Chapter 371 Allied Forces
When the British army suffered successive setbacks in South Africa, Weber could not sleep at night, fearing that the rebellion in East India would spread to Sarawak.
As the situation of the British army on the battlefield improved, Weber became more and more confident, and his attitude towards East India became more and more tough. Not only did he not restrict the flow of weapons, he even used rivers to divert some of them. East Indian lands.
The previous border between Sarawak and East India was based on the river.
There are many rivers in Kalimantan. Due to the lack of management, the rivers often change their courses after rising, so the border between Sarawak and East India is not clear.
At the end of March, heavy rains fell in the Singkawang area. Sarawak took advantage of the heavy rains and pushed the border about 1 kilometer towards Singkawang.
In the past, Sarawak often used river diversion to invade land in the Dutch East Indies and Sabah, and it succeeded every time.
The East India Company's counterattack came quickly and fiercely. That night, another outpost in Sarawak was attacked by unknown forces.
The difference from the last time is that this time the opponent did not disappear after succeeding, but continued to advance towards Kuching.
Kuching is only 50 kilometers away from the border.
The key forces of the Kingdom of Sarawak have been deployed to South Africa, leaving Kuching empty of strength and lacking the ability to defend itself.
Webber was frightened and angry, and frantically asked London and Seymour for help, hoping that the Asian fleet could send reinforcements to Kuching.
All London’s thoughts are on South Africa and it doesn’t care about Sarawak at all.
Seymour couldn't care less, because something happened to the Qing Empire as well.
In 1897, conflicts broke out between villagers and churches in Liyuantun, an enclave of Guanxian County under the Qing Dynasty, over land occupation. Zhao Sanduo, a plum blossom boxer from Wei County, was invited by the villagers to come to the rescue.
Later Zhao Sanduo changed the name of Plum Blossom Boxing to Yihe Boxing.
The development of Boxer Boxing in the Qing Empire was very fast. In just two years, Boxing Boxing blossomed all over the north of the Qing Empire. Not only did the number of Boxer Boxers grow to millions, but it also received official support from the Qing Empire. .
Last year, the Boxer Boxing accepted the Qing Empire's recruitment and was reorganized into the Boxer Rebellion. It officially changed its slogan from "Anti-Qing and Restoration of Ming" to "Support the Qing and destroy the foreigners."
After receiving official support from the Qing Empire, attacks on churches and missionaries occurred frequently across the Qing Empire, and relations between the Qing Empire and other countries rapidly deteriorated.
When Sarawak asked the Asian Fleet for help, Seymour was meeting with the naval generals of various countries to discuss the possibility of forming a coalition force to intervene in the Qing Empire, not to mention Sarawak.
Even if they can take care of it, it will take at least half a month for the reinforcements to arrive in Kuching.
Before Weber could wait for the reply from the Asian fleet, Kuching was attacked.
The characteristics of the indigenous tribes of Kalimantan are still very obvious. They have backward weapons, chaotic organization, lack of training and unified equipment, and basically have no ability to attack difficult situations.
The troops attacking Kuching were obviously not indigenous tribes. Although their clothing was not uniform, their weapons were all British Army standard Martini Henry rifles, and they also had artillery.
Webb did not give up and organized the Kuching police to build a defense line, led by Edward, a retired British Army lieutenant colonel, in an attempt to defend Kuching.
However, after the cannonball exploded, Edward mounted his horse and ran away, leaving only a single word.
“Let’s go, Kuching is finished——”
It’s okay to expect the police to suppress civilians.
Fighting an army with artillery is a dream.
The commander fled and the hastily organized police dispersed. Webb boarded a merchant ship and fled Kuching. The 58-year rule of the Brooke Dynasty in Sarawak collapsed.
Rebels——
Let’s call the troops attacking Kuching rebels, because so far, Weber has not figured out any identity information related to the rebels.
It cannot be said that there is no such thing.
During this period, there were tens of thousands of Martini Henry rifles flowing into East India through Sarawak.
From this perspective, the rebels who attacked Kuching were probably supported by Sarawak.
However, it is difficult to say, because not only the British army around the world is equipped with Martini Henry rifles, but also Spain, Canada and other countries.
The U.S. military recently seized tens of thousands of Martini Henry rifles from Manila, so this rebel army may also be supported by the Americans.
Of course, the more likely possibility is the East India Company.
However, since the East India Company did not admit it, Weber had no choice but to report it to London and ask London to seek justice.
London has not yet launched an investigation into the Kuching attack, and George took the lead.
"If you continue to allow the Sarawak rebels to invade the private territory of Grand Duke Yuriev, Grand Duke Yuriev can help you restore order in Sarawak."
Jiang Guoxian came to the Lion City and issued a final message to Weber in person. Ultimatum.
"You are talking nonsense. It was the East Indian rebels who took the initiative to attack Sarawak. There is no rebellion in Sarawak at all-"
Webber's eyes were red, and he had never seen such a shameless person.
“Since there is no rebellion, why are you here and not in your so-called capital?”
Jiang Guoxian is neither impatient nor impatient. Whether or not there is a rebellion is not up to you.
“Don’t be complacent for too long, we will take back Kuching——”
Webb gritted his teeth. He was now very sure that the rebels who attacked Kuching came from East India.
The problem is there is no evidence. There is actually no need for evidence for this kind of thing.
When the British Empire was at its peak, it was okay to say you were who you were, and you were also okay if you weren't.
The British Empire is now in turmoil. In order to conquer the Boers, Britain has invested more than 300,000 people. Reinforcements from colonies around the world are still arriving in the Cape, and they really can't take care of Sarawak.
The British have now realized that they are being roasted on the fire by the whole world.
Before the outbreak of the Boer War, the great powers called on Britain and the Transvaal to stay sensible and not to launch a war easily.
At the same time, the great powers also increased their aid to the Transvaal, clearly intending to bleed the British Empire through the Transvaal.
The British did not want to fight, but the Transvaal actually issued an ultimatum to the British. The British were trying to catch up and could not do without fighting.
Since we choose war, we must use the power of thunder to completely conquer the Boers, proving that the British Empire is still the invincible sun that never sets.
Fortunately, the British army has occupied Bloemfontein, leaving the Transvaal Republic alone. Looking optimistically, it is estimated that the war will end within three months, and the British army can return by then. Go ahead and clean up Sarawak’s mess.
George could only say that the British army's attempt to end the Boer War within three months was also a dream.
“How long, eight years? Or ten years?”
Jiang Guoxian pressed forward step by step.
“Three months at most—no, six months—”
Webber was confident.
If the British Expeditionary Force defeated the Boers within three months, then the chaos in Kuching could definitely end within half a year.
“Very good, if order cannot be restored in Sarawak within six months, East India will never stay out of it.”
Jiang Guoxian is not in a hurry. It’s only half a year, and it will be over in a snap.
George was not in a hurry. St. Petersburg had already begun to send more troops to Dalini, making it clear that the Amur Military District would not be allowed to interfere with the coalition's attack on the Qing Empire.
On May 28, British Minister Dou Nale felt that the situation in the capital of the Qing Empire was deteriorating and the potential threat in the embassy area was growing, and he requested reinforcements from the 17 allied fleets anchored near Dagu.
On the 31st, a reinforcement force composed of 337 sailors and marines from various countries arrived in Beijing by train that night.
Russia is also part of the coalition, but instead of mobilizing the Amur Military District, St. Petersburg used sailors from the Pacific Fleet.
Mikhail and Yeroshin were very dissatisfied and hoped that George would try his best to fight for the Amur Military District.
George has received a secret order from Nicholas. Once the war breaks out, the Amur Military District will dispatch troops to invade the Qing Empire.
The reasons are readily available.
The Boxer Rebellion spread all over the country, and the areas along the China Eastern Railway were inevitably affected.
In March this year, a section of railway near Suifenhe was demolished by the Boxers.
Later, the telegraph poles between Dalini and Gaoli were damaged, and the telegraph was interrupted for a time.
George did not send anyone to repair the lines, so he simply replaced them all with wireless telegraphs and took the opportunity to complete the equipment upgrade.
The Amur Military District is only part of Nikolai's plan. Throughout April, more than 120,000 Russian troops arrived in Amur. The Ministry of War in St. Petersburg plans to completely open up land transportation between Dalini and Amur through war.
In other words, the Russian Empire will invade the entire northeastern part of the Qing Empire.
Regardless of whether this plan can succeed, once the Russian Empire invades the Qing Empire, the defense alliance between the Russian Empire and the Qing Empire will be directly disintegrated. The goodwill and trust accumulated by the Russian Empire through the intervention of the Three Kingdoms in returning to Liao will also be destroyed. will be completely exhausted.
Compared with the Qing Empire, George was more worried that the invasion of the Russian Empire would trigger collective opposition from other countries. By then, the Russian Empire would be completely in ruins like the United Kingdom now.
The Russian Empire’s forced lease of Dalini was strongly opposed by Britain and Japan.
If the Russian Empire continues to expand its territory, it will arouse the vigilance of all countries.
The Qing Empire is the last undivided piece of fat in the world. All countries are eyeing it. Any action against the Qing Empire will be wary of other countries.
This is also the reason why countries form coalition forces.
The benefits are shared.
Compared with the coalition forces, George was more concerned about the Trans-Siberian Railway.
Last winter, George sent the workers building the Trans-Siberian Railway to East India to participate in the construction of East India.
After the spring of this year, Amur continued to hire workers from Korea to reorganize the Trans-Siberian Railway Engineering Department.
New workers are definitely not as skilled as old workers, so the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Middle East Railway has been affected to some extent.
Since April, there have been rumors in St. Petersburg that George affected the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway for his own private property.
George was helpless.
When the Trans-Siberian Railway was first started, Amur was responsible for the east part of Lake Baikal, and St. Petersburg was responsible for the west part of Lake Baikal.
Now that the eastern part of Lake Baikal has been completed with high standards and quality, Amur has overfulfilled its tasks, so St. Petersburg is lagging behind.
(End of this chapter)