Chapter 77: Under Shen Daotai, only civil and military are equal
Shen Shuren himself can not be too hasty and wait in Nanjing until mid-February before returning to Wuchang, ensuring that he returns to his post before the end of February. The appointment edict for his new official position will also be sent directly from Beijing to Wuchang.
However, Zheng Chenggong and Zhang Mingzhen couldn't wait any longer.
According to the usual practice in previous years, sea and water transportation can go north shortly after the Lantern Festival, because by the time the fleet reaches the Bohai Sea after sailing for half a month, the Tianjin Bay in the Bohai Sea has also thawed and can sail.
Two years ago, when Shen Shuren and Fang Yizhi personally delivered the food supplies and went to Beijing to take the exam, weren't they going north the day after the Lantern Festival?
It is now the end of January, ten days later than in previous years. Calculating the days, when the fleet arrives at the Bohai Sea, not only Tianjin Bay will have thawed, but also the northeastern corner of the Bohai Sea, the mouths of the Xiaoling River and the Linghe River that are least likely to thaw, will probably have melted.
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That period was also when the Tatar soldiers were at their most lax in patrolling, and when flaws were most likely to occur, they must be seized. If no Ming troops were rescued at this time, the hope for follow-up would be even slimmer.
Because in the winter when the river flow is cut off and the river bed is frozen, the Tatars are not afraid of the Ming Dynasty’s navy at all, and it is impossible to think that the navy will come to die. The cavalry can directly gallop on the large and small Linghe river beds, and the side relying on the warships can do nothing at all.
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After the river thawed, the early freezing floods caused the water level to initially rise, creating a short window period.
Therefore, Shen Shuren only rewarded Zheng Chenggong and Zhang Mingzhen briefly in Nanjing City, and then sent them off.
After all, the troops are on a mission to lick blood. Even if it is just to support them, there is a high probability that they will not have to fight the Tatars on land with real swords and guns. However, they are facing the slaves who were famous in the late Ming Dynasty. If they don't give them a good encouragement,
, I am afraid that morale will definitely be low.
The southern troops under Chen Shuren, except for a few old soldiers from the bandit camp who surrendered, had never fought against the Jian Nu. At most, they could only beat the peasant army.
After this experience, as long as I can come back, it will definitely be a full baptism for the military discipline and courage of the troops. In the future, I can at least boast: We also came back from fighting with the Tatars.
And because Zheng Chenggong was leaving, Zheng Hongkui came forward to reward the Zheng family with escort warships, sailors and soldiers. So the Shen family only had to worry about their direct troops.
On the Shen family side, after discussing with his father, Shen Shuren allocated five thousand elite servants - at least nominal servants - to participate in this food transportation and take over the task. Other sailors were not counted.
The so-called five thousand servants are actually only two thousand real servants. They are the desperadoes accumulated by the Shen family from traveling around the sea for many years and serve as escorts.
The remaining three thousand people can only be regarded as "fellow servants of the Shen family" and were then transferred back by the Shen Shuren.
When Shen Shuren went to Huangzhou to take office, he brought with him a thousand elite servants. Later, they were divided and filled into two guard posts in Huangzhou and Suizhou. The old led the new and some elite soldiers were also trained.
Therefore, according to the ratio of one belt to three, Chen Shuren selected the new troops who were trained by the Shen family's servants, and tried to select those who were good at water and capable of amphibious warfare, and returned three thousand people to join the real servants.
No matter how many were drawn, Shen Shuren would also be worried that Zhang Xianzhong would make some moves in Huguang after the spring, which would overly weaken the defensive force on the Huguang battlefield.
On the other hand, the troops organized and trained by Shen Shuren in Huguang were soldiers who were born as dock workers, and their water skills were pretty good. However, many of the soldiers who were born in miners, hunters, and the old camp of bandits could not even swim, so they were transferred to the sea route.
Fighting will only help.
If you only pick soldiers with good water properties, you won't be able to get more people.
Moreover, this time the Shen family's fleet can be regarded as the main force. Before the water transportation was changed to sea, the Shen family had nearly 200 large ships. According to Chongzhen's "five-year sea change" plan, the Shen family will build more ships year by year within five years.
Only by reaching the scale of more than 800 sea-going ships after the five-year period is completed can we ensure that most of the imperial grain is transported by sea.
This plan has only been carried out at the beginning of the third year, and the total number of large-scale ships currently owned by the Shen family is approximately close to 500.
Shen Tingyang allocated more than 100 ships for emergency and daily maintenance of food transportation. The remaining two-thirds were used to carry out this mission. In the final actual statistics, as many as 330 or 40 large-scale ships were used.
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After careful calculation, each ship is equipped with an average of fifteen capable sailors and fifteen water-based combat soldiers, for a total of thirty people. More than 300 ships have also used tens of thousands of people, with half sailors and combat soldiers.
When I go there, it will be fully loaded with the military rations needed for the garrison at Shanhaiguan and other places this year.
After unloading the military rations, if the timing is right on the return trip, each ship can theoretically carry seventy or eighty people, along with supplies, and sail directly back to Liujiagang, Suzhou. That is equivalent to bringing back more than 20,000 people.
If we encounter an extreme situation where more people can be rescued, it is possible to carry an extra hundred or so people on each ship to reach a total of 150 people including sailors.
It's just that supplies will be in short supply, and we won't be able to return directly to Suzhou, so we will have to stop at the Shandong Peninsula to replenish water and food.
Of course Chen Shuren believed that this back-up plan was basically useless. How could Hong Chengchou's troops trapped in the last three isolated cities be as many as 30,000 or 40,000?
Even if there were, it would be impossible to save them all.
Once the rescue of the first city is successful, the Tatar soldiers in the other two cities will definitely be alert to strengthen the siege and will not give them another chance.
…
What the Shen family was most willing to spend was money, so this time they went out to sea to perform a mission, and everyone was given at least ten taels of silver as settling-in allowance, including soldiers and sailors.
Among the soldiers, those who will carry out the task of landing ashore will receive an additional five taels. With these two expenses alone, a team of nearly ten thousand people will directly send out hundreds of thousands of taels.
But compared to rescuing some of the Ming Dynasty's elite diehards for their own use, this price is definitely worth it.
A few hundred thousand taels was just a direct reward. Before departure, Shen Shuren also sent some fish, meat, grain and oil directly to the sailors whose families were in Nanzhili. He was well versed in the essence of welfare provided by state-owned enterprises in later generations.
Just give the silver inconspicuously, and the ten taels of silver ingots will be invisible once you pick them up.
It will look much better if you provide rice, meat, oil, wine, and other physical items to match the hair, and give the family a few pieces of cotton cloth, and it can please all the family members of the expedition, so that they can encourage their sons, husbands, and fathers who are on the expedition.
No worries.
In addition to distributing supplies to the family, the daily reward of wine and meat before setting sail was also unavoidable. All the soldiers found a port town outside Nanjing and had a feast for three days, which was enough.
These soldiers are all foodies. They eat meat without eating. They can eat four to five pounds a day without any problem.
In the late Ming Dynasty, prices were so high that a pound of pork around Nanjing cost seventy-eight cents of silver. During the Wanli period, it cost less than five cents. The three-day reward was worth more than one or two or five cents for the meat eaten by each soldier.
The food and wine served can be close to three taels.
Shen Shuren also invited some secret brothels with half-closed doors inside and outside to send women over for everyone to vent their feelings. However, because the quantity was large, of course the ones he found were the cheapest ones for only one or two cents of silver.
Place.
Chen Shuren didn't think there was anything wrong. Although he was relatively modern in nature, these soldiers were all going on adventures with the Tatars and fighting for the interests of the nation. What was wrong with venting before departure?
As for high-end places such as Meilou and Meixianglou, Shen Shuren also spent a lot of money to hire people, but they mainly hired generals like Zheng Chenggong and Zhang Mingzhen who were about to go on an expedition. Ordinary officers were not treated so well.
Even the most ordinary girl in Meixiang Tower can only guarantee that officers from the rank of Chief Qian and above can participate.
Other civil servants who did not go on expeditions could only drink with these generals and enjoy the glory by the way. Those who were unable to serve the generals had their turn, or they simply supported them at their own expense.
Last year, because Shen Shuren made Hou Fangyu and Gong Dingzi's faction notorious, Gu Mei didn't want to be entangled with Gong Dingzi anymore, so she chose to redeem herself and jumped out of the circle. So now the new top oiran in Meilou has no reputation.
The girls on the other floors seemed not to realize the changes of the times, and still had the idea of advocating culture over martial arts in their hearts.
At first, they heard that Shen Daotai spent a lot of money to treat the guests, and they all came with joy. Who didn't know that after Li Xiangjun was bought by Chen Shuren last year, Chen Shuren was so generous in the end, and he did not show any signs of pressure from Zuo Liangyu.
let.
Hearing that his family didn't like him "ruining things for sex" like this, Shen Daotai still resisted his parents' orders and insisted on not treating Li Xiangjun badly.
In the eyes of gentlemen and scholar-bureaucrats, these deeds must be bad deeds, even a little unfilial.
But in the eyes of the Qin Huai sisters, it was a great act of kindness. If he could protect Li Xiangjun like this, he must be a compassionate person. But he was also the richest man in South Zhili. Who wouldn't want to go to a place invited by such a person?
It's a pity that when we arrived at the place, Meixianglou and Meilou, the girls all felt like they had fallen into an ice cave.
The dream of drinking with Shen Daotai himself did not happen, and instead they were asked to accompany those rough warriors.
Among the girls, the one with the highest "status in the world" is naturally Liu Rushi.
Liu Rushi was supposed to be redeemed by Qian Qianyi at the end of last year, but now due to the butterfly effect, she has not yet confirmed her relationship with Qian Qianyi——
Historically, Qian Qianyi had a relationship with Ruan Dacheng, and Ruan Dacheng tried to clear the names of those around him after Zhou Yanru took office. Therefore, Qian Qianyi should have cleared his name with Ma Shiying.
Now, Zhou Yanru's entry into Beijing has been delayed, and the benefits to Ma Shiying, Qian Qianyi and others have also been delayed. Qian Qianyi has not settled his own affairs, and has not taken off his hat as a guilty minister, so he has no shame to be too public, and his delay is just a sign of condolence.
With Liu Rushi.
Regardless of redemption or not, he could see Liu Rushi at any time if he wanted to. He was already sixty years old, and he could not be said to be jealous of a woman who was already twenty-four or five years old and had been immersed in the entertainment scene for more than ten years.
Even if Liu Rushi would be spending time with other men in the past few months, it didn't matter to him, he didn't miss this little time.
At this moment, after the girls arrived, they felt miserable in their hearts. They also wanted to see what Liu Rushi had to say, and see if she could use her friendship with Shen Daotai to tactfully decline and don't let the sisters accompany those Mr. Qian.
military attache.
However, Liu Rushi is considered to be one of the Qinhuai women who is more discerning and concerned about current affairs, and is not too rigid about civil and military superiority.
She asked Chen Shuren privately what mission these soldiers had.
It was impossible for Chen Shuren to leak military information, so he just casually said: "Now that the East China Sea is not peaceful, and the change of grain to the sea has been on trial for three years, many surrounding maritime forces are aware of it. Hongyi and Japanese pirates have increased their harassment last year, and they want to take advantage of the chaos.
Looting the imperial water transport.
Therefore, we need to add more manpower to escort this year. These soldiers are bleeding from their swords and have to fight to the death against Japanese pirates and red barbarians. Of course, I will reward them heavily. I, Shen, never send hungry soldiers."
Chen Shuren casually described the matter of guarding against the Tatars as red barbarians and Japanese pirates. After all, Liu Rushi had never crossed the sea and did not understand the details of the market, so he believed it.
She just said suspiciously: "Young Master Shen is a benevolent and righteous man. A civil servant in the Ming Dynasty could be so considerate to the military officers and soldiers. This little girl has never seen another one in more than ten years. Since he sincerely defends the family and the country, he will accompany him to drink, sing and dance."
It’s nothing.”
Liu Rushi agreed, and she no longer acted like a standout. And after all, she was the leader among these women, and she had the qualifications to choose her drinking partner.
It seemed that among all the civil and military officials who were going to war, only the sixth-rank Zheng Chenggong was a civil servant, and he looked young and not very lecherous. Liu Rushi sat down at Zheng Chenggong’s table in a graceful manner, helped pour the wine, and even asked Zheng Chenggong in a friendly manner what he wanted to hear.
song.
The other famous female branches with lower status had to go to Zhang Mingzhen and others in turn. If they could accompany a deputy general, a general, and a guerrilla, that would be good. They would be high officials after all.
Chen Shuren looked at this scene and felt quite emotional in his heart. Historically, Zheng Chenggong should have just arrived in Nanjing this year, but now he arrived three years earlier due to his butterfly effect.
Originally, Zheng Chenggong should have accepted Qian Qianyi as his disciple. When he became his disciple, Liu Rushi had just entered the school and was regarded as his junior mistress. Now, he asked his former mistress to accompany him to drink with him, and he was taken advantage of. It was really a shame.
Very ironic.
However, this is nothing to complain about.
Chen Shuren was not a very possessive person, nor did he say that he wanted to have sex with anyone he met in Qinhuai's eight beauties.
After all, Liu Rushi was older, three years older than Chen Shuren. She became the concubine of Zhou Daodeng, the then pavilion boss, at the age of twelve, and was sold to Qinhuai at the age of fourteen. She was a veteran in the romance field.
Chen Shuren had never thought about possessing her, nor did he dislike her, but he just felt a little unhappy that a woman with a bit of backbone like Liu Rushi ended up in the hands of a weakling traitor like Qian Qianyi.
Therefore, as long as Qian Qianyi can be more green, associate more with anti-Qing martyrs, and avoid associating with traitors, Shen Shu people can add fuel to the flames.
Zheng Chenggong is still young and not very lustful. He got married last year. Now he has no feelings for this kind of woman who is six or seven years older than him. He is just curious.
Chen Shuren looked around the audience, and he did not force those who were unwilling. He just said a few words passionately to boost morale:
"I, Shen, will never look down on people who manage various industries, but even a Qinhuai woman can choose what kind of person she will be. If she becomes Liang Hongyu, she will leave her name in history.
In these troubled times, if we still respect the civilized and downgrade the military, it is inevitable that the merchant women will not know how to lose their country and hate it. Whether it is Meilou or Meixianglou, anyone who does not give me face will never be supported by our Shen family in the future."
Zhang Mingzhen and other generals were deeply moved after hearing this. This was the first time that a civilian official truly showed equality between civil and military officials in such a matter. If officials in the Ming Dynasty could do this, the army's morale would not be so low.
A few days of reward passed quickly. On the fourth day of February, Shen Shuren went to Jurong Pier in person to see Zheng Chenggong off. Zhang Mingzhen set sail with 5,000 soldiers and 5,000 sailors.
A considerable part of the fleet was stranded in Taicang, Suzhou, and not all of it came to Nanjing. There were only more than a hundred ships gathered in Nanjing, which was enough to transport all the people and weapons.
In order to make the trip smooth, Chen Shuren even equipped Zheng Chenggong and Zhang Mingzhen with a batch of bayonet Rumi blunderbuss, as well as several newly forged Hongyi cannons from Daye County, Wuchang Prefecture, as the main naval guns on the warships.
Chen Shuren himself rode a tall horse, held a sword and a fan, and drank wine by the river. He repeatedly gave instructions and watched the generals go away.