Chapter 043 Vice General Cao Jiang
Chen Cao spent nearly twenty days returning from Shandong. Although there were some minor incidents on the way back, the overall impact was not significant.
On the fifth day of April, a big event was widely spread on the ground in Jinling.
"Have you heard? A big hole was blown out of the wall of Yan Shenggong's house. The wall on one side of the main gate collapsed, and someone even poured excrement on it."
"Hey... who dared to take action against Yan Shenggong's family after eating the ambitious leopard?"
"Hey, what's your news?" A man dressed as a wealthy businessman said: "A certain family has just come from Yanzhou to do business. I'm afraid you don't know that what was reported in Qufu was caused by thunder. The reason is Yanzhou." Someone in the Holy Duke’s family behaved badly and was punished by God.”
"Oh..."
Chen Cao was watching the finished cans in the workshop. Xin Zhao came quickly and whispered in Chen Cao's ear: "Sir, Shandong Tiqi is back."
Chen Cao put down his things and walked out of the workshop door. A dusty man saluted Chen Cao: "Sir, the matter has been settled. Now the news has spread across Yanzhou, but Qufu has submitted a memorial to the capital. The emperor When he found out, he was furious and ordered Beizhen Fusi to investigate the murderer."
"What did you do?" Chen Cao frowned. Logically speaking, his plan would not cause such a big fuss.
Xin Zhao touched his head in embarrassment and said with a smile: "Hey, my subordinates placed gunpowder according to your instructions, and then poured excrement on their wall."
"Fuck you," Chen Cao kicked him after hearing this: "You bastard, did you fuck with shit?"
Xin Zhao didn't dare to hide, he just slapped his butt and giggled: "I don't think I'll be disgusted by these gentlemen."
call...
Chen Cao let out a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, I gave you 10,000 taels of silver. Xu Xianchun will definitely turn a blind eye even if he gets so many benefits from me. Let's just forget about it. From now on, without my instructions, he will turn a blind eye." If you throw excrement randomly again, I will definitely kick you into that cesspool."
Zhao Xin was laughing and answering when Xu Kai first came over and said, "Sir, someone from the Duke of Wei's mansion is here. Please come and see me."
Chen Cao has not visited the Duke of Wei for a long time, but he has never failed to follow the proper etiquette.
Xu Hongji asked someone to hand over the official document to Chen Cao, and then said with a serious expression: "Yaozhong, the official document issued by Si Ming, the general affairs envoy, appoints you as deputy general Cao Jiang. You also know that my position as admiral Cao Jiang is just a false position. From now on, From now on, I will leave the job of Jiang Navy to you, you must do it well and don’t let me, the Duke of Wei, lose the face."
Chen Cao felt a little trembling in his heart and quickly knelt down and saluted: "My disciple will definitely not disgrace the reputation of the Duke's mansion. Thank you for your promotion."
Xu Hongji smiled and said: "Take good care of the Navy. Our future plans to make money will depend on you."
Chen Cao saluted again: "Please don't worry, sir..."
...
Chen Cao walked out of the gate of the Duke's Mansion proudly, and Zhao Xin also had a smile on his face: "Sir, what's the good news?"
Chen Cao handed the official document to Zhao Xin. Zhao Xin looked at it and said, "Congratulations, sir."
"Xin Zhao, did the person you were asked to find last time be Cao Jiang Navy?" Chen Cao asked.
Zhao Xin was stunned, and it took him a long time to realize: "Brothers Chen Maoxiu and Chen Yongsu were promoted to Caojiang Navy three months after the Lord ordered it. They went home to visit relatives during the Chinese New Year this year and only returned last month. Deng Guang was transferred from Poyang Lake Navy Ping Tiao, I am currently resting."
Chen Cao nodded: "After resting for so long, the three sea ships have been built, and it's time for them to train. By the way, send people to Daqushan Island and ask Zhao Tianlin to come back with the fleet and tell him that he will make great contributions. The opportunity has come.”
"yes..."
...
Inside Shen Kee Grocery Store
Shen Zhuangling was fastening Chen Cao's belt: "Sir, why do you always like to come from behind... You are still on the table and chair in the lobby. If the servants see it, how can the slave family see people..." She blushed as she spoke .
Chen Cao said with a serious face: "Don't worry. If you don't do this anymore in the future, I'll tell the Duke of Guizhou and let you serve me in my house. How about that?"
Shen Zhuangling moved her legs awkwardly, causing the filth to flow out completely, and then said: "My lord, you are really joking. As an lord, I am committed to you now, but I will have to rely on you in the future..."
Shen Zhuangling was at the age where Chen Cao was the best. He pinched Shen Zhuangling's butt and said seriously, "How is it? Is the thing I asked you to find found?"
"Yes..." Shen Zhuangling smiled charmingly: "Some daimyo in the Japanese country have grown that. They call it 'yellow pearl rice', not the 'corn' you mentioned."
"How much did you get back?" Chen Cao asked.
Shen Zhuangling didn't know if she had been single in Jinling for a long time. Ever since she was forced to have sex from behind by Chen Cao last time, she seemed particularly enthusiastic when she saw Chen Cao. She immediately blushed and said, "The slave family bought a boatload of porcelain tubes for them, and then brought them back." It's parked at Longjiang Ferry, but if you want to take away that boatload of things, you must have a condition."
Do you dare to negotiate terms with me?
Chen Cao was a little unhappy and asked, "Speak..."
Shen Zhuangling leaned into Chen Cao's ear and gasped: "The slave family still wants to..."
When Chen Cao left Shen Ji's shop, he was helped into the car by Zhao Xin. He felt so tired for the first time. Zhao Xin laughed and said: "Sir, a woman in her thirties is like a wolf like a tiger. You should take it easy in the future..."
"Bastard thing..." Chen Cao felt weak: "Go to Longjiang Ferry, unload all the things on Shen Ji's cargo ship, transport them back to the military camp, and then instruct Bei Tianhua to arrange for the military remnants to take all the things Dry it and plant it before the end of the year.”
"It's my lord..."
...
"Caojiang Navy's camp is in Longtan. It has two guards and a thousand-household camp. The warships currently include eight building ships, one eight-hundred-ton sea-going ship, and other ships, totaling more than one hundred ships. However, most of them are old. Disrepair can be ignored;
However, since the Duke of Wei took control of Cao Jiang, Cao Jiang's navy currently has only 5,600 soldiers." Zhao Xin rode on his horse and said carefully to Chen Cao: "Sir, Duke Wei still cares about those small coins. "
Chen Cao turned to look at Zhao Xin, and then said with a smile: "There are 5,600 taels for the 5,600 people that year. Don't you want the money that came out of thin air?" He also said worriedly: "I still have it. I’ve never been to Caojiang Navy, so I don’t know the details, so I’ll take a look first before talking about it.”
Longtan is about twenty miles away from Jinling City, and within half an hour of riding, the navy officers and soldiers who had already received the news were already waiting in line outside the camp gate.
In addition to Xu Hongji being the admiral, the original Caojiang Navy officer was actually in charge of a Qianhu officer. However, because of the arrival of Chen Maoxiu, this Qianhu officer was moved to another place by Xu Hongji. The actual leader is Chen Cao.
"The last general, Chen Maoxiu, has met the general..." Chen Maoxiu and his younger brother are both young people in their twenties. Because they are the descendants of Chen Lin and have a military background, they seem to have quite a military demeanor.
Chen Cao had too many official positions. Only those who reached the level of guerrilla general in the Ming army could call themselves "general", and others could also call him "general". However, Chen Cao still liked others to call him "sir".
"Chen Qianhu, you're welcome. From now on, you don't need to call me general in the camp. I'll just call you 'sir'."
"The last general takes orders."
Chen Cao walked into the naval camp under the leadership of Chen Maoxiu. He was used to seeing the concrete barracks in the Youwei camp. The naval barracks he saw now could not be described with other words except "shabby". describe.
"Chen Qianhu, we are the same family. Last year I tried my best to transfer you to the Jiang Navy. You don't think I'm joking with you, do you?" Chen Cao turned around and stopped. He really didn't want to go inside anymore. , the muddy ground had stained his boots.
Chen Maoxiu cupped his fists and said with a smile: "My lord, my lord has won many battles in Liaodong and Zhejiang. It would be an honor for the general to make you think of transferring the navy."
"In that case, let's beat the drum and gather together, I want to lecture you."
The Dianjiang Platform is located next to the ferry. It is a military restricted area and no people pass by. Standing on the Dianjiang Platform, you can see the naval warships in the Yangtze River waterway in the distance.
Chen Cao cleared his throat and took the homemade trumpet from Xin Zhao: "Soldiers, this general is Chen Cao, the new deputy general of Cao Jiang. From now on, you will follow me, Chen Cao, and I will ensure that you live a prosperous life."
After Chen Cao finished speaking, he didn't say a word below. After a closer look, he saw that everyone was lazily and unseemly. Chen Maoxiu said: "Sir, please calm down. The last general was like this when he came here. All his soldiers followed him. It’s so noisy, adults should know that some of them haven’t received military pay for four months.”
"How many kickbacks have you received?" Chen Cao couldn't help but ask.
Chen Maoxiu quickly explained: "Your Majesty, after the end of the year, the Nanjing Ministry of War will allocate only 3,000 taels of silver to the Navy. After the official schools at all levels have received it, there will be very few left. Even the junior generals have not received money for two months. .”
Chen Yongsu, who was standing on the side, interjected: "Your Excellency, I know that the families of the low-ranking officials have some extra money and can be self-sufficient, but the soldiers under their command do not, so my brother and I both distributed the money and food we received to our own troops. .”
Deng Guang was nominated by Chen Cao. Although he was just an inspection officer before, he is now also an official of Baihu: "Sir, my humble position proves that what Chen Qianhu and others said are true."
Chen Cao couldn't help but sigh, turned around and looked at Zhao Xin for a few times, and then shook his head. The Duke of Wei must know this. Xu Hongji must have done this because he felt that he would not be able to afford Jiang Navy's money in the future, so he had been doing this since the end of last year. After starting to eat the blood of these soldiers, I thought this guy was not a good person.
"Chen Qianhu, I have decided to reorganize the Caojiang Navy and fully staff it. If the Ministry of War cannot provide it, I, Chen Cao, will pay for it myself." Chen Cao frowned, then picked up the trumpet, and continued: "I will take over Cao Jiang's position. The Jiang Navy is to vigorously develop the Navy. You are all veterans of the Navy. Some of you have even been sailors for generations. I am not willing to expel you all. Of course, the national and dynasty systems are there. You even Some are not willing to serve as soldiers at all, thinking that being a soldier is better than going home and farming to make their family's life more prosperous."
"What the general is saying is," a bold veteran Youzi interjected: "If the imperial court had not stipulated that military status can only be a soldier, who would be willing to be such a useless soldier."
"Bastard..." the leader of the team, Baihuguan, reprimanded loudly.
Chen Cao said: "Don't rebuke him. I'm new here. I just want to listen to your opinions. If you have any ideas, please speak out boldly."
"General, I haven't received military pay for four months." Another veteran, Youzi, shouted.
"General, the last time I came back from Shandong with the Nanjing Youwei, I found that all the soldiers on the Youwei had red faces and were well fed. Will our navy have any in the future?"
"General..."
"General..."
Noisy shouting started from below. Chen Cao listened to it for a while, and then asked people to stop talking. Then he raised the loudspeaker and said: "I understand, and your needs are generally clear. Let's do it. I will." Let’s talk about the rules for how we operate the Jiang Navy from now on;
First, in our naval officers’ schools, ordinary soldiers are paid two coins per month, three coins for small flags, five coins for general flags, eight coins per 100 households, one tael per 100 households, one tael per 100 taels per month, and one tael per 100 households. Two taels for a thousand households, five taels for a thousand households;
Second, from now on, you will have three meals a day, and you can have meat at noon and dinner. The daily food standard for each person is set at fifty cents, so that you can eat and drink enough;
Third, all wages will be paid out on a monthly basis from now on, and I will never treat you badly. Tomorrow Japan will order people to send money and food to the camp, and I will first pay you the wages owed to you according to the previous standards. "
As soon as he finished speaking, the audience started shouting like a tsunami. Thousands of households in each team took the scabbards and beat them one by one to control the situation. It took a long time to calm down.
Chen Cao continued: "Your salary and food are based on my right guard in Nanjing, but don't be too happy. The full strength of the navy is two guards plus a thousand-household unit, which is twelve thousand and three." Baidu people, but now there are only 5,600 people. Therefore, there will be recruitment, but all of you present must undergo systematic training. If anyone fails the training, they will have to be eliminated, which means that you will no longer be qualified. You can’t enjoy those benefits either.”
...
Chen Cao did not return home until late at night. The first thing he did was to find Zhang Chunyao to do business with him and relax himself. It was Xu Kaixian who sent the official document. Chen Cao had no choice but to get dressed and go to the study to meet Xu Kaixian.
"Sir," Xu Kaixian opened the official document and handed it over: "This is news from the capital. Xu Xianchun has taken over as the commander of the Jinyi Guards. Luo Sigong has retired, and Luo Yangxing has been promoted to commander and is in charge of the Tianjin Yamen."
"Is there any news from the capital?" Chen Cao looked through it carefully.
"There are many, my subordinates will pick some important ones to talk about," Xu Kaixian handed over: "First is Liaodong. Jianlu broke through the Yizhou Guards last month. The bandit leader Nurhachi has already stationed troops under the city of Guangning. In the battle of Yizhou, the imperial court lost 60,000 people. Men and horses, the governor Sun Chengzong can only stick to Guangning now, and the Mongolian side is also ready to make a move, especially the three guards of Duoyan. You don't know, but according to the information given by Beizhen Fusi, after the emperor learned that Yizhou had fallen, he took his chief assistant Ye Xiang Gao burst into tears and asked for advice, and many people in the cabinet also cried."
Chen Cao frowned: "Did you mention me here?"
"I mentioned it," Xu Kaixian nodded: "But I was reminded by Eunuch Wei that your Majesty remembered that you were making money for them in Nanzhili, so I will not allow you to act for the time being during the court meeting. But..."
"But what?"
Xu Kaixian said in embarrassment: "There was news over there that Ye Xianggao agreed to the request of the King of Liaodong Manager in Jin and asked the emperor to allocate 930,000 taels of silver to build various fortresses from Guangning to Shanhaiguan to prevent the built captives. The emperor also agreed. Yes, two hundred thousand taels of internal money have been given to Wang Zaijin." After that, he stared at Chen Cao and said, "Eunuch Wei sent someone to send a message, asking your Excellency to think of a way..."
Boom...
Chen Cao slapped it on the table: "This castrated dog, he can't make up his mind. Even if the money is spent in Liaodong, most of it will also fall into the hands of those officials, bastards."
Xu Kaixian saw Chen Cao getting angry and said casually: "My subordinates also thought so, so Yuan Chonghuan, the military officer who supervises the army in Liaodong, strongly opposed the construction of Shanhaiguan. He privately reported to the cabinet to request that the construction of Balipu Pass in Shanhaiguan be stopped and the money It is used to build Ningyuan City and strengthen the war preparedness from Ningyuan to Guangning."
"Who?" Chen Cao raised his eyebrows as he heard a familiar name.
Xu Kaixian thought he had said something wrong, so he whispered: "Yuan Chonghuan, a minister of the Ministry of War."
"Is he the thief?" Chen Cao couldn't help but cursed, and then shook his head: "It seems that I can't do anything unless I take action. If Liaodong falls into the hands of this scholar, the bad will only get worse. That guy is Shao Wu. How can a county magistrate take on the overall situation of Liaodong?"
"Your Excellency, do you know the details of Yuan Chonghuan?" Xu Kaixian raised his eyebrows: "Your Excellency, you are right. If Jiang Ricai had not reported to Yuan Chonghuan, he would not have been able to go to Liaodong. For this matter, Wang Zaijin was already very dissatisfied with his behavior, and both sides were a bit dirty. , Supervisor Sun Chengzong even went to mediate in person."
"Yuan Chonghuan is not a good guy. He recommended himself to Liaodong. He will definitely have a conflict with Wang Zaijin. Otherwise, how could he use his fists in Liaodong?" Chen Cao said with a cold face: "This person likes to take risks. He is a small person to be a county magistrate. What a joke, the reason why he recommended himself is because this guy wants to make a great contribution and become the chief minister of the cabinet..."
"How do you know Yuan Chonghuan so well?" Xu Kaixian was a little curious.
Chen Cao not only understands him, but anyone who likes to read novels about the late Ming Dynasty doesn’t know Yuan Chonghuan?
Chen Cao said: "Send someone to monitor Yuan Chonghuan closely. If you have any news, you must report it to me."
"Yes," Xu Kai responded first, and then said: "Sir, where is Eunuch Wei?"
"Hmph..." Chen Cao snorted coldly: "Send someone to reply, and the remaining money will be sent in three months."
"yes..."
After Xu Kaixian left, Chen Cao simply stayed in the study room and was worried all night.
He got up early the next morning and went to the military camp, waiting for Zhao Tianlin to see him.
"The appointments in the navy will be repeated and divided into the left and right wings; Chen Maoxiu will be appointed as the commander of the left-wing battalion; Chen Yongsu will be the commander-in-chief of the left-wing battalion; Zhao Tianlin will be the commander-in-chief of the right-wing battalion, and Deng Guang will be the commander-in-chief of the right-wing battalion."
Chen Cao told Zhao Tianlin about the appointment of the Navy's official school in front of Zhao Tianlin. Zhao Tianlin was very excited when he heard that Chen Cao had not lied to himself before, but he had really turned into an official.
"I will thank you for your promotion." Zhao Tianlin said and knelt down to salute.
Chen Cao nodded: "The future development of the navy will depend on your methods, Chen Maoxiu. I will submit the appointment letter to the Nanjing Ministry of War, and official documents will be issued from time to time. But this is not what I came to you for today. I want to talk about business and let you check it." Are you clear about the matter?"
Zhao Tianlin stood up, and then ordered his men to take out a map, which was a map of the Japanese country: "Sir, please look at the Iwami Ginzan Mountain you mentioned is between the Izumo Kingdom and the Iwami Kingdom, but it is located in the Iwami Country, inside the Japanese Kingdom. We fought for a long time, and finally came under the direct jurisdiction of the Tokugawa family after the Battle of Sekigahara. The silver produced there was sent to overseas countries, and a lot of our Ming Dynasty's silver was produced there."
"How about breaking a stone to see the country?" Chen Cao asked.
"The division is unknown and cannot be fought. Moreover, it is under the direct jurisdiction of the shogunate. If we send troops to fight, we have no chance of winning." Zhao Tianlin shook his head.
"You know the waters around the Japanese country very well. Where do their silver ships go to sea?" Chen Cao looked at the map: "Is Shijian Kingdom right in the middle of it?"
Zhao Tianlin thought for a while: "The silver ships that go out to sea are all commercial ships. If you want to win, you can only do your old job."
"Pirates?" Chen Cao's eyes rolled around. He still had so much money to spend, but he couldn't touch his own money, so he could only think of other ideas: "Okay, but are you sure that within two months? Got one million taels of silver?"
"If there are adults' muskets to help, it should be possible." Zhao Tianlin replied.
Chen Cao said extremely arrogantly: "It's easy to say, I'll give you all the servants, and Cao Jiang Navy's three warships worth 3,000 materials will be given to you, but you have to hide them for me, and you won't be able to survive after the robbery."
"I will finally understand." Zhao Tianlin handed over his hand.
"Also," Chen Cao instructed: "There are still gun positions on the ship, and the firearms factory has fifteen new cannons. I will give them all to you. I will come back in two months to deliver the report."
"Yes..." Zhao Tianlin gestured with his hands and then left with the official document.
"Sir, Zhao Tianlin won't run away with three warships, right?" Zhao Xin was a little worried.
Chen Cao smiled and shook his head: "No, he can't run away with Zhang Fengnian leading the team of servants. This is also his certificate of surrender. By the way, send someone to notify Li Maocai and ask the cement workshop to rest the naval camp first. Things will be dealt with later.”
"yes..."
