Three days later, Chen Yucheng returned to Luang Prabang. Under Shi Dakai's order, he began to organize the Taiping Army to collect and organize supplies.
The rice they planted here has been harvested, and the Taiping Army battalions under Shi Dakai pounded the rice into rice to make it easier to carry on the road.
In order to facilitate the movement of supplies, each Taiping soldier must carry a certain amount of supplies with him.
There were more than a hundred elephants in the team, and those natives who could drive elephants were recruited into the Taiping Army.
These people enjoyed preferential treatment, at least they did not have to do heavy work like other natives. These elephants were divided into two parts, one part was responsible for transporting artillery, and the other part was with the vanguard, leading the way.
Here in Indochina, road construction is seriously lagging behind. The vegetation here is dense, and newly opened roads will soon be reoccupied by vegetation.
That's why China wants to open up river transportation on the Lancang River. River transportation here is much more stable than road transportation.
All preparations are almost done.
At this time, Shi Dakai summoned his men from all over the country. It was impossible for four to five million people to gather in one place. They were dispersed around Luang Prabang in battalion units.
In Luang Prabang at the end of August, the weather became drier. The warm and humid airflow blowing from the southeast gradually weakened and was replaced by the cool and dry northwest wind.
But this is a low latitude area after all, and the weather is only a little cooler.
The surrounding vegetation is still lush and green.
Except for the places where humans live, everything here is green.
Plants have tenacious vitality and they take root in every piece of empty land. They never choose a place. As long as the place where the seeds fall has enough conditions for it to germinate, they will take root there and try their best to grow.
Shi Dakai felt that he was now going to be a seed thrown out by China. He would lead his Chinese people to take root and sprout in a new homeland.
Of course, the uneducated Shi Dakai would not have thought of such a poetic thought, but that is probably what it means.
When the Taiping Army gathered, the small capital of Luang Prabang was filled with people.
Shi Dakai has not publicly announced his decision to move.
He is waiting...
The midday sun shines on Luang Prabang, and people hide in bamboo buildings or under big trees to rest and chat.
Everyone was a little excited to see each other again after a short farewell. During their time in Nanzhang, these Taiping soldiers felt that they had become masters. The natives here were at their command, and they could cultivate the land at will.
Here, they are the masters.
But Shi Dakai told them before that he would only rest here until the end of the rainy season.
Everyone actually silently hoped in their hearts that the Holy King would change his mind after such a long time.
Chen Yucheng and other confidants gathered in Shi Dakai's palace at this time.
Everyone was arguing with each other.
Although everyone was talking about asking the Holy King and the Holy Judge, in fact everyone had already spoken out what was on their mind when they were arguing.
"Holy King, we have had our own goals from the beginning. The conditions in the chosen heaven on earth are better than here, and there is a broader space for development." Chen Yucheng said, and his statement carried a lot of weight among the Taiping Army.
.
Chen Yucheng knew much more inside information than others. He firmly supported the westward expansion, even though it meant huge challenges.
However, it also has more opportunities. Not to mention getting strong support from the Renaissance Army in arms and supplies.
The ample development space there is worth the Taiping Army's taking advantage of.
If you have weapons similar to those of the British, what if you fight against the British?
Chen Yucheng even had some vague expectations. If he could defeat the British, it seemed to be a very fulfilling thing.
Although the British defeated the Manchu government, it was also a shame for the Chinese nation.
If Chen Yucheng could wash away this shame, wouldn't it be something that would make him famous throughout the ages?
Chen Yucheng is now a general, and becoming a famous general is his future pursuit.
Becoming a famous general like Wei, Huo, and Yang Wei is the noble pursuit of a general.
"Report!" A long-drawn report sounded.
Shi Dakai knew that the person he was waiting for had arrived.
"Report to the Holy King that a large fleet has arrived from the north. All of them are smoking steamers." The guard reported.
Let's go and take a look together. Shi Dakai knows that the person he is waiting for has arrived.
Because Shi Dakai had made arrangements in advance, the Taiping Army guarding the riverside did not intercept the fleet.
Peng Yulin stood at the bow of the ship. Zhang Qiang was arranging the fleet to prepare for docking. Of course, necessary precautions still need to be done.
Zhang Qiang can guarantee that he has more than a dozen gunboats in his hands. If the Taiping Army suddenly launches an attack, the opponent will definitely suffer.
After installing the rotary machine gun, the standard gunboat can attack from both distance and near, with almost no blind spots. It is simply the dominant force in the river.
Moreover, there are turrets and machine gun towers on the gunboats, which can provide certain protection for the gunners and machine gunners. To deal with the enemies on both sides of the Lancang River is basically to crush them.
Unfortunately, Zhang Qiang has not yet encountered a decent enemy.
Along the way, although there are lush jungles along the river, most of them are lined with hills and there are few people.
But Luang Prabang is a gentle valley. Covered by the surrounding green mountains, it has beautiful scenery, rich products, and is suitable for farming. It is indeed a treasure land.
When Peng Yulin was lamenting that this place was a treasure.
Shi Dakai had already brought his generals to the riverside.
In the distance, they could see black smoke pillars floating into the sky and then dispersed in the wind.
A whistle sounded. Shi Dakai saw a ship of steel monsters heading this way.
He knew that these were gunboats of the Renaissance Army. Although these gunboats were not as big as those he had seen on the Yangtze River.
But it looks even more grim. The Fuxing Army's steel plate riveting technology has matured, and shipboard steel plates can also be produced.
The reason why these gunboats were manufactured so quickly was because the marine steel plates were prefabricated, and Yongchang Shipyard only completed the final assembly.
The same gunboats are assembled at Yilihe Shipyard and Yuehu Shipyard.
Looking from a distance, if these standard gunboats didn't look at the rivets on them, they would have thought they were just a lump of iron!
The erected muzzles above are not for decoration. They, the generals of the Taiping Army, have all seen the artillery of the Renaissance Army.
Their artillery fires are not big iron balls, they are explosive grenades.
"Holy King, this is the fleet of the Fuxing Army, let's do the damn thing!" said a tough-looking Taiping Army general.
The general thought someone would echo him after he finished speaking.
But no one around him said anything, everyone just looked at him like a fool.
Shi Dakai glared at the man. He didn't care. There will always be fools everywhere. Such people will die on the battlefield sooner or later.
"Everyone, take a good look. This is the reason why we left Guangxi in the first place. Instead of fighting with such an army, it is better to cooperate with them." Shi Dakai began to speak.
Everyone listened quietly, everyone knew that what the Holy King said at this time was a major event related to the fate of the Holy Kingdom.
"We are all descendants of China and descendants of the Han people. Since the Renaissance Army overthrew the Manchu Qing Dynasty, they are no longer our enemies. Our Taiping Army withdrew from China not because we lost."
"We are looking for a new land to sow the seeds of our Chinese civilization!" Naturally, such modern words were not something Shi Dakai could say.
This passage comes from the letter Dong Shuheng wrote to Shi Dakai. That letter actually gave Shi Dakai a step forward.
Otherwise, how could such a young and arrogant Shi Dakai simply run away with his men?
At this time, Shi Dakai's words were full of pride to everyone's ears.
"However, everyone, this is not the place where we sow the seeds of China. This is originally the land of China. Now we are going to a place that is not the land of China. Only in this way can our Taiping Army show its power in a foreign land."
"The land there is more fertile than here, and the natives there are more cowardly than here. There, we can find opponents who can be called enemies, and there we can have unlimited room for development."
…
Shi Dakai, who usually didn't talk much, gave a speech to his subordinates.
Shi Dakai is a very charismatic person. He has a high prestige in the current Taiping Saint country.
What he said today was so impassioned that it made people's blood boil.
Chen Yucheng clenched his hands and stared directly at Shi Dakai's back. He had never felt that the Holy King was so tall and majestic.
Now, what he is most fortunate about is that he followed the Holy King in the first place.
If he had followed the King of Heaven or King of the East, he would most likely have died in the civil strife in Tianjing City.
At this time, the fleet was gradually approaching, and the Taiping troops guarding the pier were a little nervous.
However, according to the Holy King's order, they did not make any changes and just stayed in place to monitor.
They didn't dare to move because the black muzzles of the gunboats were pointed at them.
This feeling of being targeted by a cannon has a strong sense of oppression on people.
At this time, Chen Yucheng also turned his attention to the gunboats in the river. To be honest, although this type of gunboat was not as big as the original gunboats of the Renaissance Army.
But it gave people a stronger sense of oppression. He knew those artillery guns with turrets.
But what are those strange firearms made up of many barrels?
Maybe it was a rapid-fire gun. Chen Yucheng was very interested in the weapons of the Renaissance Army.
At the beginning, he came into contact with the flintlock guns of the Renaissance Army, and at that time he felt that they were much stronger than the blunderbuss of the Qing Army.
Later, he bought a rifled gun from the Renaissance Army. He was amazed by its exquisite workmanship, ultra-long range, and stable performance.
In fact, he had always known that the Renaissance Army had better weapons. But no one would give their best to others. This is human nature.
The gunboats did not go ashore, but lined up in the river, watching every move of the people on the shore.
Then some tugboats pulled the troop carrier towards the dock in turn.
Immediately, groups of soldiers disembarked from the ship. They were dressed neatly in military uniforms, carrying muskets on their backs, and disembarked from the ship in a line.
After a while, these people occupied the pier.
Bao Chao, commander of the 20th Division, was directing soldiers to disembark and deploy.
Bao Chao knew Shi Dakai, and Shi Dakai also knew him. Previously in the Hunan Army, Bao Chao's battalion was stationed in the north of Guangxi.
His life in the past few years was also bizarre and tortuous. First, he worked as a small boss under Xiang Rong and was not taken seriously.
After Xiang Rong was defeated by the Taiping Army, he fled back to Hunan and was recruited into the Hunan Army by Luo Bingzhang.
It was at this time that his life took a turn. The Hunan Army was a meritocracy and he quickly rose up the ranks. He established his own battalion and made the battalion bigger and bigger.
Bao Chao was somewhat arrogant. At least when it came to leading troops in battle, he never felt that he was inferior to anyone else.
It wasn't until he saw the soldiers of the Renaissance Army that he felt that his soldiers in previous years were all in vain.
From the perspective of the Renaissance Army, fighting is a completely different concept. They do not lack courage, but they do not rely on the blood and bravery of soldiers in fighting. They pay more attention to the use of weapons and give full play to their own strengths.
Because they were ordered to surrender to the Renaissance Army, Bao Chao didn't even have time to fight against the Renaissance Army.
However, starting from his old team Xiang Rong, Bao Chao had people around him who fought against the Renaissance Army.
At that time, the Renaissance Army was rumored to be amazing by people around them.
Knowing that he himself became a division commander of the Renaissance Army, his feelings about the Renaissance Army became more relevant.
Bao Chao knew that he was appointed as the division commander just to appease the Hunan army.
When things become stable in the future, if he, as a teacher, does nothing, he will definitely be sent to a remote place to retire.
Therefore, after taking office, Bao Chao has always been conscientious and conscientious.
At the beginning, the 20th Division arrived in Sichuan without all the equipment.
But despite this, the troops still fought several good battles in Sichuan.
The fighting in Sichuan was mainly against the local chieftains, because Luo Bingzhang soon joined the Fuxing Army.
The Tusi army was no match for the Hunan Army. Although the battle was won, Bao Chao had no sense of accomplishment.
In the next six months, the Hunan Army spent most of the time on training, and he also went to the Army Officer School in Gaoyou to study again.
Only here did he learn the secret of the Renaissance Army's victory in every battle.
Subsequently, the 20th Division also underwent a major change, and a large number of junior officers were exchanged, either entering military academies or going to other units.
The soldiers' equipment was also replaced with equipment from the Renaissance Army.
If he hadn't been familiar with various equipment of the Renaissance Army in the military academy, he would not have been able to imagine various new ways of playing with the equipment of the Renaissance Army.
When the Renaissance Army faces an enemy with worse equipment than itself, it usually makes sure that I can hit you, but you can't hit me, and first use the advantage of artillery to kill the opponent's artillery.
Then you basically lock in the victory, and you can grind away the opponent by slowly grinding your equipment.
The 20th Division, which has been retrained, has gradually been transformed, and the soldiers have gradually lost their smugness. They cherish their current status very much.
Because after becoming the Renaissance Army, their treatment is much better than before. Not only are their military salaries increased, but their families can also enjoy special treatment.
Moreover, according to China's latest policy, soldiers can exchange military industry for military industrial fields. Although these fields are not in their place of origin, the military department gives everyone good fields.
This system is actually a means for the Chinese government to promote immigration.
Take Nanzhang, for example, which is now being taken back. The fields here are considered to be good ones. But there are still some natives living there, so China will definitely immigrate here vigorously.
Granting military merit fields is one way.
At this time, on the Luang Prabang Pier, soldiers of the 20th Division had already disembarked one after another.
Some soldiers dispersed and expanded the scope of the warning.
There were also some soldiers lined up on the pier.
Behind them was the Navy's gunboat, and everyone felt extremely at ease. Within a few kilometers of the surrounding area, the gunboat's strike range was within. In this area, they had an absolute advantage in terms of firepower.
"Have you seen it? This is the Renaissance Army. Not to mention their soldiers, but their equipment, how can we fight with them? This is what Dong Shuheng can rely on to overthrow the Tatars in a short period of time."
"Let's go and meet the guests together."
As Shi Dakai walked towards the dock, he was not worried that the Renaissance Army would suddenly attack.
That is completely meaningless. If the Renaissance Army really wanted to destroy the Taiping Army, they would have had many opportunities.
"Join His Highness the Holy King." Peng Yulin, followed by a group of generals, greeted Shi Dakai.
This was enough to give Shi Dakai face. After all, Shi Dakai's younger brothers were all here, and he was a person of status.
Peng Yulin felt that by giving him some face, he would have nothing to lose.
"General Peng, thank you for your work!" Shi Dakai also said with his hands in hand, without putting on the airs of a holy king.
In a sense, Shi Dakai seemed to be helping Dong Shuheng, although Shi Dakai never wanted to admit it.
Zhang Qiang was a little disappointed, and the battle was not profitable.
Next, both parties discuss the handover.
Arrangements had been made before Peng Yulin came. If the two sides negotiated the handover, there would be no need for war.
Then Shi Dakai and the others will take a troop ship and go west along the Lancang River to the eastern part of the Shan State Plateau, and then go west along the boundary of the chieftains in northern Myanmar.
The Renaissance Army will provide them with necessary supplies along the way until they enter the Naga Hills area.
After that, they will rely on the guns in their hands to clear the way.