It is already April of the tenth year of the Holy Dao, south of Huarong, on the north shore of Dongting Lake, there are many warships on the lake, and the tents on the shore are like forests.

At this time, it was noon, the cooking fire was in full swing, and a bunch of soldiers were holding bowls, standing or squatting, whirring and pulling, half rice and half potatoes in the bowls, and the basins in the crowd had long been empty, and they were filled with fried lettuce in oil.

"Yo, Zhu San, when did you change your leather belt, be careful to let Foreign Commissar Wang see it......"

"There is already one in the waist of the Wang Foreign Commission, yes, I sent it. My brother-in-law worked as a grocer for Nanban in Jiangnan, and this leather belt is only eighty yuan! It's exactly the same as the one on the Red Soldier! ”

The ostentatious soldier held his stomach and showed the wide belt tightly tied around his waist to his colleagues, which immediately attracted the attention of everyone.

"The person is white, and there are two crossed diagonal straps on the body, what is the only one on your waist."

"It's only eighty wen, of course it's not as good as the original, our self-produced leather belt here is more than one hundred wen, and it's as thin as a blue-threaded snake."

"The knife can also be hung, and the medicine gourd and bullet bag can also be hung, which is really convenient."

"It's not just convenient, it's also spiritual to look at, Zhu San, is there more?"

Everyone was talking about it one after another, even if they were disdainful, their eyes were glued to each other.

As he spoke, the conversation turned to the meal he was eating.

"My brother-in-law said that the red-clothed soldiers in Longmen eat all white rice, and all dishes are made of oily meat, at least one meal of meat for three days, and large pieces of braised pork!"

"Meat...... What is meat, people's monthly salary is four or five taels, and the official can't deduct it, and everyone has extra money to buy a short gun by themselves. ”

"Oh, when you meet them, one person is at least two shots in front of you, so how can you be an opponent?"

"Opponents? Are you qualified to be the opponent of the old red? Let's be lucky, the red-clothed Nanban here are basically the former guards. There are more gray-clothed soldiers, what is it called a volunteer army, just like our practice of bravery. ”

Soon the conversation turned to the current situation, which was also the traditional routine of the soldiers chatting.

"Good luck! I didn't hear that Nanban relied on a strange boat, so he defeated Yue Dashuai's sailors, and Dashuai's sons were all arrested, and they were in a hurry to transfer our Xiangyang sailors over, just to fight with that strange boat! ”

"Shhh...... Spitting black smoke and screaming like a strange ship from the dragon king's water? The people of Wuchang Town said that the most powerful thing in that boat was the cannon, and one cannon could be three or five miles away, and it would destroy one of our boats. ”

"It's over, this day is over, and I don't know what to think above. It's been many years since I fought with the Nanban, and I've been getting along well for so many years, and now I'm fighting again, why? ”

The encounter of the Wuchang Town Water Division immediately caused heated discussions, and several horseman-level bows were involved.

"What is Huarong posting recently......?"

Someone suddenly said this, and everyone was speechless, their eyes dodged, and they caught up in the hide.

"Actually, many people have seen it, we have three boats at this outpost, and they are all in the middle of the war, and they can get 10,000 taels of silver, plus the head, each person can share ...... It's more than a hundred taels. ”

There was the courage to break the silence, and when such a sentence came, everyone's eyes were a little more hot, but they were still stumped by something, and they did not respond enthusiastically.

"Not only that, but you can also enter the navy of the Southern Barbarians, the navy! I've heard that they are treated better than the redcoats......"

Finally, someone made a supplement, and everyone was even more uncomfortable, and some people's rice bowls were empty, and the chopsticks were still clattering.

"Empty mouth and white teeth, who believes it? When the time comes, the ship will be surrendered, the people will be killed, and there will be nowhere to cry out for grievances when they go down to the underworld. "...," the notice sticker has General Shi's grandson as a guarantee! Nanban is still short of silver? Nanban is still guilty of losing credibility for your small soldier? ”

"It's ridiculous, who really has that notice?"

Then there was a stunned person who finally tore open the invisible cover, someone couldn't be provoked, and reached out to take out something, it was Zhu San, who was wearing a wide belt, but his hand stopped in his arms, and then the person also knelt on the ground.

Not only Zhu San, everyone knelt down and bowed, and their outpost foreign commissioner, Qian, was accompanying a higher-status general to inspect it.

Foreign Commissar Wang introduced to the guerrillas of the Xiangyang Naval Division Association: "Chen Zhongjun, everyone is here, there are three middle schools to catch up with this outpost, sixty-six soldiers, and thirty-two boatmen, and there is absolutely no greed for soldiers......

The Chinese army snorted and said solemnly: "Today, Nanban secretly issued a notice post in Huarong to confuse the army's heart, and the deputy Rong has an order, and once it is investigated, not a single post or team can be missed!" ”

Foreign Commissar Wang nodded again and again, and the Chinese army carefully observed his reaction, and then said: "Don't make a noise if you find anything, Deputy Rong doesn't want to distract Yue Dashuai." ”

Wang Wai took a moment and seemed to understand something, and said very resolutely: "The only sign is the deputy Rong Ma's head!" ”

The two left, and the soldiers here were quiet for a while, and someone said miserably: "The top has come down to check the human ship, is this going to start?" ”

Then Zhu San said: "The notice said that the official master took the boat to the south, and the ship silver was given to the official master......"

Everyone was indignant: "Why do you have to give preferential treatment to the official master in this matter!?" ”

Beginning in April, Jiangxi was already in flames of war, and the Xishan camp and the Jiangxi soldiers attacked from three directions, and fought with the British and Chinese troops in Yuanzhou, Linjiang and Jianchang.

On the Hunan side, Ortai gathered the other half of the Wuchang battalion, plus other towns in the Hubei Green Battalion, and continued to oppress Yuezhou, while Yue Zhongqi slowly attacked Changde with 13,000 firearms troops from the Wuchang battalion, and there were more than 400 warships and a huge naval division composed of more than 10,000 sailors, cruising in the west of Dongting Lake, controlling the waterway of Dongting Lake on the one hand, and posing on the posture of landing on the south shore of Dongting Lake at any time.

Unlike on land, the waterway was much quieter, and Yue Zhongqi was worried that he would be broken by the strange ship, so he used a fast sentry boat to patrol it, and then followed by thirty or forty warships in a group.

There was no sign of the activity of the Nanban ship for several days, let alone the strange ship, Yue Zhongqi's heart became more and more stable, the previous news had been confirmed, the clipper ship had a problem, and it couldn't move again. The waterway of Dongting Lake is completely in your own hands.

He was about to concentrate on organizing the Changde offensive, when a clipper boat with the Nanban flag appeared on the water, it seemed to be just a patrol ship, small and fast, and the fast sentry boat here couldn't catch up at all.

"It's a fine work on the water, so you don't have to care too much."

Yue Zhongqi didn't think too much, in a short period of time, it was impossible for Nanban to organize a powerful sailor in Dongting Lake, and make a few boats to explore the waterway, there was no threat at all.

But gradually, things started to get a little worse.

On April 7, the Yiling Association reported that a boat had fallen behind, and Yue Zhongqi turned around and forgot about it.

On the 8th, 9th, and 10th of April, one or two boats each reported damage, which was normal.

On 11 April, the Xiangyang Association reported that the boat regiment encountered the enemy and sent a sentry and three boats to meet the enemy, but due to the high wind and waves on the lake, the three boats were damaged and sank.

This matter is a bit strange, Yue Zhongqi didn't think too much, just vigilant, Nanban seems to be building a water division with all his might, and the intensity of water patrols will be increased.

On April 12, Jingzhou Town ......

April 13, 14, 15......

On the 16th, Yue Zhongqi finally felt that something was wrong, there were losses reported every day, more and more of them, and now the total number was seven or eight fewer per day! The reasons for the lack are not all enemies, the ship is damaged and sinks in the lake, the fog is missing, the thieves dig the bottom, the loss is stranded, there are all kinds of tricks, and the Xiangyang Association even gave the saying that "the ship is not subject to artillery, and the ship sinks with artillery". …,

Yue Zhongqi's Wuchang battalion firearms army made no progress under Changde City, and his uncle Yue Chaolong faced him, and his fighting spirit was particularly strong, not only the city was impregnable, but also had the spare time to rush out to fight. Not relying on more than 30 new artillery, Yue Zhongqi felt that Changde would never be captured.

In the past ten days, the soldiers on land have lost two or three thousand people, but there is no big battle on the water, how can they lose more than 30 boats? And the reason is bizarre!

Yue Zhongqi was unhappy, and recruited the chief soldiers and deputy generals of the two associations in that town, and questioned him sternly, but the other party dodged and dodged, prevaricated in every way, and gained nothing, which made him even more angry.

When he was having a headache, his staff member Li Yuan brought a shocking news.

When the flotilla of these three people stopped at Huarong, the officers and men had received numerous notices.

"The captain of the ship shall give five hundred taels of silver for one zhang, and silver for each of them, according to twenty times his salary. Where the generals of the army have more than three ships, they will surrender to the south, and three percent of the silver will be returned to the generals. Pay only when you have a ship, pay when you see the ship, cash bank, Yinghua certificate of deposit, Jiangnan certificate of deposit, Yinghua joint bill, the way is optional. ”

"Navy recruitment, credibility is worry-free, and those who raise righteousness can also join the Anglo-Chinese Navy with generous salaries."

Seeing the words on the notice sticker clearly, Yue Zhongqi groaned, and both legs went limp.

So ruthless, so shameless! He actually bought his sailor directly with silver!?

"Handsome! This notice cannot be fully trusted! According to the amount mentioned in the post, if you want to buy the entire water master, you have to pay two million taels, how is this possible? It's just a Nanban man! ”

Li Yuan held Yue Zhongqi, and these words also made Yue Zhongqi stabilize his mind. Yes, even if Nanban is rich, it is not so much...... Two million taels, there are really two million taels, and he, Yue Zhongqi, will seriously consider whether to take the entire army to "raise righteousness".

"But if you want to buy that town and two associations, it only costs one million!"

Thinking about it again, no, Nanban should not be stupid enough to think that he could buy all the boats with silver, it was the boat of the two associations in this town that he sent out to control the waterway of Dongting Lake, and the boat of the Wuchang Sailor Battalion was still in his hands as the main battle weapon.

"You go down to this town and the two associations to check the real number of their men and ships and the truth about the lost ships! Take the Chinese soldiers and horses, and if there is anything wrong, immediately detain those three guys! ”

Thinking of the situation of interrogating the three of them before, Yue Zhongqi was very uneasy, and sent Li Yuan to the battalion of the general Wei Hong, the deputy general Wu Wenzhong and Han Deng to investigate.

Li Yuanren was still halfway there, and the three of them had gathered in Wei Hong's general army tent.

"It seems to be exposed......

When Han Deng, the deputy general of the Xiangyang Water Division Association, said this, he originally pretended to be awe-inspiring, and the other two who were talking about business let out a long sigh.

"We have a heart......

Wu Wenzhong, deputy general of the Yiling Water Divisions Association, said with a relaxed face, before they were just doing their own thing, and they had a tacit understanding, but now they have pierced the window paper, and they naturally let go of their guards.

"We are also purging military discipline, Yue Zhongqi held the Wuchang Sailor and did not move, so let us be busy outside, as bait, he was unrighteous first."

Wei Hong, the chief soldier of the Jingzhou Town Water Division, is a banner man, and he is not happy with Yue Zhongqi, a Han man, and is still defending himself.

"Is the silver of Zongrong stored in Jiangnan Bank?"

Han Deng suddenly asked such a sentence, Wei Hong was stunned, touched his head with a smile, and asked rhetorically, "Aren't you?" ”

It is particularly convenient to deposit money in Jiangnan Bank, and there is no need to be afraid of who will find out, the reputation of Jiangnan Bank is also leveraged, even if the people are full of people have no worries, in Beijing, many princes and clansmen have opened accounts in Jiangnan Bank.

"South...... Indeed, there is faith, and we are even allowed to do so. ”

Wu Wenzhong said with emotion, and the other two were related, and nodded at the same time.

They had seen the notice in Huarong as early as before, and they didn't take it seriously at first, but the sporadic ships that had disappeared in the past few days made them start to pay attention. …,

Then the three of them each found out that there were lower-level generals who were actually engaged in "wholesale" business, and they were in regular contact with the "Nanban Sailors" who were cruising on the lake in fast boats, and guided their subordinates' ships to Nanban to collect the ship's silver. Some soldiers were afraid that their families would be implicated, so they did not dare to defect to the Nanban, so it didn't matter, so they handed over the ship to the Nanban, and only received the ship's silver, and did not want the head silver.

Most officers and soldiers still dare not go south to Yinghua, after all, the family of the officer is elsewhere, and the family of the soldier is in the local area, and they feel confused about the prospects, and they do not have the heart to start a new life. So the matter of "raising righteousness in the south" mentioned on the notice became a transaction. The reality of the two sides has changed a lot from the rhetoric of the notice in Yue Zhongqi's hand.

How can a big ship be five or six zhang long, and the big one can reach ten zhang, and the cost is no more than a thousand taels of silver, but it is sold to Nanban for two or three thousand or even five thousand taels of silver, this arithmetic is too simple......

If the ship is sold, the damage to the ship will be reported, and if someone votes for Nanban, the accident will be reported as well.

The people below did too badly, and the three chief officers soon found out, understood the inside story, and their hearts were full of anger, you are so bold! Dare to sell behind my back!? I only have the right to sell!

So the three of them also went to sea, and with their support, the trade was extraordinarily prosperous, and for a while, they did not control the scale, and even sold a small half......

"Li Yuan is coming......"

This is the evil result, before they joined forces in one go, they thought that they had deceived Yue Zhongqi, but they didn't expect that Yue Zhongqi didn't trust them at all, and sent his cronies to investigate.

Wu Wenzhong frowned and pondered: "What should I do?" ”

Han Deng thoughtfully: "We can still have a ...... to sell"

Wei Hong slapped his thigh: "Have a good fight with Nanban, and this business will be done!" Forty or fifty boats in Yue Zhongqi didn't win a strange ship before, and we can defeat more brightly than him! ”

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