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- Chapter 20
The cabinet of Shangshutai.
Du Rui, Liu Rengui, and Wang Xuance gathered together to discuss sending troops. These days, Du Rui was also severely offended by Pienaar. Every day, he was not guarding Du Rui in front of Chengtian Gate, waiting for the return of the court. , just hanging out in the Duke of Song Dynasty. Every time they met, they almost didn't say anything, they just asked when the troops could be sent out.
Pienaar is really anxious now. Just two days ago, another envoy from the Byzantine Empire arrived in Chang'an following the Tang caravan ship, bringing the latest news. Now Constantinople is surrounded on three sides. During the siege, the reinforcements coming from the direction of Greece could not even approach Constantinople through waterways. Although the city's material reserves were abundant, there were only less than 60,000 troops defending the city, which could be said to be in danger.
"Your Excellency! The troop assembly has been completed. In Central and South China, the army from the direction of Tianzhu has also been stationed, waiting for the army to go out. In terms of food and grass, Tianzhu Road can support it. Please ask for orders. I don't know when the troops can be dispatched!?"
Liu Rengui is the Minister of the Ministry of War, and the mobilization of troops, horses, and baggage naturally falls on his head. These days, he has been constantly issuing mobilization orders to the outside world. After all, he is in his fifties, and he can't help but feel that he has some energy. Not good.
When will we send out troops?
Du Rui has not yet made a final decision on this issue. Although he originally promised Pienaar to send troops in three months, the plan cannot keep up with the changes. In addition to the flintlock gun, Du Rui will not use it until another secret weapon is born. The matter of sending troops to Egypt is on the agenda.
"Everyone, please be patient. The issue of sending troops is of great importance, so don't rush it!" Du Rui could only use such words to comfort him every time.
Liu Rengui and Wang Xuance looked at each other and knew that it would definitely be the answer, so they stopped arguing. However, Liu Rengui was confused and asked: "Your Majesty, when we send troops to Egypt this time, I thought, why not use Su Lin?" The Persian Army, or the Anxi Army that Xi Jun bought, why did they call the Forbidden Army and the Liaodong Army? The northerners can't stand the scorching heat. I heard that the African continent is always scorching hot. If the Liaodong Army goes south, I'm afraid they won't be accustomed to the climate!"
How could Du Rui not know the connection between this? If we were to go to Africa to fight, no one would be more suitable than Su Lin and his Persian army. Su Lin had followed Du Rui on a voyage around the world, and also fought against the Great Cannibal in Egypt. Having fought in the war, he was not only familiar with the terrain of Egypt, but also had some understanding of the cannibal's tactics. However, Su Lin was the most suitable candidate.
The reason why Du Rui did not use Su Lin instead of transferring Xue Rengui from Liaodong to lead the army was because he had his own considerations. Now the Tungus people in the north have been almost wiped out by Su Lin, and the territory of the Tang Dynasty has penetrated into Siberia. It can be said that the Great Tang Dynasty has At present, Tang's northern Xinjiang is basically free of hidden dangers.
But Su Lin cannot be easily mobilized. Ye Zide I is famous in history and is a veteran in both military and political affairs. Du Rui is worried about the western border.
Nowadays, the cannibals and the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic Kingdom are fighting lively, but who knows if Yezid I has a hidden chess move. Once Su Lin's army is mobilized, Yezid I makes a dangerous move and leads his army to the east. When the time comes, Central Asia's defense force will be weak, and Dashi will be able to march straight in, directly across Congling, and enter the Western Regions. The Yonghui incident will happen again.
Du Rui doesn¡¯t want to explain too much. After all, this is just his guess. No one knows whether it will become reality. It¡¯s too early to say anything now.
"This matter has been discussed by the cabinet and cannot be changed. The order has been issued. How can we break our promise? Master Liu, please stop talking!"
Liu Rengui also knew that Du Rui always had a purpose in doing things and would never do anything unreasonable. When Du Rui said this, he stopped saying anything.
After discussing for a while, Du Rui dispersed everyone and went to Chengqing Hall to give Li Xian a lesson. He was about to return home, but as soon as he walked to Chengtian Gate, he met Pienaar.
Du Rui also had a helpless look on his face. He looked at Pinard and smiled bitterly: "Duke Pinard, you are so punctual!"
Du Rui can still smile bitterly, but Pienaar can't even smile. The situation in Constantinople is getting more and more dangerous. How can he sit still? Once Constantinople falls, what will happen? It's all over.
"Your Majesty the Duke! I am helpless. The news just came that the rebels have surrounded Constantinople, and judging from the current situation, it is very likely that the Arabs have reached an agreement with the rebels. Constantinople The situation in Dingbao is really too bad, Your Excellency the Duke, Byzantium is eagerly waiting for the Tang Empire to lend a helping hand, when will you be able to send troops!"
Du Rui looked at Pienaar and felt that this old Western man was quite pitiful. He was obviously only fifty years old and should be in the golden age of his life. But?Because of anxiety, he is now as old as a twilight old man.
"Duke Pinal! Please believe in the integrity of the Tang Empire. The dispatch of troops has been decided by His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Empire personally. It will never be changed, but~~~~~~~"
It¡¯s but again!
Every time Du Rui said "but" these days, Pienaar's heart couldn't help but sink. After so many blows, his heart was almost stuffed into his large intestine.
Seeing that Pienaar was mourning for his heir, Du Rui also smiled in his heart and said: "We still need to prepare. We in the Tang Dynasty have a saying, before the troops and horses are moved, food and grass go first. The preparations for sending troops are in progress! Please be patient and don't be impatient. !¡±
Pienaar would not believe Du Rui's nonsense, such as "the troops and horses are not yet moved, food and grass go first", and any preparations. These are all excuses. The reason why Du Rui has been reluctant to send troops is nothing more than to consume Byzantium's national power, and then Let Datang always be in a leading position in the world.
In fact, Byzantium also had this idea. When the Tang Dynasty was defeated miserably in Congling, didn't Byzantium also plan to sit on the mountain and watch the fight between tigers and tigers?
But even if you understand, what can you do? Now apart from Datang's ability to help Byzantium, Byzantium has no other way out.
"Your Majesty the Duke! I know that the reckless behavior of our King Justinian II has offended your country, but considering the many years of exchanges between the two countries, can you urge your officials to complete it as soon as possible? Preparation."
Du Rui smiled and said: "Of course, my friends, I will naturally keep urging them, but I also want to remind you to convey this to your monarch, please hold on!"
After getting rid of the pestering Pienaar, Du Rui finally returned to the mansion. As soon as he arrived at the door, he heard from his servants that Xue Rengui had arrived.
Du Rui hurried to the main hall and saw Xue Rengui and his wife talking to Ankang and Runan. When he saw Du Rui, he also got up to greet him.
" Du Rui may have not seen the two of them for a long time. Xue Rengui is a bit older than before, but there is a sense of stability between his eyebrows. Compared with the young hero with a white horse and a silver spear, he has become much more mature.
Seeing Du Yunxi, Du Rui's eyes couldn't help but turn red. When she was young, she was obsessed with Du Rui the most. Especially after being kicked out by Cui from Laiguo's palace, she regarded Du Rui as her support. How can I not miss you after all these years?
Du Rui looked at Du Yunxi and couldn't help but think of Du Yunlian who was still in Wozhou. He was not sad anymore and said: "Xier! Have you ever seen your mother?"
Du Yunxi wiped away her tears and said, "I'm just here waiting for my brother, but I haven't seen him yet!"
Du Rui smiled and said: "Okay! This time I come to Chang'an, I won't be able to go back for a while. We brothers and sisters have plenty of time to talk. You go see your mother first."
Princess Runan and Princess Ankang knew that Du Rui had something to say to Xue Rengui, so they pulled Du Yunxi and said, "Sister Xi'er! Let's go to the back house first to see our mother!"
With that said, they took Du Yunxi and their two children, eight-year-old second son Xue Shu and six-year-old eldest daughter Xue Ping'er, to the back house. Du Rui and Xue Rengui took their seats as guest and host.
Du Rui was the first to say: "Rengui! This time I ask you to lead the army to Egypt, you have a plan in mind!"
Xue Rengui has never been to Egypt, but he doesn't feel worried. He is the kind of person who likes constant challenges. He did not participate in Du Rui's Western Expedition, and he regretted it for a long time. This time he has the opportunity to compete with the big cannibal. Fan, I couldn't hold it any longer for a long time.
"Brother! Since I have entrusted this thousand-jin burden to my younger brother, I will definitely not let my brother down. I have heard people talk about the big man-eating brother in recent years. He is also very brave, but he is not as good as our soldiers of the Tang Dynasty. In comparison, it is still not as good after all, and this time I can compete so that I, the Liaodong athletes, can show my majesty!"
Du Rui saw that Xue Rengui didn't pay attention to the Great Eaters at all, and couldn't help but worry. Although he had defeated the Great Eaters several times during his western expedition, that was not because the combat effectiveness of the Tang army had fundamentally surpassed that of the Great Eaters. Food army.
First of all, the Dashi Army won the great victory at Congling. Ibrasi Muhammad was arrogant and underestimated the enemy. He was completely ignored by the Tang Army. Before the troops were assembled and the Basid City in the rear was not cleared, he hurriedly sent out troops. , and entered the Western Regions, giving Du Rui the opportunity to annihilate the Eastern Expedition of the Great Food.
In addition, there was internal discord in Dashi at that time. Muawiyah and Ibrahim Mohammed were in the same position and did not take care of each other. First of all, Dashi lost the first move.
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? out of a fight with real swords and guns, with the combat power of both sides, the victory or defeat would be between fifty and five, after all, the armies of the Great Food Empire had swept through the three continents of Asia, Africa, and Europe, and their strength was evident.
?"Rengui! It's good to outdo the opponent in terms of momentum before fighting, but you can't underestimate your opponent. The Byzantine Empire has been in existence for hundreds of years. It once dominated the world and was invincible. But why was it defeated by the cannibal? In the hands of the Tang Dynasty, have you ever thought about the reason? The Great Food Empire is by no means a weakling. The reason why my brother was able to win a great victory in the Western Expedition was also coincident with the Qi Meeting. All the favorable conditions are on our side, the Tang Dynasty. Your expedition this time , but you must not underestimate the other party!"
Seeing that Du Rui spoke solemnly, Xue Rengui quickly calmed down and said, "Brother, please give me some advice!"
Du Rui said: "The main goal of your invasion of Egypt this time is to conquer the entire African continent. Your main enemy is not the cannibal, but the natives living on the African continent! Attack the city first, and attack the heart first. I hope you can keep in mind that you must appease those African natives and make them naturalized and used by our Datang. Only in this way can our Datang gain a firm foothold on the African continent!"
Dashi¡¯s side is not worried about sending troops this time. Dashi¡¯s main targets now are the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic Kingdom next to him. As long as Xue Rengui can seize Egypt with thunderous means, Dashi¡¯s empire may not fight back desperately. Try to take back Egypt.
¡°But the natives living on the African continent are the biggest trouble. Du Rui cannot exterminate them like he did with the Khitan people. The method he adopts should be mainly to appease them.
If the killing is excessive and the African natives completely fall to the food side, it will be extremely detrimental to the Tang Dynasty. Even if the troops are divided and conquered, it will not help. At that time, those natives will only have to go to the desert, next door, or the jungle to fight. Hiding, taking advantage of the convenience of the terrain, the Tang army could only cope with it.
Once the Tang army is dragged down on the African continent, it will inevitably cost a lot, and it may not be able to incorporate the African continent into the territory. In the end, this long-lasting war will inevitably wear down and collapse the Tang Dynasty, and finally it will Like Britain in the Anglo-Boer War in history, it cost a lot and gained little.
The Boer War was a war fought between the British and the Boers for the South African colony. In the late 19th century, the Transvaal Republic and the Free State of Orans successively discovered the world's largest diamond mines and gold mines. The British colonists coveted these treasures, and war broke out with the Boers in August 1899. At the beginning of the war, the British army was at a numerical disadvantage and suffered repeated defeats in front of the nimble and agile Boers. With the arrival of reinforcements, the British army gradually took the initiative.
In the autumn of 1899, Britain declared victory in the war, but the Boers continued to attack the British army. The British army forced the Boers into concentration camps, resulting in the deaths of 20,000 women and children. Kitchener, the British commander-in-chief in the Boer War, became a national hero in Britain, but until his triumphant victory, Britain still did not fully control South Africa. The Anglo-Boer War can be called the longest war in the history of the British Renaissance.
The entire war was historically divided into two stages. The first stage was the Boer attack.
The Boers' war plan was to concentrate their superior forces before British reinforcements arrived in South Africa, divide them into two groups, attack Natal all the way east, divide and surround the two main British strongholds Ladysmith and Dundee, and occupy them. Durban Port, gaining access to the sea. In addition, they went all the way to the southwest and occupied Mafeking and Kimberley, two strategic locations on the Western Cape railway line where the main force of the British army was stationed. At the same time, they incited Boer riots in the Cape Colony to contain the British troops, especially destroying the transportation of the two East and West Cape Railways to prevent the reinforcing British troops from using the railway to advance north. In addition, in order to prevent the African natives from taking advantage of the war to attack the Boers, General Prinslow led a heavy army to garrison in the Elephant River Basin far away from the front line to guard against the Pedi uprising.
On October 12, 1899, the Boer coalition consisting of the Transvaal Army and the Orange Armed Forces moved eastward. General Piet Joubert, commander-in-chief of the cloth army, led the main force, crossed the Drakensberg Mountains from East Orange, entered the Natal colony, and went straight to Ladysmith, where the main force of the British army in Natal was located. In the early morning of October 20, the pursuing cloth army fought on Mount Tarana with a brigade of British troops stationed here to defend Ladysmith's outer defense line. The commander of the cloth army, General Meir, took advantage of the favorable terrain and the cover of morning fog to launch a surprise attack on the British army.
Another Armed Forces, commanded by General Delare, known as the "Lion of the Western Transvaal", entered British Bechuanaland on October 11 and cut off the Western Cape railway line, thus blocking the Connections between the Cape Region and Rhodesia. Delray divided his troops into two groups, one commanded by General Cronye to surround Mafetin, and the other commanded by Louis Botha to surround the diamond town of Kimberley.
The third Boer army crossed the Orange River and went south, absorbing a small group of Boer armed forces in the British Cape Colony, operating in the northeastern region of the Cape, and threatening the East-West Cape Railway line. The British army had to tightly defend the Orange River Railway Bridge to guard against the Boers' attempts to blow up the bridge. The most important railway hub station and military supplies distribution center on the Western Cape railway line is De Alye.Harassed by the Boers. In order to protect the normal passage of the East-West Cape Railway, the British had to install a 4.7-inch naval gun on the train, slowly advance under its cover, and repair the railway in small sections.
On October 30, 1899, later known as "Sad Monday" by the British army, Ladysmith's 4,000 British troops, under the command of Lieutenant General George White, launched a counterattack against the Clothier Army. The main force of the Cloth army commanded by Joubert was encountered. The British army was defeated with a loss of 1,272 men. The remaining troops retreated to Ladysmith and were immediately surrounded. Due to Ladysmith's tight defense, Joubert was unable to attack the city several times, so he sent scout troops deep into the British hinterland, as far as the Estcourt line, to scout for locations that could be used to fortify. The rest of the main force camped and rested around Ladysmith, waiting for the arrival of the British Overseas Corps.
At the end of October, 20,000 British troops led by General Redvers Buller, the commander-in-chief of the British reinforcements and who had suppressed the local uprising in Ireland, finally arrived in Cape Town. Beginning in mid-November, the British army commanded by Buller launched a counterattack against the cloth army on three fronts: eastern, central and western.
In the early morning of December 15, General Buller launched an attack on the cloth army at Colenso, a small station southwest of Ladysmith, in an attempt to forcefully cross the Tugela River and head for Ladysmith. The British army suffered a disastrous defeat in this battle due to the fact that the Bundeswehr had first concealed its artillery positions, and the British commander's command errors resulted in dispersion of troops and rigid tactics.
During the same period of the Battle of Ladysmith, the British army also suffered defeats in Kimberley on the western front and Stormberg on the central line, losing more than 2,800 people. It was called a "dark week" in the history of the British Army. General Buller resigned as commander-in-chief of the British Expeditionary Force due to the defeat.
The second stage was the British occupation of the Transvaal.
On December 17, 1899, Lord Roberts was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the South African Expeditionary Force by the British Prime Minister Lord Salisbury, with Kitchener as Chief of Staff. As a result of the defeat, bellicosity among the British people increased, and the Salisbury cabinet's policy of "carrying the war to the end" gained support.
On January 10, 1900, Roberts and Kitchener arrived in Cape Town. They brought with them the native VII Corps, reinforcements from Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, and three cavalry detachments from India and Ceylon. By January 1900, the number of British troops on the South African battlefield increased to 180,000, and in March it increased to 220,000 to 250,000, giving them an absolute advantage. In addition, thousands of military horses were shipped to South Africa from Britain and Australia, increasing the mobility of the British army.
After weighing the battlefield situation, Roberts changed his strategy and moved the main attack direction from Natal west to the Orange area where the troops were weaker in the middle. At the same time, he changed the rigid frontal attack tactics and adopted a roundabout and pincer attack strategy. On the western front, the British army defeated the militia group commanded by Piet Cronye, ??the most ferocious "Black General" of the Clothier Army, and liberated Kimberley, which had been besieged for several months, on February 16. The British army on the eastern front launched an offensive on February 27, defeated the Boers at Dordrecht on March 3, and was finally able to relieve the siege of Ladissmith.
After eliminating the most powerful Cronje threat to his left wing, Roberts turned the main attack force back to Orange and steadily advanced northward. The Cloth Army suffered successive defeats. On March 10, the British Sixth and Seventh Divisions defeated the most well-equipped Johannesburg police force of the British Army at Abraham's Cowpen. On March 12, Orange Free State President Matheus Stein led government and parliamentary officials to escape from the capital Bloemfontein and fled to Kronstad in the north. On the afternoon of March 13, the British army entered Bloemfontein.
On May 24, 1900, Lord Milner announced in Bloemfontein that Britain would annex the Orange Free State. After the annexation of Orange, the British army stepped up its attack on the Transvaal. On September 1, 1900, Roberts announced the British annexation of the Transvaal and declared the war over.
However, the British war did not end there. The Boers soon introduced the war into the third stage of guerrilla warfare.
After capturing Pretoria, Roberts' 40,000 troops rested in place. But the British army's long supply line from Cape Town to Pretoria was attacked by the Boers who were still resisting. At this time, all the major cities and railway lines in the Transvaal and Orange had been occupied, and the cloth army began to switch to guerrilla warfare.
The Boer army that had withdrawn from the city had now broken into pieces and formed multiple guerrilla groups. The Boer guerrillas, under the leadership of De Wet, Delray, Botha, Jan Smuts and James Herzog, used their skills in field cavalry and archery to attack the British lines of communication and plunder British troops. army supplies and annihilated the small group of British troops.
From December 1900 to April 1901, the Boer guerrillas, under the command of Botha and De Wet, fought deep into the British Cape Colony. During the winter campaign from April to September 1901, the Clothier guerrillas launched many sneak attacks against the British troops in the Transvaal and Orange, and succeeded frequently, capturing large amounts of arms, supplies and artillery.
From September 1901 to May 1902, Smuts and Herzog entered the Cape Colony again. They led 5,000 cavalry, divided into several small groups.The strike force traveled thousands of miles, penetrated deep into the rear of the British army, and advanced to the Atlantic coast and the suburbs of Cape Town, forcing the British to declare martial law in the Cape region.
In order to end the war as soon as possible, starting from March 1901, Kitchener adopted bunker tactics, scorched earth policy and setting up concentration camps to deal with the Boer guerrillas. In the areas where the Boer guerrillas were active, the British army erected barbed wire fences to divide the Boer Republic into several appeasement areas and conduct regional raids. The total length of barbed wire is 6,000 kilometers. A plank bunker was set up every 1 to 2 kilometers in the appeasement zone, and soldiers were posted to guard it. Anyone who approached the bunker's range would be shot. A total of more than 8,000 bunkers were set up. In these appeasement areas, if a Boer farmer was found helping the guerrillas, all farms and houses within 10 miles of the area would be burned down. In addition, Kitchener also changed the previous lenient policy towards prisoners of war. Surrendered and captured guerrilla members, as well as adult male citizens who had participated in the guerrillas, were all exiled to distant prisoner of war camps in India, Ceylon and Bermuda. In the Cape Colony and the Natal Colony, any Dutch-British citizen who responded to the call to "take up arms" was sentenced to death once captured.
In order to completely eliminate the basis of guerrilla activities, Kitchener ordered that 136,000 Boer women, children, and the elderly, as well as more than 80,000 black servants, were taken away from the burned farms and transported to the country in open trucks or bullock carts. Together, they were imprisoned in a concentration camp.
The high death rate in the concentration camps seriously shook the morale of the Boer soldiers, and at the same time caused the British image to plummet in front of the world.
The Boer War was protracted, both sides were exhausted, and European countries were increasingly criticizing and criticizing Britain. In February 1901, Kitchener had begun secret negotiations with Louis Botha.
By May 1902, the British army had spent 220 million pounds on the war in South Africa and killed more than 21,000 people. The combat capabilities of the Boers were also declining rapidly, with their strength reduced from a peak of 88,000 to 22,000. Due to the lack of supplies, the militia soldiers were malnourished, ragged, and morale was depressed. Their food and ammunition have been exhausted, and they can only live on the spoils of war.
In 1902, Britain and Burundi began to formally hold peace talks. On May 31, the British and Burundi officially signed a peace treaty in Vereeniging. The Anglo-Boer War, which lasted for 31 months, came to an end.
During the Boer War, Britain mobilized 450,000 troops, including 256,000 British regular troops, 109,000 British volunteers, 53,000 British colonial troops in South Africa, and 31,000 from Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The British transported a total of 380,000 troops to South Africa by sea. In addition, they also transported 350,000 horses, 100,000 mules, 1.34 million tons of military equipment and other supplies, and used 1,027 ships. A total of 1,072 officers and 20,870 soldiers from the British, Australian, New Zealand and Canadian troops participating in the war were killed.
After the Anglo-Boer War, Britain connected its colonies in southern Africa and controlled the corridor leading to the Great Lakes region in the heart of Africa. The Cape of Good Hope region, backed by the vast interior of South Africa, became one of the most important outposts of the British Overseas Empire. In terms of economy, with the world's largest Rand gold mine controlled by the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom has been able to control the lifeline of the global economy. Gold from South Africa quickly made London the center of global finance and gold trading.
These are what Britain gained in this war, but compared with what they lost, these gains are simply not worth mentioning. The Anglo-Boer War in history marked the end of Britain's overseas expansion history.
British politicians found that due to the high cost of modern war, it was economically and strategically unfeasible to defend the overseas territories of the British Empire and the British mainland at the same time. The UK should therefore no longer maintain a policy of isolation. After the Boer War, Britain began its strategic contraction on a global scale, transferring part of its overseas sphere of influence to white dominions such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, while its own strategic focus shifted back to Europe.
Although the British government annexed the Transvaal and Orange, it failed to end the war. The war continued, and the Boer army conducted extensive guerrilla warfare in the countryside, forcing the British army to adopt a brutal and cruel "three-light" policy to counterattack.
The war is coming to an end, with both sides suffering heavy casualties. Almost all adult men of the Boers were mobilized as soldiers, the land lacked manpower to cultivate, and livestock was on the verge of extinction. The British changed their commanders three times, invested 450,000 troops, suffered nearly 100,000 casualties, and cost 223 million pounds. This heavy price caused the domestic people's anti-war sentiment to rise, and world public opinion also strongly criticized Britain. The elderly Queen Victoria was anxious and worried day and night about the war. Coupled with domestic political struggles and the premature death of her husband, the Queen finally died of illness in January 1901.
It was precisely because the British knew that they could not exterminate the Boers that they had to sign the Treaty of Vereeniging with them, which stipulated that Britain was the legal sovereign of the Boers, but recognized the freedom and property of the Boers, and allocated funds to assist the Boers in rebuilding their homeland. , establish autonomous government.
Although the Boer War ended with British victory, the BritishBut they are in an extremely disadvantageous position. European powers almost unanimously condemned Britain's policy in South Africa, believing that Britain bullied two small Boer countries in order to pursue gold. They believed that the huge golden benefits that Britain gained after defeating the Boers would put them at a further disadvantage. As a result, France, Russia and Germany once sought to unite to fight against Britain. In 1900, taking advantage of the fact that Britain was mired in war and had no time to take care of it, France and Russia bypassed Britain and secretly divided their spheres of influence in Turkey.
In response, Britain panicked and hurriedly ceded two islands in the Samoa Islands in the Pacific to Germany. It also contracted with the United States, which was not yet a superpower at the time, to give the United States the convenience of digging and using canals in Central America. , signed an alliance agreement with Japan in 1902.
Through these actions, Britain is trying to win over Germany, the United States, and Japan to counter France and Russia. However, this series of measures forced the British Empire to abandon the policy of "glorious isolation" and "continental balance" in its diplomatic tradition.
Immediately afterwards, out of helplessness, the United Kingdom signed agreements with France and Russia to establish the "Triple Entente" military group, and became more deeply involved in the European political whirlpool. This set the stage for huge losses.
The Boer War caused huge changes within the British Empire. The high war expenditures made it impossible for Britain to maintain the imperial system at a huge cost. Even Chamberlain, who had always been enthusiastic about imperial colonial undertakings, lamented after the war that "this is a burden."
Beginning in 1902, the British government began to consider adopting tariff reform and using the preferential tariff system to maintain the unity of the empire. This tariff reform actually enhanced the colonies' economic status within the empire. At the same time, after the Boer War broke out, Australia and other colonies held military summits and decided to send volunteer troops to South Africa so that their troops could serve in operations outside their territories. This decision was echoed by colonies such as Canada, New Zealand, and India, which sent volunteer troops to South Africa. This in turn enabled the colonies to gain the right to military independence from within the British Empire.
In 1901 and 1907, Australia and New Zealand became autonomous territories. Subsequently, many colonies in the British Empire also declared themselves dominions. After the First World War, the trend of British decline was very obvious. In 1931, the United Kingdom promulgated the Act of Westminster, declaring that the United Kingdom and the autonomous dominions had equal status and were not subordinate to each other in all aspects of their domestic and foreign affairs. The colonial system of the British Empire was shaken from then on. After World War II, Britain's economic strength was greatly weakened and its political status was extremely reduced. With the successive independence of Pakistan and India in 1947, by the 1960s, the British imperial colonial system completely collapsed.
A Boer War caused the complete decline of Britain, the world's leader. Du Rui did not want Datang to experience the huge losses. Du Rui did not deny that he also coveted the rich mineral resources on the African continent, but why Obtaining these benefits is a university question.
When Xue Rengui heard this, he understood what Du Rui meant. When Xue Ne followed Du Rui to Australia to quell the rebellion, after returning, he also told him about Du Rui's approach in Australia.
Although Xue Rengui doesn't know much about Africa, he also knows that there must be many natives living there. These natives must not be killed blindly or treated with kindness. If the Tang Dynasty wants to gain a foothold in Africa and make the African continent completely become the Great Tang Dynasty, The territory of the Tang Dynasty must be treated with both kindness and power.
After thinking about it, Xue Rengui nodded quickly and said: "Brother, don't worry, I understand!"
Du Rui nodded, and then said: "After the situation is stabilized, we might as well relocate some of the African natives to Tianzhu Road, Persian Road, or Annan Road. The climate there is almost the same as that of Africa. Not only can we provide Those places provide labor and can also disperse the African natives so that they cannot gather together to resist!¡±
Xue Rengui nodded again and again.
Du Rui added: "This time, the Forbidden Army will dispatch 20,000 Zuo Qianniu Guards, led by Du Yaozu. Among them, 10,000, you must take good care of my brother!"
Xue Rengui was stunned when he heard this. Seeing that Du Rui said it so solemnly, thinking that it must be an important matter, he asked: "Brother! What's the difference between those 10,000 people?"
Du Ruidao: "Recently Zhang Yanshuo, Minister of the Ministry of War, has developed a new type of weapon called a flintlock gun. It uses gunpowder as a trigger and lead pellets to kill people. It can kill people within five hundred steps, and it is so powerful that it can penetrate iron armor!"
Xue Rengui is also a war madman. When he heard that there was such a magical weapon, he immediately became interested and said: "Brother! What kind of weapon is it that can be so powerful!"
Du Rui stood up and gave instructions: "Erlang! Please bring the flintlock pistol that Zhang Yanshuo sent that day to the martial arts field."
After Du Rui finished speaking, he took Xue Rengui to the martial arts field. Du Rui taught many children martial arts here on weekdays.?This is also where the muscles and bones are stretched.
Du Pingsheng was already waiting. There was a gun target on the other side. Du Rui stepped forward to take the flintlock gun and said, "This is the flintlock gun!"
Xue Rengui looked at it and couldn't figure out how powerful this fire stick could be. It could actually have the power that Du Rui described. He couldn't help but ask: "Brother! How to use this thing!"
Du Rui didn't say anything. He took the flintlock gun and tried to hide it. He first stuffed the cardboard box wrapped with gunpowder and lead bullets into the gun chamber, then pressed it with an iron drill, then aimed at the gun target and pulled the trigger. There was a roar, and with the billowing black smoke, the gun target in the distance instantly fell into pieces.
Xue Rengui was just like Liu Rengui and Wang Xuance a few days ago. He was completely unprepared. As a result, he was so startled by the earth-shattering loud noise that he almost fell to the ground. Looking at the gun target in the distance that had been broken into pieces, Xue Rengui couldn't believe it. My eyes were so blank that I didn't react for a long time.
Du Rui threw the flintlock gun to Du Pingsheng, walked over and said to Xue Rengui: "How powerful is this flintlock gun?"
When Xue Rengui heard Du Rui's words, he woke up from the shock just now. He looked at the musket in Du Pingsheng's hand with hot eyes, wishing he could snatch it away.
"Brother, did you just say that ten thousand people in the Zuo Qianniu Guards use this flintlock?"
Du Rui nodded and said: "There are currently ten thousand people, and there will be more and more in the future. One day, all the troops in Datang will be equipped with these flintlock guns, artillery, and thunderbolts, just like I told you at the beginning. In that way, it changes from a cold weapon to a hot weapon! This flintlock gun is the representative of hot weapons!"
"Okay! Okay! Okay!" Xue Rengui said three good words in succession. After seeing Du Rui demonstrate it just now, he already fully recognized this weapon and couldn't wait to take this flintlock gun to the battlefield. Showing his power, "Brother! With this flintlock gun, who else in the world will be my opponent of the Tang army in the future!"
Du Rui smiled and said: "Rengui! Although weapons are the key to war, we cannot rely solely on weapons. It also depends on how the general uses the weapons. My brother has already ordered Du Yaozu to practice this musket battle formation. "
Xue Rengui couldn't help but feel itchy when he heard it, and said: "Brother! In this case, why not go and have a look, so that I can see how to use this flintlock gun, so that you can make no mistakes on the battlefield!"
Du Rui knew that Xue Rengui, like Su Lin and Qin Shu, were war madmen. Now that he had this idea, Du Rui couldn't stop it even if he wanted to, so he had no choice but to agree and said: "Okay! It's up to you!"
The two of them were about to go out, but they bumped into Baochai. Seeing that they were about to go out, they hurriedly said: "Husband! The food and wine are ready now, why are you going out? General Xue is a guest from afar, so we can't neglect him!" "
Xue Rengui thought about the musket battle formation and where to eat and drink, and said hurriedly: "Sister-in-law! I am not an outsider, so I'd better go and get down to business first!"
With that said, he pulled Du Rui, who looked helpless, and ran out. - Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report
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