Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 481 The British plan
Now let's talk about the British.

Compared with the awkward, improvised, and finally broken-up audience three years later in another time and space, the attention and welcome received by the British mission in this time and space definitely surpassed that of other vassal states in Daiqing.Of course, the dispute over audience etiquette is still an insoluble contradiction.

Although He Shen talked about the past and the present, taking the example of the three kneeling and nine knocking rituals in the Netherlands and Portugal during the Shunzhi period, Macartney refused to obey.When He Zhongtang heard that the British audience ceremony is to kneel on one knee, lightly shake the king's hand with one hand, and have to kiss, he immediately became upset.Take ten thousand steps back and say, you can't even kiss Ben Zhongtang, who are you, you dare to hold the emperor's hand!

As far as the feudal suzerainty system is concerned, there is no such thing as equal exchanges between countries.As long as it is a foreign country, it has to belong to the foreign vassal, and on the shore of the land, is it possible that the king's ministers, no matter what small things they have in their hearts, must kneel and kowtow three times on the scene.

Except for He Shen, Yong Yan and Fu Kang'an who were in charge of mediating in the middle, other Manchu officials were very puzzled. Since the British refused to perform the ceremony of audience, why should they be allowed to participate in the celebration?

How did they know that this oolong actually originated from Sun Shiyi's memorial to the court the year before last. The British's letter of credence said "visit", while Sun Shiyi's men translated "tribute".

After arguing and fighting, in order not to cause trouble, Man Qing finally held his nose and agreed to the one-knee salute, but exempted the hand-kissing salute.

On the [-]th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, Qianlong still received the British party.Macartney found that the Great Emperor, who had been rumored to be ill by Beihai Town before, did not look sick and gloomy as the outside world said, but looked very happy in both his attitude and expression.

Although Qianlong did not issue an order to expel the guests, he was really unhappy with the emissary's arrogance.After Macartney and others completed their interview, Qianlong immediately issued a secret order, exempting the British mission from all extra rewards; there was no need to entertain and watch dramas during their stay in Beijing; princes and ministers did not need to stand up when meeting Macartney.

"When I enter the pilgrimage to foreign barbarians, if I am sincere and obedient, I will treat them with kindness and show tenderness. If I am a little arrogant, it means that they have no blessing to receive grace. The way is appropriate."

Of course, if you're not happy, you still have to buy the gunboat.After the incident in Yangzhou, the Qing court found that the river defense at Wusongkou was useless to the fast ships of the Northern Navy, and thus the demand for British sailing gunships became stronger.

When the British mission returned to the capital, the two sides soon entered into the business negotiations. In addition to Heshen and Fu Kang'an, they were in charge of this matter.

The Qing court proposed to purchase five more second-class sailing battleships. Macartney said that there was no problem, and then put forward several requirements that had been prepared.

Such as allowing British businessmen to trade with Zhoushan and Ningbo in Tianjin, allowing British businessmen to open warehouses in the capital, and even proposing to lease a small island off the coast of Zhejiang and Guangzhou like Beihai Town before, and so on.

Heshen actually hoped to expand trade, after all, the annual fiscal revenue of the Manchu Qing Dynasty was so little.Not counting He Zhongtang's own greed, the court can only start with trade if it wants to increase revenue.However, when he tactfully reported his thoughts to Qianlong, he was severely reprimanded by Qianlong.

It's just that the imperial court can't deal with the gang of traitors in Beihai Town, and it's only five years for them to temporarily borrow Huaniao Island.What kind of thing is Ying card? He bought a few gunboats to look down on him, but he dared to spy on the territory of the Celestial Dynasty? !

After that, what made Macartney even more depressing was that no matter whether it was Fukang'an or the other ministers of the Qing Dynasty, after watching the brown bass rifle practiced by the British, they all dismissed it, which made him sell the rifle. The idea fell through, very depressed.

The British thought that the low cost of the short brown bass would definitely attract the Qing Empire to buy it.A standard short brown bass musket manufactured by the East India Company cost about 2 pounds 4 shillings each, and the French flintlock muskets of the same period cost about the same.As I said before, at the end of the eighteenth century, one pound was worth about 7.8 taels of silver. Even at the cost price, each rifle cost 16 taels of silver.

What a joke!The cost per shot of the "Zambala Shotgun" manufactured by the Manchu Armed Forces Institute and the Ministry of Industry is only a little over seven taels.

During the Yongzheng period, due to the failure of the "Battle of Hetongbo", Manchu Qing built "Zambarak" muskets in Xi'an and Jingshi respectively in order to gain technological advantages.Produced in Xi'an is the "Zambarak Big Shotgun", which is a large matchlock gun between the eagle gun and the matchlock gun.In addition to the "Zambarak shotgun" built in the capital, there is also a small "Zambarat shotgun" for cavalry.

In terms of weight, a brown bass is 4.5 kilograms, and a "Zambala shotgun" is heavier, but only 7.8 kilograms, and for stability when shooting, either a gun fork or a saddle-shaped wooden shelf.

In terms of weapon effectiveness, before the British discovered the best ratio of black powder, the best shooting distance of the flintlock was 91.44 yards, or 17 meters, and the misfire rate was about [-]%.

根据另一时空在1811年使用新大陆版“褐贝丝”的射击测试来看，无风条件下距离91.44米（100码）的上靶率为53％，距离182.88米（200码）的上靶率为30％，到距离274.32米时（300码）的上靶率仅有23％。

When the "Zambala Shotgun" is shooting, it is accurate at 300 paces; if it is calculated at 100 feet, it has reached more than [-] meters.Of course, in the military establishment of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, this thing is called "Hui Pao", which is no longer considered a gun.As for the Zambalat shotgun, the effective shooting distance is within [-] meters, which is actually similar to the flintlock.

During the Qing-Burmese War, the two sides fought four times. Although many senior generals of the Qing army were shot and killed, the Qing army did not imitate flintlock guns after the war because they believed that the accuracy of flintlock guns was too poor.In Fu Heng's memorial to Qianlong, he mentioned, "Although self-fired muskets are easy to fire, they are not as accurate as matchlocks."

If the flintlock guns of the [-]th century were so easy to use, no matter whether it is A Gui or Fu Heng, who has experienced many battles, whoever doesn’t use them is a fool!Even if it is not used by the green battalion, the capital firearms battalion must be equipped, right?The Manchu Qing even knew how to imitate the big muskets of the Mughal dynasty, so don’t they know how to imitate flintlock guns?
In the final analysis, it is still a question of tactics.The firing distance of infantry on both sides of the battlefield in these years is within 200 meters, but if the line tactics want to achieve the maximum lethal effect, the distance has to be reduced to 60 meters.At such a short distance, the flintlock can fire continuously in three or four rows, and the arquebus can also shoot in three bursts.

Who the hell is waiting for you to reload after that!Either charge with a bayonet, or greet with a bow and arrow.Before the Qing Dynasty, they used this hand to repeatedly defeat their opponents. Isn’t it faster to use the 120-pound compound bow of the Eight Banners at close range than to reload the flintlock?A fierce man like Yang Yuchun might be able to shoot through both of them with one arrow.

Although the Qing court rejected Macartney's request, the British did not intend to give up.They had already bought the accompanying Han interpreter before, and through bribery, they got a piece of news from the Lifan Academy that Beihai Town was likely to start a war with Tsarist Russia in the north in the near future.

So Macartney and his party stayed in Beijing resolutely by finalizing the procurement of warships.One is to continue to exert influence on He Zhongtang through diplomatic means, and the other is to see the results of the confrontation between Beihai Town and the old empire of Tsarist Russia.

When I was a guest on the Thor, the British already knew in the chat that the Northern Navy had captured Eastern Siberia in Tsarist Russia, but they didn't know the specific battle process.In their view, the strategic center of gravity of the Russians lies in the Black Sea and Poland, and remote Siberia is really sparsely populated, so it is actually very easy to sneak attack.

In view of the fact that our side is cooperating with the Qing Empire, the British have no plans to visit Beihai Town at present.However, Major General John Jervis, the leader of the officer corps, pointed out that although the Qing Empire was huge, it might not be Beihai Town's opponent.Macartney took this very seriously, and he wanted to wait for the outcome of this war before deciding on the next step.

August 1790, 8, Irkutsk.

After the military meeting was over, Zhao Xin didn't go anywhere.He pulled Liu Sheng, and asked his staff to do their homework on the map within [-] kilometers north and west of Irkutsk, and looked at the map for several days.

There is no way, there are too many things to do during the day, and only the night is free.

While looking at the map, they also compared the image data obtained by the reconnaissance team with the drone, trying to memorize all kinds of data on the map.And this is the preparation homework that Zhao Xin has to do before the start of each battle.

It is said that the reason why Zhao Xin can know what he knows every time he fights is actually no other trick. The first is not to be lazy, and the second is to read more maps.Whether it is a mountain or a river in the battle area, or even the location and characteristics of every road and every village, all must be clearly understood, and in the end it must be able to command operations without looking at the map.

From the time he bit the bullet to give the first lesson to the officers below, he never taught these people those ancient military books that were too metaphysical, and he never asked his staff officers or regimental leaders to read "Sun Tzu's Art of War" or "Sun Tzu's Art of War" Wu Zi's Art of War can be memorized backwards.

Zhao Xin's requirements for lower-level regiment, battalion, company, and platoon officers are mainly three points: memorize the rules of tactics, memorize the map, and consider the worst situations in advance.

Combat has always been a very specific matter, and it is important to clarify strategic intentions, but as a commander, it is by no means as simple as giving an order or making a decision.If you don't master the basic tactical rules, are unfamiliar with the battlefield, and don't know the enemy's situation, you can't win any battle if you don't find the answer from the worst result in advance.

This is definitely not something that can be solved with a few advanced rifles and long-range cannons. If you don't understand the command procedures and related tactics of various military operations, anyone who comes will be cold.

As a company platoon leader, how to issue tactical passwords?
After reading through the binoculars, he pointed at the target and shouted, "Brothers, let me charge, if you can't attack, you will be shot"?Or chanting "A man who dies in the sky will never die for thousands of years" to boost morale?

That's called bandits, not troops.

Some people may say that there are drones and instant messaging radio stations, so why can't they win? !Come on, that's called "command messages" and it's not the same thing as command procedures.The command program can optimize the process based on information, but it must not be said that with the information, there will be a program.

For example, if a river is blocked on the battlefield, everyone knows that they must cross the river, and crossing the river is a very specific tactical action.

As a commander, how can you be sure that the location you choose to cross the river is both strategically beneficial and tactically advantageous in terms of terrain?How to lay out the crossfire points?How to deploy artillery?How to organize the defense of the enemy crossing the river?
To give another example, everyone knows the importance of infantry, which is the main arm of the army.How to configure it on the battlefield?Everyone would say "Three-Three System", but how deep is the Three-Three System reasonable?How wide is a company's offensive front?

Don't look at Liu Sheng and Wang Yuanfang who have been soldiers, but the most they can master is the tactics of the infantry squad.They are also learning desperately, especially Liu Sheng, who, like Zhao Xin, is slowly comprehending in the same stupid way.If you have to use the tactics of the infantry squad to fight when you get to the position of division commander, isn't that nonsense!
There are teachers who are over 20 years old, and they have been added together since ancient times, and they can be counted on ten fingers.No one is handsome right away, and so is the time traveler.You spend all your time making love to women and raising a harem, and you still want to rely on your own charm to let others beat you to death?With just a moment of bravery, do you think you can command thousands of troops?What a beautiful thing to think about!

After breakfast every day, Zhao Xin sleeps for three or four hours in a hurry, and then he has to hold a coordination meeting with the staff of the logistics department to listen to their deployment reports on the logistics; Chief has a meeting.

According to the existing "Tsarist Russian Empire Road Index Manual" in the 18th century, it is more than 500 kilometers from Irkutsk to Nizhny Uginsk, and more than 600 kilometers from Nizhny Uginsk to Yeniseysk.In addition, it is 500 kilometers from Irkutsk to Ilimsk, and more than 1000 kilometers from Ilimsk to Yeniseysk.

The people in the logistics department have to make a lot of calculations in advance based on the marching speed of the North Navy, and with reference to factors such as climate and water flow, to determine the location and quantity of military stations, hospitals, ship maintenance points, and material supply points along the way, and then draw The number of ships mobilized, and the number of people in logistical support.

The Northern Navy is preparing intensively, and the Russian army led by Rumyantsev has also begun to act.The Russian army was divided into two groups, one with 3 troops advancing from Nizhny Uginsk to Qima in the northern Angara Basin, and the other with 5000 troops advancing from the Angara River to Bratsk.

Two days later, when Liu Sheng heard the news, he said to Zhao Xin, "Do you want to knock down Zaimka Fortress?"

"The important thing is not to capture the fortress, but to win the war. We must catch the Russians on the Western Front by surprise."

Zhao Xin shook his head and did not agree.If the Northern Navy's offensive is too fierce, the Russian troops on the western front may stagnate or retreat to Nizhny Uginsk.The only thing he can't be sure of now is the movement of the main force of the Russian army after passing through the Angara Basin.

In order to realize the scheduled plan, Zhao Xin has done a lot of preparatory work.He first adjusted the deployment of the army, concentrated the main force of the four regiments in the area between Usolye and Irkutsk, and used two regiments to protect his left flank.

On August 8, more than 15 Russian troops used the cover of heavy fog to attack the three frontier posts of the Northern Navy north of Usoliye.After more than an hour of fierce fighting, the Russian army quickly retreated.

Obviously, this attack by the Russian army was a test of the strength of the North Navy before the decisive battle.

　To make a digression, some articles are really unreadable, they are purely nonsense for the purpose of belittling, these authors don't even know the process of making firearms in the Qing Dynasty.In the Qing Dynasty, there were generally three sources of musket manufacturing, the Armed Forces Academy, the Ministry of Industry, and the provinces.Among them, the weapons produced by the Armed Forces Institute and the Ministry of Industry are only equipped with the Eight Banners, and the weapons made by each province are equipped with the Green Battalion. Of course, the quality varies greatly.For example, the "Zambala Firearm" and "Zambala Shotgun" were not allowed to be used by green camps during the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods, and were only popularized to the green camps during Jiaqing and Daoguang.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)