The critical situation of the Argentine war spread to the European continent, public opinion in European countries was boiling, and British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli convened a cabinet meeting specifically on this issue.
"Gentlemen, according to the intelligence sent back by diplomats, the important town of Santa Fe in central Argentina fell the night before yesterday, and the 12,000 Argentine regular troops stationed in Santa Fe were wiped out. And just two hours ago, I just received a diplomatic report
The telegram was forwarded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The telegram was sent by Argentine President Miter himself. In the telegram, President Miter sincerely requested help from the British Empire to lend a helping hand to save Argentina, which is also a white race. Now I am sending President Miter’s
A copy of the telegram will be distributed to everyone, and I hope you can give appropriate suggestions."
Benjamin nodded to his administrative secretary, and then the young secretary led seven or eight attendants to distribute the copies of the telegram to the cabinet members one by one.
"Your Excellency Prime Minister, I think it is necessary to introduce the general situation of the warring parties to the cabinet officials before discussing the Argentine issue."
The copies of the telegram had just been distributed when a fat man with a bald head stood up and spoke.
"Speak, Lord Cecil."
Benjamin nodded, indicating that the other party could start talking.
"The Argentine war involved two major countries - Han Dynasty and Argentina. Argentina was a country established by Spanish descendants. During the Napoleonic Wars, the Imperial Army tried to occupy the Viceroyalty of La Plata, but failed, and because of the territorial dispute over the Falkland Islands
Problem, the Argentine government has always been wary of the empire's commercial activities in its country. The relationship between the two countries has never been as close as the empire and South American countries such as Brazil and Chile. The Han Dynasty itself was made up of a group of poor Chinese workers.
Eleven years ago, King Li Mingyuan of the Han Dynasty led the Chinese laborers to launch an uprising in Peru. In the confrontation with the armies of Peru, Brazil and other countries, Li Mingyuan relied on his cunning marching command and the hard-working Chinese troops under his command to continuously achieve success.
Military victories over Peru, Brazil, Argentina and other countries, and by virtue of the prestige brought by the victory in the war and the achievements of gradually encroaching on the territories of Brazil and Argentina, they successfully established another Chinese country outside the Qing Dynasty."
After introducing the origins of Argentina and the Han Dynasty, the bald fat man continued, "King Li Mingyuan of the Han Dynasty was the son of Li Shixian, the Taiping Rebellion. In the early days of the rebellion, he used the remnants of the Taiping Army to control the Chinese labor force. However, when the Chinese rebel army occupied
After conquering two states in southern Brazil, Li Mingyuan gave up the old hierarchical concept of the Taiping Rebellion. He distributed the occupied land free of charge to poor Chinese workers and subsequent immigrants transported from the Qing Dynasty. At the same time, he introduced machinery and equipment from Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and other countries.
Actively develop Han's local industrial construction.
Li Mingyuan made a series of measures that made the strength of the Han State grow rapidly, and the strength of the national defense force under his command also increased rapidly in ten years. Therefore, I would like to remind you that the Han State in South America is not the same as the Qing State in the Far East.
, the comprehensive strength and military strength of the Han State cannot be solved by the imperial government sending thousands or ten or twenty thousand troops. If the imperial government agrees to the request of the Argentine government and personally sends troops to participate in the war, then I suggest that the imperial government sends at least fifty thousand troops.
At the same time, we dispatched at least one squadron-sized fleet to South America to implement a naval blockade and arms embargo on the coastal areas of Han."
"Lord Cecil, I don't understand how you came up with the data that the imperial government needs to dispatch at least 50,000 troops to aid Argentina? You have to know that when it first attacked Burma and the Qing Dynasty, the imperial government only sent 10,000 to 20,000 local troops.
, and the Han State was, after all, just a Chinese country that had been established for ten years. Can their population and soldiers be compared with those of Burma and the Qing Dynasty? If it were to attack a Han State, the imperial government would need to send 50,000 troops, so it would face more than 1,000 soldiers.
With a vast colony of 10,000 square kilometers, wouldn’t the imperial government have to mobilize all the domestic troops?”
Not all of the important officials in the cabinet belonged to the Liberal Party like Benjamin and Cecil. Therefore, after Cecil's speech, he was quickly opposed by the Liberal Party.
"Sir Gladstone, do you really think you can defeat Han without sending 50,000 troops?"
"Of course, with only ten thousand colonial troops, the imperial government can force those yellow monkeys to surrender!"
"Haha, has Sir Glasdor forgotten the disastrous defeat of Isanderva?"
The fat bald man mocked disdainfully, "Baron Chelmsford had 20,000 colonial troops under his command, but they were defeated by the uncivilized Zulu blacks in the Battle of Isanderwa. Do you think that the Han people can defeat the Brazilians and Argentines?"
Are the Chinese troops worse than Zulu black men holding short spears and shields?”
"The failure of the Battle of Isanderwa was just an accident. If the frontline commanders were more careful, the 1,500 soldiers would not have been wiped out!"
"Humph, is the frontline commander underestimating the enemy? I think Baron Chelmsford has stayed in London for too long and has forgotten how to fight. Otherwise, he would not blindly send a thousand soldiers when the enemy's strength is unknown.
Five hundred soldiers fought deep into the South African interior."
"You are slandering! Baron Chelmsford did not order the frontline troops to fight deep into the interior. It was the frontline commander who underestimated the enemy and rushed forward so that the troops fell into a trap."
Gladstone defended Chelmsford loudly.
"Whether Chelmsford is responsible or not needs to be decided by the Prime Minister and various cabinet ministers, not by you alone!"
The battle between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party not only involves political aspects, but also in terms of military diplomacy, there is also strong competition between generals who lean towards different parties.
Chelmsford had a good relationship with the Liberal Party. When the British government decided to attack the Zulu people in South Africa, Chelmsford, who was supported by the Liberal Party, was able to serve as the commander of the South African colonial forces and was responsible for commanding the attack on the Zulu people.
Encirclement and suppression operations.
However, the Zulu people are different from other African peoples. They are more aggressive. In the war in early 1879, the careless British colonial army suffered several defeats one after another, losing more than 2,000 troops. Therefore, they were severely affected by the early war.
After learning the lesson of the defeat, the South African colonial army first suspended its attack on the Zulus, then reorganized the remaining troops and waited for reinforcements sent from the mainland to arrive before starting the battle.
By late March, when the war in Argentina was ongoing, the British government approved the request of the South African colonial troops and dispatched seven regiments of troops from the mainland to fight in South Africa.
The troops of the seven regiments are still on their way to South Africa. Chelmsford has also temporarily retained his original position due to the needs of the situation in South Africa. However, the British cabinet has begun discussions on the generals who will replace Chelmsford, and there are several
Backup candidate.
The Zulu War and the Guano War both involved a certain amount of energy from the British government. At this time, the outbreak of the war in Argentina posed a difficult problem for British cabinet officials.
It is not difficult for the British government to dispatch 10,000, 20,000 regular troops or even 50,000 regular troops, but Argentina, South Africa, and Chile are different. South Africa is a British colony, and it is the duty of the British government to eliminate the Zulus there.
Saltpeter is the main raw material for the production of explosives. Before the invention of synthetic ammonia, the saltpeter mined from Chile was of great value in maintaining the British gunpowder production. Therefore, it was also necessary for the British government to intervene in the Guano War.
Compared with the above two wars, the potential benefits and costs of the Argentine War were not cost-effective.
In terms of income, Argentina's domestic mineral resources are limited, and the British government cannot directly obtain high economic benefits from the local area. In terms of payment, in order to assist Argentina, the British government needs to send tens of thousands of army troops and be prepared to fight a long-term war of attrition.
The first option to intervene in the Argentine war is to directly send troops. However, just like the war between Han and Argentina in 1870, sending troops to intervene was not favored by cabinet officials. But on the other hand, Argentina is a white-dominated country after all.
Britain also has some local economic interests. Seeing Argentina in crisis but not helping Britain would not be beneficial to Britain's global strategy. Therefore, the cabinet officials in London first set the tone for dealing with the war in Argentina. They would definitely send troops, but sending troops
The scale of the operation must be controlled within a certain range. At the same time, the military operation to assist Argentina should not be undertaken by the United Kingdom alone. Brazil and Chile should assume the main military obligations. Of course, if the situation goes smoothly, France and Germany should be
It would be better to bring them in to share the pressure. However, as for the United States, let their Monroe Doctrine go to hell. British gentlemen do not want to see their base in South America taken away by the United States, even if Argentina falls into the hands of Han.
, which is much better than having all of South America controlled by the United States.