The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 160 Bo Li

September 1727, 9, Boli City.

As soon as the "Beixue No. 6" inland river gunboat sailed into the pier of Boli Port, a group of hawkers immediately swarmed over and shouted enthusiastically at the Qi navy officers and soldiers who were disembarking one after another, hoping to attract the attention of these military lords from the upper country and sell the goods. own goods.

As we all know, the military masters of Qi are well paid and always generous with their money. Just throwing in a few big men is enough to collect interest for these humble traders for most of the day.

A group of Dongdan soldiers stationed at the dock quickly rushed over and forcibly drove away the gathered vendors to prevent them from blocking the way of the Qi navy officers and soldiers.

Boli City is located on the east bank of the confluence of the Heilongjiang River and the Wusuli River. It was originally the capital of the Bohai Kingdom. In December 1674, in order to defeat the disobedient Bohai Kingdom, Zakana, the then-capital of Boli City, with the support of Qi State and Beiming, suddenly declared independence while Bahai, the leader of the Bohai Kingdom, led an army to attack Liaodong. , established the Dongdan Kingdom, with the city as its capital, and occupied the territory west of the lower reaches of Heilongjiang.

It is embarrassing to say that the Zhenzhou of Dongdan and Beiming (now part of Primorsky Krai and Khabarovsk Territory in Russia) is bounded by Heilongjiang, the land of Jiangxi is Dongdan, and the land east of Jiangdong belongs to Beiming, but its capital Boli is located in a narrow valley in the east of the Yangtze River. Less than twenty miles outside the city, it reaches the border of Beiming.

It can be said that if Beiming's army wanted to attack Dongdan and set off after breakfast in the military camp, they would probably be able to reach Boli City before lunch time. Moreover, with Beiming's strong water strength, it can easily send a fleet from Shangshuo at the entrance of the Heilongjiang River to Boli City, and easily blockade its capital and cut off all reinforcements.

Dongdan has Boli as its capital, and it is proper for the emperor to guard the country.

However, fortunately, Dongdan has positioned itself very well since the founding of the People's Republic of China. It serves as a strategic buffer between the Bohai Sea and Beiming, and at the same time serves as a wedge placed by Qi State in the Heilongjiang Basin to control the Far East. strategic location. In front of Bohai and Beiming, he also kept a low profile and was very submissive and would not offend either party easily.

The intersection of two rivers in Bolishou has a very advantageous geographical location. To the south, you can go directly to Zhenzhou (today's Vladivostok) by the Ussuri River or overland, leading to the West Sea (today's Benhai Sea). To the east, you can go down the river from the Heilongjiang River and enter the Daming Sea (today's Daming Sea). Sea of ​​Okhotsk), and to the west, you can go up the river to Shangshuo, sail to the middle reaches of Heilongjiang and Jingqili River, and connect to the hinterland of the Bohai Sea.

As a transportation hub connecting Bohai and Beiming, Boli City can make huge profits from its prosperous transit trade alone.

Mink skins, bear skins, fox skins, ginseng, deer antlers, and dongzhu from Lingbei and Beihai are gathered here. Industrial products and daily necessities from Beiming and Qi are transited here, as well as countless products from North Korea and Japan. And the immigrants from Han Dynasty stopped to rest and then went to the promised land in their hearts.

After decades of development, Boli City already has 80,000 residents, accounting for nearly 30% of the entire population of Dongdan Kingdom. It is the largest port in the outer northeastern region after Zhenzhou City.

In the past, this place was just a barbaric area. During the pre-Ming Dynasty, the Nuergandusi was set up here, with the Jurchens as garrison and the rule. From a national defense and military perspective, this area is outside the border wall, and the Ming Dynasty does not have much interest in it. At most, it is nothing more than tribute trade from some tribal leaders and chiefs. They traveled thousands of miles to send some local specialties such as furs, ginseng, and deer antlers, and the Ming court had to give back a bunch of gifts. Anyway, they didn't make any money. Only the barbarians happily rushed back to the mountains and old forests with the gifts given by the Ming Dynasty. , enjoy the influence of the "civilized world".

Later, with the decline of the Ming Dynasty, Nuergandusi was basically gradually abolished, and the contact with the Central Plains also decreased. Trade was intermittent, and it was completely cut off after the rise of the Jurchens. If it were not for the connections of Shanxi merchants in Tonglu, the wealthy officials and merchants of the Ming Dynasty might not have enjoyed all kinds of high-grade furs and medicinal materials such as Laoshan ginseng.

But now everything has changed.

The power of the Beiming Dynasty expanded to the areas east of the Ussuri River and the Heilongjiang River (lower reaches), while the Dongdan Kingdom continued to expand its space to the northeast along the Heilongjiang River, occupying the vast area east of the Sikhot-Alin Mountains and north of the Udi River. , and Bohai State is even worse. Its western border almost touches the Yenisei River Basin.

Under the conquest of several forces, the tribes and aborigines in the entire Lingbei and outer northeastern regions were incorporated into various autonomous regions and were managed docilely. Many tribes were even organized into households and all the people were included to pay taxes and undertake military service. of obedient people.

In order to enhance their strength, increase national power and gather people's support, several countries, including Dongdan Kingdom, actively promote assimilation policies and open basic Chinese language schools to teach aborigines to learn Chinese, practice Chinese customs, and wear Chinese clothes. Although Dongdan and The upper echelons of the Bohai Sea are all Jurchens, but there is really no decent Jurchen culture. Few people can write the Manchu script created by Nurhachi and Huang Taiji. Coupled with the influence of Qi and Beiming, after the founding of their respective countries, , then Sinicization was promoted throughout the country.

Ding Zhuang, who was famous for his bravery in the local tribes, was also recruited to join the army. These people fought and fought in the army for several years and basically became the foundation of their respective countries. After being discharged from service, when they returned to their tribes, with the deliberate support of local grassroots officials, they had a very high voice. Tribal leaders and chiefs also had to be polite, which further consolidated the rule of grassroots political power.

According to the Qi people, in order to effectively rule foreign nations, or to put it more bluntly, to successfully colonize backward nations and conquer new territories, advanced production technology and a higher level of productivity are necessary. Only by achieving double crushing in terms of civilization and force can the assimilation of foreign races be realized.

Thinking about the vast territory of the Chinese mainland in later generations, it took the descendants of Yan and Huang more than two thousand years to successfully immigrate to every corner of the entire territory. During the Han Dynasty, the Three Kingdoms and the Jin Dynasty developed the Pearl River Delta, Huguang, and Jiangnan, but the efforts were far from enough and could only be said to be a warm-up. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, great efforts were made to develop Jiangnan, northern Zhejiang, and Jiangxi, draining local swamps, reclaiming fertile farmland, and transforming the environment. , and achieved fruitful results; in the Song Dynasty, two lakes were developed, cities were built, and immigrants from the north were resettled. The population of Huguang surged, and thus "Huguang was well versed in the world"; in the Ming Dynasty, on the basis of controlling Yunnan captured by the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty implemented land reform in the southwest At the same time, they immigrated from the mainland, changed the previous policy of restraint, and began to advance towards actual control; our Qing Dynasty continued to reform the native land in the southwest, and fought two wars for this purpose, killing the local chieftains. The leaders also occupied the Mongolian grasslands, controlled the Western Regions, and the snowy areas (including part of Qinghai), and at the same time incorporated Manchuria into their actual control; during the Republic of China, China, Russia, and Japan engaged in a war in Manchuria In the immigration race, China finally won. In 1931, there were more than 3500 million Chinese in Manchuria, while Japan and Russia only had a few hundred thousand, less than a million, which completely determined the local ethnic origin; in modern times, the Western Regions, Qinghai, Large-scale immigration to the snowy areas began, and the local population structure underwent fundamental changes. (Note)

Without substantial progress in productivity, development costs in border areas and so-called restricted areas will never come down, and if costs cannot come down, then it is doomed to be financially unable to make ends meet and difficult to sustain in the long term. For example, in the Ming Dynasty, decades after the conquest of Annan, the input and output were seriously out of proportion, and in the end they had to voluntarily give up and let it stand on its own.

Therefore, throughout China's two thousand years of history, the development and consolidation of mainland China's basic market has been done slowly, investing a little at a time, controlling a small area, and canceling when conditions are ripe. Local self-government (jisi), household registration, and complete digestion of the people.

The conquest and development of the Northeast and Lingbei regions by the three countries of Beiming, Dongdan and Bohai were completely different. With the support of Qi, they had a large number of artillery, muskets, as well as gunboats and galleys crisscrossing the rivers, supplemented by sharp weapons. Spears, broadswords and hard armor, coupled with a civilization that was hundreds of years ahead, were nothing less than a dimensionality-reducing blow to the aborigines who were still in a state of ignorance. This allows the conquerors to skip a lot of foreplay and go straight to the point, without worrying about the other person's feelings.

Those who obey will prosper, those who go against will perish!

All tribesmen and wild people who disobeyed the king's rule were mercilessly attacked by the conquerors. Those who were stubborn were punished with death as a warning. Those who were rebellious were relegated to slavery and could only be conquered in mines, roads, rivers, wharves, etc. He spent the rest of his life miserably on the plantation.

While trying their best to suppress and tame local tribes and aboriginal people, they also resorted to massive immigration, constantly recruiting landless, landless, or even bankrupt farmers and refugees from Han Dynasty, Korea, and Japan to fill such a large area of ​​fertile land and expand themselves. basic disk. Although the climate in the outer northeastern region is cold, it is not impossible to adapt to it. After living for two generations, basically there will be no problem. They are engaged in agriculture and commerce in the local area. Some of them open workshops or work as technicians, plus a small number of soldiers, officials, scribes and family members. They basically build the framework of a new society, completely replacing the once ignorant and primitive "savage" lifestyle. . Today's Boli City brings together the benefits of the two rivers, gathers people from all over the world, and attracts wealth from all directions. It has become the largest trading center, fur trading center and shipping center in the Heilongjiang Basin. The wealth created every year is more than the accumulated wealth of the local aborigines in the past hundreds of years. Much more wealth is produced.

As for the original tribal aborigines, they became "minorities" and vassals of the advanced "civilized races". Under the threat of high-pressure force and the influence of highly prosperous material civilization, they had to conform to the "general trend" and passively Get into it.

The city of Boli is praised by countless people as the brightest pearl in Heilongjiang. It contributes more than 80% of the finance and tax revenue to the entire Dongdan Kingdom. Well, it can be said that if Boli City is captured by the enemy, the Dongdan Kingdom will be almost destroyed.

Oh, by the way, there is also a shipyard here, a joint venture between Qiguo, Beiming and Dongdan. It can produce several types of inland river flat-bottomed boats and offshore galleys, as well as steam engine sailing ships, inland river small steamers and gunboats. Perform necessary repairs and maintenance on various vessels within. The home port of the Heilongjiang Squadron jointly established by Qi State and Beiming Dynasty is located in Boli. In addition to guarding and protecting this golden waterway, the significance of using force to deter Qin is self-evident.

In the future, the development of Boli City will only be better, there is no doubt about it. Because Beiming and Qi intend to eventually extend the Shuang (Chengzi) Town (Prefecture) Railway to Boli, thereby speeding up the turnover of goods and people between the two places, and also promoting the economic integration of the region.

This is definitely a shot in the arm and a strong boost to the economic development of Boli and even Dongdan. Railways can bring more people, more goods, more technology, and more capital. This is something that the people in the Northeast have long known.

The two cities of Zhenzhou and Shuangchengzi that have been opened to traffic have achieved rapid development. As the intersection of the two rivers and the trade distribution center, Boli City will theoretically develop rapidly if there is another railway leading to Zhenzhou Port. Drive the economic and population growth of the entire Dongdan Kingdom.

"Where are the people on those boats going to be transported to?" Su Zujie, the deputy captain of Beixue No. 6 and Captain Renyong (lieutenant), stood on the dock and turned to look at three or four flat-bottomed boats carrying more than a hundred people. People and a large amount of supplies slowly left the dock and headed south, and they couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Sir, the Dongdan Kingdom is planning to establish a military stronghold on the Heixiazi Island at the intersection of the two rivers as a peripheral defense support for Boli City." A naval officer who came to greet him replied.

"Hey, Dongdan Kingdom has also begun to take precautions and prepare to actively deal with the threat of Qin." Su Zujie said with a smile.

Judging from its geographical location, Heixiazi Island is the natural barrier and gateway to Boli City. It has a dangerous terrain and is located at the mouth of the Wusuli River. It controls the main waterways of the Heilongjiang and Wusuli rivers. It is the chokepoint of the Heilongjiang and Wusuli rivers and has a very strategic position. important.

The island is not an island in the river, but an alluvial delta with flat terrain, composed of dozens of broken islands and sandbars, and is surrounded by water on three sides. Previously, this area was just a barren meadow and woodland, as well as a large area of ​​wetland, where willows, elms, poplars, oak trees and pastures grew. Rivers crisscrossed the area and aquatic plants were abundant. It was the habitat of various wild animals and birds. land, no one has settled there yet.

Now, the Dongdan Kingdom has learned that the Qin Kingdom has established strongholds and settled in Hailanpao and Yakesa in the upper reaches of Heilongjiang River. It seems that it intends to strengthen the actual control of the area. Like the Bohai Kingdom, it suddenly became nervous and took out large-scale weapons for the first time. With a sum of money, he set up a colonial stronghold and built a fortress on Heixiazi Island to strengthen the peripheral defense of Boli City.

Don't look at the fact that Dongdan and Bohai used advanced firearms to drive the small number of Rakshasa people into panic. They also beat countless local aborigines and tribal aborigines to the ground, forcing them to come out of the mountains and forests and gather villages together. As people under the rule, they not only have to pay various taxes, but also perform military service, serve as the king's vanguard, and continue to conquer new territories and tribes. But if they want to face Qin, it won't be enough.

Without him, there is a huge difference in national strength!

Since the advent of the firearms age, soldiers have become extremely cheap. In the past, it took years and huge costs to train an elite soldier, but in the age of firearms, a farmer only needed a few months of training to go to the battlefield and become a qualified musketeer.

What is the population of Qin?

There are probably hundreds of millions of people!

Can you imagine that as long as Qin can provide enough muskets, they can easily organize a firearms force of more than 100,000 or hundreds of thousands, and then rush in overwhelmingly to annihilate its enemies.

Decades ago, the Qin State had just unified China. Due to years of war and the tyrannical rule of the Qing Dynasty, the vast land of Liaodong had a population of less than 200,000. For the newly born Bohai, Dongdan, and Beiming Zhenzhou , is not a threat at all. Instead, the three countries frequently organize small infiltration troops to go deep into Liaodong, recruit (forcibly kidnap) local residents, and bring them back to their respective territories to enrich their own populations.

However, as the situation within the Qin State slowly returned to calm, relying on its huge population, it continued to immigrate to the border areas, established many military and civilian villages, and built a large number of fortresses, which not only curbed the invasion of Bohai, Dongdan and Beiming. The invasion also radiated their military power to the Songhua River and Nen River basins.

More than 20 years ago, the Qin State expanded it into a city based on the original Alchukha Fort (today's Acheng District, Harbin), immigrated 2,000 households, and renamed it Zhenning.

It is said that Zhenning City currently has more than 50,000 residents. There are many forts around it and nearly one million acres of farmland. It has basically achieved self-sufficiency in food and can effectively support the Qin army's steady advancement in the north and west directions.

Up to now, Qin has finally extended its tentacles to Heilongjiang, Jianhailanpao and Yakesa villages, and has begun to show its sharp fangs. How can this not frighten Dongdan, who is a small and weak country?

Dad Qi, help!

Brother Daming, help me!
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　Note: This paragraph is excerpted from "The Rise of South America in 1630"

　　

　

(End of this chapter)