Ping An Biography

"In the past, people have gone by the yellow crane, and the Yellow Crane Tower is vacant here. The yellow crane will never return, and the white clouds will be empty for thousands of years. The clear river is full of Hanyang trees, and the fragrant grass is luxuriant on Yingwu Island. Where is the Rimu Township Pass? Envoy on the Yanbo River People's worries..." A melancholy but majestic baritone voice was borne in the wind from the Yellow Crane Tower on the top of Snake Mountain.

The person who raised his head against the wind was none other than Zhu Heng. His beard was disheveled by the wind, and his expression was slightly sad... But the fact is that more than [-] cannons of various sizes have been erected on the peaks near the Yellow Crane Tower. Controlling the entire city, the entire Wuchang is under the deterrence of the Suzaku Army's force.

It's obviously a time to celebrate, but Zhu Heng is putting on a show here.Zhang Ning on the side did not interfere with Zhu Heng's exaggerated personal performance here. Perhaps everyone has their own unique way of expressing their emotions, and hypocrisy is not a sin.Looking down on the whole city from the Yellow Crane Tower, a city is within the palm of your hand. If you look farther south, this place is so high that you can see the vast land of the lake as far as your eye can see.

Zhu Heng was wearing a long flowing robe, with a hood on his head, and looked forward with his hands behind his back. No one knew what he was thinking at this moment.After a burst of loud poetry reciting, there was a loud sound of guzheng upstairs, and the old man Chen of the military band closed his eyes and was plucking the strings in his arms intoxicated.At this moment, this scene made Zhang Ning feel a little emotional by chance.

At this moment, there was only a burst of noisy voices downstairs, which destroyed the artistic conception of Qingyuan's guzheng music.Zhang Ning walked to the side of the building and looked down. A military officer had led a group of people to stop the crowd coming up. [

It was raining lightly outside the building, and the cold wind was blowing. The young military officer seemed to be wearing very thin clothes and no armor. Looking at his back, he seemed to be Zhou Zhong, Zhou Mengxiong's son and Zhang Ning's brother-in-law.Zhou Mengxiong's son had never joined the army until Zhou Mengxiong became the commander of the "Wuchang Battalion" and controlled the military administration of Zuofu County near Changde. His son then served in the Suzaku Army and followed King Xiang's northern expedition.

Of course Zhang Ning didn't want Zhou Zhong to die accidentally on the battlefield as a hostage, so he was appointed as the head of the guard, and he only needed to stay in the safe central army.So now Zhou Zhong didn't even wear any armor. He was wearing a spotless military uniform with a white collar. He was dressed as neatly as a bridegroom official.

However, this person's waist sounded straight, completely different from the appearance of general military generals, and his appearance was very strong.Zhang Ning was even more impressed by Zhou Zhong's performance when he blocked the crowd. The teenage boy was so angry that he could speak clearly in front of people: "No one is allowed to approach the Yellow Crane Tower without the permission of the King of Xiang. Anyone, kill them!"

His tone and posture showed an inviolable look, and there were only a dozen sergeants under him. Hearing this, he raised the brand-new matchlock guns in his hands, intimidating people, but there was probably no medicine in the gun. Would this group of recruits Still a problem with guns.

Seeing this, Zhang Ning turned around and said to the accompanying generals: "Father tiger and dog son."

Among the crowd who came up, a man wearing a red robe and official uniform without a hat came up and said loudly: "If you want to kill, kill! I have a heavy responsibility for the court, and I have lost the city and land. I am here today to beg for death!"

On the Yellow Crane Tower, a civil official snorted coldly after hearing this: "Pretend! These people can't wait any longer. They are here to test the prince's attitude and how to deal with them."

Zhang Ning didn't speak, turned around and walked to the desk with paper and ink, picked up a pen and quickly wrote a few lines.He picked up the paper and blew a breath, looked around, and his eyes stopped on Zhu Heng's eldest son, Zhu Sheng.He beckoned to Zhu Sheng, who was still only a teenager, to come over, handed him the note, asked Zhu Sheng to take it to the local officials below, and asked him to say a few words.

Because Zhang Ning praised Zhou Zhonghu's father and son in public just now, Zhu Heng inevitably felt a little bit of comparison, so he coughed and reminded: "Sheng'er, you are passing on the words of the prince. Those people below are afraid of how big the officials are now." Lord."

"Yes, father." Zhu Sheng hurriedly responded, and then walked down the Yellow Crane Tower with an elderly official and two clerks.

He asked Zhou Zhong's men to get out of the way, strode up to those people, raised his hand and gestured for them to stop, but a bunch of bureaucrats saw that he was a boy with no beard and just yelled.Zhu Sheng said: "The king of Xiang personally wrote the warrant, do you want it?"

Some people are saying "I want to see King Xiang with my own eyes", while others say "Let's see what it is first".A bureaucrat stepped forward to take the paper, and others came to read it one after another. Someone read: "Strictly order the soldiers of all battalions not to invade the Wuchang government and family property without authorization. Anyone who violates the order will be punished with death for disobedience before the battle." The noise stopped.

"The King of Xiang still has something to bring to you." Zhu Sheng said, "We should not be enemies. Now is not the time for you to be sad and angry. Think about the scholars in Yashan; the King of Xiang is the direct descendant of my Taizu in the Ming Dynasty. Wearing yyng Han family clothes, walking the yyng way of etiquette and law, I hope all the scholars and officials will think of the people of the country."

Everyone was stunned after hearing this, and looked up to the upstairs, where there was a vague figure; there was no laughter from Guan Xiangqing, only a classical and desolate piano sound...

……

Within two days, Zhu Heng said in the form of words: There is no one who manages the river defense without controlling the water army.

The most urgent problem facing Zhang Ning now is to build a naval force, not seeking to be invincible across the entire Yangtze River. As long as the naval force has the ability to block the Yangtze River at a specific location, it can also play a vital role in the situation. effect.

The Senate came up with three major steps to implement, selecting warships and new warships; recruiting naval personnel; formulating water warfare tactics and training.But in the end, it is necessary to find all kinds of experts, otherwise everything will be difficult to start.

Thinking of water battles, Zhang Ning of course reflexively remembered the sailed battleships in his previous life. Dozens of string cannons fired together on the water were like people blocking murderous ships and sinking ships. Kill... But right now, I can only think about it, and it is obviously difficult to create. [

He can design guns and continuously improve them to achieve practical performance. After all, the technical requirements for primary gunpowder guns are not high, and the structure is relatively simple; but the warship is different, it is not a concept of a weapon itself, but a There are too many technical details to consider for a comprehensive combat platform, and it is almost impossible for inexperienced people to design it.The most reliable way is to find experienced naval personnel of this era, imitate and utilize existing technologies.

Just when he was thirsty for talent, Wang Yu finally had an idea, and Wang Yu brought good news to Zhang Ning.

A while ago, Wang Yu was ordered to win over Xu Zixin, the former magistrate of Baling County, Yuezhou. Not wanting that the two were quite similar in age, Xu Zixin later wanted to work with Wang Yu, and Zhang Ning was still fighting under the banner of Daming, and what he did in the occupied area It did not cause the scholars and common people to resist, but it reduced the psychological burden on the scholar-official class to change their appearance.Finally Xu Zixin was willing to join him.

Later, the Senate Department issued a document internally to find talents for shipbuilding and water control. Wang Yu, who was still in Yuezhou, wrote a letter to recommend Xu Zixin.

Yuezhou is located on the banks of the Yangtze River and Dongting Lake. It has always been an important base of the Daming Navy. The local management of the shipbuilding industry is also a very important government affairs.Xu Zixin has been the magistrate of Baling County for nearly three years. He is in charge of warship manufacturing on the ground under his jurisdiction. He not only understands this industry, but also knows many businessmen and craftsmen who know how to build ships and repair them.

After hearing the news, Zhang Ning discussed with Zhu Heng and believed that Yuezhou was the best place to build a navy.As long as the entrance of Dongting Lake is blocked, warships can train the water army on the water surface of Dongting without being affected by wexe;It is a good place for yt for training and actual combat.

So he asked Zhu Heng and some members of the Senate to stay in Wuchang to preside over the overall situation, and he brought some people back to Yuezhou to deal with Zhang Luo's water army.After returning to Yuezhou, the first thing he did was to meet Xu Zixin and ask about the selection of the battlefield and other matters. The Suzaku Army still had a batch of ships that could be selected as warships.

Xu Zixin put forward many suggestions, but he was eager to make meritorious service as a meeting ceremony. The suggestion was second, but Mao Sui wanted to recruit a group of navy generals for Zhang Ning.

At this time, the officers and soldiers were in the navy in Jingzhou. A large number of people were transferred from Yuezhou. Their family property was all in Yuezhou, and Yuezhou was in the hands of the Suzaku army. They couldn't go home and were worried about their families. But the problem is that ordinary people, especially foreigners, do not have a list of naval generals, and they can start from there; but Xu Zixin, the magistrate of the county, has a place to start.

Obviously, Zhang Ning's series of appeasement policies after he captured Yuezhou have finally seen substantial returns. That's why Zhang Ning was willing to visit Yueyang Tower with local officials and celebrities in person.If the Suzaku army looted and offended the locals as soon as they came, they would not get the support and cooperation of Yuezhou officials and people in the future, and many things would be lost.

Zhang Ning immediately appointed Xu Zixin to the Senate Department, and set up a new department of the Navy Division, letting him take the post of chief and fully responsible for the preparation.In the early stage, it was mainly to attract people. Xu Zixin first targeted some officers and generals, sent people to inquire about their families, got tokens or letters from their families, and then sneaked into Jiangbei, looking for opportunities to get in touch with the officers and generals.

After a short period of time, some generals refused, and some wanted to come back; but for the time being, the spies were exposed, and probably no one wanted to do too much, because after all, the family members were in the hands of others, and they were being taken advantage of.

Zhang Ning soon had some talents who understood water warfare, and he also took over the government's shipyard and found stewards and craftsmen. The preparations went smoothly.But he needs an important talent to sit in the navy and control the military power... Otherwise, the military power of the newly built navy will be in the hands of the officers and generals.

This person had to have enough prestige and status like Zhou Mengxiong, and he had to be close to him before he could be handed over to the big power.He thought of one person, Monk Yao.