Chapter 1079

Tang Wenjie looked proudly at Singapore City. This place once belonged to Britain, but now it had been incorporated into the Empire’s territory.

And in Southeast Asia, the Philippines and Indonesia were now under the Empire’s control. It would not be long before the Southwest Army marched south, and at that time, French Indochina and Burma would also belong to the Empire.

“Minister Tang, I heard you have also brought His Majesty’s instructions this time?” Lei Ming asked. With him were Yue Yun and Liu Chen.

Half a month ago, he had successfully intercepted the remaining Dutch forces that were attempting to escape from the city of Bula and fought a beautiful ambush.

The unprepared Dutch army was outflanked after entering the city. The governor of Jakarta and Stephen were killed. He also seized a large amount of gold from these Dutch soldiers, which was considered to have made up for some of their losses.

“That’s right. I was going to pass by here anyway, so His Majesty personally instructed me to hand over the order to you,” Tang Wenjie said.

He then took out a sealed letter from his pocket and handed it to Lei Ming.

“His Majesty wants us not to launch a full-scale assault on India, but to implement a half-year blockade on India first. At the same time, he ordered the navy to strengthen its control over the shipping lanes.” Lei Ming told Yue Yun the contents of the letter.

Liu Chen was excited when he heard this. “His Majesty has always been wise. His judgment on this war is also very accurate. We can use this half a year to strengthen our training and at the same time, stockpile ammunition and weapons in Singapore. In the future, we won’t have to worry about ammunition once the war starts.”

Lei Ming breathed a sigh of relief. He had been studying the map during this time. Of all the areas currently under the Empire’s control, Singapore was the most suitable place to be a military base.

In the entire Southeast Asia, Singapore’s location was almost at the center. It was also the throat of the shipping lane, so its geographical location was very important.

It was precisely for this reason that the Empire designated Singapore as an overseas military base and had been building defensive fortifications in Singapore during this period.

The reinforced concrete coastal defense artillery system was a given. There were also many bunkers on the coast, which were connected to each other through underground tunnels.

At the same time, a large amount of ammunition was stored in the bunkers. If machine guns were mounted on the bunkers, even if Britain were to deploy three hundred to four hundred thousand men, they would not be able to take it.

With such solid fortifications, both Lei Ming and Yue Yun were very confident in Singapore’s security. Both the navy and the army could use this place as a transfer point.

“In addition to the war-related matters, His Majesty also requested the navy to send warships to escort a delegation to the Ottoman Empire and the Persian Empire. Our visit this time is very important, and I hope General Yue and Commander Lei can help us,” Tang Wenjie said.

This was his first time traveling to such a distant place, and he felt uneasy. To ensure the safety of the delegation, they needed soldiers to escort them, to prevent the delegation from being killed before they could even reach the capitals of these two empires.

“That is natural. When does Minister Tang want to depart? We can make arrangements now.” Yue Yun said positively. He had already learned the purpose of Tang Wenjie’s mission, and he had heard about the internal combustion engine.

If they could get a large amount of cheap and high-quality petroleum from Persia or the Ottoman Empire, it would be a great joy for the Empire and could also allow the Empire’s industry to leap forward once again.

“Because this matter is a bit urgent, we will rest here for one night and head to Persia, the first destination, tomorrow,” Tang Wenjie said with a laugh.

Liu Chen muttered when he heard this, “This is really troublesome. In my opinion, there is no need to talk to them at all. We should just occupy any place that has an oil field.”

Liu Chen’s words made Tang Wenjie smile helplessly. He said, “When I left, His Majesty had just praised you for making progress. But now, these words have revealed your true nature again.”

After a pause, he said, “The Ottoman and Persian Empires are different from the countries in Southeast Asia. These countries in Southeast Asia have not truly been formed yet and only exist as a form of tribal rule. But these two strong countries in Central Asia are different. They have a strict national structure and immense war potential. Using war will only push them towards the West, which is unwise.”

“Minister Tang’s understanding of the world’s human geography is more refined. We only have a superficial understanding.” Yue Yun glared at Liu Chen and replied with a laugh.

Tang Wenjie sighed with emotion. “I can’t help it. Since I am in this position, I have to carefully study every country. Although there has been a thousand-year-long grudge between the Ottoman Empire and Europe, European royalty have also married their princesses into the Ottoman Empire many times. The entanglements are too numerous. And the Ottoman Empire probably knows very little about us. This is the trouble with this trip.”

At this point, he stopped abruptly and said with a laugh, “Let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s get a good rest today, and we will be on our way tomorrow morning.”

With that, he led the members of the delegation to the guesthouse in Singapore.

The next day, Tang Wenjie woke up early. After a simple breakfast, he boarded the warship heading for Persia.

To protect Tang Wenjie’s group, Yue Yun dispatched six warships to prevent any accidents. Although they had defeated the combined fleet, there were still armed European merchant ships, privateers, and pirates active at sea.

These forces were constantly threatening the safety of the shipping lanes. And it seemed that they had received a unified order. Now, all these ships harbored deep hostility towards the imperial warships.

The patrolling warships were often harassed by them. During the harassment, they would try to use any means possible to seize their warships.

According to the captured prisoners of war, Europe had now offered a high reward. If anyone could capture an ironclad, the person who captured it would receive a reward of one million pounds.

Such a high reward was enough to drive armed merchant ships, privateers, and pirates crazy. One million pounds was enough to allow them to live a rich life like a nobleman.

Standing on the deck and looking at the port of Singapore that was gradually moving away, a sense of pride spontaneously arose in Tang Wenjie’s heart. In the current world, only the Empire could have such power.

He then gathered the members of the delegation together. To prepare for this visit, the members of the delegation that the Empire had arranged were all proficient in the languages of these two regions and were also very familiar with these two countries.

“Compared to the Ottoman Empire, I think we will have an easier time achieving results in Persia.” A young member said. His name was Fang Ziheng, and he was a graduate of the diplomatic program at Qingzhou University’s Political Academy.

Tang Wenjie nodded. “The Emperor having us bet on both sides is actually because he wants to use the age-old feud between the Ottoman Empire and Persia. According to the intelligence we have collected, these two countries have been in a state of war for two hundred years to contend for regional hegemony, and even now, it has not stopped. So, we must make good use of this in the upcoming negotiations.”

Fang Ziheng said, “That is not enough. We must also make them understand that the Empire can change the balance of the war between them. Only in this way will they be able to understand the seriousness of the situation.”

Tang Wenjie had always held Fang Ziheng in high regard. His mind was always very flexible in negotiations. Although using the feud between the two could allow them to gain benefits, it was also extremely dangerous. If it were not handled properly, it could be life-threatening.