Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 431: Attempts on Lake Baikal
The main reason for this is that the Tang Dynasty does not have any powerful foreign enemies at present.

Although the strength of European countries is not weak, especially countries like Britain and France that have already started the Industrial Revolution, they are extremely strong.

However, distance is the most solid shield of the Tang Dynasty today.

Even if Britain and France had ten percent of their strength, they could only use one percent in East Asia.

Therefore, the Tang Dynasty is not inferior to them at all.

Not to mention just Britain and France, even if the whole of Europe formed a coalition to invade, Li Yi would not take it seriously.

Without saying anything else, let them first overcome the difficulty of transportation across half the globe, then we can talk about other things.

With the current combat effectiveness of the Tang army, the coalition forces are coming in small numbers and are just here to deliver food.

If too many people come and the logistics cannot keep up, it will only make the situation worse.

To put it bluntly, the Tang Dynasty’s biggest enemy now lies within, not outside.

It is the stubborn landlords and gentry who are dissatisfied with the reforms, the greedy and corrupt officials, and the traditional conservative thinking that has been practiced on this land for thousands of years.

Rather than foreign enemies!

Therefore, Li Yi is really not serious about forming an alliance.

However, in the end, Li Yi still spoke to Guo Songtao and explained.

"However, we can still receive the Russian envoys."

"If my guess is correct, the Russian Empire is about to be unable to afford the funds needed to purchase arms from the Tang Dynasty."

"After the Russian envoys arrive in Beijing, Guo Qing will come forward to discuss with them about exchanging territory for arms."

"The main target is the North Sea. If possible, don't miss Alaska in the New World."

The financial situation of Tsarist Russia was never good.

The Russians are notoriously poor throughout Europe.

This is even more true in today's state of war.

If Li Yi's guess is correct, after the Crimean War in recent years, Tsarist Russia is probably almost financially exhausted.

The arms sold by the Tang Dynasty are not cheap, and Li Yixin is very ruthless. He will not miss such a good opportunity to earn foreign exchange.

The transaction amount of arms trade is often in the millions.

The Tsarist Russia's finances had to support the war, maintain its rule, and purchase expensive arms from abroad.

Collapse is inevitable!

In this case, if Tsarist Russia wanted to obtain arms from the Tang Dynasty, its only option was to exchange them for territory.

Coincidentally, Li Yi was very interested in Lake Baikal in Tsarist Russia.

The reason is simple: Lake Baikal is the core of Siberia.

Lake Baikal is fed by 336 rivers, including the Selenga River, with a catchment area of ​​55.7 square kilometers. The Angara River, a tributary of the Yenisei River, flows out of Lake Baikal.

The water system connected to Lake Baikal can cover almost half of Siberia.

If the Tang Dynasty could control Lake Baikal and build a railway connecting the inland and Lake Baikal, it would be able to use the water system of Lake Baikal for water transportation and radiate its influence to the entire Siberia.

Complete the rule over Siberia at the lowest cost.

Therefore, the importance of Lake Baikal is self-evident!

If Siberia can be conquered, the northern border troubles that have plagued the Central Plains dynasties for thousands of years will be completely resolved.

You can imagine how significant this matter is.

In fact, Li Yi has a plan.

If Tsarist Russia does not agree to the deal, he will find an opportunity to declare war on Tsarist Russia.

No matter what, Li Yi must take Lake Baikal into his hands.

at all costs!
Upon hearing this, Guo Songtao immediately nodded to show that he understood.

……

Nanyang, Batavia!
Tang Concession, in the restaurant lobby.

The two brothers Weng Tong and Weng He were drinking together.

Today is New Year's Eve. Since the two brothers are wandering around, it is natural for them to spend the New Year together.

In the banquet hall, in addition to the two brothers of the Weng family, there were also many officials and businessmen from the concession.

The atmosphere was quite lively as everyone was toasting each other.

On the table, delicious dishes were brought up by the maids.

On the stage, the sounds of singing, dancing, and string and orchestra music continued to ring out.

There are even Western opera performances.

In this place where Eastern and Western cultures meet, literary and artistic work has developed quite well.

They can see white women playing the guzheng, dancing classical dance in thin gauze clothes, and they can also see Chinese people singing opera performances.

Watching the performance, everyone applauded politely.

After raising his glass and taking a sip of the red wine, Weng He took his brother's arm and walked to the corner of the banquet hall.

The two sat down on a sofa, and Weng He leaned close to his brother's ear and asked in a low voice.

"Second brother, have all the grains in the company's granary been transported?"

Weng Tong smiled and nodded.

"The food that was previously stored has been loaded onto ships and shipped."

"The new food is still being harvested."

Weng He took a deep breath and said with a serious expression.

"Stop for now!"

Weng Tong was a little surprised.

"What's wrong, brother? What happened?"

Weng He took a deep breath and said.

"Don't ask, just do it."

As an official in the concession, Weng He had his own gossip.

Knowing that the imperial court might send troops to Batavia.

By then, once the war breaks out, the food in Weng Tong’s warehouse may be reduced to ashes.

By then, no one will bear the loss for him.

Weng Tong nodded solemnly and said.

"Okay, I'll listen to you, big brother." Weng He continued in a low voice.

"Also, don't leave the concession recently. Stay in the concession."

“It’s not safe out there.”

Upon hearing this, Weng Tong suddenly seemed to realize something and spoke with a serious expression.

"Brother, the court wants..."

It was no secret that the Tang Dynasty had its eyes on Batavia.

Weng He suddenly reminded him so seriously, and Weng Tong could only think of this one reason.

Weng He's eyes flashed, he put his index finger to his lips and spoke.

"Be careful!"

Seeing that his brother only told him to be careful with his words but did not deny it, he immediately understood that his guess was correct.

……

Batavia City Hall!
Governor Alfonso is holding a meeting.

"Ambassador Andre has sent the latest news from the capital of Tang. Tang is accusing Spain of harassing Korea."

"It is even possible to use this as an excuse to further provoke a war against Spain..."

As Alfonso finished speaking, there was a sound of gasps in the conference room.

Every face was visibly solemn and gloomy, as if water could drip out of it.

Seeing this, the garrison commander Simon asked.

"So, Your Excellency Governor, what should we do?"

Alfonso took a deep breath and then spoke.

"Now, we have one and only one choice."

"That is to stand on the side of Spain and help Spain withstand the pressure from the Tang Kingdom."

"Otherwise, once Manila is taken by the Tang Kingdom, it may not be long before Batavia changes hands."

Simon was quite excited when he heard this.

"So, Your Excellency the Governor is saying that we should join forces with Spain to fight against the Tang Kingdom?"

Alfonso nodded.

Upon hearing this, Simon slammed the table and said excitedly.

"It's long overdue!"

"I will immediately send troops to capture the Tang concession in Batavia and kill all the Tang people in the concession!"

Simon is a hardliner.

He had long been dissatisfied with Alfonso's weak attitude towards China. Now that Alfonso has finally stood up, he is naturally excited.

They immediately launched a war against the Tang Concession!

Alfonso was obviously hesitant when he heard this.

Seeing this, Congressman Dave made a suggestion.

"We are only helping Spain this time, not completely breaking off relations with the Tang Kingdom. Is it a bit too radical to attack the concession?"

"If we don't attack the concessions, even if we lose the war, there is still room for negotiation."

"But if we choose to take action against the concession at this time, we will seriously offend the Tang Kingdom."

"And the Tang Empire is not the weak Qing Dynasty!"

Dave has many interests involved with the Tang Dynasty, so he is unwilling to completely break off relations with the Tang Dynasty.

Besides, the Dutch still have to survive in Southeast Asia in the future.

If the Tang Dynasty was really offended, Batavia would not have the strength to deal with the continuous invading Tang army.

How far is Batavia from the Netherlands?

Even if they wanted to send more troops, it would be too late.

But what about the Tang Dynasty?

It’s really not far from Guangzhou to Batavia.

In this era when steam-powered ships are becoming increasingly popular, it is basically happening right under our noses.

But at this moment, Batavia Police Chief Oliver suddenly spoke.

"Congressman Dave has a point, but what if the Tang army in the Tang Concession suddenly attacks when we are withdrawing troops from Batavia to fight the Tang Empire in Manila?"

"The Tang State has always been eyeing Batavia. Once Batavia is empty, these Tang troops will inevitably threaten Batavia's security."

"By then, the consequences will be disastrous!"

"So, before we mobilize our troops, we must first resolve the concern about the Tang Concession."

Oliver's words touched upon Alfonso's inner worries.

You know, just recently, the Tang Dynasty had just sent additional troops to Batavia.

Nowadays, although the number of Tang troops stationed in Batavia is not as large as that of the Dutch, their strength should not be underestimated.

With such a threat around, how could the Dutch garrison in Batavia dare to move around at will?

What if the garrison is transferred away and the Tang army steals our home?
Alfonso gritted his teeth and spoke.

"General Simon, you should immediately lead your men to prepare to take over the Tang Concession."

"However, after conquering the Tang Concession and disarming the Tang army, no further actions can be taken."

"I need you to swear before God that you will never kill anyone."

"These Tang people in the Tang Concession are all bargaining chips for our future negotiations with the Tang Kingdom!"

Alfonso decided that he had to fight.

But after taking the city, they cannot kill people indiscriminately. In this way, they will not anger the Tang State, and they can also use the prisoners as bargaining chips to negotiate with the Tang State.

It can be said that it kills two birds with one stone!
Simon heard this and nodded vigorously.

"Don't worry, Governor. I understand!"

"I swear by God that I will follow your instructions completely and totally..."

However, although he said this, Simon did not take Alfonso's orders seriously in his heart.

In his opinion, no one can predict what the army will do once it starts taking action!
……

(End of this chapter)