Volume 4: Hot! The whole world is a warring state Chapter 666: World War Begins
"Hua La~Hua La~" After quickly flipping through the notes, Song Yingxing's face was flushed with excitement: "Your Majesty, where did you get this thing?"
"Don't ask where it came from. Just confirm with me whether this thing is useful or not."
"It's useful! Very useful! Your Majesty, many things here are just a layer of window paper for us. Give us more time and we can break through it. But now with this, the time it takes for us to put electricity into practical use will be rapidly shortened!"
"Then I ask you, after we have this thing, when can our large warship be completely finalized on the blueprint? You must know that now my Ming Dynasty has made preparations in all aspects, and we are just waiting for your power supply."
"Uh... Your Majesty, please give me another three months. Three months. I need this time to recalculate the data and add things to the design drawings. So, three months really cannot be less than that."
"...Okay, we've already waited a year, so it doesn't matter if we wait another three months. Chang Geng, I'm very anxious, but you can't be impatient. You must ensure that the final circuit design is safe."
"Yes, I accept your order."
…
Just when the Ming Dynasty's 10,000-ton warships finally saw the light of day, also in January 1638, in Lisbon, Portugal, Raimondo Montecuccoli, who had been stationed in America for many years, finally returned to Europe.
"Welcome home, my Raimondo. Oh, after not seeing you for many years, you have completely shed your youthfulness and become a mature man."
"Your Majesty, I haven't seen you for many years. I miss you very much. Thank you for coming to Lisbon in person..."
"Hahaha, I came to Lisbon to pick you up on one hand. On the other hand, the EU General Assembly will be held here soon. Well, I called you back this time mainly to listen to your views on the situation in the Americas. In addition, there may be new tasks for you."
" Your Majesty ? What new mission?"
"Hahaha, Raimondo, please don't be anxious. Let's go to the Ajuda Palace. The Prime Minister and all the princes and ministers from all over Europe are waiting for you there. They all urgently need to learn about the situation in America from you."
"As you wish, Your Majesty."
After the group arrived at the Ajuda Palace, the 65-year-old Prime Minister of the Kingdom, Osvalles, who had been with Philip for nearly 30 years, first gave Raimondo a big hug and said, "Thank you, brave commander. Your success in America has finally increased the income of the Kingdom government in America."
"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, I appreciate your praise. In my opinion, the most important reason why we were able to quickly drive the rebels back to the mountains is that our navy has gained control of the sea on the east coast of the Pacific Ocean."
"Hahaha, no need to be overly modest. You have to know that the year before last, America only paid 8 million in taxes to the kingdom's government, but the military expenditure was close to 6 million. Once this balance is broken, America will not only fail to become the kingdom's cash cow, but will become a burden to the kingdom. But last year, after you successfully drove the rebels into the mountains, America's tax revenue to the kingdom quickly recovered to more than 10 million. Just for this point, as the prime minister, I am extremely grateful to you. Well, let's not keep others waiting too long, let's go in quickly."
In fact, the situation in America is relatively simple now: after the Prince of Asturias warship was stationed in America, the Ming navy could not deliver supplies to the American rebels on a large scale and almost openly. Although piecemeal delivery has never stopped, the scale of the war has expanded, and such supply efforts are far from enough.
Therefore, the American rebels had no choice but to abandon the coastal plains and garrison in the mountainous areas relying on their strategic locations.
For Spain, in the short term, they could not see any hope of completely wiping out the "rebels". But anyway, a big city like Lima was taken, and the richest silver mines in Peru were taken back. Moreover, the "rebels" were successfully driven into the mountains, which was a great deterrent to the entire Indian ethnic group in the American continent who were ready to make a move at this time.
But similarly, for the Ming Dynasty, the fighting power of the rebels was indeed improved, and a real base was established. The Ming Dynasty used a regular army division plus some guns and ammunition to contain the eight divisions sent by Spain from its homeland, and made it impossible for Spain to take whatever it wanted in America as before - just as Guevara said: After we leave, they will build schools and hospitals for you and increase your wages, not because they have a change of heart, nor because they have become good people, but because we have been here.
Now that the Ming Dynasty has arrived, Spain must give up some of its interests to treat the local Indians better. Otherwise, it will continue to provide soldiers to the rebels.
In short, Spain's rule in the Americas has indeed stabilized again. But the days of annual net income of more than 20 million are gone. America can now provide Spain with about 10 million to 12 million in revenue per year, but in order to guard against the rebels, the garrison was increased. Therefore, the expenditure has soared to around 6 million.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is roughly the situation in America. It will take a long time for us to completely wipe out the rebels. However, the large-scale unrest has indeed subsided, and order has basically been restored in America."
After Raimondo finished his report , the 55-year-old Wallenstein stood up and said, "Your Majesty Philip, everyone. According to the task assigned to me by the European Commission, I will lead the European General Staff to formulate a plan for the EU to attack India. Now that the preliminary plan has been completed, I will give you a brief explanation."
"What?!" Raimondo's eyes widened when he heard the news. Although his military qualities prevented him from jumping in surprise, the surprised expression on his face was completely seen by Philip.
But Philip said nothing, for Wallenstein had already begun his speech.
"According to the agreement signed between the Alliance and the Ottomans last December, the Alliance and the Ottomans will put aside their differences and jointly send troops to the East. The Ottomans will mobilize 300,000 troops on the ground this time, and the navy will only have three ironclad ships, and the rest are transport ships. Their route of advance will start from the Persian territory, cross the Khyber Pass, and enter the Indus Plain.
This time, our alliance will mobilize 500,000 troops in the army and all the navy except the American Squadron will be deployed in this battle. Our route of advance is to use Egypt as the first base, where supplies will be concentrated first. Then the entire army will enter the Red River along the Suez Canal. After that, Socotra Island will be used as the second base, where another batch of supplies will be stored. After that, we will cross the Indian Ocean and land in Goa on the Indian Peninsula..."
Raimondo could no longer hear what Wallenstein said next: The European Union had actually formed an alliance with the Ottoman Empire? And the two political entities had actually mobilized 800,000 troops? This, this was too sudden!
The meeting lasted a long time, and it was already evening when it ended. Raimondo, who looked dazed, was naturally kept by Philip after the meeting.
"Are you surprised?"
"Uh, yes, Your Majesty. This really surprises me. I really didn't expect that the Alliance would launch an expedition to the East so soon."
"There's nothing we can do about it." He sighed softly, "I basically understand what's going on in America. You've done a good job. But it's obvious that in the short term, we can't completely cut off the Chinese support for the American rebels, right?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. One Prince cannot solve all problems."
"So we'll have to keep fighting in America for many more years, right?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Unless the Chinese stop supporting America, we will have to fight hard there for at least five to ten years."
"Hahaha, Raimondo, you are still too optimistic. In my opinion, even if the Chinese stop providing any support to the rebels in America, we will not be able to completely suppress the rebellion in America within ten years."
"Well, Your Majesty, why do you decide so?"
It's very simple. Although I am not a Marxist, I still know what the great said: Where there is oppression, there is resistance.
Of course, Africa has been exploited by us in recent decades. But there are no Chinese in Africa to lead them in rebellion. Besides, those black uncles in Africa, huh!
But it is not the same in America, the Indians have been mobilized by the Chinese. No matter how we suppress them, unless we give up the colonial regime there, the resistance in America will not stop.
"Laimondo, don't worry about why I'm so sure. I summoned you back this time and told you that I had a new mission. I think you've already guessed it."
"Your Majesty, do you want me to join this expedition to the East?"
"Yes, Raimondo. According to our plan, after conquering the whole of India, the Indus River Basin will be handed over to the Ottomans, and the Ganges River Basin and the Deccan Plateau will belong to our European Union. So this time we will send up to 500,000 troops. After landing, these 500,000 troops will be divided into two groups. I mean, please serve as the commander of one of the groups. Then let Henri de La Tour Auvergne (Turenne, or translated as Turenne) be your chief of staff. How about it, can you accept this mission?"
