scourge the qing dynasty

Chapter 157 The First Shot

Since ancient times, there are really few rebels who have stood still for several months after playing the banner of the Qing emperor. What is rare is that Wu Sangui, the old traitor Wu, who always cares about his head and disregards his tail, and likes to act on his own will, has become one of them .

From October 25, the tenth year of Kang Mazi, when the governor of Yunnan, the chief envoy, and the inspector were suddenly arrested, and the army was officially announced, until the first month of the 11th year of Kangxi, for more than two months, the main force of the old traitor Wu It was nested in Yunnan and did not move. It did not pay attention to the neighboring Huguang grain-producing area at all, and did not intend to take advantage of the opportunity that the Qing court could not respond in time to go north.

Of course, within Wu Sangui's army, many people also questioned Fatty Lu's strategy of defending first and then attacking in two steps. They felt that this move was too passive. Strength and make up for shortcomings, and solve the Achilles' heel of Yunnan and Guizhou provinces' lack of food self-sufficiency.However, after discovering that the Qing court had already prepared for this, especially after discovering that the Qing court had deployed heavy troops in Yuanzhou, the gateway to Huguang, these voices quickly disappeared without a trace.

Just kidding, if you can't take down Yuanzhou, which is heavily garrisoned by Miqing, when the main force of Miqing led by Oboi arrives on the battlefield, Wu Sangui's army, weary of the old man, will wait for Oboi's new force to slaughter!Instead of this, it is better to honestly follow the established strategy for a decisive battle in Guizhou, so that the odds and certainty of winning are a little more.

In fact, Wu Sangui's top brass, including Wu Sangui himself, knew very well that with the current weapons and equipment of Wu Sangui's army, even if Yuanzhou was garrisoned by a heavy army of mites, it would not be very difficult to win Yuanzhou before the main force of Oboi arrived. It is not impossible to quickly take Changsha and Yuezhou and basically control Hunan before this, but considering the terrible mountain roads in Guizhou and the huge consumption of weapons in the decisive battle on the Yangtze River, as well as Oboi's tyrannical force and scheming on the battlefield, it has been done before. Wu Sangui, who had suffered two defeats under Oboi, still gave up this plan, and the psychological shadow was too deep.

While holding back the troops and recharging their energy, Wu Sangui's army's strategic layout has not been idle. In addition to sending Han Daren and Gao Dejie to go north to Guizhou, Wu Sangui's army also strengthened its defense against Guangxi and sent more troops to Guangnan Prefecture in Yunnan. Send troops to guard against threats from Guangxi, and form a double insurance on the eastern front with the Line National Security Department in Nanning and the Cen Jilu Department in Sicheng Prefecture to ensure the safety of the hinterland of Yunnan.

Fortunately, because Kong Sizhen framed Fatty Lu as Wu Sangui to win over the Lan Guoan army, he completely angered the line Guoan father and son, and almost completely torn face with the Qing court and Kong Sizhen, and openly attached to the Pingxi Palace to hand over the Phoenix Mountain silver mine Hands-off, there is no turning back at this point in the matter; at the same time, Cen Jilu of Sicheng Prefecture is the only chieftain in Guangxi who grows the Eight Banners Fushou Gao. Ma Xiong, the admiral of Shangguangxi, has always had a good relationship with Wu Sangui, and he also took advantage of the passing profits of the Eight Banners drug products going east to sea.Therefore, Wu Sangui's army's eastern battlefield is quite safe, and they don't need to worry too much, and can concentrate on dealing with threats from the main northern battlefield.

Wu Sangui's army still has an advantage on the northern front. That is, the two generals in Sichuan, Wu Zhimao and Tan Hong, are both Wu Sangui's former troops. They, and at the same time, because of the serious decline in population and population in Sichuan due to successive years of wars, neither the population nor the economy can support a large army to fight.Therefore, on the Zhengbei battlefield, Wu Sangui doesn't need to worry too much. Just sending one Han Daren to station in Zunyi is enough to ensure that there is nothing wrong. The main battlefield threat.

The defense is basically well-arranged, and then it is diplomatic efforts. Although one more hypocritical friend will definitely help a lot, but one less enemy means less pressure.After publicly displaying the banner of the Qing emperor, the envoys of Wu Sangui's army also attacked in all directions, contacting the governors, admirals, and vassal princes of various provinces, inviting them to join forces to kill Oboi on the side of the Qing emperor.

Everyone knows that Wu Sangui's so-called "Qingjun side" is just to continue to dominate the Eight Banners drug profits, jealousy and envy, and not daring to provoke the fierce tiger Oboi, the results of Wu Sangui's diplomatic efforts are naturally good and bad.The only team that directly responded to Wu Sangui's uprising was Line Guoan, who also took the initiative to send Line Guoan's youngest son, Line Qiyu, to Qujing to show his sincerity.Sichuan governor Luo Sen and admiral Zheng Jiaolin sent the envoys out of the country, but declined in reply. Wu Zhimao and Tan Hong agreed to send troops to respond if necessary, but their attitude was obviously on the sidelines, wanting to see the limelight before deciding whether to actually take action.

Ma Xiong, the Admiral of Guangxi, also held a wait-and-see attitude. He only secretly promised to defend the eastern front for Wu Sangui's army and contain the Qing soldiers in Guangdong and Guangxi.However, Ma Xiongzhen, the governor of Guangxi, and Sun Yanling, the general of Guangxi, were not so easy to talk to. They directly drove Wu Sangui's envoy out of Guilin and flatly rejected Wu Sangui's invitation.But this was not the worst. Shang Kexi, who had never dealt with Wu Sangui all his life, simply arrested the envoy of Wu Sangui's army, and sent them to the Qing court for execution together with Wu Sangui's letter inviting him to raise troops.The envoy sent to Fujian to contact Geng Jingzhong mysteriously disappeared without a trace. Whether he was killed or secretly detained by Geng Jingzhong, no one can tell for a while.

Because of the distance, Taiwan’s Zheng Jing returned to Yunnan at the latest reply to Wu Sangui. In his personal reply to the old traitor Wu, Zheng Jing only wrote two sentences——If the King of the West turns against the Qing Dynasty and restores the Ming Dynasty, we will be the whole army The soldiers respectfully listen to the orders of the King of the West!On the side of King Ruoqing of the West, Kangxi is not my king of Ming Dynasty, and Oboi is not my minister of Ming Dynasty, so I will not accompany you!

"What are you in a hurry for?" After reading Zheng Jing's autographed reply, Wu Sangui couldn't help but smiled wryly, and said to himself: "It's not that I don't want to fight against the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty, or to rejuvenate the Han Dynasty and destroy the Manchus, but now is not the time. The hinterland of Guizhou has annihilated the elite of Manchu’s main force, so I will set up an anti-Qing and Fuming banner and fight out of Yunnan-Guizhou.

"My lord, don't worry, these things are all within our expectations, so there's no need to worry." Fang Guangchen comforted: "These people are sloppy, and now they are just afraid of the old general Ao Bai, and worry that you are not Ao Bai, my lord. Oboi's opponent, that's why they planned to wait and see what happened, after your lord has severely defeated Oboi, these people will naturally gather under the banner of your lord obediently, and obey your command."

The old traitor Wu, who had been mentally prepared for this, nodded, deeply agreeing.At this time, the guards came to report that Liu Xuanchu and Fatty Lu had been ordered to meet with their master and apprentice. The old traitor Wu immediately ordered to hear it. After a while, Liu Xuanchu and Fatty Lu came to the Yin'an Hall together. As soon as they finished the ceremony, the old traitor Wu laughed He complained: "Sanhao, your idea of ​​the Qing emperor is really good. Now this king has been completely lonely by your idea. The only one who raised troops to respond to this king in Huguang, Sichuan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Taiwan is Nanning. , even Zheng Jing wrote back to reject the king."

"Forgive me, my lord. Our first step is to take the initiative to show weakness. The situation is more difficult." Fatty Lu pretended to be guilty and said: "When you defeat Oboi and wipe out the main force of the dog, the situation can be completely reversed." Come here, now please be patient and wait patiently."

"I hope so." Of course, the old traitor Wu didn't mean to pursue Fatty Lu's failure in offering a strategy. How's the situation on the side?"

"Return to the lord, everything is going well." Fatty Lu replied respectfully: "The rocket battalion has started training with live ammunition and is ready to be put into the battlefield at any time. The grenade, red cannon and bronze howitzer are also working overtime to produce, and the weapons in stock are basically sent to the I have gone to the Zhenning camp, but the firearms storage cave over there, please urge the prince to make sure it does not get wet or cannot be filled."

"You can also rest assured that Wu Yingjing has prepared five huge dry holes over there, enough to store the firearms in stock of four firearm camps." The old man Wu replied casually, and then asked: "What about the airship? The third When will the airship be completed?"

"It's going very well." Fatty Lu replied: "By March at the latest, the third airship will be completed and delivered for use. It will definitely not miss the decisive battle between our army and the main force of Mangou."

"Very good." The old traitor Wu was very satisfied, took out another letter, and said, "I called you today because I have something to tell you. Your opponent has appeared! There is also one from Mangou!" A genius named Dai Zi, in only eight days, imitated the Western Cannon Cannon that the Longtan Artillery Factory had failed to imitate for two years. Seven shots were able to hit the target accurately. What do you think about this matter?"

"Dai Zi?" Fatty Lu was stunned for a while, and then smiled and said: "The one who should come is still here. This person named Dai Zi has finally appeared."

"You know him?" Old Han Wu asked curiously.

"I've heard of his name, he is a well-known firearms craftsman in the south of the Yangtze River." Fatty Lu replied nonsense.

"Then you and him, who is better at casting firearms?" Old Traitor Wu asked worriedly.

"He's not as good as me!" Fatty Lu didn't blush, and said decisively: "It's not that my son-in-law is boasting, he is far inferior to my son-in-law except in ingenuity and dexterity! Didn't it take him eight days?" Is it possible to imitate the western cannon? As long as the sample is given to the grandson-in-law, it only takes seven days at most, and the grandson-in-law can successfully imitate it!"

"Are you really so confident?" Old Man Wu heaved a sigh of relief, and asked curiously.

"Of course." Fatty Lu said more confidently: "Before this, the reason why my grandson-in-law didn't suggest to my grandfather to introduce Western son-and-mother cannons was not that my grandson-in-law didn't think of it, but because my grandson-in-law didn't understand such weapons at all. It’s not eye-catching, the rate of fire is slow, the power is low, it’s difficult to carry, it’s inconvenient to use, and a large number of castings is a waste of manpower and material resources!”

"Yifeng, don't be too confident. Modesty is a virtue." Liu Xuanchu scolded displeased.

"Yes, the student is arrogant." Fatty Lu confessed honestly, but he muttered in his heart: "Is it okay if I don't say that? If I say that kid Dai Zi is the number one genius in firearms now, if I don't master the knowledge of later generations, I can't even He is not worthy of carrying his shoes, why not scare the cowardly old man Wu to death?"

"It's nothing, it's a good thing to have such confidence." The old man Wu, who was completely relieved, smiled and said, "With Yifeng's words, this king can feel much more at ease. And Mangou has such a weapon. For us, it may not be all bad things, at least, with that old bastard Oboi's confidence greatly increased, he will underestimate the enemy a lot tactically."

"My lord, don't spoil him too much. This kid hasn't been on the house for three days. If you spoil him too much, his tail will go up to the sky." Liu Xuanchu once again belittled his student.At the end, Liu Xuanchu asked cautiously: "My lord, I heard that Lu Xia failed to rescue the prince, and only brought back his eldest grandson, is that true?"

The old traitor Wu's face darkened, and he said after a long time: "Ying Xiong objected to this king's army against the Qing emperor, and fought against Man Gou by force. He felt that there was still room for negotiation with Man Gou, so he refused to go back to Yunnan with Lu Xia, and insisted on staying in the capital and fighting with Man Gou." He is full of dogs, leaving room for negotiation for this king, and now he is dead or alive, this king is not sure."

Liu Xuanchu also fell silent, not knowing how to comfort Old Traitor Wu.Fatty Lu quickly said: "My lord, please don't worry, Emperor Mangou hates Oboi to the bone. Your lord, this time you raised troops to Qingjun's side, you pointed the finger at Oboi, and you didn't completely tear yourself apart with Emperor Mangou. Emperor Mangou will definitely You won't hurt the prince immediately, and there is still room for retaliation. When you defeat Oboi, the prince, you have demonstrated my divine power, and the Emperor Mangou will definitely agree to the prince's condition to return the prince in exchange for the prince's resignation."

"I hope so." The old man Wu sighed treacherously, and said with a forced smile: "Yifeng, after Shifan returned to Wuhua Mountain, he asked about your brother-in-law several times in front of the king, saying that you brought him to the capital. He had a great time, so he still remembers you. You will find time to meet him later, and coax this grandson for the king."

Fatty Lu agreed to such a good thing, but the old traitor Wu couldn't help sighing again, and murmured: "Perhaps, he is my only grandson. In the future, this king will definitely entrust him to you."

Fatty Lu can't find words to comfort the traitor Wu. In history, Xiao Mazi killed both Wu Yingxiong and Wu Shilin. Although the course of history has changed dramatically, the vicious little Fatty Lu didn't dare to guarantee whether Mazi would kill Wu Yingxiong and Wu Shilin and his son.In desperation, Fatty Lu had no choice but to change the subject and put forward a proposal that had been in the works for a long time, "Grandfather, although we have already made a plan to lure Oboi into the decisive battle in Guizhou, just in case, the son-in-law thinks it is best to do it again." A preparation."

"What preparations are you going to make?" The old traitor Wu was indeed distracted.

"Grandfather, my son-in-law believes that it is not difficult to see through the strategy of our decisive battle in Guizhou with the ability of the old thief Oboi." Fatty Lu replied in a deep voice: "The son-in-law is most worried now. It is the old thief Aobai who deliberately prevents us I got my wish, but instead of going to the decisive battle in Guizhou, I changed to a complete blockade of Yunnan and Guizhou. At that time, Yunnan and Guizhou will not be able to support themselves in food and grass. Sichuan has been greatly damaged by the war, and now the food is also unable to support itself. The roads in Annan and Burma are difficult, sparsely populated, and may be threatened by dogs. The blockade policy is also adopted against us. Then within two years if this continues, we will have serious problems in the supply of military rations, and we will be completely passive."

"Besides, the sales of our Eight Banners drug products will also be greatly affected. If the drug products we grow cannot be sold and the money cannot be collected, there will be panic in the hearts of the soldiers and civilians, which is not good for the war. So my son-in-law suggested, Before the main force of Mangou arrives in Huguang, we should take the first step to secure an outlet to the sea, ensure the sea route connection, facilitate maritime trade, and replenish grain and grass supplies from overseas. At the same time, we can also break the blockade and create psychological pressure on the old thief Oboi, forcing him to enter Guizhou decisive battle."

"It's a good idea." The traitor Wu, who was quite afraid of Oboi, quickly agreed with Fatty Lu's idea, and asked in a deep voice, "Then, should we take down that outlet?"

"Lianzhou!" Fang Guangchen and Liu Xuanchu raised their eyebrows together and replied in unison.At the end, Fang Guangchen added: "Seizing the Lianzhou estuary in advance, there is another advantage, that is, we can train the navy, recruit fishermen to train sailors, and benefit our future Yangtze River campaign and capture of Jiangnan."

"Lianzhou is a feudal land that is still gratifying (Lianzhou was assigned to Guangdong in the Qing Dynasty). "Liu Xuanchu echoed: "Shang Kexi, the old thief arrested our army envoy and despised the majesty of the prince. The prince is famous. By the way, you can give him a A lesson. At the same time, Lianzhou is close to Nanning, and the father and son of Lan Guoan are staunch supporters of the prince, so they can serve as the backing for the defenders of Lianzhou, and they can defend it even if it is taken down."

"Then why are you still standing there?" The old man Wu sneered, and said, "Shang Kexi, the old thief is attached to Oboi. He is cruel and inhumane, and he deserves death! Master Wang Xingyi is begging for the thief from the sky. Of course, Shang Kexi, the old thief is also alone. He is in the ranks of the crusade! Pass down the order, let Xiaoqi Empress General Du Hui lead an army of [-], and crusade against Lianzhou Shang Kexi's lackey garrison!"

"Grandpa, let me go." Fatty Lu hurriedly said.

"What are you in a hurry for?" The old man Wu smiled kindly and said, "Of course my grandfather understands your eagerness to make meritorious service, but do you think you have done a lot to win Lianzhou? There are only more than 1000 troops in the garrison there, which is really strong. It is great to have 800 people, and you don’t have much credit for taking it down, so you should obediently supervise the production of firearms in Yunnan, and show your skills in the decisive battle in Guizhou in the future.”

"Yifeng, don't be in a hurry to claim merit." Liu Xuanchu also frowned and said, "You have already accomplished a great feat by trapping Gan Wenkun and his son and offering them to the prince Ling Chi. Do you still need to claim such a small merit? Besides, Do you think the lord just sent someone to attack Lianzhou? Du Hui used to be a general of the Nanming Navy and fought in water battles. The lord sent him to Lianzhou to prepare for the establishment of the Yunnan-Guizhou Navy. Can you do that? ?”

"Then invite General Du to go." Fatty Lu shrank his fat head and said embarrassingly: "Actually, I don't want to take credit, the main reason is that I want to meet Line Yuxuan by the way. I haven't seen you for more than half a year. It's really true." I kind of miss him... Your lord, benefactor, Mr. Xianyan, why are you looking at me like that? I don't have that hobby! It's just..., it's just that I really have a good friendship with Line Yuxuan, there is no other meaning."

"My lord, I'm afraid it's not enough to send just one Du Hui." Fang Guangchen suggested: "It's better to let Lu Shilian, who is a civil servant, go with him, and bring more money and fushou ointment seeds, so as to buy the hearts of the local people and consolidate the rule." Old traitor Wu Hearing that he was very satisfied, he immediately nodded in agreement.

It is of great significance for Yungui to attack Lianzhou with the first shot of the anti-Qing Dynasty, but the process is so simple and easy. The [-] troops led by Du Hui, the pro-military army of Pingxi Wangfu, have just arrived at Jiuping, the junction of Nanning and Lianzhou. Guan, the defenders of Jiuping Pass with less than a hundred people had already switched and surrendered. When the cavalry of the Wu army went all the way to the south and approached Lianzhou City, the army had not seen the shadow of the city wall of Lianzhou. He opened the city gate wide and led all the soldiers and civilians out of the city to surrender, with a sincere attitude and joyful expressions, as if we were not surrendering but welcoming the return of the king.Du Hui was confused, and couldn't help asking Xu Huamin, "Why did you surrender so quickly? We didn't shoot a single shot, and you all surrendered without killing anyone. Why?"

"Prince Pingxi seeks thieves from the heavens, and the Qing emperor punishes the country's thieves. The army and people of Lianzhou are overjoyed. When Master Wang arrives, is there any reason for me to welcome Master Wang without carrying the pot?" Xu Huamin first said a lot of similar nonsense, and then cautiously Asked: "General Du, I heard that you claimed in Qinzhou County that the prince's army brought the seeds of the Eight Banners Fushou Ointment this time, and planned to let the soldiers and civilians of Lianzhou try to plant them. Is it true?"

Du Hui was speechless and vomited blood, and when the news reached Guangzhou, Shang Kexi, the old traitor who was also shot while lying down, also vomited blood, and shouted, "Wu Sangui, old thief! I will swear against you!"

In a fit of rage, the old traitor Shang immediately ordered Yan Ziming, the admiral of Guangdong, to lead an army of [-] to counterattack in an attempt to regain Lianzhou. Those who greeted them were not only the Yunnan-Guizhou soldiers who were armed to the teeth, the Guangxi National Security Army who claimed to be as fierce as tigers and vicious as wolves, but also the soldiers and civilians of Lianzhou who were united as one. Fight!" This is a distant topic, so let's skip it for the time being.

(End of this chapter)