Volume 2: The deer is clearly lost, and the whole world chases it away
Chapter 250 Agreed on Suzhou Prefecture
"The steam train was sitting smoothly. It only took a stick of incense to get from Shanghai County to Huating. After arriving there, there were many chasing people along the way. The wind was also cool."
Xin Zhao was telling the attendees about his first experience of taking a train in the lobby of the Yamen. Of course, many of them sat with him, but they were indeed a little more sophisticated than Xin Zhao.
It wasn't until Chen Cao walked into the lobby that the place became quiet.
"How does this steam train make you feel?"
Wang Xiaojie immediately said: "I sat there for a round trip. If this railway track is laid to Shanhaiguan, it will only take three days to reach it. The sergeant has reduced the marching speed, and the combat effectiveness has naturally increased sharply."
All the military generals nodded in agreement with Wang Xiaojie's words. Of course, trains are indeed a good thing for military use.
"It is just a means of transportation, but it cannot stop soldiers from training. Daily five-mile long-distance running is a necessary training course. Whether it is for military or commercial use, it can greatly speed up the pace;"
Chen Cao said to himself: "For civilian use, charging carriage and horse fees appropriately, as long as the price is right, will definitely make those businessmen flock to use train carriages to pull goods. Not only will the volume increase, but the labor costs of carriages and horses will be reduced in the past, and their income will naturally increase." It has increased, businessmen's income has increased, and business taxes have also increased. This is what we usually call sitting at home and collecting money."
Everyone laughed.
Chen Cao also laughed a few times, and then suddenly became serious: "After all, leaving Songjiang Mansion alone is not a long-term solution. Yunsheng had already discussed a new countermeasure with me before leaving. I believe you all have been impatient for a long time. ”
Chen Cao looked around at everyone sitting at the big round table. They were all his confidants: "Emperor Taizu Wu won the Ming Dynasty because of a series of events caused by the tyranny of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty. But if he waits until the imperial court It may take ten or twenty years to become as corrupted as Mengyuan's. Moreover, many of you here are also old. Wait ten years before starting to conquer the world. After success, it is estimated that this half of the body will not be able to survive. Once you have entered the loess, you will feel helpless even when you enjoy the glory and wealth."
Now that the words have been spoken, everyone here knows the implication of Chen Cao's words. Every warrior is excited and gearing up. There are only a few literati. Huang Chunyao is gone and only a few Xia Yunyi are left. Each one has his or her own agenda. thought.
Fortunately, Sun Chuanting was not present. Otherwise, if he heard that Chen Cao actually showed his preparations for rebellion in front of so many people, he would definitely add insult to injury. Maybe the guy would inform the court in advance.
Only Man Gui, after understanding what Chen Cao said, his brows twisted into the Chinese character "Sichuan". After coming to Songjiang for so long, he also saw Chen Cao's methods of governing the world. Besides sighing that the country has such a great talent, he felt more in his heart. Still worried about his reputation.
He made his fortune from Sun Chengzong's side. After the first battle of Guangning, he was recruited by Chen Cao to join the Dingwu Army, but the establishment was always under Wang Xiaojie's command.
But from the perspective of the official system of the Ming Dynasty, Mangui belonged to the eunuch party in disguise and became successful from the eunuch party. Otherwise, he would not be able to sit in the position of Jinzhou General Soldier.
"Why, does Mangui have any doubts?"
Hearing Chen Cao read his name, Mangui quickly came to his senses: "The general is just worried."
"I am worried that the Ming Dynasty is vast and rich all over the world. I am worried that if it rebels, it will be reviled by the people all over the world. I am worried that what will happen if the rebellion fails?"
Chen Cao spoke out all the doubts in Man Gui's heart without mercy, and without waiting for Man Gui's response, he said seriously: "I have said that everyone in this world can have it, but the Zhu family cannot." Keep doing it, I, Chen Cao, will not change the name of the country until tomorrow. The Ming Dynasty will still be the Ming Dynasty. What I want to change is the legacy system left by the Confucius that has been implemented for more than a thousand years. I want to make the Ming Dynasty complete. All the people in the world should live the life of the people in Songjiang Prefecture, and everyone in the world should be able to participate in the political governance of the Ming Dynasty."
This is such a grand wish. Of course, for Chen Cao, this is not a wish, but a goal.
Mangui was deeply touched after hearing this. He had endured the bitter cold at the border for a long time in Liaodong. After arriving in Songjiang, under the implementation of the New Deal, he found that the people were living better than before, and they worked harder in farming. Even after the implementation of the New Deal, Heavy taxes on business have been imposed, but business has not decreased, but has increased.
This shows what?
"I will be ashamed..."
Except for a few people who have Man Gui's thoughts, no one else has a good impression of the Ming Dynasty, especially the emperor of the Zhu family. The officer with a pariah background even wanted to kill all the royal family members of the Zhu family with his own hands for unknown reasons. Neither he nor they have any sense of identity with Emperor Zhu Ming.
Because starting from Zhu Yuanzhang, the Zhu family did not regard millions of untouchables as subjects of the Ming Dynasty. They were even worse than beggars in the local area.
This is also the reason why Chen Cao only used untouchables from the beginning, because they all knew that once they rebelled, there was only one way, and there was no such thing as recruiting peace or surrender, the only option was to fight to the death.
From the right guards of Nanjing to the current Dingwu Army, most of the untouchables are the backbone and the refugees are the backbone, which makes the Dingwu Army never lose in every battle. This is also the response of the generals who were born in the Dingwu Army to the rebellion. Such urgent reasons.
The Ming Dynasty was so bad that even the bravest frontier troops were no more than a match under the attack of flintlock muskets, let alone the already rotten garrison troops.
This concept was formed because Huang Degong and Lou Xingye of the guard regiment used a group of troops to completely wipe out Xuande Hou Jin Yuzheng's Beijing camp. After that battle, the guards troops were like children in the eyes of the Dingwu Army.
As Chen Cao's second-in-command and confidant, Song Che immediately said: "Could it be that the first step is to conquer Suzhou?"
"Hahaha..."
Chen Cao raised his head and laughed, then nodded: "Shi Xiu is right. The first step is to capture Suzhou. Only by owning Suzhou and Song Dynasty can we have the capital to attack Nanjing."
Hearing this, everyone became serious. What Chen Cao was about to say was no joke.
"According to the report, the total number of troops in Suzhou is more than 30,000. There are salt guards patrolling the salt road around Suzhou Fucheng, soldiers from Su Song's governor's yamen, and soldiers from Su Song's general yamen. In addition, Suzhou's Fucheng The total strength of each inspection department is about 20,000."
Chen Cao passed on the detailed defense plan and asked Xin Zhao to send it to them one by one for viewing.
"Suzhou Prefecture's defense is not high. I have studied it carefully and roughly decided on two routes;"
Zhao Xin took advantage of the situation and spread the carefully drawn map of Suzhou and Song on the big round table. Chen Cao took the extended version of the teaching stick and tapped it on the map: "The first is to start from Qingpu and go straight to the capital of Suzhou. The second is From Jiading;
Jiading has more than 2,000 soldiers from General Su Song's Yamen, led by a guerrilla general. Starting from Qingpu, we only need to deal with the inspection department along the way. These people are like mustard grass and are not to be feared. . "
Obviously, if you set out from Qingpu, it will be a great achievement. You can reach the Suzhou city without any bloodshed. Although the two thousand soldiers may sound a bit exaggerated, their nature is no different from that of the guards. The difference is that there are some differences along the way to Jiading. waste time.
Everyone has one thought, that is, from now on it is time to start competing for credit.
It's just that Chen Cao has a strict order that his subordinates are not allowed to compete for credit. It has been implemented in the army for several years. No one dares to break this system. Therefore, when Chen Cao looked at them, their faces turned red.
"Capturing Suzhou is like harvesting crops in your own fields. It's easy to capture, so don't think about your first military exploits. The Ming Dynasty is so big, and there will be inexhaustible contributions in the future, so why worry?"
Chen Cao planned to set the tone right from the beginning, so as to prevent the various generals from developing dirty psychology, making his camp not monolithic, and eventually being corroded by people with ulterior motives.
"There are some beginnings along the way from Jiading, so I decided to focus on the New Army Longwu Army. Starting from Qingpu seems simple, but in fact it is all the way to Suzhou City. Although there are no obstacles on the way, the final key node is still in Suzhou City. , so the Dingwu Army is still the main force."
No matter what, as long as you can participate in the attack on Suzhou, it will be a credit. Song Che didn't take it seriously. When Tang Yannian heard that the Dingwu Army had a share, he immediately handed it over with a smile: "Please don't worry, sir, the general will definitely be the first to get there." Suzhou."
The commander-in-chief of the Longwu Army is his brother Tang Kainian. Although he was transferred to the new army as the commander-in-chief, the momentum of the war has not diminished at all: "Please make it clear, sir, that the last general and the Manchu generals rushed straight after Jiading was captured." Heading to Suzhou or attacking the coastal defense posts along the way?"
"Asking questions knowingly,"
Chen Cao's stick immediately moved towards the seaside: "The hard work is along the Jiading road. The new army must see blood after training. After Jiading is captured, the Zhenhai guards must attack and plunder. It will be fine if they surrender. Also, the defenses along the coast must be No one can stay in the Qianhu Station. As for Chongming Sandbank and other places, the free navy will go there, so you don’t have to worry."
"My lord, please tell me, what should I do if there are troops who surrender to the Guard?"
Mangui didn't want to kill his own people, especially those guard troops who were like chickens.
"All troops who surrender will be disarmed. Any remaining troops from the guard station will be dismissed on the spot." Chen Cao tapped his index finger on the table and said coldly: "The combat effectiveness of the guard station army is worrying. Even if we capture them, it will be just a waste." They are causing trouble for the new army. Moreover, these people are all veterans, so it is absolutely impossible to expect them to fight. As for the officers of more than 100 households in the garrison, they will be temporarily guarded and the best will be selected to join the five armies after screening."
Chen Cao's words are not unreasonable. These guards who are accustomed to farming all year round are not as good as new recruits. They are afraid of death in battle, and they are even more afraid of bullying and bullying.
