There is a voice in the empire and the royal navy, clamoring to occupy Sumadala Island, some well-known professors from the Department of History of the Red River Valley University and the Imperial University, citing classics from the vast historical books, telling the story of the lost land of the Ming Empire.

The Ocean Empire claims to be the descendant of the ancient Yan and Huang, and is the descendant of the Han and Tang dynasties. It is naturally the continuation of the Han regime in the Ming Dynasty, and should inherit this rich historical heritage.

The Royal Navy said it was more naked; it was to occupy this island, guard the important maritime roads in Malacca, and make the Indian Ocean fleet more veritable.

This remark inevitably reached the ears of the Governor's Office of the Dutch East Indies, attracting diplomatic protests from the other side.

That... The Dutch have had the sovereignty of this beautiful archipelago since ancient times. The Dutch have reproduced and lived here for generations, and it’s all over the place.

The Imperial Foreign Ministry responded to an understatement;

We only regret that some of the academic discussions among the people have caused some discomfort in neighboring countries.

The Ocean Empire is a legal country that respects history and freedom of speech. It is an important constructive force in the peaceful and prosperous environment in the Western Pacific region. It is willing to develop friendly cooperation with other countries on this basis to enhance understanding and mutual trust in order to avoid misjudgment from Balabala...

Entering the 20th century

The characteristics of bullying the weak in international relations are more obvious. Not to mention the small Netherlands, even the Qing Empire, which has a population of 450 million, has become a bottom. The world's powerful countries have fought hard to seize territory, becoming more restless and more aggressive.

In the social opinion of the Ocean Empire

There are calls for troops to send troops to Sumandara, to occupy Java, to suggest expansion to the Indochina Peninsula, and some even look at Central and South America, calling for broader living space.

Needless to say

In the mainstream public opinion of the Ocean Empire, which is somewhat impetuous today, it reveals its aggressive edge, which is vaguely in line with the current emperor, reflecting His Majesty's tendency in a certain aspect.

Li Siyuan pondered this issue deeply;

I agree with the current national policy and feel that movement is worse than calmness.

The empire had just launched a large-scale military force in 1898 and bought the Luzon Islands. Now, six years have passed, and it has almost digested most of this archipelago with more than 7,000 islands.

If it is really digested, it will take 1 to 2 6 years cycles.

Looking around, there is no easy goal to start. Now you can't focus on the Dutch East Indies, as it will seriously deteriorate the relationship with the British Empire and move from easing to opposition.

More than 70% of the foreign trade of the Ocean Empire was based on the British trade circle. This is the fundamental interest of the empire. We must not lose the big ones because of small things and shake the foundation of the country.

Of course, with the restless character of the emperor today, he would never do nothing.

Among the mainland immigrants who have moved to Southeast Asia, many are outstanding graduates from the Chicken School. They have joined forces to support each other in the name of Hongmen or a certain association.

First, it is conducive to gaining a foothold in the local area, second, it is conducive to economic and trade exchanges and connections, and third, it can improve the confidence of bargaining with the local colonial government. Why not do it?

As Li Siyuan, he knows many secrets that ordinary people cannot know. Behind these associations, there are countless hidden threads of the political and social situation.

This is the case with the British Straits colony, the Siam country, the Indochina Peninsula, the British and Myanmar regions, and naturally the same with New Zealand. No matter what, let’s infiltrate the power first.

The war on Sumatra has lasted for more than 30 years, and there has been a trend of more than severity in recent years, which has made the Dutch anxious. Can there be no gangster in the Political Information Bureau?

Under the calm sea, there is a surging undercurrent.

Under the current situation

The world is paying attention to the war between the two powerful forces in the Far East. After September, the "Liaoyang Campaign" broke out. The Fusang Army launched a large-scale attack on the 75-kilometer front of the Russian defense line, with troops splitting into different routes, and the front line was in a mess.

Due to the continuous failure of the battlefield ahead, the domestic situation of Tsarist Russia was severe, and the people's livelihood difficulties under high pressure rule were sharp, which constantly triggered an uprising of urban workers and serfs, and was subsequently brutally suppressed by the local Russian army.

Inspired by those who are interested, the entire Tsarist Russian society now seems to be about to boil, causing great pressure to the ruling class.

Tsar Nicholas II strictly ordered the Russian army to win major military victories in the Liaoyang area. After long-term preparations, the Russian army reserved a large amount of combat materials, abundant troops, and relatively favorable conditions.

Russian commander Kuropatkin threatened to "did rather die than retreat from Liaoyang." He decided to rely on frontier fortifications to fight against the Japanese army and attack tiredly, and then turn to counterattack.

This means that the Russian army has superior troops and firepower and adopts the policy of passive waiting, and gives the initiative to the enemy from the beginning.

The unprecedented bloody "Liaoyang Battle" has exploded in full swing, and it is still in a fierce battle...

Since the beginning of this year

Britain invaded Tibet and forced the signing of the Tibet Treaty by force.

Facing the hideous faces of Western powers, the Shenzhou Continent, which was stinging, gradually awakened, and various civil groups emerged in the northern continent. The Tongmenghui led by Sun Yat-sen, the Huaxing Association led by Huang Xing, and the Restoration Association established by enlightened politicians, appeared like mushrooms after a rain.

Historical figures who left a strong mark during the Republic of China period appeared one after another, interpreting a landscape before the replacement of generations.

Since the 27th year of the Guangxu period (1901), the Qing court decided to implement the standing army system across the country. On the basis of the Wuwei Right Army under his jurisdiction, Yuan Shikai, the governor of Zhili and the minister of Beiyang, organized and trained the two towns of the Beiyang Standing Army, together with the Wuwei Right Army, the Wuwei Right Army vanguard, strengthened the army and expanded the system.

By the 31st year of Guangxu (1904), five towns were trained, and the Beijing Banner Standing Army (later known as the Beiyang No. 1 Town) compiled by Yuan Shikai was the prototype of the modern army, collectively known as the "Six Towns of Beiyang".

The six towns in Beiyang were used to protect the capital and garrison the capital. The first town was controlled by Tieliang, the Manchus, and the other five towns were controlled by Yuan Shikai's confidant generals. The basic force of the Beiyang warlord group was formed since then.

Li Siyuan stood in front of the world map and thought a lot. His actions were imitating his father's habitual actions.

His past experiences around the world and more than ten years of experience have given Li Siyuan a strategic vision that ordinary people cannot reach, and can distinguish between the primary and secondary, and find the key points of contradictions.

For Li Siyuan, the most critical thing at the moment is who was the winner of the Russo-Japanese War?

How to deal with the post-war situation?

If Russia wins, then while having a huge continental army in the Far East, the Tsarist Russian Navy also has a huge naval force composed of the Pacific Fleet and the Second Pacific Fleet. It will form a repressive situation in the Far East, which will inevitably change the regional strategic pattern.

In response to this situation, Britain and the Ocean Empire have a tacit understanding;

The Royal Navy of the Ocean Empire had to roll up his sleeves and go on the field, trying to defeat and annihilate the Tsarist Russian naval forces and restore the original power pattern in the Far East to avoid imbalance.

From this perspective, the Tsarist Russian Navy is destined to be destroyed.

Whether Britain, Fuso, the Ocean Empire or the United States, they do not want to see Tsarist Russian naval forces surround the Far East, eroding the original balanced territory.

This major strategic issue should be something the father considered, but as the crown prince of a country, Li Siyuan should also consider it. This was originally a major responsibility that he could not shirrify, and maybe his father would also pass the exam.

If Fusang wins, then the Western Pacific region will form a pattern of two strong side by side, changing the original regional situation of one strong and the other weak, with intertwined interests and becoming more complex.

We cannot simply suppress the Fusang Kingdom in "The British-Japanese Alliance".

Li Siyuan hopes that both Japan and Russia will suffer losses. This is the most favorable situation for the Ocean Empire, and Tsarist Russia will be able to accept victory. At that time, the imperial navy will have a place to use its strength and come forward to clean up the mess.

The worst case scenario is that Fusang won. Considering the fact that the British-Japanese Alliance, the Ocean Empire may have to coexist with the rapidly rising Fusang Navy for a long time.

This must be the situation that Britain most wants to see, and the Ocean Empire least wants to see.

Li Siyuan's desk has some documents, some are notifications, some are summary of confidential information, some are briefings on people's livelihood politics, some are newspaper summary, domestic and foreign culture, education, and scientific and technological events in people's livelihood.

This is absolutely not visible in the study of other adult princes, and many top-secret documents with very high levels of secrets.

He is basically an idle person now and will not have the chance to go out to sea at least in the next six months.

Therefore, I can only read these files with patience.

Most of these documents do not require instructions. Many of them are incidents that have been processed and are of high-level notification. The relevant agencies will regularly deliver and recycle the previous batch of documents.

The documents issued by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will be transferred to various departments for implementation.

February 1904

A rebellion broke out in the Muslim tribe in Somalia in Mogadishu. The local garrison sent a 370-man cavalry team to suppress it, and annihilated more than 2,000 militants and arrested nearly 10,000 black indigenous people suspected of rebellion, effectively safeguarding the integrity of the territorial sovereignty of overseas states.

On March 5, the last batch of Humen mercenaries returned to Somalia after completing the subsequent South African security contract.

April 11,

The new biplane "Chuanyunyan" was successfully tested at the Toubaolong Secret Base, with a speed of 233 kilometers per hour, and can carry 85 kilograms of heavy objects, with performance reaching the world's leading level.

April 28

The 2nd International Tesla Awards ceremony was grandly held at the Royal Opera House of Red River Valley. It was hosted by the Royal Academy of Sciences. Professor Tesla, who enjoys a high reputation worldwide, personally presided over the award ceremony. A group of nobles and celebrities attended the event, and the grand occasion was unprecedented.

...

July 9

With high-level intelligence from Fuso, the Japanese Joint Fleet will further increase the intensity and level of artillery training, and will consume huge amounts of ammunition to achieve the effect of "every shot is the best" and do whatever it takes.

For this purpose, the Admiralty issued a large-scale ammunition order to the UK, involving 305mm heavy armor-piercing bombs, high-explosive bombs, 234mm caliber armor-piercing bombs and steam torpedoes that it cannot produce at present. The total amount is 2.35 million pounds and requires delivery within 4 and a half months.

...

On September 10, 1904, Tsarist Russia's five "Borodino-class" battleships No. 3 and No. 4 of the "Duke of Suvorov" and "Eagle" were completed and put into service one after another, and immediately joined the Second Pacific Fleet that was about to head to the Far East.

At this point, the main force of the Tsarist Russian Second Pacific Fleet has been basically in place, and will soon start intense training before the long voyage, and it is expected to start sailing one day in October.

Li Siyuan was not very concerned about social and livelihood affairs. He reported the brief introduction of the situation of Duke Palawan and Duke Wright personally led a group of deli subordinates to reclaim the territory. He just took a look and put it aside.

Two or three million yuan of Jinyang investment every year, plus the social funds attracted by these princes using their own influence, the palace ladies gave their own money, and the relevant departments also specially escorted tens of thousands of indigenous labor to participate in the construction. In addition, the open Chinese immigrants arrived one after another. The construction of these two small islands is not a big deal at all, so what is worth showing off?

If it cannot be built in this way, it is waste.

Li Siyuan looked very quickly and looked careless. He flipped through the previous document and put it aside, and picked up another thin top-secret notice in his hand.

As soon as he glanced at him, he suddenly stared at him tightly and stood up in shock.

This top-secret report comes from the Toubaolong Scientific Research Base. On September 17, 1904, under the auspices of Professor Tesla, the base radio project team successfully developed the "navy radio rangefinder", which is a major scientific and technological invention of pioneering significance, and is the first in the world.

Li Siyuan's hand holding a thin piece of paper was trembling, and his heart was boiling as if it was overturned. As an excellent naval general, he knew very well the importance of recording information on the thin piece of paper in his hand.

This is not just a pioneering and major technological invention?

This is a scientific research achievement with significance that subverts the current world pattern, and its importance cannot be overstated.

With him, naval guns can be shot more accurately, which means that they have an unquestionable advantage in maritime competition.

The Royal Navy has been developing for 28 years and has already had the ability to compete with the world's top naval powers. If the fleet's strength is not much different, it is very confident that it can win.
To be continued...