The Red Mansions Across the Four Seas

Chapter 612 Why bother asking for trouble
On the seventh day of the first lunar month, Chen Yejun led the Shiliu regiment to the southwest and went upstream along the Yangtze River. Four days later, they met with a battalion of Moliuk's Mamluk regiment in Anqing.

After occupying Anqing, he suddenly returned to the division, killed a carbine, and occupied Tongling.

Tongling is a strategic goal that has been set long before the departure of Beihai.

The reason why Tongling was deliberately occupied is because a very important strategic material-copper is produced here.

Copper is the main material of coinage.Yuanhengtongbao, which is still circulating in the market, has a stable currency value because of its relatively high copper content.

However, for the Beihai Volunteers, copper has another important meaning.

Copper is the most important raw material for making bullets and shells.

Previously, the copper used to make bullets mainly came from two sources.

One is that wintersweet flowers were bought from overseas, and the other is that Jiaoli bought them from Korea.

No matter which channel, the price is very expensive.

Occupying Tongling is for copper.

The existing copper ingots were collected here, all were loaded on ships, and they continued to go up the river, and then occupied Jiujiang, arrived in Jiangxi, and occupied another important military location.

At the beginning, when San Francisco was about to rebel, the Beijing camp led by Wang Ziteng established a big camp in Jiujiang.The conspiracy of San Francisco to gradually encroach and gradually go north was curbed.

Jiujiang had been captured by Morik before, and after the withdrawal of troops, a few remnants of the San Francisco occupied it again.This time Chen Yejun was not polite and caught them all.

After that, they entered Hubei in one go and occupied Huangshi.

The purpose of occupying Huangshi, like the occupation of Tongling, is also for copper.

Copper production in Huangshi and Tongling has a long history, starting from the Shang and Zhou dynasties.In the subsequent dynasties, these two places have been the most important copper production bases.

Yellowstone was once an important coinage center of the Daedeok Dynasty.In addition to minting coins, another product here is also very famous, that is, bronze mirrors.

Huangshi's bronze mirrors are very famous both at home and abroad.

After collecting all the copper in Huangshi, they sent a warship to escort them down the river, out of Songjiang Estuary, and then north along the coast, landed at Niuzhuang, and transported the copper to Shengjing.

There, these copper ingots will be smelted and turned into bullets and shells.

Today is the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

On a hill outside Huangshi City, Chen Yejun and Shi Song were walking on the top of the hill.

Here is different from the north, although it is the first month, everywhere is green.

Chen Yejun pulled up a stalk of grass and played with it in his hands.

"Is this the copper flower plant?"

"Yes, wherever copper flowers and plants grow, there are copper mines underground."

Shi Liu's knowledge was learned from local miners.

"With copper, more bullets can be produced, and it will be much easier to pacify the world in the future. The death of our soldiers can also be greatly reduced."

"Hey, our place has the advantage of firearms, sufficient ammunition, and less battle damage. If Chief Min fights with the Mogu people, I am afraid that many soldiers will die."

"I don't know what's going on with Chief of Staff Feng. I just hope that the South will be pacified earlier, and I will go north as soon as possible to make peace with Chief Min."

A soldier hurried up.

"Report, Miss Lameihua is here."

"Oh? Wintersweet flowers are here? It seems that there is news from Chief of Staff Feng. Let's go back."

When Chen Yejun and Shi Song returned to the barracks, they saw Lameihua already waiting here.

She was also accompanied by her younger sister Narcissus Xie Baoli and the Servante couple.

"It's really unexpected that we will meet here."

"Yes, Chief Trainer Chen, we meet again. However, your progress does not seem to be fast."

Wintersweet is already an old acquaintance, and Chen Yejun is used to her outspoken speech.

"How did you end up here?"

"We have already captured Wuchang. I heard that you occupied Jiujiang, so I thought of going to Jiujiang to see you. Unexpectedly, this time you were quicker, and you actually occupied Huangshi. This is good, and it saves me a trip to Jiujiang. .”

"Heh, Wuchang has already been occupied? Whose army is it?"

"Feng Zimiao, he was planning to go north, but he stopped temporarily when he heard that you had occupied Tongling."

"Where is Chief of Staff Feng?"

"In Yueyang, Hunan, the soldiers and horses of the previous dynasty are being rectified there. Alas, those soldiers and horses are simply vulnerable. How can such an army fight a war? No wonder it will collapse in front of the San Francisco."

Tongling was not far from Wuchang, and Feng Zimiao's capture of Wuchang marked that Chen Yejun's second brigade and Feng Ziying's first brigade had opened up the battle lines, and they were not far away from joining forces.

"How about the San Francisco army there?"

"There were only more than [-] people, and they were scared out of their wits long ago. They fired a few cannons and surrendered before they could attack. They have been disbanded now. It's true that such an army can go all the way to the imperial capital and sit in the world." Strange."

"The soldiers and horses in the rear of the San Francisco are mostly weak troops. Their main force and descendants still have some skills. Their current elite are all in the north."

"Chief of Staff Feng is going to Wuchang in two days, why don't you go there?"

"Go, of course I will."

"Do you know the news from Chief Min?"

The wintersweet flower showed a concerned expression.

"I know a little bit, the situation doesn't seem to be very good, but I believe that Chief Min will have a way to deal with it."

So Chen Yejun told Lameihua about the situation sent by Qiu Liang.

"Isn't it dangerous to be so far away?"

Servante was also worried.

"When we fight, we have always won more with less. You have to trust Chief Min. He will find his own way."

"Ah, after all, Zhongtu is too big and has a vast territory. Our military strength is always stretched. Forget it, it's useless for us to worry here. You'd better meet Chief of Staff Feng and discuss what to do. "

Three days later, Chen Yejun went upstream, Feng Ziying went down the river, and met in Wuchang. The first and second brigades of the Beihai Volunteer Army formally joined forces, and the entire southern battlefield was united.

Wuchang Mansion, Wuchang City, Yellow Crane Tower.

Feng Ziying and Chen Yejun leaned on the railing upstairs and stood for a while, then turned around and sat down, drinking tea slowly.

"A person's life is really amazing. I never imagined that one day you and I would sit here and drink tea. People in the past have gone there by yellow crane, and there is no Yingwu Island here."

Feng Ziying couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

"Who said it wasn't? Back in the day, we always ate, drank and had fun in the imperial capital. How could we have imagined that now we would be galloping across the southern land with soldiers and horses."

"What is even more unexpected is that with such an army, they are invincible and invincible along the way."

"What's even more unexpected is that we actually participated in the fight for the world, and our every move affects the safety of the world."

"Song Kuan is a very capable person. Among the San Francisco, he is the No. 1 for his knowledge. Although this alliance with the Mogu people is not in line with the righteousness, if it is about dealing with us, it is really a fatal move. , can be described as poisonous."

"Now that He Jialin, Zhou Tong and Ma Qingshan have retreated to the northwest, only the soldiers and horses of Chief Min and His Highness Chang'an are left in the northeast. The soldiers and horses of Chang'an are not strong in combat, and it is okay to fight San Francisco. If they meet Mo Gu's cavalry, they will not be able to fight." opponent."

"It's just that the south has a vast territory, and it's a pity that we can't spare it for a while."

"Trainer Chen, these days I've been thinking about some things, we seem to be too rigid."

"what do you mean……."

"Although the south is vast, at present, the main force of San Francisco has been basically wiped out by us. Only some remote and remnant enemies are still stubbornly resisting. If we don't go, they will just wait and see. Once we go, open fire a little, They surrender."

"It's the same situation I encountered. I ran a long-distance attack and was prepared to fight a good battle. Often, he surrendered as soon as the soldiers arrived."

"At present, apart from Li Gan still has some forces in Sichuan, threats from other places are no longer a threat. The soldiers and horses of our two brigades are here, and they are busy dealing with these small groups of enemies every day. It's not worth it."

"Chief of Staff Feng, you mean to send some people to go north?"

"Yes, leave this place to me in the south. I am here. One is to wipe out a large group of remnants of the enemy, the other is to control the two major taxation areas of Gwangju and Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and the third is to monitor Li Gan. Currently Li Gan is at the junction of Sichuan and Shaanxi , probably still hesitating.”

"Going out of Shaanxi, the Northwest is not the root of the San Francisco, and it is difficult to gain a foothold there. Chuchuan, there are us outside, I guess, he dare not go out of Sichuan for a while."

"You mean, as long as we take over the imperial capital with Chief Min, and overthrow the Tianshun court, Li Gan will either surrender, or wait for us to concentrate our forces to destroy it. There is no other way out."

"Yes, that's what I mean. At present, the overall situation in the south is basically settled. Although the governments of all places are waiting and watching, the soldiers and horses of the previous dynasty are rebellious and impermanent, but as long as I am still here, they will not dare to act rashly. As long as the overall situation of the imperial capital is certain, when When the time comes, they will naturally return."

"It makes sense, so I will lead all the soldiers and horses to the north. One is to send the materials and silver obtained here to Chief Min, and the other is to cut off the way back to the south from San Francisco. The third is to approach Zhili and attract the three. Fan's soldiers and horses prevent them from joining forces with the Mogu people and dealing with Chief Min."

"Yes, I think so too. Although the Mogu people are powerful, they are not necessarily the opponents of Chief Min. As long as Chief Min has enough ammunition, it will only be a matter of time before they are eliminated."

"That's fine. At present, only Qin Zhong's regiment is in Shandong, and I'm also worried that he will be unable to support himself there. Just hand over your material silver to me, and tomorrow I will return to the north."

"Okay, let's do it like this. San Francisco is already dying, so there are so many ingenious tricks. However, it is hard to stop the tide after all. It is useless to let him do all the tricks."

After Feng Ziying finished speaking, the two stood up again, looking at the Yangtze River flowing eastward.

"What do you think of things after the world has settled down?"

Chen Yejun asked suddenly.

"You mean Chief Min's work as the emperor?"

"Exactly."

"Before, I wanted Chief Min to be the emperor, but after talking with Lameihua, I changed my mind. Now, I don't like Chief Min to be the emperor of Dade."

"Why?"

"The emperor of Dade, Mr. Min can't do well. He is only suitable to be the king of our Beihai. We can't do well as Dade's ministers. The methods we did in Bukui and Beihai will not work in Dade. It's not flattering. Why bother asking for it?"

"What if Chief Min wants to do it? Can we not help him?"

"Officer Min would not be willing to do it."

Feng Ziying said it very simply.

(End of this chapter)