Chapter 228 The smoke rises and the country is shaken III
"Cui Butang, I'm sure he's from Xifengkou, but I don't know specifically whether he's a Mongolian or a Jiannu..."
Cui Chengxiu frowned and looked in front of him, and then felt his scalp numb. No matter who came from Xifengkou this time, he felt that he, the Minister of the Ministry of War, had done something wrong. According to Emperor Chongzhen's urine, he would never be able to escape the reckoning after the fall. dropped.
The guard of Dongzhimen bowed: "Cui Butang, this matter is of great importance. I think it is best to inform your majesty as soon as possible. If the invading enemy is just to plunder the border, forget it. If he comes straight to the capital..."
Cui Chengxiu's brows trembled: "What do you mean? Tell me quickly, how long does it take to get from Xifengkou to the capital?"
"It takes less than three days for the horse to fly."
Cui Chengxiu immediately turned around and ran away. He felt that he could not make the decision in this matter.
In the Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army, all the noble officials headed by the British Duke Zhang Weixian were there. Although they did not like Cui Chengxiu, he was still in charge of the Ministry of War.
"There are so many entrances to the Great Wall, why do they come from Xifeng Pass?"
Zhang Weixian frowned: "I learned that the defense at Xifengkou is the weakest..."
"There may be a traitor in our Ming Dynasty." Zhu Yanrong interjected: "It is better to quickly send an order to Zhao Wenhui, the governor of Yingzhou, and ask him to lead his troops to stop it...
I don’t know if it’s too late...”
Cui Chengxiu held up his hands and said: "Dear princes, this matter is of great importance and cannot be decided by my subordinates. I will immediately return to the Ministry of War to listen. I will leave the rest to you. I will take my leave..."
...
Songjiang Prefecture, Shanghai County
The former Imperial Envoy's residence has now been changed to the Liang Duke's Mansion, and it is extremely spacious. Apart from the fact that the building is not overreaching, the scale has exceeded that of the Prince's Mansion, which is just a side effect.
Chen Cao has been living a very comfortable life recently. He basically does business at home. Other than that, he takes his son and daughter fishing on the Huangpu River and watches the training of the Dingwu Army.
"Master,"
Xin Zhao held a large stack of official documents in his hand: "My lord, this is the information that consolidates the army. Please take a look at it;
According to the wishes of the Duke, a new Tianxiong Army was created, with Lu Xiangsheng as the commander-in-chief of the Tianxiong Army, Sun Chuanting as the deputy commander-in-chief, the Xiaoling Guards and the Nanjing Right Guards all reorganized, and the first division and the second division of the Tianxiong Army were formed in addition to new recruits. Division, officials at all levels are making arrangements;
In addition, there is news from Ryukyu that Song Che is already on his way back. "
"What about the situation in Japan?"
Chen Cao flipped through the official document and then closed it: "Ryukyu must not fall into the hands of Japan."
"Don't worry, sir, we have left a reorganized brigade in Ryukyu, and the third division is already on its way back."
Hong Chengchou walked into the Duke's Mansion in small steps and saw Chen Cao and Zhao Xin in the front hall: "My lord, I have something to ask you."
"Hengjiu, what's the matter? Zhao Xin is watching tea..."
"My lord, you're welcome," Hong Chengchou said after he sat down: "My lord, Duke Wei has mobilized 30,000 troops to gather in Jiading County, Suzhou Prefecture. In addition, soldiers and horses from Zhejiang Dusi have also gathered in Jiaxing Prefecture. The leader of the troops is Taizhou General Qi Chang. The old general Guoqi..."
"Are the people in Zhejiang Dusi confused?" Chen Cao frowned: "They don't know that Qi Xianzong and Qi Xianyun are under my command?"
Hong Chengchou took a sip of tea and said, "No, my Ming Dynasty ruled the world with filial piety. I guess they wanted to use Qi Changguo to put pressure on Qi and command them, and then intended to instigate them anyway."
"How dare Duke Wei still have such leisure?" Chen Cao sneered and shook his head: "I guess they don't know the news about the capital or something?"
"Master, should we take the initiative?"
Hong Chengchou handed over his hand and said: "Xiaguan is sure to repel the enemy from Jiaxing."
Hong Chengchou did have a good way of fighting. Besides, Chen Cao didn't expect Qi Xianzong to spar with his father. It was more reliable to use Hong Chengchou, a traitor. Besides, his military strategy in Liaodong was completely correct in history, but it was a pity. It's just that he didn't meet the Ming Master.
"Well, I will assign a division of the Tianxiong Army to you. In this way, let Sun Chuanting go with you to deal with the enemies of Jiaxing. I will leave the command to you. Sun Chuanting will assist you."
"I obey my orders..."
.
Chen Cao and his men strolled through the port of Pudong, looking at the merchant ships and European and American ships passing by. Then he turned to ask Shen Zhuangling behind him: "How is our trade with the Three Kingdoms going?"
Shen Zhuangling: "My arrangements are well made and the transaction is smooth. We made a net profit of five million taels in the first quarter."
"Where's the food?"
“The current level of grain storage and trade has surpassed that of the entire Southern Zhili. Even Southern Zhili’s grain is all purchased from us.
In addition, grain merchants from all over Huguang are now negotiating with us. Their goods can be sold to us, which is much more expensive than selling directly to South Zhili and Northwest China. "
Chen Cao is not a religious man: "Have you seen that businessmen in Guochao have no bottom line? Even people in South Zhili do this, and you still want to increase the enforcement in remote areas?
We are now staying in a corner of Songjiang. If the imperial court blocks us, we will have to rely on our sea trade business. "
"We are gradually monopolizing the trade along the coast of Zhejiang, but the industries of those important officials in the DPRK are still uncooperative."
Chen Cao looked at the warships under construction in the military port belonging to the shipyard in the distance: "Don't cooperate? When Song Che comes back, all the warships will sail to the coast of Zhejiang. Those who don't do business with us will all be robbed. I think they will How much money is available to support losses;
The current business, no matter what, can be as big as you want. Whatever the slaves want, sell it to them at any price. But one thing you need to know is to find Japanese people to trade with them. "
"I know."
"In addition, I have to bring in a large number of talents from Europe and the West. In all aspects, even those who make tables, chairs and benches, I have to find them, especially doctors."
Shen Zhuangling raised her head: "We have so many doctors in the Ming Dynasty, why do we need those wild doctors from Taixi?"
"Wild doctor?" Chen Cao frowned: "What do you mean?"
"The boatman came back and told me that the doctors in the West also delivered babies. Their medical skills are not like our Ming Dynasty, which has been passed down by medical books from past dynasties. They passed it down orally, and then learned it slowly, and sometimes they even killed people..."
"yes..."
Chen Cao immediately remembered one thing at this moment. Even now, the oxytetracycline used by Tang Ruowang and the others is the most primitive antibiotic. It is not that the Ming Dynasty did not know it, but it lost its influence on advanced Western medicine under the influence of traditional Chinese medicine. It is also because In this way, after World War II, traditional Chinese medicine was completely eliminated, and Western medicine was used in all wars. A shot of morphine stopped all pain.
"You reminded me that their doctors also want to find people who like to do research. They want people in any field, and the conditions are all required. Those who like to do research are mentally deficient. They don't care about the country, they just Just work hard on what you like.”
Chen Cao and Shen Zhuangling walked to an unmanned pier in Pudong. Chen Cao felt excited and lifted up Shen Zhuangling's long skirt. She covered her skirt and said coyly: "Master, I'm about to give birth, so I can't have enough fun."
"Why..."
Chen Cao sighed. It was a good idea to do things at the beach, but the key point was that she couldn't: "Okay, give birth well, don't be too tired."
"Sir," Xin Zhao shouted from afar: "There is an urgent document."
The Shanghai County Government Office is now well decorated, at least it is a new Government Office. Of course, it does not go beyond the rules and strictly follows the County Government Office rules.
It's just that the lobby is not like the lobby of an ordinary county government office.
In the middle of the hall, Chen Cao looked at the official document and then asked people to pass it on one by one.
"This Huang Taiji's courage is remarkable. He actually dared to lead 40,000 people into the hinterland of Gyeonggi Province."
"The guards in Yingzhou and the soldiers in Jizhou are really useless. If we count them all together, there are at least 100,000 people. They can't stop this mere 40,000 cavalry."
Huang Chunyao shook his fan: "Haha, sir, Yuan Chonghuan will definitely die this time."
Chen Cao shook his head: "Not necessarily. If Huang Taiji's army has been on the move, judging from the current military preparations in various places in Gyeonggi, it is absolutely impossible to intercept them. Furthermore, King Qin's army in various places wants to To reach the capital, the closest one is Shanhaiguan, and we have to rely on the army under Yuan Chonghuan. Even if someone comes from the direction of Datong, it will take seven days, but Yuan Chonghuan also has the Guan Ning cavalry under Zu Dashou, and it only takes four days for them to arrive in the capital."
"My lord, we can't tell what Zu Dashou's intentions are."
Huang Chunyao frowned: "That guy seems to be acting in a submissive manner."
"I gave him a chance, and it will be up to him to grasp the uncertainty in the future," Chen Cao said seriously: "It is rare that the imperial court issued an official document to me, asking me to lead the army north to King Qin. Everyone, what are you doing? look?"
"According to news from Denglai, this time Yuan Chonghuan came to Beijing to serve as King Qin, and I heard that he asked the imperial court for three million taels of military pay." Xia Yunyi said.
Huang Chunyao then said: "Young Master can also take advantage of this to make a fortune and say that our Dingwu Army has all the firearms and consumes a lot of money. We need a military expenditure of five million taels before we can leave."
"Hmph..." Chen Cao laughed mockingly: "You guys are really hateful, and you have a really good idea, but this excuse is still feasible and is enough to disgust the person who came to deliver the order."
"Master, shall we send out troops?"
"After Jiaxing's heavy troops are transferred, we should still go. According to Jiannu's appetite, they will not just circle around the hinterland of Gyeonggi. It is very likely that they will go to Shandong."
Chen Cao said and looked at the map: "Let's go to make money. The location is in Shandong. As for the target... let's follow Duke Yan and the vassal kings from various places. In short, they are all fat pigs and they are not short of money."
"With the order, all members of the Dingwu Army will be dispatched, take sea ships, and land at Denglai. We will take the official documents from the court and go north to King Qin, and along the way, we will kidnap and sell some good wives to enrich the army."
There were black lines on everyone's brows.
Your Majesty, everything you do is not done by humans.
