The most powerful patriarch in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 158 The Big Killer

Chapter 156

"Li Dingguo lurks under the command of the Three-Eyed King, and his alias is Guo Ding. The Three-Eyed King's rapid rise to power and his becoming the leader of the Twelve Heavenly Kings are all related to him." Chen Qi said affirmatively.

Lu Changle asked with great interest: "Dingguo, Guoding, the name is interesting, Uncle Seven, are you sure?"

"Confirmed, we found someone who has met Li Dingguo, and asked Dan Qinghao to hand-paint his portrait, such as age, height, and living habits, all of which are clear, and there must be no mistakes."

"Very well, send someone to keep an eye on him. Since you are in Fujian, don't leave."

Zhang Xianzhong sent people to fan the flames,
What kind of tinder, sparks,
Tinder is not that easy to do.

Chen Qi knew that Lu Changle attached great importance to this Li Dingguo, so he said hello.

"General, Zheng Zhibao is now in Tingzhou Mansion. Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Hongkui have dispatched one after another. Their combined strength exceeds 1. We only have more than [-] people. General, please make more preparations." Chen Qi couldn't help reminding.

Zheng's is arrogant, that's because it has the ability to be arrogant.

Zheng Zhibao had more than [-] subordinates, and Zheng Hongkui also had more than [-] subordinates.

Zheng Zhilong used to have 15 elites, but Liu Ruolan desperately spread the plague to Jilongshan,

This trick reduced Zheng Zhilong's staff by more than 7, and there are still more than [-] people under him. It is not a problem to draw [-] back to Fujian.
The combined strength of the three brothers exceeds 2000, while Lu Changle's rural protection team has only [-] people.
The strength of the troops is ten to one, the quality of personnel and equipment are also superior, and the Zheng family has the upper hand.
It can be said that Lu Changle encountered an unprecedented crisis.

Lu Changle said confidently: "Seventh Uncle, I was wrong. We still have 400 million people in Fujian supporting us, so it's not certain who will win."

If you want status, you need status, if you want status, you need status, if you want fame, you need fame,

Now Lu Changle is really not afraid of Zheng Zhilong.

At the end of Ming Dynasty, natural and man-made disasters caused the population to drop sharply. It is estimated that the total population of Ming Dynasty is only about 6000 million.

There are few wars in Fujian, the subtropical climate is backed by mountains, the harvest is not bad, and the sea can be eaten by the sea.

The population is about 500 million. Unfortunately, a plague strikes, coupled with the riots of bandits,
Now Fujian's population is just over 300 million, less than 400 million.

"General, if the people in Fujian support you, you will definitely win. What if they choose to support the Zheng family?" Chen Qi said worriedly.

Lu Changle replied without thinking: "Then find a way to get the people to support us, Uncle Qi, let your people go out, and say that Zheng Zhilong will clean up this time when he comes back, and turn Fujian into his private land. They will move all the people from Jilongshan to Fujian, robbing the houses and fields of the common people and distributing them to their subordinates."

"There is also the news of Zheng Zhibao's execution of a series of sittings, massacre of people, and Zheng Hongkui's burning, killing and looting in Hankou. It doesn't matter if it is exaggerated, it is right to let them hate Zheng."

The hearts of the people still need to be won. In the current war, the people of Fujian must be mobilized.

Chen Qi's eyes lit up, and he immediately said, "Miao, if this news spreads, who wouldn't fight with Mrs. Zheng."

The ancients paid the most attention to the house and the land.
Some people will go all out if they want to snatch the female relatives, but more people choose to endure.

If you rob their houses and fields, you will definitely die with them.

Chen Qi went to carry out the mission soon, and Lu Changle also went to write articles immediately,

Use Minnan Express to expose Zheng's actions and win public opinion.

The plague appeared in Jilong Mountain, and we can also add more pen and ink to write about Zheng Zhilong's severe measures against the plague.

Zheng Zhilong, who was born as a pirate, still prefers the violent factor in his bones when he manages the territory under his jurisdiction.

Simplify complicated things, and violence is the simplest solution,

Anyway, Zheng's black material, dig a lot.

"Zheng Hongkui bloodbathed Hankou and snatched three hundred carts of gold, silver and goods"

"The Zheng Family Army Withdrew from Hankou and Robbed Three Thousand Female Family Members to Serve as Military Prostitutes"

"Zheng Zhibao's Northern Expedition, More People Died Under the Butcher's Knife than Bandits"

"Fujian General Soldier Zheng Zhilong, Threatened to Liquidate Those Who Disrespected the Zheng Family"

"Huang Ji, a talented scholar in Tingzhou, had his tongue cut off for talking about the Zheng family"

"Guerrilla General Zheng Zhibao started levying and suppressing salaries, and the common people have nothing left"

Newspaper reports are shocking,

The gentry in Fujian became more and more resistant to the Zheng family.

For them, it doesn't matter whoever governs them, but they have to follow the rules,
Mrs. Zheng does not follow the rules and does not care about the consequences. This is what they are most worried about.
Who knows when they will attack themselves?

But Lu Changle is different, although he tends to help those mud-legged and poor ghosts,

But he abides by the rules, as long as the official land, unowned land and military farmland, he will not grab the land in the hands of the gentry,
Once he took what he deserved, he would never reach out again, which greatly increased the gentry's affection for him,
As for ordinary people, let alone,

He got cheap land in his hands, and he also owed seeds, farm tools and other things from Lu Changle for free,
Everyone regarded Lu Changle as the savior,
Look at Mrs. Zheng again, is she doing human affairs?

The people who abandoned Fujian back then still want to come back,

Not only did he come back, but he also turned Fujian into his private land, taking away the houses and fields of the common people,
Isn't it obvious that the person who gave it to him was robbed?

There is no need for organization. Many squires take the initiative to express their views, asking for money to give money, asking for people to give people,
Ordinary people also actively joined the militia under Lu Changle's call to prepare for resisting the Zheng family.

These days, there are many new faces in Xingping Village where the Lu family lives in Fuzhou and Shurong village where the Yang family lives in Fuzhou.
It's not secret work, it's all servants from nearby states and counties who came to inquire about the news,

They felt relieved when they saw that the Lu and Yang clans hadn't moved away, and they were still doing what they should do.
I'm afraid that the Lu and Yang clans will run away with oil on their feet.

After Lu Changle finished the mobilization, he went to see Lu Jinyuan and Liu Ruolan practice the navy together.
Killed Zheng Zhenchuan and seized the ship, and got 19 large ships and 28 small ships.
The shipbuilder built 1 big ship and 12 small boats,
In addition to the 3 big boats and 15 small boats presented by Liu Ruolan,
Now Lu Changle has 23 large ships and 55 small ships, which is enough to form a large fleet.
We only need sailors and cooperation, as well as weapons and equipment.

The sailors are only [-]% full, mainly because Lu Changle does not plan to recruit a large number of people in the near future.
The expansion of the navy will be done after a decisive battle with the Zheng family, and it is not appropriate to disperse the forces now.

Seeing that the navy was training well under the command of Liu Ruolan and his deceased father's old department, he didn't intervene anymore.

Too young, Lu Changle didn't plan to fight Zheng Zhilong with the newly built navy.

There is no need to use your own weaknesses to attack other people's strengths. The final battle between yourself and the Zheng family will be on land.

After watching the navy division, Lu Changle immediately went to see Song Yingxing's achievements.

The size of the blacksmith's shop has expanded again and again, and it has expanded to the edge of Huaxi,
Before I approached the blacksmith shop, I heard the sound of "bang", "bang" and "bang" from a mile away.
Song Yingxing set up a dam in Huaxi to store up the water, and then drilled a few holes in the dam, using the impact of water to drive the waterwheel to rotate.
When the windmill rotates, it can not only bring water to the fertile fields on both sides, but also drive a set of gears. The gears are connected with a row of sledgehammers, which continuously forge red-hot iron blocks of different shapes.
This will not only improve the quality of iron, but also save a lot of manpower,

It's all due to Song Yingxing. As the author of "Heavenly Creation", using water power to forge iron is just a matter of effort.

There are more than 300 blacksmiths, apprentices and handymen in the blacksmith shop,

The knives, guns, swords, armor and other weapons needed by the rural protection team and the navy are all produced here.

Even the refined iron needed by the firearms workshop comes from here.

When Xu Yiming heard that Lu Changle was coming to inspect, he trotted over to accompany him,

Lu Changle learned that all the weapons of the rural protection team are fully equipped, and now they mainly focus on making the light armor required by Lu Changle, and also accept orders from militia groups in various places.

I don't know when the Zheng family will come to retaliate, it is necessary to be prepared.
Those gentry became generous and offered to donate money and food,
Change weapons for the militia,
After all, it is used to save lives at critical times.

After reading it, Lu Changle tested the newly forged weapon. The sharpness and toughness are good.

After encouraging Xu Yiming a few words, Shi Shiran came to the firearms workshop.

Unlike the noisy blacksmith shop, the firearms workshop is polarized,

The tinkling of the foundry workshop was casting Francois machine guns and Hongyi cannons,

The batching workshop is quiet, one by one is quietly mixing gunpowder and making shells,

When Lu Changle made his rounds, most of the craftsmen, apprentices and handymen were doing their work quietly,

When someone saw Lu Changle coming, he just nodded his head, paid attention, and continued to do his own thing.

Lu Changle has emphasized many times, just do your own thing well, salutations and flattery are not practiced in the workshop.

Turned around, but did not see Lao Zhou and Song Yingxing,

No need to ask, it must be in the secret workshop in the back mountain.

The development and testing of new weapons will be carried out in the secret workshop in the back mountain. One is for confidentiality, and the other is for safety.

You can't test it in a workshop full of gunpowder.

When Lu Changle and Yang Xuan went to the Houshan work shed, they saw Lao Zhou carefully making something, while Song Yingxing was lying on the table, drawing something on a piece of paper with a pen,
Taking a closer look,
I saw Lao Zhou carefully making the earthen detonator,

If there is no platinum wire or constantan wire, use a self-made small copper wire instead;

The nitrocellulose that did not ignite was replaced with black gunpowder and wrapped tightly with oilcloth,

Then wrap it with simple materials such as paraffin and foot line, and the simplest earth-electric detonator is ready.

Song Yingxing on the side is designing the internal structure of the grenade,

Whether it is a Flang machine gun or a Hongyi cannon, it is not easy to cast,

It is difficult to invest in the army on a large scale. From flintlocks to rifles, there are too many problems to overcome.

It is difficult to make a big breakthrough in a short period of time, even if it is barely made,
Without machine tools, mass production is just a fantasy,
Lu Changle thought of the grenade, and immediately handed over the design drawings and related theories to Song Yingxing,
Let him make it in the shortest possible time.

In his previous life, Lu Changle joined a chemistry interest group before he started working.
At that time, the most popular film and television was the war film about fighting little devils. Seeing the martyrs strengthen themselves under the enemy's extreme blockade,
Without guns, I overcame difficulties to make guns by myself,
Lu Changle found a lot of information and successfully copied a homemade grenade.

Just in time.

The Zheng family's army was overwhelming, and under the conditions of disparity in strength, Lu Changle did not expand the army, nor did he recruit strong men.

Just bet on new weapons.

"Boss, you are here." Lao Zhou was about to take a rest after finishing the earthen detonator, when he suddenly saw Lu Changle,
He was stunned for a moment, and quickly stood up to salute.

"I didn't see the general coming, so I'm far away to welcome you." Song Yingxing also stood up and saluted.

"How many times have I said that there is no need to perform so many rituals in the workshop?" Lu Changle helped Song Yingxing up, looked at Lao Zhou who was beaming with joy and said, "Old Zhou, how about a blind date?"

Old Zhou smiled honestly, and said with some embarrassment: "If you go back to my boss, I will meet you, and Zhi'er has agreed, and I will wait for my boss to be a matchmaker."

Zhi'er is a peasant girl from Yanping Mansion. Her original name was Chen Guizhi. Both her parents were killed by the demon king of the sky.

After Lu Changle rescued her, Chen Guizhi refused to leave, and was assigned to wash clothes by a craftsman in the firearms workshop.
Lao Zhou has seen it several times, and his heart has long been moved.

Lao Zhou is an honest man with a high monthly income, and he gets heavy musical instruments from Lu Chang. After Chen Guizhi was sad, he just wanted to find an honest man to live with.

You don't think I'm rotten, and I don't think you're broken, and the two see each other.

"Okay, I'll be the matchmaker." Lu Changle said bluntly.

What I promised him, I must keep my word.

"Thank you, Dong's family, thank you, Dong's family" Lao Zhou was so happy that his mouth almost burst into laughter.

Song Yingxing stroked his beard and said, "People are in good spirits on happy occasions, no wonder Master Zhou is smiling from ear to ear these days."

Lu Changle said with a smile: "Old Song, do you want to arrange for you too, um, let's forget about the blind date, arrange a beautiful maid to warm the bed?"

"Don't, don't, don't." Song Yingxing waved his hands again and again and said, "General, don't entertain my old bone. If you can take care of the dog, I will be very grateful."

When people are old, they can see through many things.
Now Song Yingxing is most worried about his second son, who will not even pass the exam as a scholar.
If you can't do it, you can't do it, and you don't know what to do.

"Don't worry, Mr. Song, Moxiang Study is going to open a new study in Fengxin, and the Second Young Master Song has decided to take care of it. By the way, I heard that Ling Sun wants to pay homage to Qingfeng Academy. I have asked someone to clear it up. There will be news soon."

After finally winning over this talented person, Lu Changle did not hesitate to sell him a few more favors.

"Thank you, General, I am very grateful." Song Yingxing said gratefully.

The second child in the family was promoted, which is a good thing. I never thought that Lu Changle would seek a seat in Qingfeng Academy for his grandson.

Qingfeng Academy is the best academy in Jiangxi. It not only has Confucianism teaching, but also senior officials who have become officials often come to share their experience.

Even if you can't win the exam, you can still make a lot of contacts,
For a spot, many people fought over their heads, Song Yingxing put down his old face to fight for it,
It's a pity that a dedicated eighth-rank manager's status is too low to succeed,

When Lu Changle talked about this matter, with his character, he should have great confidence.

"It should be, I also have a lot of things to rely on Song Lao."

"Don't dare, it's Xiao Lao who asked the general for advice." Song Yingxing said seriously.

Song Yingxing originally thought that he was very knowledgeable and would be able to show his talents immediately after entering the firearms workshop.

Soon, Song Yingxing put away his contempt and became humble,

Among other things, the flintlock alone revolutionized his cognition,

Design drawings of new rifles, and design drawings of grenades,

It seems to open a new door for Song Yingxing,
It is not an exaggeration to say that even if the monthly money is not paid now, they refuse to leave.

Lu Changle didn't dwell on this issue any longer, and asked directly: "Old Song, how about this grenade? Have you made it?"

(End of this chapter)