It's not that I don't know, but I'm shocked.

The old kingdom of Vietnam is a geographically long and narrow South Asian country, about 1,600 kilometers long from north to south, 3,260 kilometers along the coastline of the South China Sea, the land presents a typical dumbbell shape, one south and one north terrain is hypertrophied, the middle is narrow and slender, the narrowest point is only 40~50 kilometers.

After this war

The original territory of the Vietnamese country has been greatly expanded, and the area has increased by half, totaling about 177,000 square kilometers.

Counting from the border between the two countries of Qing and Vietnam, to the south to Lishui County, Quang Binh Province, the distance between the two places is as long as 880 kilometers, all of which belong to the territory of the Yue Kingdom, which greatly increases the security depth of the royal capital Hanoi.

However, nearly 330 kilometers at the southern tip of Yue Guo is a narrow strip, the widest is no more than 85 kilometers, and the narrowest point is only 48.7 kilometers, which is in the territory of Lishui County.

In addition, the rivers and lakes in Lishui County are crisscrossed, and there are only two mud roads that can pass through the area, so the establishment of a strong defensive position here makes it an impenetrable fortress on the border between the two countries, and it is the most cost-effective defense plan.

The entire old Kingdom of Vietnam covers an area of 330,000 square kilometers, and the Kingdom of Vietnam occupies half of the North and Central Regions with a total area of about 177,000 square kilometers.

As the first line of defense, Lishui County itself is close to the bay, and the temporary wharf is docked with cargo ships from the Ocean Kingdom, which continuously transport cement, steel bars, and various construction tools to the shore, and under the command of the German engineers of the Ocean Kingdom, the defensive position is quickly formed.

At this time, Yongning County and Xianghua County, which were subordinate to the French colony of Guangzhi Province opposite Lishui County, were garrisoned by only one regiment of the French Expeditionary Force, with a total strength of more than 1,400 people.

More than 20,000 laborers are building a second permanent defensive line in Hengshan, more than 70 kilometers in the rear (north) of Lishui County, which will be built by a castle fortress and permanent positions with artillery and heavy machine guns, which will become an impenetrable defensive line.

Located at the junction of Quang Binh and Quang Tri provinces, Heng Son is a steep mountain that stretches to the bay, which is not only a natural dividing line between the two provinces, but also a high mountain barrier that stretches for more than 170 kilometers and extends westward into the endless primeval tropical jungle of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

This is the junction of the two countries chosen by General Li Xuanzhu, and it is impossible to continue to advance south.

According to the current weak national strength of the Yue Kingdom, it is impossible to fully occupy the old Vietnamese Kingdom, and it is impossible to chew more than it can chew.

There are a total of 5 provinces in the whole long and narrow strip of Trung Ki, including Nghe An Province, Ha Tinh Province, Quang Binh Province, Quang Tri Province and Hue Province, with a total length of more than 670 kilometers, the narrowest point is only 48.7 kilometers, and the widest part is Hue Province, about 100 kilometers.

The Viet Kingdom occupies the three northern provinces of Zhongqi, which are Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh provinces from north to south, and Lishui County is the southernmost part of Quang Binh Province, which is also the narrowest part of the country, because the water is very conducive to defense.

Therefore, the 1st line of defense is set here.

Further south, the narrow terrain will rapidly widen, and after crossing Hue province to the south, you will enter the wide and flat Mekong Great Plain, where the defensive pressure will increase dramatically.

Although the Viet Nak occupied half of the territory, its population increased by less than one million, and the total population under its command increased from more than 2.3 million to about 3.2 million, accounting for less than one-third of the entire old kingdom of Vietnam.

This is because the essence of the old Vietnamese kingdom has always been the Nam Ki Mekong Plain, which has a large population, fertile land, and a long history of agriculture and traditional culture.

Saigon, Hue, Da Nang and other areas are traditionally densely populated areas, and they are also the centers of colonial rule in the French Indochina Peninsula.

Whoever dares to do this, then it is not to die.

Therefore, General Li Xuanzhu wisely ordered the army to stop in Lishui County, instead of taking advantage of the victory to kill Nanqi in one go, which really angered the French, and Yue Guo would definitely die.

The first French reinforcement from the Suez Canal Zone, a large force of 3,600 men, arrived in Hue on April 19, 1896, and a boatload of about 1,100 people arrived in Saigon, where they were warmly welcomed by the local French people.

At this time

Diplomatic mediations led by Britain and the Ocean Kingdom are already in full swing, with Germany, Tsarist Russia, and the United States also involved, and formal negotiations are taking place in Saigon.

To be honest, this is not a good time for international diplomacy.

At this time, relations between Britain and the German Empire had deteriorated dramatically as a result of the Janssen expedition, all of which stemmed from a telegram from Kaiser Wilhelm II.

In early 1895, Dr. Jensen, a senior employee of the South African Mining Company in the British colony, led 500 South African company policemen and several machine guns in an attempt to overthrow the regime of Paul Kryuger in the Transvaal.

On January 2, 1896, the Janssen forces were surrounded by the South African Police Force in Kugsdorp, and all but 134 were killed, and all the others, including Janssen, were taken prisoner.

When Kaiser Wilhelm II heard the news of the victory of the Transvaal Republic, he was overjoyed by the deflated English and immediately sent a congratulatory telegram to King Kruger;

"I would like to express my sincerest congratulations to you and your people for single-handedly repelling the invading armed elements that are detrimental to the peace, without the help of any friendly forces. You have maintained the peace of the country and defended the independence of the country. ”

Before the telegram reached the Transvaal, the British intercepted it via an undersea cable under their control.

They believed that the so-called "friendly forces" in Wilhelm II's telegram were undoubtedly demonstrating to Britain and the Transvaal, which deeply offended and insulted the British Empire, the world hegemon, and was therefore extremely angry.

The Times published an article saying, "England will never back down in the face of threats, will never be humiliated and succumbed!" ”

Fierce "anti-German sentiment" immediately arose among the British people, the windows of German shops in London were smashed, German sailors were attacked frequently in British ports, and even German-speaking people in the streets were attacked.

Since then, Britain has changed its compromise stance towards Germany and turned to repressive measures around the world, Kaiser Wilhelm II is not good-tempered, and the booming German economy has given him enough confidence to confront Britain, and the two sides will not give in.

The gradual intensification of the contradictions between Britain and Germany, which eventually fell into a shipbuilding race and co-opted allies as imaginary enemies of each other, led to a further deterioration of the situation in Europe.

In a luxurious French-style manor house in Saigon

The Ocean Kingdom participated in the diplomatic mediation of the Count Zhu Wei, the Minister of the Colonial Department, which was a property of the Normandy trading house in Indochina, and the person in charge, Geng Xiangtian, was also his old subordinate, so he arranged for Count Zhu Wei to live in the best manor.

In the French courtyard in the garden, Earl Zhu Wei was having afternoon tea with Sir McKennan, the diplomatic attaché of the British Governor-General of the Straits Settlements, and talked about the ongoing international diplomatic mediation, Sir McKennan said unabashedly; "Your Excellency, the Governor's Office of the Straits does not take any position on this, to be honest, the affairs of South Africa are enough to annoy us, and there are also hateful Germans who have jumped out to mingle, seriously affecting the balanced policy of the European continent, who cares about the death of the French at this time?"

"I can understand the anger of England, the problem is that the war in Indochina must be resolved, and the Vietnamese have more than 6,300 French prisoners in their hands, and they want to exchange a large sum of money."

"I suggest that you do not rush into peace talks until you get a formal commitment from France, and put it off for a while, because it is the French who are in a hurry anyway."

"Thank you for your kind words, Sir McKenan, um...... I think the country should say something to you personally. ”

"Well, I don't have a bad impression of Vietnam, I have a good impression of any country that can make trouble for France, and the Strait Governor's Office is willing to develop bilateral relations with Vietnam, strengthen economic and trade exchanges, and to hell with the French, and the damn Germans."

"Hehehe...... Well, I feel the same way. ”

Count Zhu Wei was at the helm of the Normandy Import and Export Company for 20 years, and he was well versed in the intrigues between European and American countries.

The main daily work of the British is to scold the French, ridicule the French, ridicule the French, and enjoy it for many years, and now add the Germans, and the French are no different.

Earl Zhu Wei has no intention of commenting on who is right and wrong, he cares about the position of various countries on Vietnam, which is the most important thing.

It is evident from the rank and attitude of the British diplomatic representatives that they are happy to see the difficulties encountered by the French colonies in Indochina, which is obviously a great advantage.

Tsarist Russia and the French are allies, but considering that Tsarist Russia has always been indifferent to the feelings of others, the same is true for allies. Moreover, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Ocean Kingdom is attending the wedding of Nicholas II in St. Petersburg, so it is difficult to expect Tsarist Russia to openly support the French position on Indochina, because this would offend the Ocean Kingdom.

After last year's First Sino-Japanese War, Russia, France, and Germany intervened, forcing Fuso to spit out the interests of the three northeastern provinces, and the French strongly supported their ally Tsarist Russia on this issue, but did not receive a return from Tsarist Russia on the Taiwan issue.

In the end, the Ocean Kingdom, France, and Germany intervened, and forced Fuso to spit out Taiwan.

As soon as he thought of this, the high-level figures in the military and political circles of Fusang State dripped blood in their hearts, none of these powerful countries could afford to provoke them, and it was Fusang that was injured for Mao?

Back to the point

Through recent contact, Earl Zhu Wei has a rough idea in his heart.

Britain, Russia, Germany and other countries took a neutral position, which was a bit of a side and watched the jokes of the French, Indochina was not included in the treaty of the Franco-Russian alliance, and Tsarist Russia was not obliged to stand for the French.

On the contrary, the Americans danced happily and clearly sided with the French, accusing the Ocean Kingdom of seeking hegemony in the Western Pacific and supporting regional rebel forces (referring to the Vietnamese country) to subvert the existing international order.

To tell the truth, these jumping Citi people made Count Zhu Wei feel disgusted, and their impression of them was even worse.

There's a lot of potential for a new-stirring stick!

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