1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 668
On September 1651, 9, Penglai City.

Emperor Yongchu Zhu Cihuang stood lonely on a watchtower by the sea, watching dozens of ships from the Qi State sail out of the port one by one, and then gradually disappeared into the sea, without saying a word for a long time.

"Your Majesty, it's windy at sea, we'd better go back to the palace earlier." A personal eunuch said softly.

"Zhang Cheng, you said that there is still hope for the revival of the Ming Dynasty?" Emperor Yongchu asked.

"Your Majesty, don't be discouraged?" Zhang Cheng quickly comforted him: "Didn't Uncle Liu Huang of the Three Kingdoms in the past spend most of his life in exile, and finally rebuilt the Han Dynasty in Shu. Now, my Ming Dynasty occupies the land of Denglai, and Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo and others captured it. In Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Guangxi, Hunan and other places, this situation is much stronger than that of Liu Huangshu. A few days ago, there was a letter from Tamna Island, saying that the Korean Kingdom is willing to gather a large army to attack the land of Liaodong. It can be said that we The situation in Daming is very good!"

"Hehe..." Emperor Yongchu smiled, "Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo were born as thieves, how can they sincerely restore the land for my Ming Dynasty? They regard Daming as Zhengshuo, and they just want to use the banner of my Ming Dynasty, Expanding their territory and power, and implementing a separatist regime. As for North Korea, they want to conquer the land of Liaodong, which was established as a slave. I am afraid that they may not necessarily want to help my Ming Dynasty restore the rivers and mountains. The plan is just the Liaodong frontier.  … Moreover, with North Korea's weak military strength, it may be difficult to shake the foundation of slavery in Liaodong."

"Your Majesty..." Zhang Cheng was at a loss for words when he heard Emperor Yongchu's dispirited words, and his mind was spinning rapidly, trying to find some words to comfort the emperor, "Your Majesty, as long as we still have the support of the Qi State, great events in the future will be inevitable." Can become!"

"Qi State?" Emperor Yongchu was taken aback when he heard the words, and then smiled wryly: "Since the defeat of Shandong and Denglai last year, tens of thousands of teachers have been lost, and thousands of miles of territory have been lost, Qi State seems to be a little disappointed in us. I am worried, They will ignore us and go all out to support Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo."

Zhang Cheng was silent when he heard this.The state of Qi did its best to support Denglai. It spared no effort to arm the Ming army with artillery and muskets. It even continued to transport a large amount of grain and other materials from the south to maintain the operation of the Yongchu court.In the face of several large-scale sieges by the Qing army, it was the Qi army who helped the court officers and soldiers to repel them, and also caused the Qing army to lose troops and lose generals. popular support.

Who knew that when the Qing army launched a sudden onslaught last year, the Ming army was unbearable. Not only did they lose Jinan, Qingzhou, and Laizhou previously occupied by the Qing army, but they were forced to land more than [-] people by the Qing army, almost driving them into the sea. .With such a record, it is no wonder that the Qi people feel a little disappointed.

"So, if you want to be respected, you must first have your own strength!" Emperor Yongchu showed a decisive look on his face, "I, Ming, it's time for a complete change."

"Change?...How else can I, Ming, change?" Zhang Cheng looked at the emperor in astonishment.

"Naturally, we need to change the law and strive to become stronger." Emperor Yongchu seemed to have finally made a major decision in his heart, "Anything that can strengthen the strength of our Ming Dynasty, enhance the combat power of our Ming Dynasty's army, and finally achieve the goal of being able to expel the Tartars and restore the rivers and mountains. , it cannot be immutable!"
-
September 9, Beijing, Forbidden City.

Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty raised a musket on the table with his hand. It was heavy, weighing about fifteen or six kilograms, and about 1.5 meters long. There was a hammer device above the rear end of the musket. A piece of flint is clamped on the jaw, and there is an anvil beside the fire transmission hole. When shooting, the trigger is pulled, and under the action of the spring, the flint is hit heavily on the edge of the fire door, sparks are emitted, and the gunpowder is ignited for firing.

"How much does this kind of self-propelled musket (flintlock) cost?" Emperor Shunzhi put the musket back on the table, looked up at Sony, and asked softly.

"Back to the emperor, the cost of this kind of spontaneous firecracker is about... about 30 taels of silver." Sony replied cautiously with a slightly embarrassed face.

When Dorgon was alive, he suppressed Sony in many ways, and was even seized from office and ransacked his home at one point, and was placed in Zhaoling to guard the tomb.After Shunzhi came to power, Sony was specially called back to resume his previous post.Progressive hereditary first-class uncle, promoted to Minister of the Interior, concurrently Minister of State Affairs, and in charge of the House of Internal Affairs, became the chief Manchurian minister in the Shunzhi Dynasty.

"The cost is so expensive?!" Emperor Shunzhi was also surprised when he heard that a self-propelled firecracker cost 30 taels of silver.

"Returning to the emperor, the various parts of this self-propelled gun need to be polished by hand, which requires a lot of manpower and material resources, so the cost is a bit expensive." Sony explained: "However, after the craftsmen are familiar with the manufacturing process and the process is smooth, It is estimated that the cost will gradually come down.”

"How many arrows can this gun be fired before it is destroyed?"

"About [-] to [-] projectiles are fired continuously, and the firecracker may be recovered and repaired."

Sony glanced at Emperor Shunzhi in surprise, never expecting that the young emperor could ask such a professional question.If the self-propelled firecracker is expensive, but as long as it is more durable than the enemy's firecracker and has better performance, our officers and soldiers in the Qing Dynasty can barely accept this weapon.But in fact, this kind of self-propelled firearms made in imitation of Qi State's flintlock guns is not only expensive, but also inferior to Qi State's flintlock guns in terms of performance, range, and power.

In addition, because of the strength of the barrel, it will also face the risk of bombing at any time during continuous use.Therefore, in Sony's view, this kind of spontaneous fire gun is not as economical and practical as a shotgun.However, the emperor insisted on imitating the flintlock guns of Qi State seized from the Denglai battlefield.He also declared that in the Eight Banners, an elite firearms unit comparable to Qi's musketeers would be built, which would be the key force to determine victory or defeat on the battlefield in the future.This move completely disregarded the advantages of the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty in riding and shooting, and turned to develop the firearms of the Han people at the expense of the basics, which is suspected of wasting money and wasting money.

Thinking of this, Sony couldn't help but cast a glance at a young man standing by the side of the hall, with short hair, an indifferent expression, and wearing a slightly worn black military uniform.Hmph, a prisoner of the Qi State, for a few years, neither surrendered to my Qing Dynasty, nor committed suicide like those steadfast people.

"Mr. Luo, what is the cost of a firecracker in your country?" After Sony and many other ministers left the hall, Emperor Shunzhi asked Luo Shouzhang curiously.

"A few dollars." Luo Shouzhang said disdainfully, "Well, it's equivalent to four or five taels of silver."

"How did your country of Qi do it?"

"Industry!" Luo Shouzhang said: "We Qi State has the most advanced industrial production technology in the world today. Over time, when the population gathers more, our Qi State will inevitably explode with stronger industrial production capacity. This flintlock gun , our country of Qi can produce thousands of pieces per month at present. Even artillery can produce hundreds of pieces per month.”

"Mr. Luo, what you said may be exaggerated." Emperor Shunzhi said with a smile: "If your country of Qi can really produce so many artillery and muskets every month, wouldn't it be possible to equip more troops? With powerful firearms, it may crush our soldiers and horses of the Qing Dynasty."

"It's not that our country of Qi doesn't want to fight with you, but because of the distance, we can't guarantee the logistics of too many troops, so we sent more than a thousand marines to Denglai." Luo Shouzhang was exposed by Emperor Shunzhi for his exaggeration The words of Qi's strength were not embarrassing, and he still refused to accept it and said: "You know, in a dignified battle, our [-] soldiers of Qi's Marine Corps are enough to defeat thousands of your elite Eight Banners troops!"

"Soldiers, tricks." Emperor Shunzhi said: "Why did my Eight Banners troops expose their bodies to your firearms? Don't say you have 1000 people, you have thousands of people. As long as you dare to enter the inland In the plain area, I have one thousand and eight banners and cavalry, enough to crush you and disperse them. Fighting is nothing more than making full use of our army's advantages and attacking the enemy's disadvantages. Mr. Luo, what do you think?"

Luo Shouzhang, as a senior tactical staff officer of the Marine Corps, deeply believed in Emperor Shunzhi's words. Avoiding the truth is false, and attacking the enemy's weakness is a favorable combat condition that the army staff and chief officers must try their best to fight for.

"I heard that more than ten days ago, a large number of navy ships of your Qi State left Denglai suddenly. Where do you think they will go?" Emperor Shunzhi asked suddenly.

"This...how can I know?" Luo Shouzhang shook his head and said.

"With the advantage of your boats and ships, you Qi State frequently harassed our weak places in the Qing Dynasty, making it impossible to defend against." Emperor Shunzhi looked at Luo Shouzhang, "According to news from our spies in Denglai, your navy ships are carrying There are a large number of troops and weapons, presumably they want to take advantage of boats and boats across the river and sea to attack our Qing coast or important towns along the river."

Luo Shouzhang was silent, but he kept speculating secretly in his heart, where would the Qi State gather its army to attack? Could it be that the offensive of the Nanjing Battle was to be replicated again?
"We believe that there may be three targets for your Qi army to attack." Seeing Luo Shouzhang's silence, Emperor Shunzhi said to himself: "First, attack Fujian to punish Zheng Zhilong for his rebellion against the Ming Dynasty and surrender to the Qing Dynasty, and weaken them by the way. The second is to enter the Yangtze River again and go to Wuchang to cooperate with the Wuchang campaign launched by Sun Kewang; the third is to attack Guangdong and cooperate with the Guangdong-Guangzhou campaign launched by Li Dingguo's department. Mr. Luo, which target do you think it will be?"

"Perhaps our Qi army is coming to attack Tianjin or Liaodong."

"There are thousands of my Great Qing and Mongolian Eight Banners cavalry team stationed in Tianjin, you dare not come." Emperor Shunzhi thought for a while, shook his head and said: "Liaodong, maybe it is possible. But within tens of miles along the coast of Liaodong, there are no people living there. , even if you attack Liaoyang, Shenyang and other big cities, you will have difficulties in logistical supplies, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to replicate the previous results. Moreover, the thousands of Eight Banners armored cavalry stationed in Liaodong by the Qing Dynasty will also cost you a heavy price .”

"I think I am unparalleled in cavalry and shooting in the Qing Dynasty, and my combat power is unmatched. It is true that your little Qi State has repeatedly made my soldiers and horses in the Qing Dynasty lose their behavior and be passive everywhere. Sigh." Emperor Shunzhi sighed: "When the Qing Dynasty unifies the world, I vow to build a powerful naval fleet to protect the Qing Dynasty's thousands of miles of sea and strike the enemy on the ocean."
-
October 10, Yazhou (now Yazhou District, Sanya City, Hainan)

"The Qing army in Guangdong is still gratifying. Geng Jimao's troops have conquered Wuzhou, and Xunzhou Prefecture (now Guigang City, Guangxi) is approaching Nanning. After the Huizhou General Soldier Huang Yingjie's troops captured Wuzhou, they divided their troops to plunder Yulin Prefecture (now Yulin City, Guangxi) , planned to join forces with Shang and Geng at the city of Nanning. Hao Shangjiu, the Chaozhou general of the Qing army, came all the way to the southwest after defeating Zhaoqing, and even went down to Gaozhou (now Maoming City, Guangdong) and Leizhou (now Zhanjiang City, Guangdong) After looting, the two prefectures turned their heads west and headed straight for Qinzhou."

"After the main force of the Qing army left, Zheng Zhilong sent troops to follow up and take over several prefectures and counties in western and southwestern Guangdong, trying to control the entire province of Guangdong in the shortest time. It is reported that the strength of the Qing army staying near Guangzhou is no longer five Thousands, and most of them are local guard troops newly formed by Zheng Zhilong, and their combat effectiveness should be limited. Therefore, the conditions for a strong attack on Guangzhou are already ripe."

"Hao Shangjiu is going to attack Qinzhou, do we need to help Li Dingguo defend it?" Qi Dajiang asked.

"There are more than [-] elite Western troops stationed in Qinzhou, led by Li Dingguo's confidant general Zhang Jian, and with more than ten artillery pieces provided by us at the top of the city, they should be able to defend the city against Hao Shangjiu's Qing army who came from afar. "He Yunfeng said: "According to the news from Nanning, Li Dingguo brought more than [-] Western troops from Hunan, planning to consume the strength of the Qing army under the city of Nanning first, and then suddenly launch a counterattack. In addition, Li Dingguo is still stationed in Liuzhou. There are more than [-], and when they counterattack, they will quickly move eastward, capture Wuzhou, and cut off the retreat of the Qing army."

"However, just to be on the safe side, after conquering Guangzhou, our troops must immediately take a boat along the Xijiang River to Zhaoqing, and conquer this city, completely blocking the way for the Qing army to retreat eastward. In this way, the Qing army's tens of thousands of troops will face disaster. There are pursuers, there are interceptions in front, and there is a dilemma. If the battle goes well, it is not impossible to wipe out the Qing army in Guangdong."

"What if Li Dingguo fails to defeat Shang Kexi and Geng Jimao's Qing army, and instead allows them to conquer Nanning. Then, what should we do next?" Gu Sanmazi, the chief soldier of Yazhou, asked worriedly.

"Well, the possibility of Li Dingguo's defeat is not ruled out." He Yunfeng said: "If this kind of thing really happens, we can only retreat to Qiongzhou after killing a large number of Qing troops in Guangzhou and Zhaoqing."

"When we raid Guangzhou, should we take Zheng Sen's troops with us?" Gu Sanmazi asked again.

After Zheng Sen rebelled from Fujian, more than [-] people from his department also settled in Qiongzhou Prefecture and are currently stationed in Danzhou temporarily.After Zheng Sen arrived in Qiongzhou, he sent people to Denglai and Qi Annan territories respectively, expressing his firm stand against the Qing Dynasty.

Emperor Yongchu heard that Zheng Sen put the world first, so he resolutely rebelled against Fujian. Long Yan was very happy, and immediately made Zheng Sen the Boss of Changming and the General Soldier of Danzhou, and Chen Hui the Boss of Xinghua and the General Soldier of Lingao. Each of them had a son as Jinyiwei thousand households.

The people of Qi were shocked when they learned that Zheng Sen had left Fujian, led his troops not to go to Qiongzhou, and expressed his resolute resistance to the Qing Dynasty.Among the unscrupulous demoted officials and generals everywhere in the Ming Dynasty, there suddenly appeared a high-spirited and upright person who disregarded human relations and family ties, but put the world first, and took the task of revitalizing the Ming Dynasty. How can people not admire him.

At the same time, several high-ranking military and political officials also had doubts in their hearts. How did the king know that this Zheng Sen must be a completely different person from Zheng Zhilong, and he can still strive to be an ally against the Qing Dynasty.

"There are too many unpredictable risks in the attack on Guangzhou this time." Qi Dajiang thought for a while, then shook his head and said, "In addition, there are many Zheng troops stationed there, so there is no guarantee that there will be no accidents on the battlefield. ... So, I We don’t need to inform Zheng Sen.”

(End of this chapter)