Chapter 7, Twenty-seven moments in the four years of Chongzhen (7)
The seventh moment: The shocked warlord
In November of the fourth year of Chongzhen, Shandong Peninsula, Dengzhou Town Government Office, Weihaiwei
Weihaiwei is located in Wendeng County, Ninghai Prefecture, Dengzhou Prefecture, 320 miles away from Dengzhou. It was established in the 31st year of Hongwu. It demarcated the northeastern sea area three miles away from Xinwangdu, Wendeng County, and took the title of "Weihai Sea Territory". Yi, named Weihai, is a relatively late one. The Piwei Station had jurisdiction over three thousand-household stations on the left and front, with only more than 3,000 people, far less than the 5,600 people in the general guard station. The acropolis was built in the first year of Yongle, with an area of 18 steps per square foot and three feet high. , two feet wide, the moat is one foot five feet wide and eight feet deep. Together with Lushun on the Liaodong Peninsula, they formed two pairs of iron arms guarding the entrance to the Bohai Sea. In the future, the Beiyang Navy would use Weihai and Lushun as its bases to defend the coastal areas and defend the capital. Marshal Qi Jiguang, who was famous all over the world in the past, was also born in Weihai in his early years.
However, at the end of the Ming Dynasty when the maritime threat was not serious, Weihaiwei was far less important than during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895. Because it was located in the north and far away from the areas hardest hit by Japanese pirate invasions, the pressure on coastal defense was also very limited. During the Wanli and Tianqi years, like other corrupted and declining inland guards, the situation of Weihai Guard was deteriorating. The fields in the military villages were either abandoned or occupied by the Jin gentry, and most of the hereditary military households even fled for a time.
However, since the invincible Marshal Chen Xin was appointed to serve here, he worked hand in hand with Liu Minyou, the second in charge of civil affairs, to establish the Wendeng Camp, a powerful military force known as the best in the world (Wendeng County is within Weihai City) , the decadent appearance of Weihaiwei quickly changed - desolate The fields were reclaimed, the clogged canals were dredged, and neat villages and towns were built one after another... Modeled on the construction methods of a certain party's base areas in the future, a social system centered on the villages and sales departments (supply and marketing cooperatives) was established in this dilapidated land. The land gradually took shape, glowing with amazing vitality.
It was with the support of this base area that Chen Xin was able to train an excellent and daring army, and repeatedly defeated the Jiannu Tartars in field battles and siege battles, which impressed the government and the public, and even made Chongzhen happy for a time. The emperor praised Chen Xin as "my Qi Shaobao (Qi Jiguang)"!
Of course, seeing the military garrison in Wendeng Camp growing increasingly prosperous, all kinds of demons and monsters in traditional society - mainly the parasites of the rentier class - naturally coveted it and took action one after another. For example, last year, the Jin gentry in Wendeng County made a fuss and sued Sun Yuanhua, the governor of Denglai who had just taken office. They colluded with petty officials, forged many land deeds, and wanted to take over the farmland restored by Wendeng camp. These gentry were never willing to spend effort to cultivate wasteland, but if anyone did, they would fabricate crimes and take away the cultivated land; At the same time, he turned the civilians and military households in the Wendeng Camp into his own tenants. He even planned to seize all other incomes that Chen Xin and Liu Min had, so as not to worry about supporting his own belly.
It's a pity that they underestimated Chen Xin's skills, connections, and holy family members, and the complaint ended up going nowhere. As for those Jinjun people who tried to embezzle Wendengying's property, as well as the petty officials who helped forge land deeds, they were framed by the ruthless Marshal Chen on charges of conspiracy with bandits and murder, and their homes were ransacked one by one. They were imprisoned and killed. Even for some Jin gentry who were inconvenient to make false accusations, soldiers from the Wendeng camp disguised as bandits came to kill their families with swords, and by the way, they took their property, fields and tenants and further expanded the base area of the fort system belonging to the Wendeng camp... Under the smell of blood, all the Jin gentry in Ninghai Prefecture trembled - if they were not dead yet, no one would have the courage to embarrass the Wendeng camp.
All the magistrates of Wendeng helped Chen Xin get the title deeds for these bloody new lands. He had taken a lot of money from the Wendeng camp in the past few years, and he had some understanding of Chen Xin's temperament. He is now a millionaire. You don't dare to go against Chen Xin. Even if the land deed matters were finally discovered, he would not be beheaded. At most, he would lose his official position and go back to be a rich man. However, if he did not cooperate, he was a little worried that he would die and leave Wendeng.
Then, Chen Xin and Liu Minyou recruited agents from those already obedient Jin gentry, and gave them profits to a certain extent. They included the most powerful Jin gentry into the commercial interest system of Dengzhou Town, and differentiated those commercial Jin gentry. They dealt with local clans and landed gentry. ”
With such a combination of hard and soft tactics, their fort system finally crushed all blocking forces and became unimpeded under the banner of Wendeng Camp.
Four years into Chongzhen, the camp system created by Chen Xin and Liu Min has developed more smoothly after summarizing lessons. Especially after Chen Xin and Chen Marshal relied on their achievements in the victory over Mi Island this summer, they joined Wendeng from Wendeng. He will be promoted to the rank of Commander-in-Chief of Denglai Army, and his Wendeng Battalion will also be upgraded to the rank of Commander-in-Chief of the Dengzhou Army. Later, not only did Wendeng County be taken over, but also hundreds of miles from Wendeng to Weihai, almost the entire Ninghai Prefecture (modern Weihai City plus a small part of Yantai City) became the farmland of Dengzhou Town. There is also a lot of land in Dengzhou, and it is even slowly penetrating towards Qingzhou to the west.
After exhausting all kinds of black, white, kind and cruel methods, Chen Xin and Liu Minyou finally had enough land to resettle the population.
Now that there is land, of course the labor force must keep up. Fortunately, in the tragic late Ming Dynasty, there will never be a shortage of refugees - the severe drought that spread across the north in the four years of Chongzhen also affected Shandong, and more refugees fled from famine in various prefectures in Shandong. Legend has it that everyone can eat The well-fed Wendeng camp naturally became their first choice for escaping famine. There were endless people going to Wendeng to escape famine every day. Those who can survive the long journey and reach Wendeng successfully are naturally mainly young men and women. Therefore, Liu Minyou, who was in charge of civil affairs according to the division of labor, arranged the refugees according to their place of origin and organized them into military households. According to the number of able-bodied men, they were divided into ten Ding and one Jia, fifty Ding and one general, five hundred Ding and one Tun, respectively. Set up a fort and allocate 5,000 acres of land. These people finally got their own land, and they were naturally grateful to Marshal Chen Xin and Chen who had rebuilt the land. Many families had erected immortal tablets to Marshal Chen Xin and Chen.
Even in Wendeng County, many civilian households switched to Marshal Chen's military camp: they found that once they joined the Wendeng camp's camp system, they immediately had a big backer. Not only did the gentry dare not exploit them, but the government could not control them either. to myself. After entering Tunpu, not only did the farmers immediately have land to divide, but they also got discounts when they went to Tunpu's sales department (supply and marketing cooperative) to buy grain, ready-made clothes, salt, ironware, tobacco, and tea, and the younger children in the family could learn for free. Literacy... Although as a price for obtaining all these benefits, the men in the family have to serve in the military for Marshal Chen, but they do not die in vain, but they receive very generous salaries and pensions - after all, working for Marshal Chen is worth it!
Next, several workshops under Dengzhou Town also started working at full capacity and began to manufacture large quantities of agricultural tools, windmills and other items needed for farming. The necessary preparations for the expansion of Tunpu were completed within the system. As agricultural production got rid of the destructive over-exploitation of the gentry, farmers had some spare money for consumption after satisfying their food and clothing. The commercial circulation in the Tunpu system of Dengzhou Town also developed greatly, and the days became increasingly prosperous. It made people around him even more envious... And relying on cigarettes called "Wen Deng Xiang" and other specialty products, Dengzhou Town was able to earn enough military expenses from industry and commerce.
In this way, forts housing Dengzhou military family members and subordinates were built in various places like bamboo shoots after a rain, dotted in the vast territory under the name of Dengzhou Town, firmly establishing a new social form. He holds this land firmly in his hands.
Of course, the development momentum of Dengzhou Town is indeed rapid and prosperous, but Marshal Chen has not yet been able to give full instructions to the entire Dengzhou Town. In accordance with the military bureaucracy of the imperial court's "large and small system", although he has already He is already the commander-in-chief of Dengzhou, but in theory, apart from the direct line of the main barracks, he has no control over the pay and teams of the guerrillas, deputy generals and staff generals below. The orders issued in peacetime are not effective, only during the war. Only then can you command other departments. The reason why today's Marshal Chen Xin and Chen are so authoritative and outstanding is that he actually hid his own system under the court's system. Through his additional military law, military supplies, training, staff and other institutions, he provided corresponding services to the chief officers. Support, on the other hand, control the decentralized troops, and then control the families and fixed assets of all soldiers through the forts, so that the entire Dengzhou Army can be as stable as Mount Tai.
But on the other hand, if it is the guerrillas, deputy generals and generals who are outside the camp system, Chen Xin cannot control them in normal times. For example, in Dengzhou Fucheng, there was a Liao army stationed there brought back from Dongjiang Town by Sun Yuanhua, the governor of Denglai. It was led by Kong Youde, Li Jiucheng and others. They usually did not pay much attention to Chen Xin. There are also some troops in Laizhou further to the west who are still outside of Marshal Chen's camp system... And even if it is just to fool the court, the entire Dengzhou town cannot be turned into Marshal Chen's one-word hall - in that case, it should be taken seriously It has become an undisguised feudal town.
Therefore, Chen Xin and Liu Min, a pair of time traveler civil and military partners, deliberately spared the surrounding areas of Dengzhou Fucheng (modern Penglai City) when building the base area of Dengzhou Town, giving them to the Liaodong Army of Denglai Governor Sun Yuanhua and Kong Youde. This leaves a fairly large buffer space - anyway, Chen Xin and Liu Min, as modern time travellers, may not be aware of our party's strategy of "rural areas surrounding cities" during the Republic of China era. They are not particularly interested in the Dengzhou capital being a consumption-oriented rather than a production-oriented city. They would rather place the headquarters of Dengzhou Town in Weihai, a dangerous place since ancient times.
In fact, what the two time-travelers Chen Xin and Liu Minyou are most worried about at the moment is not the suspicion of the Beijing court and the governor of Denglai about their self-respect for supporting troops, nor is it the country's great enemy, the Jurchen slave slaves, who face each other across the sea. , not to mention the backlash of the local gentry and the strife of their colleagues in the army, nor the rogue peasant army that has not yet entered Shandong, but a certain force that currently seems to be very far away from Dengzhou Town...
< br>
※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※
On this day, there happened to be a sudden heavy snowfall in Weihai. Because Weihai is located at the tip of the Shandong Peninsula, land travel is difficult, and merchants mostly rely on waterways. After a heavy snowfall, daily commercial activities basically stopped, including pedestrians on the road. A lot less, too.
In such a heavy snowy weather, there is obviously no farm work or construction to be done, so the whole town of Dengzhou seems very leisurely. Except for the officers and soldiers on patrol and training and the clerks of a few shops, almost everyone is there. Warm up the fire "Cat Winter" in your own house.
In the Civil Affairs Department of Daying, Dengzhou Town, Weihaiwei, Liu Minyou, the second-in-command in charge of civil affairs in Dengzhou Town, was wearing a fur coat and warming himself by the fire while frowning and flipping through a book. However, this book is neither a collection of classics and history nor a contract account book, but a thick volume of handwritten miscellaneous notes of southern scholars. In the late Ming Dynasty, the southern provinces had a prosperous literary style, and scholars liked to write something other than a collection of classics and history to "establish their reputation" and attract attention. , and the content and genre must be more alternative and distinctive in order to attract more attention. For example, the famous "Xu Xiake's Travels" is one example.
The Miscellaneous Notes of Lingnan Scholars that Liu Minyou acquired over and over again is also pursuing novelty: it seems that due to several changes of hands and long-distance carrying, the pages of this Miscellaneous Notes are somewhat wrinkled and damaged, and there are also a few stains. On the cover of the book, there is a rather strange title like "Gu Shi Lu", and the author's name is blurred to the point of being unclear. It seems to be some kind of "Master of Manhuazhai" and so on.
However, even though he was reading miscellaneous books, the face of Liu Minyou, the civil director of Dengzhou Town, did not have the slightest hint of leisurely fun to pass the time. Instead, he was extremely serious and serious, and his meticulous and focused expression was almost as if he was... Reviewing statistics or military intelligence in general.
Opening the slightly stained cover, the opening chapter of the miscellaneous notes "Kun Shi Zhi Lu" explains the origin of the title: "...there is no record of the Kun people in the written history. There is no distinction between men and women, and all have their hair cut off. , especially women’s hair is slightly longer, so they are called Kun people. He has a long body, short clothes, and his language and writing are like those of the Chinese. Since his ancestor was in the Song Dynasty, he took his tribe to the sea and fled to the South China Sea, thousands of miles away, where there was no trace of people, and there was a large continent. , there is Tai'ao in its land, so it is called "Ao" He named it Australia. Then he landed in the country, which was still called Song Dynasty. In order to distinguish it from the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties, it was called Australia Song Dynasty. For more than ten generations, the people in this country have acquired the secret skills of the world, and they are also good at hundreds of things. There are many secret weapons in the craftsmanship, which are unpredictable. During this period, people from Kun came to Guangdong from the South Sea to sell their treasures, including glass mirrors, magical fires, soft-leather lamps, unbreakable bottles and other treasures. The wealthy businessman Gao of Guangzhou sold them for hundreds of thousands in platinum. Two, become a rich man.
In the first year of Chongzhen, I tasted an Australian magic fire. It was as long as a finger and about two fingers wide. It had a machine bracket at the head. When making fire, you didn't need a fire sickle. You could press the machine bracket with your hand to get the fire. The flame was about an inch high and your hand loosened the fire. Destruction is the most convenient. There is also an unbreakable bottle. The bottle is completely transparent. I don’t know what it is made of. It is not cloth, leather, or glass or jade. It is soft and elastic when you hold it, and it does not break when you drop it. There is a soft cover, which can be screwed and sealed to prevent leakage. Use it to store drinks without fear of falling down, and it can be viewed and played with. At that time, businessmen from Guangdong came to the capital and went to the thoroughfare, each asking for hundreds of gold, and the crowd was crowded..."
Seeing this, Liu Minyou couldn't help curling his lips, and muttered with disdain and jealousy, "...the bottle won't break...the magic fire...isn't this just a plastic mineral water bottle and a simple lighter? And what else?" The soft leather lamp...isn't it a fluorescent stick? It's just a rip-off!"
Reading further, the author wrote about the initial process of the "Kun people" breaking into the Ming Dynasty: "... In the first year of Chongzhen in Wuchen, hundreds of Kun people drove more than ten iron boats and moored in the sea of Lingao County, Qiongzhou Prefecture. , went ashore and built a stronghold. There was a huge ship in it, made of iron, more than a hundred feet long and several feet high. It looked like a towering city. The locals in Guo were frightened, thinking that a giant invader from overseas was coming, and they all fled into the county. Wu Lingfa in Lingao County attacked them bravely. The Kun people defended themselves with cannons, and their firearms were more powerful than ours. The injury is not calculated, and the matter is defeated. This is the beginning of everything.
At the beginning, the Kun people formed a stronghold of hundreds of people. They were frightened when they approached the heights, thinking that giant bandits were coming and would kill and plunder. Therefore, Wu Ling went out of his hometown to drive them away bravely. When the people of Kun completed the fortification, they built palaces and buildings, built roads and embankments, and established markets and trade. They did not disturb the people, did not raid the city, trade with the people, and did not plunder. They used small profits to lure the people, and hired servants who would give them generously. There are hundreds of poor households living on this. The people are gradually becoming more peaceful. For several months like this, there were various pirates who knew how rich the people were, so they attacked hundreds of people with thousands of pirates. The Kun people sent out hundreds of troops, handed over guns and cannons, the pirates were defeated, and the Kun people beheaded hundreds of people. Naturally, no one dared to challenge them when they were in a high position. The Kun people took charge of lawsuits, paid taxes and levies, and then calculated their income based on their land. The gentry were all afraid of power and kept silent. First, there were constant bandit troubles in Lingao, and when there were attacks on the city and strongholds, the people were worried about it. In the name of protecting the land and clearing the countryside, the Kun people organized regiment training, trained soldiers, organized troops, and made weapons and artillery to attack the bandits, crushing them and beheading hundreds of them. The remaining bandits had no foothold and fled to other counties. With this achievement, the Kun people won the hearts of the people, so they settled in Lingao. Although Wu Ling lived in the county seat, he had nothing to say about county affairs and could only act when things happened..."
"...It turns out that the Hainan Island gang originally established their base in this way. The Lingao County Magistrate is really mediocre...but which official of the Ming Dynasty is not such a Zhuan Yu? Next, It’s probably about the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, Wang Dezun, who sent troops to attack the Kun bandits.”
Liu Minyou muttered as he turned down the page, but found that a few pages seemed to be missing. The content about Wang Dezun's dispatch of troops to Qiongzhou was missing. He skipped directly to the failure of the Qiongzhou crusade, and how he crossed the sea across the sea to counterattack Guangzhou, and wiped out local forces along the way. Section "The Kun people attack the Kun thieves":
"... When the Kun people first entered Guangdong, they entered the Pearl River and fell into Humen. The army was defeated. The Kun people collected food along the way, and those who resisted often broke them. The soldiers were sharp and shocked Guangdong. Xu Chou, a traitor in Dongguan, Wang Ruocheng took the opportunity to cause trouble. Several hundred members of his party marched through the countryside under the false banner of "recruitment from the former enemy governor of Da Kun State", and committed looting and ransom every day. At that time, the government and the army were in disarray, and everyone in the village became distraught, and no one dared to resist. It's hard to be trampled upon.
Chen, a Dongguan citizen, had his son stolen by the Xu party and ransomed him for fifty gold. Chen Gu's family was poor, and even though he had enough farmland and shelter to support himself, he went to the Kun people's camp and begged for his son's release. At that time, Kunshou Wen Dehe was puzzled at first when he heard about it, but later he learned the details. He was shocked and then became furious. He immediately sent hundreds of people and ordered Chen to lead them to attack Xu Dang. Chou and others set out wine and made the plundered women dance naked in the middle of the banquet, thinking it was a laugh.
At night, Kun's army arrived and surrounded them for a long time, but no one in Xu camp knew about it. At dawn, the Kun people first fired several cannons, and then formed a formation to encircle them. Xu's party was in chaos. Dozens of people came out with swords and guns. The Kun people lined up their guns and slaughtered them all in a moment, and the rest surrendered with their hands tied. The Kun people released all the families they had plundered and led them back home. And when Xu Chou and Wang Ruocheng were executed, their bodies were hung in the wild for birds to peck at. The remaining party ordered the villagers to recognize them, and those who were responsible for the murder were immediately taken out and tried in front of everyone, which was called a "public trial". Those who were found guilty were hanged in the thoroughfare. Therefore, the villagers of Dongguan were very happy, and everyone showed their virtues as Kun people.
Around February 2, when the Kun troops arrived in Guangzhou, they broke into more than ten gangs in the surrounding suburbs and pretended to be Kun gangs. They killed hundreds of them before and after, and the rest moved to Qiongzhou to work as hard labor. Therefore, the people of Kun retreated and settled in southern Guangdong. The thieves and bandits were all gone, and the countryside was silent. The peace was even better than before..."
"...Sigh, after this battle, the hearts of the people in Lingnan and Guangxi will gradually change hands!" Liu Minyou shook his head and continued reading, only to find that there were no current events after the summer of three years after Chongzhen. It is estimated that the author was in This miscellany was written shortly after the war in Guangzhou subsided. So after finishing talking about this war, I turned to write about the inside story of the "Kon people" forces, listing items such as "Fake Kon" and "Japanese Kon":
"...The Kun people came first, all from Australia, the real Kun people. Since landing, they have been defeated by the local heroes, and their momentum has been greatly increased. Many people from Guangdong and Qiong returned. The Kun people gathered people, regardless of gender. First shave like a monk After changing the clothes like Kun, he must first sit and eat for ten months, and teach the discipline and rules, which is called "Jing Hua", and then use it like arms and fingers. This is a fake Kun, and its appearance is the same as that of a real Kun. It is agriculture Workers and soldiers have their own place. The system is well-organized and the rules are strict. Before employing people, people must be gathered and taught by Zhenkun, which is called "training". Therefore, everything in Kunren's camp is organized and done as expected. Over the years, there were thousands of real and fake Kun people, and the place they lived in became a city, called Dongmen City. The people of Lingao flocked to it, and there were no less than 10,000 people living there.
… When the Kun people first arrived in Qiongdao, there were only a few hundred people and dozens of boats. Later, false kuns were widely collected, and scholars gradually gathered. However, there are many refugees in Kunben, and there is no way for strong soldiers to come out. Therefore, the Kun people from the East to the West gathered all kinds of pirates and pirates, large and small, and extracted their essence. The Japanese infantry are good at fighting and can form an independent army. They are all Japanese who have fought hundreds of battles in their lives and have experienced battles for a long time. This generation grew up in the frontier, is skilled in bow and horse, and will not turn around until death. This army was organized into hundreds of people, and the people in Kun called it the "Stand Up Team." Whenever a general is killed, a flag is captured, or a hand-to-hand confrontation occurs, this army is usually used as the vanguard..."
"... Damn it, you actually recruited Japanese people to kill Chinese people! Don't you guys have any patriotic spirit?" Liu Min slapped the table angrily and shouted with some sternness, but he didn't forget to continue. Read this book's explanation of the "Kunren" official position system below:
"...There are also official positions among the Kun people. The official names are very different from those in our dynasty. It is suspected that they were learned from foreigners. Their first title is "Chairman", their title is "Executive Committee", and their subsequent titles are "Director", "Director", "Commissioner". The real Kun is called "chief", and the false Kun is not called an official, but is called "cadre". Official uniforms were all short-sleeved shirts without hats. It was said at that time that the Kun people were a mixed bunch, and those with more wealth were respected. This was a big mistake. These are all "executive committee members", and Kun Shang Guo Yishi was rich in Guangdong and Guangdong. He didn't know what title he had, so he knew it.
The Kun people claimed to be descendants of Zhao and Song Dynasties, and they also had officials appointed by Song Dynasty, who used them to worship in the clan. For example, Wen Gong, chairman of the executive committee, added the title of Kaifu Yitong Sansi, Guangnan East-West Road Economic Strategy and Comfort Envoy, Leader of the Privy Council, Taifu, and Qingyuan County Duke. Executive committee member Ma Gong was appointed as the transfer envoy of Guangnan East-West Road and the Duke of Chengde County. Few people knew about this matter. The official system of the Song Dynasty was different from that of this dynasty. Tokyo Menghua, you can see the leopard through the tube. The Golden Plum Blossoms of the Water Margin is full of misinformation. Most of the good people in the world take Water Margin as their truth,
In the third year of Chongzhen's reign, Wang Zunde, the governor of Guangdong, granted the title of Ziming Tower to Kunren to start the incident. When the Kun people crossed the sea and arrived at Panyu, there were many water bandits in the area who used the banner of the Song Dynasty to plunder the place. The new and old official systems are a mixture of old and new, and they have various names, such as the pioneer of Zhengming in the Song Dynasty, the Marquis of Dingyuan in Australia, the guerrilla general of Guangdong in Da'ao, the capital of Dakun State, the pioneer of the left route in Australia, and the pioneer officer of Guangdong Zhengyin in the Song Dynasty. They are all local chickens. Wadog. The water bandits in Xiangshan County had the title of Guangzhou Military and Horse Supervisor. They carved their own letters and made flags and drums. The people of Guangdong may think it is true. After hearing the news, the general of the Kun people sent out soldiers to arrest him and torture his mastermind. The emperor said: This number can be seen from the Water Margin..."
Regarding these ridiculous contents, Liu Minyou had no special feelings other than rolling his eyes. However, after he continued to turn to the following contents about "The Secret Technique of Cursed Cars" and "Hot Steamships", he suddenly felt It raised my heart again.
"...Kun people are good at all kinds of crafts. They can make iron chariots with secret techniques. They are more than ten feet high. There is a huge iron shovel in front of them. When Kun people get on the chariot and curse it, the iron chariot will move on its own. It can dig the ground with a shovel. Thousands of kilograms of earth, and the flat ground turns into a huge chasm. If this car is used, it can defeat the efforts of hundreds of people. It is also surrounded by several huge iron machines, and the people are holding it. The mantra can move on its own, even if a huge stone is like a cart, it will be broken into the palm of your hand in a moment. There is also a machine tool that can be used to make bricks, and the mantra can be used to make tens of thousands of bricks in one day. Even if there are high buildings and pavilions, dangerous mountains and low soil, Gu Jian can do it with all his might, relying on this skill...
...The steamship is a unique Australian craft, and it varies from person to person. In the third year of Chongzhen's reign, the Kun people entered Guangdong. They reported that Ni Kun invaded Humen with a fire steamer. The ship had no masts or sails, a waterwheel below, and a copper chimney or two above. If the wind was favorable, white smoke would be emitted, and if the wind was adverse, it would be white smoke. Black smoke is emitted, and sparks are emitted at night. The smoke suddenly bursts into flames, and the drum beats the water to make the boat move. It is faster than the sails and mats, and it can advance and retreat at will, and the wind, color, tide and news cannot limit it. The natives were very frightened. They said that the Kun people knew the secret arts. They would burn incense and offer sacrifices when entering the boat, and cast secret spells. Therefore, there would be fireworks, the wheel would spin and the boat would move automatically, or the cloud wheel would be driven by oxen and horses. All of these are all nonsense. Unbelievable.
Guo Yi, a wealthy businessman from Kun, lived in Guangzhou and tried to prepare a fire steamer for traveling and entertainment. When he was traveling along the Yue River, there were crowds of spectators on both sides of the river. The gentry from Guangfu and Yi had many friends, all vying to see the wonder of the fire wheel. I know Mr. Li, a maritime merchant, who has experienced Qiong and Guangdong for a long time, and every time he talks about Kun affairs, it is as clear as day. The Yunhuo steamship is long and wide. The hull is painted black, and the cabins are all pink and lovely. There are two large waterwheels on the waist of the ship, which are covered with iron plates to protect them. There is a smoke tank in the middle and a steam engine below. Based on the theory of water and fire, the flames of the coal fire cause the water to roll and the steam to rush. The steam to move the wheels will cause the wheels to rotate. If it hits the water, the boat will move; if the fire becomes stronger, the boat will move faster.
Or it can be said that a fire wheel cannot be used as a warship. If one wheel is damaged by cannon, the whole ship will be unable to move. However, they still have concealed ships with wheels placed on the bottom of the ship, out of reach of cannons, and their speed is twice that of paddle wheels. An official in the capital of Shiliu (Nanjing) said: Kun's fire wheel is nothing more than the chariots and ships of the Song Dynasty. Blocking the water wheel with ropes of wood and hay and binding its spokes can all be broken. This is what the real rotten scholars see. The ships were bundled with grass and trees, which may have been applied to the chariots and ships of the Song Dynasty. They used soldiers to step on the wheels to climb the water, which was small in quality and weak in strength. The Kun people used a fire steamer more than ten feet long. The steam engine was fierce, the water was turbulent, the wheel was flying, and it was fast and erratic. The wooden raft was a big chain and could not be stopped. They wanted to throw the rotten grass with a full diameter, soft leaves, and weak stems into the vast immersion. I will tie it to the steel wheel and destroy it. These words babbled in a dream are not worth a fleeting moment..."
After reading this section of "Gu Shi Lu", Liu Minyou had cold sweat on his forehead. He muttered, "This is at least as strong as the British Expeditionary Force during the Opium War." When he continued to read, , was already stunned and could not even speak. : "...Kun Thief has something called a 'wire' made of fine iron, no more than one cent thick. It is placed on a wooden pole of more than ten feet. The pole is coated with black oil. It is led out from Kun Thief's 'Bairen Hydropower Station'. At first it was only As well as Bairen and Bopu, it has been widely distributed in Lingao. The natives in the countryside did not know it at first and there were false advertisements. He knew: This is an electric wire, it is used for power transmission, no one can touch it, otherwise he will die. Some gangsters in the shop did not believe what they said, and wanted to steal the wire and sell it. That night, they entangled several people and climbed up the pole. Unexpectedly, they just touched the wire with their hands. He was electrocuted to death on the spot. The death was very miserable. Seeing this, the rest of the people fled in a hurry. The black oil on the wooden poles was very difficult to clean after being stained. Later, the policemen relied on the oil to capture all the remaining criminals. I thought that many human thieves had secret methods, and I was afraid that they had obtained the secret of the creation of heaven and earth. , to draw the electricity from the sky for your own use..."
"...Good boy! We even have electricity, so where has this technological tree climbed..." After being stunned for a long time, Liu Minyou sighed deeply, took out a handkerchief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, Continue to scroll down the book and see a short story about "Kun Ren is good at printing books":
"...My friend Chen Yanji has a hobby of reading. He reads very quickly and can finish more than an inch of books in a day. Whenever he sees me, he will say: 'There is a shortage of books again.' In the days when there was a shortage of books in Guan and Yanji, there were many books sold by Gai Kun. I have learned nothing about Yanji, and I also bought several volumes of classics and history, which I couldn't put down. The crispness of the paper, the fine printing, and the firm binding of Kun's books are like nothing I have seen or heard of before. Even if I put them on my desk, I feel the fragrance of ink, and the reading method is the same as that of Huaxia. The big difference is that I read it horizontally from left to right. I was not used to it at first, but I gradually got used to it.
Yanji Changzhiyu, when reading Huaxia books from top to bottom, looks like he is nodding his head, that is the answer; when reading Kun people's books from left to right, when looking at them, he looks like he is shaking his head, which means he is doubtful. Therefore, we in China have taken the ancestral law as our law for thousands of years, and the people of Kun Dynasty have taken the new law as our law for hundreds of years. Although this is a joke, there is still something to be desired..."
"...Haha, it's just a way of changing the text from vertical to horizontal. It can also come up with so many tricks for these Ming Dynasty scholars. This association ability is a bit too strong!" Liu Minyou couldn't help laughing. He smiled and said, his mood had just calmed down a little, but he was startled by the title of the next chapter: "...What? 'Jin Yong's Cologne'?! God! Could it be that even these two great gods wear it?" Are you coming? ”
Looking more closely, it seems that this is not the case: "... among the secular and popular novels in Guangdong Province, the top one is Jin Yong Gulong. Both of them are pen names of the leader of Kunren. This leader wrote a book called "The Eight Parts of the Dragon", which talks about the current affairs of the Northern Song Dynasty, " "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", The three volumes of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" and "The Legend of Heaven and the Dragon Slayer" describe the decline of the Song Dynasty, the disasters of the Mongols, and the rise of the Zhu Ming Dynasty in a total of one hundred years. Many of them are inconsistent with the history of the country. This is especially true for the Duoming Cult..."
Seeing this scene, Liu Minyou finally couldn't help but yelled: "...You short-haired thief! Not only did you copy books after traveling through time, but that's it, you even copied other people's pen names. Such imagination and There is too little creativity! And where is your moral integrity?”
Just when Liu Minyou was getting ready to scold him, Marshal Chen Xin and Chen, wearing official robes and cloaks, suddenly burst in with the smell of wind, snow and sea. He was immediately confused and said, "...Old Liu, you What are you scolding? Could it be that someone in some Tunpu is making false accounts and committing corruption? ”
"...No, Lao Chen, I just got a strange book. It is said to have been written by Guangdong scholars in the past two years. It records a lot of information about the traveling group in Hainan Island. There may be some exaggerations and conjectures in it. , but it is already the most detailed information we have at present.”
Liu Minyou hurriedly replied to Chen Xin, and at the same time he opened the "Kun Shi Gui Lu" in his hand and handed it over, "...If you are interested, you might as well take a look!"
Chen Xinyan blinked his eyes and took a look at the "Kun Shi Gui Lu" with some confusion, but he happened to turn to the section "Kun women are good at fighting" - "...Kun people's military system does not have six armies. , and the subordinates of the brigade, regiment, battalion and company, numbered ' The guards are suspected to be the elite of the Kun army. Those who hold the red flag and the big banner in the camp are all Kun girls. It may be said that these people are the elders of the real Kun army. They are taught the secrets of conquest and are the best at wild ground battles. They are all qualified. North..."
...Well, wild war... This word was common in the Ming Dynasty, but in later generations it seems to have many different meanings, including between the enemy and ourselves, and between men and women... The people from Hainan Island How could he be so arrogant and licentious that he already has so many frivolities right now?
Just when Marshal Chen had a look of embarrassment on his face, Liu Minyou had already picked up the copper kettle from the stove, poured him a cup of hot tea, and asked in a familiar manner, "...Old Chen, are you going this time?" I have been lingering in Dengzhou Fucheng for half a month. Is there any What's the gain? Is the official document from the imperial court about dispatching troops from Dengzhou to rescue the Daling River battlefield coming soon? Have Kong Youde, Li Jiucheng and their group of Liao soldiers shown any signs of rebellion? "
"...Ah...the imperial court has not yet decided to mobilize troops from Dengzhou. It is estimated that they will have to wait until all the relieving armies in Zhili, Jizhou, and Guanning Town are defeated by Jiannu before they will think of our nook! "Chen Xin reached out and took the hot tea, found an armchair and sat down, "...As for Kong Youde and his Liaodong ticket, Army... How can we see any signs at this moment? Even the Wuqiao mutiny he launched in the original history was not planned for a long time like the Chenqiao mutiny in which Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin wore a yellow robe. I was really forced to do it, so I just came up with it on the spur of the moment..."
——In fact, Chen Xin actually admired Kong Youde, the "Three-Shun King" who had surrendered to the Tatars in another period of history. At least when Nurhaci swept through Liaodong and his military power was at its peak, this Kong Youde had the courage to stand up and build After fighting hard, Kong Youde performed well under Mao Wenlong in Dongjiang Town. He was credited with several major victories. Especially in this time and space that has been greatly changed by the "Jiannu Nemesis" traveler Huang Shi, as Huang Shi's sworn brother and ally, the miraculous and glorious record of Huang Shi's Immortal Army also has a bright streak of Kong Youde.
Unfortunately, under the combined pressure of many traitors in the court, any glorious victory of Dongjiang Town was just a flash in the pan. With Huangshi being transferred away, Mao Wenlong was innocently killed, and Dongjiang Town had no hope of counterattacking Liaodong. This group of people wandering at sea The Liao people on the island had no choice but to continue to flee to Dengzhou to make a living. From the beginning to the end, they carried an inferiority complex of leaving their hometown. According to the intelligence collected by Chen Xin in the past two years, Kong Youde and his men were far from related in Dengzhou. A tyrant like Ning Jun In addition to the common problem of the Ming Dynasty army withholding pay, they also had to endure the hostility of Dengzhou locals towards immigrants from Liaodong. This kind of exclusion and hostility was almost everywhere, making these Liao people have to be as cautious as little daughters-in-law. Carrying a hundred cautions to deal with civil servants and local gentry, if this patience reaches the critical point, the final burst of anger will definitely make these once honest soldiers become extremely cruel...
"...But I did find out one thing. After Kong Youde came to Dengzhou, he still kept in touch with Huang Shi in Fujian, and even told his subordinates about Huang Shi's beliefs. All the generals in Liaodong shed tears when they heard this. , seems to miss the happy days when they were sure to win every battle, capture every attack, defeat powerful enemies, and kill Jiannu like mowing grass... This was probably the most glorious period of their lives! "Chen Xin! After thinking for a while, he added this.
"...Huangshi, Huangshi...Oh, over the years, we have also collected some rumors about this time-traveling senior who fought in Liaodong. It sounds like he is really upright and upright! He can definitely be called a legendary hero! In comparison, Now, the two of us seem a bit despicable..."
After hearing Liu Minyou's praise and praise, Chen Xin snorted disapprovingly, "... Judging from Huangshi's record in Liaodong, he may be called a hero, but to say it is a legend is a bit too much - —It was just a clever trick, taking advantage of Nurhaci’s death date in history to make a trip It's just Liaoyang. Besides, since he went to the south, he seems to have some connections with the "short-haired thieves" in Hainan Island. It's hard to say whether he will be our enemy or friend in the future... Wait a minute! You rushed to say it, and my mind was confused, and it almost delayed the important matter!”
Just in the middle of speaking, Marshal Chen Xin finally remembered something, jumped up suddenly, and said to Liu Minyou with an extremely serious expression, "...Five days ago, I just returned from Dengzhou with six ships. In the middle of the On the way, we met a small wooden boat belonging to the Navy of Dongjiang Town. There was a hundred households in Dongjiang Town talking incoherently on the boat. They said that a group of short-haired pirates came to Dongjiang Town in a large iron boat and used food and clothing to seduce military households into joining the bandits. ! ”
When Liu Minyou heard this, he was a little surprised. What did he think of immediately? His face darkened and he asked: "... those guys from Hainan Island sent a ship northward"?
Chen Xin shook his head again, walked to sit opposite Liu Minyou, stared into Liu Minyou's eyes and replied seriously: "...it's the Far East Company in Vladivostok!"
"...The Far East Company in Vladivostok?" Liu Min was stunned for a moment, thought for a moment, and then asked: "...Have those people from Hainan Island already occupied Vladivostok?"
"...No, I personally sailed to Lushun to see it. They have Russian landing ships and armored vehicles. They are much better than the people on Hainan Island who are still playing with front-loaded artillery. Fortunately, according to The officers who have seen them said that the appearance of these short-haired pirates is similar to that of the Central Plains people. They have the same black hair, but are taller. There are no red-eyes and red eyebrows, so they should not be Russians." Chen Xin sighed. He replied.
"...In other words, there is another time-traveling force in Vladivostok. Not only are they traveling in a group like the people from Lingao County, Hainan Island, but their equipment and firepower are much more powerful?" Liu Minyou reacted immediately and glared. He said with eyes closed.
Chen Xin stared at Liu Minyou, nodded, and did not answer.
Liu Minyou also stared at Chen Xin, then suddenly jumped up from his chair and shouted: "...Mom, someone is trying to steal our business again!"
"...Actually, it's not just the Far East company in Vladivostok that is competing for business with us..." Chen Xin hesitated for a moment and said hesitantly, "...I saw a newspaper from the imperial court at the governor's office in Dengzhou, saying There were two Fanyi tribes named Dong'an Kingdom and Huamei State, who sent fleets thousands of miles away to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty, and the Portuguese artillery instructors hired by Sun Yuanhua seemed to have some knowledge of these two countries..."
When Liu Min heard this, he almost fell down, and his eyes widened angrily, "...What? Even the United States has traveled through time?!"
"...No, judging from the content of the Di newspaper, the so-called 'Chinese Americans' also claim to be descendants of the Central Plains. It should be a group of Chinese travelers who established a country on the land of North America. In addition, there is an 'East Coast Country' in South America. ', it seems to have the same origin..."
Chen Xin touched his beard and said with a face of vicissitudes and fatigue, "...Well, whether they are enemies or friends, the East Coast countries and China and the United States are thousands of miles away after all, and they have little to do with us for the time being. But that How should we deal with the Far East Company in Vladivostok? We have to sum up quickly..."
After saying that, Chen Xin took out a box of Wendeng incense with a gold-rimmed face and a sad face. There was a slogan on it, which he came up with himself: "The best Wendeng incense, the enjoyment of the seniors in the pavilion." This is a limited-edition cigarette recently developed by the cigarette factory. It is tentatively priced at 2 taels of silver per box and is not for sale to the outside world. It is exclusively for the enjoyment of the senior officials of Dengzhou Town. Some were also given to the dignitaries in Beijing... Chen Xin handed it to Liu Min had a cigarette and lit it himself. Amidst the smoke, the two of them lowered their heads and did not know how much they smoked. Liu Min Youcai flicked the cigarette butt in his hand, his mouth dry. He picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea, "...At least we haven't found a special soldier named Xiang Shaolong ("Looking for Qin") yet, which can be considered a great blessing among misfortunes. By the way, Old Chen, Regarding the Far East Company coming to Dongjiang Town to recruit young people, how do you think the Denglai government and the Dongjiang General Soldier will deal with it in the end?”
"...What else can I do? Of course I'm pretending to be deaf and mute, pretending it's nothing!" Chen Xin blew out smoke rings and smiled bitterly, "...the Far East Company's landing ship must be a wooden ship of the Ming Dynasty Navy. It can't be defeated, and it is definitely impossible to report this kind of thing to the court. , at most, mention in the memorial that there are pirates coming to Dongjiang to recruit young men... The question is how should we deal with it in Dengzhou Town! The Far East Company in Vladivostok is no better than the short-haired thieves in Lingao and Huangshi in Fujian. On top of the Liaodong war situation!”
Liu Minyou did not respond, but stared at the dancing flames in the brazier with furrowed brows. The room fell silent again, and both of them quietly felt the strange solemnity. Until Chen Xin was emptying the ashtray, he accidentally noticed a document that fell at his feet. He picked it up and looked at it. It was the speech for the opening ceremony of Wendeng University Hall that Liu Minyou had just drafted:
"...The land under our feet is a very small part of a vast country. Some of your fathers and brothers have joined the army. They may have been to Liaodong or Beizhili, but that is still only a small part. This is a rich and vast country. This country raises many people like you. They use the same words and wear similar clothes as you. This country has the snow falling in the north and the roaring Yangtze and Yellow Rivers. , the south of the Yangtze River with small bridges and flowing water, and the endless sea territory. These territories are not obtained in vain, but our ancestors fought hard to get this land, so that we can take root here and pass on from generation to generation, creating with our hands. The most glorious civilization. But civilization cannot lack writing, books, or spears and guns. All our educational policies must be civilized in spirit and barbaric in body.
Why do we in Dengzhou Town want to fight the Tatars? Everyone says we want to kill the Tatars. This is because we do not have a civilized identity with them. In addition to the differences in clothing and braided hair, there are also differences in the purpose of survival. We create rich items and beautiful art to benefit life through hard farming and technological advancement. But they came out of the mountains and forests at this time, trying to use their brute force to enslave us. Looking at what the slaves did in Liaodong, they could only bring barbaric massacres and cruel slavery. No matter how far the society has developed, Butchers like Nurhaci cannot escape moral judgment. This is my standard for understanding good and evil, and it is also the reason why I cannot agree with the establishment of slaves.
What they want to take away are the rights we are born with. These are rights given to everyone by God, and no one has the right to take them away. This is the meaning of our crossing the sea to Liaodong to fight against the Jiannu. No matter how ferocious the Jiannu are, we must take up arms and fight them..."
Seeing these lines of righteous words, Chen Xin suddenly felt his heart suddenly enlightened. From then on, his thoughts became clear, and the originally tangled clouds suddenly disappeared, "...Forget it, Lao Chen, what if these time-travelers are here? So what if they are stronger than us? No matter what, they are all Chinese! I have only one enemy now, and that is Huang Taiji and Jiannu. These are a group of poisonous people who are harming China. No matter who comes, I will kill them. eradicate They, eradicate them completely! As long as they are willing to fight side by side with us, they are friends, and we will serve them with good tea and wine. If you want to protect the slaves and do it against me, then don't blame me for getting angry. You're welcome; if you want to recruit us... I can't say it's absolutely impossible, but at least you have to see what kind of people they are first. I now have land and soldiers in my hands, so the treatment cannot be worse..."
Having said this, Chen Xin's mentality gradually relaxed. The more he talked, the calmer he became. He felt that suddenly nothing mattered anymore - there were just more time-travelers. When the time came, the soldiers would just cover up the water and earth. If you really can't resist, just give in. , is no different from the business competition between large and small companies in modern society. Under Chen Xin's guidance and influence, Liu Minyou gradually relaxed and put the matter aside for the time being.
After the two of them had discussed the affairs of other time travellers, they were about to discuss the errands assigned by the imperial court to Dengzhou Town. After all, they were still serving as officials of the Ming Dynasty - the Ministry of War issued a latest document, saying that in the past two or three months, One day, Li Meng, a private salt dealer in the Biese Mountain Guard in Jiaozhou, gathered a crowd to cause chaos. He went rampant in the countryside and defeated the government inspections and military households in the guard station. In view of the fact that the Jiaozhou government repeatedly launched a campaign without success, Dengzhou Town was ordered to send troops to assist in the campaign...
Although Chen Xin and Liu Min thought hard and couldn't remember such a riot in Jiaozhou in the late Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty during the Chongzhen period was really chaotic. There were countless rebellions and mutinies. As long as Xiazhou was not conquered Even if the city and county were not major events, it is normal that such trivial matters were not recorded in later history... So Chen Xin did not pay much attention to this matter. He just sent a reserve battalion to Jiaozhou, which was regarded as actual combat training. ——So, without Marshal Chen Xin and Chen realizing it, a newly born force of time travelers was nipped in the bud by him...