On November 2, 1729, the merchant ship "Shengyuan", led by a pilot ship, slowly sailed into the port of Qingyuan (present-day Hakodate City) and docked at a berth on the east side of the wharf.

"Look, ironclad!"

A sailor exclaimed loudly as he pointed in the direction of the west side of the pier.

A group of sailors lying on the side of the ship looked for prestige, only to see two mighty and domineering ironclad ships parked on the berth on the west side of the dock, the huge hull, the cold forging armor, and the thick cannon barrel, you can feel a strong atmosphere of solemnity from afar.

The displacement of the two ships is 3,500 tons and 3,800 tons respectively, not to mention the existence of giants in the western Pacific region.

It stands to reason that Qi can sweep the entire navies of East Asian countries with only more than 40 wooden sail warships and steam-sail powered warships of the Ryukyu fleet (some ships wrapped in a thin layer of armor), and there is no need to configure ironclad ships, so it should be difficult to see such high-end things.

It is reported that the few ironclad ships of Qi are generally deployed near the mainland of Hanzhou and the coastal areas of the Indian Ocean to deter and warn the ships of European countries that have entered the sphere of influence of Qi -- I have to admit that during this period, the maritime threat from Europe was far greater than that of the eastern world.

But he never thought that in Qingyuan, the Eastern Military Port to which the Qi State belongs, there would be ironclad ships, and there were two of them, which could not be amazed by many sailors.

"Oh, the Deputy Prime Minister has been entrusted by His Majesty and the Prime Minister to visit Qin and Ming on these two ironclad ships, and invite them to send representatives to Chang'an next June to participate in the enthronement celebration of our Great Qi Emperor." A port manager glanced in the direction where the ironclad ship was moored, immediately puffed up his chest, and said with pride.

The vice prime minister's visit with such a powerful weapon must have deeply shocked the monarchs and people of Qin and Ming.

See, this kind of mighty and domineering ironclad ship, the whole world is only available to our Qi country!

My Emperor Daqi enthroned the celebration, don't give face at that time!

"In addition to inviting the Qin State and the Ming Kingdom, will Dongdan and Bohai also come to my Qi Kingdom to participate in the celebration? …… Oh, and what about Japan? ”

"That's nature!" The port attendant said with a smile: "Even such important countries as the Qin State and the Ming State have been invited, do Dongdan and Bohai dare to come?" At the very least, you have to send a prince, or a prime minister or something. As for Japan...... most of them will send people there, right? ”

In Japan's current chaotic situation, I don't know if the shogunate is still in the mood to send a representative to the country of Qi.

But if you dare not go, it will greatly save the face of our Qi people.

Well, you have to think about it!

"Hey, when the time comes, let such a good bun show the power of my Great Qi Empire!" One of the sailors said arrogantly: "It is estimated that the government will make some big battles for the celebration of the emperor's accession to the throne." Otherwise, it would not have been able to shock the foreigners who participated in the celebration. ”

"That's for sure. I once heard those old people say that when I celebrated the 50th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, oh, it was also the abdication ceremony of Emperor Taizu, and the government and the military organized a grand military parade. It is said that at that time, more than 60 warships were gathered on the water surface of Daxing Bay at the same time, and there were only 20 large battleships of more than 1,000 tons. Hey, that scene, that formation, so many warships lined up, stretching for more than ten kilometers, it was spectacular. Look, this time the new emperor enthroned the ceremony, this navy must not come out with a hundred warships to engage in a bigger battle! ”

"Yo, what you said tickles me." A sailor who had been a sailor in the navy suddenly raised his eyebrows, "I don't know if I can go back to Hanzhou to see this grand occasion when the emperor ascends the throne next year." Obediently, a hundred battleships lined up together, what a big scene. …… It's fascinating to think about! ”

"What's the point of the naval parade?" Another sailor said disapprerovingly: "It's so far away, if you don't have a telescope, you can only see a vague approximate appearance." I still think the Army parade is much better! Every ten-year founding ceremony, on the Chang'an Imperial Square, tens of thousands of army officers and soldiers hold bayonets, and their solemn faces reveal the perseverance and calmness of the slightest soldier. In the impassioned sound of military music, rows of soldiers in military uniforms walked in front of the parade platform, and their steps were uniform, strictly forbidden and not demanding, like neat wheat waves. That formation made people's blood boil, and they couldn't wait to become one of them and fight on the battlefield for the empire! ”

"You know!" The sailor who had been a member of the Navy looked at him with disdain, "The warship is the weapon that we have to fight outside the territory. Without a navy, no matter how powerful your army is, no matter how beautiful the parade is, can you still swim across the sea and conquer the enemy by yourself? ”

“…… It was as if the navy alone could conquer the enemy. The sailor did not dare to argue with it, and muttered quietly.

"You bastard! In our Qi country, the territory is all over the world, and the navy should be the most important. If we don't have the protection of the navy, we still have a fart boat? ”

Many sailors walked in the direction of the exit of the pier, talking about the emperor's enthronement celebration next year, and they all looked forward to the fastest possible completion of this trip to Yinzhou, so that they could be fortunate enough to return to the mainland and witness this rare grand scene.

Actually, it's impossible to think about it.

The "Shengyuan" merchant ship needs to stop in Qingyuan for 5-6 days, in addition to the last replenishment of fresh water and coal, and also the convergence of many merchant ships and migrant ships heading to Yinzhou, only under the protection of several warships, sail into the vast Pacific Ocean, sail at about 42 degrees north latitude, with the help of the North Pacific Kuroshio (North Pacific warm current), to the east. After about 20-30 days of sailing, they arrived at Weiyi Island (Oahu Island in the present-day Hawaiian Islands) and stopped for a while, and finally arrived at Yinzhou in one go.

After arriving in Yinzhou, the merchant ships are estimated to stay for about two months, through local trade agents, collect the collected furs, as well as a large amount of gold, silver, copper and other precious metals to load the ship, and then sail all the way south to the Spanish American territory, buy some local specialties, and then pass through Weiyi Island, and then load some sandalwood, and finally return to the Ryukyus, or go to Luzon.

The whole trip took nearly half a year. Even if there is still a lot of time left, the shipowner may not be kind enough to sail the ship back to Hanzhou so that everyone can witness the centennial celebration of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

You all have to support your family, so why do you have to run back to your hometown just to see the celebrations?

Don't make trouble, making money is the most important thing for you!

Those major celebrations are things that only His Majesty the Emperor, cabinet ministers, and many high-ranking officials need to participate in and pay close attention to.

Qingyuan is the largest material distribution center and the largest commercial center in the entire Yunzhou region, and as the only ice-free port in Yunzhou, it is also the most core shipping center in the region.

Although the Northern Ming Dynasty acquired a large part of the northern region of Mutsu a few decades ago, including Changping (present-day Honaomori City) in the northern part of Japan's Oshima Island, and Shoka (present-day Honhachinohe City) in the northeast are two very good ice-free ports, most of the Northern Ming ships still prefer to dock at Qingyuan Port.

Without him, Guy Qingyuan can not only provide more port services and ship repair and maintenance services - Qi and Ming have built a joint venture shipyard here, but also gather a large number of Qi merchants and a large number of industrial products, which can provide unlimited business opportunities for many businessmen.

According to the census statistics of the 16th year of Taiping (1720), the population of Qingyuan City has exceeded 100,000, second only to Changning, the capital of the Northern Ming Dynasty (formerly Ningzhou, today's Sapporo City, Hokkaido).

In the thirteenth year of Hanxing (1683), after the opening of the Qingyuan-Changning railway, it boosted the city's strong development momentum.

With the spillover of Qi's industrial technology and industry - of course, there is also the deliberate and vigorous support of Qi, and the Yunzhou region, including Qingyuan, has also ushered in a wave of development dividends, countless factories have been established, many trading companies have also risen, and the industry and commerce of the entire region have begun to develop rapidly.

In the past decade, the phenomenon of urbanization in Yunzhou has also been slowly advancing, with a large number of people flocking to the city in search of new development opportunities. New homes and workplaces began to expand rapidly. The city directly absorbed and changed the labor status quo in the countryside, thus gradually creating a new social and economic model in the core territory of Beiming.

With the expansion of the city, urban life has become diverse, with a variety of streets and buildings, newspapers, picture books, scripts, storytelling, technical studios, singing and dancing, and many other cultural and entertainment activities.

People began to commute to work day after day, walking through the busy streets. Long streetlights illuminate the dark neighborhood as night falls, illuminating the unknown road ahead.

Many new buildings and landmarks began to shape the new outline of the city, with tall bell towers and commercial buildings, university halls, and public libraries and commercial markets. These buildings are considered to be icons of modernity and industrialization, accurately outlining the framework and many functions of the city.

However, the development of industry and the growth of cities have also been accompanied by some adverse effects, that is, like Hanzhou itself, it has begun to face major environmental challenges, and air and water pollution has also come everywhere.

The sky in Qingyuan City is far less blue and clear than it was twenty years ago.

——

On November 7, a relatively large battle broke out on the southern island of Japan.

The shogunate army, which was supported by many feudal states, gathered more than 24,000 troops and fought a fierce battle at Hagi Castle (present-day Hagi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture) against more than 11,000 troops of the Satsuma Domain-Choshu Domain.

At that time, the Sacho coalition army violently bombarded the shogunate army with a rare dense artillery cannon, and in less than 20 minutes, several feudal armies collapsed, which in turn caused a commotion in the shogunate's central army.

The artillery of the shogunate then responded with the same heavy artillery fire to the Sacho coalition in the hope of restoring the morale of the whole army.

However, what is amazing is that the artillery of the Sacho coalition army is not only more powerful, but also unusually accurate, and the artillery battle between the two sides for half an hour, the shogunate artillery team lost more than 10 artillery pieces, nearly 100 gunners, and the momentum of the whole army was captured.

Subsequently, the shogunate, which could not withstand the artillery bombardment, took the allied forces of the feudal domains as the lead, and more than 3,000 new firearms troops pressed into formation, and slowly advanced towards the Sacho coalition army, trying to destroy the opponent in one fell swoop with superior forces.

Unexpectedly, the Sacho coalition army repelled several attacks by the feudal coalition forces that rushed to the front with a continuous volley of muskets, and after being hit by a stray bullet by the shogunate's high hopes for the forward commander Matsudaira Toshimichi, the governor of the Aizu domain, which suddenly caused the collapse of the feudal forces, and they retreated back again and again.

Seeing the situation, the Sacho coalition immediately launched a charge, and the musketeers, ashigaru spearmen, and pig soldiers shouted loudly and rushed towards the shogunate army like a tide.

The formation of the new shogunate army, which was disrupted by the defeat of the forward, not only could not stop the rout of the soldiers, but was even wrapped up and constantly retreated, and finally evolved into a complete rout.

And just as this war was entering the climax, in the port of Qingyuan in Yunzhou in the north, a fleet of more than 20 ships was leaving the dock in turn and entering the vast Pacific Ocean.

After Spain lost the Spanish Philippines, the thriving trans-Pacific trade had been dormant for two decades. It was not until Zheng gained a foothold in Luzon and used some captured Spaniards to organize a merchant fleet to sail to the port of Acapulco, Mexico, that the transpacific trade was reopened, and the trade and personnel exchanges between the two continents were reopened.

In the eighth year of the Han Dynasty (1678), at the insistence of Emperor Taizu, the state of Qi officially began to colonize the Americas. For more than 20 years, more than 100,000 immigrants have immigrated and enclosed the entire west coast of North America into the territory of the empire.

Although with the death of Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong successively, the investment of Qi in the American territory has decreased sharply - Gaine, this overseas territory is too far away from the mainland, and it is not cost-effective to spend a lot of money on immigration and construction, but after decades of development, the population of the entire Yinzhou colonial territory has exceeded 200,000 - in fact, how many people there are, even the people of Qi themselves are not very clear, the local people do not pay attention to it, and the local colonial governments will naturally not spend time and energy to count the population data within their jurisdiction.

In the early days, the Yinzhou region produced almost nothing, and relied on the government's continuous blood transfusion (including immigration, local construction, security and defense, and grain transshipment), which caused local complaints. However, as the fur trade began to rise in the area, it gradually attracted many merchants to visit, and the continued booming trade in Spanish America made Yinzhou seem to have some value.

In the thirteenth year of Shaoning (1699), gold was discovered in Huining Island (present-day Vancouver Island) and Huaiyuan (present-day San Francisco), which triggered a wave of noisy gold rushes and attracted the attention of the local government.

Therefore, in the second year of Taiping (1706), the cabinet government successively set up three major governorate districts in Yinzhou, including the Governorate of Rinzhou (present-day Alaska), the Governorate of Pengzhou (present-day Moderate China in Canada and Washington State in the United States), and the Governorate of Xuanzhou (present-day Oregon and California in the United States and Baja California in Mexico).

However, in general, due to the problem of distance, the Qi government still does not attach too much importance to the colonial territory of Yinzhou, and there is gold and fur, so it is naturally unceremoniously held in its arms to feed back to the mainland and surrounding territories. As for wanting the government to invest money in construction, it is simply impossible.

With its remote geographical location and far away from the economic and trade circle, Yinzhou seems to have little strategic and economic value for Qi country. If it weren't for the fact that this place was called the so-called "Chosen Land" by Taizu during his lifetime, and if it was extremely important, plus there was gold and fur to use, it might have been temporarily shelved and not allowed to be colonized and developed.

If you want to immigrate, you want to build, you want to manage, that's a lot of money!

Isn't it fragrant to have the spare time to thoroughly develop the mainland and the surrounding Nanyang territory?

You must know that Hanzhou and Nanyang are the foundation of my Great Qi.

Even if the construction of overseas colonial territories were to be increased, India, Persia, the Red Sea coast, and Qianzhou (present-day South Africa) were not more strategically valuable than Yinzhou.

Well, to put it bluntly, Yinzhou is to show off the majesty of the empire and show off the vastness of the empire's territory, so as to prove that our Daqi is a "sun never sets" empire, and there are territories all over the world.

However, not everyone despises the value of Yin Zhou so much.

At least, a certain prince of the Qi family who was demoted there, seeing the prosperity of the Qingguo mix in South America, couldn't help but have a little ambition.

In the world of great controversy, it seems that anything is possible.

(End of chapter)