Dominate the Country

Outside Luoyang City, the cheerful shouts of Chen Jiajun's horses and whips were mixed with the cries of countless people in the suburbs, which made Chong Xi at the top of the city feel dizzy and black.

"The thieves and bandits are ruining our people. The thieves and bandits are ruining our people. The people of Luoyang are so innocent..."

I don't know if this Master Daotai really pities the common people and squires outside the city who were wantonly 'ravaged' by Chen Jiajun, or if he is just pretending. Anyway, Chongxi's dizziness and crying made his reputation fearful among people. The city of Luoyang gathered prestige.

Chen Ming led a large force and escorted the prisoners of war all the way to the city of Ruzhou. The Qing soldiers on the east and south roads were getting closer day by day. Chen Ming did not have time to really raise troops to attack Luoyang, although he felt that he If we really attack Luoyang, not much will be wasted. But you have to have four or five days to go back and forth, right? It is hundreds of miles from Linru Town to Luoyang City. It will take two days for the large army to walk, and they have to cross the Yihe River and the Luohe River in the middle. Chen Ming did not dare to waste four or five days of precious time on Luoyang City at this time. [Today there is Yichuan County between Luoyang, Yiyang and Ruyang, but it did not exist in the Qing Dynasty]

When Chen Ming led a large force to escort more than 4,000 prisoners of war, as well as a large number of seizures and materials into the city of Ruzhou, no one doubted that Chen Jiajun had "falsely reported military information." The officers and soldiers were really defeated, completely defeated!

The logistics troops who rushed from Jiaxian by boat have arrived in Ruzhou, and Gao Jinghui, who was originally guarding Ruzhou, has already led his battalion towards Baofeng. After Chen Ming and his fourth uncle Chen Min, who led the logistics troops, handed over the prisoners of war and seizures, they immediately led the troops towards Xiangcheng at night.

The Green Camp of Henan and Anhui seemed to be stimulated by the "unruly" behavior of the Shaanxi soldiers. The Green Camp of Henan, with Hebei Zhen and Fubiao as the main force, had entered northern Xuzhou, while troops from Anhui had also entered Chenzhou. That is to say, the Qing soldiers in the south. I don’t know if Yong Rui has not received the news or the battle report from Nanyang has not yet reached Chen Ming. Anyway, the south road is quite peaceful. As long as Chen Ming moves faster, it seems that he can deal with the Henan soldiers in Xuzhou and then attack the Anhui soldiers in Chenzhou. How to solve the problem on the South Road in the end depends on the specific situation.

The boat Chen Ming was on was a private boat seized from Ruzhou Fucheng. It was very luxuriously decorated, and the most important thing was that it was convenient for sleeping. After being presented to Chen Ming, it became Chen Ming's boat.

On the way east from Ruzhou City, Chen Ming spent more time in the cabin, holding a cigarette in his hand and looking at the map of Henan on the table, but his mind was always full of clues.

The map was placed on a thin iron plate. Chen Ming used magnets of different sizes and small flags of various colors stuck on the magnets to represent the enemy and our various people. They were all red and green. They seemed to be quite similar, but they were just the same. goods.

Chen Ming had to lament his military level again. Even after looking at the map for so long, he couldn't see any advantages or disadvantages. According to his idea, he would attack the Henan soldiers first and then the Anhui soldiers. The Qing government seemingly made a sensational plan to encircle and suppress the four provinces. In this era of inconvenient communication, Jingzhou General Yongrui simply could not control the northern line and the northern front in time. The specific situation and specific behaviors of the Qing troops on the eastern front may not be impossible for Chen Jiajun to defeat them one by one.

But the same flaw also exists for Chen Jiajun. Chen Ming now knows nothing about the situation in Nanyang Mansion. The situation in Yancheng only came from the report two days ago, and then the news was cut off. Among the several strategic priorities, the only one with which Chen Ming could communicate in a timely manner was his current target, Xiangxian County. But Chen Ming also didn't know exactly where Henan Lvying entered Xuzhou.

The map in front of him looked very similar, but it didn't help him at all. Just like the series of battles of Chen Jiajun commanded by Chen Ming, he often relies on soldiers or guns to bully people [such as flying thunder cannons], and relies on hard power to defeat his opponents, rather than his 'superior' military talent .

Chen Ming's military level has always remained at the level of treating headaches and treating pains. I stayed in the cabin for the past two days and smoked almost a pack of cigarettes, but it was of no use. It is said that Chen Ming did not smoke at the beginning. Cigarettes, like matches, glass, and steel drills, were all created by his imagination and handed over to his subordinates.

As a result, there is no suitable steel drill bit, and the glass cannot reach the level of being completely colorless. However, matches are available, but they are not safe; cigarettes have also appeared, and the most primitive cigarette making machine, but the efficiency is too poor. A complete set of machinery can only produce one hundred packs of 20 pieces in a quarter of an hour. Moreover, if the cut tobacco is filled unevenly, the standard deviation of the weight of the cigarettes can exceed 10 percentage points. However, after cigarettes of this quality were distributed to the military and officials as welfare, they gradually spread in the Chen Jiajun system, especially those high-end cigarettes with spices and floral essential oils, and the response was generally good. Among them, clove and mint have the best response.

…

Under the city of Luoyang.

The cavalry battalion led by Chen Kaishan has already retreated through Pengpo Town [which is one or twenty miles north of Longmen Grottoes] - where large-scale relocation and demolition is now taking place, and is chasing the Chen family's army. But this does not mean that the ground in Henan Prefecture is stable and stable. I don’t know how many local ruffians and stragglers took this opportunity to rob homes, burn, kill and loot.

The Chen family army was able to maintain the stability of their own territory very well. As long as the people and even the gentry behaved themselves, the newly arrived Chen family army did not behave as fiercely as the local people imagined. The Chen family army put up a recruitment notice outside Pengpo Town. They really had enough food and drink, and their wages were paid every day without any deductions.

But from Pengpo Town to the north, from Song County to Yiyang to Luoyang to Yanshi, half of Henan Prefecture was more stable than Dengfeng.

Dozens of robbers and robbed houses in just a few days. Many of them were defeated soldiers. No matter how many or how few people there were, they all took the opportunity to make a fortune.

"We can't go on like this. We didn't do these things, but once the situation calms down, the government can just give us some guidance and throw the dirty water on us." When three guys were picked out from the recruits received by Pengpo Town's recruitment office, each of them carrying a large bag of gold and silver jewelry, Chen Jianbai, who received Yang Ping's request, only gave one word: Kill!

But killing these three alone is useless. As long as the Qing government stabilizes the situation in Henan Prefecture, they can say that the suffering of the people is entirely because the Chen family army fought and entered Henan Prefecture, and all the faults are due to the Chen family army. The Chen family army will really have no way to prove it. Even the Qing court can say that those guys who robbed and looted have joined the Chen family army. What can the Chen family army use to prove their innocence? Can their words be more trusted by the people than those said by the Qing court, gentry, and landlords?

"Send a pigeon to report to the Grand Commander immediately, and ask the cavalry camp to leave a team behind." It would be difficult to turn around the law and order situation in Henan Prefecture as soon as possible with only infantry, and cavalry is necessary. "The soldiers and horses of Pengpo Town and Linru Town will take turns to go out and eliminate the bandits, and scouts and reconnaissance soldiers will be sent out to investigate the whereabouts of the bandits..."