Zuo Wuwei knew that it was not a big problem for such a cannon to be used as a seal for old-style artillery such as the Tiger Squat Cannon, but when it was used on a cannon like the Franc cannon or the Hongyi cannon, there would be a problem of astringent firing, and in serious cases, it would even cause an accident of exploding. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

Although he didn't know the terms "clearance" and "airtightness", years of experience in igniting firecrackers had taught him that if the cannon was not smooth and round enough, even the best cast cannon would leak, and the cannon would not be able to hit far or even more terrible.

The army in the Humen camp was waiting for the day, and at this time in the Zhaoqing Governor's Mansion, Wu Mingjin was standing in the warm pavilion, accepting Wang Zunde's questioning.

"Wu Xianling, as a parent official, why did he sit back and watch Bo Fu's thieves behave mischiefly?"

Wu Mingjin trembled, as a Shangguan, he asked such a thing, which can be described as quite stern. He replied tremblingly: "Go back to the throne and humble your post...... Humble and incompetent, unable to do anything to see the thieves wreaking havoc......"

Wang Zunde's original intention was not to discuss the merits and demerits of Wu Mingjin's tenure, he was a governor of the military affairs of Liangguang and Guangxi, and he was also the feudal official of Guangdong, how could he have spare time to care whether a county order was competent or not, and the purpose of calling him was mainly to find out the truth of the Bofu thief. Seeing him like this at this moment, he frowned and said, "You don't have to panic, although the thieves are raging under your rule, you can finally defend the county seat, which can be regarded as a combination of merits and demerits." ”

When Wu Mingjin heard this, he finally stopped shaking, and hurriedly answered: "I can't drive away the thieves, so I have to stick to the county seat, but fortunately the county seat has been saved." After speaking, he secretly stretched out his hand to wipe his sweat, this is pure nonsense, the county seat has become the back garden of the south of the summer, the city walls have been demolished cleanly, just relying on his benevolence did not demolish the county office, the so-called holding the county seat is just a joke. But for the sake of the black gauze hat, I can't care so much about telling some lies.

"It is said that thieves are trained as private soldiers, have sharp firearms, are better than boats, and are not good at land warfare, is it true?"

Listening to the governor's question, Wu Mingjin's heart flashed with the words that Qian Youyu confessed before leaving-"The county lord is going to Zhaoqing, and everything can be told the truth, but if the lord of Taiwan asks whether the thieves entrenched in Bofu are good at water warfare and not good at land warfare, he must answer true." Whether the county's future can be preserved or even promoted depends on this. Thinking about the impact of Xia Nan's victory in the battle against the official army on his career, he made up his mind.

"On the platform, the thieves do train private soldiers, but the number is not more than a thousand, and there are only a few hundred henchmen; Firearms were indeed sharp, but the cannons they cast were mostly used on warships; It built several ** hundred material ships in Bofu, as high as a wall, as long as a dragon, like the wind, the sound of artillery roaring like thunder, no one in the vicinity of the pirates could stop its edge, and they have invested in its tents, and now they have collected a lot of outlaws at sea...... "This remark, nine become true, most of them are heard from other people's mouths, mixed with Wu Mingjin's speculation and conjecture, organized the wording, and described it vividly.

Wang Zunde couldn't help nodding, these words should be true, Wu Mingjin is a magistrate ordered by the imperial court after all, there may be exaggerations, and it is impossible to lie.

In this way, the thieves are indeed powerful warships and sharp firearms, but the combat power on land is weak, the total number is less than 1,000, He Rubin's inference has been verified, and his own deployment strategy is also correct, more than 10,000 troops are attacking, like lions and rabbits, and there is no doubt about victory.

He stroked his beard and smiled: "Wu County's order is surrounded by such powerful thieves, and he can still hold on to the county seat, and the food and salary are also handed over in time, and he knows the strength of the thieves well, so he is really capable." ”

A staff member echoed: "Lingao is located on the border, the city defense is simple, and the guards near it are all tired and old soldiers, and Wu County's order can be said to be able to defend the county seat, which can be described as meritorious." ”

Wu Mingjin didn't even dare to take it, but he sighed in his heart, it really depends on the superior's mouth, if you want to treat you, it is a dereliction of duty not to expel the thief, if you want to praise you, it is meritorious to be able to defend the county, it depends on which angle you choose to look at.

In May of the fifth year of Chongzhen, after nearly two months of preparation, more than 15,000 officers and soldiers gathered in the Humen camp were finally ready to parade the sacrificial flag.

Although the number of troops mobilized was not too large -- the conquest of more than 10,000 troops was not ranked among the major military operations of the Ming Dynasty -- it was not easy to raise food and salaries in just two months, to make enough money to be paid, and to put the armaments in order.

On the day of the flag, the main civil and military officials and gentry and celebrities of the Guangzhou Prefecture and Haibei Branch Guarding the Road came.

On the school ground, many soldiers and horses had gathered, and the local gentlemen who were invited sighed in surprise while holding their beards. They whispered and pointed to the flags fluttering on the school ground, and no one could figure out how many soldiers and horses there were. Among them, the older ones can still vaguely remember the grand occasion when the official army crossed the sea to clear the battle during the Wanli period, and now this time it seems that it is not inferior to that year - the official army crossing the sea is known as 50,000 horses.

In addition to He Rubin's town mark and family ding, the standard making and the first part of the Fu standard, the Guangdong Ming Army had a total of three staff generals and a guerrilla department: they were Chaozhou generals, Qiongya generals, Lei Lian generals, and Guangdong training guerrilla generals. These four generals were different from the empty lieutenant generals, staff generals, and guerrillas who were increasingly rampant in the late Ming Dynasty. Basically, the main force of the whole of Guangdong, except for the east and west mountain staff generals of Fang Yao, almost went out. Such a formation has not been seen by the officials and gentry of Guangzhou for decades.

Suddenly, a shout of "spare your life" sounded, and the officials and gentry turned their heads to see that they were several prisoners who had stripped off their shirts and tied up with all kinds of flowers, and were covered in torture scars, and were being escorted by several soldiers and driven towards the school grounds. They staggered and shouted. A person who watched the sacrificial flag explained: "These are death row prisoners, and they will be pulled to behead and sacrifice the flag." ”

Several prisoners, pushed and shoved under the flagpole of the school yard, were ordered to kneel. A few swordsmen came over, and with the sound of the cannon, several bloody human heads fell to the ground one by one and placed under the flagpole.

Immediately afterwards, twenty-four snare drums were beaten, and with the sound of drums and sudden horns, a red flag was raised on the platform.

The armies gathered in the distance like dark clouds moved slowly, like the faint thunder before a rainstorm, and the footsteps became louder, and the swordsmen with broadswords in their hands, the archers with bows and arrows on their backs, the spearmen with spears pointed diagonally at the sky, and the firearms men with three-eyed guns and bird-guns...... Squad after team walked in a certain formation with neat steps, and countless flags fluttered in the smoke and dust raised by the soldiers.

(To be continued.) )