Chapter 1384: The Magical Vehicle

Prince Yong looked at the map, pondered for a moment, and continued to speak.

"Although marching by bicycle is faster and more convenient than using horses, it has a fatal weakness."

Prince Yong's light, airy remark drew everyone's attention.

Although they had all ridden bicycles, they did not have much understanding of marching by bicycle and were not very clear about this mode of transport for military movement.

Only Prince Yong had ridden a bicycle when raiding the ports of Austria.

This remark immediately caught Liu Zheng's attention; he looked at Prince Yong and thought, "Not bad."

"He discovered the limitations of the bicycle so quickly."

However, some generals could not sit still and immediately retorted.

"Prince Yong, what weakness could there be in marching by bicycle? It runs faster than a horse and is quieter."

"It allows for silent marching; didn't you already witness the power of the bicycle when you attacked the ports?"

"That's right! If you're going to say it's inconvenient for soldiers to carry guns and equipment, didn't you solve that problem with backpacks back then?"

Everyone spoke one after another, and Prince Yong listened to it all, shaking his head.

Just at this moment, Liu Zheng slammed his hand onto the table.

Bang!

The crowd immediately quieted down and looked at Liu Zheng, though there was no change in his expression.

Liu Zheng swept his gaze over the crowd and said calmly, "Prince Yong, you tell them what the weakness of the bicycle is."

Prince Yong obeyed and said, "Actually, the most important issue with the bicycle is its load-bearing capacity. Once we carry the necessary military equipment, there is no way for us to carry anything else."

"For example, grain and fodder."

"If we carry too much grain and fodder, it will affect our current marching speed; horses don't need to worry about such things."

"We in Longyan have an old saying: 'Before the troops and horses move, the grain and fodder must go first!'"

Hearing this, the crowd was stunned and immediately fell silent.

Prince Yong scanned their expressions, knowing they had no good solution either, and sighed: "Now you all know our predicament."

At this time, someone suddenly asked: "Prince Yong, when you attacked Austria before, the soldiers didn't carry food, but did they carry other military supplies?"

Prince Yong said: "We did, but not much. At that time, we knew that all the preparations of the Austrians were bound to be guarding the coastline, so they certainly didn't have that much for city defense."

"So we only carried light weapons, and it took us less than four days from the start of the march to capturing the city," Prince Yong said calmly.

But the speaker had no intention, yet the listener took it to heart; when they heard the time frame of four days.

Everyone was shocked. They had originally landed in the controlled areas of Jiang Xuan and Nashadier, and there was still a very long distance from there to Austria.

But they hadn't expected that using bicycles would only take four days!

"The current situation is different from back then. At that time, we had reinforcements and the Yinzhou Supply Ship helping us divert attention."

"There was no need to worry about grain and fodder at all, but if we are to attack the ports of Poland, we must consider these things!"

"If we enter Poland, we have no reinforcements! Unless we take the port city!"

The entire command room suddenly fell into silence.

This wouldn't work, and that wouldn't work.

It seemed this war would be a tough battle.

Liu Zheng looked at the map and fell into deep thought; the problem Prince Yong raised just now was very sharp.

If there were no grain and fodder, and the Longyan army did not take the city immediately, they would fall into a state of isolation and helplessness.

These Longyan troops would only be left to wait for death.

"Then we shall divide the troops into two routes. One route will be led by Prince Yong, landing from the Ottoman Empire, marching into Poland to besiege the port cities of Tsarist Russia and cut off their sniping."

"The other route will march overland from Austria. Ling Chen, you lead the team to assist Prussia."

"I obey." The two said in unison.

"The others, expand our base area."

"The others, expand our base area."

Liu Zheng looked at the map. In this way, their marching plan had been changed. Although they had no mass base in Austria, they still had a way to guarantee their supplies at this port.

However, as for Prince Yong's side, although the Ottoman Empire could provide assistance, it would still be a struggle of a trapped beast.

Liu Zheng looked at Prince Yong solemnly and said: "Prince Yong, this time you are going to raid Poland, I cannot guarantee your supplies."

Prince Yong expressed his understanding; after all, they were not fighting at their own doorstep, but in Europe, so there would inevitably be limitations.

"But you can go to the Ottoman Empire to establish our bicycle factory, though the bicycles I want you to produce will be of a different design."

Prince Yong was stunned. What other design could a bicycle have? Weren't they all things with two wheels?

Liu Zheng recalled the appearance of a tricycle from his past life and drew it on paper.

He folded it up and handed it to Prince Yong.

"After you go to the Ottoman Empire, you only need to put pressure on Tsarist Russia, but you and Hamid must quickly develop the contents of this drawing!" Liu Zheng said seriously.

Seeing Liu Zheng's expression, Prince Yong knew the heavy burden on his shoulders and said in a deep voice: "I will not let you down!"

"Good. I will give you two hundred thousand troops. You may choose the generals as you please, and you may also select the scientific research personnel we brought with us first."

Prince Yong accepted the order; he knew that Liu Zheng had given him immense authority.

It seemed the Ottoman Empire was going to become their forward station for military supplies this time.

After Prince Yong went down, Liu Zheng turned his gaze to Ling Chen.

In fact, his mission was even heavier than Prince Yong's. It was simply as difficult as ascending to heaven for him to support Prussia from the Austrian hinterland now.

They were currently located in Austria, and to support Prussia, they would at least have to fight their way through Austria before they could attack the other countries invading Prussia.

"Chief Minister, rest assured, I will definitely not disgrace my mission!"

"Chief Minister, rest assured, I will certainly not disgrace the Envoy's mission!"

Liu Zheng nodded; as long as Ling Chen dared to make such a guarantee, it meant he would certainly complete the task he had been assigned.

Furthermore, Liu Zheng did not even need to say much, as Ling Chen could understand Liu Zheng's meaning.

Very quickly, the Prince of Yong boarded a Supply Ship and set off for the Ottoman Empire.

Ling Chen also led his troops to launch a surprise attack under the cover of night.

On the continent of America, Captain Gelin received a letter sent by Kelinxi.

Captain Gelin opened it and saw the contents inside.

"The trade is acceptable; we must obtain that cannon!"

"However, the land for the trade can only be designated by us to Longyan."

Upon receiving this news, Captain Gelin gasped for air, never expecting that Kelinxi would agree to such an absurd trade.

That was the land of America, a city that their Britain had operated in America for who knows how many years, and it was just going to be traded away like that?

Was that cannon really so important?

Captain Gelin stared at it.

It was he who had underestimated his superior; if these places were to be used for trade, then there was absolutely no problem.

Captain Gelin immediately took Kelinxi's order and pushed open the door to the City Lord Mansion.

At this moment, Qingyang Shuo was reading a book by the bedside, and Captain Gelin said directly: "Sir, we agree to the trade!"