In front of the team, 10 Chen Jinnan soldiers, who temporarily served as their instructors, stood straight and faced these recruits.

Wang Xinyuhe walked to the front of the team and turned to face the recruits. Feng Xifan, who was following behind, turned around and looked at these good soldiers he had trained with satisfaction.

"Brethren!" Wang Xinyu watched the recruits open their voices and shouted, "Who made you leave your hometown and come here?" ”

"It's a Tartar!" The recruits shouted in unison.

"The body is skinned, and the parents who receive it dare not destroy it, and the beginning of filial piety is also! Now someone wants you to shave your hair and make it easy to wear, do you agree? ”

"No!"

"Do you promise that someone will take your land, take your money, and insult your wives and daughters and sisters?"

"No!"

"The Tartars on the other side are about to come over, what are you going to do?"

"Kill the Tartars! Kill the Tartars! Kill the Tartars! The recruits let out a volcanic eruption-like roar.

Wang Xinyu made a gesture to silence the recruits, then looked around and said, "Brothers! I've said it a thousand times! The Tartars are coming, and you have to practice your skills to protect your wives and sisters! to protect your parents! Only then can I go back to your hometown one day! Why haven't I taught you weapons in the past month, it's all boring formation training? Because Grandpa Qi once said: Open a big array, against the enemy. Compete in the field, capture the thief, thousands of people in different dignified formations line up, the brave are not allowed to go first, and the cowardly are not allowed to lag behind; The cluster of guns poked, the cluster of guns poked, the knives slashed, and the indiscriminate killing returned him, but they all rushed in together, and it was difficult to change hands, how could they tolerate moving left and right? You have to meet the enemy with spears, and if you don't have a good team, you can only injure yourself by mistake! So I'll teach you formation first! Today, I'm sending you weapons! Depending on your needs, I will issue you with different weapons. ”

Eighty-seven recruits, forty pikemen, armed with ash pole spears of more than one length; Twenty sword players, equipped with broadsword rattan cards; twenty-one musketeers, armed with bird-knives; There were also six soldiers of the highest martial prowess and the strongest physique, who were given iron bows and the finest swords, and these seven were future officers who were currently serving as archers for the time being.

The bird guns were made by Wang Xinyu and the son of Chen Blacksmith, and these bird guns were much better than the bird guns that are currently commonly equipped in the army. Originally, Wang Xinyu planned to equip a flintlock pistol, but after studying it for a long time, he still couldn't make a flintlock pistol by himself, so he could only use a bird gun first. This bird gun has a slow rate of fire, and its range is not advantageous compared to a strong bow, and its rate of fire is much slower than that of a bow and arrow, so it is also equipped with an archer. However, the archer has a characteristic compared with the bird gun: it is difficult to master, it takes a long time to train to pass through the Yang, and the archer consumes too much strength, and it is generally exhausted after shooting more than ten arrows. Therefore, he only selected seven soldiers who had already practiced martial arts and were talented as archers.

After the weapons were sent, Feng Xifan took his own soldiers and taught the skills to the recruits.

Feng Xifan personally instructed the sword and shield hands, and after he first practiced it, he asked the soldiers to line up and slash and kill.

"Raise your shield!"

The neatly aligned soldiers raised their shields.

"Knife out, kill!"

The light of the knife flickered, and a row of knives was neat and neat, as if the momentum of Mount Tai was overwhelming.

One of Chen Jinnan's personal soldiers instructed the pikemen, and the pikemen were in a neat formation, and dozens of ash pole spears came out with a shouting order, which was very spectacular.

Another soldier instructs the birds, and the twenty-one birds stand in three rows.

The soldiers first practiced for the recruits to see, and then let them shoot alone, and after getting familiar with the bird, they would shoot under the command of the team officer in the future.

Wang Xinyu used a fixed paper bag bullet, the bird gun hand took out the bullet, bit open the paper bag, poured the gunpowder into the bird gun, then stuffed the bullet in, compacted it with a whole strip, and then poured the powder primer into the medicine pool, hung the fire rope, and then shot.

Bird guns use arquebuses, formations can't be kept too dense, or they can easily ignite teammates' gunpowder! Wang Xinyu can only practice with a queue with relatively large intervals.

The last six archers were personally instructed by Wang Xinyu.

After a morning of practice, each recruit has a certain momentum. As long as they practice for a while, they can go to the battlefield. Only by letting them see blood can they truly grow into an elite warrior.

At lunchtime, Wang Xinyu found that he had no money.

"The silver runs out, and in three days at most, they will be hungry." Wang Xinyu said to Feng Xifan helplessly.

In just one month, more than two thousand taels of silver were gone. Moreover, the soldiers' weapons, uniforms, some gunpowder and some food expenses do not cost Wang Xinyu's own money, but the military expenses issued by King Yanping. Because of the daily drills, the soldiers had a great increase in food, and they had to give them good food every once in a while, plus high-intensity musket shooting, and they had to buy more gunpowder for these soldiers, which was all their own money; The price of the fine bird gun is also a little more expensive than what King Yanping can accept, and the difference is also made up by Wang Xinyu himself. Including the coaching fee given to Feng Xifan, it was also paid by Wang Xinyu himself.

Wang Xinyu can't report to the above, I want to pay Chen Yonghua's personal soldiers, right? Those pro-soldiers were originally raised by Chen Jinnan at his own expense, and Wang Xinyu needed their help, so he couldn't let King Yanping give him this money.

Raising soldiers costs money like running water, and Wang Xinyu has pasted all his wife's books, but it is still not enough.

At this time, Wang Xinyu regretted a little in his heart: Why didn't he quote a high price for the flowering cannonball for King Yanping? One shell is more than ten taels of silver, and now three hundred shells have been produced, so three thousand taels of silver are in hand! Others say that arms dealers are the best way to do business, but they lose money as an arms dealer. However, he didn't want to make money from King Yanping, but he didn't expect that as soon as he recruited troops, the money would not be enough, and now it was too late to regret it.

The offer of flowering shells is already low, and there is no way to raise the price any more. If you want to make money as an arms dealer, you can only wait for the artillery factory to be built and make some money on the price of the artillery.

"Otherwise, wasn't it supposed to pay them a military salary? We will not pay the military salary first, but will pay for a while. I'll ask people to go to Master Chen again to ask for more silver. Feng Xifan said.

"Unpaid to them?" Wang Xinyu shook his head, "I'm afraid this is inappropriate, right?" We were in arrears for the first month, and they could still trust us in the future? And their military salary is not much, eighty-seven people, less than two hundred taels of silver, what can this money do? ”

So Feng Xifan and a few pro-soldiers summed up the "coaching fee" issued to them by Wang Xinyu to temporarily subsidize it, and it could be used for a while.

"Prince Wang, you owe our brother a few hundred taels of silver! Now that this account is settled, I'm going to give you interest!" 5 cents per month! Feng Xifan smiled sinisterly.

Feng Xifan's letter to Chen Jinnan for "emergency" has been sent, and in a few days, some more silver will be allocated from above. The money Wang Xinyu borrowed from Feng Xifan and them could last for a few days. But now not only do they not have the money to pay them the second month's coaching fee, but they can't even pay it back in the short term. The longer the time drags on, the higher the interest, and I don't know how much that guy will have to extort himself.

Three days later, Chen Jinnan replied, and along with the reply, there was also an advance of 800 taels of silver for next month's military expenses, plus 1,000 taels of silver that he lent to Wang Xinyu out of his own pocket, a total of 1,800 taels of silver.

With this money, Wang Xinyu can support it for a while. Fortunately, now that the weapons and gunpowder have been bought, in addition to the military salary, the remaining money only needs to be used to subsidize the improved food, which is enough to support at least a month and a half, but it can't recruit more people. Next, Wang Xinyu has to find a way to make money. In addition to the upcoming Xiamen War, which can make meritorious contributions, he also plans to raise the price of cannons to make money after the completion of the artillery factory in the future.

More than a month has passed, and it has entered May in a blink of an eye.

Half of the barrage dam at Wanshiyan Reservoir has been built, and Mr. Chen has written to Mr. Wang to tell him that he will soon need to make a trip to Macau to buy lathes. The matter of silver is not a problem, as long as the artillery factory is built, no matter how much money is spent, King Yanping can accept it. Moreover, King Yanping also planned that some of the made cannons could be sold to Zhang Huangyan in Zhoushan.

Seeing the letter, Wang Xinyu was a little confused; : Is Zhang Huangyan rich? It's just an empty head of the military department. He didn't know that Zhang Huangyan could actually get a lot of money, because the Manchu Qing Dynasty was easy to shave his hair and clothes, and there were many Jiangnan gentry families who supported Zhang Huangyan. Because of this, the Manchu Qing Dynasty later launched the three major cases in the south of the Yangtze River, such as the Waimiao Case, the Tonghai Case, and the Pinju Case, which were used to crack down on the gentry class who tried to oppose the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty, so that Zhang Huangyan lost the support of a large number of gentry.

Quanzhou Qing army camp.

Shi Lang reported to Dasu: "Your Excellency, General! Our army is about to attack in five days! Wu Liuqi's Guangdong sailor is already on the way! They're sure to make it as promised! The main force of our army set out from Quanzhou and passed through the waters north of Kinmen, where we fought a decisive battle with Zheng Wei. In that case, Wu Liuqi's Guangdong sailors would be able to take the opportunity to land from the south of Xiamen Island! In addition, Li Shuotai's Eight Banners Naval Division, which set sail from Zhangzhou, will join us in the waters east of Xiamen. As for Chen Peng, the dark stake that his subordinates had already arranged, he would ask him to send the warship in advance! Seeing his warship enter our Tong'an waters, his strange soldiers hiding in the north of Gaoqi can take the opportunity to cross the sea! After going ashore, Chen Peng will lead our warriors to attack in depth and take the camp of Zheng Reverse Land Division in the south of the island! In addition, as long as our army has the advantage, Liu Guoxuan, the original subordinate general, will inevitably take the opportunity to defect! ”

"Liu Guoxuan? Is this person reliable? This person has killed my Manchurian banner man before! Dasu asked.

"This man has both ends of the rat, and if our army gains, this man will turn against him; If our army loses, this person will still follow Zheng Rebellious. However, his subordinates believe that Zheng will die in this battle! ”

Da Su said with a smile: "This battle is the last battle of my Qing Dynasty against Ming Dog!" Destroyed Zheng Ming, Zhoushan Zhang Reverse, and Southwest Li Reversible made people panic and self-defeating! My Qing Dynasty will dominate the world just around the corner! ”

"General Annan is wise and mighty! Our army will win! Huang Wu stepped forward and said flatteringly.

"General Annam will win!"

"Kill the Bright Dog!"

There was a cheer in the big tent of the Qing army.

"Everyone, be quiet!" Shi Lang made a gesture, then turned his head to salute Da Su, "General, my subordinates have one more thing to report!" ”

"What's the matter?"

"There is a strange person under Chen Peng's command, who is good at firearms, especially at making flowering shells. According to Chen Peng, the flowering cannonball was extremely powerful, and one cannon festered for dozens of miles! If it can be used in water warfare, even a soft-sailed ship can be sunk with one shot! If this person can be used by me, it will be a blessing for me! ”

"This man's flowering cannonball is so powerful?" Dasu was taken aback.

Shi Lang bent down and replied, "Not bad!" The soldiers under the command of the villain were opposite Gaoqi, and they had also seen the Ming army on the other side test firing flowering shells, which were indeed extremely powerful, and when a cannon hit, a big boat ignited a fire dozens of zhang high, and immediately turned into powder! ”

"Then recruit this person immediately!"

It's a pity that this person is a little stubborn, and Chen Peng has already moved with killing intent. But the subordinates thought that it was better to give this person a chance, and then the subordinates would order that when Chen Peng's sailor defected to my Wang Shi, let him bring this person with him. If it can't be used by me, it's not too late to kill him. ”

Dasu nodded: "Yes!" If this person is willing to submit to the king's division, the general can go to the court and give him a general. Da Su still hasn't said anything: if Wang Xinyu arrives at the Qing army, he can make great contributions, and he can even carry the flag for him and let him enter the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty.

"The subordinates will go and prepare, send someone to the other side, and let Chen Peng send the warship along with that person!" Shi Lang saluted.

In the dead of night, a small boat sneakily sailed towards the camp of the Takasaki Ming Army.

"Who?" The sailors of the Ming army found the boat.

Chen Peng's cronies arrived, and the people on the small boat first gave a secret signal, and when the cronies drove away the other Ming troops, a strong warrior on the small boat lowered his voice and said, "I would like to tell you Lord Chen, the situation is urgent, and the people from the opposite side are looking for him." ”

After his cronies reported to Chen Peng, people from the other side visited Chen Peng's mansion overnight.

A total of ten people came, entered Chen Peng's mansion, and the warrior led by the leader asked the remaining seven to wait in the compound, and he walked into the hall with two fierce faces and big men.

Chen Peng raised his hand and asked the rest of the people to step down, leaving only the master and his two cronies.

"Okay, there's no outsider here, you say!" Chen Peng whispered.

The warrior said softly: "Lord Chen, the main force of our army will set off from Quanzhou in the early morning of the 10th, and it will be able to engage the vanguard of Zheng Rebellion at dawn. General Shi Lang estimated that Wang Shi encountered Zheng Yi at about a certain time and fought a decisive battle at sea! When the time comes, the 5,000 strange soldiers opposite Takasaki will also cross the sea! Lord Shi wants you to send the sailor to the other side first on the 10th day. In addition, General Shi specially explained that Wang Yu should also be brought with him, and he will be sent to the other side with the sailor, and he will be alive! If this matter is successful, Master Shi will promise to promote you to a second-rank deputy general! ”

Chen Peng's face was embarrassed: "That Wang Yu is now gradually plumping his wings, and there are more than 100 elite soldiers in his hands, and each of them is a pro-soldier!" I'm afraid the second thief is not easy to deal with! If he wants to die, the official can have someone poison him and plot against him. If you want to live, you can only wait for the king to land. ”

The Qing army warrior sneered: "You don't have to wait for the king division to land, you can order him to go to the water division camp!" As long as he gets on the boat, he can't help it! I also brought two Manchurian warriors here, and when the time comes, the three of us will go to your flagship, with the strength of the three of us, not to mention a small Wang Yu, even a hundred people can be easily killed! ”

As he spoke, the Qing warrior pointed to the two big men standing behind him.

The master secretly glanced at the two big men, and was suddenly shocked: these two people are really battle-hardened warriors! It can be seen that they are strong in martial arts, and there is a kind of murderous aura on their bodies!

"But he is a land division, how can he order him to go on the naval division's warship?" Chen Peng asked anxiously.

The master on the side smiled and bowed his hand to the Qing army warrior: "This lord is high!" Yes, we have a way to trick him into getting on the sailor's ship! ”

"Does the military advisor have a clever plan?" Chen Peng asked.

The master smiled: "Didn't the flowering cannonball be made by Wang Yu?" We've been urging him to make us some flowering shells these days. When the king division was about to arrive, he told him that the sailor was going to go out to block the enemy, but our sailor was not familiar with the flowering shells, so let him get on the boat and teach the sailor gunner. Are you afraid that he won't get on board? As long as he gets on the boat, it will be the business of these three Manchurian lords! ”

"High! The master is really smart! Chen Peng smiled.

Early the next morning, Chen Peng asked his cronies to convey an order to Wang Xinyu: There is an abnormal movement in the Tartars on the other side, and it may attack our army secretly. Takasaki Sailor needs some flowering bombs, not too many, just prepare them for the flagship. At that time, you can face the enemy army.

After receiving Chen Peng's order, Wang Xinyu asked the craftsmen to work overtime to make a batch of flowering cannonballs and provide them to Chen Peng.

In the early morning of 10 May, the naval division of the Qing army in Quanzhou pulled anchor and set sail, and a total of more than 800 warships, large and small, rushed to the waters of Xiamen with murderous spirit.