Great Qing Dynasty talker

Chapter 416: Calculation alone is not enough, you must overturn the table!
Zhang Liyong laughed wildly:
"Heroes? Do you know how my army came to Jiangxi?"

"I know. Those are all old grudges. Hubei has let you down, but Jiangxi has never been mean to you."

The lobbyist's next words:
This suddenly made Zhang Liyong lose 9% of his hostility.

"My master is an honest man. He asked me to tell you something. Except for a few provinces in the southwest, the whole area south of the Yangtze River will be under the control of Wu sooner or later. Jiangxi has already fallen, and the Wu invaders have invaded Guangdong. The next step will be either Huguang or Guangxi. The Green Camp in the southern provinces has no chance of winning a field battle."

"General Zhang, if you intend to surrender to Wu, please chop off my head as a reward. If you do not intend to surrender to Wu, then it is necessary for you to join forces with us."

……

Zhang Liyong remained silent and suddenly asked:

"Are these General Ma's personal ideas? Or are they the ideas of the imperial court?"

"My master's meaning is the court's meaning."

The lobbyist took his time and took out a gift list from his sleeve:
"400 matchlock rifles, 2 taels of silver, 5000 dan of grain, and 2000 sets of cotton clothes. If you are willing to change your allegiance and pledge your loyalty to the court again, these will be your gifts. Due to transportation difficulties, I can only give you a small part for now."

"I need a new place to stay."

The lobbyist laughed:

"There is a village in the valley 20 miles away from here, with hundreds of families. Kill them and take over their homes. With the support of my master's food and wages, your men can temporarily improve their lives."

Zhang Liyong knelt on one knee, hiding his facial expression in the shadows, and whispered:

"I am willing to return to the court."

The lobbyist breathed a sigh of relief and stopped smiling:
"You have seen my master's sincerity, but your sincerity?"

"I respectfully follow the orders of Governor Ma and am willing to lead the army. On the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, I will select the troops to go down the mountain."

……

After the weather cleared up,
The 5th Army Corps entered Wugong Mountain again to clear out the bandits and was surprised to find that the remaining White Lotus bandits had disappeared.

The original village was burned to ashes.

Due to continuous snowfall, the footprints were also covered.

The search team braved the severe cold and searched for dozens of miles in multiple directions, but ultimately gave up the idea of ​​continuing the pursuit with regret.

The commander breathed a sigh of relief - victory report!
The Wugong Mountain bandit group was successfully wiped out, the remaining bandits fled far away, and Pingxiang County was peaceful!

The Coal Bureau and the Construction Bureau have both sent personnel to Anyuan, Pingxiang, and have transferred 1000 miners from the Tongling Coal Mine to officially begin excavating the mine.

Survey, site selection, and blasting.

At the same time, the miners' residential area, which combines living and defense functions, was built relying on the mountain terrain and is more like a castle.

……

Although the border between Hunan and Jiangxi is separated by many mountains, there is a huge gap in Pingxiang County, which has always been the only way for caravans and armies.

Starting from Pingxiang County, 300 miles west is Changsha!

In the cold winter,
The coal mine is in full swing, with people digging mines, building houses, repairing roads and building watchtowers.

By spring, a small reservoir will need to be dug in Yuan River.

These tributaries of the Ganjiang River are not navigable for a long time of the year because the water level is too low. Only building reservoirs can improve navigation conditions.

The transportation of bulk coking coal must consider water transportation, otherwise the cost alone would bankrupt the Coal Agency.

……

Zhu Guangshan,
It spans Nan'an Prefecture in Jiangxi and Chenzhou Prefecture in Hunan, and is the border between two prefectures as well as two provinces.

There is a mountainside in between.

There is a mountain village hidden in the dense forest.

In order to build this huge mountain stronghold, thousands of laborers from Shangyou County, Nan'an Prefecture died, and their corpses were thrown into the valley and devoured by jackals.

Wrapped in a fox fur coat, Ma Zhongyi walked out of the warm house and looked at the snow flying overhead.
Suddenly he sighed:
"Liu Lu, do you remember when we were exiled in Shengjing?"

"Of course I remember. The snow was heavier and the wind was colder than it is now. Compared to the outside of the Great Wall, the winter in the south was nothing to be afraid of. No wonder our ancestors all wanted to go south."

……

Ma Zhongyi looked at the endless mountains and said to himself:
"Do you think Wu Jun will go into the mountains in winter?"

Liu Lu shook his head:
"Impossible, unless the general leading the Wu army is out of his mind."

"What about spring and summer?"

Liu Lu hesitated and didn't dare to answer the question.

Ma Zhongyi said to himself:
"I think that when winter comes and the snow melts, the Wu army will definitely go into the mountains to pick a fight with us. Li Yu is a ruthless man, he will not let us live and work in peace in the mountains, he will definitely mobilize a large number of troops to go into the mountains to eliminate the hidden dangers."

……

The snow is cold,

Ma Zhongyi's voice was equally cold:
"Since you can't avoid it, then you better strike first."

"Scouts say that the main force of the Wu Army's 5th Corps has passed Meiguan and entered Guangdong, leaving the central Jiangxi region empty of troops. In the twelfth lunar month, I plan to lead my troops down the mountain to smash Nan'an, Ganzhou, Ji'an, and even Linjiang to pieces."

Liu Lu looked around and made sure there was no one around.

Asked in a low voice:
"Master, are you going to attack the city? In this weather, we can barely go down the mountain, but the cannons can't go down."

Ma Zhongyi laughed:
"If you think so, Wu Jun must think so too."

"Attack the city? Why attack the city? No!"

"I want to take them by surprise, bypass the city, and leave no one for a hundred miles, scorched earth for a thousand miles. Before spring comes, I will kill a circle of people in the surrounding area."

"I want to let that brat Li Yu know that I have the strength to flip the table! But I won't do it casually!"

……

On the next hill, there were bursts of wolves howling.

It has amazing penetrating power through wind and snow.

It seems to remind the world that Zhuguang Mountain is not a kind mountain, and the law of the jungle applies to it.

Only the most tenacious and ferocious creatures can survive.

"Let's go back and have a drink."

Ma Zhongyi stretched out his arm and embraced Liu Lu.

Although they were master and servant, they were brothers in reality, and the relationship between them, who had been through hardships together, was naturally extraordinary.

"Master~"

"Ok?"

"Can Zhang Liyong from Wugong Mountain be trusted? He has entered the White Lotus realm."

"He is just a mad dog that can never be tamed. I just want to use his followers to harass Linjiang and Ji'an in the north. If the Wu army in the north reacts quickly and reinforcements arrive quickly, Zhang Liyong will be the first to be beaten."

Seeing that Liu Lu didn't quite understand,
Ma Zhongyi broke off a branch and wrote and drew on the snow.

"Look, let me draw the outline of Jiangxi first."

"To the west are the Luoxiao Mountains, to the east are the Wuyi Mountains, and to the south are the Wuling Mountains. Jiangxi is surrounded by mountains on three sides, with a body of water on top - Poyang Lake."

Ma Zhongyi picked up a handful of pine needles and scattered them in the middle and south of the "Jiangxi outline" on the snow.

“These are also mountains.”

He broke open the pine cones and placed them in the snow one by one.

"From north to south are Linjiang Prefecture, Ji'an Prefecture, and Ganzhou Prefecture. Our village is located in the southwest corner."

……

Ma Zhongyi drew a line with a branch:

“This is the Gan River.

"Now, what do you see?"

"Master, I understand." Liu Lu suddenly felt enlightened. "The Wu army attacking Guangdong is unlikely to turn back, but they may mobilize the troops in Nanchang and Jiujiang to move south. If they move south, they must first eliminate Zhang Liyong, which will buy us time to retreat to the mountains."

"very good."

Ma Zhongyi threw away the branch and brushed the snow off his hands.

After taking two steps, he turned back and kicked the snow with his boots, destroying this "snow strategic map".

He has two more cottages like this one.

The cautious and cunning old horse believes that a cunning rabbit has three burrows.

His troops were stationed in the mountain stronghold in front of him and its surroundings.

The other two mountain strongholds are only garrisoned with a few trusted soldiers and are not activated for the time being. Except for necessary communication, people try not to have any contact with them at other times.

When the project was completed, all the workers involved in the construction were killed.

Ma Zhongyi had long experienced the sharpness of Wu’s army, so he had already started to implement the plan of entering the mountains.

……

As he expected,

After the arrival of winter, the Wu army basically stopped its military operations.

Only the caravan responsible for transporting winter supplies had difficulty advancing in the wind and snow, and they hired 2000 Hakka porters from southern Jiangxi on the spot.

The water level in the middle and upper reaches of the Ganjiang River is too low in winter, making it unsuitable for navigation.

When you see Dayu Ridge,
All members of the caravan cheered and finally saw hope.

Under the escort of the Meiguan garrison, the quilts and cotton clothes were transported across Dayuling Mountain and delivered to the city of Nanxiong.

After passing Nanling,

Everyone suddenly felt that although it was snowing lightly, it didn't feel as cold as a bone-chilling snow. The entire 5th Army Corps in Nanxiong City changed their uniforms.

Miao Youlin finally breathed a sigh of relief. Before this, he was most worried about winning the battlefield but losing the weather.

……

In the headquarters,

Miao Youlin quietly read Li Yu's handwritten letter.

There are 2 instructions:
1. It is not advisable to attack in winter, so rest on the spot.

2. Do not intervene in the "native-guest conflict" in Guangdong, and do not take sides. If there are hostile people, they can be killed.

"Your Majesty is concerned."

Miao Youlin put away the letter and pondered for a long time.

suddenly,
He had a strange feeling that Guangdong and Jiangsu were really alike, both being typical provinces prone to internal strife.

only,
Jiangsu is separated by the Yangtze River and the Huai River, and everyone curses at each other across the river, but Guangdong does not have that.

……

suddenly,

Someone reported:

"Commander-in-chief, someone from Chaozhou Prefecture wants to see you."

"please come in."

Just as Miao Youlin expected, the visitor was a subordinate of Deputy Minister Lai Er, and he brought his handwritten letter.

The contents of the letter were quite shocking:

The Chaoshan clans frequently gathered and forged weapons in public, hoping to start a war ahead of time. This was definitely not my instigation, but an accident, and I had no idea about it beforehand.

Lai Er was very anxious, but Miao Youlin didn't feel anything.

Go ahead and fight, it doesn’t matter how it turns out.

He was only responsible for the 5th Legion and was only interested in taking Guangzhou City first.

However, he still couldn't help asking the visitor:
"I've heard that conflicts between the natives and the Hakkas in this province are intense. Does this have anything to do with the Chaoshan people?"

"My Lord, the Chaoshan people and the two sides mostly keep to themselves. We can't say they are close, nor do we have much hatred, we just look down on each other."

"Why is this?"

"I can't explain it clearly. In short, even if Chaoshan people can't make a living, they will choose to cross the ocean to Southeast Asia to make a living."

……

Although the 5th Legion stopped in Nanxiong Prefecture.

But it was like a stone thrown into a lake, causing a huge wave in Guangdong and Guangxi regions.

The Qing government was panicked and dispatched troops, raised food and money, and strengthened the city defenses.

The whole city of Guangzhou was under martial law every day, and all the bannermen were incorporated into military camps.

Even women, children and young children were issued muskets.
All the merchants from the Thirteen Hongs were caught in one fell swoop and thrown into prison.

The house-raiding operation lasted for 10 days. The governor Zhao Shisheng executed 34 soldiers who were not clean during the house-raiding operation and flogged 51 others.
The so-called 13 lines are just a code.

During the Qing Dynasty, the number of Guangzhou merchants continued to fluctuate.

But this time it's really back to zero.

……

In the Governor's Office,
Guangzhou General Fu Min was emotional:
"It's already this late, Lord Zhao, are you still afraid of the imperial court? While you still have the silver in your hands, quickly recruit the Cantonese soldiers to help."

Governor Zhao Shisheng refused to give in even if he died:
"This is a serious matter. Even if we win, we will be impeached by the Censorate. Then the Emperor will think that the Guangdong and Guangxi officials are overbearing and out of control."

Fu Min was so angry that she took a sip of herbal tea.
Turning to the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Yi Erhang:
"Governor, you have the largest territory in Guangdong and Guangxi, so you make the decision."

"Hey, this, this~ How about submitting a memorial to the court for instructions first?"

"How many days does it take for a letter to travel from Guangzhou to the capital? We are not worried about the court blaming us later, but how long can we hold our heads?" Fu Min almost shouted at the top of his lungs, "My dear governor, my dear governor, we must first get through this before we are qualified to consider the future!"

Guan Daguan, the admiral of the Guangzhou Navy, was also a Han Chinese.
He bowed his hands:

"I agree with Master Fumin. If we continue to be restrained, Guangzhou will really be ruled by the Wu family."

……

Yilhang then made up his mind:

"This governor has approved it. You should recruit soldiers as soon as possible."

"Governor, how many soldiers are you going to recruit?"

"Let's go all out and spend all the money in the treasury. Instead of leaving the money to the Wu thieves, it's better to spend it on recruiting soldiers for the city defense."

Everyone quickly bowed in agreement.

Zhao Shisheng also breathed a sigh of relief.

In fact, his opposition was not out of his own will, but out of caution, for fear that the court would bring up old issues in the future.

Fu Min was from the upper third banner, and could speak and act in a way that was extremely rebellious.

Since I am a Han official, I must be careful in what I say and do.

With two Manchu officials taking the lead in making the decision, the responsibility will not fall on you in the future.

In the snow,
The navy flag is flying in Humen Village, Dongguan County.

There were a lot of people gathered outside the village. They were ragged and had miserable expressions. They had a unified name - Tanka people.

This is a somewhat discriminatory term.

Tanka people are boat people.

They are a group of people who have no houses, no land, no property, and make a living by wandering and fishing.

……

Winter is the most difficult season for boat people.

recent,
The yamen runners rang the gong to inform them that if they wanted to join the army and get food, they should go to Humenzhai.

Silver and food were distributed on the spot.

One person serves in the army, the whole family has enough food.

One person's bravery brings good fortune to the whole family.

The Tanka people chose to believe because they had no other choice.

Although life was hard in the past, we could still get by.

After the implementation of the maritime ban, their environment deteriorated dramatically, and they were often driven away or even bombarded by Guangdong Navy patrol ships when fishing near the coast.

In the past, when we traded,
Trading rice, flour and fruit with the armed merchant ships of the Yi people at sea was an important livelihood for the Tanka people.

Today, what we harvest are shells.

Too miserable~
There is no way to get ashore and no way to get out to sea.

Now, there is a ray of light at the gate of hell - being a soldier.

……

To be honest, Guan Daguan is a good person.

He is considered honest among his peers.

He had served in the Dongting Lake Navy, Dagukou Navy, and Guangdong Navy, and had suppressed lake bandits and pirates.

He is nearly 50 years old.

Wearing the robes of a first-rank official, he stood under the big banner and looked at the boat people shivering in the cold wind.

The move was controversial, but he insisted.

The Hakka people live in the mountains and are not good at boats. The Chaoshan people are good at boats, but they are cunning and difficult to control. The Cantonese people are somewhere in between and are not the best choice either.

The poor Tanka people have been dealing with water all their lives. It is a rich mine for recruiting soldiers.

……

"Bring it up."

"Whoo."

The silver boxes shipped from Guangzhou were lined up in a row.

Guan Daguan kicked over the silver box with his boot, and the sound of the collision was crisp and pleasant.

The silver ingots rolled down, leaving shallow marks on the thin layer of snow.

The soldiers on both sides drew their swords and looked straight ahead!
……

"I am the admiral of the Guangdong Navy appointed by the Emperor himself. In the Guangdong Navy, there are no Cantonese, Hakka, Tanka, or Chaozhou people, only soldiers. I, Guan, swear to the God of Wealth, Mazu, and Guandi that I will treat all my soldiers equally. All my soldiers will wear the same uniforms and receive the same salary. If I break this oath, Guan will have no descendants and my ancestors' graves will not rest in peace."

"I know that you are having a hard time, so I ask the Governor-General to allow you to advance two taels of silver for the first month and three dou of rice to support your family. I have also cleared a berth on Dahushan Island for your family to moor their boats on, so that you don't have to worry about your family."

Thousands of Tanka people present were moved to tears.

They all knelt down on the ground.

Guan Daguan still held the hilt of the knife with his hand, his back straight, and waved his right hand:
"Come on! Sign up, make a list, and pay the salary on the spot."

"It is only natural for soldiers to eat food."

……

(End of this chapter)