September 1861 was undoubtedly a chilling time for Britain and the entire European world, because in just a few dozen days, Britain's power in the world suffered an unprecedented blow - they not only lost Hong Kong, but even Australia, which was located far from China in the heart of the Pacific Ocean, was attacked by Chinese troops, and tens of thousands of elite Chinese marines landed in Australia. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

Just when Britain was shocked by the appearance of the Chinese in Australia, when the British were talking about how to fight back the Chinese attack, one bad news after another came, the Chinese army entered Upper Burma, which was controlled by its vassal state Kingdom of Burma, and two divisions of tens of thousands of Chinese poured into Lower Burma like a tide, quickly defeating the British army in Lower Burma, and when the Indian governor was preparing to send troops to recover Lower Burma, the shadow of the Chinese also appeared in Siam, and then the Straits Settlements were attacked, Singapore, the capital of the Straits Settlements, the stronghold of Malacca, fell in just two weeks.

In less than two months, the army and navy of the Chinese Empire, which attacked from all over the continent and the sea, smashed the foundation of British power in the Far East and the Pacific.

"The overall situation of the Sino-British war has been decided!"

Newspapers across China have proclaimed in this language as the nation celebrates a string of military victories. For the Chinese, for the first time, they felt a completely new emotion -- an unprecedented expansion of self-confidence brought about by the country's military victory, and of course, a sense of honor and honor.

In short, the unprecedented military victory set off an unprecedented wave throughout the country.

In the face of this country, which can be said to be the strongest in the world, China, which is regarded as a weakling, has taken the initiative to take on the challenge. In anyone's opinion, there is no chance of winning anyway. But when they rushed over and won many battles, everyone was immediately forgotten, and the people of the country finally experienced an unprecedented national exuberance.

How is this not the case?

The Chinese had never had the experience of being a "national" before the founding of the empire, and there was no concept of a state in their lives. They were merely villagers or, at most, villagers of a certain region, but for the first time through the Restoration, they acquired the very modern notion of what was called a "nation" in Europe.

The Imperial Government took great pains to inculcate in its people the idea of the state and its people. Because everyone from the emperor to the ministers wanted to cultivate the subjects of His Majesty the Emperor.

This concept is definitely different from the ancient "subject". It's not just the traditional notion of loyalty, it's not just the traditional idea of kings and subjects. Although it is a well-known truth in China's traditional concept of loyalty and righteousness, how many people can truly be loyal, of course, it is far easier to educate the people with this concept of loyalty than to explain the moral relationship between the rights and obligations of the state and the people.

Therefore, in the patriotic education of loyalty to the monarch in the Chinese Dynasty, in addition to drawing on the modern and modern European ideas of the state, the people and the nation, it also blended the traditional ideas of loyalty and righteousness, combined the tradition with the modern, and formed a special "subject view", of course, it is also a national view.

Although the empire was only four years old at this time, a "national outlook" had been initially established in the country through the transmission of newspapers, education, and other means, and among the millions of teenagers who received the national education of junior primary school, some of them were enrolled in junior primary school at the age of 14 according to the compulsory education order, and they were at the time of youth and the most belligerent time. It is precisely because of this that they are full of beautiful yearning for war, they believe that war is necessary to achieve national interests, and they even yearn for the honor that war brings, because the education they have received in the past three years tells them. War is glorious, soldiers are glorious, this is a revival of the classical martial spirit, although this kind of drawing is just beginning, but it affects many people.

For many young people in rural areas, military service has always been the best choice for them to change their destiny - they can see the world, they can leave their hometowns, they can go to an unknown area, they can see many things. Of course, this is not the most important thing. More importantly, when they quit the smugglers, they could get a piece of Xuntian with a large area, no matter where that Xuntian was, for them, it was a change of fate, of course, all this, also accompanied by a certain honor. Many of these people have received more or less basic primary education, and a vague national consciousness has formed in their consciousness, and now such people are fighting for their country on the battlefield.

Stimulated by the bloody battles of the front-line fighters and the victories one after another. An unprecedented national exuberance pervades the whole country, and at the same time, it shows the people in the form of physical objects what the concept of the state and the people really are.

Although it was a war, it did not make people's lives miserable, and in the newspapers, people could see the benefits of the war: Burma, as a vassal state, would export a large amount of rice to China in the future, following Vietnam.

In the past four years, with the development of domestic industry and commerce, the urban population has increased rapidly, followed by a large number of imports of "Nanyang rice", and the annual import of millions of tons of grain has stabilized domestic grain prices, making it impossible for domestic grain merchants to raise grain prices by hoarding and other ways to make huge profits.

Of course, the most important thing is not the "South Sea rice", but the expansion of the colony, and people can see in the newspapers that a vast colony is presented to them - Australia, the whole of Australia has beckoned to China, and it will become a Chinese colony in the future. Millions of Malaysians will emigrate

The war cost was so small compared to what it was to be spent on the future, and of course, no one in the newspapers would have poured cold water on it and said that "most of Australia is a desert or desert where crops cannot be grown".

And the enemy's resistance and the amount of ammunition used are really not worth mentioning, and the number of casualties is not much. And in the newspapers, in the pen and ink of those literati, even such war scenes will be depicted by them as epic battles, but in fact they are just marching and fighting as in the past, no different from the previous wars.

But in the eyes of people at home, those victorious scenes of overseas expeditions are also imagined as the expeditions of ancient heroes and heroes, and they are crazy about it and cheer for it.

After all, what lies ahead of them is victory after victory!

Sometimes, victory can overshadow everything!

For those who have just developed a sense of national consciousness, the news of the victory in the war is enough to make people intoxicated.

This is especially true for many young people, especially for the students of Nanjing Imperial University, who are regarded as the "rising sun of the empire", and they are caught in a frenzy that is very different from the antipathy of Chinese scholars to war in the past.

Of course, this is entirely because of the royal family's emphasis on the spirit of "martial arts", if the royal family of the Chinese Dynasty is different from the royal families of previous dynasties in the past, that is, the style of martial arts, in many scenes and His Majesty the Emperor himself is wearing army and navy uniforms, this habit of learning from the West, makes people aware of the difference between the Chinese Dynasty and the past.

As for the Song Dynasty's admiration of "Chongwen and dislike of martial arts" was suppressed by the royal family, unlike the royal family's efforts to suppress the warriors in order to prevent the usurpation of the throne for hundreds of years, the Chinese Dynasty advocated the use of force, and even specifically required the nobles to perform military service when formulating the decree of the nobility of the dynasty, otherwise they would lose their inheritance rights.

"Those who are good at the top will be very bad at the bottom!"

The royal admiration directly affected the social atmosphere, and the idea of "advocating literature and hating martial arts" faded from the minds of many people in just four years, making the whole society begin to be filled with a kind of "martial style" that has never been seen in hundreds of years.

For the young people in the Imperial University who were both the "rising sun of the empire" and the reserve officers of the imperial army, after the outbreak of the war, almost everyone seemed extremely excited in the face of one victory after another, and the worries in the early days of the war were swept away.

"When I heard the news that war had finally broken out, my ears, which I had become accustomed to peace, were still shocked. Will China just perish? Will the British kill tomorrow......"

Once upon a time, as a top student in the law department, Liu Shilin was so worried about the future of the country, after all, he had planned to study in the UK, and he naturally knew that Britain was strong. It was precisely because he knew that Britain was strong that he was worried about this war and worried that China would lose this war, which was based on that patriotic feeling, but now he found that he seemed to be a little unfounded.

"But ......"

And now, in the face of one victory after another from the front, he wrote again in his notes.

"After learning through the newspapers about the great victory of our army in Lower Burma, I began to have confidence in the victory. Then, after reading the detailed report on the conquest of Singapore sent back by the military reporters, even I was full of courage. And when I think of the soldiers who can serve the country in this war, I envy them even more, and their efforts are changing the future of China......"

Then, almost every day, he greedily looked at the newspaper, looked at the news about the war report in the newspaper, looked at the war scenes described in those words, and imagined the romance on the battlefield. This was what he was looking forward to, and at the same time, he was also concerned about the changes around him - many of his classmates were drafted into the army. It's just that whenever he sees the names of his friends who have been drafted into the army, and then thinks of "they are going to conquer Australia" and "they are going to conquer India", he feels that everything here is so unbearable because his friends have become part of the Imperial Expeditionary Force.

"I'm leaving this place too, I'm going to the front ...... too"

In this thought, Liu Shilin, like many people, began to replan his future there.

"Maybe I should go to the army and serve the country......"

"I'm going to the battlefield too!"

Almost every day, when Liu Shilin was talking to his friends about the war, he would be so nagging and emphasizing his thoughts.

When the war was in full swing, Liu Shilin's life also changed, and he would go to the reserve officer's office at the university almost every day.

"I hope to be able to transfer to active duty immediately, I am studying law, I am a pre-officer of the army, at this time, I can't stay out of it!"

Again and again, he made his requests to the officers in his office. In the face of his repeated requests, the officer was always embarrassed,

"It's not easy to do!"

Now that the General Staff has a clear order, it is necessary to avoid recruiting pre-officers from universities as much as possible, except for special needs, and most of the pre-officers who were previously recruited to enter the army as interpreters and civil affairs officers.

Eventually, some professors at the university also heard rumors that Liu Shilin was begging to enter active duty, and there were objections from them.

"It's easy to die in the rain of bullets and bullets in the battlefield, there are other options to contribute to the country, you study law, you can wait to come to the colony to work, and you also serve the country!"

However, for this kind of persuasion, Liu Shilin naturally couldn't listen to it. Even everyone around him is opposing, opposing his request to enter active service, perhaps the idea of "advocating literature and hating martial arts" has been suppressed, but if there is a choice, these students who promise to be the "rising sun of the empire" are still unwilling to crawl on the battlefield like ordinary soldiers.

The persistent request was finally answered, and the 13th Division stationed in Zhejiang would be transferred to Africa to colonize, because it was not a combat division, so it needed to be supplemented with a large number of officers and soldiers.

"I must be transferred to active duty this time!"

Again, Liu Shilin begged the captain in front of him, and the captain seemed to be moved by him, and finally nodded and said.

"Then let me think about it!"

As soon as he heard this answer, Liu Shilin immediately cheered, the degree of joy made the captain forget to breathe, looking at the young man in front of him, he really couldn't think of anything good, but there was an inexplicable feeling in his heart.

If everyone is like him, perhaps, by then, China will really become a real power!

Liu Shilin didn't know the captain's exclamation, he was completely immersed in the excitement of going out as an active duty officer, but only a few days later, the conscription order was sent to Liu Shilin, and he changed from a third-year student at the Law School of the Imperial University to an active officer of the Imperial Army.

Half a month later, after ten days of running-in with the company in Zhejiang, Liu Shilin, who had already worn the rank of second lieutenant, stepped on the troop carrier in Ningbo Port, and wrote in his diary when the troop carrier slowly sailed away from Ningbo Port.

"At the beginning of the war against Britain, the world was shocked, and the good news of Australia and Singapore made China the strongest country in the world"

At the beginning, Liu Shilin wrote like this.

"The strongest country in the world!"

Such words are full of expressions of his excitement.

"Only when the soldiers are brave and the people are obedient can the country carry forward. However, victory on the battlefield should not only bring about the strength of the army and the growing popularity of patriotism, but also the development of industry, agriculture and animal husbandry, the progress of learning, and artistic innovation. We should be prepared for the future......"

After writing these in the diary, Liu Shilin closed the diary, and then walked onto the deck, staring at the sea on the deck, the sea was very calm, even he knew that although the British still controlled India, but did not see the British fleet "rampage" in the Indian Ocean, the current British colonial fleet was just waiting there, waiting for the attack of the imperial army and navy, perhaps, one day, the army and navy would attack India, and before that, for the Chinese Empire, The expansion of other battlefields is perhaps the most important thing, after all, India, with its large population, does not meet China's needs, because it is not suitable for immigration.

Colony!

As the fleet sailed through Malacca, Liu Zilin, who was on the deck, stared at the looming Malay Peninsula, where the British used to be the Straits Settlements, and now, the Straits Settlements flag has been lowered, what will be there in the future?

Is it a vassal state of the empire, or an overseas province of the empire? Or a colony?

Thinking of the aborigines of the Straits Settlements, Liu Zilin frowned and pondered, he didn't have any ill feelings towards those natives, but because of his religious beliefs, he was full of distrust of them, after all, the rebellion in the southwest a few years ago made any sane Chinese people not believe in those people.

In this case, it is naturally unlikely that the Straits Settlements will be an overseas province of China - which would mean that millions of infidels will become nationals, which is obviously unacceptable, and there is no possibility as for vassal states, unlike the British who advocated cooperation with the local Sultan, the Imperial Colonial Office could not have chosen to cooperate with the infidels, in which case it would only be a colony, but Singapore, which was geographically important, was likely to become an overseas province.

As for the rest of the Straits Settlements - there is a good chance that they will become colonies. China needs colonies that are suitable for large numbers of immigrants, and only such areas can absorb large numbers of immigrants and thus relieve the increasing population pressure at home.

In order to consolidate the defense of the African region, the War Department has decided to send ten divisions of troops to Africa, and the hundreds of thousands of troops plus the same number of colonial defense forces are enough to maintain the entire African battlefield, and even launch attacks on other parts of Africa to further expand the colonies.

"It seems that there is only Africa ......"

Only Africa is best suited to China's colonial needs, because the pressure of the native population makes it not the markets or raw material sources that Europeans need, but vast land, so that tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions, of surplus people can be accommodated.

"Well, there's one more Australia now."

Yes!

Perhaps, soon there will be another Australia, and New Zealand, and many other regions on the map of China's colonies, which will absorb millions of immigrants from within the country, and eventually the colonies will become the pillars of the empire, and the overseas colonies will nourish this huge country, and at the same time, will bring China into a real prosperity......

Staring at the sea, like many people, at this time, Liu Zilin's whole person is completely caught in a kind of expectation and desire for the future, although in the mouth of some so-called "humanitarians", colonial rule is evil, but Liu Zilin, like the vast majority of Chinese people, will never agree with this, they are the same as those who advocate colonial rule in the West, stubbornly believe in one point - the colony is related to the supreme interests of their own people, and any act of abandoning the colony is undoubtedly a betrayal of the interests of their own people! Especially for a populous country like China, colonies are not only related to the long-term peace and stability of the country, but also related to the success or failure of the country.

"Maybe one day, we too will become an empire on which the sun never sets......"

For each of them, they have their own visions, but for Liu Shilin and many other young people, they envy the glory of Britain's empire on which the sun never sets, and the almost infinite colonies that the empire has in the world.

For the older generation of Chinese, they don't know what is well-known, but for the younger generation of Chinese, each of them is very colonial to China, and they know very well that without the colony, maybe China will fall into a civil war in the next few decades.

"Bandits are like combs, soldiers are like grates, officials are like shaved bandits come to plunder,"

This proverb for thousands of years clearly reminds everyone that civil war is cruel, and the end of every change of dynasty is at the cost of hundreds of millions of lives, and this kind of heavy price is unbearable in China, and it is also unwilling to be seen by young people including Liu Shilin. Because he was very much without a vast colony, then perhaps in their lifetime they would face a civil war that had never been brutal before.

Change the dynasty!

But it's just four simple words, but these four words are written with life, with hundreds of millions of lives, even in the change from the Qing Dynasty to the Chinese Dynasty, just five or six years of war, resulting in tens of millions of lives annihilated, the price of changing the dynasty is too heavy.

"I will use the sword in my hand to open up space for the empire, and I will make Chinese never fall into hunger and poverty......"

Liu Shilin silently made this oath to himself in his heart, the oath was silent, but it was full of longing, it was a longing.

His eyes stared at the sea, at the waves on the sea, silently chanting the silent oath over and over again in his heart, and in this moment, he found his home......

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