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Volume Three: The Wind Rises from the South, Chapter 26, Chapter 26, Part 2 Mandalay

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    Hearing this, Batu looked at Chen Zaixing's haggard face. He had spent more than twenty days forgetting to sleep and eat, and he had almost lost weight, but his eyes were shining and he was extremely energetic.  Regarding the origin of the huge sum of money Chen Zaixing invested in the army, Batu couldn't help but sigh: "You are right. This opportunity is indeed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. All you and I can do is put our all in it, and there is no need to think about anything else. I  Only now do I know why you killed the attendant. If he is still alive now, he will naturally have the trust of the two children more than us. Moreover, this person knows the inside story of Myanmar, and the noble monks will naturally gather around him.  How can we take action?" Chen Zaixing nodded and said in a low voice: "This matter is of great importance. There are many Burmese people here. If it spreads, it will be very detrimental to you and me." At this point, Chen Zaixing asked.  Said: "By the way, what happened to you in such a hurry just now?" "Fortunately you reminded me, otherwise I almost forgot!" Chen Zaixing patted his head and said anxiously: "After the battle in Babu Village, wasn't there some  The Burmese army officers escaped from the command of the puppet king and reported to our army that the puppet king fled to the Mingqi area in order to try again? Today I learned from the refugees that the puppet king was levying food and soldiers there, and there were also British people.  Help them train their army. More importantly, the puppet king ordered to block the waterway and prohibit anyone from transporting food to Mandalay!" Chen Zaixing's face immediately became serious. During this time, he had taken control of Mandalay's family.  The capital of the Kingdom of Myanmar, Mandalay is undoubtedly the political center and cultural and religious center of the Kingdom of Myanmar. There are a large number of temples around Mandalay, inhabited by a large number of nobles and monks. These are pure consumption people separated from production.  However, Mandalay is not the economic center of Myanmar. Judging from the natural conditions for agricultural development, the delta area located on the lower reaches of the Irrawaddy River in the south has fertile land, crisscrossed rivers, and a humid and hot climate, which is very suitable for rice cultivation.  The economic center of the Kingdom of Myanmar, which was founded on agriculture, is actually in the Irrawaddy Delta region further south.  Due to the dislocation of the economic center, political center and cultural center, a large amount of food and other wealth are shipped to Mandalay in the form of taxes every year to meet the consumption of the royal capital. Without this source of food, there is no doubt that Mandalay will  It is impossible to survive alone. This is why after learning that the puppet king fled to the Mingqi area, Chen Zaixing and Batu both believed that they should pursue the puppet king immediately after Mandalay was pacified, and conquer Mingqi and even the entire Irrawaddy Delta area.  The control is in your own hands.  "Brother Fusheng, it's almost over here in Mandalay. When will I send troops south to pursue the puppet king?" Batu asked. He looked at Chen Zaixing's solemn expression, hesitated for a moment and then said: "Do you think it's still possible for Fusheng to do so now?"  Isn't it time to pursue?" "No, that's not the case!" Chen Zaixing slowly shook his head: "I have met hundreds of Burmese monks and nobles in the past twenty days.  The two sides are like rats, choose the strong and follow them. As long as we can not lose the war, they will not jump out to organize rebels to deal with us. After all, the successive kings of Myanmar over the past 100 years have not been free of charge.  We have dealt with a lot of restless elements among the local nobles here in Myanmar. We also saw the combat effectiveness of the Burmese army in the battle of Baka. It is completely behind the times. As long as we don't make too big mistakes, even if they are outnumbered on the battlefield  We have a great advantage and are not our opponents. The biggest problem now is the British. You know, the British sent a squadron of three steam gunboats to block the surface of the Irrawaddy River and declared the Irrawaddy River to be a non-belligerent area.  It is forbidden for any party to use this communication line for military operations, but we don't even have a gunboat. Without ships, it is difficult to attack in the downstream area with dense waterways. What is the attitude of the British before?  Preparing to completely annex the entire Burma is just a risky move. The dispatch of the squadron is a prelude to committing a large army to personally intervene. It is also just a normal action to protect the expatriates. We know nothing about these, and the reinforcements from the court have not arrived. If we send out troops, it will be a bit difficult.  Acting rashly!¡± When Chen Zaixing said this, Batu could only nod silently. If compared to Myanmar, Shunguo was a behemoth on a different scale; then the British Empire at the end of the 19th century was the largest in the world.  They are all huge monsters. A quarter of the land inhabited by humans has the Union Jack flag flying. The vast ocean is forbidden by the British Empire. The powerful imperial fleet is enough to dispel any arrogant thoughts that attempt to challenge it. Perhaps in the world  Several other powers had larger armies, but the Channel that separated the island of Great Britain from the European continent was enough to protect the empire's homeland, and the gold in the Bank of England was enough to hire enough cannon fodder on the European continent to serve England.  People shed blood and sweat, and the imperial fleet can protect the empire's overseas interests, destroy the opponent's trade fleet and plunder the enemy's colonies, ensuring the lifeline of the empire-the lucrative overseas trade, thereby obtaining more money investment  war.  In this wayIn the face of a huge force composed of money and steel, winning one or two battles or even one or two wars is of no use. Even the peerless genius of His Majesty the Emperor (Napoleon I) had to lower his arrogant head in the end.  As two middle-level officials from the Shun Kingdom, it was really hard for Chen Zaixing and Batu to imagine themselves confronting such a powerful enemy. It was only natural that they would behave this way.  "Then what do you think we should do now? Just watch the time go by in Mandalay? You know that the British control the sea. If they want, they can transport 100,000 people from Calcutta or Dhaka to Burma.  Now is the dry season. The British can go up the Irrawaddy River like they did during the Second Anglo-Burmese War. The water here is deep enough for flat-bottomed gunboats under a hundred tons to be effective, and the mortars equipped on them are enough to destroy the strongest ships.  Fortifications, their strength is increasing every minute!" As Batu said this, he stood up and walked around the room. It was obvious that he could no longer control his emotions.  "One hundred thousand people? I think you overestimate the strength of the British!" Chen Zaixing laughed at Batu's words.  Batu red-necked and retorted: "Brother Fusheng, the British are fully capable of this. They can organize so many people in the Indian native team alone. These teams have received Western training and are very adapted to the climate of Myanmar.  This is not an army like Myanmar that has lagged behind the times. The puppet king can provide enough food and the wide Irrawaddy waterway, which is no problem at all militarily! " "I understand, I understand!" Chen Zaixing raised his hands.  I completely believe what Batu just said: "But there are other restrictions besides military. Such a large-scale military operation requires a lot of money, and their parliament will not agree to increase taxes to pay for it. And as an occupying authority  , the Governor-General of India also needs a considerable army to control the vast Indian territory, and the troops that can be mobilized to invade Burma are actually very limited-" More importantly, Chen Zaixing stood up and waved excitedly like a teacher in a school.  Holding his arms: "Historically, the British army has always been an appendage of its powerful navy. Facing powerful enemies on land, the British usually seek an ally on land and support this ally with weapons and money.  To fight the enemy, his small army often only plays a supporting role. If they have to face a tenacious enemy alone, the British will usually choose to retreat." Hearing this, Batu was a little confused.  I understand, but I still didn¡¯t fully understand what Chen Zaixing meant. I couldn¡¯t help but ask in a low voice: "Fu Sheng, what do you mean?" "First, we must prevent the puppet king from controlling the entire south, establish a new army, and let the new king  The government established authority in the country, so that the British would not have a ready helper, and would have to face a Burmese government under the protection of the Dashun army; secondly, we should increase Dashun's presence in Myanmar to show our determination and force the British  The British are negotiating with us. Unlike the Russians, they occupy land more for the right to trade than for immigration expansion. Rangoon is the best port in Myanmar and is now in the hands of the British. As long as it is given to them.  With the right to trade, most of their goals have been achieved, and Dashun and the British can reach a compromise. " "Well, you are right, Resurrection!" Batu nodded, and then he asked doubtfully.  : "But if this is the case, then what's the use of Dashun's hard work in conquering Burma? Rangoon is in the hands of the British and they have the right to trade, so what can Dashun get? Aren't we just getting an empty  Shell? " "Zhenwu, Dashun got what is possible now!" Chen Zaixing whispered: "The British only need to go to Burma from India, and Dashun has to go through the rugged road.  Moreover, this road is almost impassable during the five-month rainy season every year. This reality determines that the British are more capable of maintaining a presence in India than Dashun. This is the reality as long as this reality does not change.  The benefits obtained by each in Myanmar will not change unless we can control the important port of Yangon and make it open only to Shun. But this will definitely exceed the British bottom line, which means a full-scale war.  Dashun can't bear it now.  " "You are right, resurrection!  Batu thought for a moment, then nodded in frustration: "As long as the British control the sea, it is impossible to capture Yangon, even if there are 100,000 people!"  "It's no wonder that Batu is so frustrated. As the marching commander of the Burmese captain's house, Batu actually has the task of collecting important military intelligence from all over Burma and preparing for possible wars in the future. For the British in this big country of Burma,  Shun's mortal enemy, he personally made a staff trip to Yangon, its most important stronghold: Yangon is located in the Irrawaddy Delta of Rao. The city is surrounded by water on three sides, with the Bago River to the east, the Yangon River to the south, and the Irrawaddy River to the sea to the west.  One of the Han Rivers, the Lai River, is the only one connected to the land on its north side.Protected by platforms and parapets, the fortifications were defended by six battalions of well-trained and equipped infantry.  After actual inspection, Batu believed that it would be militarily unrealistic to capture Yangon without a strong navy to cut off reinforcements at sea.  There was silence in the room, and both Batu and Chen Zaixing had gloomy expressions. After overcoming so many difficulties and winning, they discovered that the results they obtained were so pitiful, and the biggest prize was stolen by the enemy.  Got it, which made both of them feel bad.  After a while, Batu sighed softly: "You are not as powerful as a human, what can you do?" Chen Zaixing did not answer immediately. After a while, he suddenly whispered: "Zhenwu, in fact, all this is not impossible.  "Really?" "Yeah!" Chen Zaixing whispered: "The reason why the British are better than me is because they control the sea, and water transportation is cheaper and faster than land transportation.  We, Dashun, cannot compete with them in Myanmar. But if we build a railway from Mandalay to Dashun, we can transport troops or goods regardless of weather conditions, and we, Dashun, can compete with the British.  We are close to each other, so we can immigrate to the border. There are very few British people, and they will definitely not be able to compete with me on this matter." At the end of the sentence, Chen Zaixing became more and more excited and couldn't help but stand up.  Batu had a look of disbelief on his face: "Railway? I've heard of this too, but it costs a lot of money, and there are only a few built in the country. How can I have the energy to get here?" "'Things are in trouble in the world.  Is it easy to do it? It will be easy to do it, and it will be difficult to do it if you don't do it. "The British came from thousands of miles away in a boat, and they were not afraid of hardships and dangers, so they could achieve great things and surrender to all nations. How could we, the Chinese men, do it?"  Aren't you afraid of the difficulty?" As he spoke, Chen Zaixing's eyes shone like lightning in the room, and his skin almost felt painful. He couldn't help but rose up and replied, "Okay, Brother Fusheng is indeed far better than me!  Talent, I am also willing to join my resurrected brother Jiwei and do something great in this southern territory, a foreign land!" After the two of them discussed this, Batu remembered his original intention of coming this time and hurriedly asked: "  Brother Fusheng, although the general plan is established, what is the top priority now?" Chen Zaixing thought for a moment and asked in a low voice: "During the battle in Babu Village, our army captured a lot of firearms from the Burmese army, right?" "That's right, but that's it!  Most of them are outdated. The main rifles are Springfield M1855 muzzleloaders. There are about four to five thousand in total. The rest are very mixed. There are still hundreds of old antiques like Brown Bass.  You know where those Burmese barbarians dug them out from?" Batu said with a smile: "But most of the firearms are poorly maintained, and many of them need to be repaired. Brother Fusheng, if you ask this, do they also need to be reorganized?  "Burmese army?" "That's right!" Chen Zaixing said with a smile: "Reinforcements from the country can't come for a while. We only have more than two thousand people in Myanmar. We don't know the language, and we are not familiar with the geography.  Five or six miles out of Mandalay, you can't see anything. Moreover, after the battle in Babu Village, many Burmese soldiers fled in all directions, and many became bandits and harmed the countryside. It is not the way for us to be trapped in the city like this. I mean, we can't do this.  Take out some of the firearms and arm the Chinese businessmen and overseas Chinese in Mandalay to form a self-defense group. They have been deeply violated by the Burmese in the past, and they will definitely be our powerful help. Recruiting broken soldiers and farmers to form the new Burmese army will not only strengthen our  It can also reduce the harm to the people. Only when the new king has an army can he become a true king. It is also good for us to have a stable position. " "Yes, we can say that it is a foreign army. If there is a local army.  The army is on our side, not to mention expecting them to fight, but at least it will save us the trouble of leading the way, guarding, and destroying bandits." When Batu said this, his voice suddenly became lower: "But these Burmese are not the same as us after all.  Wouldn¡¯t it be self-defeating if we saw that the situation was not good and turned our guns to attack us? " "That's why we have to take the initiative to do this. Zhenwu, think about it. After the Battle of Babu, the Burmese army actually did something wrong.  It has been disintegrated, but as long as the King of Burma is on the throne, sooner or later someone will mention this matter. Instead of letting others mention it, we should take the initiative to do it. You take advantage of the opportunity to build the army now and use our people to recruit all the middle and low-level officers. When the time comes,  Are you afraid that someone will turn the tables on you?"
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