The land of Youyan.
The majestic Beidu City Wall stands at the foot of Yanshan Mountain.
This is the intersection of agricultural civilization and nomadic civilization. It is the core place of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.
Here the tectonic plates of farming and nomadic life meet.
Say it sincerely.
The Qing court's skill in dealing with the nomads was higher than that of the previous Ming Dynasty.
In the past Ming Dynasty, this was the national border.
In the Qing Dynasty, this was the frontier where the Manchu and Mongolian nobles happily exploited the Han lands.
Use the wealth from Han land to support the Mongolian Eight Banners and the princes of the grassland.
The upper strata of the steppes were bought off through shared wealth.
To deal with the lower class, the Yellow Temple was built extensively. Naturally, it was difficult for the Mongols who believed in the Yellow Sect to regain the bravery of Genghis Khan's warriors.
In addition, the Qing court also forced Mongolian men to become monks and become lamas. Once they became monks, they could not hold hands with Mongolian girls. Without holding hands, they would not be able to have children.
Having fewer babies.
The total population of Mongolia is smaller.
The total population has decreased. On the one hand, the Mongolian princes above do not have to worry about insufficient resources due to the large number of people. The herdsmen will rebel like the farmers in the Han region if they cannot survive. Who can bear it if Temujin comes?
On the other hand, the overall strength of the grassland tribes has also declined.
It would be difficult to threaten the rule of the Qing Dynasty.
It can be said.
The Qing Dynasty's rule over Mongolia and the Han Dynasty was almost a culmination of experiences and lessons learned from previous dynasties.
The "peak of feudal monarchy" mentioned in history textbooks is not without purpose.
But now.
The enemy faced by this master of feudal monarchy empires in the past dynasties is no longer the traditional peasant uprising army, but a semi-industrial empire.
Inside the Forbidden City.
Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty still persists in working at the age of 81 and insists on not retiring. He is bound to take up the last post of the Qing Dynasty.
Huang Ama's health seems to be getting worse and worse.
Why don't you know how to take a break?
It's really worrying.
The fifteenth elder brother Yongyan, who was standing by and waiting, thought to himself.
"Not bad! Fukang'an did a good job this time. The bandits entered Henan Mansion alone. It seems that there is going to be a war in Henan!"
Qianlong, who was watching the battle report from Henan attentively, showed a smile on his thin face.
The Green Flag Army had conducted several tentative battles with the Taiping Army before.
Judging from the battle report.
It has achieved a lot of results.
Seven or eight thousand enemies have been wiped out.
Even if it's a discount.
I'm afraid there are seven or eight hundred, right?
"Huang Ama, the war in Henan is about to begin. Over in Shengjing, Ni Ming's mule soldiers have already appeared in Gaizhou." The fifteenth prince said, "Is this Ni Ming trying to take advantage of our fight with the cult bandits? When the time comes, we will send troops to attack the capital from both north and south?"
Qianlong heard this and shook his head and said: "Ni Ming's actions in Liaodong are to attract me to send a large army out of the border to fight in Liao. Ni Ming has the advantage of the navy, and supplies are more convenient than our army. Fighting in Liaodong, against Ni Ming favorable."
"Are they allowed to colonize Shengjing?"
"In three to five years, what role can the Ni Ming military garrison in Shengjing play? Now it is better to be still than to move. The purpose of Ni Ming's provocation in Shengjing is to distract me. The key now We need to defeat the cult bandits first, so that we can concentrate on dealing with Ni Ming!"
Qianlong stood up and said.
"Where are the envoys from England, Russia, and Asbania (Spain)?" Qianlong asked.
"Back to Emperor Ama, a fast horse came yesterday to report that they had arrived in Yanzhou along the canal. However, they actually proposed to go to Qufu to meet Duke Yan. Shandong did not dare to make the decision and was waiting for the court to make a decision."
Qianlong frowned slightly: "What are they going to do to see Yan Shenggong? Let them go all the way north. I heard that these countries have set up embassies in Ni Ming?"
"Back to Huangama, Yingjili and Asbania heard that they were going to war with Ni Ming. Their negotiations with Ni Ming failed this time. Now they are heading north, and they should be seeking cooperation with the Qing Dynasty."
"cooperate."
Qianlong frowned.
If it weren't for the Ming Dynasty in the south, he really wouldn't want these foreigners from Europe to come in.
These foreign artifacts and ideas.
It is easy to lead the Han people of the Qing Dynasty astray.
It must be guarded against.
But now most of the world is beyond the control of the Qing Dynasty.
And if foreign technology was not introduced, the Qing Dynasty would probably be completely defeated by the south in a few years.
The matter of interacting with Western countries is even a cup of poison.
Now Qianlong also had to drink it.
Before being poisoned by this cup of poison.
On the one hand, Qianlong wanted to defeat the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and on the other hand, he also wanted to win a decisive victory against the Ming Dynasty on the battlefield - a counterattack in the south was something he didn't dare to think about.
At least the front line must be maintained along the Qinling Mountains-Huaihe River line.
In this way, the Qing Dynasty can still have a place in the Central Plains. Relying on the human and material resources of the Central Plains and the support of the grassland tribes, the Qing Dynasty's Guozuo can still be maintained, so that at least there can be a situation like the Northern Liao Dynasty.
If you persist like this for a few years, at least you can't let yourself become the subjugated king of the Qing Dynasty, right?
Qianlong looked at his fifteenth elder brother Yongyan.
I wonder if Old Fifteen will become this unlucky guy?
"Cross the river! Cross the river!"
"quick!"
North bank of Jianhe River.
The head is wrapped in a red scarf.
The soldiers of the Kingdom of Heaven, carrying muskets, horizontal knives, and cloth-covered iron armor, began to wade across the river at the urging of their superiors.
It hasn't rained yet in the north.
The river is not deep.
The deepest part is only submerged up to the waist.
Liu Laoba was also among those crossing the river.
As a pioneer.
They had to cross the Jianhe River first, and then deploy defenses along the river to cover the auxiliary troops who accompanied the army and build pontoon bridges.
After the pontoon bridge is built, the horses, food, grass, and baggage of the large army can be transported smoothly.
Liu Laoba was carrying a shield on his head, and his muskets, armor, and muskets were tied to the shield.
As the first generation of soldiers.
Liu Laoba is very able to endure hardships.
Although the weather in the north is getting warmer now.
But the river water, which has been frozen all winter, is still bitingly cold.
Liu Laoba walked forward one foot at a time, his body was shaking with cold, and his lips were turning blue and white.
But soldiers like Liu Laoba have no complaints at all.
Without saying a word, he just gritted his teeth and walked forward with the person in front.
The surface of Jianhe River is not wide, and soon Liu Laoba stepped onto the south bank. ,
"Armor! Hurry!"
The superiors roared.
A group of government soldiers moved very quickly.
This time we were crossing the river as a vanguard, so we didn't bring any slave soldiers or ride horses.
Liu Laoba skillfully put on the cloth armor and buckled the shield on top of his head - this kind of shield is in the shape of a bamboo hat and can be worn on the top of the head to avoid the thrown arrows.
Hanging the knife on his waist, he checked whether the gunpowder was wet with water, and then quickly formed the team. Arrange forward with muskets in hand.
When the Taiping Army crossed the river, the Qing Army would naturally not fail to react.
A large group of cavalry came on horseback.
He wanted to take advantage of the fact that the Taiping Army's foothold was not yet firm.
"Array!!"
The person in charge of the Taiping Army is Ran Tianyuan, a member of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
Before the White Lotus Rebellion, he was a hero who dominated the mountains in Sichuan and was known as the "King of Sweepers".
Very fierce.
Now he is a marquis under Liu Zhixie.
soon.
A strict queue was formed.
The cavalry sent by the Qing army did not dare to attack the infantry formation, but only dared to wander around the periphery.
"Quick! Send the cannon over!"
Liu Zhixie, who was on the other side of the river, ordered.
In today's war, artillery is the absolute protagonist.
Without cannons.
When the Qing army pulls up the artillery, the Taiping Army's infantry formation will stand up to the bombardment.
Relying on the cover of the troops led by Ran Tianyuan in front, Yisousou quickly entered the water, broke the river surface, and rushed towards the opponent with all his strength.
"Pull up the cannon! Blow me hard!"
The person sent out this time was Fukang'an's general Eldenbao.
Lead a thousand-man cavalry team and three green flag infantry battalions.
That's about 2,700 people.
The cavalry is the cavalry of the Mongolian Eight Banners brought by Fukang'an from Beijing.
The three green flag infantry are elites selected from among the green flags.
Eldenbao himself was a bannerman and served as a minister of bodyguard beside Qianlong.
Therefore, it is more than enough to command this thousand-man Mongolian cavalry.
In fact, the Qing army had already discovered that the other party was about to cross the river.
However, he did not attack halfway.
Fukang'an was worried that the Taiping Army would shrink back to Tongguan after discovering the difficulty of crossing the river.
Then it will be difficult for the Qing Dynasty to handle it.
It is necessary to deploy a large army in Henan to block the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and to prevent the Ming Dynasty from moving north.
Therefore, Fukang'an's plan was to wait until the opponent had passed some of his troops before launching an attack.
Right by the river.
Give the opponent a head-on blow, win one first and then talk about it.
The calculation is very shrewd.
After seeing the opponent quickly forming an infantry phalanx, Eldenbao responded promptly and asked the back to pull up the cannon.
However, he completely misjudged the ferocity of the Taiping Army on the opposite side.
To know.
The more than a thousand Taiping troops who crossed the river first were all soldiers like Liu Laoba who divided the manor.
They were originally the elite of the old battalion of the White Lotus Sect, and their skills in killing people had been tested in dozens of battles.
At the same time, their morale is extremely high now, and their fighting will is more than one level stronger than the Green Flag of the Qing Army opposite them.
When Ran Tianyuan discovered that the Qing army on the opposite side had retracted its formation and planned to pull up the cannon from the rear to form a majestic formation.
He immediately gave the order to charge.
More than a thousand Taiping soldiers who had just completed crossing the river immediately started holding rattan plates and horizontal knives before they had even done much preparation.
They formed a three-tier horizontal formation and pressed forward against the infantry formation of the Qing army's green flag soldiers on the opposite side.
This move killed the master with random punches and Eldenbao almost didn't react.
His green-flag infantry only had time to fire one shot before the formations on both sides collided.
Under this collision.
The two sides were in close combat, and the gap in morale and fighting will was fully reflected.
"Kill the demon!"
Accompanied by earth-shaking shouts.
A thousand soldiers of the Kingdom of Heaven, wearing cloth-covered iron armor and holding shields and horizontal knives, suddenly crashed into the infantry formation led by Eldenbao.
The battle formations of both sides became scattered immediately.
The battle formations on both sides were entangled.
The thousand Mongolian cavalry who were asked to circle around and prepare to attack the flank could only stare.
The Green Flag Soldiers' formation was dispersed in one blow and almost collapsed in a short period of time.
(End of chapter)
