[Thank you for the book friend 'wq007_007'588 reward, thank you]

On a sunny morning in late July, a middle-aged man in a shabby robe walked into the city of Wuxi County, where the city gate was open.

The war made this city in the south of the Yangtze River, which was rich half a year ago, much more desolate, and the Han army retreated to Changzhou again, but the county seat of Wuxi was not occupied by the Qing army, which became a separate zone on both sides, which aggravated the chaos of the local order and made more people flee their homes helplessly.

The man was very sven-looking, about thirty-five or sixteen years old, his face was pale, his greasy braids exuded a stench, and his blue shabby robe was also stained, and he looked quite depressed on the outside. It's just that the cuffs are slightly open, revealing white and fine skin, not like people who have a difficult life, the bridge of the nose is high, the eyes are deep and focused, and the steps seem to be a little inconvenient and mopping the floor. A pair of cotton shoes still have holes exposed. The feeling of a down-and-out literati. And he is Chen Ziling.

Fujian and Zhejiang and Liangjiang money, grain and military supplies, Beijing City did not give a clear statement, Su Erde, Duan Xiulin, Wu Bida each played fifty boards, especially Su Erde, he lost face in Suzhou, has clearly resigned. But Chen Ziling, a little shrimp, was killed, and when Duan Xiulin was reprimanded, he was also imprisoned. If it weren't for Sulde picking on his son to evil Rong Bao a few days ago, Chen Ziling would still be in prison now, and Rong Bao would have let him out now to disgust Sulde.

The houses and shops on both sides of Wuxi County Avenue have been destroyed and warned, and the scorched black and messy ruins and broken walls are still intact with the storefronts and shops, so that the entire county town Avenue seems to be a continuous hill, together with a volt, like a huge wave.

He just walked through the Confucian Temple, and saw a familiar and unfamiliar archway, as a Suzhou people, Chen Ziling came to Wuxi more than once in the first 30 years of his life, he also saw the archway in front of him more than once, this is the archway of Renlun, also called the old archway of Jishan Pavilion, is the largest stone archway in the history of Wuxi. Ji Zengyun, the owner of the archway, Kangxi forty-five years of Jinshi, has made a significant contribution to the governance of the Yellow River, Yongzheng eleven years for the Wenhua Palace scholar, so Wuxi people call him "Ji Ge Lao". In the second year of Qianlong, the Qianlong Emperor wrote the plaque of "Renlun Fang Table", which was engraved on this large archway.

This is the brilliance of Wuxi people, and now this big archway is scarred and full of the breath of war.

Turning the archway is the former residence of the Ji family, which is quite dilapidated, and there is no Ji family in it, and the Ji family has fled to the south early. The gate has been destroyed, inhabited by a group of displaced refugees, and a side courtyard has directly opened an opening to the street, and a cover is hung outside, which has become a teahouse.

The teahouse owner used bricks to block the passage between the side courtyard and the main courtyard, as if it meant to stand on its own, and there was a small cart in front of the door, as well as a stone trough and bolted horse pile. A few dustpans were covered with golden chrysanthemum petals, and there was a pile of dried rice stalks in the corner.

Chen Zi's legs and feet had been tortured, and it was inconvenient to walk, so he got off the boat from Wuxi Wharf and walked here, and he was already faintly painful. He walked into the teahouse to rest, and casually asked the owner of the teahouse, Xiao Ertao, for some news.

The daylight is pleasant, and a few small birds are on the wall, and the crisp chirping is pleasant.

Chen Ziling stopped as he walked up the steps, bent down to take a closer look at the vortex on the corner of the stone steps, the vortex was not large, but it seemed to be the mold of a sphere. The little boy who came out of the store to greet him said with a smile: "This master, this was smashed by the cannons of the officers and soldiers who entered the city." ”

Then he went on to say:

"A little higher, above this gate, just the location of the open window, which is the hole that has been hit by the cannons. It's also that this house is built strongly, otherwise it wouldn't have collapsed. ”

"This is the old residence of the Ji family, and the old man Ji Huang [Ji Zengyunzi] is currently the governor of the Donghe River (stationed in Jining, Shandong). You occupy the Ji family's hometown in a grand manner, so you are not afraid that one day the Ji family will return and look for your trouble? ”

Chen Ziling sat down on the table and ordered a pot of tea and two plates of snacks, and he had already seen that this teahouse was opened by a family. The shopkeeper on the counter is very similar to the little two in front of him.

Xiao Er smiled again: "The Ji family, the official eunuch family, of course we have to be afraid." But when the Ji family returned to Wuxi, we also left early, didn't we? Who is not going to stay here and wait for them to come back and get us? "Xiaomin's cunning is so straightforward, Chen Ziling is funny and happy.

"Uncle is from this county? Where is this going? ”

"I'm from Suzhou. The family is ruined, the people are lonely, and they come to Caijia Lane to join their relatives. ”

"Caijia Lane?" Xiao Er obviously knew Cai Jiaxiang, and his face was full of smiles: "Then you are here for the right time." Caijiaxiang was protected by God, and when the official army attacked the city, only three or two cannons fell there, and I have never heard of any dead or wounded. Your relative must still be there. ”

Chen Ziling also showed a smile on his face, and he seemed to have put down a thousand catties of heavy burden in his heart, and thanked him: "Thank you for your auspicious words." If he can really see his aunt, Chen will definitely come to thank him again. ”

The old shopkeeper on the counter raised his eyes to look at Chen Ziling, then lowered his head and continued to count the account books that he would never seem to be able to count.

The little two are very talkative, and there are no other guests in the teahouse at this hour, and they are pulled by Chen Ziling to talk about the local people and livelihood in Wuxi, and that mouth is like tap water, balabal, balabala......

It wasn't until he sent Chen Ziling away with enthusiasm and returned to clean up the tea cups and plates and sent them to the counter that he was slapped by the old shopkeeper and his father. "Things that don't have long eyes, and don't look at who people are, right, it's itchy without speaking, isn't it?"

"What's wrong with me? Isn't there no guest here? Accompanied by nagging......"

"Get out." The shopkeeper looked at his son and hated iron and couldn't make steel. Although the man was dressed down, the fabric was Yang Qing, and the face was gentle, but his eyes were very bright, and the accent was indeed the accent of Suzhou, so there were injuries on his legs and feet, and injuries on his fingers. If the shopkeeper's eyes are not spent, the injuries on his fingers should be clamped with sticks, but others did not treat him harshly, and the injuries on his legs and feet were obviously also beaten by the board.

Such people have to hide and go, and just a fool like his youngest son will cover his head and get up in a few words. If he hadn't seen that his son didn't have anything taboo in his words, he would have interrupted a long time ago.

Chen Ziling did go to Caijia Lane, but he didn't go to join relatives, but to visit friends. The friend he visited was not surnamed Cai, but Qin. Born in the famous Qin family in Wuxi, it is the Wuxi Qin family whose old house is in Xiaolou Lane.

Wuxi Qin is a famous Jiangnan family, a family of Ming and Qing dynasties, and a descendant of Qin Guan, a famous poet in the Northern Song Dynasty. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, there were dozens of jinshi, fifty or sixty people and more than ten Hanlin.

When Kangxi visited Qin Garden in the 42nd year of his southern tour, Qin Daoran was ordered to drive into Beijing and teach at the emperor's ninth son, Yunyu. Yongzheng ascended the throne and belittled Yunyu. One of Yun Yu's crimes is to appoint Qin Daoran, a Han man, as the leader. Qin Daoran was dismissed and imprisoned, and his family property was confiscated, including Jichangyuan.

In the first year of Qianlong, Qin Daoran's son Qin Huitian participated in the examination, and the third place in the first class was Tanhua, and he was willing to atone for his father's sins with his official position, so that Qin Daoran could be released and go home. Later, Qin Huitian was tired of being a waiter in the Ministry of Rites, a scholar in the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Justice, and an examiner in the two examinations, and the Qin family in Wuxi was very developed.

Qin Huitian died in the 29th year of Qianlong, and in the 33rd year of Qianlong, if there was no Chen Ming's trouble, the small life of the Qin family would still be like a flower. As a result, the Fu Han army killed Jiangnan, Ke Nanjing, and Suzhou, although Wuxi was abandoned twice by the Fu Han army, the main branch of the Qin family fled south as early as the children of the Ji family. Those who are still in Wuxi can only talk about a few distant partial branches, which are used to guard the ancestral house and the Jichang Garden.

The friend Chen Ziling wants to visit is called Qin Youzi, who is a classmate of Ziyang College and is one of the Qin family's team left in Wuxi. Chen Ziling was not overjoyed that he had escaped from the disaster, Wu Xiongguang's 'brilliance' reflected his gray face, and his jealousy was like a poisonous snake devouring his heart.

Chen Ziling is envious, jealous and hateful.

And Beijing officially promulgated the edict to the world: encourage the gentry to organize group training to protect the township.

Chen Ziling is already too far behind Wu Xiongguang in Suzhou, and his family property has been almost defeated by him, and it will be difficult to make a comeback if he continues to mix in Suzhou. His eyes were fixed on Wuxi, a dangerous place sandwiched between the two armies.

"The so-called wealth is in danger. If today's turmoil and chaos arise in all directions, if you don't take risks, where will you get rich and rich? If you don't take risks, where will you get fame and fortune? Sitting opposite Chen Ziling was Qin Youzi.

He is tempting Qin Youzi with all his might, because Chen Ziling wants to hold a group practice in Wuxi, and he can't do without Qin Youzi's help, otherwise he is a Suzhou person, even if he is famous, what appeal can he have in Wuxi?

Chen Ziling's eyes were bright and bright, and he cited the example of Wu Xiongguang, who he was most jealous of, after shooting Jiang Tianfang of the Fu Han Army, Wu Xiongguang's father was exchanged for a corpse by Jiang Tianfang, not to mention, no one fouled him and hooked up with the Fu Han Army, and because he killed the Fu Han Army thief general, he was sentenced by Rong Baobao as the sixth grade.

Isn't Qin Youzi envious?

Chen Ziling is also a good person, even if his family road is broken, he can go to the Jinshi exam in the future. Qianlong has been taking the big exam for 34 years, and Beijing City has no intention of stopping the exam at all. And what about Qin Youzi? He is the same age as Chen Ziling, he is also in his early thirties, and he also has parents and a wife and children, but he is still just a little talent. In the Qin family, he is also a clansman who is not valued, otherwise how could he be chosen to stay in Wuxi and guard the old mansion for such a dangerous thing?

Fame and fortune are the most moving, Chen Ziling doesn't believe that Qin Youzi is not moved. With Wu Xiongguang's living example, who is not tempted? Chen Ziling is 'indomitable', and he gets to the bottom of it, isn't he also jealous and relieved?

Wu Xiongguang can live in the sixth grade of government at a young age, why can't I be the same? Or even higher?

"Fujian is in turmoil, and the three provinces of Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Jiangxi are all suffering. Not to mention the problem of money and food, the difficulty of troops alone has made the imperial court overstretched. Otherwise, how could the emperor order the local gentry to organize regimental exercises to defend the township? ”

"Brother Xiyan, this is the right time for my generation to rise. Wu Xiongguang, just a child can arrogate the position of the sixth grade, can't we take an official and a half position? ”

"Wuxi's location is very sensitive. The officers and soldiers did not dare to enter lightly, for fear of alarming the rebels in Changzhou. That's a godsend for us. Raise the flag and practice in a regiment, make a good livelihood of the people, stabilize the place, and protect the township. If the rebels in Changzhou are unaware of the threat, then we will wait for the recovery of Wuxi County. The officials and soldiers who came to Japan to suppress the rebellion, and we waited for the credit, and we did not let Wu Xiongguang specialize in the former ......"

When people are driven by desire, their inner motivation is powerful beyond the dare of outsiders. When the news of Chen Ziling's group training in Wuxi reached Suzhou, countless people in Suzhou who knew his previous experience showed unbelievable expressions. They really couldn't understand Chen Ziling's thoughts, and in the sensitive place of Wuxi, ......, no one was blinded.

When the news reached Chen Ming's hands, Chen Ming was in Yancheng County. In the battle of Victory Lake, the right battalion of the guards followed the passage cleared by the artillery and fought out from the southwest corner of the Qing army, laying the foundation for the victory of the Han army in that fierce battle.

However, when the war finally ended, it was still late afternoon, and the Fu Han army paid nearly 1,000 casualties. More than 200 people were killed and wounded in the cavalry battalion, and Chen Kaishan was distressed to death. At the time of the final pursuit, the convoy of the artillery unit rushed forward.

The tank team defeated the entire Huai'an City garrison, and was rushed by a team of Eight Banners Horse Team in the middle, but the tank battalion withstood the pressure and taught the Eight Banners Horse Team how to behave with a big knife, big axe, spear and iron rod in their hands. The musket battalion used platoon guns to defeat the firearms battalion of the Eight Banners and the shotgunmen of the Wendeng battalion in Shandong, which were also equipped with flintlock pistols, and then used bayonets to break the entire Wendeng battalion in Shandong......

The losses of the Han army in the first battle of Victorious Lake were not small, and they were all veterans killed in Henan. The losses of the Qing army were even greater, and the elite Qing soldiers of 10,000 people in northern Jiangsu died no less than 3,000 on the spot, and 3,000 prisoners of war were captured one after another, and more than half of the soldiers were lost in the first battle. It was the Portuguese who ran too fast, except for the three who were really in chaos, and the rest ran away.

The Fu Han army captured hundreds of war horses and horses, the former supplemented the cavalry battalion, which made Chen Kaishan feel better, and the latter strengthened the artillery battalion. And the captured prisoners of war, as long as they are banner people, regardless of whether they are Manchurian, Meng, or Han eight, they will all be beheaded by the side of Desheng Lake, and even among the captured Han soldiers, many of them have fierce-looking and green battalion officers who have been beheaded. I didn't even need to pull it back and let the captive soldiers 'test the knife'. Chen Ming is also extremely hateful!

Nearly 1,000 people were killed and wounded, nearly 400 people were killed in the war, and a number of wounded veterans will die one after another, plus the disabled and discharged, this battle knocked out Chen Ming's elite at the head of a half battalion, and he had the heart to bury all the prisoners alive.

The war was won. Some of the unsolved mysteries of the pre-war period have also been solved. The Qing army had a total of twelve Portuguese cannons, and the guns were engraved with foreign characters. The fire doors of the twelve cannons were all nailed, and the gun carriages were deliberately damaged. However, Chen Ming doesn't pay much attention to these cannons, and what he values more on the battlefield is the Portuguese flowering bombs and shotguns, and the Fuhan army is already starting to make flowering shells, which is not difficult to make, but the safety of the product is too poor, and the proportion of landing dumb bombs is too high. Some things cannot be imitated just by having information, and it takes a long time of experience. Now that there is an exact physical object, this will be of some help to the development of flowering bombs for the Fuhan Army, and shotguns are also included.

Then there were the flintlock pistols of the Qing army, as well as the paper bullets they ordered.

Chen Ming knew that the war had been fought for so long, and it was impossible to keep some things that were not technically secret. The paper bullet in front of me is a very clear example, as well as the bayonet of the card slot of the Qing army, and the Fu Han army that even imitates the shape and length.

Even the black powder in the paper bullets of the Qing army was granularized. "What the hell!" Chen Ming scolded, angry and angry in his heart.

Why doesn't this Qianlong old man compare himself with his grandson and great-grandson? If he had been as good as a shrinking turtle like Daoguang and Xianfeng, and not let go of the old routine, the process of overthrowing the Manchus by the Han army would definitely be much easier and faster than now. At present, the barrel production capacity of the Fu Han Army is still limited, and there are only more than 3,000 flintlock pistols in the arsenal of finished flintlock pistols in the old nest. Even if you count all the 40,000 or 50,000 musketeers of the Han Army in the base area, the number of flintlock guns is only seven or eight thousand, and many of them are second-hand goods transformed from captured bird guns.

From the wails and scolding of the captured flag soldiers of the firearms battalion before they died, Chen Ming also heard a familiar term: the Eight Banners New Army.

Chen Guang, the person in charge of the northern dark camp, mentioned these four words in the letter from the north, which was a new army of the Manchu Eight Banners, and the number of troops came from the Beijing Banner and Guanwai. Many of the sons and daughters of the banner people in Beijing compared this army to the second in the Xishan Jianrui Battalion, and their combat effectiveness was quite exaggerated.

The number of people is not yet certain, but it can only be guaranteed that there will be no less than 3,000 people, and no more than 10,000 people. But the musket used can be determined that it is no longer the old arquebus, but a flintlock pistol. The cannons produced by the three artillery factories in Beijing were also given priority to this new army, and anyway, the weapons and food were the first in the Manjing banner.

Of course, the training of this army is very strict, and many of the people in it are transferred from the cold places outside the Northeast Pass, and the hardships they can endure are different from the Eight Banners of the Beijing Banner. Chen Ming remembered that these two people were both heroes and famous generals of the Ziguang Pavilion of the Qianlong Dynasty. It was still a military parade at noon before, but it was impossible for the spies of the Fu Han Army in Beijing to enter that occasion. He could only get some information from the officials and the children of the Eight Banners who watched the parade, and the description sent by the secret camp made Chen Ming feel that this army was very similar to the musket battalion of the Fuhan army.

The prisoners of the firearms battalion considered themselves inferior to the New Army of the Eight Banners. shouted, killed them and the descendants. The soldiers of the Eight Banners will definitely avenge them, they will definitely kill none of the Chen family, and all the Fu Han soldiers who killed will be ghosts. If it weren't for the fact that the latter was not in line with GCD, the previous sentence really had a bit of GCD style.

It doesn't matter if you cut off your head, as long as the doctrine is true;

Kill one of me, and the next generation.

Chen Ming was not afraid of the threat of the Eight Banners Tartars, and such a curse would only come from the mouth of the loser. What's more, how many batches of the new army Manchu Qing can be formed? Does Qianlong still have money? How many people are there who dare to fight in the more than one million Manchurian Han and Mongolian Eight Banners? If one such person dies, one less will die.

Of course, Chen Ming also had to consider the threat of this Eight Banners New Army, and he had already sent a letter to ask Chen Guang to focus on the news of the Eight Banners New Army, but now it seems that this matter still needs to be mentioned to the first place in the secret of the Northern Bureau of the Hidden Camp.

After winning the battle of Victory Lake, Chen Ming then raised his troops to Caoyan Field, and then led the army along the Yunyan River all the way to Yancheng. At the same time, the Fuhan army on the southern road also advanced to the city of Nantong Prefecture, and the Guangdong Navy and Army and the foreign naval divisions of Fujian and Shandong retreated to Haimen Hall or anchored on the islands in the middle of the river.

Chen Ming has already urgently transferred part of the main force to the north, and he wants to touch Huai'an City. If the situation allows, Chen Ming led his troops to fight Yancheng and march westward, and Huang Jie, who returned to Gaoyou Prefecture, led his troops north along the canal, marched together on both roads, and pulled out the nail of Huai'an! (To be continued.) )