Chapter 151: The Lord Supports the General Soldiers

"We don't need to trim it, you can give the order!" Liu Yun replied.

"You sent out a regiment led by Liu Chenghuang and Yang Jing to follow us to Datong. After we bought the horses in Datong, we left some people to bring the horses back to Yaogang, and the rest went to Zhangjiakou with Yan Bo, and returned to Yaogang together after buying in Zhangjiakou. Zhang Zhimu ordered, "The people you left behind to kill Hukou, some of the escort vehicles and 10,000 horses returned to Yaogang." The remaining part of the people stayed and waited for Mr. Lu to finish buying the cattle and sheep, and then helped him drive back to the kiln. ”

Liu Yun said: "Okay, I'll arrange it right away." ”

Since the matter of cattle and sheep has not been implemented, Lu Chengxiang decided to stay and go back after buying cattle and sheep.

Zhang Zhimu and Chen Yufeng took the ladies' convoy and went straight to Datong. Because the kiln gang branch of Datong has not been established for a long time, there is no inn here, and the people of the front station and the Datong branch have discussed it, and they have set up an inn outside the city.

After Zhang Zhimu and the others arrived, they stayed in the inn, and the army set up tents outside the inn.

After settling down, Zhang Zhimu immediately sent someone to inform Jiang Zhuo and told him that I would visit him the next day.

Jiang Jian was so happy to hear that Zhang Zhimu had arrived, and he was very eager to see Zhang Zhimu.

The next day, as soon as the gate of Datong opened, Zhang Zhimu, Chen Yufeng, and Ouyang He, under the protection of Li Jing and others, came to the Yamen of the Datong General Army to see Jiang Zhuang. The ladies from the kiln, under the protection of the female soldiers of the kiln gang who had changed into civilian clothes, were accompanied by the people of the Datong branch and went to visit Datong.

Jiang Ji and Zhang Zhimu haven't seen each other for a long time, and they don't have too much politeness. Jiang Pai said: "I heard that you sent people out of the customs to deliver things to Prince Tory's tribe, how is the situation?" ”

Zhang Zhimu briefly introduced Liu Yun and their experience of leaving the customs this time to Jiang Yan.

After hearing this, Jiang Jian nodded and said, "General Liu, the two battles they fought, you can see a little bit of the strength of the Mongols, and they can also feel your strength." However, this is not the real strength of a large-scale war, it can only be regarded as a small battle. If you go out of the country next year, you must not be careless. Do not be deceived by the brutal appearance of the Mongols, who are thieves. And he is particularly good at learning and has a very strong ability to adapt. They will come back with a loss, and they will definitely come up with new ways to deal with you. If nothing else, if you encounter them again, they will surely have a new way of dealing with you. They are not barbarians. "Jiang has been at the border for a long time and knows a lot about the Mongols.

When Ouyang He heard Jiang Pai say this, he also understood that he was afraid that the people of Yaogang would be careless because of the two small victories. He said: "General Jiang, don't worry, we will be more careful in the face of the Mongols. After returning to Yaogang, we will carefully study the specific details of these two battles. To sum up the experience, but we are much better than the Mongols in terms of firearms. So we are still confident to beat them next year. We have been weak for too long against the threat from the north. We will definitely take advantage of our firearms superiority this time, and next year we will not have the strength to completely eliminate the threat from the north. But we also want to gain a foothold in the north and push our defenses one step further. ”

Jiang Jian said: "Hearing Mr. Ouyang's words, my blood is a little hot, old man. But if you go out and come back after a battle, there is no problem, and if you want to occupy a place in the Mongolian steppe, I am afraid that the Mongols will not tolerate you. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "We were invited by the Mongols this time to go out to help. The conditions we agreed with them were to leave us a piece of land in the Hetao area for us to cultivate land. They have already promised. ”

"Great! The Hetao area is one of the best horse farms. After Jiang Jian finished speaking, he was a little worried, "But can the emperor allow you to intervene outside the pass?" ”

"With such a large Mongolian steppe, we don't have a logistics base. All the supplies are transported from the Kannai, can we beat the Mongols? Chen Yufeng said, "Since the emperor ordered us to send troops, he can't give us anything." We just had to do what we wanted? ”

Jiang Jian is not an ordinary person, "Zhang Dongjia, we are not outsiders, to be honest, it is really beyond my expectation that you will go out next year." Your Shanxi is not completely stable, this is not the time to send troops! Can you tell me the truth, I still have more than 100,000 horses here. ”

Zhang Zhimu came to see Jiang Pai this time, just to explain his thoughts to him, so he told Jiang Pai about his purpose and intentions as they were.

Jiang Pai said: "Zhang Dongjia is really generous! But you're right, this time there is a great opportunity to have Prince Tori. Otherwise, as soon as we get out, we won't even have a place to stay, and we will withdraw after the fight. As soon as we came back, they were like grass, and they grew. I support you in your affairs, and when you need my help, don't be polite. However, if you are going to emigrate next year, we have some veterans, can you help me arrange that? ”

It seems that the entire Ming Dynasty has the problem of the placement of veterans. Of course Zhang Zhimu is willing to ask for these veterans, "Mr. Jiang, it seems that we in the Ming Dynasty have a problem with the placement of veterans." There used to be veterans of General Ningde, and when we came, we saw General Zhou Yuji, and they also had the problem of veterans. It's the same for you here. However, these veterans have never died on the battlefield in their lives, and when they are old, we should arrange them well. In this way, as long as you are in good health and can endure the hardships of reclamation, I will take it. It's best to give me all the people before the end of today, and I will train them and let them go to the reclamation point to give me the head. ”

"Great!" Jiang Bai said, "I thank you for those veterans. You don't know that these veterans, except for being able to fight, they have no other crafts and no home. It's just that there is a family empty-handed, and when you are old, you don't have the face to go back. All the barracks were worried about arranging them. If they can earn a little money with you, maybe they will be able to go home and see. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "The veterans have been in the barracks for many years, and they have discipline and organizational skills. It is best to let them lead the work of the new immigrants, and besides, outside the customs, if there is a situation, such as a sneak attack by the Mongols, the veterans are much more experienced than the new immigrants and will not run around. That's when they can play a better role. ”

"Oops! Veterans that no one wants have become treasures when they come to you. You are to blame for these veterans who are not loyal to you. The matter is settled. Jiang Pai said: "There is one more thing, can you get us a set of telephones for the kind of telephones you use in the kiln posts, and I will install telephones for all our checkpoints?" ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "To tell you the truth, those places we manage will install telephones next year." We can't interfere here, so we didn't come to do this. I also want to meet with the acting king this time and discuss with him whether we can start telephone business in Datong? If the prince agrees, we will build a telephone bureau in Datong. At that time, you just need to install a few telephones. Otherwise, you will spend a lot of money to build a switchboard by yourself. ”

"Zhang Dongjia, you don't know anything." Jiang Jian said, "If our Datong General Soldier Yamen is on the telephone, it will be used more than your entire kiln post." The scope of our jurisdiction is too large, even if you go to the telephone bureau, we will also go to our own. Tell me how much money you'll need if your phone is on? ”

"If you go to a large-scale artificial platform, you need 100,000 taels of silver. If you have a lot of calls, I can give you fifty taels and one. If the line is too long in some places and needs a relay, each repeater will cost 200 taels of silver. However, you must keep the price secret. Zhang Zhimu knows that there is no other branch for the telephone, and the amount of silver is the amount of silver.

"I don't have that much silver, but I have the copper you need." What do you think? ”

"What else? When you said that, I thought that you would definitely use this trick against me. Zhang Zhimu said, "After I go back, I will implement this matter for you, but you have to send someone to the kiln gang to learn the technology of using and maintaining these telephones, otherwise you all need us to send someone here, and we will lose a lot." Zhang Zhimu knew that this was the first time that the phone had been sold to the outside in a set.

Jiang Pai said: "You just said that you want to see the acting prince this time." I want to remind you that this Ming Dynasty belongs to the Zhu family. We can't talk to them about everything, we can say anything. ”

Zhang Zhimu understands that people like Jiang Zongbing can't talk nonsense, this sentence has clearly been said, he and Zhang Zhimu are in a group, not a group of the Zhu family. It's very subtle.

Chen Yufeng and Ouyang He also quietly exchanged glances.

Jiang Pai said: "Let me send someone to see the acting king, and ask him when he will have time to see you?" I reckon he'll be overjoyed to hear you. When Li Zicheng was surrounding you, the acting king asked me every day about your situation. In particular, we now have a lot of children studying in your kiln. The prince cares more about them. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "There is one last thing, what do you say about buying some horses in Datong that you asked?" ”

"Hey! In this matter, even if Zhang Dongjia gives me a little face. In the past, when horses were sold, they were all controlled by the people of the palace. Now the imperial court has urged the sale of horses several times, but they have not been able to sell the horses, it is said that last year by the imperial court was in a hurry, they are all out of their own pockets for the imperial court to make up the silver. They were afraid that they would not be able to sell horses this year, so they asked the prince to come forward and let me tell you about it, and please buy some horses in Datong as well. What do you think? After all, we are other people's minions. ”

"Don't worry, if you say a word, this face must be given. In the past, we were reluctant to buy horses in Datong because those people in the palace were too dark. We bought 5,000 horses in Datong this time. But we can't give the benefits among them. ”

"It's nice that you can buy their horses, and what do you want? What time is it? Jiang Ji said.

"That's it, I'll go to the palace to see the prince. Uncle Chen, you and Uncle Yan will go together to buy horses. ”

"Alright, I'll send someone to lead you to buy horses." Jiang Ji said.

As the acting king of a vassal king, he is far more intelligent than ordinary people think. He had already understood that without the support of the kiln people here, the Ming Dynasty would have been finished long ago. He understands a truth better, rather than being overthrown, it is better to take the initiative to establish contact with the kiln gang, and tie up with them, maybe you can get their protection. Once the situation changes, there is also another way out. It's not that he doesn't want to maintain the Ming Dynasty, but this edifice that will collapse, he is really hard to support alone. This time, as soon as Zhang Zhimu and the others arrived outside Datong City, the prince immediately got the information. He has been waiting for Zhang Zhimu to hear from them, and he knows that Zhang Zhimu will definitely visit him when he arrives in Datong. Therefore, when Jiang Zhuo sent someone to ask, he immediately invited Zhang Zhimu to the palace.

Seeing the prince, Zhang Zhimu hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed, "The prince is a thousand years old, a thousand years old!" By now, Zhang Zhimu has become accustomed to kowtowing to others. There is no way, you must follow the local customs here, otherwise it is really inappropriate to cause other troubles because of your own heart. After a few turns, I don't care. This is also desensitization.

"Excuse me! Excuse me! The acting king hurriedly gave Zhang Zhimu a seat.

Zhang Zhimu didn't sit down and said, "Lord Wang, I don't think I'll sit down yet." Please come out and take a look, I have brought you two of the latest carriages of our kiln. ”

Wang Ye's eyes lit up, "Oh! I'll take a look. He knew that the kiln people often came up with something unbelievably good. I already have a glass carriage, which is already very good.

When he came to the courtyard, Dai Wang's eyes really lit up again. It turned out that Zhang Zhimu brought him two carriages, one large and one small, both purple and red in color. The outside is polished. The difference between this carriage and his previous one was that this time it was replaced with a rubber wheel. The inside is also extremely luxurious, the seats are covered with lambskin sofas, the pedals are Mongolian felt cars, and the wallpaper is hand-painted inside. All handrails are gold-plated.

Zhang Zhimu said: "Lord Wang, this bigger car is for you to go far away. Inside you can sit or lie down. The small one allows you to ride up close. ”

"Oops! That's great, and it's breaking the bank. The prince was polite.

"There, the prince is guarding in Datong, so we can have a safe environment to do this, so we should let the prince try this car first!" Zhang Zhimu's compliments are also very decent.

The prince went to the two cars and sat down and tried it, and then asked the car to drive the car into the inner courtyard.

They went back to the house and sat down, and the prince said, "I have taken this car, thank you Zhang Dongjia." Let's talk about your exit this time! ”

Zhang Zhimu told Liu Yun and them about their exit again.

The prince said, "This is great. Now our court and the Mongols have no strength in a full-scale war. You went out this time in the name of a caravan arm, not an act of the imperial court. It's a good way to do it. I heard that the emperor also ordered you to be released next year. This is different from beating Li Zicheng! ”

What the prince meant was that the Mongols were not easy to fight, because he, like Jiang Ping, guarded the Great Wall, and had always endured the constant incursion of the Mongols and did not dare to fight.

Zhang Zhimu said: "With our current situation, we really don't have the strength to fight. What you see is that we have repelled Li Zicheng's million-strong army in a short period of time. But as you know, the total number of our kiln workers is tens of thousands, and we used all the strength we had accumulated for a long time to target their weaknesses, and with a sudden blow, we first cut off their food and grass, so that they could retreat without a fight. But for this battle, we have exhausted our strength. Now we have taken over most of Shanxi, which has been plagued by locust droughts and wars for many years, and we can no longer collect taxes in these places. The burden is not ordinarily heavy. Can't play at all. But if we let the Manchus unify the north by surrendering their Mongols. To the north of us, and even to the northwest, we were under the threat of the Manchus. At that time, we were more passive, and now we don't go out, and the court still has the strength to go out. We are going out this time in the name of going to war at the behest of Prince Torry, and we do not have the strength to defeat the whole of Mongolia, but we will take the opportunity to seek a piece of land in the Hetao area to establish a garrison. As long as we can stand our ground, we can take the initiative in the defense of the north. ”

"Good!" Wang Ye even said a few good words, "Although your step is not a small risk, if it is done." The pressure on the pass in our area has been relieved. ”

"It's risky." Zhang Zhimu said, "Li Zicheng and they came here to sit in the world, but if the Mongols come again, we will face extinction." How many Han people were killed by the Yuan soldiers when they entered the Central Plains, the prince must have heard of it. Therefore, we must intervene to stop the Manchus and the Mongols when they do not succeed. ”

"However, for you to set up a garrison outside the gate, the imperial court may not be able to agree." Wang Ye said, "Those Donglin Party people, they can't do anything else, find fault with you, and make some mistakes, but they have a very good way." ”

"Lord Wang, you also know that we don't have a support point outside the gate, and it is impossible for our team to fight for a long time." Zhang Zhimu said, "At that time, we will have a general outside, and the king's order will not be affected." Everything should be aimed at winning the war. ”

"Good! This king supports you, and if there is anything that needs to be done by this king, you will speak for it. ”

"With the words of the king, I am relieved." Zhang Zhimu knows that now that he has the support of the acting king, many things will be much easier to do. In the future, there will be one of the most difficult things to do, that is, to open a hole in the Great Wall and build the railway, and then ask the prince to come forward to do this.

Originally, Zhang Zhimu wanted to talk to the prince about building a telephone bureau in Datong, but the prince spoke first, "Zhang Dongjia, there is one more thing I want to know, why do you have set up telephone bureaus in many places in Shanxi, but you don't set up a telephone bureau in such a big place as Datong?" Too many people have told me that the telephone used by you kiln workers can talk to people thousands of miles away, and it is very easy to talk to people in a city. ”

"Oops! Don't get me wrong, lord. There are several reasons, one is that this Datong is a place under your direct jurisdiction, and building a telephone bureau is not a trivial matter, and we don't know whether you like this phone call or not. And Datong's telegram has only been opened for a short time, and we also want everyone to experience the benefits of this communication, and then come to ask the prince for instructions. If the prince agrees with us to build a telephone bureau, we will go back and start preparing people and equipment. With your support, you will be able to build the end of the phone quickly. ”

"It's your business to build a telephone bureau, what's the use of me not supporting it?"

"Lord Wang, don't you know, this telephone bureau has to go through many places to pull wires, involving many people, if someone makes a mess for you and doesn't let your phone line pass, it will also be very troublesome. With your support, there will be a lot less of such a thing. "Zhang Zhimu is telling the truth this time.

"No one in Datong dares to cause trouble for you, don't worry!"

Zhang Zhimu said: "Okay! This time, General Jiang also had to put a special telephone system on all military systems in Datong. In the future, you can install both military and civilian telephones in your home. That's when it's much easier for you to command. ”

"In the future, you can do whatever you have in Datong. If there is anything, if you need this king to speak, just say it. Dai Wang said, "In the spring of next year, we will have some children who want to go to study in Yaogang, and Zhang Dongjia will make arrangements." ”

"It's a trivial matter, just send me a telegram before you go." Zhang Zhimu said, "But I really want to ask the prince to come to our kiln next year to have a look." At that time, our hotel in Yaogang will be completed and put into use. The hotel has 10 floors, and we have built all the facilities we can think of. When you go and live there, you're bound to feel something different. ”

"Oh! It seems that we are really going to see what the kiln is like next year? ”

Zhang Zhimu knew that it was time to go, got up and said: "In the spring of next year, we are waiting for the prince to come in Yaogang!" ”

Before leaving, the prince insisted on sending Zhang Zhimu to the front of the car. When he came to the car, Zhang Zhimu took out a small pistol from Cheshan and handed it to the acting king, saying: "Lord, there are still many things to ask for in the future, and the prince must take care." This is a small pistol, for the prince to use for your self-defense. Don't look at him small, but killing people at close range has no problem at all. ”

Dai Wang Ye took the small pistol, Le's mouth couldn't close, and said, "Oh, this is a baby, it's too convenient to carry with you." ”

Zhang Zhimu made a joke and said, "I can't let the prince send me here for nothing!" ”

Zhang Zhimu's words frightened the people in the surrounding palace into a cold sweat, and no one dared to talk to the prince like this. But what made them feel strange was that the prince was not only not angry, but also laughed "haha".

When Zhang Zhimu and they were busy in Datong, Huang Yukun led these kiln ladies to start "sweeping" on the streets of Datong again. Unlike killing Hukou, the merchants in Datong were not prepared, and by the time they knew that there was such a sweeping team, it was too late. The prosperity of Datong is incomparable to that of Hukou, because most of the merchants who are engaged in border trade goods. And Datong is the head of the nine sides, and the army has more than 100,000 people, which is not ordinary prosperity. Let these ladies really have enough shopping.

When Zhang Zhimu returned to the inn, Chen Yufeng and Yan Boju had just returned.

Zhang Zhimu asked: "How did you do things so quickly?" ”

"Isn't this fast?" Yan Boju said, "Let's go to the horse guide, those little rabbit cubs, and they still want to ask us for benefits, which means that if you don't give benefits, you won't do it." The 'Mountain Harrier' told him that it was Jiang Zongbing who begged us to buy a horse, and if you didn't do it, we just wouldn't buy it. Those guys didn't know each other yet, so they insisted on not doing it, so we turned around and left. These guys know how powerful they are, and they pull us and say we'll do it. We resolutely refused to buy it. What happened to them, you say? ”

"How do I know? Just say it. Zhang Zhimu saw Yan Boju's proud appearance, as if he had picked up a treasure.

"These little bunnies, kneel down for us." Yan Boju said.

Chen Yufeng said: "They know that if they want to run away because they want benefits and don't buy their horses, they will be dismissed and go home." It would be good if their masters did not kill them. ”

At this time, the manager of the Datong branch ran over with a telegram, "Mr. Zhang, Yaogang is in a hurry!" ”

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The Song army occupied Hokkaido, and Yuankou landed on the island of Kyushu. Opening up the Japanese battlefield. --Progress of "Memories of the Southern Song Dynasty".