"The Navy is talking about returning to the Pacific Ocean again, and even the Australian mainland strategy case that was vetoed by the base camp at the beginning of the year has also been revealed......"

The morning fog is clearing, the sky is cloudless, this is the Dalian Shipyard of Beiyang Heavy Industry, next to the No. 5 dry dock surrounded by the curtain, on the newly decorated viewing platform, Pan Guochen, the new military attache of the imperial army in the base camp, is leaning over the side of the throne, whispering in the ear of the empress Liu Qianhua.

In the dock, the hull of the battleship "Tianqian" stood still, and the empty upper deck was dotted with more than a dozen temporary workshops made of planks and canvas, like a mobile camp of a circus.

The golden dragon on the two sides of the bow of the ship is very conspicuous, where the two dragons converge, arched a red dragon ball surrounded by fire patterns, and the dragon ball hung a colorful ball, densely embellished with gold and red tassels.

"What does the Army say?"

Dressed in the uniform of the Marshal of the Praetorian Guard and a special black skirt, Liu Qianhua, who was sitting on the throne, looked at it intently and asked indifferently.

Pan Guochen replied in a low voice: "The army has faced the reality and believes that since Turkey has surrendered, the operation in the Indian Ocean is no longer of strategic significance, and it is difficult for the Urals to make significant progress in the short term, so it is necessary to suspend the offensive to rest the troops and consolidate the line of communication......

"As for the Australian Raiders, the Army is not interested at all, thinking that it is a bottomless pit......"

Liu Qianhua's eyes flashed: "Bottomless pit? Interesting, let's talk about it. ”

Pan Guochen changed his posture and raised his voice slightly: "To put it simply, Australia is not only difficult to provide the current scarce resources of the empire, but also is not an Asian and African colony to which kingship applies, regardless of race, creed, cultural ideology and political system, it is highly consistent with the mother country of Britain, but due to its unique geographical environment and historical reasons, the folk customs are more fierce and martial, to some extent similar to the Boers in South Africa......

Liu Qianhua knew that the so-called Boers were the descendants of white immigrants who moved to South Africa in the 17th century, mainly the Dutch, and they usually seized land from the natives by force. He lived a pioneering life of farming, animal husbandry, fishing and hunting.

After the British bought the Dutch colony of the Cape of Good Hope, the Boers, unwilling to accept British rule, penetrated deep into the interior of South Africa and established a number of autonomous colonies known as republics. When gold was discovered in these areas, the British Empire annexed the two main Boer republics, the Transvaal and Orange, through two so-called Boer wars, and united its colonies in southern Africa.

The most shocking thing to the world was that in the Second Boer War, which decided the fate of the Boers, Britain, which was at the top of the "empire on which the sun never sets," mobilized 450,000 troops in the face of two small Boer countries with a total population of less than 440,000. It took more than three years, 21,000 dead officers and soldiers, and £220 million to pioneer bunker tactics, scorched earth policies, and what would become known as the "concentration camp" system, which forced the Boers who roamed the vast South African steppes to negotiate British rule.

In the subsequent establishment of the South African Federation, the Boers achieved political equality with white British and played a leading role in the federal government. However, after the outbreak of the World War, some Boers still launched a pro-German and anti-British armed uprising until the second half of 1915. It was suppressed by the South African army led by the Boers as the main body of the Boers led by General Shi Mozi, who was born as a hero of the Boer War of Resistance.

It was from this war that the British Empire began its strategic contraction on a global scale, the sun of the empire on which the sun never set began to slide downward, and a new sun scrambled to rise from the end of the horizon......

“…… The conquest of this area, which is more than six times the size of the entire South African Federation today, more than ten times the population of the Boers in those days, and which has a more complex climate and terrain, will certainly eliminate the counterattack bases of the British and American forces in one fell swoop, but it will also force the Empire to maintain a new strategic line of communication, which will occupy no less escort troops and consume strategic resources than the other two lines of communication, and will likely plunge our army into a Boer War-style law and order war......"

Before Pan Guochen's words ended, Liu Qianhua said casually: "The law and order war is not terrible. We have been fighting for a year and a half in Siberia, which is larger than Australia and has the same extreme natural environment, and the key is to look at the strategic significance, in the final analysis, the strategic burden of seizing Australia is greater than the strategic gain for the current empire. ”

"Chief of General Staff Gu said the same thing......"

Pan Guochen had no reason to deliberately make a long face for Gu Yingyang.

"Gu Yingyang didn't mention Australia's minerals? Especially iron ore and uranium ore. ”

The ceremony has not started for a long time, and Liu Qianhua may be bored from sitting. Reach out and play with the commemorative cards on the table in front of you.

Pan Guochen smiled knowingly: "No, I guess he also knows that the world-renowned Australian mining industry in that time and space basically does not exist at this time and space, and the related railways, highways, ports, mining machinery and other supporting facilities only exist in the imagination." Even if we know where the mine is, it will require a huge and sustained investment to develop it, not to mention that once the navy is unable to protect the lines of communication with Australia, these investments, together with the precious military resources previously spent, will be in vain. ”

Liu Qianhua twisted up a card, the back of which was printed with a gold frame and gold thread for filling in the postal code and mailing address, and the front was the majestic posture of the "Tianqian" when it was scheduled to be completed.

The form of the ink painting blurs the details and highlights the charm - the cannon flame flickering, the water column soaring into the sky, the plane in the air, and the torpedo shuttling, which is exactly the scene of the fierce battle that the "Tianqian" is scheduled to face in the future.

"Forget about the Australian strategy, what about the Navy returning to the Pacific? Is the Army willing to give up its territory in the Indian Ocean and retreat to absolute defense? ”

Pan Guochen noticed the card in the empress's hand, stopped talking, blinked, and hurriedly turned back to the topic: "I can't do it for the time being, it's not just a problem for the army." Retreating without a fight, and giving up such a large area of territory in one go, domestic public opinion cannot accept it for a while, and the blow to international prestige is not small, unless ......"

"Unless?"

Liu Qianhua let go lightly and watched the beautifully printed cards fall freely.

Sensing the empress's impatience, Pan Guochen raised his hand to look at his watch, summoned an officer to whisper a few words, and then turned around and continued: "Germany has put aside us to make peace alone, and even turned around to wage war against us—in the face of such a crisis, it is only reasonable to take the initiative to carry out strategic retrenchment. ”

"What does the General Staff mean? Insist on defending the east and advancing westward, or will you abandon the west and advance eastward regardless of the consequences? ”

Her Majesty's next goal is to stack a few cases of fruit plates and dim sum plates that are quite artistic.

"No, Chief of General Staff Gu wants the army and navy to take a step back, and the combined fleet will divide one part to go to the Pacific Ocean to contain the offensive launched by the British and American forces from the Outer South Sea."

"The army and navy in the Indian Ocean should cooperate sincerely to occupy or destroy all available naval bases on the east coast of Africa before the combined fleet of the Entente forces in the Mediterranean can circumnavigate the Atlantic Ocean and enter the Indian Ocean, so as to prevent the enemy from using these bases for a counteroffensive for as long as possible."

Pan Guochen paused, glanced at the group of sincerely frightened officials not far away, and this time he lowered his voice: "At that time, the main force of our East Asian Combined Fleet can take the opportunity to regroup in the Pacific Ocean and launch a decisive counterattack against the enemy in the Outer South Seas before the enemy recaptures or repairs the bases on the east coast of Africa." ”

Her Majesty absentmindedly picked up a piece of heavy-flavored durian chocolate from the snack plate, frowned slightly, and threw it back.

"What, isn't that just, for the sake of going east, you still have to go west for the time being......"

"Looks like the ritual can begin."

Pan Guochen did not hesitate to interrupt the empress's whispering, straightened the collar, and the majestic melody of the imperial navy military song "Ten Thousand Miles of Waves" began to echo in the midsummer morning light......