Nanking.

Since the Qing army was defeated in northern Sichuan six years ago, the life of the governor of Jiangnan has become more and more comfortable. In the past few years, Jiang Guozhu's gray hair has not only not increased at all, but has become more and more red, and he feels that it will not be a problem to serve the country for another ten years in the position of governor of Liangjiang; The problem that bothers Jiang Guozhu the most now is how to ensure that his son can succeed him smoothly -- Jiang Guozhu was still looking forward to making great contributions to Deng Ming's action to unify the world to ensure that his children and grandchildren are rich and noble, but because Deng Ming was unwilling to fight in the country, this wish could not be realized. In addition, Jiangxi's Zhang Dynasty is still a piece of Jiang Guozhu's heart, the latter, like him, has prolonged his life because of the fiasco of officers and soldiers, and now he is still separating Jiangxi, so that Jiang Guozhu's Liangjiang Governor is still in name.

Because Deng Ming went on an expedition overseas, Jiang Guozhu's mind became active again, and he brought his old comrade-in-arms Liang Huafeng to discuss - now Admiral Liang is not only still the commander-in-chief of the Liangjiang Army, but also Jiang Guozhu's sons and daughters like Zhou Peigong.

"Deng Xiang went to Nanyang this time, I'm afraid he won't be able to come back for a year and a half, right?" Jiang Guozhu had no interest in discussing the previous military adventure in Beijing with Liang Huafeng, the Kangxi Emperor had already lost long before the army was dispatched, and half a month before the war began, all kinds of inside information about the Qing court's military dispatch circulated everywhere in the exchange. Kangxi's imperial court bought a large number of bonds in Sichuan, and high-ranking officials and generals had deposits and real estate in Chengdu. Even the Manchurian Taijun sent his children to Sichuan to go to school, and the prince's side Fujin also went to accompany them...... Before the troops were dispatched, the commander-in-chief and senior officers embezzled military salaries to speculate in futures, and it would be hellish if the emperor could win this battle.

"I won't be able to come back anytime soon." In recent years, Liang Huafeng helped Jiang Guozhu build a fairly good army, and also hired a large number of retired officers from western Sichuan to help train officers and soldiers. Liang Huafeng also knew very well about Jiang Guozhu's thoughts, the Qing court was very powerful before Deng Ming's rise, and everyone never thought of attacking each other; After the First World War in northern Sichuan, the prestige of the Qing court was discredited, but Deng Ming came out again to suppress everyone, making everyone drool while watching the neighbors' territories, but they didn't dare to do it.

Wu Sangui's annexation of Guangxi was a topic that Jiang Guozhu and Liang Huafeng discussed for several years, and Jiang Guozhu believed that there were two key factors in Wu Sangui's success. The first is that the timing is good, when the Northern Sichuan Campaign had just ended, Deng Ming and the Qing court's attention was in the north, and Wu Sangui just took advantage of this gap that Beijing and Chengdu had no time to interfere; The second is to act quickly, if Wu Sangui falls into a protracted war, then Sichuan will at least sell arms to the weaker side, if it drags on for a longer time, maybe Deng Ming will send troops to participate in the war.

"Does the Governor have any interest in Jiangxi?" Liang Huafeng asked. The experience he summed up from Wu Sangui's success is different from Jiang Guozhu, Liang Huafeng feels that to do big things, you must be good at turning your face and not recognizing people, but Liang Huafeng thinks about it, and it is better not to discuss this topic with his boss.

"If it takes more than a year for Deng Xiang to come back, this is really a good opportunity to unify the two rivers." Sure enough, as Liang Huafeng expected, Jiang Guozhu was indeed pondering Nanchang. First, now that Deng Ming is not there, and the Qing court has suffered another defeat, the timing seems to be very appropriate; Second, this is the internal affairs of Liangjiang in the final analysis, Jiang Guozhu is the governor of Liangjiang recognized by both Beijing and Chengdu, and the elimination of the Zhang Dynasty separatist forces in Nanchang is justified; Third, now Jiangxi relies on the sale of a large amount of porcelain to Sichuan merchants, and its financial situation is quite good, and Jiang Guozhu's strength will become stronger after the unification of the two rivers.

It stands to reason that Zhejiang is also a target that can be considered. However, the current national shape is not easy to say, if it is not a troubled time, it is obvious that it has been divided from the local government; If it is a troubled time, Beijing and Chengdu also have a considerable deterrent effect on the provinces, and everyone needs to find excuses to bully their neighbors. Zhao Guozuo's Zhejiang was not within the sphere of influence of the Governor of Liangjiang, and if Jiang Guozhu forcibly attacked him, it would be easy to be criticized by the governors of the north and south. Moreover, Zhao Guozuo is a very well-behaved person, and the annual shipping to Beijing has always been maintained at more than 70 percent of the tax payable, and he has also vigorously developed the forbidden sea zone, which was forbidden to the sea several years ago, and the forbidden sea in Yiwu was also put on the agenda at the beginning of this year -- in this way, most of Zhejiang is a forbidden sea zone. Even if Jiang Guozhu invaded Zhejiang, he would not dare to go to the forbidden sea area to accept the territory of the Eastern Zhejiang Army. The most critical point is that Zhao Guozuo and Song Kui relied on the strict ban on the sea and took a lot of money from the Zhejiang Eastern Army, half of which they deposited in the bank in Chengdu, and half of it was used to bribe the senators and imperial parliamentarians of the Senate, and Chengdu was full of good things about Zhao Guozuo and Songkui; Just last year, the Hangzhou general Songkui also said that the shaving order was outdated, and the imperial court revised the policy and preemptively announced the cancellation of the shaving order in Zhejiang.

"Your Excellency Governor, the last general thinks so too." Liang Huafeng nodded heavily. For a long time, he has been unhappy with Jiangxi, and Liang Huafeng is no longer young when he asks himself, he has been waiting for Deng Ming to launch a unified war for many years, but he can't wait for the left or the right to come, if he continues to be peaceful like this, Liang Huafeng will have no chance to make contributions.

After gaining the support of Liang Huafeng, Jiang Guozhu secretly convened a staff meeting of the governor's yamen, followed by a military meeting attended by a large number of Jiangnan officers. Over the years, relying on the continuous sale of silk, cotton and other raw materials to Sichuan, the Yamen, the governor of Liangjiang, also accumulated some savings; Moreover, Jiang Guozhu is far from being as honest as Zhao Guozuo, and he always tries his best to deduct Beijing's shipping. After the Battle of Northern Sichuan, Jiang Guozhu's annual arrears of money and grain reached half of the tax due, and there was no problem in raising a war against Jiangxi.

Most of the officers also welcomed the governor's plan with high hands, their ideas were similar to those of Liang Huafeng, and if they didn't fight, their soldiers would have no value. These officers patted their chests and assured Jiang Guozhu that they could easily defeat the Zhang Dynasty and assist Jiang Guozhu in realizing the great cause of unifying the two rivers.

Although Jiang Guozhu strictly forbade everyone to leak the contents of the meeting, but after two meetings, the exchanges in Nanjing and Nanchang still reacted quickly, and the wind direction moved, Jingdezhen under Zhang Chao, the shares of the provincial ceramic group fell sharply, and the futures price of ceramics rose rapidly; Although the rise and fall in Nanjing was not so large, many people panicked when they heard that there was going to be a war.

"What the hell is going on?" Jiang Guozhu couldn't help but be furious, and called Liang Huafeng again: "Why hasn't this official given the order to prepare for war, and even Chengdu knows about it?" Just now, the Sichuan consul came to the official, and asked the official to value harmony and forbear the country! ”

"I heard that someone wants to make a fortune with inside information." Liang Huafeng said cautiously: "My lord's Governor's Yamen, as well as the Admiral's Yamen, there have always been many people who speculate in stocks. ”

"Ugh." Jiang Guozhu let out a long sigh. Not long ago, when he watched the emperor's jokes, he felt very funny, but now that it was his turn, he realized that this taste was very bitter: "This official has long said that we should also be like Chengdu, and officials and close relatives within three suits should not be allowed to speculate in stocks, and the property of officials should also be disclosed." ”

"Your Excellency the Governor, this kind of practice is not in line with the people's feelings of my Liangjiang." Liang Huafeng was shocked when he heard this. As the first Liangjiang people to learn of Jiang Guozhu's intention to attack Nanchang, his wife and son were the first to rely on inside information to speculate in the Nanjing stock market. Seeing Jiang Guozhu's expression a little hesitant, Liang Huafeng was afraid that the other party would retreat: "Lord Governor, since we have already started to do it, we have to complete this matter." If the Governor retreats at this time, I am afraid that the last general will damage the prestige of the Governor. ”

"Well, how can this official not know the truth that there is no turning back when the bow is opened?" Jiang Guozhu glanced at Liang Huafeng, suspecting that his chief general had also leaked secrets -- but as Liang Huafeng said, it is indeed difficult to ride a tiger now, and it is estimated that a large number of staff and officers have gone to speculate.

"As long as we quickly occupy Jiangxi, Chengdu will only have to admit the facts. Did the Governor tell the consul that we have absolute confidence in the supply of porcelain, and that if the porcelain were in our hands, our price would be lower than that of the Zhang Dynasty. Liang Huafeng said confidently: "Aren't Sichuan people just trying to make money? As long as we can make sure they earn more, is that still a problem? ”

After the news reached Nanchang, Zhang Chao personally rushed to Jiujiang to sit in the town, saying that he would defend Jiangxi for the Qing Dynasty. He also accused Chiang Guozhu of attempting to manipulate the selection of governor of Jiangxi, which was an outright betrayal of the Qing Dynasty and would only cheapen the chaotic party in Chengdu -- while accusing the governors of the whole country of Jiang Guozhu of being in tune with Deng and explaining the justice of Jiangxi's self-defense, Zhang Chao also met with the Chengdu consul stationed in Jiujiang in the hope of urgently purchasing a batch of arms.

Although the matter has been exposed, Jiang Guozhu did not stop doing it, and ridiculed each other that Zhang Chao was in love with the authority, held the post of governor of Jiangxi for many years, and tried to pass it on to his son, he was really a sinner of the Qing Dynasty! Moreover, Jiang Guozhu also listed some criminal evidence, refuting that in fact, Zhang Chao was really "Tongdeng". As the governor of Liangjiang, it was incumbent upon Chiang Guozhu to crusade against the rebellious Zhang Dynasty -- Jiang Guozhu knew that because he had been withholding money and grain destined for Beijing all these years, the imperial court had a very bad impression of him, and he would certainly not agree to him accusing Zhang Chao of being a "Tongdeng." Therefore, Jiang Guozhu did not continue to spend more time in Beijing, but met with the Sichuan consul in Nanjing again, saying that he would do his best to ensure the smooth porcelain trade, and Jiang Guozhu was willing to ban the sea in Chizhou, Tongling and other places.

In addition to Beijing and Chengdu, Nanjing and Nanchang are also very concerned about Anqing Zhou Peigong's attitude towards this.

After Wu Sangui annexed Guangxi, Zhou Peigong rushed to Guizhou to mediate successfully, and obtained the title of political envoy of the two provinces from Wu Sangui; When they returned from Guangdong and Fujian, the vassal kings of these two provinces, out of wariness of Wu Sangui or other neighbors, also appointed Zhou Peigong as the political envoy of their two provinces. Coupled with the favor of Gao Mingzhan, the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, Zhou Peigong was already the political envoy of the twelve provinces at this time. In recent years, Zhou Buzheng held high the banner of "suppressing Deng" in Anqing, invited various banks in Sichuan to invest, and also invited Sichuan arms dealers to become shareholders, and set up many arms factories. His anti-Deng corps can also invite active officers of the empire instead of veterans as instructors, and his strength is considerable.

Now that the war between Jiangnan and Jiangxi is about to break out, Zhou Peigong's attitude has become very important, and the eyes of the people of the world are quickly focused on Anqing.

〖