Dominate the Country

In the backyard of the He family in Jingzhou, the eldest young master of the He family, He Jizhong, hurried over. "Is the master in the study?" He grabbed a boy sweeping the floor and asked.

"Here, in the study. I just saw Manager Zhou coming out of the study..."

As soon as the boy finished speaking, He Jizhong was already running quickly towards the study.

"Young Master, Young Master..." By the time He's mother got the letter and asked the old lady in front of her to call for someone, He Jizhong had already entered the study. The mother-in-law had no choice but to turn around and go back. Not just anyone could enter the study.

"How can you be out of breath and panic?" Mr. He in the study said dissatisfiedly to He Jizhong.

He Jizhong no longer had the fear of facing his father in the past, and said anxiously: "Dad, why did you let people hang... that thing out? That is a disaster." The Fuhan Army entered Hubei, and the government was everywhere. The spies who are arresting the Fuhan Army hang that thing out now. If the secret is leaked, wouldn't it be the death of the whole family?

When He Jizhong was inspecting the salt shop today, he saw a piece of gray Bi Yuewu suddenly appeared in the middle of his salt shop. His heart stopped at that moment. I only asked a few questions at the salt shop and hurried home.

"Humph, disaster? That is our family's life-saving talisman. With this sign, the old He family can be safe in this disaster." Mr. He glanced at his eldest son, and there were endless thoughts in his heart, but it was like that It’s a messy cocoon that can’t be rectified. Was it because he was too stupid when he forced him to study? I always feel like I'm missing a bit of spirituality.

"When I made that deal with Yunyang, you said no, because you were afraid of being caught by the government. But if you hadn't made thousands of taels of silver from that deal to subsidize your family, when the government tried to persuade you to donate, our family would all have pawned it. Sold properties and stores.”

He Zongxiang said to his son with a tone of 'disdain' in his tone. Of course he knew where the nearly thousand-ton batch of salt was sent from Yunyang, but as long as he had money, where did he care where the salt went? He was happy to do this business. And besides the silver, the He family also had an extra piece of Bi Yuewu, which was something that was difficult to sell even with money.

"Dad, the Chen family just reached Hanyang, and they are still far away from us." He Jizhong wanted to jump anxiously. He felt that he and his father were not thinking on the same line. Jingzhou was still far away from Hanyang. Who knew when the Fuhan Army would be able to reach Jingzhou? In other words, they couldn't reach Jingzhou at all. In the Battle of Huangpi, it was just a small county town, and the army resisted tens of thousands of Fuhan troops for half a month. From Huangpi to the east, there were many fortified cities and large cities!

"Is it far? Not far. From Hanyang to Jingzhou, it's just a jiffy. Boss, if you are really scared, just take the money to Sichuan. The Fuhan Army won't attack Sichuan for a while. By the way, bring in another batch. Come here salt."

If Hubei is occupied by the Fuhan Army, Sichuan Salt will definitely not be able to get in. Just like the Fuhan Army's old nest before, no matter how much material was originally stored, time will make the warehouse full of things necessary. . Taking advantage of the opportunity, another batch of salt was brought in from Sichuan. Even if the rules of the Fuhan Army prohibited the sale of salt at a higher price, double the price would be enough for the He family to make a lot of money.

He Jizhong was about to collapse. He had an indescribable feeling. Was his father possessed by an evil spirit? Why is he so confident in the Fuhan Army?

"Hmph. Your father and I are not the only ones who have confidence in the Fuhan Army. Many people have confidence in the Fuhan Army. Did you know? The price of Sichuan salt has dropped by 30%."

After the Fu Han army occupied Jiangnan, Huaiyan became a joke. Huguang, Henan and other places were short of salt. The Manchu and Qing government was forced to lift the ban on "Sichuan salt entering the country for private discussion". Sichuan salt seized this opportunity and went crazy. Sales to Huguang.

Although the Manchu and Qing Dynasties also stipulated that Sichuan salt should be shipped directly from the gorge to Yichang City, and the salt tax should be paid to replace the ship with overload, and Sichuan salt ships were not allowed to sail directly across the border. But after the ban on Sichuan salt was lifted, 4,000 Sichuan ships arrived last year, and the weight of the Sichuan salt shipped on the market reached 4.5 million tons. It is surprising how powerful it can be. How many people were there. From the banks of the Ziyungong River in Yichang and the Xiba River to Erma Road, there are twelve piers along the river, with sails and rafts like a forest, and boats and passenger boats stretching for several miles, with more than 10,000 boat owners and boat people. Geinchuan salt has a pure taste, is white and fine, the price is low, and the profit is very considerable.

When the ban on exporting Sichuan salt to the east was still in place, Huguang merchants colluded with Sichuan salt merchants to smuggle Sichuan salt into Hunan and Hubei. Yichang is located in western Hubei and adjacent to eastern Sichuan. It was the first to bear the brunt and became the front line to block Sichuan salt. So much so that the Yichang Prefecture set up more than a dozen checkpoints on the waters of the Yangtze River and its tributary ports in Yichang, and launched a century-old "cat-and-mouse war" against smuggling of Sichuan salt with salt traders.

Now Sichuan Salt Jichu is an aboveboard trade, and it is understandable that the inflated sales are staggering. In Yichang Yanguan, every pound of Sichuan salt is charged a salt tax of one centimeter and a half cents of silver [0.015 taels, one tael of silver is calculated as 1,000 copper coins, which is 15 copper coins, which is quite high]. The monthly salt tax of silver reaches 40,000 to 50,000 taels. So much. Last year, 400,000 taels of silver were released and sent to Henan, and the remaining part also effectively supported the aftermath and reconstruction of Huguang Green Camp. There are 70 to 80 open-air money stalls on twelve piers along the river in Yichang, which are dedicated to distributing money to porters using bamboo sticks. The Zigong Saltworks added as many as 700 to 800 frying pans last year.

And these salts are not entirely sold in Huguang. Some go north to Henan, some go east to Jiangxi and Anhui, and some go south. But no matter what, Sichuan Salt is making a lot of money. Its price has also gradually increased.

Since the Fu Han army committed suicide and entered Hubei, it was still thousands of miles away from Yichang, and the prices of Sichuan salt were falling. Therefore, it was not just He Zhongxiang who was pessimistic that the Qing Dynasty could not keep Hubei, but many people.

The He family salt shop had just added a piece of Bi Yue Wu to the signboard, and it was already seen by those who were interested. Do you still remember the thief who led people to steal sweet potatoes and potatoes from Chen Baoguang's cellar in Yunxi? This man's name is Gao Shida. He is now a waiter in a restaurant called Futailai in Jingzhou City. His boss is certainly not Chen Baoguang, who is still in Yunyang. After Gao Shida was thrown into the Boy Camp by Chen Baoguang, he quickly "stood out". His extraordinary cleverness made him enter the sight of the dark camp. After the beginning of last spring, he officially became a member of the dark camp front.

"Boss, the He family has been listed."

In the room in the backyard of the restaurant, Gao Shida reported to his superior with shining eyes. The Fu Han Army had just reached Hanyang, which was hundreds of miles away from Jingzhou. The He family took the initiative to put up a sign, which showed their absolute confidence in the Fu Han Army's sweeping across Hubei. "Boss, is our Fu Han Army what everyone expects?"

The owner of the restaurant was a middle-aged man in his thirties. He was a businessman before, and his street taste was the best cover for his entry into Jingzhou. Now facing Gao Shida, his pair of mercenary eyes were full of hope.

Just as Gao Shida said, the Fu Han Army was "what everyone expected". Old hands like He Zhongxiang had no hope that the Qing Dynasty would keep Hubei, which showed how "weak" the Qing Dynasty was in the eyes of Hubei's merchants. This further highlighted the current momentum of the Fu Han Army. They worked for the Fu Han Army, so naturally they hoped to see the Fu Han Army rise higher and higher until it reached the pinnacle of the world...

"Shida, you will send a letter to He Zhongxiang later." The shopkeeper blinked his eyes. He felt that he should take advantage of the current opportunity to let He Zhongxiang stock up Sichuan salt instead of watching the Fu Han Army step by step to western Hubei.

As an intelligence point of Jingzhou Station, Fu Tailai's work here is actually very simple and easy. They don't need to risk their lives to instigate civil and military officials of the Qing Army, to contact gentry and wealthy families, or to infiltrate the Qing Army. They see enemies everywhere and are terrified every step they take. They only need to stay in the restaurant honestly, collect the most popular intelligence, and collect the price trends of daily necessities such as grain, salt, cloth, etc. on the market. Of course, when necessary, Fu Tailai will also be the contact point for intelligence contact at Jingzhou Station, but many people who contact here don't know that Fu Tailai himself is a member of the dark camp.

…

Duan Xiulin and the Guangdong Navy, who had captured Jiangyin, rushed to Zhenjiang without stopping and joined forces with the Qing army from Suzhou in the south. This news was passed to Chen Ming by carrier pigeon, but Chen Ming, who was ready to leave Anqing, didn't care at all.

Zhenjiang, Nanjing, and Yangzhou, as long as this triangular area is still controlled by the Fu Han Army, it is enough now. When Chen Ming led the remaining troops to leave Anqing, Huang Jie could decide when to give up Zhenjiang and Yangzhou.

Only Nanjing, the city has too much political symbolic significance, and to give up Nanjing, Chen Ming must wait for his personal order. And Chen Ming must give up Nanjing without affecting the momentum of the Fu Han Army. He feels that he must first capture Wuchang. This is a big premise!

Now the Fu Han Army in Hubei has reached the city of Hanyang Prefecture. This city, which has only three gates in the east, west and south, suffered a great disaster last year and was once again shrouded in the shadow of war this year.

Hankou Town, which was separated from Hanyang by the Han River, had just regained a bit of vitality when it fell into the hands of the Fu Han Army again. All the merchants and civilians fled, many of them fled to the provincial capital, some crossed the provincial capital and continued to run south, and some took the transport ship to the west.

Zhu Gui did not show any fear this time. He stayed in Hanyang Prefecture. The Sichuan Army Admiral Ma Mingxun's troops, who were defeated in the Battle of Huangpi, did not retreat back to Hanyang Prefecture, but retreated to Xiaogan west of Huangpi. Chen Yongsheng now divided his troops into two groups. One group was led by him personally to besiege Hanyang, and the other group rushed to Xiaogan to attack and kill Ma Mingxun's troops.

It is almost certain that Ma Mingxun will not participate in the Battle of Wuhan. He led his troops to retreat westward to Xiaogan instead of retreating south to Hanyang Prefecture, which clearly showed that he was avoiding the battle. The Fu Han army rushed to Xiaogan, and Ma Mingxun would definitely "flee at the sight of the wind", and would definitely not fight the Fu Han army to death in Xiaogan for the second time.

You should know that in Jingmenzhou, which is further west, there are still several thousand Sichuan soldiers guarding there. The loss of Ma Mingxun's troops in the Huangpi battle was not very large, only about 2,000 people. Although those people may be his elite, they will be joined with the Sichuan soldiers in Jingmenzhou. No matter how big the setback is, it will be dispersed by the joy of joining forces, and the strength of the Sichuan soldiers will reach 16,000 to 17,000 again.

On the bank of the Yangtze River, Aligun looked at the letter returned by Ma Mingxun and said coldly. "They are just children. They are clever but not wise. Even if Ma Mingxun escapes to Yichang, can he still escape to Sichuan?"

"If you don't fight in Wuhan today, it will be too late when you are forced into a dead end."

"Mr. Zhongtang..." Aligun also has the title of Minister of War.

"Let me go. I can still hold on." Aligun shook off the servant's hand and clenched his fists tightly.

If Ma Mingxun did not join the Sichuan troops in Jingmen, but went north to De'an to join the cavalry heading south, he would be able to tie up a part of the Fu Han Army's strength; if the Qing Army in Xiangyang could also withdraw troops, after joining the Sichuan troops in Jingmen, and adding the militia in western Hubei to train bravely, they could enter Hanchuan and tie up a part of the Fu Han Army's energy; Aligun himself would wait in the provincial capital of Wuchang, and the reinforcements from Hunan would arrive soon, so there would be a chance to fight, and it might not be impossible to save half of Hubei.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, although I have no regrets in death, I only regret that my great Qing country is not at peace..."