After listening quietly to Minister Kent's report, Arthur nodded with a smile and said: "Division Commander Filitz has done a good job this time, I believe that after this support army is wiped out, the Portuguese should also consider whether to continue to fight against Australasia." ”

The combined regular Portuguese army of the previous three colonies was only 3,000 men, and the Portuguese government did not realize the strength of Australasia.

But now it is different, although the exact size of this support army is unknown, the number of people is definitely tens of thousands.

Even if you exclude those African natives who are cannon fodder, the number of Portuguese soldiers is definitely around 10,000.

You know, Portugal is not a populous country either. Even so far, Portugal's population has just crossed six million.

The loss of 10,000 Portuguese soldiers is definitely a hemorrhage for the Portuguese government, and if it does not reach the point of breaking the muscles and bones, it will at least give the Portuguese government a headache.

What's more, even with the loss of more than 10,000 troops, the situation in the war still did not improve.

How many 10,000 men can Portugal lose? The colonies of Africa also need a large number of troops to garrison, and Portugal may not feel distressed if the indigenous soldiers die, but the casualties of the Portuguese are real and can shake the country's foundation.

"Even if the Portuguese government still doesn't give up, they probably don't have much power left." Minister Kent said with a smile: "According to our intelligence, Portugal has a total of 60,000 native troops and 80,000 colonial troops. ”

"Although it appears to have an army of up to 140,000, there are no more than 80,000 Portuguese among them. Combined with the losses of the previous three wars, Portugal should have lost more than 10,000 Portuguese soldiers by now, plus 10,000 indigenous troops. With the retention of the native and colonial garrisons, Portugal was able to draw less than 50,000 troops, which was no longer enough to pose a threat to us. Minister Kent said.

Speaking of which, I have to praise the contribution of the Royal Security Intelligence Service and the head of European royal affairs, David.

Although it is not possible to obtain core classified information, the military power of the major European countries is still roughly clear.

To put it bluntly, Portugal is a country with a population about the same size as Australasia, and its economy and industry may not be dominant.

Coupled with the long distance between Europe and the battlefield, it increased the logistical burden of Portugal in disguise.

If Portugal still had 22,000 transport troops, it would have been broken by Australasia one by one.

But at present, Portugal does not have more transport ships and fleets, and it must not allow soldiers to be drawn from Europe to Asia, then the war may be over, and the army may not be able to reach Asia.

"But, Your Majesty, we still have a problem that has not been resolved." Minister Kent said, looking at Arthur.

"You mean the fleet of the Portuguese?" Arthur asked, frowning.

"Yes, Your Majesty. The land forces of the Portuguese could not be matched by ours, but the current navy did have an advantage. If we can't find a way to deal with their navy, our army in India may become a caged bird and even risk being besieged by them. Minister Kent nodded.

India and Australasia are not connected, and the most important mode of transport is by sea.

But if Portuguese warships blockade the coast of Portuguese India, the only way to transport supplies to India is airships.

However, airships are dependent on weather and other reasons, and they are not 100% safe.

This can only be used as a special means, and it is inevitable that it is not safe to rely on airships to transport supplies all the time.

"At the moment it is unrealistic to rely on our forces to solve the Portuguese navy, do you have any good solutions?" Arthur asked, frowning.

"At the moment, there are two ways to solve the problems we are facing." "The first way is to invite the European powers to intervene to end the war," Minister Kent said. We have good relations with Germany and Russia, and Britain should not be on our side. Judging from the current relations between Britain and France, France should not be worried. Coupled with the public opinion from Europe, it will not be difficult to meet our needs as long as these powers are on our side. ”

At this time, Arthur had to praise the good relations he maintained with the major European powers.

Germany and Russia, for Arthur's sake, should support Australasia. And because of the blood relationship in Britain and Arthur's favorability in Britain, it is impossible to go against the will of the people and stand on the opposite side of Australasia.

The rest of France could not offend the above three countries for the sake of Portugal, so it was better to say that the great powers would intervene, and it was not good to say that Portugal would be forced to negotiate peace.

Arthur nodded, and did not jump to a conclusion, but continued to ask, "Then there is another way?" ”

Minister Kent looked at Arthur's face before continuing: "There is another method that is relatively riskier, and we may also get more benefits. ”

"Oh? Let's talk about it. ”

"Your Majesty, it seems that the first battleship we built for Russia is almost finished, right?" Minister Kent asked suddenly.

Arthur was stunned for a moment, and then understood what Minister Kent meant.

The first of the two dreadnoughts built for Russia in Australasia, the Petropavlovsk, is nearing completion and is in the stage of launching tests.

Although the actual performance has not been really tested at the moment, this is a real dreadnought.

And the Portuguese Navy did not even have battleships, so naturally it could not be an opponent of this dreadnought.

But the problem is that Petropavlovsk was the first dreadnought built for Russia, which also has good relations with Australasia.

The private use of this dreadnought is bound to undermine the trust between Russia and Australasia.

What's more, the Petropavlovsk is still some time away from being built, and the fact that it has not undergone any tests and naval flights, and that the Australasian naval soldiers have not really operated a dreadnought, it remains to be considered how the battleship will be able to exert its true strength.

The battleship would only be used as a last resort, but Arthur did not intend to use it as a last resort in the current war.

"It's not a good plan to use the Petropavlovsk, so invite the European powers to intervene in the war! Contact Governor David and the ambassadors to express our desire for peace and our desire to stop the war. In the end, Arthur chose the first method, at least to meet Arthur's goals without too many surprises.

For the second chapter of the alliance leader Gu Gu Bang, brothers, please support! Ask for a commuter pass! (Today is ten thousand, kneel and beg for support!) ）

(End of chapter)