scourge the qing dynasty

Chapter 217 The Accomplice Arrives
(PS: The construction party dug up the cable, causing the network to be interrupted-10000 explained it this way, and it was a few miles to walk to the Netcom of a friend's house to upload, so it was late.)
Armistice: The state in which hostile military operations cease between the belligerent parties.It is generally implemented through an agreement reached through negotiation.There are partial and comprehensive, limited and indefinite points.

Basically, the so-called truce agreement reached between the Pingxi Palace and the Qing court is a typical example of a limited-term truce, and it is also a typical example of temporary friendship after the power is exhausted and the force is exhausted.More typically, no matter which side it is, they don't know how long the truce period will last, when the war will resume, let alone which side will be the first to start the war again, and when it will start the war. —— Regarding this point, whether it is Kang Mazi, the chief of the Qing court, or the old traitor Wu, who is the leader of the Pingxi Palace, they all cook dumplings in teapots, and they know it well.

Of course, not everyone has such a calm and clear mind. There are some in the Qing court, and there are many in Wu Jun's side. Wu Yingqi, the second son of the old traitor Wu, is one of them.After receiving [-]% of the army's salary and food as the down payment from the Qing court, Wu Yingqi, who was in full bloom, proposed a suggestion to the old traitor Wu, suggesting that all the fertile land in the Huguang grain-producing area that Wu Jun finally snatched from the Qing court should be planted. Opium, in order to make huge profits at the end of the year!

Fortunately, the old traitor Wu is still alive at this time, and there are still people who can stop Wu Yingqi's rampant behavior, so Wu Jun has not been harmed by Wu Yingqi, but of course Wu Yingqi was also scolded bloody by the old traitor Wu. After he made a great contribution to Xiong Cilu's bribery of Wu Jun's important ministers last time, the old traitor Wu will definitely have to slap this idiot son a few times.In the end, it was Fatty Lu who stood up to smooth things over and suggested that Baqi ointment was very effective in healing wounds on the battlefield and could be planted properly. Then the old traitor Wu allowed the people in Guizhou and Yunnan, which did not produce much food, to plant it by themselves—but also posted notices to warn repeatedly, Warn that the price of Baqi ointment will plummet within the year, and the price of grain will inevitably soar. It is recommended that the people plant according to the ratio of three ointment to seven ointment.

Wu Yingqi is definitely not the only one who is slack. After receiving the arrears of military pay and rewards, the entire Wu army is obviously a little slack. Gambling is common in the barracks. Countless soldiers gather to gamble day and night, and their daily training is perfunctory; The families of the common people were destroyed, and many women could only do some dusty things to make a living, and their main customers were naturally Wu Jun soldiers who happened to have some spare money in their hands. Brothels and brothels bloomed everywhere near the Wu Jun camp, causing countless soldiers to sneak out in the middle of the night Leaving the barracks, he went to the Fengyuechang near the abandoned village to let off steam, and his morale fell severely. The discipline of the army, which was far superior to the Qing army in the past, is also quickly catching up with the Qing army.

Faced with such a situation, the old traitor Wu, Hu Guozhu, and Fatty Lu were all brain-dead, and had to issue strict orders to prohibit all-night gambling and sneaking out of the barracks to buy sex. For this reason, nearly a hundred Wu army officers and soldiers were arrested and severely punished. , although this move has also received some effects, but the fighting spirit of the army is still inevitably slackened, and the spirit is far from keeping up with the original [-] troops who came out of Yungui.Even Fatty Lu's military discipline, which Fatty Lu was so proud of, was greatly affected. There was a situation where he left his post in the middle of the night to gamble and whore, and Fatty Lu was so angry that he personally whipped a few unlucky guys who were caught. He was forced to strengthen the supervision of the army to prevent his direct descendants from completely degrading.

Fortunately, this is a worse world. The morale and discipline of the traitor Wu's army is lax, and the situation on the other side of the Qing army is even worse, and the nature is even worse-according to Wu Jun's detailed statistics, only the Hanyang garrison of the Qing army In the first month of the 12th year of Kang Mazi, the army committed hundreds of atrocities of raping civilian women. At the same time, due to the serious problem of arrears of military pay, the phenomenon of soldiers fleeing and pretending to be bandits and robbing is endless, and it has been repeatedly banned.So relatively speaking, the situation of Wu Jun, who is not yet extremely bad, is even better.

In early February, the two riverside forts built by the Wu army were completed. They were located in the north of Wuchang City and at the mouth of Dongting Lake respectively. It was planned to install hundreds of heavy artillery pieces each. The purpose was naturally to block the Yangtze River waterway, harass the Qing army’s waterway transportation, and protect the rear grain production areas. However, Wu Jun's firearms and equipment are too scientific, focusing on field battles and despising attacking fortified areas. There is a serious shortage of red cannons that can shoot ten miles. In front of Fatty Lu, a firearms expert.Fatty Lu, who was extremely reluctant to leave the decision-making level of the Wu army, had no choice but to pack his luggage and prepare to rush to the newly built Jiqishan Firearms Battalion, where he would guide the craftsmen to build heavy artillery equipment forts.

Before leaving, when he bid farewell in front of old traitor Wu, Fatty Lu took the opportunity to put forward a vicious suggestion that he had been planning for a long time, and told old traitor Wu: "Grandfather, according to my grandson-in-law, our army's fighting spirit and military discipline If we continue like this, I'm afraid it will be detrimental to our army's plan for a comprehensive counter-offensive in the future. Grandfather Wanwang think twice and take resolute measures to eliminate hidden dangers."

"About this matter, the old man has already noticed." The old man Wu rubbed his temples with a weary expression, and said helplessly: "But this is something that cannot be stopped. Now the temporary truce, there is no battle to fight, and the old man can't use it against the soldiers. Discipline during wartime, if you catch a violation of discipline, you will be killed immediately, and you have to relax these bastards, otherwise, the effect will be counterproductive and the morale of the army will be even more lax."

"Grandfather, why don't we create some friction and fight some small battles with the Mangou on the north bank at any time, so as to maintain the morale and combat effectiveness of the army?" Fatty Lu suggested sinisterly.

"Creating friction?" The old man Wu was stunned, and said in doubt: "We have now signed an armistice agreement with Man Gou, and taking the initiative to provoke a war for no reason, isn't it a breach of trust in the world?"

"Grandfather misunderstood." Fatty Lu shook his head, and said in a dark voice: "Sun-in-law is not saying to provoke a big war, but to lure the soldiers to take advantage of them, let the soldiers take the initiative to attack, and fight with the Mangou soldiers as a private person. In this way , The soldiers tasted the sweetness in the friction, and naturally thought about the next time, and suffered a loss in the friction, and naturally thought of revenge. Grandpa doesn't need to come out in person, he just needs to let the generals at all levels fan the flames behind his back, and indulge him."

"How to do it specifically? Let's talk about it." Old Traitor Wu became interested.

"Follow the example of the ancestors of the Man Gou, let the soldiers go out to fight wild valleys." Fatty Lu suggested: "The Man Gou army separated from our army by the bank, and the Man Gou army in Nanchang Prefecture, Jiangxi Province, which borders Wuchang Prefecture, have very strict military discipline. Corruption, there are often people who plunder people's property and rape people's women, and people in the two places often flee to Wuchang. My grandfather can let the generals at the grassroots level use the excuse that the people ask for help from our army, and organize a small army to attack these disturbing people. You do not have to hand over the things and women you snatch from the army, and they are all owned by the soldiers. In this way, grandfather, you can not only win the hearts of the people, but you can also use the excuse that the soldiers have acted bravely to block the mouths of questioning dogs, and at the same time maintain the morale of the army and the combat effectiveness of the soldiers , serve multiple purposes.”

"Is this so, can this work?" Old traitor Wu began to be tempted. After thinking for a long time, old traitor Wu slapped the table and said, "You can give it a try, and you can also train the navy by the way. I have never seen bloody water." The army is also unreliable on the battlefield.”

"Grandfather, my son-in-law thinks that this matter can be handed over to the second uncle." Fatty Lu suggested again: "My grandfather must also be very aware of the second uncle's temper. As long as there is something to take advantage of, he is absolutely willing to do it. As long as Let him remember the fact that his teacher is famous, and how much trouble is caused, grandfather, you can easily deal with the accusations of the Mangou court."

"It's okay." Old man Wu nodded treacherously, and said with a sneer: "Send this kid out, and save him from always gathering in the barracks to gamble and play prostitutes, taking the lead in corrupting my military discipline, and making me feel ashamed to punish other generals." Heavy hands." Fatty Lu smiled wryly, and also sympathized with the old traitor Wu's mood - the eldest son is so wise and calm, why is the second son so stupid as a pig?

"By the way, there is one more thing." The old traitor Wu suddenly remembered something again, and hurriedly asked: "I heard from Mr. Liangchen that you wrote to Tongshan County Magistrate of Wuchang Prefecture, ordering him to plant thousands of acres of gourds in Tongshan Said that the king will spend a lot of money to buy it in the future, what is going on? Why didn’t the king hear you mention it?”

"Damn my son-in-law, I've been busy making cannon iron molds these days, and I forgot to report this to my grandfather." Fatty Lu, who really forgot about this matter, was afraid that the old man Wu would suspect that he had exceeded his authority, so he hurriedly saluted and apologized, explaining : "My son-in-law also happened to think of this incident when he was observing the training of the naval division. Grandfather also knew that the main force of our army is mostly soldiers from Yunnan and Guizhou, and most of them don't know water skills. The son-in-law thought of a way to provide six to eight gourds for each sailor, and let them tie them around their waists as floating hangers. Knowing the nature of water and sacrificed in vain."

"So that's why you asked Tongshan County to plant a large number of gourds?" Old Man Wu asked happily.

"Back to grandfather, that's true." Fatty Lu nodded, and replied honestly: "Because my son-in-law just came up with this idea by chance five days ago, and he was at the Jinkou Navy Wharf outside the city, and he was considering the area around Tongshan. The location is remote and the grain output is not high, even if there are many kinds of gourds, it will not affect our military grain collection too much, so I immediately wrote this letter to Liu Dashuang, the magistrate of Tongshan County, and sent it quickly, ordering him to follow the plan. At that time, the grandson-in-law I originally planned to report this matter to my grandfather after returning to the city, but when I returned to the city, I caught up with the military factory to find my son-in-law, and my son-in-law went to work all night, so I completely forgot about it. The son-in-law exceeded his authority and asked his grandfather punishment."

"I can't blame you for this. You were too busy to forget it. Just pay attention in the future." The old man Wu smiled magnanimously and said magnanimously: "In the future, for things that are beneficial to our army, grandfather allows you to exceed your authority. Report it to your grandfather again. Also, don’t blame Mr. Liangchen for suing you for this matter. He is the acting prefect of Wuchang Prefecture appointed by his grandfather. Liu Dashuang, the magistrate of Tongshan County, does not belong to you. I have not seen Mr. Liangchen’s official document, so I wrote a letter Inquiring about the authenticity, Mr. Liangchen felt baffled, so he reported the matter to the king, don't blame him."

"Grandfather, please don't worry, grandson-in-law will never dare." Fatty Lu lowered his head very modestly.

"That's good." The old man Wu nodded in satisfaction, and said, "The method you said is very good. When I crossed the Yellow River, I have seen the local people cross the river in this way. Your method must have played a big role. How about this, since you asked Tongshan County to grow gourds, why not just grow more and plant [-] mu, and I will send people to buy them at a high price in the future, so as not to run out of time."

"Grandfather is wise, a thousand acres of gourds is indeed not enough." Fatty Lu quickly flattered him.

"You don't need to flatter, it's your credit." The old man Wu smiled lightly, and said: "When you arrive at Jiji Mountain, you should pay more attention to rest, and don't act like you are in Wuchang City. Forget to rest, look at yourself, how thin you have become? Hurry up and finish the work on Ji Qishan, and after a while, the old man will let you go back to Kunming and formally marry Xiaotu."

"Thank you grandfather for your concern, grandson-in-law will pay attention to rest." Fatty Lu quickly thanked him, but his fat face was a little sad-now Wu Jun's weapon development, internal affairs construction and military affairs are inseparable from him, and he wants to take time to go back It is really difficult for Yunnan and Wu Xiaotu to get married.

"Grandfather, if there is nothing else, the grandson-in-law will leave, and please grandfather take care of yourself." After secretly sighing that he was born to work hard, Fatty Lu offered to leave.

"Okay, you go..." The old traitor Wu had just finished speaking, when a Wu army guard suddenly came in outside the door, and clasped his fists and said: "My lord, a strange man suddenly came outside the Xingyuan gate, dressed in rags Just like a beggar, his behavior is also a bit crazy, saying that he must see the prince, and he can't be driven away."

"Bastard, come to report such a trivial matter to the king?" Old man Wu said angrily, "If you can't be driven away, won't you beat him with a stick? If you can't beat him with a stick, you'll just tie him up and throw him into a prison."

"Back to the lord, the little ones also thought the same at first." The guard replied helplessly: "But the weird man said again, he heard that the lord is setting up a list to recruit talents, so he came to join him, and you gave an order again, the lord, no Waiting for the sages from all over the world who came to join our army, so the little one had no choice but to come in and report to the prince."

"What's his name? What talent does he have?" Old Traitor Wu calmed down.

"My lord, he claims to be Xu, and he is a craftsman." The guard replied.

"A craftsman is also considered a sage?" The old man Wu's nose was almost out of breath, and he shouted, "Beat him!"

"Wait a minute." Although the status of craftsmen is the lowest in this era, Fatty Lu didn't have such thoughts. He stopped the guard and asked, "He is a craftsman? Did he say what he is good at?"

"Back to Mr. Lu, he said that he can do anything, as long as the prince wants, he can do it." The guard replied honestly, and added: "By the way, he also showed a letter saying that it was a man named Dai Zi's Mangou official wrote to him, asking him to come out of the mountain, but he didn't want to work for Mangou, he just wanted to join us."

"Dai Zi?" Fatty Lu jumped up violently, and shouted, "You heard me right, the Mangou official who invited him out of the mountain is really Dai Zi?"

"Absolutely not." The guard replied honestly: "Because the little one sounded like a bag at the beginning, when he laughed at him, he corrected it."

"Grandfather, this must be a great talent!" Fatty Lu turned to the old traitor Wu, cupped his hands and said loudly, "I must have heard of Dai Zi's name, grandfather has also heard of it. The mother-in-law cannon we seized from Man Gou was given to Man Gou by Dai Zi. The emperor made it, and since Dai Zi is going to invite him out of the mountain, then this person's talent as a craftsman must be extraordinary!"

"Really?" The old man Wu was dubious, got up and said, "Okay, let's go, this king will go and see for himself."

Fatty Lu was overjoyed, and hurried out with Old Traitor Wu, and came to Xingyuan Gate to take a look. As expected, a middle-aged man dressed like a beggar was standing barefoot in front of the icy and snowy Xingyuan Gate, frozen Trembling but still looking around, he even reached out to touch the muskets of Wu Jun soldiers, but was pushed away by Wu Jun soldiers.Seeing the old traitor Wu coming out in person, the Wu army guards in front of the gate quickly knelt down on one knee to salute, and said in unison: "Welcome to the lord."

When things got to this point, no matter how stupid people were, they knew that it was old traitor Wu who came out in person, but the beggar still foolishly refused to bow down, and just asked old traitor Wu, "Are you the king of Pingxi?"

"This king is Wu Sangui, king of Pingxi, who are you?" Old man Wu asked displeasedly, frowning.

"Okay, finally I see King Pingxi." The beggar clapped his hands, and hurried to pull the hand of old traitor Wu, and asked impatiently: "My lord, my name is Xu Zhengming, is there a man named Lu Yifeng in your palace?" of? I want to see him."

"What did you see him for?" Old man Wu treacherously shook off the beggar's dirty hands.Fatty Lu, who was ignorant and ignorant, was at a loss. He couldn't remember whether there was a famous person named Xu Zhengming in history.

"I want to ask him for advice to see what his flying boat looks like." The beggar Xu Zhengming explained: "In order to meet him, I traveled thousands of miles, begging for food and walking here from Wu County. I just want to meet him, and I want to see the airship he built with my own eyes."

"Bold madman!" Old traitor Wu was furious, and shouted: "The airship is the top secret of the king's army. What are you? You want to see it if you want to see it?"

"It turned out to be called an airship, no wonder I think it's so awkward to call it an airship." Xu Zhengming was not afraid of rejoicing, and said with a smile: "My lord, in fact, your airship is really nothing special, because I have already built one that can be used before you. The jujube flying car that takes people to the sky, but the road is too far away, and I can't bring it."

"The jujube speeder? The world's first helicopter?" Fatty Lu finally came to his senses, and hurriedly jumped out and asked, "What did you say? You built the jujube speeder? What evidence do you have?"

"I brought the drawings." Xu Zhengming took out a stack of sweat-smelling drawings from his arms.Fatty Lu was trembling with excitement, he quickly snatched it up, opened the drawing and looked at it carefully, Xu Zhengming urged impatiently: "My lord, have you finished reading it? Can you let me see Lu Yifeng? In order to see He, Dai Zi recommended me to be an official, but I didn't..."

"Mr. Xu—!"

Xu Zhengming's words are destined to be unable to finish completely, because after Fatty Lu roared, a tiger pounced on Xu Zhengming, who was covered in mud and his face was covered with mud, Xu Zhengming was so frightened that he screamed like a pig, but Fatty Lu He hugged him tightly, turned around and yelled at the old traitor Wu: "Grandfather, the genius has arrived! The real genius has arrived! With him here, our rockets will be more powerful, and there will be more airships. My grandson-in-law has never been able to build one." The breech-loading muskets and gas bombs can also be manufactured! Our Jiqishan firearms camp finally has a chief craftsman!"

"Really?" The old traitor Wu was both happy and surprised, pointing at Xu Zhengming and asked doubtfully, "This beggar? Is he so powerful?"

"Absolutely!" Fatty Lu let go of Xu Zhengming, picked up the blueprint of the speeding car, and pointed out to old traitor Wu. He is a genius among craftsmen, a genius among geniuses! With his help, the grandson-in-law can make all the weapons that the grandson-in-law told his grandfather before!"

"Really?" The traitorous old Wu Wu, who doesn't see anything famous, was skeptical, but considering that his grandson-in-law has always been prudent and never talks nonsense, he immediately ordered: "Quickly, prepare the banquet, clothes and bathtub. After taking a shower and changing clothes, sir, I will invite him to the reception hall, and the king will personally entertain him."

"Decree." The guards around agreed, and hurried forward to invite Xu Zhengming, but Xu Zhengming shook his head desperately and said, "My lord, you can talk about things like banquets and changing clothes slowly. I just want to see Lu Yifeng now. I'm thousands of miles away." Lu begged for food and came here just to see him."

"You've already seen him." Old man Wu smiled wryly, and pointed at Fatty Lu, "He is my grandson-in-law, you want to see that Lu Yifeng!"

Fatty Lu also smiled at Xu Zhengming, and was about to salute. He never thought that Xu Zhengming would also rush up like a tiger, hugged Fatty Lu, and shouted: "Lu Yifeng, I finally saw you! Tell me quickly, you How could the airship bring four people into the sky?" Fatty Lu, who was almost breathless, struggled desperately, but Xu Zhengming refused to let go no matter what he said.

"It's over, it's the first time I wear the clothes that Yu'er made for me, and Yu'er has to peel off my skin this time." Fatty Lu lamented.The Wu Jun guards next to him looked at each other in dismay, and thought together: "No wonder there are rumors that Mr. Lu likes women more than men—it turns out to be true!"

(End of this chapter)