Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 76: Dispatching Troops to Various Prefectures in Northern Jiangsu
Zheng Guohui stayed on Chongming Island for two days and inspected various matters. Then he left Li Hezhang on the island to take charge of the situation and led his followers back to Jinling by boat.

At this time, the city of Jinling was bustling with noise and bustle.

The Qinhuai River is now bustling with life and has regained its former splendor. Thousands of people flock to this famous Jiangnan city every day, and the war ruins are being repaired at an astonishing speed, bringing the city back to life.

In the Drum Tower Military Camp

The more than 4000 settlers who had just arrived all changed into military uniforms, cloth shoes, leggings, and were equipped with foreign rifles, swords and shields and began to be organized into groups for training.

More than 300 students from the first phase of the Jinling Military Academy were all assigned to grassroots companies, and 4000 veterans transferred from the army were also organized into groups and are undergoing familiarization and running-in.

The young and strong men recruited from all over the country have not yet entered the camp, but it will only take three to five days, and the delay will not be too long.

Nowadays, being a soldier and having a full meal is extremely tempting.

The Jiangning military recruitment campaign promised to give each man five taels of silver to settle down, which attracted a large number of poor children to sign up.

Each county has one or two hundred quotas, which often attracts thousands of young and strong people to sign up enthusiastically. The best ones can be selected, and those who are illiterate will be eliminated.

Even so, there was still a huge crowd of people.

Many people in the surrounding prefectures and counties know that the officers and soldiers of the Jiangning Association are the richest. At the end of last year, many veterans returned to their hometowns to visit their relatives and gave money to their families to build houses.

Especially the group of people who first formed the Tongzhou militia, almost every family built a house and bought land, which made the surrounding neighbors envious and everyone said "they have made it big".

As long as you hear that "General Zheng's" army is recruiting soldiers, your appeal will be great.

After Zheng Guohui arrived in Nanjing, he ignored the visiting cards that came in like snowflakes. He had no time for socializing and had to focus on military affairs.

He stayed in the Gulou Barracks for three consecutive days, and personally took charge of every newly formed regiment, battalion, and team.

He also had cordial conversations with every grassroots officer who had just joined the company, some for three to five minutes, some for ten minutes, and he encouraged them all.

The general's friendly attitude made these young grassroots officers excited and their morale was high.

three days later

The first troop to depart from Nanjing was a northbound fleet led by He Ruolin, the defense captain of Xuzhou Prefecture. It consisted of more than 80 ships of various types, carrying more than 1600 officers and soldiers and a large amount of supplies along the Grand Canal northward to Xuzhou Prefecture.

Another battalion of cavalry with more than 500 elite cavalrymen went north by land, passing through Huai'an Prefecture and directly to Xuzhou, arriving safely in just 5 days.

The unit's insufficient manpower was supplemented by more than 900 new recruits recruited from Xuzhou Prefecture, who carried out simultaneous training at the garrison.

Zheng Guohui, the Jiangnan Recruiting Envoy, privately informed He Rulin, "We won't get a single ounce of silver for this expedition. Since we're working for the Xuzhou government, we'll definitely be eating and using their money, and if we have the ability, we'll have to get some back."

The food and supplies for the troops stationed in various prefectures are all the responsibility of the local government, including soldiers' salaries, silver allocations, grain and fodder, etc.

Fortunately, the prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River have always been prosperous. If the government does not have enough money, it is not a big deal to find some local wealthy gentry to donate some silver.

If you go to a poor place, you can't squeeze out any money and you can only swallow your anger.

In the end, it is the soldiers who suffer, not the generals above them.

Zheng Guohui also couldn't get any of this empty salary. Although he had now taken refuge with Prince Gong Yixin, a powerful figure, and certainly had official support, he really had no money from the court.

Prince Gong Yixin did not mention where the salaries for the expanded Green Camp soldiers would come from, and the court's Ministry of War also pretended to be stupid. Anyway, you have to figure it out yourself.

Zheng Guohui's solution was to sell the private salt to various prefectures in northern Jiangsu. Don't count on Weiyang Prefecture and Huai'an Prefecture, as these two places are important salt production areas, and their own salt has piled up into mountains.

The only place to go was Xuzhou Prefecture, and the task of developing channels for selling private salt was left to a group of staff, who sent some young and courageous people to do it.

Sending reinforcements to Xuzhou Prefecture was the first step. In the next few days, reinforcements were sent to Huai'an Prefecture, Zhenjiang Prefecture, Weiyang Prefecture, and Tongzhou Prefecture one after another, and the troops advanced along land and water.

Those who can take a boat will take a boat, and those who cannot take a boat will walk.

at the same time
One military report after another was sent to the capital, and the tasks assigned by Prince Gong Yixin were completed without fail, leaving a good impression on his superiors.

After finishing all these, Li Hezhang led his entourage to arrive in Jinling City by boat, much later than expected.

He brought good news
Smelting copper ore and minting coins were carried out simultaneously. By the end of June, 6 to 1 copper coins could be minted, which was equivalent to taels of silver.

The speed will increase sharply next month, and it is expected that 50,000 to 60,000 copper coins can be minted, which is equivalent to 50,000 to 60,000 taels of silver.

Purple copper coins were of excellent quality, and one thousand coins (one string of coins) could be exchanged for one tael of silver. If they were copper coins minted by the imperial court, it would take one thousand two hundred to three hundred coins to exchange for one tael of silver.

If it were some privately minted copper coins of even lower quality, one would need 1,700 to 1,800 coins to exchange for one tael of silver.

If more manpower were added, even more copper coins could be minted.

The copper ore brought back from the Lushun Islands by the ship this time has a very high grade, about 34%, which means that 2/3 of the impurities have been removed and 1/3 of the copper ingots can be cast.

This batch of copper ore can eventually be melted into copper coins worth about 130,000 to 140,000 taels of silver, which is quite difficult.

this day

Zheng Guohui held a welcoming banquet to welcome Li Hezhang who had returned from a long journey. Several confidants sat at the table with the Prime Minister, and the scene was extremely harmonious.

Among them were Zheng Shouye (fourth uncle), the defense captain of Jiangning Prefecture, Zheng Guotai, Zheng Jialiang, Zheng Xin, as well as Fang Weishan, Li Jinghui, and Li Jingji, the staff advisors of the former Jiangnan governor Fuzhu Hong'a.

Zheng Shouye (fourth uncle), the defense captain of Jiangning Prefecture, actually sat in the headquarters on behalf of Zheng Guohui. His role was like a telephone, faithfully carrying out the general's orders.

Zheng Guotai and other staff members are now under Li Hezhang's command, so of course they have to get closer to him.

Today's staff team is getting bigger and bigger. The next generation of the Li family, Li Jinghui, Li Jingji and others have also joined in to plan big things together, but we will not mention them for now.

Fang Weishan, the former chief advisor to the former Jiangnan Governor Fuzhu Hong'a, has been determined to follow General Zheng Guohui ever since his master was killed by the Nian bandits.

Therefore, all the existing land deeds of the Jiangnan Governor's Mansion, which were several magnificent mansions in Jinling City, were presented to the general as a "token of surrender".

Whether it is a shop with a great location or a large house with several entrances,

General Zheng Guohui can take it, and Jiangnan Admiral Fu Zhuhong'a can take it, but in Fang Weishan's hands, it is a hot potato, absolutely a fatal thing.

Fang Weishan is just a weak scholar with no military power and no official position. How can he protect these precious things?

He thought it through and simply gave the whole package to the general. The total value was more than 80,000 taels of silver, which was truly a windfall.

Naturally, he was accepted as a confidant.

wine table

Zheng Guohui picked up the wine glass and said with a smile, "This first glass of wine is for Brother Xianxie. I am grateful to have your help. From now on, I can rest assured."

"General, you want to treat me like a beast of burden. Please don't sit back and relax. Come up with your plans first so that we can follow your instructions." Li Hezhang also made a joke to liven up the atmosphere at the table.

Only he dared to say this, no one else could do that.

After all, Li Hezhang was once the fourth-rank governor of Gansu Province, and he held this position for three years. He was only seconded to Hunan by Zeng Guofan to suppress bandits, and did not return to his original post.

During the bandit suppression campaign, he was in charge of the logistics of food and fodder for tens of thousands of Hunan troops. His noble temperament as an official was real, and his words and deeds showed his nobility.

In this regard, others are far behind.

Zheng Guohui smiled and said, "Brother Xianqie, you've really wronged me. If I lead my army south for several months, everything here will depend on you to coordinate and handle everything properly. I just want to get into shape as soon as possible!"

"General, you must set down the rules so that we can act accordingly."

"There's no rush for this. Let's talk about it when we have free time."

"Well, today, we will appreciate your kindness, General. We will eat and drink to our heart's content. This second glass of wine is for all my colleagues. Please work together and live up to the General's trust. Let me drink first as a token of my respect."

As he spoke, Li Hezhang picked up the wine glass and drank it all, then looked around at everyone with a smile.

Others did not dare to neglect, and they all picked up their glasses and drank, saying one after another;

"Mr. Li, if you give us an order, we will obey it."

"Mr. Li invited me. After seeing him today, I found him to be truly extraordinary. Fang Weishan sincerely admires him."

"It is an honor for us to work with you, sir. Please feel free to give us your guidance!"

(End of this chapter)