Great Qing Dynasty talker

Chapter 374: The Qing Dynasty Version of "The Generals of the Yang Family"

In the western warm room of the Yangxin Palace,
There was a brief silence.

suddenly,

He Shen raised his head, his eyes firm:

"I may be a little extreme. I think this list does not need to be screened. It should include all the officials in the three prefectures, two states and one department in Jiangbei!"

Yu Minzhong was stunned for only half a second, and immediately expressed his opinion:
"The veteran seconded the proposal."

……

Qianlong stared at the two of them intently.

After a long while, he nodded and said:

"He Shen, Yu Minzhong, I will not let you down, and you should not let me down either."

The two of them kowtowed without saying much.

He lowered his head and left the Yangxin Palace with his hands hanging.

Qianlong looked up at Qin Si and whispered:

"Summon Fu Chang'an to the palace."

"Whoo."

Qin Si trotted all the way, changed into clean clothes, and then left the palace in a carriage.

No one knows what Qianlong and Fu Chang'an talked about during the one hour they met.

But anyone with a little sense of smell realized that the court was about to stir up bloody storm again.

……

Everyone in Fucha’s mansion was crying.

The women stopped Fu Chang'an and refused to let him leave Beijing to take up his post in Jiangsu.

The wife of the late Chief Military Minister Fu Heng, the oldest old lady in the mansion, stretched out her arms to stop him:

"Son, you can't go!"

"Mother, the emperor's order cannot be disobeyed."

"Mother will go to the palace now and ask the emperor for mercy."

"Mother, my Fucha family has been blessed by the emperor for generations. Now that the war in the south is critical, we should serve the country with all our strength. How can I shrink back?"

The old lady pointed at him and said sadly:

"Your father died of malaria during the Burmese expedition, your eldest brother Fuling'an died of illness in Yunnan, your third brother Fukang'an died in Jiangsu, and your cousin Mingrui~Aren't these enough? Do you have to follow the example of the Yang family generals, who ended up with only a woman in the mansion?"

"My Fucha family is full of loyal heroes. The ancestral hall is lined with heroic spirits. Isn't that enough?"

All the servants in the mansion knelt on the ground.

If you want to keep the young master, don't let him take up the post of Governor of Jiangsu.

Fu Changan burst into tears.
He lifted his robe and knelt on his knees:
"Mother, since ancient times, loyalty and filial piety cannot be achieved at the same time. Please forgive me for being unfilial."

After saying this, he left this magnificent mansion without looking back, leaving behind a cry of grief.

Passersby who didn’t know would have thought that the Fucha family, the most prominent family of the Qianlong Dynasty, was going to hold another funeral.

……

The old lady lost control of her emotions and said something she didn't want to say:

"There are so many nobles and royal families in the capital, why don't their men go to the war? Why is the emperor targeting my Fu Cha family? Does the Qing Dynasty belong to my Fu Cha family?"

The old butler was so scared that he quickly waved his hands.

"Quick, help the old lady in. Close the door!"

He also instructed all the servants present:
"Servants must remember their duties. Anyone who dares to gossip will be beaten to death."

The servants bowed their heads.

Forget what you heard and saw today, and don’t say any more.

in fact,

Even if Qianlong knew about it, he could only pretend to be stupid.

You can't just sentence the old lady of the Fucha family to death because of a few complaints. If you do that, you will really be criticized behind her back.

……

Fu Chang'an rode at full speed and traveled with a small entourage.

He only brought 500 cavalry guards with him.

At the same time, Wu's army was also frequently mobilized.

The 2nd Corps and the 1st Expeditionary Army on the Jiangxi battlefield boarded ships one after another and sailed down the river.

The 5th Corps (Miners Corps) trained in Tongling moved westward and entered Jiangxi.

The floodwaters had almost receded, leaving behind a devastating mess.

The Wu army recruited civilians from the area around Poyang Lake and rebuilt the cities of Nanchang and Jiujiang.

Simultaneously,

A major project has also begun to be planned - the flood control embankment on the east bank of the Ganjiang River!
Li Yu's instructions were to ensure that Nanchang was not affected by floods.

The idea of ​​flood prevention is actually very simple.

One is to block, build a dam.

The second is dredging. There are two ways to dredge: dredging rivers and planning flood discharge areas.

……

Li Yu was very calm. He asked Huang Wenyun, the former governor of Suzhou and current director of the Water Resources Bureau, to personally lead a team into the Poyang Lake Plain to look for low-lying areas in the surrounding area as permanent flood discharge areas.

Huang is from Jiujiang, so he must be familiar with the water conditions in Poyang Lake.

Dredging the river is not considered for the time being.

Building a dam can be put on the agenda in the near future. This is another huge expense, but it has to be done.

Nanchang City must be defended!

Li Ergou, who had stayed on the city wall for 26 days, had tears in his eyes when he saw Li Yu.

"Godfather, this is too tragic~"

Li Yu was stunned.

My first reaction was that they were hungry, but then I looked at the appearance of the people in the Mixed Battalion and it didn’t seem like that.

Looking again, there were still many rice bags piled up in the city gate tower.

I breathed a sigh of relief:

"What are the casualties?"

"More than 60 people died of illness~"

"so much?"

Li Ergou was silent.

Soon, the medical officer gave his conclusion.

"There are too many people suffering from diarrhea and vomiting. What they eat and drink must be unclean."

……

Li Yu stood on the city wall and frowned.

The city was dead silent, 2% of the houses were flooded and collapsed, the streets were filled with thick mud and the stench was overwhelming.

The situation on the city wall was not much better.

Filthy, smelly~
suddenly,
He understood what the problem was.

When the flood came, corpses of humans and animals, rotten leaves, manure pits, and various pathogens fermented and mixed together.

then,

There is no clean water source, and everyone can only drink sewage, which is only relatively better even if it is boiled.

The soldiers of the mixed battalion gathered on the city wall were constantly cross-infected during eating and going to the toilet, resulting in dozens of deaths and more than 2 people falling ill.

"Godfather, these artillery pieces are such a pity."

Hundreds of cannons covered in mud and visibly rusted lay quietly under the city.

Li Yu was very calm:
"Let the people from the Transportation Department take over and send all the water-soaked artillery pieces back to Ma Steel for remelting."

"Send troops to take Zhangshu Town and bring back enough medicinal materials. No offensive will be arranged for the Jiangxi battlefield for the time being. The 4th and 5th Corps can camp outside the city, keep a distance from the people, and move in after the city is tidied and repaired. Tell the people of Nanchang and Jiujiang to clean up the stagnant water and silt as soon as possible. The plague is right above their heads. This is not corvée labor, but self-help."

"Let the Commerce Department purchase quicklime from southern Anhui for disinfection of the two cities."

……

After inspecting for half an hour,

Li Yu didn't want to stay any longer, so he left the city and boarded a boat on the Gan River, escaping.

Traveling through to the present,
The enemy's swords and guns can no longer hurt you, but invisible germs can.

After boarding the ship,
He washed his hands repeatedly and even threw his boots, which had mud on the bottom, into the river.

Looking at the Nanchang city that had turned into a black dot, Li Yu sighed:

"Record, approve the establishment of a health department immediately. Summon famous doctors from all counties and prefectures, as well as doctors with special skills to join."

The document is immediately recorded and will be issued after docking.

As the Wu State gradually became more formalized, various institutions became increasingly improved.

The original guard battalion seemed too rough and general.

It is specifically divided into:

Security Department, Confidential Department, Secretariat, Liaison Office, and General Affairs Department.

……

The Guard Department has 5 guard teams with a total of 500 people and 300 war horses.

The Confidential Office, with 30 people, is responsible for recording, filing, and sending confidential documents. Their most obvious feature is the square cross-body leather briefcase.

The Secretariat, which consists of five people, is responsible for receiving all official documents. For ordinary documents, they can directly draft their opinions. Li Yu will take a quick look at them when he has time.

Important documents must be submitted to Li Yu for approval.

The liaison office has 30 people, all of whom are armed knights, responsible for delivering documents to the corresponding government offices or individuals. A bright yellow flag is inserted behind them to indicate their identity.

General Affairs Office, 100 people, including cooks, doctors, tailors, grooms, blacksmiths, masons, carpenters, veterinarians, etc. Responsible for all logistical affairs.

It also has 60 four-wheeled carriages, four boats, two large and two small, and corresponding personnel.

The above five departments accompany the emperor on a daily basis, and all personnel are called "guards".

They followed Li Yu wherever he went.

……

The busiest of these is the Confidential Affairs Office.

Every official document, including when and where it was sent, when and where it was delivered to the recipient, and the time when the liaison knight returned to the camp to report must be recorded and traceable.

The Secretariat is the core and can only be held by someone who is highly trusted and who must be proficient in writing and familiar with government affairs.

All 500 guards had fought in wars, had received favors from Li Yu themselves or their families, and had other people in their families serving in the Wu system.

Their uniforms were slightly different from those of the field armies, and were made more glorious by the use of gold thread and embroidery.

The military pay was higher, even ordinary soldiers received 10 taels per month.

As a result,
The loyalty and combat effectiveness of the guards are guaranteed.

Anyway,

Li Yu is very concerned about his own safety.

I left Nanchang and Jiangxi in a hurry because of health concerns. What if I got sick?

……

The fleet stopped briefly in Tongling to replenish food and fresh water.

Wang Liu, the director of the Coal Bureau who had been stationed at Tongling Coal Mine for a long time, hurried on board to pay a visit and report on his work.

Li Yu accepted his written report.
Then I asked a very crucial question:
"Can the current output support Wu's industry?"

Wang Liu nodded firmly:

"Your Majesty, it must be enough!"

"Including all the prefectures, states and counties under our control, let's say there are 100 cities, there are at least 80 households in the cities. Is it enough to use honeycomb coal for heating in daily life?"

"Your Majesty, the winter shortage may be around 3%."

Li Yu walked to the side of the ship and looked at the gray dock.

The ground, the busy workers, various machines, vehicles, and even the green trees were covered with a layer of black coal ash.

Then I looked down.
The river water near the shore is also black, it is the black water from the coal washing plant.

……

Wang Liu whispered:

"Your Majesty, I have an idea."

"speak."

"Your Majesty, you can open up more coal mines and allow merchants to invest in mining. There are coal resources in the mountains of southern Zhejiang and southern Anhui. Although they are not as abundant as those in Tongling, there is no problem in making honeycomb coal."

Li Yu looked at him in surprise, with a meaningful look:

"Draw up a set of rules and I will review them."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I have already prepared it."

Wang Liu took out two pieces of paper from his sleeve and handed them over respectfully.

"Good, good." Li Yu was quite pleased. "What are the outstanding difficulties in the current operation of Tongling Coal Mine?"

Wang Liu sighed and reported truthfully:
"Mining is very dangerous, with high casualties. Once something goes wrong, a mine hole is scrapped. It takes a lot of time and effort to dig a new mine hole again."

"Explosion?"

"Your Majesty. In addition to explosions, there are also accidental collapses and water leaks. It's hard to prevent."

……

Hear this,

Li Yu suddenly asked:
“How is the security in the mining area?”

"There were three fights between miners this year, and two cases of miners gathering together and armed against the mining protection team. We suppressed them all, and some people died."

"I want to hear your thoughts."

"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty. I was born a miner, and mining is against the will of heaven, so casualties are inevitable. But I wonder if we can increase some funds to compensate the miners who died or were injured, according to the standards of the military."

"That's right."

"I also wonder if we can move some women here to give the miners something to think about and something to look forward to."

"I agree too."

……

Outside the coal mine,
Thousands of former Green Camp prisoners lowered their heads and waited.

meet as planned,

These people have completed their term of hard labor in mining and can be freed.

Looking at the soldiers gathered around, their bayonets were sharp.

Some of the prisoners whispered:

"Damn it, they're not going to change their mind, are they?"

"No, not really."

"With so many troops deployed, I suspect they want to kill people."

While talking,
The bright yellow royal carriage has arrived.

The prisoners were all stunned and secretly exchanged glances with each other.

Wang Liu stood on a high place,

Announce loudly:

"I am the Director of the Wu Coal Bureau. On behalf of His Majesty, I want to make an announcement. From today on, you are free~"

……

"Long live the emperor, long live the emperor."

Cheers, crazy cheers.

The prisoners wiped their tears and finally got through it.

It's funny to say,

All those who caused riots at the Tongling Coal Mine this year were free people who were receiving wages, and there were no captives involved.

According to the original promise,
They can use the travel expenses to go home, or they can join the construction team, which will provide them with 2 taels of silver per month and free food and accommodation.

There are rumors in Jiangnan that Your Majesty plans to embark on a massive construction project, and the total cost of the various projects will exceed 500 million taels.

The father-in-law of the emperor, Zhao Lixia, also confirmed that the rumor was true.

Therefore, many businessmen decided to enter the lucrative construction industry.

More than 20 civilian construction teams lined up and put up signs to recruit workers on site.

The backbone of each construction team was the experienced bricklayers recruited from the eight prefectures of Jiangnan, who were responsible for teaching the captives how to use trowels, build walls, and apply plaster.

Being a bricklayer is a technical job, but it is more of a physical job.

The strong and healthy Green Camp soldiers are definitely the best choice for the engineering team.

The Construction Agency and Water Resources Agency under the Ministry of Economic Affairs also joined in the fun, recruiting 500 and 400 people respectively on site.

……

Only very few people know,

The financial expenditure of Wu State soared month by month, the silver reserves were almost exhausted, but the grain reserves were temporarily safe.

Although the commercial tax is a slowly rising curve, the prospects are promising. But Wu State can't wait and needs a lot of silver now.

Sailing on the Yangtze River,
Li Yu looked at the surging river and felt quite anxious.

Although the Qing Dynasty’s maritime trade was cut off, the enormous wealth would not be instantly transferred to the south of the Yangtze River.

The foreign merchants are frightened and will wait and see, hesitate and move forward.

This is normal.

"Someone is coming."

"Your Majesty~"

"Ask the Confidential Office when my personal letter to Smith will arrive."

It takes a cup of tea,
The guard from the Confidential Office reported:
"On May 12, Your Majesty drafted the letter in Suzhou. On May 18, it was delivered to the captain of the merchant ship sailing out of Hangzhou. On June 1, the ship left the port. It is expected to be delivered to Manila within two months, and there should be a response within five months."

……

Far water cannot quench near thirst~
This sentence lingered in Li Yu's mind, making him extremely anxious.

The Jiangxi Campaign was a loss in terms of economic benefits. Countless amounts of money, food and supplies were invested, but the actual controlled territory did not expand, and even shrunk.

If two or three more such absurd wars were fought, the finances of the Wu State would completely collapse.

And gunpowder,

It can be predicted that the battle in Jiangbei will be the largest war in history between the two sides.

The Jiangbei camp, the Huaixi new army, and the Han Army Flag Cavalry Battalion, total more than 12 people!

Moreover, with Jiangsu and Anhui behind them, the Qing army's logistical supplies will not be interrupted.

Therefore,
The Jiangbei Campaign and the Jiangxi Campaign are completely different things. The difference between a battle and a campaign is that.

This time, the Wu army will definitely fight with all their might and leave no room for retreat. It can be expected that the consumption of gunpowder will be an astronomical figure, and the casualty rate of soldiers will be the highest in history.

……

(End of this chapter)