Red Mansion Taoist

Chapter 323 Situation

In the autumn, Daqian did not suffer any major disasters this year. Although the autumn harvest has not yet begun, the estimated output is already a bumper year.

At the morning court session that day, Li Qiang was wearing a dragon robe and listening to the report from below.

Now there are both praises and criticisms about him as the crown prince in the court. For example, the cabinet is very satisfied with him. He has given great power to the cabinet, so that the status of the cabinet has not declined because of him.

What people are dissatisfied with Li Qiang is his laxity in state affairs.

To those officials it was slackness, but to Li Qiang it was making the best use of one's talents. He did not want to be like Emperor Jingwen, who was so busy with government affairs every day that he had no private time.

He sometimes thanked Taizu of Daqian. It was Taizu's wisdom that made him think of establishing a cabinet to assist in managing government affairs and free the emperor from busy government affairs.

"I have something to report!" Minister Bao from the Ministry of War stepped out and bowed.

"Minister Bao, what's the matter?" Li Qiangwei asked with some surprise.

What Minister Bao said must be about the war.

Daqian's biggest enemy was of course the Tatar tribe, but the Tatar tribe was badly harmed by him. From the Tatar tribe to the Tatar sacred mountain, there were huge losses.

"According to the intelligence just received from the Tatar tribe, the Tatars and the Oirat have joined forces and are showing signs of planning a war against Daqian!" said Minister Bao.

He held a standard military intelligence document in his hand and presented it with both hands.

Jin Dong came to his side, took the information and gave it to Li Qiang.

Li Qiang took the intelligence and started reading it. The intelligence mentioned the alliance between Tatar and Oirat.

Li Qiang knew something about the source of this information.

After he came to power, although he delegated a lot of government affairs, he paid more attention to military affairs.

He increased his investment in the military, which included establishing intelligence networks in neighboring countries through infiltration, bribery, and threats.

This is only the first step. His ultimate goal is to spread the intelligence network throughout the continent. Even in the most remote countries, there must be Daqian's spies.

Of course, what we can do now is to collect intelligence on the Tatar tribe, a powerful enemy.

Seeing the intelligence in hand shows that the previous investment was valuable.

"The Oirat and the Tatars are mortal enemies. I never thought they would cooperate!" Li Qiang shook his head.

In fact, the alliance between the Oirat and the Tatar had a lot to do with Li Qiang.

Li Qiang’s last martial arts performance frightened the neighboring countries.

The Tatar tribe, in particular, after learning about Daqian's terrifying military power, realized that if they allowed Daqian to continue to develop in this way, the Tatar tribe, Daqian's mortal enemy, would inevitably be swallowed up by Daqian.

Most importantly, through the martial arts performance, the Tatar Sacred Mountain learned who attacked the Tatar Sacred Mountain.

Whether it is for the Tatar tribe or to restore the reputation of the Tatar Sacred Mountain, the Tatar Sacred Mountain must take revenge on Daqian.

But the problem is that the Tatar tribe suffered heavy losses in combat power due to the previous defeat.

The Tatar tribe will need a long time to recover, at least ten years, which is the time for the next generation to grow up.

But if another ten years pass, the Tatars are worried that Daqian will become completely powerful by then. By then, it will not be the Tatars who retaliate against Daqian, but Daqian who will destroy the Tatars.

Therefore, the Tatar God Mountain stepped in and spent some money to reach an agreement with the respected leader of the Oirats, which led to the alliance between the Tatars and the Oirats.

"Your Highness, the time chosen by the Tatars and the Oirat is just before the autumn harvest. I'm afraid they want to steal the food from our Daqian!" said Grand Secretary Tian.

"Now that Daqian has a strong army, there is no need to worry about the danger from the Tatars and the Oirat. I will dispatch the artillery troops to garrison in the border towns!" Li Qiang said lightly.

When he said this, the tension in the hall caused by the impending war disappeared for the most part.

An army composed of 500 fifth-turn warriors, an army equipped with 250 Portuguese cannons, which can fire while moving. Although such an army has only 500 people, its combat power can easily defeat an army of 100,000.

"Recently, the Artillery Army's Ordnance Department is about to conduct experiments on a new type of artillery that it has developed and produced. We are sending two Beijing battalions to the border town with a batch of new artillery!" Li Qiang continued.

He has absolute power in the military. Compared with the delegation of power in government affairs, he has the final say in military affairs.

There would not be any objection to this point in the entire court.

Because he was not only the crown prince who was in charge of government affairs, but also the most famous general of Daqian. The entire Daqian army obeyed his command.

The officials in the court had also heard a rumor that all of Daqian’s newly promoted generals were disciples of Crown Prince Li Qiang.

The military has not refuted this rumor, which further proves its authenticity.

Those who have dealt with these new warriors and have some understanding of the generals' body-building techniques know better that the rumors are true.

Because the body-refining technique that the new warriors learned was recognized as the Jia family's 'Jia's Hundred-Turn Refining Technique'.

Everyone knows that Crown Prince Li Qiang was born into the Jia family, and the body-building technique he learned when he was young was the 'Jia Family Hundred-Turn Refining Technique'.

This 'Jia Family Hundred-Turn Refining Technique' had been lost in the Jia family, and as the Jia family was raided and completely ruined, the 'Jia Family Hundred-Turn Refining Technique' had no connection with the Jia family anymore.

"Your Highness, do you want to recruit troops to prepare for a counterattack against the Tatars?" Minister Bao asked, bowing.

The eyes of the generals standing by were shining, and they were all thinking about invading the Tatar tribe.

As long as the artillery army breaks through the Tatar and Oirat armies, the next battle will be to pursue the enemy, which will be an easy feat.

However, if they wanted to counterattack the Tatars, they would need to mobilize a large amount of war resources in advance. Otherwise, going deep into the grasslands and lacking supplies would be a big taboo for military strategists.

"This time we just need to repel the Tatar and Oirat coalition forces!" Li Qiang shook his head and said.

He has his own ideas, and at this moment, Daqian is in the stage of gathering momentum.

Once the application of the steam engine is fully understood, Daqian's productivity will explode greatly.

Of course, there is another important reason. The output of artillery army weapons is limited. Although there are plans to increase production, some raw materials still need to be found and developed in Daqian.

Although gunpowder was produced in Daqian in the past, the quantity of gunpowder produced at that time was relatively small.

If a war really relies on artillery, the consumption of gunpowder would be extremely terrifying, far beyond what Daqian's current production capacity can support.

As for sending a large army to forcibly enter the Tatar tribe and destroy the Tatar tribe with traditional force.

There is a more convenient and safer way, but it only takes several years. Li Qiang is not prepared to use the lives of Daqian soldiers to pay for it.

He is of great use to the Daqian soldiers.

He understood the vastness of the world better than any other emperor in history. Perhaps the wise monarchs before him had set their sights on the grasslands, believing that conquering the grasslands was a great achievement.

Li Qiang, however, will not just be interested in this little bit of benefit, he wants more.

It would be fine if he didn't want to be the Lord of Daqian, but since he had the chance to be the Lord of Daqian, he would build a lasting foundation for the descendants of Daqian so that they would not be enslaved by foreign races. The best way to prevent foreign races from enslaving is to turn all foreign races into his own family, and those who don't want to be his own family should be completely eliminated.

With this idea in mind, Li Qiang did not intend to suffer a large loss of Daqian soldiers, as these Daqian soldiers were the cornerstone of his future plans.

"Your Highness, this is a rare opportunity!" Minister Bao said again.

"I have made up my mind!" Li Qiang waved her hand and didn't want to discuss this topic anymore.

Minister Bao and the generals were all very disappointed, but they did not insist too much. They knew that Li Qiang was not a man who feared fighting and must have some deeper considerations.

"Your Highness, I have a report!" The Minister of the Ministry of Rites stepped forward and saluted.

The Honglu Temple is responsible for ethnic affairs and foreign affairs reception activities, and there is usually nothing going on there.

Li Qiang nodded and motioned the Minister of the Ministry of Rites to continue.

"The Siamese envoy reported that Annan and Japan had secret dealings, and both sides intended to unite to fight against Daqian!" the Minister of the Ministry of Rites continued.

The Minister of the Ministry of Rites presented a memorial in his hand, and Jin Dong stepped forward to take it and handed it to Li Qiang.

Daqian's military performances made Daqian's enemies even more frightened. Some of them, like the Tatars, tried to find opportunities to attack Daqian first.

There are also countries like Annan and Japan, which wanted to unite to protect themselves because they had frictions with Daqian in the past.

Some countries, like Siam, want to have a closer relationship with Daqian and seek Daqian's favor by selling information that is beneficial to Daqian.

"Annan and Japan, send people to Annan and order them to hand over the Japanese envoy!" Li Qiang gave the order indifferently.

This is an open conspiracy. Even if Annan and Japan join forces, they will not be able to stop Daqian's army.

But if Daqian wants to resort to war, especially against Annan in the south, it must have a reasonable reason, otherwise it will cause panic in other countries in the south.

The southern countries have always been centered on Daqian. At least before Daqian's industrial revolution developed, Li Qiang had no intention of going to war with these countries.

If Annan handed over the Japanese envoys, the alliance between Annan and Japan would fail.

If the Japanese envoys are not handed over, Daqian will have a reason to send troops.

Perhaps going to war with the Tatars would consume a lot of Daqian's war resources, but going to war with Annan would consume so little that Daqian could fully bear it.

The artillery army only needs to clear the area first, and then the main army will go over to take over the city.

In fact, Li Qiang was more inclined to conquer Annan and add another land of fish and rice to Daqian.

Given Annan's geographical environment, rice can be harvested three times a year.

"Yes, the Honglu Temple will send a letter to Annan today!" said the Minister of Honglu Temple with a bow.

"Also, send a letter to Japan, ordering them to strictly control their citizens and not allow Japanese pirates to appear in Daqian again!" Li Qiang continued to order.

He also knew that even if he sent a letter to Japan, it would not mean much.

But just like before, he must have a legitimate reason.

At present, Daqian’s ability to wage cross-sea wars is not strong, but Daqian’s shipbuilders are mastering the technology of Western gunboats. When combined with Daqian’s shipbuilding technology, stronger sea ships will emerge.

With the help of new artillery, it will be possible to carry out near-shore combat in a short period of time, and dealing with Japan will not be a problem at all.

Part of the money Li Qiang had was invested in naval ships.

Of course, this investment is not in vain. When the Daqian army reaches Japan and other countries through the ocean, it will be time to reap the benefits.

After the court session, Li Qiang left the palace and came to a courtyard next to the palace.

The royal family has many vacant mansions in the capital, and this is one of them.

This kind of mansion is mostly used for rewards. This mansion is close to the imperial palace and was used by Li Qiang as a school.

He walked into a classroom where twenty students were sitting.

He selected these students from among thousands of candidates across the country, all of whom were more receptive to new things.

The twenty selected candidates were allowed to enter the school only after he used the "Mirror of Wind and Moon" to bind their loyalty.

Without using the 'Mirror of Love and Lust' to bind their loyalty, even with the title of the crown prince Li Qiang, these scholars may not necessarily be willing to study what are considered miscellaneous subjects by the literati.

Studying miscellaneous subjects meant that these candidates would not be able to enter the imperial court and become orthodox civil servants in the future.

Li Qiang walked up to the podium, and the eyes of the twenty candidates below were full of admiration.

"Today we are learning the third lesson of physics. Please turn to page 7 of Physics!" Li Qiang said slowly.

Even if he planned to hold a special examination, it would have to be in the early spring of next year.

The talents selected through the Enke program also need to learn, and those talents also need teachers.

Li Qiang personally served as a teacher, preparing to train these twenty people, and then use these twenty people as teachers to guide the talents in the future miscellaneous subject examinations.

As long as there is a good start, Daqian will continue to have talented people in various fields, forming a virtuous cycle.

At that time, Daqian's miscellaneous subjects were completely able to cultivate themselves, and there was no need for Li Qiang to step in personally.

Due to the loyal bond with the 'Mirror of Love and Lust', the twenty candidates were extremely serious in their studies. At the same time, they were selected by Li Qiang after going through layers of screening, so their learning abilities are self-evident.

One hundred percent loyalty allowed the twenty candidates to burst out with unimaginable learning abilities, and brought their own learning abilities to full play.

That is to say, Li Qiang would use the 'Mirror of Love and Lust' to bind loyalty in the early stage. It is impossible for him to bind the loyalty of all the talents in Daqian. Even if there are hundreds of thousands of souls in his 'Mirror of Love and Lust', it is not enough for such a squandering.

It took Li Qiang an hour and a half to finish today's lecture.

This is the most time he can spare, and even this has affected his own practice and life.

Fortunately, as long as this group of teachers is trained, he won’t have to worry about future teaching.

Li Qiang left after class, but the students in the classroom did not leave.

They reviewed what Li Qiang had said over and over again, and discussed with each other if they didn't understand anything, until everyone fully understood the content of the lecture.

By the time they left the classroom, it was completely dark.

The next morning, they would get up before dawn and start their day's study.

In this school, no one complains about the hard work, all they do is study every day, and their potential is fully developed here.

Only with such learning efficiency can they take on the tasks that Li Qiang will assign to them.

(End of this chapter)