When the Jurong Guard sergeants heard that they had the opportunity to go to Quanzhou with Gu Zhengchen on business, all the Jurong Guard sergeants were very excited.
This is not necessarily because Gu Zhengchen has won the hearts of the soldiers, but more because many sergeants want to have a relaxing life.
Since Jurong Guards introduced martial arts competitions, all the sergeants in the army have been training like crazy. They are either on the way to beating someone or on the way to being beaten. They dare not slack off. If they slack off, after being beaten, they will be given one by one of their own households. Life is really hard when it comes to using Wangba Quan...
Gu Zhengchen selected Qin Song from Qianhu, and selected 11 sergeants from Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and arranged for eight people to pretend to be businessmen, and they went to Putian in Xinghua Prefecture, Longxi in Zhangzhou Prefecture, and Fumin in Fuzhou respectively in groups of two. The other three were led by Qin Song, disguised as clerks, and entered Fujian with Hu Dashan's caravan purchasing sugar cane, and then sneaked into Quanzhou Prefecture to inquire for information.
Xiao Cheng was quite puzzled by Gu Zhengchen's arrangement: "You didn't ask for guards to ensure your safety. Why did you hide all your personnel outside? Most of them are not within Quanzhou Jinjiang?"
Gu Zhengchen glanced at Xiao Cheng and smiled: "Even if there is danger, you won't be in danger as soon as you arrive, right? You have to test and win over a few times first. Civil servants can't solve problems with their mouths. He will easily use force. Such things will only happen when he cannot be won over and poses a serious threat to him. "
"Now I don't know the situation in Quanzhou Prefecture. I don't know if the people in Quanzhou are silent and dare not tell the truth. Naturally, it is necessary to send people to the outside to inquire about the news, listen to the official voice and public sentiment, and then enter Quanzhou Prefecture when the opportunity is right. Jinjiang City.”
Xiao Chengran nodded repeatedly.
Gu Zhengchen did not tell Xiao Cheng to "do things cheaply". If he took out this thing without authorization as a last resort or when the situation was critical, Lao Zhu would beat himself up. After all, his mission was to govern Quanzhou Prefecture, not to monopolize Fujian. Provincial power.
Besides, Xiao Cheng is his bodyguard in name, but in fact it is Lao Zhu's eyes, or "personal" eyes. Whether he knows it or not, he needs to keep it secret.
Gu Zhengchen summoned Qin Song and whispered a few instructions in his ear.
Qin Song was a little shocked and asked: "Is this - okay?"
Gu Zhengchen nodded slightly: "Your Majesty, you approve."
Qin Song agreed and took people to prepare.
Xiao Cheng frowned, wanting to know what Gu Zhengchen said.
Gu Zhengchen just shook his head and reminded: "You are a guard, not a staff member. It is better that you don't know about some arrangements. When the time is right, you will know everything."
Xiao Cheng looked helpless.
Zhang Pei glanced at Xiao Cheng and wanted to laugh. He wanted to know Gu Zhengchen's every move, but even if you watched him every day without missing any details, you might not be able to know what Gu Zhengchen was thinking or doing. What kind of arrangements are there.
Many things cannot be seen clearly with the eyes and heard clearly with the ears, but also need the brain.
It's a pity that those who are good at fighting and have brains will definitely not just join a thousand households.
"Don't go to the Far Fire Department, just stay outside."
Gu Zhengchen ordered to enter the far fire station.
Liu Ju, Tao Chengdao, Chen Youcai, Hua Xiaoshun, Shen Ming and others all gathered around and started doing the work that the craftsmen were doing.
Tao Chengdao looked deeply at Gu Zhengchen and said seriously: "If you leave, here at the Yuanhuo Bureau..."
Although Gu Zhengchen is not a skilled craftsman, he is the founder of the Far Fire Bureau and the core figure in the Far Fire Bureau's improvement of gunpowder and firearms. He pioneered flow manufacturing, multi-condition constraint testing, ratio optimization, tower dripping, etc. Waiting is the most valuable asset of Yuanhuo Bureau.
No one doubts that the Yuanhuo Bureau can achieve breakthroughs again and again, and Gu Zhengchen takes the lead.
As the backbone and leader, he left Jurong and stayed away from the Yuanhuo Bureau, which made all the craftsmen of the Third Division of the Yuanhuo Bureau panic. They were afraid that the research would stagnate, and they were worried that without Gu Zhengchen's guidance, they would not be able to solve difficult problems and achieve the goal of defeating firearms step by step. The grand goal of riding.
Gu Zhengchen couldn't help laughing when he saw that everyone's faces were serious, bleak, or sad: "The Yuanhuo Bureau is still the Yuanhuo Bureau, and I, Gu Zhengchen, am still the palm of the Yuanhuo Bureau. The treatment of all of you will remain the same. Breakthroughs will be rewarded, and progress will be rewarded. Nowadays, the research of the Primer Department, Smelting Department, and Manufacturing Department has gradually improved. I may or may not be sitting in the Far Fire Bureau, and you can continue the research."
"In addition, any progress, documents, and test results within the Yuanhuo Bureau can be reported to Quanzhou every two months and delivered to me. Without my permission, no one is allowed to disclose the research progress and test results of the Yuanhuo Bureau. The results are leaked. If there are unsolvable problems or emergencies, Jurong Guard sergeants can also be arranged to send news."
Gu Zhengchen asked for permission, and Lao Zhu allowed Jurong Wei to have a "privilege", even if he uses the horse in the post station to deliver documents, this is also the best way to ensure that the research of the Far Fire Bureau is not hindered.
There is still a lot of room for improvement in firearms, and there are still many problems that have not been overcome, but whether it is the purification of gunpowder, the optimization of the ratio, the improvement of forging technology, the further improvement of the structure of fire blunderbuss, the development of flint, etc., everything has been done Clear direction.
The direction is right, even if the road ahead is a little twisty, as long as you don't give up, you will eventually reach it.
After Gu Zhengchen arranged the affairs of Yuanhuo Bureau and Jurong Guard, he arranged for Qin Song and others to learn simple business methods, and taught them how to inquire about information, how to conduct in-depth investigations, how to track disguises, etc.
Three days later, Qin Song, Mei Hong and others received a sum of money and left Jurong in groups.
Gu Zhengchen walked around Jurong County and surrounding villages in a high-profile manner for several days to eliminate the instability caused by the news of "imprisonment". On August 9, the seventh year of Hongwu, he led people to leave Jurong and rushed to Quanzhou Prefecture.
Zhenjiang Prefecture, Dantu Port.
A Dafu ship was moored on the shore, and Huai'an Guard Commander Tongzhi Chuxing was lying in a chair on the deck, waiting quietly.
Meng Wanli from Qianhu looked at the setting sun and the red clouds falling all over the sky. He couldn't help but sigh and complained to Chu Xing: "I tell you, Commander Chu, we have all been here for five days, and we are still here." How long will we have to stop? Marquis Jinghai has sent word that we should rush to Fujian as soon as possible."
Chu Xing broke open a pomegranate, looked at the red and plump pomegranate seeds inside, and threw half of it to Meng Wanli: "We won't leave until people arrive. Don't say five days, even the fifteenth, we have to wait here. .”
Meng Wanli was extremely depressed: "Who is it that allows us to wait here for so long?"
Chu Xing picked off a handful of pomegranate seeds, threw them directly into his mouth, chewed them, and said inarticulately: "It's better that you don't know some things. Marquis Jinghai has issued a hush-hush order to keep this matter secret. Once it is leaked, The news is clear to me and unequivocal.”
Meng Wanli was a little surprised. He saw the scar on Chu Xing's face moving and his expression was very serious. He knew that he was not joking.
Chu Xing saw that the sun had set and dusk was coming, and he knew that he might not come today.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, the lookout sergeant Li Cai on the ship shouted loudly: "There are cavalry approaching from the southwest, four cavalry."
Chu Xing just stood up and when he heard about the four cavalry, he couldn't help frowning and shouted: "Are there any infantry behind the four cavalry?"
Li Cai stretched his neck, looked at the horses running in the dusk, and shook his head: "There are no infantry."
Chu Xing was a little disappointed.
If there were only four riders, they would definitely not be the ones waiting. If given by the higher-ups, they would be able to accommodate more than a dozen people.
The horse halted.
Gu Zhengchen looked at Zhang Pei. Zhang Pei drove his horse forward and shouted towards the warship: "Is it Commander Chu's ship?"
Chu Xing trembled, walked to the side of the ship, looked towards the shore, and shouted: "Are the people coming south or north?"
Zhang Pei replied: "Come from north to south."
Chu Xing became happy and quickly ordered the sergeant to throw down the rope ladder and get off the boat himself.
Gu Zhengchen dismounted and looked at Zhao Hailou: "Take the war horses back to Jurong Guards and supervise the sergeants to practice. Once the firearms are ready, you are likely to become an important force participating in the desert conquest. The opportunity to make contributions will be in three to five years." Inside."
Zhao Hailou took off a bunch of luggage, took the reins of the horse, and solemnly promised: "Don't worry, Commander Gu, I will definitely train them. I hope Commander Gu, take care, brothers are waiting here!"
Gu Zhengchen smiled and patted Zhao Hailou on the shoulder.
Zhao Hailou looked at Zhang Pei and Xiao Cheng, nodded heavily, then got on his horse and led the horse away.
Chu Xing, Meng Wanli and others have disembarked from the ship.
Chu Xing stepped forward with clasped fists and greeted with a smile: "Chu Xing, following the military order of Marquis Jinghai, I am waiting here to greet you. This is Meng Wanli from Qianhu."
Gu Zhengchen returned the courtesy: "I have been delayed a lot of time due to business matters, and I have made Commander Chu and all of you wait for a long time. I am really sorry."
Chu Xing shook his head repeatedly: "No matter where it is, we can wait no matter how long it takes. Come on, please get on the boat!"
Gu Zhengchen stretched out his hand and said, "Commander Chu, please let me know."
When Chu Xing saw that Gu Zhengchen was not arrogant but polite, he pulled Gu Zhengchen and walked towards the boat.
The navy sergeant helped Xiao Cheng and Zhang Pei carry their luggage, including three boxes. As for the packages on their backs, no one touched them.
Meng Wanli was a little confused. Looking at the friendly Chu Xing, his expression seemed to be a bit flattering. This guy rarely convinced others. He would only smile like this to people with high official status, but such a young person didn't look like him at all. It's a senior official.
What’s even weirder is that Chu Xing never called the other party’s name from the moment they met until they boarded the ship. He didn’t even mention his last name, and the other party didn’t introduce himself.
What a mysterious figure.
Meng Wanli didn't know who the other party was, so Chu Xing gave the order to sail the ship.
The sergeant began to move, and the ship slowly left the small port of Dantu, heading east along the Yangtze River and sailing into the night.
The lights are like beans at night.
After Gu Zhengchen had dinner and entered the independent cabin, he seemed to be able to hear the sound of water flowing and the sergeant's call.
The candle was inserted into the iron box, with only the top and front open, which prevented the light from reaching the sides and back. Fortunately, two candles were lit, so it could be seen clearly.
Taking out the map of the southeast, Gu Zhengchen sighed.
It was difficult to travel in ancient times, and it was even more difficult to travel to places such as Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi, Guizhou and Sichuan.
It takes at least a month and a half to travel over mountains and ridges, two thousand miles of clouds and moons, which is not something we can afford. We really can't afford it.
