Mystery makes me strong

Chapter 1502 Lack of Money
"Report, the northern navy suffered a disastrous defeat, with a total of more than 300 ships, large and small. They lost more than 100 against the Dasu fleet, captured more than [-], and escaped less than [-]... The Dasu fleet lost only a dozen or so. One was wounded by the burning ship, and three were sunk."

"Report, the East Fort has fallen, and the North Fort is holding on."

"Report, General Cheng An died for his country and was reincarnated. He lost 15 soldiers and killed [-] thieves."

"Report, General Lu Pang died for his country and reincarnated. He lost 5 soldiers and killed [-] thieves."

……

"Enough!" The old lady Lu slapped the table.

This exaggerated battle loss ratio completely broke her bottom line.

Fortunately, she still feels that the innovation she made has broken the cycle rate of the feudal dynasty and guaranteed her position as queen mother, so she has always been a little complacent.

Everyone said that she was the greatest sage, sage, wise, hero...

In the end, she really believed it.

No way, everyone said you were wearing clothes, and you put them on even if you didn't.

Just don't travel in winter.

The important ministers were silent.

War, only a ruthless war, can we see what the so-called prosperity is like.

The battle loss ratio is the most obvious manifestation of the difference in strength.

Those who are truly powerful will inevitably lose less.

And the disparity in the war damage now is obviously saying that their hundreds of years of Western learning achievements are vulnerable, and they are all perfunctory. They are smeared on the paper house, which looks good. A pile of rotten paper.

"Look, look, the Ai family allocates hundreds of millions of taels of gold and flower silver to you every year, but you have made it like this! The ancestors handed over the country to the Ai family, so you let the Ai family sue the Taimiao like this?" Lu Straight angry road.

The ministers immediately knelt down.

"The empress dowager's forgiveness is all the fault of the ministers."

At this time, they agreed with each other, and they really believed that it was their fault.

is not that right?The Empress Dowager allocated funds generously, but who could be blamed if things were not done well?

In the last years of those dynasties in the past, the court couldn't afford money, and the ministers were required to do things. Naturally, they could complain, feel wronged, and join the rebels with peace of mind...

Now, there is no shortage of money every year, there is still a lot of wealth, real soldiers and real wages, and they work every morning and evening, which is far better than the elite forces of any previous dynasty.

At this moment, a piece of good news finally came.

"Deng Ming, the guerrilla general of Chengxian County, led an army to take advantage of the rainy night to make a surprise attack, defeated a partial division of the Dapoppy people, and killed more than two hundred soldiers and horses of the Dapoppy people. They fled, and their heads have been counted."

The ministers took a breath.

It is still useful to pay enough for the army. Among the ten teams, there are always one or two conscientious ones who dare to fight.

Raiding on a rainy night is more difficult than at night, and a team that owes money will definitely not be able to do it.It must be an elite soldier who trains hard, and must be led by a general who is not afraid of death.

Generals are not afraid of death, but there are still not many who can train hard.

After all, eating, drinking and having fun is in nature.

"A heavy reward of 3000 taels of patterned silver, and [-] bolts of Nanjiang cotton cloth..." Lu Zhi's face turned a little brighter.

After all, it is a big country, a big court, full money is given, rewards and punishments are clearly defined, and under heavy rewards, there are always talents who will appear.

And she will not kill her own pillars of the Great Wall.

Whether you are loyal or not, it is enough to listen to your heart.

"Thank you, Empress Dowager." The important ministers thanked the general on behalf of the general.

As time goes by, there is more and more good news on land.

One after another, the garrison troops received good news, or succeeded in their defense.

The fleet is not easy to train, but advanced guns and cannons are easy to buy, as long as you have money.

In the modern warfare of later generations, recruits who have been trained for one or two weeks will go to the battlefield, and after a few battles, they will become veterans.

With money, food and coolies, the team is easy to train, and now it can take shape in a month to go to the battlefield.

Although the death rate is also high.

However, the Eastern court avoided the 300-year round of elimination. This death is really not a drop in the bucket.

…………

The Dasu people finally realized that they still underestimated the resilience of the Eastern court.

Their main wealth is still in the interior, in the hands of the big landowners, and the mere blockade of the coastal ports will not cause real harm to them.

Only by capturing the capital can the opponent be forced to surrender.

But if they want to go deep inland, they are no longer as comfortable as they are at sea.

Even if it is only three or four hundred miles inland, it is not easy.

The court still has people's hearts.

After all, many taxes that should be collected have not been collected long ago. It is just a symbolic poll tax, which means that you are still a citizen of the court and must abide by the rules of the court.

The imperial court often distributed food for disaster relief, big disaster relief, small disaster relief, and even disaster relief; landlords also often distributed grain and cotton clothes for the people to survive the winter.

Under such circumstances, the common people knew what was good and bad, and under the leadership of talented landlords, they fortified the walls and cleared the fields. In the late Qing Dynasty, it rarely happened that many leading traitors could be bought for a dozen taels of silver, and many people came to sell vegetables and food on their own initiative.

Several times when the Dasu people's team arrived at a certain place, some villagers reported to the court.

The local defenders dared to fight, even if they only killed a few people in a confrontation, they couldn't stand it.

There is a fog of battle everywhere.

The nature of the invaders is to plunder. At first they could bear it, but when they went deep into the inland and it was inconvenient to supply, they began to rob food.

This worsened relations with the locals even more.

The imperial court began to recruit soldiers and horses, and allowed the localities to form regiments for training.

Anyway, the old lady Lu is not afraid of rebellion during group practice, she has a fur ball and a fountain of youth in her hands.

The defeat at sea was finally saved by land.

Even for a dynasty as decayed as the Qing Dynasty, the Westerners still say that they don’t have the brains and manpower to rule directly, and they must maintain this dynasty and use them to colonize.

What's more, this oriental court in its prosperous age?
Half a year later, the Dasu people's army suffered heavy losses. Although they besieged the capital twice in the middle, they were both rescued, and finally had to retreat to the South Island to rest.

This defense battle was a draw after all.

The important ministers are still not as thick-skinned as their colleagues in the Qing Dynasty, and they can't say that if they don't lose, they should win.

"Hmph, look at each of you. You usually only know about the prosperity and prosperity. At least you didn't let Ai's family flee to the west. Those who should be credited should be credited, and those who should be killed should be killed. Go back and think carefully. How could it be like this?" Queen Mother Lu said harshly.

"Thank you Queen Mother for your kindness." All the ministers were ashamed.

The enemy bandits came in and roamed around, coming and leaving whenever they wanted.

It is the words that no one can say to win.

If you win, why didn't you see your opponent admit defeat and surrender, why didn't you offer the head of the bandit and the Taimiao?

…………

A restaurant somewhere in the capital.

Wen Rensheng sat in the corner and listened to the discussion.

"Oh, my Dacheng Kingdom is really in vain. The capital was besieged by a group of barbarians." A certain old master shook his head and lamented.

"Isn't this repulsed? The imperial court also opened granaries three times. Although the food was old-fashioned rotten rice, no one died of starvation. Counting up to 300 years, which time was the siege so that people could not eat people?" Another Outsiders don't care about Tao.

Taking advantage of the siege, he bought several shops at a low price, and without letting his family know, he hid the shop deeds and house deeds in a certain bank in Da Ya Ren.

Yes, there are steam engines, and naturally there are banks.

The reputation of Da Ya Ren Bank is much better than that of traditional banks. It also only recognizes account numbers and passwords, not people, and it has been passed on for hundreds of years.

Of course, it is also necessary to carefully choose an established and reputable bank.

"It's just that the barbarians tried their best to fight back. I will come again next time. The property I bought with great difficulty suddenly dropped by two-thirds, and now it has become a west inland property that has risen. It is really a scam." Another businessman complained.

"Why is the navy so weak that five hundred can't beat three hundred?"

"The navy only wants to do business, and they are colluding together. The money issued to buy the ship is renewed every year after buying it once. The steam warships have been out for 20 years, and they still use the old sailing ships."

"Didn't Xuanyiwei of the imperial court have an overseas department? Couldn't they keep a close eye on overseas military equipment?" Another scholar said generously.

Yes, the imperial court has an overseas department, and the queen mother also asked her to learn from the West, and everyone is not blind. Steamships are used first for civilian use and then for military use. Businessmen all know that, so why don’t the navy buy steamships?

"I know this. What the admiral of the navy said is steam, steam is not steam, and it is easy to break... The old ship is still usable, and a new ship costs millions of taels, and it is a waste of military pay. It is better to buy more sailing ships... "

"Millions of taels? Is it so expensive?"

"The Empress Dowager allocates hundreds of millions of taels of silver to the navy every year, but it is only enough to buy dozens of ships. The three major navy divisions in the north, central and south are not enough."

Everyone talked and seemed to understand the key point.

it's actually really easy.

Money is not enough.

The wealth of the agricultural society, used in the military expenditure in the industrial age, is no longer good.

The army is not bad, the navy is a gold-swallowing beast, and daily training is a bottomless pit. Why did the Beiyang navy stop buying new ships, lack of training, and get rid of the corruption of feudal bureaucrats?

(End of this chapter)