Qianlong: Qing Dynasty?What about my Daqing?

Chapter 89 Will there be a united Europe?
besides besides besides
The sound of train wheels rolling over the rails stunned the three well-informed figures from Europe.

"This is a steam engine?!"

Macartney exclaimed.

The steam engine first appeared in England.

Macartney had seen it too.

But many newspapers in London were laughing at the new steam engine.

This steam engine first appeared to be used to pump water from mines.

The result is not easy to use, and the coal consumption is also large.

Many newspapers ridiculed that "this is a machine used to extract underground water from coal mines, but unfortunately, it may consume more coal than it dug from the mine."

Therefore, many people are not very optimistic about the prospects of the steam engine.

Macartney also knew that the mechanical engineer Watt was dug to the East by King Zhu Ming.

But who would have thought.

Just over a year.

The steam engine turned into a steel behemoth in front of him.

The steam locomotive, breathing white smoke, dragged a long row of trains, rolling over the steel rails.

Although the speed is not fast.

Almost like a horse trotting.

But the wagon that trails behind it speaks volumes about the power of the steel behemoth.

"From Huizhou Prefecture to Guangzhou Prefecture, and then to Nanxiong Prefecture."

Macartney squinted his eyes, calculating the distance.

"Such a long distance requires an astronomical number of rails!"

Burrow added.

The two looked at each other.

They saw shock in their own eyes.

Steel is very expensive in this day and age.

After all, the current steel production is here.

Although there are horse-drawn carriages in Europe.

But this is more used as a place similar to mines.

Moreover, the wooden rails are generally wrapped with steel skins, and the cost is relatively low.

As it is now, if it is directly used as road transportation, not many countries can afford the cost.

not to mention.

Several people waited for the train to rumble past, and then stood on the side of the railroad track to check.

"It's an all-steel track!"

Bulbron gasped.

Macartney touched the warm rails.

"Maybe Zhu Daohua got a cheap steelmaking technology."

This is the most likely guess.

Because both of them are sure.

The Great Qing Dynasty in the north.

The price of steel is several times more expensive than in Europe.

Even if Zhu Daohua can reduce the cost of smelting steel in the East to the same level as in Europe.

Then it is impossible for him to use the track road with all steel rails.

Therefore, the most likely point is that the technology of smelting steel has been improved.

Combined with a steam engine with nearly unlimited power.

This technological innovation in Guangdong was enough to shock a group of Europeans.

Just now.

Not far away at the mouth of the Pearl River, a steamboat emitting white smoke rumbled upstream.

The three turned around and looked around.

What I saw was a black iron ship.

"It's a steamship made of all steel."

Chen Tingxuan, a reception official of the Ministry of Rites, said.

"Belonging to the navy's test ship, the initial plan was to have a wooden shell covered with iron armor. Later, King Ming requested an all-steel hull ship."

Chen Tingxuan said tut-tsk.

This matter was mentioned in [Ta Kung Pao].

It is well known in Guangdong.

No leaks or anything.

What's more, this can't reveal any secrets.

Both the open-hearth steel training method and the steam engine are the best solutions found after thousands of experiments and trial and error.

This is the so-called first-mover advantage in industry.

Others want to imitate?

Unless you get technical assistance from Daming.

otherwise.

Want to test it out for yourself.

Then, like Zhu Daohua, he would spend a lot of money and resources on experiments—and the resources spent must be more than that of Daming.

Because although Zhu Daohua didn't know the technical details, he knew the right direction anyway.

most of the time.

Just finding a direction will consume a lot of cost.

"The train, the ironclad ship."

Macartney pondered.

"It's a steam engine!"

Kant said.

"A revolution is happening in Guangdong!"

"A technological revolution!"

Kant took a deep breath.

"This revolution will profoundly affect the whole world!"

"Mr. Kant, long time no see."

Inside the Ming Palace in Guangzhou.

Zhu Daohua first met his old friend Kant.

"How is your expedition to the East going?"

Kant looked at Zhu Daohua with emotion.

"Honestly, Chris, if I hadn't seen the changes in Guangdong, I'm afraid my image of the East would be very bad"

Kant shook his head and said.

"Especially the Qing Empire, which is a decaying, depraved empire full of deceit and poverty. It's completely different from the civilized eastern empire I imagined."

Before coming to the East.

Western scholars like Kant's image of the East is actually full of beautifying imaginations.

in their imagination.

This oriental civilized country that has lasted for thousands of years will be a better utopia than European society, with a political system that can effectively rule a territory larger than Europe, a civilized international social system, rich people, full of Moral society and so on.

however.

Although Kant did not travel throughout the entire Qing Dynasty.

But it is an inspection of Tianjin, Beijing, and the surrounding areas of the two cities.

Kant was extremely disappointed.

The situation in Beijing is simply astonishing.

The center of the Qing Empire, the streets in the city are full of sewage, and feces and domestic garbage are piled up on both sides of the road and at the door of the residents' residences.

Of course.

The situation in the Forbidden City and the noble quarters is much better.

But this at least shows that the urban governance of the Qing Empire is very problematic.

The situation in the countryside is also shocking.

There are sallow and emaciated farmers everywhere. Except for officials and wealthy landlords, he has never seen a fat man.

The extreme poverty is staggering.

"You do have a responsibility to get your country out of this numbness and pain."

Kant said.

Responsibility?
Zhu Daohua thought for a while and said, "Actually, my country was not like this 200 years ago. This extreme degradation of governance capacity is more due to the increase in the difficulty of governance brought about by the population explosion."

Sincerely.

The Qing Dynasty was an empire that basically continued the local governance system of the Ming Dynasty.

That's why historians call this period the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

The Qing Dynasty had the Eight Banners, and the Ming Dynasty also had clans.

Don't even mention the second brother.

In addition to the ethnic policy and the extremely high-pressure cultural shackles that make the Han people quite unhappy.

in local governance capacity.

It is difficult for you to say that the Qing Dynasty was worse than the Ming Dynasty.

What really makes the difficulty of governance skyrocket is because of the population explosion.

The influx of productive crops from the Americas and the end of the Little Ice Age.

As a result, China's population has skyrocketed from about 100 million to [-] million in just over [-] years!
This population expansion is quite terrifying.

This almost completely summed up the experience and lessons of the past dynasties. It seems that the Qing Dynasty, which can last for thousands of years, did not have more experience in managing such a large population.

Coupled with the "illegitimate nature" of the Qing government itself, he had no more interest in organizing and managing so many Han people.

This led to the spiritual outlook of the entire country and the appearance of the city becoming so unbearable.

"Mr. Kant, this is a painting of Ascending the River during the Qingming Festival, which depicts the appearance of the city in the Song Dynasty. You see, in Chinese history, there was such a time full of vitality."

Zhu Daohua pointed to a corner of the Qingming Riverside Picture hanging in his office and said.

"What changed all this was the invasion of civilization by barbarism."

"Back then... barbarism often possessed greater violence than civilization."

Zhu Daohua said.

"But it's different now, Chris, you are leading a revolution that will completely affect China, affect the world, and change the entire world."

"Maybe my subjects won't appreciate me for that."

Zhu Daohua smiled wryly.

Change is painful.

Compared with the tenants who work as tenants for the landlord Lao Cai.

Will the workers in the textile factories in Foshan, the smelters in Lantau Island, the machinery factories, and the gun factories be happier?
This is really not necessarily the case.

With the use of steam engines.

In a factory such as the textile industry.

Workers basically work more than twelve hours a day.

From morning to night, and even at night, they have to work overtime with whale oil candles.

And the tenants are usually busy when the farming is busy.

And no matter how busy you are, you can go home and sleep at night.

The work intensity is much lower than that of the factory workers in Foshan and Lantau Island.

"Any change will make some people feel painful, but overall, all you have done is changing the fate of China, the fate of history."

Kant said with certainty.

"Without you, those colonial countries in Europe would discover the weakness of the Qing Empire sooner or later. In fact, they know the weakness of the Qing Empire now, so they will now choose to support the Qing Empire to oppose your Ming Empire. "

"Let them come anyway!"

Zhu Daohua said nonchalantly.

"Mr. Kant, there is only one criterion for measuring the strength of a country in this era, and that is the degree of industrialization!"

"On this point, even if I only have Guangdong and Lanfang provinces, I will soon surpass France and Britain."

"The only thing that worries me is that the rise of the Ming Empire will lead to the unity of Europeans."

"Mr. Kant, do you think the Europeans will unite?"

Zhu Daohua asked.

In fact, King Zhu Ming still has another worry.

It is the rise of America.

But now the United States is just a small country with only 80 square kilometers that has just become independent from the United Kingdom.

Even if Zhu Daohua said that this country will dominate the world for 100 years in the future.

I'm afraid not many people believe it now.

And
Zhu Daohua probably won't give the United States this chance again.

For Zhu Daohua.

Two key points of the foreign policy of the Ming Empire.

One is Europe and the other is North America.

In Europe, in order to maintain the division of Europe, the rise of the Ming Empire must not lead to the early emergence of things like the European Union.

in North America.
To suppress the United States.

It is necessary to seize as much territory as possible in North America.

Zhu Daohua kept these calculations in his heart and did not say them out.

Kant looked at Zhu Daohua.

After a long time, he said: "If you want to unite the Europeans, unless your Ming Empire sends hundreds of thousands of troops to invade Europe now"

"Otherwise, I don't see the possibility."

Not even Germany can unite.

Europe?

What a joke.

　Ask for a recommendation ticket, ask for a monthly ticket, ask for a reward

　　
　
(End of this chapter)