I want to be emperor

Chapter 605

Xu Donglai is not the only one who sees an opportunity and wants to go to Nanyang to make a fortune. There are many others.

The previous series of expansions of the Great Chu Empire in Southeast Asia and the subsequent establishment of the Nanyang Governor’s Office, the establishment of administrative agencies in many overseas territories, and a bunch of policies to support and encourage immigration have made many people see opportunities to make a fortune. Then he pounced on it like a hungry dog.

Make money, it's not shabby!
As for the officials of the Great Chu Empire, they are also happy to see a large number of businessmen or adventurers going there, and they will bring more funds to develop overseas territories.

The development of overseas territories is not enough to rely on official capital alone, and a large amount of private capital is also required to participate in it, especially in such a large area as the Beijia area.

Moreover, there are many messy natives in these places, and the Great Chu Empire will encounter resistance from the local natives if they want to engage in immigration development here.

Therefore, a large amount of power from the people is also needed to gradually occupy the living space of the local aborigines, so as to free up enough land for immigration and development.

When a large number of people flocked to the Nanyang region in order to survive, get rich or for various reasons, the country of the Great Chu Empire remained calm and stable.

Since the end of the Eastern Captivity War, the Great Chu Empire has been in a stable state as a whole. Even if there are not many external conflicts, some of them are limited to the border areas, without affecting the hinterland, and have no impact on the empire's financial or military power. what a challenge.

For example, the recovery of the Qingkang area before, and the border conflict with Myanmar, in fact, it has little to do with ordinary people. Many people don’t even know that the empire fought a war with Myanmar!
People care more about things that are closely related to their own lives. Occasionally, they are often related to some major policy issues. As for border conflicts, at most they read a few news articles in the Dachu Mansion Newspaper, and then read them. It's over.

Many people don't even pay attention to where Myanmar is.

Even the upper echelons of the empire didn't pay much attention to it. After all, to the empire, it was just a medium-scale border conflict, not even a war...

The imperial military did not even conduct partial mobilization, and only a few troops deployed on the border of Yunnan at that time participated in the war.

However, when news came from the Western Regions that Zhungeer's army defeated the army of the Yarkand Khanate and began to sweep the Yarkand Khanate, it immediately attracted the attention of the high-level empire.

The Yarkand Khanate is located in the area west of Jiayuguan. When the empire first took over Jiayuguan, they established a good relationship with the empire. Later, they took the initiative to pay tribute, and they were regarded as a vassal state of the Great Chu Empire in name.

Over the years, they have imported a large number of guns, swords and other weapons from the empire to resist the continuous aggression of the Zhungeer army.

But on the other hand, after the imperial power continued to infiltrate into the Yarkand Khanate and took control of the Qingkang area, it also made Zhungeer feel a huge threat, which in turn made Zhungeer more determined United Russia against the Great Chu Empire.

The outbreak of the war was not a matter of preferences, but a huge conflict of interests between the two sides... All fools know that the Great Chu Empire will definitely enter the Western Regions, and even the Zhungeer Ministry has received news that the Great Chu Empire has already entered the Western Regions. Promised the Qihe area controlled by the Zhungeer Ministry to the surrendered Heshuo Special Ministry...

Zhungeer is also unwilling to wait until the Chu army and the Heshuo special forces are really killed before resisting. They are also actively looking for ways to fight against the Great Chu Empire, such as uniting with Russia and attacking other surrounding tribes. It also continued to attack the Yeerqiang Khanate, the dog leg of the Great Chu Empire.

Zhungeer was busy fighting against the Kingdom of Kazakhstan two years ago, and gained great war dividends. Taking advantage of the victory in the first battle, when the army was strong and strong, Zhungeer finally couldn't help it. In the spring of the 14th year of Shun, a large-scale attack was launched against the Yarkand Khanate.

It was no longer the infiltrating small and big troubles before, but tens of thousands of troops came up, and they directly slapped the weak Yaerqiang Khanate to death.

When the Chu army stationed in the direction of Jiayuguan got the news, the Yarkand Khanate had already become history... This shocked the First Army of the Chu Army in charge of defense in the direction of Shaanxi and Gansu. Preparation, on the other hand, is also an emergency notification to Jinling.

After all, facing Zhungeer, it is up to Jinling to decide whether to fight or not.

The main reason is that once a war is launched in the northwest, the consumption will be extremely terrifying.

It would be very costly to transport all kinds of logistics materials to the front line of Jiayuguan, and once the war broke out, it would have to go deep into the Western Regions. It is possible for the battle line to continue to extend hundreds of kilometers or even thousands of kilometers.

This kind of logistics supply is too difficult, and it cannot be solved by the frontline troops on their own. It needs the support of the entire empire to be able to handle it.

In addition to these difficulties, the more important thing is that the frontline troops do not have the right to declare war...

If Zhungeer took the initiative to call, then needless to say, the frontline troops must have started.

However, Zhungeer did not take the initiative to attack the Chu army in Jiayuguan. Although the Yarkand Khanate is nominally a vassal state of the Great Chu Empire, everyone knows that this is only in name, and the relationship between the two parties is more of a kind. The cooperative relationship, the Great Chu Empire gave various material support to the Yarkand Khanate, and the Yarkand Khanate blocked Zhungeer in the front.

Under the current situation, whether to fight or not, the front line is really uncertain, and Jinling needs to make a decision.

There is no need to worry about too long and too late... Anyway, the Yarkand Khanate is over, and it cannot be saved now.

In addition, Zhungeer is right ahead and can't fly anymore... It doesn't make much difference to fight a few months earlier or later.

After Luo Zhixue received the news that Zhungeer raided the Yarkand Khanate and wiped out the Yarkand Khanate in one fell swoop, he did not hesitate to hold an enlarged counselor meeting, and all the counselors and co-organizers in Beijing participated.

The main thing is to report the situation in the Western Regions and listen to preliminary opinions.

Naturally, it is impossible for the Great Chu Empire to make a decision in just one enlarged meeting. Military affairs are not so easy.

What's more, many people in the enlarged meeting just came to listen and learn some basic information so that they can better cooperate in the follow-up work.

But it is still a small number of ministers who actually make decisions.

More precisely, Luo Zhixue!
In the next day's imperial counselor's meeting, the few core high-level officials of the empire really discussed affairs in the direction of the Western Regions, analyzing both from the perspective of whether to fight or not.

Fighting, it is easy to fight, just one order. The problem lies in the follow-up logistics and the financial pressure brought about by maintaining logistics, and whether these financial pressures will affect domestic construction.

Not fighting, naturally saves money, but whether it will lead to the expansion of Jungar's ambitions again, and then give birth to unreasonable ambitions, and at the same time let Jungar occupy the territory of the Yarkand Khanate for a long time, they will definitely take advantage of it. The resources and population on these sites further expand their advantages. Will this expanded advantage bring more pressure to the empire and threaten the security of the empire's frontiers?

These are all key issues related to the general direction of the empire, and they cannot be solved simply by saying a few words about whether to fight or not.

All of these require detailed analysis and demonstration.

On the other hand, the Army has a clear attitude and is determined to fight... There are a lot of reasons... But you don't have to listen carefully to any of the reasons of the Army, just grasp one point: the Army wants to fight because it is in the interests of the Army to advance westward where.

It’s hard to say, if you don’t move westward, the value of the Imperial Army’s existence will be reduced by more than half. In the past few years, the Imperial Army has been advocating the threat theory of the Western Regions. Zhungeer is a threat, Russia is a threat, Nima Lian Further to the west, Kazakhstan, separated from Zhungeer, is still a threat... All those in the Western Regions are enemies, and they are all eyeing the empire.

After talking about the threat, what about the thousands of miles of territory in the Western Regions, which is rich in products, and it will definitely be of great benefit to the empire if it is taken down.

In short, it is all kinds of agitation for the empire to fight the Western Regions.

But Luo Zhixue also talked to the generals of the army again and again, asking the army to be patient, don't make troubles, at least let the people of the country eat their stomachs first!

In short, the meaning is that people's livelihood is the most important thing now. As for fighting the Western Regions, it will definitely be fought in the future, but not now...

As for the navy, their attitude is more clear... They are firmly opposed to the current westward advance, and they have also come up with a lot of messy reasons, saying that there is nothing in the Western Regions except sand?Waste a lot of money and food, let the country go to war hungry, and finally grab a pile of sand to come back?
On the other hand, they said that the most important thing now is to go south. Southeast Asia and the Indian peninsula are so good. If you grab them, you will have a large amount of wealth and food. How many people have to solve the rations.

In short, the navy wants to engage in the southward plan. If the empire goes to the northwest to start a war, it will definitely reduce its support for the southward plan.

There are only so many resources, and if the army takes them, the navy will be less. This is not just a battle over the direction of expansion, but a battle between the fundamental interests of the two services.

Therefore, at the council meeting, the army and the navy were in clear opposition...

As for Luo Zhixue, in fact, he doesn't want to fight now... It's not that he doesn't want to expand, in fact, he also wants to, but he doesn't want to spend a lot of money and food to expand, and he hopes to expand in a low-cost way.

For example, after the high-pressure steam engine is built, a railway will be built directly to the northwest, and the train will be used as a means of transporting logistics materials... Don't talk about Zhungeer at that time, he is ready to send an army all the way to Eastern Europe!

If he fought now, the cost of war would be too high, which did not meet his expectations.

But it’s not good if you don’t fight, and Zhungeer is not good at it. In recent years, he has won consecutive battles in the surrounding area, and he has also received support from Russia. His strength has expanded very quickly, and his weapons, equipment and tactics are quite good.

The core territory of the Zhungeer Ministry is the Qihe area, which is located in an important point and can have extensive access to Kazakhstan, Russia, and the Central Plains China. In terms of advantages, they are completely different from traditional nomads.

How did traditional nomads fight?It relies mainly on traditional riding and shooting.

As for Zhungeer, they used a lot of guns, but they were not the same as the Dongyao people who used a lot of guns.

And how did the Dongbang people fight?When they started, they relied on heavy infantry, which was no different from the traditional cold weapon army. Later, after conquering Monan Mongolia, they also got the help of traditional cavalry. Later, they recruited a large number of Han troops and craftsmen, and began to Extensive use of artillery and matchlock guns.

By the time they fought with the Chu army, the Dongcap people had evolved into a mode of alternating hot and cold, using matchlock guns and artillery as their main weapons. The main battles actually relied on infantry and artillery, and more cavalry were recruited traditional Mongolian cavalry , mainly playing riding and shooting.

At the same time, riding a bow is still an important weapon for the Dongyao people. They are very good at riding horses and quickly maneuvering to the enemy infantry formation, and then dismounting and shooting arrows with infantry bows... It seems silly, but in fact the effect is very good. At least they used to kill the Ming army There was no way to fight back.

The Zhungeer people are a little different in fighting. They use guns extensively, and even cavalry use guns extensively.

Especially after receiving the support of Russia in recent years, they have obtained a large number of guns and related technologies from the Russians. In addition, they have continued to attack Kazakhstan these years, and have obtained a large number of craftsmen and wealth from Kazakhstan. Produce guns.

By the way, they also seized a large number of guns from the Great Chu Empire from the Yarkant Khanate... In order to support the Yarkand Khanate these years, the Great Chu Empire gave them a large number of matchlock guns and artillery half sold and half And various plate armor and other cold weapons.

These guns and plate armor have now basically fallen into the hands of the Zhungeer people.

The Zhungeer tribe has actually entered the age of guns, and they have also absorbed a lot of tactical thinking from the Great Chu Empire. Their tactical applications are completely different from those of traditional nomads.

It's a bit like an enhanced mobile version of the Chu army that was still in the era of matchlock guns in the early days.

Because they not only use guns, but they are nomads, and they are located in Central Asia and have a large number of mules and horses.

This not only allows them to have a large number of excellent cavalry, but also has a large number of mules and horses to enhance the mobility of infantry and artillery.

When the guns are combined with a large number of mules and horses, their strategic and tactical mobility is very high, and at the same time they have powerful firepower.

And these are all important factors for Zhungeer's continuous victories in recent years.

Of course, these are still nothing in the eyes of the Great Chu Empire Army, at most they just pay attention to one or two things, but it is impossible for you to scare the Chu Army.

Because the Great Chu Empire in this period had fully controlled Monan Mongolia, and Mobei Mongolia also paid tribute to the empire, and the Hesuobute in Moxi Mongolia also surrendered to the empire.

In other words, the Great Chu Empire has no shortage of horses!
The number of cavalry and the mobility of the army are not bad, even stronger than Zhungeer.

In addition, the weapons and equipment of the Chu army are not comparable to Zhungeer.

At present, the Chu army, including the second-class division, has fully replaced the flintlock.

And some front-line combat readiness divisions have begun to refit with the latest 13-year-style flintlock guns, led by the Ministry of Ordnance, with the participation of Jinling Arsenal and Hantian Arsenal.

This 13-year-old rifle is fully capable of hoisting the matchlock guns of the Junger people and some of the early flintlock guns that were partially equipped.

The 13-year-style flintlock, compared with the previous two-year-style flintlock of the Chu army, the biggest appearance feature is that the spring on the gun is shortened, and the windproof cover and other details have been improved, while The result of these changes is a higher fire rate.

Especially in bad weather, the advantages are more obvious, such as windy, rainy, snowy, wet and other weather.

When the Army conducted all-weather tests, the firing rate of the 13-year-old flintlock gun could basically reach 80.00%.

The previous two-year-style flintlock gun, the latest model, is also the A70.00 series with the largest production volume, and its firing rate is only 70.00%. Year-style A[-] and A[-] series are only about [-]%.

(In 1834, the British army conducted an all-weather firing rate test, with 70% matchlock guns, 85% flintlock guns, and 99.4% percussion guns)

The high firing rate of the 13-year-style flintlock is the decisive reason why the initial army stopped production of the two-year-style flintlock and switched to large-scale equipment for the 13-year-style equipment.

And don't think that this data is low... This firing rate refers not only to the test results in normal weather, but to the comprehensive results of all-weather tests, including good weather and various windy, rainy and bad weather. The actual firing rate during the simulated war, that is, the firing rate in wartime.

After all, it is impossible to have good weather every day in a war, nor can it be bad weather, so the firing rate test under all weather is very important.

If it is a test result in a good world, then this data will be much higher. How to put it, a slightly better weather can give you a 90.00% firing rate, and even an arquebus can give you a [-]% firing rate.

But these are moot.

Could it be that you have to count on the sunny days, no wind, and moderate air humidity on the battlefield during the war... It's not like going on vacation.

Therefore, the Chu army's firing rate test uses an all-weather test.

As for the early flintlock guns in Europe... the Chu army also obtained some through channels and conducted tests. You can't even fight in the rain.

In short, the data is very touching. If it is replaced by the Chu army, it will be defective products, and it is impossible to equip the army.

The muskets used by the Zhungeers are still mainly matchlock guns, plus the quick-fire pistols used by some cavalry and some early-stage European, not mature quick-fire rifles.

In terms of weapons and equipment and even tactical applications, Zhungeer is still far behind the Chu army.

Therefore, the army has absolute confidence in Zhungeer.

(End of this chapter)