Due to the establishment of the Shibo Division, a large number of translators were in urgent need, so Xiang Nan opened a foreign language academy in Beijing and invited Western missionaries stationed in Beijing to teach foreign languages to the students.
The students are Jinshi who have just passed the palace examination. It is really remarkable that these people can pass all the imperial examinations and become Jinshi. They are definitely the best among young people.
So it is up to them to learn foreign languages, and I believe they should be able to master them quickly.
The imperial court reopened the Shipping Department and opened multiple customs offices to trade with foreign countries. Anyone with insight knows that great opportunities are hidden here, and this is the time to get promoted and make a fortune.
Therefore, not only the princes, nobles, and wealthy merchants went to the customs to do business with foreign merchants, but those Jinshi also realized that if they learn foreign languages well now, they will be able to work in the shipping company in the future.
Not only can he be a high official, but he can also guard the customs, which is no different from guarding the cornucopia. A little leakage from your fingers can feed you for many years.
So they studied very seriously and were eager to leave the army as soon as possible and take office as soon as possible.
…
In March of the third year of Qianlong's reign, changes occurred among the indigenous people in the Dian-Gui area.
After Xiang Nan learned the news, he sent half of the students from the Armed Forces Academy into the battle with the most advanced muskets and artillery.
The students of the Military Academy have been studying for half a year since they enrolled in August last year. Xiang Nan also wants to see how good they are.
Therefore, not only did the governor of Huguang, Zhang Guangsi, lead an army of 20,000 to outflank the army in three directions, he also sent half of the students from the Military Academy to form an army of 1,000 people, commanded by the Military Academy's own people. Bring advanced weapons such as repeating rifles, heavy artillery, grenades, etc. into battle.
Originally, the outside world did not have high hopes for this fledgling new army, which had only been trained for half a year.
Huguang Governor Zhang Guangsi also knew that these soldiers were personally trained by Xiang Nan and must be very valuable, so he did not dare to push them all to the front line, so he only let them guard the rear.
Unexpectedly, the natives thought the same way, thinking that these new troops could not be reused at all, so they led a crowd to attack Kaili County in the middle of the night to wipe out all these new troops.
Unexpectedly, after the fight, the natives realized how terrifying the new army was. Although the new army only has a thousand people, they are equipped with very powerful firepower, which is comparable to an army of ten thousand people.
The weapons in the hands of the natives were still swords, guns, bows and arrows, which were no match for firearms. They were eventually beaten to pieces and fled in confusion.
The final statistics of the battle results showed that the New Army killed and injured thousands of natives in the first battle, while the New Army suffered less than ten casualties.
Such a record made the New Army famous in one battle, causing a sensation in both the government and the public.
No one expected that the new army, which had only been trained for half a year, would have such strong combat effectiveness.
They couldn't help but admire Xiang Nan even more. In just half a year, he trained these young masters of the Eight Banners into brave men who were not afraid of death. It was really miraculous.
…
Zhang Guangsi did not dare to underestimate these new troops anymore and sent them to the front line. With their powerful artillery fire, the local natives were unable to resist and had to retreat steadily.
In addition, Xiang Nan's strategy was used properly, draw a group, attack a group, and attack them separately. In the end, in less than three months, the rebellion of the Diangui indigenous people was put down, and the total cost was less than 5 million taels of silver.
However, the imperial government's attempts to suppress the indigenous people over the years were long-lasting and cost more than 10 million, which was a burden that the imperial court could not bear. Now it only takes three months, and the cost is so low, which shocked both the government and the public.
I didn’t expect that the new army trained by Xiang Nan would be so powerful. It was really incredible.
The locations are Zhili, Fengtian, Chang'an, Jinling and Tianfu. And prepare for the new army to be gradually trained by the Armed Forces School to replace the old Eight Banners soldiers and Green Camp soldiers in the future.…
In September of the third year of Qianlong's reign, the Qing government negotiated peace with Jungar and agreed to use the Altai Mountains as the boundary. To the east is the territory of the Qing Dynasty, and to the west is the territory of the Junggar.
The two sides live in peace and do not invade each other.
But in fact, both sides knew that this peace negotiation was nothing more than a temporary measure. Sooner or later, the two sides will have a life and death battle.
Zungar hoped to restore the former glory of the Mongolian Kingdom. He not only wanted to annex the various tribes of the Mongolian Kingdom, but even wanted to conquer the Central Plains.
However, their current total population is only five million, and their army is only 300,000, which is still far behind the Qing Dynasty.
Coupled with the continuous wars, although there were victories and defeats, they also suffered heavy losses. They could not rashly start another war, so they needed a period of time to recuperate and accumulate strength.
In the Qing Dynasty, Xiang Nan was also accumulating military equipment and financial resources.
The Qing Dynasty's military strength was only 800,000, and most of them were the Eight Banners soldiers and the Green Camp who had long been corrupted. It cannot be said that it is rotten to the core, but it is far different from when it first entered the customs a hundred years ago.
That's why Xiang Nan wanted to establish a new army to replace the Eight Banners soldiers and the Green Camp. However, this all takes time to train and equip.
In addition, the war is fought for logistics and money. Not to mention anything else, just food, grass and military pay are a huge burden.
From the Kangxi period to the Yongzheng period, the Qing Dynasty fought five battles with Jungar, two of which were major defeats. Not only did hundreds of thousands of soldiers die or be injured, but nearly 130 million taels of silver were consumed, which was equivalent to three imperial court orders. annual taxes.
In order to support Nian Gengyao in the war, Yongzheng even emptied the national treasury and tightened his belt to live.
Therefore, although Xiang Nan now has powerful firearms and a new army that is better at fighting, he does not dare to start the war lightly, but is waiting for the opportunity.
As far as he knows, the current Jungar Khan Galdan Celing has only a few years to live. At that time, his son Azam Khan succeeded to the throne.
That was a foolish king who only knew how to eat, drink, have fun, indulge in sexual activities, and even imprisoned his own sister for no reason, causing his brother-in-law to kill him and establish a new king.
This move also led to civil strife in Jungar and a significant reduction in national strength. So Xiang Nan was waiting for that opportunity. When the time comes, he will send out a large army to completely eliminate the foreign trouble Jungar.
…
In the fifth year of Qianlong's reign, Yonglian, the youngest brother in the palace, had already entered the study room to study.
Other than him, no new elder brother or princess has been born in the palace for nearly four years.
The most important thing in a harem is to reproduce children. The emperor is now in the prime of life, full of strength and energy. But even though they, the concubines, have all benefited from the same favor and been exposed to the rain and dew, their stomachs have not moved at all these years.
There have been a lot of bad things to say about this from the outside world.
It is said that because Xiang Nan killed too much, God punished him by making him have no heirs. Most of those who said this were corrupt officials who were punished by Xiang Nan;
It is said that it was because the queen was not virtuous and did not allow the concubines in the harem to serve the emperor, so she occupied his property by herself. She also said that in order to make the concubines infertile, she poisoned their pregnancy pills.
It is also said that Xiang Nan has been rebellious in recent years. The king of a country opened any workshop, sold any glass, soap, and perfume, and competed with the people for profit.
This had to make Lang Hua start to worry.