Chapter 1187 The Wind of Central Asia (Second update, please subscribe)

At the end of 1884 and the beginning of the next year, when the Ming Empire entered its annual scientific carnival, scientists all over the world welcomed the arrival of the new year with inventions and innovations, cheering for peace and shouting that science was changing the world.

The world is moving in another direction with an irreversible momentum.

Will the future world be one of war or peace?

This is something no one could have predicted.

The future cannot be predicted, but it can be manipulated.

A huge airship lurched over the snow-capped mountains, and from its engines came the coughing groan of an asthmatic patient.

The mountains around the airship looked remarkably uniform—usually sharp and steep, mostly snow-capped peaks and huge glaciers, surrounded by hundreds of stone towers and pinnacles.

Sometimes the airship was almost sticking to the sharp peak that was like a bayonet, and listening to the "thump thump" sound of the giant 500-horsepower engine, people couldn't help but worry - would it stop at any time?

The giant airship was flying between the sharp edge and the ice front.

"We really have to thank the guy who invented the airship. If there were no airship, it would take at least several years to walk this mountain road."

While Shi Qikuan was sighing, he was also worried that the takeoff boat might crash into the snow on the mountain, or be cut by the sharp blades. He thought to himself,

"Why did I get so foolish as to accept this job from the Governor?"

As an imperial diplomat, Shi Qikuan was an official of the Roman Department of the Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Two months ago, when Shi Qikuan was summoned by the Shangshu, he thought he was going to ask about the affairs of the Roman Empire.

But he never expected that the Shangshu showed him a map, which was a map of Central Asia. On the map, he could clearly see the huge "Turkish Governorate".

Of course, there are also the three major khanates. Not surprisingly, all three khanates have notes - the area of ​​the Kokand Khanate is marked with "Russian protectorate in 1868", the area of ​​the Khiva Khanate, which has only a crack left in the west, is marked with "Russian protectorate in 1873", and the area of ​​the Bukhara Khanate, where the losses were not too serious, is marked with "Russian protectorate in 1868".

Unlike in history when Kokand was occupied and annexed by Russia in 1876 and began a large-scale invasion of Central Asia, Russia's advance into Central Asia was seriously delayed because it was concentrating on preparing for the division of Turkey.

Three years ago, after Shi Dakai defeated Yakub Beg and recovered the occupied Xinjiang, Shi Dakai's army finally completed the annexation of Kokand. The 100,000 Taiping troops occupied the entire Fergana Basin. In Andijan alone, the Taiping army bombarded the city with artillery, and Andijan was basically flattened, and tens of thousands of defenders were buried under the ruins. Nasreddin Khan, the last Khan of Kokand, fell off his horse on the way to Dihua and broke his neck.

"In Central Asia now, apart from the Turkish Governorate, there are only two Khanates left, Khiva and Bukhara. According to the agreement we reached with the British, we will support Shi Dakai in occupying the two Khanates, but this will inevitably cause displeasure to the Russians. Your trip this time is to coordinate this matter and make the Russians give up the two Khanates and Turkmenistan."

"What if the Russian army must intervene?"

"Then cut off their bear claws! In short, the Empire will never allow the Russians to extend their hands to the Three Khanates and the Turkmen region."

Now this task fell to Shi Qikuan, and he also learned more information: the army led by Shi Dakai, who was born in the Heavenly Kingdom, was not controlled by the Heavenly Kingdom, and they even had a certain cooperation with Xuzhou to a certain extent.

Although they knew that Britain wanted to use Shi Dakai to isolate Russia from Persia and Afghanistan and then threaten India, their relationship with Britain was not very good because Shi Dakai had massacred local pro-British forces in the process of recovering Xinjiang.

The Empire, Rome and Britain, and Shi Dakai, who has good relations with the Empire but is not completely controlled by the Empire. The current situation in Central Asia is more delicate than imagined!

Thinking of this, Shi Qikuan couldn't help but feel a little worried.

"How will I complete the mission assigned by the ministry?"

…

The Fergana Basin is the richest region in Central Asia. It is an intermountain basin in the Tianshan fold belt. The Syr Darya River runs through the center of the basin. The glacial water from the Tianshan Mountains nourishes the land on both sides. This place is rich in water and grass, and is a good place for farming and grazing.

This land has a deep connection with China. It is the Dayuan that made Emperor Wu of Han obsessed with the sweat-blooded horses. After Li Guangli made two westward expeditions, he incorporated it into the management of the Western Regions Protectorate. Until the Tang Dynasty, this place was a part of China.

And then, after the Battle of Talas, there was nothing more.

It was not until a few years ago that the Heavenly Kingdom army from the Central Plains recaptured this land. In the past few years, hundreds of thousands of Heavenly Kingdom officers and soldiers came to Kokand, settled down here, and settled down.

The city of Kokand that was destroyed in the artillery fire has also been rebuilt. After being away from this land for a thousand years, the Chinese-style buildings once again stand on this land, which always makes people sigh at the changes in the world.

In February 1885, several soldiers dressed in green were leisurely strolling on the streets of the city. Their attire was obviously different from the surrounding soldiers and civilians, but this did not prevent some familiar passers-by from greeting them enthusiastically.

"... Li Guangli was named General Ershi at that time. This "Ershi" is actually Osh. This place still exists today. I heard that King Yi plans to rebuild Ningyuan City."

For Shi Qikuan, who had just arrived in Kokand, his knowledge of this place was almost... not much.

But Liang Ruikun beside him is different. As a captain of the Imperial Army Military Intelligence Bureau, he came here as a "military adviser" five years ago.

In fact, the cooperation between Diguo and Shi Dakai can be traced back to the company era more than ten years ago. As early as the Northwest Rebellion, it was the company that facilitated his cooperation with Xuzhou.

"Rebuild Ningyuan City? What is this Ningyuan City?"

Shi Qikuan looked at him with some confusion and asked.

"According to historical records, Ningyuan was the strongest state in Fergana during the Tang Dynasty - that is, Bukhanna. It was named "Ningyuan" during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. The king concurrently served as the governor of Xiuxun Prefecture. After the An-Shi Rebellion, he lost contact with the Tang Dynasty and rebuilt Ningyuan City. In fact, it almost meant rebuilding Ningyuan State."

Liang Ruikun continued.

"In fact, this is not a bad option. Dihua is good, but Xuzhou will sooner or later march into the northwest. In recent years, the Tang Kingdom has both armored trains and railway artillery, and there are no less than a million soldiers under its command. Sooner or later, the Tang army will march into the Western Regions, so King Yi must also find a retreat for his millions of soldiers and civilians! From now on, this is King Yi's retreat."

Liang Ruikun said in a low voice.

"That's why the leader suggested that they move here to avoid the empire's attack. Also, with the help of the empire, they can also maintain their position here."

But it’s not easy to maintain this kind of world!

Will the Russians tolerate the Empire's involvement here?

"Where is Captain Huang?"

Shi Qikuan asked.

Captain Huang is Huang Peichuan, the head of the Imperial Military Advisory Group. In the past few years, he has been in charge of the work of the advisory group.

Looking up at the sky, the vast blue sky is pure and flawless, breathtaking, but in this tranquility, a storm is brewing...

(End of this chapter)