Chapter 77 General (2)
He has sent people to post notices in Guangzhou and Qiongzhou, recruiting people who know the inside story of the Kun thief and are familiar with the situation in Lingao. They also found some sailors and traders who had been to Lingao and interrogated the Kun thief for details.
But all these people could tell him was that the Kun thieves had big iron ships and fast boats. The Kun thieves were good at doing business and so on, and were of little use in fighting a war.
As for the fighting strength of the Kun thief, he knew from these people that the opponent "does not wear armor, only uses blunderbuss, the troops are neat, and the discipline is strict." The other thing is the "sharp firearms" rumored outside.
These few words alone are certainly not enough. However, the traders and sailors were not members of the military, and they did not care much about the guns and weapons of the thief. What he said was not exhaustive. Some people were greedy for rewards or intimidated by official power, and some were talking nonsense. There were many self-contradictions, which made him a little confused.
It seems that it is better to find local gentry scholars. How can ordinary foolish men and women solve such a major military and national event? Thinking of this, he asked the staff around him:
"Are there any applicants in Qiongshan and Guangzhou?"
The staff member said: "There are a few, but after a little interrogation by rank, most of them are people who want to advance in vain and offer strategies to defeat the enemy. No one really knows the inside story of the Kun thief."
Back in the camp, the latest Hainan Tong Newspaper, which was transferred at full speed from Zhaoqing, was already placed on the desk. Recently, there has been a great increase in the number of Tangbao people coming from Hainan. He Rubin opened it and saw the latest battle report from Chengmai and Lingao sent by Hainan Branch Patrol.
The first one was about Lingao. Sun Tianbiao of Baihu, the only officer from Houqianhusuo who was under Lingao's inner guard of 5,000hus to escape, had arrived in Zhaoqing and was presented with the details of the fall of Qianhusuo City. According to him, under the supervision of Liu Qianhu, everyone fought hard for six days and nights, but the thieves were still unable to break the city. The city built by Qianhu was "as tall as Mount Tai". However, there were several "traitors" seduced by the thieves in the city. It's difficult to take advantage of a sudden situation when everyone is unprepared. He killed Liu Qianhu and secretly opened the city gate, which led to the fall of the city. The "traitors" also used the arrows and documents seized in the city to open other villages and camps. As a result, the entire army of Houqianhu Station, which was attached to the Hounei Guards, was destroyed.
Because this newspaper was first-hand information, it was much more valuable than hearsay information obtained through careful inquiry. He Rubin read it very carefully.
Then there was the question about the situation of the siege in Lingao. According to Sun Tianbiao who escaped, he heard that the Kun thieves had coerced more than 10,000 local soldiers and civilians to besiege Lingao County, but he didn’t know much about the specific situation. “I only heard the sound of cannons shaking the sky.” , the road is full of thieves and horses.” He himself broke out after "leaving his wife and children behind and forgetting his own life and death".
This is nonsense. He Rubin thought about the contents of the previous Tang newspaper. When Sun Tianbiao fled to Qiongshan, there was no news of the siege in Lingao... It took several days for the emergency messenger from the county to arrive. .
As for the siege of Lingao, there is no specific news except an urgent document sent by the Lingao County Magistrate. After the siege of Chengmai, the post roads were completely interrupted and the news was almost completely interrupted. Once the post road was interrupted, even news from Danzhou and Changhua could not be transmitted. The Tang newspaper had to circle the island in the opposite direction or be delivered to Leizhou before it could be delivered to the capital of Qiongzhou.
"Where is the person who sent the urgent documents to Lingao?"
"The book was sent to Qiongshan, and then transferred to the province by the prefect of Qiongzhou. He is probably in Qiongshan." An aide said, "It has been seven or eight days, and he has probably returned to Lingao early."
He Rubin wished he had asked Tang Yunwen to detain the author. This person can definitely provide a lot of information about the Kun thief.
The second letter is news from Chengmai. He Rubin originally thought that Chengmai must have fallen?? He knew the size of the county towns on Hainan Island. Most of the cities had poor defense facilities and did not have enough artillery. As for the garrison, they were almost non-existent. He expected the "tired old man" in the guard station "Soldiers" to rescue the county is simply wishful thinking. As long as a team of 2,000 to 3,000 people is willing to attack with all their might, it is impossible that they cannot be defeated.
But when I opened the newspaper, it was from Chengmai County. It seems that Chengmai is still in the hands of the government, and external traffic has not been blocked.
Hearing that the Kun thieves called themselves Fubo Army, they deployed about a thousand infantry and artillery troops and dozens of cannons outside the south gate of the stronghold. The thieves and soldiers roared outside the city. A strong group of people in the city bravely went out to fight and killed hundreds of thieves. The enemy's troops are strong and their weapons are sharp, but our troops are slightly defeated. The Kun thieves took advantage of the situation and attacked the south gate. The soldiers and civilians in the city fought to the death. The tower changed hands dozens of times, but the Kun thieves finally collapsed without support. Dozens of the thieves' leaders, big and small, were killed, including three true Kuns. According to the prisoner's confession, among the real Kun killed were one with the fake title of "Director" and one with the fake garrison. The thieves and others risked their lives and snatched the corpse of the thieves. Seeing that the county seat was not settled and thieves wandered around Laohu, the remaining soldiers were divided into four villages to plunder. Many gentry families were in trouble, and thousands of people were taken away to build a stronghold around them. They also bombarded with huge artillery and missiles flew across the city, causing numerous casualties among soldiers and civilians in the city. Houses were burned down, rubble was everywhere, women and children slept outside in the wild, and the sound of howling continued all day long. The situation was too horrific to behold. Those who need to report to the pond
He Rubin breathed a sigh of relief. It seems that Kun Thief's 6 battles were really sparse. The small county town of Chengmai was not captured even though it took thousands of men and so-called "sharp" artillery. No wonder Lingao County has been able to persist for more than three years.
In this way, he became more determined in his strategy of not using the boat division but only the 6th division. He originally wanted to give an order to Tang Yunwen immediately, asking him to immediately assist Chengmai. Tang Yunwen's troops plus the local warriors could dispatch almost 2,000 men. It was only half a day's journey from Chengmai to Qiongshan. There was no need for additional expenditure on departure and food. As long as the Kun bandits could be forced to withdraw from the siege, it would be a small victory. .
He asked people to immediately invite his staff. Discuss the war to aid Cheng.
Of course, his main staff member was not Lu Yizhong. Although Lu Yizhong was quite "knowledge of soldiers", after all, he was sent by the governor and was separated from him by this level. He wants to listen to the opinions of his staff who have a stake in his own interests.
The staff read the Tang newspaper and thought that the bandits must have known that the imperial court was going to encircle and suppress them, so they attacked the county town in all directions. The purpose was just to create a great momentum and make the officers and soldiers feel timid and dare not come to suppress them.
He Rubin smiled and asked, "I intend to mobilize General Tang's troops to rescue Chengmai. What do you gentlemen think?"
The staff believed that Kun Thief's sharp weapons but his ability to attack Lingao and Chengmai showed that he was indeed incompetent in six battles. Tang Yunwen's troops were relatively "good at fighting" among the Ming armies in Guangdong, so sending him to rescue Chengmai would surely pay off.
As long as the Kun thieves besieging Chengmai are driven away, the "war urgings" that were constantly coming from the governor can be buffered. Generally speaking, the opinions of most staff are still "cautious." I don't want the whole army to land on the island early to crusade.
One of the staff members shook his head: "Master Zhentai, most of General Tang's troops are naval forces. Breaking sieges in the field is not his specialty. If you rush to the rescue, if you suffer a setback, your morale may be shaken."
This staff member is called Chang Qingyun, and he is a scholar. He is quite good at economics. Although he has never been an official, he is very familiar with officialdom. He is one of He Rubin's more trusted aides.
He Rubin nodded silently, thinking that although Tang Yunwen's army was said to have 5,000 men, it only had more than 2,000 soldiers. Most of them are navy soldiers who are not used to fighting on foot and don't have many firearms for 6th battle. These troops are also scattered in many prefectures and counties in Hainan. If he wants to rescue Chengmai, he can only use Qiongshan's Xiangyong as the main force.
Although Xiangyong is strong in combat, his morale is greatly reduced after leaving his hometown, and he will only fight desperately if he needs a generous reward. According to what was written in the Tang newspaper, the Kun thieves had built a long siege under Chengmai City and stationed themselves in the camp. The defense must be very tight. When the time comes, the opponent defends the stronghold and fights with powerful weapons, so Tang Yunwen may not be able to take advantage. The officers and soldiers are in a dilemma at the feet of Chengmai.
Thinking of this, he temporarily gave up his plan to let Tang Yunwen send troops to rescue Chengmai. However, if Chengmai falls, Tang Yunwen, as the coastal defense officer in charge of Qiongya 6th Road and other places in Baisha Shuizhai, will bear the greatest responsibility. However, he was both the military chief of Guangdong and the chief general in the expedition against the bandits, so he could not escape the responsibility for the fall of the county.
"In the student's opinion, it is better for Zhentai to immediately issue an order to General Tang Shen and ask him to act appropriately and rescue Chengmai."
All the staff nodded: since it is "", it can also be "camera". It is really clever here. General He has given the order to rescue anyway, and the ball of whether to rescue or not is kicked directly at the feet of General Tang Shen. Even if Chengmai fell, there would be no trace of He Rubin's head... His men and horses from the standard camp had already crossed the sea, so it cannot be said that he refused to save him. This is one; second, even if Chengmai is temporarily lost, once the army gathers together, retaking Chengmai will be just a matter of effort during the march.
"Furthermore, from the student's point of view, the Kun thief has no power to destroy the city." Chang Qingyun said, "If he had the power to destroy the city, why would he need to force the people to build a long and fortified stronghold? This must be the leader of the Kun thief. The plan is to besiege. The Chengmai County Magistrate only needs to guard the city carefully, and he will be able to keep Hecheng safe. The current plan is to order people to sneak into the city and send a letter that the army will come to rescue. The soldiers and civilians of Hecheng will meet when they see it. Defend with all our strength to await the army.”
He Rubin felt that his idea was not a bad one, so he immediately asked a master in charge of the book to process the warrant for Tang Yunwen, and wrote a note in his handwriting asking the officials, gentlemen and people in Chengmai City to stick to it:
It is reported that Chengmai Ling Qiu and the Chengmai city garrison officials and gentry all learned that this town has been defeated and the pro-reunion troops are rushing to help, and they hope to hold on untiringly until the siege is lifted.
There is no date written below, only his payment.
After thinking about it, he wrote the same second note, but the first paragraph changed to: "Zhilin Gao ordered Wu and Chengmai to guard the city officials and gentry."
After writing, he sent an order to select two elite soldiers from the army who knew the Qiongshan dialect. Each of them was rewarded with twenty taels of silver, and they were immediately sent across the sea with the two letters.
After doing these two things, He Rubin felt a little more relaxed. Thinking that it was because Lu Yizhong kept urging the troops to cross the Biao camp across the sea, it gave him a chance to make a mistake.
He smiled and asked everyone: "In this sea-crossing expedition, we don't know much about the details of the Kun bandits. I have brought 20,000 troops. Excluding empty positions, old and weak, the number of capable soldiers is only more than 10,000. I wonder if I can fight with them." A fight between Kun and Thieves?"
Everyone couldn't help but flatter him again, saying things like "when the army arrives, cleanse away the ugly ones", "defeat them in a big way", "show their military might" and so on. Half of them are flattering words, but half of them are the real thoughts of his staff. In their view, the Kun thieves are just relying on their uncanny skills and powerful firearms. If they really want to put up a majestic formation for field battles, it is definitely not the case. The opponent of the imperial army. So no one doubted the outcome of the war.
One of the staff members said that although there was no need to worry about thieves, the ship was strong and the guns were powerful, and tens of thousands of "Fujian and Guangdong traitors" were gathered. The officers and soldiers still know very little about the details of the Kun thieves, and they don't even know the name of the Kun thieves leader.
The only sources of information for the government were newspapers and various market rumors.
"Iron ships can float on the sea, and fast ships can do without oars. Wouldn't this make them a monster?" He Rubin had always not believed this. He only believed it after receiving Tang Yunwen's report. However, the general wanted to shirk the situation. Responsibility or advocating military exploits and exaggerating the enemy's situation are common things.
"It is said that if you know yourself and the enemy, you can fight a hundred battles without danger. Although our army knows itself, it does not know the enemy." Chang Qingyun sighed.
"That Sun Tianbiao escaped from Lingao, so he must know a lot about the Kun thieves. Why not bring him to the front of the army to listen to him?" an aide suggested.
"What you said is absolutely true." He Rubin nodded. Sun Tianbiao had escaped from Lingao and was an officer. He must know a lot about the situation. With him listening in front of the account, he would be able to get a lot of useful information. "I will ask the Commander-in-Chief of the Army to transfer this person. First, assign him a foreign commission with the title of general."
Chang Qingyun said: "Master Zhentai is here to suppress the bandits, and he will definitely gain full success. It goes without saying, but the bandits must be suppressed in a good way. If he mobilizes the army like Marshal Yu did back then, only one person will be left behind to force the entire enemy army to retreat. The result is far less powerful than the victory of Shuangyu."
He Rubin was originally very wary of people from overseas. At first, he only used military force to drive away the red-haired people. This was because civil and military officials believed that there was a huge disparity in combat power. Even if he won the war, the losses would be too great and he could not explain it to the court. Nowadays, Qingyun often thinks that Wang Zunde is just doing the same tricks as before.
However, Chang Qingyun believed that the Kun thieves had large iron ships and iron clippers. If they were forced to demolish the city and leave, they would definitely choose another location to build a fort again. This kind of overseas barbarians would risk their lives by breaking through thousands of miles of waves. How can we give up on China's trade so easily? Will definitely find another nest. Although the Dutch were forced to retreat due to the overwhelming power of the official army, they still had a promise to allow merchants to trade in Taiwan. And they immediately turned to Taiwan to build castles. So far, the red-haired Panyi is still a danger along the coast of the Ming Dynasty.
"What do you mean, sir?"
"The Kun thieves are good at boats and boats. Although our army cannot fight with them on the sea, we can defeat them with surprising tactics." Chang Qingyun said with confidence.
One of the staff said with a smile: "Are you trying to follow Zhuge Wuhou's old tricks?"
"Most of the ships of the Kun thieves are made of iron, and it is difficult to pay for them." Another aide shook his head in disapproval.
Chang Qingyun's extraordinary troops turned out not to be fire attack ships, a traditional Chinese water warfare weapon. They were the main means of the Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty naval divisions to resist foreign aggression. His surprise weapon is the Underwater Dragon, a traditional Chinese-made mine. According to some books, the underwater dragon is the original anchor mine, and its significance is the same as "swarm of bees" is the originator of modern rocket launchers.
However, due to serious problems with the fire mechanism and difficulty in laying out, this anchor mine has never been of practical use, and gradually became an "artifact" in the book.
Of course He Rubin knew about such things. The late Ming Dynasty was an era when firearms exploded in China. People who knew a few words were talking about the invention of firearms, although most of them were just like Song Yingxing said, hoping to rely on this for promotion and wealth.
There is absolutely no practical value in swimming under the water. He Rubin knows this very well. But Chang Qingyun's strange weapon is an improved version of Hunjianglong?? Similar to Piao Lei.
Chang Qingyun immediately used tea as ink on the table and drew a sketch. Roughly speaking, gunpowder is put into a clay pot and sealed, and then bamboos are tied crosswise on all sides, which not only provides buoyancy but also makes it easy to catch ships. The raft is then covered with straw or the like. Bing Yongfu, who specializes in water-based skills, pushed the water to the side of the thief's boat, and then lit the fuse.
"Maybe you don't need to use soldiers and bravery, just send small boats to ride the night tide into the harbor, release hundreds of river dragons outside the harbor, drift with the tide into the harbor, and use stuffy incense inside the river dragons to ignite the fire." Chang Qingyun said.
Of course, there is no accuracy in casting floating mines in this way, so you need to release more, one or two hundred at a time. Even if they don't hit the ship, as long as they explode when the time comes, they can still disturb the thieves. If they could sink and damage the large iron ship that the Kun thieves used as the Great Wall, the Kun thieves would have no choice but to surrender.
Chang Qingyun's new tactic caused a discussion among the staff. Of course they understood the significance of the Hunjiang Dragon. If Hunjiang Dragon was released in large numbers in Bopu, not only would the Kun Thief's ships be damaged, but the remaining ships would also not dare to stay in the harbor for any longer. Summation will inevitably occur in advance.
He Rubin wondered if this thing had any effect? But it costs little. He Rubin didn't quite believe that this thing could sink a large iron ship, but it was a great achievement to be able to sink several iron speedboats. Immediately, he agreed to let someone trial-produce a batch first.
"It is best to send this thing into the harbor with soldiers who are good at water." Chang Qingyun suggested, "Master Zhentai, why not build a mine regiment camp and select a hundred or ten water warriors who are good at water to train, and they will surely achieve extraordinary results."
A local staff member said: "There are untouchables in this province. They usually live on the water and wander around, and there are many rapists and thieves. However, the water is very good, so it is better to recruit water warriors and use them to cast the river dragon. . It has the effect of fighting poison with poison, even if there are occasional casualties, it is not a pity. It will not damage the power of heaven, and it can eliminate harm to the local area."
At the beginning, the staff talked about firearms. The late Ming Dynasty was originally an era when everyone talked about firearms. There were many books of all kinds and they were not difficult to obtain, so most of the staff could tell something about Chou Yin Mao. He Rubin is also a person in this field and has written books. When talking about it, he is even more lucid. Because it was rumored that Kun Thief's firearms were powerful, everyone wanted to find more powerful ways to restrain the enemy.
He Rubin pondered for a moment, recruiting Shui Yong was something he couldn't do alone and needed the approval of the governor and governor. However, this is a way to defeat the enemy. It doesn't cost much to recruit two to three hundred water braves. Even if the dragon in the river is useless, it can still be used to fight with it. u! ~!
