Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 310 The Shock Department is back at work
Chen Jing'an disguised himself as a hunter who went into the mountains to poach, and he was fully equipped.

A foot bow, arrows, a straw bag for camping, several days' worth of dry food and a water bottle, plus a rolled-up "camouflage coat".

This is a set of camouflage clothes woven with leaves and straw raincoats, which can blend in cleverly with the mountains and forests.

His first stop was the well-known "Lijia Town".

Chen Jing'an found out clearly when he came.

This was originally a village where refugees gathered. Thanks to Li Mu's literary and military talents, he kicked bandits with his feet, beat up robbers with his fists, and absorbed the people to reclaim wasteland and open mines, and the village gradually grew and developed.

The former poor and dilapidated village has now become a prosperous town, and even has a very strong city wall, which is more magnificent than the average county town.

However, the security of "Lijia Town" is quite strict, and any citizen who wants to enter behind the wall will be repeatedly and strictly checked.

Chen Jing'an immediately understood that this was Li Mu's real "nest", which was why it was managed so strictly.

If you frequently go in and out of Lijia Town, you must apply for a "license plate" made of durable material.

Write down your place of origin, name, date of birth, gender, and even a string of Arabic numbers.

A portrait of the license plate holder would be drawn and kept in the official's register.

If a licensed trader or laborer wishes to enter a town, the police can simply compare the licensed documents with the register to verify their authenticity.

Chen Jing'an originally thought that so-called portraits were extremely easy to forge. The government's wanted posters were always inaccurate, and a clean-looking strong man could be painted as a bully with pockmarks all over his face.

Until he saw a portrait studio opened outside the town, specializing in painting family portraits for the people.

Only when the realistic portrait was 80% to 90% similar to the real person did he realize that it was impossible to fake it.

Naturally, he didn't dare to risk entering the Black Flag Camp's lair, so as not to register with the Black Flag Camp, but it was impossible not to take a look.

So he took advantage of the night to sneak into the forest and carefully searched for a place with a wide view.

It was not an easy journey for him. The foot of the mountain near Lijia Town was full of soldiers patrolling with torches, in groups of 20 to 30 people. At least 40% of them were wearing armor, and all of them were Ming armor.

Visible armor is the armor that is exposed outside, while hidden armor is the cloth armor with armor plates sewn into the battle jacket.

These days, there are very few officers and soldiers who can wear 40% lamellar armor. Most officers and soldiers wear cloth armor that is easy to "camouflage".

Wearing the nail plate inside the cotton jacket, who knows whether the nail plate has rusted or there is no nail plate at all. Shangguan fooled the lower part and the lower part also fooled the upper part.

The luxurious armor rate of the Black Flag Battalion is truly enviable, but where does this huge amount of money and food come from?

Chen Jing'an's suspicion of the Black Flag Camp increased, and he quickly climbed a big tree under the moonlight.

He used hemp rope to make a simple sleeping bag, and then covered himself and the sleeping bag with a "camouflage suit".

Fortunately, he is the type of person who doesn't snore when he sleeps at night, so he spent the night safely.

The next day, the sun rose as usual. Chen Jing'an took advantage of the cover of branches and leaves to take out his "telescope" to observe the entire picture of Lijia Town.

The residential areas in the city are no different from those of ordinary county towns, with mountains to the north and south and city gates to the west and east.

There were lively people, vendors hawking their wares, and a group of laborers heading east.

and many more!

The laborers walked all the way to the east gate of "Lijia Town" and then got on horse-drawn carriages.

These carriages are all double-decker, with wheels stuck in two fixed tracks and moving slowly forward.

This wasn't a "railway" with a strange construction model, but something he had heard of.

It's a road embedded in the ground!

These trams not only carried people, but also carried goods.

With a few low shouts from the coachman, the packhorses pulling the cart gradually began to speed up and traveled eastward for several miles.

Until the carriage approached a high wall, all the laborers got off in an orderly manner and were inspected by the guards outside the gate. They were not allowed inside the high wall until the inspection was passed.

The patrolmen on the wall were extremely tough. Each of them was armed with a sword and a musket, and had a bow and arrow slung over their waist.

The walls here are higher than those in Lijia Town. Even though Chen Jingan was lying on a tree and looking into the distance, most of his vision was blocked.

The stricter security told him that behind the high walls might be Lord Li’s greatest secret.

So he hurried towards the mountainside several miles away during the critical window before the sun set.

For fear of being discovered by patrolmen from the Black Flag Battalion, he didn't even dare to move at the edge of the forest, and therefore couldn't overlook the mountain while moving.

Until night fell, he still couldn't reach the safe observation point, but the monster's howling grunts could be heard in the distance.

so similar.

It was exactly the same strange roar he heard while lurking along the railway late one night.

He didn't dare get too close that night.

The people said that the yamen runners strictly investigated "prying the rails" and "ripping off the iron horses". Anyone who approached the railway at night would be severely punished. If theft was confirmed, the person would be sent to a hard labor camp to mine.

However, in those days, there were no high-powered lighting tools except lanterns and candles at night, so no country folk would go out at night. At night, they would chat and make babies...

But this time he wanted to confirm that the "Iron Horse" was not only able to move at night—

Because he also heard the "monster roar" before the sun set, the Iron Horse was not a "special monster" that hid during the day and appeared at night, but someone was deliberately hiding his abilities.

A carefully woven lie seemed to have been torn apart by him.

Chen Jing'an was excited about his discovery, his heart beat faster, as if all the organs and blood in his body were dancing.

He is not far from the "truth".

It was another morning, and when the monster's roaring and grunting sound was heard, Chen Jing'an woke up from his sleep.

As usual, he lay on the tree and looked into the distance, but he saw a scene that he would never forget in his life.

The pitch-black and rough-bedded "beast" moved forward quickly on the black rails, like a black earth dragon moving along the black road.

The true role of the railway was clearly revealed to him.

The top of the "earth dragon" spewed out black and white mist, and it twisted its long body and moved towards the east. After a while, it turned and headed south.

The speed of the "Earth Dragon" is not as fast as a galloping warhorse, but it is not much slower. As the rumors say, it can travel dozens of miles in an hour.

More importantly, the "Earth Dragon" can run at a fairly good speed while dragging heavy cargo behind it.

What the hell is this?

The blood in his body seemed to freeze at this moment, and Chen Jingan could hardly believe what he saw.

He could understand a horse-drawn railroad car.

After all, it's a Chidao, which was used by our ancestors and the Ming Dynasty, so it's not rare.

But this "monster" didn't even have a horse to pull the goods, let alone any animal or human power, and it just kept running forward without stopping.

What is automatic?

Only natural forces such as wind and water can drive windmills and waterwheels to operate.

But where are the winds and waters that can pull several cargo boxes full of ore at such a speed?

A trick or an unknown magic?
Could it be true, as the rumors say, that a great immortal who possesses the "power of water and fire" and the "power of wind and thunder" lives in this valley?!
Chen Jing'an felt his worldview undergo a powerful shock, as if his simple materialistic ideals were being ripped apart. Impossible! This had to be an illusion!

He slapped himself hard, and it hurt like fire.

The real pain told him that everything he saw was real, and the "black earth dragon" was not an illusion caused by evil magic.

He covered his mouth and howled softly for a long time before he managed to calm his excited heart.

If there really is a great immortal, wouldn't he be watching his every move closely around him?
Chen Jingan couldn't help but look around, subconsciously raising his hands to bow to the invisible gods and earth spirits, silently saying in his heart, "No offense, no offense..."

His loyalty to the emperor was also shaken at this moment, but in the end it was the bizarre experiences of "strange skills" and "magicians" he had seen during his years of work that helped him to calm down.

He thought again, if the immortal wanted to help the rebel, wouldn't he be able to kill him, the secret spy, with just one finger?

But he closed his eyes and worshipped the gods for a while, and no magic spell ruined his life, so he was still alive and well.

What does it mean?
Either the immortal's magic power was not strong enough to detect his figure, so there was no question of killing him.

Either the immortal knew of his existence but disdained to interfere in the mortal world, and only bestowed some magical weapons and divine beasts for the benefit of the world, and then left long ago.

The existence of the black earth dragon forced Chen Jing'an to believe in magic and Taoism.

Based on his experience dealing with people from the underworld and long-standing local rumors, Chen Jingan boldly speculated that—

This black earth dragon is one of the divine beasts bestowed by the immortals. Fortunately, it was obtained by the people in the mountains, or in other words, by the people in Lijia Town. Since then, their lives have become better and better.

However, the earth dragon is a divine creature from heaven after all, and when it comes to the mortal world, it can only take the shape of ordinary objects, such as enlarged versions of trucks, shield carts, siege vehicles, etc.

There are also a few people in Lijia Town who understand Taoism or have been guided by immortals.

Knowing that this mythical beast needs to be confined by the "black road" so that it can move forward in an orderly manner, it is like tying up a fairy with a rope.

Otherwise, without the "black road" to bind it, the earth dragon would inevitably transform into a beast and escape into the mortal world, causing trouble for the world.

Thinking of this, Chen Jing'an finally sorted out the logical chain.

The black dragon swallows the ore in the mountains day and night without getting tired.

Its speed is amazing, much faster than that of ordinary mule and horse caravans, and it can carry much more. One trip can carry dozens of times more than others.

Others do it ten times a year, but it can do it hundreds of times a year, and there is more than one black earth dragon.

Chen Jingan alone saw twelve of them!
With this throughput efficiency, can the profit be low?

No wonder the Black Flag Camp had an inexhaustible supply of money and food; it turned out the real reason was this.

That's right, for an ordinary person, getting one black dragon is enough to make him rich and prosperous for life, but Lijia Town got twelve.

No! There are also black earth dragons roaring at night in the counties and prefectures outside the valley. I'm afraid the total number of black dragons exceeds twenty!

Chen Jing'an suddenly thought of another question. Just now, a ground dragon went to the south.

He thought of the local prefecture and county map. To the south of southern Henan was Huangzhou Prefecture, and further south was Hanyang in the north of the Yangtze River.

No!

Isn’t Huangzhou Prefecture the lost territory that the Black Flag Camp had previously recaptured from the Changsheng thieves?

If the Black Road extends there, it means that wherever the Black Road goes, it is controlled by the Black Flag Camp.

This is a symbol and also the maximum range of activity that drives the black dragon.

Several cities in southern Henan, the prefecture of Huangzhou, and the valley in the mountains, the Black Flag Camp actually took control of half of the province quietly!
Build walls high, accumulate grain, and slowly become king.

Isn’t this the strategic policy of our dynasty’s Taizu to establish his hegemony?
Chen Jing'an couldn't help but slap his head, and a sense of relief arose as all his messy thoughts were cleared away.

He was now certain that Li Mu, the commander of the Black Flag Camp, had indeed harbored rebellious intentions.

The Black Flag Camp rose up in southern Henan for a maximum of two and a half years. No wonder local officials did not realize Li Mu's rebellious intentions.

If Chen Jing'an had not risked crossing one "checkpoint" after another and going deep into the mountains to find out the truth, linking this series of bizarre rumors and true events together, he would never have been able to tear off Li Mu's disguise mask.

Thinking about how those civil servants had been with Li Mu day and night but still couldn't see through the latter's true face, and it was him, a small Jinyiwei, who found out the clues, he couldn't help but feel a little proud.

He was indeed a tough guy who had traveled all over the country for many years, and his skills had not been wasted.

But up to this point, there is still one thing that Chen Jingan can't figure out.

Since Li Mu had long harbored rebellious intentions, why did he repeatedly sacrifice his elite troops?

Suppressing the bandits can be said to be because the bandits threatened his territory, so why would he travel hundreds of miles to fight against the invading Jiannu?

The Black Flag Battalion suffered countless casualties in Shandong. The worst was the Battle of Jinan, where 800 elite Black Flag soldiers were ambushed and annihilated.

Later, in the decisive battle with the Jiannu at Jishui River, the auxiliary troops of the Black Flag Camp also fought desperately, and it is unknown how many people were killed or wounded.

After this battle, the Black Flag Battalion was seriously injured, and was later ordered to go south to suppress the Red Turban bandits who suddenly emerged.

Tsk tsk, Chen Jingan felt it was a pity just thinking about it.

Most of these elite soldiers were consumed in these battles.

It is extremely difficult to train a group of elite soldiers these days. Factors such as manpower, training, military pay, weapons, etc. are all indispensable.

Even General Qi Jiguang, who was famous decades ago, had extremely low combat effectiveness of the garrison troops he initially led.

In the first battle, Qi Jiguang led thousands of garrison soldiers to fight against less than a thousand Japanese pirates. If he had not shot three arrows that hit three Japanese pirate leaders in a row and forced the pirates to retreat, the battle would have been a disastrous defeat.

It was not until later that General Qi trained an elite force to fight against the Japanese pirates and reduced the casualties to single digits.

The importance of elite veterans is evident.

According to a rough estimate, there are at least 10,000 elite veterans of the Black Flag Battalion who died in battle or were wounded and retired, right?

Unexpectedly, Li Mu did not rest and recuperate, but continued to participate in the more dangerous battle to recover Liao. It is said that the enemy and our side had a combined army of 200,000 to 300,000.

In such a fierce decisive battle, many elite veterans of the Black Flag Battalion must have been killed or wounded.

If these elite veterans were to bring three times as many auxiliary troops, they could easily gather 50,000 to 60,000 combat-ready soldiers.

If that were the case, the Black Flag Camp would have rebelled long ago.

Even if there is no rebellion, keeping more than 10,000 elite veterans will provide more power for rebellion.

What was Li Mu trying to achieve by constantly sacrificing his elite troops, weakening his overall combat capability, and increasing the risk of rebellion?
Could it be that Li Mu had the idea of ​​rebellion from the beginning, but later on became so loyal that he even took it seriously, and he kept wavering, not knowing whether he should rebel?
Chen Jing'an always felt that he was only one step away, just one step away from completing the "reasonable puzzle" and figuring out what Li Mu was thinking.

Suddenly, Chen Jing'an heard the roaring sound of the "earth dragon" again.

But this time, the "earth dragon" was not loaded with ore, but with people, a group of well-armed, elite and brave soldiers.

Two of the ground dragons carried soldiers holding red flags, and the other two carried soldiers holding blue flags.

These elite soldiers of the Black Flag Battalion rode on the "Earth Dragon" and headed towards the southern valley.

Looking back at the patrol soldiers coming and going, Chen Jing'an looked at the distant sky and vaguely saw the "Tianlong" floating up and down in the clouds.

The more he unravels the mystery, the more he discovers there are more mysteries waiting for him ahead.

It seems that I have to go deeper into the valley to sort out all these confusions.

Chen Jing'an gritted his teeth and thought to himself that since he was already here, he might as well figure out everything before leaving.

(End of this chapter)