Daming 1805

On the sixth day of the first lunar month of the AD year, the day after Zhu Jingyuan returned to the new capital of Yingtian Prefecture, he held a military affairs meeting in Wuying Palace.

The main leaders of the Governor's Mansion, the Military Aircraft Department, Sima and its three military departments, Sikong and its subordinate industry and ordnance departments, and the West Factory were all present.

After everyone saluted Zhu Jingyuan and took their seats, Zhu Jingyuan signaled to Lu Liang, governor of the West Factory, to explain the situation first.

Lu Liang stood up immediately, and according to a prepared list of important items, he explained the latest Taixi-related information to everyone at the scene:

"Your Majesty, colleagues, Honglu Temple and the Military Aircraft Department have long expected that the internal situation in the Western and Eastern countries is quite critical.

“Several countries with a strong military atmosphere may choose to launch foreign wars to divert domestic conflicts.

“Accurate intelligence recently obtained by Xichang shows that this situation will soon become a reality.

"The situation in Thailand and Spain may be more critical than we originally expected.

"Xichang has confirmed that the monarchs of Prussia and Lucia have issued secret mobilization orders when they left their homeland for England two months ago to attend the coronation ceremony of King George.

“In the next two months, the scale of military mobilization between the two countries became larger and larger, reaching a level that could not be concealed.

"Among them, Lucia's troops are mainly mobilized in the north, and the suspected targets are the two countries in northwestern Thailand.

"Prussia's army mobilization direction is mainly in the south, and the target is likely to be Austria.

"At present, the two countries seem to have no intention of cooperating in combat operations.

"But what is unexpected is that according to the instructions expressed by William of Prussia to His Majesty in the past, he will declare war on Denmark immediately after returning.

"So our current judgment is that Prussia is going to deal with Denmark first before taking action against Austria.

"William and Lucia's Nicholas will return to the mainland by train, most likely in order to prepare for war in advance.

"Start war before the monarch of the target country returns home."

Lu Liang stopped temporarily when he said this, and bowed slightly to Zhu Jingyuan above, indicating that he had finished speaking for the time being.

In fact, it is time for Zhu Jingyuan to issue orders and discuss and analyze with other ministers.

Zhu Jingyuan raised his hand slightly, motioning for Lu Liang to sit down first, and then asked other ministers for their opinions.

The military generals and officials at the scene were all a little excited at this time.

Most generals are eager for war. Only when war breaks out can they play their greatest role.

In order to obtain greater meritorious service, he was awarded a higher hereditary title.

At the same time, it will also directly eliminate the potential sense of crisis that the military attache's status will be reduced.

Although the status of military attachés has been relatively stable since the Renwu Dynasty, the situation in the history of the Ming Dynasty must be considered.

Especially now that His Majesty is famous for his peace talks...

The world has been peaceful for more than ten years, and now the possibility of war is finally seen again.

More importantly, they both saw an opportunity to make a mark in history.

If Ming Dynasty actively or passively joins the all-out war again, it may be a war that completely unifies the world.

Before the Renwu Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty was dominated by the mainland.

It is not that certain lands and people exist outside the world, but the power at that time was unable to control more distant places and people.

The situation is different now, now Da Ming's world is the whole world.

Since the land and ocean under my feet are a huge sphere as a whole, it has been fully explored by Da Ming.

Daming now also has the power to truly and completely control this "world ball".

The complete unification of this new world is the common dream of most military and political personnel in Ming Dynasty, as well as military and political enthusiasts.

Of course, there are also potential threats and crises.

After the Ming Dynasty completely unified the world, there really was no other country around.

The frontier threat will also completely cease to exist.

Without enemies beyond the borders, what is the meaning of the existence of the army?
Internal suppression and control of the situation?
Or is it to search whether there are enemies in the wide-area space outside the world?

However, these are things for the distant future.

It is also something for the next generation of soldiers to consider.

The generals on site are all the most senior generals, and they may all retire in the next few years.

The greatest glory they can achieve in this life is right in front of them.

That is to unify the world.

Now they have no other ideas.

Lu Junde, the general secretary of the army who was in charge of taking over Long Island, first stood up and explained his thoughts:
"Your Majesty, fellow comrades, I think we, Ming Dynasty, should also be ready for mobilization, and have started part of the reserve training.

"Currently, the entire army size of Ming Dynasty is not enough to quickly control the entire Taixi continent and the Taixi colonies in Mozhou and Yinzhou in a state of emergency.

"I think the number of troops at the ready should be increased to at least 2000 million.

"It takes all our strength to fight a tiger and a rabbit. We should seize the opportunity and strike with all our strength. It will be a battle that will last forever."

Lu Junde didn't directly state the goal, but what he wanted to do was self-evident.

Then everyone at the scene looked directly at Zhu Jingyuan after hearing this question.

They all wanted to confirm the attitude of His Majesty the Emperor.

These words of Lu Junde are actually implying His Majesty, whether you want to do it or not, I will give everyone a letter of approval.

The emperor's attitude is very important when it comes to major events like the present, and it should be said that all the heads of organizations are related to the fate of the organization.

If the attitude of the head of the organization is not clear enough and resolute enough, and if he is inconsistent, the people below him will also be half-hearted.

Even some subordinates have the determination, perseverance, and ability to get things done.

There will definitely be more people worried about the repeated attitudes and decisions of organizational leaders, which will lead to hesitation and delay in key matters.

Even if the head of the organization is completely incompetent, as long as the attitude gives a clear direction, the number of people holding back can be greatly reduced.

In addition, Zhu Jingyuan himself is famous for peace talks. Is he interested in war?
So not only the military attachés and generals were watching Zhu Jingyuan's attitude, but also the civil servants and engineering people were waiting for Zhu Jingyuan's attitude.

Zhu Jingyuan was silent for a moment, then responded directly and issued a series of orders:
“It is the duty of our great Ming Dynasty to educate all the people in the world.

"Of course I hope that the world will be peaceful, and that people all over the world will spontaneously accept the enlightenment of Ming Dynasty.

"But if things go against their wishes and the monarchs and courts of the Western countries act in the opposite direction, then I, the Ming Dynasty, will definitely raise troops to punish the people.

"Since the situation in Thailand and the West is tense, and the two countries may start a war at any time, Ming must of course make complete preparations in advance.

"The Military Aircraft Department immediately came up with a reserve recruiting plan, the Ministry of War completed the submission of relevant budgets as soon as possible, and the Governor's Mansion made preparations for training.

"Use the fastest speed to double the number of military bases in land and sea transfer areas with Western countries."

Zhu Jingyuan expressed his attitude directly.

Zhu Jingyuan originally had the idea of ​​unifying the world.

It's just that when the world situation was peaceful in the past, we couldn't express it.

Now that the situation is tense, even if such words are said internally, they will not be leaked immediately.

But it can give the relevant high-level reassurance.

After saying these few words, everyone at the scene breathed a sigh of relief.

No matter what the emperor wants to do, as long as he can decisively express his attitude, that is the best result.

Now the emperor has no record of reneging on his promises before.

What he said ten years ago that he would not annex and rule the Western continent by force now seems to be an attitude he has to express in public.

Moreover, His Majesty also gave a reason.

Daming hopes for peace, but if you kings and courts want to die and persecute the people of Taixi mainland, then Daming has no choice but to help.

This is to criticize the people, relieve the people, and do justice for heaven.

This is a just cause.

This shows that the emperor is indeed prepared and has even thought of excuses.

The Ministry of Rites can do publicity in this direction.

At the same time, it was not an exaggerated request for Zhu Jingyuan to ask the Military Aircraft Department to come up with a plan immediately.

The task of the Military Aircraft Department is to study strategies, constantly discuss and formulate various plans that can be used or not.

So there are a lot of similar plans in the warehouse of the Military Aircraft Department.

Just choose a well-recognized and safe plan that has been formulated, and make slight adjustments according to the current situation.

The plan to double the number of troops in the border area is also ready-made, and it was even shown to Zhu Jingyuan, which is why Zhu Jingyuan directly proposed it.

Zhu Jingyuan's order was given to the Military Aircraft Department, the Governor's Mansion, and the Ministry of War.

But after he finished speaking, everyone at the scene stood up and bowed together to show their attitude of taking orders.

Zhu Jingyuan was not surprised either.

This order of mine is to set the direction of Ming Dynasty's future military planning.

Everyone is affected.

Zhu Jingyuan waved his hand again, telling everyone to sit down and continue the discussion.

This time, Sima Wang Yinzhi, who was in charge of military affairs, did not sit down, and directly asked the emperor for instructions to explain his suggestion:
"Your Majesty, the current situation in Taixi is complex and urgent, and we will soon begin to recruit reserves and recruit troops to the front line.

“I believe that the Ming Dynasty’s original military equipment replacement work should also be adjusted and coordinated accordingly.

"Firstly, there are budgetary difficulties. The recruitment of reserve troops and front-line conscription will inevitably take up the financial budget, and other aspects can only be reduced.

"The second is to keep enough troops ready to fight at any time. The replacement of equipment must be adapted, and the replacement of troops takes time to restore combat effectiveness.

"Therefore, I suggest that the replacement of active equipment be divided into more batches, but the size and quantity of a single batch should be reduced.

"For example, the Army's helicopters and anti-armor missiles, the Air Force's jet fighters and bombers, and the Navy's plan to install missile weapons on ships.

"In order to ensure that in the process of updating equipment, the actual combat effectiveness of the vast majority of active troops must not be affected."

After Zhu Jingyuan heard this, he thought about it for a moment:
"Zun Zou, the Military Aircraft Department cooperates with Sima to come up with an adjustment plan as soon as possible.

"There should be no need to worry too much about the budget, the financial situation in the past two years has been relatively good.

"When the Army enlists the reservists to resume training, they can directly use the new equipment to synchronize the reservist training and equipment replacement.

“In terms of naval construction, except for the two battleships that have already started construction, no new battleships will be designed and started.

"This year resumes the construction plan for eight capital ships, but all of them are aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships.

"The specially designed missile cruiser plan should also officially start.

“As for the Air Force, aircraft that have been in service for more than ten years and have obvious malfunctions will be gradually phased out and retired.

"If the airframe is in good condition, after dismantling military weapons and equipment, it will be sold to civilians for use.

"Airplanes that have been in service for more than five years and are in good condition will be handed over to Jinyiwei for use.

“The new jet bombers prioritize supplying border and frontline troops.

"Stop production of piston propeller fighters, reduce the number of piston attack aircraft and bombers, and replace them with turboprop and turbojet aircraft."

After Zhu Jingyuan finished his instructions, a large group of people stood up and bowed in agreement.

Wang Yinzhi did not continue talking about the budget. Zhu Jingyuan said that if there was no problem with the budget, then there would be no problem.

Originally, the fiscal revenue has increased every year, and the reduction and adjustment in construction and investment should still be able to cope with the current adjustment.

The military conference chaired by Zhu Jingyuan lasted all day, discussing a large number of military adjustment directions and details.

Six days later, on the [-]th day of the first lunar month of the Era, news came again from Xichang and Honglu Temple.

Lu Liang, the governor of the West Factory, took two telegrams and ran to the emperor's office in Wenhua Palace.

After saluting Zhu Jingyuan, he handed the telegram to Zhu Jingyuan and verbally explained the details of the message received:
"Sire, King William of Prussia has returned to Berlin.

“He immediately issued openly political demands to Austria through the League of Nations and his own foreign channels.

"He demanded the union of Austria and Prussia, which together would form a German Empire.

"King of Prussia, Hohenzollern, becomes Kaiser of Germany.

“The Habsburgs gave up their title of emperor and pledged allegiance to Hohenzollern, the emperor of all Germany, and the Duke of Austria was promoted to King of Austria.

"The Habsburgs will continue to retain their authority in the existing Austrian territories."

Zhu Jingyuan looked at the telegram Lu Liang handed over and listened to Lu Liang's verbal explanation, feeling a little puzzled.

Is this going to... Anschluss?
But the current German state has not yet been born, this is Prussia.

Why did this Prussia change the name of the country from Prussia to Germany?
Because the current condition is a peaceful merger?But to completely conquer the remaining Austrian areas by force?
However, the current Austrian Empire is not the Austrian country before World War II, but the size of the Austro-Hungarian Empire before World War I.

In addition to the Austrian region in later generations, it also includes Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and other regions in later generations.

Zhu Jingyuan asked Austria to become a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty a while ago, but the other party did not agree.

Then it is definitely impossible for the other party to be loyal to the German Emperor of Hohenzollern.

Zhu Jingyuan put down the first telegraph newspaper and continued to read the contents of the second one.

Lu Liang also continued to introduce more details:
"Prussia did not state in the public announcement what consequences would follow if Austria refused.

"In other words, this announcement is only a notification in name.

"It means to let all Germans and outsiders see that Prussia is sincere in peacefully establishing a unified Germany.

"However, according to our internal information, if Austria refuses, it will definitely refuse, and Prussia will make another tough territorial claim.

"Demand that Austria cede all Germans in its territory to gather to Prussia...

"And will request the mediation and support of the League of Nations."

Zhu Jingyuan suddenly smiled:
“If Austria refuses again, if the League of Nations does not force Austria to compromise, then the Prussians will go to war.

"The Austrians would certainly refuse, and the League of Nations would not be able to force Austria to cede territory.

"So Prussia has gone through the League of Nations mediation process.

"He has given Austria two chances, and Austria is still not accepting or cooperating.

"Then the League of Nations can only allow the two countries to go to war to solve the problem."

Lu Liang immediately said:
"Your Majesty, according to the information we have obtained and the judgment of the analysts.

“Prussia is preparing for war and preparing public opinion.

"So, Your Majesty, should we take action now? Or should we conduct some targeted investigations and preparations?"

Zhu Jingyuan thought for a while:

"Our plans have been prepared, and we just need to implement them step by step, and let the people of Honglu Temple deal with them through the League of Nations.

"However, intelligence work must continue. Remember to give reasonable rewards to those who have made meritorious service."

Lu Liang bowed and agreed:

"The minister obeys the order."