Great Qing Dynasty talker

The Wu State developed a new model of colonization - concessions.

Seven concessions of varying sizes have been built in various overseas protectorates, and daily affairs are managed by the Concession Committees.

A concession is equivalent to an enclave.

Urban construction, public security, and justice are all decided by the Wu people themselves, and the host country has no right to interfere.

The residents were merchants, immigrants, garrison troops from the State of Wu, and a very small number of local friendly people.

The entire foundation of the concession was raised, 4 feet higher than the surrounding area.

It is surrounded by irrigation trenches, circular barbed wire, and bastion walls, and artillery positions are set up in various corners of the bastion to prevent intrusion.

……

The people who came down from the ship told Shimadzu:

The Army Ministry has approved Satsuma's request to purchase arms. 2000 smoothbore rifles, four smoothbore muzzle-loading cannons and matching gunpowder and lead bullets will arrive next month.

Seeing that the superior country was so straightforward, Shimazu Shigehiro felt relieved.

Arms sales are more than just business.

This shows that Wu Ting still trusts his side, and also shows that Wu Ting and his side have the same position in hating the shogunate.

After three rounds of drinking,

The visitor suggested that Shimadzu plant more tea trees in Kagoshima.

The reason is very simple, tea is expensive and rice is cheap. Satsuma can export tea under Wu Ting's foreign export system to get more money, and then buy rice from Tainan Island.

……

The wine is drunk.

Shimazu stood up, raised his arms above his head, and shouted:

"High noise black card, onboard."

Everyone stood up immediately and shouted together:
"Long live His Majesty the Emperor Wu."

After dinner~
At the strong suggestion of Lao Shimadzu, everyone also tried the local specialty soup. The service was thoughtful, the girls were very nice, and the sulfur was antiseptic.

He agreed to all the requests of the State of Wu.

From opening sulfur mines, to providing strong coal miners, to assisting in conscription.

Shimazu was a shrewd man. He wanted to offer his loyalty and get on board Wu Ting's high-speed chariot as soon as possible, so as to obtain the funds, industrial technology, and modern warfare experience needed for development.

In short, Satsuma has been dissatisfied with the shogunate for a long time.
……

A village in Kagoshima.

The impoverished and ruined samurai Matsuo family is facing a crucial decision in its destiny.

The frail mother said to her eldest son:

"Taro, why don't you join the vassal army? We will provide you with food, lodging, clothing, shoes and socks, and two taels of silver per month. If you are lucky enough to die in battle for the Emperor, the pension will be as high as 2 taels."

"For this family, please."

Matsuo Taro nodded, stood up, bowed deeply, and then silently left this stressful home.

Half a mile away from home, his thin mother caught up with him and stuffed two rice balls into his hands.

"Taro, let's eat on the way."

He shook his head, firmly refusing.

Not far away, on the other side of the irrigated rice fields, eight younger brothers and sisters huddled together like quails, just looking at him silently.

There was reluctance in their eyes, but more of it was desire and expectation.

Matsuo Taro waved his hand, then turned and left without looking back.

Walking on the ridge of the field, he whispered:
Rice fields

Frog Flying Bikomu
The sound of poverty.

……

Taro Matsuo and a dozen young men followed the master from the town and went to the Kagoshima Concession.

The entire journey was speechless.

Trek through mountains and rivers.

Until the sun rose, a golden light shone on the roof of the concession.

Everyone then took a deep breath and exclaimed: How majestic and magnificent, this is worthy of being a superior country.

The recruit camp was located outside the concession, with a vertical sign hanging at the door.

Calligraphy is vigorous:

The overseas assistance force of the Great Wu Empire Army, Kagoshima Recruit Camp.

Ah!
Servant Army!
Start by being able to understand Chinese commands.

……

The first step before entering the military camp is for everyone to shave their heads and take a shower/change clothes.

Holding their own brand new uniforms, cotton socks and combat boots, the recruits were extremely excited.

On the first day, we had Chinese language course.

For example, dozens of Chinese phrases commonly used in the military, such as "advance, shoot, reload, put on bayonet, stand still, turn left, turn right, charge~", must be remembered firmly.

The translator explained the rules of the military camp in detail.

"Military orders are as heavy as a mountain. In peacetime, those who disobey orders will be punished, and in wartime, they will be shot directly."

Arrived at the canteen.

The translator continued:
"Three meals a day, every meal is enough to satisfy your hunger."

"Before dinner begins, everyone follow me and shout three times towards the Emperor's portrait, 'Boardboard!'"

"Get ready, get up."

The roar caused the oil in the wooden barrel to ripple in circles.

After boarding, you can eat freely.

The recruits ate without even raising their heads; this was the first time they had eaten white rice.

……

The next day, the training officially began.
The instructors test our Chinese commands every day.

If you can't remember, you will be beaten. You will be beaten every day, and the tall and strong instructor will kick you to the ground.

In queue training, mistakes can easily occur if you are not careful.

Also got beaten!

The instructor roared at an earth-shaking speed, and the translator also shouted at the top of his lungs.

Training is painful, eating is happiness.

Every day I cycle between pain and happiness, tossing and turning between hell and the human world.

Taro Matsuo looked at the pile of vegetable and meat steamed buns in the basin on the table, and couldn't help but think of the two pitiful little rice balls that his mother wanted to give him before she left.

……

During training,

He couldn't help but write on the ground with his bayonet:
Food

The gun is shot
The Emperor's love.

A training officer from Wu Jun’s Army Department saw this and called for an interpreter.

"what is this?"

"Haiku~"

“Is it an anti-poem?”

"No, no, it expresses our loyalty and love for the former emperor." The translator was shocked and quickly denied it.

The instructor turned around and asked Matsuo Taro:
"What's your origin?"

"I come from a Wu family."

"Okay, from today on, you will be the clerk of the Kagoshima Infantry Battalion. Learn more Chinese, and you will be no trouble in the future."

After becoming a clerk, the monthly salary increased to 3 silver dollars.

After receiving the first month's salary, Matsuo Taro asked someone to send him back to his hometown. He devoted himself to training every day and did not think about anything else.

……

Two months later, Jiro Matsuo also came.

Although his age and height did not meet the requirements, he successfully entered the military camp with the help of his brother and became a member of the second batch of recruits.

The family's financial situation is very bad.

My father was seriously ill and my mother fell down.

My younger brothers and sisters are crying out for food.

The debt was compounded with interest, and Taro's three silver dollars a month was not enough.

Therefore,
Jiro also volunteered to join the vassal army, reducing the number of mouths to feed and increasing the family's income by two silver dollars.

The three-month recruit training is boring.

Everything is done in accordance with the Infantry Drill Manual, using assembly line operations to eliminate some defective products and retain basically qualified products.

Midway~
The Lord of Shimazu Domain came twice and encouraged the soldiers on the spot to "bravely fight and die for His Majesty the Emperor Wu and demonstrate the spirit of the Satsuma samurai."

In fact, the old guy was thinking, at least they wouldn’t all die, right?

If three or five of them can come back alive and be won over, there will be hope of becoming a powerful vassal in the future.

...In Kumamoto, Nagasaki, and Edo, Wu Ting set up similar camps for new recruits.

Riflemen are consumable.

The vassal army's musketeers are even cheaper.

Even the Empire's casualties can be ignored.

According to Wu Ting’s internal calculations, the pigs can be marketed in three months.

As long as you have money, you can have as many vassal troops as you want.

After three months of training, the troops were sent to Shanghai ships to be deployed to the front lines where war might break out. With the transportation capacity of the era, it would take more than a year to fight a war in Europe and Asia.

The King of Goryeo and the Tokugawa Shogunate also showed particular support for this.

What they say is: be loyal to the country.

Actually,
They have already vaguely formed a concept: "The existing land can no longer support the population it carries."

……

Kagoshima Port.

The military music was exciting and the flags were flying.

The new recruits lined up and boarded the ship, waving to the crowd at the dock, preparing to expand the territory for Emperor Wu thousands of miles away.

Looking at these farmers whose spirits and outlooks were refreshed, Shimazu was extremely envious.

After returning, he issued an order.

"Any woman in Satsuma who can give birth to a man of the upper kingdom, regardless of whether the baby is a boy or a girl, or whether the man recognizes it or not, will be provided 60 kilograms of rice per month by the shogunate."

As a result, poor women from all over the world frequently appeared near the concession, hoping to find a meal ticket.

When a woman pursues a man, there is a veil between them.

The will of the Wu men is indeed weak, and the Fusang girls have achieved brilliant results~
Shimadzu's thinking is also very clear:

Use blood to establish a bond.

Where there are bonds, there are relationships, and where there are relationships, one can learn more about civilization.

Everyone is from the Confucian circle, knows each other well, and the emotional bond is somewhat effective. Sacrifice a group of girls to achieve the ideal of a strong vassal.

……

Skillful!

The Tokugawa shogunate's idea conflicted with his, and it also wanted to sacrifice a generation of young girls to maintain the shogunate's rule.

Among the naval soldiers of the Wu army stationed in Edo Bay, even if they were second-class sailors, they had one or two friends when they went ashore.

Every time a warship changes guard or returns from patrol.

The shore was filled with local mistresses dressed in their best clothes.

Anyone with a discerning eye knows that an ordinary Japanese woman cannot afford the expensive Wu clothing, and it is the sailors who pay for it behind the scenes.

Edo Castle showed a kind of deformed prosperity.

Shogun Tokugawa Ieharu was very patient. He would never take the initiative, but he would never refuse either.

Privately told his son:
"Tolerate!"

"If you wait until the Emperor Wu dies, everything will be different. The silver mines and women can be given to them, and the upper country cannot take away an inch of land."

……

All the small countries around the empire that signed the "Protectorate Treaty" were required to bear all expenses of the Wu Ting garrison and repay historical debts annually.

The pressure is enormous for these poor countries.

However, Wu Ting thoughtfully came up with several good ways for the kings to make money.

1. Sell resources.

Second, selling people.

3. Eliminate dissidents.

Minerals and forests can yield gold coins, women of marriageable age can yield gold coins, and killing local forces can yield even more gold coins.

The monarchs of various countries were quite interested in the third article.

After the list of names to be killed was submitted and approved by the Wu court, a batch of arms could be purchased on credit to strengthen military equipment.

The King of Annan, Le Duy Ky, cleared out the last territory of the Tây Sơn Nguyen clan by force, and after returning to the capital, he killed six "collaborators" in the court.

King Taksin of Siam sent troops to suppress three powerful families in the north.

The Sulu Sultan destroyed a prince who secretly supported the pirates.

Lee Sun of Goryeo smashed a cup as a signal and executed the most powerful official named Choi among the three classes, as well as 23 of his followers on the spot.

……

The reasoning behind this is similar to how Jiaqing eliminated Heshen.

Emperor Wu was well aware of human nature and killed three birds with one shot.

It not only alleviated the dissatisfaction of the child emperors of various countries caused by the financial crisis, but also dumped some obsolete arms and achieved the purpose of killing someone with a borrowed knife.

Compared with foreign kings, the complex local forces posed a greater threat to Wu Ting's colonial plan.

Encourage these kings to use military force internally.

No matter what the outcome, the Empire will be the beneficiary.

No matter how brutal the fight is, it doesn't matter. Just think of it as a solution to the Malthusian trap.

The kings of various countries were complacent, but they did not know that from then on, the rift between the royal power and the local clans could no longer be bridged, and they would never be able to unite to resist Wu.

The hatred of the local clans for the king even exceeded their hatred for the State of Wu.

After all this trouble~
The local big families have also completely seen who is the real king of Indochina Peninsula!

If the superior country wants to protect you, no one dares to do it. If the superior country wants to move you, no one can protect you.

……

However, there are also fish that do not take the bait.

The Tokugawa shogunate probably saw through Emperor Wu's intentions and only symbolically arrested a few villains with bad reputations, and at the same time used military force against the indigenous tribes of Hokkaido.

Tokugawa Ieharu did not even use force against the Choshu clan, which was also on Honshu Island.

Li Yu told everyone clearly at the imperial meeting:

"Tokugawa Ieharu appears to be submissive on the surface, but he is cunning and rebellious in his heart. We need to be extra vigilant. Choose the right time to encourage the local powerful lords to overthrow the shogunate by force."

Of course~
Li Yu also knew in his heart that the Tokugawa Shogunate was actually a small Qing Dynasty and had no aggressiveness towards other countries.

But since he couldn't control Tokugawa, he didn't dare to keep him.

For an emperor, any subject who cannot be controlled is unstable.

……

The emperor is not afraid of his subordinates being bad, but he is afraid of his subordinates hiding.

Once you lose absolute control, you will become restless.

King Le Vichy of Annan was very smart and was more proactive than anyone else.

He bought the most arms on credit and killed the most people. In order to destroy Xishan Ruan, he wanted to exterminate all living creatures within a hundred miles.

All those who were rich and owned a lot of land were killed by the new army formed by Li Weiqi.

Afterwards, the Intelligence Agency used the phrase "killed people everywhere, blood everywhere" to describe the post-war situation.

Li Yu could almost conclude that Tokugawa Ieharu understood his intention, but pretended to be stupid and deliberately did not do it.

Such behavior is unforgivable.

Unfaithful!

Special infidelity!
……

Fuso is crucial.

It is the key link in the empire's absolute defense circle.

Therefore, the Wu court was determined to destroy the Tokugawa shogunate and restore Fuso to its true glory.

The Navy Department began to send reinforcements to Ryukyu and Kagoshima, deploying steam frigates that could ignore ocean currents and wind directions.

Considering that the biggest shortcoming of steam battleships was their endurance (coal), coal was mined on Hashima Island (also known as Gunkanjima), 10 nautical miles south of Nagasaki.

Replenish coal on site.

Be prepared to attack Edo Bay with steam battleships at the right time.

……

Summer 1791.

The plum rains are coming to Jiangnan.

The air was suffocatingly humid.

As usual, Emperor Wu took a luxurious steamship to go to the Lushan Palace for vacation.

The high-pressure steam engine is powerful, and the ship goes upstream steadily and powerfully. The river breeze blows, making it cool and comfortable.

on deck,
Li Yu stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the scenery on both sides of the river with great interest, and from time to time he opened the telescope to look around.

The ministers behind him stood in silence, and no one dared to speak.

It was only because some bad news was received one after another, from Central Asia, from the Ottoman Empire, and from Earl Jia, that it was finally confirmed that the good relationship between Europe and the Empire had come to an end.

Trade frictions are gradually escalating.

The tea, silk and porcelain of the empire are about to be boycotted by Europeans. (End of this chapter)