Chapter 210: Troops Arrive at Suzhou
Chapter 210: Troops Arrive at Suzhou
“Shao is a general who is particularly good at utilizing the latest technology.
On the march route in the Hexi Corridor, I kept seeing steam tractors pulling dozens of tons of coal, grain, and black beans passing the marching troops.
There are at least hundreds of them that I have seen, and the number is still increasing.
Before railways were built to the desolate northwest region of the Qing Dynasty, steam tractors became the fastest means of transportation.
Shao was probably the first general to use steam tractors in large-scale warfare. According to Shao, they built at least 300 steam tractors with a load capacity of 60 tons to support transportation during the Western Expedition, which could replace 20,000 camels or horses.
The assembly plant in Lanzhou is also producing new tractors at a rate of four per day, all of which will be used to ensure the logistical supply for the Westward Expedition.
Although I saw at least a quarter of the steam tractors broken down on the road, professional mechanical repair personnel would arrive soon.
In the territory of the Qing Dynasty, there was a post station every fifty miles. These post stations now became places for the army to store food, fodder, coal and steam tractor parts, and tractor maintenance personnel were also stationed here.
I even saw technicians from the Federation among the maintenance staff. They were very satisfied with coming to work in Qing Dynasty and didn't mind riding horses on the road and working more than ten hours a day.
It's not that the technicians at Federal are too dedicated, but Shao paid them twice as much as Federal, so they created at least three times the value of working at Federal. I think those Federal capitalists who complain about the laziness of the workers should reflect on themselves.
The Qing Dynasty I saw was completely different from the stereotyped impression of the Qing Dynasty. Railways and telegraph lines were being laid everywhere in the country, and factories emitting black smoke were constantly in operation. As far as I know, all this was due to Shao's promotion.
Coupled with the Qing Dynasty's abundant manpower and the well-known diligence of Chinese workers, I predict that the Qing Dynasty will soon produce a large number of cheap, high-quality industrial products sufficient to supply the world.
The Qing Dynasty has established at least two universities and several times more primary and secondary schools with modern systems. I believe that the number of universities and primary and secondary schools will grow explosively in the future.
I predict that within a dozen years at most, tens of thousands of Qing university students will confidently walk into research institutes and factories, vowing to take away the jobs of their federal counterparts.
The equipment of Shao's army is the most advanced I have ever seen, much more advanced than the equipment of both sides in the Federation's just-ended civil war.
For well-known reasons, our federation cannot quickly equip its troops with new weapons, such as machine guns and rapid-fire cannons, which are widely used in Shao's army.
Shao doesn't seem to be making things difficult for the new arms dealers. This may be due to the strict requirements of Eastern Confucian culture on the integrity of officials. Our federal civil servants... hehe.
I am confident that Shao's westward expedition will be successful, and a new top power is being born. If you have extra funds, believe me, come to Qingguo to invest, and you will make a lot of money.
——"Journey to the West in the Qing Dynasty" No. 15, Mark Twain.
With the permission of the commander-in-chief of the Western Expedition to use the official post station to deliver letters, Mark Twain's continuous reports on the Western Expedition were serialized and continuously transmitted to Lanzhou, and then sent to San Francisco by telegram.
The sales of the California Terra increased significantly as a result, and in a short period of time, Mark Twain's salary was raised twice in a row.
The daily pleasure of countless Americans now is to sit by a warm fireplace after dinner, drink black tea imported from the Qing Dynasty, read Mark Twain's serials, and explore stories from the distant East.
Mark Twain became famous. He always boasted about the rise of the Qing Dynasty, constantly added personal opinions in his articles, and satirized the various shortcomings of the Federation. American readers jokingly and lovingly called him "Qing Boast Mark".
Although it was criticized, everyone still looked forward to the early arrival of the steam mail ship sailing on the Pacific Ocean so that they could see all the new and novel things that Mark Twain confidently described in his articles.
At the same time, they began to complain that the scientists were not doing their job well. Why couldn't the photos be sent over by telegram? Were the scientists in the Federation flirting with their female graduate students every day instead of doing their work?
Shao Quanzhong's troops traveled fifty miles a day, neither fast nor slow, and in ten days they caught up with the 600,000 refugees who had been walking for a week ahead.
It is impossible for 600,000 people to leave at once. In fact, the refugee group stretched for hundreds of miles. The one coming from the farthest point in Shaanxi took another month to reach Lanzhou. Most of the people had already arrived, so they left first. A few people walked faster and gradually caught up with the large group.
It took Shao Quanzhong a year to stockpile food and fodder for 80,000 people on the Western Expedition. Why did it only take a few more months to add more than 600,000 people?
Because the refugees were mainly people, there were not many horses, so the old, weak, women, children and their belongings sat on ox carts, and the young and strong drove the sheep on foot. They walked 30 miles a day, which was basically the same as the Mongolian tribes who followed the water and grass for food. Originally, the sheep at home were almost enough for food.
It’s just that the journey is long, so just prepare as much food as possible in case of emergency.
Shao Quanzhong's army was composed entirely of young and strong men who could eat a lot. Their food and grass were all provided by the logistics department. Moreover, each soldier had two horses on average, and the cavalry had three horses. The food intake of horses was five times that of humans...
In fact, if the Russians had not been involved, the toughest battle of the Western Expedition would have already been fought at Jinjibao.
All the strong cities were in the Han territory. Outside Jiayuguan, there was no city in Ili Province that could withstand the heavy artillery bombardment. The Huai Army in the field was basically invincible with its superior firepower.
Therefore, the biggest difficulty of the expedition to Yili was logistics, not fighting.
On October 25, the army arrived at the outskirts of Suzhou and could already hear the rumbling of artillery.
Shao Quanzhong met Shao Hengzhong, the front-line commander he had sent, at the foot of Suzhou City.
Suzhou, also known as Jiuquan, is an important city in the northwest of the Qing Dynasty. Outside Suzhou is Jiayu Pass, and outside the pass is the vast desert.
The city wall of Suzhou is tall and majestic. It was originally used to prevent rebellion from the west. As a result, Suzhou was occupied by bandits, and the solid fortress built by our Qing Dynasty began to become a problem for our own people.
Shao Hengzhong was very cautious in his work. He never slacked off when setting up camps and sending out scouts. After suffering a loss at Jinjibao, where two battalions were lost, he did not pursue the enemy too deeply. Although the results of the battle would be discounted, there would be no major losses.
Ma Wenlu in Suzhou City once went out of the city to attack, trying to find the weakness of the Huai Army. However, the Huai Army had no weakness, and Ma Wenlu was defeated in the field battle and fled back to Suzhou, where he focused on defending the city.
Based on military common sense, he planned to lead the Huai Army to retreat until the food supply ran out, but he didn't know that the Huai Army's steam tractors had shattered his delusion.
"Report to my brother, after the efforts of the heavy artillery regiment, all the outer fortresses of Suzhou have been cleared. Now the heavy artillery regiment is attacking Talwan, which is in a pincer position with Suzhou. Bai Yanhu is stationed there with 4,000 direct troops and 5,000 reinforcements sent by the pseudo-Khan of Dihua, Tuodelin."
"Report, with the assistance of the heavy artillery, the Linbo troops have defeated Tarwan and killed 8,000 enemies. Bai Yanhu led a thousand remnants and fled directly back to Yili Province without entering Suzhou City."
Although this group of people are prone to making mistakes, they are really strong and dare to take risks, and they always achieve huge results when they make a move.
Bai Yanhu actually ran away again. I have never seen him win any battle, but he runs quite fast.
Only Suzhou City was left. Shao Quanzhong ordered, "Continue the bombardment until the city walls collapse."
He was planning to have his troops spend the winter in Suzhou, so there was no need to rush. After bombarding them for three months, the city would surely fall.
Twenty days later, Ma Zhan'ao escorted a large group of refugees to Suzhou. The siege heavy artillery regiment was still bombarding the city wall at a leisurely pace, and it looked like it would take less than a month to break through the city wall.
Shao Quanzhong was not in a hurry, but Ma Zhan'ao was. He ran to see Shao Quanzhong and said, "Master Zhongcheng, please give us more weapons. I will be responsible for taking Suzhou quickly."
(End of this chapter)