In mid-November, Lu Xiangsheng's honor guard arrived in Qingzhou Fucheng.
Liu Yan led all the commanders and envoys of the General Military Mansion to greet him outside the north gate. Wang Congyi, the prefect of Qingzhou, also came to greet him with his fellow magistrate Guo Mintai and Qingzhou magistrate Han Jinchu and other civil officials.
I saw Lu Xiangsheng coming along the official road under the escort of the soldiers of the Dubiao Battalion, and then Liu Yan and Wang Congyi led their men to come forward and salute.
Lu Xiangsheng looked at the crowd, first exchanged a few words with Wang Congyi and others, and then said: "This time the governor came here mainly for military affairs. I'd like to thank the prefect Wang and everyone to come to greet you. Then you don't have to follow, and you can go your own way." Bar."
Wang Congyi and others originally wanted to show off in front of Lu Xiangsheng, but they didn't expect that Lu Xiangsheng would not give everyone a chance, so they looked at Liu Yan with some embarrassment, hoping that Liu Yan could help and say a few nice words.
But Liu Yan remained silent and ignored the calls for help from Wang Congyi and others.
Upon seeing this, General Lu Huaiying said with a smile: "My lords, please go back. After the governor has inspected each department of the new army, I will summon your lords if there is time."
Wang Congyi and others breathed a sigh of relief, saluted one after another, and then went back "reluctantly".
Lu Xiangsheng looked at Wang Congyi and others who were returning to the city, sighed, and said: "Liu Yan, you have seen it, right now, the whole court is full of such sycophants, they only care about currying favor with superior officials, but are poor at governing. If this continues , the country is in danger!"
Liu Yan sighed and said: "There is no need for the governor to be anxious. The current situation in the world is like this. The corruption of official circles does not happen overnight. It takes time to change."
Lu Xiangsheng's expression was full of anxiety and sorrow, and he asked: "But is there still time for the imperial dynasty? Is there any?"
Liu Yan shook his head, maybe because he thought Daming had no time, or maybe he didn't know if Daming still had this chance.
Lu Xiangsheng said: "Let's go into the city. Take this governor to see your new army."
"yes."
After entering the city, Lu Xiangsheng came directly to the military camp under the leadership of Liu Yan. At this time, after more than two months of reorganization, the battalions of the New Army had all the soldiers and equipment ready, and the training of each battalion had also begun. On track.
At this time, although the combat strength of each battalion of the New Army is still somewhat behind that before the expansion, it has also been greatly improved. Before Lu Xiangsheng arrived in Qingzhou Fucheng, Liu Yan had already reviewed the soldiers of each battalion. It was estimated that the overall combat strength of the new army at this time was approximately equivalent to 70 to 80% of that during the Battle of Jinan.
At this time, in the military camp, the three-month-old soldiers of the cavalry battalion, artillery battalion, and guard battalion had already lined up. More than 20,000 soldiers stood on the school field, which can be described as a sea of people. The school ground in Qingzhou Fucheng is the largest among all the prefectures, even bigger than Jinan Fucheng. However, it is full at this time, with more than 20,000 soldiers "filling" the entire school ground.
At this time, the battalions of the New Army have been deployed to various parts of Qinglai Town. There are only cavalry battalions, guard battalions and artillery battalions stationed in Qingzhou City, so the military camps in the city can still accommodate them. Otherwise, if all the battalions were stationed in the city, it would have been a long time ago. I can't live any longer.
Accompanied by Liu Yan, Miao Shao, Xu Ming, Qian Qian, Xun Jingyun, and Tian Huixu, Lu Xiangsheng strode to the martial arts stage. Looking at the neat military formations in the school field, Lu Xiangsheng felt his heart surge and the original melancholy in his heart. and anxiety were immediately swept away, replaced by pride.
"This is what the Ming Dynasty's army should look like!"
Liu Yan looked at Lu Xiangsheng's excited expression and sighed in his heart. Then he stepped forward and said, "Supervisor, the officers and soldiers of each battalion will start to drill and demonstrate later. Please watch."
"good!"
Lu Xiangsheng then sat on the martial arts stage, and Liu Yan led the crowd and Lu Huaiying accompanied him.
Tian Huixu acted as the "host" of this inspection. He held a flag in his hand and waved it vigorously at the soldiers, and the soldiers of the third battalion in the school began to mobilize themselves.
After a while, all the soldiers returned to the barracks one after another, starting from the cavalry camp, and then entered the school grounds one by one for drills.
I saw the cavalry battalion commander and guerrilla general Xu Ming leading his troops into the field. Twelve thousand cavalry soldiers rode their horses and marched slowly. Although the cavalry army could not charge freely in the school grounds, the basic cavalry formations could still be listed.
Lu Xiangsheng looked at all the armored and well-organized cavalry battalion soldiers with a look of relief on his face: "My Ming Dynasty also has elite cavalry. With such a military appearance, they definitely don't belong to the elite cavalry of slave thieves!"
Xu Ming suddenly raised the horse in his hand and shouted loudly: "We are the new army of Qinglai Town!"
"Mighty! Mighty! Mighty!"
"I am Da Ming!"
"Wan Sheng!"
The cavalry army rolled past the front of the martial arts stage, and then the commander-in-chief, guerrilla general Miao Shao, led the guards battalion soldiers into formation.
More than 12,000 generals and soldiers were in good order, with spearmen, gunners, and sword and shield hands in order. The army formation moved forward in an orderly manner. When passing in front of the martial arts stage, Miao Shao was heard roaring, All the soldiers in the battalion looked towards the martial arts stage and paid tribute to Lu Xiangsheng with their attention salute.
Lu Xiangsheng only felt a murderous aura coming towards his face, and even the hairs on his body exploded, and a rush of blood rushed straight to the bullfight.
"good!"
Lu Xiangsheng couldn't help shouting "Hello", and Lu Huaiying next to him was so excited that he raised his hands to his forehead and said with some stuttering: "This, this hero, this magnificent army, it is really..."
In the end, Lu Huaiying couldn't say anything anymore and ended with a "Alas".
At this time, Lu Xiangsheng also looked carefully and said to Liu Yan beside him: "Why, in the New Army infantry battalion, there are many fewer spearmen and more than half of the gunners?"
Liu Yan clasped his fists and said, "The governor has a good eye! In this expansion and reorganization, half of the low-ranking generals' long-range gunmen have been eliminated and replaced by gunners. This has greatly enhanced the firepower of the army."
Lu Xiangsheng said: "Then what if the enemy rushes closer?"
"I believe that the only enemy troops in the world today that can withstand the firepower of our army and rush forward are slave thieves. Once they get close, they can be defeated with the combat power of our army's spearmen!"
"What's more, our gunners are equipped with swords and can kill enemies in close combat."
Lu Xiangsheng nodded in agreement.
The last person to appear was the artillery battalion. When Lu Xiangsheng saw the commander Qian Qian leading the artillery battalion units to the school field, he stood up suddenly and looked forward with wide eyes.
I saw more than two hundred cannons including Folang machine guns, Huzun cannons, rocket launcher vehicles, and various types of artillery, all of which were pulled out by Qian Qiang.
At present, except for Liu Yan's tribe, no troops in the Ming Dynasty can be equipped with such powerful firepower!
Lu Xiangsheng looked at Liu Yan with a complicated expression. No wonder Liu Yan just said that the new army had strong firepower and could safely eliminate the spearmen. There were more than two hundred artillery pieces of various types bombarding them, and tens of thousands of cannons fired in turn. Even if the heavenly soldiers and heavenly warriors arrived, they would probably be defeated.
"Liu Yan, where did you raise so many artillery pieces?"
Lu Xiangsheng was very clear about the armament situation in various parts of Shandong. Even if Liu Yan gathered all the artillery on the cities in Qinglai Town and selected the usable artillery and pulled them over to make up the number, he probably wouldn't be able to assemble so many artillery.
Liu Yan clasped his fists and said, "I would like to inform you, Governor, that all the artillery equipped in our artillery battalion are uniformly cast by craftsmen with humble jobs."
"What!"
Lu Xiangsheng was even more surprised. Although he originally knew that Liu Yan was making his own weapons, artillery was different from other weapons. It did not mean that someone with money could cast them in large quantities.
In Lu Xiangsheng's understanding, the success rate of casting artillery is only one tenth, and the craftsmen who can achieve two or three tenths are now in the capital.
"How did you do it?"
Naturally, Liu Yan would not explain in detail, but just said: "The humble job gives those craftsmen good treatment, allowing them to make money and eat, so the passing rate of the forged artillery is very high."
Lu Xiangsheng was noncommittal and naturally would not believe Liu Yan's remarks.
"Liu Yan, if the governor purchases artillery from you, how many can you sell?"
Liu Yan was slightly stunned and said to himself: "It seems that Governor Lu heard some news and knew that he was about to go on an expedition. Therefore, he went here to understand the situation of the new army and to raise armaments."
So Liu Yan said: "The governor is in need, and I have to sell iron to get it together. In order to equip the battalions of the new army, I don't have a lot of weapons left, but I still have twenty Folan cannons in the arsenal. Tiger cannon samurai gate, 300 bundles of various rockets, 2,000 flintlock muskets, 80,000 rounds of ammunition, 50,000 catties of gunpowder, and 1,000 pairs of armor. All these military equipment were handed over to the governor. "
Lu Xiangsheng was stunned for a long time after hearing this, and then said: "So many troops! How much money is needed?"
Liu Yan said: "In order to expand the new army, Beizhi has already sold off the pot. Anyway, he is now a pauper. It is better to be poor and generous. The governor only needs to give Beizhi a thousand taels of silver."
"One thousand taels?"
"One thousand taels!"
Lu Xiangsheng was shocked, but he was extremely grateful. He was lucky to have a subordinate like Liu Yan.
"Okay! Even a thousand taels!"
That night, Lu Xiangsheng was placed in the General Military Mansion. Liu Yan brought Wang Yunhe and his son to visit him. Lu Xiangsheng was very happy and gave Wang Yunhe a meeting gift of fifty taels of silver, and also gave Liu Sheng a silver longevity lock.
Later, Liu Yan and Lu Xiangsheng had a detailed discussion in the study.
"Master Governor, there is something I don't know whether to say or not."
"Although the two of us are superior and inferior, in my heart, you and I, Liu Yan, are life-and-death friends. If you have anything to say, just say it."
Liu Yan felt warm in his heart, and then said: "Is the governor going to attack Li Chuang?"
Lu Xiangsheng nodded and said with a smile: "I knew how to hide it from you, so I might as well tell you."
"Last month, someone from the Ministry of War inspected the Supervisor Biao Camp. The Inspector was familiar with the visitor. After some inquiries, he found out that Yang Sichang had become terminally ill during this period. Therefore, the imperial court continued to lead the army to resist Li by one person. Break into the army, otherwise the situation in Henan and Shanxi will be uncontrollable."
Liu Yan said: "Most of Zhang Xianzhong's remnants have defected to Li Chuang now. With Li Chuang's current strength, it will be extremely difficult for the governor to leave. I wonder how the governor plans to face the enemy?"
Lu Xiangsheng said: "I haven't received the official transfer order from the Ministry of War yet, and I don't know how many troops the imperial court is planning to recruit to quell the rebellion. However, my plan is to mobilize some elites from you to fight. It is best if the imperial court can mobilize you. Directly lead the army to accompany him, and then the destruction of Li Chuang will be just around the corner."
When Liu Yan heard this, he disagreed. Li Zicheng was not Zhang Xianzhong. Military encirclement and suppression could not completely eradicate Li Zicheng. Civil affairs were also needed to help the people in Henan, Shanxi and other places have food to eat and survive.
Such a two-pronged approach can completely eliminate Li Zicheng by encircling and suppressing him with a large army and draining the firepower from the bottom of the cauldron.
But Liu Yan couldn't say these words to Lu Xiangsheng. Even if he did, he wouldn't be able to do it with Lu Xiangsheng's energy.
So Liu Yan had no choice but to say: "I hope the court can make up its mind."
"Yes, it depends on whether the court has this determination!"
Some people died, but not completely...
