Chapter 229

Originally, he didn't have too much to worry about, but in order to form an expeditionary force to invade China, the British had transferred a lot of troops in India, and now that the Taiping Army is getting stronger and stronger, it is really doubtful that the British garrison can defend India.

"Haha!" Hong Tian smiled even more and said, "Sir, don't be angry, my Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is at war with your country, and it is naturally necessary to do everything to win." Ben Hou doesn't talk nonsense with you, the previous things can be written off, but if your country still wants to attack our army reactionarily, our Taiping army will definitely enter India. I remember that a few years ago, there was a large-scale uprising in India, and I wonder if there were any of those rebels, and if they were, we would have been very welcome. ”

Bruce looked even angrier, but he still endured it and said, "If Your Majesty marches into India, my British Empire and your country will be immortal. ”

Hong Tian was noncommittal, and said: "Is there any sign of stopping now? However, Ben Hou is a lover of peace, so Ben Hou does not want the war to continue to expand, so Ben Hou has ordered our army to stop attacking, and now it is war or peace, it all depends on your country's intentions." ”

Bruce looked gloomy and silent.

Hong Tiandao: "Sir, I hope your country can seriously consider it, Ben Hou doesn't want the fish to die and the net is broken, but if your country forces each other again, then Ben Hou can only accompany him to the end." ”

Bruce said with difficulty: "Your army must withdraw from Singapore and the Malay Peninsula to show good faith......"

Hong Tian directly raised his hand to stop Bruce's words, and said, "Impossible! It's not Benhou begging you to stop the war now! Now it's my Taiping Heavenly Kingdom that is victorious, not you Britain." Ben Hou does not want to listen, and there is no need to listen to your country's request for an armistice, Ben Hou's request is very simple, just take the current border as the boundary, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the territory of the Malay Peninsula such as Malacca under your control will all be included in my Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!"

"Your Majesty!" roared Bruce.

India is important to Britain, but so is the Strait of Malacca, which is Britain's lifeline to the Far East, and if it loses Malacca, Britain will lose control of the situation in the Far East.

Hong Tian's expression became cold, and he said, "It seems that your country still has ambitions for the Far East! Do you think that after the war between your country and my Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, our country will still get along with your country on a friendly basis? Sir, what you need is not how to save the situation in the Far East, but how to ensure the security of India. ”

"I, the British Empire, will never accede to such an unreasonable demand. Bruce said firmly.

Hong Tian sneered in his heart, he knew that the other party would not agree, but how could he agree to the other party's request?!

"In that case, then the gentleman will please go back. Hong Tianxia ordered the eviction of guests, and the guards on the side immediately came over.

Bruce stood up angrily, but naturally he didn't dare to attack here, turned around and left.

Hong Tian watched him step out of the threshold, and suddenly spoke: "I forgot to tell my sir that my Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has sent envoys to my Chinese vassal countries such as Burma, Siam, Korea, Ryukyu, Nanzhang, Japan, and Annam, to prepare for the formation of the East Asian Defense Alliance, and I am afraid that they have arrived now." ”

Bruce's body shook violently, and his steps sped away.

After Hong Tian couldn't see the other party's figure, his eyes narrowed, and he said lightly: "Did I force him too much? Maybe! But I can't back down, otherwise the faces of the great powers will never end." ”

Although Hong Tian wanted to stop the war with the British, he was unwilling to accept peace in a humiliating manner, and the Taiping army was now victorious, and if he signed a traitorous treaty, his prestige would be greatly damaged, so he absolutely could not back down.

Not to mention the British interests in China, Hong Kong and other issues involving the local interests and security of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, even the territory obtained in Singapore and the Malay Peninsula, Hong Tian could not give up without letting go of a single shot, unless the British took it back, Hong Tian would never withdraw his troops.

This is actually a dead knot, because the Strait of Malacca is extremely important to Britain, and it is the most important control area for Britain in Asia, except for India, and once it loses control of the Strait of Malacca, Britain's power will be expelled from the Far East, which is undoubtedly an extremely heavy blow to Britain.

Therefore, Britain will definitely not give up the Strait of Malacca easily.

Hong Tian did not give up, and Britain was not willing to give up, so it seemed inevitable that war between the two sides would still be inevitable.

And Hong Tian can only use India to force, for the attack on India, Hong Tian is actually hesitant, this is a difficult task, although the British rule in India is not impregnable, in the Indian uprising a few years ago, it is even more anxious for the British, the Taiping army to attack should be very advantageous.

But this also requires the Taiping army to attack India, don't look at what Hong Tian just said so loudly, send troops to Tibet, and then take India, although this is a route, but this route is not easy to walk, Tibet is not Hong Tian now, although he does not think that the Tibetan army in Tibet can block the Taiping army, but the Tibetan plateau is the world's first plateau, the road is extremely difficult, small corps combat is good to say, large-scale troops will not work at all.

Taking the Tibet route, Hongtian was very satisfied with the ability to transport 10,000 or 20,000 soldiers and horses, and with the quality of the Taiping army, fighting with the British army, without several times the number of troops, it was impossible to win.

That's why he chose to send envoys to unite with other neighboring Asian vassal states, hoping to form an East Asian defense alliance, so that he would be more sure.

And the key to this is Burma, as long as Myanmar agrees to his request, he can send troops into Burma and march from Burma to India.

Although Burma is densely jungled, it is much better than the Tibetan route, and it is not a problem to transport tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, and with the Tibetan soldiers and horses, it is enough to pose a certain threat to India.

As for how big the threat is, it depends on how solid the British rule in India is, if the rebels of the Indian uprising can rise again, the Taiping army will be very effective, if the British can firmly control India, the Taiping army will be able to threaten India a little.

Of course, the Lower Burma of Burma was under the control of the British, and Hong Tian was confident that with the support of the Burmese government, he would take back the Lower Burma region, which would also be a blow to the British.

Even if this was the case, it was enough, the British could not always bear the pressure of the Taiping army to threaten India, and even if they won at sea and the army could not deal with the Taiping army, they would eventually have to go down the road of peace talks.

Moreover, if Thailand also joins the defense alliance, Hong Tian's army can enter the Malay Peninsula by land, which is also quite beneficial for the recovery of Singapore.

There are not many benefits to be gained from the peace talks between Hong Tian and the British, except for a stable development environment, that is, he can avoid fighting with the British army and retain the naval fleet he has obtained now.

As for the possibility that countries such as Myanmar and Thailand will not join the defense alliance, Hong Tian is not worried, first, Asian countries are under the pressure of invasion by foreign powers, and under normal circumstances, they will agree to the demands of China, which has always been the suzerainty of East Asia, and even if they oppose it, Hong Tian will spend some twists and turns, send troops to destroy these small countries, and then directly threaten India.

Hong Tian believed that his million-strong army on the land of Asia had no rivals!

This was the confidence that he should have as a monarch of the Chinese Celestial Empire, just as the British at this time firmly believed that their country's navy was invincible.

With Hong Tian full of confidence in the army and the British full of confidence in their own navy, the war still continued in the end.

......

The new capital of Myanmar, Mandalay.

Mandalay is the new capital of the Kingdom of Burma, the original capital of the Kingdom of Myanmar is Amoro Buluo, after the new king Min Dong ascended the throne, he felt that the old capital of Amoro Buluo was small, and felt that after moving the capital here, Myanmar suffered the shame of defeat, and decided to build a new capital, and moved the capital to Mandalay in 1858.

In the palace, Min Dong received the envoy from the Celestial Empire, Zhang Ran.

"The envoy came to ask for the formation of an East Asian Defense Alliance?" Mindong said as he looked at Zhang Ran.

Regarding Zhang Ran's intention, in fact, Mindong had already secretly inquired clearly, but he didn't want to see Zhang Ran, so he refused to meet Zhang Ran on the grounds of illness some time ago, but Zhang Ran claimed that he was proficient in medical skills and was a famous doctor in the country, and he wanted to treat Mindong, and Mindong's illness was naturally "cured" immediately.

"That's right! All the countries in East Asia have been invaded by foreign invaders, but before the Manchu Qing Dynasty enslaved China, they turned a blind eye to this, and now our Han family has been restored, and now Your Majesty is young and promising, swallowing mountains and rivers, how can you allow foreign people to go unpunished, and my Heavenly Empire should lead all the people of East Asia to crusade against these Yi people who don't know what to do. Zhang Ran said proudly.

Min Dong's expression was gloomy, he knew that the British had launched two opium wars, and the so-called Celestial Empire was all over the place, almost losing Beijing, and finally signed a treaty to lose power and humiliate the country, and cede land and pay compensation, which seemed to be not much stronger than his own small East Asian country, and he didn't expect to become so arrogant as soon as he changed his personal head.

Of course, Min Dong would not say these thoughts, and he hesitated and said: "But the people are strong, and the ships are strong and the guns are sharp......"

Zhang Ran stopped Mindong's words and said: "The Yi people are actually nothing remarkable, not long ago, our country defeated them several times, all the invading troops have been wiped out, Hong Kong, Kowloon have also been recovered, and even Singapore and Malacca have been captured by us, so it can be seen that they are nothing more than that." ”

"But our country's troops are insufficient...... Min Dong still hesitated, he was afraid of the British and faction, and he had long been afraid of the British.

Zhang Ran said with a look of a bamboo in his chest: "Your Majesty has known these things for a long time, so you have mobilized a large army on the border of Yunnan, as long as your country agrees to form a defensive alliance, my Heavenly Kingdom army will wave its army south, and then it will definitely help you recover Burma!"

Min Dong was startled when he heard this, and said, "The Heavenly Army is coming over!"

The Chinese Dynasty had attacked Burma many times, and Min Dong was wary of the British, but he was also full of precautions against the Chinese.

"Otherwise, you think that with your little strength, you can resist the Yingyi, let alone recover Lower Burma. Zhang Ran said.

Min Dong's expression was ugly, he was really worried that the Chinese army would not leave when it came, don't look at him calling the Chinese army the heavenly army, but they know that these heavenly troops are all fishy cats, and they never come over without benefits.

"This matter is very large, let me discuss it with the ministers. Min Dong said.

Zhang Ran sneered: "Yes, but we must reply within two days, my Celestial Empire army can't wait too long on the border of Yunnan, maybe they think that your country has surrendered to Yingyi, and directly wave the army south to cause misunderstanding, which will damage the friendship between the two countries for generations." ”

Min Dong's face darkened even more when he heard this, what era is friendly, and there are still fewer wars between China and Burma? The other party's words are completely threats, but he can't stand up.

Burma has been invaded by the British continuously, and it has long been weak, so naturally it does not dare to offend the Celestial Empire, so it can only promise to reply to Zhang Ran within two days.

Zhang Ran went back satisfied.

Two days later, Burma finally agreed to the request of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and agreed to form an East Asian Alliance, with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom as its leader.

Although Burma is still very worried about the British army, but they all know that the British will not die if they do not destroy Burma, sooner or later there will still be a war, and now the Chinese are willing to come to help, that is naturally the best thing, in fact, they have also asked the Manchu Qing for help before, but the Manchu Qing is worried about internal and external troubles, and the domestic uprising continues to have no time to deal with him.

In this way, the Sino-Burmese alliance was established, and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom army in Yunnan went south, of which 30,000 vanguard troops had just been reorganized, the former Dali Du Wenxiu troops.

When the news of the Sino-Burmese alliance broke, Siam quickly agreed, and Siam also said that the Malay Peninsula and Singapore were isolated overseas and could be placed under their jurisdiction.

This request was naturally rejected by Hong Tian, how could the meat in his mouth be easily spit out, he didn't care about the territory of Siam, Siam should be happy.

On the contrary, after Hong Tian refused, he also asked Siam to send troops to help defend the Malay Peninsula and Singapore, and ordered a part of the troops in Yunnan to go south to Siam to reinforce the Taiping army in the Malay Peninsula.

In addition, he also sent troops into Vietnam and the Nam Palm region under the pretext of borrowing the road, but most of them did not continue to advance after entering these areas, and stayed there in the name of helping the local troops to assist in defense.

In addition, the garrison of Mukden Province also marched into Korea, claiming to prevent the Yiren from invading from the northeast.

It is worth mentioning that he also sent troops to the Ryukyus to establish a naval supply depot, saying that he would use it as a base for naval defense of the British fleet.

In this way, most of the Indochina Peninsula and the Korean Peninsula, as well as the Ryukyus, were populated by the Taiping Army.

......

All countries are paying attention to the great changes in East Asia, and they all have a feeling of palpitations when they see the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom easily controlling all countries in East Asia in the name of the Celestial Empire.

As Napoleon said, the sleeping lion has awakened!

The slightest sneeze shook the whole of East Asia, and Japan was the only one that did not agree to build an East Asian defense system.

It is said that because the Ryukyus were a foreign vassal of Japan, they were now stationed by the Taiping army without saying a word, which made the whole of Japan very angry, so they refused the request of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to form a defensive alliance, and said that in the near future, they would send envoys to the Celestial Empire to protest.

After Hong Tianwen heard about this, he only laughed it off, and he didn't care at all about this small state that was still closed off from the country.

In the middle of the year, war broke out in earnest.

Both the British and the Taiping were well prepared.

The British Indian garrison marched eastward and launched an attack on Burma, while the new expeditionary fleet from all over the country headed for Singapore.

The Taiping navy met the attack ahead of the time, and began to resist the British fleet in the Nicobar Islands in the Andaman Sea, but the Taiping navy suffered a defeat.

That night, the second wave of the Taiping Navy and the British fought a night battle.

During the day the next day, the Taiping Navy fought a daytime battle against the British.

The next night, the night battle continued west of Malacca.

During the day on the third day, daytime fighting continued on the coast of Malacca.

On the night of the third day, night fighting continued east of Malacca.

During the day on the fourth day, daytime battles were fought in Singapore.

This is the Taiping Navy, in accordance with Hong Tian's instructions, to attack the British Navy in a reactionary seven-stage style, which is a strategy formulated in imitation of the "Seven-stage Operation" of the later Japanese genius staff officer Akiyama Shinyuki.

However, in the Russo-Japanese War, Akiyama Shinyuki's seven-stage battle knocked the Russian Navy down in the third stage, and Hongtian's use of this trick was not very effective.

From the first stage of the attack to the seventh stage of the attack, it was summed up in the disastrous defeat of the Taiping navy, and finally entered the defensive battle of Singapore, which Hong Tian was unwilling to do.

This time, however, it was a success, certainly not a victory.

The British fleet, exhausted by the seven-stage battle and with unknown losses, suffered heavy losses under the double blow of the few remaining warships of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the blows of the batteries along the coast of Singapore, and finally had to evacuate.

The famous Battle of Malacca came to an end, ending with the British Navy being heavily wounded and evacuating, the Taiping Navy almost completely annihilated, and most of the batteries along the Malay Peninsula and Singapore coasts were destroyed.

After this battle, the British navy suffered a serious blow, and unless a large number of warships were drawn from other places to form a new fleet, they could not be able to launch another large-scale naval attack within six months.

However, it was also quite difficult for them to draw other warships, and three successive naval invasions failed to inflict great humiliation on the British navy and dealt a heavy blow to their strength.

Britain had too many enemies, and they relied on their superb diplomatic skills and the world's leading navy to suppress these enemies.

However, three successive fiascos at sea have seriously damaged their naval strength, and other countries are ready to move, and diplomacy is also based on strength.

Moreover, Britain also needs strong naval support to control its huge colonial system, and in the previous naval adjustment, in order to provide enough naval warships for the expeditionary force to invade China, the defense force of other colonies has been greatly weakened.

At present, the British are most worried about the opportunity of other countries to make trouble and the resistance of the colonial people in various places, and the attack on the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is a secondary matter.

Because China is mainly an army, the sea power has been basically destroyed, and their navy is at most to occupy some small islands and attack the batteries along the coast of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, as for large-scale landing operations on the road, the British really do not have the guts.

Moreover, the current land operations are mainly in Burma, and large-scale road warfare has broken out in lower Burma.

The Taiping Army and the combined Burmese and Siamese armies totaled 500,000 people, including 100,000 Taiping troops, 300,000 Burmese troops, and 100,000 Siamese troops.

Of course, there are not many who really have combat effectiveness, but the numbers alone are enough for the British not to ignore.

In Lower Burma, the British army committed tens of thousands of troops, most of them Indian mercenaries.

After a long battle, the British were on the bottom, and the British were eventually expelled from Lower Burma.

Subsequently, the combined forces of China, Burma and Siam attacked Bangladesh, and another Taiping army unit that finally pacified Tibet after half a year also went south to fight, and the whole of Bangladesh fell into the flames of war.

What frightened India the most was that between India and Tibet, which had always been controlled by the British, the three small countries of Gurkha (now Nepal), Tsemengxiong (i.e., Sikkim), and Bhutan, suddenly rebelled, announced that they would join the East Asian Defense Alliance, and joined forces with the coalition forces of China, Burma, and Siam to form a six-nation alliance, and Bangladesh was lost!

And because of the Gurkha rebellion, the Gurkha troops in the British mercenaries also rebelled, and a great uprising broke out that threatened the whole of India.

The Six-Nation Coalition marched along the southern foothills of the Himalayas, passing through Bengal, Bhutan, and Zhe Mengxiong, and arrived in Gorkha, attacking the Indian hinterland from the north, and the troops were already approaching Delhi, and the whole of British India was in a great crisis.

......

Tianjing City, in the living room of Tianhou Mansion.

Hong Tian met with Bruce again.

Bruce's whole person looked very haggard, with two big panda eyes hanging, which was extremely incongruous with his gentleman's clothes, but Hong Tian naturally would not be surprised, if it was the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom that defeated the battle, I am afraid that he would be worse than the other party.

But even if the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is the dominant side now, Hong Tian is not comfortable, and the lack of sleep for a long time makes his eyes puffy and his spirit is a little sluggish.

"My country wants to make peace with your country. Bruce said.

Hong Tiandao: "My country also longs for peace, but it will never accept humiliation. ”

Bruce looked pained and said, "Our country can make concessions. ”

Hong Tian smiled: "I knew this was the case, why did I have to do it in the first place?"

Bruce said: "We are willing to end this war on the basis of His Majesty's proposal at the beginning of the year. ”

Hong Tian smiled and said, "Is Sir joking? Could it be that in this war, the soldiers of my Taiping Heavenly Kingdom sacrificed in vain?