Great Qing Dynasty talker

Chapter 355 The sound of gunfire in the decisive battle in Jiangxi! Come with the upstream Hongfeng!
Under Nanchang City,

The atmosphere in Wu Jun's main tent was tense.

The urgent report "About Jiangbei Qing Army's Sneak Attack Plan" jointly signed by Liu Qian and Lin Huaisheng made everyone tense.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to lead the navy back to defense."

"Your Majesty, we must not lose our heart in the south of the Yangtze River. I would like to lead the light cavalry regiment to return to the defense and station it in Jiangning, Jiangyin, and Taicang. Even if the Qing troops are lucky enough to cross the river, the cavalry will be able to reinforce them in time."

Li Yu was silent and asked:

"Sanjiangkou Town, what is the current size of the Qing army?"

"Twenty to thirty thousand troops, mainly Guizhou and Jiangxi green camp soldiers, and thousands of chieftain barbarians."

"Where are the reinforcements from Yunnan and Guangxi?"

"I don't know why it's been so late."

"Where are the Hunan reinforcements?"

"Not yet.

Li Yu frowned, unsure of the reason.

Before the age of telecommunications, the fog of war was difficult to resolve.

According to the normal marching speed, it's time to arrive. Afraid of fighting? Or did you take a detour to other areas?

"Is there any movement from the Mongolian cavalry in Hubei?"

"Information from the scouts before the 7th, the Mongolian cavalry showed no signs of setting off. It seems that Agui has returned to the capital, and no one in the local area can mobilize them, and no one dares to mobilize them."

……

"Your Majesty, I have made a discovery." Tan Muguang suddenly said.

"speak."

"The flow of the Ganjiang River is getting larger and larger, and the width of the river surface is increasing day by day."

"Summer has arrived, isn't it normal for the flood season to begin?"

"I live on the water, and the water conditions in Jiangxi this year are a bit weird. Maybe~" Tan Muguang hesitated for a moment, and then said, "There may be floods."

Everyone was in an uproar and stared at him.

It is a responsibility to make such predictions at this time.

Li Yu stared at him seriously and asked:

"However, recent rainfall in Raozhou, Nanchang, and Jiujiang has not been much, or even less than in previous years."

"Your Majesty, the Ganjiang River stretches for more than 1000 miles from north to south, with numerous tributaries in the upper reaches. I guess there may be heavy rains in the mountainous areas upstream."

Li Yu stood up immediately,

Go to the hanging map and look at it carefully using your own memory.

If there is a heavy rain in the mountainous areas of southern Ganxi, a large amount of rainwater will flow into the Ganjiang River. This possibility exists.

……

"Your Majesty, Sima Shang has just returned from Pingxiang County."

"Go to someone and ask him."

After a while, I got an accurate reply.

When Sima Shang left Wugong Mountain, it happened to be a heavy rain, and the mountain road was steep and slippery, rolling and climbing. He left by boat, and the rain gradually slowed down until he passed Zhangshu Town.

Li Yu hesitated and said:
"Official documents from the Agriculture Department and the Water Resources Department mentioned that since the beginning of spring this year, the rainfall in eight provinces in the south of the Yangtze River has been relatively low. If one place is short of water, there must be another place with plenty of water. This makes sense."

"Tan Muguang, you personally urge us to measure the hydrological data of Ganjiang River and Fuhe River again."

"The minister obeys the order."

"Liu Wu, please send three Susong-class ships back to station outside Jiangning City. Don't move the other warships. The battlefield in Jiangxi is getting better. It would be a pity to abandon it midway."

"The minister obeys the order."

"Wusimai, you quickly return to Raozhou Racecourse to recruit 2000 skilled equestrians and station them in Jiangyin. The battlefield in Jiangxi currently does not require cavalry assistance."

"The minister obeys the order."

Li Yu dictated a series of military orders, and the number of people in the tent gradually decreased.

……

Wu Jun's camp is in good order.

Li Yu inspected the camp on horseback and visually inspected the morale. He was quite pleased.

Looking around,

A few miles away in Nanchang City, the Qing court's dragon flag was still fluttering in the wind on the city gate tower.

I couldn't help but said to myself:
"Jiangxi is what I want. Jiangbei is also what I want. Can I have both?"

"Your Majesty, why don't we divide our troops? Let's fight on both sides of the battlefield together."

"Don't you think that our military strength is a little weak?"

"As long as the gunpowder and artillery can keep up, I don't think it will be a big problem to push the front to the edge of the mountainous area in southern Jiangxi. But to deal with Jiangbei, the force is a bit weak."

"Well." Li Yu reined in his horse and considered his family fortune, "With the 2nd Army leading the 1st Dispatch Army in a decisive battle against the Qing Army in the Poyang Lake Plain, I think the chance of winning is over 7%. After that, the 4th Army will guard Jiujiang. , defend the Qing army in Hubei. The 3rd Army Corps guards Zhejiang and defends Fujian. As a result, the only mobile forces we can mobilize are the 1st Army Corps stationed in Jiangning and the 5th Army Corps training in Tongling. "

Miao Youlin nodded:

"We still need the main force of the navy to cooperate to cover the crossing."

……

Zheng Hean, who had been a few steps behind, was still a little weak.

Schistosomiasis made him miserable. Fortunately, he invited a famous local doctor to give him the right prescription and he recovered a lot.

Li Yu happened to turn his head and saw him, so he asked:

"Zheng Aiqing, what are you thinking about?"

Zheng Hean quickly urged his horse to take two steps forward, then raised his hands and replied:

"I don't understand strategy. I will attack wherever Your Majesty says. However, if Your Majesty wants to attack Jiangbei one day, can you give me a chance to be the vanguard?"

Li Yu nodded:
"I will consider it!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Miao Youlin said nothing and his expression did not change.

With his skills, he can easily overpower Zheng Hean, his deputy, in every aspect. The officers from northern Anhui who he personally promoted also showed a faint trend of "Miao Family Army".

In a word, although the 2nd Army Corps was a Huai army, it had been gradually tamed by him, a Guizhou native.

The rebellious Huaixi generals gradually accepted him as the "commander of other provinces".

……

"What's your condition?"

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I feel much better. I should be fully recovered in ten or eight days."

"Who governs it? And where?"

Zheng Hean scratched his head:
"I spent 150 taels of silver to hire a famous doctor from Jiujiang Prefecture. The prescription was kept secret, and the whole process of prescribing and decoction was done by the old man himself."

Miao Youlin couldn't help but laugh and said it was true.

Li Yu was thoughtful:
"You take another 300 taels and ask this famous doctor to prescribe a prescription for typhoid fever and a prescription for diarrhea. It doesn't matter if he keeps it secret. Find some sick soldiers to try the medicine."

"Yes."

Zheng He'an doesn't understand the rules here, so he can just follow orders.

Miao Youlin was thoughtful, but couldn't tell for a moment.

……

During this campaign in Jiangxi, Wu Jun suffered from various infectious diseases and seasonal diseases. There are endless cases of heatstroke, diarrhea, and typhoid fever. There were even three to five cases of tuberculosis.

The patient camp far away from the main camp has accommodated more than 2000 people.

Li Yu had a headache and was quite helpless.

It is easy to destroy visible enemies, but difficult to destroy invisible enemies.

Medicine is a systematic project. Regular antibiotics cannot be produced, so two projects, allicin and high-purity alcohol, can be considered.

"Documents, records."

The personal clerk who had been following him silently immediately took out his notebook and charcoal pen and started taking shorthand.

"The higher the purity of military distilled liquor, the better. All county wineries, private brewers, and businessmen can sign up to participate in this bidding. The winner will be rewarded with 1000 taels of silver, and will be qualified to supply alcohol to the military for a long time."

……

As a king, you don't need to know specific techniques, you just need to know management.

In the 18th century,

Distilling liquor is not a sophisticated technology, and many people have mastered it. It’s just that the purity of each product is different.

Using profits as a temptation, let this group of businessmen get involved.

Raise Gu, and finally reveal the most powerful master of distillation technology.

Allicin is much more complicated.

After returning the account, Li Yu wrote down some steps based on his vague memory, and asked people to slowly test them on Xishan Island.

Chopping, distilling, soaking, heating, and concentrating are probably all steps that cannot be avoided.

The finished product is blindly tested with patients to see the effect. Making progress while groping and stumbling. The antibacterial effect may be average and the shelf life may be short, but it’s better than nothing.

and,

For selfish reasons, we also want to launch the allicin project.

As a king, you can stay away from the harm of guns and arrows, but you may not be able to avoid the attacks of various infectious diseases.

Therefore, in any era, the upper management is very motivated to promote high-end medical technology.

……

evening,

The sun went down and a cool breeze blew.

After Li Yu finished bathing, he put on a cotton robe and went out of the tent. He looked up at the dark and deep night sky and suddenly came up with a guess:
Perhaps the reinforcements from Yunnan and Guangxi were also blocked by heavy rains and floods?
In a flash,

He felt a little cold on his back.

At exactly this moment, a snake-shaped lightning bolt on the skyline instantly lit up the night sky.

"Someone is coming."

"What are your orders, Your Majesty?"

"Is Tan Muguang back?"

"not yet."

"After he returned to the camp, he immediately summoned everyone to see me. Also, early tomorrow morning, I sent someone to look for local old farmers to find out whether the area around Nanchang City had been flooded? You can also refer to the county annals."

In short, Li Yu didn't sleep well that night.

Just like Schrödinger's theory, once you suspect something bad is going to happen, it will.

……

early morning,

Tan Muguang came back with a tired face and muddy face.

Li Yu noticed that the cavalry guarding him was also in a very embarrassed state. It seemed that the night's running was quite hard.

"Your Majesty, something bad is happening~"

"Don't worry, let's wait until we get into the account."

Tan Muguang took out a piece of paper with various data recorded on it.

"Your Majesty, please take a look. The first column is the hydrological data of the Gan River measured by the navy 10 days ago, and the following column is the data measured by the minister now."

Comparing the two columns of data, Li Yu's pupils shrank instantly:
"So much difference?"

"Yes, the water is rising too fast! Too fast! What's even more frightening is that the river water is turbid, which is a precursor to flooding in mountainous areas."

Tan Muguang spoke so fast that he forgot the etiquette of a monarch and his ministers, grabbed his sleeves and said:

"Your Majesty, retreat quickly. The Ganjiang River is like this, and the Fuhe River must be the same. The Poyang Lake plain is low. Once a big flood comes, these tens of thousands of troops~"

Li Yu didn't care about his transgression.
Instead, he put on his hat and grabbed his riding crop:

"Guard camp, go to Fuhe with me."

……

The fast horse is galloping, the wind is blowing in the face, and the sun does not seem so harsh.

Arriving at the bank of Fuhe River,
Li Yu took a breath of cold air. The pontoon bridge that was originally built actually broke into two parts. The soldiers guarding the pontoon bridge were busy repairing it.

A sharp-eyed officer came over and knelt down on one knee:

"Your Majesty~"

"Excuse me, what's going on?"

"The water rose too fast, and the fixed ropes of the pontoon were pulled hard. The water flow was too fast."

Li Yu strode towards the river bank,
Not long ago, tens of thousands of troops crossed the river. In order to avoid the mud in the last few steps, the baggage camp once laid stone steps to reach the river bank.

But now the stone steps are submerged underwater.

The thick wooden piles that were originally used to secure the pontoon were now rippling in the water.

……

"Telescope."

A personal guard immediately handed it over, and Li Yu pulled away to observe the boatman who was repairing it in the middle of the river.

The pontoon broke in the middle. In fact, the fixed ropes of the two adjacent boats were broken.

The soldiers on the oars waved vigorously, and the boat barely moved forward against the current.

First, use the rope to secure it, and then continue to paddle upstream, trying to pull the pontoon back to its original position.

At both ends of the break, there is a boat working together.

The speed of the Fuhe River made their efforts in vain several times.

Li Yu stood by the river and silently watched the cup of tea.
I almost succeeded several times along the way, but still fell short.

Visible to the naked eye, the soldiers paddling could no longer move their arms.

……

The officer on the shore stamped his feet angrily:

"Substitute."

After changing two groups of people repeatedly, the pontoon was finally reset.

Then, the repair soldiers carried the planks and stepped on the pontoon to reach the break and continued laying.

"Your Majesty, it's dangerous, so don't go on the bridge."

Li Yu accepted this rational suggestion, found a branch and threw it into the water.

Watch the branches float downstream as fast as a galloping horse~
He closed his eyes in pain, and the guards did not dare to make a sound, silently guarding the surroundings.

For a long time,

Everyone heard the shocked order.

"Send the order to abandon the pontoon and gather the ships."

"Your Majesty, this is the army's retreat~"

"Look at the speed of the flow. Once the pontoon bridge breaks into several sections, these boats will float all the way into Poyang Lake. Save the boats!"

Li Yu got on his horse:

"Go back to camp."

……

In Sanjiangkou Town in the south, the situation is even more severe.

The 3 Qing troops stationed here were shocked to find that the town was flooded when they woke up!

Someone outside shouted: It's wet, it's wet!
The commander-in-chief of Southern Jiangxi, Ma Zhongyi, didn't react for a while. He stepped on a thin layer of water on the ground and his head went numb.

He walked to the heights of the town and was stunned by the sight in front of him.

The south and west sides are all white.

The raging river broke free from the restraints of the river channel and began to flow unbridled.

The two surrounding trenches outside the town have become small moats.

The soldiers were in a mess, walking around looking strange or confused.

"Master, something bad has happened." The servant Liu Lu hurriedly came over and whispered, "Those Guangxi barbarians said there was a flood and retreated in a small boat carrying grain without authorization."

"audacious in the extreme!"

In fact, Ma Zhongyi also lacks understanding of the natural environment in the south. He was born in the north and grew up in the north.

However, his instinct to avoid danger made him excited.

"Liu Lu, will this beautiful Poyang Lake plain flood?"

"Master, this slave will go find a local and ask."

After a while,
Liu Lu came back angrily:
"Master, the old man in the town said that he has experienced five floods in his life. The most serious one reached the roof, and the lightest one only reached his knees."

"What the hell are you still doing? Get out of here."

Ma Zhongyi was extremely lucky at this time. He had been sending elite soldiers to guard the ship.

……

This is how avalanches are formed.

The unauthorized retreat of the Guangxi chieftain soldiers caused panic among everyone around them.

As soon as Ma Zhongyi got on the boat, he saw the dark crowd of Guizhou soldiers rushing to the river to grab the boat!
At the critical moment of escape, both sides have weapons in hand, so it is impossible to talk properly.

On both sides, swords were unsheathed, matches were lit, and they began to curse and threaten.

"You must give us half of our ship."

"Without General Ma's order, anyone who dares to touch the ship will be killed without mercy!"

"Damn it, brothers, grab it!"

……

(End of this chapter)