Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 112 New Army Drills
January 1866,
Zheng Guohui led his men back to Tongzhou, where he was warmly welcomed at the dock by the Tongzhou prefect and a group of officials. All the well-known local gentry were present, and the welcoming ceremony was so grand that it shocked the surrounding area.

The reason for making such a big announcement is to announce to Jinling City and other forces with ulterior motives that this general has returned home.

As the military and political chief of a province, Zheng Guohui had no one to supervise him when the post of Governor of Jiangnan was temporarily vacant, so naturally he did not need to report to anyone.

He has been staying at home for more than four months, and his whereabouts are very mysterious and low-key, which inevitably arouses suspicion.

Although he could just say, "My behavior is a military secret and should not be made public," he still had to show his face.

Today's occasion is very appropriate.

In the past, this general went to Xuzhou Prefecture to deploy bandit suppression matters and went to Huai'an Prefecture to inspect war preparations. Do I have to report to you on all of this?

This time I came to Tongzhou Prefecture, naturally, to inspect military affairs and stay at home for a few days.

When Zheng Guohui went to Southeast Asia on the tenth day of August, he took with him 2000 troops, mainly from Jinling and Tongzhou.

There are one thousand in Jinling and one thousand in Tongzhou.

There are many troops stationed in Nanjing, so it’s no big deal to withdraw 1,000 of the more than 7,000 troops, and the troops can be replenished quickly.

But there were only 1,200 people in Tongzhou. After withdrawing 1,000 officers and soldiers, only two or three big cats and small cats were left.

Even the Tongzhou Defense Captain Zheng Shouzhong was taken to Southeast Asia. Now he is the governor of Davao and is working hard to build the increasingly prosperous city of Davao according to Zheng Guohui's instructions.

Now that the position of Tongzhou Defense Captain, a fourth-rank official, has been vacated, Zheng Guohui plans to let his third brother Zheng Guoliang take it. Zheng Guoliang will be 17 years old next year, and his literary and military talents have improved, so he can be of some use.

before this
He needs to be sent to the Jinling Officers Training Corps for one year of military training first. The third term will start in March, so it's just in time.

When Zheng Guohui left, he left an order to recruit soldiers on the spot and recruit 1,500 strong men. The person in charge was the captain Zhou Laonian.

Zhou Laonian is an old man who has been with Zheng Guohui in the Tongzhou militia. He has been following him through thick and thin for more than five years. Although he is in his 5s, he looks like he is in his 30s, so he is called Zhou Laonian and has forgotten his real name.

Really speaking

We are distant relatives. He doesn't talk much, but he is steady and down-to-earth in his work. He is definitely one of my confidants.

When Zheng Guohui came back this time, he stayed in the old house for a day, met his parents, his brothers and sisters-in-law, and the heads of each family, and held a meeting behind closed doors.

Early the next morning

Zheng Guohui brought Zheng Guoliang and his personal soldiers to the military camp. He wanted to personally check whether these new recruits who had been trained for more than four months met the requirements of the drill manual.

The biting cold wind blew straight into the neck and sleeves, making people feel cold all over.

The guards marching in formation walked with vigorous steps and their uniform movements revealed their elite spirit, attracting many people on the street to watch with their arms folded, marveling at them.

Zheng Guoguang was riding on a horse in military uniform, the childishness on his handsome face had not yet completely faded. He was excitedly peeping at his second brother. This legendary second brother was his idol.

Endure for a while
Zheng Guoguang couldn't help but ask, "Second brother, the servants in the mansion are saying that you took your men far away..."

"It's not polite to call you 'General'." Zheng Guohui turned around and scolded him, then looked straight ahead without looking at him again.

After being scolded, Zheng Guoguang became much more timid, but he still mustered up the courage to ask, "General, is what they said true?"

"As a soldier, don't ask questions you shouldn't ask, and don't ask questions you shouldn't ask. Just remember to do your job well. Doing your duty is the first lesson you need to learn."

"I understand, Second...General." Zheng Guoguang was taught a lesson again and could only agree obediently, but he was not very convinced in his heart.

Zheng Guohui ignored him and rode forward.

The affairs of Chongming Island were top secret of Zheng Guohui's forces and had always been kept very secret. Even many clan members in Tongzhou were unaware of it, and the heads of the various branches were not allowed to tell their families.

Once those refugees entered Chongming Island, there was no way they could get out alive.

They either immigrated to Southeast Asia or lived a peaceful life on the island, with men farming and women weaving, raising children and living a peaceful life.

During this period of time
There are some villagers who, after having their fill, begin to miss their families and hometowns, and even think of sneaking back to serve their elderly mothers.

Nearly 40 people were arrested in total, and all of them were publicly sentenced in Guangming Town and executed by being torn apart by five horses. Their heads are still hanging under the plaque at the entrance of Guangming Town.

When they were refugees, they all voluntarily followed others in search of a way to survive.

After arriving on the island, they repeatedly stressed that all people on the island were not allowed to leave. If they did not want to go to Southeast Asia, they could only die here. There was no third way.

This is the only prohibition, and violating it will result in death.

No matter how you cry with tears on your face about having to support your elderly mother or find your separated children and relatives, any reason or excuse is useless. Anyone who violates the ban will be killed.

After being caught, their limbs were nailed to wooden stakes for three days for display, and then they were torn apart by five horses. The purpose was to warn others.

Don’t forget your last name just after a few days of eating.

All those who were able to leave Chongming Island and go to various prefectures in Jiangnan to exchange supplies were carefully screened members of the Zheng family. Their parents and family members were all in Tongzhou City, and they would not dare to speak nonsense even if they were beaten to death.

That is why the secret has been preserved to this day.

Other new forces can observe that the Zheng family is taking in refugees. This is something that cannot be concealed, but it cannot be confirmed, and no one knows where the refugees are sent?

Generally speaking

They were all sent to a detention camp on the outskirts of Tongzhou, and then secretly transferred to Chongming Island. This detention camp could accommodate three to four thousand people, and porridge was distributed daily to accommodate refugees who could not survive and the poor from surrounding prefectures and counties.

But the local people in Tongzhou all know that unless you can't survive, you must not go to that detention camp, otherwise you will never see it again.

From this, all kinds of bizarre legends have spread, such as cannibalism, being sent to mines to mine, and so on. Anyway, there are all kinds of legends, and they are very weird.

"Your humble servant greets the General and wishes you the best of luck and happiness!"

"No courtesy, stay on your own."

"Thank you for your grace, General." Captain Zhou Laonian led a group of officers to open the camp gate, bowed a thousand times at the gate, and respectfully welcomed the general.

Zheng Guohui dismounted, and Zheng Guoguang, who was following behind him, also dismounted quickly, handed the horse reins to the horseman, and followed him into the gate.

Yuanmenli

The fully armed soldiers stood on the left and right, holding swords and guns to welcome the general's inspection. Everyone was in high spirits and morale.

"Welcome, General. Use me in the first battle and I will win every battle."

"Well, thank you for your hard work, brothers."

"I am willing to die for the General, even if it means going through fire and water."

"Do you know whose soldier they are?"

"I wear the general's clothes, eat the general's food, and receive the general's salary. It is natural to work hard for the general. There is no retreat!"

"Well, good teaching."

Zheng Guohui inspected the whole team and expressed satisfaction with the spirit of the new recruits, who were all composed of Tongzhou villagers. He said that they met his requirements.

What is the specific quality?

To tell whether it is a mule or a horse, we have to take it to the training ground for a walk and then give it a specific score.

Now when the warlords are training their troops, they don’t talk about loyalty to the imperial court. They all pledge loyalty to the warlord leader, just like Zheng Guohui.

Located in the prosperous province of Jiangnan, the military pay from the Ministry of War has never been allocated, and there is no exact date for when it will be allocated, but Zheng Guohui's troops never lack supplies and food.

These 1500 elite soldiers in front of us are the soldiers supported by the entire Tongzhou Prefecture and six counties. If we squeeze a little, we can get everything we want.

Zheng Guohui's prestige was not entirely based on winning over people. During those turbulent years, he secretly instructed more than 40 local and county wealthy families to be labeled as "collaborators with bandits", and his notoriety had long been growing.

This led to a surge in local gentry's enthusiasm for supporting the army, and Mei Ji raised far more food and wages than was needed, with a large surplus.

So Zheng Guohui thought to himself: take from the people and use it for the people.

During this period of time, we can train another cavalry, with more than a thousand riders, and add the 500 elite riders stationed in Xuzhou Prefecture, which will be enough to ensure that Jiangnan Province can rest assured.

However, the foals born on Chongming Island last year were not old enough, so we have to wait two years. However, we can raise cavalry equipment.

Speaking of cavalry equipment, Zheng Guohui actually placed an order with the American-owned Wan Guo Tong Bao Trading Company, ordering a total of 3000 sets of cavalry equipment, each set costing US$30, or 30 taels of silver, for a total of 9 taels of silver.

A set of real cavalry equipment, minus the warhorse, would cost at least five or six hundred dollars. His set cost only thirty dollars, not even a fraction of that, and he was just picking up junk.

It doesn't matter if the military uniform has bullet holes, or if the saddle or harness is a little old. As long as the cowhide gun bag, tent, blanket, riding boots, and saber are usable, it's fine. It would be even better if it can come with a lance, but it's not necessary if it doesn't. The main point is that it's cheap.

It was agreed at the time that if we could get better cavalry equipment, we could increase the price appropriately.

Barracks

The soldiers formed a line in battle formation, advanced and encircled to the sound of powerful military drums, and changed their formations freely, following the orders of the officers.

Sitting on the reviewing stand

Zheng Guohui watched the soldiers of each battalion training with a very focused expression. After asking the captain Zhou Laonian beside him, he kept taking notes.

Captain Zhou Laonian took a quick glance and then quickly looked away, not daring to look again.

Zhou Laonian already knew that the general was giving scores to the military commanders of each camp. Those who performed well would be circled and those who were the focus of attention would be asked more questions about their family background and so on.

Those who perform poorly are also marked, with a line drawn under their names, and this guy’s future is worrying.

Because the general had a cold face and didn't say anything or make many comments, Zhou Laonian didn't dare to ask, so he was very nervous.

The general today is very different from before, and he is even more majestic.

The exercise was over when the general walked to the reviewing stand and gave a speech to all the officers and soldiers in neat formation. The meaning between the lines seemed satisfactory, and Zhou Laonian finally felt relieved.

Still have questions?

Should I circle my name or draw a line under it? I really can't guess what the general is thinking.

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(End of this chapter)