Great Qing Dynasty talker

Chapter 231 Shanxi merchants lick blood, and Jiangning City is collecting deposits

The heavy rains in summer are fierce.

Li Yu was in the tent, watching the raindrops falling in large pieces and quickly forming a stream on the ground, faintly tinged with blood.

"Lord, we won."

"The Firearms Camp and the Xishan Jianrui Camp were two good cards in Qianlong's hands. They were both lost in Jiangnan. I guess the Qing government will stop for a while."

"What's next?"

"Attack Jiangning Mansion." Li Yu suddenly said excitedly, "Only by conquering Jiangning can we establish a preliminary foothold in Jiangnan."

"This is an isolated city. Please order me to attack."

"If it rains, it will not be suitable for fighting for at least two days. You should seize this time and discuss with the officers how to break the city."

"As ordered."

Wait until it clears up tomorrow and catch up again. Four legs chasing two legs, I have the advantage!

The general judge of Jiangning Mansion asked carefully:
"I'm afraid I won't be able to hold him in the big prison."

……

Because when they were busy fighting yesterday, the auxiliary soldiers carried boxes of gunpowder to the front line, and it was not easy to operate them freely.

Once again, I experienced the Governor's tough style, domineering work style, and the way he insulted and even beat his subordinates at every turn.

Early the next morning, Lin Huaisheng came to report with an angry face. Because he was caught off guard, he lost more than 3000 kilograms of gunpowder and more than 200 bags of cement.

The officialdom is also a place for martial arts competitions. Although there are many successors of Chen Style Tai Chi, there are also successors of Pao Quan, and they are even more shunned.

The more Li Shiyao thought about it, the angrier he became. He simply walked over, rounded his arms, and slapped the person in the face, spinning him around and a half.

"It all collapsed, and four rescue brothers were buried inside!"

There were still more than 800 people when they fled from the battlefield yesterday, but only more than 500 people were left after being chased by the cavalry.

Lin Huaisheng grabbed a bamboo hat and rushed into the rain.

The Eight Banners soldiers who threw away their armor and weapons fled for their lives in the rain all night.

At the level of Fengjiang, there must be gentle breeze and drizzle, Tai Chi practice every day, and frequent secret fights, similar to Sha Ruijin's fight with Gao Yuliang, and he will never break his face easily.

"Arrest people. Arrest all those who are suspected. It is better to arrest the wrong person than let him go."

The captain of his personal soldiers kept cursing:

"Are you a stupid pig? There are so many houses in Jiangning City, and you can requisition them wherever you like. You have to ask this governor for advice on such trivial matters. What does the court want from you? What does this governor want you for?"

This made Li Yu a little uneasy and asked his bodyguard:
"Where are the ammunition reserves for the army? Is the terrain high?"

"Those gangsters from Liangbaiqi took away all the dozens of good horses I prepared. They are not of the same mind as us, and they still miss our old master Dorgon!"

This does not seem to fit the image of a feudal official.

Immediately afterwards, Zhao Erhu came again, crying.

"As the old saying goes, hatred is inherited from generation to generation and cannot be forgotten!"

……

What a fallacy!

……

Half an hour later, the rain still didn't stop, and the sky was getting dark.

Wing Chun doesn’t have that, the range of movements is too big!
Sixty miles south of Jiangning City, the Eight Banners soldiers of the capital who were fleeing for their lives were as embarrassed as the Wusimai tribe who were chasing them.

In the Governor's Mansion, everyone was silent.

He was snatched out by the loyal guards at the risk of death and protected all the way while escaping.

He cursed fiercely:
"Here, take off his hat. If the judge's chair is changed to a dog squatting there, it will turn in the same way."

His worries are not unnecessary.

Li Yu immediately became excited: "Did the tunnel collapse?"

Many people would think that only traffickers and lackeys would behave like this.

"It's going to rain, and my mother is getting married. You've worked hard. Go down and have a good rest."

This heavy rain is good news for Jiangning City. At least it extinguished the fire in Willow Bay.

It’s too difficult to be waterproof at the same time.

It is very dangerous to run for one's life in the rain. From time to time, some people fall behind and disappear. It is estimated that the number of people at this time is less than 400.

Li Yu sighed and did not punish the relevant people.

Li Shiyao slammed the table in the Governor's Mansion and demanded a thorough investigation of the city's operations.

Fucha. Mingliang is not dead!

Wusimai cursed countless times, and finally calmly decided to camp for the time being.

The hooves of the men and horses stepped into the mud, and they were struggling to move.

Normally, such rebellious words and instigating the unity of the Eight Banners would have been stopped long ago.

But today,
No one criticized him, they all walked on silently.

He was caught in the rain, his boots hung around his neck, and he used his spear as a walking stick to walk. On muddy roads, barefoot is more convenient.

By dawn, the rain had basically stopped.

The soldier captain limped up to Mingliang and muttered a few words, but Mingliang just shook his head. He could only sigh and walked away silently.

"Brothers, work harder. We can't enter Dangtu County and keep moving forward. It's my fault that we lost this battle. I will apologize to the court and the emperor."

Before he finished speaking, someone pointed at the river in horror and said:
"what is that?"

Liangming raised his head and saw the flashing fire on the side of the boat on the river.

A warship, the Jikang, caught up with them and discovered them, and launched a bombardment.

"Run."

Everyone ran 2 miles away from the river in one breath, losing more than a dozen people.

……

In ancient times, marches usually followed rivers as much as possible.

In addition to the convenience of water, there is another key factor: avoiding getting lost!

The ghost of the battleship Jikang still lingered in the Yangtze River, but it did not continue to fire because it was too far away.

This forced the panicked deserters to stay away from the river until they completely disappeared from the sight of the warship sailors.

The lack of food forced them to stop and enter the nearby mountains to find food to satisfy their hunger, and their pace became slower and slower.

That afternoon,

The light cavalry of the Li family army arrived, but there were only about 40 cavalry in the vanguard.

After chasing them, they first fired a round of muskets, then drew out their cavalry swords and hacked them, killing more than a hundred people and capturing dozens of others. The rest completely ran into the mountains.

The terrain is rugged and not suitable for cavalry to enter.

Wusimai simply set up camp here and sent more than 30 people on foot carrying muskets and swords into the mountains to pursue them.

Execute the Lord's military orders as much as possible, and do not let a single Eight Banners escape to Jiangbei.

He looked at the towering mountains and asked:
"What's the name of this place?"

"Wuhu County, Tianmen Mountain."

"A good mountain deserves a poem."

Wu Simai came to poetry again: "The green mountains on both sides of the strait face each other, and the lonely sails never come."

There are two wrong words in a poem, but the level is still online.

After finishing reading, he shook his head regretfully:
"I think Li Taibai is still not as good as Xin Jiaxuan. Do you know why?"

The groom said doubtfully:
"Are these two new recruits from our battalion? Why don't I recognize them?"

Wu Simai looked at the water of the Yangtze River under his feet and sighed faintly:

"I am Boya from the grassland. Where is Ziqi from Jiangnan?"

……

Li Yu re-counted the battlefield troops.
So far in the Battle of Jiangning, more than 1200 militiamen have died, more than 800 people have died in the First Army Corps, and more than 400 people have died in the Guards Corps.

In addition, more than 1000 wounded people are being transferred to Changzhou City.

The total strength dropped sharply to more than 4000, not counting the losses of the cavalry and navy.

The number of sailors suffering from diarrhea due to the heat is also increasing sharply.

The loss of guns and artillery is not bad, because the logistics are strong and they can be replaced quickly.

"Send a battalion to capture Dangtu County, Anhui Province, and take a navy ship up the river. By the way, send someone to notify Wu Simai to return to Jian."

"As ordered."

Just as he was talking, his subordinate suddenly came to report:
"Logistics supply officer, Mr. Du is here."

Li Yu's heart skipped a beat and he quickly asked someone to come in.

"Lao Du, what happened?"

Du Renping stepped back and whispered:
"The supply of saltpeter cannot keep up. This matter is confidential and I dare not entrust it to others."

"How much stock of finished gunpowder is there?"

"Excluding the reserves in various cities and the reserves in the hands of soldiers, Suzhou City has 6 kilograms of various types of gunpowder in stock, and another 2 kilograms are in transit and will arrive at the military camp in the next two days. My lord, you know that as of today, the war will be over. How much gunpowder was used?"

"How many?"

"Nearly 18 kilograms."

Li Yu immediately sent someone to find the logistics and logistics officer, and asked:

"How much gunpowder inventory does the army still have?"

"Fifteen thousand catties."

"Understood, let's go down."

……

It may seem like a big number, but it’s actually super fast to use. Du Ren immediately took the paper and started counting:

"A flintlock fired more than thirty times consumes 1 kilogram of gunpowder. A 12-pound cannon fires once and consumes 4 kilograms of gunpowder."

"If one of your campfire guns fires 5 rounds, it will use about 100 kilograms of gunpowder. This is still a small amount."

"There are 300 artillery pieces here, right? One salvo will consume 1000 kilograms of gunpowder."

Li Yu raised his head: "Lao Du, stop talking."

After a while, he asked again:
"Why is there suddenly a shortage of saltpeter? What's the reason?"

"Due to the weather, our nitrate production dropped sharply. Also, we have never fought a big war before. Strictly speaking, the Battle of Jiangning was the first large-scale battle. Therefore, we actually did not realize that large-scale wars consume gunpowder. The speed is so terrifying.”

"Understood, this matter must not be leaked."

"Lord, don't worry."

"How is Jiangbei?"

"Hailancha's 800 Sauron cavalry have gathered in Yizheng, and they have also recruited 200 civilian ships. It seems that they will cross the river at any time. However, we have warships on the south bank to guard against them and try to sink them in the Yangtze River."

"must be careful."

Du Ren had a meal in the camp and then left quietly.

The external theory is that the mountain infantry battalion was sent to the front line to escort the ship.

The mountain infantry battalion composed of people from the Hengduan Mountains in Yunnan who had been training in Qizi Mountain for a long time finally arrived.

Their equipment and clothes all looked out of place. Gray and black clothes, strange-shaped daggers, straw sandals, and even bare feet.

Bows, crossbows, blowguns, and short-handed muskets were all equipped.

The queue was not very neat either, and many people looked bad and felt seasick. After entering the camp, I fell into a deep sleep.

……

A heavy rain brought the hot temperature down a bit.

The people of Jiangning City finally realized the gloom of war.

The rumor that "the reinforcements from the Eight Banners in the capital were all wiped out in one battle" spread like wildfire. I don’t know where it came from, but everyone is spontaneously becoming a link in the chain of transmission.

Rice prices rose accordingly.

Everyone went crazy and queued up to buy rice.

Li Shiyao stood on the city wall and overlooked this scene. He felt a chill on his back. He always felt that he had seen it before.

After thinking about it for a long time, I finally realized it.

Isn't this the work of my grandfather Li Yongfang?

After Li Yongfang took refuge with Lao Nu, whenever he attacked the city, he would first send agents to sneak into the city. Killing, bribery, arson, spreading rumors, do whatever you can!

He closed his eyes and had a vague hallucination. More than 100 years ago, his grandfather Li Yongfang fired a shot. More than 100 years later, the bullet hit his back.

Jiangnan thieves chieftain, also surnamed Li.

Is there something hidden?

Returning to the Governor's Mansion, he turned out the family tree.

Want to find out if your ancestors have such a lineage and once lived in Jiangnan? Such excellent meticulous craftsmanship is not related to relatives. Who would believe it if I tell it?

……

"Zi Tai, something big happened."

"Why are you so nervous?"

The subordinate officials of the Governor's Mansion pointed to the outside of the city angrily:

"The thieves pulled the heads and armor flags of the Eight Banners of the Capital outside the Zhengyang Gate, and the morale of the city wall defenders was floating~"

Another official came to report loudly:

"Chaoyang Gate, Shuixi Gate, and Shence Gate all have thieves setting up vertical poles and hanging the armored heads of the Eight Banners soldiers."

Li Shiyao's face turned livid, and he rode up to the city wall angrily.

Jiangning city wall is thick and wide, and you can ride a horse directly.

When he arrived at Chaoyang Gate, he saw the arrogant scene outside the city without getting off his horse.

The heads are hung on more than a dozen vertical poles! Next to it are the Eight Banners flags of various colors. Counterfeiting cannot produce so many colors at a time. The battered armor lay directly on the ground.

An arrogant soldier shouted:

"Look, behead the 1-level Eight Banners of the Capital. Do you want Jiangning City to surrender? Send someone to discuss the terms."

Li Shiyao gritted his teeth and said:

"fire."

"Taiwan making?"

Pa, I got a whip.

"The governor asked you to fire cannons, do you want to carry out the military law?"

Boom boom, several artillery guns roared one after another. Of course, it's definitely not going to work, it's just showing an attitude.

The Li Jiajun under the city quickly retreated 1 mile, not to argue with the madman.

……

In Jiangning City, the panic could no longer be suppressed.

Liu Qian just made a start, and there was no need to exert any force later.

At least a thousand people from Minzhuang, who were assisting in the defense of the city wall, witnessed the heads hanging outside the city.

They told their families, who in turn spread the news to their neighbors. So much so that the dogs in Jiangning City knew that the reinforcements were gone.

In Mr. Gao’s house,

A group of businessmen gathered in the house with complicated expressions.

"The price of rice has gone up like crazy, and I'm very happy. The war has taken a turn for the worse, and I'm very unhappy. Everyone, do you think this Jiangning City can still be defended?"

Liu Qian felt guilty and quickly said loudly:
"Jiangning is the most fortified city in the southeast, and there are elite Eight Banners garrisoned there, so it must be impregnable."

Mr. Gao smiled bitterly and waved his hand:

"Brother, everyone here is our own people. What kind of virtue is hoisting the Eight Flags for garrison? Others don't know, so don't we know?"

Someone immediately smiled bitterly and said:
"At most half of the flag men can fight. The rest are already rotten. Apart from making money and visiting the brothels, they are nothing more than fighting soldiers."

Someone else added:

"I have a good relationship with several bannermen, and we are business partners. They may not be able to beat the guards under my hand with fists and kicks. But if they use firearms to defend the city, it may be okay."

……

Liu Qian thought about it for a while and said:

"That's what I think. Let's make money first. Even if the city cannot be defended, it won't fall so quickly. The time left for us is precious."

"When we get enough money, we will find a way out of the city. As you all have seen, the thieves did not trap Jiang Ning to death, and a small group of people can get out."

"We are businessmen. Where can we not do business? We will not interfere with the affairs of the court. We just have one thing in mind. Everything in the world has a price."

Mr. Gao excitedly put the tea bowl on the table:
"That's good. Use money to smash it, smash it against the city gate guards, smash the thieves blocking the Yangtze River, and smash it into a natural chasm. I don't believe it. Is there any way in the world that money can't smash out?"

A businessman frowned and asked:

"But how can we take our wealth out of the city? We can't escape to Jiangbei and become poor, right?"

"There is nothing we can do about the house or shop. As for making money, there is still a way."

"any solution?"

"Tiancheng Yuan's bank account promises that the bank will keep the money in the city and withdraw cash from Jiangbei."

“How dare they??”

"Shanxi merchants have been bold since ancient times and have engaged in industries that others dare not get involved in. What are they afraid of?"

"This handling fee?"

Mr. Gao raised three fingers.

Everyone gasped, but then nodded.

Thirty percent! value!
The worst thing is, the price of rice will rise again.

No! The prices of firewood, rice, oil, salt, cloth, salt, medicinal materials, and coal will all increase for me, by 6%!
6% black?
In fact, none of it went into his own pocket, and 3% was stolen by Tianchengyuan bank account. The remaining 3% was accepted by the Governor's Mansion.

In this round, everyone won, only the people of Jiangning lost.

……

After discussion with Li Shiyao, the governor of Liangjiang, and Chongdao, the general of Jiangning, they decided to requisition 5000 young men.

At the same time, the mobile troops in the city were handed over to Fu Chang'an, the deputy capital.

A total of 2000 cavalrymen were stationed in the center of Jiangning City. Wherever the city wall was in danger, he would go and support it.

At the same time, 7-pin Bi Tie Shi and Lin were promoted to acting grain inspectors.

Yu Minzhong's eldest son, Yu Yunhe, was also appointed as the acting judge for Jiangning.

Yu Yunhe is a famous scholar and has been concentrating on the examination. Even though I failed twice, my original intention remains unchanged.

In the Qing Dynasty, only those who were born as Jinshi could go far in their official careers. Otherwise, you will always be looked down upon for no reason. Even if you become a high official in the border areas in the future, you will still be ridiculed by your colleagues in private.

Yu Yunhe, who is in his 40s, is not happy at all. He understood Li Shiyao's intention to bring everyone into a circle of responsibility as much as possible.

It's not an exaggeration to say it's a conspiracy.

If Jiangning City is destroyed, you will all be guilty. The emperor's thunderous wrath will not all strike on my head, Li Shiyao, but all of you will be struck together~
If it is defended, everyone will share the credit together.

In the peaceful years, it would have been very difficult to be promoted to an official position.

It's different in wartime.

Just appoint an agent and start working immediately.

If we win and the person is still alive, the word "agency" can be removed. All you need to do is make up for the bureau’s procedures, and no one can criticize you!
For He Lin, Yu Yun and these two related children, it is quite tempting.

(End of this chapter)