I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 224 The Duke takes action, one can stand up to the other two

If Ya San doesn't stop him, it is his greatest support for George.

George didn't expect Ya San to give him much help. As long as Ya San didn't hold George back, George would be thankful.

Ya San really couldn't give George much help.

So many things have happened in the Russian Empire in the past two years. The army's refit has not yet been completed, and construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway is about to start next year.

Ya San has been drinking all day long since the train derailed. In fact, he used alcohol to drown his sorrows.

If George wants to drag the empire down, Ya San will definitely stop him.

But if it was just George's personal behavior, Yasan would really like to see what step George could take.

George's performance in the Rovno exercise has proved George's military talent.

However, an exercise is an exercise after all, and actual combat is two different things.

Ya San really wanted to see if George could perform as well on the real battlefield as he did in the exercises.

The only regret was that East India was too far away from St. Petersburg for George to command it himself.

But to deal with people like Holland, Ivanov is enough.

Ivanov served under George during the General Regiment period and has been following George for more than 5 years.

According to regulations, Ivanov should have retired this year.

"Lanza is isolated overseas and cannot transport supplies to Lanza from St. Petersburg or Vladivostok. How are you going to solve this problem?"

Ya San was worried that the East Indian troops would fail due to poor logistics.

"This is not a problem. Unless the Dutch do not take the initiative to attack, the troops in East India can fight with war."

George was not worried about the supply problem, but was more worried about other issues.

Although the East India Army strictly abides by the hygiene system, people continue to contract diseases, and two soldiers died of illness last month.

The doctors in Vladivostok were all precious, and George was reluctant to send them to the East Indies.

The potential can only be tapped from East India itself.

What makes George gratified is that the servant army recruited by the Lansha Sultanate is undergoing rigorous training, and some of them are already able to perform tasks.

The execution tasks here are based on George's standards.

According to the Dutch standards, as long as the colonial servants can distinguish between left and right and understand commands, they are almost qualified colonial soldiers.

George's requirements are much higher than those of the Dutch. Soldiers must receive at least 3 months of basic training before they can perform tasks.

Therefore, of the 8000 people recruited by the Lansha Sultanate, less than a thousand were qualified to become real soldiers.

No matter how much you have, it’s not impossible. The key is that you can’t afford it.

Among other things, soldiers' shooting skills require a lot of bullets to develop.

The Lansha Sultanate cannot produce bullets on its own and relies entirely on seizures, which places higher demands on Ivanov and Antonov.

When George was a guest at Gatchina Palace, differences arose between Dyckhoff and Aston.

As long as the Lansa Sultanate released the captured Dutch officers and soldiers and recognized Batavia's rule, the Dutch government could accept Aceh's autonomy.

Aceh was never a Dutch colony.

For the Dutch government, this result was nothing more than an unsuccessful colonial war.

Aston strongly disagrees.

"If you cannot conquer Aceh, then the British Empire will step in to eradicate this cancer once and for all."

Aston will not allow a third party other than the Netherlands and the UK to appear in the Malacca Strait.

Especially the Russian Empire.

"This is not consistent with our agreement."

Dyckerhoff was annoyed.

The reason why the Netherlands agreed to Aceh's autonomy was just a delaying tactic.

The colonial servant armies in East India have proven to be no match for the Russians.

Mobilizing troops from the Netherlands to the East Indies also takes time and cannot be accomplished overnight.

The purpose of the Netherlands is to exchange people first, regroup, and then conquer Aceh when they are fully prepared.

"The agreement between us does not allow you to give Aceh to the Russian Empire!"

Aston is excited that the opportunity the British have been looking for has finally arrived.

There is actually a feud between Britain and the Netherlands.

From the 17th to the 18th century, four wars broke out between Britain and the Netherlands in order to compete for dominance in maritime trade. Both sides won and lost. It was not until the Netherlands was invaded and subjugated by France that the relationship between Britain and the Netherlands began to improve.

Britain recognized the Dutch ownership of the East Indies in the Treaty of London, but this recognition was not done willingly. If given the opportunity, Britain still hoped to drive the Netherlands away from the East Indies and monopolize the Strait of Malacca.

"This is not a gift, we need time to prepare a new attack."

Dyckhoff did not want Britain to intervene in the war between the Netherlands and Aceh.

If the Russian Empire blatantly supports Aceh.

Then Deckerhoff must consider cooperating with the British to resist the pressure brought by the Russian Empire.

If it were just the personal behavior of Yurievsky Super Duke.

Then Deckerhoff still has some confidence.

Although in St. Petersburg, George's name is very famous.

But everyone knows what it is like for members of the royal family to join the army, so there is no need to say more.

Dyckhoff did not participate in the Rivne military exercises as a military observer.

In fact, the Russian Empire has no longer invited external military observers to the Rovno exercises in the past two years.    So Dyckhoff did not know George's true performance during the Rivne exercise.

As for the rumors in St. Petersburg——

Although George is a down-and-out prince, he is still a member of the royal family.

So the media of the Russian Empire touts the super duke of the Russian Empire as a star of tomorrow. Isn't it difficult to understand?

Not difficult.

So Dyckhoff believed that the Russians in the East Indies were just a fluke.

As long as the Dutch government gets serious, it will be easy to wipe out an army of only a few hundred people.

Aston doesn't talk nonsense with Deckerhoff. Even if Britain wants to intervene in the war between the Netherlands and Aceh, it won't be Aston's decision. It will have to be approved by the British Parliament.

Regardless of whether the British intervened or not, George still welcomed the Dutch decision.

No matter it is a delaying tactic.

Regardless of whether it is really weak, the Aceh Sultanate controls about 6 square kilometers, which is enough for growing rubber and tobacco.

The terrain of the Aceh Sultanate is also good, with mountains in the center and gentle coastal terrain, rich in oil and gas resources, and gold mines.

As October approaches, winter is coming again.

George will still go to the Far East this winter, but not to Vladivostok, but to Aceh to mediate the conflict between the Dutch colonial government and the Lansa Sultanate.

The Dutch are really spineless, and George was actually invited by the Dutch.

Since he was going to mediate a conflict, George had to bring some gifts.

So George brought 5000 rifles and 50 rounds of ammunition as gifts to the Lansha Sultanate.

When passing through the Suez Canal, George was still worried that the "Dolgorukov" would be intercepted by the British Mediterranean Fleet.

Unexpectedly, the British ignored the "Dolgorukov" at all and allowed the "Dolgorukov" to pass through the Suez Canal.

now it's right.

The disputes and quarrels between countries have nothing to do with personal behavior.

If the British dare to intercept the "Dolgorukov", they will directly break up with Russia.

Ya San was worried about the British Royal Navy.

Britain also feared the Russian Army.

If a war really breaks out, Russia will not be able to put its sails into the sea at most, but the British colonies in Central Asia and India will face the threat of the Russian Empire.

Russia does not rely on sea trade to begin with.

If we really want to prevent sails from sailing to the sea, the Russian Empire will save trouble and can focus more on developing its army.

Therefore, the Royal Navy will forcefully occupy Juwen Island and prevent the Russian Navy from crossing the red line.

The British government could also temporarily accept the control of Aceh by the Lansa Sultanate.

The British awaited a Dutch counterattack.

If the Dutch really organize an effective counterattack, they will destroy the Lansha Sultanate.

Then of course everything will be fine.

If not, then the Dutch will have nothing to say if the British end it themselves.

The "Dolgorukov" went directly to Godala Night. The person who came to Godala Night for negotiations on behalf of the Lansha Sultanate was Antonov, the Prime Minister of the Lansha Sultanate.

When George learned about Antonov's identity as "prime minister," even with George's well-informed mind, he couldn't help but secretly complain.

This mix and match you guys have gone too far.

The person negotiating with the Lansa Sultanate on behalf of the Dutch colonial government was Hagen, a senior official in Aceh Province appointed by the East Indian colonial government.

It can’t be said to be a negotiation.

When George arrived at Godala Ye, the troops of the Lansha Sultanate had completely surrounded Godala Ye. Antonov issued an ultimatum to Hagen. If Hagen did not give up Godala Ye within three days, he would hand over Godala Ye to Lansha. Shah Sultanate, then Lansha Sultanate will launch an attack on Godala Ye.

If Hagen handed over Gotala Night to the Lansa Sultanate within three days, the Lansa Sultanate would release the Dutch prisoners of war previously captured in the Battle of Lansa within a month.

"Why can't it be released immediately?"

Hagen demanded that the prisoners of war be released at the same time as the transfer of Gotala Night.

"Of course not. We have to make sure that you did not cause any damage to Godala Night when you left Godala Night before we will release all the prisoners of war."

Antonov took his time and did not give the Dutch a chance to cause damage.

When the Dutch attacked Lansha, they burned, killed, looted, and committed countless blood debts. The Lansha Sultanate still remembers this debt.

The Dutch's peace talks were a delaying tactic.

The Lansha Sultanate agreed to negotiate, which was also a delaying tactic.

The Dutch needed time to train their new army.

The Lansha Sultanate also needs time to accumulate strength.

"What's the point of worrying about this? Let's end this as soon as possible."

George cut the mess quickly. Regardless of whether the Dutch destroyed Godala Night, Godala Night would still be bulldozed and rebuilt.

Gotala was originally the capital of the Aceh Sultanate.

The Dutch set the capital of Aceh after Godala Night and did not carry out large-scale construction on Godala Night. Therefore, in George's opinion, Godala Night did not meet the positioning of a country's capital at all.

Let alone the level of urban construction.

Even the name Gotala Night had to be changed.

(End of this chapter)