Reading guide: Xiang Yong received an extra surprise in Chibi and raised the ambition of the commander to form a sailor; Zeng Peng and the others secretly discussed the needs of shipbuilding, and Zeng Guofan's sudden words made Peng Yulin's open mouth close for a long time......

Funny? Amazing? Celestial and human sense?

Bao Chao's battalion of Xiang Yong soon drove into the church. According to Bao Chao's instructions, the sentinels first counted the number of boxes, and then distributed them to the chiefs. The commanders received the order, and the whole battalion began to move in an instant. It took an hour to transport more than 300 wooden boxes of all sizes out of the city, and ten wagons were loaded. There were still more than 50 of them that were not loaded, so they were carried by four people from Xiangyong, quickly transported to the ferry, loaded and returned to Yueyang.

It is really people who sing triumphant songs, horses ring luan bells, mountains play joyful songs, and the water is clear and clear.

Zeng Guofan would never have dreamed that this attack on Chibi would be so smooth!

On the way back, before arriving at the ferry, Zeng Guofan suddenly called Bao Chao to the sedan chair and said, "I suddenly remembered that there was one thing we didn't do properly. You take a few people back to the church on horseback, and none of the people in the church can be left alive. If we stay alive, we Xiangyong will be in big trouble! You remember, after killing them, throw them all into the basement and bury them. The wall should be knocked down, clean, neat, and not sloppy. If it really didn't work, he burned down the church. Go ahead! ”

Soon after Zeng Guofan returned to Yueyang with a large group of men, Bao Chao also returned to the camp with his people.

Zeng Guofan first stored these boxes in five empty rooms on the left side of the county government, and Xiao Fusi assigned people to guard them day and night, and then took Peng Yulin and Xiao Fusi to inspect them one by one.

To Zeng Guofan's surprise, in addition to the 200 large boxes containing iron tools, the other 100 small boxes were all gold and silver!

Zeng Guofan held back the violent heartbeat, and let Peng Yulin and Xiao Fusi pass by one by one, no more, no less, it was 1.2 million taels of silver, 200,000 taels of gold!

Zeng Guofan and Peng Yulin looked at each other, and their eyes were full of surprise and indescribable joy.

After sealing the box, Zeng Guofan held Peng Yulin's hand and whispered: "Xueqin, my Xiangyong sailor can start to build!" ”

Peng Yulin said with tears in his eyes: "This is the day to let adults destroy the long hair!" ”

Zeng Guofan sent all the gold and silver to the grain platform on the same day, let Tang Xuan register it in the warehouse, and then told the people of the grain station to strictly seal the news; He also asked someone to carry a box containing iron tools to the public court, invited Taqib and Zhudian Yuan, and asked, "Zhiting, you two have been in the green camp for a long time, you should know this thing." What are these tubes, tubes, rods, and sticks? ”

Tazib took out the iron pieces one by one, put them on the big case, and after looking at them for a long time, he finally could not understand them, so he bent down again, and groped around in the box, and finally turned out a paper drawing from it.

"That's it!" Taqib took the graphics and looked at them, and checked them one by one with the iron tools, and couldn't help but say: "My lord, this is the most powerful breech flowering cannon made by the Yiman!" As far as the humble officials know, there are only a dozen of these breech cannons in our entire Hunan. I heard that it costs more than 100,000 taels of silver. There is another kind that is even bigger than this, called the red-robed invincible general, one statue is one hundred hundred thousand taels! ”

Zeng Guofan asked: "The Green Battalion has fought with Changmao several times, and they have used breech guns, why haven't I seen this kind of breech guns?" - Zhiting, you have to look carefully. ”

Taqi said: "You don't know the real situation of the green camp in Hunan. This breech gun has been bought for a long time, and it has been stored in the warehouse and cannot be used, because there is only a cannon, but there is no bullet. Before I was humiliated, I heard Bao Junmen say that a bullet was transported from Yiren to Hunan for hundreds of taels of silver! If you don't buy enough 2,000 pieces from the Yi people, he won't load them on your ship and ship them. Two thousand, that's one hundred thousand taels. With a bang, a thousand taels will be gone! And an earthen cannonball used in the breech only costs a dozen taels, and it can also bang on the ground. Although the green battalion has flowering cannons, they can't afford to use them. ”

Zeng Guofan nodded, and sighed for a long time: "No wonder Long Mao hides these breech guns, there are no bullets!" ”

The heirs of Zeng Guofan came in and put the iron pieces back into the box, and carefully carried them to the signing room, which allowed everyone to disperse.

After everyone left, he drafted a "Xiang Yong attacked Chibi and killed Changmao" fold, and asked his entourage to send Changsha to borrow the governor Yamen official defense to pay homage on his behalf.

sat down, it was already noon, and when I went to the dining room of the big camp to have a hasty meal, I called Peng Yulin to the signing room and asked the soldiers to make a pot of tea. The two of them changed their clothes and sat on the kang and chatted while drinking tea.

Peng Yulin said first: "My lord, I just heard Fu Si say that those iron tools we brought back from Chibi are cannons? In this way, can't we form a cannon brave? ”

Zeng Guofan smiled bitterly and said: "Listen to Zhiting, the cannon is a good cannon, and one will cost more than 100,000 taels." I made a rough estimate, there should be more than a dozen. Zhiting said that the Hunan Green Battalion has this kind of artillery, which has been kept in the warehouse because there are no bullets. As for us, we don't have marbles either, so we can only put them up first. ”

Peng Yulin said: "Shouldn't we just buy some with silver?" ”

Zeng Guofan was speechless, lowered his head and took a sip of tea, and suddenly asked: "Xueqin, how much silver does it take for twenty-eight people to row a big war ship?" How many warriors can it carry? ”

Peng Yulin took out a piece of paper from his arms and handed it to Zeng Guofan across the table.

Zeng Guofan took over the unfolding, and saw that it was the graphic of a large war ship.

Peng Yulin pointed with his finger and said, "This is called a tug, and it is the largest warship of the long-haired sailor. There are two kinds of iron skeleton and wooden skeleton, both of which require 28 people to row. If you are only engaged in transportation, you can use a wooden skeleton. If it is used for war on the river, it will not be an iron skeleton. In the few days I was in the provincial capital, I visited the boats and the docks. According to them, the iron sheet should be purchased from the Yiren, and the domestic one will not be used; Timber is not cheap either, and needs to be harvested and transported from Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and other places. A big war ship is made of iron skeleton, and it always takes five thousand taels of silver to complete. It's still a cost saver. If you let go of your hands and feet, I am afraid that 7,000 silver will not be able to stop you. ”

Zeng Guofan stared at the figure with his eyes and asked: "Iron Sheet disdainfully said that this silver can't be saved." But can bamboo replace wood? How many ships are needed to build a naval army? How brave is it? Can a ship be equipped with an iron cannon? If you fire bullets with an iron cannon, can you sink the ship? You do the math carefully and write a note to me. ”

Peng Yulin said: "My lord, a warship, rowing sailors and pipes are needed, and there are nearly forty people. To build a water warrior, there must be at least more than 50 boats. And that's not even counting the ships that deliver supplies. Even if you build a ship, you have to recruit water bravery. Shui Yong is different from Lu Yong, first of all, he must learn the nature of water, and secondly, he must be able to fight on a ship. This requires good training. In this way, it would take five or seven months to see what it looks like. The builder of the water is not enough to have silver, but also to have good teaching and good management. It's easy to say, but it's also very difficult to do. ”

Zeng Guofan said while drinking tea: "Xueqin, it is a foregone conclusion that it will be difficult for long hair to become a big thing." Do you still remember the words that Zhu Sheng said when Emperor Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty visited Zhu Sheng after he attacked Huizhou? ”

Peng Yulin replied: "What you always said is 'build a high wall, accumulate grain, and slowly become king'? ”

Zeng Guofan said: "Xueqin really has a good memory - Xueqin, don't underestimate Zhu Sheng's three sentences." Only these three sentences have contributed to the Ming Dynasty for nearly three hundred years! The Manchurians entered the Central Plains, in order to stabilize the hearts of the army and the people, everything followed the Ming system. In particular, the respect for Confucianism is the most popular. It is said that Hong Xiuquan has also read several history books, I wonder what he read from the books? He first destroyed Confucianism, then destroyed ethics, respected religion, worshiped God, and had no father and no king, which was shameful for the world's scholars. My thousands of years of ethics and morality in the Central Plains were abolished by him! Just three years after the incident, the land is only a province, so you have to be called a lonely widow and become an emperor! Emperor Hongwu was born recklessly, but he was able to achieve the great cause of the emperor. Although the surname Hong is a talented person, he is also from Shilin, but he will only make trouble! Even so, it is impossible to exterminate them in a very short time! - Xueqin, if you want to completely eradicate the long hair, I, Xiangyong, must establish a sailor no matter what. I have already said a few words in the compromise yesterday, and Jiang Minqiao may have to fold it up in the next few days. I estimate that within ten days, the official army may be able to regain Wuchang. At that time, it will be time for us to evacuate Yueyang. ”

Peng Yulin couldn't help but be stunned when he heard this: "My lord, our Xiangyong finally got away from the green camp, why do you want to leave again?" Only by staying away from the land of right and wrong will you not be a person of right and wrong! ”

Zeng Guofan smiled and said, "Xueqin, do you know why I came to Yueyang?" This is because of Jiang Minqiao's letter, through which I concluded that Changmao would not come to Yueyang. Changmao must have other plans to advance to Hunan this time. One is because I had a strange dream. It was this dream that strengthened my determination and confidence to leave the provincial capital. ”

Before Zeng Guofan finished speaking, Peng Yulin had already opened his mouth wide in surprise. (End of chapter)