Dominate the Country

The night was covering the earth. Jingfu, who had just taken up the post of Jiangsu Provincial Education Commissioner, was writing a letter to his family in the capital.

Jingfu, who was born in the Bordered White Banner and whose courtesy name was Jiezi, worked in Shanxi before coming to Jiangsu to take up his new post. His reputation and ability were very good. But at this time, Jingfu looked a little sad: "…………The people's affairs here are particularly difficult. ... The rumors of Chen Ni are rampant in the city. The gentry are talking about it. Some are surprised, some are surprised, and there are more joy than worry.

There are especially many people who sit with their hands in their arms and laugh as if they are spectators. There is only one person who looks worried about the country! The people of the country have lost their hearts and minds, and it has come to this!

… The weather has been damp and cold these days, which is very hard; fortunately, I have been able to finish my official business carefully, and there is no backlog in recent days..."

Jingfu, who put down his pen, was still worried. He thought of the discussions he heard in the restaurant today when he visited incognito. One of the two middle schools involved the war in Henan. The people of Jiangyin were excited and many of them showed joy.

How could this make him feel at ease?

It has been two decades since the Qing Dynasty entered the pass, and the people of Jiangyin have not yet completely avenged their past. If the bandit rebellion in Henan can be extinguished in time, it will be fine. If the rebel bandit army becomes stronger, the prestige of the court in Jiangnan will plummet.

Jingfu looked at the moon that half of its face was revealed from the clouds in the dark sky, and the cold moonlight shone on his worries.

Chen Jigong in the bedroom was also looking at the moon. Jiangnan in late autumn was different from what he imagined. The damp and cold climate made him, a Henan native, very uncomfortable. On the way to Jiangnan, all the romantic thoughts in his mind had been dispelled. But Chen Jigong's heart was also full of fighting spirit. The situation in Jiangyin was very unusual. Their dark camp, as Sun Wukong who got into the belly of Princess Iron Fan, had great potential.

Because of the resistance consciousness of the people of Jiangyin to the Qing court, and because of Jiangyin's important geographical location.

Although it is not close to the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, there is a Xicheng Canal running through it. The Xicheng Canal is a canal connecting the Grand Canal (Wuxi) and the Yangtze River (Jiangyin). It was dug in the Song Dynasty. It branches from the Grand Canal in Wuxi Gaoqiao, passes Qingyang, Yuecheng, and Nanzha in the north, passes Jiangyin Ship Lock in the west of Chengjiang Town, and enters the Yangtze River at Huangtian Port. It is more than 70 miles long, connecting the two major arteries of the Yangtze River and the Jiangnan Canal, facilitating the entry and exit of ships in Wuxi in the Yangtze River, and is an important channel for the Su and Xi waterways to exit the river. You should know that Wuxi is one of the four major rice markets in China.

The Xicheng Canal has been called the Caoqu since ancient times. The Cao ships sailed from the Xicheng Canal to Guazhou, which is an important channel for the Cao transportation that runs through the north and south of the Yangtze River.

Chen Jigong knew his cousin's plan very well. After the Chen family army entered Yunyang, the army would quickly enter the Yangtze River along the Han River, sweep the three towns of Wuhan, and then go straight down the river.

If the Chen family army wants to survive, they must fight out. It is necessary to involve the Qing Dynasty troops on one side of the north and south, so that the pressure on the old nest will be reduced sharply, and it will be possible to withstand the subsequent heavy blows of the Qing army.

As for the two strategic areas of the north and south, Chen Ming and even many upper-level generals chose the south.

The latter is where the world's money and grain wealth is located, and the waterways in the south of the Yangtze River are crisscrossed, unlike the vast plains in the north of the Yangtze River. The Qing Dynasty court can mobilize cavalry from Mongolia and the northwest to march south. When the Chen family army cannot guarantee the supply of gunpowder, it is hard to believe that they can defeat the Qing army cavalry again and again on the flat ground.

Of course, no one would think that Jiangnan can be swept so easily. It's just that the lesser of two evils is chosen. No matter how dangerous Jiangnan is, it is not as dangerous as the team in Jiangbei. The dark camp where Chen Jigong is located has entered Jiangnan in a big way, striving to establish pigeon receiving platforms and intelligence contact points as quickly as possible.

Chen Jigong, who was about the same age as Gao Yanming, did not join the government department under the general's mansion like Gao Yanming did. Chen Jigong, who had a somewhat erratic personality, was not willing to bury himself in government affairs all day. In comparison, the "spy" hidden in the dark camp could give him more sensory stimulation and spiritual satisfaction.

Of course, his choice was also influenced by his father. Chen Cong was as conscientious as ever. He clearly distinguished what should or should not be done. Many times, his actions made Chen Hui and Chen Ming feel too "unfamiliar", and there was no need to be so harsh.

Chen Jigong's eldest brother Chen Jiqing was the county magistrate of Ruzhou, which was recently renamed Ruyang. Ruyang, the capital of Runing Prefecture, was renamed Runan. Chen Cong himself always stayed in the general's mansion and could only be regarded as a big accountant. His two sons, one was the county magistrate and the other was a spy. They all started from the basics, which was really too disciplined.

Even the young Chen Jigong could clearly see his father's "rules". Chen Hui and Chen Ming should be thankful that they have a brother and second uncle who are knowledgeable and tactful, and two nephews and cousins ​​who are equally smart.

Chen Jigong didn't know that Chen Ming had led his team from Nanyang to Junzhou after breaking through Xinye in the month when he came from western Henan to Jiangnan, but he firmly believed that his cousin would never break his promise.

The Chen family army had already set the tone for the Jiangnan attack, and the role played by the dark camp was very important. Chen Jigong had to organize a small fleet in the next three months. When necessary, he had to ensure that he could control the fleet to the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.

You should know that the Qing court had a certain amount of inland waterway forces along the Yangtze River. The Hanyang Association in Hubei, the Yueyang Camp in Hunan, the Hukou Camp in Jiangxi, the Wuhu Camp and the Anqing Camp in Anhui, as well as the Taihu Association and the Jiangyin Camp under the command of the Jiangnan Admiral. Although they were not as numerous as the Yangtze River Navy, which was rebuilt on the basis of the Hunan Navy after the Taiping Rebellion, these camps were also a big trouble. If Chen Ming wanted to "cholera" Jiangnan, he could not do without the Yangtze River waterway and the ships.

In this way, Chen Jigong's task was still very heavy. Not to mention that he was also responsible for transporting sulfur and saltpeter to the Hubei border. Of course, Chen Jigong was just a pawn in this big plan, and there were other people who had the same task as him.

…

At the Lushan mine, after the Chen family army controlled the Ruzhou area, these mines had long been open to the public.

Every month, a large amount of food is transported into the mountains, and then a large amount of iron blocks, iron bars, and even guns and armor are transported out of the mountains. It is easy to guess that there is an arsenal in the west of the old base of the Chen family in Tumenji, which is the basis for the Chen family's army to defeat the officers and soldiers.

Although it is open, the guards here are still strict, even though more and more people are sent here.

Hundreds of prisoners of war, underage children, both men and women; dumb and deaf people, both men and women; and some literati who took the initiative to cut off their braids and took the initiative to enter the government affairs school opened by the Fu Han General's Mansion.

So far, there has not been a single juren in the latter group, but the number of scholars is increasing. These scholars are of different ages, and some even have gray hair...