"Ambassador Pan has already replied." The Governor of Anju, Yoon Woo-kyu, handed a document to General Myeongwei (Brigadier General) Shi Hanrong, commander of the army in Anju, saying, "We must resolutely respond to the provocations of the Austrians, and we can fight a moderate border war to completely stabilize the situation in the Anju area." ”

"Modest border war?" Shi Hanrong opened the instruction sent by Pan Guangfeng, the plenipotentiary representative to Europe, and looked at it, and his brows couldn't help frowning, "This war is together, but it can't be easily controlled by any one side." What does moderation mean? Is it to wipe out the rebels completely? Or to expel all the Austrian forces from Anju? Or push the battle line into the territory of the Holy Roman Empire and make them feel the harshness of war? ”

"Uh......" Yoon Woo-gyu looked stunned, a little dissatisfied with Shi Hanrong's aggressive attitude.

These Qiu Ba, I'm afraid they don't want to make a contribution and make things bigger, right?

"Ambassador Ban's instruction is to avoid triggering a war between the two countries and to control the situation as much as possible into a regional conflict." Yin Yugui said in a deep voice: "Therefore, the next war should be mainly to quell the Anju rebellion, and the battle line should not be advanced to the depth of the Holy Roman Empire for the time being. It should be known that Anzhou is the first European territory obtained by our Qi country, and it has been feared by France, HRE and Italy. If the war expands, it will inevitably be taken advantage of by outsiders and attract the intervention of other countries, so that our country will fall into a passive situation in European affairs. ”

"The previous referrals have shown that in the process of quelling the rebellion in Anju, the Austrians will inevitably act in secret, whether it is to support supplies and ordnance, or to send corresponding military personnel, it is possible." Shi Hanrong gently placed the copy of Ambassador Pan's instructions in his hand on the bookcase, and looked up at Yin Yugui, "In this situation, it is difficult for us to avoid direct military conflict with the Austrians. If Ambassador Ban and the Governor insist on artificially setting a red line for our military, I am afraid that they will tie their hands and feet and delay the warplane! ”

"......" Yin Yugui's eyes couldn't help but narrow when he heard this, "General Shi, how many troops have we gathered in Anzhou at present?" ”

"Up to now, three companies have been sent to Zhongyang Island (now Malta Island), four squadrons of armed escorts have been mobilized from Egypt, and more than 200 Berber mercenaries have been supported by Tunisia and Tripoli, plus the garrison of Anzhou and the conscripted migrant soldiers, with a total military strength of more than 2,800."

"So, how many HRE troops are there in Croatia near Anzhou?"

"About seven or eight thousand, maybe ten thousand."

"Three or four times the difference in strength!" Yin Yugui smiled and asked softly, "In this way, can General Shi be sure that after quelling the rebels in Anzhou, he can defeat the nearby Holy Roman Empire army?" ”

"Governor Yin, these armies deployed by the Holy Roman Empire may not all be to defend our Qi country." Shi Hanrong said indifferently: "Their main goal should be to deal with the Ottomans in Bosnia. Oh, and by the way, and the unruly feudal lords in Croatia who seek the power of self-government. ”

"As far as I know, at the moment the Ottomans do not want to fight." "Although the attempted military coup by the Ottoman Guards was quelled two months ago, Sultan Ahmed III has lost his prestige and can no longer control the empire," Yoon said. Grand Vidzidao Ibrahim Pasha is negotiating with the Empire's top brass to establish a new Sudan in order to achieve a peaceful transition in the Empire's political situation. In such a situation, the Ottomans would try to maintain political stability and avoid any foreign wars, especially with military conflicts with the Holy Roman Empire. Therefore, if we fight with the HRE, I am afraid that we will not get effective support from the Ottomans. ”

"If the Austrians had intervened at the expense of their troops when we had put down the Anju rebellion, would we still choose to avoid the war?"

"The Austrians will certainly not dare to enter into a large-scale military conflict with our country." Yoon Woo-gyu confidently said: "They can't afford to see the scale of the war expand. You know, the naval strength of the Holy Roman Empire is not as good as that of the Venetians. We only need to mobilize a dozen warships to blockade the ports of Antwerp and Trieste. It can also cut off their eastern trade at any time, so that their thriving Oostend company will immediately go bankrupt. ”

Yes, although the Holy Roman Empire was deeply disgusted with the Qi people, it did not delay them in forming an Ostend company for the Oriental trade, and went to Arabia, India, and even the East Indies to engage in the lucrative Oriental trade.

In 1715, the company acquired trading rights in the ports of Mocha in Yemen, Surat in India, and Temasek (present-day Singapore) in the East Indies. Between 1716 and 1720, the company brought back from the East 6 million pounds of tea, 20,000 pieces of porcelain, nearly 1,000 tons of coffee and cocoa, and a large number of domestic manufactured goods, making huge profits, and the company's stock was also speculated, with a return of 15%.

Qi people are very annoying, but the goods in their hands are indeed "fragrant", seeing that the Dutch, English, and French continue to buy all kinds of high value-added goods from the East, if you want to say that you don't look red, then you can't help your conscience, so you don't care about the cold relationship with Qi State, lick your face and go to the sphere of influence controlled by Qi State to operate Oriental trade.

However, Qi did not discriminate or treat this overseas trading company affiliated with Shenluo differently, and still did business with it, and the two sides were quite a bit politically cold and hot.

In the eyes of the Qi people, I support the Ottomans to do you Austrians, that is a geostrategic issue, but you take the initiative to trade with us and purchase our goods, which belongs to "free trade".

After all, no one is going to have trouble with money, is there?

In fact, the Qi State occupied the Istrian Peninsula and did not have the intention of opening up trade routes between Central Europe and Southern Europe.

You said that although the Holy Roman Empire was neither Roman nor sacred, it was also fragmented into a single place, consisting of more than 300 states, large and small, and more than 1,400 knights' estates, and the name of the empire was somewhat untrue, but it also had a population of more than 20 million, which was a very large market.

If the goods of Qi can be continuously imported into the territory of the Holy Roman Empire through the trade window of the Istrian Peninsula, it will drive a huge local production demand, so as to obtain huge trade profits.

With the rapid development of Qi's overseas trade and maritime transportation industry, more and more Qi companies and merchants are no longer satisfied with indirectly importing goods into emerging markets such as Italy and Central and Southern Europe through the hands of the Dutch, English or French.

This money makes people have a hand and a layer of wool, but they are not so good in their hearts.

Therefore, whether it is for geostrategic purposes or to open up trade routes in the heart of Europe, the Istrian Peninsula will be a key strategic place for Qi, and it cannot be troubled by the Austrians.

The eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, including the Istrian Peninsula, was largely autonomous under Venetian rule. Speaking of which, the Venetians who stayed here were also rootless, and the Austrians were so disturbed that the local residents rebelled against the rule of the Qi people, which caused many Venetians to suffer so much that they had to turn to the Qi country in order to seek personal and property protection.

As more and more Qi reinforcements arrived in Luoning City, the Qi people, who had been compressed by the local rioting militants in a corner of the sea, finally began to prepare to launch a counterattack.

The commander of the army in Anju, Shi Hanrong, immediately ordered his troops to move out and sweep north, after receiving "limited" military authorization from the governor.

On December 8, more than 800 officers and soldiers of the Qi Army, under the cover of more than 10 artillery pieces, successfully "recovered" the small town of Wodenian, six kilometers from Luoning, killed, wounded and captured more than 120 rebels, and "liberated" more than 350 local people.

On December 10, more than 700 officers and soldiers of another part of the Qi army recaptured four villages in succession, killing and wounding more than 60 rebels.

On December 14, the various units of the Qi army converged and approached the town of Pajin, which had been ambushed last time, and engaged in an armed confrontation with the main rebel force.

"Sir, in fact, there is no need for us to advance so slowly, one by one, to uproot the strongholds of the rebels." Yu Yuanbin, commander of the first battalion of the Anzhou garrison and captain (major) of Xuanjie, stood behind the former enemy commander and captain (colonel) Peng Xiaoliang, and carefully suggested: "I still insist that our army can completely touch the back of the rebels by means of ship transportation, cut off their connection with the Austrians in one fell swoop, and then push all the way over, and will definitely be able to annihilate them completely, so as to solve the rebels once and for all." ”

"What does Captain Yu mean that the commander-in-chief, General Shi, and I, the former enemy commander, don't understand military strategy?" Peng Xiaoliang put down the binoculars, twisted his neck, and then looked at the capable subordinate with a smile.

"I don't dare." Yu Yuanbin said on his lips, but he was quite unconvinced in his heart.

Obviously, this battle can be fought more "artistically", taking advantage of its own maritime superiority, outflanking from the rear, breaking its foundation, cutting off its rear road, and then gathering and annihilating it in one drum, but it is necessary to gather a large army to advance slowly all the way, and capture the villages and towns and farms occupied by the rebels one by one.

It is true that our army can rely on its strong firepower superiority to break through the resistance of the rebels all the way and slowly regain the "lost territory", but such an attack is not only time-consuming and laborious, but also unable to capture and destroy the main force of the rebels.

Even if the other party is severely damaged in this Pajin town, due to the limitations of its own troops, it will not be able to surround and annihilate it at all, and most of them will be allowed to flee to the rear, or even finally avoid the territory of the HRE.

After fighting like this, how can you get enough commendable combat exploits.

Without great military exploits, how can you accumulate merits and get promoted?

I heard that in just eight years, his subordinate Li Yanliang has been promoted from a small accompaniment lieutenant (second lieutenant) to the rank of Xuanjie lieutenant (major), which is the same level as himself, and he was also transferred to Xuanzhou, presided over local garrison affairs, and became a military commander in charge.

His grandmother's, in a few more years, wouldn't his former subordinates surpass him.

When we meet at that time, we should salute him and shout 'Hello sir.'"

I'm going to it, it's scary to think about it!

Therefore, when he was transferred to Antar, he was really excited to see that the local residents were induced by the Austrians and rioted.

If this is to quell the rebellion, and then take advantage of the situation to attack the territory of the HRE, and teach the Austrians a lesson, won't this be able to get enough merit?

"Who do you think these so-called rebels are doing trouble?" Peng Xiaoliang stretched out his hand and pointed to the rebel figures that flashed from time to time in the villages and towns in the distance, with a hint of disdain on the corner of his mouth.

"Although those people are called the Righteous Army, claiming to expel our Qi officials and garrisons and liberate the local people, they are actually just some wall grass swaying in the wind, and speculators who want to take advantage of the chaos to gain wealth or fame." Yu Yuanbin pouted and said: "We pushed all the way over, and the villages, towns and farms we passed through were also spoiled enough by them, and they carried out extortion and robbery of places without any scruples. …… They are nothing more than a mob without any organizational discipline. ”

"Then let's kill all the way, are we considered the saviors of those local residents?"

"Sir, the purpose of our operation is to quell the rebel ......"

Is it necessary for us to play the role of a savior? Those people are not the people of our Qi country at all, they have been plagued by the rebels, and they deserve to be unlucky!

"Heh, you...... you're just a tendon brain. I don't know if I think about it, this time we sent troops to quell the rebellion, except to restore the ruling order of Anzhou and eliminate the influence of the Austrians, there is no other purpose? ”

"For what purpose?"

"Don't you think these rebels are indirectly helping us clear the place?"

"......" Yu Yuanbin looked at the chief in a daze.

"In the past few months, the rebels have cleaned up the place, almost destroyed the original order of production and life, and killed many minor nobles, manor owners and farmers. Now, if we send troops to quell the rebellion and clean up behind them, we will almost completely overthrow the existing social and economic structure. This will definitely be twice the result with half the effort for us to restore our rule in the future and implant the governance model of our Qi country. ”

"Borrowing a knife to kill someone?"

"It's pretty much the same." Peng Xiaoliang smiled, "In addition, if we push these rebels all the way over and drive them to the territory of the HRE, in addition to creating an excuse for us to clear the border, we can also spoil them by the way." Come and don't be rude, these rebels have enjoyed robbing in Anzhou, so they are driven to the territory of Shinra, and they won't stop easily. Hmph, they have to suffer! ”

"Sir, what ...... Shall we do it with the Austrians? ”

"The commander said that it is better to avoid a large-scale armed conflict with the Austrians as a last resort."

"To avoid large-scale armed conflicts, then petty fights are allowed."

"Guess what!" Peng Xiaoliang glared at him, "Hurry up and prepare the team, and after the artillery bombardment is over, give me a bang to drive the rebels out of town!" ”

"Yes, sir!"

(End of chapter)