A century-old family that runs through the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 344 The war is getting stronger

The total amount was 110,000 taels, and the prices were generally lower than the market price, which made Wang Er's generals secretly delighted. Wang Er also bought it without hesitation.

Today's Wang Er is actually a little short of money, but wherever he is lacking, he cannot lack the army!

For Ningbo Mansion, although this is not a huge income, it is still a lot. The key is that this thing is completely free, so naturally it is happy to accept it.

"Please prepare the silver, Chief Wang. A merchant will come in half a month."

The messenger smiled and bowed to leave.

……

Half a month later, the two parties made the deal as promised. The family's transportation team disguised itself as a cloth-selling caravan and headed north. With elite guards and a large amount of money to clear the way, the journey was smooth.

Of course, since both parties to the transaction had no trust in each other, the transaction was divided into several times and was conducted in different areas at the junction of the three provinces of South Zhili, Henan, and Huguang. Swords, muskets, and finally armor were used in one hand. Pay the money and deliver the goods.

Naturally, there were no problems in the first two times, until the last time, the delivery of the armor made Wang Er feel dissatisfied.

"What, you mean, most of these armors are damaged, especially the cloth-faced armors and pierced armors, many of which have holes?" Wang Er slapped his hand heavily on the table with an angry tone:

"These people are so brave, how dare they fool me!"

The cronies he sent hurriedly continued:

"In charge of the plate, I asked him the same question. The man replied like this, 'Why else do you think we have to give you so much cheaper? If the price is based on the general price, it will be no problem to double the price of all kinds of armor!'"

"I don't dare to be good at it, so I came back to tell you."

Hearing this, the noisy hall suddenly fell silent, and the generals who had been clamoring just now suddenly shut their mouths.

The other person is telling the truth.

As the imperial court's control over local areas weakened, the commanders of some guard posts and the workshops responsible for making armor did secretly sell armor. Many landlords and gentry's servants had equipment and bought it from them. of.

It is euphemistically called "training one's own country warriors to defend one's hometown." This was certainly not allowed during the heyday of the Ming Dynasty, but now the court turns a blind eye and does not officially allow it, but it will not strictly crack down on it. .

However, even if they bought it from those people, they did not dare to sell too much. There were dozens of pairs at a time, the supply exceeded the demand, and the price was very high. After all, it was a life-saving thing.

The price the other party sold it for was not even the cost price, so it was indeed cheap, otherwise Wang Er wouldn't have agreed at once.

In the current situation, there is actually nothing to say. The main reason is that they originally thought they had taken advantage of it, but now the gap is just a bit big. After thinking about it, there is no anger anymore.

Especially since they are in urgent need of armor now. If it is broken, it will be broken.

Wang Er sighed deeply and waved his hand.

The confidant understood that this meant consent.

So he sent someone to discuss the next transaction with the people in the caravan at the trading location.

And in the hall, someone asked again:

"So, have you found out where the other party came from?"

The confidant shook his head:

"They were too vigilant and erased all traces. Even except for the leader, the rest of the helpers refused to speak no matter how we asked. The leader also spoke authentic Mandarin and couldn't tell the story."

As for finding...the rebels' intelligence system is extremely weak, and they still have some control over southern Henan. If you go out of southern Henan, you will be blind, and you will be damned if you can find it. When the generals present heard this, their faces were a little ugly.

They have done such a big thing, but they don't even know who the other person is... This feeling is very unpleasant.

However, Wang Er relied on the large amount of ordnance and armor with holes in it to quickly think of the battle that broke out in northern Zhejiang not long ago.

But he was not so imaginative that he thought that the army had actually changed hands. He was thinking that the officials responsible for managing supplies in the Ming Dynasty were enriching themselves, and he even thought that some generals might want to support the invaders.

He expressed his thoughts and was recognized by most of the generals present.

"The officials of the imperial court have become so corrupt that they should perish." Suddenly, he felt a sense of relief in his heart.

"Exactly that."

"What the boss said makes sense."

There was a sudden burst of approval from below.

……

Yan Ling was happy selling the arms, but it was a pain for the Ming army who faced off against Wang Er.

These arms directly raised Wang Er's military strength to a higher level. He took the initiative to launch an attack, taking advantage of the period when the rogue bandits in various parts of South Zhili had not yet subsided to attack cities and seize a large number of territories.

Although it is true that cloth armor and pierced armor have some holes, what about double armor? Although there are fewer armored soldiers, there is an extra double-armored elite with 3,600 people! Swords, bows and arrows cannot be broken, and even fire guns have defensive power from a distance!

The equipment of eight hundred fire guns also increases the combat power.

Wang Er was already difficult to deal with, but once this powerful army came out, it was even more difficult for the Ming army to match.

Unprepared, the Henan general army was defeated by Wang Er, losing thousands of people, Ruzhou fell, and the reputation of the "two thieves" was greatly shaken. Unexpectedly, they set off from Yiyang again, and their troops pointed directly at Luoyang!

As expected, the court's attention was attracted by it. Luoyang, the ancient capital, must not let anything happen!

So the Henan general soldier rushed to Luoyang in a hurry after experiencing a defeat. As a result, Wang Er had already sent people to set up an ambush on the road he must pass. In a melee, the Henan general soldier died on the spot, and others All the more than 20,000 men under his command were wiped out.

Then they attacked Luoyang. Although the city of Luoyang was high and deep, they knew that there were no reinforcements and their morale was extremely low. The defenders had no fighting spirit and only wanted to save their lives. There were also insiders who cooperated. Finally, when rebel soldiers boarded a city wall , the rout could no longer be resisted!

Zhu Youxiao, the Rongwang who was granted the title of Luoyang, was also killed after the rebel army broke through the city. All the treasures of Rongwang Mansion were used by the rebels as military pay.

This prince, before his death, was still doing his carpentry work. It is said that the items he was making at that time were exquisite. However, obviously the rebels would not care about this, and directly destroyed him and his achievements with a fire.

When the news spread, Emperor Wuxing burst into tears on the spot in the palace, held a grand funeral for his nephew in the suburbs, gave him the posthumous title of "Zhong", and erected a tomb.

Then Lu Xiangsheng was ordered to lead his troops to Henan to put an end to Wang Er's rebellion.

Of course Zhu Changxun and Zhu Youxiao had no feelings, but when Zongfan died, he had to show his attitude.

Lu Xiangsheng quickly led the army in Henan. However, Wang Er is no longer what he used to be. During this period of time, he has occupied three prefectures and one state in Henan. His morale is so high that even if he is facing Lu Xiangsheng, There was no fear at all.

The beacon fire throughout the Ming Dynasty is burning more and more fiercely.

(End of this chapter)