The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 185 The Logic of War

Perhaps the most obvious change from a traditional agricultural economy to an industrial economy is that the country can devote a large amount of manpower and material resources to the armed forces and war industries.

The sudden expansion of industrial wealth allowed the country to support a larger and more professional army. In this productivity competition, the entire world gradually formed a serious imbalance in violent technology and armed force. A certain military power launched any war with the powerful national power of industrial imperialism, facing other agricultural empires (such as the Mughal Empire). At that time, technological and military superiority almost completely eliminated the costs of war.

At the same time, the natural jungle law of "natural selection and survival of the fittest" mentioned in the "Theory of Evolution" written decades ago was extended to human society, which provided a ready basis for colonial expansion and foreign war and plunder. The excuse made some people take it for granted that "ignorant and backward races are destined to be in a subordinate position or extinct", and the human world has since become a battlefield for the strong.

In this logic of power, there is never a place for the weak. Civilization and morality are excuses for the weak, and conquest and plunder are the logic of the strong.

As a sharp weapon invented by mankind, the bow and arrow itself is a more efficient killing weapon. The emergence of the bow and arrow rewrote and dominated part of the history of warfare until the emergence of guns.

Before the advent of firearms, warfare depended entirely on the physical strength and skills of soldiers, which required innate qualities and long-term training.

After the advent of firearms, physical skills were no longer important. Discipline, order and obedience became the key to determining war, and industrial power became an important support in determining victory or defeat.

In the agricultural era, barbarian peoples could easily conquer advanced civilizations by relying on physical advantages such as riding and shooting. However, in today's industrial age, barbarian peoples can only endure arbitrary attacks from advanced civilizations.

After entering the industrial age, the so-called war completely turned into a competition of industrial productivity and technical resources, and humans were just test subjects or even ruthless sacrifices of technological progress.

Under the modern industrial system of mass production, people produce weapons just like other machines. No one cares about its use. What they focus on is that they can be produced and sold in large quantities and at low cost.

In terms of maritime strength comparison, in 1725, the Qi Navy had more than 320 warships and auxiliary ships of various types, with a total ship tonnage of 42.5 tons, while the British Navy only had more than 200 ships, and the number of small and medium-sized ships accounted for Not a small proportion, the total tonnage is only 23.7 tons, followed by the French and Spanish navies, whose total tonnage is 14 tons and 8.5 tons respectively.

齐国每年的财政收入高达近1.8亿元，折合英镑，那就是1.4亿多英镑（每1金圆券相当于0.82英镑）。而英格兰每年财政收入在战前才不过800万英镑，仅为齐国的5.7%。

Whether it is technological backwardness or backwardness in national strength, it is both the result and the reason for being beaten.

"When we drive battleships, raise muskets, and set up cannons, the enemy can be silent and quiet; otherwise, they will chatter and argue with you."

In other words, as long as violence is developed enough, it will naturally have the legal right to conquer and enslave others.

As Mozi said, "The king of a big country said, Kuan Ran: I live in a big country and do not attack small countries. How can I be considered great?"

However, although the Qi Navy's strength ranks first in the world, they still believe that they have not established an absolute advantage. In the view of their naval generals, to establish and maintain Qi's dominance, their naval strength must be stronger than the combined strength of the other four major naval countries (Britain, France, Spain, and the Netherlands) except Qi. This ensures that Qi can accept the challenges of two, three or even more navies at the same time.

As an English aristocrat and a noble gentleman, Baron Compton deeply disliked this trip.

In the more than ninety years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, after winning one war after another, the people of Qi have developed arrogance and pride.

Some Qi scholars once claimed that “the outcome of a war is often decided in the factory.”

I still remember that the wars our Qi State has waged over the years have never seemed to last more than two years. Even opponents as powerful as the Mughal Empire and the Persian Empire were defeated with devastating fighting methods and had to be defeated. Forced surrender.

When it comes to the disputes and confrontations it faces, Qi State seems to have completely failed to show any gentleness and humility advertised by the Confucian civilization on the mainland of China.

It is precisely because of its huge steel production that Qi has built more than 90% of the world's railways, with a traffic mileage of more than 35000 kilometers, while England does not even have a 1-inch railway.

In the eyes of some Qi generals, war technology is a noble and complex science, and the final outcome can be calculated before the war.

Under such a huge power gap, the Kingdom of England was able to resist Qi for nearly three years, which shocked the people at home.

In the war between Qi and Britain, even though the Qi State crossed tens of thousands of miles of sea routes and labored on expeditions, it undoubtedly had an absolute advantage in any dimension.

At present, in the military production workshops of Qi State, the production of flintlock guns is not much different from the production of hardware products. With the support of machines, they are continuously manufactured like flowing water.

In the era of Qin Shihuang, large-scale standardized manufacturing of bronze crossbows, which was rapidly produced in units of 10,000, was achieved.

In terms of steel production, although England obtained the technology of coke iron-making (steel) from some source decades ago, its annual output was only 1720 tons (original history, Britain's iron output only reached 2 tons in ), while Qi's steel production exceeds more than million tons, and the steel production of Jianye Prefecture alone reaches more than two million tons.

"If you fall behind, you will be beaten."

Regarding the strength of the Qi State and the possibility of facing their aggressive attitude, England's Minister Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Spencer Compton, Baron Wilmington, was mentally prepared before coming to Hanzhou.

Have a good time riding a horse and hunting in the manor, or have a cup of afternoon tea under the warm sunshine and talk about Shakespeare's plays and the management of the farm and factory. At night, when the lights are on, it will be so comfortable and warm to attend a grand dance with a beautiful female companion.

However, his close friend, King George II of England, requested him with great sincerity that in order to save England from the crisis, for millions of Lord's people to escape from the haze of war, and to eliminate the maritime blockade, he must make certain sacrifices on behalf of The king and parliament went to Qi in person to meet with their emperor and cabinet prime minister, thus providing the most active mediation efforts to end the war.

The head of the government, First Chancellor of the Exchequer (the predecessor of the Prime Minister) Robert Walpole also stated that the Kingdom of England really could not continue this war any longer. Almost half of the Royal Navy's ships were lost, and more than 10,000 officers and soldiers were lost. Dozens of generals with rich experience in naval warfare were killed or captured, leaving the Royal Navy with few people to lead the troops.

Ireland is already at war. Except for a few counties in the northeast that are still in the hands of the English, all other counties are controlled by Irish rebels. Countless English and Scottish immigrants have been massacred, women have been insulted, and even children He was also brutally murdered to vent the anger and hatred that the Irish people had accumulated for hundreds of years.

The Irish rebels not only received a large amount of ordnance and material support from Qi, they were even assisted by thousands of elite black slaves from the Kingdom of Morocco. Coupled with the support and support of countless Irish people, the English counter-rebellion forces The team gradually lost control of the entire situation and continued to retreat to the northeast.

What shocked the Kingdom of England even more was that after several consecutive failed landing operations, the mercenaries organized by the "old tyrant" James III successfully landed in Scotland with the support of a group of Scottish Catholic nobles in April last year, and then marched into Scotland. Edinburgh.

The local garrison in England, led by General John Cole, hastily responded to the battle. As a result, it lost the battle and was attacked from both sides by the Jacobite rebels. Almost the entire army was annihilated.

Edinburgh was captured by the Jacobite rebels. For a time, an undercurrent surged throughout Scotland. Dozens of Scottish Catholic nobles responded and raised troops to express support for the restoration of the Stuart dynasty.

The Royal Government of England had to once again conduct nationwide mobilization and recruit army troops to prepare to put down the Jacobite rebellion first. The two sides fought successive battles in the Northumberland Highlands. Although the rebels were defeated several times, they were unable to inflict serious damage due to terrain restrictions. After they were defeated, they came back again.

Furthermore, the Qi navy spied on coastal ports, intercepted and attacked Royal Navy ships, making it impossible for the royal government to attack directly behind the Jacobite rebels by sea, resulting in a stalemate on the battle line and failure to wipe out the rebels.

The Royal Navy suffered heavy losses, and Gibraltar and Menorca, which were unable to receive adequate supplies and support, were finally captured by the Spanish army. Nearly 10,000 soldiers and civilians in the two places were captured.

More than a thousand officers and soldiers of the Kingdom of England stationed on the island of Malta were forced to surrender to the Qi navy in February last year.

At this point, the Kingdom of England had completely lost control of the entire Mediterranean region.

Not only has there been no improvement militarily, but it has also suffered frequent defeats and lost troops and generals. The economy and finances have also been extremely bad, even a little disappointing.

More than two years of war have burdened the government with an additional debt of more than eight million pounds, making it difficult for the First Chancellor of the Exchequer to breathe. The government wanted to continue to issue new government bonds, but it also received a cold reception from the market.

Also, in a war that may not be won, no one will take advantage of it and continue to invest real money in it.

Overseas trade and fisheries suffered a devastating blow, and at least 40% of the merchant ships that ventured out at night were unable to escape the pursuit of Qi navy ships.

With the support of steam engines, how could ordinary merchant ships outrun the pursuit of Qi warships?

The fight can no longer go on. The Kingdom of England simply does not have the strength to fight a long-term war with Qi.

Their ships came from the mainland in batches, and it seemed that they would never be finished.

What makes the Royal Navy even more frightened is that after the Qi Navy tasted the benefits of steam engine battleships, the ships that came to Europe to participate in the war were replaced by steam-powered ships one after another, and even the "invulnerable" ironclad ships were sent in one go. Two of them were killed and they ravaged Royal Navy warships wantonly.

Faced with such internal and external difficulties, the Kingdom of England was prepared to surrender to Qi, even if it paid a heavy price.

The people of Qi showed an obvious victor attitude towards the arrival of the English envoy. As if to put more pressure on the Kingdom of England, after Baron Compton arrived in Jianye, he arranged a series of visits to let him fully feel the wealth and power of Qi.

The Jianye Shipyard has various advanced equipment, several huge shipyards, and dense workers are building several merchant ships with a displacement of more than 5,000 tons at the same time.

There are tall and huge buildings one after another in Jianye City, and commuter rail streetcars are clanging past one after another. On the bustling streets, the vehicles and people are constantly crowded, as if they have not been affected by any war at all.

As night falls, although the sky is getting darker, the streets are getting brighter. Rows of street lamps were lit up one after another, making the streets look like bright jade belts under the city's night sky; various shops also lit up lanterns at the door, and waiters stood on the street, hoarsely soliciting business; night markets, hotels, shopping malls The shopping mall is brightly lit, and it seems that the burning lamp oil is as free as white water.

Factories are dotted around the city, with the roar of machines running around the clock. Tall, straight chimneys stand in every corner of the city, like patches of dense urban jungle.

Several top research institutions, more than a dozen universities with a full range of disciplines, hundreds of primary and secondary schools, and eight years of free education undertaken by the government have provided this city with a steady stream of talents at all levels.

It is said that the city has a population of more than 600,000, and the wealth it creates every year is no less than that of a medium-sized European country.

In Qi State, there are several cities like Jianye.

After visiting the artillery production workshops and steel plants of Daqi Heavy Industry, Baron Compton wrote in his diary: "In the place where these war machines and these terrible destructive machines are made, the workers easily operate the large cranes, Many machines such as winches, levers and pulleys are busy operating, everything is so novel and so efficient. The powerful cannons are like making sausages on the farm, simple and bright!"

"War in the machine age can no longer cultivate the noble knight's virtues such as spirit, bravery, honor, and manliness. What it imposes on people is only the experience of complete destruction, and they can only become insignificant under the giant wheel of unilateral massacre. The humble feeling of a little thing. Facing a country like Qi with strong industrial production capabilities, our kingdom is so helpless and so sad."

"This is a kind of crushing in terms of strength, and it is also a huge gap in national strength. The superb command art and fearless combat courage, everything seems so incompatible in the face of the surging production and manufacturing power of Qi State. pale."

“The noise of machinery always sides with violence against the holy soul, with death against the frail life.”

(End of this chapter)