C652 submarine cable (1/2)

The big discussion on Japan went from 11: 00 PM to 4: 00 PM. The lunch was settled in a simple manner in the conference room. However, no consensus was reached during the five-hour meeting.

Japan had to intervene, because its strategic position was too important. Although 90% of the top generals of the New Army came from the mainland, they all realized how important the ocean was during an expedition last year.

The Chinese have always been an intelligent people, but sometimes they are influenced by the power of habit and sometimes their brains go out of their heads.

To the ocean, China's elite is merely a state policy that has lasted for thousands of years and is unwilling to change. Or rather, they are disdainful of going out into the world.

But once they walk out, the thick shell of habit that wraps around the Chinese will break with a bang, and the Chinese will be extremely smart. There are many reasons why you don't need to let them see it for themselves, and they will immediately understand the gist of it.

Just how important were the ocean s benefits? Xiao Letian no longer needed to repeat it every day, every officer who had ever been to Europe or the Ryukyu before had already figured it out.

Looking at the endless sea of fleets, at the sea of goods that spanned across the entire planet, at the armies of Europe defending the commercial interests of their countries, at the flow of funds … Everyone in China was shocked.

We have also had this kind of glory before. The interests of the silk road in the Golden Age of Han and Tang Dynasties were greatly enjoyed by the Chinese. The merchant ships of China in the Song and Ming dynasties also roamed the four seas.

Right now, the benefits of the sea were firmly under the control of the westerner. The British Empire's navy was following the famous strategy of becoming a top pair in history.

What is a two-power strategy? That is, Britain's navy is not only going to be number one in the world, but it is also going to exceed the total navy of the second and third powers.

To be able to develop such a marine strategy, one can imagine how much Britain relies on the benefits of the sea.

Xiao Letian would not challenge the British's interests in the sea right now, and he did not have the ability to do so either. However, he could still fight for control of China's coastal waters.

In the end, the Japanese Islands still had to be controlled by him. From the Japanese Islands to the south, Taiwan Island to the north, this was all an area that Xiao Letian could completely control.

The first island chain that once sealed off China is now the first bridgehead to protect it.

Not only that, Xiao Letian also cast his gaze at the Second Island Chain on the Pacific Ocean. Guam, Hawaii, Sulfur Island, the Mariana Islands, and even some of the ports of New Zealand and Australia, these strategic locations have not yet been shown their strategic value, and if they could get their hands on them before the United States does, there would be no enemy strongholds in the Western Pacific.

The ideal was grand, but it was not impossible. The annexation of Hawaii by the United States still had to wait until 1898, more than 30 years ago. The United States, which had just experienced the civil war, did not have any additional naval power to annex it.

The reason why Xiao Letian and the Frenchman wanted to negotiate with him to buy the Dahuangdi s was just an attempt on his strategy. First, he wanted to leave a flying seed outside the second island chain, regardless of whether or not he could hold on to it, of course, Xiao Letian did not expect that he would be able to go all out right now.

Dominating the entire world? This dream was very full, but the reality was very hard. Even when he had yet to manage East Asia well, he had already thought of those unrealistic ideas, which were not Xiao Letian's style.

The truth proved that there were still a lot of smart people in this world. Since Xiao Letian wanted to go to the South Pacific to get the next fly, then France would also be able to put a wedge between them on the first island.

Xiao Letian's stratagem, the Qing Dynasty's decadent scholars, could not understand him, but that did not mean that the French could not understand him.

France was willing to do something that could give Xiao Letian a headache. The hatred between the French Emperor and Xiao Letian had long ago reached a point where it could no longer be reconciled.

During the long meeting, these intelligent brains had gathered together to think hard, analyzing the situation from Japan all the way to East Asia, from Japan's strategic protection of China to the illusion that the First Island Chain was blocked.

This was a brainstorm destined to go down in history, until finally everyone at the scene reached a bit of consensus and two eye differences.

The consensus was simple, that they must interfere with the situation in Japan. Xiao Letian's power must control the situation in Japan, and make Japan into a bridgehead that could be controlled in Asia, and become a strategic buffer in the north of China.

Luo Huo, the representative of the hardcore faction, wanted to immediately send out their troops. Furthermore, after the victory, they would need to stay in Japan for a long period of time, and controlling Japan by force was their goal.

Xiao Hexin and the rest, on the other hand, were representatives of the moderate faction. They did not want to force Japan excessively, but hoped to use their economic and diplomatic powers to influence Japan.