"We can't go on like this. First it was Kovelpatti, then Tiruchichirapouli, and now Nagai Koil! In three months, we lost three cities, fifteen large factories, and...

There are countless private houses. If this continues, the entire east coast will be blown up by the Ming Dynasty!"

In the huge office in Mumbai, Wu Sangui was like a tiger in a cage, pacing constantly. As he walked, he roared angrily.

"There is no way to stop the Ming army's air raids now unless we develop corresponding weapons." A deep voice sounded from the sofa. It was Dorgon who followed Galdan and fled to India.

"Dr. Newton will develop it." Wu Sangui glanced at Dorgon. Although he was a little dissatisfied with this Jurchen Tatar, this guy was indeed talented. If Li Xiao's combat power hadn't been too great, maybe he would have become a hero.

host.

"I went to see Dr. Newton's anti-aircraft rocket a few days ago. This thing can hit a maximum of two thousand meters. If it goes any higher, it will be affected by the wind and seriously deviate from the target. There is nothing we can do about it. The higher you go, the stronger the wind will be. According to us

According to the observation of the signal soldiers, the flying height of the Ming airship was about three thousand meters.

Dr. Newton said that it was probably because their bombs were too powerful, so they flew higher to avoid risks." Dorgon seemed not to see Wu Sangui's eyes and continued to talk to himself.

"Wu! The only way is to build our airship as soon as possible. Now there are very good technicians in England who are capable of precision machining. I think it is time to improve our relationship with the mainland. If this continues, we will lose the mainland

of assistance.

Look at the Indians outside. You can't do anything by relying on them. They will just sit cross-legged on the ground and pray all day long, hoping to be reincarnated and go to heaven." As the spokesperson of the royal family in India, George was sandwiched between Wu Sangui and the British aristocracy.

He felt very uncomfortable and tried to persuade Wu Sangui to reconcile with England whenever he had the opportunity.

"I want to reconcile, but their asking price is too high. The tax rate has reached 30%. What else is left in our autonomous territory? How can I raise so many soldiers? How can I make weapons and equipment to resist Li Xiao's attack?

India's attack." Wu Sangui was a little angry.

"Wu! Facts have proved that even if Indian soldiers have advanced weapons, they cannot win the battle. This time in the Battle of Mumbai, it can be seen that the grassroots officers are all commanded by us English, and their combat capabilities are obviously different. In the case of backward weapons,

Some troops could even defeat the Ming army.

But look, an army composed entirely of Indians. Even the tougher Gurkhas, they can't even defeat the short Japanese. Indians are not a warlike nation at heart, even among us British

Before arriving, India was not a complete country.

Let's face it, Wu! We need the local government to provide us with high-quality military officers, we need the local government to provide us with high-quality technical workers. We also need the local government to provide them with scientists like Dr. Newton.

With these people, we have a chance to defeat Li Xiao.

The entire east coast cannot be saved. The Ming Dynasty's armored ships will soon come to the west coast. Our naval power currently has no way to compete with them. Once India is surrounded, even if you want to reconcile with the mainland, the mainland will not be able to do anything.

Support you.

Could it be that you expect the local country to assist us with materials and personnel and come to India through the territory of Arabs and Persians? In that case, we won't be able to arrive in a year." George tried his best to persuade Wu Sangui to change his mind.

"The tax rate of more than 30% is too high. You know our situation."

"Wu! The money matter can be discussed. The North American Dominion is making trouble. I heard it is also about the tax rate. The Parliament will definitely give in. Otherwise, if they all follow the methods of the North American Dominion, the British Empire will not be able to survive."

"Hmph! The affairs of the North American Dominion were caused by the gentlemen in the Congress. Let them deal with it! Li Xiao's hand was really long enough, and he actually sold arms to the North American Dominion. Now, the British

The army is retreating steadily there. I believe it won't be long before they completely withdraw from the North American Dominion." Wu Sangui was somewhat gloating about his misfortune.

"Perhaps we will keep Toronto. I have been there and the people there are still very peaceful. But it would also be good for us to withdraw our troops from the North American Dominion. I can persuade Her Majesty the Queen to send troops to India. After all, India's output needs to be

Much higher than the Dominion of North America. Believe me, Her Majesty will agree with my suggestion."

"Okay, I can pay a 16% tax rate. This is the bottom line. You go talk to the gentlemen in Parliament. As long as they agree, I will pay it on time. However, they need to send officers and workers from Cambridge and Oxford.

The students taught us to help us withstand Li Xiao's attack!"

In desperation, Wu Sangui could only compromise with reality.

An army commanded by Indian officers is indeed more effective than an army composed solely of Indian soldiers. This is especially true for the navy. Warships operated entirely by British sailors can usually be on a par with the Ming Dynasty fleet. Even if they are fast and have advanced weapons, they will not be able to fight.

Most of the time you can't get much of a bargain.

But for warships operated entirely by Indians, generally speaking, it is difficult to get back after leaving port.

"It can't be dissolved by distant water! How far is it from India to England? It would take Mr. George half a year to go back and forth! But now the problem we encounter is how to resist the Ming Dynasty's attack on us.

All the factories on the entire southeastern coast are in danger. And troops cannot be stationed! The Ming army did not continue to land and attack us because they are short of manpower. This is the news that my people came back from the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty is now building railways and highways.

They want to build a bridge across the Yangtze River to completely connect the north and south of the Ming Dynasty. They also want to build a railway from Guanzhong to Chengdu to have a closer connection between Bashu and the mainland.

The northern provinces that first surrendered to Li Xiao have begun to popularize education. Many schools have been set up, and all children can study, and the court pays all the expenses. The court even distributes paper, pens and books to the students, and there is a meal at noon.

Meals eaten at school.

And Ming Dynasty is still here...!"

"Okay, what are you going to say?" Wu Sangui glanced at Dorgon with dissatisfaction. If it weren't for the lack of men under his command, he would have wanted to beat this Jurchen Tatar.

"Everything I said costs money. It costs a lot of money! So I estimate that Ming Dynasty is now focusing more on domestic development rather than outward expansion.

In other words, they have received so many benefits that they can no longer swallow them. Therefore, Li Xiao lacks funds to fight with us. The capture of Ceylon Island should be the only military operation for at least five years.

If we allow Li Xiao to survive five or even ten years smoothly, Ming's technology, military, wealth and talents will all rise to a higher level. By then, we may not even be able to fight a war. How to make good use of these five years

Time is the key to defeating Ming Dynasty."

"Hiss...!" Wu Sangui took a breath. Dorgon was right. Once Ming Dynasty survives this rising period safely, his power will continue to expand. At the same time, Ming Dynasty will also need more resources.

.

Resources include various mineral deposits, but also more labor.

In these years, most of the maritime trade involved Western merchants importing various Ming Dynasty industrial products from Singapore. And the West exported to the Ming Dynasty, in addition to wine and some rare mineral deposits, was only the slave trade.

Slaves from Egypt and Africa were being shipped to the Ming Dynasty ship after ship to fill the huge trade deficit.

According to reports from detailed reports within the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty imported nearly 200,000 slaves every year. All of these people were assigned to work in the mines or as coolies in the construction of railways and roads.

The increase in factories has led to a substantial shortage of resources such as coal. Those workers who are assigned to the mines have to work more than fifteen hours a day without a day off throughout the year. People who are sick will not receive any treatment, and they are usually sent directly to the hospital.

Buried alive, or thrown into a boiler and burned to ashes.

To put it in detail, the mines of the Ming Dynasty were hell on earth. For the sake of production, the supervisors would do anything they could. They would distribute food in a competition, and the party with the smallest output would only get a small amount of food.

Even strong Egyptian and African laborers rarely survive more than two years without food and rest. This is also the reason why the Ming Dynasty has never had enough laborers in these years.

The natives of the Ming Dynasty were abducted into the mines, and if the government knew about them, they would be cut to pieces. But these laborers were just a few silver coins in the Ming Dynasty. Stimulated by high profits, the owners of the mines did not take labor.

Their lives are not a big deal. If a few miners die, just go to the port city and buy some more. It’s not a big deal.

Due to their appearance, almost no workers could escape. When people of the Ming Dynasty caught the escaped workers, they could go to the mine owners to ask for rewards.

It can be said that the Ming Dynasty is now prospering but its national power is still walking on many bones.

With such cheap coolies and a huge trade surplus, the Ming court actually made a lot of money every year!

Most of this money was used to build roads, factories, railways and other facilities. If Ming was allowed to exploit the world like this for another ten years, God knows what Ming could develop into. Anyway, Wu Sangui knew that India would definitely not be Ming's opponent by then.

India is lost! What should we do? Where can we hope to run?

Those people in the British Parliament will pass the motion to hang him as soon as possible.

"Dorgon, what do you think we should do?"

"There are several ways. One is to attack merchant ships from various countries sailing from Singapore. Of course, this will offend most European countries, Arabs, and Persians. However, this will seriously hit the Ming Dynasty's commodity exports, making them unable to

Use products to steal money from around the world.”

No one picked up the fight, and no one spoke up. This matter is a bit tricky. If Wu Sangui did this, the UK would definitely not agree. After all, everyone still has to hang out in Europe. How can we live our lives if we offend all our neighbors?

"The second point is that we can continue to compete with Li Xiao for the Ili Valley. This will force the Ming Dynasty to invest more military expenditures! Every more silver coin spent on military expenditure will be one less silver coin invested in the country. And places like the Ili Valley, even if they are fought over,

There won’t be much actual output. It’s just that the strategic position is more important!

The third point! It is to withdraw all troops on the east coast and lure the Ming army to land. As long as they land, we can fight a protracted tug-of-war with them."

"A tug-of-war? What's the benefit to us?" George thought it was unbelievable. Either you lose or you win, what's the point of having a tug-of-war? Ming Dynasty needs to spend money to fight, but does it mean that India doesn't spend money to fight?

"A tug-of-war on the east coast has a lot of benefits for us. During the tug-of-war, the airships will not continue to attack our cities, but instead attack the frontline troops.

When we are fighting in India, the logistics supply line is quite short. The ammunition and guns are produced in the factory and can be sent to the front line in a very short time. But the Ming army cannot do that. Their guns, guns and ammunition need to be transported from the country. Even in the future

Setting up a factory in Singapore requires at least seven or eight days of flight.

Moreover, with Li Xiao's temper, he would never set up factories overseas for this kind of confidential military industry. The longer the transportation supply line, the more money the Ming Dynasty will spend. You can draw it on the map and you will know how to transport supplies from the Ming Dynasty to

How far is India, and how far are our transportation and supply lines?

The Ili Valley and the Eastern Front are two wounds that continue to bleed on Ming’s body.”

Listening to Dorgon's words, George and Wu Sangui's hands kept drawing on the map. Indeed, these two locations are quite far away from the mainland of the Ming Dynasty. To ensure the military supplies of a large army, only the Mongols can understand the difficulty.

.

"If these two places are just small wounds, then this is a knife inserted into the heart." Dorgon put his hand on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

"The terrain of the Ming Dynasty is high in the west and low in the east. Both the Yangtze River and the Yellow River originate from there. The Tang Empire was so huge at that time. They set up two governorates in Anxi and Beiting in the Western Regions. There were millions of immigrants in the Western Regions.

The crowd!

However, due to the Anshi Rebellion, the internal strife in the Tang Dynasty was serious. Tubo took the opportunity to cut off the narrow Hexi Corridor, which directly caused the Western Regions to be unable to communicate with the Tang Dynasty. In just a few decades, millions of Han people were massacred.

Now that Li Xiao has sent troops to the Western Region, his power reaches as far as the Ili Valley. As long as we occupy the plateau and swoop over from top to bottom, we can completely cut off the supply of the Ming army in the direction of the Ili Valley. As long as their supply line is broken, our army will not hesitate.

Pounce on them and eat them!

Killing tens of thousands of Ming troops at once, it would be strange if Li Xiao didn't fight with us. As long as he fights with all his strength, hehe! Ming will have to stop the construction in the interior and continue the tug-of-war with us. The little bit of national power that Ming has accumulated over the years will also

They will be exhausted in the tug of war. When they are exhausted, it will be time for us to settle the general ledger with them."

Wu Sangui and George looked at each other, and both saw a glimmer of light in each other's eyes.

"Competing consumption with a huge country like the Ming Dynasty, we may not win. Even if the Ming Dynasty is exhausted, we may not be much better."

"Haha! To compete with the Ming Dynasty, all we paid was India's manpower. In other words, even the Indians were all dead. We still have the British Empire behind us. As long as we win the final victory and successfully occupy and rule
Chapter completed!