Chapter 331
Li Dingguo said hesitantly: "Commander, Xie Zhiliang and Xie Shuai have caused too much trouble!"
"What's wrong with him? He just did what he should do!"
With Cheng Shijie's current identity and status, if he wants to protect someone, he can naturally do it. Back then, Di Qing couldn't protect his favorite general, but Cheng Shijie and Di Qing were different. Di Qing didn't have his own territory, but Cheng Shijie did.
Whether in Liaodong, Dayuan or Luzon, the imperial court had very little influence. It might have some influence in Liaodong, but in Luzon and Dayuan, the imperial court had no influence at all.
That is Cheng Shijie's kingdom.
If Cheng Shijie wants to keep Xie Zhiliang, he can use many methods. The simplest and crudest method is to bring Xie Zhiliang to Liaodong. Is he capable of letting the Jin Yiwei go to Liaodong to arrest people?
See if you can catch it?
The answer is absolutely yes, absolutely not even possible.
Of course, Cheng Shijie must protect Xie Zhiliang, because if he keeps Xie Zhiliang, he will have to compete with the big guys in the capital.
The core of the political struggle in the Ming Dynasty is the state power of the Ming Dynasty. This is the source of the internal strife in the Ming Dynasty and is also centered around the state power. The power of the Ming Dynasty is now in the hands of the traditional bureaucratic capitalist class, while Cheng Shijie represents the emerging bourgeoisie.
This right is like a piece of cake. There is a certain amount. If you take one bite, he will inevitably take one less bite. This contradiction is irreconcilable.
Cheng Shijie doesn't want to retreat, and he can't. If he retreats, countless people who follow him will die miserably...
To be fair, Cheng Shijie heard that Xie Zhiliang stepped forward and temporarily stabilized Pingding Prefecture. Although Taiyuan City was not recaptured, it was already a very rare situation. At least it was much better than Cheng Shijie expected now.
As long as we deal with the Mongolian army in front of us, we can settle the accounts with them at that time.
Cheng Shijie's pressure suddenly relaxed and he began to fall asleep.
Liaodong Jinzhou Liaodong Management Committee Meeting Hall.
Zhou Ning looked at the members of the Liaodong Management Committee and said: "All militiamen and recruits in Liaodong are mobilized. The militiamen are deployed along the defense line of the Hun River. The recruits of the Ning Navy are ready to support at any time. To mobilize all militiamen, we need the assistance of the Management Committee!"
Sun Zhiyi said without hesitation: "There is no problem with this. We will give our full assistance. The commander-in-chief... I am afraid that the soldiers and horses have not yet moved the food and grass first. Now we urgently need to transport food and supplies to the pass. The General Staff is now What charter?”
Zhou Ning rubbed his head and said: "This is the most troublesome problem. We have more than 70,000 troops entering the customs now. It is expected to consume 200,000 shi of food. How much transportation capacity can the management committee provide?"
Sun Zhidan said: "The Transportation Department and the Transportation Bureau have prepared 3,300 ice boats. It is estimated that 5,000 ice boats can be prepared within ten days, and 8,000 ice boats can be raised within half a month!"
"Eight thousand vehicles, this is only a transportation capacity of 80,000 shi, which is too little!"
Zhou Ning smiled bitterly and said: "The eight thousand stone ice boat requires more than 16,000 war horses. The war horses need to consume sixty kilograms of fodder every day. These more than 80,000 stone grain and grass will be consumed on the road. I'm afraid it can't be transported." Very few of them get into the hands of the commander-in-chief!”
"It's just a pity. If it weren't for the heavy snow and ice, we could use sea ships to transport..."
"How can we solve the problem of transportation difficulties..."
At this time, an attendant of the General Military Mansion, Zheng Sen, the companion of the eldest son Long Cheng of the Cheng family, reported forward: "My lords, the eldest son sent someone to report, he has a way to solve the problem!"
Sun Zhiyi and the members of the management committee all laughed softly: "The eldest son is worried about national affairs. This is a good attitude, but..."
Although Cheng Jialong was taken by Cheng Shijie for a small trip and occasionally came to the management committee to observe politics, the problem was that no one believed that Cheng Jialong would solve this problem.
Zheng Sen looked at this scene and was a little anxious: "Eldest Master, please move away!"
Zhou Ning said: "Where to go?"
"Race Town!"
Competition Town is Cheng Jialong's toy. After the competition conference, the place quickly calmed down. Many businesses saw that there was no profit and naturally canceled the lease.
This blow made Cheng Jialong realize that engaging in real estate in Daming was not a good thing. In fact, Cheng Jialong only knew that real estate in later generations was a profitable industry, but in fact, the reason why real estate prices in later generations could skyrocket was inseparable from policies.
If houses were not bundled with educational resources, the desire to buy a house would be greatly reduced. At least 200-300 million parents would not buy a house, and middle-aged men like Lao Cheng would not buy a house either. After all, they have a house in their hometown. If you live in a two-story building in your hometown in the countryside, why should you be crowded in the city?
However, there is no alternative if you don’t buy a house. Children need to go to school. The free education system in rural areas has almost collapsed. This has stimulated the rise in housing prices. With the current loosening of policies, students can go to school even with a rental contract, which has caused housing prices to fall.
Cheng Jialong did not understand this problem. In Liaodong, Cheng Shijie had never bundled household registration with educational resources. Therefore, it was not impossible to speculate in real estate in Daming, but only one person could. That is Cheng Shijie. Even if Cheng Shijie draws a random piece of land, the value of the land will skyrocket.
However, the eldest son Long Cheng of the Cheng family does not have this ability yet.
When Sun Zhiwan, Zhou Ning and the members of the management committee arrived at Jingjing Town, they saw a huge machine. It was a machine that was more than six feet high and one foot or two feet long. It's not eye-catching, it's dark, with sharp edges and corners, and it's not even painted. The structure is very complicated, including boiler, condenser, cylinder, piston, speed regulator, throttle valve, etc. It makes me dizzy just looking at it.
Most people have never seen such a huge steel machine in their lives, and they were stunned by it. Looking at it, a steel-like overwhelming force came over them, making them breathless!
"Is this a fire ox cart?"
Cheng Shijie named the steam engine Huoniu, so everyone called it Huoniu. Now Liaodong is not too unfamiliar with Huoniu machinery. Now there are steam engine-type road rollers, mixers, crushers, cutting machines, and rolls. Treadmills, lifts and even textile machinery.
Cheng Jialong said with a proud smile: "This is a steam engine!"
"The commander said, this is a fire ox!"
"Well, this was jointly developed by Master Guo (Guo Xin) and Master Wang (Wang Zheng)!"
Although Cheng Jialong has not experienced the steam era, he has visited the type of buses from the 1950s and 1960s in the Han Gang Group, which are trailer buses.
He actually drew this kind of car with half-assed drawing skills. After research by Guo Xin and Wang Zheng, they found that it seemed feasible, so they built the largest steam engine in Liaodong. The front of this steam engine is a bit like a tractor of later generations, but it is a large tractor with a front-mounted engine.
"Train starts!"
When Cheng Jialong saw the audience entering, he started the experiment. In fact, this experiment had been done several times. Under Cheng Jialong's order, a craftsman had already ignited the boiler, and then a strong man picked up a shovel and shoveled the anthracite. Shoveled into the boiler, and soon the fire was raging...
Fortunately, the burning coal was anthracite, otherwise the scene would have been covered with thick smoke and dark clouds.
As the fire grew stronger and stronger, a trace of white water vapor gradually emerged from the machine, and a low sound came from inside. It was not obvious at first, but the sound became louder and louder.
A tow hook was used behind the vehicle to tow three flatbed carriages. There were densely packed sandbags on the carriages, and the sandbags contained bags of sand and soil.
Sun Zhiwan seemed to understand: "How many stones can this fire ox cart carry?"
Cheng Jialong said with a proud look on his face: "Mr. Sun, guess what?"
"Three hundred stones?"
"No, guess again!"
"Five hundred stones?"
"No, guess again!"
Sun Zhidan was about to guess again, but Yang Yunniang came over and asked, "How much is it?"
Cheng Jialong saw Yang Yunniang's head shrinking. Cheng Jialong knew that Yang Yunniang was in charge of Cheng Shijie's bank. In Cheng Jialong's eyes, Yang Yunniang was Cheng Shijie's mistress.
He couldn't afford to offend Yang Yunniang, and said nervously: "A total of eight hundred bags, this is not the limit... I don't know what the limit is."
Sun Zhiwan was stunned: "So many?"
In fact, one thousand two hundred stones is really not much. In the Ming Dynasty, one stone was one hundred and fifty-four kilograms. Eight hundred stones totaled one hundred and twenty-three thousand two hundred kilograms, equivalent to sixty-one tons and six, which was less than a later generation Heavy Truck.
As the steam pressure reached the standard, the steam engine tractor began to drag the three flat cars forward slowly. It was a little slow at first, but as time went by, the speed became faster and faster.
Cheng Jialong said with great joy: "Success, success!"
Looking at the train cow, Sun Zhilan let out a long sigh.
Cheng Jialong asked in confusion: "Why did Mr. Sun sigh?"
"How long does it take to build this car?"
"About three months. If we have enough manpower, the speed will be faster!"
"This fire bull can't solve the problem!"
Sun Zhili smiled bitterly and said: "Even if a car can hold eight thousand shi, even if it is 80,000 shi, it will not solve the problem at hand!"
When the train bull made by Cheng Jialong roared forward in Jingjing Town, countless people and businessmen cheered. They had been groping to use the steam engine for a while. No, it should be the Fire Ox.
Not far away, Father Robben looked at this scene and was dumbfounded.
Robben has been in Ming Dynasty for more than ten years. The impression this country gave him is that it is a very unique country. The vast majority of people are very diligent, studious, clean, and fear their ancestors more than gods.
To put it simply, myths about ancient floods are prevalent all over the world. All myths about ancient floods are the same: God could not bear to exterminate all human beings and saved them. Only the Ming Dynasty myth is: a hero appeared among our ancestors. We led everyone to brave the dangers, overcome all difficulties, dredge the river, and continue to work hard. Finally, the flood bowed to us!
Some of the most outstanding talents rule this huge empire. They only rely on thousands of years of governing experience and moral principles handed down from the classical golden age. Religion has no market in the ruling class of this empire. Anyone who tries to control this country The religion of any political power will suffer an extremely tragic fate.
For example, Buddhism was so arrogant at first, but after three martial arts and one sect destroyed Buddhism four times, it completely gave up. This country can tolerate all religions, but it will never allow any religion to threaten the rule of the country. If you want to establish a theocratic regime in this country, it is better to save it.
In addition, the people of the Ming Dynasty also had a tolerant attitude towards science. Many theories that were considered treasonous in Europe were very popular here. For example, the banned book "The Movement of Celestial Bodies" printed and sold more than 60,000 copies in just one year. , and demand exceeds supply. If anyone dares to do this in Europe, you will be burned at the stake or grilled!
But the people of Ming Dynasty were different. They discussed and studied with great interest, and tried every means to conduct various experiments to verify. Their tolerant attitude was amazing.
Once upon a time, the Ming Dynasty, which had to spend huge sums of money to import red cannons to Europe, in turn exported more powerful cannons to Europe. Scientific theories from Europe created dazzling sparks with the scientific opinions accumulated by the Ming Dynasty over thousands of years, such as Speaking of mathematics, it is blooming everywhere, and the speed of development is jaw-dropping. In this regard, Europe has fallen behind! Now they have the steam engine again...
"Hey Robben, what are you thinking about?"
Father Robben said: "I wonder if we have done something wrong... With the steam engine, the giant Ming Dynasty will soon regain its vitality, and they can easily tear the whole world into pieces!"
Father Sean shrugged and said, "Your worries are reasonable, but what does this have to do with us? We are all Ming Dynasties now!"
Father Robben burst out laughing... Yes, they all joined the Ming Dynasty and Liaodong household registration and became Ming people. Will the Ming Dynasty tear the whole world into pieces? What does it have to do with them?
…
In Jinzhou City, the wind is biting outside, but the Zufu is as warm as spring, which can even make people sweat slightly. Although Zu Dashou was a martial artist, he knew how to enjoy it. As soon as the heating system in Liaodong came on the market, he traveled thousands of miles to purchase dozens of units. Some were given to relatives and confidants, and one was enjoyed by himself.
I hired a technician from Liaonan with a high salary to teach me step by step, and the installation and debugging were finally completed before the winter of the year before last. Not to mention, this thing really works. After a few shovels of coal, waves of heat overflow from the radiator. It's warm. It's frozen for thousands of miles outside and snow is drifting for thousands of miles. Wearing a single shirt inside is enough.
In addition, Zu Dashou also built a greenhouse in which he grew leeks, tomatoes, bean sprouts and other vegetables. It is too cold in the Northeast. Once autumn is over, there is no greenery at all. No matter how rich Guan Ningjun is, he can’t buy vegetables and can only eat cabbage. But it will be easier with a greenhouse. After the agronomist carefully cooks A variety of vegetables were grown in western Liaoning, where the water turned into ice.
Now there was a plate of tomatoes on Zu Dashou's desk. They were as big as eggs and as red as blood. The servants who came in and out swallowed hard, dreaming of getting one and taking a bite. However, this thing is now more expensive than silver, and most of the generals of Guan Ning's army cannot afford it, let alone their servants?
Zu Dashou held a military book and read it carefully. He picked up a tomato and brought it to his mouth. He opened his mouth, but did not bite it. After a while, he put it back.
His wife Zuo, who was sitting opposite him and painting, stopped writing and looked up at him, and asked softly: "Master, are you worried?"
Zu Dashou shook his head and said, "No..."
How could you not be worried?
In the Battle of Daling River, the ancestral Guan Ning Army suffered extremely heavy losses and has not yet recovered its strength. Since then, they have not had a smooth life. He first pretended to surrender, and then escaped from Houjin and returned to Jinzhou. The court ignored his surrender and allowed him to resume his post and continue to guard Jinzhou.
Frankly speaking, although the Guan Ning Army of the ancestral clan suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Daling River, if it had not been for the appearance of Cheng Shijie, the ancestral clan still would not have been able to regain its strength.
During the Battle of Haizhou, Cheng Shijie rescued more than 8,000 soldiers from the ancestral army from the slaves. Later, Zu Dalue and Zu Dabi occupied Bali Bay and learned a set of tactics from Ning Haijun that subverted traditional tactics. , an extremely powerful combat method. Using this combat method to strictly train these elite soldiers who have survived hundreds of battles, they will become even more powerful.
Zu Dashou is willing to invest enough patience and resources, and it is only a matter of time before the ancestral Guan Ning Army makes a comeback. However, time was not on their side. During the Battle of Haizhou, Ning Haijun's army became famous in one battle and rose to prominence at an astonishing speed. Afterwards, they fought successively and won consecutive victories. The name of the powerful army resounded throughout Yunei, forming a three-legged rivalry with Tianxiong's army. potential.
This is what Zu Dashou least wants to see. It means that the dominance of Guan Ningjun's family has been broken, and the court will no longer rely on them as before and ask for everything from them!
Sure enough, in the subsequent series of battles, Cao Bianjiao, Cao Wenzhao, Zu Dale, Zu Dabi, Zu Kuan and other generals were transferred to the pass one after another to cooperate with Lu Xiangsheng or Hong Chengchou in the battle. Guan Ning's army was no longer the dominant force.
At present, Mobei Mongolia is suffering from a snowstorm, and Liaoxi is also suffering from a snowstorm. The losses are heavy. Hundreds of thousands of Mongolian troops are marching south. On the 2,000-3,000-mile-long defense line from Hexi in the west to Xuanfu in the east, smoke is everywhere, but Guan Ning's army Nothing happened. The imperial court seemed to have forgotten Guan Ningjun.
No, it has not been forgotten. The dissatisfaction with Guan Ning's army in the court became day by day. Many imperial officials who were afraid of the world's chaos even brought out the scandal of Zu Dashou's gold payment and criticized him verbally and writing.
Of course, this kind of idiot made Chongzhen kick him back to his hometown to eat old rice. Grandma, you think the world is not chaotic enough, right? Despite this, Zu Dashou still felt a sense of fear and hesitation. The glory of the Zu family stemmed from the imperial court's reliance on Guan Ning's army. It was because of the imperial court's reliance on them that they did too many things they shouldn't have done. , now that the imperial court no longer relies on Guan Ningjun, once the old scores are settled, they, the Liaodong warlords, will not be wronged if they are taken out and beheaded one by one!
Where is the way out for Guan Ningjun?
Zuo seemed to have seen through his thoughts, put down his pen, walked over, squeezed his shoulders, and said, "Master, don't worry too much. Our ancestors have guarded Liaodong for generations. There is no credit but hard work. No matter what the court says, We have to be a little more humane. Besides, the Guanning Defense Line guarded by tens of thousands of tigers from our Guanning Army is the lifeblood of the Ming Dynasty. Although Jiannu has been weakened, as long as we can pass through the Guanning Defense Line, it can still be fatal to the Ming Dynasty. Threatening, your majesty will not dare to touch our ancestral home until Jiannu is destroyed!"
Zu Dashou smiled bitterly and said, "What if Jiannu is destroyed?"
Zuo smiled slightly and said: "Whether Jiannu will be destroyed or not, it doesn't matter what others say, nor does our Guan Ning Army say it. Cheng Shijie is willing, and we can learn from past mistakes. Cheng Shijie is actually more worried about Jiannu being destroyed than our Guan Ning Army."
Zu Dashou's expression became even more bitter. Zuo was right. Whether Jiannu was destroyed or not was not up to anyone else but Ning Haijun. With Ning Haijun here, no matter how strict the Ming Dynasty blockade was, Jiannu could continue to obtain a large amount of supplies. It was difficult for him to do so. Immortal!
Now he has heard the news that Cheng Shijie has opened the mutual market in Liaoyang to trade with Jiannu. Jiannu can obtain food through Ning Haijun, a large amount of food.
Now Jiannu has almost become an evil dog kept by Ning Haijun, and only Ning Haijun can subdue this evil dog. Now that the Mogu army is attacking on three sides, what should Guan Ning's army do?
The tens of thousands of Jiannu's troops have disappeared, and Zu Dashou is very nervous now. He doesn't know whether Jiannu is attacking Liaoxi, or has gone to the Hetao area, preparing to unite with Mongolia to deal with Datong?
Now Guan Ningjun's position is very embarrassing. They are no longer qualified to continue to support the bandits. Zu Dashou has already seen the terrible crisis hidden under this good situation. Faced with this rapidly changing situation, where should the frustrated Guan Ningjun go?
Zuo was a very assertive woman. She had no shortcomings except that she could not have children. She looked at Zu Dashou and said, "Sir, you have done a good enough job. You have been in charge of the Liaoxi generals for more than ten years, but... , to put it bluntly, you still lack structure!"
Zu Dashou's face was full of doubts: "In the pattern?"
"A small tree must not stand upright when faced with a strong wind. A willow catkin will float away in the wind when faced with a fierce iron fist. Similarly, facing a powerful enemy that you cannot fight against, fighting to the death is the best option. stupid!"
Zuo continued: "When Uncle Ning Yuan (Li Chengliang) was in charge of the Liaodong generals, who, including Zu, did not bow to Ning Yuanbo? There is no shame in bowing to Ninghai."
Zu Dashou said in astonishment: "Madam, do you mean to ask me to surrender to Cheng Shijie?"
Zuo smiled faintly and said: "Why not? This opponent is so powerful. Even if we are united and resist desperately, we have no chance of winning. It will also affect hundreds of thousands of Guanning Army soldiers and nearly ten thousand people in western Liaoning. Their lives will be ruined and they will resist stubbornly. You will not gain the respect of your opponents, but will only win the eternal curse of the people of Liaoxi and the fierce revenge of Duke Hai. Why bother? Why not take advantage of the fact that you still have some capital, join us here, and get a better condition!"
Zu Dashou asked doubtfully: "Do we still have bargaining capital now?"
"Why not? Are the Mongol Tatars now going on a killing spree along the Great Wall defense line, massacring the subjects of the Ming Dynasty, trying to drink the Yellow River and occupy the north?"
Zuo said lightly: "If you now announce what the Mongolian Tatars are doing in Shanxi, and then announce that you are willing to join forces with Ning Haijun to deal with those lawless Mongolian Tatars, you will definitely win a lot of praise. If Haiguo Gong agrees, it means Now that we have room for bargaining, if he doesn't agree, of course, he has no reason not to agree now. With the situation of Duke Hai, he will definitely not ignore the national interests. I think, he is so smart, he will definitely Make a wise choice!”
Zu Dashou's eyes lit up, he pondered for a long time, and said excitedly: "After listening to Madam's words, I suddenly became enlightened! I know what to do!"
Zuo said: "Then hurry up and make arrangements, time waits for no one."
Zu Dashou immediately went to the festival hall and opened it.
After Zu Dashou left, Zuo struck with two palms, and a heroic figure in white clothes flashed out from the darkness.
This woman was none other than Zhu Weiti's close confidant Gu Ziyi.
Zuo bowed to Gu Ziyi and said, "Ms. Gu, I have done everything you asked me to do!"
Gu Ziyi is coming to Jinzhou on Zhu Weiti's order.
Although the Liaodong Management Committee used food and military threats to temporarily restrain the slaves, Guan Ning's army is now a time bomb. If it detonates, the consequences will be disastrous.
At this time, Zhu Weiti clearly felt the pressure and responsibility faced by Cheng Shijie, and Zhu Weiti decided to take action. In fact, this time it was only Gu Ziyi who led the team and dispatched dozens of palace deacons.
A woman and her husband are in harmony. Congnu, Congxi, Congyou. Also, taking care of things is a wife’s duty.
Zhu Weiti only helped Cheng Shijie in this aspect.
As Zu Dashou decided to take the initiative to join Cheng Shijie, in Zhu Weiti's eyes, she just hoped that Cheng Shijie could become the head of the generals and the emperor's right-hand man like Xu Da, the king of Zhongshan County in the early Ming Dynasty.
Why can Xu Da become the leader of the generals? Because the famous founding generals, the founding princes and the founding princes all obeyed Xu Da.
…
Taiyuan Prefecture, Pingding Prefecture.
Xie Zhiliang led the remnant troops of Pingding Prefecture and launched a bloody massacre with the Mongolian army, killing blood and flesh everywhere. The Mongols besieged them day and night. They rushed into the city several times and were beaten out again. There were dead bodies on the pillows inside and outside the city. Layer upon layer, the horror is indescribable.
More than 100,000 Mobei Mongolian troops were besieging them from all sides. The elite soldiers and generals pressed forward, but they were repelled and suppressed by Xie Zhiliang time and time again.
This bloody battle with extreme disparity in strength lasted for seven days. After paying a heavy price of 30,000 casualties, the Mongols finally broke through the city wall of Pingding Prefecture. At this time, there were only a few hundred people left in Pingding City. The wounded soldier was so tired and hungry that he couldn't even stand up.
Xie Zhiliang's injuries were not healed to begin with. These seven days of high-intensity fighting had severely overdrawn his life. Now he was seriously injured and unconscious. Xie Shangkui was also covered in blood and could not even hold a knife.
At this time, Xie Zhiliang slowly opened his eyes: "I'm going to Kui to give my father a ride. I don't want to lose my life at night..."
"No……"
"Shangkui, my father cannot fall into the hands of the Mongols alive..."
"yes!"
Xie Shangkui gritted his teeth and slowly raised the knife.
At this moment, Xie Shangkui gritted his teeth, raised his knife, and chopped off Xie Zhiliang's head. Bursts of gunfire were heard in the distance.
Xie Shangkui heard faint cheers from the distance: "Reinforcements are coming, reinforcements are coming..."
Just when the Mongols boarded the western city wall of Pingding Prefecture and were about to capture Pingding Prefecture, Cheng Shijie led the reconnaissance cavalry of the Annan Army of the Ning Navy to Pingding Prefecture.
Cheng Shijie looked at Pingdingzhou City and breathed a sigh of relief: "He's still here, it's not too late at last!"
"Li Dingguo, rush over!"
(End of chapter)
