There is a small river called Baling Water in the west of Baling County. This small river leads directly to the Yangtze River and meanders from the southeastern mountainous area. It has no intersection with Dongting Lake. More than a hundred ships captured by Chen Qing were anchored in Baling Water.
It is guarded by a thousand soldiers.
Among the more than 100 ships, there were two Yang Yao's chariots and ships. This was the first time that the Song army captured Yang Yao's sharp weapons. Chen Qing valued them very much and had a hundred soldiers specially responsible for guarding these two chariots and ships.
The day after Chen Qing arrived in Baling County, Xuanfu envoy Li Gang also arrived in Baling County to discuss with Chen Qing how to defeat the enemy.
Chen Qing took Li Gang to the bank of Balingshui River to visit the two cars and boats.
"I feel that there are three key points to defeating the enemy, one of which lies in these two vehicles and ships."
Chen Qing pointed at the cars and boats and said with a smile: "This is Yang Yao's magic weapon for crossing Dongting Lake and the Yangtze River. If we can find a way to target them, we can destroy his most proud magic weapon, which is equivalent to cutting off his wings."
"
"Have you found a solution?" Li Gang asked happily, stroking his beard.
"The chief craftsman in our army is studying it!"
Just as he was talking, Xie Changzhi dragged his lame leg out of the cabin. Li Gang was startled, "Aren't you...Master Xie?"
Xie Changzhi quickly saluted and said with some excitement: "Does Mr. Li still remember the villain?"
"Why don't you remember that the Thousand-Step Cannon you built severely dealt a blow to the Jurchens' arrogance, and the Jurchens had to withdraw their troops from Bianliang for the first time? I remember personally commending you!"
"Exactly! Exactly! It's a pity that mediocrity took over and the Thousand-step Cannon was abolished by the demon Guo Jing, which led to the Jingkang disaster later." Xie Changzhi let out a long sigh.
Chen Qing asked curiously: "What is the Thousand-Step Cannon?"
Xie Changzhi smiled and said: "It's the super-large trebuchet that the general brought back from Ganquan Fort. We named it the Thousand-Step Cannon. In fact, it can't reach a thousand steps. It can throw a thirty-pound gunpowder barrel five hundred steps away."
Chen Qing was even more puzzled. You must know that he invented the fuse. In the past, he had lit the gunpowder before ejecting it, or ignited the oil paper, but the success rate was too low, and many of the oil papers went out in the air.
"Then how did you light the powder keg?"
"Reporting to the capital, at first we used oiled paper, but found that it didn't work and it was easy to burn out in the air. Later, we used a gunpowder barrel, which is the kind tied to a gunpowder arrow. Once it burns to the end, it can ignite the gunpowder barrel.
Chen Qing understood that this method was good. It was actually a kind of fuse, a thick-cylinder type fuse. Of course, it was not as convenient as a real fuse.
At this time, Chen Qing saw that Li Gang was still watching eagerly, and he smiled a little embarrassedly: "I digressed. Let's talk about this car and ship. Does Master Xie have any way to crack it?"
Xie Changzhi smiled proudly, "I have at least ten ways to crack this kind of ship!"
Li Gang's eyes lit up, "Tell me quickly!"
"To crack this kind of vehicle, we have to start with its outer impeller. There are two key components in it, one is the shaft and the other is the blade. At first I thought their shafts were made of copper and iron, but later I found out that they were actually made of copper and iron.
It's made of wood, and the blades are also made of wood. Think about it, Mr. Li, what is the biggest fear of wood?"
"Burn it with fire?" Li Gang reacted immediately.
Chen Qing smiled and shook his head, "Using fire is not the best way. Firstly, it will take a long time to burn it. Secondly, it is in water and the fire is easy to extinguish."
"Du Tong is right. Fire attack is one way, but it is not the most effective. There are two most effective ways. One is to use firearms to destroy him instantly. This is very effective, but it is not easy to do. You need a boat to get close to it.
When a water ghost enters the water, the gunpowder cannot meet the water yet, and it has to be ignited, which is quite troublesome, much more troublesome than the simplest method I thought of."
Li Gang chuckled and said, "Master Li, don't let me interest you. Now tell me, what is the simplest way?"
"Reporting to Mr. Li, the easiest way is to use a fishing net."
Li Gang and Chen Qing looked at each other and laughed together. Using a fishing net, this method is really simple and practical. If you throw a fishing net up, the impeller will be twisted together and unable to move at all.
Li Gang couldn't hold back his excitement and said, "When can I give it a try?"
Chen Qing smiled slightly and said: "I just said that vehicles and ships are one of the three key points to defeat the enemy. Don't you want to know the other two?"
Li Gang stroked his beard and said: "Chen Dutong, please tell me the other two key points. I am all ears!"
"One is that I need the right to make decisions during wartime. It is up to me to decide how to plan, how to make decisions, and how to fight. The Xuanfu Envoy only needs to accept the results of the war afterwards."
Chen Qing's two-state envoys were still controlled by the Huguang envoys. Especially in the extermination of the Dongting water thieves, Li Gang was the commander-in-chief. Chen Qing was just a former army general. Li Gang also controlled tens of thousands of troops, and the Yangtze River Navy also took orders.
Yu Li Gang, not Chen Qing.
Li Gang is not Zhu Shengfei. He is even more open-minded than Zhang Jun. He knows that he is a civilian official and is not as good as Chen Qing in terms of combat experience. Li Gang pondered for a moment and said: "It is not impossible to give you the command and decision-making power, but I have a condition."
"Xuanfu, please tell me!"
"I don't allow you to kill prisoners of war, you must leave them to me!"
Chen Qing smiled bitterly and said: "The Xuanfu ambassador also knows?"
Li Gang sneered and said: "Can I not know? Chen Dutong's reputation as a human devil has spread throughout the states. Not only the rebels are afraid, but the people are also afraid. That's why I'm here today. If you don't want to listen to me,
If you advise, then I will impeach you to the officials!"
"Xuan Fu made a serious statement. This is just to establish my authority. I am not a cruel person, and I am not cruel to the people. On the contrary, I have strict military discipline."
"I know that the discipline of your army is very good, so I sincerely welcome you to come, but I cannot accept killing and surrendering prisoners. If you find it troublesome, then leave it to me to deal with it."
Chen Qing pondered for a while and said: "I can only agree to half of the Xuanfu envoy. I can promise not to kill innocent people indiscriminately. If the surrendered prisoners do not stain the blood of innocent people and do not rape women, then I can hand them over to the Xuanfu envoy!"
Li Gang still shook his head, "I'm not a good person. I can't tolerate the two situations you mentioned, but I will strictly screen them. With all due respect, I don't believe in your trial. You would rather kill a hundred people by mistake than
Never let anyone go!"
Seeing that Li Gang refused to give in, Chen Qing could only sigh and said: "If the Xuanfu ambassador is willing to agree to my third condition, then I will promise to hand over all the prisoners of war to you."
Li Gang smiled slightly, "Are you admitting now that you are actually negotiating terms with me? And you said it nicely, two key points."
Chen Qing blushed and said with a cheeky smile: "Xuan Fu is still a master, I can't hide anything from you!"
"Stop talking nonsense, let's talk! What is the third condition?"
"I want fifty two-thousand-stone warships, completely under my command."
Li Gang looked back at Balingshui behind him and said with a smile: "You already have more than a hundred warships here."
"These warships are too small. I need large warships to transport troops to Junshan Island!"
"Okay! I will give you fifty 3,000-stone warships and 5,000 navy troops, which you will have full command of, but as agreed, you must change the killing order to surrender without killing."
Chen Qing said helplessly: "I just promise to be the envoy of Xuanfu!"
Li Gang was afraid that he was telling the truth, so he added: "You don't know at all that not all Yang Yao's men are water thieves. That was later. In the beginning, many people were forced to have their families destroyed by taxes, so they had no choice but to follow Prime Minister Zhong.
Yang Yao rebelled, these people don't deserve to die."
Chen Qing shook his head, "Don't try to convince me, Xuanfu. I promised to hand over the prisoners of war to you just because you gave me decision-making power and naval warships. This is an exchange.
My philosophy is different from yours. As long as you become a water thief, whether you are forced or voluntary, you have to pay the price. Even if you don't kill, you have to serve three years of hard labor. I will never accept release without punishment.
Otherwise, even if banditry is eliminated temporarily, it will still appear in the future."
Li Gang waved his hand, "Since we can't convince each other, let's not argue about this matter. As you said, this is an exchange. Also, I don't want Lu Yihao's grandson. You can stay in the army by yourself! No.
If I don’t give you face, it’s really hard to get rid of old grudges.”
Chen Qing finally understood Li Gang's uprightness and nodded, "Okay! I'll settle him."
Li Gang then smiled and said: "When are you going to send troops?"
"You hand over the navy and warships to me, I will train them for ten days and then send out the troops."
Li Gang's eyes widened, "I don't allow you to change generals. If anyone is disobedient, tell me and I will change them. This army is only lent to you. You are not allowed to annex him!"
Chen Qing laughed loudly, "I will still return to the northwest in the future. It is useless to ask for a navy army. I promise not to annex this army."
Li Gang was relieved and said, "Then I will wait for your good news!"