At the Han River Ferry in Yunyang Prefecture, a young man with a vicissitudes of life looked around him warily.
The faces of him and his entourage were full of evil spirits. Those familiar with the military could tell that they all came out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
They quickly carried many wooden boxes and boarded a huge cargo ship.
Next to this cargo ship, there are five cargo ships of the same size.
A half-grown man was waiting for them on the cargo ship.
"Brother Li, please control your momentum and don't let others discover the clues.
Now Xunyang Mansion is full of Jinyiwei spies."
"Zhang Kewang, your adoptive father has a lot of troops and is ready to rebel again. He is also afraid of the Jin Yiwei."
Li Guo looked down on Zhang Xianzhong and ignored Zhang Kewang.
Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, causing their retreat to the army to be blocked by the Ming army.
The defeat in Luoyang almost wiped out their army.
Lu Xiangsheng, the dog officer of the Ming Dynasty, was so ruthless that even King Chuang Gao Yingxiang was captured by this dog officer.
Some time ago, news came that Gao Yingxiang, king of Chuang, was already in the capital and was executed by Chongzhen Lingchi.
His uncle Li Zicheng became the new Chuang King and led the remaining troops of the Chuang Army, and has been active at the junction of Henan and Chu.
They were attacked many times by troops sent by Lu Xiangsheng. If they were not between the two provinces and had a certain amount of room to move, the invading army would have ceased to exist.
Li Zicheng saw that without firearms, he could not defeat the firearms army of Lu Xiangsheng and others.
They tried to produce their own firearms, but failed for a long time.
If they want firearms, they can only purchase them from outside. The only force that can provide them with firearms now is Hanzhong Suhe.
Li Zicheng sent Li Guo with a large amount of money to try to buy firearms in Hanzhong.
But they do not border the area controlled by Suhe in Hanzhong.
There was no way to come directly to Hanzhong, and one had to pass through the area controlled by the Ming Dynasty.
Li Zicheng had no choice but to contact Zhang Xianzhong.
He was stationed in Xiangyang, which was very close to the ruling area of Suhe.
After Zhang Xianzhong surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, his life was very uncomfortable.
Governor Fang Kongzheng also asked him to prepare for the threat of thieves in yellow.
As soon as Zhang Xianzhong heard this, sweat started to flow from his head.
With his small arms and legs, how could he dare to confront the Qin army head-on?
Zhang Xianzhong relied on the army in his hands to settle down and live his life.
The army is exhausted, and the Ming court may turn against him at any time and capture him.
Zhang Xianzhong surrendered only as a last resort when he saw that the Ming army was powerful.
Once his power expands or the Ming army's power diminishes, Zhang Xianzhong will definitely raise a counter-flag again.
Li Zicheng contacted him and wanted to cooperate with him, and they went to Hanzhong to buy firearms from Su He.
When Zhang Xianzhong saw Li Zicheng's thoughts, something changed in his heart.
He surrendered to the Ming army because he was frightened by the Ming army's firearms.
If his own army also has firearms, he will no longer be afraid of the Ming army. If the situation is not right, he can rebel again at any time.
Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng reached an agreement. They jointly went to Hanzhong to buy guns, and Zhang Xianzhong got an extra 10% from the ship.
Ming army ships often went to Hanzhong to do business.
There were also many businessmen who cooperated with Ming army generals.
As long as the ship carries the flag of the Ming Army and the flag of the Ming Army generals.
If normal levels are to give you a face, you won't intercept this kind of ship.
This was also one of the ways for Ming army generals to make extra money.
Without the ships provided by Zhang Xianzhong, the firearms would not have been transported at all.
Li Zicheng sent his nephew Li Guo to board the ship provided by Zhang Xianzhong and rushed to Hanzhong with a large amount of gold and silver.
Zhang Xianzhong sent his adopted son Zhang Kewang to assist Li Guo in buying guns.
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Zhang Kewang pointed to the fort in front and said: "The front is under the rule of King Qin.
When our ship enters there, the Qin army will board the ship for inspection.
We only have cotton on board and no contraband, so you don’t have to worry.”
After Zhang Kewang finished speaking, the ship had already passed the fort and docked on the shore.
Soon a dozen soldiers boarded the ship to inspect it.
Li Guo was observing these soldiers. They were carrying muskets and had a bulging linen bag hanging on their shoulders.
On the soldier's waist were three fist-sized grenades.
After the soldiers boarded the ship, several soldiers raised their rifles and looked warily at the people on the ship.
Many soldiers aimed their guns at Li Guo and them.
"I am Niu Xiangshan, squad leader of the Qin Army, and I have been ordered by the admiral of the Han Dynasty Navy to inspect your ships.
Please cooperate with the inspection and do not resist needlessly."
After Niu Xiangshan finished speaking, he began to carefully check whether there were any contraband on the ship.
He quickly completed the inspection and found no prohibited items on the boat.
He took out a small notebook, tore out a page from it, stamped it with a red stamp and handed it to the captain.
"You should keep this voucher. If someone inspects the ship on the way, you will have to show this voucher.
If the voucher is lost, you will be in great trouble."
After Niu Xiangshan inspected the ship, he led the soldiers off the ship.
Li Guo looked at the Qin soldiers. They did not make things difficult for them, nor did they take advantage of them.
From this detail, we can see the strictness of Su He's military management.
With so many soldiers who obeyed the rules, it is not surprising that the Qin army was victorious in every battle.
The ship continued to move forward, and Li Guo stood on the deck of the ship, looking at the scene on both sides of the Han River.
There is a wide cement road next to the Han River.
He knew about things like cement. Some time ago, he led troops to build a fort in the countryside.
I wonder where the squire there got the cement from.
When the knife struck, violent sparks erupted.
Such a solid fortress cannot be penetrated at all.
Cement is an excellent material for city construction. I didn't expect the King of Qin to be so extravagant and use cement directly to build roads.
There are horse-drawn carriages constantly passing by on both sides of the cement road.
Ships with deep drafts are also often encountered on the Han River.
There was prosperity under the rule of King Qin.
Li Guo also saw thousands of hectares of fertile farmland on both sides of the Han River.
Busy figures of farmers appeared in the fields, driving their cattle to plow the fields.
Li Guo discovered a strange sight. Most farmers had cows in their homes.
This completely overturned his understanding. You must know that in most villages under the Ming Dynasty, only landlords and rich peasants had cattle in their homes.
If an ordinary poor person has a complete iron farm tool in his home, that is very impressive.
The farmers under the rule of the Qin Palace were too wealthy.
He couldn't help but said: "Why are there so many cows in the farmland? Are the cows here cheap? Ordinary farmers can afford them."
Zhang Kewang said enviously: "A cow here only costs ten taels of silver coins.
The tax burden here is not heavy, and farmers can still do odd jobs during their spare time.
An ordinary family's remaining income in a year is only three or four taels of silver coins.
Banks can also lend money, or a few people can form a partnership to buy a cow easily.
If you want to buy a cow yourself, you only need to save money for three years and grind your teeth for two years before you can buy a cow."
Li Guo said in surprise: "The cattle here are so cheap.
This was not the time in the early days of King Qin when he was trying to win people's hearts.
I heard that at that time, the cattle seized by the King of Qin from the landlords were sold to farmers at a cheap price.
Now this is a large-scale cattle sale, thousands of cattle need to be sold, and the price of cattle can be so cheap."
Zhang Kewang said with envy: "Who allowed King Su He of Qin to conquer Mongolia, where there are many cattle and sheep.
If the Ming Dynasty could conquer Mongolia and every family would have a cow, we people might not rebel.
Most people rebel because their families are impoverished and have some extravagant wealth, so who would rebel?"
When Li Guo heard this, he was filled with envy. General forces could not conquer the grassland.
Only in the grasslands can there be a large number of cheap cattle and sheep.
They took the boat all the way towards Hanzhong City. It quickly became dark and everyone entered the cabin to sleep.
Li Guo was sleeping in the cabin. In the early morning, he was awakened by the loud sound of military songs.
He quickly finished dressing and went on the deck to watch.
A group of soldiers lined up neatly, singing military songs and marching towards Xunyang Mansion.
There was no trace of disarray in the long queue.
Every soldier follows orders and prohibitions.
Li Guo looked at this phenomenon, he sighed and said: "This is the strongest army in the world, this is the mighty division."
Zhang Kewang looked at the troops on the shore with an envious expression.
"Brother Li, I have traveled to Hanzhong many times and have seen these soldiers.
These are recruits who have just left the new barracks. You didn't look behind them, and they didn't even carry their guns.
Only after they have officially enlisted in the army will they be shot."
When Li Guo heard this, he was immediately stunned.
"Recruits, these people are recruits."
He was deeply shocked. He thought these people were elite soldiers under King Qin's command, but he didn't expect that they were just new recruits.
Zhang Kewang sighed: "There's no way to compare, we can't compare at all.
You still have to buy guns and train your troops seriously.
If our soldiers are half as strong as these soldiers, we no longer need to fear the Ming army.
I heard that these soldiers had three meals a day and meat every week.
It’s really difficult to make this kind of food.”
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The ship docked at Hanzhong Pier, and the cargo on the ship was unloaded.
Zhang Xianzhong purchased a large amount of cotton, which was the best-selling cotton in Hanzhong and offered the highest price.
Coming with empty ships is the biggest waste. These few ships of supplies can earn thousands of taels of silver coins.
During my previous business trips, I went back to the city to buy some mirrors and printed fabrics.
Printed fabrics are the best sellers now, while original color fabrics are not easy to sell at all.
The prices are about the same, and everyone tends to buy more beautiful fabrics.
Zhang Kewang took Li Guo and entered Hanzhong City.
Li Guo looked at the crowded city and said in disbelief: "Where is the city wall? Why doesn't Hanzhong City have a city wall?"
"Brother Li, Hanzhong City has no city walls. The original old city walls have been demolished because they blocked normal trade."
When Li Guo heard the news, he murmured to himself: "Bold, so bold.
Suhe actually demolished the city wall, which shows that he has great confidence in his own military strength."
They immediately walked around Hanzhong City, looking for shops selling weapons.
I found that there is no merchant selling weapons in Hanzhong.
Let alone firearms, there are no shops selling even armors and weapons.
Li Guo took the money and went to the arsenal, but he was kicked out by the guards on guard without even entering.
The control here in Hanzhong is too strict, and there is no place where weapons can be bought and sold openly.
He could only find a way to go through the normal process and meet with Su He to purchase weapons.
Before Li Lai came here, Li Zicheng specially explained.
If the weapon is publicly available, spend a little more money and buy it from the shop.
They are all rebels. If they lower their heads to buy weapons from Su He, they will be inferior to Su He, which is very embarrassing.
There is no way to buy weapons openly, so you can only save your face. If you lose your face, you will lose it, but you must also retain a trace of face.
Li Guo inquired in Hanzhong City, wanting to know about the government yamen responsible for receiving envoys from other forces.
This is an exchange between two forces. He represents the face of King Chuang and belongs to the envoy.
Li Guo searched around and found that there was no such yamen in Prince Qin's palace.
He went directly to the cabinet, showed his identity, and handed over the credentials written by Li Zicheng, the king of Chuang, who had asked a scholar to write.
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Su He convened Prime Minister Wang Zhongce, Chief of General Staff Li Fengming, Minister of Military and Political Affairs Wen Jingming, Minister of Military Justice Su Ying, and Minister of Logistics Jiang Zhiyu to discuss the matter.
"Li Zicheng, the king of Chuang, is a man who writes in this country.
But his intention has been made clear, that is, he wants to buy some firearms from us.
Chuang Wang Li Zicheng was a very old man and didn't even know the words. It was difficult for him to send such a formal letter of credence.
He wants to buy a firearm, let’s discuss whether to sell it or not.”
Li Fengming shook the feather fan in his hand and said: "Your Highness, King Qin, do you want to sell it or not?
This depends on our strategic plan.
In the near future, you are preparing to launch a full-scale attack on Ming Dynasty.
Then we can't sell it, as this will create a difficult opponent.
If there is no plan to attack Ming Dynasty, in order to prevent Ming Dynasty from encircling us again, we should find an opponent for him.
Li Zicheng is very suitable. Purchasing weapons will not create too much influence, but it can also bring enough pressure to the Ming Dynasty."
Wang Zhongce frowned and expressed his opinion.
"Whether these firearms are sold to Li Zicheng or not, I think it will have little impact.
We have already changed our guns, and we certainly cannot sell the latest guns.
Old muzzle-loading guns can be sold to anyone.
I don’t think the time is right to launch a full-scale attack on the Ming Dynasty.
The military is confident that it can do it, but our cabinet is not ready yet.
Unless His Highness the King of Qin is prepared to appoint and demote officials on a large scale, keep the original local situation unchanged, and no longer clean up the local gentry.
The last time we expanded to five provinces, only a few cities were built except for the Hetao area, which was very easy to handle.
In other areas, officials have not yet been dispatched.
Due to lack of manpower, it was impossible to allocate land to the people in time, and some places even caused great disturbances.
After expanding to five provinces, the entire government system almost collapsed.
Our cabinet does not have the ability to take over a larger territory.
Let’s talk about the current period of formal industrial transformation, starting a large-scale war and interrupting the industrial transformation.
All the previous large-scale investment was in vain.
I think we should now encroach on Ming Dynasty step by step.
When enough officials are trained, we will also accumulate enough strength to overthrow the Ming Dynasty in one fell swoop."
Su He also agreed with Wang Zhongce's statement that they were not ready in all aspects now.
It has enough strength to destroy the Ming Dynasty, but it does not have enough strength to better rule a huge area.
When the internal gentry rebels and external nomads invade, the entire country will be in turmoil.
Now I am accumulating my foundation and cannibalize the Ming Dynasty step by step.
It is the right choice to capture a region, digest it completely, and then start the war.
We must learn from the wise kings in history and act steadily.
We cannot repeat Fu Jian's mistakes and rush to dominate the world before the internal integration is completed.
There is a severe drought in Shaanxi and other places now, and there will also be a severe drought in Henan and Shandong in the next few years.
During the Little Ice Age, the climate was too extreme.
Without good food reserves, Suhe would not dare to unify the world.
Once the people starve, they will definitely rebel on a large scale, no matter who the ruler is.
Su He asked other people for their opinions, and they reached a consensus.
Agree to sell guns to Li Zicheng and sell some old weapons that have been eliminated by the army.
Jiang Zhiyu is responsible for this matter. He will first let the craftsmen renovate the old guns, and then sell the old guns directly, which will not fetch a good price.
Li Guo and Zhang Kewang received a definite reply, and King Su He of Qin was ready to receive them.
They all felt relieved and the matter of buying a gun was completed.