Great Qing Dynasty talker

The southernmost tip of Kyushu Island.

The Wu Kingdom Concession in Kagoshima entered a state of war preparedness half a month ago.
Soldiers and armed expatriates took turns guarding the city walls, with their guns pointed openly at the nearby town.

Inside the concession, Shimazu Shigehiro, the Lord of Satsuma Domain who came to attend the meeting, had layers of cold sweat on his back, but fortunately he was not attending a Hongmen Banquet.

A concession committee member smiled and said:

"Please rest assured, Lord. The Empire will not mistreat its friends."

"Satsuma is still your Satsuma. We have no intention of interfering. This special military operation is only aimed at the Tokugawa shogunate and his minions entrenched in Honshu Island."

Shimazu stood up and expressed his loyalty again and again.

……

Edo Bay Battery.

A shogunate warrior suddenly turned his head and looked to the south, shouting: "Enemy attack, enemy attack!"

Many columns of smoke appeared on the distant skyline.

The Wu State's steam warships had poor concealment and emitted black smoke while sailing, but their overall performance had improved a lot compared to before the war, especially the power transmission device.

Half an hour later,
The Wu fleet approached Edo Bay.

The two sides started fighting directly after a disagreement.

Although the Tokugawa shogunate was not aggressive toward other countries, it had a strong tendency to protect its food, and everyone in the shogunate kept their distance from the Wu Kingdom.

This was also the key factor in Wu Ting's decision to get rid of him.

……

As the shells fell, columns of water rose from the sea.

Unfortunately, the old-fashioned muzzle-loading cannons in Edo Bay had limited power and posed limited threat.

After finding out the true situation, Wu Jun's fleet, led by five rocket steam warships, approached the bay from a blind spot and fired more than 5 rockets.

Afterwards, the entire fleet pressed forward.

Land and sea artillery battle!

The high-rate breech-loading gun fired round after round of picric acid shells with remarkable effect.

In just 2 quarters of an hour, a huge fire broke out in the Edo Bay Fort, and the gunpowder depot exploded one after another.

……

The westward expedition to Europe had proven that artillery shells filled with picric acid explosives were very powerful, with violent explosions and spectacular flames.

Even a conservative military branch like the navy was envious and couldn't help but try to equip a few warships.

The gate to Edo Bay was wide open.

The Wu army's warships drove straight in, calmly destroyed all the ships in the bay, and bombarded the villages on the shore.

In the evening, the Tokugawa shogunate refused to surrender.

Late at night~
The Wu army fleet anchored in the center of the bay suddenly weighed anchor, approached the shore, and fired 400 heavy incendiary rockets at the Edo Castle, which was under a blackout and shrouded in darkness.

After many years, more than 9% of the houses in Edo are still pure wooden houses.

Edo is burning!
Wu Jun is laughing!
……

At noon the next day, the troop transport fleet that departed from Chongming Island finally arrived and docked to unload the infantry.

Afternoon~
The Tokugawa shogunate gathered more than 8000 remaining soldiers in an attempt to intercept them.

On one side is a classical warrior, wearing an ox-horn helmet, red lacquered armor, a haori, two swords, one long and one short, on his waist, and a bamboo bow and feather arrows on his back.

There are flags behind the warriors, and there are funny short-legged cavalrymen to support them.

The other side was dressed in uniform khaki coarse cloth uniforms, holding flintlock rifles, and infantry guns were interspersed in the linear formation.

Both sides are Japanese, but at this moment they are like enemies.

No insults, no sensationalism.

A breeze blew by~
Tokugawa Ieharu drew his sword and roared:

"Tap tap tap~"

The loyal family elder quickly waved the flag, and the samurai shouted in unison and began to charge.

……

The other side was slightly agitated.

Wu Jun officers shouted: "Fire!"

The five 5mm infantry guns in the queue instantly spewed out white smoke, and shrapnel shells whizzed out and exploded immediately after landing.

A huge gap suddenly appeared in the formation of the charging warriors.

The rest of the people were not afraid at all and continued to charge forward.

After 3 rounds of infantry artillery bombardment.

The officer shouted:

"The front row squats, the back row stands."

"Get ready~"

"put!"

……

The warriors' front line faltered, and the front row fell down in unison.

A samurai with a headband shouted:

"Onboard."

After shouting, he took the lead and rushed forward, and the others followed him.

Another row of white smoke rose from the opposite side.

The lead bullet is hot, and the warrior's heart is also hot.

But the firing rate is too fast.

The fear of death enveloped the warriors' hearts. Some began to retreat, apparently forgetting their original intentions as warriors.

……

A few rushed to the front of the line infantry, and samurai swords and bayonets clashed.

The Wu army’s infantry artillery continued to exert its power, like the scythe of the god of death.

Sweat broke out on Tokugawa Ieharu's forehead. He turned his head and looked at the loyal family elder. The family elder nodded, took out a flag and began to wave it rapidly.

flank,

The cavalry was out.

The man is short and the horse is even smaller, so it looks like a monkey riding a dog.

In order to cooperate with the cavalry, the shogunate also dispatched a group of unarmored ronin and archers with single swords.

……

Compared to the timid farmers a few years ago, the mentality of today's vassal army is very different. They are a group of elite cannon fodder who have emerged from the Eurasian war and are equipped with the world's most advanced firearms.

How can it be compared to a shabby ronin samurai?

The gunfire and fighting continued.

Even if some Fuso cavalry managed to break in, they would soon be stabbed to death by the bayonets around them and fall off their horses.

Tokugawa Ieharu discovered with horror that the battle ahead could not be fought any longer. This battle was 10 times more horrific than when Toyotomi Hideyoshi was crushed by the Ming cavalry during his expedition to Goryeo.

2 and a half miles away.

The Wu army artillery pushed an 88mm gun. After calculating with the gun sight, the gunner pulled the gun rope and the gun carriage suddenly retreated.

Boom~
A shrapnel shell hit near Tokugawa's large banner.

……

Tokugawa Ieharu was seriously injured and the shogunate army was defeated across the board.

The vassal army raised the banner of killing traitors to the country and broke through the cities one by one, advancing triumphantly.

Before returning home, Wu Ting instilled many ideas into them in advance.

For example:

This was a just war. After the daimyo and feudal lords were eliminated by force, everyone could eat a small bowl of white rice every day.

After killing the daimyo, common people, and landlords, their land was distributed to the surrounding people, which is known in history as the "equal distribution system of farmland."

……

Honshu Island is quite large, occupying two-thirds of Fuso’s land area at that time.

As more vassal troops returned home and landed, the "equal distribution of farmland system" snowballed, the Tokugawa shogunate collapsed, and the daimyo under its command were killed one after another.

The soldiers of the puppet army finally found the feeling of being heroes. They marched proudly across the ridges of the fields and passed by their cowardly and shabby compatriots.

Leather boots, cotton uniforms, belts, muskets, bayonets, and meals comparable to those of a daimyo.

When passing by their hometowns, the officers would tacitly allow the soldiers to take a trip home, shoot a few enemies in their hometown, and publicize the kindness of Emperor Wu.

Leave the military pay at home.

Then, continue on your way.

Who doesn’t love the feeling of returning home in glory?

So proud.

Imperial vassal army
……

After the mission was completed, Wu Jun no longer planned to support these vassal troops.

With one military order from the Army Department, hundreds of thousands of vassal soldiers were demobilized and returned home. If they needed to keep their personal weapons, they could redeem them with personal money.

Not expensive, the price is only 5 silver coins.

Most people are reluctant to spend this money and choose to hand it over.

They returned home with the gold and silver they had been rewarded with and became wealthy families in the countryside. Wu Ting also gave the vassal soldiers an extra favor - each person was entitled to a lifetime tax-free quota of 20 mu of mulberry fields.

Plant mulberry trees, reel silk and raise silkworms.

The profit from raw silk is much higher than that from rice.

Before leaving the barracks, countless vassal soldiers knelt on the ground and cried out in tears:
"High noise black card, onboard."

……

Such a large-scale land equalization work was completed in such a short time. The process must have been rough and the results cannot be examined in detail.

The vassal troops withdrew from the bloody battlefields of Europe and were accustomed to solving problems with bayonets.

During the land distribution process, many innocent Fuso people were executed.

but,

Indeed, a large number of poor Fuso people obtained land overnight, and one can imagine how grateful these people were to Emperor Wu.

In addition, there are loyal groups who have returned to their hometowns and are scattered all over the place.

The Wu Emperor's control over Honshu Island was unbreakable.

……

When a large number of Goryeo vassal troops entered the country from the northeast with guns, Goryeo King Yi Sun made the most correct decision in his life in an instant.

He presented a secret letter, expressing his support for all the wishes of Emperor Wu.

Not 2 months,

The vassal army shot more than 300 nobles, both civil and military, in front of Gyeongbokgung Palace, exiled thousands of their families to Siberia, and exiled prisoners to the Wu Kingdom as slaves.

Lee Sun was still the King of Goryeo, but like the kings of civilized times, his honorary status was higher than his actual status.

The Wu royal family also established a king's pension system and royal exclusive land for the two countries.

Lee Sun's annual support standard was 10 times higher than before, and he also rebuilt Gyeongbokgung Palace with pavilions and towers, making it luxurious and extravagant.

Compared with the previous Gyeongbokgung Palace, it is completely different.

……

Li Yu seems crazy, but actually he is sober:
A monarch does not kill another monarch.

Not only can they not kill them, but they must also keep the royal families of these protectorates well and use them as mascots.

The reasons behind this are very subtle and should not be elaborated on.

Anyway,

Summarize the surrounding changes in one sentence:

The Wu Kingdom physically eliminated the official gentry in Fuso and Goryeo, dissolved government offices at all levels, and left behind a royal family in name only and tens of millions of people who had just acquired land.

……

The monarchs of the two countries accepted it silently and expressed their gratitude. Firstly, they really could not resist, and secondly, their current life was pretty good.

Food, clothing, housing and transportation have all been improved to a higher level than before.

Now that I have figured it out, Xujun is living a pretty good life now.

You can live a life of luxury and have nothing to worry about.

The structure of the two countries was: king - people, with the nobles, officials, and army in the middle either eliminated or ordered to disband.

The defense was taken over by Wu Jun.

……

Li Yu did not even intend to levy taxes on the Koreans and Fuso people because the cost of taxation was too high and not cost-effective.

He decided to adopt a more advanced method of indirect taxation - strictly controlling the source of cotton cloth and ironware.

The people of Fusang and Goryeo were prohibited from privately planting cotton, mulberry, hemp and other textile raw material crops.

The people of Fuso and Goryeo were prohibited from privately smelting iron and weaving cloth.

Anyone who violates the order will have his entire family exiled to Siberia!
Plan two pure small-scale agricultural kingdoms with few people, no army or government, and a Utopia-like style.

……

The people of Goryeo and Fuso were immersed in the joy of owning land.

From now on, all the food grown in the fields belongs to you, and the government won't take even a pound of it.
Simply wonderful.

The people all agreed that the Emperor of Wu was so wise and virtuous that he could not be compared to him even if Yao, Shun and Yu were reborn.

When the harvest season comes, farmers look at their granaries full of rice and wish they could kowtow to the west three times a day.

If there really is a Jade Emperor in this world, he would stand at the South Gate of Heaven and look down at the human world like this.

Oh~
Over the Fusang and Goryeo kingdoms, countless white clouds vaguely formed two words:
Loyal! Sincerity!
At this point, the empire's absolute national defense circle was finally perfectly concluded.

……

Gradually, the people of both countries discovered that those southern merchants who came across the ocean were really black-hearted.

Cotton cloth is very expensive and farm tools are not cheap either.

But there is no way, people can't live without clothes, right?

You can only save money when buying!

These unscrupulous merchants do not accept barter and only accept cash.

There was no other way, the farmers could only send the rice to the rice shops opened by merchants from the State of Wu to exchange for cash. A pound of rice was sold for a mere 2 cents, which was outrageously cheap.

but,

The businessmen's explanation makes sense.

"More rice, cheaper rice."

"Fellow villagers, go back and take a look. Who has no land? Who has no food?"

……

In fact, rice prices were falling not only in Goryeo and Fuso, but in the entire Nanyang region, with the highest price being only 5 wen per pound.

In the northwest region, where rice prices were the highest within the Wu State, a pound of rice sold for only 8 wen.

In addition to grain, the prices of ironware, cotton cloth and sugar in the empire were also falling.

However, labor prices have been rising.

The trend of rising labor costs started in the Jiangnan region.

Take Maanshan Heavy Industry as an example. Ten years ago, the monthly wage for handymen was 10 silver coins, but now it is 2 silver coins.

An ordinary female worker in a private cotton mill earned three silver coins per month ten years ago, but now it is five silver coins.

It is obvious that someone is pushing this deliberately behind the scenes.

……

The empire's upper echelons remained silent on this, knowing that it was His Majesty who was pushing it behind the scenes.

Songjiang Prefecture Special Prison.

Two of the four major salt merchants have already gathered.

The rooftop terrace of the building has a wide view and overlooks the Huangpu River~
Mr. Huang and Mr. Su sat opposite each other, drinking tea and chatting.

"Old Huang, you've gained weight and look much better."

"Yes, I've been here for a year. I eat well, sleep well, take walks every day, and I can't take a concubine, so how can I not look good?"

Mr. Su chuckled.

Mr. Huang glanced at him resentfully:
"Lao Su, why did you come in?"

"I committed a minor crime, ahem, 6 months, not too long, not too short. Old Huang, you should be released from prison this month, right?"

"Yes."

……

The two found it quite funny and suddenly fell silent.

Drink tea~
Drink tea~
Su Zongshang couldn't help but break the silence and asked in a low voice: "Old Huang, is there any deep meaning behind the court's division of land between Fusang and Goryeo?"

"Yes, I have."

"Tell me?"

"Your Majesty, this has opened up a brand new market for us. In the past, it was not safe to put all our hopes on the European market. But it will be different in the future. Fuso and Goryeo are the exclusive markets of the empire. They will buy whatever we sell."

"They are all poor people. How can they be of any use?"

"Lao Su, don't underestimate them. They are not poor anymore. They have land and can really afford to buy things now."

Mr. Su thought for a moment and then smiled.

"Your Majesty, this is a great move."

"Your Majesty is more than wise. You are the wisest person in history."

……

As he was speaking, the warden arrived.

A look of regret~
"Mr. Huang, you didn't use up all the silver notes you deposited when you came to jail. You have 35,219 taels left. You will be released in a few days. I will exchange them for Sihai Finance's silver notes for you."

Mr. Huang immediately stood up and said with a smile:

"No need, just donate them all."

"Isn't this bad?"

"No, no, no, I will do my best to contribute to the empire's cheap medicine project. My Lord, you must help me~"

The warden nodded.

"Then I would like to thank Mr. Huang for his generosity on behalf of those patients."

"It should be, it should be." (End of this chapter)