It's early autumn and the temperature is cooler than usual. At this time, the Qiongzhou Mansion in Guangdong Province is breezy and suitable.

The new Qiongzhou Battalion of the Guangdong New Army, which was reorganized a few months ago, has been renamed the Qiongzhou Battalion, and more than 3,000 officers and men have finally embarked on the road of daily training. The daily high-load drills that were unimaginable in the past have gradually become accustomed to being used to in the Qiongzhou camp.

The genius was bright, and the military horn and drum assembly order sounded in the camp of the Qiongzhou battalion, and then the soldiers wearing brand-new mandarin duck jackets and Fan Yang hats would form a phalanx in the playground under the command of the junior officers, and then drive out of the barracks in turn with the general team as a unit, and run around the entire Qiongzhou City in full armor.

In the past few months, the people of Qiongzhou City have been accustomed to seeing these Ming officials and soldiers with unique spiritual outlook, especially this official army running neatly in the morning fog, all of which are black and dark Nanyang muskets, and the fancy pictures of swords, guns and flags have disappeared without a trace.

For the ensuing breakfast, the common soldier consisted of a thick porridge mixed with leaves, corn, rice bran, and rice, plus a full coarse corn nest and some pickles, while the officers were as well as the officers were entitled to a better ration.

In order to save money, Shen Tingyang, a military prospect in Qiongzhou, found that the corn shipped by the Oriental Union Group from the West tasted good, and the price was cheaper than local rice, so he ordered a large amount of corn in one go. In addition, Huamei disposed of a batch of military dry food and canned food that was about to expire in half a year at an ultra-low price, and Shen Tingyang simply waved his pen, except for the rest and recuperation every ten days, all three meals a day during the training of the new camp.

The total amount of corn transported by these hard states from the South African Viceroyalty is about 3,000 tons, and the transaction price with Qiongzhou is 15 US dollars per ton, which is about one tael per stone in the Ming Dynasty, which is two coins lower than the average market price of rice in Qiongzhou. On paper, the Oriental Union Group lost $6 per ton of corn, which is already the lowest supply price that the Oriental Union Group can afford. But this 3,000 tons of corn is for Shen Tingyang. But it can feed the Qiongzhou camp for two years.

It only needs to be simply ground to make a fragrant porridge mixed with rice. Grind it finer, mix it with a little semolina, and the nest made tastes good. Coupled with the occasional meal of gorgeous canned food and military dry food, and a few slices of salted meat, or sweet wine made from leftovers from the local sugar boiling workshop of the Nanhai business, the food treatment of the Qiongzhou camp was far better than that of ordinary Daming soldiers.

After breakfast, under the leadership of more than a dozen Chinese military advisers, the officers and men went to various training grounds in the camp to start military training.

In the shooting range. A corps of about 500 Ming soldiers of the Qiongzhou Battalion, led by officers, was doing live-fire training, and at the edge of the shooting range, a middle-aged officer who seemed to be of no lower status was watching in the company of another Huamei officer.

To the sound of neat drums, hundreds of Ming troops lined up in five rows and marched from the other end of the shooting range. Although there is no accompaniment from other instruments, just a monotonous drum beat, the highly rhythmic drum sound makes the march of the officers and soldiers very orderly, as long as they step to the rhythm of the drums. to keep the basic queue intact.

"All are determined!"

"Gun under the shoulder!"

With a loud shout from the commander-in-chief, the drum beat also stopped, and the five rows of horizontal teams only shook slightly, and then they stopped steadily behind a horizontal line about 100 meters away from the target. Then hundreds of officers and soldiers uniformly unloaded the 34A flintlock pistol from their shoulders.

"The first, second, and three hundred corps. Raise your gun! Aim! ”

In the sound of the order, the first three rows of Ming soldiers raised their flintlock pistols one after another, the first row squatted, and the second bent slightly. The third row stood, with layers of barrels and bayonets that looked imposing. The Ming troops on standby in the last two rows were all staring ahead without squinting.

"Shoot!"

The moment the saber was swung down. Three rows of tumbling waves of flames erupted from the Ming army's infantry line, and then dozens of grass targets 100 meters away flew wildly.

"Fourth and five hundred corps, ready! Shoot! ”

Before the smoke cleared, the first three rows of Ming soldiers had already consciously squatted down and ceded the shooting boundary to their companions behind. The officer's orders came in the smoke of gunpowder, followed by a churning muzzle flame.

"All charge!"

The final order to charge was given, and hundreds of Ming troops roared in unison, rushed out with bayonets, and then stabbed and overturned the grass targets that had already been beaten to pieces.

Immediately after that, the drum beat and the whistle of the whole team sounded again, and the Ming officers and soldiers who had completed a round of charge withdrew one after another, but in only two minutes, they lined up again. Then a general manager in charge of military discipline came out, put forward a dozen or so soldiers who had not observed tactical discipline in the previous salvo and charge, and in front of everyone, took off the coats of the soldiers at the edge of the shooting range and began to whip.

The whipped soldiers shouted to the heavens and the earth, and the officers and soldiers who lined up to watch were even more wooden, as if they were turning a blind eye. After the merciless whipping, several Ming soldiers with white cloths wrapped around their arms ran into the field and carried down the soldiers after the execution to apply medicine.

Looking at the virtual operations and brutal military law enforcement in front of him, the middle-aged officer who was the new commander of the Qiongzhou battalion was dumbfounded. In his opinion, the qiē just now seemed to have no flaws except for being very novel.

This guerrilla general named Zhou Qiao was a garrison in the former town of Guangdong, and was forcibly inserted into Qiongzhou by the governor of Liangguang to serve as the commander of the Qiongzhou battalion. Zhao Youheng, the governor of Guangdong, and Shen Tingyang, the military commander of Qiongzhou, were both deeply dissatisfied with this tough appointment, and the disputes between governors and governors in various places in the late Ming Dynasty were still inevitable in Liangguang.

"Step-by-step, but there is also a bit of momentum. Zhang Shoubei, my Qiongzhou battalion is trained like this every day? Aren't you afraid that the soldiers will be tired and resentful? As far as this official can see, the drums and trumpets used in the drill are not the laws of our Ming Dynasty. It's not appropriate to practice the example of the army, and to overstep the rules. ”

Zhou Qiao stroked his short beard and lazily looked at the group of petty officers with a deferential attitude beside him, and did not pay the slightest attention to the few military advisers from Huamei on the other side.

"Sufficient food and well-fed, rewards and punishments are clear. There are three chapters of the law, and the officers and soldiers are one. Orders are forbidden, and orders are the same. The whole camp obeyed it, which was the result of the advice of the friends of China and the United States. ”

Zhang Jianye stepped forward to explain with a smile, and at the same time showed a little apology to Qiao Yan and the others.

"General, we are just arranging the training content in a targeted manner based on the existing experience and the state of equipment. It does not change the command system of the Ming official army. Qiao Yan has seen the opinions of too many old officers in the Ming army in the past few months, and he is also indifferent to this, "In addition, the term of office of the military advisory group has expired, and we should go back." ”

"Huh. You and other well-armed soldiers, but three meals a day, extravagant wine and meat, too extravagant, now the army is not enough money, the official still has to reduce it to two meals. After speaking, Zhou Qiao threw off his cloak and walked away leisurely with a few henchmen who came from Guangdong Town.

"Whew! What a thing, people come to our Qiongzhou camp like dogs to play prestige! As soon as I came, I changed three meals a day back to two meals. Lord Zhang Shoubei. Could it be that the governor and the soldier are going to let such people who drink the blood of the soldiers come to our Qiongzhou to take charge of the army?! ”

A hundred general officers who had been promoted from the local guard suddenly scolded in a low voice behind Zhang Jianye, his face so black that he could wring out water.

"This official only disciplines Xi, and the appointment and dismissal of this battalion is a matter for the imperial court and the superintendent, so you and I are in charge......" Zhang Jianye had long known that this new army in Guangdong would arouse the covetousness of all parties, and he also had a strange expression, but he felt that it was a bit too much for the other party to say something in front of the hard-working military advisory group.

"The general doesn't seem to agree with the appearance of this army, do they think the soldiers are lazy?" Makarov was muttering to the side as he touched his unshaven chin, his face full of doubt.

On the contrary, he felt that the soldiers were too good. Eating too well and the daily live-fire training is too wasteful. Yu Shan smiled and sat on a big rock, with a smile on his face, "But none of this has anything to do with us." We're going back to Pearl Island soon. ”

A few hours later, the news that the Huamei Military Advisory Group had finished its mission and was about to leave spread in the Qiongzhou camp, and at lunchtime, more than a dozen junior officers spontaneously gathered in front of the military advisory group's camp in a corner of the barracks. watched Qiao Xian and the others packing their luggage.

"Chief Qiao, Ma Jiaotou, Yu Jiaotou...... Will you ever come back? Looking at his companions who were silent all around, a flag chief finally had the courage to take a step forward and asked in a low voice.

"Unless you've lost the battle, don't expect to be whipped by me again." Makarov put down the box in his hand. walked up to the junior officer of the Ming Army and patted the other party's shoulder hard, "I've mocked too many officers these days, maybe I'll go back to the military court." ”

"Ma Jiaotou, if you have time to come to Ding'an County, I invite you to drink my family's soju and go to the kiln!"

A team officer who was born as a son of a local squire in Qiongzhou suddenly yelled in the crowd, which caused a burst of laughter. It's just that the laughter doesn't sound easy, and there are faint tears.

For several months, all the officers and men of the Qiongzhou battalion were accustomed to the reprimands and teachings of Makarov and Yu Shan, and no matter how fierce they were in peacetime, in almost every training, the two leaders from foreign countries set an example. Even Qiao Yan, who looked bigger than the official of Zhang Garrison, had a faint concern that seemed to be strict but was extremely easy-going, which was completely different from the big people they had seen.

The low-ranking officers of the Qiongzhou battalion were embarrassed and reluctant, and this farewell scene made Qiao Yan's eyes a little sour, as if he remembered the appearance of those retired Chinese Army officers and soldiers who walked out of the barracks every year.

"Big guy, I said, don't be idle, help Chief Qiao and them move things. Let's hold a farewell banquet for the leaders tonight! ”

A hundred generals squeezed out of the crowd, opened their hands, and advocated loudly, and the petty officers who heard it all raised their fists in response.

Just as Qiao Yan stood up and was about to refuse, suddenly a low military horn came from above the camp, and then the drumbeat of the emergency assembly sounded.

The small officers of the Ming army who were surrounding Qiao Yan and the others all ran towards the playground in the center of the camp reflexively, but in just ten seconds, Qiao Yan's eyes were empty.

"It seems that this kind of training subject is not arranged today, is it going to war?"

Makarov took a few steps, his eyes shining brightly, while Qiao Yan stared intently at the tall banner in the depths of the camp in deep thought.

……

On October 8, 1643, August 26, the sixteenth year of Chongzhen of the Ming Empire, cold dew.

In the lobby of the largest Nanhai restaurant in Qiongzhou City, it is full today, with more than 100 people, young and old, and almost every guest is a wealthy and wealthy family with fine clothes.

Above the chairman in front of the lobby, there is now the leader of the squire in Qiongzhou, the head of the Ding'an Wang family, in addition to Liu Yaoyu, the big shopkeeper of the Nanhai business, the Huang family in Ding'an, the Li family in Danzhou, the Sun family in Wanzhou, and other top two households in Qiongzhou, and there are even a few related households from Leizhou and Gaozhou.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the rogue Zhang Xianzhong has fallen into Yongzhou, Hengzhou and other places, and the soldiers have arrived in Chenzhou, and if you go down, it will be my two Guangzhou counties! The thieves passed like locusts, and the lives were devastated. The Huguang commercial road was cut off, and the Hengzhou branch was destroyed. It's quite unfavorable to my South China Sea business! ”

After exchanging glances with Liu Yaoyu and the old man of the Wang family in Ding'an, the head of the Huang family in Ding'an slowly stood up and showed a sad expression to the Qiongzhou squire present.

"Uh...... Wouldn't the Shaozhou branch be dangerous! A middle-aged Qiongzhou businessman stood up, with a nervous face, "There are a lot of merchant goods stored in the Hengzhou branch, and now it is not in the hands of thieves, and the loss of silver is more than 10,000 taels, if the Shaozhou branch is not withdrawn, these years of hard work will be in vain!" ”

For half a year. The Nanhai firm has solved problems for the governor of Guangdong and the Qiongzhou military preparation road several times, not to mention the sharp reduction in income this year, and has also watched the assets of the Nanhai firm continue to suffer heavy losses, and every shareholder of the Nanhai firm present has a sad face and a dead father.

"Our gentry have worked hard for many years, and the branch of shops is widely distributed in both regions, and Huguang has also made achievements. In the past, there was civil rebellion in Fujian, Zhejiang and Xudu, and now Zhang Xianzhong is a thief and a thief. Hey, the situation is dangerous, if the court sits idly by. I'm afraid that in the end, we will all make wedding dresses for others......"

The head of the Sun family in Wanzhou is also an old man who is not under the age of the head of the Wang family, and he sighed with his white beard at this time.

"Yu'er, you just came from Lord Bingxian, have you heard anything else?" The old man of the Wang family in Ding'an opened his eyes at this time. Facing the expectant eyes of the present, he turned his head to his son-in-law behind him.

"I heard that Governor Shen Youlong ordered Wang Sunlan, the deputy envoy of Nanshao, to patrol Nanxiong and Shaozhou a few days ago, and led the officials and soldiers in Nanxiong and Shaozhou to resist thieves. The bird that was born with a frightened bow hanged itself before seeing the thief soldiers, and the officials and soldiers of Nan and Shao counties were leaderless. Many people abandoned Guo and fled to the city, or rebelled and robbed the township. Shaozhou is afraid that it will not be guaranteed, and the people of the prefecture and county will take refuge in Guangzhou along the way, with 100,000 people. ”

After getting the consent of his father-in-law, Liu Yaoyu stood up and told the situation he had heard one by one, and the faces of the Qiongzhou squires at the scene were even more ugly.

"Lord Wang, this time the army is in danger, can we have a way? If the official and military measures of the imperial court are not appropriate, and let the thieves break through Shaozhou and go south, it will be bad! A Qiongzhou cloth merchant stood up, his face flushed.

"Don't worry, everybody." Liu Yaoyu turned around and bowed lightly to his father-in-law, and then smiled and made a quiet gesture to the people present, "Lord Shen Tingyang has been ordered by Lord Shen Youlong, the governor of Liangguang, and Zhao Youheng, the governor of Guangdong, to send the Qiongzhou battalion into Guangzhou and join forces with the Guangzhou battalion to go north to Shaozhou!" However, this army is pulled, and the cost of food and salary is several times that of the garrison training, so ......"

Before the words fell, many gentry at the scene jumped up like fried cats: "Do you want me to donate food and pay?!" In the past six months, Qiongzhou has donated more than 100,000 yuan of money and grain! ”

Looking at these squires who usually clinged to the South China Sea merchants and ate fragrant drinks in the Liangguang area, Liu Yaoyu couldn't help but sigh softly: "I waited for the previous help, just to purchase the Chinese military armament and ammunition, it has been exhausted, and the military lords and governors have been raising food and salaries for months, and they have already lost their heads. This is a major matter related to the life and death of our two Guangzhous, and we must work together with the local squires. ”

"In that case, Huang Yuanwai and you will add it up again. This imperial court raised soldiers for a thousand days, and it was used for a while, and it was my Qiongzhou son, so naturally he should not be hungry on the day he went into battle. Yu'er, you send a reply to Lord Shen, although the officials and troops are deployed, the silver grain will be ready. ”

The old man of the Wang family in Ding'an, who was full of words in Qiongzhou, spoke again, and finally pressed the part of the dissatisfaction present.

……

At this moment, in the yamen of the governor of Guangzhou, Zhao Youheng was also worried about the letter of Shen Youlong, the governor of Liangguang from Zhaoqing.

"Your Excellency, the money for the next batch of Nanyang military baggage has not yet been found. The Qiongzhou battalion is waiting to be shipped, but the two battalions of ordnance on the left and right of Guangzhou are only half a battalion, and the grain and grass are only enough for three months. A staff member held the account book and said respectfully behind Zhao Youheng.

"Isn't it the South China Sea Merchant that should be made up?" Zhao Youheng frowned, turned around and looked at the staff, "If someone is found to be greedy for the silver and grain of the army, Benfu will be severely punished!" ”

"The lower official is guilty!" The staff was so frightened that they quickly knelt down, "Every time the subordinate asks, the Nanhai merchant agrees, and then makes up a little bit, but it is always insufficient." If you are in a hurry, it is not uncommon to close the door and not see you. ”

Zhao Youheng was stunned for a moment, no longer blaming his subordinates, but slowly turned around, his face gradually bitter.

Now the Guangdong New Army is slowly taking shape, but in order to deal with some broken things that cannot be dropped. The money and food obtained in the early stage were basically consumed. The little allocation from the imperial court, the existing military towns are not enough to stuff their teeth, and now they rely on the support of the Nanhai business to continue to walk.

As soon as the ordnance purchased from Huamei arrived, Zhao Youheng had to give priority to supplying it to the Qiongzhou battalion, also to ensure that the Nanhai merchants could continue to support him. Up to now, the two battalions in Guangzhou, which have doubled in number, are still equipped with less than 30 percent of the ordnance, and they cannot carry out normal training. The Huamei military training advisers who stayed in the camp were a little idle, and he, Zhao Youheng, had to pay one or two silver per day for the advisers.

In the Oriental Union Group, Zhao Youheng also sent people to Hong Kong to inquire many times, but unfortunately that Zhao Mingchuan has now gone to Luzon, so that Zhao Youheng's cheeky idea of finding the other party to fight the autumn wind again has been ruined.

I heard that the Huamei Military Advisory Group had completed the drill training of the Qiongzhou battalion, and judging from the information fed back by Shen Tingyang, the training results of the Qiongzhou battalion far exceeded that of the left and right battalions in Guangzhou. Now the military situation in Shaozhou is urgent, and the only soldiers and horses that can be mobilized are the Qiongzhou battalion. If you refuse to send it yourself. That is tantamount to completely offending Shen Youlong, the governor of Liangguang, in case something happens, Shen Youlong only needs to play a piece of music, and he will be charged with failing to defend the territory.

But what makes people depressed is. Shen Youlong only shouted, but he didn't provide a penny of silver or a liter of food at all, completely forcing himself to find a way.

"Pass the book and give the order, the Qiongzhou battalion and the Guangzhou Zuo battalion. Seven days later, it was opened. Allocate a month's silver grain first, and then fill the gap after the thief is broken. ”

I feel that I can no longer delay the military situation. Zhao Youheng still made up his mind and planned to transfer the newly released army north to Shaozhou to resist Zhang Xianzhong.

……

At the Qiongzhou wharf, there was a lot of noise, and groups of officers and soldiers of the Qiongzhou battalion were lining up to board the ship.

Amid the rhythmic shouting, the six gorgeous 8-pounder field guns of the artillery team were slowly embarking on the ship under the push of the officers and men, and boxes of original ammunition imported at high prices were carefully stacked in the special cargo hold of sea ships.

A large amount of ammunition and baggage were transferred from the military camp station, and in addition, there were wagons in Qiongzhou City to transport truckloads of grain and grass, and countless people were nervously transporting them. The Nanhai merchant was resolute and raised 10,000 taels of silver and 5,000 stone of rice for Shen Tingyang almost in one day.

These silver grains were theoretically enough for the Qiongzhou battalion to fight outside for more than three months. But in fact, after the silver grain was put on board, it had to be distributed to the maritime merchants and the maritime watermasters of Guangzhou who were responsible for the sea transportation. For the rest, we have to divide some of the new troops from the left and right battalions of Guangzhou, and basically this time the troops are all in Qiongzhou to bear the expenses.

Zhou Qiao, the commander of the Qiongzhou battalion, was standing by the dock with a few of his own soldiers at this time, and judging from the expression on his face, he looked a little bad. Zhou Qiao is an old oilman in Guangdong Town, and he is also a full straw bag, but he only bribed his boss to get the recommended position of the commander of the Qiongzhou battalion from the governor of Liangguang, but it was only a few days, and before he could get a penny of silver, he was going to lead his troops to fight with Zhang Xianzhong of Megatron Huguang, and his heart was shocked.

"Lord Zhou, there is still half an hour before we can set sail." Zhang Jianye, dressed in armor, walked over with several low-ranking officers and staff members of the Qiongzhou battalion and bowed his head to Zhou Qiao.

"Hehe, this official has just arrived, and I heard that Brother Zhang is familiar with military affairs, and this time to suppress thieves, it depends on Lord Zhang's trouble." Zhou Qiao suppressed the panic in his heart and showed kindness to Zhang Jianye and others for the first time.

"Loyalty to the country is the duty of the last general, and Lord Zhou can rest assured." After only two or three days of getting along, Zhang Jianye, who was an old man himself, also saw the details of Zhou Qiao, and couldn't help sneering in his heart.

Zhang Jianye and Zhou Qiao called each other brothers and sisters, and several low-ranking officers of the Qiongzhou battalion behind them all showed a trace of disdain and mockery. These newborn calves are not afraid of tigers, so they can't take care of the money and food problems that the big men are worried about, so they are waiting to go into battle and do a big job.

A few days later, the Guangdong New Army, which had completed its rendezvous and recuperation in Guangzhou, officially left the city of Guangzhou and headed for Shaozhou on the northern border of Guangdong along the official road. Because the ordnance distribution of the new army of the second battalion on the left and right in Guangzhou was not in place, Zhao Youheng could only make up a cavalry corps, a cavalry corps, and a baggage corps. There were only more than 4,000 troops in the north, of which the Qiongzhou battalion accounted for three-quarters, and the food and grass for the army was only enough for one and a half months. (To be continued......)