Chapter 277 Prelude

Bian Yuanheng has stayed at the base and knows that this coal is urgently needed by the base. Only coal, refined into coke, can meet the sufficient temperature of melting iron ore. However, there is no coal mine in the whole province. All coal is bought from the north at a high price. If the tars are clever enough, it is only forbidden to transport coal from the north to the south. If you lose, the big brother's base is dangerous.

Nowadays, a coal mine has been found, and it is within the province, which is very convenient. Coupled with the steam engine ship with a water army, looking at the whole province, no one dares to grab the territory with the eldest brother.

Soon, Bian Yuanheng came to the coal mine. At this time, several soldiers left here had already lifted the nearby land together. There were all black coal seams below, and Bian Yuanheng was overjoyed.

Touch it with your hand and look at the texture. It's good. It's really coal!

"Come on, take all the prisoners of war here." Bian Yuanheng said.

"Your Excellency, the prisoners of war have boarded the ship, and it seems that they have left." A soldier said.

"Fed, who let them go?" Bian Yuanheng asked.

The guards didn't dare to answer. Obviously, you ordered them to leave. Why did you suddenly forget everything now?

All the prisoners of war were stuffed into the cabin of a ship. After being filled with people, the speed naturally slowed down. Therefore, Bian Yuanheng let the ship leave first, but Bian Yuanheng has now changed his mind.

Since there is a coal mine found here, it is necessary to establish a base as soon as possible, dig out the coal inside, and transport it back to the base, which is also a major event.

Bian Yuanheng can't be blamed. He hasn't seen a coal mine yet. He doesn't know how thick the coal seam is. If he knew that this coal mine was enough to mine for more than a hundred years, he would not have been so anxious.

"Quickly, inform them in the flag language and let them come back. If the flag language doesn't work, then send a boat there. Be sure to bring the prisoners over, and then prepare enough tools for them to work."

In this era, it is good enough to catch prisoners of war without being buried alive. This is because there are not many Tatar soldiers in it. Otherwise, Bian Yuanheng would have ordered all the prisoners of war to be executed and put all on one ship. Bian Yuanheng did not care about the life or death of this group of prisoners of war at all.

However, now he needs this group of prisoners of war very much. It is a good choice for them to mine for themselves.

Bian Yuanheng looked around. This is an endless field, full of weeds. This area has never been noticed by anyone, and it has been missed by the local people. The attention of the people is concentrated on the lake. There are all kinds of aquatic products in the lake, which are enough to feed the family and farmers. There are relatively few, and fortunately, this coal mine can be preserved. However, ordinary people will not dig so deep.

In a word, I was very lucky this time. A accidentally fired shell actually blew up a coal mine.

Soon, the prisoners of war were escorted over.

"Xue Rengui." Bian Yuanheng shouted.

"Yes, my lord." Xue Rengui was the commander of the warship transporting the tars just now.

"You take five hundred-person teams, stationed here, block dozens of miles around, leave your ship, guard the prisoners to dig coal, wait until they have dug enough, and then use the ship to transport it back to the murder port." Bian Yuanheng ordered.

It is impossible to dig up this coal and bring it back to the base at once. This is a big project, and it has to be tightly sealed and locked to prevent it from being known by other people with ulterior motives. Not everyone is familiar with the waterway of the base, so let him transport it back to the murder port, and then the ship of the base will transport it back by himself.

"Yes, my lord." Xue Rengui replied, this job is a fat job. When Officer Bian left, he will be the leader here. Let's see how he ** this group of prisoners of war!

"Quick, work, work." The soldiers have begun to let the prisoners of war dig coal. If they move a little slowly, they will whip them without hesitation.

"If these prisoners of war are exhausted, find a place to bury them, but if one runs away, I will bury you." Bian Yuanheng said.

"Yes, my lord, don't worry, I can't run away." Xue Rengui said that he knew that if the prisoners of war ran away, the coal mine here would be known by the tars, and the consequences would be very serious.

Bian Yuanheng looked at the prisoners who had begun to work, and his heart was full of expectations. He wanted to see the grand situation when the coal was shipped back to the base, but he could not stay here for too long. He came out a lot and said that after destroying the Tatar navy, he had to quickly return to the Gaoyou Mansion. Maybe there was still a war waiting for him to participate. What about it?

The few hundred-man teams left behind have begun to divide the work. One hundred-man team guards the prisoners to dig coal, two dispersed their guard, and the two began to camp. Maybe they will be stationed here for a long time in the future.

Bian Yuanheng saw that everything was on the right track, told Xue Rengui again, and began to lead the fleet back.

The fiery red sun shone on the surface of the water, and the strong light dwinded the sailors. At this time, it was in the afternoon that the fleet completed the task of eliminating the imperial navy. The steam engine spit out thick black smoke and drove south.

A large area of lotus leaves floated on the surface of Weishan Lake. The breeze blew, with the fragrance of lotus flowers in the sultry heat. Bian Yuanheng looked back at the location of the coal mine again, and his heart was full of expectation.

Suddenly, another sailboat appeared behind the fleet, and the sails hung high on the mast and bulged.

Because of the water war in the morning, the people around them have been hiding at home for a long time. No one dares to come out. How can a boat dare to drive in the Weishan Lake now? Isn't he afraid?

Look at that, it should be a civilian ship. Although it is rude to hit the tartars, for a civilian ship, the navy can't have any indistrict thoughts, which is also Zhang Yang's strict order.

It is an established policy to fight local tyrants and divide the land, but it can't be killed with one stick. After all, Zhang Yang still needs a large number of cultural people, and most of the cultural people also belong to this camp. The way Zhang Yang gives them is that the land cannot be occupied too much. Five mu per household is five mu. Their spare money can Used for business.

The traditional concept of Chinese people is to make money, set up some land, set up a big house, marry a few wives and concubines, and keep this industry for the rest of their lives, which will never develop.

Zhang Yang's purpose is to encourage and stimulate the development of commerce, similar to the Silk Road, and to make business to the whole world. Therefore, he spared no effort to develop the navy. This is the purpose, and also banned the navy from attacking various merchant ships. Of course, it is a political event to cut off the exception of the imperial court.

"Increase the horsepower and go back to Gaoyou Lake quickly." Bian Yuanheng said that the boiler had just begun to burn, and the steam was not enough, so that the other party's sailboat caught up.

This is also a shortcoming of the steam engine ship. With steam, the ship can be sailed, and this heating process takes at least half an hour.

The sailboat in the rear is also very bold. When ordinary people see the steam engine ship with thick smoke, the first image is that it is a monster, not easy to mess with, or far away, and the other party is not afraid at all, and there is no descent, so it is getting closer and closer to the fleet.

Bian Yuanheng was a little strange. Although he was not afraid, he still ordered his men to be ready. In case this was disguised by the sailors of the tars, he would bombard it with a few shots.

As the saying goes, soldiers are not tired of cheating. The Tatars are not all big and thick, with strong limbs and simple minds. Among them, there are also some smart people, such as Taishi Tuo.

It's getting closer and closer. This is undoubtedly a merchant ship. It's a very ordinary merchant ship. Bian Yuanheng just has some strange feelings. This ship looks a little strange.

"Son, the villain dares not get too close. Look at the fleet, there is black smoke on it. Isn't there any demon in it?" A man said tremblingly.

"Yes, we'd better stop the boat and don't have contact with them." A voice said.

"Don't worry, I know them." The prince replied that his speech was very clear and a little crisp.

He Zhaoyi shook his head, or was he not allergic? What was this sensitive thinking? Does she want to go to Gaoyou Mansion to settle accounts with Zhang Shicheng? Or do you want to go to Gaoyou Mansion to secretly explore Zhang Shicheng's troop layout and then send back the information?

Now, the price of grain in most of the capitals has tripled, which is a great opportunity. Coupled with the help of the teacher, He Zhaoyi finally took the boat to the south.

Following the ship, there are also Li Xingsu and Pan Mao, who are responsible for protecting her. No one can predict what dangers they will encounter on the way to the south this time. After all, the court and Shicheng's brother have turned against each other, with part of the force, and there is still a support in times of crisis.

However, what He Zhaoyi didn't expect was that she still didn't get rid of Minmin. Minmin seemed to be a prophet. As soon as she was ready, Minmin followed her on the boat. In this way, she took Minmin down to the south of the Yangtze River.

With Minmin, it's not easy to do. You can't say that you are looking for Zhang Shicheng, right? After all, her father is going to war with Shicheng's brother. If he goes to Shicheng's brother, I'm afraid he will be suspected of collaborating with the enemy. The reason I said at the beginning was that I knew some people in Yangzhou, and I could take some unusual roads and bypass Gaoyoufu.

Unexpectedly, I met the water army of Gaoyou Lake here. Needless to say, just looking at the chimney with thick smoke, it is the unique symbol of their ship.

He Zhaoyi wanted to let the ship dock temporarily, and then go south after missing the other party.

I just came out of Zhongshu Province here. Unexpectedly, Shicheng's brother's navy came here. He Zhaoyi's heart was mixed. If his navy had even controlled it here, I'm afraid that most of the grain would not be able to be transported completely.

Minmin was exactly the opposite. When she saw the smoking ships, she also recognized the navy she met on Gaoyou Lake last time. Instead, she ordered the boatman to catch up quickly.

He Zhaoyi had the intention to stop her, but Minmin put on her airs, and He Zhaoyi had no way. However, Li Xingsu and others who followed and protected them were secretly happy in their hearts. With this hostage, the crisis of Gaoyou Mansion could be easily resolved.

In this way, the sailboat is getting closer and closer to the warship.

Suddenly, the curtain of the cabin opened, and a figure walked out of the cabin.

Bian Yuanheng stood on the top of the cabin and saw it clearly. The figure seemed to be a little familiar.

It was not until the other party's ship had flowed down the current and ran to the front from the side of the fleet with the wind that Bian Yuanheng suddenly remembered, how could this figure look like a person? It's impossible. Absolutely impossible. Didn't she know there was a war here? By the way, the eldest brother once gave himself an order that Mr. He might come to Gaoyou Mansion to pay attention to it on the waterway. Unexpectedly, he encountered it here.

"Cy up!" Bian Yuanheng said.

"Your Excellency, the army of the tars is coming soon." On a hill near Xinqi, Zhao Zixiong received a reward from the agent.

At the order of the eldest brother, the two cavalry columns rushed north one after another, interspersed from Huai'an Road to Xinqi.

Thanks to the tens of thousands of recruits on Huai'an Road under Gaoyou Mansion last time, Huai'an Road to the north of Gaoyou Mansion is already extremely empty. It's good to be able to defend several cities. For the vast wilderness, it can't be taken into account at all. In addition, the cavalry took a path, so all the way down, it was not on Huai'an Road. The defenders found it.

And now, the cavalry have come to the edge of the junction of the province, ready to ambush the army of the tars here.

The cavalry have used this set of attack tactics. They are purely to make trouble for the Tatars. Under the premise of preserving themselves, they create nervous psychological pressure for the Tatars through continuous attacks, so that they become a tired army. They want to rely on their thousands of people to take these 100,000 troops. Next, I'm afraid Zhao Zixiong and Pan Yuanshao have never been so beautiful in their dreams.

The two soldiers were divided into two ways, looking for their own fighters.

After a month's trek, the army finally entered the north of the Huainan River. At the forefront, it was the main bodyguards. Along the way, they gained a lot.

They were cavalry. When they first came out, the march was very fast, but later they slowed down, because every time they arrived in a new place, they would go out to fight in the grass valley.

Although this is the people of the court, the Mongolians have never regarded these people as their own people. Instead, they make themselves like thieves who have entered other people's homes and want to rob everything.

However, the imperial division of the Chinese army found this problem in time. When he saw the burned village along the way, he severely punished a group of officers and soldiers, and even the commander was cut down.

Tuo is the most calculating person in the whole court. He knows that killing can never solve the problem, especially this kind of worthless killing, which is purely for the sake of plundering, it is easy to push these people to the Red Turban Army.

In this way, after the bodyguards were shocked, they marched and finally went out of Zhongshu Province. They wanted to reach the destination quickly and relive the pleasure of killing. For them, the smell of blood was the most nerve-stimulating taste.

They distanced themselves from the Chinese army again, leaving the Chinese army and the defenders behind.

"Are you ready for dessert?" Zhao Zixiong asked.

"Don't worry, boss, it's all buried." One of his men said, but his heart was full of excitement.

Zhao Zixiong asked the soldiers to dig many pits on the hillside, in which a large amount of gunpowder was buried and connected with a fuse. The amount was enough to kill hundreds of tars.

Will the tars be hooked?

It depends on how much the Tatars are irritated, but the arrogant Tatars are likely to be easily irritated, because they are trying to make great contributions.

At the forefront of the team is a thousand-person team. As the vanguard of the whole army, they are naturally good players in the barracks. They have been suffocated during this period.

Because they can't fight the grass valley. When they came out of the capital city, they all rubbed their hands and were ready to do a big job. Unexpectedly, they were killed by the master and killed chickens for monkeys. No one dared to do that again.

Their eyes were on fire, their marched faster, and they were getting farther and farther away from the main force, at least more than ten miles away.

The

** horse was running, the fire on their backs were shaking, and the sabers on their waists were also shaking. They really wanted to kill directly under Gaoyou Mansion and come to the slaughter again. The last time they attacked Sesame Li, they were really excited.

As the most elite troops, the weapons in their hands are also the most advanced: fire. Moreover, it is neither a bowl of mouth or a cup of mouth, but a more advanced three-eyed fire!

Three-eyed munchium is a kind of multi-tube munchium. The munchium body is molded into a "pin" shape by three munchions in parallel. There are reinforced hoops on both sides, and the tail is a tail, with a wooden handle installed. Each gun tube has a medicine room and a fire door, which can be fired continuously or in a volley after ignition. It is a powerful weapon for cavalry.

(It is generally believed that the three-eyed fire was only available in the Ming Dynasty, but it has been proved in the Yuan Dynasty).

They have heard that Zhang Shicheng's army is equipped with fire, which arouses their desire to fight. No matter how powerful Zhang Shicheng's fire is, can he have his own three-eyed fire? Absolutely impossible. This is the latest weapon developed by Wubei Temple.

They don't know that their three-eyed fire is in Zhang Yang's eyes, not even a slag. The body is made of copper, and the inner wall is smooth. It is a smooth-muff gun. The range is less than half of the sky. Although it can be fired continuously, it needs to be ignited with an open fire. There is no reliable firing device at all, and, The reloading after the shooting is completed is not something that ordinary people can do. Loading immediately after speeding is definitely a technical job.

The cavalry are still invincible. They are in a single shape, neither sending outposts nor protecting the wings. In this way, they rose from the official road.

"What's that on the back of the tartar?" At first, the cavalry noticed that it was neither a spear nor a bow and arrow. They really hadn't seen it.

"What does he care about? Can he be as good as the guy on your back?" Zhao Zixiong said, "The first team is ready to attract the tars with me."

This team of cavalry are all real tartars. Looking at the scale, it should be a thousand-person team. Such a goal satisfies Zhao Zixiong.

Although Zhang Yang's order is to attack the tars, after leading the battle, each general has his own autonomy, so that he can better give full play to his ability. This part of the tartars lightly advanced the enemy, far away from the main force, and the number of people was just right. Zhao Zixiong made up his mind to eat them.

A team of dozens of people, starting from the side, rushed to the large army of the tars, like a moth to the fire.

(to be continued)