Early March, Ningyuan City.
Zu Dashou stood on the wall of Ningyuan City and looked into the city. He saw hundreds of soldiers from the Zhenglan Banner of the Han Army he had brought with him, searching from house to house and forcibly taking away the strong Han men one by one.
"What are you doing? What kind of royal law have I broken? Why should you arrest me?"
"I am an obedient citizen of the Manchu master. Where are they going to arrest me? I am an obedient citizen!"
The faces of those captured young men were all pale. The news that the Qing Dynasty was going to rebuild the banners of the Han army had spread throughout Liaodong more than ten days ago. Then all kinds of news flew all over the sky, including Liaoyang, Haizhou, and Gaizhou. It is said that large-scale forced conscription has begun in Dacheng.
At this time, Ningyuan City was also in chaos, and soldiers and horses of the Han Army's Zhenglan Banner were everywhere arresting people. In such a scene, even Zu Dashou couldn't help but frown, feeling vaguely intolerable.
Suddenly, a pitiful cry came out, which immediately attracted Zu Dashou's attention.
It was a private house not far from the city wall. A woman in her twenties rushed out screaming, threw herself to the ground, and hugged the leg of the leader of the group, the leader of the Han army Zheng Lanqi. She cried and said, "Sir, this bitch and her husband have just been married. Please don't let my husband carry the flag. I beg you, my bitch!"
The leaders were the same as the hundreds of soldiers of the Zhenglan Banner of the Han Army. They were all soldiers and horses of the Han Army's banners left behind in Shengjing and other places.
Originally, these people were the most unpopular among the banners, but with the defeat of the Qing army in Yanqing Prefecture, these people became the lucky ones and became the backbone of the reconstruction of the Han army's banners. They transformed into maids and young ladies, and acted like Also more
became brutal.
"Damn bitch!"
The leader kicked the woman away, and the woman immediately curled up on the ground in pain, moaning in pain.
"The masters are extremely gracious. They carried your family into the Zhenglan Banner of the Han Army. You are no longer Han people. You have reached the sky in one step. What an honor. You fool, you don't know what is good and what is good, and you dare to make noise here. You want to Die!"
When the strong man who was taken away saw his wife being beaten, he became furious and roared loudly: "You two Tartars, the Qing army has been defeated by the Ming Dynasty, with tens of thousands of casualties, and even those Manchu and Mongolian true Tartars are home." Who would really sacrifice their life for the Tatars when they are wearing filial piety? Carrying the flag? You think it is a favor to carry the flag, but I think it is a shame to carry the flag. It is inappropriate to leave the descendants of the Han family alone, but they want to be dogs for the Tatars. I am sick!"
The leader was scolded until his face turned green and white. He cursed angrily and stepped forward with his sword, slashing the strong man to death. Then he wiped the blood on the blade and looked at the woman who was stunned by this scene. A dozen soldiers said: "This fool has rewarded you!"
A dozen or so soldiers from the Han Army's Zhenglan Banner rushed forward with strange screams. No matter how the woman struggled and yelled, the dozen or so men just lifted her up and walked straight towards the nearby house.
On the city wall, Zu Dashou was furious. The strong man's roar just now was like a sap, hitting Zu Dashou's heart hard.
Yes, Liu Yan came out of nowhere and defeated the arrogant Manchu Qing Dynasty until the country was almost destroyed. Who is willing to raise the flag and become a traitor now?
But does the Zu family still have a way out?
Not long ago, various news about the Ming Dynasty spread into the Qing Dynasty along with the materials sold by Shanxi merchants. Plus the Manchu and Qing Dynasties
Due to the meticulous work done all over the Ming Dynasty and the "efforts" of unscrupulous merchants everywhere, the top management of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties also knew about the major events that happened within the Ming Dynasty during this period.
Liu Yan served as the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty cabinet and began to implement the new reform policy in a drastic way.
Hong Chengchou defeated Xinzhou and surrendered to Li Zicheng together with Wu Sangui. The chief soldiers of several towns in the Ming Dynasty died in battle, and more than 100,000 elite troops were wiped out.
Even the top management of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties knew about the turmoil in Beijing.
In particular, Wu Sangui surrendered to Li Zicheng, which was the most fatal for Zu Dashou. There was no place for the Zu family and the Wu family in the Ming Dynasty, and Zu Dashou's family had no chance to look back.
"well!"
Zu Dashou pointed to the house in the city and said to the people around him: "Let that woman go!"
"嗻!"
Soon, the woman was released in disheveled clothes. Zu Dashou also took his servants outside the house and reprimanded the leader in public.
"Hey, Master, this is also a summons for your servants. Your Majesty has set a time limit. If Master fails to rebuild the Zhenglan Banner of the Han Army by then, how will Master handle the task?"
Zu Dashou said coldly: "How can I do this? I still need to report to you, a slave?"
"Ouch!"
The leader hurriedly knelt on the ground, kowtowed and said, "I don't dare, I'm just loyal!"
"Palm mouth!"
"Yes, Zhang Zui, I thank my master for the reward!"
Then the man who was urging him started slapping himself in the mouth. Zu Dashou didn't bother to pay attention anymore, so he went over to comfort the woman, but saw that the woman's originally dull eyes suddenly became sharp, and then she suddenly stood up and rushed towards him. He hit the courtyard wall next to him, screamed, and hit his head to death on Zu University.
In front of Shou.
Zu Dashou looked at the dazzling scarlet color of the wall and felt as if something had stabbed him in the heart. He never expected that there would be such staunch Han people in Liaodong, which was occupied by the Manchus.
But then, Zu Dashou felt a chill on the back of his head, and his heart instantly sank to the bottom: Yes, the whip has already grown on his head, there is no turning back!
"Bury them alive and well!"
"嗻!"
Zu Dashou got on his horse with a gloomy expression, and led a large group of servants to the government office in the city. After entering the government office, Zu Dale and Zuk Fa greeted them.
"Haha, big brother!"
"Father!"
When Zu Dashou saw the two of them, he didn't look good and said in a cold voice: "Why are you here if you don't go and recruit Dingkou of your respective banners?"
According to Dorgon's deployment, areas were delineated for each banner of the Han army. Gushan'er of each banner of the Han army could only recruit Dingkou to carry the flag in a fixed area to prevent the Han army's banners from competing with each other for population. Cause unnecessary trouble.
Zu Dale said with a smile: "Don't worry, brother, our Han army has almost completed the task of setting up the white flag. Meile'er, the left and right of the flag, will take care of the rest."
Zu Kefa also said: "Father, our Han army is the same with the red flag. We have almost recruited as many troops as Dingkou."
As the three of them talked, they walked to the main hall, but Zu Dashou still had a bad expression and said, "Then you shouldn't come to see me either!"
"Brother, what do you mean?"
Zu Dale was puzzled, and then said with a hint of sadness: "Our ancestral family changed its family to the Qing Dynasty. Now it is in charge of the three banners of the Han army. It is considered to be extremely powerful. I guess there must be someone under Zerun Spring.
You know, you can rest in peace! "
When Zu Zerun, his son, was mentioned, Zu Dashou also felt sad. Then he softened his tone, asked Zu Dalue and Zu Kefa to sit down, and said: "It is precisely because our ancestors control three of the eight banners of the Han army, it is too late." It’s conspicuous, so we should be careful at all times and think about avoiding suspicion at all times!”
"The Qing Dynasty is not the Ming Dynasty. Even if we are in the Qing Dynasty, no matter how prominent our status is, our family is still a slave. Do you understand? To be a slave, you must have the consciousness to be a slave. Don't think that you are still a general in the Ming Dynasty and can no longer support the army. Putting self-respect and family first will lead to genocide!"
After listening to Zu Dashou's words, Zu Dale and Zukefa's expressions suddenly changed. At this moment, they realized that what they did was wrong.
"well!"
Zu Dashou sighed and said: "Forget it, you are all here anyway, and then they said that we are discussing the establishment of flag soldiers, and we should report it to the masters of each flag. This matter cannot be concealed, so as not to cause trouble. "
"yes."
Zu Dale and Zu Kefa looked at each other and thought to themselves: "Being an official in the Qing Dynasty is indeed different from that in the Ming Dynasty!"
"Tell me, you guys came together. What's the matter?"
Zu Dale said: "Brother, Your Majesty asked us to rebuild the banners of the Han army this time. He only gave each banner the number of oxen and did not stipulate specific troop quotas. How will the training among our banners be carried out?"
Zukefa also came over and said, "Father, I thought we could prepare more cavalry and heavy armor, coupled with firearms. What do you think, Father?"
Zu Dashou thought for a while and said: "I see that your Majesty has changed his mind. The banners of the Han army should mainly use firearms."
, just like Liu Yan's new army. So after you go back, you need to train more gunners and gunners, do you understand? "
Zu Dale and Zuk Fa were both stunned, and then asked: "But did the Qing Dynasty have so many firearms?"
"It doesn't exist now, but with the power of the Qing Dynasty and the whole country, it can definitely be built on a large scale."
Zu Dashou said: "Liu Yan only owned a corner of Shandong. At the beginning, he only had a corner of Lingshan Guard. Didn't he also train an army of hundreds of thousands of elite firearms? The Qing Dynasty was rich in Liaodong, and there were Shanxi merchants. As long as we have His Majesty’s support, it is not difficult to build sophisticated firearms on a large scale.”
Zu Dale sighed: "If this is really the case, then our abilities will be useless."
Zukofa also said, "Yes, when we fight with firearms as the main weapon, the various skills on the battlefield will also change drastically. It seems that we have to start from scratch."
Seeing the two sighing, Zu Dashou said: "Yes, in my opinion, the future will be a three-legged situation: the Ming Dynasty led by Liu Yan, Li Zicheng's million-strong army, and our Qing Dynasty. These three parties are fighting in the world. Firearms As the key point, we must also change in time, otherwise we will be defeated and die!"
Zu Dale said with a smile: "Haha, brother said so, then we really have to follow His Majesty to make changes. After I go back, I will look for some military books on firearms to read."
Zukefa said: "I wonder how many troops your Majesty will give to each of our banners?"
Zu Dashou said: "Don't think about these things. You two should rush back now, and then give them to you as soon as possible."
Their respective masters will write a note explaining today's situation, and don't hide it. "
Zu Dalue and Zu Kefa bowed and left at the same time.
Just as the banners of the Han army were arresting people and raising their flags with great fanfare, outside Zhangjiakou City, a huge caravan slowly headed north and rushed towards the exit along the trade road.
In the caravan, in addition to more than two hundred large vehicles and dozens of pack horses, there was also a four-wheeled carriage. A man wearing gorgeous satin clothes was sitting on the carriage and was looking through the caravan's cargo list.
"Huh? There is so much iron, charcoal and sulfur in this cargo?"
"Haha, yes, Mr. Fan, the demand outside the customs has suddenly changed, from food, iron, and medicine to iron, charcoal, and sulfur, and the price is also considerable, 20% higher than the market price!"
This gorgeously dressed man is Fan Yongdou, the head of the Fan family among Shanxi merchants.
"Twenty percent higher?"
Fan Yongdou said with a smile: "Okay, it seems that I came at the right time this time. This year is another good harvest year!"
