Chapter 68 of Part II

  First of all, a lot of nonsense: thank you to the brilliant comments and suggestions from Yu Zhou Ke. Xue Hai has benefited a great deal from them and will have a better grasp on Russia. At the same time, thank you to other netizens for their enthusiastic support and anticipation. Xue Hai has thought about many things now. The world's situation will undergo some changes around chapter 70 or so, and this book is only about 80 chapters in total, so it's almost nearing its end. I hope everyone will continue to support me and "The Empire of the Setting Sun".

  As I watched the crowds at Shanghai harbor, I couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. The largest passenger liner, the Oriental Prince, was docked in the port. Today was the biggest day for immigration across the entire Chinese Empire. A total of 500,000 people were being relocated to southern China and the Americas. Thinking about this, I couldn't help but feel confident about the future, as if the gold that covered the Americas was waiting for our empire's immigrants to develop, although I knew it would take effort to achieve, but I believed they would definitely succeed. Our territory was going to expand again.

  On the vast American continent, people from four major migrations in the world settled down. The first to arrive were prehistoric hunters, whose descendants are the Indians of America; secondly, immigrants from Britain and Western Europe; thirdly, black slaves brought by colonizers from West Africa; fourthly, large numbers of immigrants pouring in from all over the world throughout the 19th century and into the 20th. In these four major migrations, those who came to America from Britain and Western Europe were seeking wealth, land, and refuge. They conquered the wilderness, slaughtered Indians, and established early colonies.

  From the 15th to the 16th century, Indians were still in the primitive clan era, and several clans gathered together to form a tribe. Each tribe had its own dialect, its own territory, and at that time there were more than 1.5 million Indians in North America and Canada. Later, some British landlords and merchants organized the "London Company" and the "Plymouth Company", they obtained a "charter" from the king to establish colonies in the Americas. In 1607, the "London Company" sent out the first colonial troops to establish the first city on the southeastern coast of the Americas - Jamestown. By 1651, after Britain promulgated a series of laws, all European goods entering the Americas had to go through Britain, leading to later wars and conflicts between European powers, if not for the rise of the Chinese Empire, I'm afraid Europe would have started fighting already.

  Looking out at the harbor not far in front, a team of soldiers and workers from the Imperial Construction Group were waving their hands freely there. This time, the Imperial American Expeditionary Force had an army of more than 40,000 people, enough to completely eliminate all the powers of European powers in America, plus the original 6,000-strong troops that arrived earlier. The commander of this expeditionary force, Zhang Zhitao, couldn't help but smile slyly.

  He put down the binoculars in his hand, Zhang Zhitao looked at the people on the ship who had been sailing for a month or two, and they were also excitedly waving their clothes or small red flags to the people on the shore. Zhang Zhitao smiled expressionlessly as he watched the excited crowd, remembering what His Majesty had said to him before he left: "Brother Zhitao, this expedition is different from others, America is far away from us, you know that, we are all people from the future, and now transportation is not so developed, if I send someone else here, I'm a bit worried. So we think you're suitable for coming here. Besides, it's probably Lu Jun on the south China mainland. Can't help it. We can only wait until the situation stabilizes. When our new aircraft and new ships appear, we will be able to control everything."

  Zhang Zhitao, accompanied by a line of officials who came to greet him, gave an impromptu speech at the port and couldn't help but mutter to himself: "Huh, I didn't know I had the eloquence of a speaker. It seems that in the future, I mustn't waste it."

  A group of people walked to the newly established Governor's Mansion at a moderate pace, looking at the imperial flag hanging in front of the mansion. Zhang Zhitao couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia, thinking that this was the old San Francisco of the original society? Looking at the city now called New Guangzhou, Zhang Zhitao's emotions surged, and he thought to himself that there was gold everywhere here. It seemed that some laborers from Japan should be urged to return home immediately; otherwise, it would be impossible to start work.

  Zeng Yue stood in front of the map of the Americas, facing Zhang Zhitao and said: "Governor, now the entire western coast of the Americas is our territory. Our empire has more than 6,000 troops arriving, according to our investigation, Britain, France, Holland and other European countries have at most a few thousand soldiers here, and their forces are scattered, except for a few warships, we can directly occupy the entire North American region."

  Zhang Zhitao looked at Hawaii and said: "How come Hawaii's military port has not been built yet?"

  Zeng Yue said in a low voice: "Yes, due to the difficulties in material transportation, the progress is relatively slow. It is expected to be completed by July this year."

  A massive warship slowly entered the water from the dock of Lianyungang. Commander Shi Lang of the Imperial Navy looked at this and introduced to Zhou Lun and Peng Ying beside him: "Minister, Chief of Staff, this is a new generation of Pangu-class battleship produced by the Imperial Navy's ship design and manufacturing plant, with a tonnage of 25,000 tons, the highest speed of 20 knots. (I don't know if it was the best in the world at that time, as I am not familiar with this, so I hope friends who are familiar with this can send me an email to correct it) In front, there were two main cannons with a caliber equivalent to two-thirds of the current coastal defense guns, with a range of 4.56 kilometers. The rear deck was installed with only two high-speed rocket launchers according to Dr. Han Zhi's requirements, and the rear deck can accommodate four air force floatplanes. If the newly modified small-scale bomber floatplane is developed, the rear deck can accommodate sixteen small floatplanes. On both sides of the ship, there were 16 guns installed, and this warship was also equipped with the latest military radar.

  Zhou Lun and Peng Ying actually knew about the design of this ship long ago, but after seeing its true appearance now, they were still shocked: "General Shi, how many ships like this have we built?"

  "According to my calculations, there are seven domestic naval shipyards that produce this type of Pan Gu-class vessel. The two most powerful and capable ones, Lianyungang and Hong Kong, each have the task of building two vessels. Dalian is building one, Shanghai is building one, Manila is building one, Kaohsiung is building one, and the last one is being built in Tianjin. Currently, only this vessel has been launched, while the others are expected to be launched around late May. My plan is that after a month of joint exercises and training, they will form a combat force. At that time, except for the Pacific Fifth Fleet which can get two vessels, the First Fleet can also get two vessels." He then respectfully saluted and said: "Please, sirs, name and number this newly launched vessel."

  Zhou Lun and Peng Ying exchanged a glance, "Alright then, I'll name this big fellow. We already have the Zhonghua-class battleship fleet named after famous ancient generals, so since these brothers of his are all Pangu-class, that is to say mythical figures, I think it's fitting to name them after the gods of my empire's ancient mythology. Let's call this first one Zhu Rong, what do you think?"

  Two people also thought that the naming series was good: "Everything goes according to the captain's intention." An engineer hanging from the ship's side also quickly wrote out the three characters of Zhu Rong on both sides of the bow of the giant ship.

  Peng Ying continued: "According to the regulations of the naval vessel formation, this is no longer within the category of a battleship fleet. Therefore, it must have a new number. Based on the previous numbering of the fleet, this is a 64-year-old ship." He asked Shi Lian: "Which fleet are you preparing to equip first?"

  "According to my idea, the first equipped Zheng Chenggong's Pacific Fleet is now the Second Pacific Fleet."

  Peng Ying nodded and said, "En, then the number of this ship should be - Pangu 64-01100201."

  Several engineers quickly brushed out Pangu 64-01100201 in several Song-style Arabic numerals, now called Chinese numerals, on both sides of the ship's hull.

  "Minister, Chief of Staff, this way!" Shi Leng said to Zhou Lun and Peng Ying.

  Zhou Lun and Peng Ying followed Shi Guang's gesture, walking alongside him. Zhou Lun said, "General Shi, do you have anything else to show me? Look at this, the Navy has come up with something new, and even I, the Minister of National Defense and General Political Commissar of the three armed forces, didn't know about it. It seems that I need to have a good talk with Huang De, as the Deputy Minister in charge of logistics for the Navy, he actually didn't report this situation to me."

  Several naval generals who followed together, including Peng Ying, burst out laughing. Peng Ying laughed and said: "Don't mention that you now have to entertain European envoys, even I, the Chief of Staff, didn't know about it. It seems that all of you think I'm old." He pointed at the naval generals behind him and continued: "But I'm actually very young. Forget it, when I get back, I'll submit a report strongly requesting to be demoted to a troop unit."

  Everyone burst out laughing after he finished speaking in one sentence.

  Following Shi Lang to the front of a submarine, Zhou Lun said in surprise: "Shi Lang, you guys have even made submarines so advanced?"

  "Colonel, this is all from the Royal Academy of Sciences, just like that warship earlier. They're all experimental models, with many devices newly developed and installed, including propulsion systems. Dr. Han's intention was not to report to the Military Commission for now, but rather let our troops secretly test them first. He didn't bring it up because he was worried you'd be concerned about the safety of the soldiers."

  "Alas, how did this happen? Are we really so inhumane? We just need to take good preventive measures and prevent it from happening in the first place. The lives of our soldiers are precious."

  Zhou Lun also nodded in agreement: "Yes, our empire is already at peace, but the warriors still have to continue fighting for the expansion of the empire, so we must do our best to ensure the safety of the warriors."

  After they finished saying these things, everyone else also lost interest in continuing the tour. The group walked out of the dock, and Zhou Lun smiled and said: "It seems I still have to go to the army for a walk, definitely the army side will also come up with something new." After finishing this sentence, the tense atmosphere suddenly disappeared, and everyone laughed.

  "Hello, my dear Indian friend. I am Zhang Zhitao, the Governor-General of the American Expeditionary Force."

  The Indian calmly replied: "Hello, we Indians are thousands of years old, our compatriots, we have the same skin, the same hair, the same beliefs, thank you for having such a strong compatriot, we will no longer be bullied by those white people." After this Indian boy had been talking nonsense for a while, he said slowly: "My name is Saga·Yaluo, my father is the chief of the largest tribe in this area, and I am brothers with your Zeng Yue Shu."

  Of course, all these words were translated by Zeng Yu Shu. Zhang Zhi Tao looked at Zeng Yu Shu with a puzzled expression and said: "Yu Shu, how do you know their language? I didn't expect that you have such a talent for languages."

  Zeng Yuexiu replied respectfully to Zhang Zhitao's question: "A few months ago, when Saga and the British were fighting, we rescued him and he has been living with us to recover from his injuries. So I learned their language, and Saga also learned a lot of Chinese."

  Zhang Zhitao nodded in satisfaction and said, "Alright, then tell Saga that I want to negotiate with his father, the chief of the largest tribe here. Also, please ask him to invite all the tribal chiefs along the west coast over, and let them choose the location for the negotiation."

  Zeng Yue translated Zhang Zhitao's words, and Saga thought for a moment before saying: "I am the son my father loves most, I am also the successor of the chief. I believe in Zeng brothers and you, so let's set the location to this new Guangzhou. I will persuade all our fellow tribesmen. Give me three days to prepare."

  Three days' time, at this moment the sky above New Guangzhou City is already fluttering with colorful flags, several giant balloons carrying large banners hanging in mid-air. The entire construction and building of New Guangzhou City are completely built according to the current urban construction concept. As early as when Yue Zhou and Changsha knocked down their city walls and became new-type cities, all places across the country except for a few border areas have abandoned the concept of city walls. So now, even in foreign cities, they have also borrowed from the new-type city concept and are all built without city walls. The houses throughout the city are all in an oriental style, and domestically, new-style villas and high-rise buildings have emerged, plus the emperor does not restrict building heights, so as long as you have money, you can build higher than the imperial palace. On the tidy streets, busy people come and go, mostly newly moved here, allocated to various areas of the city according to family size and geographical factors of immigrants. It seems they haven't finished unpacking at home, so they came out to see if there's anything that must be bought back.

  In the distance, a large group of Indians came galloping on horseback with bare backs. The young people rode the fastest, all wanting to see what kind of person their tribe's young hero admired. The cavalry finally calmed down, and an old man with feathers inserted in his headdress walked out, speaking a bunch of gibberish.

  Zeng Yue Shu translated beside Zhang Zhi Tao: "This man is Saga's father, what does he want to negotiate with the governor? He also said that if it weren't for his son's request, he wouldn't have come to negotiate."

  Zhang Zhitao smiled and said, "Chief, I'm glad you're here. As the governor of New Guangzhou, I think many tribal leaders were probably driven here by white people. Look at us, our skin, hair, and appearance are so similar, at least more similar than those white people. I suspect we really are from the same ancestors as your son said. So we feel it's necessary to take back our lost land with our brothers. What do you think?"

  The chief under Sagat said: "Well, they are all driven out; they were all frightened by that fiery stick. So we did not go near them."

  Zhang Zhitao said indifferently, "Chief, take a look. Can we make a deal? We can provide you with a large number of fire-sticks like those used by white people, and many crystals, such as this crystal cup. But I hope you can agree to give us a small piece of your vast land, not much, just near the west coast, and the rest is yours."

  Saha's father thought for a moment and said, "How many rods will you give us? The land is no problem. Besides, we can exchange your exquisite trinkets with gold. To be honest, my ten wives all like such things. I think the wives of other chiefs are also like this." After finishing speaking, he looked at the other chiefs who were nodding in agreement before turning his head to look at Zhang Zhitao.

  Zhang Zhitao put on a sincere look and said, "Of course, we will give you 10,000 guns. Oh no, not guns, 10,000 clubs. Of course, as long as you have gold or silver, we can exchange anything with you. You know this, we are already friends, aren't we?"

  The negotiations went smoothly. More than 30 Indian chiefs, led by Zeng Yue and Zhang Zhitao, visited the new Guangzhou City, and these chiefs immediately became interested in the luxury and comfort of the new Guangzhou City. Zhang Zhitao hastily expressed his willingness to reserve a new villa area for these chiefs as their official residences, with the only requirement being that they could not have their troops inside. In the end, it also formed a landscape, all the chiefs issued orders from their own villas to occupy the land occupied by Europeans. At the same time, Zhang Zhitao also ordered the expeditionary force stationed on the side to surround and annihilate the European soldiers who had escaped the net.

  Bao Xue gazed at the Yekaterinburg Fortress ahead, a cold smile spreading across her face as she turned to Zhao Zhe beside her: "Commander Zhao, it seems the Russians are just clowns after all. Our troops have scoured the entire Siberia and found no massive military presence. How can they occupy such vast lands? Alas, it appears the army has been led astray by that old Alexander to the Siberian plains. Haha, I'm truly looking forward to tomorrow's battle."

  Zhao Zhe looked at the woman who was excited about the fight and felt a sense of surprise in his heart. The action had been too smooth all the way, to the point where he didn't dare to believe it. The front line of several tens of thousands of troops had already stretched for over 500 kilometers. Now the vanguard force only had a small number of more than 6,000 people. The main forces were following behind, lagging by nearly 200 kilometers. It seemed that they must do some good political work, being complacent was not his characteristic.

  Looking at the river in front of him, Bao Xue said to Zhao Zhe beside him: "Is this the Volga River? It seems that we must camp here tonight." Seeing Zhao Zhe nodding in agreement, he turned around and ordered the guard beside him: "Pass down the order, the whole army will set up camp by the river, with three shifts of guards on duty. We must be vigilant at all times. We have already penetrated deep into enemy territory."