Chapter 3309
In late June 1657, Nanjing Yanziji Wharf.
Qin Jian stood on a pile of large wooden boxes carrying bulk cargo, loudly directing the dock workers to unload a heavy large-caliber artillery onto the shore.
This iron lump was more than a foot long and half a foot thick. It was densely covered with waterproof tarpaulin. It probably weighed several thousand kilograms. A dozen strong men carried it on their shoulders and struggled for a long time. Then it was unloaded from the ship.
Qin Jian kept calling the laborers, asking them to put it down carefully, lest they bump into this precious thing.
Seeing that this important cargo finally landed smoothly, Qin Jian felt relieved, came down from the height, and took a water bottle to moisten his dry throat.
Of course, even if it hits the ground, it's probably just the iron lump that makes a hole in the ground. However, there were several officers on the dock supervising the unloading. They had said hello in advance that this thing could not be damaged at all, and Qin Jian did not want them to catch anything.
In order to avoid accidents such as this relatively important task, Qin Jian did not even let the Ming army prisoners participate. Instead, he called his brothers to do the work.
It is said that this thing originally had a hub chassis, which could be dragged by two pack horses, but the complete body was too large. In order to facilitate shipping and transportation, the hub chassis and gun body parts were separated. After unloading here, Then reinstall them together.
Qin Jian overheard a few chats among the officers earlier. These big siege guns were specially transported all the way from the south to be used to destroy the city wall. There are about twenty siege guns in total, and they will all be used in the next few days. Transported to Yanziji Pier.
Qin Jian did not understand military affairs and did not know whether this cannon could break through Nanjing City. However, the Haihan Army moved such a powerful weapon to the front line and obviously had no patience to wait any longer. It is estimated that after all these cannons are in place, the siege will begin again.
There has been a truce in Nanjing for several days. It is said that the two countries are negotiating, but if the conditions cannot be agreed, it is not impossible to start fighting again.
Although Nanjing is a fortified city, it is now controlled by the Haihan Army on the periphery. Reinforcements and supplies cannot enter. As time goes by, the defense capabilities will only gradually decline. Whether or not these cannons join the battlefield, Qin Jian is actually not optimistic about the prospects of Nanjing City.
Qin Jian actually doesn't really hope that this war will end soon, because the income during this period is actually much richer than before.
In addition to the dozens of original workers, he now has more than 200 prisoners of war assigned to him by the Haihan Army one after another, and they are all people with good hands and feet who can work well. Once an injury occurs, he will be quickly replenished with healthy personnel.
The work that so much labor can do is several times higher than before the war. Although the Haihan Army will not pay wages to prisoners of war, it pays him as the foreman generously. His monthly income is almost as much as the previous one. years.
In addition, because Yanziji Wharf has become the largest material access channel in the north of Nanjing, many of the goods coming in and out have to pass through the hands of Qin Jian, the foreman, and most of the merchants coming and going have to deal with He naturally benefited a lot from dealing with Qin Jian.
Even though it is still in wartime, Qin Jian no longer has to worry about the lack of food and clothing for his family. Nowadays, people take the initiative to deliver things to their homes every once in a while, so that their goods can receive some care when loading and unloading at the dock.
Even though Qin Jian is just a foreman, who only does the business of loading and unloading goods, the speed of this work will also have a big impact on the merchants.
Many customers who are eager to transport supplies out of the dangerous area of Nanjing will privately give Qin Jian benefits so that he can arrange for their items to be shipped from Yanziji Pier earlier.
Whether it is official business or private work, Qin Jian has a lot of money to gain. If this war is not fought, the two sides negotiate a peace, and everything returns to the same as before, then I am afraid it will return to the previous days.
But at that time, it is unclear whether Qin Jian can continue to work at Yanziji Wharf. If the Ming Dynasty regains control of the southern Zhili area, people like Qin Jian who served for the Haihan Army may not be able to escape the government's liquidation, so they need to make early plans.
If the situation goes bad, you may have to take your family, luggage and bedding and run away.
While Qin Jian was thinking, he heard Yang Jin calling to him: "Old Qin, go and direct the two grain merchants' cargo ships to leave the shore first and give up their berths."
Qin Jian responded: "Master Yang, those two ships haven't unloaded their cargo yet. Didn't you say that they will be unloaded before dark? The villain plans to let the brothers start working right away!"
Yang Jin said: "Don't worry now. Someone will come from Jiangbei later, and we need to arrange for the dock to dock the ship."
Qin Jian noticed something strange as soon as he heard it, and quickly lowered his voice and said: "Sir, are you from the Ming Dynasty?"
Yang Jin glanced at him, nodded calmly and said: "He came to Nanjing to deliver the message."
"Ah?" Qin Jian couldn't help being surprised when she heard the answer.
The other side of the Yangtze River near Nanjing City was under the jurisdiction of Yingtianfu and was still under the control of the Ming Dynasty. Although the Haihan Army blocked the Yangtze River, it was not eager to take action in the area north of the Yangtze River. As soon as Yang Jin said that he was coming from Jiangbei and that he was an important person who needed to free up the dock in Yanziji, Qin Jian immediately thought that the person who came was not an official from Haihan.
If someone comes to Nanjing to convey an edict, there is no doubt that the person coming is someone from the palace. It is no wonder that the Haihan Army specially opened the passage into Nanjing.
But in this case, the negotiations in the north should have come to fruition. If nothing unexpected happened, this imperial edict was probably for the Nanjing defenders to surrender. Otherwise, how could the Haihan Army let people in?
Qin Jian cautiously asked: "Master Yang, is this battle... almost over?"
Yang Jin smiled and said: "Old Qin, this battle is not over, I said it doesn't count, but there should be good news soon. Okay, go to work!"
Qin Jian did not dare to neglect and hurried back to the dock to flag down the two grain transport ships to leave the shore.
After a while, several carriages came and parked on the pier, and several officers got out of the carriages. In front of these people, Yang Jin immediately became a subordinate who followed them step by step. It was obvious that the identity of the visitor was far above him.
About half an hour later, a lucky boat arrived from the north of the river. Under the guidance of the pier flag, it sailed into the newly cleared berth and docked. After setting up the gangplank, get off the boat and count people.
Qin Jian could clearly see from the dock that the man in the lead was fair-faced and beardless, but full of dignity. He should be the eunuch Yang Jin said was coming to Nanjing to deliver the order.
Several officers who came to the dock earlier came forward to greet them. After a few brief greetings, these officers handed over two carriages to the other party for them to drive into the city.
(End of chapter)