Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 490: Great Lack of Virtue
The original provincial garrison had a variety of equipment, including swords, spears, shields, matchlock rifles, and some French rapid-fire cannons.

The characteristics of this cannon are that it is extremely powerful within thirty meters and has an extremely fast firing rate, but it will be very difficult to fire at any distance.

Qi Yun can't be blamed for the equipment, it's all Wang Ziteng's fault. Now it has been changed to a patrol battalion, which belongs to the nature of the security army, so it doesn't matter whether there are artillery or not.

Originally, Qi Yun had an armed force in his hands, which was the garrison of the Humen Fort. After being taken away by Wang Ziteng, it was never returned and he did not ask for it back.

Jia Lian is not Qi Yun. The fort is related to the safety of coastal defense, so he naturally has to take it into his hands.

Don’t say that the foreigners dare not fight you. As long as you are weak, they will dare to take advantage of you.

The Angusans are always unreasonable. Only when they know they can't beat you, will they be polite to you.

Today, Western countries still look at China through a filter, just like when we looked at European and American countries when the country opened its doors in the 1980s.

People are always accustomed to imagining a faraway place as an ideal country that conforms to their own ideal of a perfect country.

When Jia Lian climbed up to the fort and saw a number of rusty cannons, he called the officer in charge of the fort to ask about them.

"Can these guns still fire? How often do they practice?"

The lieutenant commander of the fort answered truthfully: "This fort has been here since the Ming Dynasty, and most of these cannons are antiques. After Taiwei Wang came to Guangzhou, he replaced some cannons and asked me to fire live ammunition at least three times a month. These old cannons can indeed fire, but they are not powerful enough and cannot reach far."

Jia Lian went to see the cannons that Wang Ziteng had replaced, the cast iron cannons.

"These cannons are all three thousand jin cannons. Commander Wang ordered the craftsmen to cast them. They can hit the sea three or four miles away."

According to the concept of miles in this era, it is about 2,000 meters. As a coastal defense artillery, it is enough.

In fact, warships would not engage in direct fire with artillery batteries. Only a fool would do so. In the battle to attack an artillery battery, the enemy usually landed somewhere else and launched an attack from the side and rear.

The fort garrison was fully staffed, 3,500 men. After Jia Lian looked at it, he did not spend too much energy on it. If the enemy really landed and attacked the fort, then they would definitely lose control of the sea completely.

The consequence of losing control of the sea is that the enemy can choose to land anywhere along the more than 10,000 kilometers of coastline. You can't set up defenses everywhere, right?

Therefore, the key is to build a strong navy. The role of the artillery is mainly to protect the seaport and some necessary routes, such as the Turkish Strait and the waterway from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean.

By the way, in this area during World War I, the British, at Churchill’s insistence, launched a large-scale landing operation. The consequences were... hehe.

Jia Lian also realized that Wang Ziteng was so kind to cast a new cannon for him to practice with. Later, when he failed to make a suitable naval cannon, he still went to buy one.

According to Xue Pan's information, the middleman was Sassoon.

Speaking of Sassoon, this damn guy has a very sharp nose. After Jia Lian came to Guangzhou, he ran away to Annan and refused to come to Guangzhou no matter what, as if he had realized that Jia Lian had ill intentions towards him.

It was a pity that Jia Lian did not find Sassoon, because he had always wanted to find a chance to kill him. It can be said that Jia Lian would not hesitate if there was a chance.

Jim and other British naval officers finally saw the naval guns, which were made in the Zhou Empire.

From the appearance, it is basically a copy of the British naval gun, and no patent fee has been paid. No matter whether it is a 12-pound gun or a 24-pound gun, no patent fee will be paid.

Jim and his companions didn't care about it at all. The patent fees were not paid to them. Instead, it was Jia Lian who paid them salaries, and high salaries at that.

It is very obvious who to be loyal to, and everyone can think clearly about it.

Generally speaking, there is no nationalism at present; this has to wait until the French Revolution begins.

The newly arrived European ships brought the latest news, which was about the North American colonies.

The thirteen states of North America officially started the War of Independence, but to be honest, they have always been fighting guerrilla warfare and no serious war has ever taken place.

Those big scenes in the movies are just for viewing, don't take them seriously.

The American War of Independence lasted for eight years and would have collapsed without the support of the French. The latest news shows that Louis XVI has decided to support the North American independence forces.

The truth behind the Boston Tea Party in history textbooks was that the British sold tea too cheaply, which led local merchants to hoard the product.

The North American militias often collapsed in battles with the British army. How should I put it? North America is a large area, and the little force the British invested was really just a handful of nails thrown into the sea.

Judging from the results, the British were worn down, not defeated. As for the combat effectiveness of the US military, well, after independence, the Americans set their sights on Canada and took the initiative to invade.

Then, the White House was set on fire by four thousand British troops and Canadian militia.

In general, the combat effectiveness of the US military has always been very poor. No wonder Britain and France did not give Wilson any face after World War I.

The U.S. military's combat effectiveness has increased step by step. Only after experiencing the baptism of two world wars did the U.S. military become a strong army.

For this purpose, Jia Lian specially called Jim to talk to him about North America.

Coincidentally, Jim has actually been to North America and can tell you a little bit about it.

Jim had a deep understanding of the great shortcomings and virtues of the British, and he complained bitterly about how the Royal Navy was inhumane. He also said that if he were in North America, he would also rebel.

Jia Lian said that North America is vast and sparsely populated, and the British army must not have invested much manpower to fight across the sea. If the independence army is willing to fight a decisive battle, it will be easy to deal with. Concentrate and destroy them all at once. The problem is, what if there is no decisive battle, but what if they circle around the British army in the vast North America? You must know that in the colonies, every family has guns and horses, and they are very mobile. In addition, they are familiar with the terrain, and they can fight and run away, making them difficult to destroy. As locals, it is also easier to get supplies. In addition, the French will definitely give support, so this is destined to be a long war, which is completely different from the previous battles of the British army to open up colonies. If the past combat mode is applied again, the rebellion is doomed to fail.

Jim really didn't know Jia Lian's true purpose, so he could only follow Jia Lian's words. So how should he solve the problem?

Jia Lian did not mention North America, but talked about the battles in Jinchuan and Xiaojinchuan, which was also a local rebellion. The strategy adopted in the rebellion was to isolate the inside and the outside and block the rebels from obtaining strategic materials.

Of course, the French also have colonies in North America, and it is difficult to block the rebels from obtaining supplies.

Jia Lian chuckled: "People are also strategic materials. The British army can gather people from some scattered settlements and detain them. Without the settlements scattered across North America, it will be difficult for the rebels to obtain supplies during their operations. People always need to eat and rest."

Such a tactic of great morals was actually invented by the British during the Boer War. So, don't say that the concentration camps of the British mustache were the first to be invented. The concentration camps were first created by the British, then the British mustache learned from them, and later the United States also learned from them, giving the Japanese Americans a vivid practical lesson. Later, there were Japanese regiments in the US military, and their combat effectiveness was so crazy that even the American soldiers flying the Stars and Stripes were afraid of them.

With the mentality of "if there is a date or not, try three times", Jia Lian chatted with Jim like a bunch of nonsense. Although Jim is loyal to money now, he must have some mission, and besides, he has relatives in China. Jia Lian even specially treated Jim to a good meal and sent him away after he was full of wine and food.

Jim left in confusion, and when he returned to the barracks he was puzzled as to why the governor wanted to talk to him about this?
According to Churchill's request, Jim had to make a report every month, send someone to India, and then transfer it back to China. For this purpose, Churchill also allocated a special fund.

Jim was not very concerned about this mission. After all, in the Royal Navy, these aristocratic superiors were more annoying than each other.

Jim had been muddling through things all along, but today, on a whim, remembering that he had not written a report this month, he sorted out his conversation with Jia Lian and had someone take it to India.

You know what, when Churchill received the letter, he was in India, and he didn't rush back to England. After all, the East India Company was not the only one to develop India. The Portuguese and the French also developed in India. The Portuguese were better, but the French had always been difficult to deal with, and the local natives still had some resistance spirit.

Let me put it this way, the British with great moral shortcomings are troublemakers all over the world, and the French are the British with great moral shortcomings.

In short, the French never tire of causing trouble for the British.

Churchill was shocked after reading the letter. He had also been to North America and knew that what Jia Lian said was true. According to the British army's combat mode, they always wanted to defeat the opponent in a decisive battle. Maybe they would be exhausted and give up in the end. Of course, the British lost North America, and Louis XVI lost his head.

As for Jia Lian's mentality, Churchill really didn't understand. Maybe it was just idle chat, but what he said made a lot of sense. I will send someone back to the country immediately and try to attract the attention of the military.

Jia Lian’s real mentality is actually very simple. There are already many powerful countries in the world, and he doesn’t want another North American gang.

In short, if you stick a stick into North America, it doesn't matter what it gets into, and it may not even be able to do anything.

In fact, Jia Lian really wants to find someone to try the North Pacific route. In the past, he lacked experience in long-distance sailing, and it must be extremely difficult to explore on his own. Can't we hire the British now? As long as you pay, these people still have a little credibility. After all, as one of the world's powers, the Zhou Empire is likely to be the most powerful one, which is still very deterrent to these mercenaries.

Jia Lian thought so and was already preparing to implement it. Of course, the prerequisite was to first conquer Nanyang and train a group of qualified navy before proceeding to the next step.

All I can say is that the Pacific Ocean is too big and too far away. The North American route is more than 10,000 kilometers. As long as he can get there and find the gold, Jia Lian is confident that he can make some noise.

Apart from other things, it is still possible to stick a nail in the west coast of North America. After operating for a hundred years, in terms of management, the Chinese are far ahead of the Angolans.

To put it bluntly, when facing the stupid North American Indians, the Chinese would never commit genocide like the Anglo-Saxons did. That would be too much trouble.

Alas, it’s still too far. Even if a route is built, it will take a year for a trip and two years for a round trip.

All I can say is that North America has a very advantageous geographical location, surrounded by two oceans.

There is another important factor that has contributed to the development of the United States, and that is immigration. Don’t be fooled by Trump’s clamoring about immigration, that’s for votes.

Without tens of millions of European immigrants, the United States would not have developed at all. Without people, even the best places are useless.

After a casual move, Jia Lian ignored it and focused entirely on building the army.

When I am not busy, I have to receive officials from time to time. After all, during festivals, people really give gifts.

Now, the Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and officials are coming in one after another to give gifts. Jia Lian has been meeting with his subordinates for three consecutive days.

The closer we get to the end of the year, the more useful the identity of governor becomes.

After the implementation of the Kaocheng System, the evaluation of subordinate officials was conducted once a year, which was the source of the governor's power.

Just tell me whether the officials below care about it or not.

Not to mention the prefects and county magistrates below, even the three officials could only be docile at this critical juncture.

Although they expressed strong dissatisfaction with the appearance of the Patrol Battalion and the River Defense Battalion, the Patrol Battalion patrolling the streets every day actually eroded the local public security rights, which was visible to the naked eye. Originally, it was the responsibility of the local government, but when these big-headed soldiers encountered it, they would really take care of it.

Moreover, the Patrol Battalion and the River Defense Battalion not only encroached upon the power of the government, but also stretched their hands to seize the power in some gray areas at the local level.

How should I put it? After the gangs were purged, some grey areas had power vacuums, which were normally filled by new gangs. But the patrol battalion and the river defense battalion didn't care about that.

They had weapons in their hands, and they had the right to inspect the merchant caravans and ships. Moreover, Jia Lian did not treat them unfairly, and gave them a right, that is, the slips they issued were endorsed by the governor's office. In the past, local offices set up roadblocks at will and collected exorbitant taxes and fees. Now Jia Lian issued an order that all counties and prefectures were not allowed to set up tax checkpoints privately.

After merchants entered Guangzhou, they only had to pay taxes once, that is, after completing the transaction in the trading hall. In addition, Jia Lian also ordered the prohibition of various taxes such as entry taxes at the local level. The patrol camp had the right to supervise such taxes. Jia Lian didn't care how the officials below complained. The officials had no choice but to torment the gentry.

After all, Jia Lian had already made it clear that in the annual evaluation, taxation and public security were the most important criteria, and education and the like were not important to Jia Lian.

(End of this chapter)