Huang Taiji is indeed dead!

The news that Sun Chuanting led more than 100,000 Shaanxi soldiers and horses out of Tongguan to fight against Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai, and the news of Huang Taiji's death from Liaodong almost reached Guangzhou from the capital and Liaodong ten days later.

Li Shouhan, who had originally organized and rectified the newly formed army in the city of Guangzhou, was a little reluctant to believe it when he first received the news that Sun Chuanting had left the customs to fight against Li Zicheng. Not long ago, he had received a personal letter from Master Sun, asking him to send someone to Shaanxi to buy cotton, or to send a capable man to Xi'an to discuss with him about bartering between the two sides. The goods exchanged were cotton produced in Guanzhong and industrial products produced in Nanzhong.

"This grandson is deaf! You just can't hold on for a few more months? Wait until you have collected the autumn grain, and the soldiers and horses in your hands are stronger, and then go to Henan to provoke Li Zicheng, is it not good? ”

"My lord, I'm afraid that even if Lord Sun thinks so, the court, the thieves, the gentry, the generals, the clan, and the Shilin in Jiangnan will not agree! This time, Lord Sun was forced out of Tongguan by the government and the opposition, and the enemy and us joined forces! ”

Li Peilin, who came from Hue to report to Li Shouhan on the financial and tax expenditures in the first half of this year, picked up the pages that he threw on the ground, but his face was not surprised or strange.

"Moreover, forgive my subordinates for their bold lies, I am afraid that it will be easy for Master Sun to get out of Tongguan, but it will be extremely difficult to go back!"

Hearing this, Li Shouhan had no choice but to sigh and sit down on the chair in a dejected manner: "Brother Zong, I don't know. However, there is always a trace of luck in my heart, hoping that this group of gentry and officials can slow down a little, so that Sun Baigu can have a year or two to raise troops in Shaanxi Haosheng Tuntian, reorganize the army and fight the military, and then either fight with Li Zicheng and others, or go east to Liaodong to fight a decisive battle with Liao thieves. But. But I never thought that the methods of this generation were so ruthless! ”

Li Shouhan doesn't know what it's like now, and he has mixed feelings about joy, anger and sorrow. In his plan, as long as Sun Chuanting can support the autumn grain storage, his army expansion plan will be completed. At that time, whether it was to the so-called thieves led by Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai and others. or the Huang Taiji anti-thief group in Liaodong, they all took the initiative.

The lord led the staff officers to deduce for several days in a row, and unanimously determined that Sun Baigu's practice should not be implemented for a few years, as long as it can be supported until next year, the thieves with Shaanxi people as the main backbone force will inevitably shake people's hearts. As long as there is a bowl of Ansheng rice to eat in his hometown, who will take risks and beg for a living in the midst of swords, guns and artillery. ”

"Alas! This time and that time! Li Shouhan shook his head. Smile bitterly at the original idea that it was too simple and simple. Even if Sun Chuanting implemented this set of integrated errand and integrated grain payment in Shaanxi, reducing the burden of ordinary people and increasing the income of the government treasury, it has a certain attraction to those Shaanxi people who have a low status among the peasant army. For middle and high-ranking generals and leaders, that is, the so-called old thieves and leaders, the attraction is not so strong. What's more, according to the summary of information sent from all over the place, Li Zicheng, Luo Rucai, and Zhang Xianzhong at this time are all changing their previous strategies, the kind of method of attacking the city and opening the city and rushing in to eat the big households. Gradually, it was abandoned and replaced by the means of cow milking.

It is the slogan of "three-year exemption" put forward when he first entered Henan. It was not mentioned, and Li Yan and others put forward new slogans and new practices that were more attractive and realistic to croppers. "Reasonable burden, spread into acres."

"My lord, things may not be as you feared, Sun Chuanting is acting in the new army according to the method of my Nanyue army. He also ordered the soldiers and horses of each town to fill the shortfall. At present, his treasury is abundant, there is no shortage of grain and grass, and there are many men in Yulin, Shaanxi who want to eat grain and become soldiers. The winner is still between two possibilities. Even if you are unfortunate and can't win, if you think about it, it's still okay to retreat to Shaanxi and stick to self-preservation. ”

Regarding the dynamics of Sun Chuanting's exit from Tongguan and entry into Henan, Li Peilin was very happy in his heart. He keenly saw that such a last mobile and combatable soldier in the hands of Emperor Chongzhen must have gone and never returned this time. But in front of Li Shouhan, he couldn't show such a gloating look.

At the beginning, Li Shouhan proudly told him that as long as Sun Chuanting implemented the system of paying grain in Shaanxi for more than one year, it would be fruitful. By that time, Shandong in the east and Shaanxi in the west, two provinces that had already implemented the principle of paying grain on errands and apportioning the land to the mu and unifying the progressive tax system on both sides of Henan, which were occupied by the peasant army, would inevitably shake the ordinary soldiers of the peasant army.

"At that time, my father may wish to send a book to the emperor and ask him to make a decree to pardon these ordinary soldiers and small leaders. In this way, even if there are millions of thieves, they will also disperse in one go. ”

Li Shouhan remembered the story he had heard from his grandfather about the suppression of bandits in Xiangxi, Guangxi, and other places, and a large number of bandits laid down their weapons and walked out of the mountains and forests under the political offensive of land reform and being deceived and innocent, and only punishing the head and threatening the evil and never asking questions.

However, Li Shouhan forgot that the eldest son Li Huayu also relied on the opportunity of Abatai's circulation in Shandong to use the positive and negative forces of Beijing and Longhuying, and used both soft and hard forces to make the new policy reluctantly spread throughout Shandong.

Sun Chuanting couldn't do this in Shaanxi.

In his hands, there are only more than 1,000 soldiers and horses in the Beijing battalion, and there is not a military and political group behind him that is so powerful that even the emperor is a little afraid of Li Huayu to support him. What he faced was a counterattack from vested interest groups throughout Shaanxi.

Li Peilin, who knew far more about the filthy officialdom than Li Shouhan, danced in the face of Li Shouhan's hands and thought that the Ming Dynasty was a good move, but he just smiled and did not say anything.

Sure enough, the counterattack of the gentry came. Moreover, everything is so above board, even in the future, there will be no fault with them. Perhaps, after Sun Chuanting's defeat and death, these officials and gentry will look at the south direction of the river, weep bitterly to pay tribute to Sun Chuanting and the fallen soldiers, and then wipe away their tears and announce that everything is going according to the ancestral system.

"My lord, the matter has come to this, and we can't say anything. However, the imperial court did not already have a decree to order our Nanyue Army Naval Division to go upstream and set up a naval division camp in Xiaogushan, Anqing. Hold the Yangtze River, and at the same time respond to the defeated troops of Zuo Liangyu's department. The subordinates thought that this matter should be handled quickly. Otherwise, once Zuo Liangyu's group of jackals and vicious dogs rushed into Jiangnan, it would not only be the people of Jiangnan who would be unlucky. With this person's festival with my Nanyue Army, coupled with the ambiguous relationship between him and the group of poor hypocrites in Jiangnan. Maybe it will be bad for our army! ”

Therefore, the two monarchs and ministers summoned the people in charge of military affairs in Xingyuan and began to discuss how to mobilize men and horses and ships to assist in the defense of the river from the Nanjing River to the direction of Anqing.

Things are good. Chongzhen's will undoubtedly expanded the scope of the Jianghai Joint Defense Agreement. This stretch of more than 1,000 miles of river is also a golden waterway. The naval division of the Nanyue Army was stationed on the Xiaogushan River, but I was afraid that it would become the second Shanghai business area.

Speaking of the fact that the Shanghai Business Zone was forced to expand more than ten times, the people present suddenly couldn't hide the smile on the corner of their mouths. When other people encroach on other people's land, they all have to find ways to take advantage of it, even if they are famous. It is also necessary to take some fig leaf of dedication. However, Songjiang Prefecture and Shanghai County were under the collective pressure of the entire Jiangnan from the noble officials and eunuchs in Nanjing to the chief of the academy below, crying and shouting to demand that the scope of the trade zone be expanded.

It's not hard to explain. Nowadays, in the eyes of this generation, the business area is the only pure land in the south of the Yangtze River, and the food, living and travel are all luxurious and convenient. All of them sharpened their heads and squeezed them in. Buy land and build a house. Open a shop. The land price in the business zone is no longer comparable to the price of every inch of land. It is a so-called Shikumen house on the first floor and one bottom, and the annual rent is also one hundred and eighty taels. And you have to pay half a year's rent as a deposit. So profitable. How can you not tempt these gentry? ”

Li Peilin pointed to the map of Shanghai County at the mouth of the Yangtze River to explain the mystery to everyone. On both sides of the Pujiang River, the huge color blocks representing the business district encompass almost the entire area of Shanghai County.

The large expanse of newly expanded land and the influx of wealthy gentry from the south and north of the Yangtze River have brought huge cash flow and growing fiscal and tax quotas to the Shanghai Business Zone. When these people arrived in Shanghai, they not only had to buy land and build houses, but also enjoyed a more luxurious life, in order to make ends meet. You have to put your own property into production and business activities.

Restaurants, warehouses, trading houses, carriage and horse shops, ship shops, letter bureaus, silver horns, pawnshops, tea houses, silk shops, silk villages. Like a carp crossing the river, it is filed with the financial and taxation yamen of the household division in the business zone and pays taxes. In addition to these, there are also many casinos and brothels in the quiet streets and alleys where people of all kinds can use and enjoy profligacy. As for the even more shady arms smuggling, human trafficking is also quietly going on.

In the first half of the year alone, the income from the fiscal and tax revenues and the exchange of silver dollars brought about by the Shanghai Business Zone were enough to be worth the four provinces of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Xuanfu and Datong. This income was used to make up for the expenses in Shandong, Fujian, Tamnadao and other places, and there was a slight surplus.

Such a hen that keeps getting fat and keeps laying golden eggs, the Nanyue Army will not let it suffer a little loss damage from top to bottom. It must be kept firmly guarded in a golden cage made of the sharp blades of the ship's guns.

However, in this way, the sailors who were transferred west to Anqing were a little stretched!

According to Li Shouhan's idea, not only should the naval division's warships be stationed in Xiaogushan in Anqing, but also the nearby Jiujiang and Wuchang should also be within the scope of the naval division's patrol posts.

"Be sure to compress Zuo Liangyu's territory and range of activities!"

Since Emperor Chongzhen has a will to let Li Shouhan's department be responsible for the defense of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River to the lower reaches, then our newly promoted Liang Guogong will naturally share the worries of the Lord. Simply put the cities along the north and south banks of the river and the Chizhou Mansion into the protection circle of the Southern Yue Army!

However, in order to achieve this strategic goal, according to the calculations of the staff officers of the General Staff Department, at least one brigade of sailors and land battalions had to be dispatched, and forty or fifty ships were barely enough to be dispatched to the Anqing River, from sand boats to brigs and sailboats.

The Nanyue Army is now short of ships, soldiers and horses!

When the chief of staff reported this difficult situation to Li Shouhan, a pair of eyes stared at Li Shouhan's expression, if the lord lost his temper, he was ready to suggest that the main force of Zhang Xiaohu's fleet be moved east to fill this gap. Anyway, now the routes from Luzon to the Wa Kingdom, from the Wa Kingdom to North Korea, from the above three places to Hue Guangzhou and other places are too peaceful, and it is a waste to put dozens of elite gunboats there in vain!

When several principals expressed their opinions, they watched Li Shouhan's facial expression change with some nervousness, lest his proposal to tear down the east wall and make up the west wall would provoke the thunderous anger of the lord.

"Zhang Xiaohu has indeed been idle for a long time. Not only the left flank fleet, but also the right flank and the central army will be active. Li Shouhan was unexpectedly a little dissatisfied with the opinion put forward by the staff officers, and they held back.

"A brigade of sailors and land battalions, westward marching to Anqing. Bring more weapons and armor. Along the way, sailors and soldiers familiar with water were recruited, and the backbone of officers at all levels was selected to train the new army. ”

"Dispatch the dual-purpose ships stationed in Wusongkou and Chongming Island, and then dispatch a few more sea ships to Anqing! Set up the camp of the sailor first. We ordered the local government to recruit people for us, requisition timber and bricks, and build dock grates at the wharf. ”

"The general soldier of the stone pillar. I have written many times to thank my father for his help to the white pole soldiers of the stone pillar, and my father also replied to her, everyone is for the Ming Dynasty, the same dynasty as an official, how to divide each other. At present, the white pole soldiers have initially recovered some vitality, a little bit of the scene of the year. However, there is still a shortage of equipment and food. Draw up a charter and allocate ten thousand men of swords, spears, bows, arrows, and armor. It was transported to Yueyang and handed over to the Qin General Army. ”

The crowd was dumbfounded. In doing so, the lord is tantamount to turning the Yangtze River into his own inland river. The upstream is friendly with the stone pillar Qin Liangyu, the middle reaches are locked up by the gunboats of the Yangtze River, and the downstream is to control the sea, the Yangtze River, it is really going to quietly change color! However, such a practice. It is tantamount to putting the Shanghai Business Zone to the point of almost undefended!

How does this make it?!

"It's okay! Come and see. ”

Li Shouhan ordered someone to lift the secret curtain on the wall and point to the huge nautical chart of the entire wall.

"A few days ago. Erya and his wife sent a fast boat to deliver a letter home, and their fleet had turned around and returned east. I guess I've been here in the past few days. Li Shouhan pointed to the sea area of Lion Rock and Lingjiawei Island at the western end of the Manraga Strait on the chart.

Li Huamei and Shi Lang's fleet sailors are all elite sailors, and the number of artillery pieces is as high as more than 1,000, such a mobile force is tantamount to making Li Shouhan's chips a lot more abundant.

"Subordinates and other orders!"

The crowd sang in unison. Go to the arrangement and don't mention it.

"My lord, you just said that the sailor needs to move? Is it to let the sailors fight a big war? ”

Li Peilin caught the meaning revealed in Li Shouhan's words, and after everyone withdrew, he asked in a low voice.

"There was no big battle. Who is the opponent of our sailors right now? The meaning of this father. It is to let the sailors go to Fusang, to the ten states, to Europa, to the wooden bones and other places. So as not to always swim in the bath tub in front of your own house! There is a meaning of a ball! ”

Li Shouhan expressed his opinion on the development of the naval division of the Nanyue Army in extremely rude language.

September. Guangzhou City and the entire Pearl River Delta are a scene of flowers. The late rice has matured, and some have already been harvested. Looking across the Pearl River, the golden rice paddies are shaded by the thick green trees, making it look like a huge landscape painting.

"Oh my God! Oh, my God! ”

On the deck of the Aomei, a Europa turtle couldn't care about the strong wind of the river, and its hair was swept into its eyes from time to time, but it looked at the flower-like scenery on both sides of the Pearl River and praised it.

Looking at Gerald who was wearing a tweed cape, he couldn't help but admire. Winstanley, Shi Lang couldn't help but pout, "This is just Guangzhou City, if you see Hue and Ha Jing, you Albiang, who has never seen the world, must not smash your chin on the surface of your feet!" ”

The Aome's fleet was interspersed with a dozen ships of very different styles, ranging from holland plywood to England with three masts, and a few ships with a distinctly Muslim style. Shi Lang looked at these companions who were slow but trying to follow them, his eyebrows furrowed, but his face immediately showed joy again.

"Let you wait to see my family's strong ships and cannons, and you'll know what to say when you get back!"

To be sure, none of these three ships were moving slowly, otherwise it would not have been possible to cross the ocean to do business. However, everything is not afraid of comparing goods if you don't know the goods. The Dutchman's plywood and the English three-masted ship were dwarfed by the Aumay in terms of speed, number of sails, carrying capacity, and number of guns.

If this foreign fleet, a mixture of Christianity, Islam, and Anglicanism, had encountered each other on the sea, they might have exchanged cannons and swords, and the two sides would have cordial, friendly, warm and frank exchanges with each other. But in the fleet of Li Huamei and his wife, they are very polite to each other.

There is nothing else, everyone is going to Governor Li's territory to do business and ask for care, there is no need to fight in front of the eldest princess, that would be too undignified.

Especially Gerald. Winstanley, a former cloth merchant from Lancashire and a close friend and personal representative of Cromwell, a newly rising general in the current Parliamentary Army, came with a heavy responsibility.

That night, in the grand banquet hall of Yuexiu Building, dozens of tables of wine banquets were set up. Li Shouhan picked up the wind and washed the dust for his baby son-in-law and daughter, and at the same time entertained guests from afar.

"Father! Who is this set for? Li Huamei pointed to an empty table next to Li Shouhan, a little puzzled. There were cups and plates on the table, and the wine and food were exactly the same as those on Li Shouhan's table, but there were no guests.

"This is for an old friend of Daddy's long-time friends! Although they have never met, he has recently passed away, which also makes Daddy a little sad. At today's meeting, he will be seated on a special basis, and if his soul is aware, he will come and have a drink together! Li Shouhan's expression was a little melancholy, and his tone was quite lonely.

"Daddy, who is this person? Why haven't I heard about it? Li Huamei and Shi Lang looked at each other, and some of the second monks were confused.

"This man, you two have also had a relationship with him." Li Shouhan paused slightly.

"It's Liaodong Huang Taiji's!" (To be continued.) )