"Songjiang is alone outside, and the situation is complicated. Even if the entire First Marine Division is transported here, it will be a bit stretched. Therefore, I plan to recruit troops locally in Songjiang and expand our strength to prepare for emergencies. At the very least, we must establish a militia system.
"
After hearing Zuo Mengeng's plan, Wang Ruixian and Li Chongtian had different opinions.
"Commander, the local people in Songjiang are cowardly, greedy for money and gain, and have a slippery personality. They are definitely not the best choice for military training."
"Yes! The two of us have been fighting fiercely here during this period, and we have really seen through the virtues of the local people. If we count on them to fight, there is no chance that there will be any problems."
"Nonsense."
Regarding Wang Ruixian and Li Chongtian's judgments, Zuo Menggeng reprimanded them on the spot.
"The people here are not good at fighting. They just lack the corresponding training. How can they be effective without polishing? Have you forgotten what kind of virtue you were when you first joined the army?"
After being scolded by him and unable to hold their heads up, Wang Ruixian and Li Chongtian finally realized their mistakes.
Zuo Mengeng has always scorned the issue of equating the military's combat effectiveness with regionalization.
What's funny is that this is often done among Chinese people.
There are always various arguments that the Gui army is invincible, the Sichuan army is stubborn and unyielding, and the Qin army sweeps across Liuhe. It seems that the people in this place are more capable of fighting.
But if you look through the history of China, you will find that famous and powerful armies were born in almost every place.
What does this mean?
This shows that whether an army is powerful or not has nothing to do with where it comes from or where it is composed of people.
Whether the army is strong or not only comes from whether it has undergone professional and rigorous training, whether it has been tempered by cruel blood and fire, and whether it has rich and sufficient logistical support.
Other than that, it's all nonsense.
Knowing that the New Army wanted to recruit troops locally, the people of Songjiang were very enthusiastic.
In just ten days, more than 30,000 people signed up, and all of them were young and strong.
The new army selected the best from the best, and finally selected more than 10,000 people to form a militia force.
"Everyone, an army alone without weapons is not enough. The militia force is a powerful supplement to the main force, but their weapons and equipment are still slightly different from the main force. The weapons and equipment of the militia force should be produced locally. This also requires you to
Help.”
After years of development, the new army's military system has become very complete.
As a supplement to the main force, the militia forces have to have differences in training and equipment.
The weapons of the militia troops are basically flintlock muskets and bronze artillery.
Although such weapons are already more sophisticated than many armies in the world, if the New Army produces them themselves, it will inevitably be a waste of resources.
Therefore, Zuo Menggeng decided to establish an arsenal in Songjiang Prefecture to produce weapons and ammunition for the militia.
Xu Ji and others listened and expressed their opinions quickly.
"It is our duty to form an army and protect our country. We were born here and grew up here, so we should do our best."
After everyone discussed it, you contributed 10,000 taels, and I contributed 8,000 taels. We soon collected enough to build the arsenal.
After this war, these businessmen and gentry have understood.
If you want to protect their wealth and destiny, you must have a strong enough military force.
Even the land was quickly planned.
For a long time, the New Army did not launch an offensive after landing in Songjiang Prefecture.
Just because the initial troops only had one regiment of more than 5,000 people.
Such a small amount of troops spread across the vast Songjiang Mansion is too thin.
In order to prepare for the imperial court's counterattack, Zuo Mengeng just placed his troops next to Songjiang Fucheng, temporarily unable to expand externally.
The navy's troop transport ship had already returned home after unloading the 1st Marine Regiment.
It would be a month before the Second Marine Regiment could reach Songjiang.
Only then will the new army have the power to attack and completely wipe out the military power of the imperial court.
But today's civil and military ministers in Nanjing can no longer afford to wait.
After all, Zuo Hua's fleet lay just outside the city of Nanjing, with the black muzzles always pointed at the city.
No one can guarantee when Zuo Hua will launch his attack.
But everyone knows that once Zuo Hua launches his attack, Nanjing will never be able to hold on.
Nanjing's civil and military officials did not dare to bear the charge of losing the city and the land.
Especially at this time, Zhu Guobi and Fang Yuegong escaped in misery.
Seeing that only one-third of the tens of thousands of troops who had set off for the expedition remained, and that all their weapons and equipment were discarded, the officials in Nanjing became even more desperate.
The imperial court's decision could not be conveyed back for a while, but Nanjing officials could no longer sit still.
After some hasty discussions, Nanjing sent representatives, including Zheng Sanjun and Yao Shishen, to accompany Qian Qianyi to Songjiang. They must secure the Shandong New Army no matter what.
The reason why these three people constitute the representatives is simply because Zheng Sanjun is the leader of the Donglin Party, Yao Shishen and Xu Guangqi are close friends, and Qian Qianyi has an old relationship with Zuo Mengeng.
With this kind of personal relationship, everything is easy to discuss.
Qian Qianyi had another insight and took a young child with him when he set off.
"Teacher, the student has long heard from his father that Shandong Zuo Menggeng is very impressive. Can we convince him if we go this time?"
Looking at the beautiful little baby, Qian Qianyi felt disappointed.
"Whether it succeeds or fails, we must try our best. Otherwise, the imperial court will lose the land south of the Yangtze River and the situation will be over."
The young baby's eyes were full of curiosity.
Obviously, he has a different understanding of Zuo Mengeng, who is famous all over the world.
The three of them traveled all the way east, taking a boat to get to the water, which was not slow at all. Ten days later, they finally arrived at Songjiang Castle.
After the notification, the three of them entered the city smoothly without any difficulties and met Zuo Mengeng smoothly.
In just a few years, when he met Zuo Mengeng again, Qian Qianyi felt that the world had changed forever.
He recalled that when he first met Zuo Menggeng, he was still a weak young man.
Although he displays a strong aura, his childish appearance and well-behaved attitude do not make people take him too seriously.
But now that penniless boy has become a hero who is stirring up trouble in the world.
The appearance of a fully grown man and the aura of looking down on the world suppressed Zheng Sanjun and the others.
"Muzhaigong, despite all the years, your style remains the same."
Zuo Menggeng's reminiscing about the past somewhat made Qian Qianyi relax.
"Commander Zuo has been through many events over the years and has soared into the sky. People really admire him."
Zuo Mengeng sat lazily, with a relaxed demeanor.
He was obviously a junior, but he looked like a majestic and evil tiger in front of the three official bosses.
"Hahaha, what this junior is doing is just advocating for democracy. Those who win the hearts and minds of the people win the world, which doesn't mean much."
Zheng Sanjun and the other three looked sideways, always feeling that this young man was bragging.
It's a pity that the three of them don't know that there is a word called Versailles.
However, the little baby nestled next to Qian Qianyi stared at him for a moment, which caught Zuo Mengeng's attention.
"This child is..."
Qian Qianyi introduced with a hint of expectation.
"This is Zheng Yiguan's son, and he was sent to me to study. Although Zheng Yiguan is a lord of the sea, his son is quite literary, and he will be able to achieve something in time."
The little baby took advantage of the situation and bowed.
"Zheng Fusong pays homage to Commander-in-Chief Zuo."