Chapter 531

Chapter 531: Suppression

Imperial Capital.

Weapons Bureau.

"Your Majesty, Mr. He, General Hou, this is the machine tool we have created. With this machine, we can produce flintlock rifles."

In a massive cement factory building, a mechanical expert pointed at a newly assembled machine tool while introducing it to a group of leaders who had come to inspect.

"Is this the only machine we have? Won’t that be too few?" He Li asked the mechanical expert.

"This machine was almost made by hand. Now that we have this machine tool, we can use machines to produce more machines. It won’t be long before we have enough machines…"

"Great, keep up the good work!"

Half an hour later, the group moved to a nearby chemical factory.

This chemical factory was established by people organized by the Chemical Academy.

The chemical factory not only produces three acids and two bases but is also developing various military chemicals.

"Your Majesty, Mr. He, General Hou, this is the smokeless gunpowder we made using nitric acid and sulfuric acid solution combined with cotton products. We are also working on ways to mass-produce it. Once we can mass-produce it, we should be able to meet the needs for firearm propellant."

"Additionally, we are working on making fulminate. Once we can produce fulminate, we can create complete shells…"

After inspecting the chemical factory, the group went to the distillery.

"Your Majesty… this is the disinfectant alcohol we have purified. With disinfectant alcohol, battlefield casualties will significantly decrease in the future…"

"Excellent!"

After visiting several factories, the group returned to the palace.

At this moment, the imperial guards were fully under General Hou’s control. In the palace where the emperor resided, all eunuchs and palace maids had become their own people.

"I think we can start training the new army. What do you all think?" He Li asked everyone.

"I think we’re ready. The glass products have brought us a substantial amount of silver, which can fully support the upcoming army training," General Hou nodded.

"Dong Muyun Cang, what do you think?" He Li turned his gaze to the emperor.

"I think it’s good."

"Alright, then let’s begin training the new army. This matter should not be too public, so I suggest we use the expansion of the imperial guards as a cover. Let’s propose training fifty thousand men while publicly stating that we are training twenty thousand."

"The imperial guards are the emperor’s private army, funded from the internal treasury, so no one can object."

"Okay, let’s expand the imperial guards. I suggest we recruit from poor families…"

"I agree. Children from poor families are easier to influence and less likely to betray us."

Days later, the emperor ordered the expansion of the imperial guards by twenty thousand men, with General Hou in complete charge.

Many people were buzzing with discussions about the emperor’s order; however, since the imperial guards were the emperor’s private army and the military funds came from the internal treasury, court officials had no means to oppose.

Do you oppose the emperor strengthening his private army? What are you planning? To rebel?

So, even though the emperor’s strengthening of the private army made some people uneasy, they had no means to stop it.

At the same time that General Hou began recruiting soldiers and training the new army, the emperor’s Qingyi Guards also started a major purge.

A man named He Li joined the Qingyi Guards one year ago and quickly achieved significant accomplishments in a short time.

Therefore, after the commander of the Qingyi Guards "fell ill," the emperor appointed him as the new commander.

Upon taking command, He Li immediately began to clean and reorganize the Qingyi Guards.

Meanwhile, in the palace, some eunuchs and palace maids also faced a purge.

One day, Emperor Dong Muyun Cang was attacked by an assassin who was a eunuch.

In his anger, the emperor ordered an interrogation of the eunuchs and palace maids, insisting that they find the mastermind behind the attack.

As a result, hundreds of eunuchs were executed, and thousands of palace maids were expelled from the palace.

Afterward, all the guard forces in the palace were completely handed over to the imperial guards.

On that day, a significant event occurred in the capital city.

A building named the Natural Science Institute appeared in the suburbs of the imperial capital.

This Natural Science Institute was large but very low-key.

From that day forward, the Qingyi Guards collected countless orphans from all over the country and sent them to this Natural Science Institute.

…

Time passed quickly, and three years went by.

One hundred kilometers from the imperial capital, in a military camp located in the mountains.

Bang bang bang bang bang bang!

Countless dense gunshots echoed in the mountains.

In this military camp, there were over five thousand soldiers.

Each of these soldiers was equipped with a semi-automatic rifle, a pistol, a dagger, and two grenades, among other weapons.

These weapons were developed and produced by the Royal Weapons Bureau.

Initially, people thought that it was good enough if this new army could be equipped with flintlock rifles and Minié balls.

However, the materials scholar at the smelting factory developed many advanced metal materials.

Then, the mechanical expert at the machine factory used the advanced materials from the smelting factory to create very advanced machine tools, achieving a technical level comparable to that of World War II in Earth’s history.

With advanced machine tools and top-quality materials, bolt-action rifles were naturally produced.

If it weren’t for the complicated production of bullets and the shortage of qualified workers, the Weapons Bureau could have completely produced automatic rifles like the AK47.

However, bolt-action rifles were more than enough to face the indigenous armies of this world.

During these three years, General Hou trained the imperial guards, which totaled eighty thousand soldiers.

Out of these, thirty thousand were originally from the imperial guards, while the remaining fifty thousand were from the new army.

These fifty thousand imperial guards in the new army consist of recruited commoners from good families, so after three years of political education, this force has become an unbreakable united army in spirit.

Moreover, now that all eighty thousand of them are equipped with advanced rifles, this army has basically become an unbeatable force on this planet.

"The new army is ready, we can start."

On this day, everyone gathered again in the palace.

"We only have eighty thousand imperial guards. Is that enough?" Emperor Dong Muyun Cang still felt a bit uncertain.

"That’s more than enough for us to carry out the military reform. Even if the entire army across the nation were to rebel at the same time, we could easily suppress them," General Hou replied confidently.

"Alright then, let’s proceed with the military reform," Dong Muyun Cang said with a nod.

"By the way, the military reform also needs the cooperation of the Qingyi Guards. I’m not sure how they are developing now," General Hou directed his gaze toward He Li.

"I have completely taken control of the Qingyi Guards. Currently, there are fifty thousand reliable Qingyi Guards members. Whenever needed, they can quickly switch to advanced firearms and assist you, General Hou, with the military reform," He Li told General Hou.

"That’s good to know…

Let’s start the military reform with the two hundred thousand capital troops."

…

Two days later, the emperor suddenly announced that he would inspect the capital troops and went directly to their camp.

However, when the emperor arrived at the capital troops, he saw a group of the weak and elderly, utterly lacking the appearance of an army.

Moreover, the number of soldiers in the capital troops was less than half of the established quota; clearly, they had been severely bilking the rations.

Immediately, the emperor flew into a rage, promptly dismissing all the commanders of the capital troops and appointing General Hou to completely reorganize the troops.

However, on the very night the emperor dismissed all the commanders and appointed General Hou, the soldiers in the capital troops revolted and began attacking the imperial capital, claiming that the court had not distributed their army wages.

With a hundred thousand capital troops in revolt, they swiftly breached the imperial capital.

After entering the capital, the first thing they did was attack the palace, almost as if it had been organized.

At that moment, only ten thousand imperial guards were stationed in the palace.

Most of the other imperial guards were stationed outside the capital.

This arrangement was mainly because the palace was too small to accommodate too many imperial guards.

Additionally, several important factories outside the capital required heavy protection from many imperial guards.

…

"The capital troops really have revolted."

In the palace, upon hearing the report from their subordinates, everyone revealed smiles.

"Mr. He, we only have ten thousand guards. Are we confident?" Dong Muyun Cang felt a bit uneasy.

"Don’t worry, our ten thousand imperial guards can easily eliminate a hundred thousand capital troops," General Hou reassured Dong Muyun Cang.

Just as the few spoke, outside, the sound of deafening battle cries began to echo.

In less than a moment, sharp crackling sounds like firecrackers rang out.

Boom boom boom!

Accompanied by sounds like thunder.

Outside the palace, rows of imperial guards were already lined up neatly.

When countless capital troops charged forward, the commander of the imperial guards immediately issued the order to fire.

Bang bang bang…

Accompanied by the sounds of intense gunfire, the charging capital soldiers fell rapidly, like wheat being harvested.

“Demons! They are demons!”

Moments later, the capital soldiers collapsed.

Countless people threw away their weapons and armor, turning to flee.

As the capital troops ran away, the large city gates of the capital also echoed with fierce gunfire.

At this moment, the imperial guards outside began to seize the city gates, preparing to trap the capital soldiers inside the city.

A few hours later, over thirty thousand capital soldiers lay dead, and tens of thousands were captured.

A rebellion initiated by a hundred thousand capital soldiers was completely quelled within a few hours.

In the capital, many people witnessed the weapons equipped by the imperial guards for the first time.

When they saw the weapons of the imperial guards make the bang bang bang sounds and kill targets from afar, everyone was left astonished.

After the imperial guards suppressed the capital soldiers’ rebellion, the Qingyi Guards sprang into action immediately, capturing countless military generals and noble families.

The swift actions of the Qingyi Guards sent a wave of panic across the capital.

On the following day, the emperor issued an order to execute all the commanders and families involved in the capital troops’ rebellion and to confiscate the properties of all rebellious families.

In an instant, heads were rolling all over the capital.

This situation also made some families that did not participate in the rebellion feel greatly relieved.

A few days later, the court resumed operations.

At the same time, Emperor Dong Muyun Cang reappointed General Hou to reorganize the capital troops.

As for the capital soldiers who were captured during the rebellion, they were all sent off to do forced labor.

Three months later,

“Urgent report from eight hundred miles.”

Soon, a messenger arrived at the palace and saw Emperor Dong Muyun Cang.

“Your Majesty, the Daxuan Empire in the north suddenly mobilized two hundred thousand troops to ambush North Yuan City…”

The messenger quickly reported the news to the emperor.

After sending the messenger away, the emperor immediately sought out He Li.

"Mr. He, can the five thousand imperial guards we arranged really withstand an attack from the two hundred thousand Daxuan Empire troops?"

"Don’t worry, two hundred thousand Daxuan Empire troops is nothing; five thousand is completely sufficient," He Li assured Dong Muyun Cang.

In fact, a month ago, the Qingyi Guards under He Li’s control had already reported back the intelligence regarding the Daxuan Empire’s plans to invade the Da Min Empire.

At that time, after a group discussion, General Hou sent only five thousand imperial guards.

"Don’t worry, the five thousand imperial guards we sent have dozens of heavy machine guns. The Daxuan Empire’s army can’t possibly win," General Hou reassured Emperor Dong Muyun Cang.

Dong Muyun Cang, being an ancient person without experience, did not understand the power of firearms, but others certainly did.

With dozens of heavy machine guns, even a thousand people could absolutely make twenty thousand cold-armed soldiers flee in panic.

This was the crushing force of civilization.

As expected, less than half a month later, news of the victory reached the imperial capital.

"What? Five thousand imperial guards killed thirty thousand and captured fifty thousand? Not only did they defeat the Daxuan Empire’s army, but they also chased into Daxuan territory?" Dong Muyun Cang asked the messenger, somewhat in disbelief.

"Yes, Your Majesty…" the messenger replied with a hint of excitement in his voice.

……

Soon, this news spread throughout the capital.

The entire capital was in an uproar.

At the same time, Emperor Dong Muyun Cang ordered all border troops in the north to invade Daxuan territory and cooperate with the imperial guards in battle.

A month later, another shocking piece of news arrived: the five thousand imperial guards had actually breached the Daxuan Empire’s imperial capital and captured the royal family members, then asked Emperor Dong Muyun Cang how to handle them.

When this news emerged, the entire capital erupted.

Instantly, this news spread rapidly to other provincial governments like a tsunami.

A month later, the Da Min Empire and the Daxuan Empire signed a treaty.

The treaty stipulated that half of Daxuan’s territory would be ceded to the Da Min Empire, and the Daxuan Empire would pay homage to the Da Min Empire.

"What a pity! If only the military reform had been completed, we could have easily swallowed the entire Daxuan Empire."

"There’s nothing to regret; if we develop a few more years, we can sweep away all neighboring countries."

“Speaking of development, we still lack too many talented people. If that senior could send us some more talented individuals…”

“Hm?”

He Li, who was reflecting on his thoughts, suddenly froze as he saw several hundred people appear in the hall.

“What the heck! I just said we needed talent, and they actually delivered talent to me?”

These people were naturally sent over by Li Xiaojun.

He too felt that He Li and their development was progressing too slowly.

So upon hearing He Li lament about the lack of talent, he simply brought over several hundred individuals of various types.

……

With the addition of this new batch of talents, the development of the Da Min Empire took off as if it had hit the accelerator.

Suddenly, countless advanced industries surged forth like a geyser.

For the empire, one year later, after a year of training, the two hundred thousand capital troops equipped with advanced weaponry completed their training.

Thus, the emperor began to reorganize the border troops.

Quickly, countless imperial guards went to the border troops to start the reorganization.

Faced with the reorganization, some border generals were naturally very uncooperative; some troops even mutinied.

However, no matter which troops dared to mutiny, what awaited them was the brutal suppression by the imperial guards.

At the same time, the Qingyi Guards also moved out to capture those problematic generals.

In six months, the entire Da Min Empire experienced over three hundred military mutinies, yet what awaited them was cruel repression.

A hundred-person imperial guard could suppress a regular troop of several thousand in mutiny and still achieve zero casualties.

This shows the crushing superiority of modern firearms over cold weapons.

Of course, other countries were aware of the significant events happening in the Da Min Empire, but they did not dare to make any moves.

Because the example of the Daxuan Empire was right there.

Five thousand imperial guards, relying on powerful weapons, easily defeated an army of two hundred thousand.

With such combat power, who would dare to provoke?

At the same time, all countries sent out spies to try to uncover the secrets of advanced firearms, but it was utterly futile.

One year later, all military forces in the Da Min Empire had seamlessly undergone their reorganization.

"It’s time to implement comprehensive reforms in the country…"