Great Qing Dynasty talker

Ma'anshan Heavy Industry's tactics against Daye Mining Iron and Steel Plant were not complicated.

High salary to recruit people!

Give me an official position!

With just one hoe, he poached four key people from the opponent's workshop.

There is no way, the official kiln is too attractive.

Do you want to smelt molten iron in a civilian kiln for the rest of your life, or become an official?
Ma'anshan Heavy Industry is a factory directly under the Ministry of Industry. Senior technical workers and workshop directors all receive official salaries and have a regular position.

then,

Maanshan Heavy Industry soon announced:
Under the wise guidance of Your Majesty and the kind care of the Minister of Industry, our factory's craftsmen worked hard for three years and finally made breakthroughs in the heat treatment and forging processes.

This produced harder steel and significantly improved the metal's strength.

(Steam-powered free forging requires a lot of personal experience and cannot be promoted for the time being.)
Du Ren was overjoyed upon hearing the news, and immediately decided to reward him with 3000 silver coins.

……

Half a month later,

With the support of Guangdong Governor Fucheng, the shareholders behind Daye Iron and Steel Works formally complained to the Ministry of Industry.

This matter caused a lot of uproar.

Du Ren had a big headache.

Because of confidentiality considerations regarding its military production contract, Daye Civilian Iron and Steel Works did not report its technology for patent application in advance.

At the same time, Maanshan Heavy Industry insisted that the two companies successfully developed the technology at the same time.

Coincidences do exist in the world!

Judging from the chain of evidence, Du Ren's direct punishment of Maanshan Heavy Industry lacks solid basis and is suspected of being an outward move.

……

No matter what~
The empire's first 150-ton steamship finally completed its sea trial successfully.

It has a clipper bow, a slender hull, iron ribs and a wooden hull, and a large chimney located in the middle of the deck.

There is a mast in the front of the deck.

Sails are not hoisted when sailing, mainly to provide lookout function.

Only when the ship loses power due to mechanical failure can a spare sail be temporarily raised to provide barely enough power to bring the ship to shore.

During testing.

The steamer sailed on Poyang Lake for three days and three nights, stopping at the shore several times to resupply coal.

When the boat returned to its starting point, Hukou Pier, they were greeted with thunderous firecrackers, cheers and generous bonuses.

The team of more than 300 people conducted repeated experiments for nearly two years, experienced 2 prototype ships, 7 major accidents, 4 minor accidents, consumed 12 taels of funds, and cooperated with multiple factories for a long time.

Finally got the steamboat done.

There was jubilation within the Ministry of Industry.

A brand new era, the steam age has truly arrived.

[In real history, Europe also conducted several steamship experiments during the same period, proving their feasibility. However, due to funding issues, they remained at the experimental stage, and mature commercial steamships did not appear until 20 years later. The flower of love needs money to bloom, and the same is true for the flower of science.]

……

Steamboats are less technically difficult to build than steam locomotives.

After the successful trial,
Jiangnan Shipyard put aside all the matters at hand and concentrated on production.

At the same time, a shipyard was opened in Annan.

The Le Dynasty was asked to supply the best timber, and the first batch of inland steam gunboats were mass-produced in Cam Ranh Bay, named "Mekong No. 1~No. 10".

What is imperialism without powerful ships and guns?
If you want to be imperialist, you must be domineering.

If the empire wanted to turn Indochina into a semi-colony, there were probably three things it couldn't do without.

First, garrison.

Second, freedom of navigation.

Third, arms dumping.

Steam ships were not yet viable because high-pressure steam engines were not yet mature enough and paddle wheels were prone to idling in rough seas.

……

Lushan Palace.

Li Yu, who had just returned from hunting, received several pieces of intelligence from overseas intelligence personnel.

The Intelligence Agency has set up intelligence points in various countries in Indochina.

Most intelligence agents use the identity of businessmen as a cover.

Their activities were simple and crude. They used silver to pave the way for others and made friends with ordinary officials in important government offices of the country, and even with the royal guards.

After the two sides had cooperated once, they came to a showdown:
"My friend, do you want to cut off the olive branch of the suzerain country?"

Basically, everything goes well.

My superior’s superior is not my superior.

But, my father’s father must be my grandfather.

Maintaining a somewhat ambiguous relationship with the sovereign country will be of great benefit to one's future development.

……

After completing the translation, Li Yu sighed:
"The Saxon East India Company acted quickly."

"As expected of the world's longest stirrer, you actually guessed my intention and reserved a spot in advance."

"Agui and Zhao Zhuangwen are quite interesting. They know they are chess pieces on the chessboard. They move one square at a time. They are on guard against me."

Return to the study.

He took out the code book and wrote a secret letter according to it.

The next day, the secret letter was first transmitted to Kunming through hundreds of communication towers, and then sent abroad manually.

……

At the end of summer, Li Yu received another military report from the northwest.

Yongyan begs for peace!

He was willing to call Wu the father country, lead his people to withdraw from the Ili River Valley, never look east again, and pay tribute every year. If the father country used troops in Central Asia, he could also call on the troops of Xiqing.

The condition was to sell him a batch of arms first.

At least 1 flintlock rifles, 50 cannons, and 50 kilograms of gunpowder and lead.

He needed this batch of arms to defeat the Kazakhs. Xiqing only wanted the Kazakhstan's Lesser Juz region, and the Greater Juz and Middle Juz regions were ceded to the Wu State.

(Yutz can be understood as a province.)
Li Yu was quite interested in this.

My intuition tells me that the situation in Central Asia may be quite delicate.

The path taken by Yeli Dashi may never be replicated.

After a moment's contemplation, the reply was transmitted to Xi'an via the communication tower as usual. After that, it was transferred to the post station manually.

……

Hami City is located in the easternmost part of Western Region Province.

The Western Expedition Army, which has been resting here for three months, is making preparations before setting off.

The commander of the 8th Corps was Li Xiaowu, with Wu Simai and Wei Jun as deputies.

The Western Expedition Army included 7000 elite veterans, 5000 war horses, 60 cannons, 1000 camels, and 1500 four-wheeled baggage carts.

Each soldier carried three muskets, two long and one short, as well as a narrow-bladed cavalry sword and a lance.

The saddles were hung with various items, such as dried meat, water bags, sugar cubes, tobacco, and tea.

The journey from Hami to Yili is 2500 miles.

It’s farther than the journey from Suzhou Prefecture to Yanjing City.

The Western Expedition Army had to pass through deserts and grasslands along the way, and it was common to not see any human habitation for hundreds of miles.

to this end,

Logistics took a lot of effort and money.

……

Looking at this scene, the plenipotentiary envoy who came to negotiate on behalf of Xiqing, the bannerman Senatu and several royal family members looked at each other in surprise.

I knew Wu Ting was strong, but I didn't expect him to be so strong.

Xiqing is already willing to kneel down and be a dog, isn’t that enough?
What kind of lunatic is Emperor Wu?
However, he still wants to try again:
"Marshal Lin, what exactly do you want? Can you just tell me?"

Lin Huaisheng still cherishes words like gold:
"I can't trust you."

Senatu gritted his teeth and continued to ask:
"Excuse me, Marshal, ceding land, begging for peace, paying tribute, and becoming a vassal, isn't our sincerity enough?"

Lin Huaisheng stared at him coldly, emphasizing each word:
"You, are not telling the truth."

……

Senatu's psychological defenses collapsed and he confessed everything.

Xiqing encountered a huge crisis.

Just after leaving the Ili River Valley, they were ambushed by the Kazakh Khanate in the area east of Lake Balkhash.

The two sides have been fighting for two and a half months.

The grassland was dyed red with blood, and the fighting pierced the sky.

Dozens of tribes from the three Juz tribes of the Kazakh Khanate collectively sent out their troops in full force and fought endlessly with the more than 100,000 people of the Xiqing.

Lin Huaisheng ordered his staff to spread out the map.

"Your Excellency, you speak and I will mark it."

After a while,
A map of the Battle of Lake Balkhash has just been released.

……

After half a day of consultation, combined with His Majesty's will.

Lin Huaisheng decided - to drive away the wolf and devour the tiger.

The best results are:
They just sat back and watched the fight between the Ha and Qing dynasties, and when they were weakened, the Western Expedition Army jumped out and killed both prey with one shot.

The general result is: the Western Expedition Army defeated the Kazakh Khanate army, supported the severely weakened Western Qing Dynasty, and opened up a new situation of chaos and separatism.

The worst result is:
As soon as we arrived at the battlefield, both sides had already disappeared without a trace.

……

Senatu was summoned to the military tent.

Under the gaze of a group of military officers, Lin Huaisheng wrote a letter to Xiqing Yongyan in public and stamped it with the minister's golden seal.

"Hold on for three months and you can break free."

"After the siege is lifted, I will sell you a batch of arms and let you settle in Xiaoyuzi."

Senatu stretched out his hands and took the letter.

Choking and saying:
"Thank you."

Lin Huai suddenly said:
"Tell Yongyan that it's best not to have any other ideas. Because the hands of the Rakshasa have already reached the Central Asian grasslands. If you have too many ideas, you will die quickly."

"The slave understands."

Senatu and several of his trusted men rode away at full speed.

The remaining few members of the royal family stayed behind and marched westward with the Western Expedition Army.

……

2500 miles.

Led by the guide, the Western Expedition Army embarked on its journey.

Passing through Barkol - Ancient City - Dihua - Manas - Kulkanawusu.

There was no resistance along the way.

When you arrive at a city, the city gate will open.

Everyone knelt silently, cut their braids, changed their flags, and accepted the new court.

The royal family member who was accompanying him told Li Xiaowu awkwardly:

"Those who are willing to follow the Great Khan of Xiqing in the hunt to the west are now fighting bloody battles east of Lake Balkhash. Those who remain are not Xiqing citizens, they are just ordinary border guards."

"I hope the country will treat them well."

Li Xiaowu naturally would not treat these people harshly.

To defend the border, we need a large number of border guards.

Your Majesty has already instructed that border defense must rely on the Reclamation Corps. If nothing unexpected happens, they will advance thousands of miles westward.

……

……

The border residents stood on both sides of the road, waved goodbye to the elite Western Expedition Army and saluted.

They had high hopes for this well-equipped army, hoping that it could conquer the world with one battle.

if~
After the Kazakh Khanate annexed the Western Qing Dynasty, its power and ambition soared, and it was bound to march east to retaliate against the Eleuth Mongols.

The entire northern border is in turmoil.

Compared with people in inland areas, people living in border areas have a stronger sense of family and country.

Because the war is around us.

They have a special understanding of the principle that when one prospers, all prosper, and when one suffers, all suffer.

……

The Western Expedition Army replenished supplies locally along the way, left purchase lists and banknotes, and told these people that they could exchange supplies after some time when civil officials and southern merchant caravans arrived.

The locals clutched their colorful papers, with little hope.

Thinking that supplying supplies to the imperial army was an obligation that border residents could not avoid, even if they suffered losses, they had no choice but to treat it as paying the imperial grain.

The border residents only wanted to stop fighting and to farm and graze peacefully.

During these 100 years, wars in the Western Region were frequent, ranging from attacks between nomadic tribes to wars of annihilation.

Dzungar and the battles between the two Khojas are just two of the more famous ones.

There were dozens of unknown small-scale tribal wars.

Smoke filled the air.

……

Out of some concerns, the Western Expedition Army would recruit dozens of local young and strong people into the army wherever they passed through.

Tell their family members:
Soldiers are paid and there are rewards for killing enemies.

First, they would provide some baggage, auxiliary soldiers and guides. Second, they would also be considered hostages.

Wu Ting currently does not fully understand the will of the people in the Western Regions.

You can never go too far wrong.

On the fourth day after leaving Kulkanawusu, the Western Expedition Army encountered a team of Torghut scouts.

3 days later,

The Western Expedition Army entered the Torghut settlement and replenished its rations again.

Here we have to mention Qianlong's resettlement strategy for the Torghut people, which was to disperse and resettle hundreds of thousands of Torghut people at great distances.

The distance can be as short as a few hundred miles or as long as a few thousand miles.

In this way, even if the Torghut people wanted to betray, they did not have the power to do so.

……

Li Xiaowu chose this marching route in order to meet up with the old Turgut West Route Banner.

There are more than 2 Torghut people here.

However, there are not many young and strong people. All you can see are the elderly, the weak, women and children.

At a grand welcome banquet.

Li Xiaowu, Wu Simai and Wei Jun were enjoying the meal very much, tearing into the mutton with big mouthfuls.

A strong young man bowed respectfully:
"Turgut Khan, Tsering Namjale pays respect to the general."

His mother, Hatun, the widow of Khan Ubashi, also came and bowed slightly:

"Meet the generals."

The welcoming banquet brought joy to both the host and the guests.

Just do enough superficial work and talk about friendship.

The Torghut youths in the Light Cavalry Corps are the bond of trust between the two sides.

Anyway,

Among all the nomadic tribes in the northwest, the Torghut had the most reason to take the initiative to approach the Wu court and offer their loyalty.

……

Despite this, Li Xiaowu still had a trick up his sleeve.

2000 Han soldiers, armed with live ammunition, set up independent camps nearby and did not join in the tribal carnival.

Li Xiaowu's personality tends to be stable.

That night, there was a bonfire party.

The Torghut people who were captured on the Jiangxi battlefield and the young women of the tribe went to the tent to discuss the plan of human reproduction.

Today, the Torghut people are in urgent need of replenishment.

Wars, epidemics, and conscription put the tribe in an extremely dangerous state.

……

Li Xiaowu summoned Celing Namjale and his mother and asked a key question:
"When Yongyan fled, was he recruited by your army?"

The 16-year-old Tsering Namjale answered truthfully:

"I just forcibly recruited some guides."

"No conscription?"

Hatun smiled bitterly:

"There are few men in this tribe, so we can't recruit them even if we want to."

After saying that, I burst into tears.

Celingnamuzhaer lifted the corner of his robe and knelt down.

"The Torghut people beg the emperor to give them pastures, cattle and sheep. This Khan is willing to lead his guards to follow the army on the westward expedition."

If it were in the past, Li Xiaowu would definitely think that this mother and son were beautiful and loyal and brave.

But now, he just smiled and listened.

His Majesty once said in the Imperial Council:

"The empire does not want to see any tribe become powerful."

……

"Khan, please stand up. After the victory of the Western Expedition, I will send a team of cavalry to escort you to Suzhou Prefecture to meet His Majesty."

"The Torghut tribe's loyalty to the empire is commendable, and the Khan is a young talent."

Hatun also bowed:
"It is naturally a blessing for the tribe to be able to meet His Majesty in Suzhou Prefecture."

"I beg your majesty to bless my son, may he be healthy and free from the curse of death."

Li Xiaowu was stunned, but didn't ask any more questions.

But after leaving the tent, he found an old man from the tribe.

After asking, I found out what the so-called Khan's curse was.

When the Torghuts fled from the Volga River, Catherine was furious and ordered a demon monk in St. Petersburg to cast a curse of disaster on the utensils that Khan had used.

Since then,

The tribe suffered a serious disaster, with large numbers of people falling ill and dying.

The male descendants of the Khan kept dying, and half of the children did not even live to the age of 20. (End of this chapter)