Tormented by the dilemma, Chiang Suo became a deserter. Once when the Hong Kong Navy was conducting water navigation training at the Pearl River Estuary, he deliberately fell into the water, then dived far away and climbed onto the shore.
He took off his Fubo Army uniform, threw away all his belongings, and stole a set of clothes in a nearby fishing village. He never thought about what he was going to do after becoming a deserter, or whether he was going to take revenge. He didn't think about anything.
Just like that, it disappeared into the dark night aimlessly.
Jiang Suo was very clear about the fate of deserters. Especially when he "escaped before the battle". He begged all the way to Guangzhou - knowing that the senators were about to seize Guangdong, he went all the way north, just to stay far away from the Senate.
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Jiang Suo originally did not want to defect to the government. It was impossible for a penniless man like him to be received by an official. Even if he were met, he would be suspected of being a spy and might be pushed out and killed. In his case
In his hometown, the owner of the local village would chop off the heads of passers-by just because they were "acting suspiciously."
Jiang Suo knew a little about the roads in Guangdong. The old team leader took them to Guangdong through Wuling. Now he plans to take the old road and go north over Wuling to escape as far as possible.
However, as soon as he reached Nanxiong, he was caught by a group of officers and soldiers passing by on the official road to carry goods.
The goods were all in wooden boxes, which were very heavy. The porters carried them on their shoulders and carried them on their backs, rushing day and night. If Jiang Suo hadn't eaten and drank in the fishing village in the past few years, and was in good shape from the fishing military training, he might not have been there in a few days.
They will die from exhaustion.
Jiang Suo wanted to find an opportunity to escape. However, the officers and soldiers guarded him tightly. If he was caught escaping, he would be beheaded. He could not find a chance.
If one day, a porter hadn't fallen down and smashed the wooden box, scattering the items inside, maybe Jiang Suo would have died of exhaustion on the road.
What fell out of the broken box were several brand new Nanyang-style rifles!
Although Jiang Suo has never been in the National Army, he has seen this kind of rifle more than once. This kind of gun is inferior to the Mini gun used by the army. Not only does it have a short range, but its accuracy is also poor. Only the National Army and the police
I just used it. But for ordinary bandits and pirates, this gun is already a terrifying weapon.
How could the Ming army have this thing?!
His surprised expression immediately attracted the attention of the leading officer. While camping that night, Jiang Suo was tied to the ground with a rope by two soldiers and escorted in front of the leading officer.
"Do you know this gun?" the officer leading the team asked in a deep voice.
Perhaps because of the torture of many days of hard work, Jiang Suo's desire for survival was not too strong. He nodded and said: "This is a Nanyang rifle."
When he heard the words "Southern Rifle", the officer's brows jumped and he said: "Who are you?!"
Jiang Suo made no secret and immediately revealed that he was an Australian deserter.
"So, you are a soldier of the Kun thief."
"yes."
"Well..." The officer stared at him, let out a long breath, and said, "Can you use this gun?"
"What's so difficult about this?" Jiang Suo said, "For the Australians, this gun is just a second-class firearm used by the National Army."
"In that case, you can fill it up and let me see." After saying that, he asked the servants to untie him.
The guards around him immediately untied Jiang Suo's rope. Jiang Suo didn't care about life and death at this moment. He loaded the ammunition in three clicks, then put the gun on his shoulder, took a brief aim and pulled the trigger.
This shot knocked out the incense head twenty feet away.
The officer's eyes suddenly glowed, and he whispered: "Okay!"
From that night onwards Jiang Suo was no longer a coolie.
"My surname is Yi, my name is Haoran, and I am serving as Zan Hua under the supervision of Commander Xiong." The officer's attitude was very kind, without any of the pretentious power of the old man, "You know the details of the Kun Army, and you also
If you are willing to serve the imperial court, your future will be immeasurable. The situation in Guangdong is now extremely critical. This time I return to Guangdong to bring back these firearms."
Jiang Suo didn't know how the Nanyang rifles got into Master Yi's hands, but he knew it must be a secret, so he said nothing
"...Although the gun is good and easy to use, it's a pity that no one can use it as well as you. Kun Thief deserves to be known as a good soldier, but it's a pity!"
When he said it was a pity, he looked at the night sky in the northeast, his eyes full of sadness.
"If the Australians are willing to serve me in the Ming Dynasty, why worry about the Donglu being destroyed and the rogues being unjust! Unfortunately, it's too late now!"
Yi Haoran took him back to Zhaoqing. Along the way, Jiang Suo learned that this staff master was originally from Liaodong and had a reputation as a scholar. However, he was more interested in the art of war than the Four Books and Five Classics, such as "Sun Tzu's Art of War" and "The Art of War".
He has read over and over again thousands of military books from past dynasties such as "The General Essentials of Military Classics", so much so that he can recite them by heart even if he closes his eyes. He failed many times, and his family was getting tired. Yi Haoran had to support his family, and a family of military officers in Guangning
I teach at home. Although I don’t make much money, my family lives a stable and happy life.
When he was forty years old, the imperial army was defeated by Nurhaci in Sarhu. The cities in Liaodong fell one after another, his boss died in the battle, and Guangning withdrew from the town. He took his whole family to flee to the pass, and his wife and children were separated along the way.
After settling in the capital, he was left alone.
Finally, he still had a few teachers, friends, and relatives in the capital. After asking for help, relying on his advantage of being from Liaodong and "knowing soldiers", Yi Haoran found a job in the palace of Yuan Chonghuan, who was about to leave the country. Under Yuan Chonghuan's palace, he had many
He experienced a life of ups and downs, witnessed the short-lived victory of Liaodong, and also saw the fight between Yuan Chonghuan and Mao Wenlong. After Yuan Chonghuan was arrested and imprisoned, Yi Haoran, who had nowhere to go, relied on this qualification to defect to the resurgent Sun Chengzong.
Under the curtain, he followed him to regain the four cities in the pass, and then saw him being ostracized and retired due to illness. Already over fifty years old, Yi Haoran received a letter of "eight lines" from Sun Chengzong and defected to the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, Xiong Wencan.
Xiong Wencan has so many staff members who are recommended based on their reputation. Naturally, they will not think highly of him as a talented scholar. They only support him with some money and food every month and allocate a room to live in. He is not asked to do anything on weekdays. Yi
Haoran also enjoyed his leisure time and played around. He was already a man, but he discovered that Guangdong was not a paradise without war. A few years ago, Wang Zunde mobilized the entire province to attack the Australians, but was defeated in Chengmai. The thieves invaded the Pearl River Estuary.
The city of Guangzhou also almost fell.
This battle also caused an uproar in the court at that time. Tens of thousands of officers and soldiers were killed and many generals were lost. However, after hearing that the "Kun bandits" were defeated at the gate of Guangzhou, they fled by boat to the sea. They only caused chaos along the coast of Qiongzhou.
, is no longer enough to cause trouble.
However, he soon discovered that the truth was not like this. Not only did the Australians not retreat, they actually controlled the entire Qiongzhou Prefecture. They even had their camp outside Guangzhou. However, they did not rob or kill, so everyone could find peace.
Only in this way can the past be covered up. However, the Guangdong officialdom is completely "afraid of the Kun thieves" towards the Kun thieves. They ignore everything about the Kun thieves and just treat them as if they do not exist.
Yi Haoran knew that the Kun thieves had already become powerful and would become a serious problem in the future. He visited people who had witnessed the Battle of Chengmai and several battles with the Australians at the Pearl River Estuary. He soon realized that the Kun thieves were more powerful than the Jianlu thieves.
A dangerous opponent.
After several downfalls, he has seen all the hypocrisy in the officialdom, but he always has a feeling of loyalty to the emperor and the country; in addition, he has seen too many wars, and if he wants to protect the people from the harm of life, he must be able to win the war.
"The only way to have peace in the world is to end wars with war." Yi Haoran said on the boat to Zhaoqing, "Thieves are also human beings, and soldiers are also poor people. They rely on nothing more than strong ships, strong artillery, and well-organized troops.
As long as the imperial court can make up its mind to refine its weapons and train a new army, it will not worry about the undefeated bandits."
Yi Haoran didn't have the airs of a master, nor the pretense of being condescending when a superior asked for advice. When he talked to Jiang Suo about himself, the general trend of the world, and his views on the "Kun thieves",
They were all very calm. And when Jiang Suo talked about the Australians and the Fubo Army, he was very clear-cut.
The two people with very different ages and status got to know each other during the conversations along the way. When they arrived in Zhaoqing, Jiang Suo already knew that these weapons were indeed obtained from the Kun thieves. Xiong Wencan spent a lot of money to get them from Fujian and Shandong
He bought a batch of Nanyang rifles and ammunition and prepared to equip his servants. Because of the long distance, Yi Haoran, an "idler", got this job.
Returning to Zhaoqing, Yi Haoran paid his errand and quietly reported the matter to Xiong Wencan. This attracted great interest from Xiong Wencan. He secretly summoned Jiang Suo and praised him for "abandoning darkness and turning to light". After some questions and answers, although
In my heart, I had a slight criticism of Jiang Suo's "disobedience and rudeness", thinking that he had "been in the habit of being a thief for a long time", but because he was familiar with "Kun Qing" and was good at "Kun Qi", I still admired him.
Jia, rewarded him with fifty taels of silver, and granted him the military position of sentry officer in the Chinese army, specifically responsible for the training of servants.
Yi Haoran's status in Xiong Wencan's family has been greatly improved because of his ability in doing things, especially by accepting a "talent" like Jiang Suo. After several conversations, Xiong Wencan discovered that Yi Haoran not only knew the soldiers, but also analyzed the relationship.
Xiong Wencan had a unique view, and gradually became more dependent on him. This time, he aroused the opposition of Chang Qingyun, the "number one person in charge". In order to balance the relationship between the two parties, and to strengthen his own combat power, Xiong Wencan,
So he sent Yi Haoran to Guangxi to train the new army. Jiang Suo followed him and was promoted to Qianzong in Guangxi.
Although this new army of only 500 people was not all armed with Nanyang rifles, Xiong Wencan spent a lot of money to arm and train it. At this time, Jiang Suo was leading this group of troops to guard the river on the other side of the Gui River in the west of Wuzhou City.
On Bangshan Mountain, since it is unjust to assassinate a leader who appreciates the kindness behind his back, and it is also unjust not to avenge Qingxia, then let's settle our grudges openly and openly on the battlefield!