There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 214 Daye Ironworks
At the same moment that Puqi County fell, Xianning County to the northeast...

The rebel leaders here were also afraid of the Han army and dared not fight in the open. Under the pressure of the Han army's continuous siege and land redistribution, the Xianning rebels broke out in internal strife and the city fell and they perished in less than half a month.

The fall of Puqi and Xianning counties happened too quickly.

The news spread rapidly, becoming increasingly exaggerated. Coupled with the renowned reputation of Yang Fang, the rebel army occupying Chongyang County was utterly terrified. They no longer dared to defend the city, let alone care about their hometown elders, and fled with the looted money, grain, and valuables they had seized.

Chongyang County surrendered without a fight.

The fall of Chongyang County seemed to ignite a chain reaction, leading to the surrender of Tongcheng County and Tongshan County in quick succession. The rebel leaders either fled or died.

Xingguo Prefecture, Daye County, and Nanchang County were far apart, so the news arrived slowly, but by the time they saw Yang Fang leading the main force of the Han army to attack, they had already received the message.

The prefect of Xingguo understood everything immediately. Without even thinking, he led the officials and gentry of the city out to surrender.

When the peasant army besieged the city, he dared not surrender and instead fought desperately. Because the peasant army was truly ruthless, surrendering wouldn't have mattered. The Han army, however, was different; they had a Han King, making them legitimate rebel kings!

It is said that he also possessed a divinely bestowed imperial seal. Whether the divinely bestowed imperial seal was real or not is not important. What is important is that this King of Han recognized the legitimacy of imperial power, and that is enough.

Xingguo Prefecture surrendered, leaving only Daye and Wuchang counties in Wuchang Prefecture.

Daye County was a special case, as it was divided between the rebel army and the government. The rebel army controlled the local area of ​​Daye, while the government controlled the county seat.

Yang Fang led his troops over, and the magistrate of Daye County surrendered quickly, but the rebels wanted to bargain.

The reason for this is not surprising, as Daye has iron and copper mines, and quite abundant iron and copper resources.

The "prosperous age" of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty did not need mining, a new industry that could easily disrupt the stability of the "prosperous age," create new income for the people, make them rich, and make the local area powerful.

Therefore, the Qing dynasty, at least during the Qianlong and Jiaqing periods, maintained a conservative attitude towards the Daye mines, refusing to allow them to be mined and prohibiting private mining as well.

These rebel armies that occupied Daye were clearly local miners illegally mining copper for personal gain, and there may have been local government intervention as well.

Yang Fang didn't know what to do, so he first urgently telegraphed Jingzhou to inquire about the situation. After receiving a clear reply, he then summoned the many leaders of the Daye Mine rebels: "Brothers of the Daye rebels, the King of Han said that as long as you can submit to my Great Han, your past deeds can be forgiven and pardoned. Moreover, you will also be allowed to divide up land and settle down."

The leader of the Daye rebels was a burly man with his chest exposed. He asked, "General Yang, we all come from the mines. Can the King of Han really promise us that we can be allocated land and settled down like ordinary people?"

Although the status of "lowly people" had been abolished as early as the Yongzheng era, miners were inherently different from ordinary people. They were forced by the government to work in mines, living day and night in the mines, leading a life worse than that of pigs and dogs, a life of utter darkness, and dying in the mines was commonplace.

Even if some miners manage to survive, they won't live long. The mines will drain them dry, and once they're drained, they'll suffer oppression and exploitation.

Yang Fang understood the man's concerns and thought for a moment before saying, "Your Majesty knows you might have doubts, so he has asked me to tell you that my king's queen was once a slave."

Hey!
Upon hearing this, the mining leaders immediately fell silent.

The burly man leading the group, who was bare-chested, simply cupped his hands and said, "General Yang, we were being nosy. The soldiers of the Han Dynasty are all heroes, and the King of Han is an even greater hero. We believe in the King of Han!"

Yang Fang smiled too, and in her heart she sighed, realizing that the king's decision to marry a servant girl as his queen was indeed meaningful.

No matter how much you argue, the simple statement that the Princess Consort of Han was once a slave will immediately convince these people that the King of Han truly treats all classes equally.

The recapture of Daye County was almost as significant to the Han Dynasty as the capture of Wuchang Prefecture.

……

The Prince of Han's Mansion.

"Haha, great job! Yang Fang did a good job! Daye has been taken just like that."

"Your Majesty, I congratulate you on your acquisition of Daye."

Nie Yu beamed with joy, unable to contain himself, and said, "Congratulations are indeed due, Yao Qing!"

Minister of Works Yao Hongyi hurriedly stepped forward: "Your subject is here."

“Now that Daye County has been captured, let’s set about establishing a Wuchang Ironworks here!” Nie Yu pointed to the location of Daye County on the map.

Yao Hongyi was taken aback and asked with some doubt, "Are there still iron mines in Daye?"

"Of course."

Nie Yu was prepared. He produced a map of the Daye Iron Mine, taken more than eighty years later, which marked the area of ​​the Daye Iron Mine built by Zhang Zhidong in the late Qing Dynasty, as well as the specific iron ore reserves. Although the Hanyang Ironworks was located in Hanyang Prefecture, the iron ore originated from Daye County.

As for why not just build an ironworks in Daye?
It's very simple, because Daye's transportation and economy are not as developed and convenient as Hanyang's.

The "development" and "convenience" mentioned here refer to the late Qing Dynasty, after the Opium War. Hanyang was a key site for the planning of the Beijing-Hankou Railway. Zhang Zhidong was able to build an ironworks in Hanyang, which would directly provide steel rails for the construction of the Beijing-Hankou Railway, saving a large sum of money on purchasing steel rails. In addition, Hanyang also had other modern arsenal projects and new railway plans.

Since Nie Yu couldn't build the Beijing-Hankou Railway, and couldn't build a railway for the time being, he naturally chose the nearest option and built a factory directly in Daye.

When Yao Hongyi saw the Daye Iron Mine marked on the blueprint, which also indicated the specific reserves and mining period, he was immediately shocked: "Daye actually has so many iron mines? If that's true, then building an ironworks in Daye is indeed a feasible option."

Although the Han army's current armor and weapons are all purchased by Nie Yu from the mall, purchasing from the mall also costs money, and it will also cause the Han's craftsmen to lose the motivation to continue researching steelmaking technology.

Therefore, the craftsmen of the Han Dynasty have been researching steelmaking and ironmaking, and have now developed a relatively feasible process from the new steel furnace.

The steel produced using this process was superior to the crude steelmaking methods of the Qing Dynasty, and the steel output was also higher.

Nie Yu nodded: "If it is feasible, send people to Daye as soon as possible to conduct actual investigation and exploration of the mine. Once the mine site is found, build the Daye Ironworks. The expenses for building the ironworks should be covered by the Ministry of Revenue. The Daye Ironworks must be able to produce finished steel by next year. The miners and prisoners of war who surrendered before can be used as manpower to establish the ironworks."

They gave us money, time, manpower, everything.

Yao Hongyi didn't even need to reach out; he immediately cupped his hands and replied, "Your subject obeys."

Nie Yu looked at Lü Zhihong: "Lü Qing."

Lü Zhihong replied, "Your subject is here."

Nie Yu said, "Yang Fang is advancing too fast in Wuchang. Now the local officials in Wuchang Prefecture are stretched thin. This guy is asking me for officials and personnel, otherwise he, as the commander of the Eastern Route Army, would have to violate military regulations and personally take charge of these counties."

Lü Zhihong replied, "Your Majesty, rest assured, the Ministry of Personnel will immediately select officials to go there."

After giving the two cabinet members a brief instruction, Nie Yu continued to keep his eyes fixed on the Hubei map on the table.

This map is updated in real time. Hubei Province, marked in red with the territory of the Han Dynasty, is rapidly expanding and has already occupied the entire Anlu, Jingmen, Hanyang, and Jingzhou.

Wuchang Prefecture has also been mostly occupied, leaving only Nanchang County. Yang Fang is currently using troops to intimidate and encircle the area, being even more cautious than he was with the previous counties.

Because the opposite bank of Nanchang County is Huangzhou Prefecture, which is also the last prefecture of the puppet Qing in eastern Hubei, the Qing army could not allow the Han army to continue to run rampant.

……

Yichang Prefecture, west of Jingzhou.

This place is dirt poor, and everywhere is dilapidated; it's a truly remote and ruined place.

The western Han army is advancing very slowly, which is reflected on the map as a slow pace of encroachment and expansion by the red forces. Other prefectures have already engaged in fierce fighting. Yang Fang has taken over the entire territory of Wuchang in almost two months, while He Shunan of Yichang Prefecture has only just taken over Badong County and blocked the Wushan Pass.

Currently, negotiations are underway with the Tu Miao people of Hefeng. The Tu Miao do not want to engage in direct warfare with the Han army, but they have also put forward their own demands, hoping that the Han army will agree to them.

As a frontline general, He Shun'an was unable to make decisions on behalf of the Prince of Han, so he telegraphed back to Jingzhou to request instructions.

……

Bai Nan of the Northern Route Army had just captured Yicheng County without a fight, and on his way north, he also received a letter of surrender from the magistrate of Nanzhang County.

A few days ago, the Han army from the northern route advanced to Xiangfan.

Bai Nan did not rush to attack the city, but instead set up camp along the Han River south of Xiangfan, waiting for cargo ships to bring cannons.

He couldn't do without cannons; the terrain of Xiangfan was truly an eye-opener for him.

Xiangyang City is located on the south bank of the Han River, surrounded by water on the north, east, and south sides, and backed by mountains on the west side.

If you want to attack a city, you can only use large bricks to fly, or use an inside agent to break through the city.

Perfect timing! Bai Nan planned to use both: launch a strong attack from the outside with cannons, and coordinate with an inside agent to break through the city walls.

(End of this chapter)