,!
It was September, and although Lake Baikal had not yet frozen, cold winds and howling heavy snow had suddenly arrived over Eastern Siberia.
The goose-feather heavy snow kept falling from the sky, and the silver wind and snow roared and rolled in the wilderness. The branches are covered with fluffy thin frost. The wind blew off the frost flowers and scattered them in the air. When the sun shone, they reflected a magical rainbow-like brilliance.
Beside a riverside village called "Zaimka Chernigovskaya" more than 100 kilometers northwest of Irkutsk, a large bastion fortification is under intensive construction day and night. , thousands of civil servants from Central Siberia and the east of the Ural Mountains were busy inside and outside the castle.
It was once a prison and one of dozens of prisons built along the Angara River by the Cossacks during their eastward expansion. Today the original wooden walls and towers of the prison have disappeared, replaced by barracks and warehouses.
In June 1789, Suvorov, who was released alone by Beihai Town, and Count Gold, the special envoy for negotiations, were on their way back to St. Petersburg. When passing through Tobolsk, they met Rumyantsev who had just arrived with 15,000 soldiers. marshal.
After listening to Suvorov's description of the Battle of Yaksa, the Marshal expressed shock and confusion that there could be such a powerful force in the far east. Even so, Rumyantsev, who is over sixty years old, still believes that there is no enemy that a powerful empire cannot defeat. It all depends on whether the cost of victory is worth it.
If the Northern Navy can return beyond the original Qing-Russian border, the most Marshal can do is send troops to Irkutsk to show force, and then re-sign a non-aggression treaty and reopen the Kyakhta trade to which everyone is happy.
However, when Count Mujin stated that the strange armed force calling itself the "Serys" did not intend to give up Irkutsk and told the other party's conditions, the old marshal knew that a war was here. It's inevitable.
However, since the elites of the Imperial Army were still fighting the Turks at this time, even newly recruited soldiers needed at least half a year of training. So Rumyantsev proposed in a letter to Catherine II that he would consider waiting until the war between the empire and Turkey came to an end before moving the Ukrainian Army eastward, and at the same time requested the recruitment of at least 20,000 new soldiers.
Beginning in the spring of 1789, the Russian Empire's combat forces against Turkey were organized into Army Group South, under the unified command of Potemkin. Potemkin's operational plan for this year is: the main force group will first capture Bessarabia, and then gather to annihilate the Turkish army in the Bingera area; the diversion group will cooperate with the main force's actions and maintain contact with the Austrian army. The goal is to control all of Moldova and eventually seize large areas of the northern shores of the Black Sea.
The Turks spent half a year gathering 150,000 troops in the lower reaches of the Danube River, intending to go north to annihilate the main force of the Russian army in the Bingera area. At the same time, diversionary troops were sent to attack the direction of Fokshani to cut off the connection between the Russian and Austrian armies.
Catherine II's primary goal was to dominate the Black Sea and open up land routes to the Balkans, the Mediterranean and Central Asia. As for the east, the old lady believed that when the elite troops of the empire arrived at the Yenisei River, it would be time to recover Eastern Siberia.
On August 1, more than 40,000 Russian and Turkish troops fought in Fokshani for 10 hours in a fierce battle, each suffering losses; after that, the main force of the Southern Army Group commanded by Potemkin was advancing towards the Dniester River.
Rumyantsev estimated that the two sides will start a battle at the end of September at the latest. As long as the Russian army can finally capture Izmail, the goal of this battle can be basically achieved. By then, the Bug Chasseur Army led by Kutuzov will Can be transferred back to fight on the Eastern Front.
So under Rumyantsev's order, starting from July 1789, 10,000 Russian troops and the same number of civilian troops entered the Angara River Basin from the Yenisei River, and relied on the early Cossack pioneering regiments to build They built villages and prisons along the river, built supply points and military fortresses, and pushed southward step by step.
At the same time, in the direction of Nizhney Uginsk County, 506 kilometers northwest of Irkutsk, three thousand Russian troops also began to move southeast from here, striving to cross the Angara Basin and enter the upper reaches of the Oka River through a step-by-step approach. At the northern foot of the Sayan Mountains, in order to form a two-line pincer attack on Irkutsk.
In mid-August, the Northern Navy Company stationed in the salt industry town of Usolye heard from the Yakuts who came to exchange salt that a Russian regiment appeared near the Idinsky Prison dozens of kilometers away. , and at the same time there were a large number of accompanying people.
So after Liu Sheng learned the news, he sent a reconnaissance team to conduct reconnaissance.
At present, there are only two regiments of garrison troops in the entire Beihai Special Region, and the area that needs to be defended covers a vast area from Nerchinsk to Usoriya; at the same time, because the new immigrants have not yet arrived, the area is mostly composed of Cossacks and Yabs. Kut people.
Liu Sheng and Fan Tong stayed in Irkutsk for nearly a year. Their main task was to use the army to ensure stable rule and build fortifications outside Irkutsk.
As the governor of the Beihai Special Region, Zhang Jingxuan, on the premise of maintaining the huge tea trade with the five Irkutsk families, recruited manpower from all over the area under his jurisdiction to improve and widen the route from Kyaktu through Irkutsk to Uzbekistan. Land transportation from Sorye, Ulan-Ude to Chita.
After receiving the telegram from Liu Sheng, Zhao Xin thought about it for two days and finally decided to adopt a defensive posture without launching an attack. The reason why he did this was mainly based on historical data from another time and space.
Although Beihai Town has become a butterfly instigating historical changes in East Asia, it will not affect the situation in Europe. The Sixth Russo-Turkish War has reached its most critical juncture, and Tsarist Russia will use all its national strength to win this war.
Although the ongoing "Battle of Remnik" resulted in a major defeat for the Turkish army, the total loss was only more than 10,000 people. The Turks would never admit defeat until the historical "Battle of Izmail" was over; and that battle would end at the end of 1790. Calculating this, the second large-scale confrontation between the North Korean navy and the Russian army will take at least more than a year.
The limitations of the times determine people's level of understanding. The scientific and technological knowledge at the end of the eighteenth century cannot explain the weapons of the Beihai Navy; in an era when line tactics and skirmishing tactics were in full swing, if you want to use black powder, flintlock rifles and smoothbore cannons to defeat the Beihai Navy, In a positional battle, anyone who comes will be hit with a bloody head.
The reason why he put Suvorov back was, firstly, to let the old lady use a weapon to delay the attack; secondly, he wanted to give Krutogorov a chance to instigate the lower-level soldiers.
It is said that the general's prestige among Russian prisoners is too high. Since the end of the Battle of Yaksa last year, Suvorov has become the spiritual support of all prisoners. If there is still such a "great god", Krutogorov's identity will be exposed at any time.
Sure enough, according to the news sent back by Wu Siyu, since Suvorov paid the ransom and left, the prisoners of war, who had lost their spiritual leader, became disheartened under the high-pressure management of the North Navy. The Tsarist Russian officer corps responsible for the internal management of prisoners of war was dismantled and engaged in hard labor. Krutogorov's progress in these months was quite smooth.
After the man who was designated by Zhao Xin as "Pugachev's only son" and "the only legal heir of Tsar Peter III" had his own independent residence and distributed delicious military rations, tobacco and alcohol to the prisoners of war who were loyal to him, , the number of "like-minded" partners grew to more than 600 within three months.
If Wu Siyu hadn't tried his best to control the number of people, and if Krutogorov had conducted a "loyalty review" among his companions, eliminating those who ate, drank, and smoked, the number might have exceeded 3,000.
Now the founders of the future "Cossack Kingdom" have been sent to Aihui City by Wu Siyu and handed over to Sheng Haizhou's headquarters for military training. Although each of these Cossacks has excellent riding skills, their military skills are really terrible; and because of the terrible food of the Russian army, they need to strengthen their physical fitness.
Zhao Xin's plan was to wait for these guys to go through a winter of intensive training, first form two battalions, and then equip them with Springfield M1861 rifled guns copied from the Beihai Town Arsenal. The control method is still the flash hat.
It is said that Duan Yucai and the others have been in Beihai Town for two days. Zhao Xin went to Fuldan City as an excuse. He has not met these people yet. Mainly people like Yu Deli and Lao You are accompanying them around. Thanks to these people being dazzled by the various facilities in Beihai Town, they didn't think of meeting Zhao Xin.
On the second day after arriving in Beihai Town, as expected, Wang Zhong pulled the seven talented people to the Beihai Town Central Hospital for a check-up. So the hospital was busy for a long time, with exclamations and screams happening one after another, which made other people who came to see the doctor think that a group of lunatics were here.
"Drawing blood? The hair and skin of your body are the responsibility of your parents. You must not do this!"
"The world has fallen apart. Why do Beihai Town still use women as doctors! Even if they are women, they treat women! I, Leilei, will never let a woman touch me!"
Gu Bei: "Measuring heart rhythm? Oh, I understand, it's just asking for a diagnosis and listening to the pulse! Why do you want me to take off my clothes? No women? Even if they are all men!"
"X light? What kind of light is that? How can you call it light if you can't see it? It's ridiculous!"
"Hey? Does your Majesty look familiar? I remembered it! You belong to Mr. Xingzhai... How do you use this utensil? Can you teach me?"
"Jun Zhi, come and see! Every detail of the bones in my body is revealed. Could it be that some evil method was used to do this?"
"Cousin Li! Cousin Li! I actually saw a red-haired ghost just now. It scared me to death!"
"Sir, I am not a ghost, I am an Orthodox priest! I once studied in your capital!"
Historically, Wang Zhong died at the age of fifty. This was mainly because his family background was not good when he was young, and he studied hard, so his foundation was very poor. Later, he was depressed and depressed for a long time. Zhao Xin had talked to Hong Tao before, and the old man might have had a heart attack or a stroke. At the moment, Wang Zhong is living very well, eating well and sleeping well. He will have a physical check-up every once in a while, and if it doesn't work, he will take medicine as soon as possible.
Duan Yucai is almost sixty, but his health is still good. Historically, Duan Yucai broke his right leg five years later, and he held on for twenty years, during which time he completed "Shuowen Jiezi Annotation".
Hong Liangji's physical condition is not bad. After all, he travels a lot, so it would be useless if his physical condition is poor. Historically, he offended Jiaqing because of his letter, and was imprisoned and sentenced to death. Later, he was released and returned to his hometown, where he ended up writing and writing in depression.
After the half-day trip to the hospital, which was full of excitement and fuss, these people were led by Wang Zhong to visit the steel factory on the east bank of the Xila River, then to visit the elementary school, visit the tractors, and look at the electric lights at night... .
Two days later, Wang Zhong, who had not seen Zhao Xin show up, became a little anxious. He couldn't guess what Zhao Xin meant. He obviously had his consent to recruit these people, but why hasn't he shown up yet?
In the evening, the unhappy Wang Zhong dragged his tired body back home, wondering what Zhao Xin would do if he didn't see these people tomorrow.
In fact, Zhao Xin disappeared because he did not understand a key issue. If this issue is not solved, the status of traditional literati in the Beihai Town system will be very embarrassing, and Beihai Town will never be able to take the step of marching into the customs.
Zhao Xin has thought a lot about how to build a modern industrialized country over the past year. From the simple pursuit of gold, to the ambition of becoming an emperor, to the consideration of what it means to be an industrialized country as a person in power, his political thinking has become more and more complex.
This is far from as simple as recruiting a group of soldiers, making a bunch of weapons, charging into the pass, and knocking the emperor off his throne.
As he talked more and more with Wang Zhong in the past two years, Zhao Xin gradually understood that the intellectuals of later generations were really different from traditional literati. People like him all wanted to be simple at the beginning.
From the conversation with Wang Zhong, Zhao Xin gradually understood what the imperial examination system meant to literati.
The imperial examination system was the most core institutional design in the relationship between ancient scholars and the political structure, and was the lifeline of the "scholar politics" form. The blanket abolition of the imperial examination will fundamentally cut off the social source of "shi" and will directly lead to the disintegration of the hierarchical society.
If it is changed to a qualification examination, what will it be tested for? Doing mathematics and physics? What about those middle-aged and elderly literati in their 40s, 56s, and 70s? What about people who don’t have money to re-enter school?
Even for young scholars who meet the requirements, as long as those in power do not agree with Confucian politics, it will be like draining fuel from the bottom of the cauldron; no matter how these scholars are reused, it will inevitably lead to the collapse of their faith and identity.
Liang Qichao's pain was so, Wang Guowei's pain was so, and Liang Juchuan's pain was even more so.
In another time and space, at the end of the Qing Dynasty, due to the abolition of the imperial examination system, the common fate between scholars and the country was quickly disintegrated. The old-school literati broke away from the original political structure and were unable to be absorbed by the new political structure, thus becoming a "free" social group, which in turn triggered a dramatic social shock.
Judging from Wang Zhong's attitude, Zhao Xin realized that "identity" and "change" are not necessarily in conflict, but can even complement each other.
All "changes" must come from tradition. Blindly opposing tradition and denying "identity" is not only useless, but may also be detrimental to social "change" and industrial development.
The gentry represented the interests of the rural community to a certain extent, and to a considerable extent assumed the ethical responsibilities and belief support stipulated by Confucianism. This role was crucial in the early stage after Beihai Town entered the customs.
After entering the pass, it is no longer the sparsely populated outer northeast. Every time you occupy a land, you need to maintain the stability of the land. The smooth transfer of political power, the reception of population, land and wealth, how to resettle old officials, and how to quickly implement new policies into the countryside all require the assistance of traditional scholars.
If Beihai Town has to solve everything by itself and use violent means to seize it all, then fine, conquer one area and govern the other, and take your time, it may not be unified for decades!
In the first two years, Zhao Xin rudely believed that the process of industrialization would lead to conflicts with the gentry class due to land issues. This was also the reason why he was unwilling to contact and recruit Manchu literati. Since he will be defeated sooner or later, there is no need to make too many connections.
However, for a feudal society dominated by agricultural civilization, the process of industrialization was actually divided into two stages.
The first is how to maintain a unified nation-state in the context of the challenges of industrialization; the second is to use the power of the state or government to promote economic development and realize the transformation of civilization structure.
Judging from the history of the formation and development of Western industrialized countries in later generations, absolute authoritarianism is the first stage of industrialization. Only in this way can we destroy or eliminate various weak local political forces, or merge them into strong national political organizations, thereby strengthening the power of the central government to rule its territories and combining a strong legal system with Political order is imposed on the territory it governs.
The transformation from a relatively decentralized, localized and polycentric political power structure to centralized and unified national power must be a process full of war and turmoil.
"Imperial examination, absolute autocracy, power recognition..." Under the dim light, Zhao Xin murmured to himself while sitting at the table.
He felt that he would not be able to face the questions that the seven literati were going to raise unless he sorted it all out.
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