scourge the qing dynasty

Chapter 122 Promotion Crisis
The 400 million taels of real gold and silver spent on military expenditures, the effect is naturally extraordinary. In just one month, three places like Erhai, Chuxiong and Xinxing (now Yuxi) in Yunnan built three similar buildings at lightning speed. The firearms production base in the Nule Peak Camp—oh no, it should be called the Sun Dianying Cement Production Base now. Under the guidance of skilled technicians trained in the Nule Peak Camp, they are desperately making coke, smelting iron, burning cement, and burning glass. Distilling sulfuric acid to refine nitric acid, which is as desperate as life, nitrocellulose with simple production process and relatively safe, nitroglycerin and Sanhao brand safety explosives with less complicated process but extremely dangerous, and original missiles produced according to strict specifications, casting red Barbarian cannons, the endless Pingxi Palace, a war machine, provides war resources.

Of course, while guarding Yunnan and Guizhou to prevent the chieftains in the country and Annan in Myanmar outside the country, if we want to provide enough troops to ensure the safety of these three new firearms camps, in addition to these three camps, Wu Sangui's army has to To provide manpower and military protection for the two new cold weapon forging workshops, so the [-] troops on the surface of the Pingxi Palace alone are definitely not enough.

Fortunately, our Lord Pingxi has never been very honest in this regard. Almost none of the soldiers who were disarmed and eliminated in the 17th year of Shunzhi and the [-]th year of Mazi left Yunnan. They were all rewarded with fields for self-cultivation. Moreover, these veterans are rich in experience, and they only need to be retrained a little when they are brought back, and they will immediately become the main force of Wu Sangui's subordinates.

In addition to the previously abolished veterans, another important source of Wu Sangui's reserve force is the children of the Pingxi Palace. Since Wu Sangui entered the southwest in the eighth year of Shunzhi, after 17 years of population reproduction, the population of the children of the Pingxi Palace's soldiers has reached The young generation of the Pingxi Palace has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars since they were born, and they have followed Wu Sangui's army in the South and North Wars. They have long been familiar with military affairs and are the best and most reliable reserve soldiers. Training, you can become a strong army in no time.Now that Wu Sangui had made up his mind to defend himself, the second and third generation children of the Pingxi Palace naturally had a place to use their talents.

In addition, there is another little-known fact that Wu Sangui also has a non-staffed army with no formal organization but super combat effectiveness.With more than [-] people as the core, this army can be expanded several times in an emergency. It is good at using giant swords and earth cannons as weapons, and likes to wrap its head in white cloth. It is known as its bravery and invincibility in battle!In history, he followed Wu Sangui from Yungui to the Hunan battlefield and Pingliang, Gansu, and made great contributions to Wu Sangui!In the case of actively strengthening the armament, Wu Sangui naturally had to work hard on this powerful army for great use.

(Note: The 猓猓兵 is by no means a fiction. The historical materials clearly record: "Qing Ma Zu Veritable Record", "Ming Dynasty Barnyard History Compilation", "Continued Yunnan Tongzhi" and "North Korea Li Dynasty Veritable Record. Suzong". The sound of the sound is the same as the fruit .)
So, under the instigation and guidance of Fatty Lu, who likes evil tastes, Wu Sangui drew out the long-reserved grassroots general talents from the main force, and used them as the backbone to bring the old to the new, and established the urban management team, security team, and military team of Pingxi Palace. A large number of semi-militarized organizations, such as caravan protection teams, demolition teams, and security patrols, have expanded their troops by nearly [-] people in disguise, quickly filling the vacancies urgently needed by Wu Sangui's army, and taking the opportunity to train them strictly so that they can come and come. Those who can fight, those who can fight can win!

The heaviest task is of course the Nule Peak camp that Fatty Lu is directly in charge of. After doubling its size again, the Nule Peak Camp will not only provide technical and talent support for the three newly built firearms camps, but also need a steady stream of resources. Continuous development and improvement of firearms production technology.Especially the safe production technology of nitroglycerin, which made Fatty Lu worry a lot of gray hair. Finally, after more than a dozen production explosions, Fatty Lu thought of the fact that copper and sulfuric acid do not easily react, and racked his brains. Only then did I figure out a safer production method.

Fatty Lu’s new method is to put the copper container behind the flowing river water, use the running water to cool the container to produce nitroglycerin, and pour the nitroglycerin into the river to avoid explosion in case of danger, which greatly reduces the production cost of nitroglycerin. risk factor.However, considering the production cost, technical difficulty, complex process, and risk factors, after high-level negotiations in the Pingxi Palace, the plan to use Sanhao brand safety explosives as the main gunpowder was finally abandoned, and it was changed to a lower-cost and easier-to-produce gunpowder. Sanhao brand nitrocellulose, and Sanhao brand explosives took a back seat, and were decided to be mainly used for mountain blasting, as well as for attacking fortifications on the battlefield—that is, the famous tunnel blasting city wall tactic.This tactic had been used by Kong Youde as early as the Songjin battlefield in the late Ming Dynasty, and Wu Sangui's army was very familiar with it.

The four major firearms factories were running at full capacity to produce new gunpowder at the same time, and the problem of raw materials emerged again. Instead of the problem of the source of saltpeter, it was re-placed in front of Pingxi Palace and Fatty Lu.The sulfuric acid raw material vitriol necessary for the production of new gunpowder is abundant in Yunnan. The vulcanite mined by the way of copper mining in a few copper mines alone is enough to meet the needs of the Pingxi Palace. Only the saltpeter used for the production of nitric acid has become a bottleneck. .Even though the unlucky bastards of Pingxi Prince’s Mansion went to the toilet, drilled the stables every day to dig out old soil and boiled nitrate, and Fatty Lu also invented the method of cultivating nitrobacteria to produce nitrate with dung, and bought saltpeter from other provinces in the north at a high price, the supply of saltpeter was still insufficient. The production needs and the inventory were running out repeatedly. Everyone in the Pingxi Palace was jumping up and down in a hurry, but they were still helpless.

There is no end to the road, just when Pingxi Wangfu and Fatty Lu were almost desperate to reduce the scale of firearms production, an exciting piece of good news came suddenly-Niu Tianshen, the prefect of Dading, Guizhou, the Western election official, did not know what dog had gone. Shit luck, because I heard that the Pingxi Palace was in urgent need of saltpeter, so I sent someone to check whether there were any saltpeter mines in my territory, to see if I could be lucky enough to please Wu Sangui.As a result, I didn’t know if I didn’t check it. I was shocked when I checked it. As early as the first year of Kang Mazi, Angu, the chieftain of Shuicheng Hall, had discovered a saltpeter vein in a huge natural cave near the Ale River in Shuicheng!Moreover, nitrate has been secretly harvested here for a long time, and the maximum daily output of pure nitrate has exceeded [-] catties! (The mine is now called the Great Nitrate Cave. It is located in Xiaotun Village, Yuezhao Township, Zhongshan District, Liupanshui City. It was discovered during the reign of Kang Mazi.)
The result was very natural. After Niu Tianshen rushed to report in front of Wu Sangui, the ecstatic Wu Sangui immediately sent a large army into Shuicheng to forcefully buy the mine from Angu Chieftain at a price of 3000 taels of silver. Huge manpower and material resources, large-scale mining and production, finally barely guaranteed the demand for saltpeter for the four major firearms.At the same time, at Wu Sangui's request, Wu Sangui's hard-core lackeys, Sichuan general Wang Pingfan and Guangxi veteran Ma Xiong, finally found saltpeter in the ancient Buddha Cave of Jinfo Mountain in Chongqing and Dashiwei in Leye, Guangxi after spending countless manpower and material resources. The ore lode was mined and utilized, and under full production, the Pingxi Palace finally completely solved the problem of the source of saltpeter.

The saltpeter problem and Wu Sangui's lackeys can help solve it. The problem of rubber refining can only be completely relied on by Lu Fatty. The ancient pagoda tree natural raw gum juice, but because there is no ammonia water preservation technology in this era, these ancient pagoda collagen juices have deteriorated and must be boiled and concentrated before use. After boiling and concentrating, leave the ancient pagoda for Fatty Lu There are only more than 500 catties of glue left.

In view of the scarcity and preciousness of the materials, Fatty Lu can only take them out bit by bit, like squeezing toothpaste, to test the manufacture and study the vulcanization process of rubber - because Fatty Lu only knows that natural rubber is made of sulfur and basic lead carbonate sulfur. Fatty Lu has sulfur, and Fatty Lu has basic lead carbonate—this thing is actually the lead powder used by women in ancient China for makeup, and Yunnan and Guizhou also happen to be rich in this stuff.But Fatty Lu has long forgotten the specific proportions of materials, so there is no way, Fatty Lu can only lead the craftsmen to do experimental research by elimination method bit by bit, and find the best formula by constantly changing the formula , its efficiency and slow speed can be imagined.

When this optimal ratio was finally found by Fatty Lu, the time had already arrived in mid-July, the second half of the ninth year of Kang Mazi, and Wu Sangui also secretly came to the Nule Peak camp for the second time in half a year to personally inspect the Nule Peak camp. The construction and production of the battalion were accompanied by not only the four great think tanks under Wu Sangui's command, but also the four general soldiers of the four towns in Yunnan-this point often made the mite survivors of later generations lament unceasingly. An accident happened in Daying, and it would be fine to trigger a big explosion of gunpowder.

In view of the hard work of Fatty Lu and Wu Guogui, Wu Sangui is of course very satisfied with the result of the inspection—in fact, the world's first concrete road from Nule Peak camp directly to Sanchakoubaoyou Town camp alone is enough for Wu Sangui and Wu Sangui. The lackeys under him were eye-opening. If it weren't for the lack of cement production capacity, Wu Sangui would still want to build such a road under Wuhua Mountain, so that it can lead directly to Qujing and even Guiyang.But there is no absolute perfection in this world. For example, the fierce general Ma Baobai under Wu Sangui's command was quite dissatisfied. When he returned to the Chinese army camp after the inspection and sat down, he immediately yelled at Fatty Lu.

"Yifeng, where's the musket you promised me? Where's the musket?" Ma Bao yelled, holding the flintlock that Fatty Lu gave him, and said, "Didn't you say that you would give me a few that can hit farther and more accurately?" Do you care about muskets? Why is it that this musket doesn’t need an open flame to ignite, and the aiming range is still exactly the same as the original one.”

"Ma Junmen, please spare me." Fatty Lu begged, "I have been busy making artillery, rockets, cement, explosives and airships these days, so I still have time to study muskets? Just this flint The gun, I told the craftsmen the principle, and they figured it out."

"Ma Bao, don't embarrass Yifeng." Wu Sangui also said, "Didn't you see how much Yifeng has lost in the past six months? Kunming City can't be built in a day, you have to give him time."

"My lord, I'm not embarrassing him." Ma Bao said unconvinced: "I'm just worried about my lord. You see, Yifeng has been in Qujing Dangzhi County for more than two and a half years. In less than half a year, his term will be completed in three years. If the imperial court transfers Yifeng away, where should we go to find new guns?"

People are reckless, but after Ma Bao said these unintentional words, Wu Sangui, Lu Fatty and the others were taken aback, and then suddenly remembered a big event—the end of this year will be Lu Fatty's three-year appointment. When it is full, if Xiao Mazi or Gan Wenkun transfer Fatty Lu away from Qujing, many things in the Nule Peak camp will be for naught!Thinking of this, Wu Sangui hurriedly asked Fatty Lu: "Yifeng, what were your grades in the previous two years' official performance appraisal?"

"Back to the lord, the year before last was a special award, with two awards." Fatty Lu said with a wry smile: "Last year was also an excellent award, with three awards. I heard from Lin Zhongcheng and Gan Wenkun that my performance appraisal was the first in Yunnan and Guizhou for two consecutive years. not excluded."

"So, you are definitely going to be promoted?" Wu Sangui was a little dumbfounded—there are no vacancies for prefects and co-prefects in Qujing Mansion. Once Fatty Lu gets promoted, he will definitely be transferred from Qujing.

"My lord, can you find a way to get Zhang Gaomo, the prefect of Qujing, to leave, and let Mr. Lu take over as the prefect of Qujing on the spot?" Yang Wu, the chief soldier of the rear town, suggested.

"If the prince does this, then Yifeng will definitely be transferred out of Qujing." Liu Xuanchu stood up and said seriously: "Now we are going all out to expand our military equipment, and we must have already attracted the attention of the imperial court and Gan Wenkun. Few people have always been full of hostility and suspicion towards Yifeng. Under such circumstances, if the lord shows up to keep Yifeng in Qujing with all his strength, then it is equivalent to telling the court that our Pingxi Palace and Nulefeng cannot leave Yifeng, and the court will do anything to keep Yifeng away. Pull away!"

"Then what should we do?" Ma Bao scratched his head, and suddenly his eyes lit up and said, "Why don't you let Yifeng go to Chuxiong to be the magistrate? I will protect Yifeng there, and I guarantee that no one will dare to touch him."

"What if the imperial court insists on transferring Yifeng out of Yunnan, or even out of Yunnan and Guizhou?" Liu Xuanchu asked back, and then said firmly: "Right now, neither the prince nor we can intervene in Yifeng's transfer and promotion. It will be self-defeating and make the court make up its mind to transfer Yifeng away! Now there is only one person who can help Yifeng!"

"Gan Wenkun!" Hu Guozhu, Fang Guangchen, and Wang Shirong, the three dog-headed military advisers, added in unison for Liu Xuanchu.

"That's right, now we can only count on Gan Wenkun." Liu Xuanchu nodded, and said, "Only if Yifeng continues to be trusted and reused by Gan Wenkun, and Gan Wenkun feels that Qujing will never be able to leave Yifeng to guard him, then he will try his best to keep Yifeng in Qujing. I will also try my best to persuade the court and the emperor to let Yifeng stay in Qujing."

"Yifeng, how's your secret relationship with Gan Wenkun lately?" Wu Sangui turned to Fatty Lu and asked, "Has he had any doubts about you?"

"There should be no doubts." Fatty Lu scratched his head and said, "But I can feel that he is already somewhat dissatisfied with the progress of my secret investigation of the Nule Peak camp. I occupied the latrine and did not excrete, and I have not given him the real evidence of your secret cannon casting, my lord. Moreover, our army in Youzhen also discovered that he had secretly sent people into Qujing several times, but he did not do it beforehand. Notify me, and the person sent did not contact me."

"He is probably guarding against you." Hu Guozhu interjected, "At least, he no longer intends to rely on you as a single line to monitor the Nule Peak camp, and plans to arrange a group of people to monitor with you alone." Nule Peak camp, by the way, use this group of people to spy on you."

"So, if the imperial court is determined to transfer you out of Yunnan and Guizhou, Gan Wenkun will probably ignore it." Liu Xuanchu twirled his mouse beard and showed some worry.

"Hehe, Master Lu's transfer is actually not necessarily a bad thing." Wang Shirong suddenly laughed, and said: "At the very least, with your integrity and ability to make money, Master Lu, wherever you go, you will be local people." a blessing."

"Liangchen, stop joking at this time." Fang Guangchen frowned and scolded.Hu Guozhu, Liu Xuanchu and the others also had expressions of displeasure on their faces, but Wang Shirong calmed down and said with a smile: "If you're not joking, then let's get down to business. Didn't Gan Wenkun want Mr. Lu to get our secrets?" Evidence of casting cannons? Then let Lord Lu give it to him? You can also let the imperial court know what the cannons we secretly cast are, and whether they are worth worrying about, isn't it a good thing that kills two birds with one stone?"

"Wonderful." Liu Xuanchu came to his senses, slapped his thigh and said, "Why didn't I think of this trick? Ask Yifeng to provide information to Gan Wenkun, let him rob one or two cannons and guns that we secretly forged, and Gan Wenkun will completely trust Yifeng." ? By the way, how about letting the imperial court know about the cannons and muskets we secretly forged?"

"What if Gan Wenkun takes the opportunity to forcibly search the Nule Peak camp?" Wu Guogui said worriedly.

"It's easy." Hu Guozhu said lightly: "As long as Gan Wenkun can't prove that the artillery came from the Nule Peak camp, it's fine. What's more, we took the initiative to let Gan Wenkun get the evidence. We just need to prepare everything in advance. If he insists on searching, he can also let him search, and by the way, it can also let the court eliminate some worries about our large-scale armaments."

"Yes, it's time to let the court know what kind of firearms we are producing." Fang Guangchen echoed, "Instead of letting the thieves worry about it, it's better to let the thieves see clearly that we have nothing worth stealing. My lord, what do you think?"

"Since you all think that the imperial court should have some knowledge of our situation, then you can discuss it." Wu Sangui nodded in agreement, then patted Fatty Lu on the shoulder, and said, "Yifeng, don't worry too much. If the imperial court and the emperor insist If you want to transfer you away, if you really have no choice, you should resign, and you will be a free man after resigning, and I can guarantee that the power in your hands will only be greater than before, not less than before."

"Thank you, Lord, I understand the lowly position." Fatty Lu respectfully agreed, but he sighed in his heart, "Damn, you think I didn't think of this way? I am indeed a free man after I resign, but what about my Qujing green camp? That's I resigned from my position to realize the capital of Ambition's hegemony, wouldn't the Qujing Green Camp be cheaper for others?"

........................

After a series of intensive and careful preparations, at the afternoon of the third day of August in the ninth year of Kang Mazi in the Qing Dynasty, Lu Yifeng, the magistrate of Qujing County in the Qing Dynasty, suddenly flew a dove to Gan Wenkun, the Governor of Yunnan and Guizhou in the Qing Dynasty. Two mysterious carriages covered with sackcloth were pulled out, and each carriage was pulled by four steed horses. Under the protection of a large number of Wu Sangui army elites, they were secretly transported to the Youzhen camp of Wu Sangui army at night.

On the evening of the same day, Gan Wenkun, governor of Yunnan and Guizhou in the Qing Dynasty, set off from Guiyang with [-] light cavalry.At the same time, there were two carrier pigeons carrying news. The first carrier pigeon was for Lu Yifeng, the magistrate of Qujing County in the Qing Dynasty, and the second carrier pigeon was for Li Bao, the general manager of the Green Camp directly under the Governor of Yunnan and Guizhou in the Qing Dynasty. The content was exactly the same—keep an eye on these two A mysterious carriage!

On the morning of the second day, at three quarters in the morning on the fourth day of August in the ninth year of Kangmazi in the Qing Dynasty, the speeding horses from the Yunnan-Guizhou governor's yamen caught up with the governor Gan Wenkun's team, and presented the second memorial to Gan Wenkun overnight by Lu Yifeng, the magistrate of Qujing County!According to the report: About three hours after the two mysterious carriages entered the Youzhen camp, four loud noises were heard from the Youzhen camp of Wu Sangui's army, suspected to be cannon fire!
An hour later, the second fast horse sent by the Yamen of the Governor of Yunnan and Guizhou caught up with Gan Wenkun's team and presented it to the Green Camp directly under the Governor of Yunnan and Guizhou in the Qing Dynasty to report to General Li Bao!The secret report stated: At the morning of the third day of August in the ninth year of Kang Mazi in the Qing Dynasty, four loud noises were heard from the Youzhen Camp of Wu Sangui Army, which were suspected to be the sound of artillery firing!
In the early morning of the sixth day of August in the ninth year of Kangmazi in the Qing Dynasty, Gan Wenkun, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou in the Qing Dynasty, arrived at Shengjing Pass. At the same time, there were also two hundred Qingqi from Pu'anwei (now Pan County), Guizhou, Qing Dynasty.After entering the pass, Governor Gan announced the closure of Shengjing Pass, and the Pu'an guard cavalry took over, and all the guards of Shengjing Pass were detained!The only carrier pigeon that flew from Guanzhong in Shengjing was also shot down by Gan Guocheng, the son of Governor Gan, who intercepted the news that Governor Gan was secretly going to Yunnan.

In the early morning of the seventh day of August in the ninth year of Kang Mazi in the Qing Dynasty, Gan Wenkun, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou in the Qing Dynasty, arrived at the city of Qujing!But it is a pity that Lu Yifeng and Li Bao reported together, saying that just four hours ago, two mysterious carriages had already left Wu Sangui Army's You Town Camp under the escort of five hundred cavalrymen of Wu Sangui Army, and took The official road goes south to Kunming!Gan Wenkun, governor of Yunnan and Guizhou in the Qing Dynasty, was furious, and ordered the team to work tirelessly and pursue at full speed!
Kangmazi of the Qing Dynasty will arrive at noon at [-]:[-] on the seventh day of August, near Yilongbao, Qujing Prefecture. Under the guidance of Lu Yifeng, the magistrate of Qujing County in the Qing Dynasty, Gan Wenkun's team caught up with Wu Sangui's army escorting two mysterious carriages. Gan Wenkun, the governor of the Qing Dynasty Show the customs seal to prove your identity and ask to stop for inspection.

Unexpectedly, the general Wu Sangui who escorted the carriage was obsessed with his obsession. Not only did he resolutely refuse to check, but he even pushed the carriage into the Chehong River, and then scattered without a trace.Governor Gan immediately sealed off the scene, and salvaged two newly cast prohibited cannons from the Chehong River—the Hongyi Cannon!
With real evidence in hand, Gan Wenkun, governor of Yunnan and Guizhou in the Qing Dynasty, greatly increased his confidence. One day later, Governor Gan, holding the emperor's decree of Qing Dynasty, forcibly broke into the camp of Wu Sangui's Nule Peak camp for inspection, but it is a pity that because Gan The Governor’s various actions have already alarmed the enemy. Wu Sangui’s thieves at the Nule Peak camp have already removed most of the criminal evidence. Governor Gan only found some untransferred black powder, solid iron bullets, half-finished fire dragons and a fire that was not destroyed in time. Shotgun Mold.There are also mountains of black coking coal, raw cement and finished products being calcined, semi-finished colored glaze, and a very small amount of cotton with unknown uses. ,

On the same day, Governor Gan ordered the entire camp to search for a middle-aged scholar named Sun Dianying, but found nothing. It is believed that this mysterious scholar named Sun Dianying had already escaped in advance.

In the early morning of the next day, Wu Sangui's army of [-] light cavalry, led by Wu Sangui's second son, Wu Yingqi, arrived at the Nule Peak Camp and asked Gan Wenkun to leave the Nule Peak Camp, claiming that the Nule Peak Camp was just an ordinary construction site for calcining cement and colored glaze. , black gunpowder is used to make firecrackers, solid iron bullets are used for solid land, musket molds are made by craftsmen privately, and fire dragons are semi-finished products—this kind of weapon is not prohibited.As for the newly cast Hongyi cannon salvaged by Governor Gan, the second prince Wu Yingqi insisted that it was not owned by his own army, let alone that the cannon came from the Nule Peak camp.

After a fierce dispute, because there was not enough evidence to prove that the two red barbarian cannons came from the Nule Peak camp, and considering Wu Yingqi's murderous aura, Gan Wenkun, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou in the Qing Dynasty, chose to withdraw temporarily, withdraw from the Nule Peak camp, and send the two Men Hongyi's cannon and some of the criminal evidence found were escorted by heavy soldiers, and escorted to the capital to present to the emperor.

On the night of the same day, Wu Sangui, Prince of Pingxi in the Qing Dynasty, impeached Gan Wenkun, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, to frame Gan Wenkun out of thin air, and claimed that the two red barbarian cannons were old objects from the Ming Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)