Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 162 Humiliating Chen Zengyu

He Yun fulfilled his mission, Feng Bingdan surrendered, and the Zhaoyong Army conquered Nanning without a fight. Afterwards, Danchu sent envoys to pacify various places, and Xu Biao's former subordinates all surrendered.

Unexpectedly, Chen Bangfu suddenly caused trouble and sent his son Chen Zengyu to Nanning to meet Cen Danchu. Chen Zengyu came with ill intentions, as he brought 14 Boshan boats and a wheeled boat, which was obviously intended to show off his military power.

The Boshan boat, also known as the Gulao boat, has a sturdy hull, a flat deck, and many oars on both sides. It is a light and practical paddle boat. It is very common in the Xijiang River Basin and is mainly active in Wuzhou, Liuzhou, Xunzhou, and Nanning.

The wheel boat is larger and equipped with four large wheels. The wheel head is about one foot in the water and is turned by human power. Its speed is much faster than that of an ordinary paddle boat.

The Boshan boat was too small and had a shallow draft, so it couldn't even withstand the recoil of a small light gun. The wheelboat had a slightly deeper draft and a slightly larger load, but it could only carry small guns such as the tiger squat gun.

These inland boats were not in Danchu's eyes. But the Zhaoyong Army was a newcomer, and had just left Yong'an Prefecture surrounded by mountains. It had no navy yet, and the few small boats it had were mostly used to transport food.

Since crossing over, Danchu has been trying to find a way to defeat the enemy. The answer is clear: firearms and water troops.

The Yuan and Ming dynasties were the peak period of China's shipbuilding industry, with a high level of shipbuilding. The Ming navy dominated East Asia for a long time, and even in the Southern Ming Dynasty, the Ming navy was far superior to the Qing army. From the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the Ming navy abandoned traditional attack methods and switched to firearms at sea, and the rate of firearms equipped on ships was 100%.

The Zheng family group in Fujian was known for its navy. Although it only had two small places, Kinmen and Xiamen, it monopolized trade with its navy, supported an army of more than 100,000 people, and moved freely along the coast. Lu Jianguo still persisted in resisting the Qing Dynasty on the coast of Zhejiang, isolated in Zhoushan. The Qing army lacked a navy and could only sigh in despair.

Now, the Zhaoyong Army has occupied Nanning, but it is six or seven hundred miles away from the old base of Yongan. It is urgent to build a navy and strengthen the connection between Yongan and Nanning.

With mixed feelings, Danchu met Chen Zengyu.

"Congratulations! Xu Biao was executed, the deputy governor captured Nanning, and the Zhaoyong Army won consecutive battles, which is really impressive!" Chen Zengyu congratulated Danchu with a smile on his face.

The two were old acquaintances. Danchu first met him when he was protecting the Yongli Emperor last year. This year in Wuzhou, Li Chengdong welcomed the Emperor, Chen Zengyu escorted him, and Danchu also led the army to guard the palace. During the period, they participated in the Emperor's Archery Ceremony together.

For some reason, Danchu always disliked Chen Bangfu and Chen Zengyu, and felt that Chen Bangfu would rebel in the future just like Liu Chengyin. Xunzhou Prefecture, where Chen's father and son were entrenched, was located between Yong'an and Nanning, splitting the Zhaoyong Army into two parts. Danchu would not be able to sleep or eat well if he did not seize Xunzhou.

"Haha." With so much experience, Danchu also became unfathomable. He said differently to different people and laughed, "Marshal, I am happy for you. With the death of Xu Biao, Duke Qing has eliminated a great enemy, and his prestige will be even greater."

"It was only thanks to the military prowess of the Vice Governor and the bravery of the Zhaoyong Army that we were able to eliminate this great traitor and his followers."

"Haha, the coach is modest."

Chen Zengyu must have come here to claim territory. Nanning? Taiping? Yongchun? Hengzhou? Danchu didn't know what he was going to do, but he had already made up his mind: territory is the foundation of survival in troubled times, and he would not give up even an inch.

After talking for a while, Chen Zengyu still didn't mention the purpose of this trip. Danchu also kept his cool and deliberately laughed him off. Chen Zengyu played tricks and lured Danchu into the trap twice, but Danchu saw through it and talked about something else. In troubled times, when warriors communicate with each other, who doesn't know how to practice Tai Chi?

Chen Zengyu was helpless and said, "I came to Nanning on my father's orders to bring a thousand dan of grain, a thousand rolls of cloth, tea and some bacon, asking the vice governor to reward the Zhaoyong Army. My father and I want to make friends with the vice governor, and I hope the vice governor will accept it."

"I am deeply grateful for Duke Qing's kindness." Danchu smiled, looked at Chen Zengyu meaningfully, and said, "It's just that Xu Biao has no grudge against me, but I still raised an army to attack him, and even passed through Xunzhou and Liuzhou, traveling thousands of miles to avenge Duke Qing. You and your son should understand the meaning of this. At the beginning, you promised to provide 10,000 dan of grain and 10,000 taels of white gold, but I have only received 2,000 dan and 2,000 taels of white gold so far."

Feng Lin echoed, "General, I opposed this war from the beginning. Throughout history, no one has ever traveled thousands of miles to help others fight a war without being provided with money and food. Now, the Zhaoyong Army has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, and the daily expenses for food and biscuits are huge. There is also a shortage of gunpowder, bullets, and arrows. What is going on?"

"Feng Lin, stop talking nonsense." Dan Chu pretended to be angry and said, "Since Duke Qing asked me to send troops, how could I not keep my promise?"

Danchu's tone suddenly changed, which caught Chen Zengyu off guard. Nowadays, few warriors are normal. Most of those who can fight have exposed their tempers, and most of those with gentle personalities cannot stand fighting. This Cen Danchu, nicknamed "Little Overlord", is not a good person.

"Well," Chen Zengyu came prepared and said, "Why is the deputy governor so anxious? Ten thousand dan of grain and ten thousand taels of platinum are not small amounts. It is difficult for us to transport them. We have to transfer them in batches."

"Oh I got it."

Chen Bangfu and Chen Zengyu both used flattery as a means to control the military commanders, and they also had a way to control the military commanders: controlling the military commanders' food and salaries. As long as they controlled the military commanders' food and salaries, the military commanders would have to listen to them.

At the beginning, Chen and his son borrowed troops from Cen Danchu after "careful consideration": Cen Danchu was a young man who was not very thoughtful. The Zhaoyong Army had to go on a long expedition and had difficulty in getting food and money, so they had to rely on Chen and his son. With this backhand, they could control Cen Danchu. Even if the two armies fell out and the Zhaoyong Army was divided into two, the Chen family army could cut off the Zhaoyong Army's food supply at any time. Without even food, what's the point of fighting?
Who would have thought that Cen Danchu was such a tough guy. The Zhaoyong Army took a risky move and defeated Xu Biao and the rest of the troops in less than half a month. How could the Chen Family Army dare to challenge such amazing fighting power?
Chen Zengyu hesitated for a long time before finally getting to the point, saying, "The imperial court decreed that Duke Qingguo guard Guangxi for generations..."

"No," Danchu immediately refuted, "This matter is known to the world. Lord Qu, Commander He, Duke Huiguo, Marquis Xinxing and other meritorious officials and generals all oppose it. Where is the imperial edict that Marshal Jue mentioned? Can you let me read it?"

Chen Zengyu was embarrassed by his own humiliation and changed his words: "The imperial court ordered Duke Qing to monopolize the military forces, money and grain of the entire Guangxi province..."

"You are a noble general with a high position and a high status, so you must be careful with your words. The word "autocratic" is unique to the emperor, so how can a minister call himself that? Wuzong called himself the 'General Governor of Military Affairs', and his ministers avoided him and changed the name of "General Governor" to "General Governor."

Danchu deliberately showed off his knowledge and continued, "Emperor Shizong believed that the word 'regulation' was exclusive to the emperor, so how could it be used by ministers? Therefore, it was changed back to governor. The origin of this is well known to the world. The commander-in-chief is not a three-year-old child, how can he be easily called 'dictatorial'? If it were Taizu in power, he would have launched a major prison and punished all nine clans!"

Fang Yizhi and Feng Lin sat beside them, each laughing to themselves.

Chen Zengyu then realized that Danchu intended to humiliate him. His face turned red and white, and he stammered and was unable to speak.

(End of this chapter)