After the battle of Wuchang finally settled, although the Yungui army achieved a great victory, but the strength was also really to the end of the strong crossbow, although they knew that the elite main force of the Qing army had been lost, and also understood that the Qing army in several major provinces of the Central Plains was extremely empty, but the Yungui army said that it could not take out the strength to expand the results of the war, and also said that it would take out the strength to occupy the territory of other provinces.

No way, the Yunnan-Guizhou army is too tired, in four months, the main force plus the auxiliary army of only 100,000 in total of 100,000 Yunnan-Guizhou army, in one breath to eat the Biyuan, Guangxi, Sichuan and part of Huguang such a huge territory, whether it is the speed of advancement or expansion, has far exceeded the speed of the advance and expansion of the Mites Qing army after entering the customs, the whole army is exhausted, the logistics supply has reached the limit, the firearms reserves are completely exhausted, the new territory is unstable, and every problem is in urgent need of time to adjust. Deployment and correction.

In this case, even the generals of the Yungui army, who are optimistic and greedy enough, do not have the courage to shout and continue to attack. Especially when the construction of the naval division has just started and the supply of firearms has been cut off, even the fat man Lu, who has always been arrogant and bold, really has no strength to shout the slogan of launching another large-scale attack. So there was no way, the Yungui army had no choice but to obediently fulfill the armistice agreement, stop to bandage the wounds, recuperate, and wait for the recovery of vitality before considering the next expansion plan. The high-level officials of the Pingxi Royal Mansion can only turn their attention to the internal and political level of the army, and start to solve their own internal and external problems.

At present, there are many small problems within the Wu army, but there are two major problems: one is how to effectively control the territory that has been suddenly expanded several times, and the other is how to quickly restore and improve the comprehensive strength of the Wu army and make up for the shortcomings of the navy.

The first internal issue is very thorny, as we all know, Wu Laohan used the family power of his son, niece and son-in-law to govern the army, and the army cohesion was very strong. In the past, when he was still in Guizhou, Yunnan, Wu Lao Han often felt a deep headache because of the shortage of civilian officials, and no matter how eclectic he chose to use civilian personnel, he was always inadequate.

Fortunately, no matter what era, there will never be a shortage of reserve candidates for officials and civil servants, after occupying the Wuchang Mansion and northern Hunan, which is known as the only talent, Wu Laohan will no longer force the local officials in Yunnan and Guizhou to choose the first talent, listen to Hu Guozhu and Lu Fatzi's suggestion to promulgate the recruitment list in Wuchang City and Changsha City, the scholars in these two cities immediately flocked to Wu Lao Han Jian's temporary line and Changsha Governor's Mansion, Mao then recommended himself to express his willingness to serve Wu Lao Han Jian, Among them, there are also some famous literati who are quite famous, and Wu Lao Han Jian also does not refuse to come, as long as there is a little talent and scholars, he will be appointed to official positions, and sent to the local government to govern the people and monitor the demotion of officials.

Qu Dajun, who is known as one of the three great masters in Lingnan, heard that Wu Jun fought and won a success, and felt that Wu Lao Han was perhaps the greatest hope for opposing the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty, so he resolutely said goodbye to his wife and children and his Wanguan family wealth in Panyu, Guangdong, and rode to Guangxi to find a job for Wu Shizong, expressing his willingness to serve Wu Jun. After Wu Shizong flew to report to Wu Laohan, Wu Laohanjian immediately gave Qu Dadu as an envoy to Guangxi, and directly took office with three products, and after the letter of appointment was issued, Wu Laohanzhan listened to the suggestion of Lu Fatzi's daughter Shigu, and sent an envoy to the south with the book, and directly gifted Qu Dadu to the governor of Guangxi. After the news spread, Lingnan celebrities were moved and began to consider their own positions and futures, and there were countless people who were eager to try.

As a half-baked talent and the only firearms expert in the Wu army, Lu Fatzi did not participate too much in solving the internal affairs of the Wu army, and only suggested how to select and appoint civilian talents in front of Wu Lao Hanjian, and his main energy was put on the military aspect and the relocation of the firearms battalion. After visiting the site for investigation, Lu Fatzi suggested that the new firearms battalion of the Wu Army should be established in Jijia Mountain, Ningxiang County, Changsha Prefecture, because it is not only close to the Wujiang River and the Biyuan official road, and the water and land transportation is convenient, but also there are three coal mines with considerable output in Ningxiang, which can provide the necessary coke fuel for the production of firearms casting.

After Lu Fatzi's suggestion was reported to Wu Lao Han and approved, Fang Guangchen, who had been appointed as the governor of Biyuan, immediately sent a large number of craftsmen to start construction, vacating the site to build warehouses, and preparing to hoard all kinds of materials and equipment for the Yunnan firearms battalion that had already been on the way to the north. Let Wu Laohan find a way to solve the important problem of the supply of these materials.

When Lu Fatzi returned to Wuchang City again, the time was already November 12 of the eleventh year of the mite Qing Kang Mazi, and it was more than a month before the end of the battle of Wuchang. However, the Qing army of Hanyang, which confronted Wuchang across the river, was very honest and did not move, and the exhausted Yungui army also gained a precious period of recuperation.

After a month of reconstruction and repair, the city wall of Wuchang has been repaired, but the streets and houses in the city are still under intense repair, but fortunately, during the war, the people of Wuchang suffered heavy casualties, and after the war, the Wu army drove all the people into the prisoner of war camp and waited for Xiao Mazi to pay the ransom, vacating the inner city of Wuchang, which was quite intact, so whether it was the people of Wuchang or the soldiers of the Wu army, as long as they squeezed it a little, they would not have to sleep in the wild in the cold winter. And when Lu Fatzi came to the inner city while checking the reconstruction of Wuchang City, he just entered the inner gate, and a rather familiar voice suddenly stopped Lu Fatzi.

"Brother Yifeng, stay, please stay, Brother Yifeng."

In the shouting, a handsome middle-aged scholar led a team of middle-aged men to block Lu Fatzi's road, Lu Fatzi first took a beat, and then suddenly grabbed the middle-aged scholar's wrist, and said in surprise: "Mr. Chen, ......, Brother Jinnan, why did you come to Wuchang too?" Have you seen our Pingxi prince? Fang Shiyu, Hong Xiguan and others behind Lu Fatzi also hurriedly rushed up and down, saluting the middle-aged scholar Chen Jinnan and performing the etiquette of the Heaven and Earth Society.

"I've seen them several times." I haven't seen him for many years, although there are many more crow's feet wrinkles in the corners of Chen Jinnan's eyes, his attitude is still so kind and kind, and his tone is more affectionate, pulling Lu Fatzi's fat hand and shaking it vigorously, laughing and laughing: "I haven't seen you for five years, Yifeng's virtuous brother is not only still in style, but also famous in China, not only in the Central Plains, but also overseas, Yifeng's virtuous brother's name is already thunderous, it is really gratifying, gratifying." ”

Lu Fatzi hurriedly humbled himself, saying that there was still a gap between his fame and Chen Jinnan's fame - this is definitely a big truth. And Chen Jinnan hurriedly called the two of them, pointed to Lu Fatzi and introduced them: "Lord Chen, General Chen, let me introduce you to this one, this one is the famous Lord Lu Yifeng Lu that I often mention in front of the prince!" It is also known as Lu Caishen, Lu Sanhao, and General Lu! There are only two all-rounders in the entire Pingxi Palace! ”

"The last general, Chen Wenhuan, and the lower official Chen Keqi, meet Lord Lu." The two middle-aged men quickly clasped their fists and saluted, and secretly looked at Lu Fatzi, and said together that this little fat man is Lu Yifeng? Isn't it? Didn't the dog say that this Lu Yifeng was blue-faced, fanged and ugly like a pig?

"Brother Yifeng, this General Chen Wenhuan Chen is the deputy general of our Yanping Royal Mansion in Taiwan." Chen Jinnan lowered his voice and explained: "This Lord Chen Keqi Chen is the supervisor of our Yanping Palace, and he is also the deputy of Brother Yu's envoy to Pingxi Palace. ”

"The prince of Yanping sent you to contact our prince of Pingxi to raise the banner of righteousness against the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty?" Fat Lu asked tentatively and in a low voice. Seeing Chen Jinnan nodding in acknowledgement, Fat Lu hurriedly asked in a low voice, "What is the result?" Did the prince agree? ”

Chen Jinnan shook his head, smiled bitterly and whispered: "The prince of Pingxi is still the same, he likes to be indecisive in what he does, it has been eight days since I arrived in Wuchang, and the prince has not given me a positive answer until now, neither refusal nor consent." There's no way, the foolish brother has to wait patiently here, but I didn't expect to meet you here today. ”

"It's not surprising, it's a big matter, and it's normal for our prince to be undecided." Lu Fatzi replied casually: "But Brother Jinnan, you don't have to worry about your safety at all, our prince is not Geng Jingzhong, let alone Shang Kexi, and he will not sell the country so much that he doesn't even want pants, and he will hand you over to the Mangou Imperial Court." ”

"Of course I know this, otherwise I wouldn't dare to say anything and wouldn't dare to come to see the prince of Pingxi in person." Chen Jinnan nodded, agreeing with Fat Lu's statement. At the end, Chen Jinnan hurriedly lowered his voice and said: "Brother Yifeng, Brother Fool heard that the prince of Pingxi was able to sweep the southwest this time, recover the three southwestern provinces in one fell swoop and annihilate the main force of Mangou. I also heard that Brother Yifeng is a virtuous brother who has managed the army well, and he has not left a penny of the rewards he has received, and all of them have been transferred to the families of meritorious soldiers and fallen soldiers, but he lives in a humble house and wears rough clothes, and his diet and living are no different from ordinary soldiers, so he is deeply loved by Yungui soldiers, and he is full of words in the Yunnan-Guizhou army, and he has won the hearts of the army. ”

After slapping the fat man Lu on the back, Chen Jinnan changed his words again, and said in a low voice: "Brother Yifeng, for the sake of the great cause of opposing the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty, can the foolish brother ask you for something?" ”

"Brother Jinnan wants the younger brother to help and persuade our prince to make an alliance with the Yanping Palace? Joining forces to fight against the Qing Dynasty and restore sight? Fat Lu asked with a smile.

"The virtuous brother is discerning, and it is true." Chen Jinnan nodded, and said sincerely: "Brother Yifeng, our Yanping Mansion is very sincere, as long as the Prince of Pingxi is willing to play the banner of anti-Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty, and join forces with our Yanping Mansion to oppose the Qing Dynasty, we are willing to obey the command and order of the Prince of Pingxi, and be headed by the Prince of Pingxi!" After the matter was completed, King Ning Jing (Zhu Shugui) ascended the throne and became the emperor, and the prince of Pingxi was naturally the hereditary prince of Zhenguo. ”

"Zhu Shugui is your puppet, and Wu Lao Hanjun is not an idiot, why do you want to worship him as the emperor?" Fat Lu sneered in his heart, but patted his chest and said: "Chief Helmsman Chen, please rest assured, you know the ambition of the little brother, the Pingxi Royal Mansion and the Yanping Royal Mansion have joined forces to expel the Tartars, and the younger brother should do his best to promote it!" After seeing the prince, the younger brother will do his best to persuade the prince to accept his brother's proposal, form an alliance with the king of Yanping County, and join forces to oppose the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty! ”

"In that case, then thank you Brother Yifeng!" Chen Jinnan was overjoyed, and hurriedly hugged his fists and thanked him: "Please rest assured, Brother Yifeng, if the virtuous brother promotes this alliance, then the foolish brother will become the king of Xiangming and the king of Yanping County, and ask them to reward the virtuous brother heavily." ”

"Thank you Brother Jinnan, but the wish of the younger brother in his life is only to oppose the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty, slaughter all the dogs, reward or something, and the younger brother is never greedy." Lu Fatzi smiled and arched his hand, and asked tentatively: "By the way, Brother Jinnan, when it comes to Prince Ningjing, the younger brother suddenly remembered something - folk rumors, my third prince Zhu of the Ming Dynasty was not killed by Mangou, if one day the third prince of Zhu comes back and proves that his identity is not false, my Pingxi Wangfu supports him as the emperor, what are the plans of the brothers in Jinnan?" ”

"Brother Fool has heard such rumors, too." Chen Jinnan said calmly: "The third prince of Zhu is the concubine of the first emperor of Chongzhen, and the king of Ningjing is only a side branch. ”

"Fortunately, Chen Jinnan's gang is not pedantic." Fat Lu breathed a sigh of relief, and said in a low voice: "Then there is another problem, don't dare to deceive Brother Jinnan, in fact, Jingnan Wangfu and Pingnan Wangfu also have secret dealings with our Pingxi Palace, but their attitude is not to support the descendants of the surname Zhu, but to set up another person - in this regard, what is your attitude towards Brother Jinnan?" ”

"They dream!" Chen Jinnan was furious, and said with a pun: "If the prince of Pingxi supports the descendants of Zhu Ming as the emperor, my Yanping palace will naturally fully support it, but if others want to get rid of Zhu Ming's descendants and set up a new emperor, then he is a thief and traitor who is plotting to usurp the throne. ”

"Understood." Lu Fatzi sighed quietly, and said to Chen Jinnan: "Please rest assured, Brother Jinnan, the junior brother will go to see the prince of Pingxi, and strongly persuade the prince of Pingxi to form an alliance with your army, and invite Brother Jinnan to wait for Jiayin." Chen Jinnan hurriedly saluted and thanked him, and watched Lu Fatzi and his party leave.

……………………

All the way to Wu Laohan's temporary line located in the middle of Wuchang's inner city, after settling his entourage and handing over the number plate, Lu Fatzi was quickly led to the back garden by Wu Laohan's guards, and saw Wu Laohan, who was leading Hu Guozhu and Wang Shirong to enjoy the snow and plum blossoms in the back garden. After saluting, Wu Lao Hanjian quickly smiled and asked, "Why did you run back?" The matter over there in the firearms camp of Ji Ji Mountain, is the cooking done? ”

"Back to grandfather, it's almost." Lu Fatzi replied proudly: "It only took seven days for my grandson-in-law to imitate the ace firearm cannon full of dogs, and taught it to local craftsmen, so that they could copy it in large quantities. However, the firearms battalion equipment transported from Yunnan was still on the way, and the raw materials were seriously insufficient, so the grandson-in-law entrusted the matter of the firearms battalion supervisor to Fang Xiaobiao (Fang Guangchen's son) Lord Fang, and returned to Wuchang with the list to ask his grandfather to try to solve it. ”

"Well, let's talk about that later." Wu Lao Hanjian nodded, and asked casually: "I heard that you met the Taiwanese envoy Chen Yonghua by the inner city gate just now, is there such a thing?" ”

"My son-in-law was about to report the matter to my grandfather." Lu Fatzi replied quickly: "Because my grandson-in-law needs to test their attitude on a major matter, I said a few more words to them." ”

"What are you tempting them for?" Hu Guozhu asked quickly.

"Of course, it's to test their attitude towards supporting their grandfather to ascend the throne as emperor." Lu Fatzi replied calmly: "The navy is the weakest item of my Pingxi Palace, and it is also the strongest item of Yanping Palace, our army's naval division urgently needs the support and help of Yanping Palace, but Yanping Palace's loyalty to the Ming family, if you don't find out their attitude in this matter, how can my grandfather adapt to the situation, formulate a strategy, and make the most of Yanping Palace?" ”

Lu Fatzi replied so frankly, and so caught Wu Laohan's heart, Wu Laohan's previous doubts about Lu Fatzi were naturally swept away, and they were replaced by heartfelt joy, and scolded with a smile: "Bastard boy, who wants you to do more about this?" Who said that Lao Tzu was going to ascend the throne and become emperor? ”

"Yifeng, then what is their attitude?" Hu Guozhu is not like Wu Lao Hanjian who wants to be a bitch and wants to set up an archway, so he hurriedly asked: "Are they willing to support their father-in-law as emperor?" ”

"Uncle, I'm sorry, you're disappointed." Lu Fatzi replied with a wry smile: "My nephew skillfully tried it, and Chen Yonghua also cleverly replied, saying that if my grandfather supports Zhu Ming's descendants to be emperors, as long as his identity is orthodox, Yanping Wangfu can give up supporting King Ningjingjun." But if the grandfather set up another foreign surname as the emperor, then they would rather die than obey! ”

Hu Guozhu was silent, and only scolded for a while, "Pedant fool! ”

"Humph!" Wu Lao Han also suddenly kicked on the plum tree in front of him, shaking the snowflakes on the plum tree. Wang Shirong was disappointed, and couldn't help but scold, "Idiot! Zhu Ming's descendants, together they can catch up with our prince's little toes? ”

"Grandfather, please be relieved." Fat Lu smiled and comforted: "The reason why Yanping Wangfu has this attitude now is just because we still have to ask for them now, and when my Pingxi Wangfu is proud of the world, and is invincible across the three mountains and five mountains, nine lakes and four seas, even if they don't want to support them, they can't help it." ”

Speaking of this, Lu Fatzi added with great flattery: "Besides, at that time, grandfather, you may not need Zheng Jing to continue to be the king of Yanping, wouldn't it be better to ask your uncle to be the prince of Yanping?" ”

"Hahaha......!" Wu Laohan laughed proudly, extremely satisfied with Lu Fatzi's answer. Wang Shirong and Hu Guozhu also nodded and smiled together, and Hu Guozhu also smiled and said: "As long as Yifeng continues to work hard and assists his grandfather, at that time, maybe the position of Prince Yanping will be you." ”

"Son-in-law doesn't dare." Lu Fatzi hurriedly saluted and said respectfully: "There are only two wishes in the life of the grandson-in-law, one is to prosper the Han Dynasty and expel the Tartars, and the other is to assist my grandfather to become the emperor and unify China, as long as these two wishes can be achieved, it is enough for the grandson-in-law." As for the reward or something, the grandson-in-law didn't want to covet it, and he didn't dare to covet it. ”

"Get up." Wu Laohan smiled and said, "If there is really that day, the old man will not treat you badly, no matter what, you are also the grandson-in-law of the old man, and you are the pillar of the sky that the old man will leave to his children and grandchildren, and in terms of title rewards, you will naturally not be wronged at all." ”

Fat Lu saluted with great joy and thanked him again and again, and then stood up with the snow in his hands. Wu Lao Hanjian asked casually: "So, what do you think about the Yanping Palace's request for an alliance with our army?" Do you think that kid Zheng Jing really wants to ally with us, or is he just planning to use us? ”

"Absolutely sincere, but also absolutely not sincere." Fat Lu gave an ambiguous answer.

"What do you mean by that?" Wu Lao Han asked suspiciously: "What do you mean by absolute sincerity?" What does it mean to have absolutely no sincerity? ”

"Back to my grandfather, my grandson-in-law thinks so." Lu Fatzi replied respectfully: "Zheng Jing wants to form an alliance with our Pingxi Palace, and its purpose is twofold, one is that they are indeed loyal to the Ming family, and I hope that grandfather you can hold high the banner of righteousness to oppose the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty, expel the Tartars, and restore the Ming Dynasty." The second purpose is self-preservation, Taiwan has just been developed by the Zheng family not long ago, the underground people are poor, the population and financial resources are thin, and even far inferior to our Yunnan and Guizhou, the reason why we can still survive is because there was a rebellion within the Mangou before, and then there was a grandfather to contain it, if the Mangou freed up his hands to deal with them with all his might, then Zheng Jing was destroyed, and it was also said that it was time to wait. Therefore, in order to protect himself, Zheng Jing must make every effort to seek to establish an alliance with his grandfather and form a lip and tooth relationship. ”

"Why does the grandson-in-law say that they are definitely not sincere?" Lu Fatzi gushed endlessly: "Actually, the grandson-in-law mainly refers to Zheng Jing's promise to obey his grandfather's command, grandfather, if you order Zheng Jing to attack the weak Fujian and Guangdong coasts, then needless to say, Zheng Jing will definitely be executed immediately." However, grandfather, if you order Zheng Jing to attack the heavily guarded Jiangnan of Mangou and cut off the lifeline of Mangou Caoyun, or order Zheng Jinghai to attack Tianjin and Yanjing and take Mangou by the throat, then Zheng Jing will find all kinds of excuses to excuse himself, and he will not be honest and obey his fate. ”

In a word, the grandson-in-law can conclude that after the alliance, the grandfather asked Zheng Jing to pinch some soft persimmons to contain them properly, and there was no problem at all! But if Zheng Jing wants to fight a tough battle and fight a bad battle, it will be absolutely unreliable! Even if Zheng Jingken captures the Mangou town, it must be after our army exhausts the strength of Mangou and hollows out the strength of Mangou! ”

After listening to Lu Fatzi's opinion, Wu Laohan nodded slightly, but did not speak, and Hu Guozhu echoed: "Father-in-law, Yifeng is reasonable, and the son-in-law and Mr. Liangchen also see it this way, Zheng Jing is a person who can be relied on and unreliable, just keep proper contact and make a little use of it, but you must not have high hopes for him." ”

"Then in your opinion, how should the old man reply to the Taiwanese envoy?" Wu Laohan asked with a deep groan.

"Say no for now, keep in touch." Wang Shirong was the first to reply: "Confess the reason to them, our Yunnan-Guizhou army is very tired now, and its foothold in the new territory is not stable, and at the same time, the grain and grass and military salaries promised by the dog have not yet arrived in Huguang, so it is really inconvenient to openly form an alliance with them, and directly play the banner of opposing the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty, asking them to wait with peace of mind, and when the time is ripe, we will naturally not disappoint their expectations." ”

"I want them to show their sincerity in forming an alliance." Hu Guozhu suggested: "First, we want them to provide us with a group of water combat experts to help us train the water army. The second is to help us build Lianzhou seaport, protect our sea routes, and ensure the safety of our sea traffic. ”

Wu Laohan was very satisfied when he heard this, nodded again and again, and turned his gaze to his insightful grandson-in-law. Fat Lu replied: "Strengthen their courage, strengthen their physique, and be ambitious, so that they can contain the power of the dog on a larger scale, and buy time for my Pingxi palace to recuperate." ”

"How can you strengthen your courage, strengthen your physique, and be ambitious?" Wu Lao Hanjian asked.

"Sell them a batch of our new firearms." Lu Fatzi replied in a deep voice: "The most important thing about our new firearms is the new explosives and cotton formula, even if Zheng Jing gets such a weapon, there is no way to imitate it, only to buy and exchange it from our army endlessly, our army can not only make huge profits, but also obtain all kinds of scarce materials from their hands, and can further prove the sincerity of our army's alliance with the Yanping Palace, the best of all three." And after Zheng Jing got these firearms to enhance his strength, could he still be willing to live on a small island in the sea for a long time? ”

"At that time, Zheng Jing's sailors will naturally pose a huge threat to Mangou's coastal defense, forcing Mangou to invest a lot of strength in coastal defense and reduce the frontal pressure on our army. And after Zheng Jing's strength has developed to a certain extent, I am afraid that without his grandfather's order, Zheng Jing is afraid that he will also have the idea of cutting off the throat of the Mangou Caoyun or attacking the throat of the Mangou Gyeonggi, so wouldn't it be more beneficial to our army? ”

"Wonderful!" Hu Guozhu slapped his thigh and said happily: "Father-in-law, Yifeng's idea is so wonderful, our firearms Zheng Jing can't be imitated, so naturally we don't need to worry about Zheng Jing turning against us, and we can not only make huge profits through the sale of firearms, but also play a role in indirectly indulging Zheng Jing and indirectly weakening the full dog!" Killing multiple birds with one stone, the son-in-law thinks this plan is feasible! ”

"For Fujian Geng Jingzhong and Guangdong Shang Zhixin, we can also do the same!" Wang Shirong Yin Yin said: "Geng Jingzhong's ambition is not under Zheng Jing, and the financial resources are even more than Zheng Jing. Can we not take out countless gold, silver and jewelry to enhance our financial resources and strengthen their strength? When their strength skyrockets, can they still obediently surrender to the full dogs? ”

"Since you've all agreed to do this, let's do it." Wu Laohan smiled, turned to Lu Fatzi and said: "Give your bastard a chance to sell favors, go and see Chen Yonghua, just say that this king, under your persuasion, has decided to provide strong assistance for their great cause of opposing the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty!" Powerful assistance! ”

(To be continued)