Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

Seeing that Guo Songtao was still a little restrained, Liu Ye couldn't help but smile and said, "Well, Brother Bochen, I'm truly honored to meet you today. How about we find a place to have a drink?"

Guo Songtao hesitated for a moment and said hesitantly: "This..."

Liu Ye smiled and said, "Well, if Brother Bochen refuses, then he is looking down on me, Liu Ye. Although Liu Ye is a warrior, he also has some knowledge..."

Guo Songtao quickly said, "Please forgive me, Lord Liu. I dare not show any disrespect. Since Lord Liu is so kind, I will obey your orders."

Liu Ye ordered his men to prepare the horses, and the two of them came to a restaurant.

Liu Ye asked for a private seat and the two of them sat down.

Liu Ye smiled and said, "Brother Bochen, I've always heard of your great name. Today, I'd like to ask you about the current situation in the country."

Guo Songtao quickly replied, "Master Liu, you are too kind. I was indeed a bit unruly when I was in the south, but in front of you, how can I have any room to speak?"

Liu Ye pretended to be displeased and said, "Brother Bochen, I have long admired your great name and would like to make friends with you. You are more than ten years older than me, so I should treat you as my brother. But why do you treat me so far away? Forget the sir's address. We are colleagues, so just call me by my first name."

Guo Songtao felt embarrassed for a moment, his face flushed, and he asked, "Well, I don't even know Liu Da... no, my dear brother's courtesy name. I'm really ashamed of this!"

Liu Ye laughed heartily and replied, "Brother Bochen, this is not your fault. Not only do you not know, but even the two princes, the Prince of Seng and the Prince of Gong, who have been friends with me for a long time, don't know my courtesy name, because - I don't have one at all."

Guo Songtao was shocked and asked, "No courtesy name? May I ask how old you are, my dear brother?"

Liu Ye replied: "Well, this year should be the 21st. After the Chinese New Year, it will be the 22nd, right?"

Young! It was truly shockingly young. This man, who had dominated the Qing Empire and saved the day time and again, was only in his early twenties. How pitiful of myself. Now I was almost forty, and still wasting my days. I was ashamed to face anyone. It was ridiculous that I usually boasted of my great talent, but the man before me was a true genius!

Guo Songtao was shocked and said speechlessly: "My dear brother, you are so young and promising. Do you want to shame people like me who have wasted our time to death?"

Liu Ye said quickly, "Alright, everyone has their own expertise and everyone has their own level of knowledge. Even though I'm a few years younger than you, it doesn't mean Brother Bochen is inferior to me. Brother Bochen is very talented and will be able to take on a frontier post in the future."

The two men turned the topic back, and Guo Songtao replied, "My dear brother, I was previously an advisor on military affairs in General Zeng's shogunate, and I had quite a bit of contact with foreigners. I do know a thing or two about foreign affairs. The British and French rely on nothing more than their military prowess. Their ironclad ships are very powerful, and our cannons can't penetrate their armor. As for our navy, it's even worse. They can smash our wooden ships to pieces just by ramming them, without even firing cannons. There's no comparison. Their ironclad ships weigh millions of catties, while our ships weigh a hundred thousand catties, which is already considered a formidable vessel! And then there's firearms. I accompanied the monk king on military affairs, and although I was sent to Dagukou for business, I've heard him talk about every battle. Not to mention the foreigners' massive cannons, even their rockets are no match for our cavalry. And this is the monk king's elite Mongolian cavalry. If it were the Green Camp soldiers, they would be even more vulnerable. We, the Qing Dynasty, have already fallen behind them!"

Liu Ye nodded and asked, "In your opinion, what is the problem that causes our Qing Dynasty's firearms to be inferior to those of the West?"

Guo Songtao said in a deep voice, "I have researched this matter. In the previous dynasty, our firearms were even more prosperous than those of the West. The previous dynasty's Armory, Armory, Gunpowder Bureau, etc. were able to produce and manufacture advanced firearms. When we were competing with the Eight Banners of Manchuria, the Eight Banners suffered greatly. Later, after Emperor Shunzhi entered the Pass and became the Dragon Court, he strictly prohibited the development of firearms. Most of the skills of the previous dynasty were lost. Let alone progress, we have regressed compared to the previous dynasty. For two hundred years, we have been standing still, while the West has been thriving. Naturally, we have been left far behind. If we want to compete with the West in Westernization, we must vigorously promote Westernization, learn their firearms technology, and introduce Western firearms and ironclad ships."

Liu Ye shook his head and replied, "Brother Bochen, I have to say that you have a deeper understanding of Westernization than others. However, what you have just learned is far from enough..."

Guo Songtao was stunned for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "My dear brother, I would like to hear your profound opinions."

Liu Ye smiled and said, "First, the West surpasses our country in more than just military might. Besides military might, they also surpass us in many other areas, such as the telegraph! Even though we're thousands of miles apart, a telegram can be sent instantly, as long as your telegraph lines are laid. Take metallurgy, for example. Our annual production of steel is less than what the West produces in a day. Without steel, where would we get our weapons and armor? Without gold, silver, and copper, where would we get our financial resources? Take textiles, for example. A single Western factory can spin tens of thousands of spindles a day. How much can the entire Suzhou produce in a year? These are all gaps!"

Upon hearing this, Guo Songtao fell into deep thought, as he had not yet had a deep understanding of these things.

Liu Ye went on to say, "Secondly, our concepts are inferior to those of the West. Our dynasty only believes in the classics, history, and literature. All the academies teach the Four Classics and the Five Books. Only a bunch of scholars who are good at reading and talking about everything else come out of these academies. Everything else is inferior, only reading is superior. In contrast, Western countries, such as the United States, have many universities. They not only study classics, history, and literature, but also vigorously study the study of physics. However, they don't know that it is precisely the study of physics that is the foundation of firearms research and production. Without it, we will never catch up with them. Didn't you say that the skills of the previous dynasty not only did not continue to advance, but were lost. It is really heartbreaking."

Guo Songtao sighed deeply and said in a hoarse voice, "My dear brother, listening to your words is worth ten years of reading. Without you, I would never have known that the gap between us and the West is so huge..."

Liu Ye went on to say, "Brother Bochen, this isn't the most important thing. The most important thing is that China's political system, economy, and institutions are completely different from those of the West. The West selects the virtuous and capable, prioritizes profit, and vigorously encourages industry and commerce. That's why their products are high-quality and inexpensive, and sold all over the world. Why is our treasury becoming increasingly empty? Isn't it because they've sold all the Western goods and taken all our gold and silver? Without money, even if we had a vast territory and 300 million people, we would still be vulnerable!"