scourge the qing dynasty

Chapter 204
After the battle of Wuchang was finally settled, although the Yunnan-Guizhou army had won a great victory, its strength was at the end of its strength. Although it knew that the elite main force of the Qing army had been completely lost, it also knew that the Qing army in several major provinces in the Central Plains The military strength is already extremely empty, but the Yunnan-Guizhou army is unable to use any strength to expand the results of the war, and it also has to use all the strength to occupy other provinces.

There is no way, the Yunnan-Guizhou army is too tired. In four months, the Yunnan-Guizhou army, with a total of 10,000+ main force and auxiliary troops, has conquered such a huge territory as Pianyuan, Guangxi, Sichuan and some Huguang in one go. Whether it is the speed of advancement or the speed of expansion, it has far exceeded the speed of advancement and expansion of the Mite Qing army after it entered the customs. Stability, each pile of piles of problems need time to adjust, deploy and correct.

Under such circumstances, even the generals of the Yunnan-Guizhou army, no matter how optimistic or greedy they were, would not have the guts to shout to continue the attack.Especially when the construction of the navy has just started and the supply of firearms is cut off, even Fatty Lu, who has always been arrogant and bold, really has no energy to shout the slogan of launching another large-scale attack.So there was no other way, the Yunnan-Guizhou army had no choice but to obediently fulfill the armistice agreement, stop to bandage the wound, recuperate, and wait for the vitality to recover before considering the next expansion plan.The top management of the Pingxi Palace can only turn their attention to the internal and political levels of the army, and start to solve their own internal and external problems.

Wu Jun currently has a lot of small internal problems, but there are two major problems. One is how to effectively control the suddenly expanded control territory several times, and the other is how to quickly restore and improve the overall strength of Wu Jun to make up for the shortcomings of the navy.

The first internal affairs issue is very difficult. As we all know, the old traitor Wu uses the family power of his son-in-law to rule the army.But in terms of the civil service system, this method does not work. When he was still in Yunnan and Guizhou, the old traitor Wu often felt deeply troubled by the lack of civil officials, even if he chose to use civilian talents in an eclectic manner. However, it is still not enough for use—the failed scholar Fatty Lu is the beneficiary of the old traitor Wu's policy. Now the Wu army's territory has suddenly expanded several times, and the problem of insufficient civilian officials is naturally becoming more and more obvious, which seriously restricts and restricts the overall development of the Pingxi Palace. develop.

Fortunately, no matter what era it is, there will never be a shortage of backup candidates for officials and civil servants. After occupying Wuchang Mansion and northern Hunan, which are known to be talented only in Chu, the traitor Wu will not force local officials in Yunnan and Guizhou to choose After hearing the advice of Hu Guozhu and Fatty Lu, the list of talents promulgated was posted in Wuchang City and Changsha City. Scholars in these two cities immediately flocked to the temporary Xingyuan of the old traitor Wu and the Changsha Governor's Mansion. Mao then recommended himself and expressed his willingness He worked for the old traitor Wu, among whom there were some well-known famous literati, and the old traitor Wu would not refuse anyone, as long as he had a little bit of talent and scholars, he would be appointed to an official position, sent to the local government to manage the people and monitor the demoted officials.

Qu Dajun, a famous anti-Qing literati, was known as one of the three great masters in Lingnan. Hearing about Wu Jun’s Lianzhan Lianjie, he felt that Wu’s traitor might be the best hope to fight against the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty, so he resolutely bid farewell to his wife. My sons and daughters and my Wanguan family fortune in Panyu, Guangdong, rode alone to Guangxi to apply for a job with Wu Shizong, expressing their willingness to work for Wu Jun.After Wu Shizongfei reported to the old traitor Wu, the old traitor Wu immediately awarded Qu Dadu as the inspector of Guangxi, and took office directly with the third rank. Qu Dadu was directly awarded as governor of Guangxi.After the news spread, famous people in Lingnan began to think about their own future, and countless people were eager to try.

As a semi-talented scholar and the only firearms expert in the Wu army, Fatty Lu did not participate too much in resolving the internal affairs of the Wu army. He only suggested how to select and appoint civilian talents in front of the old traitor Wu, and focused on the military and firearms camp relocation.After personally inspecting the site, Fatty Lu suggested that Wu Jun’s new firearms camp should be established in Jijia Mountain, Ningxiang County, Changsha Prefecture, because it is not only close to Wujiang River and Pianyuan Official Road, with convenient water and land transportation, but also has three large-scale production in Ningxiang. Coal mines can provide the necessary coke fuel for the production of firearms casting.

After Fatty Lu's proposal was reported to Old Traitor Wu for approval, Fang Guangchen, who had been appointed governor of Pianyuan, immediately sent a large army of artisans to start construction, freeing up space to build warehouses, and prepared to hoard all kinds of firearms camps in Yunnan that had already been demolished and moved northward. After Lu Fatzi led the local craftsmen to imitate the mother-child cannon, he hurriedly left the work of building a firearms camp to Fang Guangchen, and returned to Wuchang with a list of urgently needed raw materials to pester the old traitor Wu and let the old traitor Wu Try to solve the important problem of the supply of these materials.

When Fatty Lu returned to Wuchang City again, it was already November 11th in the [-]th year of Qingkang Mazi, and it was more than a month since the end of the Battle of Wuchang. Calculating the time, Ye Bilong's memorial should have been sent to Mi The Qing capital is just about how Xiao Mazi will react to this, and whether he will recognize the armistice treaty signed by Ye Bilong. At present, Wu Jun still has no idea, and is still eagerly waiting for an answer.However, the Hanyang Qing army that was facing Wuchang across the river was very honest and did not move, and the exhausted Yunnan-Guizhou army also gained a precious period of recuperation.

After a month of reconstruction and repairs, the city walls of Wuchang have all been repaired, but the streets and houses in the city are still under intense repair. Fortunately, the people of Wuchang suffered heavy casualties during the war. After the war, the Wu army drove all the Manchus into prisoners of war. The battalion waited for Xiao Mazi to pay the ransom, freeing up the relatively well-preserved inner city of Wuchang, so whether it was Wuchang people or Wu army officers and soldiers, as long as they squeezed a little, they would not have to sleep in the wild in the cold winter months.And when Fatty Lu came to the inner city while checking the rebuilding situation of Wuchang City, just entering the inner door, a rather familiar voice suddenly stopped Fatty Lu.

"Brother Yifeng, please stay, please stay, brother Yifeng."

Amidst the shouts, a handsome middle-aged scholar led a group of middle-aged men to stop Fatty Lu's path. Fatty Lu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly grabbed the middle-aged scholar's wrist, and said in surprise: "Mr. Chen... …Brother Jinnan, why have you come to Wuchang too? Have you seen our Pingxi prince?” Fang Shiyu, Hong Xiguan and others behind Fatty Lu also rushed up and down, saluting to the middle-aged scholar Chen Jinnan, following the etiquette of the Heaven and Earth Society.

"I've seen you several times." I haven't seen you for many years. Although Chen Jinnan has many crow's tail wrinkles on the corners of his eyes, his attitude is still so kind and friendly, and his tone is even more affectionate. He shook Fatty Lu's fat hand vigorously and said with a big laugh: " I haven't seen you for five years. Brother Yifeng is not only still handsome, but he is already famous all over China. Not only in the Central Plains, but also overseas. "

Fatty Lu hastened to be humble, saying that his reputation was far from Chen Jinnan's by a million miles—this was definitely a truth.And Chen Jinnan hurriedly called two more people, pointed to Fatty Lu and introduced them: "Master Chen, General Chen, let me introduce you, this one is the famous Lu Yifeng who I often mention in front of the prince, Master Lu! Known as Lu God of Wealth, Lu Sanhao, and General Lu! There are only two all-rounders in the entire Pingxi Palace who are both civil and military!"

"The last general, Chen Wenhuan, and the lower officer, Chen Keqi, pay homage to Mr. Lu." The two middle-aged men quickly clasped their fists in salute, and secretly looked at Fatty Lu, all thinking that this little fatty is Lu Yifeng?Not like it?Didn't the whole dog say that Lu Yifeng has a green face and fangs and is as ugly as a pig?
"Brother Yifeng, this General Chen Wenhuan is the deputy general of our Yanping Palace in Taiwan." Chen Jinnan explained in a low voice: "This Chen Keqi, Mr. Chen, is the supervisor of our Yanping Palace. Make Pingxi Wangfu's deputy."

"The Prince of Yanping sent you to contact our Prince of Pingxi to raise the flag of righteousness to fight against the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty?" Fatty Lu asked tentatively in a low voice.Seeing Chen Jinnan nodding his head to admit it, Fatty Lu hurriedly asked again in a low voice: "Then what's the result? Did the prince agree?"

Chen Jinnan shook his head, smiled bitterly and said in a low voice: "Prince Pingxi is still the same, he likes to be indecisive about everything, I have been in Wuchang for eight days, and the prince has not given me a positive answer until now. Agree. There is no other way, brother Yu can only wait patiently here, but I didn't expect to meet you here today."

"It's not surprising. It's a big matter. It's normal for our prince to be indecisive." Fatty Lu replied casually: "But brother Jin Nan, you don't need to worry about your safety at all. As for the traitors who don’t even want pants, I’ll hand you over to the Mangou court.”

"Of course I know this, otherwise I wouldn't dare to come to see Prince Pingxi in person." Chen Jinnan nodded, agreeing with Fatty Lu's statement.At the end, Chen Jinnan hurriedly lowered his voice and said: "Brother Yifeng, Brother Yu heard that the prince of Pingxi was able to sweep the southwest this time, recovering the three provinces in the southwest and annihilating the main force of Mangou in one fell swoop. I also heard that you are good at running the army, Brother Yifeng, you don’t keep a penny of the rewards you get, and donate all of them to the soldiers who have done meritorious service and the families of the soldiers who died in battle. He is deeply loved and loved by the generals of Yunnan and Guizhou, and he has won the hearts of the soldiers in the Yungui army with his promises."

After slapping Fatty Lu flatteringly, Chen Jinnan changed the subject again and said in a low voice: "Brother Yifeng, for the sake of the great cause of anti-Qing and Ming Dynasty, can brother Yu ask you one thing?"

"Brother Jinnan wants my younger brother to help us persuade our lord to enter into a covenant with the Yanping Palace? Join forces to fight against the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty?" Fatty Lu asked back with a smile.

"My good brother knows the truth, it is true." Chen Jinnan nodded, and said sincerely: "My dear brother Yifeng, our Yanping Palace is very sincere. Everyone in the palace is willing to obey the command and command of Prince Pingxi, and serve as the leader of Prince Pingxi! After the event is completed, King Ningjing (Zhu Shugui) will ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor, and Prince Pingxi will naturally be the hereditary prince of Zhenguo. Living under Prince Pingxi."

"Zhu Shugui is a puppet manipulated by you, and old traitor Wu is not an idiot, why do you want to regard him as emperor?" Fatty Lu sneered in his heart, but patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, President Chen, what is your younger brother's ambition?" You know, the Pingxi Palace and the Yanping Palace jointly expelling the Tartars, my younger brother will do my best to facilitate it! After seeing the prince, I will try my best to persuade the prince to accept my brother’s proposal and form an alliance with the Prince of Yanping to fight against the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty!”

"Since that's the case, thank you Brother Yifeng!" Chen Jinnan was overjoyed, and quickly clasped his fists to express his gratitude: "Brother Yifeng, don't worry, if the virtuous brother facilitates this alliance, then brother Yu will become the king of Zuoming and the king of Yanping County, please reward your virtuous brother .”

"Thank you, Brother Jinnan, but my lifelong wish is to fight against the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty, slaughter all the dogs, give rewards and so on, and I will never be greedy." Fatty Lu smiled and cupped his hands, and asked tentatively: "By the way, Brother Jinnan Speaking of Prince Ningjing, my younger brother suddenly remembered something-- folk rumors, my Third Prince Zhu of Ming Dynasty was not killed by Man Gou. What are the brothers Nan planning?"

"Brother Yu has also heard such rumors." Chen Jinnan said frankly: "The third prince Zhu is the son of the first emperor of Chongzhen, and the king of Ningjing County is just a side branch. You should honor the Third Prince Zhu as your master and embrace him as emperor."

"Fortunately, Chen Jinnan and his group are not considered pedantic." Fatty Lu breathed a sigh of relief, and then said in a low voice: "Then there is another problem. Don't dare to deceive brother Jinnan. In fact, the Jingnan Palace and the Pingnan Palace are also with us. The Pingxi Palace has secret contacts, but their attitude is not to support the descendants of the surname Zhu, but to set up someone else - what is your attitude, Brother Jinnan?"

"They are dreaming!" Chen Jinnan was furious, and said with puns: "If Lord Pingxi supports Zhu Ming's descendant as emperor, I, the entire Yanping Palace, will naturally support it with all my strength, but if other people want to get rid of Zhu Ming's descendant and establish a new emperor , then he is a traitor who seeks to usurp the throne, and I, the entire Yanping Palace, naturally everyone wants to kill and then hurry up!"

"Understood." Fatty Lu sighed softly, cupped his hands to Chen Jinnan and said: "Brother Jinnan, don't worry, my younger brother will go to see Prince Pingxi and urge him to form an alliance with your army. Brother Jinnan please be quiet. "Chen Jinnan hurriedly saluted and thanked him, and watched Fatty Lu and his party leave.

........................

All the way to the temporary residence of the old traitor Wu located in the middle of the inner city of Wuchang, after settling up his entourage and handing over the number plate, Fatty Lu was quickly led to the back garden by the guards of the old traitor Wu, and saw that he was leading Hu Guozhu and Wang Shirong behind him. The old traitor Wu who admires the snow and the plum blossoms in the garden.After saluting, the old traitor Wu quickly asked with a smile, "Why did you come back? Are you done with the affairs of Jiqishan Firearms Camp?"

"Back to grandfather, it's almost there." Fatty Lu replied proudly: "It took only seven days for my grandson-in-law to imitate Mangou's ace firearm, the mother-in-law cannon, and passed it on to the local craftsmen, so that they can copy it in large quantities. But The equipment for the firearms camp brought from Yunnan was still on the way, and there was a serious shortage of raw materials, so the son-in-law entrusted Mr. Fang Xiaobiao (Fang Guangchen’s son) Fang Xiaobiao (Fang Guangchen’s son) with the supervision of the firearms camp. He returned to Wuchang with the list and asked his grandfather to solve it. "

"Well, it's easy to talk about. We'll talk about it later." Old Han Wu nodded, and then asked casually, "I heard that you saw Chen Yonghua, the envoy from Taiwan, by the inner city gate just now. Is there such a thing?"

"My son-in-law is about to report this matter to my grandfather." Fatty Lu quickly replied, "Because my son-in-law needs to test their attitude on a major matter, so I talked to them a few more words."

"What's the big deal for you to test them?" Hu Guozhu asked quickly.

"Of course it is to test their attitude towards the matter of supporting their grandfather as emperor." Fatty Lu replied calmly: "The navy is the weakest point of our Pingxi Palace, and it is also the strongest point of the Yanping Palace. The Yanping Palace urgently needs help, but the Yanping Palace is loyal to the Ming Dynasty, if you don’t know their attitude on this matter, how can grandfather adapt to the situation, formulate a strategy, and make the most of the Yanping Palace?”

Fatty Lu's answer was so frank, and it was so in the hands of old traitor Wu. Of course, old traitor Wu's doubts about Fatty Lu were swept away. Are you going to worry about this? Who said that Lao Tzu intends to ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor?"

"Yifeng, what's their attitude?" Hu Guozhu didn't want to be a whore and set up a memorial archway like the traitor Wu, so he quickly asked, "Are they willing to support their father-in-law as emperor?"

"Uncle, I'm sorry, you have to be disappointed." Fatty Lu replied with a wry smile: "My nephew tried cleverly, and Chen Yonghua also answered cleverly, saying that if grandfather supports Zhu Ming's descendants as emperor, as long as his identity is orthodox, the Yanping Palace can give up supporting Ningjing County. King. But if grandfather sets another surname as Emperor, then they would rather die than obey!"

Hu Guozhu was silent, and after a while he cursed, "Pedantic idiot!"

"Hmph!" The traitor Wu also suddenly kicked the wintersweet tree in front of him, causing clusters of snowflakes to fall on the plum tree.Wang Shirong was greatly disappointed, and couldn't help cursing, "Idiot! Zhu Ming's descendants, combined, can they catch up with our prince's little toe?"

"Grandfather, please be at ease." Fatty Lu comforted with a smile: "The reason why the Yanping Palace has this attitude now is because we still have to ask them. When my Pingxi Palace looks down on the world, I will be invincible across the three mountains and five mountains, nine lakes and four seas." At that time, even if they don't want to support them, they can't help them."

Speaking of this, Fatty Lu added flatteringly: "Besides, at that time, grandfather, you may not need Zheng Jing to continue to be the king of Yanping County. Wouldn't it be better to invite uncle to be the prince of Yanping?"

"Hahahahaha...!" Old Man Wu laughed triumphantly, extremely satisfied with Fatty Lu's answer.Wang Shirong and Hu Guozhu also nodded and smiled together, and Hu Guozhu also smiled and said: "As long as you continue to work hard, Yifeng, to help your grandfather well, by then, maybe you will be the Prince of Yanping."

"My son-in-law doesn't dare." Fatty Lu hurriedly saluted and said respectfully, "My son-in-law has only two wishes in his life. One is to rejuvenate the Han Dynasty and destroy the Manchus and expel the Tartars, and the other is to assist his grandfather to become emperor and unify China. One wish is enough for grandson-in-law. As for rewards, grandson-in-law doesn't want to covet, nor dare to covet."

"Get up." The old man Wu smiled treacherously, and said, "If there is such a day, the old man will not treat you badly. Anyway, you are also the grandson-in-law of the old man, and you are the pillar of the sky that the old man will leave to his descendants. On the other hand, I will naturally not let you suffer any grievances."

Fatty Lu saluted with great joy, thanked him again and again, and then stood up supporting Xuedi.The old traitor Wu asked casually: "Then, what do you think about the request of the Yanping Palace to form an alliance with our army? Do you think that kid Zheng Jing really wants to form an alliance with us, or is he just planning to use us?" ?”

"It is absolutely sincere, but it is absolutely not sincere." Fatty Lu gave an ambiguous answer.

"What do you mean by that?" Old Man Wu asked suspiciously, "What do you mean absolutely sincere? What do you mean absolutely not sincere?"

"Back to grandfather, my grandson-in-law thinks so." Fatty Lu replied respectfully: "Zheng Jing wanted to form an alliance with our Pingxi Palace for two reasons. The Qing Dynasty restored the Ming Dynasty, expelled the Tartars, and restored the Ming Dynasty. The second purpose was to protect itself. Taiwan was just developed by the Zheng family, and the underground people were poor, and the population and financial resources were weak, even far inferior to our Yunnan and Guizhou. Therefore, it is still possible to linger on, but it is because there was an Oboi rebellion in Mangou before, and then it was restrained by his grandfather. If Mangou frees up his hands to deal with them with all his strength, then Zheng Jing's downfall is just around the corner. Therefore, in order to protect himself, Zheng Jing must You must try your best to establish an alliance with you, grandfather, and form a bond of lips and teeth."

"Why did the son-in-law say that they are definitely not sincere?" Fatty Lu continued, "Actually, the son-in-law mainly refers to Zheng Jing's promise to obey his grandfather's orders. Grandfather, if you order Zheng Jing to attack Mangou's strength The weak coastal areas of Fujian and Guangdong, needless to say, Zheng Jing will definitely execute immediately. But, grandfather, if you order Zheng Jing to attack Jiangnan, which is heavily guarded by Mangou, cut off the lifeline of Mangou's water transportation, or order Zheng Jinghai to attack Tianjin and Beijing, Go straight to the dog's throat, then Zheng Jing will find all kinds of excuses to refuse, and he will not be obedient."

"In a word, the son-in-law can conclude that after the alliance, grandfather asked Zheng Jing to pinch some soft persimmons to restrain him properly. That's not a problem at all! But if Zheng Jing is required to fight tough battles and evil ones, it is absolutely unreliable! Even if Zheng Jing If we are willing to attack the important town of Mangou, it must be after our army has exhausted and exhausted the strength of Mangou!"

After listening to Fatty Lu's opinion, Old Man Wu nodded slightly, but did not speak, while Hu Guozhu echoed, "Father-in-law, what Yifeng said is reasonable, and my son-in-law and Mr. Liangchen also think the same way. Appropriate contact and a little use is enough, but you must not place high hopes on him."

"So in your opinion, how should the old man reply to the Taiwanese envoy?" Old Han Wu asked in a deep voice.

"Temporary refusal, keep in touch." Wang Shirong was the first to answer: "Confess to them the reason, our Yunnan-Guizhou army is very tired now, we have not gained a firm foothold in the newly occupied land, and at the same time, the food and grass promised by Mangou have not yet arrived in Huguang. It is really inconvenient to openly form an alliance with them, and directly play the banner of anti-Qing and Fuming, asking them to wait at ease, and when the time is right, we will naturally live up to their expectations."

"I want them to show their sincerity in forming an alliance." Hu Guozhu suggested: "One is to provide us with a group of water fighters to help us train the navy. The other is to help us build the Lianzhou seaport, guard our sea routes, and ensure our sea ​​traffic safety.”

The old traitor Wu was very satisfied when he heard it, he nodded again and again, and then turned his eyes to his very insightful grandson-in-law.Fatty Lu replied: "Strengthen their courage, strengthen their physique, and their ambitions, let them restrain the power of the dogs on a larger scale, and buy time for my Pingxi Palace to recuperate."

"How can you build up your courage, build up your physique, and build up your ambition?" Old Han Wu asked treacherously.

"Sell them a batch of our new firearms." Fatty Lu replied in a deep voice: "The most important thing about our new firearms is the formula of new explosives. Even if Zheng Jing got such a weapon, he couldn't imitate it. By constantly buying and exchanging with our army, our army can not only make huge profits, but also obtain all kinds of scarce materials from them, and it can further prove the sincerity of our army's alliance with the Yanping Palace, which is the best of all three. And Zheng Jing After getting these firearms to increase your strength, can you still be willing to live on a small island in the sea?"

"At that time, Zheng Jing's navy will be even more powerful, and will naturally pose a huge threat to Mangou's coastal defense, forcing Mangou to invest a lot of power in coastal defense to reduce the frontal pressure on our army. After Zheng Jing's power has developed to a certain extent, I am afraid Without the order from his grandfather, Zheng Jing would probably have the idea of ​​cutting off the water transportation of Mangou or surprise attacking the throat of Mangou Gyeonggi, so wouldn't it be more beneficial to our army?"

"Wonderful!" Hu Guozhu slapped his thigh and said happily: "Father-in-law, Yifeng's idea is great. Our firearm Zheng Jing cannot be imitated, so naturally there is no need to worry about Zheng Jing turning against us, and we sell firearms. Not only can we Gaining huge profits can also serve the purpose of indirectly manipulating Zheng Jinghe and indirectly weakening Man Gou! It can serve multiple purposes, and my son-in-law thinks this plan is feasible!"

"For Geng Jingzhong in Fujian and Shang Zhixin in Guangdong, we can do the same!" Wang Shirong said darkly: "Geng Jingzhong and Shang Zhixin's ambitions are not inferior to Zheng Jing's, and their financial strength is even higher than Zheng Jing's. We openly sell new firearms to them. Can they not flock to it? Can't they take out countless gold, silver and jewels to increase our financial resources and strengthen their strength? When their strength soars, can they still submit obediently to Mangou?"

"Since you all agree to do this, let's do it this way." Old man Wu smiled treacherously, then turned to Fatty Lu and said, "Give you a chance to sell favors, you bastard, go see Chen Yonghua, and say that the king is on your side After persuasion, I decided to provide strong assistance for their great cause of anti-Qing and Ming Dynasty! Strong assistance!"

(End of this chapter)