Chapter 433 Xiaowa Village in Haicheng

Chapter 433 Xiaowa Village in Haicheng

Chapter 433 Xiaowa Village in Haicheng

Hailing Port is still prosperous, with a constant stream of passenger and cargo ships docked at the port.

Shao Quanzhong was not used to disturbing the people, so he only brought a battalion of guards ashore. The army took turns disembarking to repair, and all the equipment was left on the ship.

Shao Quanzhong slowly walked down from the Haiqi and suddenly saw hundreds of people rushing towards him.

It was impossible for him to rush in front of Shao Quanzhong, and he was immediately stopped by the guards holding their gun butts.

Hundreds of people knelt down in the distance, "Prince Rui, please make the decision for us!"

"Report, they claim to be family members of the Bannerman Patrol Battalion stationed in Jiangsu."

Shao Quanzhong walked over with his hands behind his back, "Why? Who dares to bully the Bannermen?"

"Your Highness, the bannermen in Taizhou are fine. But I heard that the new army in the twelve provinces rebelled and countless bannermen were killed, more than 100,000 of them have died. In the past few days, someone in Hailing City has also posted a notice saying that all bannermen will be slaughtered."

"Now that you are back, you must protect the lives of us bannermen."

Shao Quanzhong smiled and held up his hands, "Everyone, get up, go back without worry, the Huai Army doesn't kill people randomly in their territory, you will be fine."

"Come here, issue a notice in the city not to incite people to fight each other. I am from the Plain Yellow Banner. If anyone wants to kill a bannerman, tell him to come and challenge my Imperial Guards."

Uh, who has the ability to fight 6,000 people alone...

The highest-ranking bannerman among the bannermen was the Bordered Yellow Banner, followed by the Plain Yellow Banner and the Plain White Banner. These were the top three banners, directly under the emperor, and theoretically there was no king within the banner.

Of course, Dorgon from the Plain White Banner and Shao Quanzhong from the Plain Yellow Banner are the only two exceptions.

Shao Quanzhong is a Han Chinese, so he is also a bannerman. In theory, the Eight Banner Han people and bannermen are treated the same. Bannermen are actually a general term for the founding military aristocrats, including Manchus, Mongolians and Han people, and are not divided by ethnic blood.

When the Qing Dynasty was founded, there were even more Han Chinese in the Eight Banners than Manchus and Mongols.

"Then please send troops to rescue the bannermen in other places, Your Majesty."

"No problem, Maria. Send a telegram to the rebellious New Army commanders and tell them that if the Eight Banners Patrol Battalions surrender, they must not kill prisoners, let alone the families of civilians."

"The new army is to drive out the Tartars, not to kill them all. We have already killed more than 100,000 of them. Enough is enough. There are more than three million bannermen. Do we have to kill them all? This will greatly damage the vitality of China. We can't do this."

The bannermen nearby felt surprised by Shao Quanzhong's words, "Your Majesty, they are all rebelling, will they listen to you?"

"I think it's acceptable. I'll post it in the name of me and Brother Tian."

Well, Prince Rui’s sworn brother is the chief rebel leader. This matter has always been kept secret, but now we don’t have to care about it.

Twelve provinces were in rebellion and people were in panic. Except for the two provinces of Kokand and Ili where Dong Fuxiang was in charge, massacres of bannermen occurred in other places.

Previously, the Manchus, Mongols and Han Chinese in Yi and Hao provinces were very united because they had a common enemy of rebellion and banditry. Dong Fuxiang declared independence as the governor, and there was no turmoil in the two frontier provinces.

As for why Dong Fuxiang rebelled... The old Dong family used to be the leader of the Gelaohui in Shaanxi. Now Dong Fuxiang is the leader of the Gelaohui in Ili and Kokand provinces, and the Literary Society has always been an official organization in the two provinces...

After pacifying the families of the bannermen, Shao Quanzhong returned to Qiao Garden.

Rong Hui was not at home as usual, she was at work. With the Fenni Society there, the Huai Army's territory was as stable as a rock, with no signs of unrest, and those who went to school went to school, and those who went to work went to work.

Aunt Qiao came up to him the first time and said, "Master, I have received twelve telegrams from the Military Affairs Office in the past few days, two every morning and evening, asking if you have returned."

"Maria, call the Military Affairs Office back. I'll go to the capital as soon as I finish dealing with the urgent matters. Why are they in such a hurry? The capital has the First Town New Army and the Bordered Blue Banner New Army, plus 800,000 bannermen. Can it be conquered by the three divisions and one brigade of the Zhili New Army?"

"The Grand Council said that since Yiktang'a led two regiments of bannermen's new army from Vladivostok to Dagukou, one regiment and one corps of rebel new army from Fengtian also entered the pass to join the siege of the capital. The current situation in the capital is that the four regiments and two corps of rebels are facing off against the bannermen's new army from four regiments." "Then there is even less urgency."

"But - the new army of the twelve provinces in the interior has received donations from a large number of wealthy people. Now the number of soldiers has increased to 200,000. They are now gathering in Xi'an and preparing to march towards the capital."

"It took me two months to get back from Istanbul, but the rebel army is still in Shaanxi? This is too inefficient."

Shao Quanzhong was a full man who did not know the hunger of a hungry man. The Huai Army came when they were called and moved out quickly because they had enough money.

The new armies of the twelve provinces coordinated their operations to eliminate the armies in each province loyal to the Qing court. Countless fierce battles broke out, and they also had to find funding. It was already quite difficult to mobilize 200,000 regular troops in two months.

Shao Quanzhong stroked his chin and said to himself, "It seems that I came back too early."

Shao Quanzhong rested in Qiao Garden for a day, and went to the secret testing site of Haoguozi Company outside the city the next day.

Wow, here, a huge airship weighing more than 100 tons has been built.

Count Zeppelin ran over. Shao Quanzhong stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the airship. "Can it fly?"

"Your Highness, no."

Uh, I was happy for nothing, right?
Zeppelin looked excited. "But it will be able to fly soon. Let me introduce you to a new expert who has joined the research team."

A bearded German man in his forties bowed to Shao Quanzhong.

"This is Ross August Otto, the engine expert I invited from Germany. He is the inventor of the two-stroke internal combustion engine, but it doesn't have enough horsepower to be used on a huge airship. I invited him to come and he is currently developing a four-stroke internal combustion engine that burns gas."

Otto was very excited. "I have always believed that the four-stroke internal combustion engine will change the world, but unfortunately there was not enough funding before. Hailing has enough manpower, funds and equipment. I believe that my team will soon achieve results."

"According to my calculations, as long as the sixteen four-stroke engines work together, this airship will definitely fly, and we will create a miracle in the sky."

Back at Qiao Garden, "Report! The Grand Council sent another telegram urging you to go north, and there is also a joint telegram from Empress Dowager Ci'an and the five concubines in the harem, saying that they haven't seen each other for a long time and are waiting to serve you in Sanhai, West Garden."

"Shh! Keep your voice down. Don't let Hui'er hear you."

"Report, Madam Hui'er has read the telegram and is urging you to go quickly."

Um, I forgot, Hui'er is different from Xiu'er in this aspect... Xiu'er has been in London for so long and there is no news, when will she come back...

"Okay, call them back and we'll be off now!"

Shao Quanzhong boarded the Shanghai Qi. After the expeditionary force returned from Europe, they rested in Hailing for three days and then headed north out of the Yangtze River estuary.

On May 1875, 5, the Haiqi arrived in Yingkou.

Yes, you read that right. Instead of going to Dagukou, Shao Quanzhong went to Yingkou.

The army anchored outside the harbor, and Shao Quanzhong led the Guards Brigade and arrived at Beixiaowa Village, Haicheng County on the 18th.

The arrival of six thousand mechanized troops outside the village caused panic among the people of this small village. No one knew why Shao Quanzhong suddenly came here instead of going to the capital.

From Shao Quanzhong's own perspective, what he has to do today is much more important than going to the capital.

Now, it’s 1875. Time flies.

Shao Quanzhong only brought a guard platoon and led a horse into this familiar yet unfamiliar village.

(End of this chapter)