In Mawei, Fujian, the cool sea breeze blows slowly along the mountains, blowing the green trees and wild grass all over the mountains, and the sound of rustling is like an unparalleled grand symphony performance between heaven and earth.
The Minjiang River flows quietly under Tianma Mountain. Less than a hundred miles away is the mouth of the Minjiang River. A brief naval artillery battle broke out here.
To this day, people in Fuzhou are still amazed by the sound of the earth-shattering cannons and the heart-rending war cries of the new Yulin Army!
Ma Ming, the sword-wielding guard of the Forbidden City nicknamed Ma Sanye in Forty-Nine City, was wearing a military uniform imitating the Chinese army today. He was sitting quietly on the mountainside, looking at the Minjiang River in the distance and the construction projects in full swing. Mawei Shipyard.
Engineers from the United States, Britain, and Prussia, as well as skilled workers hired with high salaries from various countries, were leading thousands of Qing craftsmen in construction like a group of worker ants. They spent all their energy building their own warships.
It is said that Zuo Zongtang was from the land defense faction and Li Hongzhang was from the coastal defense faction, but that is all nonsense. The real truth is that Zuo Zongtang was the earliest important minister in coastal defense in the Qing Dynasty, and he wanted to build his own ships from the beginning.
Although Li Hongzhang looked down upon the scale and technology of Mawei Shipyard, he even believed that the Chinese would never be able to build steel battleships as powerful as the Westerners.
But Zuo Zongtang’s unique ambition, a spirit that I am willing to try even if I start from scratch, is very inspiring.
Just in the beginning of this year, Mawei Shipyard produced the first 100-ton steam paddle steamer, and also installed two small-caliber naval guns on it.
For such a battleship, the steam engine, crankshaft, transmission and other parts are all imported... But the bare hull can be produced by oneself. This initial battleship has already caused a sensation in Fuzhou City.
On the day of sailing, Mr. Ma also went to see it. In fact, there was nothing interesting to see. He had seen bigger and more powerful warships in Ryukyu, but this small gunboat of 100 tons made him burst into tears with excitement.
The good news followed the telegram all the way to the Forbidden City and into the palace where there was no emperor. It was very rare that the empress dowagers of both palaces sent back telegrams of condolences. Their words of encouragement made the then governor Ding Baozhen make an exception and got drunk.
Manchuria, a shabby house with air leakage from all sides, really needs good news to stimulate it, but just a small gunboat of 100 tons has already excited the government and the opposition.
When Ma Sanye was corresponding with his family in Sijiucheng, he also faintly felt this sense of dejection and dejection!
In fact, in the past few years, the Qing Dynasty has been a bit like the Tongzhi ZTE. The national economy has begun to recover from the Changmao and Nian Army rebellions, and the recovery has been quite good.
Xiao Letian once lamented that due to his intervention, the Manchu Qing Dynasty lost a lot of direct oppression by European powers, and the Chinese took on a large part of the high pressure of European powers on behalf of the Qing Dynasty.
This gave the Manchus a rare respite. Tongzhi ZTE in this world actually recovered much better than Xiao Letian's previous life.
Through the gradual recovery in the past few years, the Manchu flag pay has been increased to 70% off. This is not easy. You must know that the Qing government has not completely stopped the war, and the new army of Guiziliu also needs Constant blood transfusions.
Banner pay has increased, but prices on the market have stabilized and declined, especially the food issue that the people are most concerned about. Although the capital has the industry of princes and ministers to collectively fry rice, because the Chinese have opened up a large amount of overseas food imports, So prices have been very solid.
Of course, the Qing government brazenly took credit for this credit, but the common people couldn't understand the twists and turns involved.
Xiao Letian doesn't care about these false reputations. He is a pragmatist who cares about his appearance and has no face to lose. He doesn't even bother to retaliate when the Confucian scholars scold him. He stares at the name of a lewd hungry ghost given to him by all the Confucian scholars in the Qing Dynasty. No one is angry, let alone the small reputation of importing grain.
However, the Manchu Qing Dynasty stole this credit and deceived a group of people with this false reputation that Xiao Letian did not want. Now the people in the Qing Dynasty, especially in the Central Plains area, are much more stable.
The imperial court's annual income has increased, and the people's lives have also become better. Now the imperial court's Westernization efforts have also made some gains. At least the Mawei Shipyard can build ships.
Not to mention the Shanghai Special Administrative Region and the Guangzhou Special Administrative Region controlled by the imperial court. If they had no other skills, they could at least build a few spinning mills and earn some money.
Everything was fine, but Mr. Ma still felt frustrated, the frustration radiating from his bones!
After training, Ma Ming likes to sit on Tianma Mountain outside the military camp and think about things calmly... But often after thinking about the beginning, his thoughts return to the island involuntarily.
It is an island full of magic, and it is an island that people will never forget once they go there!
He reached into his arms and saw a jade plaque that had been warmed by his body temperature. He didn't need to take it out to look at it, he could touch the writing on the jade plaque with his fingers.
The touch on his fingers triggered the memory in his heart, and the fire began to burn from his heart!
The jade card is not big, but the material is very good. It is top-grade mutton-fat white jade, cut into the shape of a peace and quiet card. On one side is the white and mirror-like face of the peace card, and on the other side is the word "blade" engraved on it.
"Ma Ming takes over the flag...the fifth company is established...named Blade!"
The sound like thunder rang in his ears, and the Ouchi guard always woke up from his dreams. This scene tortured his heart again and again.
Ryukyu! Naha! Recruit camp!
I kind of asked Emperor Tongzhi to take him to the pit. The four bodyguards followed the emperor into the new barracks, and began to undergo Westernized military training step by step from standing in a military posture.
Stacking tofu quilts, singing military songs and queuing up for meals, emergency gatherings at twelve o'clock at night, a team of brothers working together on the training ground to run wildly carrying a giant tree...
Scenes of a good man being tempered into steel were before his eyes. The head of state's military training technique was like hitting a hot iron with a heavy hammer, which vividly tempered the bad habits of the Eight Banners dandy in him.
It was not until the training was over and all the exams were passed that these student soldiers became qualified soldiers. He was actually assigned to the fifth company of the New Army as the flag bearer. The company named him...Blade!
Damn it, the big men burst into tears at that time. It was clear that Xiao Letian trained a group of people like animals, but no one was cruel to the Führer!
On the contrary, these steel-like men worship that guiding light from the bottom of their hearts!
"What's wrong with me? I'm obviously a guard of the Qing Dynasty, and I'm the emperor's personal soldier... Why can't I hate Xiao Letian when I think about it?"
"Is this still the eloquent Mr. Ma from Sijiucheng who criticizes current affairs? When did I stop wanting to be Manchurian so much?"
At this moment, a thought suddenly emerged from the bottom of my heart. Could it be that the current depression among people across the country was caused by the head of state?
