Dominate the Country

On the fifth day of August, Chen Ming led his army to Xiangyang.

Chen Wenzan led the officers and soldiers of the Fourth Division to greet them. Chen Ming saw Ma Wenjie and Zhao Yongji for the second time, and also saw the 15th Brigade for the first time.

The soldiers all had their chests out and their bellies high, and they were wearing bright armor. At first glance, there was no difference at all. But something as ethereal as morale could not stop Chen Ming's 'intelligent eyes'. Among the well-organized teams, he could tell at a glance which team was the surrender of the Qing army and which team was the original soldiers of the Fuhan army.

This difference also appeared in the formations of the 16th and 17th brigades, but the number of Qing troops surrendering in the 16th and 17th brigades was smaller. The overall morale is obviously much stronger than that of the 15th Brigade. These surrendered troops in the three brigades still exist in teams. In the future, Chen Ming will break them up little by little and fully integrate them into the Fuhan Army.

The army stopped in Xiangyang for a day. Chen Ming held a banquet for all the officers above the camp, and rewarded the officers and soldiers below the camp with wine and meat. In fact, it was a feast for the whole army to improve their lives collectively.

On the seventh day of August, Chen Qi led his troops to Jiangxi along the Han Dynasty, and Chen Ming led his troops south to Zhongxiang. There was an additional 15th brigade in the queue, and Ma Wenjie followed Chen Ming.

When bidding farewell, Chen Ming could clearly see the ugly faces of some officers in the 16th and 17th Brigades. They were all former members of the 15th Brigade. Chen Ming made a fortune in Xiangyang and took away two of his big backers, Ma Wenjie and Zhao Yongji. They themselves felt that life would be difficult in the future.

The rank of the Fuhan Army is not immune to decline. Regardless of officers and soldiers, officers below the battalion officer level have daily operational training records, which will also be exchanged for a few points. In addition to redeeming military merit in the future, these points can also be used for evaluation.

Fuhan Army's battalion officers, team officers, platoon leaders, etc., have corresponding passing points for different levels. If the points exceed this passing standard, then it will be fine; but if the points are lower than this passing standard, haha, That's a demerit. Two demerits in a row will result in a major demerit, and one more demerit will result in a direct demotion; three demerits in a row will result in a direct demotion; four non-consecutive demerits in a year will also result in a demotion...

The army arrived at Anlu Prefecture along the Han River, and then split into two. Chen Yongsheng led the first division straight to Wuchang, and Chen Ming led the remaining troops to take the overland route from the old route of the first Jingzhou attack to the southern Jingzhou. At this time, Chen Ming's team did not carry a single cannon. Whether it was Jingzhou or Zhijiang, there were large amounts of artillery ammunition stored in the warehouses, so there was no need for Chen Ming to rush there with the cannon. The accompanying artillery battalion was empty-handed from top to bottom.

"The soldiers of the 15th Brigade have practiced well, which shows that Zhao Yongji still put in the effort..."

Along the way, Chen Ming discovered that the 15th Brigade under Zhao Yongji performed well and could keep up with the march of the troops. You must know that Chen Ming's troops had to take a boat after entering Jingzhou, so he drilled his troops carefully during this journey and marched quickly along the way. It took more than three days to arrive after a hundred miles of journey.

Of course, the Fuhan Army's Logistics Department prepared a large number of carriages and horses at the place where Chen Ming led the troops to disembark to load the army's baggage, but the soldiers were at least wearing iron armor and carrying weapons. 60% of the troops of the 15th Brigade under Zhao Yongji are still the original Qing soldiers and civilians. They wear more than ten or twenty kilograms of iron armor, carry swords, guns, and dry food with them. They can run thirty or forty miles a day, and they can still Being able to withstand this proves that Zhao Yongji was sincerely training his soldiers in the one or two months after being recruited.

The training report of the 15th Brigade that reaches Chen Ming every month is not just a show.

In the camp outside Jingzhou City, Zhang Chongbei and Wang Zhiyuan sat down in the chairs in the military tent. They felt that all the bones in their bodies were groaning, and they were all sore and numb. "God, I can finally have a rest."

The Jingzhou Fuhan Army prepared a camp, and they moved in directly after arriving. The two life-and-death friends who had escaped from the Gunhe battlefield forced their troops to disband, and entered the camp officer's room. I can't hold on anymore.

"Fortunately, we didn't play tricks during the training, otherwise we would have been very embarrassed this time." Wang Zhiyuan slumped into the chair and didn't want to move anymore. His arms hung on both sides of the chair, as if they were broken bones.

"No one would have thought that our battalion officers were not even given horses..." After getting off the boat, in addition to the orderlies, those who could ride horses were also officers above the regiment level. Battalion officers also had to walk on two legs. Zhang and Wang did not know if any of the battalion officers of the Guards Brigade were disgraced, but they knew very well how many of the battalion officers of their 15th Brigade were disgraced.

Chen Ming's words of praise for the 15th Brigade were passed to Zhao Yongji through Ma Wenjie, and then to the lower officers and soldiers of the 15th Brigade through Zhao Yongji.

The praise from the big boss immediately cheered up everyone in the 15th Brigade. After more than three days of marching, the Guards Brigade did not fall behind. However, the leader of the army knew best. The veterans in the team and the genuine veterans of the Fuhan Army In comparison, there is still a gap.

Camping at dusk every day, those Fuhan Army soldiers who had just been transferred could still set up tents, dig trenches, build earthen walls, bury pots and cook meals, and set up cordons outside in an orderly manner after a day of rapid march. However, their old troops , many soldiers fell to the ground, and you couldn't drag them up even if you hit them.

Zhang Chongbei and Wang Zhiyuan had reason to believe that the distance of more than thirty miles a day was the route taken by the Guards Brigade to take care of the 15th Brigade. If they were just one of their troops, it would be possible for them to travel fifty miles a day. After all, it was the Guards Brigade, the elite of the entire Fuhan Army. I heard that the soldiers there were all those who had been on the battlefield and had been injured and had made meritorious service, so they were eligible to be selected. Besides, Zhang and Wang had seen the tank battalions in the Guards Brigade with their own eyes. Each one was so big. Wearing iron armor, holding heavy weapons, and meeting them in hand-to-hand combat, how many people would be able to defeat them?

The march in the past few days has been easy for the gunners of the artillery battalion. They don't wear armor and don't have cannons to take care of. They walk thirty or forty miles a day with ease.

The army arrived in Jingzhou, and the whole army rested for a day. Chen Ming also used this day to summon the people in charge of the secret camp in Gaoqiao and western Hubei, and inquired in detail about the changes in western Hubei since the Fuhan Army's army was dispatched.

"Your Highness, the Huya Tan relocation channel and the water channel have been repaired and dredged. If our army attacks Yichang, it will be unimpeded." Gao Qiao first reported the work. The Huya Mountain relocation channel and the Huya Tan water channel were the same ones he had used a few months ago. He has now completed all his main tasks. "Fan Shishou, Zhu Gui and others are still staying in Yichang, but a large amount of money and food in Yichang City have been transferred to Sichuan by the two of them, or transported to Zigui and Badong. There are less than 2,000 officers and soldiers in Yichang City who are training for bravery, and morale is low. There is also It is not a key deployment place for the Qing army. Later, Nanjinguan, which is related to the east entrance of Xiling Gorge, is the end point of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. The river is surging and extremely dangerous. The Qing army focused on deploying more than 30 light and heavy artillery here, and set up the post road. Barriers have been set up in places such as , plank roads, and military training schools..."

Gao Qiao's eyes were mainly focused on Yichang. The Qing army's current situation was obviously that they had given up on Yichang and were only preparing to defend the Three Gorges. Then Nanjinguan is the first gateway.

Chen Ming naturally also knew about Nanjinguan. This place and Kuimen in Fengjie, Sichuan, are the east and west gates of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. The river surface is narrow, the water is like a sword, and the rapids roar, as if piercing a line of passage among the peaks and mountains, it is a spectacular sight. After breaking through the door, the danger was turned into safety, the water leveled off, the river surface suddenly opened up, and it entered the fertile Jianghan Plain. It is the dividing point between the first and second level platforms in mainland China. "When the water reaches here, it becomes flat, and when the mountain reaches here, it becomes mausoleum." Nanjinguan Pass has been a natural pass since ancient times, and has always been a strategic military location.

"Your Highness, the land of Shinan is a land where natives, Han and Miao people intersect, and the land is sparse and the people are poor. During the Yongzheng period, the chieftains were tyrannical, killing and looting the native Han people under their rule, and public anger arose. Emperor Yongzheng followed the trend and converted the land back to the native land. The local native people Not only did they not resist, but they were overjoyed. The chieftain's family had no choice but to surrender and was granted the title of landowner by the Qing Dynasty. Today, it has become an ordinary wealthy gentry, including Tian, ​​Tan, Xiang, Peng, Tan, Ran and other wealthy families.

These natives had no loyalty to the Manchu court. Without the money and food provided by Yichang, they could not afford to organize, and they were unwilling to organize native soldiers. Nowadays, in addition to the hundreds of local battalions of flood garrison troops in the entire Shi Nan, there are no more than a thousand local soldiers gathered. The total strength is only two thousand people. Morale was low and weapons were sparse. "

"Does the dark camp have any connection with those big native tribes?"

"For our army, among the large Tujia families, the Tian and Qin tribes are the most enthusiastic. The Tian family is a descendant of the Rongmei chieftain. His ancestors were granted the title of chieftain since the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty. During the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, they submitted to the Ming Dynasty. In the eleventh year of Yongzheng's reign, they changed In Tuguiliu, Tian Mingru, the last chieftain, hanged himself and passed on for fifteen generations and twenty-three terms. He was the richest and most powerful among the many chieftains in western Hubei.

In its heyday, it could mobilize seven to eight thousand native soldiers, and by the end of its reign, there were four thousand native households under its rule. "

"The Qin family is a descendant of the Shi Nan chieftain. He rose up in the late Mongolian Yuan Dynasty and returned to his homeland in the 13th year of Yongzheng's reign in the Qing Dynasty. It lasted for seventeen generations and more than 400 years. The last chieftain, Qin Yuding, was Tian Mingru's son-in-law, who was guilty of hiding. Yu Rongmei. Later, Rongmei changed his position and returned to Liuzhou. Tian Mingru committed suicide and Qin Yuding also returned home because of his guilt. He moved his family to Wuchang County.

"Although Qin Yuding's branch moved to Wuchang, they still have contact with the Qin clan who stayed in Shinan. I found a descendant of Qin Yuding and used it to communicate with the Qin clan. The latter was very excited."

The excitement of the person in charge of the secret camp did not affect Chen Ming's mood. He narrowed his eyes and said, "The Tianqin clan doesn't want to reopen Tusi and resume its old business, right?"

"I don't dare to hide this from Your Highness. These two clans are really interested in reviving the chieftain."

"I don't know the number of days."

Chen Ming looked at the map of western Hubei hanging on the wall. The southwest corner was full of ravines and mountains. According to the statistics of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, the huge Shi Nan Mansion, including Tuhan, Miao and Dong people, all ethnic groups together, could At most 300,000 people.

However, Chen Ming, who came from later generations, did know that Enshi was known as the "Selenium Capital of the World" in later generations, as well as "Western Hubei Linhai", "Huazhong Medicine Storehouse", "Tobacco Kingdom", etc. The Western Hubei Iron Mine there is also one of the four largest in China. One of the iron ores, it just contains relatively high phosphorus.

But that was Enshi in the 21st century. In Shinan today, sugar beet, ramie, cotton, tung oil, camellia oleifera, tea, etc. are their main economic crops. Among them, tung oil and camellia oleifera are the main business items. These two things are closely related to Walnut and Chinese tallow tree are collectively known as China's four major woody oil plants and occupy an important position in the economic life of the Tujia people. As for medicinal materials and tobacco, they are far from reaching the scale of later generations.

Fuhan's army and civilians needed a lot of oil, and the ash of the tea tree could kill lice, including eggs, and the tea seeds could cure constipation, qi stagnation, ringworm, and leprosy. Generally speaking, it is of some use to the Fuhan Army.

"Tell those two families that I am waiting for them in Yichang." It can be said that Chen Ming's trip to Yichang was not focused on fighting, but meeting the Shinan natives.

In the time of Zhu Yuanzhang, the Shinan chieftain followed Ming Yuzhen, and surrendered to the Ming Dynasty after the fall of the Mingxia Dynasty. During the Hongwu period, he and the chieftains of Exi Sanmao and Zhongjian rebelled against the Ming Dynasty and persisted for four years before being suppressed by Lan Yu. The descendants of the Tan family wrote a letter to apologize, but were still appointed as Shinan chieftains by Zhu Yuanzhang.

The current situation is very different from the original one, but Chen Ming is willing to learn from Lao Zhu and be patient for the time being. When the overall situation is settled, they will be "promoted"!