The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

As the sun reached its zenith, Chen Liu led three hundred cavalrymen clad in iron-plated cotton armor at the forefront.

Behind them were six hundred infantrymen in new uniforms, all carrying new flintlock muskets, and then a hundred artillerymen pushing ten small cannons weighing five hundred pounds each.

Theirs are a special edition, with fluffy wool inside, animal skin in the middle, and a light brown fine linen outer layer, making them very warm and durable.

"These uniforms are really simple, not only good-looking but also easy to shoot. Moreover, they have cavalry, musketeers, and artillery all in one. These thousand men could probably hold their own against two or three thousand elite Russian troops!"

"Is this the Han army? They can send a thousand soldiers to such a remote place. They must really have a million soldiers in their own country. No wonder they were able to defeat the Qing!"

Andrei, who relied entirely on Mendoza's writings and focused on the history of the Great Chinese Empire, couldn't help but mutter to himself as he looked at Chen Liu's thousand-strong army.

Aguda was also seeing the new military uniforms for the first time. Before, he had only seen Han soldiers wearing various Eight Banners armor.

This was also something Liu Mu had Zhao Fengnian redesign when he asked Zhao Lie to leave Beijing, so as to save face. It had a higher collar than the army inside the Great Han Pass, to protect against the cold of the northern desert.

Aguda knew basic etiquette; he dismounted and ran to Chen Liu in small steps to salute.

"Centurion Aguda of the Pioneer Camp greets the Commander of a Thousand. The fortress has prepared plenty of good food, enough meat to feed a thousand people for a month!"

Aguda spoke Mongolian, and more than half of Chen Liu's thousand-strong army were Mongolians. Upon hearing that there was plenty of meat, they all subconsciously swallowed their saliva.

The journey was incredibly arduous. They had to march at breakneck speed, and there was nowhere to eat meat. Every day they ate dry rations and snow, and at most they could drink some meat broth to soothe their bodies.

"Bring him up!"

After examining Aguda for a while, Chen Liu was also amazed by Aguda's physique. So he gave the order and looked at Aguda again.

"A gift from General Zhao Lie!"

"They said they hoped you'd like it!"

Upon hearing this, Aguda scratched his head, then his eyes suddenly flashed with a sharp light as he looked at a woman dressed in an animal skin coat who was being led out by two soldiers.

This woman is 1.85 meters tall, with a tough yet gentle face, but her physique is even more robust than that of a soldier. If she were in later generations, she would definitely be a "muscle Barbie".

Upon seeing his long-awaited wife, the 1.9-meter-tall Aguda became like a child, taking only a few steps to reach Jin Ge, and the two immediately embraced.

"Brother Jin!"

"Aguda!"

hiss...

When Chen Liu saw the two flirting, he immediately felt a toothache. At first, Zhao Lie asked him to bring Brother Jin along, acting all mysterious.

He thought this Jin Ge was some stunningly beautiful woman, but little did he know she was someone who could kill a wild wolf with a single strike, and probably even a bear wouldn't be a match for her.

After all, with that size, it's just like that!

Seeing the two embracing endlessly, Chen Liu spurred his horse past them and said a few words in an annoyed tone.

"Alright, alright, you two can go back to your room and be all lovey-dovey. Hurry up and get the house ready for these craftsmen; they have families to support and it's not easy for them!"

Yes, these more than one hundred craftsmen all brought their families with them. The imperial court promised to give each household one hundred acres of land, and they would receive grain every year without having to cultivate it, which is why they agreed to come to this wild land.

The majority of these were bricklayers and carpenters, with the remainder being blacksmiths and gunpowder makers. Together, these people could cover both agriculture and the military.

Andrei, who was standing to the side, was the most enthusiastic. He was still hoping to join the Han army, so he took the initiative to lead Chen Liu's horse and began to introduce himself in Mongolian.

"Commander, I was the former commander of this fortress, and I've been in charge here for three years. You can give me any orders. My name is Andrei!"

"The area around the west gate was the military camp. The area in the very center, surrounding the governor's mansion, was where the Russian soldiers and their families used to live, and it was also the warmest place to stay."

Chen Liu was curious about Andrei's blond hair, after all, he had never seen one before, even though he was over forty years old.

"Are you from Tsarist Russia?"

"Why would you work for Aguda?"

Andrei was well-prepared this time, taking out his treasured book on the Great Chinese Empire and recounting how he admired the dominant power in the East and hoped to join the Han Dynasty.

Chen Liu flipped through the Chronicles of the Great Chinese Empire. Although he couldn't read, he could understand the illustrations. He looked at the classrooms and the Ming Dynasty military uniforms depicted on the pages and felt a sense of nostalgia.

Unfortunately, the Ming Dynasty is gone!

Chen Liu sighed and looked at Andrei!

"I will have this book printed by artisans and sent back to His Majesty the Emperor. At that time, you will be granted the authority to lead troops!"

Upon hearing this, Andrei's hand holding the reins became sweaty with excitement, and he worked even harder.

Chen Liu wasn't talking nonsense. According to Andrei, this book could be circulated in Tsarist Russia, which means that other Western countries were not unfamiliar with the East. If he made a great contribution to the war against Tsarist Russia, he would definitely be promoted to centurion.

Andrei was very capable. In half a day, he not only arranged the craftsmen, but also assigned more than 500 thugs to the barracks where the Cossacks used to live. The barracks could have housed 500 or 600 people, and the space was just enough for them.

As for the soldiers, they were stationed around the four city gates and could simply set up tents on the streets. In no time, the small Nerchinsk fortress was packed with people.

The next morning, after a hot meal, an official dressed in a green round-necked robe, who appeared to be over forty years old, led the craftsmen to begin surveying the Nerchinsk fortress.

The goal was to expand the fortress to the size of a top-tier thousand-household garrison, with a circumference of about two thousand meters, equivalent to forty football fields, ten times the size of the current Nerchinsk Fortress.

Only in this way can it be developed into a landmark, and the surrounding arable land can be better utilized.

As for the civil official of this great Han Dynasty.

He was specially promoted by the scholar.

Liu Mu stipulated that civil officials should be assigned to accompany these newly expanded fortresses to manage local affairs on behalf of the generals.

As for where the scholars came from, they were naturally lured in with high-ranking official positions and generous salaries. Liu Mu merely promised that those scholars without the status of Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial civil service examination) could return to Guannei (the interior of China) after five years if they joined the army and managed the garrisons well, with the lowest official position being county magistrate.

Unexpectedly, there were a lot of candidates willing to participate. However, most of them were older or felt that they were not skilled enough to pass the provincial examination.

As for whether it's difficult to become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examinations).

That must be extremely difficult.

It should be noted that during the nearly three hundred years of the Ming Dynasty, there were only a little over 100,000 successful candidates in the provincial examinations, not to mention the later tribute students and those who excelled in the palace examinations.

This middle-aged official was over forty years old. Knowing that there was no hope in the imperial examinations and having no ties to his hometown, he joined the army and set foot on the desolate land of Nerchinsk.

This scholar is quite capable.