Chapter 42 of Part One

  In August 1657, the First Army Group officially launched its first battle in Shandong. The People's Army's First Division took the lead, and Li Lei looked at the Andong Garrison in front of him, which was the first medium-sized city encountered by the People's Army in Shandong. Li Lei looked at the enemy data sent over by Mingfeng's troops. "Andong Garrison, 3 li long. City wall height 12 meters. Width 3 meters can accommodate horse-drawn carriages. Four city gates in the southeast, northwest, and north. The highest commander of the garrison used to be the Dusi. Currently, there are 30,000 troops stationed in Andong. The main general is He Luohui, the owner of the Bordered White Banner (Flag Master). The soldiers of the Bordered White Banner are skilled in cavalry battles and are considered the best among all banners. The terrain of Andong Garrison is relatively flat, suitable for cavalry battles, with a wide city pool that can be defended or attacked. There are abundant grain and fodder reserves inside the city. There are no hidden places outside the city."

  Li Lei gazed out at the waves rolling in, one layer after another. He fell into a deep contemplation. Then he recalled Li Dingguo's words of advice to him: "Heart as fine as silk, courage as vast as the sea." Li Lei shook his head and walked back to his own tent with a sigh. The resistance from the Qing army was the most profound experience he had gained in all the battles he had fought so far. Despite being at a disadvantage in terms of weaponry, these Eight Banner soldiers were still able to hold their ground through sheer bravery, causing the People's Army to suffer significant losses when they let their guard down. As the war progressed smoothly on both fronts and stability was maintained in the Western Regions, all five routes of the army, including the navy and air force, continued to push northward. However, over two months had passed, yet the Eastern Route had only advanced a few hundred kilometers. Currently, the Second and Third Group Armies were concentrating their forces to attack Taiyuan, while the First Group Army, aside from Li Lei's own unit, had already begun to bypass Andongwei and head north directly. The air force under General Lan Tian was also working together with the main force to attack Yunzhou. At this point, only the navy was coordinating with him. Forget it. No more thinking about it. Li Lei couldn't help but laugh at himself as he realized he had fallen into a trap. Unconsciously, every time he tried to minimize losses to the smallest extent possible, even though this city didn't yet belong to the Chinese Empire.

  As the dawn broke, a series of cannon fire whizzed past. The Qing army led by Antongwei had been harassed like this more than a dozen times already. This was Li Lei's old tactic. What is real is false, what is false is true. Repeating this back and forth. Even if 30,000 people took turns sleeping for 24 hours a day, the non-stop harassment would still be a nightmare for the Eight Banners' sons. Moreover, as soon as there was an opening, Li Lei's troops immediately inserted themselves, making it impossible to defend against. And outside the city, pitfalls had been dug at night, filled with iron caltrops and horse traps. As soon as the cavalry came out, it would be a dead end with no place to bury their bodies.

  At the south gate, as the cannon fire intensified, cracks began to appear in the city walls. The stone walls were also starting to collapse block by block. After several days and nights of harassment, the morale of the Eight Banners soldiers who had been cooped up inside the city had reached an all-time low. When the formal attack began, the Eight Banners soldiers were already in disarray. Some had their knives stuck in the bodies of their comrades, while others only realized they had beheaded their fellow soldiers when they turned around. At this time, the People's Army was well-rested and ready to strike, like a fierce tiger descending from the mountains, easily defeating the sleep-deprived Eight Banners soldiers as if they were made of straw. Moreover, urban warfare was a mode that Li Lei had specifically trained for, and his First Army was unmatched in this regard. When the sun shone down, the battle was already over, with the bodies of the Qing soldiers scattered all over the ground. The only thing left for the soldiers to do was collect silver or gold, and then burn the bodies en masse.

  In September, Li Dingguo personally led the remaining troops of the First Army Group to capture Junzhou in a week-long battle, killing 10,000 enemies. On September 20, Shi Lang's naval force entered Bohai Bay and threatened Tianjin Garrison. The marine corps began to make forced landings and occupy strongpoints. On September 30, Li Dingguo captured Jinan overnight, killing 7,000 enemies. Within ten days, Li Lei successively captured Lingshan Garrison and Qingzhou. The Qing army in Shandong fled to Tianjin. At the same time, the Second and Third Army Groups captured Shijiazhuang. The Second Army Group, Fifth Army, and Sixth Army simultaneously marched from Daming and Shunde to Shijiazhuang, concentrating the entire Second Army Group. The Hebei Qing army retreated to defend Baoding and Hejian Prefectures.

  At the same time, Zheng Chenggong's Pacific fleet also defeated the Japanese pirates, temporarily relieving the pressure of the Japanese pirates along the Jiangsu and Zhejiang coast. In Hong Kong, Quanzhou, Songjiang, Wuchang, and Yueyang, five shipyards launched five 3,000-ton ironclad warships. The power was provided by a submerged propeller, but due to insufficient power, the maximum speed was only 12 knots. This class of ships was collectively referred to as the Datang-class. These five ironclads formed the Indian Ocean Fleet and were named: Zhengnan, Pingnan, Yandi, Diguo, and Huangdi. In addition, there were twenty small guard boats, twenty-five small gunboats, ten medium-sized wooden ships with iron plating, and three large iron-plated wooden supply ships. They are currently stationed opposite Hainan and the Philippines. In November 1657, Portugal sent an envoy to formally propose the return of Macau to our government and pay a rent of 100,000 taels of silver.

  January 1658. The airship fleet added 15 new-style airships. This airship increased the number of shells and rear thrusters, resulting in a significant increase in speed compared to before. In terms of firearms, due to the immaturity of smelting technology and the insufficient development of gunpowder technology, the update of shell technology was slow, leading to the failure of the latest imitation submachine gun experiment, resulting in the death of one technical personnel on the spot. The Emperor of the Chinese Empire, Zhu Ao, posthumously awarded him as a martyr and issued a third-class civil service medal.

  The Western Regions, now renamed Northwest Province, has undergone three months of development and the government's management agencies have basically matured. The people's living standards have improved significantly. In terms of transportation, it is now possible to connect with the previously occupied areas. In education, a minority college was established to cultivate talent for ethnic minorities. A new Minority Affairs Committee was also established, with the first chairman being Aimaiti Gua from the Uyghur ethnic group and the vice-chairman being Keku from the Hui ethnic group. A local armed forces system composed of ethnic minorities was newly established but stationed in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. The armed police troops in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces were all transferred to Northwest Province.

  The Jiangsu-Zhejiang region has basically restored the level of prosperity in the Ming Dynasty. Educational institutions are still highly valued in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. A new university, Jiangsu-Zhejiang University, was established. Water and land transportation is very convenient. The main roads have been repaired with cement pavement, forming an integrated transportation network with other provinces.

  Henan, Hebei, Shandong, Shaanxi, Shanxi and other areas have initially established a democratic government management system. Local armed forces have also been set up one after another. The tuntian system has been further improved and standardized. The propaganda team's propaganda role has also been put into practice. A small batch of reserve republican party members has emerged. The construction work of cement highways is also being carried out intensively.

  The whole country, except for Beijing, Tianjin, Tibet and most of Mongolia and the three northeastern provinces, was within the territory of the Chinese Empire.

  By January 1658, during the Spring Festival. (This is a new era compiled according to China's lunar calendar algorithm. The year and AD are the same, but the months are calculated according to the lunar calendar.) Nationwide, 2 million boxes of cigarettes were exported to countries such as Holland and Portugal in terms of trade. 100 million boxes of matches were exported. 1.2 million pieces of ceramics, 500,000 pieces of silk, and 1 million catties of tea were exported. The export earnings reached 15 billion taels of gold. The trade surplus reached 100%. At the same time, Emperor Zhu Ao announced the formal abolition of the year number system, and the nationwide promotion of the Han Yuan calendar system. In education, there are 40 universities across the country. The most famous university is the Imperial University. At the same time, 13 research institutes were established, including the Imperial Royal Academy of Sciences, the Royal Institute of Electricity, the Royal Institute of Metallurgy, the Royal Medical Research Center, the Royal Shipbuilding Institute, the Royal Power Institute, the Royal Airship Institute, the Royal Weapons Institute, the Royal Archaeological History Institute, the Royal Information Institute, the Royal Water Conservancy Institute, the Royal Geological Survey Institute, and the Royal Physics Institute. Middle school education has been basically popularized across the country. In terms of military, in addition to the original four major military academies of the empire - Yueyang Land Command Academy, Quanzhou Naval University, Nanchang Flight Academy, and Imperial Army University - a new Imperial Air Force University was established in Chengdu, an Imperial Armed Police Command College was established in Kunming, and an Imperial Artillery Academy was established in Hangzhou. Became one of the seven major military academies of the empire to supply reserve talents for the empire. In terms of media, in addition to the Imperial Daily and the Imperial Evening News, each province has its own provincial daily newspaper invested by businessmen. A specialized book publishing institution was also established. In terms of legal system, the 57-year-old constitution was revised, and new laws such as criminal law, commercial trade law, patent law, water conservancy law, land resources law, tax law, family planning law, education law, environmental protection law, traffic law, civil law, etc. were established. At that time, foreign envoys who came to visit the empire exclaimed in surprise! Dare not imagine that there would be such a democratic country. If the democracy of the empire is compared with Europe, Europe is still in the barbaric era. In terms of financial system, it has begun to plan to replace silver and gold with paper currency, and the denominations are 1 yuan, 2 yuan, 5 yuan, 10 yuan, 20 yuan, 50 yuan, 100 yuan, 500 yuan, and 1000 yuan. The front is uniformly printed with the portrait of Emperor Zhu Ao, and the back is printed with different landscapes of the empire. A new Imperial Central Bank, Transportation Bank, Commercial Bank, and Agricultural Bank were established. Four major state-owned banks allow private individuals to establish private joint-stock banks after examination and approval, and supervise them. Paper currency will be officially issued from May 1, 1658. At that time, silver and gold will circulate simultaneously, with a half-year transition period, and the circulation of silver and gold will be cancelled after half a year. In terms of medical system, except for military hospitals, each county has established a county-level hospital, and each province has established a provincial-level hospital. The empire also has a royal hospital. As long as you have money, you can stay in the imperial royal hospital.

  Due to its excellence in various aspects, it attracted many citizens from Portugal and the Netherlands to settle in the empire and join the imperial nationality. However, the empire generally had a strict admission system, except for scholars and merchants, all others were not allowed to join the imperial nationality.

  Night, it's already very late. The weather in January is still very cold. Short days and long nights are still the main theme of this season. In the imperial palace of Changsha Empire, Huaxia Palace, Zhu Ao was still arguing with Zhu Xiao. New-style light bulbs have come out, but due to their high cost, they have not been opened to the public yet. The electric light shines on the faces of the old and young, looking a bit pale. Zhu Xiao patiently said: "Grandfather, during the Spring Festival, I think it's best not to make a move against the Qing Dynasty. Firstly, we are now in winter, if we start taking action, the heavy snow weather in the north will affect the combat effectiveness of our southern soldiers. Secondly, our logistics supply cannot keep up. Our three armies need to eat. Now they can basically meet their needs, but if we go to war, it will be a bit difficult. Thirdly, we don't have to worry that the Qing Dynasty will take the initiative to counterattack our army, although we can't take the initiative to attack, defending is not a big problem."

  Zhu Ao sank into thought for a moment, then looked at Zhu Xiao with a pleased expression and said: "En, Ah Xiao. You've matured over the past year. You know how to analyze situations and understand the enemy's psychology. It seems my efforts haven't been wasted after all. Actually, I already had records of your analysis results. This is the conclusion that Song Yingxing and I came up with. I didn't expect young people like you would think the same way as us. Hehe, this just shows that you've really grown up." After finishing speaking, he waved his hand at Zhu Xiao and said: "Ah Xiao, you can go back to your residence and rest now. There's nothing else to do."

  Looking at his own mansion, Zhu smiled lightly. It had been a long time since he saw Li Min. He didn't know how she was doing. Thinking about it, past events floated in his mind. As the New Year arrived, there were no people walking on the streets anymore. Everyone was already at home, huddled around the stove and eating reunion dinner. Many people must still be marveling that last year's New Year was a time of family separation and displacement, but this year they could eat better food than any previous year. The rice jars were full, and chicken, duck, fish, and meat - anything you wanted to eat, you could buy.

  The cold wind blew through the streets, carrying a hint of icy air. Zhu Xiao involuntarily shrank his neck. He was only over 100 meters away from home. The red lantern at the entrance of his house could be seen clearly, when suddenly three masked men in black emerged from the side. Zhu Xiao instinctively reacted and dodged the deadly knife. His combat training allowed him to quickly calm down. He let out a lifesaving shout. Although he had learned grappling and fighting, he was not a martial artist. His physical strength was dwindling. He could only rely on his agility and wits to evade the assassin's attacks. Finally, one of the knives pierced Zhu Xiao's shoulder. The knife was quickly withdrawn, and Zhu Xiao fell into a daze from the pain.