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In January in Beijing, it was the middle of winter, with heavy snow and very cold weather. Most of the streets in Beijing are dirt roads, and when it snows, they become muddy. At this time, few people will go out, everyone will stay at home, roast the fire, or sleep with their wives in their arms.

Although the New Year is approaching, it is not a good year for the poor people. The imperial army's army was fighting in the south against a country called Xinhuaguo. Although the war is still far from the people of Beijing, it has already had a serious impact on their lives. Prices began to rise, especially the price of rice, which continued to rise, making the people miserable.

At the same time, there are also many rumors circulating in Beijing. There is not much that is known about Xinhuaguo, but this does not prevent some well-informed people from taking it as a talking point. Among the rumors, Xinhua is a country established by the descendants of the former Ming Dynasty in Nanyang, and it has been enduring for nearly two hundred years before it has developed into a powerful country. Now, the former Ming is going to fight back, and he wants to drive the Manchurians away and restore the Ming Dynasty. Of course, such rumors are strictly forbidden to circulate by the government, and once discovered, they will be arrested with evil words, and they will be punished with a board at least and lose their heads at worst. However, the more the Manchu government banned the spread of rumors related to Xinhua, the more the common people believed that it was true. Some Han people, who are usually oppressed by the Manchurians and can't get by, already have some faint expectations for Xinhuaguo. When they encounter that manchu who is doing evil again, they will also say it to themselves in their hearts. Bear with it a little longer, and wait until the Han army defeats the Manchus, and the good days will come.

The atmosphere of the city of Beijing. It's very weird. The southern army was fighting a fierce battle with the Xinhua army. However, it has been more than half a month since the battle began, but there has not been any good news, which makes the princes in the court a little worried. Emperor Daoguang asked three questions a day, asking about the war situation in the south. It's just that every time he is very disappointed.

On January 29, the front-line army finally sent a fold. It is still written by the monk Grinqin of the Mongolian county. It's just that there are two copies of the memo, but the content is very different. The previous one said. The Qing army was fighting fiercely with the Xinhua army, and although it suffered setbacks in the early days, the morale of the troops was not affected. Mianyu even said. The defeat of the Xinhua army is just around the corner. Everything is very optimistic. But the second part of the twist and turn is completely bitter. The troops suffered heavy losses, the Xinhua army was strong in firearms, and with the help of the terrain advantage, the Qing army could not break through the defense line of the Xinhua army. It is unlikely that the war will continue forever, and it is almost impossible to drive the Xinhua Army back to Nanyang in a short period of time.

The ministers of military aircraft also frowned after receiving these two copies. They're all old guys. Of course, we can distinguish the authenticity of these two parts. Clearly, the war in the South was in trouble. Merely. How should they tell Emperor Daoguang? Everyone discussed and discussed, but they still didn't make up their minds. In the end, he had to hand over the two copies to Emperor Daoguang as they were, and let Emperor Daoguang decide for himself.

This year's winter was particularly cold, and Emperor Daoguang's body was getting worse and worse, and his face was pale, as if he was about to die. After reading the two copies sent by the Military Aircraft Department, Emperor Daoguang's face turned even pale.

"Humph! It seems that my younger brother also knows how to report good news and not bad news. But how does this help the war? Someone came, passed on my will, recruited Prince Hui to return to Beijing, and the war in the south was handed over to Chen Jinshou, the governor of Zhili, to command. Emperor Daoguang said gloomily.

"Yes, Your Majesty, the slave will go to the draft." Minister of Military Aircraft Mu Zhang'a hurriedly said.

"Don't be busy, tell me, is the war in the south really as Monk Lingqin said, it has been corrupted to the extreme? My 300,000 elite army, the tens of thousands of troops of the Xinhua Kingdom are helpless. Emperor Daoguang asked.

"Your Majesty, the slave thought that the front-line army had only encountered a slight setback, and it would not be too serious. Your Majesty's blessings will be able to bless me with the stability of the Qing Dynasty as a rock. Mu Zhang'a said.

"Humph! I want to hear the truth. Emperor Daoguang said in a cold voice. He hasn't reached the point of being old and confused, and the truth and falsehood are still clear. Although Mu Zhang'a was his most trusted courtier, at this time, he couldn't help but reprimand him.

"The slave deserves death, please forgive your sins." Mu Zhang'a, the Minister of Military Aircraft, hurriedly knelt on the ground and begged for mercy.

"Yucheng, tell me, is the army of the Qing Dynasty really unable to defeat the Xinhua army?" Emperor Daoguang directly named him. Yucheng is the secretary of the military department, and he also has the most say in this regard. It's just that Yucheng was a little hesitant and didn't know how to answer.

After hesitating for a while, Yucheng still decided to tell the truth: "Your Majesty, compared to the Xinhua Army, the army of the Qing Dynasty has indeed been a little deserted over the years. In particular, in terms of weapons, the gap between us and the Xinhua Army is very large. Through the information we have gathered, the firearms of the Xinhua Army are even more powerful than those of the British. Therefore, it is understandable that the front-line armies will not be able to make progress for the time being. ”

"So, what should we do to defeat the Xinhua Army?" Emperor Daoguang asked. He knew that Yucheng was telling the truth, although this truth did not make him happy. However, he did not scold Yucheng for this.

"Your Majesty, the minions believe that it is unlikely that the Qing Dynasty wants to defeat the Xinhua army in a short time. For the sake of today's plan, we can only take a long-term view, focus on the development of firearms in view of the superiority of the Xinhua Army, and wait until the firearms of the large army can compete with the Xinhua Army, then it will be easier for us to defeat the Xinhua Army. Yucheng replied. In the Opium War, the Qing army was greatly inferior to the British army in terms of weaponry, which eventually led to the defeat of the Qing army. Now that the war with the Xinhua army is going to, the Qing army still suffers a big loss in this regard.

"Your Majesty, the development of firearms, it is not so easy to catch up with the Xinhua Army. The gap between us and the Xinhua Army is too big. Moreover, once the Xinhua Army is given enough time, after they have digested Guangdong, it will be even more difficult for us to defeat them. Pan Shien, the Minister of Military Aircraft, jumped out and refuted Yucheng's suggestion.

Emperor Daoguang frowned, these days, he had also focused on learning about the information of the Xinhua Kingdom. Although a lot of information is obtained from foreigners, the credibility is not yet confirmed. However, he had to admire that Xinhua, with a population of two or three million people, obediently admitted defeat and withdrew from Nanyang, which made him very envious. If the Manchu army had such combat power, in the Opium War, it would not have been beaten all over the ground by the British army and lost the face of the Celestial Empire.

Yucheng and Pan Shien's views have their own truths. If the Qing army did not develop firearms, it would probably not be the opponent of the Xinhua army. However, firearms are not something that can be developed in a short period of time. Once the Xinhua Army is given enough time, it will be even more difficult to clean up at that time. After all, Guangdong has a population of tens of millions, twice as much as the population of Xinhua, and after Xinhua digests these populations, it will definitely become a big problem for the Qing Dynasty.

"Tell me, then, what are we supposed to do?" Emperor Daoguang asked with a cold face.

"Your Majesty, the gap in firearms is actually not difficult to solve. Although the firearms made by our own Qing Dynasty are not as good as those of the Xinhua Army. However, we can also save time and effort by buying from outside. As for Xinhuaguo's digestion of Guangdong's population, it is even less of a problem. The population of our Qing Dynasty is more than 30,000,000, and even if Xinhua gains the population of Guangdong, it is much smaller than ours. As long as the military strength of our Great Qing Dynasty develops, it is enough to easily destroy the Xinhua Kingdom. Yucheng said. The Manchu government never attached great importance to the development of firearms. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, China's firearms were still in the leading position in the world. After the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs, they were afraid that the Han people would pose a threat to the Manchus after mastering firearms, so they banned firearms, and those craftsmen who made firearms were all killed or exiled, which directly made the development of firearms in China greatly lagging behind the world. And now, the Manchus have finally reaped the consequences.

"Buy from whom?" Emperor Daoguang asked with a frown. Up to now, he has not changed his concept, and still thinks that China is a vast country with everything in the Celestial Empire, so what does it need to buy from foreign countries?

"Your Majesty, we can buy like the British. Britain is the most powerful country in the West, and their firearms are the most advanced in the world. Yucheng said.

"British? No way. Emperor Daoguang immediately refused. How could he have forgotten to be beaten all over the ground by the British and had to sign a humiliating treaty? Now he has to buy weapons from the British, and he really can't pull this face.

"Your Majesty, we can't buy weapons from other countries except the United Kingdom!" Yucheng hurriedly said. Weapons are not as good as ordinary goods, and if you want to buy them, you have to get the consent of the other country. Yucheng had already been in contact with the British Minister to China, Sir Pottinger, during this time, and he learned from the side that if the Manchu government bought firearms from the British, it would be completely feasible.

"Lord Yu, the firearms of the British don't seem to be as good as the firearms of the Xinhua Army, right?" Pan Shien asked.

"Lord Pan, the firearms of the British are indeed not as good as the firearms of the Xinhua Army, but they are not much different. Do you think that the Xinhua Army will still sell us firearms? The best firearms we can buy are the firearms of the British. Yucheng said. (To be continued......)