[Qing Chuan] Mu Emperor's Grace

The mission led by Macartney was very efficient, and soon transported the artillery stationed at the Dagu Port to Beijing. To Heshen's surprise, the artillery transported by the British envoy to Beijing did represent the most advanced British technology at that time. arms.

When those huge objects were displayed in front of Hongli, Hongli was silent. He pointed to a cannon and asked, "How far can such a cannon shoot?"

Macartney replied proudly: "This is a twelve-pound gun with an effective range of about 800 meters. It is the heaviest artillery on the infantry battlefield. It takes about ten horses to pull the gun."

The accompanying elder brothers and princesses were all stunned. Hongli reached out to touch the barrel and asked, "Is this made of bronze?"

Macartney held his head high and said, "Yes."

Hongli pointed to the pile of ammunition and asked, "I see, are these iron bullets?"

Seeing Macartney nodding, Hongli turned to Agui and asked, "Are we using iron shells in the Qing army?"

Ah Gui shook her head, her expression more solemn than ever: "Return to the emperor, what our army uses are mud bombs and stone bombs, and there are no iron bombs."

Hongli caressed the bronze gun barrel, and suddenly laughed: "Mud bomb? Stone bomb? What's the use of this thing?"

He Shen followed Hongli, always paying attention to the changes in the emperor's mood. Hongli walked and watched, and suddenly he pointed to the howitzer in the distance: "What is this?"

Macartney acted as a conscientious narrator at the side: "This is the latest improved howitzer in our country. The ballistic trajectory is different from that of the cannon. Although its range is not as far as the cannon, it can cooperate with the cannon to fight and act as a cover for the cannon."

The military generals accompanying the Qing Dynasty had only one thought in their minds, why could the blond foreign devils come up with so many strange armaments?Isn't it enough to have guns, knives and a small amount of gunpowder to deal with flesh and blood?

Hongli obviously thought of this too, he frowned and said, "Do you always fight in your country?"

Macartney was stunned for a moment. For a moment, he even suspected that He Shen's translation was wrong, but when he confirmed that this was really a question asked by the emperor of the Qing Empire, he replied despite his doubts. : "Of course, as far as I have experienced, the war with the United States lasted for eight years, during which there were large and small naval and land battles. Wars are a very common thing. Without wars, there will be no expansion, and there will be no expansion. There would be no wealth, but only with wealth can the people live a better life and proudly declare to the world that we are an empire on which the sun never sets.”

It was the first time for everyone present, including He Shen himself, to hear such a straightforward declaration of value. He Shen’s translator’s voice suddenly paused, and he suddenly realized that the Macartney in front of him, although from English , but England at that time was not the modern Britain he was familiar with, nor was it a country with a high degree of urbanization. Britain at that time was just a country that had just completed the industrial revolution.The people of this country still firmly believe that overseas expansion can bring them a steady stream of wealth. In essence, they just want to grab more benefits from the eastern lands, rather than establish normal diplomatic relations.

Hongli didn't speak for a long time, and He Shen followed behind him, sensitively aware that the emperor's footsteps had slowed down.However, Macartney didn't notice anything strange at all. He suddenly took out a flintlock gun from his body. Before everyone could react, He Shen was behind Hongli: "Magarney, you What do you want to do?!"

Macartney was taken aback by He Shen's actions, and he stammered in his defense: "My lord, don't get me wrong, I just want to show His Majesty the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty that this kind of flintlock gun is in our * In the team, it is equipped with manpower. Compared with the old-style matchlock guns, the shooting is more accurate, and it is easy to carry and has less recoil, which is quite practical in war.”

Hongli frowned, and he asked Heshen: "I remember that in the early years, when we attacked Junggar, my Qing army was also equipped with thousands of flintlock guns?"

He Shen thought for a while, and replied: "The emperor remembers well, the four thousand flintlock guns were made by special craftsmen to imitate Russian guns."

Hongli nodded, and asked again: "How effective is it?"

He Shen replied: "The effect is mediocre, but the slave thinks that the key to not achieving particularly good results is not the weapon, but the people."

Hongli looked at him suspiciously, and pondered: "Tell me."

He Shen took the flintlock gun from Macartney, checked it carefully, and then said: "My soldiers in the Qing Dynasty are not equipped with firearms for practice in daily combat training. Armament also needs people to control it, if the soldiers are not skilled enough, then even if the army has the best weapons, it will not be able to exert its power."

Macartney hardly understood He Shen's tirade. He just watched Hongli's face become more and more gloomy, and He Shen took away his flintlock gun.

This Western firearms exercise is doomed to end without a problem.Hongli led Heshen, Agui and Hailancha to leave alone. During this period, Hailancha always felt that Heshen was staring at him intentionally or unintentionally, which made him feel uncomfortable.

Finally, Hailancha couldn't bear it anymore and asked, "I said, Mr. He, why are you always staring at me?"

He Shen said angrily, "Master Hai, when the foreigners came to see you, you didn't check your body?"

Hai Lancha said innocently: "I really want to search, but the foreigner won't let me search for anything. I think you treated him very politely last time, so you didn't insist."

He Shen was completely angry this time: "Confused! Hai Lancha, you never thought about it, if the gun he took out today had ammunition in it, and if the guards didn't respond in time to protect the emperor, can you bear the responsibility? ?”

Hailancha lowered her head in a low voice, not daring to answer any more. Agui was like an outsider, thinking about her own affairs, and had no intention of trying to persuade her to make peace.

Hongli patted Heshen on the shoulder suddenly: "Okay, Aiqing calms down." Then he glanced at Hai Lancha again: "He has never been a smart person, what are you doing with him so much, I Isn't it good now?"

Only then did He Shen slowly calm down under the comfort of Hongli. Probably only he himself understood how scared he was when he saw Macartney pulling out the gun, and he almost reflexively protected Hongli. behind.

Seeing that he had returned to normal, Hongli said slowly, "You all know something about Western firearms. I left you alone today just to know what you think about Western firearms and equipment?"

Ah Gui, who had been silent all this time, took the lead and said, "Your Majesty, it is not without the firearms and equipment of those foreigners in the Qing Dynasty. The red cannons, mother and child cannons, the power of these artillery is not inferior to the foreign guns that Macartney showed just now. As for guns, the Qing also has them, but they haven’t been put into use on a large scale, so I think that if there is a day when the two armies confront each other, the Qing will not be at a disadvantage.”

Hongli did not answer, he paced slowly along the lake, and suddenly sighed: "When the Qing army entered the pass, Prince He Shuorui once made a rule that non-Manchurian Eight Banners were not allowed to use firearms. The firearms in my court have not been used on a large scale. I just saw Macartney pull out a flintlock gun, and I was thinking about the king of England. Isn’t he worried that the army will have such a light weapon and rebel? "

He Shen followed Hongli, and was slightly taken aback when he heard the words. From the time travel to the present, he also knew the few battles in the Qianlong Dynasty, from the flintlock guns in the Battle of Junggar to the bird guns in the Battle of Jinchuan. Firearms were also used in battle against the enemy, but never on a large scale.

Even the guns equipped in the Junggar War were all confiscated after the war and were not used as daily training tools for soldiers.

But now, he seemed to understand why Hongli, as a ruler, did not want firearms to be used on a large scale.In the final analysis, the Qing Dynasty was a group of Manchus who ruled the majority of Han people in the country. In the era when foreign powers did not knock on the door of China with strong ships and guns, ethnic conflicts never ceased for a moment.Shen He, who grew up in New China and bathed in the brilliance of national unity, finds it difficult to understand such sharp and irreconcilable contradictions.

No matter how much Hongli loved the people like a son, he was also an emperor of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, representing the most fundamental interests of the Manchu nobles. He dared not and could not lift the ban on firearms.As guns became lighter and lighter, and the power of ammunition to penetrate the chamber was too powerful, if the ban on firearms was lifted, the first thing Hongli had to worry about was that the Han people would rebel with firearms.

On this issue, He Shen can't guarantee anything. After all, firearms are different from cold weapons. *An ordinary body can't play any defensive role in front of firearms. The tragic situation: The soldiers didn't know how to use firearms at all, even if they were equipped with strong ships and sharp guns, they couldn't exert their power at all.

He Shen replied: "Your Majesty, as the saying goes, a good horse is equipped with a good saddle. No matter how powerful a firearm is, it needs people to unleash it. The Qing Dynasty has no shortage of powerful firearms. What is lacking is soldiers who can skillfully use firearms, and soldiers who can A craftsman who is proficient in firearms. Although firearms are powerful, they are not the source of rebellion in the final analysis. I dare to say that if the Han people want to rebel, they will rebel even if they only have bamboo sticks."

Hongli paused for a moment: "Our Eight Banners soldiers with bamboo poles and sticks can still stop them, but if they are replaced with firearms and guns, once an incident occurs, the consequences will be disastrous."

He Shen thought that this was indeed the case. He knew that the opening of firearms could not be achieved overnight, so he remonstrated: "Your Majesty, just like what the slave said just now, taxes, taxes, and penalties are the key to governing the country. It will not be easily incited, and occasionally a small group of organizations have malicious intentions, and they are no match for the aspirations of the people."

Hongli was silent, and Agui didn't say anything to refute. Seeing this, He Shen simply opened up and said: "Your Majesty, you have also seen that the West built ships and guns, and fought for years. Its ambition is not small, so we have to guard against it."

Seeing that the emperor didn't speak, Agui spoke up to smooth things over: "My lord, if the Westerners really have evil intentions, our Qing Dynasty may not necessarily be defeated."

He Shen choked, he didn't know how to explain to Ah Gui that in the not-too-distant future, the Qing Dynasty, which prided itself on being the top country, was beaten to pieces by the barbarians with such blind self-confidence.

Hongli waited for a long time, but he didn't hear He Shen's voice. He turned his head suspiciously, and saw He Shen looking down at the stone pavement suddenly.He remembered that rainy night, the young man leaned on his shoulder and said: "If the Qing Dynasty hadn't been handed over to Jiaqing, maybe it wouldn't have died so quickly."

In an instant, he understood He Shen's abnormalities in recent days, maybe from the very beginning, he knew the end of the Qing Dynasty.The young man in front of him is using his own methods bit by bit to try to make this country like an old machine work. Whether it is the demonstration of Western artillery or the advice to lift the ban on firearms, he has done it for this. effort.

"The law of the ancestors can't be changed..." As soon as Hongli said, He Shen's eyes lit up.

"In the military system of our dynasty, the Manchus are the Eight Banners soldiers, and the Han people are the Green Battalion soldiers. According to the usual practice, only the Jianrui Battalion, the Firearms Battalion, the Tiger Gun Battalion and the Shenji Battalion among the Eight Banners soldiers are equipped with firearms. For firearms such as firearms and spray canisters, the ban on firearms must be lifted step by step. The patrolling battalions stationed in the capital and the green battalion soldiers in Zhili province are first equipped with flintlock guns, and the other military camps, guard battalions and soldiers stationed in the Eight Banners are also equipped. One should be armed with a flintlock."

Ah Gui was stunned for a moment, and after confirming that Hongli was serious, she hurriedly knelt down and said, "I obey the order."

He Shen was also shocked by Hongli's generosity. Although he didn't equip all the green camp soldiers with firearms, at least it was much better than he imagined.

He Shenxi said: "Your Majesty, in addition to the equipment of firearms, firearms should also be improved in terms of performance. For example, the bird gun should be equipped with a bayonet on the gun, so that soldiers can have a better chance of winning in hand-to-hand combat. For the foreign guns that Macartney brought to Beijing, special personnel should be invited to study them, and it is best to invite foreign artisans to set up schools in the capital to explain the principles of gun making.”

Hongli was shocked by the look in the young man's eyes. No one could bear to reject the hopeful look in his eyes.

The proud emperor finally nodded: "Just do as you say."

When He Shen was in full bloom, he didn't notice the slightly depressed back of the emperor.When Hongli was far away, He Shen and Agui still stayed in place to discuss related matters. Only Hai Lancha, who was the imperial guard, followed Hongli's footsteps.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Hongli turned his head and saw the silent Hailancha left behind.

"He Shen is gone, you don't have to keep your head down, just talk to me." In front of Hailancha, Hongli rarely had such a pleasant face.

"I'm a stupid slave, I'm afraid I'll make the emperor angry." Hai Lancha replied in a low voice.

Hongli smiled lightly and said: "You, don't complain about Heshen, he cares about you, but he doesn't mean to target you. I know his temperament best, he always smiles on the surface, as if he doesn't care about anything, Nei Li, you are holding a grudge. Back then when you told me about it, you lost his trust, and even now, he still stabs you with words from time to time."

Hai Lancha looked up at the emperor in surprise, as dull as he was, and also noticed Hongli's pride and love from the bottom of his heart when he talked about He Shen.

Hongli didn't seem to want him to answer, he just stared at the cluster of flowers and murmured: "Sometimes I feel that I am getting old day by day, but he is still the same as before, as if I am not paying attention, he will will walk away from me."