I'm sure of the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong!

Chapter 160 Demonic Cannonball
In the first year of Jianwu, April [-]th.

Ningguo Mansion (not the Ningguo Mansion in Red Mansion).

"The pseudo-Ming army captured Taiping Mansion?" Dai Kun's face changed in shock at the Ningguo camp. He looked at Uncle Huang, the magistrate of Ningguo, who hurried to the camp, without any doubt that the matter was true or false.

As a veteran of the Qing army who had fought against the Ming army three times, he knew the strength of the Ming army very well.

Just the military discipline that prohibits the enforcement of laws and regulations is something that he cannot achieve no matter what.

There is no way around this. After all, he is just a regimental trainer (temporary worker). To put it bluntly, he is not even an official.

Longkodo indeed gave him great autonomy, full salary, and full cooperation from the officials of the entire Wannan Prefecture, but in fact the money and food he could mobilize was very limited.

At most, they can only follow the same old military training method, one exercise every three days, one exercise every five days, and the food is only enough.

Oil and water, depending on the situation, replenish during practice.

Military discipline doesn't exist. It's military discipline if you don't kill each other and fight.

This is the limit of what Longkodo can do. How many generals in ancient times could achieve his level.

Zhu Yijiong's Ming army was an outlier in this era. Based on the finances of the three provinces of Jiangnan, Zhu Yijiong probably wouldn't have a problem if he doubled the number of troops.

But the professional soldiers he supported who practiced every day directly emptied his pocket.

"Dai Tuan Lian Envoy, the puppet Ming army captured Taiping Mansion. I'm afraid it will be our turn in Ningguo Mansion next. Please make an idea as soon as possible!" The speaker was Huang Shuqi, the prefect of Ningguo, with anxious eyes.

Can this not be urgent?Learn from the past and learn from those behind.

Dai Kun didn't say anything. He lowered his head and pondered for a moment and asked: "How many people are there in the Puppet Ming army this time? When did they capture Taiping Mansion? In addition to Taiping Mansion, how many other places were captured by them? Also, Where did the news come from?”

After asking several questions, Huang Shuqi was a little confused. He was stunned for a long time before answering: "This... the news was sent by a person named Zhao Yong. This person is said to have come from Huangchi Town to report to the official. As for the specifics, how……"

At this point, Huang Shuqi felt a little embarrassed. It was obvious that he either didn't ask for details, or the other party didn't know.

Dai Kun raised his eyebrows: "In other words, this person named Zhao Yong did not see the puppet Ming army conquer or take up residence in Taiping Mansion?"

"The meaning of Dai Tuan Lian Envoy..."

Huang Shuqi's expression changed and he asked cautiously: "Could this be a trap?"

Dai Kun shook his head: "It's not a trap. The Taiping Mansion should really be gone. Not only that, I'm afraid Commander Long's Yangtze River Navy is also finished."

After all, the fake Ming rebels didn't know that Dai Kun was in Ningguo Mansion. Moreover, if he really wanted to lure him there with the mentality of the fake Ming warrior, he would never say that Taiping Mansion had been captured. The puppet Ming army is besieging Taiping Mansion, and Taiping Mansion is in danger.

"What! Then we..."

Is the Yangtze River Navy finished?
Huang Shuqi was immediately shocked. He had no doubt about the authenticity of Dai Kun's words.

After all, he is a civil servant, and he still has this bit of self-awareness. Civil servants should do their job well, and remember to listen to military commanders in battle, especially if the opponent is a veteran who has fought against the Puppet Ming Dynasty and is quite experienced.

Even if it's wrong, he, a civil servant working as an auxiliary, can't make a big mistake.

Dai Kun didn't go around too much. He carefully studied the scrawled map on the table for a long time, made up his mind, stretched out his hand and patted the table and said, "Here comes someone!"

"The mark is here!"

Two soldiers came to greet him.

Dai Kun ordered: "Pass the order, the three armies must assemble. Anyone who has been training for more than [-] days will report to the Fucheng camp within three days. Those who exceed the deadline will be expelled from the military!"

"Yes!"

The two soldiers retreated.

Huang Shuqi asked tentatively: "Is Dai Tuan Lian envoy going to send troops?"

All right!He couldn't keep up with Dai Kun's thinking.

Why are we suddenly sending out troops?
Dai Kun didn't explain either, he just said with a stern face: "Yes, I'd like to trouble Master Futai to sit in the city and coordinate my army!"

His posture was extremely low, and he spoke with honorifics.

After Huang Shuqi heard this, although he had something to ask, he still held it back and just nodded and said: "Don't worry, Commander Dai Tuan, don't worry, even if I sell iron, it won't leave the army without enough money to pay."

It's definitely impossible to sell the iron by throwing the pot away. This is just to show your attitude.

After all, although Dai Kun has no official position and is just a regiment trainer, he is still a "general" that Lord Long likes.

Three days later.

The Ningguo camp gathered [-] troops.

They were all local warriors who had been training for more than [-] days. The treatment offered by Dai Kun to the soldiers was quite good, with sufficient food and salary, and there were rewards for winning battles or gains.

Although it can't compare with the treatment of the Ming army, the treatment of the Ming army has not spread to Anhui yet. Even if it does, these people may not believe a bunch of outsiders.

The troops and horses were all ready, and the preparations for the departure of food and fodder were well prepared under Huang Shuqi's full efforts.

On April 24, Dai Kun personally led an army of [-] people to the north.However, he was not there to fight thieves on this trip.

Is he crazy to fight a tough battle with the pseudo-Ming rebels, or is he crazy?
Not to mention field battles and sieges, even defending the city, Dai Kun may not be able to defeat it.

The current military training and combat effectiveness is indeed stronger than that of the original Green Camp, but this is all due to Longkodo's generous spending.

Moreover, the time for military training is still short. How can we fight head-on with the puppet Ming army?

……

The surface of the Yangtze River.

The Yangtze River Navy of the Qing Army that had escaped before had gradually reunited along the waterway. No, they had just arrived at Chizhou Prefecture.

We are preparing to dock here to rest and replenish supplies.

Wu Guoyin stood on the deck with a sad face.

How should we explain this defeat to Mr. Long of the Yangtze River Navy?
It seems that no explanation is useful, because their losses are too low.

The total loss was only [-]%, and the rest was almost unscathed. This was a complete defeat, and even the Caishiji Ferry was lost.

As for the Taiping Mansion next to it, Wu Guoyin didn't dare to think about it.

No matter how hard he tried to cover up his responsibility, Mr. Long was not a fool, how could he not see it?

Mr. Long specially promoted him to be the commander-in-chief of the Yangtze River Navy, and even recommended him to be the admiral of the Yangtze River Navy. It can be said that he is extremely kind.

This is how I can repay Master Long for such kindness.

I don’t know how sorry Wu Guoyin feels, but Mr. Long definitely feels sorry for himself...

"Report! Sir, we found out..."

"Stand back! If you have anything to do, we'll talk about it later." Wu Guoyin waved his hand in frustration.

"But sir, we have caught an anti-thief magic artillery shell!"

"I told you to stand down, but you didn't listen...what? Demonic artillery shells?"

In the middle of the curse words, Wu Guoyin immediately changed his words, and then hurriedly followed the Qing soldier who reported the report to the stern deck.

Then I saw a strange-looking cannonball on the deck that was caught in a water net, had a wooden seat at the bottom, and a hole at the top (the fuse fell off).

It is said that when the ship was about to dock, the sailor found a cannonball floating beside the ship. He was startled and realized that it seemed to be a dud, so he courageously fished it out.

It seems that during the artillery battle on the river that day, the artillery shells fired by the rebels and fell into the river happened to be caught by their water nets, and the wooden seats provided buoyancy, so they did not sink.

But why is it so light?

Even if it had a wooden seat, it wouldn't be so light! ?

Wu Guoyin can be selected as the commander-in-chief, so naturally he is not just a free man.

He reached forward and picked up the cannonball. It was really not heavy at all.

Very light!
Hollow point bullets?
This thing... It seems that Wu Guoyin once heard his colleagues mention it.

Wu Guoyin looked at the small hole in the middle again, but it was too dark to see anything.

When your face is close, does it smell like gunpowder?
Is it filled with gunpowder?

That's why it exploded?

Wu Guoyin suddenly became enlightened and remembered what his colleague had mentioned.

Flower bomb!

Wu Guoyin's heart suddenly felt brighter, and now he no longer had to worry about explaining to Lord Long.

Wu Guoyin then turned the cannon over, and all the water inside flowed out along with the black gunpowder paste.

This confirmed his suspicion that it was indeed a bomb.

It turns out that the secret of the magic is the explosive bullet. Now Wu Guoyin not only has no fault, but also has merit.

Um?Why is this gunpowder paste so sticky?

Wu Guoyin was keenly aware that the gunpowder at the entrance of the cave was too sticky, and it was even stringy, with a crystal luster inside.

He reached out and poked it twice, sniffed it, and took another lick.

Sweet?

This is sugar?
What is the operation of adding gunpowder and sugar?
(End of this chapter)