Chapter 228 Sleepless Night

Dingyuan is the important town of Anfeng Road. After several wars, Dingyuan is still firmly in the hands of Zhu Yuanzhang.

Since he conquered Dingyuan, he has suffered the attack of most of the troops in the province, but Zhu Yuanzhang has been persevering. With the experience of defending Haozhou, his heart has been as strong as steel. Finally, before the New Year, the province withdrew the attacking troops and saved the danger.

Zhu Yuanzhang spent this New Year in Dingyuan.

His army has grown to tens of thousands of people, and with the important military town of Dingyuan, the next plan is to leave Anfeng Road and develop to the southeast of the province. Zhu Yuanzhang has been thinking about these place names: Chuzhou, Jiqing.

"Brother, tonight is the New Year. I want to ask the eldest brother for instructions. Can I have a drink and celebrate?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked around and came in with his number one general: Xu Da.

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes softened: "Xu Da, I have issued a prohibition on alcohol in the army. Do I still need to explain this?"

"Brother, tonight is the New Year. The soldiers have been fighting for half a year. Have fun. Why not?"

"Xu Da, don't you understand this? I ban drinking, not only because drinking is a mistake, but more importantly, because alcohol is brewed with grain, and our current army is short of food, so even if it is New Year's tonight, we can't make an exception.

Anfeng Road does not produce much grain, and due to the war, it has destroyed farming. Now, the whole Anfeng Road is short of food.

"Yes, brother, I see." Xu Da looked at Zhu Yuanzhang's unhappy face and knew that his eldest brother had something on his mind. Brother, we have taken root in Dingyuan. This is an exciting result. Why is Brother still depressed?

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Xu Da. His general was definitely a pioneer in terms of war. However, he still lacked a strategic vision to look at the overall situation. Zhu Yuanzhang lacked a person who could help him preside over the overall situation.

This can only be blamed on Zhu Yuanzhang's bad luck. Li Shanchang, who has the talent of the prime minister, has been dug up by Zhang Yang. Liu Ji is still working in the marshal's office of Jiangsu and Zhejiang Province. His literary minister team has not yet been settled.

Zhu Yuanzhang also had to talk to Xu Da about the future development: "Xu Da, our current career is like sailing against the current. If we don't advance, we will retreat!"

"Brother, we are rising step by step. We have already set foot in Dingyuan. When we come down, we can continue to march."

"Then tell me, what should be the direction of our next attack?"

Xu Da thought for a long time and shook his head: "Brother, where do you want to hit, I'm the first to fight, but if you want me to say where to fight, I think we should fight in all directions and everywhere to wipe out the tars."

"After the Spring Year, we will attack Chuzhou." Zhu Yuanzhang said.

Chuzhou? Chuzhou is also a good place. Since ancient times, it has had the title of "Jinling Lock Key and Jianghuai Security". After Chuzhou, it can develop to the east and go straight to Yangzhou, the capital of the province. Xu Da said, "Brother, if you hit Chuzhou, you can also take down Yangzhou, right?"

"No, we can't attack Yangzhou. Yangzhou is reserved for Zhang Shicheng." Zhu Yuanzhang said.

Chuzhou is in the west of Yangzhou, and Taizhou is in the east of Yangzhou. The two forces are just across the Gaoyou Mansion.

"Brother is talking about Zhang Shicheng of Gaoyou?" Xu Da said disdainfully, "I heard that he had thousands of soldiers and horses. While the main force of the province was besieging us and stealing the emptiness, he captured Taizhou and Xinghua. If you want me to say, the eldest brother simply sent someone over and subdued them."

Subdue Zhang Shicheng? Zhu Yuanzhang smiled, his bright eyes turned, and he remembered these confrontations with Zhang Shicheng again. There was an ominous foreboding in his heart. The combat effectiveness of those dozens of people is so strong. Although there are only a few thousand horses now, there are not many soldiers. It is difficult to imagine the combat effectiveness of those few thousand horses.

"If you can subdue Zhang Shicheng, do you think Tang He will work like this under Zhang Shicheng? Last time he defected to us. Zhu Yuanzhang said.

Speaking of Tang He, Xu Da was still a little angry: "I really don't know what Brother Dingchen thinks. We have been playing since childhood, but now he doesn't help the eldest brother. Instead, he helps outsiders. He really misread him!"

"People have their own aspirations, and it's not convenient for us to force them." Zhu Yuanzhang said, "With Yangzhou in the middle, we avoid direct contact, which is good for both sides."

Hearing this, Xu Dashen agreed that he was originally very simple and thought that the uprising was to fight the tars wholeheartedly. However, those things in Haozhou City made him completely die for some of the leaders of the Red Turban Army. In Haozhou City, there are five marshals of the Red Turban Army. Guo Zixing's faction, Sun Deya and the other three marshals' faction, there are many contradictions between the two factions. The chief general of the Xuzhou Red Turban Army, Sesame Li, was killed by the army led by the prime minister. His generals Peng Da and Zhao Junyong led troops to Haozhou. Peng Da and Guo Zixing made friends, while Sun Deya and others sang over Zhao Jun. Zhao Jun kidnapped Guo Zixing and was rescued by Zhu Yuanzhang. After this incident, Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely disappointed in them and started his own business.

Now, Peng Da's son Peng Ganzhu calls himself the king of Luhuai, Zhao Jun calls himself the king of Yongyi, and Guo Zixing and others are still marshals. These people haven't been out of Haozhou City for half a year. They don't want to make progress, but just want to compete for fame and profit.

If he really comes into contact with Zhang Shicheng, although both sides are fighting against the tartars, it is still unknown whether they are enemies or friends.

"After capturing Chuzhou, we will continue to go south to conquer Jiqing!" Zhu Yuanzhang said.

Celebration? ( Jiqing is Nanjing) Since ancient times, Jiqing has been regarded as a place surrounded by dragons and phoenixes. Before that, many dynasties had been appointed here. When Zhu Yuanzhang said this, Xu Da's eyes lit up. With Jiqing, there is a place of kingly spirit. In this era, this point is very important.

"Brother, if you attack Jiqing, Xu Da is willing to be a pioneer!" Xu Da said.

"Don, thon!" Suddenly, a beautiful spark flashed in the dark sky outside, red, yellow, green, purple and red, competing for beauty.

"Brother, it's so beautiful. Let's go out and have a look!" From the crack in the window, Xu Da saw the fireworks and said to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang was a little unmoved: "Where did you get this fireworks?"

"Brother, this is carefully made by Jiao Yu to boost morale and celebrate the New Year." Xu Da said.

Made by Jiao Yu? Speaking of Jiao Yu, Zhu Yuanzhang was angry. Originally, he was very optimistic about him. With a firearm, he could gain more advantages in the battle. He has also been sparing no effort to cultivate him, asking for money and people to give people. However, the firearms made are always far from his own needs. Last time I saw Zhang Shicheng's subordinates. The firearm, that's the real big killer!

This Jiao Yu didn't think about how to improve the firearm, but studied this disapproval fireworks?

"Xu Da, ask Jiao Yu to come here." Zhu Yuanzhang said with a calm face.

In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang wronged Jiao Yu a little. It's not that Jiao Yu didn't work hard, but that he was angry. Without Zhang Yang's crossing, the firearms made by Jiao Yu would definitely be in a leading position in this era. However, with Zhang Yang and Tianque, no matter how much he studied, he could not surpass Zhang Yang, which needed The continuous accumulation of experience also requires the idea of the sea and the sky. The first person to come up with the liner is definitely a genius.

"Brother, are you looking for me?" Jiao Yu arrived soon. Just now, he personally lit a few fireworks. The brilliant fireworks in the sky shone on Jiao Yu's face and his heart. He was in a good mood.

"Jiao Yu, when you came here, you promised me to make a large number of advanced firearms for me." Zhu Yuanzhang said.

"Yes, I said that in order to run away from the tars, I am willing to contribute all my efforts over the years to my eldest brother." Jiao Yu said.

Jiao Yu is an ancestral alchemist. When he arrived at his grandfather, he realized the power of gunpowder and began to subconsciously make all kinds of firearms that use gunpowder to launch projectiles. Jiao Yu is more blue than blue. He also has also had an in-depth study of machinery. He has designed the basic structure of firearms, such as fine iron. The bulgeal tube, the spherical projectile, the thickened medicine room, and the general strip of gunpowder just needed more experiments. He was confident that he would shoot the projectile in the firearm in 150 steps.

"Then tell me how far has the research of this firearm progressed?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

Jiao Yu is very strange. On this New Year's Eve, how could the eldest brother suddenly ask about his research so urgently? Is he very valued?

This is Jiao Yu's major. He settled his mind and said, "Brother, the hand gun for the eldest brother was originally made of copper. This copper surname is better than iron, but if all copper is used to make firearms, we can't afford it."

In this year, copper is used to make circulating currency. Copper is used to make firearms, which is like using RMB as wallpaper to paste the wall. It can't afford to spend it at all.

Zhu Yuanzhang also knew it and nodded.

"So, our most correct choice is to make it with iron. However, this iron must be made of steel. First, it is smashed into a thin iron sheet, then rolled into a tube, and welded together. The thickness of this iron sheet and the thickness of the tube are all exquisite. The iron sheet is thin, easy to fry, thick, and a waste of materials. I am now reverse it. Re-experiment and strive to find a suitable proportion. Moreover, it is also used to train those qualified craftsmen to build. Jiao Yu talked stalkingly.

"I don't care about this. I just want to know that your experiment was successful. How far is the range and how powerful is our firearms?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

"If appropriate, within 150 steps, there is absolutely no problem." Jiao Yu said. In fact, Jiao Yu is already exaggerating. Although she can shoot so far, at this distance, the projectile has long been flying somewhere. If it can hit the enemy, it can only be said that the other party is unlucky. This is also the concept of effective range and maximum range. However, in Jiao Yu's vision, this kind of firearm, like a long-range bow and arrow, uses diffuse shooting to kill the other party, not one or two shots, but hundreds of shots together to improve the killing effect.

"One hundred and fifty steps?" Zhu Yuanzhang sneered a few times: "Jiao Yu, do you know? In Xinghua's Zhang Shicheng, his equipped Tianque, has been able to accurately shoot the cavalry of the tartars in two hundred steps away!"

As the leader of the army, in addition to leading the army to fight and mastering the situation nearby, it is also a very important project. Zhu Yuanzhang has secret agents everywhere nearby. He knows Zhang Shicheng's several big battles. He thought that Jiao Yu could give him a surprise. One hundred and fifty steps could not satisfy him at all. Requirements.

"Two hundred steps? Accurate hit?" Jiao Yu's face changed and she said loudly, "Brother, this is absolutely impossible! I've never heard of such a long-range weapon!"

Are you kidding? In fifty steps, the projectile can still fly in a straight line. At a hundred steps, the projectile has seriously deviated from the straight trajectory. Two hundred steps, he didn't say that he couldn't do it. He increased the caliber of the tube, increased the amount of charge, thickened the tube, and increased the pressure. The range was enough, but he didn't know how to fly for a long time. Where did he go? That's why he didn't pursue his range too much. The most obvious difference between fire and bows and arrows is that fire will greatly reduce the talent required by qualified bows and arrows. Within a few days, soldiers who have never touched fire will learn to load and shoot. The exact last name is not the primary purpose, as long as it can be launched.

Now, the eldest brother said that there is a kind of firearm that can shoot 200 steps away. It is not a fixed target, but a high-speed moving cavalry? His intuition tells him that this is absolutely impossible!

"Impossible? I've seen it with my own eyes!" Zhu Yuanzhang said that the explosive that flew from the sky last time was still fresh in his memory. The sound of fire like fried beans sounded, and the thing flying in the sky was actually beaten to deviate from the track and fell to one side! The rate of fire is also very fast. I didn't see it lit with a fire fold at all, and all the projectiles flew out. In contrast, Jiao Yu's firearm was like a toy!

"In a word, you are limited to develop a fire gun that can shoot up to 200 steps within three months." Zhu Yuanzhang said.

"Yes, big brother." Jiao Yu was angry. I contributed all my ancestral skills just to beat the Tartars. I didn't want to be so despised by you. The 200-step fire is pure bullshit! I'll make it for you. I don't care what the effect is.

Jiao Yu has understood that it may be because the eldest brother knew that his neighbor Zhu Yuanzhang had a kind of fire gun more powerful than the fire gun he studied, which was called Tianque gun, so he began to have a problem with himself. In addition, he set off fireworks tonight, which completely ignited the flame of dissatisfaction in the eldest brother's heart, so he gave this ultimatum for himself. In fact, another purpose of setting off fireworks tonight is to experiment with the launch of artillery. He firmly believes that in addition to fire cannons, artillery is also a very important weapon. On warships, cannons will also play a considerable role in attacking solid cities. Tonight's experimental artillery launchers are very successful. It's just that he doesn't want to tell his eldest brother anymore. On the contrary, he is more interested in Zhang Shicheng.

"Big brother, big brother, there is a military reward." Zhou Dexing came in.

"Jiao Yu, you go back first." Zhu Yuanzhang sent Jiao Yu away, and then turned to Zhou Dexing, "What's the military situation?"

Zhou Dexing is mainly responsible for collecting information around him. Zhang Shicheng's uprising in Xinghua can be known in a few days, which depends on Zhou Dexing's credit.

"Brother, the province has appointed Zhang Shicheng as Yin of Xinghua County and Yin of Taizhou, commanding these two places." Zhou Dexing said.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned. He originally thought that Zhang Shicheng's uprising in the east could greatly relieve his pressure in the west. Attacking Chuzhou and attacking Jiqing all need Zhang Shicheng to contain the troops of the province in the east so that he could take action. Why is Zhang Shicheng so backboneless? He just got a little territory. He defected to the Yuan Dynasty, which was simply the second place for Fang Guozhen!

It was not Liu Futong, Xu Shouhui, nor Guo Zixing, Zhang Shicheng, but Fang Guozhen who first rose up and rebelled against the Yuan Dynasty!

Fang Guozhen is a native of Huangyan, Taizhou, and is engaged in selling salt and floating in the sea. In November of the eighth year of the first year, Changpu patrol went to Fang's family to recover the arrears. Fang Guozhen was just eating. He used the table as a shield and the bar as a spear to kill the inspection. He fled into the sea with his second brother Fang Guozhang, his brother Fang Guoying and Fang Guomin. In less than a month, he gathered thousands of people to seize the sea and began to fight against the Yuan Dynasty. Of course, it is also It's called a pirate.

In the ninth year of the Yuan Dynasty, Duoer, the governor of Zhejiang Province, was sent only 30,000 water troops to arrest him, and the officers and soldiers were ten times that of Fang Guozhen. The situation was very serious. Fang Guozhen immediately retreated to the south. Go outside the Five Tigers Gate in Fujian and set up an ambush to fight. Duoer chased to Wuhumen, and saw that the rebel fleet in front of him was blazing, and there was no soldier on the ship. In doubt, he suddenly heard the horns everywhere, and the sound of killing shocked the sky. Fang Guozhen commanded the boat to come over from the four breads. The rockets were like locusts, the official ships caught fire, and the Yuan soldiers fell into the water one after another. Duoer's only class of command ship was cut through the bottom of the ship by the "water ghost team" of the rebel army, and the commander was captured alive, and the rebel army was a great success.

Fang Guozhen did not kill Duoer's class, but asked the court for advice. The Yuan Dynasty appointed Fang Guozhen as the captain of Qingyuan Dinghai. Fang Guozhen changed his appearance and returned to his hometown, still supporting himself.

In the first ten years, seeing the rise of anti-Yuan rebels, Fang Guozhen began to oppose again and expand his territory. Now, the uprising is in a trough. Fang Guozhen secretly communicates with the powerful and nobles of the imperial court and is ready to "surrender" to the Yuan Dynasty again.

Fang Guozhen is a private salt dealer, and Zhang Shicheng is also a private salt dealer. The practice of the two is really the same! It is worthy of being a businessman with a businessman's mind. No matter what they do, it is to expand their territory.

Seeing that the eldest brother was lost in thought, Zhou Dexing was embarrassed to interrupt. In fact, what he wanted to say later was the point.

Zhu Yuanzhang quickly came to his senses, "In this case, we have to reconsider the situation in the east." The troops and horses of the province have been evacuated. Originally, Zhang Shicheng could share some pressure and he could attack Chuzhou. However, in this way, after the New Year, I'm afraid that the tide-like army will rush to Dingyuan again and change from attack to defense.

"It was supposed to be like this, but two days ago, Zhang Shicheng got married, and something happened." Zhou Dexing continued, "The Daluhua Chihadan Battle of Gaoyou Mansion is actually going to assassinate Zhang Shicheng on the spot at the wedding!"

"Is Zhang Shicheng dead?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

"Zhang Shicheng did not die, but Yin Li Qi of Gaoyou Mansion was killed. Zhang Shicheng has captured Gaoyou Mansion on the grounds of calming the chaos."

"Good, that's great!" Zhu Yuanzhang was overjoyed: "This Hadan Battle really helped us a lot!"

The more turbid the water in Gaoyou Mansion, the more beneficial it is for you. Zhang Shicheng did the matter of capturing Gaoyou Mansion. Can the province still trust him? There must be more troops to defend Zhang Shicheng, right?

"Grinding, I want to write a letter to Brother Shicheng." Zhu Yuanzhang said.

A letter to Zhang Shicheng? Zhou Dexing said, "Brother, we don't know Zhang Shicheng well!"

"But I don't know if we are familiar with each other!" Zhu Yuanzhang said.

In order to increase the use of troops for Zhang Shicheng and relieve its own pressure, of course, it is necessary to warm up a little. With this letter, it can increase the province's guard against Zhang Shicheng.

(to be continued)