The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 445 Measuring China's Material Resources
Two miles east of the Wuzhenhachao artillery position, there is a low, gentle slope. Near dusk, a huge golden dragon flag was raised on the slope.

The founding emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Dudu, surrounded by a group of goshaha, climbed up the slope and looked out at the battlefield filled with smoke.

In his hand, Dudu held a telescope inlaid with shark skin and diamonds. This treasure came from faraway Europe.

As far as the emperor knew, it was produced on a small island called Britain, which was on the other side of the continent and was smaller than Liaoxi.

At this moment, Emperor Dudu was concentrating on looking at the battlefield in the distance.

Around Tiger Terrace, the relentless Qi artillery bombardment finally subsided. Du Du could see that most of the Qi artillery had been destroyed, and the rocket launchers on the platform's ground had also been eliminated by the Qing army, leaving more than a dozen forts completely defenseless. The surviving defenders hunkered down in their fortresses, occasionally firing back with musket barrels extended from the platform's battlements. These muskets failed to inflict any casualties on the Qing troops behind the shield carts.

Their anxious look looked both pitiful and funny.

"Hahaha! The Kaiyuan Army has come to this day. What a turn of events."

Du Du smiled with relief as he spoke. Ever since Amin was defeated in Sarhu in the 47th year of Wanli, the Eight Banners warriors had been beaten by the Kaiyuan army. Faced with the sharp artillery bombardment of the Kaiyuan artillery, the Later Jin soldiers had almost no ability to fight back and could only passively take the beating.

Now, with the support of European allies, the Eight Banners can finally hold their heads high.

"Your Majesty is wise and powerful, and his military strategy is even better than Sun Wu's. The army will attack like a lion fighting a rabbit with all their might, and will wipe out Liu's strongholds one by one. These trapped turtles can only wait for death!"

Fan Wencai stood behind the emperor, looking at the battlefield in the distance which was covered with white smoke, and could not see anything clearly.

However, this did not prevent him from flattering Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong. Some time ago, Fan Wencai spent money and food to negotiate a marriage alliance with the State of Qi, but in the end got nothing. He felt that he was guilty of the Qing Dynasty and was afraid that the emperor would blame him.

Du Du chuckled, accepted the Grand Secretary's meaningless flattery, and handed the telescope to Fan Wencai.

"Grand Secretary, take a good look and see how the Qi army was defeated."

Fan Wencai echoed twice and carefully took the expensive telescope. His fingers trembled, afraid of breaking the glass lens. He was dizzy and looked behind the Qing army.

"This way,"

Du Du grabbed the scholar's pigtail and pulled Fan Wencai back like a sheep.

Fan Wencheng died tragically, so Du Du took good care of Fan Wencai. He usually gave this servant many rewards and cultivated Fan Wencai as his confidant.

"Your Majesty, the Qi army has been defeated!"

Fan Wencai laughed loudly, and the artillery fire from Wuzhenhachao in front stopped. Du Du knew that this meant it was the turn of the infantry to move forward, and Laohutai was about to be captured.

Fan Wencai's vision showed destroyed enemy towers and forts, and the bodies of Qi soldiers lying scattered on the ground.

The breastwork in front of the trench had been pushed down by the baoyi, and the Zhenglan Banner infantrymen who were in charge of the first attack were driving a group of Nikans over the breastwork to fill the trench behind.

The Qing army captured more than a dozen fortresses around Laohutai, and the infantry soldiers following behind were using long swords and axes to finish off the injured but not dead Qi soldiers.

The Grand Secretary gently raised the telescope and saw that in the distance, the Qi army on the south gate wall of Shenyang were like ants on a hot pan, wandering around everywhere.

"Master, Shenyang is in a panic. They can't hold on!"

At this time, the commander Wuzhenhachao and his deputy general who were in charge of the bombardment rushed to the Zhijin Dragon Banner and reported the results of the bombardment in detail to the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty.

The Wuzhenhachao artillery unit recently formed by the Qing Dynasty had a total of more than 580 people, two-thirds of whom were Han people, and the remaining one-third were from the Zhenghuang Banner, Luosha, and Hongmaoyi (British and French gunners). It was led by Tong Puhan and Ma Guangyuan as the deputy general.

Tong Puhan was the eldest son of the late Tong Yangxing, the Jialazhangjing of the Han Eight Banners, and Ma Guangyuan was a good friend of Tong Yangxing. After the Battle of Hetuala, the two of them drifted to Beihai and studied artillery techniques with Luosha missionaries for several years. After returning from their studies, they were familiar with firing all kinds of artillery.

Du Du put away his beloved telescope, looked up at the two loyal artillery commanders, and said with his whiskers trembling slightly:

"When Prince Consort Shi Wuli (Tong Yangxing) was alive, he made great contributions to the Great Jin. He followed the old Khan to conquer the Ming Dynasty and successively captured more than ten cities in Liaodong. It was a hateful thing that Liu Zhaosun had Prince Consort Ling Chi executed!" Du Du said as he wiped away the non-existent tears from the corners of his eyes.

"Tong Puhan and Ma Guangyuan, you two are loyal to the old Khan. You fled to Russia to avoid the traitor Liu. Now you have returned to the Qing Dynasty. You have survived a great disaster and will surely have good fortune in the future. Our Qing Dynasty is strong in military and with the help of friendly countries, we can wipe out the traitor Liu in no time... How many shells have you fired today?"

Tong Puhan's eyes were red, and he knelt down on the ground and said:

"Your Majesty, Wu Zhenhachao fired 35,000 jin of cannonballs, all of which hit the thief Liu. He has lost his nerve!"

Ma Guangyuan also said: "Wuzhenhachao lost 300 bannermen and 50 artillerymen."

Such casualties are within an acceptable range.

"Alright, in future wars, we will still have to use cannons. Our ships are strong and our cannons are powerful, and they are invincible. The Kaiyuan Army, the Qi Army, the Qi State, and the Ming State will all be crushed into slag in front of the red cannons!
Du Du encouraged the two men and gave them yellow jackets. At this time, Fan Wencai stepped forward and whispered that the British were coming.

~~~~~
When the English merchant Rupprecht Cohlen described the great changes in firearms, bastions, naval guns and naval battles that had taken place in Europe, Dudu did not necessarily believe every word he said.

However, the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty listened to the report of this English merchant with more concentration and interest than to the "auspicious signs" of Fan Wencai or other Han bannermen - although in the past two months, Du Du was obsessed with the various auspicious signs presented by the slaves from all over Liaodong, all of which indicated that the Qing Dynasty would enjoy great fortune for thousands of years.

Since the first year of the Kangxi and Qianlong reigns—more than six months to be exact—over seventy cities in Liaodong, large and small, have been incorporated into the Qing territory one after another by Dudu. While the emperor's pace of territorial expansion wasn't unprecedented, it was at least significantly faster than that of the two previous Great Khans.

According to the conservative estimates of several Han officials and university scholars such as Fan Wencai, at the current rate of expansion of the Qing army, the Liaoxi Plain and the 13 provinces within the Great Wall will belong to the Qing Dynasty by the end of next year at the latest.

On the second day after the outbreak of the Battle of Shenyang, that is, October 19th of the first year of the Kangxi and Qianlong reigns, Emperor Dudu summoned Mr. Colen to his camp. This was the seventh meeting between the two sides. Prior to this, the arms trade between the East India Company and the Qing Dynasty had been in full swing.

As usual, Kelun played a game with Dudu. Dudu held the white pieces and Kelun held the black pieces. Half an hour later, the Qing emperor won with a slight advantage.

The eunuchs held up two glasses of French red wine. Dudu and Collen drank from each other. The British merchant pointed at the chessboard and said:
"Your chessboard, sire, is inlaid with ebony and maple. The square on which your discerning eye is looking was cut from a tree that grew in a drought. Do you see the grain? There is a small knot. A young bud appeared there in the early spring, but was broken by a frost during the night."

The merchant Kelun's clear voice was like pearls falling on a jade plate, pleasant to the ears. What he meant was that the Qing monarch needed to have a pair of divine eyes that were free from likes and dislikes, experience, and stereotypes, and use a macroscopic and three-dimensional causal thinking to observe the present and care for the country he ruled.

Translated into adult language, it means: The Emperor of the Qing Dynasty can use any means to achieve his own interests, and should not be as timid as the Southern Ming court.

Before contacting the Qing Dynasty, the British East India Company, eager to retaliate against the Kaiyuan Army, had repeatedly sent notes to the Hongguang court in the south, hoping to negotiate directly with His Majesty the Emperor Zhu Changling to establish an alliance of mutual assistance and friendship to fight against the rebellious Qi.

After the Battle of Tsushima, several European colonial powers lost trade with Japan, Ming Dynasty and other places. East Asian trade activities came to a complete halt. Several East India companies suffered heavy losses and almost faced bankruptcy.

In order to punish the barbarians in the East and to maintain the spirit of free, equal, friendly and fair trade, Britain, France, the Netherlands and other countries temporarily gave up their struggle in the Atlantic and devoted their limited energy to the precarious Baoqi in the Far East.

As the representative of Britain, France and the Netherlands (now with Tsarist Russia as well), Cologne hopes to exchange the Southern Ming's opening of trading ports, opium trade, tariff rates, and permanent residency for their military support (mainly in the form of arms and instructors) for the small southern court.

The result is predictable. Kelon was treated coldly by Liu Zongzhou, who was the chief minister of the cabinet at that time. Shi Kefa came forward, scolded Kelon, and expelled the colonists from Nanjing by force.

This incident occurred on the first day of June in the first year of Wuding, and is known in history as the "Nanjing Incident."

However, Du Du, who was living in a foreign land, did not have these concerns.

As long as he could wipe out Liu Zhaosun, completely eliminate the remnants of the Qi army, and complete the mission that Lao Nu had failed to complete, he would accept all the terms, even if they were more harsh than the Treaty of Niuguan. After all, the area inside the pass was not the Jurchen land and could be used for trading.

Of course, the Qing emperor's literary accomplishment could not reach the level of the British, who could not speak eloquently and easily come up with a famous quote full of philosophy.

Du Du drank the wine and told Kelun the Qing Dynasty's conditions.

"Measure the material resources of China and win the favor of other countries."

"The Jurchens are trustworthy and keep their words! Unlike the hypocritical Han people you met in Nanjing. The Qing Dynasty is in a decisive battle with the rebellious Qi. I need more naval guns and gunners. As long as you can meet my requirements, I will agree to all the terms and I will never break my promise!"

(End of this chapter)