Chapter 68 Knocking on the mountain and shaking the tiger

Chapter 68 Knocking on the mountain and shaking the tiger

Chapter 68 Knocking on the mountain and shaking the tiger
The next day, Baijiawei was engulfed in flames and was completely burned down.

Le Xiucai led the logistics troops, carrying the baggage and the spoils of war in Baijiawei, and moved to Guazhou.

Scholar Le became the busiest person in Guazhou. He sent people to post notices everywhere to reassure the people, and he himself recruited laborers to go to the top of Guiliu City and dismantle the cannons defending the city.

That’s right, there are cannons on the top of Guiliu City, and there are quite a lot of them. If we attack head-on, there will definitely be a lot of casualties.

There were a total of two red cannons, two fire cannons, ten large general cannons, twelve second general cannons, twenty third general cannons, fifteen camp cannons, twenty-five French machines, and one mother-and-child cannon.

Why so many? Most of them were taken down from Guazhou City by Hou Batian, and piled up on the walls of his old nest, Guiliu City.

If all these cannons were to be equipped with artillerymen, there might not be enough people in Guiliu City.

However, these are cannons from the previous dynasty, antiques that are hundreds of years old. The fact that they have not rotted away is a sign of good maintenance by the former defenders of Guazhou.

Most of the guns were out of shells, and even if they were, no one dared to fire. It was estimated that after ignition, the probability of the gunner exploding and killing him was much higher than hitting the enemy.

In actual combat, only a few of them were used. The two red cannons were polished to a shine and seemed to be usable.

What surprised the conscripted laborers was that the Huai Army had strict military discipline but was very careless about the conscripted laborers. They conscripted many people to dismantle cannons with great fanfare, but were very negligent in their management.

The laborers were provided with food and drink, but there was no one to supervise their work. All the logistics soldiers were transferred by Le Xiucai to the former Green Camp military school in the city to participate in training.

Sometimes when a few fellow villagers were slacking off, Mr. Le would just walk by and seem not to notice them.

Who would work now? The civilians in the city signed up enthusiastically, eating and drinking for free, saving money for their families, but the progress of dismantling the cannon was shockingly slow.

There were more than 600 heads hanging on the top of Guazhou City, which was very scary.

Camp officer Wu Ziyi sent troops to patrol Guazhou City, suppress ruffians and maintain order.

There was no temporary military control in Guazhou City, people were coming and going, and business was slowly recovering.

The news of internal strife within Hou Boqiu's gang, the recapture of Guiliu City by government troops, and the news that a large number of civilians were forced to dismantle cannons quickly spread.

There is also an interesting piece of news. The Huai Army commander Shao Quanzhong scolded Le Xiucai, who was in charge of logistics, at the city gate and urged him to dismantle the cannons quickly.

It was claimed that the Huai Army would soon use these cannons to attack the six towns of other illegal salt dealers, and just like in Guiliu City, wipe out all the Qing Gang gangsters.

Le Xiucai went to the demolition site for a walk, but when he turned back, he was gone.

Everyone laughed and criticized Shao Quanzhong, saying, "How can you, a country bumpkin with no culture, control a scholar?" When Shao the butcher met the scholar, he could only be humiliated.

Despite all the criticism, the common people praised the Huai Army's military discipline and still respected Shao Quanzhong, the Huai Army commander, very much.

Except for the soldiers patrolling the streets, the Huai Army never left the military training grounds.

The military grounds of the academy were filled with deafening shouts of killing and gunfire. They trained every day, and the surrounding people even learned the military songs they sang.

On the first day of December in the tenth year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign, all the cannons on Guiliu City were finally dismantled.

If we continue to move at the same speed as the original laborers, we will never be able to finish the demolition.

But because the Huai Army had won the hearts of the people, the common people had a sense of justice and were too embarrassed to be lazy. Without the whip, the work was slowly completed.

The special vehicles that Hou Batian used to transport these cannons are still there. Le Xiucai hired a large number of livestock to pull these cannons. Each red cannon required twenty oxen to pull.

Of course, the speed of the oxen pulling the cannon could not be fast, and the cannon was stopped before it had been pulled half a mile.

Tian Xing hurried to see Shao Quanzhong, "Second brother, the latest news from the marching team is that the six townspeople have all disbanded after hearing that we are going to attack them with cannons.

Most of the Qing Gang salt smugglers took their valuables and went to join the Xingwu Gang boss in Shanghai, Old Master Wei, while a small number joined the Haisha Gang.

The Xingwu Gang was a branch of the Cao Gang. The grain transport was cut off by the Taiping and Nian armies, and the Qing government could not stop transporting grain from the south of the Yangtze River to the north, so they were forced to switch to sea transport.

Now that shipping technology is mature and the cost is much lower than canal shipping, it should have been changed long ago.

But once the Cao Gang's million-strong army was laid off, it would be a huge trouble. The Cao Gang, a profit group that no one dared to touch and a huge burden on the Qing court, was forced to be resolved with the help of the Taiping Army and the Nian Army.

The Xingwu Gang was a group of Cao Gang members who were transferred to Shanghai and became seafaring boat operators.

It doesn't take so many people to operate a seagoing ship, so the remaining members of the Cao Gang were causing chaos along the canal and causing constant trouble. Hou Boqiu was just one of the leading leaders.

The Qing Gang is the Cao Gang. If Shao Quanzhong does not come to suppress them, sooner or later other Qing Dynasty troops will be freed up to suppress them.

They would eventually be driven to Shanghai, the Green Gang's paradise, just two years earlier or later.

Shao Quanzhong smiled and said, "Great! Both the Xingwu Gang and the Haisha Gang are doing the legitimate job of transporting grain for the imperial court. It is a great deed for these private salt dealers to be able to get on the right track."

Tian Xing shook his head. "Given their temperament, they will probably still act like kings and tyrants at sea, extorting money and doing whatever they want."

"That's the Maritime Administration's problem, it's none of our business.

Brother, according to the rules of Jingjiang and Taixing, send members of the marching team to Guazhou and Jiangdu to guide the villagers to build dikes, set up insurance teams, and help each other.

The cold weapons and matchlock rifles seized in Guiliu City were distributed to various villages.

All the salt dealers’ dikes were burned down and demolished.

The three prefectures of Tongtai and Yangzhou should be connected. The more weirs there are to protect the elderly, the weak, women and children, the better. There can only be one weir, Shaojiawei, for garrisoning troops.

The Huai Army is responsible for protecting the three states, and the protection fees donated by the gentry can only be collected by our family. These three states will become the iron base of our Huai Army. "

Hai Qing looked distressed, "Second brother, if we could quickly dismantle the cannons, it would be great if we could really take down the six dikes. Now they've been scared away, and all the money in their hands has been taken away."

"Third brother, how many of those cannons can be used? They are just for scaring people.

Hou Batian was envied because he was the only one who made money, so most of the money earned from smuggling salt was concentrated in Guiliu City.

We won't make much money by fighting those bandits, and we will have to sacrifice the officers I have carefully trained. It's not worth it.

Just scare them away by beating the mountain to shock the tiger. "

The messenger who reported the victory to Lord Qiao had been sent out. The next day, the Green Camp of Yangzhou sent 500 soldiers to take over Guazhou City and Guiliu City.

As for restoring the government and the civilian baojia system in Guazhou, that is the court's business.

Guazhou was successfully recovered in just thirteen days, and the Huai Army was ready to withdraw from Guazhou.

When the Huai Army left the city, the common people were reluctant to let them go. It would be great if you could just live here. We don't welcome the Green Camp at all.

Well, no matter how bad the Green Camp and the government that is about to be rebuilt are, they are better than Hou Batian.

At least the gangsters no longer dare to run rampant in the city. The common people only need to be bullied by the Qing government and can still get by. It is much better than before.

The Huai Army boarded the ships at the famous ancient Guazhou ferry. More than one hundred green-browed salt-carrying ships seized from Hou Batian and the Bai family, forty-five sampans, and more than ninety oared boats set off one after another.

The salt-carrying ship was now converted into a troop-carrying ship, loaded with seized gold, silver, illegal salt, horses, food, and gunpowder, and returned to Hailing in triumph.

As soon as Shao Quanzhong got ashore at Hailing Wharf, he met Wu Fu, the servant of Zheyuan.

"Commander Shao, don't go back to the weir yet, go to the jellyfish garden immediately.

Lord Qiao is hosting a banquet in the Zhe Garden to celebrate your success.

Let me tell you a good news first.

You have wiped out the Guangdong bandits and have been awarded the title of Grand Marshal of the Liangjiang and Lianghu Armies. The court has commended you for your meritorious service. Lord Qiao has recommended you to be the Judge of the Lianghuai Salt Transport. Soon you will be promoted to a legitimate sixth-rank civil servant."

(End of this chapter)