In the state capital, Zeng Lichang sat there alone, immersed in thought. He already knew about the small encounter outside the city in the evening. The guard general of Dongcheng originally sent troops to respond, but when he arrived, Huai Haijun had already
All were evacuated, even our own wounded were taken away, and only three dying wounded soldiers were picked up halfway.
"I still underestimated the combat power of the Huai Navy." Zeng Lichang thought secretly in his heart.
"But, the Huai Navy's combat power is so strong, why don't they attack the city directly? It's unrealistic to say that it's a long journey. It's only a few dozen kilometers from Gaoyou to Yangzhou, and we still come by boat."
As a result, they were lucky enough to arrive early, but they camped far away by the canal. If it were an ordinary Qing army, it would really be possible to do this. After all, tens of thousands of people were camping there in the entire Beida Camp.
It has been a long time. But this Huaihai navy is obviously not weak in combat power, otherwise it would not have wiped out all its scouts.
Zeng Lichang really couldn't figure it out and simply stopped thinking about it. Since the Huai Navy was no longer advancing, it was necessary to seize the time to transport the supplies back to Tianjing. The Taiping Army had lived a hard life and valued gold and silver property more than human lives.
.If you run out of soldiers, you can still recruit them again. If your gold and silver treasures are gone, it will affect the quality of life of all the kings.
Therefore, Zeng Lichang sent a thousand elite escorts from the city, and contacted Luo Dayou in Zhenjiang to come to the river to meet him. There should be no mistakes this time. Moreover, Dong Shuheng probably would not have thought that he would be transporting supplies at this time.
There is nothing wrong with Zeng Lichang's thinking. After all, he is a person of this era, and his thinking still has the limitations of this era. He cannot imagine how much Dong Shuheng attaches importance to intelligence. Dong Shuheng sent Ji Mingshan, who was still the Minister of Information, when he first started his career.
Laying out the intelligence system in Yangzhou,
In Dazhai by the river, Dong Shuheng was directing the soldiers to improve the sand table in a combat command room converted from a warehouse. The reconnaissance activities during the day fed back a lot of information, and now the sand table needs to be readjusted.
"This invention of the president is really advanced. In this way, fighting a war is like playing chess. The chessboard becomes a real battlefield model. And the little pottery figures are also lifelike." Yan Shikun on the side praised. He became more and more excited.
The more he likes this sand table, the more he looks at it, the more he feels that it coincides with the art of Bagua deduction. He looked at Dong Shuheng, and wondered if he, the president, was also one of his own!
"Of course, I specially asked Old Man Tan, the best clay figurine maker in Gaoyou City, to help me." Dong Shuheng was secretly proud in his heart. Old Man Tan did not suffer any loss. He got inspiration from Dong Shuheng's help, and now he specializes in modeling the appearance of Huai Navy soldiers.
Clay figurines. Many people would buy a few of them. It is said that placing them at home can ward off evil spirits, which made Lao Tan a small fortune. Now he no longer pushes a wheelbarrow through the streets, but bought a shop in Gaoyou New Town.
…
While they were chatting, Su Ting came over and reported: "Report to the President, Director Ji has something important to report."
"Let him come in." Ji Mingshan must have some important news to tell him when he came here at this time.
After a while, Ji Mingshan walked in. He was dressed like a rich businessman in brocade clothes.
"President, there is an emergency. Urgent news came from our internal line in Yangzhou City. Zeng Lichang is preparing to transport the last batch of property from Yangzhou City out of the city tonight. The time is set at midnight. The route is still from Bali Town to Guazhou, Zhenjiang
The Taiping Navy Navy will be responsible for responding in Guazhou in advance."
"Lao Yan, what do you think about this matter?"
"I feel that when Zeng Lichang was transporting things out of the city at this time, he must have expected that our footing was not stable and would not notice this incident. But because he was robbed once before, he will definitely be more prepared this time."
"Also, President, I think this incident also reflects that the Taiping Army is not determined to hold on to Yangzhou. So we can try to 'persuade' Zeng Lichang."
"Oh... the word 'persuade' is used well, but it is obviously unrealistic to persuade the Taiping Army to surrender. Lao Yan, you have seen my future strategy!"
"Haha, 'the cunning rabbit is dead and the lackey is cooked' is an old routine. We have wiped out the Taiping Army, and the Qing court must be very happy, but without the threat, the Qing court must find a way to deal with the newly rising Han armed forces in the south. The President's
The idea is to drive the Taiping Army away. Let them move again. We will follow the Taiping Army and continue to expand our territory. Let the Qing government's vision be attracted by the threat of the Taiping Army. Therefore, we have no choice but to not consume the Taiping Army on a large scale.
of vitality.”
"Old Yan, you really do mature with age. You have only been with me for a few days, and you have become a roundworm in my stomach so quickly."
"President, what you said is a bit disgusting. I don't want to be a roundworm in your belly. President, you are only 18 years old this year! It's like a young man has become a sperm when he does such big things!"
This old man is really unforgiving.
Dong Shuheng pointed to the sand table and said: "This is Bali Town. As you can tell from the name, it is about eight miles away from Nancheng. We have a time difference this time and do not take action in Guazhou. Luo Gang's men will not be easy to deal with."
Dong Shuheng moved his hand down the sand table and continued: "This is called Shangwei, and it is on the only way to Guazhou. The escort team will not be far from Guazhou when they get here, so they must relax their vigilance. We will move the troops in advance
Ambush here, as long as the battle can be resolved within half an hour, we can avoid the reinforcements from Yangzhou and Guazhou."
"There should be no problem with the President's arrangement. The key to this battle is the word 'quick'. If we want to deal with Zeng Lichang's escort team in such a short period of time, we must gather superior forces. We can defeat the opponent with a single charge. We must not give him any chance."
Opportunity for the opponent to fight."
"Okay, Su Ting, go and deliver the order. The teaching group and the first group are secretly assembled and on standby. The navy is also ready. The troops will set off by boat and land on the east bank of Shangwei to lurk. The scouts will be deployed south of Bali Town to pay close attention.
Every move of the Taiping Army.”
"Qingnan, you will command this operation. Lao Yan, you will follow Qingnan. Oh, by the way, remember to bring the newly delivered flares from the arsenal."
"Yes, President!" Everyone followed the order and left, leaving only Dong Shuheng and Ji Mingshan still in the war room.
"Tell me, is there anything else? I saw that you were hesitant to speak just now."
"I'm not afraid of delaying your important event!" Ji Mingshan said with a smile. He was running around outside every day, and the president didn't even say a few words of comfort to him.
"President, let me tell you something about the north first! The Taihang Column has arrived in Huaibei. There are many Nian armies there, and their composition is very complex. Commander Lu's men don't have to worry about being exposed. They now occupy Zhaozhuang, where
Recruiting men and horses, the number of soldiers has expanded from the 500 taken away to 1,000. The 500 carbine rifles you ordered have been sent."
This kind of carbine is based on Dreiser and the arsenal has shortened the barrel to make the rifle more convenient for cavalry to shoot on horseback.
"Commander Lu named her unit "Feiyan Army". She plans to make a name for herself in Huaibei and then head north."
"There is news from Beijing. There was a censor impeaching Qishan before, which seems to point to our actions in various prefectures and counties. However, there seems to be no response from the court. The appointment of Guizhong Bank is coming, and this time it is the emperor who made the decision directly.
"
"Hmph, this emperor is somewhat capable and can see the situation clearly. How is Lin Wei doing?"
"Lin Wei has returned to Yizhou. He took back some of his remaining troops and selected some for Commander Lu. Huaihai Trading is sending a caravan to replenish supplies and pick up the old and weak from their village.
Family members. Fifty officers from the Cavalry Section of the Second Lecture Hall are also on their way, and with them are two thousand war horses."
"Are there still horses in Jiangbei Daying? These people from Beidaying can do business well. We can establish several fixed horse purchasing channels in the north through them. You can go back and discuss with the people in the purchasing department and ask Huaihai Company to do it.
Do it. We will need more war horses in the future, as well as draft horses."
"Everywhere in Jiangbei is now turning in bandits to train the cooperation between the garrison and the militia. These bandit turning activities have received strong support from the local gentry and common people, allowing the troops to quickly gain a foothold in the local area."
"Well, this is a good method. Use fighting to promote training. Then ask the staff to issue a notice. In the future, half of the captured bandits by the local garrison will be retained by the army as the soldiers' allowance for bandits." Dong Shuheng interjected.
"President, the last time the British minister made a secret visit to Tianjing, the Taiping Army seemed to have purchased a batch of arms from the British. Of course, the British did not sell them openly, but planned to smuggle the arms to Zhenjiang by ship.
"
"Oh, we must keep a close eye on this matter, mobilize the forces in Shanghai, and determine the time and route of this transaction. You take the lead in making a plan, and I will ask the special operations team and the navy to cooperate with you. We must
If you eat this batch of arms, you must at least destroy them and not let them fall into the hands of the Taiping Army."
"By the way, what's going on with the Little Sword Society?" Dong Shuheng had heard about the Little Sword Society many times and knew that they were going to revolt in Shanghai. This incident would have a great impact on Dong Shuheng's future plans, so he always kept it in mind.
.
"Following your instructions, we have been following up on this matter. The White Rose successfully instigated the rebellion of a middle-level leader of the Little Sword Society. It is said that they will prepare for an uprising in August. And they also have contact with the Taiping Army. I have already
Instruct Tank to send people to join the Little Knife Guild in the name of other small gangs to ensure that they understand the movements of the Little Knife Guild."
"Well, you can continue to follow up on this matter. We don't have the power to distract ourselves from the situation in Shanghai right now. Everything recently is focused on Yangzhou."
"Yes, President."
"It's very late. Please stay and have a supper together. Li Cunxun, go and order the kitchen to order two bowls of noodles, the instant noodles I just taught them to make. Mingshan, I'll treat you to something new today."
"Isn't it just noodles? It's rare for the president to treat himself to something, but it's noodles. He's really stingy." Ji Mingshan complained in his heart.
After a while, two bowls of hot noodles were brought up by the orderly. The noodles were made with bone broth, with a few green vegetable leaves on top, and a golden poached egg. They looked pretty good.
Ji Mingshan sniffed. It smelled so good. The noodles were really different. They were curved and spiral. The noodles were golden and looked crystal clear in the soup. He grabbed a pair of chopsticks.
"I'll eat it first. I'm starving to death." He picked up the noodles and put them in his mouth. He gasped because they were so hot. The noodles tasted so chewy and completely different from what he had eaten before.
"President, you just said this is called instant noodles. Why is it called this name?"
"That's what it means, very convenient noodles. Dry the prepared noodles, twist them into the shape of a pancake, and then fry them in oil. This kind of pancake can be stored for a long time without spoiling, and
Just soak it in boiling water until soft and you can eat it.”
"It's true. I feel that this kind of instant noodles will be popular all over the world in the future. I plan to invest in a food factory to make this kind of instant noodles later."
"Okay, I won't charge you any royalties. In fact, you can also make some seasoning packets with salt, monosodium glutamate, and pepper such as dried kelp, dried seaweed, dried shrimps, etc."
…
The two of them were eating and chatting. Unexpectedly, it was already late at night. The battle in the south should have started!