Chapter 288: The Southeast Sea

Chongzhen's six-year battlefield of suppressing thieves is to catch fire everywhere and put out fires everywhere in terms of results. In February, the thieves entered Beizhili and trapped Zhaozhou, Xishan, Shunde, Zhending and other places, and Baoding was in an emergency. Then he defeated Zuo Liangyu in Wu'an, and many officials were killed.

In June, the Sichuan army Deng Xi's troops shot Zijin Liang in Jiyuan, and were soon defeated in Linxian. On November 24, the peasant army broke out of the encirclement by crossing the frozen flight of the Yellow River; The three counties of Liankemichi, Lushi and Yiyang (now Ruyang) entered Henan from Shaanxi. Yuan Mo, the governor of Henan, intercepted it with heavy troops, and the peasant army turned south, passing through Ruzhou (now Linru) to Xichuan, Neixiang, Guanghua, and Nanyang. After that, the peasant army was divided into joint camps, and the five battalions of peasant armies such as Lao Hui Hui attacked Huguang.

I can't help but say that Zhu Youzhen was too unlucky, seeing that the thieves were about to be encircled and suppressed, the Yellow River actually froze, and then rushed into Henan, and since then the situation in the Central Plains has been out of control, sweeping half of Henan Province.

Zhang Fengyi, the secretary of the Ministry of War, did not have a high evaluation in the history books, and used "weak and sluggish" to describe him in the history of the Ming Dynasty, and in the face of the surging tide of thieves, he could not come up with a practical countermeasure. Chongzhen didn't like him very much, why didn't he replace him, the history books didn't say it.

After entering the winter, Chen Xie's Dengzhou battalion did not move much, Lushun was busy with construction, the wharf had to be repaired, and the main force of the Dengzhou Navy Division stayed in Lushun Port for a long time. If you're fine, just go out and walk around the group and see what you have to grab. Uh, it's not a robbery, it's a check.

The orders from the military department were one after another, and each one was more urgent than the other. Zhang Fengyi is not annoyed, Chen Xie is annoyed. But every time Chen Xie's reply to the military department was the same, the troops needed to rest. Troops were sent before the end of the year. Now they all know that the Dengzhou battalion can fight, and the military department grabbed this life-saving straw and refused to let it go. It can only be repeated urgings, and the wording is becoming more and more harsh.

Chen Xie was not present at all, and continued to reply according to the original meaning, and the "severe punishment without credit" in the military department's text was exchanged for Chen Xie's sneer: "You bite me." "Then Chen Xie continued to do what he should do, for a period of time, Chen Xie has been wandering around various factories, and the scale of the Ordnance Bureau has been so large that there are more than 5,000 senior craftsmen. Plus other craftsmen and apprentices. 20,000 people can't hold it. Subordinate cannon foundry, rifle factory, gunpowder factory, armor factory. A rudimentary system of military merit has taken shape. That's it. And that's not counting the steel mills and shipyards. Counting these two factories, Chen Xie found that the ranks of the working class were in Dengzhou, under his own industry alone. There are fifty or sixty thousand people. The entire Dengzhou capital, divided according to class, can have more than 100,000 working classes. It has only been a few years of hard work, and it can be seen that once industrialization starts, the speed of development will inevitably be rapid.

Amid the sound of ping-pong firecrackers, the first 3,000-class ship was launched, which, according to modern calculations, has a standard displacement of 1,000 tons. Compared to the West of the same period, this is a small ship. But in Daming, this is a top-notch big ship.

According to the model provided by Chen Xie, the warship produced in a large scale is a triangular soft sail. Two decks, 40 guns, 235 personnel. Close to the level of a fourth-tier battleship of the British standard, but a little worse. It belongs to the pinnacle of the fifth-class battleship, characterized by fast speed, can run at a level of 12 knots, and the naval gun has a long range, and the rifled cannon with a barrel of nearly three meters can hit a distance of 4,500 meters. Let's put it this way, the farthest naval guns of this era are on this ship.

The question of this sail caused quite a stir at one time. Objectively speaking, when sailing offshore, hard sails are significantly more efficient. However, Chen Xie's warship was going to the ocean to grab territory with others, and of course he could not accept this viewpoint, which was advanced in terms of consciousness. From this side, it is not difficult to see the reality of the Chinese.

Fran Aranda trembled slightly with excitement as she watched the battleship raise its sail in the sea for sea trials. Chen Xie looked calm, but in fact it was not much better. It's just that his "pretending" has become an instinct.

"Longkou Shipyard has been able to build 500 material ships, as long as the raw materials are sufficient, it can launch 10 ships a year. The next step in Qishan Shipyard's plan is to launch a larger ship with a design standard displacement of 1,800 tons. At the same time, five 1,000-ton ships were launched. According to your plan, our shipbuilding business is growing rapidly. As she reported to work, Fran Aranda watched the frantic celebrations on the docks. When you basically integrate into this country, you can understand the meaning of the Ming Dynasty people setting off firecrackers and lion dances and dragon lanterns. Oh, and the scene of sacrificing the dragon king, what a waste, such a fat pig's head was thrown into the sea.

"How is the shipyard construction in Jiaozhou Bay?" Chen Xie's gaze was undoubtedly a little farther away, and Fran Yalanda thought for a moment before replying: "By August next year at the latest, the construction of large warships can officially begin." There is a problem, it must be reminded that our firewood sources are mainly Liaodong and Korea. ”

Chen Xie looked at the other end of the sea, tightened his collar, and said lightly: "Don't worry, it won't delay your affairs." ”

The flag was issued from the battleship, "In good condition, a qiēshun lì." Chen Xie smiled and raised his binoculars, saw that the guy from Xilao Jing was standing in the command position, crooked his mouth, and said to Su Haochen beside him: "Remember to remind this guy that there is only three months for him to familiarize himself with this ship." At the beginning of spring, we are going to North Korea. ”

Su Haochen maintained his usual elegance, straightened his chest slightly, and raised his hand to salute: "I understand my humble duties." However, he thought that the affairs of the sailor should be handled by an expert person. The master only needs to tell him what to do and what level to achieve. ”

Chen Xie smiled, becoming more and more satisfied with the ability of this chief of staff. Standing in Chen Xie's position, there is no chance to do something concrete. In the matter of the Dengzhou battalion, the staff team led by Su Haochen is the main force of specific things.

"How's the situation with the second battalion?" When Chen Xie mentioned this, Su Haochen's expression immediately became stern, and he said, "If you don't consider the problem of logistics, you should be able to go to the battlefield at any time." The four-wheeled carriage could not adapt to the roads of Henan, and there was still a gap of about 50 two-wheeled carriages. The latest order of the Ministry of War is to let our army go to Nanyang Mansion, and the gang of people in the Ministry of War are all pigs. Each time the order is different, before the winter, let us go to Linxian, then let us go to Luoyang, and then come down and let us go to Ruzhou Mansion. ”

"We don't worry about whether the people in the military department are pigs, tell Chang Shiren, his task is to lead this army well, don't let people be guns. Nanyang Mansion is Nanyang Mansion, it is estimated that they rushed to Nanyang Mansion, and the thieves have all crossed the Han River. ”

"The old man is wise, and after repeated observations, he found that the thieves have a characteristic, that is, they are very mobile. If you can't fight, you can fight, and if you can't fight, you can run. To deal with the thieves, it is still mainly blocked, and the elite cavalry is pursued. ”

Chen Xie nodded and didn't say anything more. Acquiescing to his point of view, the problem is that the second battalion of B is all infantry, and can only follow the thieves from a distance. This is the key, everyone knows it, just don't pick it out.

It was already the end of November, and Chen Xie, who returned to Dengzhou, met the dusty Li Heng in Zhangjiazhuang.

As a shareholder and important collaborator of Qianzhuang, Li Heng was treated very well, and he could wait for Chen Xie directly in Zhangjiazhuang.

Zhangjiazhuang, which is backed by Longshan, now looks more and more like a fortress. There are no less than 20 turrets with a height of three feet, and there are three steps, one post, five steps and one sentry along the way, sheltering this side of the water and soil. Li Heng knows very well that this is Chen Xie's lair, and every piece of land under his feet belongs to Chen Xie personally. Today, there are still some landlords in Dengzhou Mansion, but their land is leased directly to the agricultural cooperative in Zhangjiazhuang. If you don't do that, you can't find tenants to farm. The kind of rent that used to collect 60% or even 70% has long been extinct. The land rent in Dengzhou Mansion is very uniform, three into five. After paying the field endowment, there is still nearly forty percent of the income left.

Let's put it this way, the local young people are no longer farming. The economic model near Zhangjiazhuang is very mixed, there are many small factories that can go to work, and farmers who do not work are more willing to engage in breeding, or grow greenhouse vegetables. There are very few farmers who actually grow food, and that thing is too slow to make money.

Li Heng witnessed the changes in the water and soil over the years, and compared with the other places he saw, he felt a lot of emotion in his heart. While waiting, I was thinking about how to deepen cooperation with Chen Xie. Fuzhou and Hangzhou's Dafa Qianzhuang branches, Li Heng's concessions are not small. I heard that the provinces and states below Nanzhili have further opened semicolons, and those who don't have much money are more bold and move faster. Feeling that he was lagging behind, Li Heng was a little uneasy.

Chen Xie, who had changed into casual clothes, appeared in the living room, and said from afar: "Lao Li, I'm slacking!" There are too many things to do. If you hadn't come, I would have to go to Huangxian County, and I would have to go to Henan in the middle of next month. ”

Li Heng got up and bowed in return, and said with a smile: "I've been an old friend for many years, so it's boring to be polite." This time, I brought a piece of news. If it weren't for this news, I would have been here two months earlier. ”

Chen Xie made a gesture of please, motioning for him to continue. Li Heng continued: "Since July, the Dutch in Rejaran have been making trouble along the coast. Only after taking the relationship with the Francos did they know that their purpose was to force Daming to accept their conditions. In mid-July, the Dutch attacked Xiamen, and Zheng Zhilong suffered a big loss. At the end of July, Liu Xiang and Li Guozhu agreed to the conditions of the Dutch, aided in the abuse, and declared war with the Ming Dynasty. The Dutch made a six-point demand, and war was inevitable after being rejected. The fighting went back and forth until 22 October, when the Dutch were defeated at sea, losing three large ships, and fled back to Dayuan Island. ”

"Zou Weilian, the governor of Fujian, I'm afraid he won't be able to do it." Chen Xie smiled and added.

Li Heng nodded: "Cutting off people's financial routes and killing his parents, he has to put the sea ban into practice, and it's not bad if he doesn't let people die." ”

Chen Xie said: "Hehe, I don't know who will hold this wealth in the future." ”

"Liu Xiang and Li Guozhu over there, do you want to bring a letter?"

"Forget it, the twisted melon is not sweet, and love will not come." (To be continued......)