Steel Dynasty - Chapter 865

[Chapter 863 Bicycle]

“Mercenary?”

Xiao Ming slammed the memorial in his hand on the table in the imperial study room.

Five days had passed since the Battle of Busan, and the Japanese forces were completely driven back to the mainland by Dayu. What he didn’t expect was that Western mercenaries appeared this time.

“According to the information in the battle report, this group of mercenaries is indeed more powerful than the Japanese soldiers. Fortunately, their number is not large, otherwise it would be very difficult for Ye Qingyun and eight thousand people.” Niu Ben faced a heavy face, ” But it’s a pity that some mercenaries escaped and probably took away our artillery shells.”

Xiao Ming frowned. This is a very helpless thing. In war, it is inevitable that weapons and equipment will be obtained by the enemy unless they are not used. these weapons.

But he is not very worried. As long as he has the industrial capabilities of the Great Chongqing Kingdom, they will continue to improve, and soon they will no longer be able to imitate the weapons of the Great Chongqing Country, because their industry will not be able to manufacture these weapons and equipment.

“Hmph, these Western bandits are starting to get scared. Their plots can’t succeed here.” Xiao Ming sneered.

If he hadn’t been in this country, the British strategy would have been successful long ago, and the country of Chongqing would have been ruled by barbarians, and its technological decline would have continued.

But now he has shattered all their plots.

Niu Ben heard this and said: “Your Majesty, these Western countries have gone too far. They have repeatedly interfered in the war between the Great Yu Kingdom and other countries. I think it is best to teach them some lessons.”

“This is natural. Eliminating the Merchant Council is what they are doing. The biggest failure here.” Xiao Ming said decisively.

According to the intelligence provided by the secret guards, the war in Chu State has now begun. The merchant council controlled most of the new army and violently attacked the cities controlled by Li Chuyuan. Now Suzhou and its nearby cities have been lost.

This information surprised him. He was worried that it was not the successive victories of the Cao family, but the amazing support of the merchants’ council from the southern merchants, wealthy families and ordinary people.

Although the New Army’s firearms were better than Li Chuyuan’s, the support they received actually surpassed Li Chuyuan’s. From this, it can be seen that the South has accepted the Merchant Council from top to bottom.

And because the royal family of Dayu has done little for the south in recent years, and the south does not have much recognition of the imperial court, this is the real problem at the moment.

It can be said that after three hundred years of rule, the old system of Dayu was no longer able to sustain the country, and it had reached the same level as the late Ming Dynasty.

Over the years, he accomplished sweeping changes in the North and reunited the people, while the South also began to experiment under the control of the Merchant Council.

“The emperor means that the merchant council is not only controlled by the Cao family?” Niu Ben asked.

“Of course not. In addition to the French, the British are now involved, and the secret guards also discovered that Cao Zhengyang seems to be a member of a British secret society. This secret society has also attracted many wealthy families and wealthy businessmen from the south. They are interested in The establishment of the Merchant Council played a huge role, and some people in Qingzhou seemed to be bewitched by them.” Xiao Ming narrowed his eyes with a dangerous light.

Niu Ben was a little hard to understand. He said, “Your Majesty, this is impossible. How could they have such ability?”

Xiao Ming came from modern times and naturally had much more knowledge than people of this era. When the secret guard investigated this secret society, Then he suddenly remembered a similar society in contemporary times.

Legend has it that this society is extremely powerful, and the world’s top talents and dignitaries are their members, and the world runs through the confrontation and cooperation between their members.

He just listened to this rumor for fun, after all, it was too much nonsense.

But it was different in this world, because this secret society was most active from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, and he had to be on guard against it.

After all, according to the information provided by the Dutch, this secret society was involved in the French Revolution.

“That’s because you lack understanding of the West.” Xiao Ming didn’t want to emphasize this matter too much now. He said: “Except for the garrison stationed in Guandong, Goryeo, and the garrison that cannot be mobilized, how many troops can we mobilize now?”

After pondering for a while, Niu Ben said: “About 60,000 people.”

“Sixty thousand people?” Xiao Ming thought about it and said, “This army’s change of uniforms will be given to these troops first. If Li Chuyuan can’t hold on, we will We have no choice but to send troops.”

Niu Ben nodded excitedly. After returning from Kanto, he went to the military workshop to visit the new rifles. These breech-loaded rifles have a fast firing rate, high power, and can be fired in any posture. Once the army is equipped, the combat methods of the Chongqing army will undergo a third change.

And this change will lay the foundation for the future of the Chongqing army.

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Niu Ben nodded excitedly.

After explaining these things to Niu Ben, Xiao Ming looked at the map on the wall. Today, the territory of the Great Yu Kingdom includes Bashu, the north of the Yangtze River to the Great Wall, the entire Guandong and Goryeo areas. In nearly eight years, he almost completely destroyed the territory of the Great Yu Kingdom. Expanded by half.

But this is not enough for him. Tubo is still a factor of instability in the southwest, Yunnan is still under the control of the Annan Kingdom, and the barbarians north of the Great Wall are still waiting for opportunities to plunder from time to time.

And the Japanese country across the sea is not a good enemy now, let alone Tsarist Russia, which is now expanding its sphere of influence eastward.

Looking around, Xiao Ming suddenly felt dizzy. The country of Chongqing was really in a troubled era.

Seemingly feeling Xiao Ming’s doubts, Niu Ben said: “Your Majesty, don’t be anxious. These foreign enemies must be eliminated one by one. In the opinion of the veteran, the most important things at the moment are the Japanese and Jiangnan. The population and land of the Japanese are greater than those of Goryeo, and they are more important to Dayu.” It is a good dumping market for the country. If we get the south, we will have enough money.”

“This is what I want, so you are in charge of Jiangnan, and I will handle the Japanese country myself,” Xiao Ming said thoughtfully.

The two of them were talking when Qian Dafu suddenly appeared at the door of the royal study and said with a smile: “Your Majesty, the Equipment Department has sent a novelty.”

Xiao Ming seemed to have thought of something, and he said, “But something with two wheels?”

“Yes, it is two wheels, and there is a handle.” Qian Dafu didn’t understand what it was.

Xiao Ming laughed, “This is a bicycle. It seems that the improvement in the types and precision of lathes has allowed Qingzhou to produce a lot of things.”

“Bicycle!” Qian Dafu and Niu Ben were both a little surprised, and they followed Xiao Ming outside. Go.

The three of them arrived at the square in front of Zhengda Guangming Hall. At this time, people from the Equipment Department were waiting for them. In front of them was something Xiao Ming was familiar with – a bicycle.

“Your Majesty, what is the use of this thing?” Niu Ben asked.

Xiao Ming smiled and said nothing. He took the bicycle from the hand of the craftsman, got on it skillfully, stepped on the pedals, and rode far away in no time.

Niu Ben and Qian Dafu were stunned.

(End of chapter)