.Chapter 272

Threat vs. Counter-threat

Compared with later China, the United States has a very small territory, and its abundant resources will support a few times the population, which is enviable. (The genius can remember it in just 3 seconds) But if it is just about the ratio of population to territory, Russia, Canada, and Australia will far surpass the United States. Among them, because Canada is extremely sparse in population and occupy the second largest territory in the world, when dividing its domestic territory, it did not divide its territory into dozens of parts like the United States, but only divided it into ten parts. The Yukon region is counted as the countdown in area among these ten parts, but even such a piece of territory is still equivalent to California in the United States, and even larger than its area.

The Yukon region is actually named after the Yukon River that flows through this place. In the word "Great River", Yukon means "big river". This is the third longest river in North America and one of the main rivers in the Americas, flowing through the central Yukon region and central Alaska. It flows northwest first, and then flows southwest through a lower plateau that slopes downward through Alaska, and injects into the Bering Sea. Countless tributaries of river sources flow out from a half-circular surrounding mountain groups, forming a basin of about 850,000 square kilometers. This vast land larger than Turkey was inhabited by only North American Indians. It was not until the mid-19th century that Europeans moved into the region and started to do fur business. Under Guo Jinzhang's instructions, Chinese workers discovered gold mines in the Klondike River, a tributary of the Yukon River, which attracted a large number of gold diggers, and made more people pay attention to exploration of minerals here.

However, because it is located in the far north and is not Alaska where gold mines are discovered, the Yukon region has not attracted many people. According to incomplete statistics, this area larger than the entire California now has a population of less than 10,000, and 80% of them live in Whitehorse, the capital.

No wonder a team of more than a thousand people can completely "occupy" the place.

But what many people did not expect was that the Hanzhou National Guard was sent, and at the order of Hanzhou Governor Chu Si, he set out from Alaska, took several steamers, and arrived at the Yukon region from the sea, unexpectedly achieving his goal.

However, just occupation is not enough to shock people. What is really shocking is that the residents of the Yukon actually chose to "join" Alaska. This is the fact that many people really cannot accept.

...

"This is a threat, it must be a threat from the Chinese. They are too much, too much!"

At Buckingham Palace, an old woman with wrinkles on her face, gorgeously dressed, and crowned on her head was roaring at Gladstone, without any ladylike demeanor. However, the Prime Minister of the Empire of the Sun Never Settling could only bend down in front of this woman, letting the other party's spit on her face, because it was Queen Victoria, "Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Queen of India"!

"Your Majesty, I'm sorry. But... we didn't expect that the Chinese would not even let go of the Yukon. They were so greedy." Gladstone's face was full of regret. The indulgence of the Chinese finally made him taste the consequences... After the failure of threatening the Chinese with alternating currents and other projects, Foreign Minister Gedarville once suggested that he send troops, believing that only in this way can the Chinese feel the determination from the British Empire. But he finally refused. He would rather urge the military to send troops to Suzhou quickly.

Dan went to rescue Gordon and was unwilling to send troops to Canada. But this could not be all his problem. Because there were many people who had the same ideas as him, and most of them were military members. Like him, these people thought it was stupid to compete with a strong combat force thousands of miles away, especially if they could face the insidious Americans at any time, which required even more caution. But he did not expect that before the British Columbia was finished, the Chinese would annex the Yukon first.

"Didn't our diplomats tell the Chinese how dangerous their behavior is?" After venting a lot, Queen Victoria's anger slightly calmed down, but her face was still extremely cold. How many years have it been? Since she ascended the throne at the age of 18, she has not met anyone who dared to provoke the majesty of the British Empire for a long time. Whether it is France, Russia, Germany that has just flourished, or the Austro-Hungarian Empire...those guys are not good.

"Our Consul General in Seattle has been warning them, but it's useless. The Chinese are obviously extremely angry because of the experiences of their compatriots in the process of building the Pacific Railroad... In fact, many of the people in Seattle are survivors in the Pacific Railroad project in the United States. (!. Win Q Coin)" Gladstone replied.

"Do they want to take all the entire West Coast of North America just because of this?" Victoria said angrily.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured that we will never allow British Columbia to become a territory of the Chinese." Gladstone replied in a deep voice.

"But they have occupied Victoria, the city named after me!" Victoria's face was covered with anger. "The Yukon government was forced to incorporate land into Alaska under their threat. How can you be sure that the British Columbia government would refuse to incorporate itself into Washington?"

"I... can't be sure." Gladstone was dismayed.

"You are my prime minister, Gladstone!" Victoria stared at him, "The British Empire has never been insulted like this since I became Queen of England! You must respond... Don't let me taste the fruit of disappointment again like the situation in Sudan."

"Yes, your majesty. I will do my best!"

"It's not about doing your best, but about the Chinese people having to pay the price."

"Yes, your Majesty!"

"war?"

Li Asheng is very busy these days, so busy that he can't touch the ground. Since Dodd spoke with him several times, he has swallowed British Columbia

This matter has been circling in his mind. He wants to discuss with Guo Jinzhang, contact Brian, and even send telegrams with the White House on some interests... During this period, Aslan, the British Consul General in Seattle, has always been his regular visitor. This British diplomat who had to make several huge sums of money from Guo Jinzhang came to him every time he threatened him, threatening that he would better let Guo Jinzhang return from Canadian territory immediately, otherwise the consequences would be unpredictable. In such a threat, Chu Si unexpectedly sent troops to annex the Yukon region, and Guo Jinzhang had long occupied the capital of British Columbia... However, in these days, Li Asheng was the first time he received the threat of war.

"Yes, war!" Aslan's head has a lot of white hair these days, which is completely anxious. However, this does not affect the personal style of the Consul General, nor does it affect his momentum when threatening others. When he said the word "war", a trace of murderous aura even floated out of the Consul General.

"The British plan to send troops?" Li Asheng asked looking at him.

"If you still don't listen to your advice, we will definitely send troops." Aslan snorted coldly.

"Crossing Canada?" Li Asheng asked again.

"No." Aslan shook his head, with a contemptuous smile on his face. "Of course we will not be stupid enough to cross thousands of kilometers of land and then cross the Rocky Mountain to fight you. Our army has chosen a place to take action."

"Can you talk?" Li Asheng asked.

"Panama!" Aslan said coldly.

"..." Li Asheng was silent.

"How is it? Do you have any ideas about the goal we choose, Mr. Governor?" Aslan smiled proudly. These days, he has received cold treatment from Li Asheng and is also full of anger. A group of small Chinese people, or are they the British Empire planning to build a small force against the Americans in the North American continent, and they were bold and reckless, and first burned the fire to the head of the "sect leader"? Do you really think that the British Empire has no choice but to do anything to you across the American continent?

"Don't you know that once you send troops to Panama, it is equivalent to bringing the US government into this war..." Li Asan looked at Aslan, seemingly hesitant, but his eyes were more ridiculous, "In the American continent, confront the US government... Are you sure this is the decision made by your government?"

"Of course." Aslan's pride on his face disappeared. In fact, he knew that this approach was unreliable... Although everyone knew that the US government was extremely dissatisfied with the fact that it had to share the Panama Canal with the Chinese and the Colombian government, they also knew that they were definitely trying to include the sovereignty and all interests of the canal in their hands. However, direct invasion like this would violate the interests of the Americans. The US government would probably rather give all the rights and interests of the canal to the Colombians than allow the British to occupy it there. Because that would pose too great a threat to the United States. However, since the words were said, they had to persist.

"The United States now has three Pacific Railways, the north, the south, and the central... and now the three railways are basically connected. They are connected to each other. We have decided that as long as the British Columbia government agrees to incorporate into the United States of America, we will build another railway from Seattle to Alaska... completely connect Alaska, Yukon, British Columbia, Tang State, Oregon, and California to complete a railway artery that runs across the west coast of North America. And through the Pacific Railway Network, this railway will also connect the whole of the United States... Do you think British Columbia can reject such temptation?" Faced with Aslan's affirmation, Li Asheng pondered for a moment and asked.

"You really plan to annex there." Aslan's embrace became more and more gloomy. He didn't expect that after he threatened the war, Li Asheng was still so fearless. But if you think about it carefully, there was obviously a shadow of the US government. Because the Chinese alone could not afford such a project comparable to the Pacific Railway. The Canadian government could not afford it. Only Americans, only Americans have this strength. It is obvious that the Americans wanted to use this railway directly to Alaska to bribe the Chinese, so that these Chinese people could play a pioneer role in the incident of annexing British Columbia.

"Don't you know the consequences of doing this?" Aslan fired.

"Of course we know the consequences of doing this." Li Asheng sighed softly, "but I have no choice. It is extremely cost-effective to use railways to connect Alaska and Tangzhou. Even if we don't have the Panama Canal? Our core interests are here."

"You will regret it." Aslan said angrily.

"You are very confident. But do you know? Someone said this to me, but what he said was: If the British really use force, they will regret it." Li Asheng smiled.

"Do you think this can threaten us?" Aslan's anger became even stronger. Someone dared to threaten Britain in turn? "You will only completely infuriate the British Empire. Our Royal Navy will let you know what the anger of the Empire that never sets!"

"Our institute has invented several new technologies, which can greatly improve the construction speed of ships and greatly shorten the construction cycle..." Li Asheng said lightly.

"Huh?" Aslan couldn't help but suffocate: "...what did you say?"

"I said, we have invented several new technologies, which can greatly increase the speed of ship construction." Li Asheng smiled.

"This is impossible..." Aslan shook his head repeatedly, "The speed of ship construction cannot be improved by just one or two technologies. You are kidding."

"We are not kidding." Li Asheng said solemnly, "We know that the British have an extremely advantage in sea control by placing colonies all over the world. Even if some countries have one or two points of outstanding shipbuilding technology, they can even surpass Britain by using this, and it will be difficult to challenge the status of the British Empire..."

"It's good that you know. So, do you still want to use this technology to threaten us?" Aslan raised his chin.

"I haven't finished speaking yet." Li Asheng stared at him and shook his head, "Mr. Consul, with the advantage of the colony, the British Empire is indeed qualified to continue to occupy the world's number one throne for many years to come. However, the struggle between countries has never been a cycle of one or two years. This cycle may be ten years, twenty years, or even one hundred years. Just like you, Britain, have you been fighting for a hundred years with Spain and the Netherlands, and then laid the foundation for the empire of its sun-defying sun?"

"So, do you think a technology can keep you ahead of the next decade, decades?" Aslan sneered.

"Of course not. But what if we sell these technologies to other countries and never give them to the United Kingdom?" Li Asheng smiled.

"No country can catch up with the British Empire in just a few years," Aslan said proudly.

"This is the truth. But what if France, Germany, Austro-Hungary, Italy, and even Russia join together? Well, of course, there is the United States of America... So many countries have suddenly greatly improved their shipbuilding industry. Can the British Empire maintain its current advantage in the next few years?" Li Asheng asked with a smile.

"You..." Aslan was stunned. He didn't expect that Li Asheng would come up with such a solution... If a country cannot deal with you, then I will find a few more countries, and everyone will make progress and speed up shipbuilding together. Then, can your British family still suppress it? This is simply a "wolf pack" tactic. Although Britain is the world's number one, no matter which country Li Asheng mentioned just now, no matter which one of them, it is enough to make Britain do its best, let alone all of them all at once? Of course, these countries also have mutual contradictions between each other, and it is impossible to really unite completely, but the problem is that no country will miss an opportunity to strengthen its navy... If the Chinese technology really works.

"What kind of technology are you?" We must find out the truth of the matter. Aslan made a quick decision. If there were really a few technologies and the Chinese really planned to provide these technologies to those European and American powers, then the problem of British Columbia would really not be considered a big deal. After all, Britain does not have much interests on the west coast of North America. A place that is only rich in fur is not worthy of being angry. They are indeed more for the sake of face and the overall deterrence of the Commonwealth.

"A more reasonable production technology suitable for large-scale production of ships, as well as...welding and cutting technology!" Li Asheng said lightly.

“Welding and cutting?”

...

“Welding and cutting?”

In less than half an hour, London received the Aslan report. For such a simple sentence, Gladstone had to find a naval ship expert. But he did not expect that this expert, who is said to be the world's first-class expert, was just like him, was confused by the two terms welding and cutting.

"What is that? Prime Minister, I don't understand." This expert is obviously very qualified and does not learn from the so-called "bricks" in later generations who only know how to brag. If you don't know, you don't know. You will never force yourself to speak out because of face issues.

"You don't understand? You are already the world's first-class shipbuilding expert, and you don't understand. Does that mean... the Chinese are just deliberately confusing us?" Gladston asked pretending to be smart.

"I can't guarantee this. However, the Chinese have already been at the forefront of the world in the use of electricity. If they have achieved anything in other aspects, I would not be surprised at all... There is a precedent." said the expert.

"So are these two technologies useful? I mean, if the Chinese sell these technologies to France and Germany, will it promote the development of their shipbuilding industry?" Gladstone asked again.

"I don't know. I need to see the real thing." The expert replied.

"Send a telegram immediately and ask the Chinese to provide the physical goods! Tell them that if they do not provide, we will choose not to believe them, which means the arrival of war."

Gladstone immediately issued an order. Soon after, Aslan's telegram sent back again: "Welding means connecting the two iron pieces together without rivets, without any gaps; cutting: using a new technology to cut metal without the need for auxiliary tools such as machine tools, which is extremely fast..."

When the telegram was seen, the expert's urgent voice spread throughout No. 10 Tangning Street:

"We have to get these two technologies, we have to get..."
Chapter completed!