Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 436 Identity and Faith

In September, although Lake Baikal has not yet frozen over, the cold wind accompanied by howling heavy snow has suddenly arrived over Eastern Siberia.

Heavy snow fell from the sky continuously, and the silver wind and snow roared and rolled over the field.The branches are covered with fluffy thin frost.The wind blew off the frost flowers and scattered them in the air. When the sun shone, they reflected the magical rainbow-like brilliance.

Next to a riverside village called "Zaymka Chernigovskaya", more than 100 kilometers northwest of Irkutsk, a large bastion fortification is under intense construction day and night. Thousands of peasants from Central Siberia and east of the Ural Mountains are busy inside and outside the castle.

It used to be a prison, and it was also one of dozens of prisons built by the Cossacks along the Angara River during the eastward expansion.Today, the original wooden walls and towers of the prison have disappeared, replaced by barracks and warehouses.

In June 1789, Suvorov, who was released separately by Beihai Town, and Count Kim, the special envoy for negotiations, met Rumyantsev who had just arrived with 6 soldiers when they passed through Tobolsk on their way back to St. Petersburg. marshal.

After listening to Suvorov's description of the First Battle of Yaksa, Your Excellency the Marshal was shocked and puzzled by the fact that there was such a powerful force in the far east.Even so, Rumyantsev, who is over sixty years old, still believes that there is no enemy that a powerful empire cannot defeat, and everything depends on whether the price of victory is worth it.

If the Northern Navy can retreat beyond the original Qing-Russian border, Your Excellency the Marshal will send troops to Irkutsk as a show of force at most, and then re-sign a non-aggression treaty and reopen the Kyakta trade that everyone is happy with.

However, when Earl Mujin said that the strange armed forces that called themselves "Seres" did not intend to give up Irkutsk, and told the conditions proposed by the other party, the old marshal knew that a war would be fought on all sides. Inevitably.

However, since the elite of the Imperial Army was still fighting the Turks at this time, even newly recruited soldiers would need at least half a year of training.So Rumyantsev proposed in a letter to Catherine II that he considered waiting for the war between the empire and Turkey to come to an end before moving the Ukrainian army eastward, and at the same time requested to recruit at least [-] recruits.

Beginning in the spring of 1789, the combat forces of the Tsarist Russian Empire against Turkey were combined into the Southern Army, under the unified command of Potemkin.Potemkin's battle plan for this year is: the main group first captures Bessarabia, and then gathers and annihilates the Turkish army in the Binjera area; restrains the group to cooperate with the main operation, and maintains contact with the Austrian army.Its goal is to control the whole of Moldova and eventually seize a large area on the northern shore of the Black Sea.

It took the Turks half a year to assemble an army of 15 in the lower reaches of the Danube, intending to go north to annihilate the main force of the Russian army in the Binjela area.At the same time, a diversion force was sent to attack the direction of Foksani to cut off the connection between the Russian and Austrian armies.

Catherine II's primary goal is to dominate the Black Sea and open up land routes in the direction of the Balkans, the Mediterranean, and Central Asia.As for the east, the old lady believed that when the elite troops of the empire reached the Yenisei River, it would be time to recover Eastern Siberia.

On August 8, more than 1 people from Russia and Turkey fought fierce battles in Foksani for 4 hours, and each suffered losses. Afterwards, the main force of the Southern Army under the command of Potemkin was advancing towards the Transnistria.

Rumyantsev estimated that the two sides will start a battle by the end of September at the latest. As long as the Russian army can finally capture Izmail, the goal of this battle will be basically achieved. At that time, the Bug Chasseurs led by Kutuzov will Can be transferred back to the Eastern Front.

So under the order of Rumyantsev, starting from July 1789, 7 Russian troops and the same number of militia troops entered the Angara River Basin from the Yenisei River, and relied on the early Cossack pioneering group to build The villages and prison buildings along the river, large-scale construction and construction of supply points and military fortresses, advancing southward step by step.

At the same time, in the direction of Nizhny Uginsk County, 506 kilometers northwest of Irkutsk, three thousand Russian troops also began to move southeast from here, trying to cross the Angara Basin and enter the upper reaches of the Oka River in a step-by-step manner. The northern foot of the Sayan Mountains, in order to form a two-line attack on Irkutsk.

In mid-August, the Northern Navy Company stationed in the salt town of Ussorye heard from Yakuts who came to exchange salt that a regiment of the Russian Army had appeared near Idinsky Prison tens of kilometers away. , At the same time, there are a large number of accompanying civilians.

After Liu Sheng heard the news, he sent a reconnaissance team to go out for reconnaissance.

At present, the garrison strength of the entire Beihai Special Zone is only two regiments, and the area to be defended covers the vast area from Nerchinsk to Usoriya; at the same time, because the new immigrants have not yet arrived, most of the area under the jurisdiction is Cossacks and Yassacks. Kurt.

Liu Sheng and Fan Tong stayed in Irkutsk for nearly a year. Their main task was to use the army to ensure the stability of the rule and build fortifications outside Irkutsk.

As the governor of the Beihai Special Region Zhang Jingxuan, on the premise of maintaining the huge tea trade with the five major families in Irkutsk, he recruited people from all over the area under his jurisdiction to improve and expand the network from Kyakhta via Irkutsk to Uzbekistan. Land transportation from Soliye, Ulan-Ude to Chita.

After Zhao Xin received the telegram from Liu Sheng, he deliberated for two days, and finally decided to adopt a defensive posture without launching an attack.The reason why he did this was mainly to conduct research and judgment based on historical data from another time and space.

Although Beihai Town has now become a butterfly instigating historical changes in East Asia, it will not affect the situation in Europe.The sixth Russo-Turkish war has reached its most critical juncture, and Tsarist Russia will do its best to win this war.

Although the ongoing "Battle of Remnick" caused the Turkish army to be defeated, it only lost more than 1 people in total.The Turks will never admit defeat until the "Battle of Izmail" in history is over; and that battle will end at the end of 1790.Calculated in this way, it will be at least a year before the second large-scale confrontation between the North Navy and the Russian army.

The limitation of the times determines the level of people's understanding. The scientific and technological knowledge at the end of the eighteenth century cannot explain the weapons of the Beihai Navy; Fighting positional warfare, whoever comes will be hit head to toe.

The reason why he put Suvorov back was, firstly, to let the old lady cast a trap and delay the time to do it; secondly, to give Krutogorov a chance to instigate the lower-level soldiers.

It is said that the admiral's prestige among the Russian prisoners is too high. Since the end of the Battle of Yaksa last year, Suvorov has become the spiritual pillar of all prisoners.If there is still such a "great god", Krutogorov's identity will be exposed at any time.

Sure enough, according to the news sent back by Wu Siyu, since Suvorov paid the ransom and left, the prisoners of war who lost their spiritual leaders became distracted under the high-pressure management of the Northern Navy.The Tsarist Russian officer corps responsible for the internal management of the prisoners of war was dismantled to engage in hard labor. Krutogorov's progress in these months has been quite smooth.

After Zhao Xin designated him as "the only son of Pugachev" and "the only legal heir of Tsar Peter III", he had his own independent residence and distributed delicious military rations, tobacco and alcohol to the prisoners of war who were loyal to him. , The number of "like-minded" partners has grown to more than 600 within three months.

If it weren't for Wu Siyu's efforts to control the number of people, and Krutogorov's "loyalty review" among his partners to eliminate those who eat, drink and smoke, the number of people may exceed [-].

Now the founding elders of the future "Cossack Kingdom" have been sent to Aihui City by Wu Siyu, and handed over to Sheng Haizhou's department for military training.Although these Cossacks are superb in riding skills, their military skills are really a mess; and because of the terrible food of the Russian army, they need to strengthen their physical fitness.

Zhao Xin's plan is to wait for these guys to go through a winter's intensive training, first organize two battalions, and then equip them with Springfield M1861 rifled guns imitated by Beihai Town Arsenal.The means of control is still a flash cap.

It is said that Duan Yucai and those people have been in Beihai Town for two days, and Zhao Xin went to Fuldan City under the pretext, but he has not seen these people, mainly because Yu Deli and Lao You are accompanying him to visit.It was also thanks to these people being dazzled by the various facilities in Beihai Town that they never thought of meeting Zhao Xin.

On the second day when they came to Beihai Town, the seven talents were dragged by Wang Zhong to the Beihai Town Central Hospital for an examination without any accident.Therefore, the hospital has been very busy for a long time, exclaiming and screaming one after another, making other people who came to see the doctor think that a group of psychopaths came.

"Blood? Body, hair, skin, parents, absolutely not!"

"The world is in decline, why does Beihai Town still use women as doctors! Even if it is a woman, it treats women! My husband Leilei, I will never let a woman touch me!"

"Heart rhythm measurement? Oh, I understand. Isn't it just to ask and listen to the pulse? Why do you want me to take off my clothes? There are no women? Even if they are all men!"

"Ax light? What kind of light is that? How can you call it light if you can't see it? It's ridiculous!"

"Hey? Your Excellency looks familiar? I remembered! You belong to Mr. Xingzhai. How do you use this utensil? Can you teach me?"

"Jun Zhi, come and take a look! The bones in the old man's body are completely visible. Could it be that he used some evil method?"

"Cousin Li! Cousin Li! I saw a red-haired ghost just now, it scared me to death!"

"Sir, I'm not a ghost, I'm an Orthodox priest! I once studied in your capital!"

In history, Wang Zhong died at the age of 50. This is mainly because his family background was not good when he was young, and he worked hard to study, so his foundation was very poor.Later, because of depression and frustration, he was in a depressed state for a long time.Zhao Xin had talked with Hong Tao before, and the old man might have a heart attack or a stroke.Right now, Wang Zhong's life is very nourishing, he eats well and sleeps well, and he comes for a physical examination every other time, and if he can't, he quickly takes medicine.

Although Duan Yucai is almost sixty, his body is still good.In history, Duan Yucai broke his right leg five years later, and then he persisted for 20 years, during which time he completed "Shuowen Jiezi Zhu".

Hong Liangji's physical foundation is good. After all, he often travels outside, and his physical fitness is useless.In history, he offended Jiaqing because of his letter, and was imprisoned and sentenced to death. He was later released and returned to his hometown.

After a half-day trip to the hospital where there was a lot of fuss and fuss, these people were led by Wang Zhong to visit the steel factory on the east bank of the Xila River, then the primary school, the tractors, and the electric lights at night.
Two days later, Wang Zhong, who had not seen Zhao Xin, became a little anxious. He couldn't figure out what Zhao Xin meant.He obviously obtained his consent to recruit these people, but what's the matter if he didn't show up for so long?

In the evening, the sullen Wang Zhong dragged his tired body back home, thinking that if Zhao Xin didn't see these people tomorrow, what should he do?

In fact, Zhao Xin didn't see him because he didn't want to understand a key issue. If this issue is not resolved, the position of traditional literati in the Beihai Town system will be very awkward, and Beihai Town will never be able to take the step of entering the customs.

For more than a year, Zhao Xin has thought a lot about how to build an industrialized modern country.From the simple pursuit of gold, to the ambition of being an emperor, to thinking about what it means to be an industrialized country as a person in power, his political thinking has become more and more complicated.

This is far from being as simple as recruiting a group of soldiers, building a bunch of weapons, entering the pass, and taking the emperor down from the throne.

In the past two years, as he talked more and more with Wang Zhong, Zhao Xin gradually understood that the intellectuals of the later generations were really different from the traditional literati.

From the conversation with Wang Zhong, Zhao Xin gradually understood what the imperial examination system meant to literati.

The imperial examination system is the core system design in the connection between ancient scholars and the political structure, and it is the lifeline of the form of "scholar politics".A one-size-fits-all abolition of the imperial examinations would fundamentally cut off the social source of "scholars", which would directly lead to the disintegration of hierarchical society.

If it is changed to a qualifying exam, what is the exam?Are you doing mathematics?What about those middle-aged and elderly literati in their 70s, [-]s and [-]s?What about people who have no money to re-enter school?
Even for qualified young scholars, as long as those in power do not agree with Confucian politics, it is tantamount to drawing their salary from the bottom of the pot; no matter how much these literati are reused, it will inevitably lead to the collapse of their beliefs and identity.

Liang Qichao's pain is like this, Wang Guowei's pain is like this, and Liang Juchuan's pain is even more so.

At the end of the Qing Dynasty in another time and space, due to the abolition of the imperial examination system, the relationship between scholars and the country's common destiny was quickly disintegrated.The old school of literati broke away from the original political structure and could not be absorbed by the new regime structure, thus becoming a "dissociated" social group, which in turn caused a sharp social shock.

Judging from Wang Zhong's attitude, Zhao Xin realizes that "identity" and "change" are not necessarily in conflict, and can even be complementary.

All "changes" must come from tradition.Blindly opposing tradition and denying "identity" is not only useless, but may also be detrimental to social "reform" and industrialization.

To a certain extent, the gentry represented the interests of the rural community, and to a certain extent, assumed the ethical responsibility and belief support stipulated by Confucianism. This role was very important in the early stage after Beihai Town entered the customs.

Entering the customs is no longer the sparsely populated outer northeast. Every time you occupy a land, you need to maintain the stability of a place.The smooth transfer of power, the reception of population, land and wealth, how to arrange the old officials, and how to implement new policies to the countryside more quickly all require the assistance of traditional scholars.

If Beihai Town has to solve everything by itself and use violent means to seize it all, then well, take it easy, take your time, it may not be unified in decades!

In the first two years, Zhao Xin rudely believed that in the process of industrialization, there would be conflicts with the gentry class due to land issues, which was also the reason why he was unwilling to contact and recruit Manchu literati.Since they will be defeated sooner or later, there is no need to have too many connections.

However, for a feudal society in which farming civilization was the mainstay, the process of industrialization actually had to be divided into two stages.

The first is how to maintain a unified nation-state in the context of the challenges of industrialization; the second is to promote economic development through the power of the state or the government and realize the transformation of the civilization structure.

Judging from the history of the formation and development of later Western industrialized countries, absolute despotism is the first stage of industrialization.Only in this way can we destroy or eliminate various weak localized political forces, or merge them into a powerful national political organization, so as to strengthen the power of the central government to rule the territories, and integrate a strong legal system with political power. Order is imposed.

The transition from a relatively decentralized, localized, and polycentric political power structure to a centralized and unified state power must be a process full of wars and turmoil.

"Imperial examination, absolute dictatorship, recognition of power." Under the dim light, Zhao Xin muttered to himself while sitting at the table.

He felt that he would not be able to face the questions that the seven literati were going to raise unless he sorted out all this clearly.

(End of this chapter)