"Have you heard? Our Ming Dynasty's factory in Myanmar was burned down by the Burmese."

"Burmese? Where is Myanmar?"

"It's a very far away place, over there in Yunnan."

"Are there people from Ming Dynasty living in such a far place?"

"The whole world is not the land of the king. No matter how far away it is, it belongs to our Ming Dynasty."

"We, the Ming Dynasty, have millions of soldiers, but we are still afraid of those Burmese people? Send soldiers to attack and destroy that place."

"I read in the newspaper that not only did our factory burn down, but our people were also beaten to death!"

"What! Did you beat someone to death? Grandma, this is a rebellion. The commander-in-chief sent troops to destroy them."

"Don't worry about whether the marshal sends troops or not. Let's find out where there are Burmese people and beat them up first."

Because of the advent of telegraphs and newspapers, messages can be transmitted much faster.

Only five days after the incident, the Burmese attack on the Daming factory was already known throughout the country.

There were a lot of people on the street. When they saw the dark-looking guy with a protruding forehead, they stepped forward to question him with an unkind expression.

Many innocent Siamese and Cochin people were beaten. Especially in Yunnan, there were even more beatings.

It's just a pity that Myanmar is so poor. They don't even have transportation, and there is no good way to get to Daming except from deep in the mountains and forests.

As a result, there were very few Burmese people in the interior of the Ming Dynasty, and those Siamese and Cochin people suffered unprovoked disasters.

When Li Xiao heard the news, he was cutting the ribbon for the Jinling Yangtze River Bridge.

As a project that attracts national attention, it is also a world-class difficult project. Before this, no bridge of this level had ever been built in the world.

Watching the black smoke-emitting train roaring across the bridge, everyone burst into cheers as if the earth was shattering. From then on, the north and south of the Great River of China were officially connected.

In the future, materials north of the Yangtze River will no longer need to be transported by water. Railways will also continuously transport materials south of the Yangtze River to the north.

More importantly, if you can build the Jinling Yangtze River Bridge, you can build the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge. Or the Jiangyin Yangtze River Bridge, it is difficult to create. If it is copied, it will be much easier.

In the past, Jiangnan was called a natural moat. From now on, the natural moat is no longer considered a natural moat to a certain extent.

"Brother, it's finally open to traffic." Li Hao's face was red. He had devoted all his efforts to this bridge.

"Well! Now that we have this bridge, we will build one in Wuhan and one in Jiangyin according to the same model!

Use bridges to connect the north and south of the Yangtze River. In the future, the Ming Dynasty will become a whole. If the north and south are connected, then goods can truly flow through the world.

I’m going back to Beijing!”

"Brother, didn't you say I'm going to Hangzhou for two days? Lingyin Temple, West Lake, Leifeng Pagoda...I have arranged all this, so why did you just leave?"

Li Hao was a little surprised when he heard that Li Xiao was leaving.

“The telegram just came in. Our factories and mining areas in northern Myanmar were smashed, smashed, and robbed by the Burmese. A dozen of us were also killed!

The report has been reported in the capital, and now the public is furious. They want me to send troops to northern Burma and kill all the Burmese people."

"Brother, do you really want to send troops to northern Myanmar?"

"It's not that easy. Those places in northern Myanmar are all mountainous!

We Ming people went there and were unfamiliar with the place. We didn’t even know the roads. In some places, there were no roads at all.

How will the logistics be handled when fighting there?

They hide in the mountains and specifically attack your supply lines. The consequence is that you suffer heavy losses and your soldiers are exhausted. But what is the result?

You can't even catch a hair from someone else's head!

So, this matter is not easy. And I always feel that this matter seems weird.

We Ming people overseas, some of our practices are inappropriate. But...it doesn't seem to be enough to cause such a backlash from the locals, after all, they haven't done anything harmful to nature."

"Brother means...!"

"Let Luzhu investigate first. The matter of sending troops cannot be solved in a day or two."

After receiving this news, Li Xiao reluctantly gave up the next trip to Hangzhou. There was no way to see the West Lake and Leifeng Pagoda, so he could only rush back to the capital by airship.

This is the first time that Ming Dynasty has encountered this level of provocation overseas.

Back in the capital, a group of senior officers were already waiting in the Marshal's Mansion.

Ao Ye and Cao Wenzhao are still inspecting Europe, and the guys who are now coming to the Marshal's Mansion to ask for a fight can be regarded as the Mesozoic Era among the Liao army. Among them, Cao Bianjiao and Zu Kuan, who have just returned from Tashkent, are the most radical.

Zu Chengxun sat silently in the corner, saying nothing.

This child has obviously become much depressed since Zu Dashou passed away.

In the army, the men and horses of Zu Dashou's line were somewhat unable to hold their heads high.

The main reason is that Wu Sangui, a great traitor, brought endless harm to the Ming Dynasty! Until now, although India has been torn apart.

But Wu Sangui still saw neither alive nor dead bodies. This made some people in the army always have a suspicion about the people of Zu Dashou's line.

"Commander, send us to Myanmar. We must use tanks to crush those bastards and avenge the dead compatriots!" Zu Kuan couldn't wait to ask Li Xiao for a fight.

"Yes! Marshal, I have experienced the Battle of Tashkent. I think our tanks are quite mature and it will not be a problem to crush Burma." Cao Bianjiao also shouted.

"Oh! Got it, Zu Chengxun, tell me, what do you think?" Li Xiao looked across the crowd and looked at Zu Chengxun, who was at the end.

"Commander...!" Zu Chengxun seemed not to have expected that Li Xiao would ask him questions.

After standing up and saluting, I was speechless and didn't know what to say.

"Don't be nervous, I'm a cannibal again. Just say whatever you have to say, and it doesn't matter if you say something wrong. Don't worry and say it boldly!" Li Xiao looked at Zu Chengxun with a smile.

This guy did a good job in Tashkent this time. He was responsible for all the supplies for the nearly 100,000 troops.

What's more, this is the first time a tank has been put on the battlefield. Many problems have been exposed, not only the problem of fuel supply, but also the maintenance and upkeep of tanks in the desert environment.

Zu Chengxun solved these aspects very well. The two tank regiments were able to return with almost no losses, and this kid Zu Chengxun was indispensable.

Encouraged by Li Xiao, Zu Chengxun's nervous expression relaxed a lot.

"Commander! I think it is not appropriate for the imperial court to send large armies to Burma. Especially tank regiments cannot be sent to Burma!"

The first words Zu Chengxun said aroused public outrage. Especially Zu Kuan, whom he had grown up with since childhood, and Cao Bianjiao, a classmate of the Army Officer Academy.

As we all know, almost all the national power of the Ming Dynasty is now used in national development and construction. There are not many opportunities for war!

In the Liao army, everything relied on military merit.

It's obviously the same level, but if you don't have military merit, you have to go through it when you meet them, and your military pay is less than others.

What’s even more annoying is that supplies on the battlefield are also distributed according to military merit, not to mention housing, treatment after changing jobs, etc. These are all determined by military merit!

It can be said that military merit means everything in the Liao army.

Now it was easy to get a good opportunity to gain military glory, but unexpectedly Zu Chengxun stepped forward and said such words.

Several guys from the Young Zhuang Sect were already glaring at Zu Chengxun. If Li Xiao hadn't been here, they would have taken action long ago.

"Oh! Your statement is different from theirs, tell me!" Li Xiao looked at Zu Chengxun with a smile.

"First of all! Mandalay is a mountainous area, and even some plains are covered with jungles and rivers. This is not suitable for marching at all, and it is even more difficult for tanks to function in these places.

The tank regiment looked mighty, but in the Tashkent Desert, the problem of wind and sand alone caused almost 30% of the tanks to lie down.

If the engines had not been urgently transported from the mainland, these tanks would not have been able to drive back.

It was our negligence not to consider the strong wind and sand beforehand. But none of the people sitting here have been to Mandalay. God knows what kind of problems will happen when the tanks and equipment arrive in Mandalay.

At least the roads in the northwest are good. Although many places are in the Gobi Desert, there is still no problem in accessing them.

Even in the worst circumstances, camels can still be used to carry a small amount of supplies, at least to provide some to the troops without starving them of food.

But what about Mandalay?

I asked someone about it and found out that it is a mountainous area. In some places there are only trails and there are dense jungles everywhere. During the rainy season, it rains for a month.

If it is a coastal place, we can also rely on sea transportation for supplies.

But Mandalay is far away from the coast, so we can’t resupply from the sea.”

"We don't know how to use airships! We are in Tashkent, so we need to use airships for supplies." Cao Bianjiao said with some disdain.

"When using airships in Tashkent, we need to build a military station every 100 kilometers. Not only do we have to ensure that there are no enemy anti-aircraft guns within a hundred miles, we also have to constantly monitor for sandstorms.

You know, to ensure your logistics supplies, including officers, soldiers and civilians, I will fully employ 120,000 people. This is more than the number of combat troops!

You fight in the front, and behind you are 120,000 people transporting food and drink for you.

How many people are you going to use in a place like Mandalay?"

"Humph!" Cao Bianjiao saw Li Xiao looking at him and did not dare to continue to pester him.

But it could be seen from his expression that he was very dissatisfied.

"Go on!" Li Xiao lit a cigar and signaled Zu Chengxun to continue.

"Secondly!

Our army sent troops to Mandalay without knowing anything about the local conditions, let alone the climate, roads, and local customs.
To be continued...