Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 171 Kong Youde rebelled? !

Liaodong,

The Jinyiwei's intelligence personnel did not have to wait long before they found an opportunity.

The news from Prince Zheng's Mansion: Geng Zhongming has been frequently entering Prince Zheng's Mansion these days, and is having a hot affair with Prince Zheng's Third Wife.

Jirgalang has been going out early and coming back late these days, but from the excitement in his eyes when he came back, it seemed that something good had happened.

Immediately afterwards, a piece of news was transmitted back to the Ming Dynasty.

"The Qing Dynasty has obtained two duds from the Ming army in southern Mongolia and is trying to crack the secret of Ming's firearms."

When the news reached the capital, the Grand Council was shocked.

Cao Huachun, Li Banghua, Yang Sichang, Qin Liangyu and others eagerly asked for a meeting outside the palace.

When Wang Chengen led them in, he saw that the emperor remained calm and shook his head with a smile, "It seems that the Tartars are quite smart!"

Although we have been on high alert, there is no wall that is impenetrable. Just like this time, the other party picked up a few duds and was still able to crack some things from them.

"Your Majesty, the Ming army can now compete with the Later Jin because of firearms. If they also make more powerful cannons and muskets, our advantage will be gone, and the war situation in southern Mongolia and Liaodong may become turbulent again!" Li Banghua said with a grim expression.

"Don't worry too much. Even if they can analyze the form of gunpowder, the power will still be very different." Zhu Changgan comforted them: "Making gunpowder is never about mixing materials together."

"It's not enough to just know the power of granular gunpowder. The core of it is something that the Qing Dynasty will definitely not be able to research in a short period of time."

Granular gunpowder is a form visible to the naked eye, and the Tatars can replicate it, but the formula of gunpowder is not that simple.

In the chemical equation, the mass ratio of potassium nitrate 74.64%, sulfur 11.85%, and charcoal 13.51% is required to ensure that the gunpowder can burn most completely.

The Tatars could only improve this recipe through long-term practice, which required a lot of manpower, material resources, and the most precious time.

Not to mention that if you want greater power, the most important thing is purification.

Pure sulfur is needed. If the sulfur is impure, it must be evaporated and recrystallized, and the impure saltpeter must also be dissolved and processed to extract pure crystals.

In addition, the Ming Dynasty had a large amount of pure saltpeter mines, which was the most rare and difficult to make up for in the Later Jin Dynasty.

Not to mention that the Later Jin didn't know the formula, even if they were told... there would be gaps in raw materials, craftsmanship, and every manufacturing step.

Not to mention the leading position in other aspects such as paper shell fixed ammunition, flintlock, rifling, etc.

What's more, now that sulfuric acid has come out, the next ones will be nitric acid, nitrocellulose... and metal fixed ammunition.

The Ming Dynasty was more than one generation ahead of the Qing Dynasty in firearms research, weapons development, and manufacturing. Zhu Changgan was naturally not panicked at all. "My dear ministers, please do what you need to do. I am going to take a nap."

"This..." The ministers looked at each other and had no choice but to leave.

……

In Prince Zheng's Mansion, the relationship between Su Tai and Geng Zhongming developed extremely rapidly. With the help of their maid, the two had already developed to the point where they could meet in private.

On July 7, Jinyiwei's intelligence personnel received a note.

"Willow Lane, number 18, quarter past ten."

The captain of the Jinyiwei suddenly stood up, threw the note into the fire, and patted the door next door, "Notify the brothers and prepare for action!"

"Yes!"

……

In Shengjing, at the Tianyou Army Camp, Dorgon, Jirgalang, Duoduo and others surrounded the Red Cannon and checked the power of the cannon.

Boom~
As a shell was fired, everyone stood up and looked towards the target.

"It is indeed much more powerful than before, and the firing distance has at least doubled." Jirgalang couldn't help but sigh, "I didn't expect that just changing the powder into granules would result in such a big improvement."

"I have to admire Mingren's cleverness."

Yue Tuo was also somewhat excited, but he still shook his head, "It's not as good as the Ming army's artillery. The Ming army's artillery is smaller than this, but more powerful."

Dorgon waved his hand to stop Yue Tuo from speaking, "It's good to see progress. I believe that as long as Prince Gongshun devotes himself to research, he will definitely catch up with the Ming court's firearms one day."

"King Gongshun, if you need anything, just ask for it and I will satisfy you."

"Whatever is in the national treasury, you can take. Whatever is not in the national treasury, you can take from my treasury. Whatever is not in my treasury, I will give it to you even if I have to rob it."

Kong Youde knelt on the ground and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace. I will do my best to research better firearms as soon as possible."

"I believe you!" Dorgon patted his shoulder, "I want to hold a family dinner tomorrow, and Prince Gongshun will also come."

Kong Youde knelt down again immediately after hearing this, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

There are differences between Manchus and Han people, and family banquets have always been something that only the Manchu royal family can attend. But now the emperor allowed him to attend, which shows how much he values ​​him.

At this time, the sun was setting, the edge of the sky gradually turned red, and the orange light enveloped the Shengjing Palace.

Dorgon looked at all this and said, "The Ming court is immoral, but it occupies the most fertile land and population. My Qing Dynasty has strong soldiers and horses, and the country is prosperous. How can we let these firearms block our way forward?"

Dorgon's ambition to rule the Central Plains was fully revealed, and all the princes and nobles present knelt down and flattered him:
"Your Majesty is mighty!"

"Your Majesty is mighty!"

"..."

At the same time, this orange-yellow color also dyed Willow Lane into warm yellow. Willow Lane in Shengjing is a place of tenderness.

Of the eighteen brothels in Shengjing, twelve are located here. In addition to brothels, there are also many inns and restaurants. In this gentle atmosphere, people feel comfortable and relaxed.

Even the air was filled with a faint, pleasant fragrance, like the scent of wild flowers.

There were two people walking one after the other on the street. The one in front was a graceful woman, and the one behind was a man in his forties with a rat tail and wearing a mask.

The street was bustling with people, but there were several pairs of sharp eyes staring at the two people's whereabouts, constantly reporting to the outside world.

"We have entered Willow Alley. The person in front is Su Tai. Confirm whether the person behind is Geng Zhongming."

A small incident suddenly happened on the street.

"If I hadn't been busy today, I would have killed you, a little beggar." Geng Zhongming patted his clothes and was so angry that he wanted to curse.

It turned out that a beggar was running in a hurry and knocked him to the ground.

The little beggar apologized desperately and slapped himself in the mouth.

"Get out, get out, get out..." Seeing the figure in front of him was about to disappear, he had no time to be angry with the little beggar, and hurriedly got up and walked forward.

As he passed by and left, the little beggar's face suddenly turned cold and he nodded at a man selling buns.

Less than an incense stick of time passed before someone entered the room again. "It has been confirmed, it is Geng Zhongming."

The leader nodded, "Everyone, get ready. After we succeed, tie him up on the boat behind Zuichunlou..."

"Third Lady?" Geng Zhongming carefully pushed open the courtyard door. Instead of going in immediately, he called out softly a few times from the door.

He is not a fool, especially after what happened with Chao Pichang last time, he has become more cautious.

Geng Zhongming even brought two skilled servants to ambush nearby. If he found anything unusual, he would leave decisively.

"Prince Huaishun, what's up? Why aren't you coming in yet?" A delicate and tingling voice came, which immediately broke through Geng Zhongming's guard.

"Come...come..."

Geng Zhongming liked other people's wives the most, especially those from wealthy families. So much so that in the past few years in Shengjing, whenever he heard that a woman had lost her husband and was good-looking, he would ask someone to propose marriage to her as soon as possible. Unfortunately, there were differences between Manchus and Han people. He could satisfy poor families, but he had never succeeded in marrying those from powerful families.

Now, suddenly there is a prince's wife in front of him, how can he control himself?

When he ran in and pushed open the door, he found that it was the lovely girl he had been thinking about!

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Su Tai gently pushed Geng Zhongming away, then closed all the windows. "No matter how anxious you are, you have to put safety first. What if someone sees you?"

"That's natural..." Geng Zhongming's old face turned red, he raised his hand and then put it down. He actually wanted to refuse. The people he arranged were observing outside to ensure that they would rush in at the first sight if anything happened.

But now that Su Tai is here, I don't think there will be any other problems.

Su Tai poured a glass of wine for Geng Zhongming. "As the saying goes, a wife is not as good as a concubine, a concubine is not as good as a secret lover, and a secret lover is not as good as not being able to steal... Prince Huaishun, which one are you?"

"I heard that you Han people drink a cup of wine when you get married. How about we drink a cup together?"

"I didn't expect that Third Lady would have such a refined taste!" Geng Zhongming rubbed his palms, picked up the wine glass, and just as he was about to drink, he said, "Third Lady, I want to drink yours."

"Why?"

"Of course, the one that touched your lips makes me more happy."

Su Tai cursed the old fox for being cautious in his heart, but he smiled and handed over his wine glass. Then the two of them looked at each other and drank the wine.

Su Tai wanted to continue drinking with Geng Zhongming, but Geng Zhongming was in a hurry and said, "Let's get down to business quickly. If Prince Zheng goes back, this matter will be exposed."

"He comes home very late these days, what are you afraid of?"

"I'm not afraid of a thousand things, but I'm afraid... Hey... why are there two lights?" Geng Zhongming suddenly found that the lights in front of him had double images, and then the people also had double images. His pupils shrank sharply, "No, why are you..."

Tsu'tey also fainted.

In order to knock Geng Zhongming down, she also drank the wine.

Less than an incense stick of time passed before the stove in the room suddenly moved a few times, and two people came out from underneath, one after the other, and entered the room.

Looking at the two unconscious people on the ground, "Both of them are unconscious. Should we take one or both away?"

"The captain wanted to take Geng Zhongming away, but he didn't say to take Su Tai away."

"Then just take Geng Zhongming with you."

The two men skillfully tied up Geng Zhongming, stuffed his mouth, and climbed in from above the stove. Then they jumped in again and put the lid on the pot.

When Su Tai woke up, she found that there was no one in the room except her.

She quickly put on her clothes and left through the back door. The maid came up to her and helped her get into the car, but was stopped by someone, "Where is my master?"

"Who is your master?"

"My master, King Huaishun!"

"I don't know him, I've never seen him." Su Tai denied it flatly, and the maid also shouted, "You idiot, who are you? Do you know what you are doing?"

Geng Zhongming's two confidants' faces changed drastically and they rushed into the yard, but after searching everywhere, they found nothing.

"What about people?"

"That's impossible. I saw the master come in with my own eyes. Look for him again!"

Finally, after digging three feet deep into the ground, they found a big hole under the stove.

"It's over, something happened!"

……

The incident broke out like this, and the news that King Huaishun Geng Zhongming was abducted quickly swept the entire Shengjing.

All night long, the sounds of horse hooves and footsteps never ceased.

Soon after, another piece of news spread throughout Shengjing that the Qing court exchanged Prince Huaishun Geng Zhongming for Prince Ezhe of Chahar and the banner kings of the four Mongolian tribes.

In an instant, the situation became tense and all the Han people in the Qing court were furious.

There are differences between Manchus and Han people. The Han people have a low status, not as good as the Manchus and Mongolians. They shave their hair, bow and kneel... As long as they can survive, they will endure it.

But if the Manchus and Mongols don't take them for granted, they can't survive even on their knees, so what's the point of enduring?
This time, the "Tianyou Army" mutinied. Kong Youde had been studying gunpowder very late the day before, so when the incident happened, he was still asleep. He was suddenly woken up by his subordinates and asked to rebel. He was completely confused.

After his subordinates explained the situation to him, he finally understood it and angrily scolded, "It's impossible. The emperor can't exchange Prince Huaishun for Prince Chahar. This must be a trick of the Ming court."

Not to mention other things, just based on the importance of gunpowder he researched and the "Tianyou Army", the Qing court would not be able to challenge him and Geng Zhongming, let alone replace him with an idle prince who was deliberately kept useless by the Qing court.

"You...you quickly calm him down. I will go and plead with the Emperor..."

Kong Youde put on his shoes and wanted to go out, but was stopped by two of his lieutenant generals. "Your Majesty, what do you mean? You still want to go and beg for mercy from that dog emperor at this time?"

"There was a mutiny in the military camp. Can he spare us?"

Mutiny, death penalty!

Even if the Qing emperor could forgive Kong Youde, what about the people below him? Someone had to take the blame, otherwise other Han troops would follow suit, and where would the dignity of the Qing court be?

So the two lieutenant generals looked at Kong Youde with red eyes, "Your Highness, just imagine yourself, since you came to Liaodong, you have poor clothes, you are not used to the food, and you have to bow and kneel every day. When can you live a normal life?"

"Prejudice in people's hearts is like a mountain that no one can move. Your Majesty, make up your mind!"

"Your Majesty..."

Kong Youde looked at the two lieutenant generals, and even more at the swords on their waists. He finally gritted his teeth and said, "Let's go while we still have a chance. Let's go quickly."

"However, where to go is the key. If we want to survive, we must have a strategy. The most important thing is the destination."

The two lieutenant generals held him up, "My Lord, hurry up, it will be too late if you don't leave now."

Kong Youde was full of doubt, "What do you mean, how come it's too late?"

……

(End of this chapter)