Colonial Era: From Remnants to European Dominator

"Listen to that sound, it's so loud! Our Great Qing Dynasty is truly getting better and better."

"It's the New Year, and I wonder when the Emperor's money will be distributed."

"Go back and mop the floor! If you can't mop it so the floor reflects your image, you'll upset your ancestors on New Year's Day, and you two will be spending your lives in the outhouse!!"

Several young eunuchs, around seventeen or eighteen years old, were just fantasizing about New Year's red envelopes amidst the sound of firecrackers when an older eunuch passing by seized the opportunity to curse them. Looking at the old man's filthy gait, one of the young eunuchs muttered a curse:

"You old cunning turtle, the day you're about to die, I'll make sure you can't find your manhood, and you'll be a lonely widow in your next life."

[It was a custom for eunuchs to take their severed genitals with them when they retired and returned to their hometowns, hoping that they could leave this world with a complete body and not be childless in the afterlife.]

Perhaps it was because His Majesty was happy, or perhaps it was because on the fourteenth day of the first lunar month last year, Consort Jia and Consort Jin gave birth to their fourth son, Yongcheng, which made Hongli, who had lost three sons in succession, extremely happy, and he also became particularly looking forward to this year's New Year.

Sure enough, early in the morning, right after the firecrackers were set off, the official silver rewards were delivered to the hands of thousands of eunuchs and palace maids. The amount of money was not much, only five taels per person, and half of it was deducted by their superiors. But even so, it was still comparable to a month's salary. Not to mention that rice, meat and wine were also provided. They had a comfortable year, except that they felt a little unhappy when their superiors embezzled the money.

Watching the commotion outside, Empress Dowager Chongqing of the Niohuru clan, inside the Shou Kang Palace, fiddled with her Buddhist prayer beads, a hint of concern in her eyes:

"Has the emperor not arrived yet at this time?"

"Your Majesty, today is the first day of the month. His Majesty is busy with ancestral worship. It's almost time, so he should be here soon."

"My son is the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, so naturally he must prioritize the country and our ancestors."

He muttered these words, but kept looking out the window until a bright yellow figure appeared. Only then did he joyfully instruct the palace maid:

"Go and make some tea, fresh tea, not old tea."

As soon as Hongli entered the room, he knelt down before the Empress Dowager on the couch:

"Greetings to the Empress Dowager! May the Empress Dowager live a long and peaceful life!"

"Arise, rise—"

After Niohuru finished speaking, she got up and pulled Hongli up from the ground:

"These days it's getting colder, has the Emperor added any clothes?"

"Reporting to Mother, Fucha recently had a new winter coat made for her, and it's much warmer to wear."

Looking at the obedient Hongli, Niohuru's smile never faded from the moment she entered. She even insisted on serving tea herself when the palace maids brought it, making Hongli repeatedly say that he dared not accept it.

As the birth mother of Emperor Hongli, Empress Dowager Niohuru was not the kind of palace intrigue expert depicted in the later drama "Empresses in the Palace". In fact, palace intrigue did exist in the Qing Dynasty, but most of it focused on the struggle for succession and the struggle for the crown prince. It was very difficult for a woman without children to truly become Empress Dowager. The only ones who were so domineering as to depose and install emperors and control the fate of the Qing Dynasty, besides the tyrannical Empress Dowager Cixi, were Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, who is still controversial among some scholars in later generations and even in her own time.

After they had finished their tea, Hongli then spoke with Niohuru about what had happened in the court:

"A few days ago, Hanse, who had distinguished himself on the frontier, returned to the capital to report on his duties. When I saw him, he lifted the knife scar on his back. I still remember that scar. The generals of my Great Qing Dynasty are by no means as some officials have criticized, who are ignorant of soldiers and generals, unable to ride horses or fire arrows."

To the unsuspecting Hongli, Hanse's unknown "self-mutilation" made him appear as a rare, loyal, and brave general in the Qing Dynasty, a fine son of the Eight Banners, and a good servant of his Aisin Gioro clan.

"If all the generals in my Great Qing were as fierce as these, my son could have pacified the Dzungars sooner and completed the achievements of three generations from my grandfather to my father."

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name 12199.99]

The excitement on Hongli's face made Niohuru somewhat worried, and she grabbed his hand and instructed him:

"During your father's reign, there were several major battles with the Dzungars. Although there were chances of victory, it was difficult to completely annihilate them. My son, you must be careful and not be too hasty."

Hongli grasped his mother's hand, first obediently agreeing, then displaying a confident air, and said with certainty:

"My son has already ordered Zhang Tingyu to procure provisions for the northwest border. Once the troops are fully equipped, we will wipe out the Dzungar Khanate in one fell swoop. Even if we cannot completely annihilate them this time, we must take a piece of their flesh and never let them recuperate again."

Seeing the emperor's triumphant appearance, even if Niohuru wanted to say something, she could only clasp her hands together and pray to Buddha.

"May Buddha bless my son to succeed and achieve this great feat that will last for eternity."

Hongli's eyes welled up with tears, but he held them back and simply said:

"Yongcheng was still breastfeeding at this time. After he finished, we had someone bring him over to keep the Empress Dowager company, which can be considered as fulfilling the filial duty of her son."

"Go quickly and make some rice porridge; just drinking milk won't do—"

Upon hearing this, Niohuru was overjoyed, and Hongli sat for another half an hour before leaving.

---------

A new year brings new beginnings. After setting off firecrackers and having breakfast on the first day of the Lunar New Year, it signifies the start of a new year, especially for the Li family of Jinshan.

"How is Zhao's young lady?"

Seeing Erlang standing silently with his head down, Li Yanxing suppressed his anger and could only look at Dalang beside him:

"Brother, what do you think? Should we marry that Zhao girl?"

Lee Won-hyung felt Lee Won-ri moving closer to him. Although he chuckled inwardly, he protected his younger brother at that moment, maintaining the demeanor of an elder brother.

"Now that she's pregnant, betrothal gifts and other formalities are indispensable."

"I'm asking you, should you marry him or not?!"

Looking at his father's interrogative gaze, Li Yuanheng knew perfectly well the answer:

"Zhao is guilty, but Zhao's concubine is innocent; they cannot be conflated."

Li Yanxing gripped the edge of the table tightly, while Li Yuanheng spoke up next:

"The difference between being ruthless and being soft-hearted is often just a thought away, but the skill of balancing firmness and gentleness is extremely demanding."

These words resonated deeply with Li Yanxing. He raised his head, looked closely at Erlang who was still pretending to be deaf and dumb, and took a deep breath:

"Are you sure you want to make up your mind?"

"Are you really going to marry that young lady from the Zhao family?"

The two questions left Li Yuanli somewhat at a loss, but he ultimately mustered his courage, followed his instincts, looked up to meet the gaze that had frightened him since childhood, and mustered the courage to answer:

"My son has the courage and has already made up his mind; there's no need for his father to ask again."

"Alright, just don't make things difficult for your older brother later."

After giving a warning, Li Yanxing turned to Li Yuanheng and asked:

"Have you suffered any losses with those muskets you've been working with at Eagle Camp these past few days?"

"Yes, because too many of them are old, there are probably less than thirty that are still usable."

Li Yuanheng's tone was full of disappointment. Some time ago, after remembering that there were still more than a hundred muskets in the treasury that had been bought from various places, he immediately rushed into the Eagle Camp, selected a hundred men to be musketeers, and even created a unit called "Eagle Division Third Team".

[According to the battalion system, a squad consisted of approximately one to two hundred men, equivalent to a company in later times.]

After thinking for a moment, Li Yanxing said to Li Yuanheng:

"The royal court in Yili should be able to get some muskets, but the journey is too far, and I'm afraid you won't be able to wait. Although the firearms workshop only maintains some cannons left over from the past, it is still possible to make a hundred or so muskets by copying their designs, but it will take some time."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanheng fell into deep thought. After all, for him, a time traveler, especially in the 18th century when firearms were prevalent, although he was located in the Western Regions, the popularity of firearms was so low that many tribes had never even heard of what cannons or muskets were.

Even the Dzungars held a traditional mindset of conquering the world through horsemanship and archery. They adopted a "use it if you can, otherwise it's fine" attitude towards firearms. They would only deploy a few dozen firearms during major battles with the Qing army to boost the morale of their cavalry or to bombard the unfortunate Green Standard Army infantry.

Admittedly, firearms did not restrict cavalry as much as they would later, but if the tactics were appropriate, they could still create a feeling that transcended the times. That is why Li Yuanheng felt this was an opportunity.

"If you really want a musket, you should go to the workshop and see for yourself. Seeing is believing."

Perhaps sensing Li Yuanheng's thoughts, Li Yanxing offered a suggestion, which was overheard by Li Yuanli, who immediately responded:

"Father, I want to go to the workshop too."

"Get lost! Aren't you ashamed of yourself?!"

As soon as Li Yuanli finished speaking, he was scolded.

With his own thoughts on his mind, Li Yuanheng quickly took his leave, planning to visit the fire station in a few days to check on things. After all, it was the New Year holiday, and even if he went, there wouldn't be many people there.

-------

In London, beggars on the streets wait with empty eyes for gentlemen on carriages, hoping for one or two francs to buy a piece of dark bread to eat, and then waiting for the next kind gentleman to give them another meal.

The pound sterling system at the time was quite complex. Roughly, one pound was equal to twenty shillings, then two hundred and forty pence, and finally nine hundred and sixty francs.

In contrast to these pitiful beggars, the House of Lords, the center of British rule and the gathering place of the nobility, was making final preparations for war.

"Fellow members of parliament, we can no longer tolerate the shamelessness of the Spanish, nor can we tolerate the obstruction of our trade on a global scale."

At this time, the First Chancellor of the Exchequer, who would later be hailed as the first Prime Minister in British history, Robert Walpole, wore a thick silver wig, spoke with a perfect aristocratic accent, and occasionally tapped his cane on the table, attracting everyone's attention.

"Britain's honor and commercial interests will not be violated by any European nation. Deciding on war is an extremely painful and lengthy process, but as loyal ministers who stand by King George's side, we are the ones who will decide Britain's fate."

"I propose that we form an ocean-going fleet to wage a legitimate war against the Spanish silver-carrying ships in the Pacific and even the Americas, and to strike at the Spanish colonial power in various places, so as to ensure that Britain's honor and dignity can be respected as it deserves."

"Seconded----"

"I second that!!"

With more than half of the votes in favor, the war plan concerning the attack on Spanish silver ships and colonies was officially approved.

According to the plan, the expedition would consist of eight warships, including the Centurion, Gerstel, and Wedge, as well as two supply ships, with a total crew of approximately 1,900.

The mission objective is to bypass Cape Horn in South America and enter the Pacific Ocean to attack Spanish colonies in Peru and Mexico, and intercept the "Manila Galleons," Spanish silver transport ships that sailed annually from Manila to Acapulco.

The so-called maintenance of dignity and commerce is a pretense; the real goal is to seize silver.