The Crimean War, which lasted for three years, finally ended with the defeat of Tsarist Russia.

But many times, the end means a new beginning.

The British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the French Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia, which defeated one side, did not withdraw all the troops put on the battlefield to their homeland for rest.

It is not because they want to defend the land they have captured, but to start a new round of war.

"Why can they stay here, they can return to their country to recuperate, but we are going to the Qing Dynasty?"

For soldiers, war is not a beautiful world where violence can be vented. Except for a very small number of soldiers who are full of destruction and violent personality, the one who hates war the most among all the people in the world is actually the soldiers who participate in the war.

They hated war even more than the civilians who were hurt by them.

So, when they learned that a war that lasted for several years was over, they had to invest in a new battlefield, and that it was a place farther from home than the Crimean War Zone, they couldn't help but question it.

"Because you are the elite, the most elite army of the British Empire, and the most elite army in the world."

In the command center of the Crimean theater, the British Empire faced the general who questioned the military, John Watson, the commander-in-chief of the British Empire, answered calmly in a expressionless tone.

"No, I won't go, my people won't go, we will go back to China, we will go home, and you will go whoever you want to go to the Qing Dynasty."

In the command center, facing the supreme commander and other generals, it takes great courage to say this.

But this is indeed the most real thought in my heart.

The vast majority of soldiers on the battlefield were eager to go home.

The command center was quiet because of this sentence, but unlike everyone expected that John Watson did not immediately call the military police to seize the senior officer who dared to disobey the military order.

"I want to go home too, and I want to go home too."

John Watson said something that surprised everyone. In this case, wouldn’t this shake the morale of the army?

"I am fifty years old, and it takes more than a month to go to the Qing Dynasty. With my physical condition, I may even be unable to withstand the impact of traveling across the ocean. I just received a letter from my daughter-in-law saying that my grandson was born. I believe me. Now I just want to let go of everything and go back home and hug my grandson."

"But I can't go back because this letter was supposed to be sent to my son, but my son died in this war half a month ago, just like many people."

The command center became more and more silent.

The son of the Supreme Military Chief died on the battlefield as a soldier, which sounds a bit fantastic, but it is indeed a fact and it is also the key to John Watson being able to have the loyalty of countless soldiers and command the coalition forces to win this war.

"It's not that I don't know how to face my grandson, it's not that I don't know how to face my wife, it's not that I don't know how to tell my grandson about his father, my biological son, whom he had never met before, and his heroic death on the battlefield."

"But I still can't go back because I know very well that if I go back, my grandson will die on the battlefield in the future."

Speaking of this, John Watson paused, then looked at all the senior officers in the command center.

"It's not just my grandson, your sons, your grandsons, who may die on the battlefield in the future." John Watson's voice became louder and said, "Even our wives, family, relatives, friends, and everyone we know will die in the war."

"I know what you want to say. You want to say that the British Empire's military strength is the world's number one, and no one can defeat our British Empire. You want to say that the British Empire has many allies, and when the British Empire encounters war, they will choose to help us deal with the enemy."

"But... do you know history?"

Without waiting for an answer, John Watson said in his own question and answer: "Many years ago, on the land called China and what we call East Asia, a man named Genghis Khan appeared. He swept across the Eurasian continent with 400,000 cavalry. The land area of ​​the established empire is one quarter of the world's land area."

"Do you know what this is?"

"You know very well, and you know more about why he only occupied a quarter of the land area, because he died, because his invincible cavalry gradually lost the power to sweep everything in front of the artillery."

"For a long time, our British Empire had fleets and artillery that scared the whole world, as well as muskets and army that scared the whole world. We even easily defeated the Qing Dynasty, the largest country in the world and the most powerful country in the world before."

"If this is the case, we really don't need war, but... there was a man named Zhao Wuji in that place."

John Watson paused again, looked at the different expressions of the officers around him, took a deep breath and continued to speak.

"He has the most powerful personal force in the world, and can kill generals and flags among tens of thousands of enemy troops, kill seven in and seven out, but he is unscathed."

"He has the most advanced weapons in the world. The white horse sharpshooter you used was purchased from him at a huge cost. More than two years ago, he used such weapons to defeat our regular army, just like the regular army we defeated the Qing Dynasty."

"He has the greatest ambition in the world, not only because he formed the Ming Empire, defeated our coalition, but is still building ocean-going warships. He once said that he would give peace to 120 million people."

"Twelve millions of people are the total population of the world. Do you think, how can a magnanimous person give peace to everyone in the world?"

The answer is obvious.

In other words, the answer is actually not important, the important thing is the threat.

All the senior officers present, no matter how much they knew about the Ming Empire and Zhao Wuji, felt an unprecedented threat at this moment.

"I don't like war, but we have to participate in war." John Watson said: "The Qing Empire, which confronts East Asia and the Ming Empire, cannot be an opponent of the Ming Empire. If the Ming Empire destroys the Qing Empire and obtains the entire East Asia region, then they will be unstoppable, and even if the whole world adds up, there is no way to stop it."

"We went this time to help the Qing Empire. Because the Qing Empire signed a permanent peace treaty with us, they were even willing to completely give up the development of the navy and accept our supervision. This means that Genghis Khan will never appear again, and peace will truly come."

"So, we have to join the war, not for war, but for real peace."

After John Watson finished speaking, he asked, "Now, do you still want to go back against military orders?"

All the senior officers in the command center were silent.

Obeying orders was their duty, and the reason why they had rebellious emotions and even put them into words was only because the time interval between the two major wars was almost gone.

Under the high pressure of three years, they need a glorious reason to convince themselves and use it to convince their soldiers.

Without a response, the order to mobilize the army began to be implemented.

During the Crimean War, the coalition forces dispatched a total of more than 800,000 people, of which the Ottoman Empire and the French Empire dispatched 300,000 troops, the British Empire dispatched 200,000 troops, and the Kingdom of Sardinia dispatched 18,000 troops, which was a big deal.

After three years of fighting, more than 300,000 people were killed or injured by the coalition forces.

If it weren't for the sincerity given by the Qing court, it would have been too great, and the interests above China were too great, and the coalition forces actually didn't want to participate in the war.

It’s not because they love peace, nor because they feel sorry for their soldiers.

In fact, after the end of the Crimean War in the original history, Britain and France directly launched the Second Opium War.

The reason why they didn't want to join the war was because the Ming Empire was powerful.

Not to mention how they negotiated with the Qing court, in short, the coalition forces finally agreed and began to mobilize the army.

Following John Watson's speech, it was spread out by newspapers from the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire and the French Empire as a pre-war mobilization.

Zao Wuji and his Ming Empire began to truly become "famous" all over the world.

Naturally, there will be no big report on the defeats of various countries before, and they are sure to win this war.

"Our British Empire dispatched 80,000 troops, the Ottoman Empire and the French Empire each dispatched 60,000 troops, totaling 200,000 troops."

John Watson once again became the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces. He had just won the Tsarist Russian army, and combined with the pre-war mobilization speeches, his reputation was unparalleled.

Hearing the report from his officers, John Watson asked: "What about the Tsarist Russian side?"

Tsarist Russia, which had just been defeated, was not the life-and-death enemy of the coalition forces, and there was never an eternal benefit between countries.

To divide the interests of the Ming Empire and the Qing Empire, Tsarist Russia must also be involved. Otherwise, what if Tsarist Russia joins hands with the Ming Empire behind the scenes and stabs them?

Relatively speaking, it is easier to send troops to China for Tsarist Russia.

"The war this time in Tsarist Russia suffered a great loss. They dispatched 700,000 troops, but suffered more than 400,000 casualties, which was much greater than the casualties of our coalition. Therefore, the domestic intelligence said that they could only dispatch 200,000 troops."

John Watson frowned and asked, "Are they willing to accept my command?"

“They say it depends.”

"What about the Qing court?"

"The Qing court claimed that they had an army of 600,000, so they had large-scale disarmament due to insufficient military expenditure, so they had no one million troops. However, after the disarmament, the combat effectiveness of the Qing court's army was relatively improved. Although it was not as good as us, they could be regarded as cannon fodder because they were willing to accept your command."

“Where is America?”

"They are unwilling to participate directly in this war, but they are willing to provide us with help in terms of material replenishment. According to the news from the country, the United States can provide 50,000 white horse sharpshooters, which will be delivered to the Qing army for use, and the price paid by the Qing court was to ced after the war..."

John Watson waved his hand and said, "Don't tell me what deals there are between them. It has nothing to do with us. We only need to ensure the victory of the war. In other words, in terms of military strength, we have an absolute advantage, and a million troops attack the Ming Empire, which has only 200,000 troops?"

"Uh... the data is correct, but... the Qing court did not have enough white horse sharpshooters." The officer of the Staff Office replied: "We have advanced industrial capabilities, so we can equip all soldiers participating in the war with white horse sharpshooters in the past few years. However, the Qing court has only built 50,000 white horse sharpshooters in the past few years. With the support of the United States, only 100,000 people can equip the white horse sharpshooters."

"So, it's actually half a million troops?"

John Watson frowned and thought.

Judging from the data, even if there are only 500,000 people, they can completely crush the Ming Empire, but he always feels that this is not possible.

The Ming Empire, which created the White Horse Swordsman a few years ago, will it have created any new weapons in the past few years?

Also, the martial arts of China, can the extraordinary power play a key role in war?

"Have the royal family and the prime minister replied to my letter?"

"not yet."

Didn't it...or was it unsuccessful?

Knowing a secret John Watson actually wanted to wait a little longer, but he also knew that he had no time to wait.

The 200,000 coalition forces he directly commanded sounded very powerful, but how much does it cost to eat, drink, defecate and urinate every day?

The same is true for Tsarist Russia.

If the battle cannot be resolved quickly, they will fall into absolute passivity, which is completely different from their combat in the Crimea region.

The supply line for fighting across the ocean is too long.
Chapter completed!