Zhu Xiaosong said lightly, "Chen Tailai's most important role is that his existence will cause the Tartar imperial court's Manchu and Han officials to suspect, fear, and even attack each other."
Indeed, Chen Tailai's importance was not just that he had paralyzed the Tartar imperial court's Grand Canal transport, but that his existence would further exacerbate the existing Manchu-Han animosity within the Tartar officialdom, leading to mutual accusations.
Manchu-Han animosity was a widespread phenomenon from the moment the Tartars entered the pass. It had eased somewhat during the years when Dorgon slept with Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, but after Dorgon was purged by Mazi's father, it directly persisted until the end of the Qing Dynasty.
After all, one cannot expect the masters to put aside their airs and mingle with the so-called "mud legs" like slaves.
A typical example is the prohibition of intermarriage between Manchus and Hans. The plot in "The Treasury of the Prime Minister" where Mochou enters the palace to become Qianlong's concubine would be a joke in my Tartar Qing dynasty.
Even the supposedly shameless Kong Demao of the Duke Yansheng's mansion (the only lifelong member of the Central Committee, now deceased) knew how to concoct a "circuitous marriage" in the first chapter, "The First Family in the World," of "Anecdotes of the Inner Chambers of the Kong Mansion," when describing Qianlong marrying off his daughter.
Those unfamiliar with this story can search for "Qianlong marrying off his daughter." It is a highly flattering portrayal of the Duke Yansheng's mansion.
In reality, whether it be the Manchu Qing's "Imperial Genealogy," "Draft History of Qing," or the records in Kong Mansion Archives No. 01306, all sufficiently prove that this story is pure nonsense. What is comical is that many magazines, newspapers, and dictionaries actually present this story as historical knowledge to the general public.
In the history of my Tartar Qing, the ones who truly liberalized Manchu-Han intermarriage were not Mazi, nor Yongzheng, nor even Qianlong, but Dorgon at the beginning of the Tartar dynasty's establishment, and the woman who ate porridge before the Tartars fell, the former to win over Han defectors and officials, and the latter out of desperation as the Tartar Qing was about to fall. In between, from Shunzhi to Tongzhi, Manchu-Han intermarriage was consistently forbidden.
Furthermore, the idea that Zha Bao, a scumbag, wrote that Qianlong might be the child of the Chen family of Jiangning is utterly nonsensical. It's like opening a door with bullshit for bullshit, taking bullshit to the extreme. If this fellow dared to write this during the Qianlong era, he would absolutely be annihilated along with his nine generations of relatives, leaving not even dregs.
There are also other less famous examples, such as the division of official positions into Manchu and Han. Manchu officials could hold Han positions, but Han officials could not hold Manchu positions. Even for the same position, Manchu officials had greater rights than Han officials. There was also the principle of Manchu and Han not being governed by the same laws; once a dispute arose between a Manchu and a Han...
Therefore, I would like to kindly remind those girls who dream of time-traveling to the Tartar Qing and getting involved with the Fourth Prince or Eighth Prince to remember that unless your identity after time-traveling is that of a Manchu kneeling girl, you should stop daydreaming and wake up.
Manchu-Han suspicion and animosity, valuing Manchus and devaluing Hans, this was the consistent characteristic of my Tartar Qing, from entering the pass until its demise.
Therefore, Chen Tailai, a second-rank governor of the Grand Canal, raising the banner of rebellion in Jining, became exceptionally important, especially since he was also a leading general.
Because of Chen Tailai's existence, from the old dog Qianlong to Minister He, and all the Manchu officials big and small, they would be filled with suspicion towards Han officials, especially those leading troops.
While some Han officials, like Ji Xiaolan and Liu Luoguo, would choose a more deferential kneeling posture, it was absolutely not impossible for certain officials or military officers to, in a fit of rage, choose to go to hell, even if these individuals would not raise the banner of rebellion, they would no longer be of use to the Tartars.
This is another interpretation of uniting all forces that can be united.
After listening to Zhu Xiaosong's explanation, Zhu Erdan, Liu Huaiwen, and Ke Zhiming, along with all the other bosses, were stunned.
They could still play like this?
After coming to his senses, Zhu Erdan said, "Then let's do it! I'll lead the men to attack Sishui County first, then head straight for Tai'an Prefecture. Once we take Mount Tai, we'll develop the area around Mount Tai into a base. To the south, we can let Geng Rui lead Xu Shitou and the young recruits like the eldest son of the Lin family to try."
Zhu Xiaosong nodded and said to Ke Zhiming, "Let the brothers in Yanzhou Prefecture and Tai'an Prefecture be prepared. While ensuring your own safety, try your best to convey information."
Ke Zhiming immediately stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Please rest assured, Young Master!"
Zhu Xiaosong nodded, signaling Ke Zhiming to sit down, then said to Liu Huaiwen, "Uncle Huaiwen, hurry up and make more hand grenades and landmines, and speed up the progress on the flintlock guns."
Liu Huaiwen also stood up, cupped his hands, and replied, "Boss, I promise it won't be delayed."
After sitting down, Liu Huaiwen took a couple of puffs from his dry pipe, then smiled and said, "The boss has been busy with the community school and printing matters recently and hasn't been paying much attention to our arms factory."
Zhu Xiaosong, hearing the implication in Liu Huaiwen's words, was moved and asked, "Uncle Huaiwen, is there any good news?"
Liu Huaiwen nodded and said with a smile, "Thanks to the spring opening, Bai Zhang Cliff has now been developed and is no longer the 'peeing cliff' of winter. Coupled with the reservoirs we dug, we have started trial production of the flintlock guns and Menglianggu bullets that the boss wants!"
Zhu Xiaosong was overjoyed and asked repeatedly, "Really? Are there finished products? Have they been tested? What is the production capacity?"
The flintlock gun Zhu Xiaosong requested was a muzzle-loading rifled flintlock with a Minié ball.
Many people might think that such a thing could not be manufactured during the Qianlong era, but in reality, both rifled barrels and flintlock guns had already appeared in the world during the Qianlong era. Only the Minié ball appeared relatively late in history.
However, the Minié ball is, in essence, a simple concept. Once understood, its technical difficulty is actually easier than rifling a barrel.
There are Minié ball molds available on Taobao.
This is why Zhu Xiaosong copied the system of the People's Liberation Army from the beginning.
It can be said that if the Minié ball and muzzle-loading rifled flintlock guns could be equipped in large quantities, and their artillery capabilities were equal, Zhu Xiaosong could completely achieve a cross-dimensional strike against the Tartar officers and soldiers.
However, to Zhu Xiaosong's disappointment, after taking a couple of puffs from his dry pipe, Liu Huaiwen frowned and said, "We just started trial production today. There should be no major issues."
"It's just that the foundation of our Menglianggu is ultimately too thin. Both the output of steel and the reserves of lead are not enough to support our large-scale manufacturing."
"At best, we can produce a dozen flintlock guns a day. In bad times, it's only three to five a day."
"As for the Menglianggu bullets that the boss mentioned, based on our current foundation, we can probably produce a few thousand. Anything more would be difficult."
Zhu Xiaosong's heart, which had been burning hot, instantly chilled from the inside out.
With a monthly output of at most a thousand, or at least a hundred or so, it was far from enough to equip tens of thousands of troops, let alone the more than two thousand men currently in Menglianggu.
And the output of bullets was even more frustrating.
A few thousand bullets might be enough for a gang fight, but in a real battle, how many Tartar officers and soldiers could a few thousand bullets kill? Dozens? Or hundreds?
Even if one bullet killed one soldier, it would only be enough for a few thousand Tartar officers and soldiers. Compared to the hundreds of thousands or millions of Tartar soldiers...
It was very frustrating.
After lowering his head and carefully considering, Zhu Xiaosong raised his head and looked at Liu Huaiwen, asking, "What is the biggest problem now? Insufficient steel output and lead reserves?"
Liu Huaiwen replied, "Yes, it's the insufficient steel output and lead reserves. Basically, the people around Menglianggu have taken out everything that can be smelted into steel, but it is still far from meeting the needs of Menglianggu."
Zhu Xiaosong nodded and said, "Since our local output is not enough, there's nothing we can do but borrow some from the Tartars."
At Zhu Xiaosong's words, the bosses present burst into laughter.
Last time, the boss had called Mingxing a "transport captain."
This time, it remained to be seen if Agui, the imperial envoy, could also be a good transport captain.
After laughing, Zhu Xiaosong became serious again and said, "Even though we consider Zhangjia Agui as a transport captain, we still need to take him seriously. Don't forget, we don't have any 'Red Barbarian Cannons' to use, and our Menglianggu foundation can't afford to build any."
The previous method of Zhu Xiaosong tinkering with simple trebuchets to replace artillery was effective against Tartar armies without artillery, like Mingxing and Chen Tailai. However, if they clashed with the artillery corps led by Agui, it would truly be like a birthday star eating arsenic, living impatiently.
Seeing that all the bosses, big and small, were lost in thought, Zhu Xiaosong chuckled again and asked, "What's wrong? Have you gotten too used to fighting battles smoothly, and now you don't know how to fight against the artillery corps?"
Zhu Erdan said, "Our trebuchets are not as powerful as the Tartars' 'Red Barbarian Cannons.' It's difficult to fight head-on with the artillery corps. The best way is to know the Tartars' marching route in advance, find advantageous terrain, and ambush them with landmines."
Geng Rui, who had joined the army since Zhu Xiaosong's early days and had now risen to the rank of company commander, also frowned and said, "If it's not convenient to ambush with landmines, we must occupy advantageous terrain in advance. Secondly, we must have a higher position, and our forces must be dispersed. Otherwise, the battle cannot be fought."
Zhu Xiaosong nodded and said, "Second Brother and Geng Rui are right. Our strength is insufficient now, so we cannot directly confront the Tartar officers and soldiers. We can only think of clever ways."
"Now that you two are about to lead troops on campaign, you must think carefully in advance and absolutely avoid direct confrontation with the Tartars."
"Once Agui delivers the equipment to us, the battle will be much easier."
...
Agui did not want to be Zhu Xiaosong's transport captain at the moment.
Things were as Zhu Xiaosong had predicted. Even though Zhu Xiaosong had already occupied Yizhou, Agui was in no mood to pay attention to him.
Agui had focused all his attention on Chen Tailai. Because Chen Tailai refused to accept appeasement and had chopped off the personal guards of Kexun and Agui, this matter had greatly hurt and annoyed Agui.
For Agui, the imperial envoy, the death of a personal guard was not a big deal, nor was the death of a Manchu general. The key was that Chen Tailai, this bastard, refused to accept appeasement. What would happen to the Grand Canal transport of our Tartar Qing?
With the instability of the Grand Canal transport, the imperial capital's unrest was inevitable!
More importantly, because of Chen Tailai's status as the Governor of the Grand Canal, the situation of Manchu-Han conflict in the imperial court was also inevitable.
Unrest in the capital and Manchu-Han conflict, either of these situations was enough to cause a headache, let alone both happening at the same time. It was truly like opening a door with a headache for a headache, taking the headache to its extreme!
After circling around several times, Agui finally made up his mind.
He must first suppress Chen Tailai. As for Zhu Xiaosong, that rebel, he could be put aside for the time being.
After careful consideration, Agui shouted, "Someone! Order Prince驸马 Nawangduojie and Censor-in-Chief Ashar, leading two thousand men from the two battalions of the Elite Artillery, to change course to Jining!"