1890 King of Southeast Asia

December 20, 1910, Sishui.

Sishui has a special status in Nanhua. In addition to being the place where Nanhua started, it is also a commercial center, an automobile industry center, a military industry center, and a pharmaceutical research and development production center.

Unlike other industries, the establishment of pharmaceutical production lines is more troublesome, and if you are not careful during the transfer, it may cause pollution - not pollution of drugs, but pollution of the environment.

Considering efficiency and safety factors, Sishui pharmaceutical companies did not move.

December 20, Sishui Bay East End Pier.

"The water is leaking!"

"It's on fire!"

"Call the fire department!"

"Sound the alarm, set up isolation belts, what goods are placed in the fire area?"

Woo~~

On the evening of December 20, a fire broke out at the East End Pier.

The fire burned down four large warehouses, nearly a thousand tons of pharmaceutical raw materials and finished drugs ready for export were burned, and the newly ordered production lines of the pharmaceutical factory were also stored in the warehouse, and the equipment was completely burned.

There were also some miscellaneous materials, sisal, spices, grain, wood, etc., but the loss was far less than that of the pharmaceutical factory.

As soon as the news came out, there was a rush to buy medicine internationally. The original price of basic sulfa anti-inflammatory tablets was 70 cents per tablet. In just one day, the black market price reached one dollar and 20 cents.

It's not over yet. A week later, the Ministry of Health of the South China Empire announced:

"Due to the destruction of a large amount of raw materials in the fire, it will take three months to re-produce the raw materials. Therefore, in the next three months, the production of corresponding drugs in South China will be reduced by 60%."

"The fire burned down the new production line originally used to replace the old equipment. The old production line is now overwhelmed and the original production plan must be changed."

"It is expected that in the next year, the comprehensive production of various types of drugs in South China will be reduced by 40%..."

The spokesman of the Ministry of Health claimed that this was a "disaster that no one wants to see" and "South China will do its best to ensure the drug needs of its citizens and other countries."

Anyway, it's fine to say it, anyway, it doesn't cost money to say good things, and you can really get money if the price of drugs is increased.

The demand is there, and American workers will not stop because the life-saving drugs have changed from three or five dollars to eight or ten dollars.

As for the Chinese? Sorry, the Chinese have mutual medical insurance, which is another system.

When the heat drops a little, someone will come out and say that it was arson, conspiracy theory, etc. Anyway, it is to maintain the heat and make a wave of hot money.

This money was not only earned by Nanhua, but also by international capital, smuggling underworld, and the two of them, which is equivalent to the high-ranking officials of various governments, and everyone is happy.

The only ones who are uncomfortable are some countries with welfare and civilians.

…………

On December 24, the Intelligence Department received news that the Japanese Third Division had set off and planned to land in Jiangsu Province.

The Seventh Division, the Eighth Division, and the Ninth Division set off from Korea and had taken the train south in Fengtian.

The Japanese Army entered the Qing Empire in an organized manner, which had substantially interfered with the internal affairs of the Qing Empire. The Nanhua government did not say anything at the first time.

On January 2, 1911, the army assembled in Banjarmasin boarded the transport ship and sailed north.

"Your Majesty, the transport fleet has left the port and they will sail directly to Shanghai." Xie Hui came to report.

"The General Staff should prepare for rehearsals, guard against all possible enemies, and strengthen military forces in weak areas, such as Sumatra." Liu Yiming did not believe that Britain would just sit there and watch.

Of course, Britain would not take direct action, which was not in line with their style. Reinforcing troops in Sumatra was just to show Britain their attitude.

Even if something really happened, it would not be this place - it was too sensitive, and Britain's presence was not strong.

"The General Staff discussed that we need to moderately strengthen our military presence in the Arab region to deal with possible threats." Xie Hui looked at Liu Yiming.

The Army General Staff and Liu Yiming had similar ideas. Of course, this was not just the idea of ​​the General Staff, but also the Ministry of National Defense.

They believed that there were two places where problems were most likely to occur, one was Arabia and the other was Hawaii.

The Ministry of National Defense ruled out Hawaii, not because it believed in Japan and the United States, but because South China was planning to have friction with Japan, and the United States... had no conditions to join the war.

The relationship between South China and Britain has not broken down, and the two are still in a state of cooperation that they need each other, but there are a few minor flaws in actual operation.

If South China and the United States fight, Britain will not be happy.

Because no matter who wins or loses, it is not what Britain wants to see. As for a draw where both sides lose? It wants to, but dare not bet.

No matter who wins between South China and the United States, whoever wins will become the dominant power in the Pacific. This is what Britain does not want to see during this period when Britain cannot spare the energy.

"No need to strengthen, that will stimulate many people and cause trouble out of thin air." Liu Yiming shook his head and decided on a plan to increase the number of Arab troops.

"The Italians are in trouble. As friends, we should help them."

"Allow them to owe money and sell them 5,000 vehicles of various types so that they can deliver Italian noodles and red wine to the thirsty Italian men."

Xie Hui's eyes lit up and nodded, thinking that those cars could be sold so that they could be replaced with new cars.

Italy's military operations in North Africa encountered obstacles. The Italian army was well prepared in the early stage (compared with the Ottoman Empire Army) and was unstoppable.

But when Italy left the coast, the intensity of the attack was reduced a lot, especially after entering the hills and mountains, the bad climate further reduced the combat effectiveness of the Italian army.

The Ottoman Army built fortifications in mountain valleys and other places, carried out blocking battles, and used cavalry to harass Italy's logistics lines.

The war suddenly stalemated, and spontaneous guerrillas appeared in the occupied areas, targeting Italy's logistics supplies, horses, camels, and even fodder, and most importantly, wells.

In this case, Italy was forced to continue to increase troops to stabilize the occupied areas and organize military-level attacks.

But the Ottoman Empire's defense line made them suffer a lot. Without enough artillery, they were simply sending themselves to death.

Therefore, they needed more efficient means of transportation, and because the money was used for war, they couldn't pay cash.

For the sake of its relationship with France, Nanhua has always been ambiguous about this matter. Anyway, military vehicles are not for sale, and civilian vehicles require cash.

Now, because of the unknown fire, the French made a lot of money. The important thing is that considering the possibility of winning over Italy, they acquiesced to this matter.

"What kind of car should I choose?" Xie Hui was still thinking about this when he left.

If the operation is good, at least two or three thousand trucks can be replaced, saving a lot of money.

It's not that he doesn't want to replace them all, but some vehicles are quite different from the exported vehicles, and they have to be scrapped by people from several systems.

(Five thousand vehicles of various types are not just trucks, so the number is not large.)

…………

From January 7 to 9, five thousand vehicles including trucks, water tankers, warriors, sidecar motorcycles, etc. were loaded in various places in Nanhua and sent to Naples one after another.

Italy originally wanted to pay more money to let the transport ship transport directly to Tripoli, but Nanhua refused on the grounds that it was civilian equipment.

January 12, Shanghai.

Beep~~

A huge transport ship docked at the port, a cargo ship with a tonnage of more than 20,000 tons. At this time, the dock only had two berths that could meet its loading and unloading requirements.

Outside the dock, several warships flying the flags of the sun, moon and stars were anchored on the route, with their gun barrels facing north and their gun covers removed.

"Zhengfang, is this the army of Nanhua?" Li Songqing stood by the dock, watching the soldiers getting off the ship.

"Yes, although... it's nothing." Huang Zhengfang was about to say that this was just a light-armed division, but after thinking about what he had to explain, he stopped talking.

When the soldiers got off the ship, their faces were tired, but no one complained. They each found their own team, lined up in a square formation, and under the guidance of the revolutionary army, they carried their equipment and walked to the camp in an orderly manner.

Even because the entire dock was under martial law, the entire dock had only the noise of machines and the sound of officers "standing at attention, counting, marching in step" and soldiers counting.

He was still some distance away from the dock, but he could hear the officers' orders.

Li Songqing was known for loving his soldiers like his own sons, and the soldiers obeyed him. The 21st Mixed Brigade could also be said to have strict military discipline, but it was far from this.

"Great! There are more than 36,000 soldiers like this. What can the Japanese pirates use to fight us?" Li Songqing was in a much better mood.

Recently, the Japanese Third Division has launched a tentative attack on Jinling. They tried a field battle in the Jinling direction and lost more than 100 people each. The casualty ratio is about 1:1.2, and the Japanese army is 1.

The field battle land is muddy, and the heavy artillery of the revolutionary army is difficult to maneuver. The army is full of a large number of new recruits or new army habits. This casualty ratio is not bad.

In order to preserve the manpower and give full play to the firepower advantage, the revolutionary army gradually gave up the stronghold in Jiangbei. At present, Jiangbei has completely become the sphere of influence of the Beiyang or Japanese army.

It is worth mentioning that for some reason, Japan's military discipline is strictly constrained, and it performs much better than Zaifeng's new army.

As for the three towns, they have not been attacked by the Japanese army. Lin Pingzhi built the three passes into permanent fortifications, with layers of barbed wire and trenches, which are not so easy to break through.

Seeing this situation, Beiyang and the Japanese army began to think of ways to cross the river. The first thing to solve was the issue of control over the Yangtze River.

To solve this problem, ships must be dispatched, and they must pass through the estuary, and they must take Shanghai.

Therefore, part of the Japanese Third Division, together with a Beiyang regiment, was rushing towards Shanghai.

Behind them was the Japanese Seventh Division, which had just completed its rest.

A total of more than 20,000 people rushed over, and Li Songqing had to panic.

"Don't worry, this time there is an artillery division, and there are some fun things." Huang Zhengfang looked at the rocket launcher vehicle that came down from the rollers and was a little surprised.

The confidentiality level of this thing is not high. In fact, many people know that it exists, but the confidentiality level of how to use it, that is, the tactics, is very high.

Rockets are as low as Hamas rockets and as high as a certain 300-kilometer range export model. If the counterweight is removed, it can go even further.

It was mainly tactics. There was no key breakthrough tactic at this time. For example, in the Battle of Verdun, the German army used 1,200 artillery pieces before the attack, bombarded the 40-kilometer-long front for eight and a half hours, and fired one million shells.

Although this was because the German army used tactical deception to not expose the attack target.

But if these 1,200 artillery pieces were concentrated to bombard the attack area within a kilometer wide and five to ten kilometers deep for fifteen minutes, and then the infantry quickly assaulted, it would be hard to say whether Verdun would win or lose, and the outcome of World War I might also change.

"Proposition, there is a call from the front line, and the Beiyang Army has been discovered."

"I understand, Governor Li, I'll leave this to you."

From the time the Japanese army landed to the time the Nanhua Army landed, Huang Zhengfang accompanied Li Songqing, because he was afraid that he would surrender secretly.

Now, he is not afraid anymore.

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