scourge the qing dynasty

Chapter 113

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It may be because Fatty Lu and his lackeys were too optimistic. After Qin Yong took over the Qujing Green Battalion, the numbers were shocking. There were only about 16 soldiers in the establishment of 50 troops. , and old and weak soldiers under the age of [-] and over [-] accounted for one-third!

For the remaining [-] or so soldiers, the backwardness of their equipment made those who heard it feel sad and those who heard it shed tears.There are less than [-] war horses in total, less than [-] primitive matchlock guns, and most of them are scrap muskets with problems!Even the most basic cold weapon, the iron knife and spear, is a cast iron saber and a wooden cast iron head spear!Bows and arrows, yes, more than half of the bows are the cheapest and lowest-quality bamboo bows; as for arrows, there are also, one bamboo bow can probably get more than four arrows!There are other things like military pay, food, uniforms, armor, and supplies... nothing is missing or short!
The scarcity and backwardness of equipment are still minor problems. Basically, these problems can be solved by throwing money at them. The most serious problems are other problems.In terms of commanding troops, although Liu Wenjin is not very bad, compared with the army generals Wang Fuchen, Wang Jing and others who are also stationed in Pingxi Wangfu Youzhen, Liu Wenjin is a bit pitiful. , also wantonly deducted the soldiers' salaries and rations and sold the army's food and grass, which led to the lack of military discipline in the entire Qujing Green Camp, low morale, and a serious habit of harassing the local area and stealing chickens and dogs. The root cause of being instantly killed by Wu Sangui's army.

Where there are victims, there are beneficiaries. As an old Qiuba who has fought for many years, Liu Wenjin knows how to build his own core strength. He has a direct guard of about two hundred people, with the best equipment and the most adequate rations. Most timely, after Liu Wenjin's downfall, although the core team fell apart, they would definitely not be reconciled to failure.Let's put it this way, no matter who takes over Liu Wenjin's position and manages the Qujing Green Camp, the first thing to pass is this group of Liu Wenjin's remnant party. If they are not settled, not only will they not be able to secure their position, but it will definitely lead to more and more chaos in the Qujing Green Camp. , getting worse.

The situation of internal and external troubles is placed here. If Fatty Lu's cousin Qin Yong is alone, it will definitely take some time to settle these troubles and bring this army back from the ashes.But fortunately, Fatty Lu, who usually pays great attention to talent reserves, finally received the reward of his hard work at this moment. Willingly became Fatty Lu's cousin's assistant, and led a group of thugs and accomplices accumulated by Fatty Lu's long-term bleak management, and swaggered into Qujing Green Camp, a dragon's pool and tiger's den.

On the second day of March in the eighth year of Mite Qingkang Mazi, on the first day Qin Yong officially took office, two of Liu Wenjin's confidantes, Mr. Qian, were severely injured and kicked out of the camp. The general and Liu Wenjin were former guard soldiers.More than forty other people were executed by military law, or were beaten with military sticks, or were punished to do hard labor.

On the third day of March, the Qujing Green Battalion distributed the military pay that had been owed for four months. According to the rules, under the supervision of Zhang Gaomo, the prefect of Qujing, and Fatty Lu, the county magistrate, Qin Yong and Li Tianzhi personally handed out the general salary to the generals and soldiers at all levels.On the same day, the Qujing Green Battalion posted a list to recruit troops, with the goal of making up for the vacancy in the establishment.

On the fourth day of March, the Qujing Green Battalion resumed the military training that had been abandoned for many months, and the training intensity was increased by [-]% on the original basis.On the same day, the food problem, which was criticized by the soldiers of the green battalion, was greatly improved. Not only must there be meat in every meal, but also legumes rich in plant protein have become a must-have dish on the soldiers' dining table. The fat man has to subsidize military expenses at least a thousand taels out of his own pocket every month.

On the fifth day of March, the Qujing Green Battalion started another riot, and one general encouraged the soldiers to stop training and mutiny, which once led to the suspension of training.More than half an hour after the incident, [-] soldiers from the right town of Wu Sangui Army surrounded the Qujing Green Camp, searched for the commander-in-chief and his accomplices, and killed three of them.

On the sixth day of March, the military shoes of soldiers from the Qujing Green Battalion were replenished first, and each person started with two pairs of new military shoes, and then each person was given a pair of new military shoes every month.Although the military uniforms were not issued due to time constraints, Qin Yong publicly promised that each person would be issued a set of four months, with cotton jackets in winter and undershirts in summer.On the same day, the Qujing Green Battalion announced the new military discipline. The three major disciplines should be read aloud to the public one by one, compiled into songs and ordered the soldiers to sing.

On the eighth day of March, the first batch of more than [-] newly recruited soldiers joined the army. While replenishing fresh blood, the Qujing Green Battalion also began to eliminate old and weak soldiers, but the old and weak soldiers who were eliminated were only dismissed from the military and given There are two options, those who are willing to leave will be paid travel expenses to go back to their hometown to reunite with their families, and the homeless will stay in the military camp as handymen and enjoy the same treatment as before retiring from the army. All expenses will be borne by Fatty Lu.

It is also because of this that Qujing Green Camp’s move to abolish the old and weak soldiers did not cause too much resistance. About [-]% of the nearly [-] old and weak soldiers who were abolished voluntarily stayed to serve as baggage servants, and the rest voluntarily Return to their hometown, or stay in Qujing to open up wasteland and farm land to supplement the increasingly scarce human labor in Qujing.At the same time, the Qujing Green Camp also expanded its army by more than [-] people in disguise.

On March [-]th, the grassroots generals of the Qujing Green Camp underwent a big change. Liu Wenjin’s confidantes were all removed and replaced by their deputies. Because of the bloody lessons of iron-fisted suppression twice before, Liu Wenjin’s best friends did not dare to have any Openly express dissatisfaction.On the same day, under Fatty Lu's order, the Qujing Green Battalion began to imitate the army of later generations to carry out more rigorous training, running with heavy loads, doing exercises, horizontal bars, push-ups, sit-ups and walking forwards, almost fucked these old Qiu Ba to death, while the Qujing Green Battalion The soldiers' meals were improved again to make up for the massive loss of physical strength after the soldiers' rigorous training.

After several tosses of sticks and honey, the military discipline of the Qujing Green Battalion has changed, and the combat effectiveness has rapidly recovered. Liu Wenjin, who was expelled from the army for deliberately causing trouble before, also regretted it. They ran back to the barracks to confess their guilt and repent, hoping to return to the army Mid-efficiency—these old Qiu Ba fought for several years and more than ten years, and they forgot how to use a hoe. They couldn't find a job when they went to the folks, but now the treatment in Qujing Green Camp has been greatly improved. These old Qiu Ba Of course I don't want to leave.At the same time, these old Qiu Ba are indeed the original essence of the Qujing Green Camp, so Li Tianzhi, who is old in military affairs, obtained the consent of Lu Fatty, and gave these Lao Qiu Ba a chance to repent and let them start again as ordinary soldiers after returning to the army. Grind away their edges and corners and Qiuba habits, and then gradually improve and reuse them.

Things in the army are so busy that you can't turn your head, and you can't delay the things at Nule Peak, and the post of the magistrate works even harder. These days, Fatty Lu is really tired and can't eat enough to sleep Buxiang was troublesome, and lost more than three catties of fat in less than half a month. Just when Fatty Lu was about to lose weight, the three eyeliners sent by Wu Sangui at Fatty Lu's request finally arrived in Qujing.

Kong Fanlin and Luo Kedi had protected Fatty Lu to Guangzhou for business before, and they were old friends with Fatty Lu. This time they reunited, and at the dust-cleaning banquet that Fatty Lu prepared for them, it was natural that they would be affectionate, reminiscing about old times, and chatting Kandi is extremely close, and gets along quite well with other lackeys of Fatty Lu - Wu Sangui's order to them is to keep an eye on Fatty Lu's army, but they are absolutely not allowed to conflict with Fatty Lu, these two loyal lackeys of the Pingxi Palace Of course I dare not not listen.Only the newly appointed Qujing County Prime Minister, Chen Dou, was as taciturn as ever, cherishing words like gold, and he didn't even drink a glass of wine.

"Master Chen, from today onwards, the two of us will work in the same yamen." He knew that Chen Dou was the eyeliner sent by the Pingxi Palace, and of course Fatty Lu didn't want to make the relationship stiff with him, so he raised his wine glass and smiled at Chen Dou Said: "Although Lu Yifeng steals a high position and is your boss, you are still much older than me. You are more than enough to be my uncle. You are old, respected and knowledgeable. In the future, if you do something wrong Yes, I would like to ask you to point it out in time. This glass of wine is my junior thank you in advance, and I also wish us a happy cooperation in the future, and make Qujing a real Yunnan-Guizhou Xiaojiangnan."

"My lord Xie Lu, I'm an official from the heavens, and don't drink alcohol." Chen Dou answered very simply, without the slightest expression on his face.

"Really? Then the junior won't force it." Fatty Lu was not angry, he put down his wine glass, looked at Chen Dou and asked with a smile, "Dare to ask Mr. Chen, where are you from? How many years have you been with the prince?"

"My ancestral home is in the south of the Yangtze River, and I have been with the prince for ten years." Chen Dou answered even more bluntly.

Chen Dou didn't even want to say a single word. Fatty Lu, who is good at buying people's hearts, really felt like a tiger gnawed on a hedgehog and had nowhere to say anything. At the same time, Fatty Lu discovered that Chen Dou's real age was actually far less old than his appearance, with a slightly medium build. He is thin, but the corners of his eyes are full of wrinkles and haggard, which makes people feel that he is very old, as if he is always worried about his chest.Out of curiosity, Fatty Lu asked hypocritically: "Oh, then, if you dare to ask Mr. Chen again, I wonder when Mr. Chen's family members will receive Qujing, and whether you should arrange a house for Mr. Chen so that Mr. Chen can settle down his family members." ?”

"Thank you. Both of Xiaguan's parents have passed away. He has no wife and no children. Just borrow a hut in the county government office." Chen Dou finally said a few more words this time.

"Oh, then do you want to get a few servant girls to serve seniors?" Fatty Lu asked persistently.

"No, I'm used to being a loner." Chen Dou flatly refused.

"Why is this person like this?" Zhu Fangdan, Li Tianzhi and the others looked at each other, all thinking that this Chen Dou might not be easy to deal with.Over there, Kong Fanlin was also afraid that Fatty Lu would get angry, so he quickly pulled Fatty Lu's sleeve, and whispered in Fatty Lu's ear: "Master Lu, don't worry, he has this temper. On the way from Kunming to Qujing, as long as we don't get along When he talks, he never takes the initiative to say a word. Also, Mr. Mao Xia asked me to bring you a sentence. He doesn't know the origin of this Chen Dou. He tells you to be careful when dealing with him. Just don't offend him casually. .”

"Oh, thank you, Brother Kong." Fatty Lu agreed, thinking carefully, thinking that since this Chen Dou has such a temper, he might be difficult to deal with in the future.But this is not entirely a bad thing. When such a person reports my every move to the old traitor Wu, he will not add fuel to the picture, sow dissension, spread rumors and slander. There is no need to worry too much.

Fatty Lu seemed to have overestimated some of Chen Dou's bad temper, and underestimated some of Chen Dou's abilities. It took just over a day for Chen Dou to know all the accounts of Qujing County's money, grain, taxes, and taxes by heart, allowing Lu Fatty has seen what is called a real photographic memory. At the same time, Fatty Lu handled some chores assigned to him very quickly and beautifully. He is especially good at criminal names. The kung fu of the Qing Code.What surprised Fatty Lu even more was that this Chen Dou was even better at encouraging business, and his proposal to encourage grain trade with the Eight Banners drug trade was even more to the point, which was exactly in line with Fatty Lu's intentions.

Chen Dou's suggestion is this: Qujing County is a major planting county of Eight Banners Fushou Gao. This year, more than [-]% of the land in the county has been planted with Eight Banners Fushou Gao. When supply exceeds demand, it is certain that people and businesses will continue to make a fortune, but it is also certain that grain production will be reduced.Therefore, Chen Dou suggested that Fatty Lu estimate the production of the Eight Banners Fushou Ointment in Qujing this year, and then distribute according to the quantity of strategic materials such as grain, pig iron, and salt imported by merchants from other provinces. The more Eight Banners medicines are sold to other places, so as to achieve the purpose of encouraging grain trade.

"This is a good idea." After listening to Chen Dou's suggestion, Fatty Lu's eyes brightened, and he said excitedly: "I have to report this method to the prince immediately, and ask the prince to implement this method to improve the food shortage situation in Yunnan and Guizhou. Mr. Chen, you have impressed the juniors a lot, how did you come up with such a good idea?"

"I didn't figure it out. Someone used this method decades ago." Chen Dou replied lightly.

"Really? Why haven't I heard of it?" Fatty Lu asked suspiciously, "Could it be that someone planted this Eight Banners medicine decades ago?"

"Of course it's not Baqi Fushou Gao." Chen Dou turned his face away, and said a few words to roughly explain, "That man is reselling grain, and he trades grain for horses, weapons, and some things he likes, because he is in a position where he can go from The Central Plains can buy food, but the people next to him can't, so he uses this method to earn military pay and control the enemy's people."

"Who is this person? Master Chen, do you know his name?" Fatty Lu asked curiously again.But before the question was finished, Chen Dou had already walked away with a lot of official documents, as if he hadn't heard Fatty Lu's question, and Fatty Lu was unavoidably even more puzzled, "What is the origin of this Chen Dou? Why didn't he bring it up in front of old traitor Wu, why did he wait until Qujing to give me this seventh-rank sesame official? I'm not as rich and powerful as old traitor Wu Sangui, so I can reward him heavily?"

………………

The eight years of Kang Mazi may be destined to be the luckiest year for Fatty Lu. The army he dreamed of fell into his hands like a pie in the sky. Not to mention, there was a taciturn but capable helper by his side, and by the end of March In early April, good news came one after another.

First of all, under the joint pressure of Aobai and Wu Sangui, Xiao Mazi was forced to agree to the national duty-free request of the "rare medicinal material" Baqi Fushou Gao, which greatly consolidated the new important source of income in Yunnan and Guizhou—of course, Xiao Mazi also He wouldn't be so stupid as to decree that the Eight Banners drugs would be permanently exempted from taxation. Temporary forbearance was just to temporarily stabilize Wu Sangui, a dangerous person, and prevent him from joining forces with Oboi to cause trouble. When Oboi was brought down, Xiao Mazi would still Will you watch Wu Sangui make a lot of money with Baqi drug cream? That is a question that can be understood by thinking with a cerebellum.Obai understands this truth, and Wu Sangui and his think tanks understand it even more.

Second, since Yang Qilong’s Five Banners Fushou Cream Restaurant opened in Beijing in the first month, the business has been booming. Encouraged by the various advertisements that Fatty Lu painstakingly arranged, the Eight Banners masters with hard-core crops in their hands flocked to taste the price. Expensive but it is said that it can strengthen the body, invigorate the kidneys and yang, and nourish the essence and marrow. It has indeed tasted a lot of miraculous effects, which has caused the price of the Eight Banners Fushou Ointment in the capital to rise all the way, and it is crazy popular. Countless princes Baylor use this product We are proud, and the most active representative among them is Prince Jieshu who has witnessed the miraculous effects of the Eight Banners drug balm in Qujing.

Fatty Lu is indeed a rare loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty. He used Eight Banners Fushou Gao to help the soldiers of the Eight Banners keep fit and prolong their lives. After learning that Yang Qilong only opened five Eight Banners Fushou Gao restaurants, Fatty Lu ordered Yang Qilong to hurry up again. Three new ones have been opened, which are divided into Zhenghuang, Zhenglan and Zhengbai. The Eight Banners are allowed to enter the hall according to their banners. They can enjoy the Eight Banners' fushou cream, and at the same time, they can deepen the friendship of the same banner, strengthen the relationship, and help the banners to unite with the outside world.

At the same time, the kind-hearted Fatty Lu Sanhao also asked Yang Qilong's people to issue a warning in the capital, saying that most of the Eight Banners drug creams produced overseas are fake and poisonous, and only the Eight Banners drug creams produced in Yunnan and Guizhou are the best products. !To a certain extent, it has prevented unscrupulous traitors from harming the bannermen with fake and shoddy products imported from overseas. His loyalty to the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty can be seen in the world and can be learned from the sun and the moon.

Thirdly, with the approval of the Chief Minister Obai, a large number of strictly controlled strategic materials were lifted from Yunnan and Guizhou. Countless items such as saltpeter, pig iron, grain, salt, and cotton that were in short supply in the Southwest flooded into Yunnan like a tide and were transported to the Pingxi Palace. Mold and insects grow in large and small warehouses.

At this point in the matter, although Xiao Mazi's intelligence team has not yet obtained the real evidence of the alliance between Ao Bai and Wu Sangui, they have also guessed that some agreement must have been reached between Ao Bai and Wu Sangui.Therefore, when Oboi asked Wu Sangui to re-expand the army on the grounds of guarding against the frontier, Xiao Mazi flatly refused and refused to give up an inch. Due to the fact that Xiao Mazi was already in charge of the government, Obai could not forcefully pass this important decision, he could only ask Wu Sangui secretly expanded his army for great use.

Another consequence of Xiao Mazi's resolute blocking of Wu Sangui's military expansion plan is that Wu Sangui has become more and more resentful towards Xiao Mazi, Xiao Mazi is also increasingly jealous of Wu Sangui, and the estrangement between the monarch and his ministers is deepening.

Of course, it cannot be all good news. Hu Guozhu told Fatty Lu some bad news when he returned to Kunming and passed by Qujing on his way to the capital. Wu Yingxiong's safety - Aobai is not stupid, if Wu Yingxiong is not held hostage, who can guarantee that Wu Sangui will abide by the agreement?As for what Hu Guozhu and Obai negotiated and formed an alliance with, Hu Guozhu didn't say anything, and Fatty Lu didn't dare to ask.

At the end of April, one afternoon, Chen Dou, who never took the initiative to speak, came to Fatty Lu's study for the first time, handed a letter to Fatty Lu, and said coldly: "The prince sent a fast horse to send it. The messenger wants you to read it right away, and write back to him after reading it."

"What's so urgent?" Fatty Lu was a little puzzled. He took the letter and opened it and only read a few lines. Fatty Lu frowned and his face became gloomy.

"What happened?" Chen Dou asked curiously.

"Bian Sanyuan's resignation due to illness has been approved by the imperial court." Fatty Lu said slowly: "The imperial court has issued a decree to promote Gan Wenkun, the governor of Zhili, to the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou. He will arrive in Guiyang soon to take up his post."

"Gan Wenkun?" Chen Dou had always been Gujing Wubo's expression rarely moved, and said: "The Gan family and the prince are deadly rivals. If I remember correctly, when the prince served as the commander-in-chief of Ningyuan in the previous dynasty, the whole family was already surrounded. Gan Yingyuan, the uncle of Gan Wenkun of the Hongqi people, died at the hands of the prince. Later, the prince and the Gan family entered the pass from the dragon. In order to fight for merit, the prince had another conflict with their Gan family. Now the court deliberately sent this Gan Wenkun to serve as Yungui Governor, Yunnan and Guizhou may be even more lively."

"It's not just lively, it's going to be in full swing." Fatty Lu snorted coldly—Fatty Lu knew very well that this Gan Wenkun in history was a die-hard traitor no less than Shang Kexi, Zhao Liangdong, Cai Yurong and others. When Wu Sangui raised troops, Gan Wenkun was killed Surrounded by Wu Sangui's army, he would rather commit suicide than raise troops against the Qing Dynasty. He was a typical representative of loyal officials of the Qing Dynasty at that time.

"Then what does the lord want you to do?" Chen Dou asked again on his own initiative.

"Except for telling me that Gan Wenkun is going to be the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, he didn't say a word." Fatty Lu replied.

"Then why is the prince's messenger still waiting for your reply?" Chen Dou asked in surprise.

"This is the brilliance of the prince." Fatty Lu said with a smile: "The prince wants me to do some things, but he can't ask me to do these things explicitly, so he told me the news so that I can understand it myself. "

"What do you mean?" Chen Dou was a little confused, "The prince wants you to do something, but he can't ask you to do so?"

"Master Chen, you still don't understand this?" Fatty Lu said with a wry smile, "Gan Wenkun came to Yungui to make it clear that he wanted to confront the lord, and the lord hoped that someone could inform him, try to gain Gan Wenkun's trust, and tell him about Gan Wenkun. Every move. Who else would be more suitable for this hapless double-agent candidate, besides me, an imperial spy, and the Qujing magistrate who is also placed beside me as the eyeliner of Prince Pingxi's mansion?"

"Heh." Fatty Lu gave another wry smile, and said, "And Mr. Chen, I'm afraid you will be unlucky too. In the future, the two of us will have to conflict openly when we say anything, and I have to wear some shoes for you."

(End of this chapter)