Chapter 260: The Precarious Lucia Empire
Chapter 260: The Precarious Lucia Empire
"The Battle of Tashkent was the most decisive and crushing battle I have ever witnessed.
The troops commanded by General Shao killed 4,000 enemies, captured 2,000 enemies on the battlefield, and captured 24,000 enemies during the siege.
The Russian Turkestan Governor Kaufman was captured and the main Russian forces in Central Asia were completely wiped out.
The end of this battle means that a new top power will rise up by stepping on the fallen huge body of the polar bear.
Our federation should adjust its policy toward the Qing Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty is already a country stronger than the federation.
I can't help but wonder, is the advanced system that the Federation is so proud of really so beneficial to the welfare of the people? Why did the excellent President Lincoln die at the hands of a psychopathic gunman, and why did the mediocre President Johnson come to power? What did these politicians do to make the Federation strong? Is the Federation a federation of the people of the Federation, or a federation of those black-hearted capitalists?
——This must be a problem with the federal system...
Shao was an extremely kind, wise and courageous general. He only allowed those scum and murderers who should be shot immediately to build roads to atone for their sins, and he took great care of the real prisoners of war.
I interviewed the prisoner-of-war camp in Tashkent, and two and a half months later you will see the photos I took. It was almost no different from a neat military barracks.
Objectively speaking, the food for the prisoners of war was slightly inferior to that of the Huai Army regular army, but the Lucia soldiers were grateful and shed tears. They claimed that if they knew that the Chinese food in the prisoner-of-war camp was so delicious, they would never fight against the Huai Army, but would choose to go directly to the prisoner-of-war camp.
One prisoner of war said tearfully that compared with the rich and varied Chinese cuisine, all he had eaten in the first half of his life was shit.
I swear on my personality as a journalist that he is telling the truth, and I think the food at the federation is shit.
I love Federation and want to go back to Federation, so I plan to hire a Chinese chef before I leave.
Because of the favor of my dear readers, I now have the ability to hire a chef. I strongly suggest that the Federation hire a large number of Chinese chefs at high salaries to fill the gap in food culture caused by the Federation's short history and save the taste buds of the people of the Federation!
The prisoner said that his parents in his hometown had no food or clothing because of the abolition of slavery, which made him want to be released, but he was reluctant to give up the food in the prisoner-of-war camp. In short, continuing to fight the Huai Army was not an option.
This also makes me full of doubts about the problems that abolitionism has caused in the federal government. Why is it that our self-proclaimed advanced federal government is as clumsy as the backward Russians in the issue of abolition?
What's the problem? It must be the federal...
I asked General Shao, and he revealed to me some of the military plans that he could let me know. If Russia is willing to sign a treaty that satisfies him, then the war between Qing and Russia will stop, and this great westward expedition will come to an end.
The end of the war is a decision that everyone will cheer for, and our long series of interviews will also come to an end.
I will also return to China. After returning, I will sort out these serials and compile them into a book for publication. I have already thought of a name, which is "The *** on Earth - General Shao's Thousand Miles Westward Expedition". I hope all dear readers can take care of my business. I will sign and sell books in Central Park in New York.
May the war end soon and may God bless the Qing Dynasty and the Federation.
"Journey to the West in the Qing Dynasty" No. 566 - Mark Twain.
In fact, there is still a considerable gap between the level of industrialization, education level, and average quality of the people in our Qing Dynasty and those in America.
Mark Twain's "Qing Blow" contained many exaggerated words. He seized on the wealth of the Qing Dynasty and the military strength of the Huai Army, ignored the huge gap in comprehensive national strength, and made a single comparison to belittle the Federation. In fact, he was disappointed with the Federation.
Besides, how can reporters attract attention if they don’t say something shocking, right?
Mark Twain was quite conscientious in not writing a title like "Shocked: The Huai Army did this to tens of thousands of Russian prisoners!"
The Western Expedition did not end immediately, and the series continued. The next day, Mark Twain interviewed the captured Governor Kaufman.
Governor Kaufman expressed satisfaction with the treatment of prisoners of war by the Huai Army, praising that although neither the Qing Dynasty nor Russia were signatories to the Geneva Convention, the Huai Army's treatment of prisoners of war was unprecedented, and General Shao was a great man full of humanitarian spirit.
Kaufman expressed full respect for the bravery and fighting ability of the Huai Army, but he was vague when talking about the specific equipment and tactics.
He saw that the war correspondent in front of him was a novice in military affairs. Humph, I will take the secrets of the Huai Army's new tactics and new weapons back to Lucia and keep them all to myself. How can I let you Americans know?
Fortunately, the reporter, who represented the average American, was not interested in professional military issues, but rather battlefield gossip. The scandal between General Dong Fuxiang and Caris alone was serialized for several issues.
Without her knowledge, the beautiful Carlisle became a celebrity in the United States, an ambassador of the Qing people in America - making Americans inadvertently accept that the Qing Dynasty was a unified multi-ethnic country...
"These prisoners must be well taken care of, and kept plump and white. Not a single one of them can die. They are important bargaining chips in your negotiations with the Russians. Their food expenses will be included in the future negotiations. Get them back a hundred times the amount."
Shao Quanzhong stood with his hands behind his back, explaining to the battalion commander Wu Ziyi. Wu Ziyi, who could speak several foreign languages, had been chosen by Shao Quanzhong as the person to negotiate with the Russians in the future.
Well, Wu Ziyi doesn't know Russian, but he knows Latin. He drafted the Latin version of the Kokand Treaty. That's enough. Just waiting for negotiations is not enough. Before the armistice agreement is signed, we must continue to expand the results of the war and strive for more favorable conditions for negotiations. After the big battle is over, small battles will continue.
The main force of the Russians in Central Asia was annihilated in Tashkent, and other regions were left extremely empty.
Ten days later, Fat Tiger led the Torghut cavalry along the Syr Darya River and captured Turkestan, the capital of the former Kazakh Khanate.
They were still rushing along the Syr Darya oasis, advancing towards the Aral Sea, capturing one undefended Russian settlement after another.
The Kazakh herdsmen who had already accepted their fate unexpectedly discovered that the suzerain country had actually sent people to drive away the Russians and save us from our suffering and get rid of their brutal rule.
Our Kazakh Khanate has been submissive to the Qing Dynasty, our suzerain state, for generations, and as expected, the Qing Dynasty has now fulfilled its obligations as a suzerain state.
Shao Hengzhong led the main force, with Grant and Emery as staff officers, to advance to the Seven Rivers area to meet the only 20,000 regular troops of Russia in Central Asia who were coming from Almaty to reinforce Tashkent.
The reinforcements over there are Russia's second-rate troops, whose equipment is far inferior to the elite troops gathered in Tashkent preparing to conquer Central Asia, so they should be easy to defeat.
Shao Quanzhong's initial combat goal for Shao Hengzhong was to defeat them and occupy the Qihe area by force.
…………
St. Petersburg, Winter Palace, Peter Hall.
This is the throne room of Russia. Alexander II, the 16th Tsar of the Romanov dynasty, the 12th Emperor of the Russian Empire, the Grand Duke of Poland and Finland, sits on the throne with a pale face, and his inner anxiety is clearly visible on his expression.
He was the best educated monarch among all the czars, and could be called a wise ruler. But at this moment, he did not have the air of a wise ruler at all.
The hall was filled with important officials, and subordinates kept running in to report bad news to Lucia and other decision makers.
"Report, a telegram came from the capital of the Qing Dynasty, saying that the Qing Dynasty's Shengjing General Du Xing'a was granted the position of Imperial Commissioner and Military Governor, and led the 'Jiesheng Battalion' established according to the Huai Army's organization to march into Hunchun and confront our army at Zhanggufeng.
The troops we hastily sent out to deter were ill-prepared and at a disadvantage. It was clear that the Qing had planned this in advance."
"Report, the Huai Army's Nanyang Fleet, led by the American Mahan, held a joint military exercise with the British Far East Fleet off the coast of Vladivostok. Our Siberian Fleet was blocked in the port as soon as it was transferred from Miaojie to Vladivostok, and the order to intimidate Dagukou could not be carried out."
"Report, the young emperor of the Qing Dynasty sent a note to our ambassador to the capital, Woliang Gali, rejecting our request to negotiate the Central Asian conflict and ask the great powers to coordinate, and asked us to go to Tashkent to talk to their front-line commander, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shao Quanzhong."
"Report, the Caucasus Governorate reports that the Turks are heavily invading the border. The border area is very tense. We request more troops and military support."
"Report: Three British warships appeared in the White Sea, conducted military exercises along the Kola Peninsula, and inspected more than 300 merchant ships coming to the White Sea for trade. Our northern trade has been significantly affected."
"Report, the British fleet has entered the Baltic Sea and is sailing towards St. Petersburg."
"Report: The Qing Dynasty's Nanyang Fleet's Mediterranean Squadron and the Greek Fleet appeared in the Black Sea and jointly bombarded Sevastopol, Feodosia and Kerch. The Cuban Marines and Greek soldiers on board the ships went ashore to plunder many times, causing heavy losses."
Alexander II could no longer hold back his anger, completely lost his composure as a wise ruler, and slammed the table.
"The Qing people are at war with us. The British and Turks are Qing's accomplices, that's fine. But what about the Greeks and Cubans? What has it got to do with them? Aren't the Greeks and Turks mortal enemies? How did they get involved here? Can anyone bully us in Russia now?"
"Your Majesty, calm down. Your Majesty, calm down. We have no way to threaten these two small countries for the time being. Now we need to quickly consider how to deal with the war in Central Asia."
Alexander II gasped several times, "Gorchakov!"
The Foreign Secretary stepped up.
"The Alaska negotiations with the Americans, which you chaired, have been suspended. I appoint you as the Imperial Commissioner and Plenipotentiary Representative to go to Tashkent to negotiate with the Qing Dynasty."
Alexander II stepped down from the throne and placed his hands on Gorchakov's shoulders. "The country is in a difficult situation. Russia is facing the most serious crisis since the Crimean War. The domestic economy has collapsed and we can no longer afford to fight. I leave everything to you. You must strive for the most decent conditions to end the war for me."
(End of this chapter)