"The general puts such a heavy responsibility on me, and it is also the general's trust to his subordinates, but it's a pity that I want to disappoint the general."

Sun Yuan wondered in his heart: "Brother Huang, how do you say this?" ”

Huang You smiled bitterly: "Shi Butang and Lu Gong had a very unpleasant quarrel back then, but I was afraid that I would have prejudices against our old Tianxiong." ”

Sun Yuan: "I don't understand. ”

Huang You: "Lu Gong and Shi Butang are both strong personalities, and they have quarreled over thieves before. For His Holiness, it is inconvenient for his subordinates to say more. ”

Sun Yuan seems to understand a little, indeed, when two people with strong personalities meet together, there will definitely be contradictions, there is no way, the character dictates it. He frowned: "How important is it to exterminate the thieves in Henan this time, even if Shi Butang and Lu Gong had a festival back then, compared to Sheji and the people of Limin, what is it?" I believe that Shi Butang can distinguish between the important and the important. ”

He was quite unimpressed with Huang You's worries in his heart, but he was a national hero recorded in history, in this kind of national embarrassment, how could he ignore the major affairs of the military because of his personal grievances with Lu Gong back then? Isn't that ridiculous?

Huang You sighed: "I hope so, but my subordinates have heard about some things. Because there is no credential, it has been difficult to mention it in front of the general. ”

Sun Yuan: "Brother Huang said. ”

Huang You: "It is said that after the general's previous excerpt on the march to Henan was handed to the Nanjing General Administration, Shi Butang was very unimpressed, and the instructions said: The main responsibility of Yangzhou Town is to garrison Nanjing, prevent thieves from moving, and prevent pirates. In the war in Henan, Yangzhou Town should not interfere...... General, why didn't Shi Butang agree to my Yangzhou Town sending troops, don't you still understand this? ”

According to the imperial court system, the military and political officials of Nanzhili had to go to the Nanjing General Administration Department to go through a procedure, and then hand them over to Beijing after being approved by the relevant departments in Nanjing.

This is the special place of the Ming Dynasty's two-capital system, when the Ming Dynasty Chengzu Fengtianjing moved the capital to Beijing, did not explicitly say that Beijing was the capital of the Ming Dynasty. After all, Chengzu is not in the right position and lacks confidence. Therefore, for a long time, Nanjing was still the capital of the Ming Dynasty in official articles, and Beijing was only the accompanying capital.

Just like this, not only the excerpts of the officials of Nanzhili had to go to Nanjing first. Moreover, every spring, Nanjing has to set up another examination room, and the imperial examination papers of the Ming Dynasty are also divided into north and south volumes.

"Shi Butang is just a businessman, this time I went to Nanjing, you and I should meet Shi Butang and explain the importance of the war in Henan face to face. is still the same sentence, let's believe in Shi Butang. ”

"Since the general said so, his subordinates just try their best to do it." Huang You sighed and shook his head.

Then daylight, Sun Yuan suddenly noticed that Huang You had a few crow's feet in the corners of his eyes, and there were also a few gray hairs on his sideburns, which looked a little haggard.

Sun Yuan was worried: "Brother Huang has been in poor health recently, or is he worried about state affairs?" ”

Huang You was a little sad: "State affairs have been eroded to this point, and today's Ming Dynasty is like a building leaking from all sides, and when it encounters a violent storm, it may collapse when." ”

Sun Yuan was also a little depressed, and muttered: "Brother Huang, I regret it a little, I regret that I threw all my belongings into the water master at the beginning. If you have led the Ningxiang army to conquer the thief army in the past three years, with the elite level of my Ningxiang army, maybe the domestic thieves have been suppressed, it is a certain mistake! ”

"The general doesn't have to blame himself, the imperial court has its own system, even if my Ningxiang army intended to recruit the thief army, but without the will of the imperial court, what can it do? Moreover, our army was outnumbered at the beginning, and what was the use. Huang You comforted Sun Yuanlai: "The general has made a lot of money in the past few years by going through sea trade, and the strength of my Ningxiang army has also expanded several times. ”

Sun Yuan smiled bitterly: "I have made a lot of money, but most of the money I earned has been invested in the sailors, which are used to recruit manpower, build ships and artillery, and the sailors are too uncompetitive." ”

Huang You said: "Yes, the Ningxiang Army, which has won a hundred battles, has really suffered a lot of defeats at sea in the past three years. ”

It is said that it is a defeat, but it is actually incorrect.

When Sun Yuangang led Yangzhou Town, he knew that the territory under his jurisdiction was too small, and if he didn't live in anything, the Ningxiang Army would have no possibility of development and growth. So, he set his sights on the ocean.

recruited the water warriors left behind by Dahewei in the four places, continued to build ships, and participated in overseas trade. In these years, what is a more lucrative livelihood than sea trade?

From the beginning, Sun Yuan exterminated several bandits in the name of Yangzhou Zhenshui Division, controlled the route from Songjiang to Shandong, and continuously transported silk, tea and porcelain from Jiangnan to overseas in exchange for two cheap American silver.

Relying on the income from maritime trade, the Ningxiang army also began to grow, the infantry was expanded into a battalion, and the sailors also swelled to the size of thirty large and small ships through construction and purchase. Not only that, many maritime merchants in the south of the Yangtze River also participated in the fortune plan led by the Ningxiang Army, and the so-called Yingyang was a product of that period.

However, the Ningxiang Army's maritime trade inevitably clashed with the interests of the Zheng family.

The line from Nanyang to Japan is Zheng Zhilong's forbidden side, how to let others get involved. Although Zheng Zhilong had already been recruited, he was still a pirate, and immediately clashed with the Ningxiang sailor.

As a traverser, Sun Yuan still admires Zheng Zhilong's son Zheng Chenggong, a national hero! Moreover, everyone is an official of the Ming Dynasty, a family, and a family does not fight a family.

I also thought about having a good talk with the Zheng family, but unfortunately, he still didn't expect that at present, the interests of you, Tianwang Laozi, don't have to talk about it.

As a result, the two families began to fight in the Yellow Sea.

During this period, Zheng Zhilong's strength was extremely strong, with more than 700 large and small ships, and compared with them, the Ningxiang sailors were like a dwarf standing beside giants.

As soon as this naval battle was fought, the Ningxiang army was defeated repeatedly, and in the past three years, the ships that were robbed and burned by the Zheng family alone exceeded two hundred.

However, through the water war in the past three years, the Ningxiang Army has trained a group of qualified sailors. Moreover, with the help of red-haired sailors and craftsmen hired by Father Garcia from Europe, the shipbuilding skills of the Ningxiang Army improved rapidly. Today, there is a large-scale shipyard built in Chongming Shasuo.

In the future, Ningxiang Sailor will still be at an absolute disadvantage in the ocean. If you want to stay on the ocean with the Zheng family, it is estimated that it will take three or four years.

The navy is a big money-eater, and the financial and manpower of the Ningxiang Army have been absorbed by the naval division, and there is no way to intervene in domestic and foreign wars in the past three years.

If my Ningxiang Army had not formed a naval division at the beginning, but had actively fought against enemies at home and abroad, although it would not have turned things around, at least it would not have rotted as it is now, right?

Sun Yuan suddenly regretted a little, if there was no bottomless navy, the scale of the Ningxiang Army might be much larger, and it would not have been possible to even have the military expenses to enter the war in Henan. Boat technology has improved dramatically. Today, there is a large-scale shipyard built in Chongming Shasuo.

In the future, Ningxiang Sailor will still be at an absolute disadvantage in the ocean. If you want to stay on the ocean with the Zheng family, it is estimated that it will take three or four years.

The navy is a big money-eater, and the financial and manpower of the Ningxiang Army have been absorbed by the naval division, and there is no way to intervene in domestic and foreign wars in the past three years.

If my Ningxiang Army had not formed a naval division at the beginning, but had actively fought against enemies at home and abroad, although it would not have turned things around, at least it would not have rotted as it is now, right?

Sun Yuan suddenly regretted a little, if there was no bottomless navy, the scale of the Ningxiang Army might be much larger, and it would not have been possible to even have the military expenses to enter the war in Henan.