Those missionaries had no idea that the fishmonger they cursed day and night had long since stopped exploring. That Mr. Rastochkin organized a fishing settlement in Alaska and purchased furs from Indians and Eskimos.
A big business started.
The bolide-like artillery bombardment last year, as well as the successive sinking of his own thin-skinned shuttle boats, left a deep memory for Marshal Fu. During this year, he often woke up in the middle of the night, and the big white ship was in his nightmares.
Turned into an all-devouring monster.
At this time, the Songhua River had just thawed, and the mountain-like ice in the river had moved away along the river. Jilin Wula Street became noisy again. In the shipyard along the river, five slipways were lined up, and what was being built here was "
Yaksa warship".
Don't get me wrong, the Songhua River does not lead to the sea. The warships built here are all used to transport troops and food to Ninggu Pagoda.
It is said that in the seventh year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1650), Khabarov, the leader of Tsarist Russia, captured Yaksa in the upper reaches of Heilongjiang River. In the fifteenth year of Shunzhi (1658), the Qing government ordered Ningguta Zhangjing Sharhuda to lead 1,400 people.
Forming a fleet of 47 ships, they defeated the Russian army at the mouth of the Songhua River.
In the 21st year of Kangxi's reign, in view of Tsarist Russia's invasion of Heilongjiang again, Kangxi made an eastward tour and inspected the Jilin Shipyard. With the beginning of the Battle of Yaksa three years later, the Qing army built a large number of warships, opening up a new opportunity for transporting military supplies.
On the main transportation lines that run through the Northeast region, more than a dozen docks were opened along the Songhua River and Heilongjiang River. After the war, a large number of Manchu and Han officers and soldiers were left to garrison, which had a profound impact on the development of water transportation in the Heilongjiang Basin.
The "Yaksa Warship" has a total length of 20 meters, a deck width of four meters, a depth of two meters, a maximum draft of 1.2 meters, and a displacement of 52.8 tons. The shape of the entire warship is a flat bottom, square bow, and square stern.
Both the bow and stern are raised to adapt to the wind and waves in the river. The mast is 15 meters high, and the sail area is 65 square meters. There are sixteen oars on both sides. The oars are 4.5 meters long and can be rowed in a standing position. There are two stern oars at the stern.
, 6.15 meters long. There are two main and secondary cannons on the bow. If each soldier and the supplies carried are 100 kilograms, each ship can carry 480 to 500 soldiers and 20 sailors (there is a model of this ship at the Military Expo.)
A fleet of thirty warships can transport about 5,000 troops at a time.
Although Fukkangan was quite satisfied with the progress of the construction of river warships, the maritime warships he was extremely concerned about encountered serious setbacks. The senior officials of the Military Aircraft Department, including Fukkangan, were now in a dilemma because they found that the British gunboats were being built.
It's not a simple matter at all.
It is said that after Fukang'an sent two servants to Guangzhou last year, they asked Shen Jichuan, the general manager of the Thirteenth Bank, to help find a solution.
For Shen Jichuan, Marshal Fu was his benefactor! In the first half of the 49th year of Qianlong's reign, Fukang'an was appointed governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and tried the case of Tan Dayuan, a judge, accusing Shen Jichuan of sending military supplies of silver. Tan Dayuan, who finally complained, was dismissed from the job of judge, and almost
Spanking and banishment.
The problem was that Shen Jichuan didn't know much about warships. It happened that the next day he was discussing business with a Scottish businessman named John Reed, and he accidentally mentioned a few words. Mr. Reed immediately seized the opportunity. He said
I have the authorization from the East India Company to sell warship blueprints.
Nonsense authorization! This Mr. Reed has nothing to do with the East India Company at all. What this guy has in his hand is a consular commission authorization issued by the King of Austria, which he obtained half with money.
From the early 18th century to the first half of the 19th century, this kind of spending money to buy letters of appointment was very common among foreign businessmen in Guangzhou. For example, Cox, the owner of Kirkus, Bill & Company (the predecessor of Jardine Matheson & Co.), What he got was a letter of appointment from the Swedish Navy. The later big opium dealer Diedi got a letter of appointment from the Kingdom of Sardinia.
In fact, this so-called "diplomatic status" was not recognized by the Qing customs, not even by the East India Company.
John Reed happened to have two sets of drawings of third-class battleships and fifth-class battleships obtained from the Hull Shipyard in England. After some bargaining, the two sets of drawings were bought by Shen Jichuan at a high price of 30,000 taels of silver. When you leave, you will treat yourself as a filial piety to the handsome man.
After Mr. Reed took the money, he was afraid that he would be discovered by the East India Company's Supervisory Committee in Guangzhou. So he didn't even buy the goods, got on the ship and quickly slipped back to Bangladesh.
When Shen Jichuan heard that Reed had left, he was worried about being deceived, so he took the drawings and went to the East India Company Supervisory Committee in Guangzhou to ask. Unexpectedly, after reading the drawings, he was shocked and told Shen Jichuan that the drawings were Really. Only then did Shen Jichuan feel relieved.
Later, after some insinuations, the East India Company's "Guangzhou Office" realized that the Qing government wanted to build warships. So they enthusiastically helped make two warship cost lists based on the drawings. After Shen Jichuan got it, he saw that the above The cost figures were all in pounds, and he asked his men to convert the pounds into silver units.
(The price ratio between pounds and silver at the end of the 18th century needed to be converted into gold. Since 1774, Britain has implemented the gold standard. The gold content of one pound is 7.68 grams of gold, which is almost 0.18 taels; according to the Qianlong period, one tael of gold was exchanged for ten The official price of one tael of silver is 37.5 grams, so one pound is 1.78 taels of silver.)
In this way, Fukang'an's two domestic slaves returned to Beijing with two sets of drawings and cost lists.
In November of last year, when Yong Yan, He Shen, Qing Gui and others saw the two cost lists for British warships, they all gasped! Yong Yan's eyes went dark at that time, and he almost memorized it before he could take a breath. .
"This is too damn expensive!" Even He Shen couldn't help but be stunned on the spot.
The overall cost of a 600-ton fifth-level battleship is 23,000 taels of silver. The hull alone of a 1,000-ton third-level battleship costs 12,000 taels of silver. If the sails and rigging are included, Tools, spare parts and onboard guns, the total cost will exceed 40,000 taels!
It is said that at the end of the 17th century, the British Royal Dockyard cost 9,176 pounds and 6,844 pounds to build a level 2 warship and a level 3 warship respectively. These costs did not even include sail rigging, spare parts, guns, etc. To build a level 1 warship A 600-ton warship costs 4,800 pounds, but if it is actually launched, including other costs on the ship, it will cost about 13,000 pounds in total.
Yong Yan immediately called the Minister of Industry and asked about the current cost of naval ships.
The Minister of Industry reported that, taking the Guangdong "Mi Boat" with the largest load capacity of our navy as an example (this type of ship is called "Tongan Suo Ship" in Fujian), the cost of a new ship is 4378 taels of silver; the cost of a Chinese rice boat is 3620 taels. As for the big sailing boat used by Fukang'an before, the cost was 1115 taels.
At that time, Yong Yan handed over the cost list of the English gunboat to the Ministry of Industry for calculation. A group of officials worked hard for four or five days before reporting that, considering the need for overseas procurement of wood and the number of guns, the total price on the quotation was
The cost is quite low.
When Yong Yan and He Shen heard this, their hearts skipped a beat. Why did they even have to buy the wood overseas? What was the cost of the artillery?
The minister of the Ministry of Industry was a Mongolian. He was quite honest and he was a hard-working person. He said a few things, which meant that if the slaves don’t work hard, it really can’t be done!
The first is the keel used by the British warships, which are all made of solid hardwood, and the joints are fixed with large copper nails. The inside and outside of the hull are wrapped with thick wooden boards, and the sides and bottom are covered with copper sheets.
As for the Qing Dynasty, because of the "shipbuilding competition" with the Zheng family in Taiwan, the giant wood resources in the southeast were exhausted. Now if you want to buy large timber, the only places to buy large timber are the mountains in the southwest and the northeast. However, considering the transportation conditions, we still go to Siam.
Purchasing from Luo is more cost-effective.
It is said that with the abundant materials and profits obtained from sea trade, the Zheng family purchased wood for shipbuilding in places such as Fujian and Zhejiang. Starting from the 18th year of Kangxi, the vigorous shipbuilding competition reached its climax. The Fuzhou Shipyard of the Qing Dynasty
Four hundred warships were built, one hundred were built in Chaozhou, and another hundred were built in Zhejiang. As a result, after the Qing government announced the "Sea Exhibition Order", shipbuilding materials were in short supply, and ship prices rose year by year.
The second problem is the artillery. Among the Guangdong Navy's meter boats, the largest one has a load capacity of more than 2,000 kilograms and is equipped with eight guns. The gun positions are all set up on the deck, so there is no place for the artillery to hide.
Not to mention chasing the shuttle boat, the bow of the ship is equipped with at most two cannons.
An English third-class battleship has two gun decks and 64 to 80 guns, including 26 24-pound guns, 26 12-pound guns, and 12 6-pound guns. Even a six-hundred-ton warship has two decks.
Gun deck, 26 to 54 guns.
At present, even if all the Wucheng Yonggu General Guns (3,600 to 7,000 kilograms, or 27-pound guns) in the country are added together, it will be enough to build two ships.
Thirdly. Thirdly, the Mongolian minister did not dare to say it. If he said this, he would lose his head. He made up his mind to rot in his stomach. That is, the forty-year maritime ban from Shunzhi to Kangxi period made the coastal shipyards
The technology of shipbuilding is extremely backward. Even if we have enough money, wood, and artillery, we will definitely not be able to build it!
Moreover, with such a large sum of money for a project, there were countless people who had a hand in it during the construction period. Not to mention others, the person in front of me, He Zhongtang, was going to get a big chunk of it.
So Yong Yan and He Shen fell in love with each other.
He Shen said to Yong Yan at that time: "Fifteenth Master, the money is not bad, but this time alone is too late. Let alone purchasing the wood, the time for casting the cannon is not rushed, just from the start of construction to the launch of the water, it will take a long time."
Seven months! And I heard that the maneuvering method of this English gunboat is completely different from that of our Great Qingming Navy warship. It has soft sails on it. A ship requires at least several hundred sailors and gunners. Training these people to cooperate skillfully and effectively
It will take at least one or two years. Will it be too late?"
The other bachelors in the Military Aircraft Department also rolled their eyes. It's not that we don't cooperate, it's that we really don't understand this! In desperation, Yong Yan had to report to Qianlong for instructions.
Qianlong was shocked by the cost when he first heard about it. But then he figured out that this time it was not to annihilate all the Oros people, but to make them "both fear the military power of the Celestial Empire and submit to it". The moral transformation of the Celestial Empire." By driving them away, the goal will be achieved.
Besides, what about third-tier, first-tier, two-tier, three-tier, Westerners' fancy skills? I have millions of troops on land in the Qing Dynasty. No matter how powerful that battleship is, can it still reach the land?
After clarifying this idea, Qianlong issued an edict to Agui and Fukang'an, who had just arrived in Jilin. It said that English gunboats were expensive to build and it was unnecessary to build Yichuan. However, you were allowed to build more artillery and troop carriers in Jilin. , to make up for the lack of maritime firepower.
After receiving the imperial edict, Agui and Fukangan saw that the battleship could not be built, so they had no choice but to modify their marching strategy.
The original plan of the two of them was to gather the maritime fleet in the Niuzhuang area and cooperate with the land army to completely annihilate the enemies at the mouth of the Xila River in June and July.
Now that the sea has moved (RUA), we can only build more artillery and strengthen land power. First transport the army from Wula City in Jilin to Ninggu Tower via the Songhua River Waterway, and then move east from Ninggu Tower to Ful Dan City. After that, the army started from Fuldan City and divided into two groups. They attacked eastward from the Fuljiaha River, all the way through the Sikhet Mountains, and attacked southward. They must drive out the "Oros" land.
According to this view, 15,000 men are still not enough. Fukang'an was ordered by Han Xin to recruit more troops, and the more the better. In April, he sent three memorials to Qianlong, requesting the recruitment of another 5,000 to 10,000 troops.
Agui, on the other hand, was a veteran in military affairs. He had gone to Jinchuan to work under Zhang Guangsi's account since the 13th year of Qianlong's reign, and he was very familiar with the big and small affairs on the battlefield. Now the roads were iced and snowed, making it easier to pass. He decided to take a two-pronged approach. One was to send envoys and That Anthony rushed to the mouth of the Xila River together as a guise, Xiao used the benefits to persuade the E people to leave on their own, so as to paralyze the enemy; secondly, they recruited brave border people in Ningguta and Hunchun, and cooperated with the scouts to reconnoiter the mountains and rivers along the way, so as to prepare for the east of the army. Be prepared to go in and go south.
In early May, as dozens of laborers headed by Shu Haili joined the demolition and reconstruction army of Fuldan City, Fuldan City was finally occupied by Beihai Town without bloodshed.
Because of the cold weather and Zhao Xin's special instructions, migrant workers and soldiers usually wear cotton hats when going out. So Shu Haili and others didn't even notice that people in Beihai Town didn't have braids on their heads.
By mid-May, the city of Fuldan, which had completed major demolition work, had a completely new look. The original east and west gates were expanded to accommodate four two-wheeled carriages passing side by side; the two small gates in the north and south were also expanded to accommodate two carriages. The carriages ran parallel to each other. The inner and outer walls of the castle were reinforced with wooden piles, and the top of the uneven castle wall was also smoothed.
Inside the castle, several huge wooden structures have risen from the ground. The construction platform for laying exterior walls and roofs has been erected, and workers are painting fire-fighting paint on the wooden structures; after that, color steel plate walls and roofs will be laid. .This will be used as a war readiness material warehouse to store food, feed, medical supplies and other materials.
Liu Siting's medical station has been built. Three large wood-carved rooms will be used as operating rooms, surrounded by tents for wounded soldiers.
Another wooden suite is used as a logistics headquarters, and Chen Qingsong will come to sit here to direct logistics.
In the old city of Jurgen, two kilometers west of Fuldan City, trench defenses have begun to be dug. The entire defensive position is laid out from northwest to southeast and is divided into two sections with a total length of three kilometers.
Digging trenches is a very learned thing. First of all, the choice of position must meet three conditions: the first is that the soil does not collapse and is relatively soft, so that it is easy for soldiers to dig and transform; secondly, the water level must be low so that it will not
Water will appear when digging deeply. Once water appears, in addition to affecting the defense line, it will also affect the morale of the soldiers. The last one is that there should not be too many rocks. In addition to being conducive to digging, if the enemy bombards them, if they explode
These rocks and gravel will become weapons of destruction.
The area around Jurgen Old City belongs to the Sanjiang Plain. The soil here is very soft and there are almost no rocks. However, because there are many swamps nearby, the soil moisture content is very high, and excavators often seep out a large amount of water during construction. At this time, water pumping and
Lay anti-seepage materials.
Zhao Xin's construction of fortifications was completely futile. He could only dig trenches based on the information at hand and the height of the soldiers in Beihai Town. The depth of all defense lines and traffic trenches was 1.8 meters, the top width was 80 centimeters, and the bottom width was
Sixty centimeters. Shooting platforms are dug out every eighty centimeters in the trenches for riflemen and machine gunners. The machine gun firepower points are divided into two levels, one is in front of the flank, and the other is on the flank of the first-line trench.
In addition, he also deployed ten "ZU-23" flat-firing positions on the flanks of the two fortifications. Thick mud walls will be built around the preset anti-aircraft gun positions.
In the middle area between the old city of Jurgen and the city of Fuldan, there is an artillery position composed of five D30s. Zhao Xin could only copy the deployment method of the German army in World War II.
The diameter of each artillery firing position is 10 meters, and in the center is a circular launching platform with a pit depth of 0.5 meters and a diameter of about 6.4 meters. The ground and pit walls of the platform are paved with logs. The launching platform is surrounded by three layers of logs.
A protective wall 0.5 meters high, the wooden wall is reinforced with soil on the outside.
There are two artillery shell storage points, one is the artillery shell storage point located in the pit on the front side of the artillery, and the other is the artillery shell storage point located in the V-shaped pit on the rear wall of the firing position. The corner pit is to prevent being hit by enemy artillery and weakening the ammunition.
Damage caused by the explosion. Directly behind the artillery position is a ramp passage for artillery to enter and exit. Each artillery position will be connected by a traffic trench at the rear. After the artillery is stationed, a company will be arranged here to defend against enemy sneak attacks.
On May 15, Liu Sheng ordered Serdan and Elu to each lead a reconnaissance team to conduct reconnaissance along both sides of the post road to Hunchun, and eliminate or drive away the Qing troops at Karen outposts along the way.
After Zhao Xin set off in Serdan, he immediately returned to Beihai Town through Yupei. He ordered Deng Fei to go to Ezo and lead Pan Xiucheng and Liji's two companies and the Shachuan people to attack Songqian City; Wang Yuanfang and Ding Guofeng led the three
An army of one thousand people went north to Fuldan City; Zhang Bo, Liu Zheng, Yalha led a team of two thousand migrant workers, including Maosuke, to follow Wang Yuanfang and the others. Wu Siyu, the unpromising one, asked to stay and garrison Beihai Town.