Chapter Thirty-Six: Returning with a Full Load, the Left Army Ambushes

Li Mao was a little unbearable when he saw Mao Hui's sad appearance, and asked, "Look at you, aren't I just a little late?" As for this? ”

Mao Hui wiped away a handful of tears and said: "When you left, you agreed with others that Lianxi would cost 100 stone per month, 300 stone of tin ore, and more black pigment (manganese ore), 800 stone per month. But after you leave, people can't send the goods again, because the Yangtze River is blocked, and no one dares to leave. I had to unload my things onto the docks, but I couldn't help but pay the money. In the next month, the little silver you left me will not be enough, and then I will not be enough to give away all my own money, so I will not let them send it again, and let them wait for my letter to be delivered. People also employ a lot of people, and they can't stop all at once. But I have no money, and I have borrowed everything I can. Before you came, the docks came again to demand the silver that was piled up. I really can't help it, no one wants my shop to be exchanged, and now the business is not good, who wants the shop to do what? I can't help it, I have to die this way. ”

Li Mao knew that it was really difficult for a small businessman like Mao Hui to support such a big thing, and said: "Oh, I'm really sorry for the shopkeeper Mao, I didn't wait for your goods in Yangzhou, so I knew that you couldn't ship them." But the last time we went back, we also fought with Zuo Liangyu's navy before going back. Without the ships to escort us, we would not dare to rush here. Well, this time, our two warships from Yaogang will stay on the Yangtze River, and we can transport goods whenever we want. You can rest assured, we will never let you suffer this time, just because you can persist until now, we have to thank you well. ”

When Mao Hui first took over this job, he felt that he had done a little good deed and helped others, but as a result, he had a good reward, and people gave him such a good errand, but he didn't expect to almost trap himself to death. If he can't stand it and runs away, he will trap a lot of people. But Mao Hui is a kind-hearted person after all, he has endured it, and he has persevered even if he has lost his family. This time, Mao Hui once again believed that good intentions will be rewarded. Of course, Li Mao will thank him well.

Li Mao first took out the silver and asked Mao Hui to send the silver to those creditors. This time, Mao Hui breathed a sigh of relief, straightened his waist, and went to deliver silver from house to house. When Mao Hui was unlucky, they all laughed at him for being deceived by others, and he didn't admit it, this time Mao Hui wanted to show them, Lao Tzu didn't look at the wrong person, he was not deceived by others.

Li Mao also gave Mao Hui a privilege, that is, the goods brought this time, Mao Hui said that he would give them to whomever he wanted.

It's a big deal. Last time on the Changsha wharf, the red-eyed merchants almost started fighting. After that time, the merchants who got the goods made a lot of money. This time, they heard that the merchant ships from Yaogang had arrived again, and they couldn't wait. When they heard that the right to distribute the goods was in Mao Hui's hands, those who had given Mao Hui a white eye regretted it. But who could have known at that time that such an unknown small businessman could have such great ability, if he knew, he would not have treated others like that in the first place.

Li Mao followed Mao Hui's suggestion, and he didn't have to go to Xiangtan this time. Because the rest of the goods can be sold in Changsha. However, seeing the ore and tin piled up on the dock, Li Mao was a little worried. Because they still have to buy some silk and tea in Changsha, so they can't be transported away at one time, but no one dares to go here to rent a boat, because they are afraid that they won't be able to come back.

Later, Mu Yi said: "It's better to buy silk and tea, and then transport it directly to Yueyang and load it on those two big ships." The empty barges come back to load the ore. The depth of the water here is no problem with carrying a thousand stone cargo per barge. As for the impassability in the canal, then wait until Zhenjiang unloads some goods, and then we hire a ship to transport it to Huai'an or directly back to Lingshui Wharf. ”

Li Mao said: "Yes, we will try to bring back as much ore as possible this time, and we may not be able to come again until we finish the battle of Li Zicheng." The silk of Yingtianfu and the porcelain, tea, and tungsten ore of Jingdezhen will also be loaded onto the big ship. ”

In order to fill the ship, Li Mao asked Mao Hui to contact the owner of the manganese ore again, asked him to send some more ore, and told him to give the silver as soon as it was delivered. The mine owner was overjoyed. Now that business is not good, and there is a business of exchanging stones for silver, it is like pie in the sky, can you not be happy?

In this way, Li Mao's ship was loaded with a total of 1,000 stones of tinter (antimony), 3,000 stones of antimony ore, and more tungsten ore, 6,800 stones. Each barge carried a thousand stone cargo, and the two flat-bottomed steamships also carried four hundred stone cargo each. The silk and tea bought in Changsha have long been sent back to Yueyang.

During this time in Changsha, Li Mao did not forget to visit the celebrities in Changsha, and he was invited to banquets again and again every day. In this way, I made a lot of friends, and I made a good publicity for the kiln. Especially the "Kiln Gang Weekly" in Li Mao's hand, it is even more powerful. Whether you like the ideas in the newspaper or not, you are willing to ask for a newspaper. Changsha is originally a place with a strong cultural atmosphere, and it can be said that literati are everywhere. They are also full of curiosity about the kiln gang in the north, and this time they have the opportunity to fully contact the kiln gang people, so they naturally have to keep asking this and that, and even some people have questioned the practices of the kiln gang people. These literati all have a high opinion of themselves, and some people are very equal to everyone in the kiln gang. They think that people are originally divided into three, six, nine and so on, and there is no high or low, and they can't accept it. They think that people who have read a lot of books can be the same as those who can't read.

Li Mao didn't want to irritate everyone, and at a banquet, he asked: "Those who haven't read books are inherently stupider than those who have read?" No. The difference between them is that some people are born into wealthy families, and they can afford to read; Others, born into poor families, cannot afford to read. In this way they are divided into those who read and those who do not. In fact, there is no difference between them by nature. There is a difference, and it is also made by people. The children of our kiln gang, no matter what their background, have to go to school and study. Not only studying, but also eating and wearing in school. The students eat eggs, milk, meat and vegetables every day to ensure a balanced nutrition. You don't know, the children who come to our school are not only good-looking, but also significantly taller than the other children. ”

Li Mao also showed them the books that the school children read. A lot of them don't understand at all, and if they can't understand it, they quibble, saying that children should read sages and sages, and they shouldn't read these nonsense things. But their confidence is not very strong.

A few of the old pedants did not speak, and it seemed that they were very touched. When they stopped talking, some of them sighed and said, "It's a pity that I'm older." Otherwise, I'll have to go to the kiln to have a look. ”

Li Mao said: "It doesn't matter, when we deal with the matter of the kiln, it won't be long before we send the steam passenger ship to Changsha." You'll sleep on the boat, and it won't be long before you'll be sent straight to the kiln. ”

"Just use your boat on the dock?"

Li Mao said: "We also have passenger ships that specialize in transporting guests, and what you see is a cargo ship. We have opened a direct intermodal transport from Zhangjiakou and Killing Tiger Pass in the north to Yangzhou. As long as you buy your ticket, we are responsible for your food and accommodation safety. Know how to get guests to their destinations. ”

Often, a single topic of Li Mao can lead to countless questions. These Changsha people are already full of yearning for the distant kiln. This is Li Mao's purpose. If it weren't for the language barrier, Li Mao would have introduced more.

Mu Yi now admires Li Mao more and more, and Li Mao told him that in the future, the cause of Yaogang cannot be expanded by force alone, and the influence of other aspects of Yaogang is also a good weapon. In the future, it will win people's hearts and minds by relying on all-round influence. Of course, without force as the foundation and the economy as the backing, other aspects are useless.

Changsha's ability to absorb commodities is indeed amazing, and the goods brought by Li Mao were sold out quickly in a few days. If Li Mao hadn't deliberately left a shipload of goods for Mao Hui to sell, they would have been gone soon. Li Mao told Mao Hui that the rest of the goods would be left for him to retail slowly, and he would only settle with him at the wholesale price, and the silver from the sale would be left in Changsha and handed over to him for safekeeping, and the minerals and other goods sent later would also be received. It is estimated that the fleet will come again next year. By that time more ships will come, bringing more goods, and more goods and minerals will be taken with them. Mao Hui understood that such a shipload of goods would never be able to be bought and sold without Li Mao staying here, just relying on his own small capital. The difference in the price of these goods is something that I have not been able to earn in the past few years. He was naturally grateful and promised not to make a mistake, so that Li Mao could rest assured.

After explaining the affairs of Changsha, Li Mao and Mu Yi returned with a full load. When they arrived in Yueyang, they loaded the goods purchased from Yueyang, and then went out of Dongting Lake into the Yangtze River and went downstream. On the afternoon of that day, Li Mao's command ship docked at a Wuchang wharf agreed with Song Tao, and asked Song Tao to be notified on the wharf. Li Mao's fleet did not stop and continued to go downstream.

Soon, Song Tao led several carriages to the dock. Li Mao hurriedly got down to the dock. Song Tao said: "Our host asked me to send ten boxes this time, you can check it." ”

Li Mao opened the boxes one by one and looked at them, and was shocked. Although Li Mao didn't know what these treasures were, he knew that they must be priceless treasures. Song Tao said: "Our host said that these things can only be sent to a place like Yaogang in the best place for them. They are all rare treasures. Shopkeeper Li must be kept on the way. ”

Li Mao said: "It seems that Zhang Dongjia really made a move this time." ”

Li Mao ordered the boxes to be carried to the ship and placed in the bottom warehouse.

When Li Maolin got on the boat, Song Tao said: "Shopkeeper Li, your kind of white cloth, as soon as I take it back, I will be terrible, everyone says that in the entire three towns of Hankou, no one can weave such a good cloth, and we will want as much as you have in the future." Don't you forget to take care of me? ”

Li Mao said: "Don't worry. Next time, try to get you a boat. We're going to catch up with the fleet, so we won't stay long. ”

Bidding farewell to Song Tao, Li Mao and the others accelerated forward, and soon caught up with the fleet, once again leading the way in front.

When they were about to reach Jiujiang, Mu Yi and the others controlled the speed of the boat and let the boat come to the entrance of Poyang Lake in the Jiujiang section just after dawn. According to the plan, after the two warships covered the flat-bottomed boat to pass through the Jiujiang River, the flat-bottomed boat continued to drag the barge down the river, and let them stop and wait when they reached Zhenjiang. Li Mao and his two warships entered Poyang Lake and went straight to Jingdezhen. This time I entered Poyang Lake, except for meeting a few small boats, I didn't encounter any trouble.

Li Mao asked Mu Yi, you said: "Is our Lord Zuo afraid of being beaten by us and no longer daring to provoke us?" ”

Mu Yi said: "No, Zuo Liangyu is a person who would rather let people kill than be scared to death, he has an army of 120,000 people, and it will definitely not end like this." Maybe they'll intercept us when we're out of Poyang Lake. ”

Li Mao's mind suddenly flashed, and he said, "Won't they wait for us in Jingdezhen anymore?" ”

"No, they are still officers and soldiers after all. Don't dare to do things too explicitly. Mu Yi said.

Although Li Mao felt that what Mu Yi said had some truth, he still had some drums in his heart. It was this muttering in his heart that saved them.

When the warship saw the Jingdezhen dock from a distance, Li Mao began to use a telescope to observe the situation on the dock. Since there are not many deep-water docks in Jingdezhen, there are even fewer docks that can park such warships. Li Mao locked onto the pier he was going to dock and watched carefully. Gradually, Li Mao felt that something was wrong. Because this is the morning, it stands to reason that there should be people coming and going on the dock, and it is very lively, but on the dock where Li Mao and the others are about to stop the boat, there are only a few people who are unhurried and don't know what they are busy with, and there are few people elsewhere.

Li Mao said to Mu Yi: "You also take a closer look, there is something wrong on the dock." There were no people anywhere else, but the people on the dock were also a little abnormal, as if they were just playing for us. ”

Mu Yi looked at the telescope for a while, and said, "I also feel that something is wrong." The musketeers were ordered to prepare, and we landed first with a boat. Let the musketeers come ashore and see. ”

Li Mao said: "The artillery should also be prepared, if there is something, it will not be small." Let's get ready for a fight here! ”

Mu Yi said: "This is really not a place for war, there is no way to minimize the losses here." ”

Mu Yi commanded another warship to dock first.

Since the musketeers on that ship were all standing on the ship with guns, hiding behind the ship's bulwark, a row of muskets was exposed. The people who were working on the dock looked very nervous, and when the boat docked on the dock, these people couldn't help but run away. If it was like this, it was actually nothing, and it was reasonable for some honest workers to see a man standing on a warship with loaded guns approaching the dock, and they were scared and ran away. But when they ran, they didn't forget to draw their blades from under the debris on the docks.

Li Mao and Mu Yi both saw this scene from the telescope. The two of them looked at each other and smiled, and Mu Yi said, "I obeyed you, and I really let you speak." ”

"It seems that if you don't give this Lord Zuo a little color, he won't give up. If we want to fight, we will hurt him. Li Mao said hatefully.

At this time, many soldiers rushed out of the dock from three directions, and as soon as they came out, they kept shooting bows and arrows at the ship that was close to the pier, and for a while the arrows rained down. The musketeers, who had not been given the order to fire, hid behind the gunwales of the ship with their heads bowed.

Mu Yi ordered the artillery on the command ship to open fire, and "Dong Dong" commanded the mortar on the ship to fire one shell from each gun. Because the distance was too close, there was no correction to shoot the elements. The cannonballs turned the docks into flames. This was also an order to open fire on the warships on the shore.

But the shell was on the dock, and after it exploded, Zuo Liangyu's soldiers who were not dead all of a sudden scattered and ran away. By the time the soldiers on the ships on the dock looked up and were ready to shoot, they were gone. Only the dead and wounded soldiers were left on the docks, wailing.

Because they were too afraid of hitting the houses near the dock, the shells fell far away from the houses, and this artillery fire only left Zuo Liangyu's soldiers on the dock more than 20 people. Although Zuo Liangyu's soldiers were not disciplined, they were also famous for fighting without fear of death, and after a while, the soldiers rushed over with shouts under the organization of the officers. It seems that their officer was also a very clever man, and he could see that as long as their soldiers approached the ships docked on the docks, the opponent's artillery fire would not dare to shoot. He desperately drove his soldiers closer to the ship. Therefore, the crowds of soldiers rushed to the warship despite the fire of the two ships. At this time, the musketeers had a chance to show it. Li Mao and his men had 50 musketeers on each warship, and they used two rounds of rounds, each musket "banged" two rounds and then reloaded, and another musketeer continued to fire. The docks were soon covered with the corpses of the soldiers. But the soldiers kept rushing over like water. The captain of the warship at the dock ordered: "Hand **! ”

The musketeers took out their hands and threw them at the rushing soldiers as soon as they pulled the fire. The locust-like hand ** landed among the soldiers, and it exploded with a bang. These hands are smaller and lighter than the old-fashioned, but they are much more powerful than the old-fashioned.

The booming hand ** exploded the soldiers in the vicinity, and the **** in the distance blocked most of the soldiers who rushed up in the future. These heroic soldiers finally couldn't support it, and the soldiers who didn't rush up didn't dare to rush up again. None of the remaining soldiers who were blown up by the hand ** retreated, and they were killed by the musketeers one by one.

Zuo Liangyu's military regulations are that those who do not rush forward or retreat without an order will be killed when they go back, so the soldiers can only rush forward if they don't die. As a result, on the dock, the corpses were already stacked.

Li Mao, who was watching the battle with a telescope from a distance, said: "It seems that Zuo Liangyu's soldiers are not low in combat power." It's all good, and there is no retreat and fear of death. It's a pity! ”

Mu Yi said: "Li Gongzi, you can't be soft-hearted in the war, otherwise we will die." ”

Li Mao said: "Yes, we also leaned up, it seems that there is no Zuo Liangyu's warship behind." Repelled their attack one more time, and went ashore to collect them. ”

Li Mao's command ship had just docked on the dock behind the warship, and Zuo Liangyu's soldiers began to attack again.

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Mechanics of Materials, Theoretical Mechanics, Elastic Mechanics, Fluid Mechanics. --Progress of "Memories of the Southern Song Dynasty".