scourge the qing dynasty

Chapter 221 Oiled Loach
Several flowers bloomed, one for each branch. When Kang Mazi, Yue Le, Shang Kexi, Jie Shu, Le Erjin, Kong Sizhen and other chiefs, lackeys and traitors of the Qing court were busy in Beijing, old traitor Wu, Hu Guozhu, Fatty Lu and other rebels, rebels and dog thieves in the Pingxi Palace naturally did not stay idle in the south.

The time turned back a little bit, back to the middle of February in the 12th year of Kang Mazi. At this time, the Pingxi Palace had just been relieved from the busy spring plowing and sowing in the military and civilian villages. The issue of the location of the palace was also put on the agenda.Some people, out of military considerations, suggested that the old traitor Wu should stay in Wuchang City for a long time. First, the scale of Wuchang City, which is divided into inner city and outer city, is inherently large, which is in line with the identity of the old traitor Wu. Second, it is convenient to command the most important crossing river. On the battlefield, the third is that Wuchang is rich in products and sufficient food and grass, which is also suitable for stationing the main force.

But there are also objections. For example, Wu Yingqi, on the pretext of being filial to his father, suggested that the old man choose the new palace in a safe area behind, such as Changsha, Hengzhou or Changde. They are all good places with abundant products, safety and comfort, and are most suitable for the old man. Elderly care is also convenient for overall command—as for Wuchang City, where customs duties can be collected and bilateral trade can be carried out by guarding the Yangtze River waterway, in such an important place, besides the loyal and lovely young son, who else can the old traitor Wu trust?

Fortunately, old traitor Wu is not old enough to suffer from Alzheimer's disease. His most trusted confidantes, Hu Guozhu, Fang Guangchen and Wang Shirong, are also firmly opposed to letting Wu Yingqi take charge alone—they are really scared by Wu Yingqi's [-]-year-old personality. In addition, the old man Wu treacherously mourned the death of his beloved son and wanted to avenge his son, so he finally accepted the proposal of Hu Guozhu, Fang Guangchen and others, and decided to locate the new palace in Wuchang City.At the same time, in order to facilitate the settlement of surrendered generals and some of their family members, the old traitor Wu decided to build a palace in Hengzhou. land contact.

Old Hanjian Wu's idea is certainly good, but according to Old Hanjian Wu's request, the construction costs of the two palaces that are as luxurious and spacious as the Wuhuashan Palace, and the construction costs of the large and small mansions of civil and military officials are estimated together. Both Wang Shirong and Wang Shirong were taken aback—it was as high as 650 million taels of Wenyin!Although Wu Jun can get this money now, he has invested huge sums of money in these areas. After the decisive battle with the Qing army in the coming year, what if the food and salary are not paid?Can the Qing court pay more than 2000 million taels of silver to honor the old traitor Wu like it did at the beginning of this year?
Of course, it’s not that no one supports Old Traitor Wu’s extravagant and desperate decision. At least the youngest son of Traitor Wu, Wu Yingqi, raised his hands in agreement, because the Second Prince Wu suddenly discovered that it seems that being a contractor can make a lot of money. , so not only firmly supported, but also insisted on serving as a supervisor to build a retirement home for his father.Dazzled by a series of military victories, many of the Wu army's top brass also supported and agreed, thinking that it was time for us to take down the five southwestern provinces with great difficulty following the old traitor Wu's birth and death. We must also prepare for a long-term 'hard' battle.

The father-in-law and brother-in-law are so short-sighted. Hu Guozhu wants to firmly oppose it, but he is afraid of being unfilial, and even more afraid of offending many colleagues. .In the end, Wang Shirong, who had always been at odds with Fatty Lu, came up with a bad idea, "Call Mr. Mao Xia, that cunning student back from Ji Ji Mountain. With his treachery, slickness and eloquence, there must be a way to persuade the prince to take back his life and spend all his money." On the blade!"

"Yes, Yifeng can do it!" Hu Guozhu slapped his thigh, agreeing with Wang Shirong's opinion.At present, Hu Guozhu wrote a letter overnight to briefly introduce the matter, and sent people to Jiqishan Firearms Camp day and night, asking Fatty Lu to return to Wuchang as soon as possible, trying to persuade the old traitor Wu to change his decision and stick to a hard and simple style.After the letter was delivered to Mount Jiqi, Fatty Lu was also taken aback. He hurriedly explained the work in hand, took the latest achievement he and Xu Zhengming had jointly created, and led a few entourages to return to Wuchang day and night.

Hurrying all the way, finally did not waste time. When I returned to Wuchang City, it was the end of February in the 12th year of Kang Mazi, because the spring plowing had just ended and there was a shortage of manpower. Heaving a sigh of relief, Fatty Lu didn't dare to neglect, he didn't even take the time to take a look at his good friend Yu Xuanchu, he went directly to the temporary place that old traitor Wu snatched from Cai Yurong, governor of the three provinces of the Qing Dynasty, and handed it over to his waist Pai asked old traitor Wu for an interview, and was quickly approved.

When he was led by the guards of old traitor Wu to the small back garden of the temporary residence, old traitor Wu was leading a large group of cronies and cronies to drink tea and discuss matters in the gazebo. The old man Wu waved his hands and said with a smile, "Get up, are you done with Ji Jishan? You haven't been there for long this time, and you've finished your work in just a month?"

"Back to grandfather, in fact, grandson-in-law does not need to intervene too much in the casting of heavy artillery." Fatty Lu saluted and replied: "When I was in Yunnan, my grandson-in-law had already given all his money to the craftsmen of Yunnan and Guizhou. With them bringing the old to the new, as long as the son-in-law unifies the molds and specifications, and strictly enforces the quality, he doesn’t have to worry too much about intervening. Besides, the son-in-law has Xu Zhengming to help him this time, and he can do many things better than the son-in-law. Not to mention grandson-in-law. It just so happens that grandson-in-law has business to report to grandfather, so he came back first."

"Very good, I don't worry about your work. It would be better if you can free up your hands from the firearms camp, and help the old man worry more about other aspects." The old traitor Wu was very happy, and waved: "Come here, take a look Our new palace, and the new inner city of Wuchang, business matters will be discussed separately later."

"Thank you, grandfather." Fatty Lu thanked him, and quickly got up and walked in front of Old Traitor Wu, while Hu Guozhu, behind Old Traitor Wu, winked at Fatty Lu, asking Fatty Lu to take the opportunity to persuade him.

"Yifeng, come and see, how is this palace?" Wu Yingqi and Fatty Lu always looked at each other, and they pulled Fatty Lu to the table very affectionately, pointing to the map of the palace on the table and said with a smile: "With us The palace in Wuhua Mountain is exactly the same, and the inner city of Wuchang has also been completely rebuilt to be our mansion, if you like the one, tell me, uncle will repair it for you."

"Okay, it's really good, it's magnificent, eh..., even Anfu Garden will be built like the one in Kunming? Good! This time, grandson-in-law can go to his grandfather's Wanjuanlou to read books again." Fatty Lu put on a show He praised repeatedly, and nodded repeatedly, full of praise, as if he sincerely supported the wise decision of old traitor Wu.

"Not bad?" Wu Yingqi was very satisfied with Fatty Lu's praise of his work, and said with a smile: "I personally arranged it for my uncle, and let Liu Yingdi, the master of the craftsman, design it according to the appearance of the Wuhua Mountain Palace, even the size of the area. They're all the same."

"The size of the land is exactly the same?" Fatty Lu froze for a moment, and hurriedly cupped his hands to Wu Yingqi and said, "Uncle, my nephew and son-in-law will take the liberty to tell you about this. Now our situation is still comparable to that in Yunnan and Guizhou. The scale of the land is the same as before? Is such a small palace worthy of my grandfather's current status?"

"What? You mean, the scale of this palace is too small?" Wu Yingqi, Wu Laohan and others were taken aback, while Hu Guozhu and Wang Shirong's eyeballs almost didn't bulge out, thinking that you are crazy?We told you to come back quickly because we wanted you to find a way to persuade the prince to be frugal and simple, and to spend money and food on the edge of the knife. How come you persuade the prince to go further and build construction?
"Of course it's too young." Fatty Lu nodded, and said very seriously: "Uncle, please think about it carefully. When my grandfather was in Yunnan and Guizhou, he only had two of the poorest provinces in the world, so he was wronged to live in Wuhua Mountain In such a small palace. Now that my grandfather holds five provinces and one government in his hands, with 20 soldiers and horses, and the world shakes with every breath, wouldn't it be more wronged to live in such a small palace?"

"So, my nephew thinks." Fatty Lu said decisively: "Grandfather's new palace should either not be built, or if it is built, it must be built so that the new palace can match the current status of grandfather! Otherwise, don't say you are wronged." Grandfather, the Mangou court will also laugh at us, saying that we are stingy, and we get so much money and food from them that we are reluctant to show our filial piety to grandfather!"

"That's right, Yifeng's nephew and son-in-law are wise!" Wu Yingqi slapped his thigh, then immediately turned to old man Wu and said, "Father, my son thinks what Yifeng's nephew and son-in-law said are reasonable, so either don't build it, or build a big one." The boy thinks that the size of the new palace should be doubled!"

Old Traitor Wu was not in a hurry to speak, but was just waiting for Fatty Lu's next words—Old Traitor Wu was not stupid, and he also vaguely felt that something was wrong with his large-scale construction at this time, but most of the lackeys around him agreed with the construction of the new palace , there is almost no objection, and the old traitor Wu himself is also an extremely pleasure-seeking drunkard, so even if he thinks it is inappropriate, his attitude is very hesitant and ambiguous. ——I am in my 60s. If I suddenly kick my legs that day, if I want to enjoy it, it will be too late to say anything.

"Uncle, forgive my nephew and son-in-law, it's still too small to double the size." Fatty Lu shook his head and said seriously: "Grandfather's original palace only occupied an area of ​​more than two hundred acres, and it was only four hundred acres when doubled. Nephew and son-in-law, it should be expanded five times, so that the new palace covers an area of ​​[-] mu!"

"One thousand mu?" Wu Yingqi was also frightened, and hurriedly said, "Yifeng, don't be joking. How can there be such a big palace in the world? If you build a one thousand mu palace in the inner city, how can you build the mansions of civil and military officials?" ?”

"Uncle, at this point you are testing your nephew and son-in-law." Fatty Lu smiled and said, "Emperor Mangou occupied the Forbidden City, didn't he occupy an area of ​​85 acres? According to my nephew and son-in-law's humble opinion, grandfather's new palace occupies The land must be at least one thousand and eighty-six acres, and the Emperor Mangou cannot be compared to his grandfather!"

Wu Yingqi widened his eyes, looked at Fatty Lu for a long time, and found that Fatty Lu didn't seem to be joking, and then said: "The idea is good, but now we don't have enough money and food. To build such a big palace, where should we go?" Looking for so much money and food?"

"Then don't build it for the time being." Hu Guozhu finally understood Fatty Lu's intentions, and hurriedly chimed in and said, "I also think what Yifeng said makes sense. What kind of grandfather is he, how can he be compared with Kangxi Xiaoer? So now that If you can’t build a palace bigger than the Forbidden City, then you might as well not build it for the time being, and it won’t be too late to overhaul it after you have saved enough money and food in the future!”

"General Jin Wu is right." Wang Shirong also chimed in: "And Wuchang City is still too small to accommodate such a large palace. After the prince takes over a bigger city like Nanjing or Beijing, we can build such a palace. Not too late."

"Then where does my father live now?" Of course Wu Yingqi was not convinced, pointing to the garden and said: "Such a small garden, is it worthy of the status of my father? Let others know that my father still lives in such a small place, isn't it?" Want to make fun of me for being unfilial?"

"Ying Qi, but if you build such a small palace for your father-in-law." Hu Guozhu pointed at the sketch of the palace construction in front of Wu Yingqi, and asked with a wry smile: "Then others will say you are not filial?"

"This..." Wu Yingqi was a little dumbfounded. With his poor brains, he couldn't argue with his resourceful brother-in-law.There was also a lot of discussion among the traitorous civil and military running dogs of the old Wu Wu next to him, some thought that Hu Guozhu and Wang Shirong were justified, or that Fatty Lu was talking nonsense. Regardless of the actual situation of the Wu army, some people proposed to build a palace as big as Wuhua Mountain in Yunnan first, and put it aside for the time being. live.Only old traitor Wu didn't say a word, but thoughtful.

"Uncle, let's put this matter aside for now and talk about it slowly." Fatty Lu suddenly changed the subject, took Wu Yingqi's hand and said with a smile: "My son-in-law will show you a good thing, and I will keep it for you. It is too wronged to honor my grandfather in a small palace, and there is a way to build a bigger palace for my grandfather than the Forbidden City."

"What good thing?" Wu Yingqi asked with squinting eyes.

Fatty Lu didn't answer, but turned to Wu Jun's other famous two hundred and five horse treasures, and said with a smile: "Ma Junmen, do you still remember the promise I made to you back then? I promised to build you the best musket. Later, because of poor craftsmanship, you were not satisfied with the flintlock gun you made.”

"Of course I remember." Ma Bao replied smoothly, staring at the long cloth bag behind Fatty Lu again, and asked pleasantly: "What are you carrying? Could it be that the musket you promised me back then has already been made? "

"Clang, clang, clang!" Fatty Lu sang a rhythm with a smile on his face, took off the long parcel on his back, tore off the outer fur skin, and revealed two brand new muskets, and said loudly: "Grandfather, uncle, General Ma , Generals, please look, breech-loading firing pin guns!"

The old traitor Wu jumped up, and all the generals of the Wu army also rushed forward to surround Fatty Lu, but he saw that the two muskets of Fatty Lu were very strange. There is no flint, only a very long iron needle.The old traitor Wu couldn't help but asked in surprise: "Yifeng, why does this musket have no flint, how do you ignite it? Also, the ignition hole at the back is so big, wouldn't it leak if it was filled with gunpowder?"

"Grandfather, you don't need gunpowder." Fatty Lu took out a few small paper tubes from another small cloth bag and said loudly, "Look, grandfather, this is the paper shell bullet that grandson-in-law told you a long time ago. , finally made it."

The old traitor Wu didn't speak, but just snatched the paper-cased bullet and looked at it carefully, but he saw that the bullet was wrapped in oil paper very firmly, with a pointed front and a flat back, and his thumb was about half an inch thick and thin, very much like an ordinary firecracker. Very strange.Fatty Lu explained again: "Grandpa, don't underestimate this little thing. It is divided into three parts. The first part is the bullet, the second part is thunder mercury, and the third part is gunpowder. Put it into the gun and pull the trigger. The firing pin pierces the gunpowder and thunderbolt, ignites the gunpowder, and the projectile can be launched. Because the ammunition is loaded in advance and no ignition is required, the firing and firing speed is extremely fast, which is more than five times the speed of ordinary muskets! It won't explode!"

"Fire two shots and let me see!" The old traitor Wu handed the bullets back to Fatty Lu, and pointed to the rockery thirty steps away.Fatty Lu understood, and quickly loaded the bullet into the gun chamber in public, tightened the butt of the gun, aimed at the rockery and pulled the trigger. After a loud noise, sparks scattered on the rockery, and a bullet crater appeared.Before everyone cheered, Fatty Lu quickly inserted the second bullet, pulled the bolt and pulled the trigger, hitting the rockery again.

Again and again, three shots were fired like lightning, and the generals of Wu Jun couldn't help cheering together. Ma Bao and Wu Yingqi's eyes were even brighter, and they quickly snatched the firing pin gun from Fatty Lu, and pretended to be the same as Fatty Lu. Bounce and fire the gun, and the ease of operation of the firing pin gun is definitely not covered. Ma Bao and Wu Yingqi are still very fast when they get started for the first time, and they hit the rockery accurately.Wu Yingqi yelled happily, and when he hurried to get the bullets again, Fatty Lu refused to give them, and said with a wry smile: "Uncle, I can't shoot any more, save some bullets, this thing is too expensive, the cost of a bullet is around twenty More than a text. And I came in a hurry, and I haven't made many yet."

"Stop talking nonsense, I'll enjoy two more shots!" Wu Yingqi didn't give Fatty Lu a chance to defend himself, and abruptly snatched two bullets from Fatty Lu's hand. pieces.

"Yifeng, how many of these muskets can be produced within a year?" Old Traitor Wu asked in a trembling voice--Old Traitor Wu is also Lao Qiuba who has been fighting on the battlefield for decades, so he can see it at a glance. Show the importance of this firing pin gun.

"If there are enough people, within a year, four to five thousand of these muskets should be produced, and the corresponding bayonets can be equipped." Fatty Lu replied in a deep voice: "There is still room for improvement in terms of bullets. A gun with a hundred bullets should be fine. But..."

"But what?" Old Man Wu asked treacherously.

"Funds." Fatty Lu replied with a wry smile, "The most expensive bullets are thunderbolts, and the most expensive muskets are steel needles and springs. Both must be made of the best refined iron, so the cost is very expensive."

Old traitor Wu was silent. After a while, old traitor Wu gritted his teeth, stomped his feet and shouted: "The palace will not be built, and the saved money will be used to make new firearms for the king!"

"My lord is wise!" Hu Guozhu, Wang Shirong and some generals of the Wu army cheered together, and hurriedly saluted the old traitor Wu.Fatty Lu, on the other hand, got cheap and behaved, and said kindly: "Grandfather, you don't have to be like this. Isn't it too wronged to let you live in such a small place?"

"You bastard!" Old Man Wu glared at Fatty Lu, and said angrily, "Is this king's anti-Qing cause important? Or a palace? When this king takes Nanjing and Beijing, how many palaces do you want?"

"Grandfather is a wise man. My son-in-law doesn't care about the seriousness, please punish my grandfather." Fatty Lu lowered his fat head in shame.Although Ma Bao and the others felt a little regretful, considering the power of such a weapon on the battlefield, they felt it was worth it.Only Wu Yingqi looked sad, bumped Fatty Lu quietly, and cursed in a low voice: "You bastard, it's all because of you."

"Uncle forgive me, nephew and son-in-law also know that your filial piety to grandfather can be learned from the bright moon." Fatty Lu answered irrelevant questions, and said with a wry smile: "But Wuchang City is only so big, and we don't have enough money, money and food. How can we build a palace of a thousand mu? ?”

"I'm not talking about you." Wu Yingqi was a little sullen, but quickly shifted his attention, and began to beg the old traitor Wu's sleeve, hoping that his direct army would be equipped with new-style muskets first. The same is true for Ma Bao, two hundred and fifty If they refused to give in to each other, they would naturally quarrel in public.

"You!" The old traitor Wu ignored the dispute between his precious son and his beloved general, he just pointed at Fatty Lu, and cursed with a smile: "No wonder people call you a fat loach with oil, it's true! "

Fatty Lu also understood that the traitor Wu had seen his sinister intentions, so he quickly lowered his head hypocritically, admitting his mistake.Fortunately, the old traitor Wu didn’t argue with Fatty Lu, he just waved his hand and said, “Follow me to the study. Yesterday, your mentor Liu Xuanchu wrote from Kunming with a good suggestion. Come and help me to read the details. There are Guozhu, Liangchen, you also come together."

"Of order." Fatty Lu agreed, and quickly followed Hu Guozhu, Wang Shirong and others, thinking in his heart, "That teacher of mine made a good suggestion? What good suggestion? That teacher of mine has a good vision in strategy, but in terms of tactics I am not as good as I am in terms of adapting to the situation, what good suggestions can I have? Could it be that I have some good strategic ideas but have no way to implement them, so kick the problem to me, an unlucky student?"

(End of this chapter)