In early February, Nanchang was already spring and the weather began to warm up. For the people of Jiangxi, as Governor Cai, who was sitting in the provincial capital, issued a division of land for farming, exempting the tax on reclaiming the land for the year and the government order that the land belonged to him for five years, a large number of people walked out of the hidden mountains, forests and lakes, and began to work for the land that belonged to them in five years.

Since the anti-Qing rebels in Yunxiao Mountain were driven back to their nests, the anti-Qing rebels in Jiuxian Mountain were limited to the Guangxin Mansion, where heavy troops were gathered. The Ming army in Zhejiang was still passively resisting the harassment of the Qing army. Cai Shiying's decrees were easily conveyed to the whole province.

However, compared with the rush of reclaiming farming in Jiangxi, the north wind has not yet subsided, but it is a solemn scene in Nanchang Prefecture, especially the strategic camp outside the city.

"kill!"

On the battlefield where the camp was managing the camp, two Qing troops wearing gray-blue cloth armor were fighting hard, not giving in to each other.

Looking closely, the long and short weapons on the east side, the wolf wicket, long spear, long cards, and rattan cards are allocated in each twelve-man-one team, which is like the Zhejiang Ming army hundreds of miles away, and are arranged on the battlefield to resist the Qing army on the opposite side. The opponent of the Yuanyang formation, the infantry phalanx on the west side, has a spear of 100 feet long, which is equivalent to the one used by the Ming army's long spear formation killer team. The two armies have already fought, and the musketeers retreated into the formation, leaving only the spearmen to benefit the outside, making the entire battle formation look like a frightened hedgehog.

On the squad, Hong Chengchou, his staff and a group of military officers from the Economic and Investors were watching the martial arts performances off the stage. Because he was old, Hong Chengchou's eyes were not very good, and he could not see clearly from too far away, so he focused his attention on the small battlefield nearest.

The killer team of the Mandarin Duck Formation, which is closest to the pointing platform on the east side, set up a three-talent formation almost as recorded in "Ji Xiaoxin Shu". The long-card player is in the center, the wolf's hand protects the wings on the left and right, and the four long-card players are on both sides of the wolf's hand, and finally the rattan player protects the wings of the team. However, their opponents are just three rows of dense spears, urging forward, but their gun-holding posture is held from the end of the spear, as if to fully utilize the length advantages of these five-meter-long big guys, and not afraid of the opponent's sword and shield soldiers approaching.

"Tiger!"

The second drum behind the Mandarin Duck Formation was ringing, and the Qing army on the east side roared like the Ming army, and its spirit was boosted. However, the opponent's spear was not only dense, but also amazingly long. Only wolf sirs in the Mandarin Duck Formation could compete with them. It was extremely difficult to successfully get close to other weapons.

Hong Chengchou looked at it and the two closest wolves were still trying their best to interfere with the spearman's stimulation with the wolf wolves. The extended branches greatly improved the range of defense and harassment, and the effect was not without it. However, when they faced the dozens of spears facing each other with the power of the two, they were exhausted and exhausted, and their physical strength was consumed very quickly. Soon the movements were no longer as smooth and free as before.

Soon a spear on the left stabbed out, and the wolf squid on that side quickly waved the wolf squid to protect the short soldiers on that side, but at this moment, another spear pierced out slashing out and hit the chest of the wolf squid.

The wolf's litter was too long and the branches were lush. In addition, the wolf's litter was a little tired and could not close enough. He saw the spear stabbing on his body. Fortunately, the long card player on the right stepped forward and tried hard to block the spear, but he was immediately stabbed by another spear.

The battle formation with such a long and short war is intertwined with each other, and the most feared thing is the incomplete formation. Once this happens, it is likely to mean the collapse of the formation.

Since the end of last year, Hong Chengchou has read several confrontations of the Mandarin Duck Formation, and has even made up for several military books by Qi Jiguang, and he has some understanding of this.

"Wang Shouji, I've tried my best."

"A humble position is just a fool to get it, and the boss of the strategy is over-reputable."

The man nodded and bowed like a lobster and bent down to Hong Chengchou to show off his charm was not someone else, but Wang Sheng. What Hong Chengchou said was the mandarin duck formation on the formation. However, this time it was not like Chen Jin. The mandarin duck formation was no longer an expanded training formation, but was only used to train the battle formation on the opposite side. Because there are still many troops in the Ming army in Zhejiang who are still using the mandarin duck formation.

Hong Chengchou didn't even give Wang Sheng's hot face, but just continued to watch the changes in the school field, as if the words just now were just talking to himself.

The killer team of the Mandarin Duck Formation that was closest to the pointing platform may have passed too long. The movements of the two wolves looked very stiff and were completely unreasonable. The instigation of the spear was just a strong protection for themselves, and the protection of the teammates next to him was almost zero. The teammates in his team were only seven or eight feet long and only three feet short, not even a fraction of the opponent. They were always passively beaten, and the losses of personnel were also huge.

Soon, due to excessive loss of troops in the first row, the battle formation could no longer be maintained and began to disintegrate. The spears pressed forward step by step, without giving the Yuanyang formation a reorganization time.

The victory and defeat were obvious. Hong Chengchou nodded and sat back in his seat.

"reward."

"I am grateful to Master Jingliu for his humble job."

"Praise the Lord and thank Mr. Lecture."

Compared to Wang Sheng, who had already prostrated himself and bowed to Hong Chengchou like a pug, a blond and blue-eyed European made a cross piously on his chest, and then he bowed casually and expressed his gratitude to Hong Chengchou. However, unlike him, the soldiers in the audience who had separated again and barely completed the entire team fell to the ground under the leadership of the officers, as if the ground of the entire school ground was a floor higher.

"Rewards from Mr. Xie Jingluo!"

With the reward, the Green Camp soldiers who performed martial arts began to leave the field, and the military ordering platform was empty, but Hong Chengchou's tent was filled with generals and staff again.

"This Folang Ji big array has miraculous effect against the Yuanyang array. Mr. Zhan has made great contributions to our Qing Dynasty."

Mr. Zhan, whom Hong Chengchou mentioned, was a missionary from Beijing named James. He arrived in Nanchang in November last year and began to train this Spanish formation of about 200 people for Hong Chengchou. In the face of Hong Chengchou's praise, the European expressed his gratitude as if he was dealing with errands. However, before each thank you, he would praise his master first, which made the generals and schoolmen in the tent furious.

This James is nominally an aide invited by Hong Chengchou, so although the generals in the army were unhappy about him, they had no choice but to do anything to him. However, they did not have no way to vent. For example, in private, some officers expressed their dissatisfaction with the name of James, believing that this person would definitely be unfilial to use such a name - cursing himself to die, can he be a filial son?

Hong Chengchou didn't want to pay attention to these dirty things between the officers and the staff. Now he was concerned about whether the Spanish phalanx that Wang Sheng mentioned earlier was useful in fighting against the Mandarin Duck Formation used by the Ming Army of Zhejiang. That's all.

To this end, Hong Chengchou not only asked James to practice a Spanish phalanx, but also asked Wang Sheng to practice a Mandarin duck formation as a comparison so that he could better see the tricks.

The first confrontation was on the fifth day of the first lunar month. Other troops had already rested, but the two troops were still training with rewards to maintain morale. It was only the first confrontation that the Mandarin Duck Formation was almost instantly crushed by the Spanish Formation, which made Hong Chengchou feel shocked.

For this reason, Hong Chengchou called Wang Sheng, beat the board and ordered him to retrain. After ten days, he looked at it and it seemed not as dirty as before. And this time, he could see that although the Mandarin Duck Formation tried his best to resist, it was a bit too difficult to rely on two wolves to fight against more than a dozen spears on the opposite side. It was not the deliberate collapse of Wang Sheng.

With this achievement, Hong Chengchou couldn't help but feel relieved. The gloom of the four provincial capitals has been swept away. The military generals and staff here have fought in the officialdom for many years. Observing the words and expressions is the most basic ability. It is obvious that Hong Chengchou is in a good mood and the atmosphere in the entire tent has also increased a lot, so it is not an exaggeration to laugh and say laughter.

Those present, even the Jesuit monk named James, knew that what Hong Chengchou was thinking about was nothing more than to wipe out the Ming army that had been causing trouble in Zhejiang for three years. Now he has achieved success by relying on the Spanish phalanx. As long as the scale of the training is expanded, it is only a matter of time to overwhelm the Ming army with the human, material and financial resources of the Qing Dynasty.

In comparison, Hong Chengchou thought about this more carefully. The Ming army in Zhejiang was very strong, which is true, but compared to the Qing Dynasty, their foundation was too weak, just like the Later Jin Dynasty back then. Even if they could win every battle, the Ming court could constantly reorganize its forces to launch a counterattack with its huge national strength advantage. However, the Qing Dynasty could only rely on tactical victory to support it again and again. There must be no miserable defeat in the battle of the war. If it is defeated, it will be a situation of destruction. Even until the Songjin Battle he personally commanded.

Now, the Qing Dynasty quickly occupied more land by sieging the city after entering the pass. Instead, the main forces of the anti-Qing army were squeezed to the edges and corners. However, this Zhejiang Ming army grew up step by step in such a crack, and at this moment it had even grown into a giant existence on the southeast battlefield. The Qing Dynasty could rely on only the huge advantage of national strength to barely defend the front line. The difference between the two seemed to be the next "Songjin Battle".

"This time, I, Hong Chengchou, will not lose again!"

Resolutely his obsession, Hong Chengchou recalculated Chen Wen's strength. When the four provincial capitals suppressed, the Ming army in Zhejiang had seven combat barracks, and the thousands of garrisons could quickly replenish the army, about 20,000. Since the end, they have recaptured Yanzhou, Taizhou and Wenzhou, and the occupied areas have doubled. And as far as he knows, it seems that the maritime trade cooperation with the Ming army in Fujian has begun.

"In a few months, how many soldiers you will have, 30,000 or 40,000, probably that's all."

Close his eyes, the face he had never seen before appeared in his mind, perhaps also his biggest enemy in his life. However, the more he calculated the strength of his troops, the more confident Hong Chengchou was about the decisive battle in a few months.

The occupied area of ​​the Ming army in Zhejiang was surrounded by strong enemies on the north and south. Chen Wen could not concentrate all his forces on the front line. It was difficult to concentrate 25,000 on the battlefield in Jiangxi. In his hands, the three towns of Jingbiao, the high-biao and the high-biao of Jiangxi. As long as the Qing court agreed, he could quickly adapt the 25,000 troops into the Spanish phalanx needed. In addition, in that note, he also applied to transfer 20,000 troops from the north to the south, and 10,000 of them would be adapted into the front town of Jingbiao and the rear town of Jingbiao, and also renovated the Spanish phalanx.

At that time, let alone the Mandarin Duck Formation may not be able to withstand the Spanish Formation. Even if both sides are evenly matched, the troops in his hands will still have an absolute advantage, which is enough to wipe out this Ming army.

"Now, I'm just waiting for the Emperor's will."

Nodding, Hong Chengchou continued to discuss military affairs with his generals and his staff, but the next day, the imperial edict from Beijing quickly arrived at the headquarters in Nanchang.

After reading the imperial edict, Hong Chengchou couldn't help but burst into tears. "The emperor trusts heavily and has no external ministers to restrain him. The slaves will definitely kill the rebel Chen Wenxian in front of the imperial court."

The next moment, Hong Chengchou rose up and his whole aura seemed to soar into the sky, as if the butcher Hong from that time had been back.

"The emperor has already approved this order. According to the original plan, the three towns of Jiangxi will be upgraded. Jiujiang Town Biao will immediately gather in Nanchang Camp to train the Spanish phalanx. Before next year, we will completely eliminate the Zhejiang ** bandits!"

……………………

In February of the eighth year of Yongli, when Hong Chengchou was doing the most important preparations to completely wipe out the Ming army in Zhejiang, Chen Wen inspected the workshop of the Military Industry Department.

The huge water truck kept rotating with the flow of the Dongyang River. In the workshop connected with it, with the continuous rotation of the crankshaft connecting rod and gear, the huge iron hammer hit the iron material on the anvil like a chicken, and followed the push and pull of the craftsmen to make the entire iron material into the shape they wanted.

Although it is early spring, Jinhua Mansion still has a hint of coolness. However, the hydraulic workshops on the banks of the Dongyang River are in full swing, and what is even more intense is Chen Wen's heart.

"What is this iron material used for?"

Seeing Chen Wen asking this question, the craftsman in charge hurriedly fell to the ground and replied respectfully: "If you return to the country, this piece of iron is used as an accessory for hydraulic bellows."

"Well, it's very good." Chen Wen looked at the hammer and hit the hammer, and couldn't help but nodded, and then helped the trembling craftsman up. "I said it, you don't have to bow down to your words. It's a waste of time. Remember next time."

"Yes, villains must keep in mind the teachings of the government."

After leaving the workshop of hydraulic forging hammers, the buzzing sound was still lingering in his ears and continued to move eastward. Soon he entered another workshop using hydraulic forging hammers to forge iron. However, this time the forging hammer was very small, but the speed of hitting the iron material was much faster. He smashed the iron material on the anvil into a small square piece of iron, but the thickness was a little thicker than that of ordinary armor leaves.

He picked up a piece of iron piece that had been made but was still a bit hot. Chen Wen estimated the location of the holes and threw it back. These iron pieces were the heavy armor leaves ordered by Zheng Chenggong. After the forging was completed, they could be made into a set of armor after a series of steps such as drilling, polishing, and weaving to sell it to the Ming army of Fujian. In terms of production speed, it was not primitive manual creation at all - the kind that can be compared with one hammer and one hammer.

After experiments, the armor ordered by Zheng Chenggong can effectively resist the medium and long-distance shooting of bows and arrows. Even close-range shooting can consume most of the kinetic energy, and even the damage caused by ordinary bird guns is nothing more than the deformation of the armor leaf.

These experimental results are basically consistent with the experimental results of some European weapon enthusiasts in later generations on Chinese style armor. The human body will withstand a certain degree of kinetic energy, but it is not enough to constitute effective armor-breaking and killing. This armor-breaking effect is almost the same as the equipment used by the Iron Man Army recorded in historical books, and may even be better. However, with these hydraulic machinery, Chen Wen is already considering whether to mess up the plate armor at this moment.

Chen Wen was very satisfied with this inspection. After two months, hydraulic machinery was not only making weapons and equipment, but also participating in the process of manufacturing machinery. This is the power of industrialization. In the following days, Chen Wen believed that this power will be fully developed in China.

With joy in mind, Chen Wen, a mechanical obsession patient, returned to Duke Xiu's Mansion and was about to continue handling official duties. Who knew that as soon as he entered the lobby, he saw Huang Zongxi waiting for him.

"Mr. Lizhou, long time no see."
Chapter completed!