Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2351 Wuchang Mansion ([-])

South City Dock, September 1698, 9.

He Tongtong entered a house facing the street with a tired face.The house is located in a prime location, surrounded by shops, restaurants, and inns, as well as businessmen from all over the world and even from all over the world. A large amount of goods and money circulate here. It is the first-class bustling place in Wuchang City.

He Tong's house is not big, and it is quite old, it was bought by his father He Daoning when he was still alive.At that time, Nanshi Wharf was not as prosperous as it was, and the land price was relatively low—of course, it was only compared to now—after buying the house that was originally an oil shop, the He family spent money to bulldoze it and build it. He built a house with two front and back entrances for his family to come and live.

In those days, the He family often went to the Nanshi Wharf to purchase ordnance on the East Coast.As the eldest son of the He family, He Tong led the army all year round, playing hide-and-seek with the Qing army at the junction of Qin, Chu, and Henan provinces, and fighting battles with hundreds or thousands of people from time to time.Occasionally, he took people to the Nanshi Wharf in his free time to chat with representatives of the Bank of Taiwan, which is engaged in the arms trade, and take a look at the quality of the new cannons.

He Tong lived in this house at that time.What he likes to do the most is to go to the roof of the third floor of his house after nightfall, overlooking the lights of Wanjia near the pier.At that moment, he seemed to feel that he was the master of the city, and that feeling could not be described in words.

It's just that he also knows it's just speculation.Wuchang Mansion is the territory of the Yuan family, and it has been passed down for two generations. It has strong soldiers and horses, and is extremely rich.Of course, compared with the Liu family in Central Sichuan and the Li family in Changsha, the Yuan family and the He family are actually small roles.It sounds hurtful, but it's true.

Yuan Bao, the old man of the Yuan family, has passed away.Now taking over the family business is the second son Yuan Jinzhong, who came to power after his elder brother died of illness in Yunnan, and was appointed by the court as General Youyingquan and Chen Guogong.Yuan Jinzhong's wise and powerful elder brother died in Yunnan. At that time, he followed Hao Ping to fight against the Yunnan rebellion, and died of illness because of acclimatization.Regarding this matter, the old Chen Guogong Yuan Bao had always been upset when he was alive, but there was nothing he could do about it. After all, the Yuan family did not have the strength to wrestle with Changsha.

The relationship between He and Yuan has always been very good. When they were young, the two old men went to Ningbo together to receive military training from Dongguo people, and then they supported each other in the long years. They can be called family friends.He Tong and Yuan Jinzhong also had a good relationship. They drank wine together several times and fought together in the northern battlefield.When He Tong came back from Changsha this time, when he passed by Wuchang, he went to pay a visit to Chen Guogong's mansion, but he didn't see anyone, because Yuan Jinzhong went to Jiangbei to inspect the villages.

He Tong was not disappointed. With the current relationship between the two families, there is no need for these vain things.Afterwards, he stayed at the Nanshi Wharf. During this period, he met twice with the representatives of the Bank of Taiwan, booked a business of [-] artillery pieces, and paid one-third of the deposit.

Yunyang Prefecture is located on the front line, with many mountains and little land in the territory, so it is relatively poor.Buying these eighty cannons was actually a matter of gritted teeth.There is no way, the army is the capital for him to live and work now, without the army, he is nothing.Undoubtedly, the imperial court took Yunyang Mansion under the direct jurisdiction.Don't think that this is impossible. In the past few years, Changsha has stopped half of the payment and military supplies to Yunyang Prefecture on the pretext that the southern expedition cost too much.Not to mention, the emperor personally decreed to downsize the He family's army of nearly 5 people at its peak to more than [-].He Tongxin came to power, his foundation was not very stable, and he didn't have the strength to challenge the court, so in the end he held back his anger.

The number of troops has decreased, so the quality must be improved, or else they will be manipulated at will in the future?He Tong knew this very clearly.Therefore, this time he did business with the people from the east coast, and he personally subsidized a lot, so that the overall strength of the army under his command would not decline too quickly.

Not to mention that, he also asked the Bank of Taiwan to help pass the call, asking Denglai to help establish a military training institution to train his own officers.This was also the idea he came up with after he went to Changsha, because he visited Changsha Army Middle School and was very moved by the school founded by the Dashun Military Department.

The school enrolls 15 students aged 20-500, and offers subjects such as foreign languages, infantry drills, field orders, work instruction, martial arts, swimming, equestrianism, field work, and fighting. Classes are held for 8 hours a day, and the schooling period is four and a half years. (including half a year of internship in the camp), to train qualified grassroots military personnel in large quantities.

In addition, Li Laiheng also ordered the various ministries in the army to cancel the establishment of the schools attached to the battalion and integrate them in a unified manner to establish the Nanchang Jiangbian School. The subjects and academic system are similar to those of Changsha Army Middle School, with 600 students.Undoubtedly, this is another institution for cultivating low-level military officers. Once it is completed, it can provide more than a thousand military talents for the Dashun court every year to enrich the ministries.Not only can it alleviate the dilemma of the shortage of new military talents, but it can also strengthen the imperial court's control over the various ministries, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

To be honest, He Tong was still a little worried about this.Don't look at Liu Zhonggui in Sichuan's prosperity now, but the strength of the imperial court has been growing steadily, not only economically, but also in the military.The rear battalion, middle battalion, and front battalion controlled by the imperial court currently have a total strength of more than 20 troops, and most of them have combat experience, are well-equipped, and have good morale.The Zuoying in Sichuan, although there are [-] people, is not small, and has rich combat experience, but it is still far inferior in terms of equipment and regularization of the army.Especially for the regularization of the army, everyone learns from Dongguo people, but because it costs a huge amount of money to build institutions including Army Primary School, Army Middle School, Staff School, Military Research Institute, and Military Intelligence School, except for the Changsha Imperial Court, all No prince can do this.

Take He Tong’s Yunyang Mansion as an example. So far there are only a few army primary schools, and the level of teachers is not high. Most of them are cadres who have retired from the army. Know.It's not that He Tong doesn't understand the truth, but he has no money and no teaching resources, so he can only watch the court go further and further in this regard.

After all, everything depends on money.The land is not big, the economy is not good, and nothing can be done!Fortunately, Wuchang enjoys the convenience of Yangtze River water transportation. "Goods from Yanzhao, Qinjin, Qiliang, and Jianghuai are sold to the south day and night; goods from Nanyang, Minguang, Yuzhang, Southern Chu, Ouyue, and Xin'an are sold day and night "North", showing the prosperous convection of commercial goods from the north to the south.As described by people at the time, "(Hubei) spans Jianghan, Wuchang is the city, Yunxiang is connected to Qinliang Dehuang, and Wuyue is connected to Wuyue. Its people are few in accumulation, and they often travel to the four directions, and the merchants from the four directions also gather together."But even with such a treasure land of geomantic omen in Wuchang, General Youying Quan, Chen Guogong and Yuan Jinzhong also found it very difficult.Not only did he have to support an army of [-] to [-] under his command, he also had to confront the Qing army in Jiangbei, and he was financially stretched.Otherwise, I wouldn't have been determined to invest in Dafa Yonghang to make money at the beginning. It's really poor!

Like He Tong's troops, Yuan Jinzhong's assistance with guns, armor, medicine, cloth, and horses from Changsha in the past two years is not as good as every year, and his salary has also dropped by 5%.It is said that he is also planning to disarm recently, and control the total force to about [-] in order to reduce financial pressure.But this is actually tantamount to drinking poison to quench your thirst. With fewer troops, can the court still treat you as politely as before?Just like the imperial court recently wanted to send magistrates and magistrates to the half of Yunnan controlled by Liu Zhonggui, once your right battalion fails, how can you know that the imperial court will not think about swallowing the fat of Wuchang Mansion?

It's all difficult!He Tong sighed.The fighting over there has subsided long ago, and a large number of court officials and troops have returned to Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi and other places one after another.In the next step, after a few years of recuperation, the motion for the Northern Expedition will be brought up again, right?At that time, Yunyang, Wuchang, and Sichuan, the three places bordering the Qing Dynasty, were probably the first to be unlucky.At that time, once they exchange fire with the Qing troops stationed in Xiangyang and Hanzhong, their 10,000+ troops will inevitably suffer in the first round. Needless to say, there will be heavy casualties, and the consumption of materials will also be astonishing.At that point, it will be easier for the Changsha court to deal with them.A single piece of material assistance can grab their necks and force them to succumb.

Just thinking about it makes people shudder!He Tong sighed deeply again. The foundation passed down from his father and grandfather for two generations might have been wiped out in this war.But it won't work if you don't fight. Changsha has a righteous reputation, and the gentry and people from all over the country will have objections to their hesitancy.When it really came to that point, the imperial court took He Tong directly, so what if another person came to lead the army?Can you still surrender to the Qing Dynasty?

You know, it is not like before. The imperial court has been advocating the innocence of the Qing Dynasty for many years, under the banner of "expelling the Tartars and restoring China", so that people all over the country quite agree with this.Especially in recent years when new policies have been implemented in various places, more and more people are reading books. As soon as this person reads a book, he respects the so-called righteousness of the family and the country more and more.Like the Wuchang Mansion in front of you, many younger soldiers, patrolmen, and officials have graduated from new-style schools. They fully agree with the restoration of the Han Family Mountains and Rivers. This basically blocks your way to surrender to the Qing Dynasty. .What's more, He Tong didn't want to surrender to the Qing Dynasty either, he just wanted to be a tyrant under the separatist regime.

The Manchu Qing had just wiped out Galdan and was recuperating.I, Dashun, just killed Nanming, and I am also recuperating.But this kind of recuperation will not take too long, maybe three years, maybe five years, and the North-South War will break out.Under this menacing situation, how could he, a poor and barren Yunyang Mansion, decide his own destiny independently?

Everything is fate!

I'll be home tomorrow.During this business trip, he went around the four provinces of Qin, Jin, Hebei and Longzhou, and he was exhausted.

(End of this chapter)