Ming Zhengzhi, I am Zheng Kezang

The Huguang war that Zheng Kezang is concerned about is actually not good for Ming and Zheng, and a big reason for the current situation is that the factions of the Ming army in eastern Hubei are very complicated.Now, apart from General Jin Wu and the two divisions of the Zheng Army led by Huguang General Hong Gongzhu, there are also Liu Ning'an Division of the Qing Army who guarded Wuchang and was deeply influenced by King Ning Zhu Da. Ben Yueyang and the Wuchang Ming Army joined forces with Wang Xinhua's Department, Huangzhou Prefecture, Hanyang Prefecture and Mianyang Prefecture, which were nominally owned by the Ming Dynasty and were actually a small group of local forces that roamed between the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Leaving aside the small group of anti-Qing rebels in Jiangbei, Wang Xinhua, who has already been sealed as the deputy general of the town army, Xin Fengbo, and Hunan deputy commander-in-chief, but Liu Ning'an, who is close to Ning Wang Zhu Da, is a ruthless character.Although this person accepted the positions of Deputy General of Guangwei, Commander Tongzhi of Huguangdu, and Deputy Commander of Huguang, who were canonized by Zheng Kezang, he firmly occupied Jiangxia, Wuchang, Jiayu, Puqi (Chibi) and other places in Wuchang Prefecture. Hong Gongzhu, the nominal chief, was not allowed to lead his troops in, so Hong Gongzhu had to station troops in Xingguo Prefecture (Yangxin) and the Huangzhou Xie, Qizhouying, and Yichang Zhenbiao Fourth Battalion of the Qing Army in Qizhou, Huangzhou Prefecture on the opposite bank. confrontation.

"The autumn grains of Jiayu, Puqi, and Xianning have all been collected. Why can't the grains of Jiangxia and Wuchang counties be harvested?" In the yamen of Huguang governor of the Qing court who once served as Ning Wang's mansion, there was a frightening sound today. Shouting. "And don't you want the heads of Chongyang and Tongcheng?"

"Brother, a few days later is only a few days later. Anyway, the army rations in the city are abundant, so why make people jump over the wall." Jiang Chunxiu, who was wearing a fourth-rank military officer's robe, persuaded Liu Ning'an, who was like a trapped animal. "Besides, we really don't have enough food. Why don't we ask those guys from Xingguo Prefecture for it?"

"Fourth, you don't know that you are training sailors in Jizhou Bay." Before Liu Ning'an could speak, another third-rank military officer next to him explained with a wry smile. "The one in Nanjing suddenly wants to inspect our troops and reorganize the army according to the Zheng family's system. How can this be done, so there is no need to think about the food in Jiangxi for the time being."

"As soon as the compilation is fixed, we will be taken away by Nanjing because of this?" Jiang Chunxiu said indifferently, and don't blame him for being careless. You must know that although the Liu Ning'an Department has swelled and shrunk several times, it is still the same as before. Although the old background of the third battalion of Supervising and Bidding and the second battalion of Fubiao is not like an iron barrel, it is not something that outsiders can easily shake.

"Fourth, you are confused." The third-rank military officer's name is Chang Yufen, who sounds like a daughter at first glance, but in fact he is a burly man. "Once the reorganization of the army is established, do you think Nanjing can accommodate our private expansion of the army?"

In this way, Jiang Chunxiu has paid more attention to it, not to mention that the status of soldiers in troubled times depends entirely on the number of troops in their hands. Even if they don’t rely on King Ning and rely on Zheng Fan again in the future, it’s easy to negotiate conditions if there are more soldiers. At this point, he immediately said nervously: "Brother, third brother is determined not to let Zheng Fan's people enter Wuchang."

"It's not easy to prevent Zheng Fan's people from entering Wuchang. If they use the name of appointing magistrates or county magistrates, even King Ning can't stop them." Chang Yufen said through gritted teeth. "What is in your hand is the most important thing, so the food below cannot be harvested, so the elder brother is so anxious."

"Now that Wang Xinhua has occupied Yueyang, this old boy is not an old man of Zheng Fan. Can you send someone to contact him?"

"Contacting Wang Xinhua is another way." Hearing Jiang Chunxiu's idea, Liu Ning'an slapped his thigh and looked at Chang Yufen inquiringly. "Third brother, do you think the rules of the fourth brother are not allowed?"

Chang Yufen thought about it carefully: "Although Wang Xinhua now has a little sweetness from the Zheng family, he is also afraid that Zheng Jun will kill the donkey, so it is feasible to send someone to contact him. However, Wang Xinhua just won Yueyang and the surrounding area is broken. He is helping each other, and I'm afraid that if we don't get the benefits, we will lose part of the food and grass."

"As long as Wang Xinhua can stand by and watch, what's the point of giving him some food and grass." At this time, Liu Ning'an's leadership was revealed. "By the way, fourth brother, what's the matter with you coming back today?" After setting the rules for contacting Wang Xinhua to jointly fight against Zheng Kezang's reorganization of the military order, Liu Ning'an seemed to have put down a big stone, so he remembered Jiang Chunxiu's matter. Come. "Apart from asking for soldiers, food, and salary, brother has nothing to say."

The three biggest things of soldiers, food, and salary were ruled out by Liu Ning'an. If it was someone else, he would have been unhappy, but Jiang Chunxiu knocked his head to the ground with the other party, and he knew Liu Ning'an's embarrassment. Therefore, there were not many changes on his face, but he just said flatly: "Second brother has supervised the construction of more than sixty large and small warships, and I have also trained some sailors, but there are ships and soldiers that cannot live without guns." , so come back and ask elder brother to call in the cannon."

gun?There are a few cannons in red at the top of Wuchang City. If it weren't for these guys, Liu Ning'an and others would not be able to repel the siege of the Qing army.But these cannons are big ones, it is impossible to move them down from the top of the city, nor can they be moved to Liu Bu's newly built river boats, so Jiang Chunxiu is obviously not asking for them.

After blinking for a long time, Liu Ning'an seemed to have finally remembered something: "It seems that there are still a few Franc machine guns in the arsenal."

"How far can the cannon hit." Chang Yufen shook her head. "And there are only a few guns. The big ship built by the second brother needs at least four or five guns to be installed on it, but it can't even be installed on two ships. We have to find a way to let people start the furnace to build the guns."

In fact, making cannons was not such a sophisticated technology during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Basically, it is the same as how to make atomic bombs that can be found online in later generations. It is a popular technology, but the cannons made by some skilled craftsmen Charge more powder to shoot farther, and some guns made with poor craftsmanship have to charge less powder to shoot closer.

"It's easy to make cannons, but what about the gunpowder?" Liu Ning'an pondered, with bitterness on his face. "At the beginning, we didn't pay much attention to it. The gunpowder that was deposited in front of us was used up when we marched into Jiangbei and defended the city." The two people present looked at each other when they heard this. What's the use. "At this time of year, even if we search the whole of Wuchang, we may not be able to get much. We have to leave some for our bird gun team."

"I have an idea." Jiang Chunxiu gritted his teeth and made a sensational suggestion. "Didn't Zheng Fan's red single boat patrol the river have to go on the Wuchang River every three to five days? Otherwise, the elder brother will be the host and invite them to come to the shore for a drink. If you don't do it all the time, there will be guns on the boat." The gunpowder was intercepted together, and he was sent back with a gift, thinking that even if Zheng Fan was angry, he would not dare to turn against us immediately in order to fight against the overall situation of the Qing Dynasty."

"No, if this is the case, the matter must be done." Chang Yufen hurriedly dissuaded her. "The Qing Dynasty was so powerful in settling accounts after autumn. Even if we look back, we will be dead, so we must not get stuck with the Ming Dynasty." Chang Yufen's meaning is very clear, following King Ning to oppose Zheng Kezang is still internal. Contradiction, once the gunboat of the Zheng Jun navy is intercepted, it will rise to the contradiction between the enemy and ourselves. "Besides, King Ning won't be able to speak for us when the time comes."

"King Ning, King Ning, what good did that old and dumb monk do to our brother, brother, you have been talking about him all the time." Jiang Chunxiu said a little impatiently. "Instead of following him all the way to the dark, it's better to try to connect with Zheng Fan, maybe our life will be easier."

"Let's not say whether King Ning has the strength or not, but it's impossible to cling to the Zheng family." Chang Yufen explained to Jiang Chunxiu. "Nowadays, up to the center, down to the provincial officials, and even the generals in the army, Gaimo who can hold a high position is not an old servant of his Zheng family in Dongning. Besides, Wang Xinhua counts as one. Are there others? I think No more. Then his Zheng family swept across the south of the Yangtze River and never encountered any subordinates again? Then where are these subordinates now?"

Chang Yufen's words are actually a bit absolute. In fact, apart from the most famous Wang Xinhua, there are also some civil and military officials who have defected from the Qing court and are active. On the military and political stage of Mingzheng, it was just that it was in wartime and the news was not very well-informed, so outsiders only knew the most obvious example of Wang Fuzongbing, so some misunderstandings were understandable.

"King Ning wants to restore the world of the Zhu family, but he can't deal with Zheng Kezang, a powerful traitor, so he has to find a usable force outside the court. And our brothers have soldiers and territory, and it is the superiors. No one, everyone takes what they need, so they hit it off." Chang Yufen concluded. "Now that Brother Ning is helping us in the court, as long as Zheng Kezang doesn't openly attack us, our brothers will be as stable as Mount Tai."

The eloquent Chang Yufen seems to have forgotten that real heroes often kill people with swords. Fortunately, Zheng Kezang understood that the reason why Nanming could not maintain half of the country was due to internal struggles, so he had no intention of dealing with Liu Ning'an for the time being. Instead, he sent troops and ships As a countermeasure, but this seems to make some people get carried away.

"I see." Jiang Chunxiu nodded, but then asked in distress. "How about the gunpowder?"

"I think the fourth brother's suggestion has merit." Liu Ning'an said suddenly. "The next time Zheng Fan's sailors arrive in Wuchang, I'll invite them to drink. The so-called cannibalism is soft and short-handed. As long as you serve these masters well, it's not impossible to buy gunpowder directly from them." .”

Chang Yufen clapped her hands and praised: "Brother's idea is good. If you think about it, you only need to report to the enemy in the river. It's not up to the navy to decide how much the gunpowder consumes. This foreign money will not be in vain. It will last forever. Maybe you can even sell some guns to us."

Jiang Chunxiu's eyes lit up: "The cannon made by the Zheng family is the best in the world. Not only can it hit far, but it rarely explodes. It's a pity that the Zheng family never sells out. If we can find a way to get it, we don't have to rely on the Zheng family to replace it." Let's protect the Wuchang River."

"It's a good idea, and the horoscope has not been written yet." Liu Ning'an poured cold water on the two of them. "Don't think about whether it will be successful or not. How do you get the copper for making guns? You don't have to think of a way right away."