Great Qing Dynasty talker

Chapter 378 Guilty Loyalty

Yangzhou Jiangdu.

Residents from the suburbs fled with their elderly and children.

Even the dullest person knows what will happen if they are caught in a war.

Wu Jun landing site,
With flags flying, people shouting and horses neighing, the camp has begun to take shape.

The fortifications are divided into two layers. The outer side is a trench half a zhang deep and one zhang wide, and the inner side is a continuous chevaux de frise wall.

Countless wooden sticks, as thick as an adult's arm, 5 feet long, with one end sharpened and carbonized, are tied with hemp ropes to form a chevaux de frise.

There are countless chevaux de frise, connected by hemp ropes.

During the war,

Musketeers can place their flintlock rifles on chevaux de frise and fire directly.

……

The central army camp and the baggage camp are together in the heart of the city.

There are four large camps around it, like a moon surrounded by stars.

They are the 1st Army, the 2nd Army, the Guards Army, and the Cannon Fodder Army (1st Expeditionary Army).

On the banks of the East Waterway, the crane has been officially put into use.

A civil servant from the Transport Department stared at the 12-pound gun being slowly hoisted and kept giving orders.

The pulleys and wire ropes have been improved many times to save more manpower.

One craftsman was rewarded with 1 taels of silver and a low-level civil service position for his contribution in improving the crane, and from then on he became an official.

This aroused the enthusiasm for invention among skilled craftsmen throughout Jiangnan!

Jiangnan not only produced scholars, but also great craftsmen.

The Ministry of Industry’s “moving trees to establish trust” has achieved very good results.

Du Ren is already planning to set up a new invention office to specifically handle all kinds of reliable and outrageous inventions.

There have been too many invention proposals reported recently.

Reliable ones include large-scale production of summer (rainy) season military rations, improvement of four-wheeled carriages, improvement of brick kiln processes, alcohol purification, improvement of looms, water-powered mills, and portable marching tents~
The outrageous ones include the big iron bed that is a perfect match of yin and yang between heaven and earth, the blind wall that is designed to bring rain and dew to all wives and concubines, the single-room fishing spot that can be used for both amphibious and pure fishing, and the multifunctional mahogany double-corner desk that can be used for both reading and governing people.

Du Ren thinks there are too many demons and monsters in Jiangnan~
He is unsure about the right intensity between encouragement and criticism, so let Your Majesty decide.

……

The soldier standing on the wooden watchtower struck the gong:

"Four more ships have arrived. One is from the Royal Guards and three are from the 4st Expeditionary Force."

The staff officer left the tent immediately and gulped down a mouthful of cold tea:

"Quick, get ready."

The soldiers quickly pushed a wooden device similar to a siege vehicle towards the river.

"Okay, stop. Fix the wheel!"

Several wooden sticks were wedged into the wheels, making it impossible for the strange vehicle to move forward or backward.

Then some soldiers climbed up, and some soldiers below used forks to lower the folding wooden board. The whole thing was similar to the boarding car at the airport.

A transport ship slowly approached and dropped its anchor.

The ship's side and the "boarding car" were successfully docked, and the wooden planks were placed on the ship's side.

The soldiers on the shore shouted:
"Stuck?"

"It's firmly stuck."

Just like the role played by the metal hook at the top of a ladder.

Make sure the gangway and boat do not separate when people are getting off the boat.

……

"Guards, follow your battalion numbers, carry your equipment and disembark in order."

The officer gave the order.
The silent soldiers began to file off the ship.

Brand new military uniforms, shiny flintlock rifles, polished boots, and especially the leather backpacks are particularly eye-catching.

Even the two staff officers who were in command on the scene were whispering.

"Is this new equipment? I haven't even heard of it at the General Staff Headquarters."

"I've heard that it was a military backpack drawn by His Majesty himself and produced by the leather factory under the Emperor's father-in-law. The equipment of the Guards Corps is different."

Cowhide outer layer, pigskin inner layer, brass fasteners, the cost is quite high.

The bag has 2 layers, 5 compartments and 3 inner pockets, which can hold dry food, oil-paper raincoats, socks, tinder, spare flints, tobacco, tea, salt, and simple gun repair tools.

The Guards Corps was composed of carefully selected veterans who had fought in battles. The full complement was only 6000 people, and 4000 of them came to reinforce Jiangbei.

……

The Guards disembarked very quickly, and soon the hold was empty.

The ships weighed anchor and moved away to make room.

Then, the 1st Expeditionary Force arrived~the ranks were loose and the order was poor.

All kinds of vulgar words were heard.

They cursed God, the Tartars, the people of Yangzhou, and the Yangtze River. In short, the main purpose was to insult everyone.

When disembarking,
Two people accidentally fell into the water and swam ashore amid the crazy laughter of their companions, continuing to curse.

The two staff officers looked at each other.
His eyes were full of helplessness and contempt.

Zhang Laosan was among them, walking down the springboard with his bare hands.

he~tui
A mouthful of spit on the land of Jiangbei.

He took off his crooked wide-brimmed hat, dusted it off, and put it back on.

"Brothers from the 1st Battalion, hurry up and get off the boat. Women can get out of the door faster than you."

……

"Why don't they have guns?"

A soldier who was maintaining order at the scene asked in a low voice. He belonged to the 1st Legion and had no idea what the dispatched troops were like.

Zhang Laosan heard it.
He said in a hoarse voice:

"Brothers of the 1st Battalion, do we have guns?"

"Have!"

A fat man with his arm wrapped in gauze walked out of the line 2 steps:
"If you are a man, who the hell doesn't have a gun?"

This caused a burst of laughter.

In the distance, the military judge team came over to maintain order. The military judge had a stern look in his eyes and his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Zhang Laosan shrank his neck and continued marching as if nothing had happened.

"Third brother, what's written on the military judge's hat?"

"cheap!"

"Ah?" The soldier who asked the question widened his eyes in disbelief.

Zhang Laosan cleared his throat:

"I heard it from others. The military court is also called military police or cheap soldiers? I can't remember clearly."

……

The military law team's hats had the word "Xian" (constitution) written on them in white paint.

There is reason to suspect that this is a new trend in the military led by Lu Huichun, the medical officer of the 2nd Corps.

"Do you think it looks quite impressive to have a word written on your head?"

"Very cocky."

Silence, and walked another mile.

Zhang Laosan suddenly stopped:

"I want to write something on the iron helmet, too."

"What word?"

"Hanging~"

The people around echoed and praised the battalion commander for thinking of a good word.

Equipment was delivered one after another after the expeditionary force entered the arranged camp.

Armor, shield, spear, sword, axe and fork, all at your convenience.

The corps recruited 1000 Qing prisoners of war in Jiangxi and another 2000 prisoners in Jiangdu.

Today, the 1st Expeditionary Army has returned to 6000 people.

The corps commander, Gan Changsheng, called a meeting of all officers.

There are two central ideas:
2. From the day of landing, only two battlefield disciplines will be enforced in the legion! Those who disobey orders will be killed! Those who flee in battle will be killed!

2. Train new recruits.

……

What will a daughter-in-law do first after becoming a mother-in-law after many years of being a daughter-in-law?
Abuse the new daughter-in-law to establish your authority!

The 1st Expeditionary Army camp was as bustling as a vegetable market.

The old soldiers looked at the new prisoners with unfriendly eyes, picking out the rebellious ones and beating them to death.

On the same day,

Four bodies were dragged out and five people were seriously injured.

of course,

The casualties must be new recruits!

The veterans were numerous and powerful, so they banded together to beat the enemy, and the officers acquiesced.

The 1000 Green Camp prisoners who were recruited in Jiangxi were very calm. They were quite familiar with this routine. Since they were new recruits, they had to be beaten. There was nothing wrong with that.

quickly,

They also became accomplices of the more than 2000 veterans and beat the new prisoners into submission.

……

The 2nd Legion was calm, and the Guards Legion was also calm.

The distance between the camps was only one mile, and the noise of wailing was clear. It lasted from day to midnight before it finally quieted down.

the next morning,

The veterans had breakfast first, followed by the new recruits.

After eating, stand in line and listen to orders.

The new recruits stand in the first two rows of each square formation, and the veterans stand in the back as supervisors.

The sun was hot and the armor was as heavy as a coffin.

After a morning of training, there were more than a dozen bloody heads.

In the afternoon,

Dozens of new recruits, unable to bear it any longer, rebelled collectively and hacked to death an overly brutal veteran.

Upon hearing the news, the military law enforcement team patrolling nearby rushed over, pushing a shotgun and trying to reinforce the camp.

Stopped by Gan Changsheng:
"Wait a minute, if we can't handle it, then you can go in and clear the area."

It takes a cup of tea,
Zhang Laosan came with his men, carrying a bunch of heads.

"It's okay, it's okay. The people who caused the trouble are here."

The military judge sneered twice and turned away.

A soldier from the military law enforcement team asked:

"Sir, should we not care?"

"No matter. It's only been a few months, there's no need for the Training Department to intervene. These veterans from the Jiangxi battlefield have already mastered the essence."

……

Zhang Laosan finally fulfilled his wish.

He wrote a big "Dang" on his helmet and walked out to shock the crowd.

"Hey, Third Brother, that's awesome."

"Third brother, where are you from?"

"Changzhou Prefecture, the first county of the prefecture, is from Wujin. 200 years ago, half of Wujin County was owned by my Zhang family, and we were very rich."

"Your ancestors must have had high-ranking officials, right?"

"Big, very big. A former Ming Dynasty scholar who almost married a princess."

There is no tax on bragging, and Zhang Laosan often talks nonsense.

Fight brothers, fight father and son soldiers.

The eldest and second sons of the Zhang family were also in the 1st Battalion, and were eating a lot of food at this time.

The three brothers seemed to be cut from the same mold: black, fat, and fierce.

……

In the big iron pot, boiling water surged up and down.

beside,

The cook chopped the food with a kitchen knife, making a loud thumping sound.

I cut the biltong into pieces and the naan into cubes, then dumped them all into the pot to cook. After a moment's thought, I threw a stack of crumpled vegetable paper into the pot.

The merchants who took over the military rations first cut the pork and beef into strips, marinated them with a large amount of salt, and then used sunlight and wall-mounted charcoal ovens to bake them to remove all moisture.

Choose seasonal large-leaf vegetables or root vegetables, wash them, unfold them or cut them into pieces, and bake them in a charcoal oven to remove all the moisture. The final shape is like paper that has been soaked in ink and then dried again.

then,

It was wrapped in oil paper and eventually became the Wu army's field rations, making it easy to carry.

Even in the hot and humid summer, the average shelf life is guaranteed to be 2 months.

The Wu army that landed in Jiangdu had more than 12000 people, and their food depended almost entirely on these field rations.

According to Li Yu's idea,
It would be better to develop some beverage packages, such as white sugar.

Soldiers on the battlefield could drink a glass of sugar water as long as there was hot water.

The important officials were dumbfounded and said that this was too extravagant.

finally,
Tea is only provided in the Guards Corps~
This has also become a symbol of status. Being able to set up a pot in the camp and boil a bowl of tea is simply the ultimate enjoyment on the battlefield.

……

For 5 consecutive days,
From Jingkou to Jiangdu, fleets flying the Wu army's flags came and went in an endless stream.

Li Yu even divided his confidential department into two, and temporarily assigned half of the people to Lin Huaisheng's account to obey his orders.

Lin Huaisheng was quite grateful.

He has become a humanoid computer, with all kinds of information constantly increasing and updating in his mind.

To command the huge landing force, he needed more staff officers and more messengers.

Fortunately, the most critical material transportation has finally come to an end.

There is now plenty of artillery, gunpowder, bullets, shells, and tents.

The fleet was used to transport food and fodder instead.
The army cannot rely on dry food all the time, they still need to eat rice and flour.

It rained twice during this period but it had no impact.

……

"Commander-in-chief, a letter from His Majesty~"

Lin Huaisheng took it, opened it, read it, and put it away silently.

now,

He knew nearly 2000 characters and had no difficulty reading and drafting official documents.

"~Huaisheng, I am writing to you. If our army is ready to land and the Qing army remains inactive as time passes, Hailancha will become a great enemy of our Wu Kingdom! I think that the current field battle is the primary priority and the siege is secondary. Yangzhou City is not the key, but a bonus for the victorious side of the battle."

Lin Huaisheng read it carefully three times and fell into a long silence.

If nothing else,

In the end, the total number of troops under his control will be close to 4, while the current army, navy and patrol force of Wu State combined will barely number 7.

Your Majesty, this is a display of trust and courage.

We can’t afford to lose, and even a draw is not acceptable. We must win, and win big.

"Someone is coming."

"The end will be here."

"Is there any movement in the Qing army's Jiangbei camp?"

"Reporting to the commander-in-chief, according to the scouts' report, the Qing army is not moving, the camp is on high alert, and there is no sign of actively sending troops."

……

Lin Huaisheng paced.
Suddenly asked:
"Is there any movement in Huai'an?"

"According to the intelligence from Director Liu, the 5 new Huaixi troops moved to Xinghua Town, south of Sheyang Lake, and the Han Army Cavalry Battalion is still stationed 10 miles south of Huai'an Prefecture, with its back to the Grand Canal. In addition, the officials and gentry in Jiangbei are actively supplying food and wages to the above two armies."

"Understood, let's go down."

Lin Huaisheng paced back and forth in the big tent, looking at the huge map of Jiangbei hanging on the wall.

From north to south, Huai'an, Yangzhou and Yizheng are distributed in sequence and connected by the Grand Canal, like a drawn bow with the arrow pointing to the east.

The first arrow fired from this bow was aimed at the diagonal field.

……

Jiaoxia Salt Field, also known as Jiaoxia Field, is one of dozens of salt fields on the coast of the Yellow Sea under the Lianghuai Salt Transport Bureau.

Ever since the famous Song Dynasty official Fan Zhongyan successfully built a seawall here.

Outside the dike, salt is dried.

Transporting salt inside the dike.

The Lianghuai Salt Transport Administration set up a salt field office here.

The current field officer is from the Intelligence Agency.

With silver bullets paving the way and salt merchants providing escort, they easily took control of more than a thousand acres of tidal flats around the Jiaoxia Salt Field.

As the four major merchants collectively invested in Wu,

Yangzhou prefect Hu Zuoyou also launched a frenzied revenge.

All the salt merchants' properties were confiscated, all the people recommended by the salt merchants were arrested, and all those who had worked under the salt merchants were arrested.

So positive,

Half out of revenge, half out of fear.

Hu Zuoyou has been having nightmares every day recently.

The Wu army rushed into Yangzhou City like a tide, and he had no way out, so he committed suicide by jumping into the fire.

In the fire,
Zheng Jinsheng looked at himself motionlessly, smiling sinisterly.

The dream was too real.

He woke up sweating and his heart was beating uncontrollably.

……

"Your Excellency, this is the list of criminals involved in the salt merchant bandit case."

Hu Zuoyou didn't even look at it and said loudly:

"All the money seized from the house will be sent to the Jiangbei camp."

The head of the express team whispered again:
"In fact, you have missed an important suspect."

"Who?"

"Jiaoxie Salt Field Officer Rao Kehua was recommended by Chief Jiang himself."

"What are you waiting for? Catch it!"

"My Lord, I'm afraid it's difficult to catch him."

"What do you mean?"

"He has private soldiers at the Jiaoxie Salt Field and built a fortress. I'm afraid even the city defense camp won't be able to take it down."

"How could Wu Zetian's activities in Jiangbei be so rampant? Why didn't anyone report it to the authorities before?"

The squad leader lowered his head.
I thought that he was the person recommended by Premier Jiang. Who the hell took the wrong medicine and dared to appoint him?

……

Hu Zuoyou paced back and forth.

Suddenly, he became excited:
"Prepare the boat and go to Huai'an."

(End of this chapter)