it happened

Large orders from the War Department flew like snowflakes, making many manufacturers struggling in the predicament feel like grasping a life-saving straw and finally breathing a sigh of relief.

Many of these orders were used to replenish strategic stocks, and in preparation for the war of invasion of the south, many strategic reserves in the empire had their doors opened.

Hundreds of special railway trains were sent to the south, loaded with soldiers, mule and horse tents, and all kinds of war materials, and the province of Panama was filled with a solemn atmosphere before the war, and the troops who arrived one after another were also training intensively.

The orders of the military department are mainly to replenish stocks, and the food category is mainly produced freshly, which has revitalized a large number of enterprises.

The hot international demand for two consecutive years has accumulated a lot of orders, which has made many manufacturers borrow heavily to expand production, trying to take advantage of the market boom to make a profit.

Who would have thought

After entering 1873, the international situation took a sharp turn for the worse, and the mainland countries represented by France raised tariffs one after another to protect and restore the development of domestic industries, thus forming a "spring cold" that went against free trade.

The original international demand disappeared quickly, and many international orders would rather lose their deposits, and European customers were reluctant to pick up the goods.

This is because the sudden rise in high international tariffs makes the original transaction unprofitable, and even faces a large loss.

As a result, many European traders have cancelled orders or repented of refusing to fulfill their contracts.

This has made domestic manufacturers who have increased their production hard, and they want to cry without tears when they look at the mountains of goods in China. The consequences of blind expansion are becoming more and more apparent.

Large debts and a mountain of finished products have led to the collapse of some weaker manufacturers, and some medium and large manufacturers are gritting their teeth and persevering, expecting a reversal.

In such a difficult time, the order of the Imperial Military Department appeared too timely like the water of life to quench hunger and thirst.

In the face of an international economic crisis, waging a colonial war to expand demand is a good way to create demand.