Pu'er Prefecture in Yunnan is the only prefecture in China with the same name as tea.
Pu'er Prefecture, located in Liubanna, Jiangnei, was under the jurisdiction of Chexuanwei Division in the 7th year of Emperor Yongzheng's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1729), and belonged to Yunnan Province.
In the 13th year of Yongzheng reign (1735), Ning'er County was set up as a prefecture, and it was upgraded from Yuanjiang branch to a prefecture because the residence was Pu'er (the place name "Pu'er" comes from the Chinese pronunciation of "Shuiwanzhai" in the local Hani language)
, so it’s called Pu’er Mansion.
In the first year of Qianlong's reign (1736), he led various chieftains in Liubanna beyond Jiangsu Province, and his jurisdiction included some counties and districts in Pu'er City, Yunnan Province, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture and Phongsali Province in Laos.
This has now become Peng Yulin's base camp. To manage the southwest, it is easiest to pass by water from here.
The Lancang River became wide and gentle here. In later generations, tourism was developed here, and there were many yachts on the river.
Roaming on the river and admiring the picturesque scenery on both sides is also a kind of enjoyment.
But at this time, there were mostly small steamers with chimneys on the river.
These small steamers generally have a small tonnage, the largest is only a few hundred tons, and the small ones are only dozens of tons.
There is also a high-power tugboat that can tow a string of wooden boats on the river.
This kind of tugboat is very useful for making up the numbers when there are not enough ships.
Especially in this kind of inland river, as long as the wooden boats are linked with chains and towed by tugboats, the transportation capacity can be greatly increased.
It's just that the greater the towing weight, the slower the speed will be.
People of all ethnic groups on both sides of the Taiwan Strait have never seen such a boat. It can run very fast in the water without paddles. When it runs, it spits black smoke from the top. It is like a monster walking in the water.
.
Some local people's small fishing boats will approach the small steamers curiously, wanting to see what's weird inside these strange boats.
At this time, the captain of the small steamer would always play the whistle jokingly.
The small boats were so frightened that they hurriedly hid far away. The funny look, as if they had really encountered a monster, caused the sailors on the boat to laugh wildly.
In the temporary headquarters, Peng Yulin went to his subordinates one by one to understand the situation. In the whole of China, perhaps only their southwest military supplies and the western military region were the busiest.
"Commander Tian, how is the progress of the Second Division in northern and southern Burma?" Peng Yulin asked.
Although the Renaissance Army currently has no major military operations, it has never stopped making small moves.
For example, the local governance rights of the four major chieftains in northern Myanmar were regained. The chieftains in northern Myanmar seemed to have been raised by the Manchus for a long time, and now they no longer know who their biological fathers are.
The main Second Division of the Southwest Military Region, led by Gu Keli, is receiving the chieftains from northern Myanmar.
This place has long been assigned to the jurisdiction of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, but the Manchu and Qing Dynasties have always left it alone.
The Kingdom of Burma is now weakened by the British. Naturally, it is unable to manage these chieftains.
The four chieftains are not weak in strength. There is no problem in allowing them to surrender to China in name. But now if China wants to take it back and manage it, these people may not necessarily agree.
"Report to Commander Peng and Commander Gu that two of the four chieftains accept our policy of returning natives to the countryside, namely Mengmi and Mubang."
"The other two families, the Muman people in the southeast all abandoned their villages and retreated to the mountains, refusing to accept our management. The Mengyang Chieftain in the west retreated to Myitkyina. They actually had a musketeer team in their hands, and our intelligence officers discovered it in Myitkyina
There are traces of the British. They seem to be colluding with the British." the staff briefing reported.
Peng Yulin frowned after hearing this. Mengyang's position was very important, and its jurisdiction was similar to the area of Bhamo in present-day Myanmar, north of Kaitai, west of the Irrawaddy River, and east of the Naga Mountains.
The west side entered the sphere of influence of the Bengalis, which was not far from the British colony in Bengal, so it was not surprising that it was penetrated by the British.
But Peng Yulin is not worried about diplomatic issues. After all, China has legal jurisdiction over this place.
Not to mention that the Kingdom of Myanmar is a vassal state of China, the four major chieftains in northern Myanmar were under the jurisdiction of China during the Qianlong period. Of course, during the Qing Dynasty, the area was always in a state of free-range, but if it was free-range, it would still be my child after all.
, if you, the British, come to intervene, then the British will not be justified in diplomacy.
"Let's do this. Telegraph Gu Keli. If the Muman tribes retreat into the mountains and cannot come out, then don't let them come out. Set up checkpoints at the main mountain passes. Then concentrate our forces to attack Mengyang in the west. We must capture the city of Myitkyina. This time
The battle must be fought more fiercely, so that these toasts will be frightened."
Historically, these southwestern chieftains were at odds with each other. They regarded the Central Plains Dynasty as their father, and later they regarded the Burmese Dynasty as their mother. When the British came, they added to the burden of the British colonists.
Don't think that they are similar to the chieftains of Yunnan. In fact, these people have almost no loyalty to China. Therefore, if you want to surrender them, you must beat them severely. At the same time, this battle also let the British hiding in Myitkyina see what China has to offer.
strength.
Otherwise, they will come out to cause trouble from time to time.
The two major chieftains in the central part of the country have relatively easy access to the border with Yunnan, and there are mostly Han people there, so it is expected that they would choose to join China.
These two chieftains were probably located in the current Shan State, on the Shan State Plateau in later generations. The altitude here is similar to that of Pu'er Prefecture, and it also has a tropical climate. A large amount of farmland can be opened in the valley bottoms of the mountains, and terraces can also be opened in the mountains, or tea trees can be planted.
, fruit trees.
The mineral resources here are also relatively rich. There is the oil that Dong Shuheng was looking for, and there are also copper mines that China lacks. The timber resources are also very rich. The most famous thing here is the abundance of jade and gemstones.
Muman in the east is relatively remote. It is located in the area east of the Salween River, which is the lower reaches of the Nu River and intersects with Nanzhang.
These people were hiding simply because they wanted to rely on the terrain to deal with the Renaissance Army.
But this kind of guerrilla tactics is all leftover from the Renaissance Army, and the Renaissance Army naturally knows how to break it.
With so many of them retreating into the mountains, it is impossible not to come out. Of course, it would be better if they did not come out.
"Commander Tian, please telegraph to the Yunnan militia headquarters and ask them to organize militia now and open up military reclamation in the Muman area. The farmland and villages left by the Muman people will be distributed to them."
The land here belongs to China, and the Muman people don't want it anymore. China cannot let these lands go uncultivated.
After Staff Officer Tian left, Peng Yulin called for Zhang Qiang, who had just been transferred to the Lancang River Navy.
Zhang Qiang used to be the commander of the Canal Navy. But now that the canal is in the inland area of China, there is no need for naval protection at all. It only needs patrol management by the Marine Police under the Ministry of Interior.
Therefore, the military department sent Zhang Jianqiang to the Lancang River to form a naval force here.
The Lancang River runs through the entire Indochina Peninsula and has important strategic significance. It can be said that if you control this river, you can control the southeastern peninsula.
For such an important water area, a navy is indispensable.
China already has some experience in the construction of inland river gunboats.
Due to the hydrological conditions here, the shipyard in Yongchangfu quickly built a batch of 200-ton small gunboats. This type of gunboat has thickened armor and a 120mm main gun on the bow. It can be regarded as a small boat against big guns.
However, this main gun is generally not used. It is mainly used to assist in sieges. At the stern is a 75mm secondary gun, which is used at ordinary times. In the middle are two Gatling rotating machine guns. These two machine guns alone
It is enough to support the infantry on the road.
Dong Shuheng designated this kind of inland river gunboat as China's standard gunboat. The original 500-ton gunboats are now gradually converted to offshore patrol. Their use for inland river patrol is a bit wasteful.
The so-called standard gunboat means that the parts between boats are common, which greatly facilitates the maintenance and daily repair of the gunboat.
Because many parts, including steam units, were transported from the rear. The front only needed to splice the hulls. Therefore, more than a dozen such gunboats were built in a few months.
There are also many troop transport ships, which are of course just wooden ships. Yunnan is rich in timber resources, which provides convenience for shipbuilding. However, shipping here has not been utilized before.
These powers on the water are necessary for Peng Yulin to go south in the next step.
Although Nanzhang has always been a vassal state of China, it is only a vassal state after all. China has not directly occupied the area for a long time.
Therefore, Peng Yulin still attaches great importance to this trip south. He also has two mobile forces, the Ninth Division and the Twentieth Division. He plans to lead the 20th Division adapted from the Hunan Army to go out this time, leaving the Ninth Division to stay behind.
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It's not because the 20th Division is more powerful, but because the 20th Division is led by General Bao Chao. They were originally elites selected from the Hunan Army. They followed a completely wild path. These people were all from southern Hunan.
People who live in mountainous areas, can endure hardships and stand hard work, and can adapt to the mountainous terrain, are most suitable for fighting in the Nanzhang area.
Don't be too kind and righteous when it comes to native people.
Zhang Qiang and Liu Dahai used to run ships together. Their work was quite satisfactory and there was nothing outstanding about it. Their canal naval engineer's job was always that of the captain of the transportation brigade.
He was happy to be transferred to the Lancang River this time. Although he was still a river navy, in the Lancang River, he could lead his men to open up territory for China, and he had a lot of merit to be made here.
As a soldier, he naturally cannot resist the temptation of military industry.
On the Lancang River, there are naturally more opportunities to make meritorious deeds than before.
"Commander Zhang, when will your navy be ready?" Peng Yulin asked after Zhang Qiang arrived.
Peng Yulin had also been in the Navy and was relatively familiar with Zhang Qiang, so he did not exchange greetings when they met, but asked the topic directly.
"Commander Peng, the fleet is almost ready. The time was mainly spent on detecting the river channel. We found the few reefs after we found the local merchant ships to lead the way, and blew them up after wasting all the efforts of the boss."
"Now, our exploration ship has explored the hydrological conditions from the Lancang River to the lower reaches. The water level is high in this season, which is the most suitable time for navigation. We can be ready to set sail tomorrow." Zhang Qiang reported back.
"Okay, Commander Zhang, you have worked hard and prepared the fleet in such a short time."
"We have no hard work. The hardest thing is the Yongchang Shipyard at the rear. They work day and night to quickly take shape of our fleet."
"I have heard that for this shipyard, the Ministry of Commerce has transferred almost half of the workers from Gaoyou Shipyard and Shanghai Shipyard. In order to transport the components of these gunboats, the Ministry of Transport has opened a green channel to centralize
The transportation capacity in the southwest has increased. It seems that the president has high hopes for us to go south, otherwise he would not use so many resources." Zhang Qiang said.
"Yes, then we will speed up the reception of Nanzhang and give the president a satisfactory answer." Peng Yulin nodded and said.
"Commander Zhang, the weapons on the boat are ready. Although we may not need to start a war to take over, there may be someone who is not quick-sighted and jumps out." Peng Yulin added.
…
Luang Prabang, once the palace of the Tuwang, is now the temporary palace of the holy king Shi Dakai. Shi Dakai, his wife and concubine lived here temporarily.
"Holy King, do we really want to leave? Isn't it nice here? Everyone likes to live here." After a lot of ups and downs, Shi Dakai's favorite Concubine Yun lay on Shi Dakai's broad chest, tenderly
He said in a soft voice.
This is a woman from Jiangnan who was adopted by Shi Dakai when he was in Jiangning.
Originally, Shi Dakai's family members were all captured by the Renaissance Army, but were later ransomed by Wen Qing. Several of Shi Dakai's children also came back with them.
This Concubine Yun was the most considerate and lovely, so Shi Dakai often kept her by his side to serve her.
"How can you, a woman, interfere with this matter?" Shi Dakai pushed Concubine Yun away and said coldly with a straight face.
Shi Dakai likes to speak out the most. The generals under him usually dare not comment on his decisions. Now that a woman mentioned this matter in front of him, he could not bear it.
Concubine Yun covered her face and cried. Shi Dakai became even more angry after hearing this. He got up, put on his clothes and left the palace.
After returning to the study, the waiter behind him followed Shi Dakai, not daring to express his anger.
They knew that Shi Dakai was in a bad mood, and if he continued to add fuel to the fire at this time, the consequences might be disastrous.
Shi Dakai sat alone in his study, looking at a map sent by the Renaissance Army.
This map is a road map. Dong Shuheng moved quickly. Now all northern Myanmar has fallen into the hands of the Renaissance Army. There is still a group of chieftains resisting in the west, but Shi Dakai believes that the chieftains will not be able to support him in passing.
During the day, Shi Dakai received the envoy sent by the Renaissance Army.
In fact, Wen Qing had already talked to the messenger of the Renaissance Army on his behalf and exchanged their ideas.
It is now the end of the eighth lunar month, and the rainy season in the south is about to pass.
Shi Dakai was already hesitant about whether to continue to move westward. He was sure that if he continued to move westward now, there would be people who would stay here and not leave.
The longer you stay here, the more people like this will become.
Now his situation is really difficult. A few days ago, Shi Dakai had asked Chen Yucheng to lead the forward force to turn around.
This time Chen Yucheng destroyed several feudal states and gained a lot. All the wealth accumulated in the palaces of these feudal states was plundered by the Renaissance Army.
He will wait here for Peng Yulin's army to arrive, hoping that Peng Yulin's army will be able to frighten those people.
Yes, this time Shi Dakai was going to play a double act with Peng Yulin, and use the Chinese army in Peng Yulin's hands to give his men a show of strength.
In the past six months, the soldiers of the Tianping Army have fought against the armies of the Nguyen Dynasty and the Tu King, and have been victorious. Every one of them feels that they are invincible in the world, and they are full of self-confidence.
To be honest, Shi Da was a little unhappy because he was wondering why he, Dong Shuheng, was running around outside China.
In history, although Shi Da will be left to make a mark, it will definitely be in a supporting role.
However, there was no turning back when the bow was fired, so the situation was stronger than the enemy. The army in the hands of Peng Yulin in the southwest alone was probably stronger than his own.
What he couldn't understand the most was where the Renaissance Army got so many advanced weapons.
What he holds in his hands are the militia weapons that the Renaissance Army retreated from, so that he can walk sideways in the Indochina Peninsula.
What he fears most is the weapons of the Renaissance Army.
This was how the Taiping Army was defeated by the Huai Navy.
Faced with the huge gap in weapons, it is impossible to fight against the Renaissance Army. That gap cannot be made up by any tactics and the bravery of the soldiers.
This time, an envoy from the Renaissance Army came over and told Shi Dakai in detail about the situation in the Bengal region of India.
The southern coastal area there was occupied by the British, but the northern area was still a small country, and its combat effectiveness was not strong.
Moreover, the local lower-class civilians lived a very difficult life, and they were targets that the Taiping Army could win over.
Shi Dakai didn't take these princely states seriously. The only thing he could worry about was the power of the British. But the British had limited manpower in India.
The Renaissance Army promised Shi Da that after he arrived in Bangladesh, he would be able to supply him with rifled guns, and guaranteed that such guns would be no worse than British muskets.
Moreover, the Renaissance Army will also provide him with more advanced muzzle-loading steel cannons that can be used in the field. This is much stronger than the old artillery they used to capture the Qing army.
Looking at the standard area on the map in my hand, there is a very detailed description next to it. Two big rivers flow into the sea from there. This land is really no worse than Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and even the farming conditions in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are better.
Moreover, there is a vast Indian hinterland to the west of this place that can be conquered. It is indeed a land of dominance that is not weaker than China.
In comparison, the Indochina Peninsula is relatively smaller.
Shi Dakai is only in his twenties now. He has ambitions far beyond ordinary people. He is not greedy for money or lustful. The only thing he wants is to make achievements.
With a "bang" sound, Shi Dakai pressed the map on the table, seeming to have made the final decision.
ps: With a "bang", the author dropped the keyboard. Readers, please vote!