The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 217 Celebration of Enthronement
On November 1729, 11, the merchant ship "Shengyuan", led by a pilot ship, slowly sailed into Qingyuan Port (today's Hakodate City) and docked at a berth on the east side of the pier.

"Look, the ironclad!"

A sailor pointed his hand towards the west side of the pier and exclaimed loudly.

A group of sailors lying on the side of the ship looked for news and saw two mighty and domineering ironclad ships parked at the berth on the west side of the pier. The huge hulls, cold forged armor, and thick gun barrels could be seen from a distance. I felt a strong chilling atmosphere.

Astonishingly, they are the "Zhaoshan" and "Fanye" that have not been commissioned for a long time. The displacement of the two ships is 3500 tons and 3800 tons respectively. Not to mention that they are giants in the Western Pacific region. Globally, it is also an important weapon of great powers and a dragon in the sea.

It stands to reason that Qi State can sweep through the navies of all East Asian countries with its Ryukyu fleet of more than forty wooden (some ships are covered with a thin layer of armor) sail warships and steam-sail powered warships. There is no need to deploy ironclad ships at all. It should be difficult to see such high-end gadgets.

It is reported that the few ironclad ships of the Qi State are generally deployed near the Hanzhou mainland and along the coast of the Indian Ocean to deter and warn ships from European countries that enter the Qi State's sphere of influence. It has to be admitted that during this period, ships from Europe The threats at sea are far greater than those in the Eastern world.

But they never thought that in Qingyuan, the eastern military port of Qi State, one could actually see two iron-clad ships, and many sailors could not help but be amazed by them.

"Oh, the Deputy Prime Minister was entrusted by His Majesty and the Prime Minister to board these two iron-clad ships to visit the Qin and Ming Dynasties, and invite them to send representatives to Chang'an next June to participate in the enthronement celebration of our Da Qi Emperor." A port administrator said Glancing in the direction where the armored ship was parked, he immediately puffed up his chest and said proudly.

The deputy prime minister's visit in such a powerful weapon of a great power must have deeply shocked the monarchs and people of the Qin and Ming Dynasties.

"That's natural!" The port worker said with a smile: "Even important countries like Qin and Ming were invited, how dare Dongdan and Bohai not come? At the very least, they have to send a direct prince, or a prime minister Something like that. As for Japan..., they will probably send people there, right?"

"What's the point of the maritime parade?" Another sailor said disapprovingly: "It's so far away, and if you don't have a telescope, you can only see a vague outline. I still think the Army parade is much better to watch! Every time At the founding ceremony of the next ten years, thousands of army officers and soldiers held bayonets in Chang'an Imperial Square, their solemn faces revealing the perseverance and composure of soldiers. Amidst the impassioned military music, rows of soldiers Soldiers in military uniforms walked in front of the military parade, with uniform steps, strict but not demanding, like neat waves of wheat. The formation made people excited when they saw it, and they wished they could become one of them and serve the empire. Fight on the battlefield!"

The "Shengyuan" merchant ship needs to stay in Qingyuan for 5-6 days. In addition to the last replenishment of water and coal, it also needs to join many merchant ships and immigration ships heading to Yinzhou, and then it will be protected by several warships. , sailing into the vast Pacific Ocean, sailing at around 42 degrees north latitude, and driving rapidly eastward with the help of the North Pacific Kuroshio (North Pacific Warm Current). After about 20-30 days of sailing, we arrived at Weiyi Island (now Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands) and stopped for a while, and finally sailed to Yinzhou in one go.

"You idiot! In our Qi country, our territory is spread all over the world, so our navy should be our top priority. If we don't have the protection of the navy, how can we run a damn ship?"

Although Hokumei acquired a large territory in the northern Mutsu region of Japan decades ago, Changping (today's Aomori City, Japan) in the north of Japan's big island and Shoka (today's Hachinohe City, Japan) in the northeast are two very It is an excellent ice-free port, but most Beiming ships still prefer to dock at Qingyuan Port.

See, this kind of mighty and domineering armored ship is only found in our country of Qi in the whole world!
When I, Emperor Daqi, celebrate my coronation, please don’t show me any disrespect!

But if you dare not go, it will greatly disgrace us Qi people.

After arriving at Yinzhou, the merchant ship is expected to stay for about two months. Through local trading agents, it will load the collected furs and a large amount of gold, silver, copper and other precious metals, and then sail all the way south to the Spanish American Territory to purchase Some local specialties will then pass through Wei Island, then ship some sandalwood, and finally return to Ryukyu or go to Luzon.

Qingyuan is the largest material distribution center and the largest commercial center in the entire Yunzhou region. As the only ice-free port in Yunzhou, it is the core shipping center in the region.

The entire trip took nearly half a year. Even if there is still a lot of time left, the shipowner may not be kind enough to sail the ship back to the Hanzhou mainland so that everyone can witness the centenary founding celebration in person.

In fact, it’s impossible even if you think about it.

Many sailors were walking towards the exit of the pier, talking about next year's emperor's enthronement celebration. They all looked forward to completing their trip to Yinzhou as quickly as possible, so that they could be lucky enough to return to their homeland and witness this rare spectacle. .

"...It makes it seem as if the navy alone can conquer the enemy." The sailor did not dare to argue with him and muttered in a low voice.

Well, you have to think about it!
"Hey, when the time comes, let this country bumpkin see the power of our Qi Empire!" A sailor said arrogantly: "I guess the government will stage some big battles for this emperor's enthronement celebration. Otherwise, there will be no way to shock the foreigners attending the celebration."

"You know nothing!" The sailor who had been a naval officer looked at him with disdain, "Battleships are the weapon for our great unity to show off our power outside the country. Without a navy, no matter how powerful your army is or how beautiful your military parade is, how could it be possible? Can you still swim across the sea and conquer your enemies on your own?”

With the current chaotic situation in Japan, I don't know if the shogunate is still in the mood to send representatives to Qi.

"Hey, what you said makes my heart itch." A sailor who was a naval officer suddenly became very excited. "I don't know if I can go back to Hanzhou to witness this grand occasion during the emperor's enthronement celebration next year. My dear, , a hundred warships lined up together, what a huge scene it would be... It’s fascinating to think about it!”

You all have to support your family, so why do you have to rush back to your hometown just to watch the grand celebration?
Don't make trouble, making money is the most important thing for you!
Those major celebrations are matters that only His Majesty the Emperor, cabinet ministers, and many high-ranking officials and dignitaries need to personally participate in and pay close attention to.

"That's inevitable. I once heard those old people say that during the 50th anniversary celebration of the founding of Daqi, oh, it was also the abdication ceremony of Emperor Taizu. The government and the military organized a grand military parade. It is said that, At that time, there were more than 60 warships gathered on the water of Daxing Bay at the same time, including 20 large battleships over 1,000 tons. Hey, that scene, that formation, so many warships lined up, stretching for more than ten kilometers , it’s spectacular. Just look at it, for this new emperor’s enthronement celebration, the navy is not allowed to bring out a hundred warships to stage a bigger battle!”

"In addition to inviting Qin and Ming, will Dongdan and Bohai also come to Qi to participate in the celebration?...Oh, and what about Japan?"

Without him, Qingyuan can not only provide more port services and ship repair and maintenance services - Qi and Ming jointly built a shipyard here, but also bring together a large number of Qi merchants and a large number of industrial products. , can provide unlimited business opportunities to many businessmen.

According to census statistics in the 1720th year of Taiping (), the population of Qingyuan City has exceeded , second only to Changning, the capital of the Northern Ming Dynasty (formerly Ningzhou, today's Sapporo City, Hokkaido, Japan).

After the opening of the Qingyuan-Changning railway in the 1683th year of the Han Dynasty (), it boosted the city's strong development momentum. With the spillover of Qi State's industrial technology and industries - and of course Qi State's deliberate and strong support, the Yunzhou area including Qingyuan also ushered in a wave of development dividends. Countless factories were established and numerous trading companies were established. They also emerged one after another, and the industry and commerce in the entire region began to develop rapidly.

In the past ten years, Yunzhou's urbanization has also been slowly advancing, with people pouring into the city in large numbers in search of new development opportunities. New homes and workplaces began to be built rapidly. The city directly absorbed and changed the current status of the rural labor force, thereby gradually creating a new social and economic model in the core territory of Beiming.

With the expansion of cities, urban life has become rich and diverse, with various streets and buildings. Newspapers, picture albums, storybooks, storytellers, technical halls, songs and dances and many other cultural and entertainment activities have emerged.

People began to commute to and from get off work day after day, walking through busy streets and alleys. Long street lamps reflect the dark streets at night, highlighting the unknown road ahead.

Many new buildings and landmarks began to shape the new outline of the city, dotted with tall clock towers and commercial buildings, university halls, public libraries and commercial markets. Considered a symbol of modernity and industrialization, these buildings accurately outline the city's framework and many functions.

However, the development of industry and the growth of cities are also accompanied by some adverse effects, that is, just like the mainland of Hanzhou, it begins to face major environmental challenges, and air and water pollution are also coming everywhere.

The sky in Qingyuan City is far less blue and clear than it was twenty years ago.
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On November 11, a relatively large-scale battle broke out on the southern Japanese island.

The shogunate army, which received support from many feudal states, gathered more than 24,000 troops and launched a fierce battle with the Satsuma Domain-Choshu Domain coalition forces of more than 11,000 in Hagi Castle (now Hagi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture).

At this time, the Sachō coalition forces violently bombarded the shogunate army's formation with a rare intensive artillery fire. In less than twenty minutes, several feudal armies collapsed, which in turn triggered a commotion among the shogunate's central army.

The artillery battalion of the shogunate army responded with equally fierce artillery fire at the Sachō coalition forces in order to restore the morale of the entire army.

However, what is surprising is that the artillery of the Sachō coalition was not only more powerful, but also fired extremely accurately. After half an hour of artillery battle between the two sides, the shogunate army's artillery lost more than ten artillery pieces and nearly a hundred gunners. The entire army The momentum was captured.

Subsequently, the shogunate, unable to withstand the bombardment of artillery fire, took the vassal coalition forces as the forerunner, and more than 3,000 new military firearms troops pressed forward, slowly advancing towards the Sacho coalition forces, trying to destroy the opponent in one fell swoop with superior force.

Unexpectedly, the Sachō coalition forces used continuous volleys of muskets to repel several attacks by the vassal coalition forces that swarmed forward. The forward commander of the Aizu domain, Matsudaira Toshimichi, who had high hopes from the shogunate, was hit by a stray bullet. After that, it immediately caused a collapse of the vassal troops, and they retreated backwards.

Seeing the situation, the Sacho coalition forces immediately launched a full-scale charge. The musketeers, ashigaru spearmen, and pig soldiers shouted loudly and rushed towards the shogunate army like a tide.

The formation of the shogunate's new army, which was disrupted by the defeated forward troops, was in chaos. Not only was it unable to stop the soldiers' rout, they were even wrapped up and kept retreating, eventually turning into a complete rout.

And just as the war was reaching its climax, at Qingyuan Port in Yunzhou in the north, a fleet of more than 20 ships was leaving the dock and entering the vast Pacific Ocean.

After Spain lost the Spanish Philippines, the flourishing trans-Pacific trade fell silent for twenty years. It was not until Zheng established a foothold in Luzon Island that he used some captured Spaniards to organize a merchant fleet to sail to the port of Acapulco, Mexico. Only then did he reopen the trans-Pacific trade and communicate the trade and trade between the two continents. Personnel exchanges.

In the eighth year of the Han Dynasty (1678), at the insistence of Emperor Taizu, Qi officially began to colonize America. Over the past years, more than immigrants have immigrated, and the entire west coast of North America has been included in the imperial territory.

Although with the death of Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong, Qi's local investment in the American territory suddenly decreased - Gein, this overseas territory is too far from the mainland, and it is not cost-effective to spend a lot of money on immigration and construction, but After decades of development, the population of the entire Yinzhou colonial territory has exceeded 200,000. In fact, even the people of Qi themselves don’t know exactly how many people there are. If the local people don’t pay attention to it, the local colonial governments will naturally not spend any money. Spend time and energy collecting population data within your jurisdiction.

In the early days, the Yinzhou area had almost no output and relied entirely on the government's continuous blood transfusion (including immigration, local construction, security and defense, and food transshipment), which caused constant complaints from the locals. However, as the fur trade began to flourish in the area, it gradually attracted many merchants. Coupled with the continued booming trade in Spanish America, Yinzhou seemed to have some value.

Thirteen years after Shaoning arrived (1699), gold was discovered in Huining Island (today's Vancouver Island) and Huaiyuan area (today's San Francisco), triggering a noisy gold rush and attracting the attention of the local government.

Therefore, in the second year of Taiping (1706), the cabinet government successively established Linzhou Governorate (today's Alaska region), Pengzhou Governorate (today's Wenhua region in Canada and Washington State in the United States), and Xuanzhou Governorate (today's Washington State) in Yinzhou. The three major viceroyalties (Oregon, California in the United States, and Baja California in Mexico) dispatched a large number of officials to formally incorporate the region into the colonial management system.

However, in general, due to the distance problem, the Qi government still does not pay too much attention to the Yinzhou colonial territory. There is gold and furs, so naturally it will embrace it unceremoniously and support it in return. Homeland and surrounding territories. As for the government investing money in construction, that is simply impossible.

Yinzhou, with its remote geographical location and far away from the economic and trade circle, seems to have little strategic and economic value to Qi State. If the land had not been called the so-called "Chosen Land" by Taizu during his lifetime and was extremely valued, and there were gold and furs to be exploited, it might have been temporarily shelved and would not be colonized and developed.

Immigration, construction, and management are all a waste of money!
Wouldn’t it be nice to fully develop the mainland and surrounding Nanyang territories if we have the spare time?
You must know that Hanzhou and Nanyang are the foundation of our Daqi.

Even if we want to increase the construction of overseas colonial territories, none of India, Persia, the Red Sea coast, and Qianzhou (today's South Africa) has more strategic value than Yinzhou.

Well, to put it bluntly, Yinzhou's purpose is to show off the power of the empire and show off the vastness of the empire's territory, in order to prove that Daqi is an empire where the "sun never sets" and has territories all over the world.

However, not everyone despises Yin Zhou's value so much.

At least, a certain prince of the Qi family who was demoted there could not help but have some ambitions when he saw the prosperity of the Qing Kingdom in South America.

In a time of great strife, everything seems possible.

(End of this chapter)