In April of the second year of Qianlong's reign, the first batch of steel was produced in Tiangongfang.

 Steel is the cornerstone of modern industry. Only with good steel can we cast machines with excellent performance, build strong and reliable houses, build ships, trains, steam engines, and so on.

However, China's ancient steel production has never been high. According to incomplete statistics, the annual steel production during the Yongzheng period was only 200,000 tons. Moreover, the output of high-quality steel is only a few tens of thousands of tons at most, and most of the rest is second-grade iron.

By comparison, during the same period, annual steel production in the UK was as high as 800,000 tons. By 1850, during the Opium War, British steel production had reached 2.5 million tons.

With such a high output, Britain could be fully armed and use its ships and artillery to invade China. Therefore, if we want to avoid being beaten, we must increase steel production and create more powerful and longer-range firearms.

 At that time, even if the foreign powers come, we will have enough power to fight them back.

Hence Xiang Nan is very concerned about the construction and operation of the steel plant and wishes he could inspect it every day. But now that Xiang Nan is very satisfied when he sees the boiling molten steel coming out of the furnace and turning into high-quality steel ingots.

After a day of production, the daily output of Tiangong Iron and Steel Plant has been basically calculated, totaling two hundred tons. In the future, as workers' experience increases and efficiency improves, steel production should be approximately doubled, which is 140,000 tons.

Although this output is not as high as that of the UK, you must know that this is just the output of one factory. If five, ten, or twenty more seats are added, the output will be huge.

Furthermore, 140,000 tons of steel is enough to cast muskets and artillery.

By that time, all the Qing troops will be replaced by muskets and artillery. Not to mention hitting Zhungeer and Jinchuan, even the old Maozi in Siberia, the colonists in Southeast Asia, and Japan across the sea will never be able to imagine that his steel army can defeat them. One enemy.

 …

 In July of the second year of Qianlong's reign, Dana explosive was successfully developed.

This kind of explosive is made of flammable and explosive nitroglycerin, mixed with silica-based earth and nitrocellulose. It is not only powerful but also easy to transport.

The successful production of Dana explosives means that guns and artillery have a more powerful and stable base powder, which will greatly enhance the range and power of guns and artillery.

It can even be said that the invention of this explosive marked the arrival of modern warfare.

 …

In August of the second year of Qianlong's reign, under Xiang Nan's instructions, the Ministry of War prepared to build the Capital Military Academy.

 Aspiring young people between the ages of 18 and 25 who are well-read, literate, and physically strong and between the ages of 18 and 25 were selected from the Manchu Banner, the Han Banner, and the Mongolian Banner, a total of two thousand people.

 Learn strategy and tactics, musket shooting, artillery drills, capture and fighting, marching formation, cavalry and infantry, division and combined attack, etc.

Although the Qing Dynasty gained power immediately, nearly a hundred years have passed since the Qing troops entered the Pass and established the throne in Yanjing.

During this period, although there were military operations such as the pacification of the San Francisco dynasty, the collection of Treasure Island, the pacification of Galdan, the Battle of Yaksa, etc., they rarely mobilized troops and troops.

This has also resulted in the fact that many bannermen families have had no war to fight for for generations, and it is difficult for them to gain a career through military service.

Now Xiang Nan has established a military preparation school, compiled the teaching materials himself, and even gave lectures to the students, which immediately aroused their interest.

 If you can really enter the Military Academy, you will be a disciple of the Emperor. After coming out, even if he is not named a general, I am afraid he will be a commander and a leader. It is better than working at home and waiting to die. Therefore, people from the Manchu Banner, the Han Banner, and the Mongolian Banner all wanted to go in and have some fun.

But for the school test, the first round is the physical examination. Only adults who can lift a fifty-pound barbell and run five kilometers in half an hour can enter the school.

 The second round is the cultural class. Only those who are literate in Chinese and Chinese and have at least recited the Three-Character Classic, Hundred Family Surnames, and Thousand-Character Classic can enroll...

Of course there are many people who use the back door to get in, but they soon regret it.

 Because the Armed Forces School is under military management, after entering, military training must be conducted every day, including cultural classes and practical classes. In the cultural class, students learn strategy and tactics, artillery matrix, marching formation, and the art of dividing and attacking together. Practical classes include formation drills, grappling, live ammunition shooting, artillery drills, etc.

These are very hard jobs. How can those corrupt young masters of the Eight Banners endure it? Within two days of joining the school, I started clamoring to drop out.

The result was naturally that they were taught a lesson, slapped by others, and imprisoned by others. Xiang Nan was not used to them at all. After months of tossing, they were finally beaten.

 …

In August, Xiang Nan issued an order to reopen the Shipping Department and set up customs offices in Jinmen, Qingzhou, Haizhou, Hujiang, Quanzhou, Yuezhou and other places to allow foreigners to trade in the interior.

  The Municipal Shipping Department is in charge of maritime foreign trade, which is the customs in ancient times. From the time of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Guangdong Province had established a shipping envoy. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, maritime trade was quite prosperous.

Quanzhou, for example, is home to merchants from all over the world and is known as the largest port in the East. In the Ming Dynasty, foreign trade was greatly affected due to the rebellion of Japanese pirates and multiple maritime bans by the imperial court.

 The Qing Dynasty also adopted a closed-door strategy. During the Kangxi period, all municipal shipping departments were abolished and only the four customs offices in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong were opened.

During the Qianlong period, the three customs offices in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian were closed down, leaving only the Guangdong Customs, which was known as "one port for trade" and the Thirteenth Bank was responsible for foreign trade.

  But Xiang Nan knew the importance of foreign trade. It could not only bring massive silver income to the Qing Dynasty, but most importantly, it could also open the door to the country and let the Chinese people know the current international situation.

 Europe had already begun the Age of Discovery in the fifteenth century and opened up colonies all over the world. The people of the Qing Dynasty, living in a corner, thought they were the best in the world, and they were extremely proud.

 More importantly, in the 18th century, Europe had already begun its first industrial revolution. The invention of the steam engine greatly increased the efficiency of production and transportation, making Western countries rapidly become richer and stronger.

 In comparison, the Qing Dynasty has always been closed to the outside world, blindfolded and thinking that it is the best in the world. As a result, in the 19th century, he was beaten up, which resulted in a century of humiliation and became an unbearable memory for the entire nation.

Xiang Nan naturally doesn’t want this to happen again. Therefore, he wants to open the country wide and welcome foreign businessmen to do business and invest. He also wants to take the opportunity to introduce advanced Western technology and cultural knowledge, and he wants the Chinese people to open their eyes to the world.

Rather than closing your eyes, lying on your laurels and falling asleep, dreaming that you are the best in the world.

 …

 Silk, porcelain, tea, spices, and medicinal materials produced in China were already very popular in Europe. It was only because the Qing Dynasty closed the country and only allowed the Thirteenth Bank to do foreign trade business that foreign trade was not smooth.

Now the imperial court opened a new shipping department and allowed foreigners to do business. For a time, a large number of foreign businessmen poured into China to do business, which also brought a lot of fresh information to the people of the Qing Dynasty.