The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 357 Qianlong's final ruthlessness and decisiveness

"Let me test your code!" King Mo couldn't help but gasp when he got the pre-war observation report of Huang Silang and Wu Xing.

"Are you sure you saw it right?"

Huang Silang and Wu Xing nodded at the same time and said in unison: "I'm not mistaken, absolutely not mistaken."

"Have you two ever seen anyone wearing the uniform of a fifth-rank civil servant in the artillery formation? Especially someone from the West?" Mo Zibu continued to ask.

The two recalled for a moment, then slowly shook their heads. "No, but there was indeed someone wearing a seventh or eighth rank civil official uniform. It's just that they were too far away to see their faces clearly. I don't know if they were Han officials or Western officials."

"Go down!" Mo Zibu waved his hand, "Call Father Peter for me."

Looking at the two people's backs as they walked away, Mo Zibu walked back and forth a few steps a little anxiously, still muttering to himself.

"Qianlong, Qianlong, you son of a bitch, you really think highly of me. You really wish I were dead!"

The reason why Mo Zibu said this is that among the Qing Dynasty's artillery, there are only three kinds of real weapons, or even national heavy weapons.

They are the Weiyuan General Cannon, the Nine-Section Ten-Complete Cannon and the Iron Mother Cannon, all of which were supervised by the missionary Ferdinand Verbiest.

Don't be fooled by the impression left on people in later generations that the Qing Dynasty highly praised the 5,000-jin cannon, 3,000-jin cannon, etc. In fact, this kind of cannon was inconvenient to transport and was basically used for defending cities and on artillery platforms, and was not often used during expeditions.

The main firepower of the expedition came from the three types of cannons mentioned above, ranging from 500 to 800 to 900 kilograms.

Among them, the Weiyuan General Cannon is actually what Europe calls a mortar. However, due to differences in casting technology and war requirements at the time, the barrel was lengthened, resulting in insufficient ejection angle. This is also the reason why Wu Xing admitted his mistake.

But no matter what, this thing is a powerful artillery that can fire 30-jin shells and explosive bombs.

Even to Mo Zibu, this is considered an important firepower output tool, and the weight is approximately equal to 28-36 pounds, depending on the casting time and craftsmanship.

This cannon is the most important weapon of the Qing Dynasty and is only used in large and fierce battles.

Moreover, since the death of missionaries like Nan Huairen, no one has been able to cast such cannons for the Qing Dynasty. Mo Zibu estimates that the Qing Dynasty now has only about 40 cannons in stock.

The other nine-section ten-part cannons and iron mother-and-mother cannons were also very powerful, especially the nine-section ten-part cannon. The barrel of this thing could be disassembled into nine sections for assembly, which was extremely convenient. The Qing Dynasty relied on it to defeat the Junggar tribe, which was fully equipped with firearms.

After a while, Peter came over, and Mo Zibu hurried over to greet him, "Father, I heard that Jiang Youren died. Is that true?"

Peter knew what Mo Zibu was worried about and nodded confidently. "Yes, the Lord's most devout servant, my brother Benoit Michel, passed away two years ago. He was buried in the capital."

"Huh!" Mo Zibu let out a long breath. Jiang Youren was a famous mathematician, astronomer, architect, and was also proficient in casting cannons.

He trained a large number of gunners for the Qing Dynasty who understood firing tables and scales and could calculate ballistics. He also cast a batch of decent artillery. As long as he was really dead, the Qing Dynasty would have one less gunner and one less cannon.

"Father, are there any other powerful missionaries serving the Qing Dynasty?" Mo Zibu asked with some concern.

"God blesses Your Majesty the King and also blesses the foreign churches." Peter smiled.

“So He has already summoned Dai Jinxian and Liu Songling to heaven. Now the remaining ones, Pan Tingzhang, He Qingtai, and Ai Qimeng, are all painters, and Qian Deming is a writer and musician. None of them are mathematicians or astronomers.

The only two people His Majesty needs to be wary of are Suo Dechao and An Guoning. They have opened a special academy of mathematics in the Qing capital and are still training specialized talents for the Tatars.

"Damn it! These heretics are still disturbing the East. How hateful!" Mo Zibu was furious, and he was definitely not pretending.

"Father, I want to ban the Society of Jesus in the East. Any Jesuit missionary who is not approved by the Xing Tang Kingdom will be expelled from the East or even imprisoned."

The reason why Mo Zibu said that the Jesuits were heretics was because the Jesuits at that time were still advocating theocracy, and many European countries did not welcome them and even banned them.

Especially after Pope Clement XIV announced the dissolution of the Society of Jesus last year, they lost even less status in Europe. These people then regarded the Qing Dynasty as a home where they could barely live and served it even more diligently.

"Your Majesty, you are truly an expert on Europe." Peter praised. The fact that he could say that the Society of Jesus was a heresy meant that Mo Zibu had a certain level of research and understanding of European religions.

"But I think a committee should be set up to decide whether to expel Jesuit missionaries, and some professionals should be involved to make the final decision."

Obviously, the so-called professionals mentioned by Boutique are the members of the Paris Foreign Mission in Xingtang, which he leads.

This is an attempt to interfere with power, old man. You are quite ambitious and are playing tricks on me.

Mo Zibu shook his head firmly and said in an unquestionable tone: "This is impossible. The affairs of the world should be decided by the king of the world. There is no room for discussion.

However, I, the King, may consider allowing foreign churches to become Catholics in the Principality of Pahang from now on."

Peter complained in his heart, but he couldn't resist the temptation. "What do you want us to do for you, Your Majesty?"

"Father, I hope you can bribe a Jesuit priest who is in dire straits and have him go to Beijing and kill Suo Dechao!"

Damn it, you’re helping the Qing Dynasty train artillery, right? I’ll kill you first!
"We don't..." Peter shook his head quickly, but was interrupted by Mo Zibu.

"No, you do, Father. I know that the Kingdom of Portugal has just expelled a large number of Jesuits. Macau is very small and cannot accommodate so many people."

Mo Zibu was certainly aware that many Portuguese Jesuit priests had come to the territory of Mo Jiu's adopted son, King Mo Chuan (Annon II) of Phnom Penh. These people were all under the protection of Peter because Peter also needed missionaries.

Peter knew that he had no choice. Everything about him was indeed under the surveillance of King Xingtang, and he could indeed find someone to kill Suo Dechao in a suicidal way.

Because Joseph Bernardos, whose Chinese name is Suo Dechao, is Portuguese and the protector of the Portuguese in Macau.

If a fellow Jesuit member or Portuguese fellow came to him at this time, Suo Dechao would not be on guard at all.

"As you wish, my Majesty, the foreign church thanks you for your openness and support." Peter nodded and stepped back.

Well, as expected, Peter was a Frenchman who was a filial son of God. He had no burden at all in killing the Jesuit priest who was the most fanatically loyal to the Pope.

As for foreign churches becoming Catholics in the Principality of Pahang, Mo Zi Bu is not worried at all. On the contrary, he welcomes it, because the southernmost part of the Malay Peninsula is entirely Catholic territory. Let these two poisonous creatures fight each other.

"Give orders to all armies: seize the opportunity and do not spare any men in uniform on the artillery positions, especially Europeans. Kill them indiscriminately on sight. Do not take prisoners!"

I, King Mo, understand the weak point of the Qing Dynasty. Since the death of Nan Huairen and Jiang Youren, the Qing Dynasty has been unable to forge qualified European artillery.

After the deaths of Dai Jinxian, Jiang Youren, Liu Songling and Yan Jiale, the Qing Dynasty was basically unable to train qualified gunners.

Sodechao, who is still around, is the only one left, but his ability cannot be compared with the previous four.

So, in history, after Emperor Qianlong used up all the cannons and qualified gunners that the European missionaries had carefully forged for them, the Eight Banners stationed in Beijing withered because they had no artillery. This was the last glorious moment of the Qing artillery.

. . . .

There were dark clouds and thunder and lightning.

The gloomy sky made the sea surface extremely gloomy, and the sky and the sea seemed to be connected into one in the darkness.

The Qing Dynasty naval fleet passing through the Qiongzhou Strait had to stop at Weizhou Island on the south side of Zhumu Sea to avoid possible storms.

A very shocking little-known fact is that Guangdong, such an important foreign trade port that is subject to hundreds of spying incidents every year, does not have a dedicated naval commander.

Historically, it was not until the 1810th year of Jiaqing, that is, , that the Qing Dynasty re-established the post of Guangdong Navy Commander-in-Chief.

The current Guangdong Navy consists of only a few small boats, and is under the control of various coastal land camps.

Therefore, at this time, the commander of this navy was the only naval admiral of the Qing Dynasty, the Fujian Navy Admiral Huang Shijian.

At the same time, most of the larger ships of four to five hundred tons came from the Fujian Navy and the Zhejiang Wenzhou Navy under the command of the Fujian Navy Admiral.

Huang Shijian’s great-grandfather was the first Duke of Haicheng, Huang Wu, a traitor who successfully betrayed the country and killed hundreds of thousands of people in southern Fujian.

Ninety-four nautical miles away (about 170 kilometers), at Bailongwei Island, almost all of the Xingtang Navy was dispatched, including the Jingning-class third-level sailing battleship, the Zhongzhen-class fourth-level sailing battleship, and five fifth-level sailing cruisers led by the Zhongjian.

In addition, there were 37 European-style armed merchant ships carrying 12 to 30 guns, 65 Chinese-style black boats and other warships, and 8,770 officers and soldiers.

"Admirals, no matter how strong the storm is, it cannot scare the brave naval officers and soldiers, because we are all determined to die for His Majesty the King."

The most loyal bootlicker in King Mo's navy, Commodore Manuel Viscount Bonn roared loudly.

“It’s a shame that we get the highest salaries but don’t have any achievements to boast about.

Today, we will wash away the storm before it arrives and show those landlubbers in the Army that our Navy is the force that determines the future!"

Manuel Bonn was the first French naval officer to follow Mozibu. His Fortune, a fifth-class sailing cruiser, was the first European warship Mozibu obtained and was once a symbol of Mozibu's combat power.

Therefore, although Manuel Bonn's command limit is only the captain of a fifth-level ship, he has been promoted to the third-ranking figure in the navy and is more trusted than Han people such as Tanka Er and Zhou Yuanquan.

After hearing Manuel Bonn's instigation, a group of middle and lower-level officers immediately stood up to support him, including a large number of French people.

Count Olivier, the French Vice Admiral who had become the Admiral of Xingtang Navy and the actual commander of the navy, glanced at Major General Fragossels beside him.

Obviously, King Xing Tang's control over the fleet was beyond many people's expectations, and Major General Fragosse could not have the final say in this fleet.

Well, this is the best. At least it shows that King Xing Tang is a qualified and powerful monarch, which will be beneficial for France to seize British India in the future.

"I agree!" Seeing Count Olivier looking at him, Major-General Fragoset thought he was asking for his opinion, so he stood up and said loudly:

"There are generally few major storms in the South China Sea during the winter. The news of their docking at Weizhou Island was brought to us by our secret comrades who risked their lives. No matter how difficult it is, we cannot miss this opportunity."

The difficulty in the naval battle at this time was not how to defeat the Qing navy, but how to get their specific location.

However, thanks to the Qing Dynasty's long-term uncivilized behavior in southern Fujian and the great impression of the national surname Chenggong in the hearts of the people of southern Fujian, Chen Xu's Xiaodao Society was able to infiltrate the Xiamen Town Navy, the main force of the Fujian Navy, very smoothly.

This time, the news was spread by members of the Small Knife Society in the fleet at the risk of their lives.

Seeing that everyone agreed, Count Olivier stood up and said, "Gentlemen, we have great news to tell you.

That is, the Xing Tang Kingdom has reached an agreement with the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire. All titles obtained in the Xing Tang Kingdom will be recognized by France and the Holy Roman Empire! "

"Wow, this news is worth ten thousand livres!"

"Oh my God! This is so good, it makes me cry!"

"Long live King Rende! Long live King XVI! Long live Emperor Joseph II!"

The Chinese officers were fine, but a group of European officers were so excited that they almost roared.

This mutual recognition means that if they obtain a title in the East, it will also be recognized when they return to Europe.

On the other hand, King Xing Tang, who was committed to restoring the Seris Empire, could still obtain the title through military merit, unlike in Europe where more than 99% of cases it required bloodline.

This provided a group of European naval officers who were not of aristocratic origin and were developing the Tang Dynasty with a path to success that was worth risking their lives for.

"Start the war, Admiral! We can't wait to send the entire Qing navy to the bottom of the sea!" Countless French officers with red eyes pleaded loudly.

Even Major General Fragosse was excited, because he had a count title in Xing Tang, so he would also be a count when he returned to Europe.

If only we could take one step or even two.

Oh my God, I can’t even imagine it!
"The wind is blowing, the wind is blowing, it's the southeast wind!" Suddenly, the trainee officer who was observing the wind direction outside sent back the news, and the whole ship was immediately jubilant.

Although it is winter, there are still occasional southeast winds in the South China Sea. The fleet has been waiting at Bailongwei Island for so long just for this opportunity.

"I order the fleet to be divided into four groups.

Major General Fragosse, you are most familiar with the South China Sea. Please lead the main force and be responsible for the frontal combat.

Colonel Zhou Yuanquan, you lead two level five sailing cruisers and thirty Seres warships to block the Qing Navy's retreat from the left wing.

Brigadier General Bonn, you and Captain Tanka II will lead a fifth-level sailing cruiser and fifteen fast battleships to quickly determine the specific location of the Qing fleet and launch a challenge in advance.

And I will lead the remaining fleet, rush into the Qing fleet in battle, and cut them in half.

For the King, and for the glory of the fleet, let's go! "

"Glory to His Majesty, let's go!"

(End of this chapter)