Lu Yuanpeng stood in the corner of the Qianqing Palace, the power center of the Great China Empire, and he was extremely excited.
Dozens of people competed for the position of Secretary of General Affairs, and he, the new top pick, passed all the tests and outperformed all his competitors.
He is most grateful to his master Song Kangnian. Without the care of Song Kangnian, the Minister of Household Affairs, he would not even have a chance to compete.
Lu Yuanpeng now serves as the stenographer of the General Affairs Department, responsible for recording the discussions between the emperor and his ministers at the Imperial Council.
This position requires very high requirements, including good memory, fast writing speed, and the content must not make any mistakes in a single word.
But in this position, he is one of the positions closest to the emperor.
The size of power does not depend on the size of the official position, but the distance from the emperor.
Lu Yuanpeng saw Emperor Su He and ministers arriving one after another. He took a few deep breaths and prepared to start his first shorthand work.
Emperor Su He looked at the important ministers of the empire.
Today there are more officials from the Metropolitan Governor's Office.
For those who are familiar with the previous meeting, one look at the lineup and they will know that today’s main discussion is about war.
Emperor Su He said with a serious expression: "It has been more than half a year since Aiqing Chu Sheng brought the news of Russia's invasion. How is the empire prepared for the war?"
Prime Minister Wei Shiming immediately stood up and reported: "Your Majesty, the cabinet will fully support this war in accordance with your Majesty's instructions.
The cabinet has allocated 32 million taels of silver coins to the Metropolitan Government.
At the same time, 8.4 million taels of silver coins were used to purchase various supplies and transport them to Tumu Mansion in Ili, which is located on the front line."
Prime Minister Wei Shiming, as the civilian representative, was the first to express civilian support for this war.
To prevent the war from going unfavorable, the Governor-General passed the blame to the cabinet.
Civilians can't control the army now, but they don't have to bear the liquidation caused by the failure of the war.
Song Kangnian, the Minister of Household Affairs, then stood up and said: "Your Majesty, there are still more than 64 million taels of silver coins in the national treasury.
Even if the war is to last for a long time, the national treasury will still have enough strength to support the continuation of the war.
The imperial court can issue war bonds at any time and raise tens of millions of silver coins from the private sector."
Emperor Su He had a smile on his face after listening to the reports from Prime Minister Wei Shiming and Minister of Household Affairs Song Kangnian.
War is fought with silver coins. As long as you have enough silver coins, you will not lose the war even if you are at an early disadvantage.
What's more, he believed that the Royal Army of China, with equal strength, fought against the Russian serf armies, and it was surprising that they lost the war.
Jinyinhua, Minister of Industry, saw that his colleagues made Emperor Su He happy, so he had no choice but to stand up.
During the pre-Ming Dynasty, when there was a war, the most difficult thing to do was to be the Minister of Household Affairs, as the state treasury could not provide the money at all.
Now when the Great China Empire encounters a war, the most difficult person is him, the Minister of Works.
"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Industry has not met expectations. I apologize."
Honeysuckle bowed to the end and showed her attitude of admitting her mistake.
He then talked about the difficulties encountered by the Ministry of Industry.
“The construction of the Northwest Railway has encountered difficulties that were unimaginable before.
For example, there are the problems of digging tunnels and building rail tracks on permafrost.
As a result, the construction period has been delayed again and again, and the current terminal point of the railway is only pushed forward to Turpan.
Traveling from Turpan Prefecture to Tumu Prefecture mainly depends on the previously built asphalt road.
Transport large quantities of materials through heavy-loaded carriages.”
Honeysuckle, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, bravely told the matter.
He was full of confidence before and believed that building the railway to Yili Prefecture within a year would not be a big problem.
After the construction of the Northwest Railway really started, Honeysuckle discovered that there were too many technical problems that needed to be solved when building railways in the northwest region.
The desert and long-term severe cold in the northwest region were just the simplest problems they encountered.
However, these two major problems made it impossible to build the railway.
Emperor Su He was not surprised when he heard what Jinyinhua, Minister of Industry, said.
The Usi-Tibet and Northwest regions of the Great China Empire have extremely high railway construction technology. They are the most difficult regions in the world to build railways.
With the current rudimentary railway construction technology of the empire, it is still very difficult to conquer these two areas.
Emperor Su He said calmly: "I understand, some problems are truly insurmountable.
Russia's method of transporting supplies to the front line is also animal-powered transport.
Their rear is further away from the front line than the empire.
I have only one request for you, to deliver supplies to the front line in good quality and quantity.
As for how it will be transported, that’s not the point.”
After hearing what Emperor Su He said, Jin Yinhua, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, relaxed.
Fortunately, he told the truth and didn't boast.
Now that he can obtain Emperor Su He's understanding, once he conceals the facts and causes negative consequences, he, as the Minister of Industry, will no longer be able to serve.
Honeysuckle, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, said excitedly: "Your Majesty, please rest assured that I can ensure that the materials are safely transported to the front line."
The four departments of the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Medicine have little to do with war.
The four ministers did not participate in the discussions at the imperial meeting.
Governor Feng Sanqiu saw that the civil servants had stopped speaking. Below was the home of their Governor's Mansion.
Feng Sanqiu stood up and reported: "Your Majesty, the Governor's Office has received news that Russia may invade.
The Metropolitan Governor's Office began to mobilize troops and generals, hoard supplies, and at the same time let the staff conduct war games and formulate strategies and tactics.
The commander-in-chief of the northwest battlefield was Cai Gong Wu Jie, who commanded the Fourth Army and the Nineteenth Army.
The Fourth Army is responsible for defending the Tumu-Lake Balkhash line.
The 19th Army is responsible for defending the Wulianghai line in the north of Ili.
The strength of the northwest battlefield includes two corps and nine cavalry divisions.
Only with 280,000 troops stationed in the northwest can we ensure that the northwest is safe.
We will never let the Russian army break the frontline defense."
Governor Feng Sanqiu was full of confidence and finished introducing the situation on the northwest battlefield.
Wang Shiyuan, Chief of General Staff of the General Staff Department, began to introduce the specific situation on the front line.
"Your Majesty, after receiving the news, the Grand Governor's Office notified the northwest region to organize the army and prepare for war. At the same time, it immediately sent a special team to enter the tribes in Kazakh and other Central Asian regions to investigate the situation there.
Xiao Zuo also disguised himself as a caravan to investigate the situation in Russia.
After collecting intelligence, the Metropolitan Governor's Office discovered that Russia was indeed preparing for war.
At the same time, military supplies and troops were mobilized to the border with the empire.
The Metropolitan Government adjusts frontline warnings at any time based on the latest intelligence.
Some people are gossiping that the Royal Army of China has spent tens of millions of taels of silver coins on military expenditures, but has chosen to station troops.
The reason for not stationing troops on the front line is because it is more beneficial to the empire to station troops now.
The balance of victory in this war will depend on which side has better logistical supplies.
The empire is waiting for Russia's attack. As a defender, our army's logistical supplies will not be a problem.
After consuming the strength of the Russian army, and then letting the army attack, you can seize the strategic points of the Russian army.
The northwest region was the region with the lowest war intensity before, and they were also the last regions to replace the latest weapons.
Now the entire army, and a large number of the army, are not equipped with new weapons.
Our army built arsenals in Yili Prefecture and Tumu Prefecture to produce some weapons and ammunition.
As time goes by, the army in the northwest region will complete the change of equipment and its combat effectiveness will be greatly improved.
Time is on the side of the empire, and if the war starts later, our army has a greater chance of victory."
Chief of General Staff Wang Shiyuan had another reason that he did not say, but everyone in the meeting knew it.
That is, before, the main task of the cavalry division was to suppress the grassland tribes.
With the recovery of the grasslands, the imperial court immigrated to the grasslands in large numbers.
At the same time, repeated raids were carried out against rebellious tribes to eliminate the opposition forces in the grassland.
The main task of the cavalry division is to suppress bandits on the grasslands. This is also the reason why the empire expanded to the surrounding areas, but did not expand to the northwest region.
Now, with several years of development, grassland banditry has been brought under control.
Militia formed by local immigrants, they were also able to handle less serious Mongol tribe rebellions independently.
Only a small number of troops are needed to suppress the Mongolian tribes in an area.
Only then can the cavalry divisions be mobilized from the steppe areas and head to the northwest to fight the Russian army.
The main war faction in the Metropolitan Governor's Office is already planning to take advantage of this war to conquer East Asia.
In front of the sand table, Chief of General Staff Wang Shiyuan began to describe the response to the northwest battlefield after the Russian army invaded.
In the northwest battlefield, there are various situations such as annihilating the enemy troops, repelling the enemy troops, losing the defense line, etc.
The General Staff Headquarters has already made plans. The worst case scenario is that Tumufu or Ulianghai falls, and the frontline troops suffer heavy casualties.
At that time, we could only dispatch troops from Gansu and Sichuan to support Ili.
Emperor Su He saw that the governor's palace was well prepared, and he happily said: "I am very satisfied.
This is the northwest battlefield against the Russian army, and it is the first direct conflict between the empire and the West.
The Royal Army of Great China must fight this battle well and build up the prestige of the empire.
Deputy Chief of General Staff Qu Tian, as my special envoy, went to the northwest to supervise the war.
Responsible for coordinating affairs between the armies in the northwest, as well as between the military and local affairs.
The soldiers on the front line fought bravely to kill the enemy, and I will not be stingy with their rewards."
Deputy Chief of General Staff Qu Tian immediately stood up and saluted the army: "Please rest assured, your Majesty, I will definitely carry your Majesty's instructions to the front line and inspire the soldiers on the front line to fight the enemy bravely."
…………………………
Qu Tian got off the train from Turpan Railway Station wearing a woolen coat and a dog-skin hat.
The cold wind made his face turn red. He stepped on the knee-deep snow and walked outside.
After the imperial meeting ended, Qu Tian, as the emperor's special envoy, immediately took the train and rushed to the front line without any delay.
Qu Tian looked at the heavy snow outside and said with emotion: "The railway is so convenient. We only need to install a snow plowing device on the locomotive, and we won't have to worry about heavy snow."
He looked at the military logistics officials who came to greet him and asked: "In this weather, can you successfully transport the supplies to the front line?"
The official from the Logistics Department said truthfully: "Master Qu, it is impossible to pass through in this weather.
We need to send people to urgently open the road blocked by snow.
In the northwest region, mountains were previously closed due to heavy snowfall, making them inaccessible for up to half a year.
Now we can only use a lot of manpower to clear the road as soon as possible so that horse-drawn carriages can pass."
Qu Tian nodded and looked at the weather conditions here.
The scope of this snow is small, and the roads can be cleared quickly.
If this snowfall covers the entire Ili, the speed of road clearing will be very slow.
Qu Tian waited at the train station for two days before the road was officially cleared and traffic could continue.
He set off in a carriage with the transport team.
Some of the transportation teams here belong to the Logistics Department, and there are also a large number of private transportation teams.
They received orders from the government and transported corresponding supplies to the front line.
It mainly transports food, cotton-padded clothes, daily necessities and other supplies.
Qu Tian rode his horse and came to a relatively large civilian transportation team, preparing to learn about the transportation of materials.
Wearing a woolen coat and a dog-skin hat, he looked like he had an extraordinary status. The manager of the transportation team immediately came to greet him personally.
The shopkeeper, who looked to be in his 50s, took the initiative to chat: "Sir, this must be your first time walking this road."
Qu Tian nodded and said: "My dear husband, I am indeed going to Tumu Mansion for business. The journey is a bit boring, so I would like to know about the situation on this stretch of road.
How could Lao Zheng be able to tell at a glance that this was my first time walking this road?"
The shopkeeper replied excitedly: "If your surname is Qiao, just call me Qiao Laoqi."
We are the transport team of the Longchang, taking over the government's task of transporting a batch of supplies to Tumu Mansion, and we are just on the way."
Qiao Laoqi pointed to the horses of his transport team, and then pointed to the horse Qu Tian was riding.
“The weather in the northwest is unpredictable, especially in the past decade or so.
Severe cold weather often occurs.
Not to mention humans can't stand it, even animals can't stand it.
We mainly use livestock to transport supplies, mainly mules, which are more cold-resistant.
Even so, we will put on cotton-padded clothes and muffs on the mules.
Prevent mules from dying due to severe cold.
After heavy snowfall, the road becomes slippery.
Wearing foot muffs can also prevent your mule from slipping.
Your horse is not cold-tolerant and you haven't put clothes on it yet.
This section of the road is okay now, but if we go northwest, the horse may not be able to carry it."
Qu Tian bought a cotton horse jacket from Qiao Laoqi and put it on his horse.
He didn't buy cotton clothes for the guard's horse for comparison.
When Qu Tian heard Qiao Laoqi's suggestion, he immediately thought that the army in front did not have horse clothes.
If the horse clothing really affects the combat effectiveness of the army, the horses need to be replaced immediately to prevent the severe cold from affecting the combat effectiveness of the cavalry division.
The team walked on the asphalt road. The built road was very smooth and would not cause people to lose their way.
They passed a mountain pass, and the huge wind blew the gravel out of the mountain pass.
The heavily loaded carriages were swaying in the wind.
Qu Tian could only dismount and pull his horse forward, following behind the carriage.
From time to time, the sound of overturning carriages and the screams of mules could be heard in the convoy.
They walked through this section of the road, and Qiao Laoqi said helplessly: "This is the Death Pass, and the wind here is strong and fast.
No one died this time, so that’s lucky.”
Qu Tian asked: "Are there many dangerous places like this along the way?"
"Not many, only three places in total.
The wind is strong at Death Pass, the cliff is too deep, and it is easy to lose your way in the desert.
These are natural disasters and are relatively easy to overcome.
The real disaster is the horse bandits that appear from time to time."
After Qiao Laoqi finished speaking, he took out the flintlock short gun from his arms.
"It is only because of these hard goods that our transportation team is not afraid of horse bandits.
Today's horse bandits only dare to rob small caravans, they dare not rob large caravans.
The security on this road has been better recently.
The transportation team of the Logistics Department often takes this route.
Those people had quick guns in their hands, and they beat the horse bandits until they howled."
Qu Tian made another note, urging the governor of Yili to eliminate banditry along the way and ensure the smooth flow of transportation lines.
They climbed over several mountain passes and followed the road to the end point, the military camp next to Tumufu City.
