Volume 4: Hot! The whole world is a warring state Chapter 688: Special Forces of the Ming Dynasty
When Philip was full of confidence in India and was ready to encourage the coalition forces to continue eastward, the East Asian countries, led by the Ming Dynasty, were actively summing up, licking their wounds, and preparing to make a comeback after their naval equipment was updated.
"Your Majesty, the railway from Guangzhou to Siming Prefecture in Guangxi Province has been fully connected. Now, only the section in central Annan is left. Because of the wrangling between the Zheng family and the Nguyen Phuc family, it has never been connected."
"Humph, I used to think that the two powerful ministers in Annan were involved with each other, which was good for the security of the southern border of my Ming Dynasty, so I tolerated the existence of these two guys. Now they dare to hinder my Central and Southern Railway, then none of them should be powerful ministers. Chen Zizhuang, you personally write to the heads of the Zheng and Nguyen Phuc families and ask them to live in Beijing permanently. In addition, tell Li Dui Xin that I moved the Zheng and Nguyen Phuc families to Beijing and made him a powerful king of Annan so that he could serve me well. If the progress of the Central and Southern Railway project is delayed again because of Annan, I will massacre the entire Li family!"
"I accept your order."
Huh, after letting out a long sigh, Zhu Youdong felt a little better.
The Ming Dynasty was defeated in India. As the suzerain of East Asia, its prestige must have been affected. The vassal clans that the Ming Dynasty had granted to other countries were fine. For countries like Annan, they must be properly punished, otherwise these monkeys would easily have thoughts that they shouldn't have.
Of course, the suzerain state should be magnanimous when doing things. Even if it wants to deal with a vassal state, it must find a reason. I didn't expect that there would be a pillow when I was sleepy. On the Central and South Railway built by the Ming Dynasty at a huge cost, the Zheng family and the Nguyen Phuc family were unwilling to see the railway connected because of their own separatist confrontation.
Then I will just start with you two: All the vassal states have seen clearly that although the Ming Dynasty has temporarily failed in India, the overlord is still the overlord!
Since the success of the steam engine in Daming 22 years ago, Zhu Youdong has urged the scientists in Fangshan to develop the steam locomotive as soon as possible. In the first year of Tianqi, the Beijing-Tianjin Railway was opened to traffic. In the following 20 years, the railway mileage of Daming began to increase rapidly. Now in the 22nd year of Tianqi, the railway mileage of Daming has reached 18,000 kilometers.
Among these railways, the most important one is the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway: This railway starts from Beijing, passes through major cities such as Kaifeng and Wuchang, and finally ends in Guangzhou after running through the entire central China. This railway is basically unobstructed except for the need to use train ferries on the Yangtze River in Wuchang. The entire line is 2,400 kilometers long and has a designed speed of 60 kilometers per hour. It used to take more than two months to travel from Guangzhou to Beijing by land, and more than half a month by sea, but now it has been shortened to less than three days.
In the 16th year of the reign of Emperor Tianqi, before Aurangzeb came to power, Zhu Youdong, who was inspecting the country, had already realized that if the Ming Dynasty wanted to launch an expedition to India in the future, it would be limited . So he started the construction plan of the Central and South Railway.
The Central and Southern China Railway project is divided into three sections. The first section runs from Guangzhou to Siming Prefecture in Guangxi. The second section runs through the entire Annan. The third section runs westward from central Annan, across the entire Indochina Peninsula, and directly reaches Yangon in Myanmar.
Such a railway can greatly enhance the control of Ming Dynasty over Indochina. The rich resources in the Indochina will also be used by Ming Dynasty soon. Therefore, Cao Sanxi and Li Guojun both strongly support it.
Now it is the 22nd year of the Tianqi reign. Six years have passed. With the investment of more than 50 million yuan by the Ming Dynasty and the efforts of more than 100,000 migrant workers, the first and third sections are almost completed. It is the second section that has not been completed due to the non-cooperation of the Zheng family and the Nguyen Phuc family. Zhu Youdong couldn't help but be angry.
After deciding to take ruthless action against the Zheng and Nguyen Phuc families, Zhu Youdong looked at Xiong Tingbi and said, "Mr. Xiong, how is the defense of Indochina arranged now?"
"Your Majesty, after discussion, the Privy Council believes that after this great battle, the Western bandits will not launch a large-scale attack on us in the short term. But just in case, the Privy Council is preparing to place five divisions in Burma, three divisions in Siam, and two divisions in Annan. In this way, 150,000 troops can protect the Indochina Peninsula."
"I have no objection to the deployment of these ten divisions, but I would like to add one more thing: the Singapore Fortress, where the 1st Marine Division will be stationed permanently."
"Your Majesty, do you think the Western bandits will invade Singapore?"
"If I were in the position of Philip, I would probably think about how to digest and stabilize India after conquering it. In the next three to five years, I would not think of launching a war again. But I am afraid that the other side will go crazy."
"...Yes, I understand. I will give the order to Lieutenant General Zhang Hong of the Marine Corps later."
"Good. Mr. Xiong, how is the re-fortification of the Singapore Fort going?"
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. Because we had India in our hands before, it was almost impossible for Singapore to become a battlefield. Therefore, after our dynasty conquered Singapore more than 20 years ago, apart from building a fortress and several turrets at that time, we have not strengthened it in recent years. Now... although after more than four months of intensive construction, the defense system has been rebuilt . But the most important 305mm fortress gun turret has not yet been completed, and the navy is therefore unable to transport the cannon to Singapore."
"Seize the time. It is better to be prepared than to be caught unprepared. We would rather waste a lot of manpower and material resources and have equipment that cannot be used than allow the enemy to come and be left without any help."
"Yes, I will send a capable person to the site to urge the progress of the project."
"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Bear. Is there anything else?"
"Your Majesty, Cao Bianjiao and Zuo Menggeng have returned and are now waiting outside the Qianqing Palace."
"Hahaha, my Khyber hero is back. That's great. Well, everyone, let's adjourn the meeting now. I want to meet these two outstanding young people in private first."
…
"Hahaha, my hero of Khyber, come here quickly and let me take a closer look."
"Your Majesty, we were unable to defend Zhang Xun's camp, so we cannot be called heroes."
"Well, in that situation, it's normal that you couldn't hold on. You were able to hold on for such a long time, causing so many casualties to the enemy, forcing the enemy's Grand Vizier to come out to negotiate in person, and finally you were able to evacuate safely with so many people. Such an achievement is enough to be proud of."
"I am ashamed to say this, Your Majesty, speaking of the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, I wonder if the Privy Council has reported to you what kind of mustard gas they have developed?"
"I know." Zhu Youdong said with a relaxed expression: "That Yiprahin is right. This magic box cannot be opened easily. Anyone who opens it will definitely suffer a backlash."
"What does the emperor mean by this?"
"Yes, we have something similar in the Ming Dynasty. We don't have mustard gas right now, but we have chlorine gas, sevoflurane and the like in Fangshan's laboratory. Speaking of which, haven't you military commanders noticed? For those who need general anesthesia, our military doctors let them breathe a little gas and they soon lose consciousness. That's sevoflurane."
As a medical time traveler, Zhu Youdong, who was a surgical expert before the time travel, often dealt with various anesthetic gases. He developed a strong interest in sevoflurane, which has gradually become the dominant anesthetic gas in the operating room in the 21st century, and spent a considerable amount of time studying it. It was eventually traced back to the experiment in 1886 when Moissan first separated elemental fluorine... Therefore, the technology of the Ming Dynasty also has its own unique features. At least in the use of fluorine, it is far ahead of the other two opponents - that is, at this time, electrical research is still a little lagging behind, and the preliminary research of large-scale power plants and grid-connected power generation has just begun. Otherwise, it will not be long before the Ming Dynasty is estimated to be the first country in this plane to have air conditioners and refrigerators.
"Your Majesty, we are ashamed. Not to mention other soldiers, even we ourselves were shot and wounded. The military doctors anesthetized us, but we have never been interested in anesthesia."
"Oh, that's fine. It's fine. Every profession has its specialties. Just lead the soldiers well and fight well."
To be honest, Zhu Youdong was really happy to see these two young men under the age of thirty. On the one hand, the generals of the Ming Dynasty have successors: Zhao Lujiao and Mao Wenlong are in their sixties, and Cao Wenzhao, Liu Zhaosun, Huang Degong, and Man Gui are all around fifty years old. These two, as well as Lu Xiangsheng and others, are in the middle generation of about thirty years old. Below them, there are Li Dingguo, Zhang Huangyan and other young people in their teens and almost twenty years old. The army of the Ming Dynasty will not lack famous generals in the next fifty years.
On the other hand, it was simply because of Zuo Menggeng: this guy who led hundreds of thousands of Zuo Liangyu's troops to surrender to the Qing Dynasty in the original historical plane actually cooperated very well with Cao Bianjiao in this plane. Whether he led the charge personally or guarded the city alone, he performed well - hey, this is my achievement. As long as the Ming Dynasty is generally united and there is no fierce party struggle, many traitors and traitors in the original historical plane can still be used.
Of course, we still need to be wary of people like Li Yongfang who voluntarily surrender from a historical perspective.
"The Privy Council originally wanted to reward you by jumping three ranks, directly to major general and colonel, and letting you serve as the commander and deputy commander of a newly established division. But I have different ideas."
"Your Majesty, I respectfully listen to your instructions."
"Young man, being promoted so quickly all of a sudden is not necessarily a good thing, it will make you the target of public criticism. You have also seen clearly that in the future, the scale of our war with the Western Bandits and the Austrian Bandits will become larger and larger. In many cases, multiple divisions will work together. If you are promoted too quickly and your relationship with your colleagues is not good, you will suffer in the war. Therefore, I will lower your military ranks and promote both of you to colonels. What do you think? Don't think I am meddling and reluctant to give you official positions."
"I dare not. Your Majesty is so caring and loving. I am grateful to you."
"Well, as long as you understand, don't worry. Sooner or later, I will personally help you become a general. Okay, the military ranks have been decided, and your duties will also be slightly adjusted. I plan to form two special forces regiments, and you will be the commanders of these two special forces regiments!"
"Special Forces?"
"Yes, special forces. Simply put, this type of soldier is the best among soldiers. They have the most skills, the best equipment, and can complete the most difficult tasks. In fact, in Khyber, the counterattacks and sneak attacks you carried out despite the disparity in troop strength already had a bit of the flavor of special forces operations, which is why I chose you to do this.
Of course, I don't know much about military affairs, but I have also made some special forces training outlines and expected goals. After you set up these two regiments, slowly explore in actual training and finally come up with a complete training outline.
If you accept this mission, I will write a note to Liu Shimin later, based on the more than 600 soldiers you brought back from Khyber. After that, all the army, navy, armed police and even the people in the Ming Dynasty, whoever you like, as long as they pass the political review, the Imperial Horse Administration will transfer them to you. Finally, a special forces brigade with two regiments and more than 6,000 people will be formed.
How about it, you two? Are you willing to take on this task?"
