The sky is high, the wilderness is vast, and the wind blows the grass and sees Kangxi low.

It's the fattest summer in the southern grasslands of the Saibei Desert again, and the Kangxi Emperor of the Great Qing Dynasty has once again transformed into the Kangxi Khan of Great Mongolia, leading his hundred officials and harem, under the escort of the most elite Eight Banners horse team, marching on the boundless grassland of Bashang. Endless caravans of horses, camels, and carriages line up the green grassland in a four-colored long procession, like four dragons with teeth and claws, swimming and advancing in the grassland like a green sea.

Kangxi Khan himself, dressed in a blue coat, rode a not very tall, but very robust Mongolian horse, and marched behind a rather large group of chariots and horses. Horse-drawn carts, with bundles of goods on them. There are three small pennants with yellow, yellow and white, and there is a "inner" word on the flag. On top of each cart, in addition to the coachman, there was also a sturdy musketeer, a flintlock pistol produced by the Ministry of Internal Affairs with his back on his shoulder, and he looked around with his chest protruding. On both sides of the convoy, there are muskets on their backs, waist knives on their shoulders, two horses for one person, and two horses on their horses, and the eight-banner musketeers carrying large bags and spears on their horses, which look quite fierce and are enough to fight against the existence of the Rakshasa Cossack cavalry!

In fact, before Emperor Kangxi took power, the firearms manufacturing industry of the Manchu court was very powerful! It is completely different from the image that later generations thought that the Qing Heavenly Soldiers were sent to death with broadswords and spears, and the Qing army in the early Qing Dynasty was equipped with a large number of firearms, among which about thirty or forty percent of the soldiers in the green battalion were equipped with arquebuses. And half of the Eight Banners of the "Bow and Horse to Take the World" are equipped with muskets! Considering the proportion of cavalry among the Eight Banners, this fifty percent musket rate is really no less than that of any European power.

Moreover, the size of the standing army of the Qing Dynasty is not comparable to that of any European power of the same period, the Qing Dynasty has hundreds of thousands of standing troops, according to the proportion of forty percent of the musket equipment, that is, more than 300,000 guns. It's all hand-rubbed!

Of course, at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the muskets of the Qing army were mainly arquebuses, and the number of flintlock muskets was very small, and the rifled guns were very few - not nothing! In the military museum of later generations, there is the real thing of the Kangxi Dynasty arquebus rifled gun.

However, this is not because the rulers of the Qing Dynasty discriminated against flintlock pistols, nor that the craftsmen of the Qing Dynasty did not make flintlock pistols, but because arquebuses were still used all over the world when the Qing Dynasty rose. The full popularity of flintlock pistols in Europe had to wait until the beginning of the 18th century. Moreover, any kind of advanced weapon can only be equipped in large quantities in a war environment. If there is no war that has already taken place or is likely to happen to promote it, who would be bent on investing huge amounts of financial and material resources in the tools of killing? How good is it to spend your money on extravagance?

Although the uprising of the three feudatories in history was quite cheerful, because Wu Sangui's main force stopped at the south bank of the Yangtze River, it did not really make the Qing Dynasty face the test of life and death, and Wu Sangui's weapons were not as advanced as the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, Kangxi, who was quite enthusiastic about improving muskets and artillery, did not use his strength to order the "flintlock pistol" technology tree.

In addition, Kangxi seems to be wrong in the artillery technology tree, and did not vigorously develop conventional field cannons, but focused on the development of siege heavy artillery, cupola cannons and field sub-mother cannons - according to the physical objects that have survived to later generations, the production process of these artillery pieces is exquisite, and the cannons used to bombard the English people in the Daoguang period are not at the same level at all. It's just that the development route is really a bit crooked.

But now, times have changed!

Emperor Kangxi didn't work hard to upgrade firearms technology, and he also had ready-made homework to copy. So Kangxi immediately copied flintlock pistols, bronze field cannons and "semi-circular cavity bullets".

Among them, the "semi-circular cavity bomb" has the most obvious increase in the firepower of the Qing army! The so-called semi-circular cavity bullet is the kind of bullet similar to the Mini bullet that can effectively improve the airtightness of the smoothbore gun. On Li Yat-sen's side, this kind of bullet is a "cut corner" version made by Dai Zi, who is in charge of military production, and the craftsmen who produce custom corked bullets (Mini bullets) in Foshan. Because it was easy to produce and doubled the effective range of smoothbore guns, it quickly became popular.

When Wu Zhoujun and the Qing army (mainly the Jieshu Department in Jiangxi) fought against the Ming army, they also captured a lot of fixed-mounted semicircular cavity bullets, and soon discovered the magic of this bullet after trial.

So Wu Zhoujun and the Qing army have now begun to paint scoops according to the gourd!

Of course, the military advantage that this bullet can bring to them is also very short-lived. After all, it's too easy to copy.,It's something that will be done at a glance.。 Moreover, the Ming side has already made this bullet into a standard ammunition, so Westerners should get it and imitate it soon. At that time, the Rakshasa Kingdom may also have a large number of equipment. That's why Kangxi was in a hurry to promote the westward expedition.

He must use the firepower advantage brought by the "semi-circular cavity bomb" to complete a round of westward expansion before changing clothes in the Rakshasa Kingdom. In this way, even if the Central Plains is lost in the future, he will be able to immediately continue to negotiate with the Ming Dynasty in the vast Mengghul region!

Just as he was thinking about how to attack to the west, the voice of his beloved Empress Yang suddenly sounded in his ears: "Your Majesty. So, is that the Upper Capital? There are so many yurts outside the city! ”

Kangxi looked up and looked east, only to see a towering city, which appeared impressively under the towering mountains, among the vast grasslands!

He nodded: "That is the Shangdu Shangdu Kaiping Mansion, the steppe capital of my Great Qing Dynasty and Great Mongolia!" He sighed a little and said: "This city was originally built by Kublai Khan, the ancestor of the Yuan dynasty, and it was the fundamental city for controlling the grassland in the north and invading Middle-earth in the south. His Great Yuan Dynasty also flourished here! Later, Shangdu was broken by the Red Turban Army, first slaughtered and then burned, and then lost its former prosperity, and Dayuan also fled north to the grassland a few years later. Now that I have rebuilt the capital of Kaiping, in the future, my Qing Dynasty will be the same as the Great Yuan founded by Kublai Khan. There is a grassland in the north, and the Great Wall in the south, advancing and retreating freely! ”

He turned his eyes to the yurts again, and said with a smile: "My Galdan Anda and the princes of the Mobei and Monan grasslands seem to have arrived. This time I will discuss with them about the westward expedition, and if all goes well, this autumn, I will lead my troops westward to the Junggar steppe, and next year I will advance to the Kipchak steppe. ”

Yang Xiaomi frowned: "Your Majesty, you want to run so far?" So what to do with the Great Qing Dynasty? Who will guard Beijing? ”

Kangxi said with a smile: "Beijing will be up to you to keep the eldest brother and the second elder brother behind, and I will let Prince Gong stay to assist you, and I will also select eight auxiliary ministers from the Eight Banners." His tone suddenly became heavy, "If anything happens to me, the eight of them are the ministers of life!" ”

There is the Nala clan, there is Prince Gong, there are the eight ministers who take care of the order, and there is the young lord Linchao. It's so reassuring!

Yang Xiaomi looked worried, "Your Majesty, those two in Yingtai"

"Them." Kangxi said calmly, "They will march west with me!" Xiaomi, don't worry! ”

"Oh, then the concubine is relieved!" Yang Xiaomi tried his best to hide his own. Don't worry", and looked at the yurts on the grassland, "Your Majesty, you also have to be careful of that Galdan!" The concubine heard that Galdan is a steppe hero and has the ambition to unify Mongolia! ”

"I know!" Kangxi said, "He is indeed a steppe hero, but Mongolia is no longer that Mongolia. Wu Shicong used a successful force in the Western Regions, and defeated his Dzungar army and fled, if it weren't for the Wu family's ambition in the southeast, this hero would have been ancient. And the Rakshasa in the northwest is the nemesis of the Mongols! If it weren't for me, Dzungaria wouldn't have been able to stumble for a few days. ”

As he spoke, there was a wave of smoke and dust over the Mongol camp in front of him, and then he saw countless knights dressed in gorgeous Mongolian robes waving various banners and rushing out one after another.

Kangxi raised his voice and commanded loudly: "Musketeers. Embattled! ”

The fun of summer has gradually become rich in Chang'an City. The weather used to be dry, but now it is getting a little wetter and warmer. Wu Zhou's officials and government soldiers, who had just experienced a nightmare defeat last year, are now a little relieved. On the streets of Chang'an, a large group of soldiers with flintlock pistols on their backs and their heads held high also began to appear.

In addition, on the streets of Chang'an, there were also long-lost Hu merchants from the Western Regions, leading their camels and entering the legendary "Heavenly Khan" city in groups.

Because of these Hu merchants, as well as the arrival of the Wu Zhou soldiers who retreated from the Huguang area, this summer, Chang'an's vitality is more substantial than last year and the year before last. In the streets and alleys, the topic of people's discussion has also changed from the original "New Three Kingdoms" to "Tian Khan's Western Expedition".

The "New Three Kingdoms" seem to be able to last for a few days, after all, it is the Ming Dynasty that occupies the position of "Cao Wei" in the "New Three Kingdoms", and it is not so convenient for the dynasty that has always originated in the southeast to sweep the northeast and northwest. Even if the current Ming Dynasty can already shoulder rifled guns and bronze cannons. But horses have to be raised slowly, right?

So Wu Zhou, the "Shu Han", still has a chance. If you can strengthen your strength through the western expedition and become the state of the Heavenly Khan, are you afraid that you will not be able to return to Zhou without the Three Kingdoms?

Moreover, the current situation of Wu Zhou is much stronger than that of the historical "Shu Han". Now it seems that after Guan Yunchang took Xiangyang and Nanyang, he was stolen by Dongwu, and then Zhuge Kongming succeeded in Qishan as soon as Zhuge Kongming came out, with Yong, Liang, and Yi three prefectures, plus Nanyang County of Yin and Jingzhou in Henan, as well as part of the territory of Nanjun. Oh, and the territory of the Western Regions Metropolitan Protectorate.

This also made Zhuge Kongming have such a "Great Shu Han" back then, and "The Teacher Table" had to be written with a smile.

And what made the soldiers and people of Wu Zhou, the "Great Shu Han", feel that the situation was improving, was the Khan of the Chagatai Khanate, who came to the city where the "Tian Khan" lived with these Hu merchants. Sima Yi Khan!

Sima Yi. Sima Yi, it's time to vote for "Dashu Han"!

If the "Great Shu Han" is not prosperous, is there still heavenly reason?

"Sima Yi Khan. How did this Khan revert to his surname Sima? Could it be that he is a descendant of the Sima family of the Eastern Jin Dynasty? ”

"Xu is a descendant of Sima Yi, right? It was probably when the world was in turmoil that year, he ran away to the Western Regions. ”

"But how did I hear that this Sima Yi Khan was the Khan of the Mongol Chagatai Khanate, a descendant of Genghis Khan's second son, Chagatai?"

"That's the Ball. Sima Yi? This name is also a good sign! Sima Yi voted with Lilly, can Shu Hanyan be prosperous? ”

"Yes, yes, it's quite auspicious, it seems that this time the Heavenly Khan's western expedition will definitely be victorious, and it will be successful!"

"I don't know if the Western Regions are rich now?"

"I don't know if I'm rich or not, anyway, the orchid in the Western Regions seems to be very beautiful."

It seems that Wu Zhou's foundation still has the meaning of "full of vitality and competition for all things", even if he is defeated in Hunan and Jiangxi, he is still full of expectations for the western expedition. This is probably the vitality injected into this regime by the "Hypocritical Republic" and the soldiers of the Fentian Prefecture, right?

Everyone knows who they are fighting for, and they also know how much benefits they can get after winning the war, and they also know that it is impossible for their "Heavenly Khan" Wu Shifan to give all the benefits.

The bottom is full of vitality, and the generals at the top are also full of expectations for the benefits after the success of the Western Expedition!

At this moment, in Wu Shifan's palace, a Mongolian who looks like a combination of Chinese and Western has changed into a python robe of the prince of Da Zhou, sitting on an embroidered pier, and his eyebrows are dancing in a stiff Chinese dialect, describing the vastness of the river and the wealth of India to the "Heavenly Khan" and Prime Minister Wu Cheng.

India is the richest, most prosperous and most populous region in the world, there is no one! Emir Aurangzeb, who now rules India, is known as the conqueror of the world, and he has untold wealth, receiving as much as 30,000 silver rupees a year from all over India, which is equivalent to 10,000 taels of silver. If the Heavenly Khan can force him to pay tribute, with just a little bit, you and my daughter Dili will be able to live a heavenly life! ”

"Ten thousand taels." Wu Shifan gasped, "Are there really so many?" ”

That's a lot!

No. 1 in the world!

At present, the financial revenues of the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty, and the Great Zhou Dynasty are only about 50 or 60 million, which is almost half of India.

"Of course, of course!" Sima Yi Khan also had a greedy expression on his face, "India has 160 million people, maybe even 200 million people!" If one person pays less than two rupees, he can have 30,000 rupees a year! And it's totally doable, India has a very, very large amount of arable land. There are very vast plains along the Indus and Ganges rivers. Bengal in eastern India is particularly rich, a great plain rich in water and soil! And the climate is perfect for farming, and you can harvest it three times a year! ”

"Oh, isn't that similar to Jiangnan?" Prime Minister Wu's eyes were red, "What about India's troops?" Is it powerful? That world conqueror sounds amazing! ”

Sima Yi Khan shrugged, "Prime Minister, I don't know how powerful this conqueror of the world really is, but I know how many defeats his ancestor, the great Babur the Great, suffered in the Mughal region. My ancestor, Sayyid Khan, fought with him in the Mughal region to restore the glory of the Chagatai Khanate and the Timurid Khanate. It's a pity that their ability to fight is too poor, they are no match for the Uzbeks, and they can't beat the Persians, in fact, none of them can defeat me, otherwise my ancestors would not have left me only such a barren land. But when Babur the Great entered India, he went from being an exiled monarch who had lost battles everywhere to becoming a great emperor!

Oh, by the way, the conqueror Aurangzeb, when he was young, also led an Indian expeditionary force into the Mughal region to challenge the weakened Bukhara Khanate, but he still suffered a crushing defeat. Although his army was richly armed and outnumbered, it was no match for the desert cavalry recruited by the Bukharans. I think that if the army of the Chagatai Khanate could enter India, it would have been able to conquer a lot of territory. ”

"Uncle Huang, look" Tian Khan Wu Shifan's heart was moved, he felt that he could also learn from Babur and go to India to be an emperor!

Wu Yingqi nodded, "Your Majesty, the minister thinks we can try our hand at the Bukhara Khanate first. Let the 150,000 elite soldiers of Shicong and Dzungaria, Heshuot, and Chahar go to fight a dozen. If it is defeated in one fight, it means that the world conqueror of India is not very good, and we will go to conquer India together. If Nabukhara is not easy to fight, then look again. ”

"It's still Uncle Huang who is thoughtful," Wu Shifan said with a smile, "When will Brother Shicong send troops?" ”

"This autumn," Wu Yingqi said, "we can start the westward expedition this autumn!" Kangxi's side, it seems that he also sent troops in the autumn! ”

(End of chapter)