Daming: Stealing Chen Yuanyuan at the beginning

Chapter 32 Abundant Talents
Taking advantage of the lack of troops in the Central Plains and the chaotic situation, sending Yan Yingyuan and three people to occupy Liaocheng is equivalent to driving a nail and inserting a sharp knife in the hinterland of the Central Plains.

There is no need to send Jinyiwei spies to inquire, Li Cunming also knows the current situation in Shandong and Henan.After Li Zicheng fled to the west, the landlords and gentry who were previously suppressed by the Dashun army took advantage of the situation, punished the local officials of Dashun, and suppressed the people who were interested in the peasant army.

These landlords and gentry were unreliable. Because of their class attributes, they hated the Dashun court and killed peasant soldiers and ordinary people ruthlessly.But once the Manchus sent troops south, they would all surrender.

There are several reasons for choosing Liaocheng instead of Kaifeng and Jinan, which are more famous and have a higher strategic location.

First of all, Liaocheng is close to the Grand Canal, which can contain the throat of the Grand Canal, cooperate with Cao Huachun to suppress the big officials and businessmen, and prevent the big officials and businessmen from transporting strategic materials northward to support the enemy.

Secondly, Kaifeng is still in the hands of Li Zicheng.Li Cunming had a strategic idea of ​​uniting with Li Zicheng to fight against Jiannu. At this time, he would not take advantage of the fire and loot, but would leave a foreshadowing for future cooperation.

Although Jinan City is important, it is not the only way for Qing soldiers to go south.At that time, Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, launched the Jingnan Campaign. He attacked Jinan for a long time, and then went south along the Grand Canal, and quickly reached the Yangtze River, taking away the throne from his nephew Zhu Yunqi.

Therefore, deploying troops along the Grand Canal is the most important thing.

In the end, Yan Yingyuan and the others have extraordinary talents. They may not be able to conquer the city, but they are very good at defending the city.

As long as they can stick to Liaocheng, they can delay the pace of the Qing soldiers going south and buy Xuzhou more time for development.

Li Cunming confided all his thoughts, and said sincerely: "Three sages, it is of great significance that I send you to manage Liaocheng. But I want to make it clear that you are going to confront the Qing soldiers head-on. Go or not go back."

"Then leave and never come back!" Yan Yingyuan said firmly.

"Okay, I'll clean up the three sages, and you can go north tomorrow."

The next morning, Li Cunming went out of the city to see him off in person, saying: "I will give you 50 taels of silver and [-] shi of grain, which I intercepted from the Manchu Qing mission. In addition, I will send another thousand soldiers to accompany you. I am short of soldiers and major generals, please be considerate of the three sages."

Watching the team meander away, Li Cunming looked up at the gray sky and muttered to himself: "The wind is rustling and the water is cold. I hope my decision will not harm them!"

A few days after Yan Yingyuan left, Bi Maokang, Song Yingxing and Zhang Guowei also arrived one after another.As for Du Yinxi and Zhang Huangyan, Li Banghua brought a letter saying that he would come with him after a while.

"There are so many talented people around me now!" Li Cunming laughed.

He first met Song Yingxing and Zhang Guowei, and immediately arranged for them to solve the flood in the Yellow River.

In the Ming Dynasty, the Yellow River diverted its course many times, and when Li Zicheng attacked Kaifeng, the embankments burst and the city was flooded, and the area of ​​Xuzhou was severely affected.If you want to open up wasteland and cultivate land, you must solve the flood problem and build water conservancy projects.

Zhang Guowei is a master of water management. He has been an official for many years and has rich experience in managing many rivers.

Song Yingxing is the author of "Tiangong Kaiwu", a top-notch scientist and agronomist in the Ming Dynasty, and was hailed as "Ming Dynasty Diderot" by later Western scholars.

"You two lovers just do it freely, and I fully support it. Even if you get money out of your teeth, you must manage the floods in Xuzhou." Li Cunming said.

Zhang Guowei and Song Yingxing were greatly encouraged. After taking the order, they worked tirelessly to conduct on-the-spot investigations and walked along the Yellow River almost day and night.

When Bi Maokang came to Xuzhou, Li Cunming went out of the city three miles to meet him and presented him with a walking stick inlaid with gold.

At this time, Bi Maokang was already in his dying years and dying of old age.When Li Banghua went to visit him, he was sick in bed, and when he heard that the emperor invited him out of the mountain, his deep feelings made him cry.

"Your Majesty, I'm old..." Bi Maokang just opened his mouth, and broke down in tears.

"Back then you were in charge of the Military Weapons Bureau in the capital, and you made many high-quality firearms for me. Unfortunately, I didn't understand your painstaking efforts at that time. I was sorry for you!" Li Cunming also felt sad.

"Your Majesty, let the past be the past. Over the years, I have been thinking about the court and the emperor. I dare not slack off for a moment. I edited the book "Illustration of Military Weapons" and wanted to contribute it to the court. Dengfu, Quickly take out the book and give it to His Majesty."

A well-mannered young man next to him opened his bag and took out a manuscript, and handed it to the emperor respectfully.

Bi Maokang said: "This is the old minister's nephew, Bi Dengfu. He is an idiot. He doesn't like other things, but likes to tinker with the old man. The old minister will die soon. Fortunately, he has taught his nephew what he has learned all his life. Let him come to see His Majesty."

"Okay, great!" Li Cunming was overjoyed, and clapped his hands to signal a guard in Jin Yi to take the flintlock gun that he got at the sign, "Bi Aiqing, what do you think this is?"

Bi Maokang's eyes were bright, and he took the flintlock gun and looked at it carefully, rubbing one hand on the barrel of the gun.

"Your Majesty, where did you get the flintlock gun?" He was a little surprised.

Li Cunming told a white lie: "Have you forgotten? You explained the principle of the flintlock to me before, and I let the craftsmen fumble to make one. What do you think?"

"What a beautiful gun, the workmanship is excellent, I'm afraid the old minister can't make it himself!" Bi Maokang admired it sincerely.

"Bi Aiqing is being modest, you are the first person in our Ming Dynasty to make a flintlock, and you are destined to be famous in history!"

Li Cunming supported Bi Maokang, and said with a smile: "Speaking of firearms, there is a person beside me who is proficient in this field. His name is Tang Ruowang. Let's go and visit Mr. Tang together, and have a drink and talk tonight."

Tang Ruowang lived in a three-entry mansion in the alley behind the government office, which was specially arranged by Li Cunming.Li Cunming has never had time to visit Mr. Tang, and he is finally free today.

When he came to the courtyard, he saw Zhu Cijiong running out with his face covered in black ashes and smoke rising from his head, yelling, "It exploded, it exploded again!"

"What exploded? Zhu Cijiong, you are very carefree. It's been a long time since I went south, and this is the first time I've seen your face." Li Cunming said coldly.

"Ah, father!" Zhu Cijiong hurriedly stood obediently, a little scared.

Li Cunming smiled instead: "I'm here to ask you, what have you learned from Mr. Tang?"

Immediately Zhu Cijiong regained his energy, jumped in front of Li Cunming, and said with great interest: "Father, do you know? So we live on a planet. The ancients said that the sky is round and the place is completely wrong; and, The moon revolves around the earth, and the earth revolves around the sun, don't you think it's unusual? Also, this world is very big..."

However, Li Cunming saw Tang Ruowang, who was also disgraced, came out of the house, and said hello, "Hello, Mr Tang, How ar you?"

Bi Maokang, Zhu Cijiong, and Bi Dengfu were stunned. What is the emperor talking about?
Tang Ruowang, with a big beard, stammered, "Your Majesty, you...you can speak English?"

Tang Ruowang is German, but he also understands English.

"It's just superficial!" Li Cunming laughed, patted Zhu Cijiong's head and said, "Take Bi Dengfu for a walk, he is also an inventor, he knows more than you. I want to talk to Bi Aiqing and Tang Sir, don't bother us."

The three of them sat at the stone table in the courtyard. Li Cunming took out the flintlock gun and said, "Mr. Tang, this is the flintlock gun invented by Bi Maokang. What do you think?"

Tang Ruowang watched for a long time, stood up and saluted Bi Maokang, and sighed with emotion: "The vastness of China is crouching tigers, hidden dragons, and I, the Westerners, are ashamed of it!"

"My China is naturally rich in resources and talents, but you also have something worth learning in the West. I intend to bring Bi Aiqing here, and I hope that you two will communicate more, and use what you have learned in your life to collide with sparks of wisdom and create a better future for me. Excellent firearm."

Just as he was talking, Gong Yonggu hurried into the courtyard, leaned over Li Cunming's ear and said eagerly: "Your Majesty, it's not good, there is indeed something wrong with Li Chengdong, he took advantage of the negligence of the guards and escaped from Xuzhou City !"

"Where did he go?" Li Cunming's heart tightened.

"The spies are still looking around."

Li Cunming said: "As long as something happens, we must send more people to intercept and kill Li Chengdong. This person can no longer stay in the world!"

(End of this chapter)