Chapter Ninety-One: The Showdown on Behalf of the King Development of a speedboat

"Let's put it simply, Mr. Zhang!" Ouyang He said, "Acting Wang and Jiang Zongbing have two meanings. One is to ask for help, and the other is to insist on a showdown. ”

"Huh! There is no problem in supporting, we have a bumper harvest this year, and we have bought a lot of grain. I always think that the showdown is a little earlier. Zhang Zhimu took a sip of tea and said.

"In fact, with military strength, the world is up to us whether it is captured or indulged. I don't think Dai Wang and Jiang Zongbing just saw it today. Ouyang He said, "This time we got in touch, and they were just a little more urgent." ”

"They want to rely on us as soon as possible so that they can strive for greater benefits." Zhang Zhimu said, "However, now is not the time for us to have a showdown with the emperor." It would be best for us to deal with them before we march south. ”

"It's not up to us now, they can't wait." Chen Yufeng said, "Now the imperial court has given them less than half of the military salary they should have paid, and they still owe it for more than a year. They saw that Zhou Yuji was already relieved, and they really couldn't wait. ”

Just as Chen Yufeng said, after the Yaogang people conquered Shaanxi, it seems that they forgot the acting king of Datong and Jiang Ting, and no longer paid attention to them, they all knew in their hearts that in terms of military strength and economic strength, the Yaogang people are now invincible in the world, and the world is Yaogang people sooner or later, but they are anxious to hint with the Yaogang people several times, and the Yaogang people do not make their words clear. They don't know what the kiln people think.

The acting king was conflicted in his heart. As a prince, he is a member of the Zhu family and must maintain the Zhu family. But now the prince of the Zhu family is dying miserably, and the whole family has been killed too much. He could endure that his guards were killed by the kiln people, and he still had to make friends with the kiln people, just to rely on the big tree of the kiln people. He has long understood that the number of qi on the Zhujiajiang River has been exhausted, and the people of Yaogang have obtained the world, which must be the blessing of all the people. Inside, the people benefit, and outside, you can rely on strong enemies. Now is the time to think for yourself. Approaching the kiln people earlier may be more beneficial. However, the Yaogang people only took Zhou Yuji's team away on this expedition to the west, and after they came back, they reorganized this team. Datong has forgotten the same at all. The anxious king brought the equally anxious Jiang Zhu to discuss?

Although Jiang Jian was anxious, he was still very calm, "Lord Wang, I have been observing the people of Yaogang. They have the strength to rebel, but they have never rebelled. Did you see that? They sent their troops to fight the thieves. They took Zhou Yuji's soldiers and horses to the battle, with the emperor's will. They do everything very rigorously. ”

"But they still adapted Zhou Yuji's soldiers and horses." The acting king said, "That's not what the emperor meant, right?" ”

"The emperor hasn't given Zhou Yuji food and salary for a few years, and the army has no food to disperse," Jiang Jian said, "Besides, the emperor won't care about Zhou Yuji's affairs anymore." Because Zhou Yuji's soldiers and horses are there, they just listen to the emperor, what can they do to the Yaogang people? I think the emperor just did a favor and gave Zhou Yuji to the Yaogang people. The emperor has long known that most of Zhou Yuji's soldiers and horses were given by the kiln people. ”

"Hey! That's right, but what do we do? The king said, "We have no food for these soldiers and horses, and we have to raise them ourselves." The people here have suffered enough. ”

"It's all up to the silver we have left over from minting coins, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to support it a long time ago. Alas! Jiang Jian said helplessly.

"General Jiang guards the frontier, and he has to raise his own grain and grass, it's hard for you." The acting king was also helpless.

"I think so, lord." Jiang Yan said, "The kiln people ignore us. We sent them a telegram asking them to talk, first, we asked them to support some food and grass, otherwise we really couldn't support it, and second, we also probed their mouths, and if not, we would have a showdown with them. ”

"That's the best!" The acting king said, "What I'm worried about is that they are afraid that I am the prince of the Zhu family, and they will definitely have scruples." ”

"The prince doesn't need to think much about this. Who are they afraid of now? Jiang Pai said, "It's just that the people of Yaogang are too thoughtful and unwilling to easily reveal their thoughts." ”

"When they came, we were honest with each other," said the king, "and I think they would be honest with each other as well." ”

After the two discussed, they sent a telegram to Yaogang and asked Zhang Zhimu to go to Datong.

Zhang Zhimu and the others discussed it and decided that Chen Yufeng and Ouyang He would go around and talk about it first.

Datong's acting king and Jiang Zongbing were really anxious, and they sent several telegrams to invite.

As soon as Chen Yufeng and Ouyang He arrived in Datong, Dai Wang and Jiang Yan naturally had to see them as soon as possible.

After everyone met and greeted, Ouyang He introduced the Western Expedition and the Battle of Ordos to the acting king and Jiang Ping. The two of them were also nervous and happy for a while. Dai Wang and Jiang Jian understood that the Yaogang people looked like a game to defeat Shaanxi and Ordos, in addition to the strong force, the preparation made by the Yaogang people was simply incredible. They do things they can't even think of.

After some sighing and admiration, the acting king said: "We are all old friends, and we are in a hurry to invite you here because we can't open the pot here." Nearly 100,000 soldiers here in Datong can't do it without food! The imperial court gave less than half of the salary, and it was in arrears for more than a year. It's all Jiang Jianzhou's general soldiers who are trying to find a way to raise it. But you also know that the people here are already suffering enough. Squeeze them all dry, and you can't afford to raise so many soldiers and horses! ”

"This matter is reassuring for the prince. We don't watch the brothers go hungry at the border. When we weren't so strong before, didn't we try our best to reach out? I can tell Dai Wang and Jiang Zongbing that this year is a bumper year. And I bought a lot of rice from the south. Chen Yufeng said, "Before I came, Zhimu said that if you are short of food. We can support. Never let the brethren go hungry. And let everyone eat enough for three meals. ”

After listening to Chen Yufeng's words, Jiang Zhu stood up and saluted and said, "I thank you for the border soldiers!" ”

"I said Mr. Jiang, they are all old friends, we haven't seen each other for a few days, why are you so polite?" Chen Yufeng said, "Please sit down, we can't sit still like you." ”

"Humph! Friends? I don't dare to be! Listening to Chen Yufeng's words, Jiang Mingqi sat down with a snort.

"Mr. Jiang, you can't be so rude if you're an old friend!" The acting king said a word to Jiang Ting, and said to Chen Yufeng and Ouyang He, who were a little inexplicable, "Don't be surprised by the two of you, Jiang Zongbing is a straight person." Actually, if you want to say that you are not satisfied, I also have a point. When you go west, General Jiang and I are also concerned about your battle situation every day. But after you left, you took Zhou Yuji's soldiers and horses away. We don't have any faith at all. We thought you were in a tight war and couldn't take care of us. But you have been back for so long, why haven't you even sent us a letter? ”

"Oops! We are to blame for this. When we came out, Mr. Zhang also told us that we must ask the acting prince and Mr. Jiang for this matter. Ouyang He explained, "Let me tell you, when the real fight started, Mr. Chen and I were not nervous, but after the fight, there were too many things. Localities need to take over and pacify, frontiers need to be garrisoned, combat lessons and lessons need to be summed up, meritorious officers and men need to be rewarded, and the army needs to be reorganized. It's a busy mess. So we don't mean to despise you both. It's just that I didn't treat you as outsiders, so I didn't think about it so much, you two must forgive us! ”

Chief Jiang Jian let out a sigh of relief and said, "Hey! I said Ouyang Dajunshi, I can convince you, as soon as you say something, it will change its taste. It seems like we don't make sense anymore? ”

"Hahaha!" Even the prince, everyone laughed heartily.

"We really miss you!" The acting prince stopped laughing and said.

"Like the prince, I am guarding the radio every day, listening to your news, do you want to inquire? and fear to divide your hearts. Ay! Jiang Ji said.

"It's our fault for not thinking about it, in fact, our report will be sent to you with a password." Ouyang He said, "However, when the fight started, we really can't care about anything else." ”

"Understand, understand!" "Today, we are all old friends. We'd like to hear what's next for you? ”

"The emperor has ordered us to send troops to continue to suppress the thieves," Chen Yufeng said, "We need to recuperate before we can send troops." ”

"That's not what I said, just say it." The acting king asked, "When are you going to win the world, don't forget your old friends." ”

Chen Yufeng and Ouyang He didn't expect that the acting king would be so direct. Ouyang He and Chen Yufeng looked at each other and said, "Lord Wang, Jiang Zongbing, we have no intention of rebelling. Otherwise, in terms of military strength, no one can stop us. If we send troops, it will not be much more difficult to conquer Beijing than Xi'an. Therefore, all our actions are within the scope of the emperor's permission. What Mr. Zhang means is that we must unify all parties by force and return us to a complete country. So that the people can live a peaceful life. You may not believe it. Mr. Zhang is not interested in being the emperor. He also said to the emperor that being the emperor was too tired. But we know better that once the world is peaceful. The emperor will never allow a person like Mr. Zhang to exist. So we have been persuading Mr. Zhang to prepare early. But Mr. Zhang was unmoved. ”

"Two, although I am from the Zhu family, I can see it clearly. Only people like Mr. Zhang can sit in the world and be at peace in the world. We have said everything we have said today about the destruction of the nine tribes. It is to show you. No matter what you think, Datong will stand with you. Now the emperor doesn't seem to be at ease with us, and has sent a prison guard and many officials. But in Datong, they are useless. Said the acting prince.

"Speaking of which," Chen Yufeng said, "my advice is that as long as you master the army, we can rest assured." Don't worry about everything. However, I suggest that you should also reduce the number of military personnel. Just leave the elite soldiers behind. Because the Mongols in the north will not have a large-scale operation for the time being. Besides, we have a lot of troops over there. ”

Jiang Pai said: "This is also one thing we asked you to say. As long as we say yes, we will reduce the army as soon as possible. We, the veterans, have long wanted to go with you to open up the wasteland and farm. They heard that the veteran who went early not only married a daughter-in-law, but also had a son. ”

"Haha!" Chen Yufeng said, "We just came over there, and those capable sons are two!" ”

"Hahaha!" This time, a few people laughed even more.

Jiang Pai said: "Damn, that Zhou Yuji is a good fate, otherwise Lao Tzu will not be worse than him in Ordos!" But let's talk about it today! My heart is much happier. ”

"Actually, I don't need to say it again, can we not understand?" Ouyang He said, "Mr. Zhang said, and he will send the children to study on behalf of the prince and Mr. Jiang." The meaning is clear. ”

"yes!" Jiang Pai said, "It's just that I've never been steady." ”

"Mr. Jiang is watching others fight, and his heart is not steady, right?" Ouyang He teased.

"That is, especially when I saw Zhou Yuji go out to fight, I felt even more unsteady."

"Huh! I didn't expect the Mongols in Ordos to be so vulnerable. It's a shame for us all. "For so many years, our Ming officers and soldiers have almost changed color when they hear the Mongol soldiers. But how did they turn from wolves to sheep when they came to you? ”

"That's right! Zhou Yuji is so lucky, all the good things have allowed him to catch up. Jiang Ji was simply envious and jealous of Zhou Yuji.

Chen Yufeng and Ouyang He's answers to Dai Wang and Jiang Ji made Zhang Zhimu very satisfied, "We should support Datong from the grain and grass." They also have a lot of good soldiers there, and if we go on a southern expedition, we can reorganize an army with them. ”

"They still have a lot of good cavalry," Chen Yufeng seemed to have Datong's army in mind, "if they can reduce some veterans, Yan Boju will pick some to enrich the police force." The rest have to organize reclamation teams. Now the people who have entered Shanxi are simply unstoppable, and there are more and more people. ”

"Good! Mr. Lu seems to be happy again. Zhang Zhimu said, "We now have food, and we are not afraid of more people." If nothing else, the grain output of Shaanxi, Hexi, and Qinshui will all rise next year. No matter how many people are not afraid. Our infrastructure can also absorb a lot of manpower. ”

"Mr. Zhang, I'm worried that we have too many construction projects, and whether the burden will be too heavy. If not, some projects can be postponed if they are not in a hurry. Ouyang He said with some concern.

"It's okay, as long as Mr. Lu doesn't call him poor, you can rest assured. He counts more than we do. Zhang Zhimu said, "I haven't had time to tell you yet." We seized Li Zicheng's treasure this time. Seven million taels of silver and eleven thousand taels of gold were seized. There are countless other copper coins. There is also a large collection of treasures and antiques. Those antiques were selected by the museum for more than 30 pieces. According to Lu Chengxiang and Dong Jichang, they are both priceless treasures. ”

"I guess it's about the same," Ouyang He leaned back in his chair and tilted his head and said, "Li Jing, did they pull hundreds of carriages in a steel spring carriage?" ”

"Huh! We not only brought back the silver from Li Zicheng's treasury, but also brought back all the things that Li Zicheng had hidden in Qinling when he was a rogue. You can see it from the fineness of the silver. Those collections have not been organized, apparently because they were not organized when they were in the past. Zhang Zhimu said, "It seems that Li Zicheng has lost a lot this time." However, Lu Chengxiang said that this is not all of Li Zicheng's belongings. At least he took it with him. ”

"Yes! Li Zicheng has been looting for so many years. Their army does not pay their salaries, but they take care of their food, and they don't need much silver. Chen Yufeng said, "Li Jing and their people saw that when Li Zicheng left, he took a long team of horses. The horse team carried a lot of things. ”

"To be honest, Mr. Lu and I are not too relieved about this bit of silver. We make more than we produce every year. Zhang Zhimu said, "It's just that we invest a lot in infrastructure every year." But it's all worth it, and it will help us earn more money. ”

"Good! As long as we have money and guns, we will not be afraid of anything. Ouyang He said, "I have a few thoughts about the preparation for the Southern Expedition. ”

"Tell me about it!"

"The advantage we have now is clear to everybody. However, whether it was Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, and Zuo Liangyu, including the imperial court, they did not know how big the threat of this advantage was. Ouyang He said, "With this advantage, all the places close to the rivers that our warships can reach are within the scope of our power." Our forces and firepower are easily accessible by relying on our fleet. Let's just say, let's take Hanzhong in the future. In the past, it was worried that whether it was from the Dasanguan Pass, the Baoxian Ancient Road, or the Shang Yu Ancient Road, the personnel would barely pass, and it would be very difficult to transport grain and grass. However, we don't need to transport grain and grass from there at all. We can send warships to cover tugboats from the Han River to transport grain and grass directly to Hanzhong by barge. Even grain was purchased in Hankow. ”

"Good! It's a whimsical idea. But at that time, when our fleet passed under Xiangyang City, what would King Chuang think? Zhang Zhimu praised repeatedly.

"Haha! Our 203 and 130 cannons, as long as a few cannons are fired, I think the prince will obediently let us pass. Chen Yufeng said with a smile.

"So, I have a couple of ideas." Ouyang He said, "First, we now have the Xiurong, and we are about to launch two new ships. They are all big enough tonnage. We also have quite a few speedboats. This time to fight Shaanxi, the power of our speedboat is really not small. Against shore targets, their large-caliber machine guns are very lethal. And it's fast and flexible. But if we can build a bigger speedboat, we need to be able to mount infantry guns. Because of the crisscrossing of the southern rivers, in some places big ships cannot enter at all. Our speedboat has a machine gun, but there are no cannons, and the power is limited. If we had fast gunboats, it would be easier for us to fight. ”

"No problem at all, at least we can put two diesel engines on the speedboat on one bigger boat. If the ship is bigger, you can set up a cannon. "But we now have new ideas." We can specialize in the development of a diesel-powered gunboat. Our aluminium plant will soon be able to produce aluminium in large quantities. We can cast the shell of the gunboat out of alloy aluminum, and then put the diesel engine on it. Such a gunboat does not need to be too big, we can mass-produce gunboats. Guns on gunboats can also be made specially. Make it easier to aim and shoot such a gun, suitable for use on ships. ”

"That's good, we'll attack along the river in the future." Ouyang He said, "When we go to the south, the river will be our friend." ”

"I told Li Yunhe before that they would develop a boat that would not be propelled by a propeller but by a big fan. There are a lot of shallow and even swampy places in the south, and our boats will get entangled in aquatic weeds if they use propellers. We fan-powered flat-bottomed boats are not afraid. In this way, we can go in places that other ships would not normally dare to go. Zhang Zhimu said, "Time is in our favor, and we also have time to make these preparations before the southern expedition." ”

-------------

Mt. Fuji erupted, Japan was earthquaked. --Progress of "Memories of the Southern Song Dynasty".