"It's nothing to choose Jiangxi, but the emperor still doesn't set up a commander, if the war changes, I don't know how to deal with it......"

In the north of Changde, Hunan, in Dalong Town on the west bank of Dongting Lake, in the temporary erection of the Jingbian General, Yue Zhongqi frowned deeply, and complained to Li Yuan, a staff member beside him.

From a purely military point of view, whether to attack Hunan or Jiangxi has its own advantages and disadvantages.

On the Hunan side, relying on Dongting Lake, the dispatch of the army is convenient, and the defense of the Nanban is weak, and there are loopholes everywhere. Changde is in the west, Yuezhou is in the east, and the hinterland is covered by land. As long as one place is breached, the situation in Hunan will change greatly.

But the disadvantages are also obvious, if you really shake the Nanban, it is not enough to take back the front line of Changde, Yuezhou and Dongting, you have to fight in the hinterland, at least take Changsha.

The problem is that Changsha is a forbidden place. In that year, Li Shi led the army to the north, from Chenzhou and Hengzhou to Changsha, and fought against Kangxi's more than 100,000 troops in Changsha, and the battle was extremely tragic. As soon as he thought about this battle, Yue Zhongqi was terrified, not to mention the other generals. Yue Zhongqi dared to point to the ancestral tablet and swore that if he really wanted to fight Changsha, the full camp of the Xishan camp would never want to contribute.

Not only the bannermen of the Han army, but also the Manchurian and Mongolian Eight Banners, were almost broken in Changsha that year, and the "pure" Manchurian children lost at least forty or fifty thousand. The Manchu and Mongolian captives are said to have been sent to Luzon and Bo to dig mines, and it is not known how many are still alive after ten years.

There is no such problem in the Jiangxi direction, not only is the Nanban garrison weak, but also Tian Wenjing's operation, the rear is stable, and there is room for advance and retreat. If Tian Wenjing can fully cooperate, 40,000 Jiangxi soldiers, plus 60,000 Xishan battalions, how can they hit Ganzhou, and if they can still explore the style of Meiguan, then the movement will be big.

However, the terrain of Jiangxi is particularly troublesome, and the further south it goes, the more poor the mountains and rivers become, and the war will be very difficult.

"The emperor's choice of Jiangxi, it should be a weighed pros and cons in many ways, and if this is the case, there must be a backhand."

Staff member Li Yuan said, this is more of a comfort, Yue Zhongqi nodded slightly, the two naturally didn't know that Yongzheng made a choice by throwing copper plates.

"I also hope that this battle can be settled as soon as possible, and the emperor can make a formal peace treaty with the south......"

Yue Zhongqi whispered to himself again, there have been rumors in the government and the opposition, Yongzheng ignored the opposition of the court and the Manchus, and pushed the Xishan camp south, in order to make a real peace treaty. can make the north and the south like the Song, Liao, Song and Jin, at least live in peace for a hundred years.

The government and the opposition were very encouraged, and even generals like Yue Zhongqi felt that the situation was promising. The Qing Dynasty, who has had contact with Nanban, knows that Nanban is invincible, and after getting along with Zhang Hanwan and Long Xiangjun in Sichuan for a long time, Yue Zhongqi feels it more deeply.

If nothing else, in terms of military affairs, the red-clothed soldiers of the Southern Barbarians were paid three times as much as the green battalion in a month, not counting food, clothing, and equipment. is not a part-time job, has no distractions, exercises at sunrise, shoots targets and exercises at every turn, and fools can train into elite soldiers......

Now Yongzheng is counting on a slight advantage before the Nanban army turns around, and then surrender to the Nanban, so that there will be more room for concession, so as to make a covenant with the Nanban. Although Nanban is in charge of Li Xian, the businessmen in the country speak very much, and in recent years, scholars have gradually controlled the court, even if Li Xian is unwilling to bow his head, he can't screw the hearts of the people in his country.

Seeing that Li Shi has not moved to the north in the past ten years, he has made trouble in Nanyang, and it seems that he is not an ambitious emperor, most of them still want to settle things and calm people, so the north and the south will be at peace.

"Jingzhou Town Water Division and Yiling and Xiangyang Water Division have not yet arrived?"

The thought came back, Yue Zhongqi threw his robe and sat down, he was waiting here for the generals from all walks of life, to hold a military meeting.

Yongzheng has always been resolute in doing things, and once the main strategy is decided, it is necessary to see action. The following people had no choice but to put aside their thoughts and deploy Yongzheng's edict in succession. …,

Although Yongzheng decided to make plans for Jiangxi, he did not forget Hunan or Yue Zhongqi. Let Fu Ningan concentrate on the defense of Shaanxi and Gansu, transfer the green battalion of the banner camp under the jurisdiction of General Jingzhou to Yue Zhongqi for control, and ask Yue Zhongqi to take care of it in Hunan.

Yue Zhongqi thus set a strategy, on the one hand, to attack Changde by land, and on the other hand, to gather all kinds of naval divisions, forcing Yinghua to divide troops in various places on the south bank of Dongting.

Gathering the sailors, by the way, there is a big trouble to solve, that is, the strange ship before, with one boat, defeated the siege of two batches of more than 40 warships one after another, and the combat power is too amazing. If you don't pull out this henchman, the waterway of Dongting Lake will fall into the hands of Nanban.

Yue Zhongqi summed up the experience of fighting with that strange ship twice, and determined that he was too contemptuous, twenty warships could not defeat it, thirty or forty got together, fought to the death, and it could always be solved. Even if there were two or three such strange ships in Nanban, after the sailors of Wuchang and Jingxiang gathered, they could drown them! Yue Zhongqi now has more than 300 large ships in his hands, half of which are warships that can be loaded with guns.

Li Yuandao: "The Chinese army of one town and two associations has come, saying that the general soldier and the deputy general will be able to arrive in three days." ”

Then he cautiously said again: "Hu Qiheng wrote back that Jing Zhong was indeed arrested, but he was not treated badly......"

A trace of blush suddenly rose on Yue Zhongqi's face, and he said angrily: "Don't say it!" This is the end of this matter, don't contact the south again, just because I don't have this son! ”

Before Yue Jingzhong's life and death were uncertain, Li Yuan made his own opinion, and contacted Hu Qiheng, who was also on an errand under Nian Qianyao in the past, and now serves as the Hunan military preparation road, and the capital governor's mansion to join the army. After knowing this, Yue Zhongqi blamed Li Yuan for doing this too much, and he also left a disaster.

Li Yuan sighed: "Back then, Long Keduo's son was captured in Changsha, and he still contacted Nanmian through Jinshang and asked for people back. ”

Yue Zhongqi was silent for a long time before he said, "I'm not Long Keduo...... I'm not full either. ”

He immediately changed the subject: "Is the report from the outpost correct?" That boat stopped at Wuling, and it didn't move all this time? ”

Wuling, Changde, on the shore of Dongting Lake, Lei Gong was lying quietly by the dock, and the old shipwright Xu Guichao Meng Songhai spread his hands: "Not only is it a problem with the ship board and the shield, but the boiler also has to be replaced, and there is no one who can't run for a month......"

Meng Songhai sighed slightly, a month...... You can wait.

Then Xu Gui's words made his whole face collapse, "The axle and gear are out of spare parts, and if you run again, if something goes wrong, you can't repair it." Dongguan is helping us Hengzhou Shipyard to make spare parts, but the castings have to be put aside for a few months before they can be used, otherwise they can't bear it, and they want Lei Gong to fight, so it's best to wait. ”

Meng Songhai still holds on to a glimmer of hope: "Can your shipyard still build it?" Silver is not a problem......"

Xu Gui said with pity: "The ship is no problem, there are also steam engines in stock in Dongguan, but didn't you say it just now?" The transmission axle and gears have to be made separately, I guess...... The new ship will have to wait until half a year later. ”

"Half a year!?"

Not only did Meng Songhai show a desperate face, but the two young people behind him also exclaimed.

"When will the new cannon be available?"

Well, the steamer is not needed, and it is enough to load the two-inch and three-inch guns on an ordinary ship to defeat the enemy, and Meng Songhai found Mi Anping, who had completed the test gun task and was preparing to return to Foshan.

"The Manufacturing Bureau is busy making cannons for Hunan and Jiangxi, otherwise it won't be able to withstand the Tartar artillery, and there will be no time to make this kind of cannon."

Mi Anping slammed another sledgehammer on Meng Songhai's head, making his brain buzz.

"By the way, there are more than a dozen two-inch guns in the warehouse......"

Mi Anping remembered something, Meng Songhai's face softened slightly, ten doors are ten doors.

"Oops, it was used on the Ryukyu Fort by Chief Leader Bai."

seemed to be teasing Meng Songhai, and Mi Anping said again in a daze. ..., "I...... I can handle it! ”

Meng Songhai wanted to look up to the sky and shout, but in the end he just clenched his fists and muttered.

He and two old subordinates in the navy, Lin Peng, a son of the Lin family in Fujian, and Shi Tingge, the son of Shi Shibiao, came to Hunan alone to build the Yangtze River Water Division. Originally, I was mentally prepared, but at the end of the day, I realized the difficult taste of starting from scratch.

"People? Cannon? Aren't you not under the command of the Yangtze River Naval Division, but only the commander-in-chief of the Yangtze River Fleet? Didn't you bring people from your navy with artillery? ”

hurriedly rushed back to Changsha to find Jia Hao for resources, but was ridiculed by Jia Hao. Originally, Jia Hao wanted to build the Yangtze River Naval Division, but Meng Songhai felt that everything that ran on the water should belong to the Navy, so he was reluctant to carry the signboard of the Yangtze River Naval Division, and set up another signboard of the Yangtze River Fleet of the Navy, which could be regarded as fulfilling his wish to lead a fleet alone......

Back then, he followed Hu Hanshan and others, starting from a boat, and the navy became the Four Oceans Fleet, Hu Hanshan led the Western Fleet, Bai Yanding led the Beiyang Fleet, and Lu Han Shaanxi led the Ocean Fleet.

Now it can be regarded as a chance, when fighting for the ownership of this fleet in front of Jia Hao, he didn't give Jia Hao face at all, and now that he is washed by Jia Hao, he can't talk back.

Meng Songhai said brightly: "On the navy's side, the ships are neither suitable nor can they pass, and they are all scattered in the southeast, northwest, and northwest, so it's too late to calculate and only transfer people......

That is, not to mention that the Four Oceans Fleet is all scattered outside, even if it is just a small sea carp ship of the navy, they are all deep-bottomed high-masted sailing ships, which are not suitable for running on the Yangtze River. Moreover, the waterways in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River were in the hands of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and it was impossible to drive a fleet directly from the sea.

Jia Hao said again: "Tease you, build this Yangtze River...... Fleet, I'm more anxious than you. You didn't think that I gave you people and cannons, and you had to spend time training, and it was too late, and ...... What about your ship? ”

Meng Songhai groaned in pain: "Grand Duke, then what else can you give me?" ”

Jia Hao shrugged his shoulders and said, "I think I have given you enough, one million taels of silver is not enough?" ”

Meng Songhai sighed helplessly, his Yangtze River fleet was so poor that he only had silver left. Jia Hao took out 1 million out of the 5 million military budget specially approved by Li Shi, and the battle for waterways was the key to the war, the most important thing.

Shipbuilding? There are many places to build ships in Hunan, and the shipyards in Changsha, Xiangtan and Hengzhou can build large ships, but unfortunately it is still too late. To compete with Yue Zhongqi's Huguang Water Division, if there is no rifled artillery, at least more than 100 warships will be required, and even if the three shipyards push other orders and start at full power, it will take three or four months to get it.

"Silver can't be eaten for food......"

To the north of Changsha, at a small wharf on the Xiangjiang River, the dilapidated warehouse is the headquarters of the Yangtze River Fleet, and Lin Peng, who is in charge of warship affairs, sighs.

Shi Tingge, who was in charge, said: "Silver can buy things!" Let's buy ready-made merchant ships! Recruit ready-made sailors! ”

Meng Songhai shook his head: "There are not many merchant ships in Hunan, and now they are still busy carrying supplies, turning these merchant ships into sailors, which will drag down the supply of the army, and this one has long been rejected by the metropolitan governor." ”

Lin Peng sighed again: "Yue Zhongqi has two towns and two associations of sailors in his hands, and three or four hundred warships, when will we be able to gather the capital to fight him on the water." ”

There are no steamships, no rifled guns, not even a few boats, and no people have landed, defeating Yue Zhongqi seems to be too far away.

Shi Tingge's eyes flashed: "I have an idea, but ...... It doesn't seem appropriate. ”

Meng Songhai said in a self-defeating tone: "We don't have anything, what scruples can we have?" Go ahead! ”

Encouraging, Shi Tingge said in a deep voice: "Let's buy it with silver!" Buy the men and ships of the Qing soldiers! ”

After being silent for a while, Meng Songhai slapped Shi Tingge on the shoulder: "You really dare to think about it......"

Then he laughed, "Yes, we have silver!" Since there is silver, the unrighteous people like the Qing soldiers can naturally buy it with people and boats! ”

Lin Peng also smiled: "If you can buy Yue Zhongqi's sailor, you don't have to fight him, our Yangtze River Fleet can win!" Even if...... Not a single boat! ”

"I've seen the big handsome!"

General Xingyuan of Jingbian in Dalong Town, Wei Hong, the chief soldier of the Jingzhou Town Water Division, Wu Wenzhong, deputy general of the Yiling Water Division Association, and Han Deng, deputy general of the Xiangyang Water Division Association, bowed to Yue Zhongqi. They brought the fleet to Huarong, and then they came to Anfu and obeyed Yue Zhongqi's dispatch.

"Excuse me, get up!"

Yue Zhongqi's voice fell, the three of them got up, and the three smiling faces entered Yue Zhongqi's eyes at the same time, at that moment, a cool air suddenly rose from Yue Zhongqi's tail vertebrae, and he felt that there seemed to be a big mistake, but he didn't understand what the problem was at all.

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