Quick Transmigration: When Can I Just Lay Down and Wait to Die?

"I intend to send you and the Eighth Prince to represent the Great Qing Dynasty on a tour of Western countries. I have provided you with the fleet, soldiers, and firearms."

Fourteenth Brother, you have experience in ocean voyages, and you'll be coming along this time too. But when you're out and about, you should listen to your Third Brother and Eighth Brother on how to conduct yourself.

Bring tea, porcelain, and embroidery. Bring fewer high-quality items; those barbarians are ignorant and would waste the good stuff if sold to them. Just give the finest items to the royal families of various countries.

Bring along those Manchu bannermen too, and let them continue learning on the way. I want you to bring back things that your country, things that the Qing Dynasty doesn't have.

Especially talented people from all walks of life. Our Great Qing is such a wonderful place, how could those capable people not come and see it, right?

I've heard that those Westerners eat bread, potatoes, and steak every day. Let's select a few chefs from each of our cuisines and take them with us to broaden the horizons of those Western royalty.

Your mission is threefold: first, to intimidate the Western nations; second, to recruit talented individuals; and third, to bring back technologies more advanced than those of the Qing Dynasty. I grant you permission to act as you see fit abroad!

"Your subject obeys the decree! X3"

After receiving their orders, the three men began making preparations for the journey in earnest. Soon, a large fleet was assembled at the port, with ships fully loaded with goods such as tea and porcelain, as well as carefully selected Manchu bannermen, chefs from various cuisines, and well-trained soldiers.

On the day of departure, the sun shone on the shimmering sea as the fleet sailed majestically into the distance. Along the way, the fourteenth prince, with his extensive experience in long-distance voyages, led the crew to avoid numerous dangers.

Upon arriving at their first stop, a Western country, they were received by the local royal family. The eighth prince presented them with exquisite porcelain as a gift, which greatly impressed the royal members.

The exquisite dishes prepared by the chefs of the Qing Dynasty were praised by Westerners who were used to eating bread, potatoes and steak.

Diplomacy was left to the eighth prince, while the third and fourteenth princes began to search for talent and investigate advanced technologies.

They discovered many novel gadgets, such as machines that could operate automatically, carts that could run on their own without oxen or horses, and cannons with power exceeding that of the Qing Dynasty.

In their interactions with the Westerners, they also sensed their hidden ambitions. All three were highly skilled individuals who had grown up in the palace, and reading between the lines was a basic survival skill for them.

It seems that these Western countries think their national strength has increased, and they actually dare to set their sights on the Qing Dynasty. This is simply a rebellion against Heaven!

The third, eighth, and fourteenth princes appeared outwardly calm, but secretly they accelerated their efforts to recruit talent and acquire technology.

They attracted many skilled craftsmen and scientific talents from the West with generous offers, and even secretly purchased blueprints for some advanced machinery.

Although they acted discreetly, their obvious presence still aroused the vigilance of the Westerners. Although they didn't take any action, the number of Westerners following the three of them had increased significantly in the past few days.

Having sold most of the goods they brought, the three discussed it and decided to end their visit early and return the people and goods they had brought back to the Qing Dynasty first.

After quickly organizing the spoils, they arranged for the talented individuals and their families to secretly board the ship. Once the supplies were replenished, the three men led the fleet back to port in haste.

However, after they left, the Westerners discovered what they had done and sent several Western warships to chase after them, trying to capture them.

Although Westerners harbor wolfish ambitions, the countries surrounding them are not as peaceful as they appear on the surface. Their current focus is mainly on developing colonies and strengthening their own national power. They have not yet reached a consensus.

It is a pipe dream for any single country to attack the Qing Dynasty.

Therefore, they cannot let these people go back. Not to mention whether the Qing Dynasty would take the initiative to attack them after learning the news, after all, the Qing Dynasty had just destroyed that small island nation not long ago.

Those people they took away were all talented individuals from their country. How could they just let them run away like that? They must stay; these people must be kept here.

The third brother stood at the bow, his brow furrowed as he watched the Western warships hot on their heels. "Eighth brother, fourteenth brother, speed up! Let's lure those warships further away before we attack! This area is still too close to their main base!"

The Eighth and Fourteenth Princes received the order and quickly directed the fleet to accelerate, especially those warships carrying people, which were to be kept far away from the battlefield to avoid being affected when fighting broke out.

The third brother carefully observed the movements of the enemy ships behind him, pondering a countermeasure. The fleet sped across the sea like an arrow released from a bow, with the Western warships in hot pursuit.

When the enemy ships were lured into a complex sea area, the third brother decisively ordered: "Prepare for battle!" At his command, the soldiers quickly took their positions, loaded their weapons, and instantly, the cannons of the Qing fleet fired in unison, and cannonballs rained down on the enemy ships.

With his familiarity with the area, the fourteenth prince skillfully directed the fleet to maneuver and outflank, making it difficult for enemy ships to target them. The eighth prince, meanwhile, boosted morale, and the soldiers fought bravely.

The fierce naval battle continued, with the Qing fleet's firepower gradually suppressing the enemy ships. After several rounds of attacks, enemy ships began to suffer damage, some even bursting into flames.

Seeing the enemy ships in disarray, the third brother waved his hand and said, "Pursue them while you're ahead and drive them back!" The fleet launched another attack, and the enemy ships, no longer able to resist, turned and fled.

The third prince watched the enemy ships sail away, breathed a sigh of relief, and then ordered the fleet to continue its return voyage, carrying the spoils of this mission, and heading at full speed towards the Qing Dynasty.

After several days of sailing, the fleet finally returned safely to the Qing Dynasty. The three men, carrying a ship full of talented people, advanced technological achievements, and a large amount of gold and silver jewelry, met with the emperor.

He gave a detailed account of his visit and the ambitions of the Westerners. Upon hearing this, the Fourth Prince was furious and immediately ordered the strengthening of coastal defenses and the vigorous development of science and technology in preparation for possible future challenges.

Of course, the Fourth Master knew that those Westerners couldn't spare the time to invade the Qing Dynasty right now, but wasn't this a butterfly effect? ​​Who knew if war would break out earlier than expected?

Anyway, preparations definitely need to be done in advance, so he called a family meeting with his brothers.

They were shown the advanced technology of Western countries, and the third brother and his companions gave them a detailed account of their Western experiences.

It is imperative to make them understand that if the Qing Dynasty does not accelerate its development, it will sooner or later become prey for Westerners, and the current pace of development is far from sufficient.

Listening to the story told by the third brother and the others, everyone was shocked and realized the gravity of the situation. The fourth uncle looked at his brothers:

"As you can all see, Western countries are developing rapidly. If we remain ignorant and narrow-minded, we will suffer a great loss sooner or later!"

From this day forward, I will vigorously promote Westernization and develop science, technology, and the military. You will all return to your respective posts and fully cooperate; there must be no mistakes!