"He wants to come to Poyang Lake?" Wu Sangui immediately snorted after hearing this, "He wants to be Zhu Yuanzhang and let me be Chen Youliang? There is no way!"
Shang Shuying smiled and nodded: "That's right. His navy did not fight in the Yangtze River at all. Although the main sailing ship was large, it had no oars and only sails. They were all rented from Zheng Jing. Big ocean ship.”
When Wu Sangui's left commander Xia Guoxiang heard this, he immediately perked up and said, "There is no oar? How can we use it in the Yangtze River? What should we do if there is headwind or no wind?"
Hu Guozhu, the right commander of the naval force, was still a little worried, "Maybe he is planning to take advantage of the favorable wind to march into the army? Although large ships are inconvenient to navigate in the Yangtze River, they are very strong and can be equipped with many cannons!"
Wu Sangui nodded and glanced at Shang Shuying again. Shang Shuying smiled and said: "Although the main force of the Ming Navy's navy is large ships, which are inconvenient to use in the Yangtze River, they have more than ten or twenty crab boats that serve as auxiliaries. With long oars and thin hulls, they can not only speed along the Yangtze River, but also tow their large ships."
"What? A small boat towing a big boat?"
"Can you drag it?"
Both Xia Guoxiang and Hu Guozhu looked surprised.
"It can be dragged, but not fast." The person who answered this question was Lin Xingzhu, a former commander-in-chief of the Navy. He was a pirate by trade and an old friend of Lao Zheng's family. "A boat floating on the water looks heavy, but when it is pulled, It’s not heavy when it’s up.”
"I know this, it's called buoyancy," Wu Shifan interjected, "that is, an object immersed in a stationary fluid is subject to a buoyant force, the size of which is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object. This is the Western great scholar Archimedes who studied the way of nature. One of the three laws discovered by Mr. De, this is included in the natural science textbooks of the Reform School and the Jiangwu School."
The reform schools and martial arts schools founded by Li Yat-sen were of course connected with the East and the West. The six most basic subjects were New Confucianism, arithmetic, natural science, geography, history, and martial arts.
In addition, the Restoration School and Jiangwu Hall also offer different professional courses.
The majors of the Restoration School include law, accounting, French, education, etc. It is basically a school for training officials and teachers.
The majors of Jiangwu Hall include infantry, cavalry, artillery, construction (engineers), baggage, military industry, shipbuilding, navigation, naval gunnery, and investigation. It is a school that trains army and navy officers, and also trains some engineering talents.
Judging from the standards of later generations, the level of these two new schools was definitely not very high, and their development was also very slow. In particular, the Reform School has now opened two schools in Nanjing and Guangzhou. The two schools together have less than 1,000 students. They are divided into preparatory courses and grades 1, 2, 3 and 4, and are allocated to graduates of the four majors. There is no employment difficulty for students, and basically 100% of them will be admitted into the establishment.
There are only two branches of Jiangwu Hall, but there are more "full-school students" in the school, almost two thousand. However, Jiangwu Hall has ten majors, and there are not many students in each major, and the demand for graduates exceeds supply.
However, there are many "short training courses" in the Reform School and the Martial Arts School. After three months and six months, you can train as an officer and lead soldiers.
Wu Sangui also knew that Li Zhongshan's new schools were running very well, so he asked Wu Shifan: "Shifan, does the textbook of the martial arts school teach how to use a small boat to tow a big ship to fight?"
Although the textbooks of the Jiangwu Hall were not sold on the market, Wu Sangui still had a way to make some detailed works of his own. After he got them, he had them copied and given to Wu Shicong, Wu Shifan, and Wu Shijue for consideration. This is called knowing oneself and knowing the enemy!
"That's not true," Wu Shifan shook his head. "Sun'er feels that using a crab boat to tow the big ship is just a last resort. If he really wants to march by water, he still has to choose a favorable wind."
Lin Xingzhu reminded: "Your Majesty, the latest warship of the Zheng family is called an old lock ship, which is made of a Western hull plus our Chinese hard sails. The Western hull is as high as 100 meters, with a bow and stern, a forecastle and a stern. The building is very advantageous in close combat. In addition, the hull of a Western warship is strong and can carry a large number of artillery. It is also very powerful in long-range artillery combat.
If these old lock ships are allowed to seize the opportunity of favorable winds to attack our navy, our large building ships may not be able to compete! "
"How could the big ship not be able to defeat those Western ships? The big ship has guns, cannons, and trebuchets!"
"That's right, the building ship is specially built for the Yangtze River water battle! Mr. Lin, at that time you also said that this kind of building ship is very powerful!"
Xia Guoxiang and Hu Guozhu were unhappy when they heard Lin Xingzhu speak ill of the building ship.
Because they were responsible for building these high-rise ships in Xiangyang and Jingzhou. Each high-rise ship is like a small castle, not much smaller than the Zheng family's old lock ship. And cannons can also be installed on the building ships! However, there are many long oars on both sides of the building ship, so the cannons can only be installed on the bow. The number of cannons is naturally not as large as that of the old lock ships. A large building ship usually has two cannons installed on the bow.
And the building ship not only has artillery, but also an ancient weapon-trebuchet! It’s a counterweight trebuchet designed by Wu Shifan using the lever principle. It’s still quite powerful!
After hearing what Xia Guoxiang and Hu Guozhu said, Lin Xingzhu didn't know how to refute for a while. He was indeed in favor of building high-rise ships! And he couldn't think of any warship more suitable for rampaging in the Yangtze River than a building ship?
But the problem is that the old lock ship is a gunboat!
A ship can be equipped with as many as twenty or thirty cannons, and there can be more than a dozen cannons on one side. Make a line of thirty or fifty, line up, and face the enemy on the broadside, that is hundreds of cannons!
How do you want the building ship to fight?
When he didn't know how to fight, Wu Shifan next to him thought of a move. He thought about it and said: "What Mr. Lin means is that the old lock ships of the Ming Army are very powerful when the wind is downwind. Dozens of large ships rush at it. Come here and fire off the cannons. Our tower ships are indeed difficult to resist. But if we have a favorable wind, it will not be difficult to deal with these old lock ships. Mr. Lin, is this what you mean?"
"Yes, yes," Lin Xingzhu said, "If we have a favorable wind, we can set fire to the ship! However, the method of setting fire to the ship is only effective on narrow water. If the Ming army's warships rush into Poyang Lake, stay in the middle of Poyang Lake, and wait until the wind direction is favorable to attack our water camp. It will be difficult for us. This old lock ship has many cannons. There may be thousands of cannons on dozens of ships. It’s the artillery on one side, and there are hundreds of them in total!”
"Then we can't let them enter Poyang Lake!" Wu Sangui's eyes lit up and he said with a smile, "Li Zhongshan wanted to fight me in the Poyang Lake War, but I didn't let him. I didn't let him enter Poyang Lake, I wanted to block him. Outside Poyang Lake, let him hold up the fort on the shore and charge through the iron cables and pontoon bridge at the entrance of Poyang Lake! Mr. Lin, what do you think of my method?"
Lin Xingzhu quickly raised his thumb and said, "Tall! Your Majesty is really tall!"
Wu Sangui smiled slightly and said with indescribable pride: "I am now surrounding Nanchang, holding the entire Jiangxi in my hands, and behind me there is the Huguang granary! I can afford it. I will accompany Li Zhongshan as long as he wants to fight!"
On the other hand, Li Zhongshan's rear was not very stable! Sun Jiqing of Guangxi has surrendered to me. Guangdong is already facing enemies from both sides. The nobles will be able to invade Guangdong soon. As long as Guangfu returns to me, I am not afraid of not being able to defeat the Ming army.
In addition, Wu Xuanye of the Northern Qing Dynasty has also mobilized the southern expedition army and will soon go south to avenge his cousin Geng Jingzhong! At that time, I will go down to the south of the Yangtze River along the Yangtze River, and Wu Xuanye will go to the north of the Yangtze River along the canal. The Ming Dynasty will have no way out! "
At this point, Wu Sangui's face suddenly darkened again. He clenched his two old fists tightly and gritted his teeth and said: "When I destroy the Ming Dynasty, I will march to Bushan to avenge Emperor Chongzhen!"
Ah, destroy the Ming Dynasty first, and then avenge Chongzhen?
The ministers of Zhou Dynasty below didn't know how to flatter Wu Sangui for a moment? Isn’t this idea too genius?
Wu Sangui's face gradually darkened when he saw that there was a bit of a cold atmosphere, but Wu Shifan reacted the fastest and quickly shouted: "Grandpa Shengming, first destroy the Ming Dynasty and unify the world is the most righteous thing, then kill Chuang Ni and avenge Chongzhen." It’s all about small things. Grandpa Huang has both great righteousness and small things. He is really the most perfect person in ancient and modern times!”
Wu Sangui was satisfied now. This grandson was so good at flattering him! He nodded and said: "That's what I think!" He then said to Shang Shuying, "Shuying, since Li Zhongshan won't kill you, then you should work harder and go to Nanjing with my letter of challenge. Let's go to Nanjing. Li Zhongshan hurriedly came to Hanpokou for a decisive battle. If he is late, his father Li Fuchen will have to eat human flesh!"
"yes!"
Outside the mouth, at the northern foot of Yanshan Mountain, is the Jinlianchuan grassland.
This is the time when spring returns to the northern part of the country. The grassland is full of vitality and everything is blooming!
In the most fertile pasture at the northern foot of Yanshan Mountain, a large area of yurts of various sizes suddenly appeared. Herds of cattle and sheep were all flowing on the grassland. It was a prosperous scene.
In the middle of these yurts, there is a particularly huge golden-domed tent. In front of the tent are nine white banners symbolizing the highest power of the Great Mongolia!
In this golden-domed tent, the people sitting right now are naturally Enhe Amgulang Khan and Aisin Gioro Wu Xuanye of Mongolia today!
In front of Xuan Ye, there was a young man kneeling in mourning clothes. It was Sai Leng'e, the son of Yue Le. This Sai Leng'e came to report the funeral of Kangxi. At this time, he was still crying and talking about how his father died tragically!
"Your Majesty, the fusiliers of the Ming Army are so powerful! They lined up in three rows and knocked off my entire cavalry team with volleys of musketry! Neither did I. He survived, but he was shot and died for his country! Your Majesty, that Emperor Geng knew that my Arma was loyal and loyal, so he gave me the posthumous title of 'Wu Zhong' before the country was overthrown."
Kangxi nodded, "Then Yue Le will be Yue Wuzhong from now on."
"Your Majesty," Sai Leng wiped tears from his forehead, "You mean, our Qing Dynasty also gave my Amma the posthumous title of Wu Zhong?"
"Ah?" Kangxi was stunned, and he was speechless. Forget about Yue Le being Yue Wuzhong of Dajing. After all, he was loyal to Dajing. But how could the Qing Dynasty give him the posthumous title Wuzhong?
He served in the Qing, Ming, and Jing dynasties. Can this be considered loyal?
"Brother Emperor, although Prince An served as an official for three dynasties, he has not failed us in the Qing Dynasty. He is still loyal!" The speaker was Chang Ning, the Prince of Yi Zhenggong.
Although Kangxi had always been worried that Chang Ning would usurp his throne, wasn't the Qing Dynasty Hezhong now? Therefore, Kangxi could only temporarily put away his thoughts of killing Chang Ning, and this time he brought him with him to the grassland to make an alliance with Galdan, the new leader of the Northwest Oirat Alliance - this Galdan finally killed his father-in-law Eqi Ertu Khan became the leader of the Oirat Alliance.
However, Galdan will not be satisfied with being the leader of the alliance, but wants to go one step further and become a Khan!
Since Galdan is not a direct descendant of the Golden Family, it is still a bit difficult to become a khan. Specifically, there are three routes for him to become a khan. One is to hold a Kulitai Conference and elect a great khan; the other is to invite Xue The great lama of the region conferred the title of a minor khan; the third was to ask Enhe Amu Gurang Khan of Great Mongolia, Aixinjueluo Wu Xuanye, to confer a minor khan.
Choosing Dahan is definitely the most ideal, but Galdan also knows his own weight and doesn't want to think about it for the time being. Then the only thing left is to invite the Great Lama of Xueyu and Wu Xuanye to seal Xiaohan.
In order to make this little Khan more beautiful, Galdan planned to let Kangxi and the Great Lama come together to seal him. He would have both imperial power and divine power, double blessing!
Kangxi also hoped to enhance his authority as the emperor of the United States by forming alliances with various Mongolian tribes and canonizing a Mongolian Khan.
After all, he is not willing to be the Emperor of the United States with restrictions everywhere for the rest of his life!
However, it was not easy to establish this prestige. Kangxi still had to tuck his tail between his legs and become emperor, so he could only nod his head and said: "Chang Ning, you are right. Prince An is still loyal to the Qing Dynasty, so he will be given the posthumous title Wuzhong." From now on he will be King Anwu Zhong!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Sai Leng'e quickly kowtowed in thanks.
Kangxi asked again: "Seleng'e, who do you think will win the battle between Wu Sangui and Li Zhongshan?"
"Your Majesty," Sai Leng'e thought for a while and said, "I think Li Zhongshan's land division can be better than Wu Sangui, but it's hard to say for the naval division."
"What? Is Li Zhongshan's Lu division that strong?" Kangxi was surprised.
"It is indeed very strong!" Seleng'e thought for a moment and said, "If Wu Sangui loses to Poyang Lake, then the next one will be unlucky."
He said half of what he meant, but Kangxi already fully understood what he meant.
If Wu Sangui were to die, the Qing Dynasty would be in trouble again!
He thought for a while and then said to Prince Gong Chang Ning beside him: "Chang Ning, do you think we should send troops to Xuzhou now?"
"Your Majesty," Chang Ning said, "We are all ready. A hundred thousand troops have been assembled in Shandong. Isn't this prepared for the southern expedition?"
It turns out that the Qing Dynasty's meeting of political kings and ministers had already decided to send troops to interfere in the war between the Zhou Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, everything has been prepared and the soldiers have been mobilized. The only thing missing now is a commander-in-chief of the three armies - the princes and ministers of the Qing Dynasty are very humble now, no one is willing to take the initiative to ask for help, and even Kangxi is busy with matters in the north.
Kangxi nodded, "Yes, this is indeed the fifth brother preparing for the southern expedition. Brother Yu will wait for Galdan in the Jinlianchuan grassland. This alliance with Galdan is related to whether we can defeat the Rakshasa Kingdom, regain the lost territory of Baikal, and restore Siberia Khanate! This is more important than going south to help Wu Sangui fight in the war. Why don't you work hard and go to Shandong to become a general on orders!"
"Brother Chen."
Chang Ning wanted to refuse this assignment, but before Kangxi could say anything, he raised his hand to stop him and said: "Chang Ning, I know this battle is not easy to fight. But I don't have to fight, I can just play a drum for Wu Sangui. As long as the dispute between Wu and Li can continue, our good lives can continue!"
"My brother understands, my brother accepts the decree!" Prince Gong Chang Ning couldn't refuse now, and being a local emperor in Shandong seemed to be quite good. What if there is a chance? If he can achieve great success, maybe the council of kings and ministers will elect him to be the emperor!
Of course, it is not for himself, but for the sake of the family, where the father is kind and the son is filial, and the brothers, friends and brothers are respectful. On Yingtai Island, there is a father and son who hold each other's hands and cry every day!
"General, General Kangxi issued an edict on the Jinlianchuan Grassland, appointing Prince Gong Chang Ning as the ordered general to lead an army of 200,000 to march south!"
Nanjing, the General's Mansion, Li Zhongshan, who was in the capital hall with a group of senior advisers holding small wooden boat models and illustrating naval warfare tactics on the table, suddenly heard the shouts of his brother Li Zhongzheng.
He just smiled coldly, threw down the wooden model in his hand, and said to the people around him: "Kangxi himself will not come, so he will send his brothers to die. It seems that there will be no big trouble on the northern front. We can just concentrate our forces to attack Jiujiang Fucheng and Hukou has opened up the waterway from the west to Huguang in one fell swoop! I would like to see, General, whether Wu Sangui still wants Wuchang Prefecture?"
(End of chapter)
