webnovelfull Chapter 434 I am proud of my neighbor's misfortune
Chapter 434 I am proud of my neighbor's misfortune
Chief of General Staff Tan Zhijie looked at the letters and telegrams on the table and couldn't help but sneer.
"These peacocks covered in jewels also want to fight?"
He picked up a purchase request written in cursive Angsa letters, with a shiny gold-stamped cover.
The wording was so polite that it didn't sound like someone was asking to purchase arms, but rather like an invitation to Zhang Chi to a banquet.
"If you are willing to lend a hand, I will offer you two hundred boxes of new Sylhet tea, two tons of gold, and ten boxes of gems as a token of my gratitude. I will also invite you to visit the Ujjayanta Palace to renew our brotherly friendship..."
The signature is from Bikram Kishore Manik, the prince of Tripura. As a hereditary prince, his family owns countless lands, forests, and tea plantations. In terms of wealth, the wealth he controls is no less than that of the Yunnan and Guangxi cliques, but his military strength is pitifully low.
Zhang Chi shook his head and said to Tan Zhijie with a smile, "They are just testing us. The purchase of large amounts of arms is fake, and the real purpose is to pay us protection money. These princes are not buying weapons to fight, but to surrender to us."
What if the left-wing militias or Nehru come after their land and lives in the future, and they rely on us to protect them?"
According to the Bretton Woods system, 2 tons of gold was only $220 million, which was a drop in the bucket for these princes. Moreover, they did not want much, just a thousand rifles and matching machine guns, mortars, and a few armored vehicles.
"This?" Tan Zhijie was stunned for a moment. "Then why don't we just give them some old stuff and send some veterans over as instructors to get rid of them?"
"That won't work."
As soon as the People's Army occupied Chittagong, the Prince of Tripura pledged his allegiance and donated a large amount of food, cotton, fruit and other supplies.
If Zhang Chi had not refused, the Maharaja of Tripura would have even wanted to send a few elephants. It can only be said that he was born to understand the "tributary relationship".
Zhang Chi naturally couldn't directly slap such a cunning little brother in the face.
"They've been drinking in the palace and riding elephants to patrol their fiefdoms since their great-grandfather's generation. Now, when the situation changes, the Congress Party wants them to queue up to pay taxes like the common people?" Zhang Chi snorted coldly, "That would be worse than killing them."
"Of course, complete absolute monarchy is difficult to be accepted by world public opinion at present..."
Tan Zhijie was confused by Zhang Chi's words and looked at him in surprise, not knowing what Zhang Chi was up to.
"Compared to old foxes like Li and Bai, dealing with these princes is really easy." Zhang Chi said with a smile as he flipped through the letters. "They don't understand tactics or the structure of a modern army, but as long as you give them rows of soldiers in uniforms, carrying rifles and driving armored vehicles, they will feel that they can support a country."
He walked to the map and scanned the five northeastern states of Sindhu.
It is a land with dense mountains and forests, poor transportation, and mixed races and languages.
Whether they are Sindhu, Bengalis, Assamese, Kichow, Mon, Miao or hill tribes, they do not have any deep feelings towards the Congress party in Delhi or John colonists.
"This is a quagmire," Zhang Chi thought, "but it's also a buffer zone. If used well, it can turn the Congress, the Johns, and the Crescent Moon Sect into a mess."
After all, the South Asian subcontinent is so large that simply dividing it into two or three countries is too few.
From a geopolitical perspective, the Chinese in Southeast Asia will inevitably be neighbors with the Sindhu people in the future. In this case, it is necessary to split into several countries and place them as buffer zones on the border.
Thinking of this, he turned around and ordered:
"Inform Kang Huojian in the logistics department to refurbish the batch of Crusader tanks and Daimler armored vehicles (pictured) captured in Chittagong. Combined with our domestically produced mortars and captured Vickers and Bren machine guns, we'll provide him with a one-stop service package called the 'Prince's Special Guard Assembly Package.'"
"Let's call it 'Ujjayanta Palace Guards'. It sounds more impressive. Let those Italian designers design them some exaggerated uniforms, using more red and gold. The princes will like it."
Zhang Chi was playing with a few golden bricks engraved with the family crests of princes and nobles, as well as a few small cloth bags embroidered with gold thread and filled with cut rubies, sapphires, agates, and topazes.
These were all "goodwill" sent in advance by the Maharaja of Tripura.
"As for the instructors, we'll recruit them directly from military academies and the army. Let them show these princes their skills and train them into a proper field force, not just a fancy honor guard."
Tan Zhijie touched his chin and asked, "Are you seriously planning to train a vassal army?"
Zhang Chi nodded and pointed his finger at the South Asian subcontinent on the map. "Sindhu is a cesspool. Once the Johns leave, the filth inside will inevitably overflow. If we want long-term peace and stability on our northwestern border in the future, we must take advantage of our neighbors."
"I plan to start with military aid and troop training, then slowly infiltrate and transform these five states. If the Johns allow Sindhu to become independent, I will immediately encourage these five states to hold an independence referendum and establish five independent countries to serve as a buffer zone."
"The local palaces will certainly be inclined to follow our lead for their own benefit. As long as we ensure the supply of weapons and ammunition and sufficient trained personnel, we can drive the population of these five states to the front line to resist."
"Furthermore, each of these princes is very wealthy. They can serve as both a dumping ground for our industrial products and a source of cheap raw materials. This is a profitable business economically."
Tan Zhijie finally understood Zhang Chi's idea: "Then I will start looking for instructors and dispatch a team of elite soldiers."
"Yes." Zhang Chi smiled meaningfully. "The Johns' colonial empire will completely collapse within a few years. This is our only chance. Let's start with the five northeastern states. If the results are good, the other states will contact us soon."
On the contrary, if the Congress Party completely unifies Sindhu, then due to geographical reasons, a fierce conflict will inevitably break out between the two sides."
A five-battalion-plus regiment of the Ujjayanta Palace Guards was just the beginning. Zhang Chi knew very well that with the financial resources and control over land and population of those princes, they would definitely try to expand the organization after tasting the sweetness, which would inevitably lead to conflict with the regular army controlled by the Johns and the 'Assam Rifles'.
For Zhang Chi, diverting John's attention from the Anmin Army to the interior of Sindhu was another great benefit of selling arms to the princes.
However, before Tan Zhijie could organize a team of military instructors, news came from Siam.
"The new Prime Minister sent his own son here? He even specifically requested that he attend the Nanhua Military Academy?" Zhang Chi grinned upon receiving the report, feeling very happy. "Hao Yi, Hao Yi, you always come up with something new for me."