Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 203 Are there any of our people among the rebels?
Yuexi Mountain,
After receiving the news from Huguang, Hong Niangzi couldn't help but open her cherry mouth wide, "He actually defeated Zuo Liangyu? This..."

Gui Ning on the side lowered his head and said, "Boss, if that's the case, this person might not be... that person."

Others may not know, but she knows that the person the boss is talking about is a vassal of the Ming royal family and will become a prince in the future.

It is absolutely impossible to turn around and attack the government troops.

Hongniang frowned and thought for a long time but couldn't come up with a clue. Before this, the reason why she had certain ideas about "Prince Xin" was not only because she felt a sense of familiarity.

Another thing is that this "Prince Xin" had never fought a major battle with the government army before, and his rise was so bizarre.

One cannot help but wonder if this person has some unspeakable secret with the imperial court.

But now this great victory directly disproved her previous guess.

"Boss, are you... still going to Wuchang Prefecture?" Gui Ning couldn't help but ask.

"I'm not going!" Hongniang suddenly picked up the iron spear and walked into the courtyard.

Suddenly, silver light burst out, air collapsed, and leaves fell all over the garden like rain.
When she was upset, her only way to relieve herself was to dance with the gun, which allowed her to temporarily forget all the unhappiness.

……

Compared with the news of various rebel kings, the news of Zuo Liangyu's defeat caused greater waves in the court.

Because before this, the civil servants in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas had placed all their hopes on Zuo Liangyu, but this battle shattered their final plan.

"Oh, what should I do?"

"Once Zuo Liangyu is defeated, Sun Chuanting's troops are too far away. No one in Huguang, Jiangsu and Zhejiang will be able to resist this bandit in a short time."

"How about looking for His Majesty?"

Wen Zhenmeng was so angry that his face turned purple. "The key is that Your Majesty is using our previous saintly ways to shut us up. We were the ones who didn't allow troops to enter Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the first place, and now we are the ones who allow troops to enter Jiangsu and Zhejiang?"

"Then what do you think we should do?"

"We can't rely entirely on Your Majesty. We have to save ourselves."

"Oh?" Everyone looked at Wen Zhenmeng, "What do you have in mind?"

Wen Zhenmeng asked someone to close the door tightly, then glanced at everyone before speaking: "..."

After hearing this, everyone's eyes suddenly lit up.

……

In the court, in addition to the "bad news" of Zuo Liangyu's defeat, there was also good news. After receiving the emperor's order, Zheng Zhilong finally sent troops.

Zheng Zhilong's fleet was different from the defense officers and soldiers in Guangdong. They had fought tough battles. Four years ago, in the sixth year of Chongzhen, Zheng Zhilong had just fought a big battle with the Dutch and pirate coalition forces in Liaoluo Bay in Kinmen.

At that time, the Netherlands had 59 warships, while the Ming Dynasty successively deployed more than 140 warships and tens of thousands of troops.

This battle intimidated the Dutch, who gave up the plan to use force to open up trade with the Ming Dynasty and instead discussed cooperation with Zheng Zhilong.

It was also in this battle that Zheng Zhilong established his position in the southeastern waters.

All merchant ships sailing in East Asia must fly the "Zheng" flag, otherwise they will be chased and intercepted by pirates. In order to maintain his status, Zheng Zhilong attached great importance to warships.

He built a warship that was improved on the Dutch, which was much stronger than the Ming navy in terms of both sturdiness and firepower.

This time he attacked the British fleet not only because of the emperor's will, but more to protect his own interests.

Zheng Zhilong deployed two hundred warships and only clashed with the British warships twice in less than half an hour.

The two warships "Dragon" and "Sun" of the fleet led by Weddell, as well as two light sailing merchant ships "Anne" and "Discovery" were all sunk.

Only two ships, the Catherine and the Colonist, survived.

Weddell once again raised the white flag.

Zheng Zhilong asked Weddell to come alone to discuss the matter.

September 2nd,

Weddell formally surrendered to the Ming Dynasty. Only then did Zheng Zhilong realize that Weddell had deliberately raised the white flag more than 20 days ago, but the Ming army could not understand this move.

Weddell admitted that the British came to trade with the Ming Dynasty and were willing to voluntarily compensate the Ming Dynasty with 5600 taels of silver, then write a letter of guarantee and leave the Ming Dynasty.

But just as he was about to leave, he was stopped by the young eunuch whom he had ignored before, "The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty would like to invite you to the capital for a chat. Do you have any ideas?"

Wedel's eyes suddenly lit up, "The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty invites me to the capital?"

"That's right, I am the personal eunuch of the Ming Emperor..."

When the young eunuch left the capital to deliver the imperial edict to Zheng Zhilong, he also carried Zhu Changgan's secret order, which was that if he met the British, he should try his best to persuade them to come to the capital.

Because this battle was the first contact between the Ming Dynasty and Britain, the gap in coastal defense had already been revealed, and China's maritime borders entered a turbulent period from then on.

203 years later, the Opium War broke out. The same place and the same British people once again dealt a heavy blow to the Chinese nation.

The world's change has begun. Whether it is Portugal and the Netherlands in the south or the bureaucrats and gentry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, they have long been trading with the outside world. The so-called maritime ban at home, strictly prohibiting Chinese people from going to sea to do business; and the tribute trade abroad, strictly restricting foreign tribute, has long been riddled with holes.

Why should we continue to insist on the tribute trade of "giving more and taking less"?

Tribute trade was initiated by Zhu Yuanzhang after he founded the country during the Hongwu reign of the Qing Dynasty. He wanted to demonstrate his legitimacy and orthodoxy and to create a prosperous era in which "the four barbarians came to rule as kings and all nations paid homage to him."

Therefore, he sent envoys to the South China Sea countries many times, asking them to "pay tribute" in order to win them over.

To put it simply, it means that if you bring sesame seeds, I will give you a watermelon. This policy was criticized a lot when the Ming Dynasty was strong in the early days. When the national strength declined in the middle and late stages, it could no longer be maintained and had to be restricted, which suddenly brought the relations between the surrounding countries to the freezing point.

This is why Japanese pirates and other creatures appeared later.

During the Jiajing period, the large-scale "Jiajing Japanese Invasion", also known as the Anti-Japanese War, broke out.

In order to maintain stability, the imperial court increasingly implemented maritime bans, but the lives of coastal residents became increasingly difficult.

In order to obtain huge profits, a large number of poor people who had no means of living joined the smuggling trade, causing the maritime merchant groups to become larger and larger and to collude with external forces to openly confront the Ming court with force.

As a result, the Ming Dynasty's coastal defense was in tatters and it fell deeper into this vicious cycle.

Qianqing Palace,
"Your Majesty, since the reign of Emperor Chengzu, the trade vessels have been attached to the tribute vessels. If there is tribute, then trade is allowed. All regular tribute vessels must be given a permit in advance. Those that do not comply with the permit will not be accepted."

The censors engaged in a fierce confrontation over the emperor's desire to open up maritime trade, and once again brought out the teachings of the sages and the words of their ancestors.

"What do you mean by 'all nations come to pay tribute'? What I want is the real prosperity of the country, not this empty name!" Zhu Changgan pointed at the noses of several censors in the Qianqing Palace and cursed:

"What about taxes? The treasury is in deficit every year. If you can give me three million taels of silver, I will listen to your lies."

"Gao Yushun, come in and remember these faces. Find out how much land and property his family has and ask them to pay the tax."

"..." The muscles on the faces of the ministers twitched and they were too scared to make a sound.

……

After lunch, Zhu Changgan went to sit with Chen Yuanyuan for a while. Under the sunlight, the round moon looked taut and perfect. He somehow came on it.

slap~
"Why do I suddenly find that you are better at playing than before?"

Chen Yuanyuan bit her lip and tried hard. Her body suddenly shook and she looked back in confusion. "Your Majesty, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"No, you continue."

Chen Yuanyuan's face suddenly turned red with embarrassment. At this moment, her eyes suddenly caught sight of a figure outside, "Aren't you not coming?" Huh?
Zhu Changgan looked outside and saw Lady Liu trembling in shock, holding her clothes with both hands, with a look of panic, shame and anger, and was about to leave.

"Come in!"

Chen Yuanyuan grabbed Concubine Liu's arm and pulled her inside. "It doesn't make sense for me to suffer here alone while you're spying on me."

"..." Concubine Liu stared with her almond-shaped eyes, her plump thighs stuck on the door, her face flushed, and her breathing was disordered.

……

When Zhu Changgan came out of Chenghua Hall refreshed, he heard Wang Chengen say that Wang Hui from the Armory Department wanted to see him, but now he has left.

"Oh? Take me over there to have a look."

It was not until he arrived at the Bingzhang Department that Zhu Changgan learned that smokeless gunpowder had actually been produced.

Before this, nitrocellulose had already appeared with sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid, but it was unstable. It would decompose and spontaneously combust when the temperature exceeded 40°C, causing many accidents. The development of smokeless gunpowder had not made any progress.

"Your Majesty, you see, the bullets made with this gunpowder have a much longer range and are more accurate than ever before. The key is that there is no residue, so you don't have to wipe the barrel every time."

Wang Hui took a musket, loaded it with a paper shell bullet, fired it, and accurately hit the target two hundred steps away.

Soon, the person who reported the target came back with a piece of paper with a Tartar's head drawn on it, and the bullet was embedded right in the Tartar's forehead.

Zhu Changgan took a look at the bullet and the gun after it was fired.

It is indeed as described in the previous life. Smokeless gunpowder effectively avoids the problems of insufficient chamber pressure, poor gas flow, large amount of firing residue, incompatibility of recoil device and gas-operated automatic machine in black powder guns.

"What is the effective range?"

"Your Majesty, two hundred steps is no problem."

The single-shot rifle with a valve that needs to be opened before shooting.

A novice can fire 8 to 10 rounds per minute, while a skilled one can fire more than 15 rounds per minute. The effective range reaches 400 meters and the maximum range is 1500 meters. Compared with the previous black powder, the effective range is increased by nearly half.

“When can it be mass-produced?”

"Your Majesty, we can start mass production soon, but the initial production volume will not be too high."

"Okay, mass-produce it as soon as possible. I hope this kind of ammunition can be used in the Korean War." Zhu Changgan's blood suddenly pumped into his heart. "Reward, a reward of 10,000!"

Upon hearing that His Majesty has given a generous reward, everyone in the Armory was immediately delighted.

With smokeless gunpowder, can we dream of metal fixed ammunition and automatic machine guns next?

For example, Maxim?
Of course, we have to take one step at a time. Before that, we should first complete the bullet ejection device, such as the design of the Sharps breech-loading rifle.

Zhu Changgan stayed in the Armory for a whole afternoon and only returned to the palace when it was almost dark.

However, the weapons department of the Armory was brightly lit, and no one left work. Instead, they conducted experiments all night long, trying to implement what His Majesty had described.

Today, nitrocellulose has been developed, but there has been no progress in the development of the primer, mercuric fulminate, and it has become the biggest obstacle.

The process must be accelerated.

……

In the southeast of the Ming Dynasty, after Chongzhen's troops conquered Wuchang Prefecture, they went south to Yuezhou Prefecture and east to Nankang Prefecture.

Chongzhen didn't even need to command the troops himself. Lao Han led a team of 50,000 people south, and Sun Kewang advanced eastward.

It took only two days to capture the two prefectures.

For a time, flags with the word "Xin" on them were flying in many places in Huguang. There were even reports of rebels using the name of King Xin to deceive people and win over the common people.

It's a pity that the people don't trust the government, the bureaucrats, or the gentry, but they all believe in this.

Seeing those brightly dressed bureaucrats and gentry in Yuezhou Prefecture, Old Han couldn't help but sigh, "When the emperor asked you to donate some money, you resisted and didn't have the slightest intention to serve the country."

"Now that the bandits have come, why are we so stupid?"

The old blind man smiled shyly, "It's not just these nobles and gentry who are stupid. Isn't Emperor Chongzhen also a miser? He was unwilling to contribute money to the military even when his country was destroyed and his family was ruined."

"No one wants to take the money, so we can only squeeze it from the people, saying that we can only make the people suffer for another year and get rid of this major problem."

"But year after year, the people suffered and had no choice but to rebel."

Old Han was choked by the old blind man's apprentice and was stunned for a long time. He said, "Say this in front of me, and don't say it in front of Prince Xin."

"Why?"

"Want to know? Go ask your master."

Your master knows that the prince will be the emperor in the future, but he doesn’t understand the meaning of it?

The old blind man's apprentice thought about it and seemed to understand something, and asked again, "By the way, my master wants to re-check the taxable land, what does that mean?"

"Re-check the land?" Old Han was stunned for a moment, "Are we starting now?"

As he said this, his breathing unconsciously quickened. As a captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, others may not know, but he knows that everything that happened to Prince Xin now was the result of His Majesty's decision.

Verifying and measuring the land is the focus of the next step of work.

He slapped the old blind man's apprentice fiercely and said, "Follow Prince Xin and wait for your career to soar!"

……

At the same time, Sun Chuanting, Sun Yingyuan and several troops from the north all crossed the Yellow River. The blockade line in the north reached Kaifeng, Chuzhou, Huai'an and Jingzhou, while the western defense line reached Shizhou and Zhenyuan.

At this point, troops from all sides entered Huguang, Henan, and Nanzhili.

The tactical encirclement was officially formed.

Sun Chuanting's elite military strategy was much more efficient than the "ten-sided net" proposed by Yang Sichang.

In addition to increasing troops and salaries, the biggest problem with Yang Sichang's anti-bandit strategy was the use of personnel.

In particular, whether the Prime Minister, the Governor-General and the 10 governors in the four corners can effectively control the army, use tactics flexibly, and take the initiative to encircle and suppress the enemy and bravely annihilate the enemy is the key to the success of the entire battle.

When it comes to comprehensive personnel arrangements, it is difficult for the court to gather so many capable soldiers and generals, so it can only continue to use the original officials in office.

But except for Shaanxi Governor Sun Chuanting, who was the most profound and experienced and whose troops had the strong combat effectiveness, the rest, such as Huguang Governor Yu Yinggui, Fengyang Governor Zhu Datian, Shanxi Governor Wu Xing and others, were just a bunch of small-time people.

Their starting point is to consider the local interests of their own province, and localism is prevalent.

What happened later was just as Sun Chuanting had expected. These people were simply unable to coordinate with each other, and the four directions and six corners became an empty net.

"Governor, I just don't understand why you don't allow us to attack Prince Xin?" Inside the central military camp, Cao Bianjiao was still struggling with this issue.

Sun Chuanting was really annoyed by his questions, so he walked out of the tent, looked around, then let down the curtain and said something to him.

"This is a secret decree given to me by His Majesty. There is a high probability that... one of our people is in it!"

Cao Bianjiao's eyes suddenly widened, "Our people?"

"That's right. From what I know, among Prince Xin's old camp soldiers, there are at least some from our Jinyiwei and Dongchang." Sun Chuanting said firmly, "And there should be quite a few."

Cao Bianjiao stood there in a daze, his chest heaving. "Your Majesty is truly... a saint!"

(End of this chapter)