In the night, a fire snake was located north of Xiangshan County, on the territory of Shunde County, twisting and turning, sliding forward like a long snake.
Of course, this is "day and night march", marching quietly to attack the Shang family army in Xiangshan County. Shang Zhixiao is a filial son, so he, Ama Shangkexi, said that he would travel day and night, so naturally he had to carry it out to the letter. After the army arrived at Foshan Town, they rested during the day and marched at night. When marching at night, of course you need to light a torch, otherwise how can you walk in the dark? Whose fault is it if he falls into a ditch or takes a wrong turn? The terrain in Shunde is not very smooth!
Of course Shunde is a great place, a land of plenty! It is a very flat land with a humid climate and convenient transportation. It is suitable for business, farming, fishing, and smuggling, but it is not suitable for walking and riding armies, because there are too many rivers, and they are all wide and deep. Moreover, the infrastructure construction in Guangdong is not very good these days. There are very few bridges on these rivers, and the places where the bridges are built are relatively random and there is no planning. They are all wealthy people in Guangdong for their own convenience and to do good deeds. What are the plans for repairing it?
Therefore, Shang Zhixiao's 10,000-strong army could only march like a snake in the water network. In order to find the road and find the bridge easily, they had to carry torches.
However, there are also comfortable places to march at night. The temperature here in Lingnan is relatively high during the day, and when the sun is shining, you will not have the energy to do anything. I just happened to find a mansion in Pingnan Palace to stay and rest. The weather got cold at night, and it was quite comfortable to go on a night tour with a torch.
Shang Zhixiao, Shang Daduozi and Li Lanli Dajunmen are even more comfortable. These two masters are both "second generations of nobles". One is the beloved son of King Pingnan, and Ama has been the governor of Huguang. They both have silver spoons in their mouths. The Lord who was born. Although he has not become a stubborn leader of the Eight Banners, he still knows how to enjoy it. When marching, these two men neither walked nor rode horses. Instead, they sat on sliding poles and were carried by the coated slaves below!
Moreover, they did not wear long gowns, that is, military uniforms, but wore thin long gowns. They both wore small melon-skin hats and waved folding fans, so leisurely. Li Lan is still a theater fan. He was sitting on the slide and humming Kunqu opera: "I will send Zhang Sheng to Beijing today. I will arrange a banquet in the ten-mile pavilion. The elder and I will go first, but Zhang Sheng is missing."
Although Shang Zhixiao didn't understand Kun Opera, he still didn't forget to compliment him. When Li Lan finished singing, he even shouted "Okay".
When he applauded, the soldiers, Bao Yi, and domestic slaves who were guarding Shang Zhixiao and Li Lan as they marched together also joined in. Immediately, the entire marching team burst into applause. Those who didn’t know better thought that Shang Daxiaozi and Li Dalan were giving rewards to their subordinates!
I don’t know if he was too embarrassed to let the people below him cheer, but Li Lan stopped singing. He smiled and said loudly to the people below: "Rewards! Everyone is rewarded with a hundred big coins!"
One hundred big bucks is not a lot of money, but if you give a reward to almost 10,000 green camp soldiers and feudal banner soldiers plus several thousand accompanying slaves (the feudal banner soldiers are also served by slaves) at one time, then it is more than a thousand bucks. , almost a thousand to a few hundred taels of silver!
But this Li Lan has "strength" now. He is no longer a dandy living in Beijing relying on the family property his Amma stole. He is now a warlord!
Previously, he and Zhu Guozhi, the governor of Guangdong, were assigned the territory of Huizhou Prefecture!
When he was first assigned the territory, he didn't know how fragrant it was. But now it is the winter of the eleventh year of Kangxi. The autumn tax has been collected once, and it was Zhu Guozhi and Zhu Bai who personally went to Huizhou Mansion to supervise the tax collection!
Zhu Guozhi not only collected all the autumn taxes for the eleventh year of Kangxi, but also cleared all the accumulated debts over the years at once!
Anyone who refuses to pay taxes will have their land confiscated and sold for sale if they refuse to pay the taxes. Of course, not every county can do this. Haifeng County can’t do it. That’s an anti-Qing old area!
During this period, because Wu Sanwei and Ao Bai came to Xinning to "fight against the Hu", Qiu Hui from Chaozhou next door also became very arrogant. With the help of Zheng Yanping, he recently captured Chaoyang County and Huilai County. , plus the Chenghai County that was obtained before, there are already three county seats, and the influence has penetrated into Haifeng (both Chaoshan people) in Huizhou, and established base areas in Jieshiwei and Lianhua Mountain, so Zhu Guozhi's influence on Haifeng The landowners adopted a strategy of bribery.
But other counties under Huizhou Prefecture have to learn how powerful Zhu Baidi is!
Zhu Baidi did not keep the money he earned, but shared it with Li Lan and Chen Shikai. Zhu Baidi got 30%, Li Lan got 50%, and Chen Shikai got 20%. This split was not because of Zhu Baidi's style. High, but Zhu Baidi, Li Lan, and Chen Shikai had to use it to raise troops after receiving the money. Among them, Zhu Baidi's own support now has 3,000 people, Li Lan's support has been expanded to 6,000, and Humen Town, which Chen Shikai took over, has 2,500 people to support.
However, after paying out military pay and rewards, Li Lan still had a lot of money in his pocket!
Being a warlord is really fun!
Seeing that Li Lan was generously giving rewards to the people below, Shang Zhixiao was embarrassed to be too stingy, so he immediately ordered loudly: "Send the order from my general to capture Haao'ao City, and each person will be rewarded with five taels of silver!"
Five taels of silver is a lot!
A green soldier can actually get one tael of silver a month, which is a lot! As soon as Shang Zhixiao took action, he released five taels and then tens of thousands taels!
But what he gave was a promissory note, and he had to conquer Haoao first to get it!
If you capture Haao, Shang Zhixiao will make a fortune!
Because Shang Kexi had told him before that after the capture of Haao'ao, the Haao'ao commercial market would be under his control! Didn't tens of thousands of taels of silver just come out in a casual search?
Shang Zhixiao's order was quickly passed down. As soon as the soldiers and generals heard the reward amount, they immediately burst into joy and even accelerated their marching speed.
Now the more than 10,000 people who are following Shang Zhixiao and Li Lan already know that Haoao is empty! Wang Datou has already led his Xie Xin Army to attack Leizhou by sea. Hao'ao also has the neighboring counties of Xiangshan, Xinhui and Xinning. At present, there are only 10,000 to 20,000 township troops and a small number of the so-called township troops of the Green Camp New Army. The soldiers are just some farmers. When the Qing Dynasty soldiers entered Guangdong, I don’t know how many rural soldiers they fought. They were simply vulnerable!
Just as the soldiers and horses of the Shang family marching in the dark cheered loudly, Yu Deshui, the alternate magistrate of Guangdong and acting magistrate of Xiangshan County, had already boarded the Huatuoshan Walled City outside Xiangshan County, standing on the highest point of the walled city. Looking upstairs, I watched in horror as the "Fire Snake" from the northwest came slowly towards me!
He has been Wang Fuchen's "combat master" for many years! Wang Fuchen is a general in the army, and his master is not in charge of Qian Gu Xingming, but a military staff, so he naturally knows how to march and fight.
So if you look at it from a distance, you can tell that this team marching with torches at night is quite large. From the looks of it, it's probably more than 10,000 people!
"Prefect (the honorific title of the prefect), this man named Shang is here to attack!"
The speaker was a samurai carrying a sword. He was not a military attache because he did not have a serious official status. This man's surname is Lu, and his given name is Yijia. He is from Zhaoqing Prefecture, Guangdong. He is in his twenties, not tall, but very strong and strong. At first glance, he is a practitioner.
He graduated from the second phase of the Jingwu Hall, is a disciple of the inner sect, and is a member of the Heaven and Earth Society. His current position is the head of the Xiangshan County Yamen Military Department.
Of course, the county government's military department was a private institution set up by Wang Zhongxiao, responsible for managing the county's rural soldiers. Its external identity was that of one of the county government's masters, so it was paid and appointed by the Guangdong Customs Road.
The yamen in charge of the military department is not in Xiangshan County, but in the walled city on the highlands of Huatuo Mountain to the east of Xiangshan County.
This walled city was originally a guard wall left by the Ming Dynasty. It had been abandoned for many years when Wang Zhongxiao took over Xiangshan. However, it has been renovated now, with barracks, artillery forts, outer gates and a high observation tower built. .
Huatuo Mountain City and Xiangshan County to the west form a defense system that guards the Jiya Waterway, Xiaolan Waterway and Shigu River that flow from the Beijiang River into the Lingding Ocean!
As long as these two strongholds are in hand, it will be difficult for the army sent by Shang Kexi to invade Xiangshan County from the north - the current terrain of Xiangshan is an existence between an island and a peninsula. It is called an island because it is surrounded by mountains on all sides. have water! It is said to be a peninsula because the water to the west of Xiangshan is relatively "small" and is covered with rivers that are considered narrow in Guangfu. There are bridges on the rivers, so you can enter Xiangshan without a ferry.
"Quickly, light the beacon!"
Yu Deshui's reaction was quite quick. He thought for a while and then said: "The river north of Xiangshan is too wide. It is unlikely that they will come. It should turn to the west. We have to delay them to buy time for the principal!" "
"Okay, okay, I'll call the local soldiers right away!" Lu Yijia nodded heavily, turned around and went down to the watchtower to deliver the order.
"Wait a minute," Yu Deshui suddenly stopped him, "Guanzhi (Lu Yijia's name), do you know what to say to the people below? In this situation, who is the rebel?"
This question is a bit complicated!
Now the King of Pingnan, the Governor of Guangdong, and the Admiral of Guangdong of the Qing Dynasty jointly attacked the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, the King of Dingnan, and the Guangdong Customs Road of the Qing Dynasty. It seems that neither side has raised a flag of rebellion, but neither side seems to be a loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty.
Wang Fuchen, Wang Zhongxiao and his son openly carried out land equalization and built private armies in Xiangshan, Xinning and Xinhui. The former was a rebellion of the landlord class! Kangxi was the leader of the Qing landlord class! Not to mention the latter, 20,000 private troops!
But the Shang family father and son also went out of their way. Without asking for orders or participating in the impeachment, they directly sent tens of thousands of troops to attack the troops of the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi and the Guangdong Customs!
What these two families are doing seems to be rebellion!
Lu Yijia shook his head. He was not sure whether he was rebelling or not, but he still understood one thing, "Prefect, it doesn't matter who is rebelling. What's important is that we are going to fight against the Shang family!"
The Guangdong people, especially the poor people in the coastal areas of Guangdong, do not need to be mobilized to fight Shang Kexi. You can fight without money, just bring your own dry food! Just be sure to win!
Historically, the reason why Shang Zhixin joined the San Francisco Rebellion was not because he was against the Qing Dynasty, but because the Shang family's difficult situation in Guangdong, where everyone wanted to fight, forced him to follow the leaders of Zu Zeqing, Liu Jinzhong and Liu Guoxuan. flow.
At that time, Zu Zeqing rebelled in western Guangdong, and there were many followers! Liu Jinzhong and Liu Guoxuan teamed up to defeat the Shang family's 10,000 main force with a few thousand men, and then easily swept through the Chaohui Mansion. Among them, Liu Guoxuan had already captured Huizhou and was at the door of the Guangzhou Mansion!
If Shang Zhixin does not rebel, the Shang family will be doomed immediately!
But now, the rural soldiers in Xiangshan, Xinning, and Xinhui counties have divided their land, become soldiers, and have guns! This enemy of the Shang family even came to the door to beat him!
Does it matter which family is rebelling?
When the beacon fire on Huatuo Mountain was passed from beacon tower to Macau Castle one after another, Wang Zhongxiao was sleeping soundly with Yang Xiaohuan in his arms.
I was sleeping soundly when I remembered the sound of the bell!
This is the bell on the castle that doesn't ring just casually, it's an early warning bell!
Although Macau's commercial market is now more prosperous than before, its defense level is also much higher than when Wang Zhongxiao first captured it. However, Wang Zhongxiao was not worried about Shang Kexi’s sneak attack, but worried that the Western colonists would attack at some unknown time!
Although Portugal is weakened, it is not impossible for the Governor-General of Goa to fight back with two to three thousand people.
In addition, Portugal and Britain are traditional allies. Bombay is the dowry of a Portuguese princess! Maybe the Portuguese will bring the British together to fight!
The Netherlands and Spain are both indifferent masters. They are robber countries that can rob and deceive, but they will not spend money to buy. Maybe they will also team up with the United Kingdom and Portugal to make a big deal.
So Macau's defense has been strengthening in the past few months!
Piers and platforms were built on Dahengqin Mountain and Sanzao Island outside Modaomen, and a small number of rural soldiers - fishermen and rural soldiers were stationed to watch and fish at the same time.
On the southeast coast of Macau, which is suitable for landing, Wang Zhongxiao also ordered people to build fences with sandbags piled inside the fence, forming a fortification that was half sea wall and half city wall. Many watchtowers were also built.
So his first reaction when he heard the bell was that an imperialist warship was coming from the sea. He didn't even have time to put on his clothes, so he got up from the bed, walked quickly to the window near the sea, and pushed the Opening the closed wooden window, a gust of salty sea breeze blew in, awakening the still a little fuzzy Principal Wang!
He calmed down, then looked at the sea attentively and saw nothing!
There were no beacon fires in the direction of Da Hengqin Island, and there was no movement at the watchtower on the beach in Macau. Everything was business as usual!
Imperialism hasn’t come yet?
"Boom, boom, boom"
But the bell still kept ringing!
"Could it be that Shang Kexi is happy?"
While Wang Zhongxiao was muttering, someone knocked on the door of his bedroom, and at the same time Zhou Chang's voice came: "Principal, there is a big fire in the direction of Principal Xiangshan! I am so happy!"
Is Shang Ke overjoyed?
Shang Kexi, the loyal dog of Emperor Kangxi, will also rebel?
Wang Zhongxiao quickly shouted: "Pei Gong, hurry up and summon the generals. I'll be right back!"
"yes!"
"Revenge, revenge, revenge."
When the sun fully rose, the Guangdong soldiers standing on top of each other on the slopes of Wangxia Mountain cheered loudly. Standing high on the hillside, President Wang Zhongxiao also showed a satisfied smile.
It is not the busy farming season, so many rural soldiers from the three counties are participating in training in Macao. There are about five to six thousand people, which can probably form four full six-team battalions - one battalion is equipped with four teams of musketeers and two captains. Lancers, a total of one thousand two to three hundred people!
These four battalions together can number more than 5,000 people. If you add a team of artillery, a team of cavalry, a team of engineers, a team of baggage troops and a headquarters, you can almost make up a brigade of more than 6,000 people.
The number of people is quite large, and the equipment is theoretically sufficient. What is uncertain now is the morale of the troops.
After all, this is an army composed mainly of rural soldiers, who serve for a period of time without pay every year - they are allocated land! And most of them have never participated in combat (there are also some people who have participated in combat, Guangdong style weapon fighting), and they are still inferior to Wang Fuchen's new army.
Fortunately, the enemy we have to deal with today is Shang Kexi! What Shang Kexi did has offended most of the Cantonese people. Now is the time for everyone to take revenge!
So when Wang Zhongxiao announced his mission, he was greeted by fanatical shouts!
The time has come for us to divide the land, join the army, and take revenge!
Wang Zhongxiao pulled out his saber, raised it high above his head, and pointed toward the northeast: "Gentlemen, that is Guangzhou Fucheng. I will take you to chop off the head of Shang Kexi's dog!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!" Everyone cheered again!
(End of chapter)
