1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 779 Gradual changes between the Ming and Qing Dynasties

On August 1661, 8, Nanjing.

Fu Yanzhao, Qi State's representative in Nanjing, has been away for a long time, but Sun Kewang, the king of Qin of the Ming Dynasty, the scholar of the Dongge University, and the chief assistant of the cabinet, is still sitting on a soft chair, closing his eyes and meditating.The maids and guards all around held their breaths, not daring to make a single movement, for fear of disturbing His Highness King Qin's thoughts.

"Hehe..." Sun Kewang smiled softly, "The State of Qi wants me to be the shogun of the Ming Dynasty! Do they really think that the Ming Dynasty can last forever? It's ridiculous, it's lamentable! "

Ten years ago, after Emperor Guangde of the Ming Dynasty settled in Nanjing, he was soon replaced by Sun Kewang as a puppet emperor. All political affairs in the country came out of the Qin Palace, and the soldiers and horses in the world also obeyed the orders of the Qin King.Originally thinking that in order to maintain the unity and unity of the southern regions, as long as they could resist the Qing captives in unison, Sun Kewang took a tacit attitude towards the several separatist forces entrenched in various regions.

Unexpectedly, last year the imperial court assembled a large army and planned to launch the second Northern Expedition when the Shunzhi puppet emperor of the Qing Dynasty died of illness.Local forces such as Ningbo, Zhoushan, and Fujian, which acted as partial teachers to attract the flanks of the Qing captives, were passive and slack, and did not launch attacks for a long time.When the imperial court failed to attack Xuzhou for a month, they still stood still.

Zheng Zhilong's navy did not follow the imperial order, and brought officers and soldiers from Chaozhou Town and Fujian Town to launch landing operations in the coastal areas of Shandong and Jianghuai, threatening the rear of the Qing Dynasty.As a result, the Qing army continued to mobilize troops from the above-mentioned areas, forming a confrontation with the imperial army in Xuzhou.In mid-August, more than [-] Manchurian Eight Banner cavalrymen rushed to Pizhou, posing a fatal threat to the flanks of the Xuzhou frontline army.

After hearing the military situation, Sun Kewang immediately ordered the troops to withdraw to the south bank of the Huaihe River and stationed in Suzhou and Huai'an, ending the anticlimactic Northern Expedition.As a result, he came up with the idea that he must first settle down when fighting against the outside world.If these separatist forces are allowed to develop and grow, given time, they will inevitably end up with a big tail. Maybe there will be unbearable things like colluding with the Qing captives and attacking the court from inside and outside.

In April of this year, Sun Kewang ordered Ma Baotong to station [-] troops in Shaoxing. At the same time, he used the identity of Zhang Wanqi, the son of Zhang Huangyan, to go to Ningbo and Zhoushan in an attempt to take down the Ming troops in the two places.

Liu Guangren, the commander-in-chief stationed in Ningbo, knew that he was invincible, so he immediately expressed his obedience to King Qin's order and returned to the imperial court.

However, Shen Shoucai and Peng Renke, the generals stationed in Zhoushan, refused to obey Sun Kewang's landing on an outlying island and accepted the order of the imperial court to reorganize.It is claimed that Sun Kewang's holding is a coercive edict, which is to coerce the emperor, commit treason, and harm the loyal ministers of Ming Dynasty under the pretext.Therefore, more than [-] soldiers supported the island to seek independence by force.

Ma Bao tried to attack twice, collected more than a hundred small boats, and crossed the sea to land on the island, but they were all defeated by the Zhoushan rebels and lost more than a thousand troops.After a stalemate for several months, only a few small islands near the mainland were captured, while the main island of Zhoushan and several islands in the outer sea were still occupied by rebels.

In May, in the name of Emperor Guangde, Sun Kewang recruited Zheng Zhilong's navy from Fujian to attack Zhoushan, but Zheng Zhilong prevaricated and blocked him for various reasons, and refused to use the navy to attack Zhoushan.

In desperation, Sun Kewang found Qi State's representative in Nanjing and asked to borrow Qi State Navy ships to attack Zhoushan.

Didn’t you, Qi State, support our Ming Dynasty to gather all the manpower and material resources in the country and devote all our efforts to the Northern Expedition?Now, you have seen that Zhoushan rebelled and refused to obey the imperial edict. Shouldn't we send naval ships to help us cut off this traitor?
The Qi people did not refuse Sun Kewang's request, but what they did made him feel as if he had eaten a fly. Besides being disgusted, he was also very depressed.

Although the Qi people finally helped Ma Bao land on Zhoushan Island, and controlled all the nearby large and small islands.However, they sent people in advance to persuade Shen Shoucai and Peng Renke on the island. They took tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians, took hundreds of boats, and took two months to transfer to Tamna Island (now Jeju Island, South Korea). , Yunzhou (now Hokkaido, Japan), Zhenzhou (now Vladivostok, Russia) and Kuye Island (now Sakhalin Island) became subjects under the rule of King Yong.

Nima, isn't this indirectly helping King Yong immigrate, accumulating and strengthening his strength?What is Qi Guo thinking?He tried his best to strengthen the strength of the overseas vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty. If he usurped the Ming Dynasty and became self-reliant in the future, he would have to face a strong counterattack from the remnants of the Ming Dynasty!

When it comes to replacing Ming Dynasty and creating a new dynasty, Qi State's attitude seems a bit ambiguous.They claimed to support his Northern Expedition to expel the Tartars and unify the mainland of China.However, there was no clear and firm opposition to the destruction of the Ming Dynasty and the establishment of a new dynasty.It just hinted to him that it is important to maintain the stability of the domestic political situation, not to mention massacres by oneself, which would mess up the overall situation and allow the Qing captives in the north to take advantage of it.

Today, when Fu Yanzhao, the representative of the State of Qi in Nanjing, came to visit him at the Palace of the Prince of Qin, when talking about the ships of the State of Qi going deep into Anqing, Jiujiang, Wuhan and other places in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River to solicit immigrants, he casually mentioned Japan's political structure, saying: The Japanese regard the emperor as the eternal line, and the generals of the shogunate rule the world on their behalf. They can learn from it in terms of uniting the hearts of the people in the country.

Sun Kewang could tell that the representative of Qi State wanted him not to easily destroy the Daming royal family. In the current state of confrontation and separation between the North and the South, the Son of Heaven can still play a positive role in maintaining and uniting the hearts of the people in the country. .

After capturing Nanjing, Sun Kewang had an irresistible ambition and desire in his heart, that is to replace Daming and start a new dynasty founded by him.However, in the face of the threat of the Qing captives in the north, there are several separatist and independent forces in the country, and there are still strong opposition from Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu and others within him, so he temporarily hides this raging ambition deep in his heart.

A few years ago, after the end of the first Northern Expedition, Sun Kewang began to consolidate the interior.First of all, he gradually placed many of his confidant generals in Jiangnan, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan and Hubei.Although Li Dingguo still controlled nearly [-] troops in the Huaibei camp, the local governments in the surrounding prefectures and counties were all under the control of the officials of the Qin Dynasty, which was equivalent to indirectly controlling the food and salary supply of Li Dingguo's troops, which made him have to submit to the dispatch of the Qin Dynasty.

In order to deal with Liu Wenxiu, Sun Kewang appointed Wang Ziqi as the governor of Sichuan to collect local civil affairs and finance, and to coerce more than [-] men under Liu Wenxiu's troops stationed in Hanzhong.

At the same time, in order to strengthen the combat power of the Qin troops, Sun Kewang ordered a large number of artillery and muskets from the Qi State, so that the Qin Army could defeat the Qing troops several times in field battles despite the lack of a large number of cavalry. Advantage.

Looking at all the forces in the country, Sun Kewang believes that the Qin royal family is already in a relatively advantageous position. Although the Qing captives in the north have not been expelled, he believes that as long as he is given a little time, after integrating all the manpower and material resources in the south, sooner or later he will conquer the north and destroy it. Clear the forces of captives and unify the mainland of China.

However, in the face of Qi State, which is deeply involved in the mainland, Sun Kewang is quite afraid in his heart.Qi State not only has a powerful naval force, but also a very good land force.For more than ten years, the victories achieved by the Ming Dynasty against the Qing captives rarely surpassed those created by the Qi State. Not to mention, a few years ago (1654), they fought a big battle on the banks of the Yalu River. , Destroyed more than [-] elite soldiers from the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty. No one can match this combat power.

Three years ago, the State of Qi used Ryukyu as its base to go on an expedition to Japan's Satsuma Domain. In less than three months, it captured Kagoshima and forced the other party to cede land and pay compensation.It is said that a few months ago, they attacked the Annan Ruan family again and broke through their capital. I am afraid they will do the same thing again, forcing the other party to cede land, pay compensation, and open up trade in an all-round way.

Therefore, Sun Kewang maintained sufficient restraint and respect for the Qi State, and strictly ordered the areas under his jurisdiction not to provoke the Qi State without authorization.

Fortunately, this country of Qi is very far away from Ming Dynasty and has a small population. It only focuses on emigrating and trading here, and does not interfere too much with the Nanjing regime. This somewhat makes Sun Kewang let his guard down a little.

However, he secretly made up his mind that if he wants to unify the Chinese mainland, he must work hard to develop a powerful navy. Even if he can't retreat and defeat the Qi navy, at least he can ensure the safety of the coastal towns and ports.

By the way, we have to imitate Qi State, vigorously build some factories and mines, get more utensils, and improve the overall strength of China Continent.

"Hmph, Hanzhou is the same, and I will be Qin in China in the future, so in terms of national title, I will also overwhelm you!" Sun Kewang glanced at the thread-bound "Historical Records" placed on the table, and murmured murmured.
-
September 8th, Beijing.

Soni, the first uncle of the Qing Dynasty, the assistant minister, and the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, looked at Tong Liwen (Xiao Zuo who sneaked into Hanzhou, pseudonym Liang Yun'an) who was kneeling in front of him, and felt an inexplicable sense of absurdity.In particular, I just heard that he talked about how he went to the mainland of Hanzhou in Qi State after going through untold hardships for more than three years, how he endured humiliation and lurked in the territory of Qi State, how he commanded several secret agents, assassinated several high-ranking officials of Qi State, and blew up several Qi State Important facilities, and how they escaped death, went back to the mainland on Western ships, and finally sneaked back to my Qing Dynasty from the false border.

Sony turned his head to look at Sunahai, the scholar and secretary of the household department, Qi Nihafan, the third-class elite, and Tong Guogang (Kangxi's uncle), the minister of the interior. Seeing that the two were also dumbfounded, he couldn't help shaking his head slightly.You know, since the Qing Dynasty, I have sent no less than 200 secret agents to Qi State for more than ten years, but none of them has ever returned, let alone doing so many important things in Qi State itself.

"You slave, but you have been instigated by the people of Qi, so you have to go back to Beijing to serve as an internal response to overthrow our Qing Dynasty?" Sony asked in a serious tone.

"My lord, this slave is loyal and utterly loyal to the Qing Dynasty, how could he be instigated by the people of Qi?" Tong Liwen kowtowed vigorously on the ground a few times, and said in a hissing voice: "This slave's family is big and small, with more than a dozen people, young and old, all in Beijing. Moreover, the servant has received the grace of the Qing Dynasty, the emperor Chang Mu, for my Qing Dynasty, the servant is willing to die and die. However, the servant dare not lie to the adults. In order to save the servant, more than a dozen loyal and brave subordinates were all killed by the people of Qi. This slave has gone through untold hardships, and Fang escaped from Hanzhou with the help of Western barbarians, and was able to return to Beijing. The loyalty of this slave to our Qing Dynasty can be summoned every day!"

"Master Tong, what do you think?" Sony pondered for a moment, then turned to ask Tong Guogang.The Tong Liwen who fled back is a child of the Tong family, although it is only a collateral lineage, but he is also a servant of the emperor's family.

"My lord, Sony, don't take care of my face just because of this slave's surname." Tong Guogang bowed his hands politely to Sony, and said with a smile: "It stands to reason that this slave escaped from the mainland of Hanzhou, Qi State, and his experience is quite legendary. , there is no lack of doubts. But he was a child of the Zhenghuang Banner of the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty before. He has always been vigilant and careful in doing things, and he is also loyal to the Qing Dynasty. However, I think that this slave needs to be examined in detail in the future , carefully discriminated, it is impossible for Qi State to plant a nail in the interior of our Qing Dynasty."

Hearing this, Sony couldn't help but take a look at the young uncle of the country. He didn't expect that this person was young, but his words were impeccable. His words showed that he wanted to protect the boy surnamed Tong who had escaped so hard, and also Euphemistically cleared up the consequences of this slave's problems in the future.

"You slave have been in the Hanzhou of the Qi State for three years, but how much do you know about the Qi State?" Su Nahai asked.

"Returning to my lord, the slave did not stay in the mainland of Qi for three years. During this period, it took two or three months on the road. It took more than half a year to come and go like this." Tong Liwen heard Su Na Hai asked, kowtowed to him respectfully, and then said: "However, the servants have been in the territory of Qi for more than two years, and they know a little bit about them. Although they are not exhaustive, we can get a glimpse of the whole picture. Slave, but ask the adults."

"What is the population of Qi?"

"When the servant left the territory of Qi State last year, he heard the official notification that the population of Qi State itself plus the surrounding territories has reached more than 120 million."

"Besides Qi's mainland, are there any affiliated territories?"

"Returning to my lord, the mainland of Qi is an independent and huge piece of land, and its scope is no less than the territory of the original puppet Mingguan. Well, they said that the land area is more than 760 million square kilometers. In addition, there are countless islands around Qi, with the area of ​​the Central Plains It is quite a huge island, and there is also a small island with a county. Moreover, Qi State has established countless sea strongholds from the mainland to its Hanzhou mainland, which are used for immigration needs every year. At the same time, Qi State has established countless Scattered in strongholds on the sea, they continue to infiltrate and colonize many local kingdoms.... This Qi kingdom power, in the entire Nanyang region, can be said to be the most powerful and arrogant."

"... How many soldiers and horses are there in Qi State?"

"Qi State has less than 2 soldiers and horses, and most of them are the personnel of its naval ships. They can really be used for land combat troops. The total number of troops does not exceed 3000."

"Qi has less than 3000 troops fighting on land?" Sony asked in surprise.

"My lord, the army of Qi State used to fight on land is called the Marine Corps, and the number is indeed less than 3000. But..." Tong Liwen said, swallowing, "However, the people of Qi State control There are many vassal armed forces. In their homeland and overseas territories, there are vassal and foreign troops, as well as the army of the native kingdom under their control and influence, as well as volunteer armed forces recruited from Japan and the puppet Ming territory. In addition, they are in their homeland and overseas The territory also implements the system that all the people are soldiers. The civilians have hundreds of thousands of armed soldiers who have received military training. The servants believe that if the Qi State wants to expand its troops, it can easily recruit hundreds of thousands of troops. Moreover, these hundreds of thousands of troops can They are all elite musketeers!"

"hiss……"

The few important officials of the Qing Dynasty present could not help but gasp.With less than 3000 land troops and thousands of Puppet Ming troops, the Qi State has defeated the elite troops of the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty. The whole world?
"Then Qi State claims to be the people of Huaxia, Han people and Miao descendants, why doesn't it gather troops to attack the mainland?" Tong Guogang asked curiously.

"My lord, the Qi people are extremely dependent on logistics." Tong Liwen thought for a while, and said what he heard from Batavia and his own thoughts, "Qi's soldiers and horses are all firearms troops. It is very large. With only a few thousand troops, under the cover of boats and warships, they can travel freely in the coastal areas. If they want to go deep into the inland, I am afraid that the logistics supply will be insufficient and it will be difficult to maintain. In addition, the mainland of Hanzhou in Qi State is more than ten thousand miles away from the mainland , This army and supplies, I think it is impossible to support."

After hearing this, Sony and the others felt relieved for no reason.Fortunately, this country of Qi is very far away from the mainland, otherwise, let alone occupying half of the country and confronting the hypocrisy, I am afraid that even Liaodong will not be able to stay.

"Then my Great Qing..." Sonny stared into Tong Liwen's eyes, "If my Great Qing wants to deal with this country of Qi, in your opinion, how should I deal with it?"

"Ah?" Tong Liwen looked at Sony in astonishment, and was confused by this question for a while. To deal with Qi Guo, is this how an insignificant person like me can come up with a countermeasure?
"You slave, why are you so dazed?" Tong Guogang scolded: "Master Sony is asking you something. Tell me what you see and think, and make suggestions for the court and do your best for our Qing Dynasty!"

"Hey!" Tong Liwen lay down on the ground and kowtowed a few more times, "My lord, forgive me for being stupid. When I escaped from Qi, I thought about how to deal with it. But after thinking about it, I still couldn't find a way. But , The servant secretly thinks that if we only rely on our Eight Banners swords and cavalry in the past to deal with this country, I am afraid... I am afraid that it will be difficult to win for a while. Therefore, our Qing Dynasty should vigorously develop firearms and navy to think that we are self-reliant."

"Well, go on."

"In the Qing Dynasty, we still need to vigorously develop utensil manufacturing and overseas trade. Oh, yes, we need to do business with Western barbarians. The slaves recruited a few barbarians in Nanyang. They know how to perform firearms, know how to make utensils, and can also operate ships. The slaves suggested that these Western barbarians who can enhance the national power and military power of our Qing Dynasty should be reused, and take Tang Ruowang and others as examples."

"Develop the manufacture of utensils, trade, recruit and reuse Westerners..." Su Nahai said in his mouth, and then turned to look at Sony, "Ten days ago, the Xuanfu reported that it was an envoy from the Raksha Kingdom in the far west. The mission is coming to meet with the Qing emperor and ask for business, and it is still stranded there. I think that someone can escort the mission all the way to Beijing. Then I will contact him to see if I can get something useful.”

(End of this chapter)