Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 493 Powerful Backer
The second expeditionary force to Madagascar consisted of a total of 1.1 officers and soldiers. The fleet included five large 5-ton immigration ships and two 4200-ton transport ships, escorted by the ironclad ship "Zhenxi" and two ironclad cruisers of more than tons, forming a mixed formation of ten ships of various purposes.

The ironclad ship "Zhenxi" and the escorting ironclad cruiser are traveling to Djibouti and joining the Red Sea Fleet. Their future home port will be Dinghai Port.

The second half of his service career will also be spent in the Red Sea Fleet.

The "Zhenbei" ironclad ship formation, which was in the same situation, had already escorted the first batch of East African expeditionary forces to set sail a few days in advance, and its final destination was also the Red Sea Fleet.

These old ships, which have been in service for more than 15 years, have been left far behind by the rapidly changing naval warship technology in today's world and appear to be outdated.

However, it can still play an important role in some regional fleets.

The Chu Royal Navy now has five major fleets, namely:

Pacific Fleet stationed in Hawaii.

The Atlantic Fleet stationed at Bahia Blanca, Viceroyalty of Patagonia.

The Caribbean Fleet is stationed in the port of Colon on the Caribbean coast of Central America.

Indian Ocean Fleet stationed in Aceh, Sumatra.

The Red Sea Fleet stationed in Dinghai Port on the Red Sea coast.

These fleets divided up the ten old ships: Zhendong, Zhennan, Zhenxi, Zhenbei, Zhenhai, Zhenjiang, Zhenhu, Zhenhe, Zhenyuan and Zhenwei.

Each Chu Royal Navy detachment is composed of two old ironclad ships as the main force, and is equipped with a varying number of ironclad cruisers, forming a maritime force that cannot be underestimated.

As for the task of defending the homeland, it is undertaken by the "Manila" class ironclad battleships that were launched and put into service at the end of 1879. Currently, there are six ships launched and in service. This is a powerful ironclad force that dominates the entire Pacific Ocean.

A total of four additional ocean-going ships were built subsequently, with the displacement increased by more than 3,000 tons, reaching a scale of 19,000 tons. They are the main backbone force for ocean-going maritime operations and have reached the world's first-class level today.

According to the stable plan of launching one ship and putting one into service every year, the last ship will be completed and put into service in 1888.

After a 21-day voyage, the expedition fleet passed through the port of Aceh and the port of Maldives to Djibouti, where they met up with the expeditionary officers and soldiers who had arrived here earlier, and entered the military camp to begin a month-long environmental adaptation, rest and training.

The date for the southward invasion of Madagascar was set for March 1885, 3, which was half a month after the end of the rainy season in East Africa and the beginning of the dry season.

Chu mainland
Manila Palace

King Zheng Guohui of Chu, who had just returned from vacation at the Lakeside Palace, met with all members of the new cabinet led by the new Prime Minister Hu Qingfeng in the Zichen Hall, encouraged them and placed high hopes on them.

Marquis Li Hezhang, a founding minister who served as Prime Minister for three consecutive terms, has aged rapidly in the past two years and has a head full of white hair. He participated in the meeting in his new capacity as Speaker of the House of Peers.

The audience with the emperor ends
The King of Chu left the Senate Speaker Li Hezhang alone, and the two sat down and talked with each other over a cup of tea.

The King of Chu said, "Brother Xian, this time you are stepping down from your position as Prime Minister to focus on the formulation of laws and policies. You should step away from worldly affairs and rest your body and mind, but this is definitely not about living out your days in peace!"

"Your Majesty, rest assured. I'm an old minister. I've been feeling a bit drained of energy in recent years. The old are replaced by the new, a rule that has remained unchanged throughout history. How could I allow an old minister to cling to the old position?"

"That's great. Although the affairs of the House of Nobles are a bit less busy, there are still many legal provisions that need to be supplemented. It's not easy, and I still need to borrow Brother Xianji's talents."

"Old ministers should do their utmost. Over the years, new bureaucrats have continuously emerged. Each of them is young and strong, well-versed in both Chinese and Western culture, and fully demonstrates the prosperity of our Great Chu. They are capable of shouldering great responsibilities."

"Brother Xian, if you have any knowledge, I hope you will give me some advice." After the King of Chu said this, he laughed heartily and was in a very happy mood.

The two of them lived together as king and minister for more than 20 years. King Zheng Guohui of Chu was in charge of the court, and Li Hezhang assisted him with all his strength, which performed a beautiful story of the king and minister getting along well with each other.

The current prosperity of the State of Chu is definitely due to the contributions of Li Hezhang, a founding minister.

He established institutions, managed government, clarified the powers of various departments, established a top-down system of checks and balances in the government, opened new schools, built infrastructure, led the development of industry and commerce, implemented the colonial system, promoted the "empty cage and replace bird" policy, etc., and made indelible contributions to the development of the Chu State into a world-class power.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu did not reward any red book or iron scroll or golden medal of immunity from death. Those things were purely to fool people and were useless.

The governance of the country relies on the law. Any nobles and officials who commit crimes and violate the national laws will be punished by the judicial system according to the law.

The King of Chu held the highest authority to grant pardons, but he never used it. This was the fundamental reason why the officialdom of Chu was clean and upright from top to bottom.

If the law is violated, the public and businessmen will report it, the victims will report it to the police, colleagues will supervise it, the parliament will impeach it, the police will investigate, the Audit Office will provide authoritative opinions, the procuratorate will prosecute, and the court will try it, forming a complete judicial system.

This new system of government operation with nationwide supervision was personally led by King Zheng Guohui of Chu and vigorously promoted by Prime Minister Li Hezhang. It has demonstrated excellent results in terms of efficiency and integrity in government operations.

Thousands of corrupt officials and nobles are brought down every year, and they are naturally punished by the judicial system, rather than the royal family bearing the consequences. The punished bureaucrats have nothing to say.

Just from this point, King Zheng Guohui of Chu was particularly satisfied.

change the subject

King Zheng Guohui of Chu talked about the Westernization Movement that was currently being promoted in the northern continent, especially the Beiyang Navy, which Li Hongzhang attached great importance to, and his words contained a hint of discussion.

"Brother Xian, do you think so?"

This was a private conversation between the emperor and his minister. Li Hezhang took a sip of tea and then replied slowly:
"In reply to your Majesty's words
The old ministers believed that the Westernization ministers of the northern court had submitted a memorial to plan the construction of three navies, and that the plan had already begun to take shape.

It changed the passive situation of having a sea but no defense, which can be regarded as a great good policy.

Among them, the Beiyang Navy is particularly important.

It can be called the "pillar of coastal defense". My second brother invested a lot of energy in it and achieved remarkable results, which he regarded as the proudest thing in his life.

Even so, I think that Britain has ordered quite a few warships, but they are of little help to its own shipbuilding industry, which is a case of missing the forest for the trees.

Moreover, apart from the Dingyuan and Zhenyuan ships, which were barely worth looking at, the rest of the Beiyang Fleet were just some small, insignificant ships with backward technology, slow speed, and poor firepower, making them of little use.

The imperial court's investment in the Beiyang Navy was insufficient, and there were many restrictions.

Even though Li Hongzhang was in a high position and had great power, he still had to worry about criticism from the court. He was tied up and unable to act freely. What could he do?
If we suddenly encounter a strong enemy, it may be difficult to resist.

The Northern court is already on the decline. Even if it can survive for a short while, how long can it last?

An old person in the family is like a treasure!

King Zheng Guohui of Chu was quite impressed by Li Hezhang's keen insight, as he was able to guess the answer almost accurately without any cheating.

After Li Hongzhang, the Minister of Beiyang, was ordered to supervise the Beiyang coastal defense, in addition to domestically built ships, he successively purchased more than ten warships from abroad, mainly from Britain and Germany.

Among them were the gunboats Longxiang, Huwei, Feiting, Cedian, Zhendong, Zhenxi, Zhennan, Zhenbei, Zhenzhong and Zhenbian purchased from Britain in 1879.

The cruisers Chaoyong and Yangwei, purchased from Britain in 1881, and the battleships Dingyuan and Zhenyuan, built in Germany, formed the current Beiyang Navy lineup. In July 1882, the Imo Incident broke out in Korea. Ding Ruchang was ordered to lead the Weiyuan, Chaoyong, and Yangwei warships to Korea to bolster its prestige.

The Qing army arrested Daewongun, the mastermind of the mutiny, and quickly put down the rebellion, which greatly boosted the prestige of the court and everyone was filled with joy.

In 1884, the French colonial army invaded the north. French warships patrolled the ports along the southeast coast in a show of force, bombarded Mawei, and attempted to extort 3500 million taels of silver from the Qing court.

Although they were blocked by the Black Flag Army, it deeply stimulated the imperial court and the call for strengthening coastal defense grew louder.

But that being said, actually raising money to build a navy was a problem, and there was a lot of resistance in the court.

Reality is so magical. As soon as the French fleet retreated, the civil and military officials who had been shouting about strengthening coastal defense changed their minds. They began to obstruct naval funding and started fighting among themselves at all costs.

When Li Hezhang said "the decline is inevitable", he was referring to the chaos at the end of the dynasty.

The original intention was not national interests, but party struggles.

No matter what the ministers of the Westernization Movement support or want to develop, is it beneficial to the country?
Die-hard conservatives oppose everything, regardless of the reason.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu mentioned the "Westernization Movement" of the northern court, but he only mentioned it casually and had no intention of discussing it in depth.

There's no point in talking about it, it just makes you upset.

So after chatting for a while, they stopped and the topic turned to the Black Flag Army in the South, and asked Li Hezhang for his opinion on this.

In the past two years
The Chu State's infiltration into the Black Flag Army has become increasingly profound. Earlier this year, it dispatched more than a dozen colonial officials from Guangxi to help the other side further improve colonial-related matters.

The Great Qing Law was followed in the Black Flag Army's territory, but the colonial system of the Chu State was introduced in many aspects, with some improvements to suit the characteristics of the northern Vietnam region.

The Black Flag Army controlled ten provinces, and its size was equivalent to a prefecture in the Chu State. It was a relatively small prefecture, but it had a large population.

Now that the King of Chu had asked about this matter, Li Hezhang knew the relevant details very well, so he spoke frankly:
"In reply to your Majesty's words
In my humble opinion, the Black Flag Army occupies the ten northern provinces, has its back on the Chinese imperial court, and takes orders from the Vietnamese royal court.

Being indecisive is definitely not a long-term solution.

Living under someone else's rule, with shallow and weak roots, they were ultimately no match for the French colonial army.

Once the signs of failure appear, the foundation will be lost and the whole country will collapse.”

"I roughly understand what Brother Xianji means, but it's difficult to go any further."

King Zheng Guohui of Chu agreed deeply with Li Hezhang's judgment and sighed.

The Black Flag Army is now in a state of raging fire and appears to be thriving, but in fact, a crisis is lurking.

He wanted to rely on the northern court and also wanted to borrow the power of the Vietnamese royal court, but in fact, both sides were unreliable and could be withdrawn at any minute.

The Chu State had a significant influence on the Black Flag Army, but it used them as mere pawns. The Ministry of the Interior was responsible for all related matters, with other government departments remaining detached.

King Zheng Guohui of Chu saw the value of the Black Flag Army and wanted to support it, but he was unwilling to completely fall out with France because of this, and was in a contradictory psychological state.

France's overseas colonies mainly have two pillars, one is French West Africa (note, Algeria), and the other is under the jurisdiction of the French Saigon Governor-General's Office, both of which are core interests.

The current situation in North Vietnam is full of dangers for the Black Flag Army.

The French colonial army captured Hanoi twice, supporting a large number of pro-French forces in the Vietnamese royal court to compete with the mainstream pro-Northern traditional forces. In fact, the King of Vietnam was a puppet.

The French army could attack from west to east from Hanoi at any time, and invade the Black Flag Army's heartland, including Quang Ninh and several Haiphong provinces, to eradicate the Black Flag Army's base.

The frontal attack can be launched from south to north, tying down the main force of the Black Flag Army and making it difficult for it to look east.

France intensively trained its vassal army, which was mainly composed of Vietnamese people. There were 16 regiments in total, and they were equipped with relatively advanced smoothbore muskets, most of which were old goods discarded by the French army.

Assuming 3000 men in each regiment, 16 regiments would mean nearly 5 troops. Combined with the French white army and foreign legionnaires, the number of troops already had an absolute advantage.

It is not easy to make the French admit defeat.

The best option now is for the Black Flag Army to take the initiative and expand towards Hanoi with all its strength, using the emperor as a hostage to control the princes.

As long as the puppet Vietnamese king was captured, the vast majority of northern Vietnamese people could be mobilized to join forces with the Black Flag Army to resist the French colonial invasion.

This move has at least a 40% chance of success, making it the best strategy.

The shortcomings are also obvious
With the current strength of the Black Flag Army, it is still insufficient to completely defeat the French forces entrenched in several provinces around Hanoi, and urgently needs the help of the Chu State.

We must provide strong support from military command to the delivery of weapons and equipment.

In this way

It would be impossible to keep it secret. The Qing court in the north would be the first to draw a clear line and deprive Liu Yongfu, the general of the Black Flag Army, of his official position to avoid bringing disaster upon itself.

The overall deterioration of relations between Chu and France could jeopardize important Eurasian trade routes, with very serious consequences.

The Black Flag Army’s second choice was to surrender to the French colonial army, obey orders but not obey orders, and become an independent warlord force in Indochina.

This way, France will look good both internally and externally, and the pressure will not be so great.

The worst option is the third one, maintaining the status quo.

The final fate of the Black Flag Army was the same as in history. After suffering heavy losses, the defeated soldiers and their families had to retreat through Zhennan Pass and give up this great foundation in northern Vietnam.

As for how to choose, it still requires careful consideration.

After the king and his minister discussed the situation in North Vietnam for a while, they reached a general consensus that if the Black Flag Army wanted to continue to develop, it must be brave enough to seek change.

Since they can seek refuge in the State of Chu, it is not impossible for them to cling to the British.

The British do not want to see French forces move north, so there is a possibility of cooperation. The question is whether the arrogant British can look down on the Black Flag Army?

In this chaotic world where the strong prey on the weak, small local forces like the Black Flag Army must have a strong backer to remain stable.

If one isn't enough, then two. If two aren't enough, then three. There's nothing shameful about doing this to survive.

(End of this chapter)