Since Cheng Liangjue's defection, the daily work of Shanghai Road has come to a standstill. Some officials fled with Cheng, some officials were arrested by Liu Ziguang, and the rest were too frightened to hide at home and dare not come out.
At this time, the imperial court also issued an urgent appointment. Liu Ziguang was promoted to be the acting governor of Shanghai Province, taking charge of all military and political powers. He could be said to be in charge of the army and the people. He believed that not all of the Shanghai Road would be Cheng Liangjue's confidants, so he ordered the governor to appoint Liu Ziguang.
A placating notice was issued, calling on low-level officials in various yamen to come out and serve the court, and those with outstanding performance could be promoted. Anyway, there were many vacancies after the official purge. After such a notice was posted, it really attracted many officials and servants to come out to work. In addition,
Liu Ziguang also transferred some civil servants from Suzhou Prefecture to supplement his strength. Wang Lei, the acting magistrate of Suzhou, has removed the pronoun on his head. He is the prefect of Suzhou appointed by the emperor. He is grateful to Liu Ziguang and supports the imperial envoy's decision.
A group of outstanding criminals and civil affairs personnel have come over to temporarily relieve the urgent need.
The two thousand prisoners of the Shanghai Navy have also been escorted back to Wusongkou. These prisoners are more appropriately called officers and soldiers anyway. Not many junior officers and ordinary sailors are willing to flee overseas with Cheng Liangjue. The Cheng family controls all mid-level officers.
During the escort back to Shanghai, these die-hard elements also attempted to seize the ship. Fortunately, some of the officers and soldiers raised their arms and called on everyone to beat the demagogues to death, thus avoiding a unnecessary sacrifice.
Liu Ziguang is still very interested in these two thousand naval officers and soldiers. He does not have a navy in his hands. This ready-made force can be used with a little modification. The security of the Yangtze River, Huangpu River and even the sea needs someone to maintain the order to pursue Wenjun's army.
He also needed the cooperation of the fleet, so he planned to reorganize this team. Now all the officers from more than 100 households in the surrendered army have stood in the yard of the Governor's Yamen, waiting for Liu Ziguang's instructions.
Liu Ziguang flipped through the roster, then looked up at the officers, who were of different heights, fatness and thinness. A qualified soldier could be seen from his appearance. First of all, he should not be fat. Secondly, he should not be too fair. His eyes should also be sharp. In this way
Liu Ziguang took a quick look and saw that there were not many people who met the criteria. A very tall Baihu standing in the back row attracted his attention. Someone next to him immediately reported with a wink: "This person's name is
Wen Getao was born as a fisherman in Ningbo. His hometown was plundered by pirates when he was a child. He sneaked into the bandits' den alone, took the heads of thirteen pirates and returned to join the army. He has been working in the navy for five years and is still one of the top 100 pirates in the navy.
This is the person who stopped the rebel generals from seizing the ship."
Liu Ziguang nodded, made a mark on the roster with a pencil, and then said to the officers: "Now that I am in charge of Shanghai Road, all the rules are different from those in the past. Those who are capable will be promoted, and those who are incompetent will be subordinated. I will not raise wine bags and rice bags."
, if you have any skills, show them in public, I will make my own decision."
This was equivalent to a public interview. The officers boasted one by one. Some said that they were generals and their ancestors had great military exploits. Some said that they were proficient in bow and horse and could carry a hundred kilograms of stone locks. Some said that they were
The descendants of Zheng He, the Sanbao eunuch, have the talent of navigators in their bones. Liu Ziguang sweated when he heard this. He thought to himself: Why does this eunuch have descendants? He is so skilled in bow and horse. These skills are not even needed by the navy. Looking at these
The fat-headed guy talked about his glorious family background and glorious deeds. The more Liu Ziguang listened, the more helpless he became. Is this the level of a naval officer?
Finally it was Wen Getao's turn to appear. He was wearing a navy leather armor and standing in front of Liu Ziguang.
"Wen Baihu, what are your expertise?" Liu Ziguang asked.
"The specialty of the humble job is on the water and cannot be practiced on land. The humble job can last for three days and three nights at sea without landing on land. Boating and sailing are commonplace. If you want to see your real skills, you can't choose them in the yard. You have to sail a boat out to sea.
Only then can we see the real chapter." Wen Getao was obviously not very interested in Liu Ziguang's method of selecting generals.
"Well said!" Liu Ziguang clapped his hands and praised. He had already read the files of these officers. The high and middle-level officers had great military exploits, but Wen Getao's name always appeared in almost everyone's combat cases.
It seems that this small Baihu is a panacea. Whether it is anti-smuggling or suppressing pirates, as long as his name is on the list of participants, the battle will be won. No one needs to mention the reason. Liu Ziguang knows it well. This Baihu
Hu is definitely a fierce general who is good at fighting.
"The imperial court is at a time when it is hiring people. Are you willing to serve me as governor?" Liu Ziguang asked.
"I am willing to do my best for you in this humble position, but there is a small condition, please fulfill it." Wen Getao lowered his head and handed over his hands. Both of his hands were covered with bulging veins. In addition, he was tall, strong, and had a complexion.
He is dark and looks like a tough guy.
"Hahaha, if you have any conditions, you can ask for them. As long as I can fulfill them, I will certainly satisfy you."
"I have a childhood friend who was framed by the government, my family was ruined, and I had no choice but to kill the officials and rebel and became a pirate. Now my Lord, the Governor of Shanghai Road, must wipe out the pirates. I would like to ask a favor for this brother and ask for your mercy."
To him."
Although he was begging for mercy, Wen Getao's expression was still neither humble nor arrogant. He had no intention of begging for help at all, but more like a threat. With such an incompetent attitude, it's no wonder that he has been living in a household for many years.
"What's your brother's name? As long as he doesn't do many evil things, I can naturally recruit him." Liu Ziguang didn't mind at all about the individual warriors, but admired them very much. Such people often have great abilities.
"Sir, my brother who holds a humble position is the head of Yang Nan Town, Yang Da, who is also known as Zhen Nan Hai."
As soon as Wen Getao said these words, everyone in the house was in an uproar. Yangnan Town was a very famous pirate, specializing in plundering foreign merchant ships. The case was huge. Businessmen from all over the world made strong protests to Shanghai Road, demanding that troops be sent to exterminate this group of pirates.
However, the navy had carried out numerous campaigns without success. Unexpectedly, this big bandit leader turned out to be Wen Getao's good brother. Since the officers had been whispering to each other, Wen Getao had not squinted his eyes, his face was calm, and he seemed to be confident.
Liu Ziguang didn't know much about the profession of pirates. His only knowledge was based on the pirated VCDs of "Pirates of the Caribbean" he had watched before, so he didn't think there was anything wrong with being a pirate. Instead, he thought it was very romantic and trendy.
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"Okay, I agree to you, but you have to complete a task first. Lead the troops north along the Yangtze River to pursue the Song Dynasty fleet. When you return in triumph, I will give you a general order to recruit Yangnan Town.
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"Thank you, Sir! I will lead the troops and set out immediately. I won't let the enemy come to see you." Wen Getao was very moved by Liu Ziguang's trust, and he knelt down on one knee and vowed.
The naval force led by Wen Getao took a steam ship and quickly went north along the Yangtze River to pursue Wen Jun's troops. At the same time, according to the report of the naval force, Liu Ziguang learned that Shanghai Wei's forbidden troops had fled to Chongming Island. These thousands of people
They had been abandoned by Cheng Liangjue and became an army without a master. Thousands of people stayed on Chongming Island and had trouble even eating. Let alone counterattack Shanghai, they couldn't even leave Chongming because all the naval warships that responded to them had been destroyed.
The army was destroyed.
The Imperial Guards of Shanghai Wei were not worth mentioning. Liu Ziguang only sent a messenger with a pardon document stamped by the Governor-General to recruit them. The combat effectiveness of these Imperial Guards was not high to begin with, and now they had no support. In addition, their families and relatives were all still there.
If you stay in Shanghai, how can you think of fighting against the imperial court? I believe that a piece of paper can subjugate them.
After solving a major worry, Liu Ziguang's attention continued to turn to Wen Jun's missing troops. According to the information investigated by Nanchang, a Yangzhou fleet transporting grain and pigs to Shanghai happened to pass by the Suzhou River that night.
There are thirty canoes with enough carrying capacity to transport
Carrying 3,000 soldiers, a thorough investigation was conducted on the boss behind the fleet. It turned out to be a businessman living in Song Dynasty. Then he checked the merchant ship customs clearance certificate of that day. There happened to be thirty Yangzhou tankers heading north. The matter was found out.
It is already clear here, it must be Wen Jun who led his troops thousands of miles to attack the capital!
Wen Getao led a thousand selected naval troops to the north along the Yangtze River, but Liu Ziguang was not completely reassured because Wen Jun was really terrible, and the technological level of the Song Dynasty was also worrisome, so Liu Ziguang personally
Lead the airship troops to rush for reinforcements.
An airship filled with advanced firearms floats majestically over the Yangtze River. The motor-driven propeller drives the airship forward. The winding Yangtze River looks like a shining ribbon from a distance. Countless merchant ships and cargo ships come and go on the river.
It's often a busy scene.
Nanchang Fanzi, who had set out earlier, sent a telegram saying that there was a blockage in the Jiangyin section of the Yangtze River waterway. It had been blocked for three days and three nights. Based on this time, Wen Jun's troops were likely to be blocked here as well.
"Praise the Yangtze River Navy." Liu Ziguang said that the Yangtze River Navy is a traffic policeman to a certain extent. The Yangtze River is the transportation artery of the Ming Dynasty. To be able to block the broad Yangtze River for so long, the level of these losers is really high.
, just in time to block Wenjun's headquarters in Jiangyin, it can be regarded as a mistake.