Chapter 276 Conquering the Yuan Dynasty (10) Japanese pirates and mutiny
The water boat has arrived in Nanjing from Suzhou. In the Jiangdong Guild Hall on the bank of the Qinhuai River, several geishas are playing or performing the recently popular "Huan Sha Ji". At this moment, Qing tunes are playing in the house, and it is raining outside.
The sound is tinkling.
Wang Shiqi and Shu Qingping sat facing each other. There was only tea on the table, not wine.
It was rare for him to go ashore to rest, so he should have a few drinks to relieve his dehumidification. Could it be that this deputy Shu Qianhu didn't drink? Wang Shiqi, who always prided himself on being a romantic and refined scholar, found it a bit strange.
There seemed to be something hidden under Shu Qingping's calm expression. While pouring tea to Wang Shiqi, he asked: "Hundreds of ships and tens of thousands of people are parked at the port. Only officials from more than a hundred households can go ashore to rest. The rest of the officers and soldiers must guard the ships."
Zhiye...Does Mr. Wang know why this is?"
"Of course Brother Shu manages the army well and enforces orders and prohibitions to ensure that water transportation is foolproof."
"Haha... Mr. Wang, look at how many wine shops and brothels there are on both sides of the Qinhuai River. They paint boats, play music and sing, and are extravagant and lustful. The soldiers floating on the boats are also human beings. Who doesn't want to live and die in this gentle countryside." Shu Qingping sneered and continued.
: "Hmph... Human nature is like this. A decree from the imperial court cannot control these things. What can control them is to let them understand the dangers themselves."
Shu Qingping saw that the expression on Wang Shiqi's face was frozen, and continued: "Master Wang, sometimes what you see with your eyes may not be the truth. Just like this Qinhuai River, in your eyes it may be heaven on earth, but in my eyes it is the underworld of purgatory.
"
Wang Shiqi had a look of astonishment on his face. He didn't know why Shu Qingping suddenly said these words. He looked at the scar on Shu Qingping's face, and felt a chill in his heart for no reason.
Shu Qingping walked over and seemed to have suddenly lost his respect for civil servants. He reached out and patted Wang Shiqi on the shoulder and said: "One of the commanders of Zhenhai Guard, named Cai Jiacheng, has been acting strangely recently. Does Mr. Wang know?
"
"We talk about the different paths of civil and military affairs. He is just a commander. How could Wang know there was something wrong with him?" Wang Shiqi replied.
"Really? Maybe." Shu Qingping nodded noncommittally, and then asked: "Then there are other things that are wrong, and Chief Wang must be able to know."
Wang Shiqi subconsciously took a deep breath and asked, "What's the matter?"
"The canal is becoming increasingly congested, so the canals go northward in batches as usual and usually do not crowd together. However, according to Shu's observation, there are no less than 500 canals in Nanjing today, and there are at least seven large and small canal armies.
I don’t know how many people there are, but they must be at least 10,000.”
Shu Qingping looked at Wang Shiqi calmly, paused, and asked slowly: "And Mr. Wang, with his dignity as the head of the household department, actually condescended to supervise the transportation of Shu's small fleet. Shu
I can’t help but feel surprised, and at the same time I really can’t help but want to ask: Why is the principal here?”
Wang Shiqi smiled slightly: "Shu Qianrong's words are really surprising. Now Gao Jinglue is supervising the battle in Mobei, my imperial court's 600,000-strong army is on an expedition, and the capital's food supply is getting tight...Under such circumstances, I, a household,
Is it any wonder that officials personally went south to supervise the transportation of food, wages and other supplies?"
Shu Qingping shook his head and said: "As a rule, the capital's grain reserves include four million dan in addition to what is needed for the year. In the past, there was always a risk of mildew. This is the normal behavior of our court. Gao Situ was appointed as the Ministry of Household Affairs
Since then, the warehouses have been cleaned up to eliminate accumulated defects, and an additional one million stones have been added to store grain for expeditions.
Moreover, for this campaign, the actual military rations directly supplied by the capital were only 60,000 to 70,000 people for the Imperial Guards. The rest were drawn from the Jiubian reserves, and the Jiubian grain reserves were also increased in the past two years. The current Northern Expedition has not yet begun.
However, in two months, news even came from the front line that the Tumen army was hiding and there was no direct battle between the two armies.
From this point of view, the capital's abundant grain reserves are far from critical, and the officials who went south to supervise the transportation of grain and grass this time seem to be not only from the Ministry of Household Affairs... I don't know what Mr. Wang's comment is on this?"
Wang Shiqi was speechless for a moment, but he still quickly replied: "I think the court is preparing for a rainy day. It would rather be better prepared than having to worry about the situation when it comes."
"If all the nobles in power are just thinking this way, it will naturally be a blessing to the imperial court and the world." Shu Qingping said and smiled: "But the above circumstances plus the sudden arrival of the Jin Yiwei when we were in Suzhou a few days ago, the whole situation will be a blessing."
Things just seem to be unusual.”
Wang Shiqi shook his head: "Shu Qianrong, you and I are only fifth- and sixth-grade officials, so why should we care too much about these things? If the sky falls, there will be tall people supporting it, so where will it be our turn to discuss and worry?"
Shu Qingping was silent for a moment, walked a few steps, and said, "In other words, something really happened."
"Perhaps, maybe not, but Wang still said that we can't change anything, so why bother ourselves or even risk our own death?" Wang Shiqi replied quietly.
Shu Qingping snorted softly, and there seemed to be a little ridicule in his laughter, or self-deprecation: "Shu is naturally an insignificant pawn, but you, Mr. Wang, are not."
Wang Shiqi suddenly felt something in his heart, and he forced himself to calm down and said: "If you are the sixth-rank chief, you can catch a lot of people in the capital, aren't they just pawns?"
Shu Qingping glanced at him and said: "Mr. Wang, if my investigation is correct, you are called Jibo and are from Taicang. Your great-grandfather is Taizhuo, a Jinshi in Chenghua, and the Minister of the Ministry of War; your ancestor is Taineng, a Jinshi in Jiajing, and the censor of Youdu; your father is
Ba Shizhen, Jiajing Jinshi, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, a leading figure in the literary world...
Is it not too modest for Mr. Wang to think that he is a humble person despite his life experience? If that is the case, then people like Shu and his brothers in the Cao Army are probably no longer human beings in the eyes of Mr. Wang."
A bright light flashed in Wang Shiqi's eyes, but he immediately regained his composure and said calmly: "So what if Wang's ancestors had some low-ranking officials and low-profile names? I think our minister, Gao Situ, is about the same age as Wang, but now he is
Lord of the Ministry, I have a strategic plan. Once this battle is successful, I am afraid that it will be the future of the pavilion to return to the court, and he will not be able to become a prince or prime minister. In comparison, if Wang is not a pawn, what can he be?
Furthermore, Shu Qianrong, your current worries have nothing to do with Wang's family background. Moreover, the person who went south to supervise the transportation of water ships this time is far from Wang, which shows that it is the handiwork of the imperial court. In this case, you and I are here
Whether it’s worrying or doubting, it’s all useless in the end. Why waste your time? If it’s going to rain and my mother wants to get married, it’s better not to ask, not to say, and not to do anything.”
Shu Qingping was about to speak when he suddenly heard someone outside exclaiming: "The water has leaked! The water has leaked!"
"Sure enough, something happened!" Shu Qingping was startled by the shouts, and suddenly turned his head to look outside. The sky full of firelight reflected on his face through the window, and hundreds of watercrafts on the riverbank dock were burned into a fire dragon.
But that wasn't what shocked him the most, because the voice of the shout immediately changed: "Japanese pirates are attacking at night! There are Japanese pirates!"
Shu Qingping's heart tightened. He turned around, picked up his saber, and glanced at Wang Shiqi. Wang Shiqi also stood up, with a look of panic on his face, and murmured: "Why are there still Japanese pirates?"
Shu Qingping sneered, but ignored him. He jumped out of the second-floor window with a knife in hand and rushed towards the flagship. On his flagship were gifts from governors of several Jiangnan provinces to the emperor. If they were snatched away by Japanese pirates, they would be on board.
The lives of all the Cao army brothers were at risk.
At this moment, hundreds of watercrafts and the shore of the wharf have been plunged into a sea of fire, which reflected the Qinhuai River red. Lightning and heavy rain did not reduce the intensity of the fire. Countless Qinhuai painted boats were in a mess, scurrying around like headless flies, and even more
It adds to the confusion.
Some soldiers on the canal ship had no time to bring weapons, let alone put on equipment. Some soldiers were even so drunk that they were injured by Japanese pirates who came from nowhere. He was not the only one who was caught off guard.
, several Cao armies were defeated.
This group of Japanese pirates was obviously well prepared. They were a small team of ten, with archers and double swords on their backs. They had a clear route. Once they succeeded, they retreated immediately and never hesitated to fight. The entire operation was in an orderly manner.
The Cao army and the Japanese pirates were fighting on the boat, at the pier and on the shore. Shu Qingping jumped on the boat and felt a cold light flash before his eyes. His face was hot and blood spurted out. The Japanese pirates slashed him on the left side of his face. Fortunately, he dodged in time.
It didn't hit the vital point.
He turned around and struck out with a sword, forcing the fierce Japanese pirate back. Then he climbed up and struck with three swords. The Japanese pirate might have been killed easily before, but he didn't expect that a powerful enemy suddenly came. He was accidentally killed by him.
He split his chest and fell to the ground without closing his eyes.
Shu Qingping had no time to be happy. At this moment, the flagship was in danger, and he had to find a way to stabilize the situation. While Shu Qingping shouted, using his voice to stabilize the morale of the Cao army, he bravely waved his sword to deal with the two Japanese pirates who came to outflank him.
At this moment, a cloud-piercing arrow emitting red fire roared through the night sky, exploding like daylight. The rumble of war drums came from far and near from the river.
A typical Jinghua-style armed transport ship was in front, and two ordinary Ming army Haicang ships were behind. The three warships passed through the night in a Z-shaped attack formation and headed towards the dock.
The soldiers on the armed transport ship uniformly wore brown shorts inside and sleeveless armor outside. More than a hundred soldiers armed with Wanli II muskets were lined up on both sides of the deck, and the front and rear rows alternately fired volleys at the Japanese pirates.
The soldiers on the Ming army's Haicang ship were uniformly dressed in mandarin duck war robes, carrying long swords on their backs, and waving flying hooks in their hands to throw them at the canal. After the flying hook grabbed the mast, they jumped into the sea of fire like magic soldiers descending from the sky.
Fight closely with Japanese pirates.
At the same time, another hundred soldiers disembarked and landed, blocking the dock and cutting off the Japanese pirates' retreat. Shu Qingping was shocked by the scene in front of him. He had never seen an army with such clear tactics, well-equipped and well-trained troops. But when he subconsciously
He looked towards the flag-planting place on the bridge of the leading armed transport ship, and suddenly understood.
"Tax Police Corps!"
After the establishment of the eleven departments of the two departments, a special army was set up under the Customs Administration called the Tax Police Corps. The name of this force was modeled after the "Tax Police Corps" (self-published on Baidu), but it continued to be highly pragmatic.
"The name should be small" style, after all, "Regiment" was the name of an army in the Ming Dynasty, such as "Twelve Regiment Camp", "Ten Regiment Camp" and so on.
Gao Pragmatic's purpose in establishing the Tax Police Corps was different from that of Boss Song who would lead the "Tax Police Corps" three hundred years later. He did not need to regard the Tax Police Corps as his political military capital. The mission of the Tax Police Corps was simply to arrest smuggling.
, it’s just a protective tax.
However, there are similarities with the "Tax Police Corps", that is, the sources of troops of the Tax Police Corps are very complex, and the weapons and equipment are very sophisticated.
The soldiers of the Tax Police Corps mainly come from two sources: Jinghua armed servants are directly employed by the Customs Department, and the elites of the Ming Army are selected and deployed. This force is divided into two parts, land and water, but they all accept the dispatch of the Customs Department.
Various expenditures are also allocated by the Customs Department.
The three ships of the Tax Police Corps that appeared on the Qinhuai River today are from the water part. Among them, the armed transport ship from Jinghua came from Shanghai County, and the two ships from the Ming Army part came from Jiangyin, which belongs to the inland part of the Yangtze River.
.
At this moment, Shu Qingping didn't know why the warships of the Tax Police Corps appeared here, but he still shouted a response and actively mobilized the enthusiasm of the Cao army to try to save the ship and cargo.
However, this was only a drop in the bucket. In the end, he only saved his flagship. Most of the other ships were damaged, and about 30% of them were seriously damaged. It seemed that there was no need to repair it, and the cargo on it was probably reduced to
Nothing.
On the other side, the tax police headquarters were still fighting fiercely with the Japanese pirates. Although the Japanese pirates were brave, they lacked firearms and were overwhelmed by tall and majestic armed transport ships. This was a large ship. Although it was somewhat inconvenient to move in the Qinhuai River, it also made it easier for them to block the river.
mouth.
Seeing that they could not defeat the Japanese pirates, they put the plundered things on their own ships and began to flee. When they rushed past the armed transport ships, they were beaten by artillery fire and one ship was sunk.
The remaining six ships escaped.
However, the Japanese pirates finally rushed out, and the three boats of the tax police headquarters were obviously very annoyed. They turned around as quickly as possible and chased after them.
There was chaos on the Qinhuai River, and flames shot into the sky. Shu Qingping stared blankly at the hundreds of canal boats that were almost burned, thinking about the punishment he might face next, and couldn't help but despair.
If the water transport is lost, the canal army will bear 40% of the responsibility!
To put it bluntly, now his Cao army - no, there are several other Cao troops parked here at the same time, have reached the point where they can't even afford to pawn their pants. They have been sent to nine sides and even beheaded and ransacked their homes.
, it seems to be a done deal.
All is lost!
But Shu Qingping still refused to give up. When he came to his senses, he quickly commanded the somewhat dull Cao Army soldiers and ordered them to try their best to rescue the canal ships and supplies. However, at this moment, he found that something was wrong with the surrounding situation. Others not far away
Several Cao troops are gathering. It seems... is someone giving them orders?
I'm afraid not, because he soon heard some shouts, among which were words such as "We can't afford to pay," "Forget it," "There are many of us," and "There is no shortage of money in Nanjing."
Shu Qingping shouted in his heart, "It's going to be bad!" Someone might be provoking a mutiny!
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