Chapter 405: Foreigners' Journey to the North
[Thanks to ‘Mu Jiangcheng’ for the 2,000-coin reward, and ‘Kang Kangni’ for the 500-coin reward, both of you, thank you very much! ]
Twenty zhang, a distance of nearly seventy meters.
In the eyes of the Qing army veterans five years ago and the current Korean ‘elite’, this distance is not an appropriate distance for shooting. Because it is too far, not only can you miss the target, but even if you hit the target by chance, you may not be able to kill the person.
During the Qianlong period of Korea, the military preparations were relaxed, and the country had been peaceful for a long time. The muskets in the hands of the Korean soldiers were like the bird guns in the hands of the Qing Green Camp. They were of poor quality and poor accuracy. Due to air leakage and weak explosive power of gunpowder, the range and power were far from the normal level of muskets.
In a word, they were all inferior products. Twenty zhang distance, it is winter now, not summer with thin clothes. How can you kill someone in one shot?
Of course, if they were the defenders, it would not be uncommon to shoot at a distance of two hundred meters.
The poor performance of the matchlock gun and its own poor quality, the effect of one plus one is far greater than two.
And whether it was the Qing army at the beginning or the Korean soldiers who were beaten by the Qing army now, the musketeers rarely paid attention to the range during training, but the Fu Han army did a good job in this regard from the beginning.
Thirty feet, twenty-five feet, twenty feet...
"Bang bang--" The neat gunshots were released instantly, and the sound was deafening.
"Grenade--" Fu Kang'an shouted immediately, and a group of grenade throwers jumped out. There were not many, only thirty or forty, but the first row of Qing soldiers behind these professional grenade throwers had a full hundred people. One hundred grenades were thrown out, even if only half of these pull-fire grenades exploded? It immediately blocked the momentum of the Korean soldiers.
"Bang bang bang..."
When the Korean vanguard finally calmed down from the chaos, the Qing army's muskets had been reloaded. First the second row, then the third row, the fourth row, the fifth row, and then the first row...
The screams, cries, and heart-wrenching howls of pain instantly resounded in front of the battle.
The Korean soldiers were caught off guard, and one by one, the soldiers holding long spears and swords fell to the ground dead or injured. However, this did not arouse Fu Kang'an's sympathy. The smoke filled the entire battlefield. After five neat rows of attacks, it was a little difficult to see the shadows of the opposite side.
"Kill--"
In the light of the explosion of the grenade, hundreds of soldiers of the Eight Banners New Army rushed up with bayonets and howling. Fu Kang'an did not move, but half of his guards were mobilized.
The Korean soldiers were as soft as a piece of tofu. The front army, which was scattered and chaotic by muskets and grenades, was even more tender.
The charge of the Eight Banners New Army soon turned into a pursuit, and the front army chasing the fleeing Korean soldiers crashed into their rear army
"Die--" In the fierce shouting, two heads flew into the sky at the same time. Helin did not use a bayonet. He preferred to use a steel knife. A flash of cold light passed through the neck of a panicked Korean soldier, and the blood splashed over Helin's lower body.
There was no bluffing shouting, nor any superfluous tricks. With just a simple word "stab", the Qing army, which was at an absolute disadvantage in numbers, killed the Korean soldiers who were outnumbered and retreated step by step, abandoning their soldiers and armor.
"Brothers, follow me to kill!" The steel knife drank blood, and Helin's fierceness in his chest became stronger. He rushed into a group of Korean soldiers, with a cold light shaking, and blood smeared to kill.
Relying on his good martial arts and the cotton armor he was wearing, Helin, who was about the same age as Fukangan, took the lead.
"Good. Helin is really brave." Fukangan applauded from behind. He was also young, and he valued Helin, a young general of the same age as him.
At this point in the battle, the Eight Banners New Army had already won the battle. Don't look at their battalion's small number against a large number. After the battle, looking at the casualties, the entire army had only a few casualties.
The hand-to-hand combat lasted only two quarters of an hour, and the mountains and plains were full of fleeing Korean soldiers.
Facing the attack of the Qing army, Korea had no military preparation and no psychological preparation. From the moment Hailancha sent troops, Korea had already lost the battle.
The 77-year-old Li Cheng was so frightened that he was bedridden. Fortunately, the Korean prince Li Sun was already 19 years old. At this time, the 19-year-old Li Sun was already an absolute adult. And he began to intervene in political affairs when he was 14 years old.
The whole of Seoul was terrified and puzzled by the sudden war. They didn't know why the Qing Dynasty attacked them?
The 19-year-old Li Sun was far from being able to suppress the court officials. His only measure was to summon the army and concentrate the southern army in Seoul. The sudden blow stunned the North Korea, which had not heard of war for a hundred years.
...
From Guangzhou to Changsha, Chen Han's north-south "depth" has been halfway through.
Robert, Perrier, Rodoni and others who accompanied Chen Ming to the north did not dislike Chen Ming's frequent stops along the way. They wished that Chen Ming would stay in each place for a month or two. In this way, they can better understand China!
Robert did not need to stare at the Chinese army and city walls like David Osmante. He did not care whether China's military armed forces were strong or weak. He cared about China's economic level, just like the Jesuits who were fully focused on the folk customs and customs of various parts of China. Although soon Robert, Perrier, Rodoni and others broadened their observation interface to the current spiritual outlook and living standards of the Chinese.
The four letters he had sent back to India were aimed at the current changes in China. Although the Fu Han Army only captured one-third of China, this one-third of China is the most prosperous part of China's economy. If China really opens its doors to trade to the outside world, Britain must not miss it. Some things must be done even if they lose money. This is a huge market, comparable to the huge market in the whole of Europe. The East India Company only needs to occupy one or two percentage points of the market share, and all the investment will be quickly recovered.
Now, what the company needs to do is to cultivate the market! Let more Chinese people be familiar with British goods, instead of focusing on tea and raw silk porcelain.
From Guangzhou to Changsha, the living standards of Chinese people along the way are of course declining, but according to Robert and his observations, although most urban residents in China are not so rich, they still have a certain guarantee in food and clothing.
Robert's private diary records everything he saw during this trip. From the people's food, clothing, life, to folk customs and appearance, from market life to culture and health.
Changsha is much richer and more prosperous than Hengyang. The traces of the war have faded a lot. Robert took advantage of Chen Ming's busy stay in Changsha to wander around outside every day, constantly wandering around, and went to all the streets and alleys that could be visited.
Robert saw and experienced the market culture and market prosperity with his own eyes.
Comparing London with Changsha, the market in London is more prosperous than Changsha, the city area may also be a little more rewarded, and the population gap is not too big. Comparing the life of the British in London with the life of the Chinese here, the material gap is not very obvious. The income of the Chinese is much lower than that of the British, but the prices in China are also cheaper.
In terms of medical care, Robert felt very magical about the ancient Chinese medicine. There are many medicine shops and pharmacies in the streets and alleys of Changsha, and the government here has also opened public cheap hospitals. The medical fees are much cheaper than those in the UK. What Robert can't forget is that the Chinese hospitals are three blocks away from the British hospitals in terms of cleanliness and hygiene! British hospitals in this era..., hehe, that's called hehe.
Accommodation, food, clothing, and what the Chinese call "firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea" are all much cheaper than in the UK.
Spiritually, the Chinese in Changsha are also full of spiritual life and have rich entertainment.
Temple fairs and public performances here are one after another.
Robert certainly doesn't understand drama, and doesn't know much about crosstalk and storytelling. Many of the allusions and jokes in them are not something that he, a foreigner, can understand. But he just needs to know that the Chinese are very happy to watch this, whether they are rich officials or ordinary civilians. The Chen Han government used this type of public performance to promote its policies and provoke the people's dissatisfaction and anger with the Tatar rule. This is a very interesting way of propaganda.
The rich entertainment life is undoubtedly a major reason why the Chinese civilians in Changsha are full of spirit, and the people who are full of spirit will have a stronger desire to pursue life.
In his diary, he compared Chinese drama to Western opera. But in the West, opera has always been exclusive to the middle and upper classes.
There is no horse racing in China. Chen Han was seriously short of horses, but China had football. Chen Ming naturally attached the origin of this sport to Cuju, although the details were very different from Cuju. It was completely in accordance with the football rules of the 21st century, and the rules were really perfect.
Football was only practiced in the army at the beginning. The entertainment life in the army was less than that of the civilians. Football quickly became a trend within the Fu Han Army, just like basketball.
Then these two sports spread from the army to the people.
After the Fu Han Army's rule in Hunan entered the summer, the previous decrees that strictly prohibited local people from gathering and gathering were revoked. Football itself has great charm. Although Chinese football in the past has always been "dare not win", countless domestic fans will curse when talking about it, but this is not the case - love deeply and hate deeply!
Besides, China itself has the tradition of Cuju. It was extremely prosperous during the Ming Dynasty, but when it came to the Qing Dynasty, the Qing court was afraid that the people would gather for no reason and cause hidden dangers, and Cuju soon disappeared from the land of China. The Tartars themselves did come up with a game of Cuju on ice. Combining it with ice skating, they held an ice skating ceremony every winter in Taiye Lake (now Beihai), "practicing hard work and rewarding, simplifying military affairs and improving national customs", which is nonsense.
Robert is very interested in football. Britain also has a tradition of playing "ball", although the British in this era have not yet come up with the most basic football rules. But the emergence of a sport with broad public support is never something that comes up with a whim.
In the 21st century, Europeans have made football the "world's number one sport", which is closely related to the profound tradition of playing football in Europe.
Not only Robert, but all British people such as David Osmante, as well as Perrier and others, have developed an unstoppable love for this sport after seeing a football match for the first time.
Robert soon heard the word "Cuju" from a chat with the guide. After learning the details of the cause, Robert had to sigh that "the Tartars blocked the development of Chinese civilization". The guide's cheeks twitched when he heard it.
There is no need to deny that Chen Ming promoted basketball and football in the military, largely based on the "grudges" of his previous life. Another reason is to enrich the soldiers' spare time, so as to better adjust the soldiers' psychological and spiritual conditions. Even for the setting of football personnel - why are there eleven people, instead of ten people in a squad. Chen Ming's explanation is also - let the soldiers understand "cooperation" and always remember "comrades-in-arms"! Very high-sounding.
But the Chinese seem to have an extraordinary enthusiasm for basketball and football. The volleyball, rugby, baseball and other projects that are promoted are obviously not as popular as basketball and football. When these sports spread to the people, football and basketball also became popular immediately.
"Mr. Perrier, "storytelling" is a very ancient traditional art in China, which originated in the Song Dynasty, that is, 800 years ago." In a teahouse next to the Fire Palace in Changsha, Francois Philip Perrier, a representative of the French East India Company, was sitting on a tea seat separated by a screen with his guide, observing the lively scene in the teahouse with excitement.
The storyteller was not telling the most popular story of the Three Kingdoms, but "Shuo Yue Fei". Under the rule of Chen and Han, the share of "Shuo Yue Fei" in the storytelling market has surpassed that of the Three Kingdoms, which is obviously related to the political trend.
Perrier is not a very learned person. Although he is well-informed, he can only laugh at the history of France. When he heard that the storyteller in front of him, who seemed to have a low social status, at least had "The Chu-Han Struggle" and "The Heroes of the Ming Dynasty", spanning two thousand years, the history of the rise and fall of dozens of dynasties, and the history of generals and ministers - if those exaggerated stories are considered history, millions of words, all remembered in the storyteller's mind, he really admired the storyteller on the stage.
Perrier felt that this profession was very similar to the extinct bards in Europe. The ancestors of France - the Gauls, bards had disappeared under the rule of the Roman Empire. The last bards in Europe were in the Gaelic-speaking area of Scotland. They existed until the early 18th century, and now they have been extinct for decades.
The guide shook his head like a rattle. He really didn't know what a bard was. In his heart, he felt that this bard was very different from Li Bai and Meng Haoran in Chinese history. But the status of storytellers in society was really not very high, and he didn't want to invite that gentleman to have a chat with Perrier.
Don't look at the fact that there are only two people in the teahouse, the guide and Perrier. Outside the teahouse, there are four plainclothes policemen and two internal guards protecting them. Less trouble is worse than more trouble!
"Your Highness, there is an urgent report from the north. The Tartars are attacking Korea!"
Just when Robert, Perrier and others were leisurely touring the streets of Changsha, Chen Ming, who had just finished his official duties, received a quick report from Chen Guang in the north, and Chen Guang's confession was also delivered.
The Manchus suddenly returned to the Northeast on a large scale, and Chen Ming ordered Chen Guang to pay close attention to the matter. However, the Northeast was a place that the Northern Secret Camp rarely set foot on, and it was full of enemies. In the end, not only did they fail to keep an eye on Hailancha, but they also failed to discover the Qing army's gathering in Phoenix City. The first-hand battle report was ten days late!
After the secret camp in the Northeast verified the situation, the news was quickly reported to Chen Guang, and then it was urgently transmitted to Wuhan by carrier pigeons, and then from Wuhan to Changsha.
Chen Ming looked completely confused, really confused.
"Qianlong attacked Korea? Why?" Even the Tianjin Navy was released, and there was also the Eight Banners New Army led by Hailancha to the Northeast.
Kim Jong-un and the Koreans on the peninsula in later generations are both disgusting to the Chinese, especially the Koreans. But when it comes to the Lee Dynasty of Korea in this era, many history novices really have a little good impression, including Chen Ming.
Although the Joseon Dynasty did not actually take any action, internally, not only the king, but also many ministers of the two classes, have been brewing anti-Qing plans for a long time. There are also all kinds of nostalgia and sacrifices for the Ming Dynasty, such as the Dabaotan and Chongzhen Era, which at least show that they know how to be grateful.
"Joseon is quite respectful to the Qing Dynasty..." Chen Ming remembered where he saw that in the two hundred years before the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, the Korean envoys arrived in Beijing an average of 2.6 times a year. How could the Korean grandsons be so smart and give the Qing Dynasty an excuse to attack them? Moreover, the Tartars have reached this point, and the limited military force should not be used on the cutting edge, but on Korea. Isn't this nonsense?
"Where are Chen Dai and Shi Xinxiong?"
"Your Highness, Chen Dai's fleet just returned to Wusong six days ago."
"Let them set off again and go to the South Korean waters." North Korea may close the port at this time, but South Korea should not.
"Investigate the situation of the Korean War. Help them if you can. The destination is Jeju Island in the southwest corner."
No matter what North Korea's future inclination is, Chen Ming will get that location. Not only Jeju Island, but also Juwen Island next to Jeju Island is coveted by Chen Ming. It is a natural anchorage - Juwen Island is composed of West Island, East Island and Ancient Island. The three islands stand side by side, forming a natural harbor in the middle that can berth large warships. It has a superior geographical location, located in the middle of the waterway from Lishui to Jeju Island in the Korean Strait, that is, between the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese archipelago, and controls the throat of the Tsushima Strait. It has very important strategic value!
"North Korea is really a bit of an unprovoked disaster." Sitting at home, disaster comes from the sky!
Chen Ming smiled very subtly, sketching a map of Korea in his mind. If Liu Wu, Xiong Bingzhang, Chen Jiqing and others had not been serving him for a long time, most people might not feel the gloating in Chen Ming's smile.
"Do you know how Korea offended His Highness?"
"How can I know. Today is the first time I heard the word Korea."
Chen Ming's ears were very sharp. He heard Gao Yanming and Liu Wu's muttering, but pretended not to hear. How could they know Chen Ming's little complexity about Korea?
From the beginning of Chen Ming's uprising to the Fu Han Army's possession of half of the country, he never thought of contacting Korea to attack the Qing Dynasty.
Not to mention whether Korea would really send troops, Chen Ming was afraid that if they did, what would he use to reward them?
Oh, the younger brother worked for the older brother and bled. As the older brother, you should always reward the younger brother, right?
If the two sides really succeeded in attacking the Qing Dynasty, at least in the short term, the Yalu River Basin would be controlled by North Korea, and their tentacles would even extend to southern Liaoning. This situation is not completely impossible. If the Koreans occupied a piece of land by the Yalu River again and refused to leave, Chen Ming couldn't just drive them away no matter how unwilling he was, right? Then there would be another problem.
The Koreans in later generations regarded the entire Changbai Mountain as their own ancestral sacred mountain, but looking at the map drawn by the Koreans of this era, Changbai Mountain is clearly within China. This is what Chen Ming hates the Koreans the most!
This disgusting thing has lowered his favorability towards the Lee Dynasty of Korea from 100 points to 60 points, the passing line.
That's why he won't send people to Korea. It's better for both sides to be quiet than to move. Korea should just be its own "Jinxiuhua Beauty" on the peninsula quietly.
As a result, the Qing Dynasty knocked Korea!
Chen Ming was surprised and couldn't help laughing in his heart. He was so happy about this!