Iron Dynasty

“Then how does Your Majesty plan to divide India?”

Zhan Xingchang asked with interest.

“It is too early to divide it now. Currently, what the Empire needs is to maintain long-term rule over India.” Xiao Ming said.

In modern times, India’s independence was full of drama. Unlike many methods of driving away occupiers through war, India’s independence was actually begged for, which was Gandhi’s nonviolent resistance movement.

After its independence, India still worshipped Britain, the country that once ruled it, and was even a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, and took pride in it.

So in Xiao Ming’s opinion, taking over the rule of India from the British would not be very difficult. After achieving complete rule, he would then slowly divide India culturally, linguistically, and religiously. If one day the Empire was forced to withdraw from India, they would leave behind a chaotic India.

Thinking of this, he explained his idea to everyone.

“If that’s the case, we still have a lot of things to do after we rule India.” Pang Yukun said.

Xiao Ming nodded. “But before that, we must win the war at hand. As for the governance of other colonies, Zhan Xingchang’s idea is not bad. For lands occupied by a small number of natives, we will fully occupy them through immigration. However, for regions with a large native population, such as Indonesia and the Philippines, we will adopt a high-pressure policy, forcing the native chiefs to acknowledge the Empire’s rule through war and forcing them to serve the Empire’s colonial economy. In this way, we can maximize our profits with minimal costs.”

Everyone nodded when they heard this. After this discussion, the Empire’s foreign colonial policy was basically set.

After settling this matter, Xiao Ming had the cabinet ministers go back to think about the detailed colonial policy. After all, as the Empire’s territory grew larger and larger, they had to standardize this area.

At the same time, he had Qian Dafu send another operational order to the Southeast Military Region, urging them to launch an attack in Southeast Asia.

…

December 20th.

After waiting for half a month, Lei Ming successfully received the first batch of three hundred mortars and twenty thousand mortar shells in Singapore.

Although he was not satisfied with the number of shells, the quartermaster guaranteed that the next batch of shells would be supplied in time, which put his mind at ease.

“It must be snowing in Qingzhou now, right?” Lei Ming said with a chuckle to Yue Yun on the King-Class ironclad warship. “I wonder what Lu’s expression would be if he knew we were still dressed so lightly.”

Yue Yun also had a smile on his face. Before the Empire’s scientific education, he was nothing more than a frog in a well, and the only world he saw was that of Dengzhou.

But now it was different. Sailing on the northern and southern oceans had made him truly realize the wonders of this world. Even so, his footsteps had only ventured into Asia. He had always wanted the warships he commanded to be able to sail on the oceans of the world.

“It must be snowing. I hope we can make it home for the New Year after this battle.” Yue Yun said.

Mentioning this, Lei Ming sighed. He said, “You can, but I’m afraid it will be difficult for us in the army. According to the news we received, the five-nation allied forces of Britain, France, Portugal, Spain, and the Netherlands have built solid fortifications in Calcutta. Even with mortars, it will probably cost us dearly to win this war.”

Yue Yun’s understanding of the current war was already profound enough. He said, “The current war can no longer rely on the physical fighting of soldiers. All that is needed is the bombardment of shells to eliminate the enemy’s strength and break their will.”

Lei Ming nodded. “That is what I am thinking about. The nature of war has changed. When we have superior firepower, there is no need to have soldiers die in vain. Of course, our soldiers are not afraid to die either.”

Yue Yun agreed with Lei Ming’s words. The fighting spirit of the imperial soldiers was still very high now. After a short vacation, they had once again entered a state of war.

Looking at the endless ocean, he said, “Time waits for no man. We must at least send a gift to the Emperor before the New Year. Even if we can’t take Calcutta, we must occupy Jakarta.”

“We have completed our preparations and are ready to depart at any time,” Lei Ming said. According to the requirements of the General Staff, the Southeast Army and the navy were to act together this time.

Yue Yun’s mission was to annihilate the enemy’s navy in Jakarta, while his mission was to occupy Jakarta with the marines.

“In that case, we will depart early tomorrow morning.” Yue Yun’s gaze was sharp.

The next day, accompanied by the clear whistle of the steam warships, the ironclad fleet slowly left Singapore and headed for Jakarta.

A day later, the fleet appeared at their destination.

“Are those the Chinese Empire’s ironclads?” On the coast, Averall, Simon, Eric, and Stephen all looked at the steel warships anchored in the waters off Jakarta with heavy expressions.

Unlike sailing warships, these steel warships had no sails. Instead, they had chimneys that spewed black smoke.

On the blue ocean, these warships, painted in silver, looked terrifying.

And when they saw the turrets on the warships through their binoculars, they were even more shocked. Unlike sailing warships, these ironclads had a number of cannons installed on their decks, and there were far fewer cannons on the sides of the warships.

“You should understand now how terrifying the Chinese Empire’s industrial capacity is. Just a year ago, they only had one ironclad.” Eric sighed. “Contending with such an empire is a nightmare.”

Stephen’s face was a little pale. His attitude was no longer as aggressive as before. He said, “Do you think we want to get involved in a war? In a war with the Chinese Empire, what we will lose are only our interests in Asia. But if we continue to cooperate with them, we, the Netherlands, will face the risk of being destroyed. The Netherlands is a small country with a small population. Even if France’s weapons are outdated, they can still defeat us.”

Averall and Simon fell silent. This was the tragedy of a small country. They were the first to be crushed in the game of great powers.

“It’s too late to say anything now. The enemy is on the sea. What should we do now?” Averall said, “I don’t want to lose Jakarta.”

Stephen, who had the most authority, said, “No matter how powerful the enemy’s fleet is, we must go all out. Since we have chosen to stand with the Europeans, we cannot be half-hearted.”

While speaking, Stephen looked at Eric.

Then he said, “When half of the enemy soldiers have landed, Eric will be responsible for leading the fleet to attack. Averall and Simon will be responsible for the frontal battlefield. The 20,000 soldiers will be in your hands.”

Eric gave a wry smile, but he ultimately nodded. Although he envied the Chinese Empire’s technology, he was a Dutchman. For the interests of the Netherlands, the Chinese Empire was their sworn enemy.