The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 323 Losing Face
"Woo..."

On April 1733, 4, a train made a heavy gasp and slowly stopped at Hengyang Railway Station.

As soon as the carriage door was opened, countless Qin officers and soldiers in new military uniforms poured out.

He wore an imitation Qi-style large cap, a tile-blue military uniform, Qi-style short leather boots, a Daqin Type 35 (finalized in the 35th year of Qianyuan) flintlock rifle on his shoulder, a Qi-style marching backpack on his back, an aluminum field water bottle on his waist, and a sharp Type 30 bayonet, all of which showed the efficiency and strength of a soldier.

Although the uniforms of the new Qin army had red decorative lines on the cap walls, collars, cuffs and uniforms, as well as traditional oriental badges and collar flowers, they still exuded a strong Qi style.

Judging from the equipment alone, this new Qin army from Zhenjiang Prefecture is in no way inferior to the Qi Army. It is a truly new army.

Up to now, Daqin has trained eight regiments of new troops, with a total of more than 1 people. According to the organization, they are divided into one regiment of the Royal Guards, stationed in Nanjing, two regiments of Dingwu Army, stationed in Jiangnan, two regiments of Wuyi Army, stationed in North China and Liaodong, one regiment of Xinsheng Army, stationed in the south and north of the desert, one regiment of Suiping Army, stationed in Sichuan and Qinghai-Tibet, and two regiments of Changping Army, stationed in Shaanxi, Gansu and the Western Regions.

Originally, Emperor Qianyuan was ambitious to organize 15 new army regiments, bringing the total force to 180,000 to 200,000, which would absolutely crush the surrounding countries and regions. But when he officially started to organize and train the new army, he was shocked by the huge military expenditure.

The number of new soldiers in a town is more than 12,000. The equipment of each soldier will cost 60 to 80 taels of silver. In a year, the equipment and various expenses of the officers and soldiers of the whole town will cost more than 1.2 million taels of silver.

If a war breaks out, with all the expenses of guns, shells, equipment, food, fodder, rewards, pensions, etc., I'm afraid that even two million taels of silver will not be enough.

The Qin Dynasty would spend more than 10 million taels of silver every year just to maintain the daily training and consumption of 100,000 new troops in eight towns.

This does not include the continuous tug-of-war in the Western Region, the occasional attacks and security wars in Liaodong, and the cost of maintaining military forces in border areas such as Sichuan-Tibet and Mobei.

Such a huge consumption made it really difficult for the imperial court to maintain its economy. In the end, it could only try its best to create these eight new armies, so as to barely maintain the security of the four borders of the huge empire.

Ten days ago, more than 2,400 officers and soldiers of the Second Regiment of the Dingwu Army received a military order to march to Guangxi to respond to the Annan crisis.

The entire army immediately packed their bags and prepared to set out. They first arrived in Nanjing and took a train to Taipingfu (now Wuhu), then took a river boat to Jiujiang, requisitioned horse-drawn carts, and rushed to Nanchang, from where they took another train west to Changsha and finally arrived in Hengyang.

After getting off the train in Hengyang, the officers and soldiers will go from Xiangjiang River to Yongzhou, and then rely on horses and carriages to go south along the official road, passing Guilin, Liuzhou, Nanning, and finally arriving at Siming Prefecture, where they will form the Southern Corps with the local town soldiers from Jing and Hu areas to threaten northern Vietnam.

In addition to mobilizing a regiment of Dingwu Army with more than 2,000 officers and soldiers to march south, Daqin also ordered a regiment of Suiping Army stationed in Chongqing Prefecture to travel day and night through Guizhou to the Yunnan border to form the Southwest Corps with troops from local towns such as Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan.

As for whether there would be a direct armed conflict with Liang or Qi, that would depend on the outcome of the negotiations between the imperial court and Qi on the issue of Annan.

If Qi State ignores the stern warnings from our Great Qin State, refuses to stop the war, and instead insists on destroying Annan and annexing its territory, it may have to enter Annan from the directions of Guangxi and Yunnan to show our Great Qin State's determination to protect its vassal state.

"After each unit enters the local military camp, any officer or soldier is strictly prohibited from going out. Those who violate the order will be severely punished!"

Dong Zhenglun, commander of the Second Regiment of the Dingwu Army, stood on the platform of the station, watching the soldiers pouring out of the carriages and quickly adjusting their uniforms and appearance and forming formations under the command of the officers. He nodded with satisfaction.

Well, morale is quite high and the troops are ready to fight!
"Notify Hengyang Prefecture and ask them to prepare enough boats for our army before noon tomorrow. Do not delay or slack off under any excuse."

"Yes, sir!" A logistics staff officer saluted and immediately ran towards the station exit.

"Later, we'll go to the city to find some doctors to treat the sick soldiers on the way. Damn, we've only traveled halfway and there are already more than a hundred sick people, almost a company of soldiers."

"Sir, our Dingwu Army should learn from the Qi Army and hire some doctors to treat our brothers in the army. In wartime, they can provide emergency treatment and save many brothers' lives." Mao Wenbing, the battalion commander of the first battalion of the second regiment of the Dingwu Army, took over the conversation and said with some complaints: "Look at it now. Whenever our officers and soldiers get sick, we have to temporarily recruit doctors from the public to treat them. If they are in the wilderness or deep in enemy territory, there is no way out!"

"What a useless thing to say!" Dong Zhenglun curled his lips. "If my Great Qin's new army were as luxurious as Qi's army, and equipped with everything, it would bankrupt the imperial court's finances!"

"But, sir, if we can save one veteran in the army, that can definitely be worth five or six new recruits..."

"That's enough, that's enough!" Dong Zhenglun waved his hand impatiently. "If you have the ability, why don't you go directly to the Governor's Office and explain this matter? Or, if you are a bit braver, write a letter to His Majesty pointing out the problems and asking for the appointment of military doctors for the troops?"

"..." Mao Wenbing paused for a moment and wanted to continue explaining, but after thinking about it, he closed his mouth with a wry smile.

"Old Dong..." At this time, Xue Hongyang, the chief of staff of the Second Regiment of the Dingwu Army, walked over with a serious face and pulled him to a remote and deserted place.

"What's wrong?" Dong Zhenglun looked at the other party in confusion.

"Boss, I just got some unexpected news from the station dispatcher." Xue Hongyang whispered, "Three days ago, an urgent report came from Siming Prefecture, saying that Qi had broken through Dongjing City a month ago and captured all the Annan officials. Now, the entire Annan situation is probably completely settled, leaving no room for our Great Qin to intervene!"

"You are kidding me, right?" Dong Zhenglun's eyes widened after hearing this. "Qi State dealt with Annan a month ago? Are they all heavenly soldiers and generals? How long did it take them to destroy Annan?"

"Ten days!" Xue Hongyang said solemnly: "Ten days, Qi State took only ten days from launching the military operation to conquering the capital of Annan and finally forcing the entire territory to surrender!"

"Ten days!?" Dong Zhenglun shouted in shock, attracting the attention of the officers and soldiers of the Dingwu Army nearby. He then grabbed Xue Hongyang's arm with a look of surprise on his face, "Is this news... true?"

"The station dispatcher said that four waves of messengers from Pingxiang Pass and Siming Prefecture arrived at the train station. Each of them had a very serious expression, holding the urgent mail without saying a word, and their faces were pale. It was obvious that they were frightened by the Qi people's movements."

"Oh, that's not right!" Dong Zhenglun suddenly came to his senses. "Since he was an expedited military courier, why would he be told about the train schedule? Is he spreading lies to confuse the people?"

"Of course, this news was not revealed by the messenger." Xue Hongyang shook his head and said, "In addition to Pingxiang Pass and Siming Prefecture in Guangxi passing on the information about Annan to Nanjing, Zhending Prefecture, Nanning Prefecture, and the Guangxi Governor's Office have all sent messengers to Nanjing to report on Annan. Not to mention that there was a train dispatcher who got the news, I'm afraid most of Hengyang Prefecture has already known about the major changes that happened in Annan."

"..." After hearing this, Dong Zhenglun stood there for a while, with the expression on his face changing constantly, shock, hesitation, confusion, and loss.

"If we rush over here in such a hurry, won't we even be able to catch a hot meal?... Damn it, it's really embarrassing!"

Suddenly, Dong Zhenglun looked up at the gloomy sky and cursed in a low voice.
-
The Huagai Hall in the Forbidden City is one of the three great halls of the former dynasty. It is located on the three platforms, with a width of five rooms and a depth of five rooms. It has a pointed roof. The name Huagai comes from the Huagai star in the Purple Palace in the astrology. During the Spring Festival, the winter solstice and the emperor's birthday, the emperor would accept the worship of cabinet ministers and palace stewards here according to convention, and then go to the Fengtian Hall to accept the congratulations of all officials.

The eighth day of the third lunar month (April 4) is the Great Qin Emperor's Longevity Festival, the 21th birthday of Emperor Qianyuan, and the whole country celebrates.

In fact, before the Wanshou Festival, civil and military officials in the court began to prepare birthday gifts around themes such as happiness, longevity, and auspiciousness, including jade, wood carvings, porcelain, jewelry, gold ornaments and other crafts.

On the day of Emperor Qianyuan's birthday, officials entered the palace one after another and presented birthday gifts to celebrate the birthday of Emperor Qianyuan in the Huagai Hall in the Forbidden City.

After the birthday celebration, Emperor Qianyuan was in high spirits and issued an order to entertain all officials as per custom.

The birthday banquet had 20 hot dishes, 20 cold dishes, 4 soups, 4 side dishes, 4 fresh fruits, 28 candied fruits, 29 dim sum and noodles, a total of 109 dishes. The dishes included pork, deer, lamb, chicken, duck, fish and other meats, supplemented by mushrooms, bird's nests, fungus and other wild delicacies.

The birthday banquet was prepared from noon and started at 3 p.m. At the banquet, the Crown Prince, his sons and princes, the Emperor's grandsons, the Cabinet officials, the nobles in the capital, and the envoys stationed in Beijing took turns to toast Emperor Qianyuan, wishing him a long life, lasting blessings, and a prosperous Qin state with power and prestige throughout the country.

Although no one dared to force him to drink as he was an emperor of the highest rank, Emperor Qianyuan could not help but drink a few more glasses due to the atmosphere. He was already tipsy, squinting his eyes as he watched the princes and grandchildren, the civil and military officials chatting and laughing, toasting each other, and he also revealed a rare smile.

If the world is as prosperous and peaceful as this, then my hard work for more than 40 years will not be in vain. With this thought in mind, I reached out to grab the wine glass on the table, but it was empty.

Huh? No one is pouring wine for me!

"Where is Lou Enxiang?" He turned around and saw that the eunuch Lou Enxiang, who had been serving him attentively just now, was gone. He couldn't help but frowned.

What, is this old servant being lazy?

"Your Majesty, let me pour you some wine." A clever little eunuch hurried forward, picked up the wine pot, and was about to pour wine for Emperor Qianyuan.

Emperor Qianyuan glanced at him, and the young eunuch was so frightened that he immediately knelt on the ground, kowtowed repeatedly.

"Your Majesty..." At this moment, Lou Enxiang walked over quickly, bowed deeply to Emperor Qianyuan, and kicked the young eunuch kneeling beside him with his right foot imperceptibly, asking him to leave quickly.

"Where does the urgent report come from?" Qian Yuan glanced at the several reports held in Lou Enxiang's hands, and suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart.

If it wasn't a very important matter, this old servant would never present it on such an occasion.

"Your Majesty..." Lou Enxiang's voice trembled as he calmly handed over several urgent reports in his hand. "Expressed from Guangxi, six hundred miles away, it's news from Annan."

After saying this, his head drooped slightly.

"..."Emperor Qianyuan looked at him deeply and reached out to take the urgent reports.

"hiss……"

Lou Enxiang lowered his head even lower.

"Go to Wuying Palace!" Emperor Qianyuan stood up suddenly and ordered in a cold voice: "Call all the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet, the Minister of War, the Minister of Rites, and the Central Military Command to discuss the matter."

"Your servant, obeys your order." Lou Enxiang waved his hand and ordered a young eunuch next to him to immediately convey the emperor's oral order in the hall. He followed behind Emperor Qianyuan and walked out of the hall step by step.

This is going to be a big deal!

The people of Qi are so quick!

Aren't you trying to disrupt the Great Qin's birthday celebration and cause trouble for Your Majesty?
The emperor's sudden departure shocked many civil and military officials and royal relatives in the hall. They looked at each other, whispered to each other, and tried to find out the reason.

However, he did not expect that a moment later, many important officials including the Prime Minister, the Second Prime Minister, the Assistant Grand Secretary, the Minister of War, the Minister of Rites, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Central Army also left their seats one after another and walked out of the hall in a hurry.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince..." Shi Yanfu, the Prince's Mansion Secretary, reminded in a low voice.

"I saw it." Crown Prince Sun Youlang responded expressionlessly.

"Western Regions? ...Annan?"

"It should be...Annan."

"I'm afraid it's bad news."

"Most likely Qi has already succeeded."

"Hmm? ...No way?"

"In the face of a huge gap in strength, nothing is impossible."

"Then my Great Qin..."

"If the emperor still has some sense, if the cabinet still knows the importance of the situation, and if the military still has some self-awareness, then they should...accept all the consequences for Annan."

"Your Highness the Crown Prince..." Shi Yanfu hesitated to speak.

"Sometimes, face is not important." Crown Prince Sun Youlang said, drinking the glass of wine on the table, then picked up his chopsticks and leisurely savored the delicacies in front of him.

The entire court knew that His Majesty disliked the Crown Prince and had once considered deposing him and making the Sixth Prince the Crown Prince.

However, the deep-rooted system of primogeniture, opposition from some court officials who were accustomed to orthodox etiquette, and the resolute protection of the late Empress Dowager Zhaosheng ultimately extinguished Emperor Qianyuan's idea of ​​changing the crown prince, and he could only hold his nose and continue to let the eldest son he disliked very much be the crown prince.

Logically speaking, Sun Youlang is born to the Queen, and is not only the eldest of all the sons, but also a legitimate son with noble bloodline. His position as the Crown Prince should be as stable as Mount Tai and cannot be shaken.

However, this prince had been carefully taught by the late Empress Dowager Zhaosheng since he was a child, and he learned a lot of "heresies of Qi learning". After he became an adult, he often "clashed" with Emperor Qianyuan over their different political views, which made Emperor Qianyuan "deeply disgusted" with him.

When Emperor Qianyuan gradually abolished the various policies and measures promulgated during the period of "Zhaosheng New Deal (Empress Dowager's Regency)", the Crown Prince would jump out from time to time to sing a different tune, declaring that governing had nothing to do with the new or the old, that reforms did not need to follow etiquette, and that there was no distinction between tradition and "heresy" in developing people's livelihood, and that actual results should be the priority.

Well, it doesn’t matter whether the cat is black or white, as long as it can catch mice, it is a good cat.

Look, what are you talking about?

The prince's remarks undoubtedly brought him bad reputation, and attracted unanimous criticism from many conservative ministers and traditional literati in the court. If his status was not too noble, he might have stood on the side of Emperor Qianyuan and deposed him from the position of prince.

In the past ten years or so, perhaps as he has grown older and his mind has become more stable, the prince's many "heretical" remarks have gradually become less frequent, and he seems to have begun to be simple and honest, and to take a steady approach.

Especially in the 1727th year of Qianyuan (), when Empress Dowager Zhaosheng passed away, the prince lost his greatest supporter and became even more low-key and steady. He no longer easily made statements that differed from those of Emperor Qianyuan and the cabinet.

However, even so, the prince's situation did not seem to have improved much, and his relationship with Emperor Qianyuan was still very tense, and he almost never treated him with a good face.

Just now, as the crown prince and the eldest of all the princes, Sun Youlang was met with the cold shoulder when he toasted to Emperor Qianyuan, which made him feel disheartened.

Sometimes, when Sun Youlang saw his father encountering major setbacks in certain political affairs, he would feel extremely happy in his heart.

"Humph, my Great Qin would better lose face in Annan."

(End of this chapter)