Since the founding of the South China Army, this kind of fighting against small armed forces has never stopped.

Almost all the soldiers, from strong men to veterans who received four silver dollars a month and a dozen stone rice stickers, fought against all kinds of small armed forces in the first battle: bandits, stragglers of various regimes, natives' villages, and fortresses built by local tyrants.

With regard to the suppression of bandits, the generals and leading officers at all levels have long accumulated rich experience. First of all, it is determined that a big reason why it has been difficult for the officials and armies in various localities to exterminate the bandits and separatist forces in various places is that they have inextricable contacts with these armed forces, and they do not have the ruthless intention to exterminate these armed forces. This is also a matter of soldiers coming and thieves leaving, and soldiers leaving thieves returning.

The second is to prepare for the enemy's situation, terrain, and other conditions. As early as when Li Peiting was in charge of the Han Yuan business in Guangzhou, the spies of the business intelligence office followed the caravan around Guangdong and Guangxi, carrying out map surveying and mapping work. Not only Liangguang, but also Fujian, Gannan, Huguang and other provinces on the left, the mountains and rivers in many places have been well understood. The maps surveyed and mapped by the Nanzhong Army were several times more accurate than those in the hands of local officers and soldiers.

A lot of the details are bought from the hands and mouths of the locals at a great cost. For example, there is a hidden path somewhere, where can it lead, where to bypass the mountains and river passes, how the road passes, whether it is possible to walk a large group of people, etc., how many crossings there are in the river, whether people and horses can swim across, or whether to erect a pontoon bridge, whether the bottom of the river is muddy or sandy, what is the speed of the water flow, these situations are collected one by one, after years of accumulation. Today is finally going to come in handy. In addition, he took over the military records and documents of the Governor of Liangguang, and once the two were compared, the situation everywhere was immediately visible.

The third preparation is even more incredible. Shouhan transferred more than 1,400 village chiefs and graduates of the political hall from Nanzhong, and organized them into a civil task force directly under the governor Yamen. As a result, as soon as the officers and soldiers left, the bandits were like weeds. Today, the official will have to exert his strength. Haosheng doubled the land. Turn the land of green forests into a land of fish and rice! ”

Shouhan's words are not nonsense.

At least Governor Zhang Jingxin and political envoy Jiang Yihong saw that a large number of food tools and even cooking utensils, bowls and chopsticks were continuously unloaded from the big boats on the Pearl River wharf and transported by carts and horses to the road construction site from the provincial capital to Bao'an County.

For a time, there was a lot of construction everywhere, and you could see busy people everywhere. The entire Pearl River Delta seems to have turned into a huge construction site.

This road construction site is like a huge black hole. Countless peasants, displaced people, and hungry people have been attracted to it. Becoming laborers on the construction site, many of whom are still in rags, their faces have begun to turn rosy. I became glorious, I began to see smiles, and I began to see hope for the future.

In addition to the need for a lot of labor, the construction of roads requires a lot of wood and stone and a lot of daily necessities. The people who have received their wages need to turn the Tongbao in their hands into various items needed at home, and in addition to purchasing these, they also need simple entertainment activities. As a result, around the construction sites known as the bidding sections, markets of different sizes and simple shops quickly appeared, and everywhere you saw were busy convoys transporting grain and goods, and it is conceivable that in the future, these places will form prosperous villages and towns.

"Colleagues, if there are children in the family who are willing to contribute to the elders of Guangdong, the governor and the people of Guangdong are here to thank you!"

At a regular meeting, Shouhan said the above to the officials of Guangdong officialdom very solemnly. can't help but make everyone's hearts bloom, this Lord Li is not only good at using soldiers to manage finances and administration, but this person is also familiar with the world! Knowing that we would inevitably have a piece of the pie in this road construction project, he took the initiative to mention it and gave us a high-sounding reason!

As a result, officials in Guangdong, from Governor Zhang Jingxin down, have been involved in this road construction activity. As a result, there are those who provide various construction materials, those who provide all kinds of staple and non-staple food for the construction site, and those who undertake to carry the ashes, grains, cloth and other materials transported from Nanzhong to Guangdong. What's more, seeing that at least thousands of people are there at each construction site, he took the opportunity to contract the business of providing three meals a day and overtime meals for the construction site.

A large number of local young and middle-aged people in Guangdong, under the leadership of officers from Nanzhong, organized into construction teams according to the establishment of the Nanzhong Army, divided labor and cooperated, and mobilized labor force in an orderly manner.

Some officials have already begun to think about letting the children of the clan go to Nanzhong, first, to explore the scenery, and second, to buy some fields and buy some industries in Nanzhong, so as to prevent the family from having nowhere to survive after the erosion of the Central Plains, or to find some business to do there. Although the tax is very high, it is a little painful, but compared to the high profits, alas! Taller is taller!

In addition to these, the mouthpiece agency headed by the Nanzhong Business Daily, the folk artists and the literati who controlled the zhì in the hands of several intelligence agencies also built up propaganda for this campaign against bandits.

For a time, wherever there is a dense population in the Pearl River Delta region, there will be people talking there in Cantonese, Chaoshan, and vernacular, discussing whether this crackdown on bandits and appeasement is a real thing, or is it as in the past, by suppressing bandits and looting everyone's taxes, and the bandits are still after being ransacked by passing soldiers and horses?

However, with the posting of notices everywhere, it also received an immediate effect.

Within a few days, all localities announced their attachment, and there was an endless stream of various armed forces that were inspected and appeased by the South and Central Army. Most of them were previously connected with Chen Tianhua, or simply the troops sent by the South Central Army in various parts of Guangdong.

But such a result has already shocked all parties.

However, while officials lamented the prestige of the South Central Army and the generals, there were also many forces that were still waiting and watching.

"Big guy! The poles and Da Tianer everywhere have already reported to the nearby Nanzhong Army garrison, ready to be inspected and appeased! What are we going to do? ”

Sanheba, Dapu County, Chaozhou Prefecture, (Isn't this place name also familiar?) That's right. It's the Three Rivers Dam that we saw in the history books. It is located at the waterway wharf at the confluence of the three rivers of the Hanjiang River, the Tingjiang River and the Meitan River. In the city, there are two large flags standing in front of the house of a large family, embroidered with ten big characters in black on a white background, "There will be no seeds, and men should be self-reliant." ”

On the hall that entered the courtyard, twenty or thirty men of seven lengths and eight shorts disturbed the lobby like a temple fair and a market.

Most of these men were sworn brothers who followed Wu Liuqi in the first place, and many of them, like him, were all post guards who were dismissed back then. (Huh!) In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, there were many monks, such as Yao Guangxiao, the black-clothed prime minister, who was a monk. How did it get to the end of the Ming Dynasty. In this industry, which travels between mountains and rivers, there are also so many cattle people? Not only Li Zicheng, but even my Qing Dynasty's Zuo Dudu, the chief military officer of the Qing Dynasty, the prince Shaobao, the young master of Jin and the prince, and Wu Liuqi, the master of the Red Flag Incense of the Heaven and Earth Society in a famous novel, are also pawns? ）

Now Wu Liuqi is not the unemployed post man who sent food to the temple at the beginning. Since the Liangguang Rebellion. He took the slogan of protecting the territory and the people. First of all, we held a group exercise. After that, they launched a large-scale attack and successively eliminated several armed forces known as the rebels. He controlled dozens of prefectures and counties at the junction of Guangdong and Fujian, and supported troops in the areas. Salary is drawn according to the acre. "Soldiers should be stationed in the peasants, regiments should be set up to train the villagers, and the localities should be in a good place." The establishment of a system of protecting the army will infiltrate the organization of self-defense forces and the system of protecting the army. According to the size of the village, the training chief is set up, the large village has one outpost, and the small village is two or three villages set up a sentry. A battalion of 10 or 20 villages is set up to manage these forces and villages.

In this way, a situation has been created in which military organizations are combined with grass-roots administrative organizations.

Relying on such an organization, Wu Liuqi constantly organized regimental training for training, expanded strength, increased equipment, and solicited more from the gentry for the funds needed to purchase equipment banners, as well as daily consumption and military salaries, in addition to collecting them according to the list of land endowments. An armed force of militia groups based on the same township, the same village, and the same clan has been formed.

Chen Diangui, Liao Tan, Wu Han, Wu Biao, Dai Huang, Zou Rui, Wang Jin, Cai Yuan and others are the backbone generals of this armed force.

Relying on this army, Wu Liuqi successively defeated the embryonic organization of the Tiandihui, the "Jiujia Thieves" and "Old Ten Thousand Thieves" who had been harassing the Chaozhou area since the Jiujia Incident in Zhao'an, Fujian. It seems to be a bit of a non-scientific thing, why did the Red Flag Incense Master of the Heaven and Earth Society fight with the early organization of the Heaven and Earth Society? annihilated the rebel armies such as Zhang Wenbin, Ye Apo, Huang Hairu and Liu Gongxian. Tunbing Yixi, stationed in Huang and Sanhe, and extending the territory of control zhì to dozens of prefectures and counties in eastern Guangdong and Fujian, under the banner, I am afraid that there are more than one million households?

And the above-mentioned backbones are generals with troops stationed in various places, just like another small soil emperor in the independent kingdom of Wu Liuqi.

"Cuihuan, what are you going to say?"

Wu Liuqi, who was sitting in the middle of the chair, quietly listened to Yang Zhen, the person who had just spoken, finish speaking.

Yang Zhen is a native of Cuihuan, a native of Shatian. I have read some private schools, I know a little bit of literacy, I know how to use soldiers, and I am brave and fierce in battle. The Yellow Sea Rubu, which was entrenched in Chenghai, besieged Chaozhou, and Yang Zhen followed Wu Liuqi to lead the troops to conquer and fought fiercely at Bijia Mountain. Later, he made many achievements in the two battles of Ye Apo and Liu Gongxian.

"Big guy, what are we going to do? Do you accept the appeasement of the Nanzhong Army or ignore him? ”

"Big guy! Ignore him! We have 70,000 or 80,000 people, and even if the Nanzhong Army counts all the people and horses who have been appeased everywhere at the moment, there are only more than 30,000, and we will almost absorb him! ”

It was Yang Zhen's fellow villager Chen Qilong who said this, and was known as a master of strategy in Wu Liuqi's army.

"That's not right!"

Wang Jin, the elite general of Wu Liuqi's army, opened his mouth to comment on Chen Qilong's arguments.

"Yes, at present, there are only four brigades of the Nanzhong Army near the provincial capital, about nearly 20,000 people, and there are only more than 30,000 people who have recently been recruited into the camp. However, these more than 30,000 people are all the same force as the Liao family brothers, which is enough to match 300,000 people! Don't forget, Liao Dongzhi's more than 20,000 people have only formed a brigade! It is also made by selecting elites! Moreover, they are all local warriors in Guangdong, and they are the most courageous! ”

Wang Jin, the bridge builder, was in charge of the elite pro-army for Wu Liuqi. Under Wu Liuqi's account, he also made repeated military exploits, Puning Lin Shenhuan's department attacked the county seat, Wang Jin defeated the forest department, and designed to capture Lin Shenhuan and kill him. When the Chenghai tribes besieged Chaozhou City, he led his troops to relieve the siege and then fought with Peng Shishan, capturing the giant Peng Shishan.

So. The weight of his words was naturally much heavier than Chen Qilong's.

"Looking at the situation of the Liao brothers in the South China Army, we should know how to handle it. Our military horses, territory, and population are much stronger than those of the Liao brothers. Even if they voted for Chen Tianhua early, it can be regarded as a variant of the Nanzhong Army in Guangdong, but if we take these dozens of prefectures and counties and more than a million Dingkou to surrender to Li Dashuai, we can't get the same position as the Liao brothers? ”

"And we in Chaozhou, has always been more people and less land, all pointing to the sea to make a living, and now there are large areas of fertile land for farming, and there are countless commercial goods for sale, which is undoubtedly a good thing for Chaozhou fathers to find a way to live! There are a large number of Teochew fathers and brothers farming there in Nanzhong, and all of them are Teochew people. Why do you want to use knives and guns with your own brothers? ”

Wang Jin's words. Immediately dealt a heavy blow to the wait-and-see faction, which greatly boosted the morale of the Zhaofu faction.

However, the next thing is that the argument began within the Fufu faction.

One faction advocated accepting the appeasement of the South Central Army. The other faction is scornful of the South China Army.

"What South Central Army? After all, it's just a toast! So what is Li Shouhan's own official? A mere second-grade dragon and tiger general! It's just a false title! If only we had said it. Since the notice was issued by him, Li Shouhan, and the governor of Liangguang, Lord Zhang Jingxin. Then we will go to the Liangguang official army! It's also right! ”

"That's it! At present, the officials and troops of Guangdong are all empty! We threw tens of thousands of horses over, and the Governor still doesn't guarantee a lieutenant general for our boss? Perhaps, it is also possible for the Guangdong Marine and Land Commanders! ”

"Guangdong? Talking nonsense! Nowadays, it is a question whether the government decree of the governor of Liangguang and the military order can be issued, and whether the governor's yamen can be issued. Do you want the big guy to go to him? Isn't that a big joke?! ”

"What's wrong with the Governor of Liangguang? Anyway, he is an economic official of the country, and he is much stronger than Li Shouhan, a toast official! ”

"Strong? How strong is it? Everyone rolls on the edge of the knife and talks about the stakes. Is the governor of Liangguang stronger than the Nanzhong army or has more money and food? Why did we listen to the fathers and uncles who came from Guangzhou to say that the Nanzhong Army took control of the whole of Guangzhou overnight, and this side of the box discussed with the governors of Guangzhou, and that side of the box disarmed all the families of the standard battalions, regular barracks, and guerrilla battalions and organized them into new battalions? Now the guards of the governor of Liangguang were all sent to him by Li Shouhan. Do you want the big guy to vote for him, a hollow big guy?! Can't you go to his funeral?! ”

"I'm going to make you a backbone!" ……

The quarrel soon escalated into a fist and kick exchange.

"Enough! Do you still have me in your eyes?! ”

A tiger roared, and the hall fell silent.

Wu Liuqi's face darkened, and he glanced at the faces of the two factions.

"I have asked Wu Biao to go to Brother Liao Dongzhi and ask him to help dredge it, I am determined to lead you to Lord Li of the Southern Central Army!"

"Big guy! All right! ”

"Big guy! Think again! ”

"We listen to the big guy!"

There are different attitudes among several factions.

"Brother Wang Jin is right, idiots will fight against the Nanzhong Army. Look at the armor, clothes, robes, knives, guns, and instruments on your body, all the good things, which ones didn't you get from the Nanzhong Army? ”

Wu Liuqi picked up the iron rod next to the chair very casually, "It's my stick, and it is also made of the best steel from Nanzhong by the Liao brothers, and the length and weight are all competent!" Most of the elites of your battalions and outposts are also equipped with Nanzhong equipment. ”

In the past few days, the gentry and businessmen in Jieyang, Dapu, Puning, Chaozhou and other places who had close relations with Wu Liuqi's subordinates have written to Wu Liuqi, advising Wu Liuqi to surrender to the Southern Central Army, so as to seek some benefits for the Chaozhou father and elder Sangzi.

From a very large distance, Wu Liuqi's armed force was raised by the gentry in the Chaoshan area, and the opinions of the rice class owners were something that Wu Liuqi had to consider.

"Fathers and uncles all said that now people who go to Nanzhong are all coming back to worship their ancestors, repair houses, repair ancestral halls, and repair ancestral tombs. Even if you can't go to Nanzhong to farm, you can still sell the products of each middle school to Daming, which is not a way to make a fortune. ”

"Big guy!" Yang Zhen was a little unwilling.

"I heard that the tax revenue in Nanzhong is extremely high, what is the business tax, what is the income tax, and what is the value-added tax, so what kind of profit is there there?"

"No money to make? I don't have money to earn those uncles and brothers who went to Nanzhong in the early years, how did they marry several mothers-in-law? Even Western and foreign mothers-in-law have it! There are also mothers-in-law of Tianzhu who are married, and I don't know if they are related to the Buddha! ”

Wu Liuqi's words immediately caused a burst of laughter among these men, and the atmosphere in the hall became relaxed.

"Even if you have to pay taxes, you have to earn money to pay taxes, and if you don't have money to earn, where will the tax money come from? I think Master Li knows this thing better than anyone else! ”

Wu Liuqi walked up to Chen Qilong, "Brother Qilong, you said that you went to vote for Governor Zhang, saying that Master Li is a Tusi official, and Master Zhang is a court economic official, which seems to be good." But it's a big mistake! ”

Chen Qilong's face changed, in the past few years, everyone knows that Wu Liuqi is rude and arrogant on the surface, but he is actually very smart. Calculating the future of the group, it can be said that it is a last resort, no less than Zhuge Liang.

"Master Zhang is a liuguan as soon as he comes, the so-called truth that people take tea and cool down, don't you know? And Lord Li said that he was a Tusi official, but millions of miles of land in Nanzhong and tens of thousands of miles of sea and frontier were all under the muzzle of Lord Li's cannon. These two Guangzhous, sooner or later, are the places of Lord Li, and they are said to be two Guangzhous, and I have traveled all over the world, and I have seen many characters. Now that the north is in turmoil, and the heroes are rising, do you know that this Lord Li is not a hidden dragon? If there is a day when the dragon flies for nine days, we are the people of the dragon. Even if you can't be a big treasure, at least you are a figure like Zhao Tuo, the king of Nanyue, and we are all glorious and rich! ”

"But at present, the Yamen, the governor of Liangguang, not only does the government order and military order not go out, but also the money and food are scarce, and they all rely on the assistance of Lord Li of Nanzhong. Brothers threw themselves over, can they make rice porridge without military pay and drink? The Liao brothers wrote to me that they were four silver dollars a month for a soldier! ”

"Big guy! Don't talk about it! We listen to you! Vote for Master Li! ”

In October of the tenth year of Chongzhen, Wu Liuqi led the local regiment of Chaozhou to train more than 70,000 men and horses, dozens of prefectures and counties under his jurisdiction, and returned to Li Shouhan to the governor of Liangguang to suppress the matter, and accepted the personnel sent by the Nanzhong Army to check it.

Dozens of prefectures and counties, such as Chaozhou and Shantou, were accepted by the Nanzhong Army and restored their administration.

"Brother Wu Biao, go back and tell Brother Ling that your troops are organized into two brigades, a field brigade and a garrison brigade. The salaries and treatment of non-commissioned officers and the allocation of military weapons are all in accordance with the standards of the South China Army. ”

Chen Tianhua, the meeting manager of the Yamen of the Governor's Suppression of Pacification, told Wu Liuqi's cousin, Wu Biao, who came to contact the affairs of the pacification, about the sincerity of the Nanzhong Army with a smile.

"After the establishment is completed, Guangzhou will send people to conduct training for you, and at the same time, equip artillery teams, teach various tactics, and implement various salary medals for the Nanzhong military camp. You are to ......."

Chen Tianhua said, and Wu Biao nodded.

Liao Dongzhi next to him was also smiling, they were all his own brothers, and he was full of reluctance to go to war with Wu Liuqi.

"Report! My lord! Something happened! Someone killed our task force! (To be continued......)