Dominate the Country

[The starting point has been revised again, I personally feel very bad]

Chen Ming's entire April passed quickly in the connection between Chahar and Beijing, the connection between Chengde battlefield and Beijing and Tianjin, and the connection between Beijing and Nanjing.

The Fuhan Army's offensive against Chahar has stopped. Of course, the Chahar Mongols did not inflict trouble on the Manchus. All the Manchu and Qing officials in the Eight Banners on the two wings of Chahar were sent out of the country as gifts. Regardless of whether these people plan to go to the northeast or the northwest, it has nothing to do with Chahar anyway.

Speaking of which, Chahar Mongolia is already worthy of the Qing Dynasty. Looking back on history, the Chahar Mongols were members of Lindan Khan. Lin Dan Khan's grandson, the Boer people, rebelled against the Qing Dynasty and sent troops to Kangxi to destroy them. Later, they "moved their tribes to nomadic areas outside Xuanhua and Datong (the Great Wall)" and divided eight banners into east and west wings. It was stipulated that "these eight banners are in Mongolia forty-nine Outside the banner. Officials cannot be hereditary, and affairs cannot be done by oneself." Even worse than Tumut, who had only been deprived of his hereditary flag rights for ten years. Therefore, although Chahar also has the title of "Eight Banners", Chen Ming never regarded Chahar Mongolia as a bannerman.

Zhangjia III is now staying in Chahar, and General Suiyuan, who has returned to Sui Sixth Hall, has only two to three thousand soldiers left, which is just a decoration. Just like the general's palace in Ulyasutai, without the support of the Manchu Qing court behind it, how could it still command the surrounding Mongols? As bilateral discussions deepened, on the first day of May, the news that Zhangjiakou’s market was reopening had spread throughout most of the grassland.

The cooperation of Chahar also allows the Fuhan Army in Shanxi not to worry about the threat of the four banners on the west flank of Chahar in the east and north of the Great Wall. The troops in hand sweep all places south of the Great Wall in Shanxi, and the other side is facing the west side outside the Great Wall. The sixth hall of Guisui was filled with horses and soldiers.

Of course, the Shanxi Fuhan Army does not want to completely capture the Sixth Hall of Guisui, but needs to capture Guihua City and Suiyuan City. The latter is the headquarters of General Suiyuan, with four to five thousand Eight Banners soldiers stationed there. . The current Suiyuan general Hongsheng is the twelfth son of Prince Yunti of Zhijun. He was also a Taiping general, because there used to be no fighting here at Guisui Liuting. What Hong Ye did most in the past few years was organize the Eight Banners garrison to reinforce the front line in rotation, or recruit Mongolian cavalry from surrounding areas.

The Manchu Qing garrison (not just the Eight Banners soldiers) in Suiyuan City and Guihua City is estimated to be 3,000 people. It is not a threat to the Fuhan Army in Shanxi, but it is also a force that the Fuhan Army must take off. tumor.

When time really comes to use, you will find that they pass very quickly.

In the blink of an eye, the whole month of April will pass by.

The city of Beijing is gradually coming to life. Those Han citizens who have land deeds can take back their homes as long as they show the land deeds. Those who do not have a land title can still go home as long as there are neighbors nearby as guarantees. Of course, many people died in this catastrophe, so throughout April, there were constant incidents in the Beijing and Tianjin areas.

Countless villages and towns heard the sound of suona and the sound of crying.

But amidst the continuous crying, I don’t know how many people just finished the funeral with heartbreak yesterday, and today they wiped away their tears and started working hard in a new life. The wheat fields destroyed by the war and previous chaos were planted with peanuts and spring soybeans.

In order to prevent the remaining large local households from taking advantage of the opportunity to lend money at high interest rates or to purchase land at low prices, various national banks have set up branches in Beijing, Tianjin, Baoding and other places. Although it is impossible to completely prevent the above-mentioned things from happening, it can still play a certain role. effect.

Work teams have also begun to go to the countryside!

Compared with the dangers and difficulties faced by the first batch of work teams sent to the countryside a few years ago, today's work teams are already a journey for countless low-level officials to climb up.

The trend of the Fuhan Army taking over the world is becoming more and more obvious. Only when the big local bosses have their brains wet can they attack the work team?

Although the work of the task force is still difficult and arduous, the improvement in level and the record on their resume have laid a solid foundation for them to climb up in the future. Who told Chen Han to pay attention to grassroots work experience?

"Your Highness, the urgent report from Chahar is about the Russians." Zhangjia III contacted the Khalkha Mongolian prince in Outer Mongolia. There was no other way, so Jebtsundamba Hutuktu III in Outer Mongolia came to the rescue. He passed away in March this year, and his reincarnation has not yet been found.

Zhang Jia III just found out about it and quickly informed Chen Ming of the news! This is both good and bad news. Without Jebtsundamba Hutuktu, Outer Mongolia would be a piece of scattered sand, and Zhangjia III’s influence in Outer Mongolia would also increase dramatically. These are all good aspects; the bad aspect is that the four Khalkha tribes Eighty-six banners, there are too many leaders. The forest is so big that there are all kinds of birds there, so I’m sure there are some ambitious ones among them!

Now Zhangjia III is sending an urgent message from the prince of Outer Mongolia!

"The Russians have reached Kulen?" This is even more ominous.

Chen Ming had to pay great attention to the information from Zhangjia III. The Russians crossed the Kazakh steppe and arrived at Tangnu Ulianghai, and then passed through Outer Mongolia and entered Kulun. They had been dispatched since last year, and they were thousands of miles away. Recruiting soldiers and carrying cannons, guns and munitions, it was not until the recent gathering of Baikal Cossacks and Tatar cavalry that this army was completely complete.

Along with the intelligence, the composition of this Russian army was also transmitted. They were about 10,000 people, including 3,000 Torghut cavalry, 2,000 Siberian Tatar cavalry [Buryats], and 1,000 Baikal Cossacks. The latter were different from the Tatar cavalry in Siberia. They were the most elite among the Cossacks and the most loyal to the Russian Empire. The vast and rich Baikal grasslands allowed the Cossacks there to live a rich and free life. There were also about 4,000 so-called regular cavalry in Russia, which were composed of Russians, Poles, serfs, and a small number of Cossacks gathered from the Ural River and the Don River.

This news was leaked to the Khalkha Mongolian princes by the Torghut leader Tsebekdorji, and then quickly passed on to Zhangjia III by the Khalkha Mongolian princes.

"This is a hodgepodge!" This was Chen Ming's first impression of the 10,000 Russian cavalry after reading the letter.

The second impression is the Torghut tribe, which was the tribe under the command of Wubaxi who led the tribe back to the east in history. The leader of the Torghut cavalry, Tsebekdorji, leaked the news to Khalkha Mongolia. Chen Ming's intuition told him that there was something mysterious.

Then there was the munitions brought by this Russian army, a full 20,000 flintlock rifles and 50 artillery pieces. This is a considerable number. Whether it is Yongsheng or Yongrong, or Outer Mongolia, if they get this batch of munitions, it will bring a significant improvement to their military strength.

And the leader of this Russian army is none other than Grigoriy Alexandrovich Potemkin. A Russian big shot who is more of a "lover" of Catherine II than a "Russian military and political minister" in Chen Ming's cognition.

He is now a lieutenant general.

A man who was promoted to second lieutenant of the Russian Guards during the coup of Catherine II, a man who is now 34 years old, has become a lieutenant general of the Russian Army in just 11 or 12 years.

Tsebekdorji did not introduce Potemkin too much, but only vaguely revealed that Potemkin was a little hesitant now. He was now very doubtful whether the Qing Dynasty still had the ability to implement the treaty. Compared with Shengjing, which was in a precarious situation, handing over this batch of arms to Xi'an seemed to be more likely to cause trouble for the Fu Han Army, or leaving it in Kulun.

Just two days after the news was delivered to Beijing, on the last day of April, Xuanhua once again reported a message from Zhangjia III. Potemkin decided to send someone to Beijing to listen to the information revealed by the Khalkha Mongolian princes. If Chen Han was willing to recognize that the land cession treaty between the Qing Dynasty and Russia continued to be valid, Russia would not only not help the Qing Dynasty, but the 10,000 Russian troops would also become the most powerful helper for Chen Han's army to sweep outside the Great Wall.

"Haha, it's really wishful thinking. A mere Western Barbarian country actually wants the Celestial Empire to cede land!" Xiong Bingzhang looked contemptuous after hearing the news. He was not angry. The Chinese, who regarded themselves as the Celestial Empire, now looked down on any foreigner. Even though the West had proven its "civilization" in terms of steam engines, textile machines, and other machinery, Xiong Bingzhang and others still looked down on them subconsciously.

When there was no interest involved, he could hide his contemptuous face. But once it came to interests, it would be exposed immediately. Although Russia was a big country in the West, it came all the way to the East and asked Chen Han for a big price. Xiong Bingzhang had the words "Yerlang arrogance" in his mind.

Moreover, Xiong Bingzhang had been with Chen Ming for such a long time, and he knew very well that Chen Ming valued land. Not to mention Outer Northeast, his master was also planning to annex North Vietnam, North Korea, and Myanmar. Outer Northeast was indeed a barren land, and it was impossible to cede a single cent.

And look at the tone of the Russians. Oh, if Chen Han recognized the land cession agreement, the Russians would help Chen Han fight the Qing Dynasty; then what if Chen Han did not recognize it? Are the Russians going to help the Qing Dynasty fight against Chen Han? Is this a threat?

A mere 10,000 troops, even if it is 100,000 troops, so what? This potential threat argument cannot be tolerated by any Chen Han high-level official.

"Your Highness, why wait for the Russians to send people? We will take the initiative to send people. Let them go back to where they came from. What agreement or no agreement is all bullshit. They have never heard of it, just let them go home, there is nothing to discuss." Huang Song's face was the same expression as Xiong Bingzhang, and even more arrogant.

"Your Highness, I think it is necessary to send people to Outer Mongolia. No matter what happens with the Russians, just say that the world is changing, the Han Dynasty is revived, and there should be an explanation for the future of Outer Mongolia." Feng Lian stroked his goatee and said from another angle.

Tapping his fingers on the table, Chen Ming made up his mind that this should be done this way. No matter when the troops sent by the Russians will arrive, the Fu Han Army should send envoys to walk on the prairie.

Tomorrow is the first day of May, and Zhangjiakou will reopen. Chen Ming has decided to invite Zhangjia III in mid-May and send him to Nanjing to meet Chen Hui.

The Mongols traded cattle, sheep, warhorse furs, horns and Mongolian specialty medicines. To be honest, they didn't have much to offer. The Han people didn't sell many types of ironware, tea and salt on the grasslands. Ordinary Mongols, or lower-class nobles, couldn't afford more luxurious things. But ironware, tea and salt were indispensable to the Mongols' daily life.

Without ironware, salt and tea bricks, the Mongols really had a hard time living.

From the day the Fuhan Army came into contact with Zhangjia III, Chen Ming quickly sent a message to Shanxi and Nanjing that they urgently needed large quantities of brick tea for trade with the Mongols. Zhangjiakou now has more than 2,000 boxes of brick tea in reserve. There are large quantities of ironware and table salt. More follow-up shipments are arriving continuously.

After the Fuhan Army captured Beijing and Tianjin, the salt workers and kitchen households of the Changlu Salt Field returned from various places. Now the Changlu Salt Field has resumed production. Of course, it will take a long time to completely transform the Changlu Salt Field. time. There are enough salt ponds here and in Shanxi to supply the entire north.

In the evening, Gao Yanming came to see Chen Ming. His first words after meeting Chen Ming were that he was going to Outer Mongolia as an envoy.

Why?

"It's too slow to get credit just by working in the staff department. I really want to leave a title for my son." He is Gao Pengqi's fourth son, and no matter what Gao Pengqi's title is, he will not be able to get it.

And seeing that Chen Han was about to divide the heroes among the heroes, Gao Yanming was of course anxious.

"It's very dangerous to go to Outer Mongolia." Who knows what the current princes of the banners in Outer Mongolia think of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. If you encounter someone with brain damage, kill Gao Yanming with one knife...

Gao Yanming waved his hand, "How can there be any achievements in this world that are not dangerous at all? When Ji Gong first entered the secret camp, in Jiangyin, Shanghai, and Zhoushan, wasn't there a guillotine hanging above his head every day?" But now? Chen Jigong survived, and one of his titles will be indispensable in the future.

Without comparison, you would not know the gap. Compared with Chen Jigong, Gao Yanming, Huang Song, and Chen Jiqing all contributed too little.

After Gao Yanming left, Chen Ming sat in his seat for a long time and sighed one last time.

Everyone is growing up, and things that he did not consider or think about when he was a child will have to think about it when he gets married or has children.

Gao Yanming is now fighting for his future and his son's future.

…

In late April, hundreds of Mongolians gathered outside Zhangjiakou. They came from all directions and came from different tribes.

Mongolian yurts were erected in an open area outside the city. At a glance, the grassland scenery came to face.

Large groups of cattle, sheep, horses, and camels carried bundles of furs and medicinal materials. Livestock is the most precious wealth on the prairie, and the most direct way of bilateral trade between the Mongols and Han people, apart from buying each other with silver, is very primitive barter.

As lively as the Mongolians outside the city is the Zhangjiakou market in the city. Although more than half of the stores have lost their owners or changed their owners, the current Zhangjiakou is still more lively than the previous Zhangjiakou.

The Fuhan Army has now almost completely occupied the Shanxi Prefecture south of the Great Wall. The Shanxi merchants who had deep entanglements with the Manchu and Qing officials either fled early or were liquidated mercilessly by the Fuhan Army.

The Kang family, the Qu family, the Chang family, the Cao family, etc., these leading figures in the Shanxi merchant group today have, of course, relied on careful calculation and pioneering spirit to replace the original "speculative" ethnic groups represented by the "Eight Imperial Merchants". Scum, but this does not mean that Shanxi Shanxi merchants are really clean. Many people inside still have deep entanglements with the Manchu and Qing government.

How to distinguish whether these businessmen are dependent on the Manchu government to make money, or whether they have to manage the government to make money more conveniently after making money, this is an important criterion!

For such a family, unless they have a really good reputation, they may not be able to avoid being liquidated. Chen Han's purge of Shanxi merchants, except for the removal of a few people such as the Fan family, was based on this criterion.

Those Shanxi merchants who died or were sent to labor camps had only themselves to blame.

"Woooooooo..."

The trombone sounded, and the Fuhan Army opened the city gate of Zhangjiakou. This transaction did not set up a market outside the mouth, but opened the door to Zhangjiakou itself. The Fuhan Army units on the city walls and inside the city were in full formation, waiting!