"How much did we lose in the end?" Lin Hai asked with a gloomy face.
"The property losses are quite high. Thirty-one trading houses were looted and then burned down, and eleven warehouses were also looted. Together with our trade transit stations in various places, the total losses..." Ling Yang said, looking at the report in his hand.
"Let's not talk about property, let's talk about the loss of life." Lin Hai waved his hand to interrupt Ling Yang.
"We lost seven people, five of whom were members of the civilian caravan and two were agents from the local intelligence station." Ling Yang paused and continued, "We notified all members of the caravan to evacuate, but due to confidentiality requirements, we didn't explain the reason for the evacuation. As a result, five people, worried about their goods, returned without permission and were killed by the mob, along with the two agents who went to find them."
"From now on, this statistical method is correct." Lin Hai pressed his temples with the thumbs of both hands, and made a canopy on his forehead with his four fingers. He leaned on the desk like this, and no one could see his expression.
"But in the future, remember to include the casualties of local people in the statistics. We need more than just an estimate; we need detailed information. After all, they will be our people too."
From the sound, no one could actually hear the change in Lin Hai's emotions.
"In general, the casualties and losses this time are within our expectations," Lin Hai concluded. "Give credit to the relevant personnel. Then, Lingyan, go and ask the Khmer King for an explanation."
On the seventh day of the fifth month of the eighth year of Tianxian in the Daliang Empire, the Qinghe Earl's Mansion officially issued a statement regarding the "Gantang Copper Mine Incident" a month ago:
The Earl of Qinghe was extremely angry about the Khmer Kingdom's brazen violation of the peace treaty and the riot against the Qinghe people and their industries, which caused huge casualties and property losses. He has sent a special envoy to Thailand, demanding further explanation, apology and compensation from the Khmer King.
Simply put, Qinghebo is very angry and the consequences are serious, so Cambodia needs to give an explanation, otherwise, Qinghebo will give Cambodia an explanation.
When the news came out, most of Cambodia was shocked.
However, due to their own positions, everyone has a completely different understanding of Qinghe's statement.
"We need to give the Qinghe people an explanation, or at least a reasonable one, to avoid the difficulties brought to us by fighting on two fronts. Our focus now should still be to do our best to regain the land lost on the Chongzuo defense line! Unauthorized provocation of the Qinghe people will bring great risks to our war situation. The Right Prime Minister needs to take full responsibility for this!" This was the opinion expressed by the Left Prime Minister Gao Shengtai at the Imperial Study Meeting.
"Although this riot has nothing to do with me, Cambodia should not continue to be weak. I suggest that Your Majesty use the inner treasury and carry out a new round of military expansion with the Thai Jing Garrison Corps as the backbone. I believe that no matter how we explain, even if we apologize and compensate in a humble manner, we still cannot prevent the war with Qinghe, so we need to prepare early." This was the statement made by the right prime minister Yang Yizhen to the Khmer king at the meeting.
"The Left Prime Minister will be responsible for receiving the Qinghe special envoy and doing his best to resolve the war crisis. The resources of the inner treasury will be allocated as appropriate, and the Right Prime Minister and the Ministry of War will be responsible for war preparations." The Khmer King Xinyueping, who was rarely sober, made a decision that seemed reasonable.
"The people of Qinghe did not take action immediately, but instead sent envoys. What does this show? It shows that they are afraid and they dare not really take action. Our enemies are a group of cowards who are strong on the outside but weak on the inside. So we must be bolder and more proactive!" This was the speech of Khmer hero Nguyen Thi Hao when facing representatives from all over the country.
"Although two countries do not kill envoys during a war, we still have to teach this envoy a lesson. We need three hundred brave men who are not afraid of death to attack Qinghe's property outside Mengyang City. We want them to know that we are not easy to bully and we want them to see our strength." This is what Liu Da, who has become a leader of a group, said.
"Qinghe's military is more than capable of defending but lacks offensive capabilities. Therefore, when faced with Cambodia's provocation, they will more likely resort to diplomatic pressure to achieve their goals. This may be accompanied by short assaults by some elite troops to promote peace and force the Cambodians to retreat, but it will not enter a state of all-out war." This was the report from the Jinyiwei and the Control Eagle Guard to the royal families of the two countries.
On May 21st, the eighth year of Tianxian in the Daliang Empire, a Mengyang security guard patrolling the demilitarized zone was surrounded by a Khmer mob that outnumbered them several times over. Although the guards were far better equipped than the mob, their numerical disadvantage exacted a heavy toll.
Especially after the crossbows had fired all their arrows, the Khmer mob's life-for-life fighting style made it impossible for the yamen runners wearing light soft armor to resist. In the end, only two yamen runners with horses successfully broke through and returned to Mengyang to report the news. The heads of the others were piled at the nearest intersection.
On May 25th, the eighth year of Tianxian, after receiving information about five attacks on security guards, Mengyang prefect Ruan Shiping ordered a halt to patrols in the demilitarized zone. All the armed forces under the prefectural government were withdrawn to Mengyang City to suppress the possible instability of public security in the city.
On May 27th, Lieutenant General Lu You of Mengyang announced that he had received a request for assistance from the prefectural government. The regular army would be responsible for security in the demilitarized zone from that day onwards and would eliminate "unstable factors" in the area.
On June 5th, Qinghe soldiers pursuing a mob crossed the demilitarized zone (DMZ) and entered the territory controlled by Daqima. After failing to demand that the Daqima garrison surrender the rioters, an armed conflict ensued, resulting in heavy losses on both sides. Both Mengyang and Daqima claimed provocation from the other.
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