The news that the Qing court passed the Zaichun tax reform plan and that Weng Tonghe was preparing to visit East Asian countries immediately spread throughout the Forty-Nine Cities. Even foreigners marveled that this was a bold attempt by the ancient empire, blooming like an ancient tree in spring. As new branches emerge, all countries have expressed close concern.
The Qing Dynasty is now in a relative honeymoon period with the West. The benefits gained from the Second Opium War have not yet been fully digested. In addition, the rapidly rising Prussia in Europe is challenging the international order. This has attracted the attention of great powers such as Britain and France.
In addition, the news of Zuo Zongtang's westward expedition to Xinjiang has spread to Europe. The British and French, who have never dealt with the Russians, will not come to cause trouble for the Qing Dynasty at this time, because they do not want the Russian power to Overexpansion in Central Asia because that would affect British and French interests in the Indian colonies.
The United Kingdom, in particular, is even less willing to see Russian forces controlling Afghanistan, because then the Russians will have a commanding position over India.
Once the Afghan plateau falls into the Russian sphere of influence, a series of ports near the northern shore of the Arabian Sea will be in danger, including the famous port of Karachi in Pakistan in later years. If the Russian navy gains a foothold here, then Britain will have no choice but to War was declared on the Russians here, and the security of Indian routes was the most important goal of the empire.
Therefore, the enemy of the enemy is a friend. Although Britain also attempts to get involved in Central Asia, Xinjiang, and Tibet, when facing the Russians, a big enemy, the Qing Dynasty, a weak and small enemy, can let it go first, or even take action in a short period of time. Please help.
Wouldn't it be easier to deal with the weak Qing Dynasty after the Russian claws extending to Central Asia are cut off?
Therefore, the British attitude towards the Qing Dynasty's tax reform was very peaceful, and there was no excessive reaction, nor did it arouse strong resistance from European financiers. Although there were some calls for vigilance, these calls were suppressed in the face of the great interests of the empire. .
When Xiao Letian got the summary of all the information, it was already 1867, which was the late autumn of the sixth year of Tongzhi and mid-October.
Xiao Letian, who has completed all negotiations with Japan, has already begun preparations with the little emperor to leave Osaka Castle. According to the agreement, the Ryukyu garrison will leave here before the Spring Festival. The dominance of Osaka Castle will still be returned to the Japanese government, but the headquarters of Fuso Bank will remain. In Osaka City, Xiao Letian also left a thousand bank guards in the name of mercenaries.
He knew very well the virtues of the Japanese, who were afraid of power but not moral. If all the soldiers were withdrawn, they would forget the pain of being beaten in less than two years, and many unreasonable thoughts would follow.
Therefore, Xiao Letian has to choose to beat these Japanese people all the time... Oh no, their names should be called Fuso people now. Zai Chun's proposal has been approved by the emperor, although he secretly worked to give the young emperor dozens of Tens of thousands of military resources, but as long as the disgusting country name and national flag can be completely eliminated in future generations, then it will be worth the money.
"Okay, okay, the reaction from the British is just as I expected. As long as there is no sabotage by foreign forces in the first ten years of the twenty-year tax reform, and as long as I use ten years to mature my wings, our plan will be successful..."
"My good disciple, the new army you want finally has military expenditures. In ten years, I will prepare the military expenditures for an 80,000-strong army for you..."
Zai Chun was so excited that he couldn't sit still. He was only eleven years old, and he could already pass such an important proposal in the court. He was no worse than Emperor Kangxi. As long as he worked harder, he might be able to do it. Become the real master of the resurgence of the Qing Dynasty, and his achievements exceed those of the three generations of emperors of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong. He can also become the emperor of the ages.
"Too few, too few masters, can you have more? I want to train an army of one hundred thousand."
"Nonsense, do you know what elite soldiers are? They are all money-burning machines. What I provide you are lifelong professional soldiers. You think you are the kind of loser who just lives for a living."
"Silly boy, save some money and spend it. You will cry when you spend a lot of money in the future."
Through the battle in Europe and the memories of his previous life, Xiao Letian knew very well the military strength of Western countries. Take the Franco-Prussian War a few years later as an example. At that time, Prussia mobilized one million troops in the Franco-Prussian War, but The combat strength is only over 600,000, and the rest are auxiliary units.
And these more than 600,000 troops are not all professional troops. Many of them are mobilized conscripts. The real elite will not exceed 40%, which is less than 200,000.
Looking at France again, during the entire Franco-Prussian War, the total number of troops invested was less than 600,000, of which the number of combat troops was less than 400,000. Even based on the 40% elite ratio, France could mobilize not even 200,000 professional elite troops at that time. Less than.
What kind of countries are Prussia and France? They are both powerful armies that even the United Kingdom can't match. Yes, Britain's strength lies in the ocean. The British army is indeed far inferior to Prussia and France.
Later historians were very puzzled by France's performance in that war. Ordinarily, the Second French Empire formed by Napoleon III should not be so weak. Why was it not even a rival to the newly emerged Prussia?
But no matter how hard the historians rack their brains to explore the truth of that year, a loss is a loss. Even if half of the French army's combat power is added, the number of elite regiments will only be no more than 200,000.
This is already an established power that has experienced the Industrial Revolution. The elites it can support with all its strength are only two to three hundred thousand. The reason is actually very simple. Elite legions are too expensive. Not only do they need high military salaries, but they also need to be ready at any time. Upgrading weapons and equipment is the main point of swallowing gold.
Once the musket and artillery technology is upgraded, these main forces must immediately change equipment to ensure combat effectiveness. It is necessary to change equipment for 200,000, 300,000 or even 400,000 elite troops in one go. Thinking about this scale is a headache.
The situation in the Qing Dynasty was more complicated than in Europe. Since no comprehensive military reform had been carried out, the military system of the Qing Dynasty was very chaotic. The Eight Banners, Green Camp, local regiment training, plus the regularized Hunan Army, there was a mess of accurate figures for each person and one account. Not all the time.
According to historical records, Qing officials told the Prussian envoys that the Qing had a standing army of more than 2 million. The Prussian officials were stunned. Then someone boasted to the British that the Qing's standing army had reached more than 1.8 million, but the British were not that easy to fool. .
If calculated according to the figures on paper, it is not a boast that the Qing Dynasty has 2 million troops, but the key is that many local regiment trainings are also included, and those local regiment trainings are simply unable to fight large-scale national wars. At best, they are Carrying out garrison tasks in local areas simply cannot complete the war tasks of the modern army.
The actual number of troops in the Qing Dynasty was actually only three. The first was the Eight Banners, the second was the Green Camp, and the third was the Hunan Army and the Huai Army trained by the Han officials. The three forces combined in the late Qing Dynasty were only over 700,000. , no more.
